The Qingzhou pirates were pacified and coastal trade routes were restored, which was a good thing for many people. The routes from Youzhou to Xuzhou, Liaodong Peninsula and even the Korean Peninsula were restored.
The one who benefited the most from this was not Yuan Xi, but the Gongsun family.
Because the Qingzhou pirates firmly controlled the waters east of Donglai, this almost blocked the outer seas south of Liaodong County, Lelang County and Daifang County.
These are the only two remaining counties of the four Han counties. The remaining Zhenfan County and Lintun County had long been abandoned and were gradually occupied by Dongye and Mahan.
Even so, when Gongsun Yuan later established the Kingdom of Yan and was conquered by Sima Yi, the Liaodong region he occupied had more than 40,000 households and as many as 300,000 people.
Today, the headquarters of the Gongsun Family is in Xiangping City in Liaodong County. The area is rich in water systems and has rugged terrain, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is also far away from the Central Plains and difficult for all forces to reach, making it an important place for the Gongsun Family to operate its equipment for a long time.
In the city government office, Gongsun Du and his son Gongsun Kang were sitting and talking. In addition to Gongsun Gong and other Gongsun clan members, there were dozens of other generals including Zhang Chang, Yang Yi, Liu Yi, Wang Lie, Han Zhong, Wang Zan, Liang Mao, Guan Ning, Bing Yuan, Guo Yuan, etc., many of whom were well-known figures in the country.
The reason why Gongsun Du had so many talented people under his command was, firstly, that when Qingzhou was in chaos, many famous scholars fled across the sea to Liaodong; secondly, many of them were forced to stay by Gongsun Du, and in fact did not serve Gongsun Du wholeheartedly.
Ru Liangmao, whose courtesy name was Bofang, was a native of Changyi, Shanyang. When he went to take up the post of prefect of Lelang, he was detained by Gongsun Du and was considered a half-hostage, but he never surrendered to Gongsun Du.
For example, Bing's original name was Ju, and he was from Zhuxu, Beihai. He was orphaned at an early age due to poverty, but he was quite learned. He was initially recommended by Kong Rong, the prime minister of Beihai. When he took refuge in Liaodong, hundreds of people went there to live with him within a year. There was an endless stream of scholars who came to study and teach.
For example, Guan Ning, whose courtesy name was You'an, was from Zhuxu in Beihai County. He was called "One Dragon" together with Hua Xin and Bing Yuan. He was able to understand poetry, calligraphy, and etiquette.
The three men under Gongsun Du were the leaders of the famous scholars in Liaodong, and everyone else followed their lead. However, these three men did not like Gongsun Du's conscription, because Gongsun Du came from a humble background and was despised by the gentry. Gongsun Du knew this very well, and the two sides looked down on each other.
Gongsun Du's situation is very similar to that of Gongsun Zan at the beginning.
Although Gongsun Zan was born into a prominent family, due to his mother's low status, he could only work as a minor official in the county at first. He was looked down upon before he became rich, but once he gained power, he began to retaliate against the gentry.
Today, these famous scholars are temporarily living in Liaodong as guests, but they are only seeking refuge. They can only accept Gongsun Du's harsh laws and punishments. Although they are dissatisfied, they dare not openly confront him.
After all, there was a precedent. Li Min, a famous scholar in Liaodong, was at odds with Gongsun Du and looked down on him. "The former governor of Henei, who was well-known in the county, disliked what Gongsun Du did and feared that he would be harmed, so he threw his family into the sea. Gongsun Du was furious and dug up his father's tomb, opened the coffin and burned the body, and killed his clan members."
If you offend Gongsun Du, your whole family will be killed, so these famous scholars had no choice but to submit.
These people lowered their heads and looked reluctant, as if they didn't hear what was being said in the hall.
Gongsun Du didn't care about them. He forced these celebrities to stay in Liaodong. On the surface, he pretended to be respectful to others, but it was just to gild his own image and gain fame. As for whether these celebrities would sincerely give him advice, he didn't care.
He said to Gongsun Kang: "Although the Qingzhou pirates have been pacified, the Gongsun clan has lost face this time."
"I heard that in this naval battle, the Gongsun warships not only made no achievements, but were also beaten and fled in disgrace by the Qingzhou pirates. It was such a disgrace!"
"On the contrary, the fierce tiger fought with great vigor. Compared with these two, who in Youzhou would be willing to join our Gongsun clan? I'm afraid that everyone will run to his side in the future!"
Liang Mao and Guan Ning in the hall were shocked, looked at each other, and lowered their heads. The speaker did not mean it, but the listener took it to heart. They actually thought about escaping to Jicheng.
Gongsun Kang smiled bitterly and said, "I have heard about it too. This battle shows that our Gongsun navy still has many problems. The naval commander who led the battle this time was also beheaded according to my father's order to serve as a warning to others."
Gongsun Du's anger subsided a little. "Now is the critical period for the expansion of our Gongsun clan. We must not make any mistakes."
"Now that I have the support of Xionghu, I have decided to establish myself as Marquis of Liaodong and Governor of Pingzhou!"
When the scholars in the hall heard this, they thought it was too rude. At least they should submit a memorial to the emperor first and ask for permission. But now Gongsun Du wanted to execute the emperor first and then report to the emperor. This was a complete disregard for etiquette.
And what is this Liaodong Hou Pingzhou Mu? He proclaimed himself a county marquis? The name is named after the county, so it's probably a county marquis. Does the Han Dynasty have such a marquisate?
What's more, Pingzhou Mu is even more ridiculous. Among the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty, you created a state on the territory of Youzhou. It's really unheard of!
Guan Ning and others shook their heads secretly. Gongsun Du had a poor background and everything he did went against the Han system. Didn't he care about the criticism from the world?
But looking at his fearless look, he may really not care!
Thinking of this, all the scholars kept silent for fear of provoking Gongsun Du and having their entire family killed.
Although the scholars were secretly dissatisfied, the people of the Gongsun family were very happy. The Gongsun family suffered together and prospered together. Gongsun Du wanted to establish himself, and naturally the children of the Gongsun family would be able to follow him to success.
Moreover, the emperor is far away in Liaodong, and no one can suppress the Gongsun family. Gongsun proclaimed himself a marquis and governor to build momentum for his independence. It is not impossible for him to establish a country in the future!
Gongsun Kang cupped his hands and said, "Now that the Gongsun family and the Yuan family have joined forces, should we inform him in advance?"
"After all, Liaodong is still part of Youzhou. If we divide it into two halves, I'm afraid the Yuan family will be dissatisfied."
Gongsun Du was a little unhappy and snorted, "What can he do to me? We are just using each other."
"Since you care about your reputation, please write a letter to him for me."
Gongsun Kang agreed, and said hesitantly: "If there are no benefits, the fierce tiger is afraid..."
Gongsun Du sneered: "Does he dare to attack me?"
"Forget it. Doesn't he want to set up ports in Lelang and Daifang County?"
"I've set aside a few places for him, but I don't care whether he has the ability to build them or deal with the harassment from Ma Han."
Gongsun Kang was a little worried after hearing this. Gongsun Du was too brutal in his actions, but Xionghu was not a magnanimous person. If he was offended, he would definitely create trouble for Gongsun family in the future!
Just like this naval battle, in order to avenge the slaughter of his merchant ships, the fierce tiger actually killed all the Qingzhou pirates!
The Qingzhou pirates robbed passing merchant ships and even went ashore near Liaodong to rob. They were so notorious that people were in panic and many were forced to move inland. But even such brutal pirates were beheaded by the tiger and a Jingguan was built on the ship!
It is said that after this incident spread, in the areas of Qingzhou in Liaodong, the name of the ferocious tiger became a weapon used by women to teach naughty children a lesson, and it could scare them so much that they would stop crying at night.
Gongsun Du always kept his word. Now that he wanted to crown himself as the emperor, the people in the hall knew that they were not summoned for a discussion but were just going through the motions. So they would not be so blind as to jump out and oppose. Instead, they all praised him highly, which made Gongsun Du very happy.
Now that the matter was settled, everyone left. After Liang Mao, Guan Ning and Bing Yuan came out, they exchanged glances with each other and went to Guan Ning's mansion to discuss the matter.
After the three of them sat down, Guan Ning sighed, "Although we escaped the Yellow Turban Rebellion by fleeing to Liaodong, it seems that being under Gongsun Du's command is not a good thing."
Bing Yuan nodded and said, "Indeed, Ziyu (Hua Xin) is already the governor of Yuzhang, but we have accomplished nothing and have wasted our time until now."
Guan Ning snorted coldly: "It is a shame for our generation to be compared with that person!"
In this world, three people are called one dragon: Hua Xin is the head of the dragon, Bing Yuan is the belly of the dragon, and Guan Ning is the tail of the dragon. However, Guan Ning looks down on Hua Xin.
Because Hua Xin was extremely keen on fame and fortune, when Guan Ning was friends with Hua Xin, they were planting vegetables in the garden together. While hoeing the ground, he found gold. Ning swung his hoe without paying attention to Xin, who picked it up and looked at it, then threw it down.
Another day, Ning and Xin were sitting together reading a book when they heard someone calling outside the room. An important person was passing by in a carriage. Ning sat still while Xin dropped the book and went to read. From then on, Ning despised Xin as a person, so he cut off the mat and sat apart from him, and no longer remained friends with him.
Bing Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "That's true, but the world is corrupt. Although we can protect our reputation, it's hard to protect our lives."
The three of them were silent, and Liang Mao suddenly said, "It's not easy to go back to Qingzhou. Yuan Tan is very tyrannical, and he is just as bad as Gongsun Du."
"How about we go and seek refuge with the fierce tiger?"
Bing Yuan was shocked. "Wouldn't the tiger be even more brutal?"
"In the past few months, he first defeated the Xianbei outside the Great Wall, then killed the Qingzhou pirates, and built a memorial for the skulls. He doesn't look like a nobleman at all, but more like a Bingliang general!"
Liang Mao said indifferently: "These people all deserve to be killed, why not?"
Bing Yuan hesitated and said, "But he killed nobles before and hanged them on the city walls. It seems to me that he must hate famous people like us."
Liang Mao sighed: "But do we have any good options?"
"I, the governor of Lelang in the Han court, am useless under Gongsun Du. Am I going to waste my time like this?"
"I heard that Xiong Hu is highly appreciated by the emperor. If I want to serve the Han court, he is the only one who can speak to me."
Bing Yuan wanted to say something, but Guan Ning took out a bamboo slip and handed it to Bing Yuan, saying, "Genju, take a look."
Bing Yuan took it with complete confusion, and discovered that it was about the Confucian classics of the world. At first glance, the viewpoints seemed somewhat unusual, but upon closer inspection, every word was brilliant, and it expressed ideas that had never been expressed before. It was truly a rare masterpiece.
He opened another article and found that it was about an obscure theory that the three of them had argued about before. However, this article quoted from classics and gave empirical evidence, making it very convincing. Bing Yuan thought that it would be difficult to write it out even if he wrote it himself.
He asked in confusion: "What is this?"
Guan Ning said in a deep voice: "This is what is taught to students in Jicheng Charity School!"
"No matter if you are a scholar, a poor family, or a commoner, you can all learn it!"
"What!" Bing Yuan was shocked. "What does Xionghu want to do?"
"If this continues, won't our knowledge become a joke?"
Guan Ning said in a deep voice: "So I want to go to Jicheng Charity School to have a look."
"The world is changing. If we remain complacent and cling to our old ways, we will be left far behind."
When Gongsun Du's letter was delivered to Yuan Xi, he was lying on the couch in the study, resting his head on Cai Zhaoji's knees, enjoying a massage.
Feeling Cai Zhaoji's slender hands gently pressing on his temple, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "It is worthwhile to be served by a female teacher who is famous in Youzhou."
He handed the bamboo slips to Cai Zhaoji and said, "Take a look at Gongsun Du's letter."
Cai Zhaoji stopped, took the bamboo slips, glanced at them, and said, "Gongsun Du is very brave."