It was already afternoon after the meeting at Tao Qian's place. Tao Qian left everyone to have a meal. On the way back, Liu Bei escorted Shen Chen towards Xiangben.
In fact, Shan County is not very far from Huangmen Pavilion. It is located about fifty miles northwest. One mile in the Han Dynasty was about 400 meters, so it is almost 20 kilometers. If you ride a horse, you can get there in less than an hour.
On the way there, Shen Chen sat in a carriage arranged by the clan. He was now the hope of the Deng and Shen clan. Every day he traveled not only with a carriage, but also with an escort. He was very closely protected.
Liu Bei was riding beside him. Tao Qian was surprised by Shen Chen's well-mannered appearance and succinct analysis in front of Tao Qian. Therefore, he also wanted to learn from Shen Chen his views on the general trend of the world.
"The Central Plains of Guandong has been a prosperous place since ancient times, but during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Henan and Hebei were the most severely affected, because the land here was basically controlled by powerful families."
Shen Chen sat cross-legged on the carriage and said softly: "That's why there are countless people in Henan and Hebei who respond to and believe in the Yellow Turbans. This is not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster caused by powerful families."
"What the young gentleman said is quite novel."
Liu Bei was very surprised when he heard this point of view. But after thinking about it carefully, he found that what Shen Chen said was very reasonable.
Because Liu Bei himself was born at the bottom of society, he was very aware of the living environment of the bottom society. The powerful people occupied the land and the people had nothing to rely on. Rebellion was a last resort.
Shen Chen added: "Now Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan are fighting for supremacy in Hebei, and Cao Cao, Tao Gong, Yuan Shu and others in Henan are fighting each other. I can't see clearly the situation in Hebei at the moment, but in the land of Henan, please make sure Liu Shijun is careful about Cao Cao. He is most likely to unify Henan."
"Oh? Why?"
Liu Bei was surprised and said: "Cao Cao is so cruel, how is he different from Dong Zhuo? I believe that the people and noble families will not rush to rely on him."
Shen Chen sighed and said: "Cruelty is cruelty, but Cao Cao is truly talented and strategist. Whether it is military matters or local governance, he is one of the best among the princes today. Aristocratic families value interests and will definitely rely on the strong, even if Cao Cao brutally kills aristocratic families. Too much, but some people will still follow him."
"I'm not afraid!"
Liu Bei said proudly: "Cao Cao massacred Xuzhou. This blood debt must be repaid. If he comes again, I will make him pay the price!"
Shen Chen shook his head and said: "Although the envoy upholds benevolence and righteousness, benevolence and righteousness are in front of the butcher's knife, and the people are more afraid of life and death than attached to benevolence and righteousness. If we go to war with Cao Cao in the future, I am afraid it will be difficult to take advantage of the right time, place and people."
"The Book of Zhou once said that man is stronger than nature, and I believe this too!"
Liu Bei's fighting spirit is high.
Shen Chen glanced at him, feeling equal parts admiration and ridicule for Liu Bei.
What I admire is his fighting spirit and benevolence.
What is ridiculing is that his thoughts are too simple and his view of real problems is not profound enough.
Human beings' noble moral qualities should only be respected and not laughed at, but human naivety and idealism can.
Because being too naive and too idealistic can kill people.
"Your Majesty, why should Tao Gong give way to Xuzhou today?"
Shen Chen didn't want to discuss the issue of moral character with Liu Bei, so he changed the topic to other topics.
Liu Bei said solemnly: "I came to Xuzhou to help Mr. Tao out of great righteousness. How can I take advantage of others' danger at this time?"
"Your idea is commendable, but the way you think about it is wrong."
Shen Chen corrected: "It is true that Xuzhou cannot be won. The reason for not being able to win is not due to righteousness, but because the place of Xuzhou's four battles was destroyed by Cao Cao's killings. Yuan Shu will also go north to attack, and he will be attacked from two sides. He is exhausted, so it is better to do it earlier. Other plans."
"is that so?"
Liu Bei thought about it for a while. The relationship here was so complicated that he couldn't understand the difference between being righteous and leading Xuzhou Mu.
"That's right."
Shen Chen nodded and said softly: "Although Xuzhou is rich, the counties and counties are in charge of their own affairs and separate themselves from each other. The only thing Tao Gong can command is the East China Sea. If you lead Xuzhou, it can be said that there will be internal and external troubles."
"I don't quite understand."
Liu Bei shook his head. Shen Chen had said it simply and clearly, but he still felt that it was very complicated inside, like a ball of twine that couldn't be sorted out and kept being cut.
"It's very simple. When you think about problems in the future, you must clearly see the essence of the problem."
Shen Chen smiled and said: "I like a saying very much, it's called, only children ask right and wrong, adults should clearly understand the pros and cons. Many things cannot be done because of the so-called moral principles, but should be clearly thought out about what to do and what not to do. What benefits and troubles will it bring to yourself?"
"But you are the child."
Liu Bei retorted: "You cannot deny this fact just because you are smart."
"Yes, I am a child."
Shen Chen laughed, glanced around, and saw Huangmenting from a distance, so he said to him: "I look forward to one day becoming an adult and talking to Liu Shijun about the general situation of the world. At that time, maybe Shijun The way of looking at the problem should also be different.”
Liu Bei didn't know what he meant, but he still felt that the 8-year-old gentleman in front of him was extremely clear and mature in terms of his speech and logical thinking, which made him unconsciously feel that this child's words seemed to make sense.
Maybe it's because those words are hard to understand, or maybe it's because his way of looking at problems is not at the same level as Shen Chen's.
At least for now, Liu Bei still only feels confused, but he doesn't know that people's fate is not predestined.
Seeing the confused look in Liu Bei's eyes, Shen Chen smiled and said nothing.
If you can find an example in history books where character does not completely determine destiny, then Liu Bei should be the well-deserved first.
After all, in history, he did refuse Tao Qian to give up Xuzhou, and even said, "Yuan Qiangong is near Shouchun. This king has four generations and five Dukes. If he returns from overseas, you can state with him."
This shows that Liu Bei did not have any thoughts about Xuzhou at that time, and he was afraid that his morality and ethics were not enough, so he did not dare to become the lord of Xuzhou.
But later after the Battle of Chibi, he finally decided to fight against Liu Zhang and conquered Yizhou. This was the best change in his character.
But now that I am young, I do not know enough about the current social knowledge of the Han Dynasty.
Moreover, he believed that Xuzhou would never be able to be defended, and Cao Cao's personal ability, at least in the south, was almost unrivaled.
So for many things, just let things take their own course and wait for the answer in the future.
Soon Shen Chen returned to Huangmenting. When he got home, his mother was sighing. In recent days, all the villagers in Huangmenting were preparing for relocation, and the fields were no longer cultivated.
Now that Xuzhou is in such chaos, it is very difficult for the Deng and Shen clans to find someone to take over the land in Huangmenting. They also have to purchase grain and grass, form Xiangyong, and protect the clan members from moving south. Therefore, the entire clan is now in chaos. Villagers Very scared.
"Mother, where is father?"
Shen Chen saw his mother, Deng, sighing in the yard while sewing her father's clothes that were torn by branches and thorns when they were in Niqiu Mountain a few days ago, so she asked.
Deng didn't even notice when Shen Chen came back. Seeing that he was already standing in the yard, she said: "Your father was elected as a clan leader and was asked to train martial arts. Chen'er, you go and talk to the clan elders." Tell them and ask them to let your father come back."
Shen Chen shook his head and said: "It is impossible for my uncle and the others to choose Aweng. My brother is young and strong and did not go. It is even more impossible for Aweng to be 38 years old this year. It must be Aweng who wants to go. He was drafted to guard the border before. , and often go hunting in the mountains, so he must have thoughts of war, and my mother must personally dissuade her about this."
"this"
Mrs. Deng frowned and sighed: "Then let me go and take a look. There are still some grain cakes at home. In the morning, you can eat something to fill your stomach."
"Don't worry, mother, you can go."
Shen Chen entered the room and saw a few pieces of cake on the table, so he took one and went back to his room.
His family is actually not that bad, because it is backed by two big families and has been allocated a lot of land, which is not only enough to support the whole family, but also hires two field slaves to help with farming.
But the so-called not bad is compared with most refugees at that time. In fact, the Shen family's house is an ordinary house. It covers an area of maybe 300 square meters and is divided into a front yard, a main room, a middle hall, a back house and a back garden. , the outside is surrounded by rammed earth walls.
It sounds good, but in the Han Dynasty, when the land was vast and sparsely populated, it was common for powerful families to have manors covering hundreds of acres. A manor covering an area of 300 square meters was not considered a big family at all. At most, it was considered a rich peasant, not a landlord class.
Therefore, coming from a lower-class commoner class, not even a poor family, meant that even if Shen Chen had the ability, it would be difficult for him to get into the family and hang out with those nobles who were descendants of high-ranking families.
There are three bedrooms in the back house, the parents' master bedroom, the brother's second bedroom and Shen Chen's bedroom.
Strictly speaking, Shen Chen is not ranked second, but ranked fifth. He has three older brothers and one older sister, and there should be a younger sister and a younger brother below him.
But in the Han Dynasty, when the infant mortality rate was extremely high, even if you risked death to give birth to a child, it was often easy to die at an early age.
Therefore, the current descendants of the Shen family are Shen Chen and his eldest brother Shen Zhong, and there is a huge age difference between the two brothers. Shen Zhong is eleven years older than Shen Chen. He married a wife and had children at the end of the year before last, and moved out last year.
Although the Han people generally do not know how to pronounce names, take wives, and divide families until they are in their twenties and above.
But those are the rules of a wealthy family.
It would be nice for the people at the bottom to have a name, but most of them are just nicknames or nicknames that they don't even know how to pronounce because they don't know how to read at all.
Therefore, the common people are not so particular. Shen Zhong married a wife when he was 17 and separated. At the beginning of this year, Shen Chen gave birth to a nephew. The age difference between the uncle and nephew is only eight years, but it was a very rare and common thing in the Han Dynasty. , not surprising.
At this time, because Shen Zhong separated his family and lived in another place, only Shen Chen's parents were at home. His father went to participate in the clan selection, and his mother went to persuade him. Now he is the only one in the family.
After returning to his bedroom, Shen Chen did not go to bed immediately. It was now close to the beginning of the evening, that is, almost five o'clock in the afternoon. In ancient times, there were no entertainment activities at night. He went to bed when it got dark at seven or eight o'clock. Now he sleeps It's still too early.
He sat cross-legged on the bed and deduce Xuzhou's current situation.
Since there is no pen and paper, Shen Chen can only think in his head, which consumes a lot of mental energy and requires an amazing memory, otherwise he will not be able to remember the intricate context.