The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 525 Guan Xing spoke, Zhang Bao acted.

Yuan Hui was stunned, pointing at Guan Xing and trembling, unable to speak for a long time.

As a respected elder of the gentry and a great Confucian scholar of his time, when had he ever been insulted like this?

The key point is that the criticism was correct, and he couldn't refute it because he really had returned to be an official.

In the past, when the world was in chaos, he naturally had to flee to Jiaozhou to avoid the chaos, for a wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall.

But now that Jiangnan has been unified, Liu Bei is about to revive the Han Dynasty for the third time. Although he looks down on Liu Bei's background, he recognizes Liu Bei's abilities and knows that Liu Bei is a wise ruler. He believes that Liu Bei will most likely succeed in his northern expedition.

Even if the Northern Expedition fails, Liu Bei's ability to defend Jiangnan and establish a division of power with Cao Wei along the Yangtze River is still not a problem. So why not take up a post as soon as possible?

More importantly, he was already in his fifties or sixties, practically on his deathbed, and if he didn't take up an official post now, he would never have another chance, so he returned with Shi Xie.

The problem is that taking office is something that can't be said openly; it's always been an unspoken understanding. If I were to say that I want to take office, how could I take office? Don't I have any pride?

But that damned Guan Xing not only exposed his true thoughts in front of everyone, but also called him shameless. How could Yuan Hui bear this?

Yuan Hui trembled with rage, his beard bristling. He pointed at Guan Xing, shaking for a long time before finally roaring in exasperation, "Guan Xing, you little thief, how dare you insult this old man like this?"

Guan Xing sneered, "You know in your heart whether it's an insult or the truth."

"And stop calling me a little thief. I know I'm young, and I don't need you to keep reminding me. No matter how young I am, I've been on the battlefield and fought in wars. I've rendered meritorious service to the court and shed blood for the Han Dynasty. You are old enough, but what have you done for the court?"

"Excuse me, young master of the Situ family, where were you during the Yellow Turban Rebellion? Where were you during Dong Zhuo's usurpation of power? Where were you when Cao Cao held the emperor hostage? What right do you, a coward who hides from everything, have to point fingers at me? I just seized the land from the rich and distributed it to the poor, so what? The rich in Jiangdong who received the land didn't say a word. What are you, an outsider, babbling about?"

"You..." Yuan Hui was so angry that his nose was crooked and his body was trembling even more. He wanted to say something to save face, but after thinking for a long time, he sadly realized that he could not refute it.

First of all, he excels at using classical allusions to morally blackmail people. If Guan Xing were to argue with him about the classics and the way of being an official, he could easily defeat Guan Xing. But the damned Guan Xing doesn't play by the rules. He starts by launching a personal attack like a shrew. How could a self-proclaimed scholar have any experience with shrewish arguments? This is not his forte.

Moreover, he was concerned about his reputation, and there were some things he could do but couldn't say, while Guan Xing was shameless, putting on an attitude of "what can you do about it?" which made him feel powerless, like a scholar encountering a soldier.

More importantly, what Guan Xing said was true. He fled when the court was in trouble and returned when the court was stable. This was indeed a dishonest thing for him, which made him lack confidence when facing Guan Xing's accusations.

Lies are insignificant; the truth is the sharpest weapon.

Yuan Hui, his face flushed red with frustration, could not come up with a rebuttal. He could only turn to the crowd and look for help, hoping they would help him out of this predicament. After all, he had acted for the gentry, so shouldn't the gentry stand on the same side as him?

The idea was good, but things didn't go as planned. The Jiangdong gentry all turned their heads away and avoided his gaze when they saw him looking at them.

Let us help you deal with Guan Xing? What a joke! Don't we, the victims, know what kind of person Guan Xing is? If we could deal with him, we would have done it in Jiangdong long ago. Why wait until now?

Besides, we are all Guan Xing's creditors now. He still owes us houses. If he gets angry and refuses to build us houses, who are we going to turn to?

So, Mr. Yuan, this is your own business. Please don't involve us innocent people.

Seeing that the Jiangdong gentry collectively avoided battle, Yuan Hui felt a chill in his heart. Helpless, he looked at his companions from Jiaozhou, such as Shi Xie and Liu Xi, but they also avoided his gaze.

Shi Xie, confident in his status, did not want to clash with a junior like Guan Xing. Liu Xikang, the monk, and others, like Yuan Hui, were there to reap the benefits and seek advantages. They were already lacking in confidence, so how could they dare to go against Guan Xing?

So, Brother Yuan, it's better to die for a fellow Daoist than for me. Please bear with this matter.

Seeing that his teammates had all abandoned him, Yuan Hui was so angry that he almost fainted. He was both angry and ashamed, and then roared in a fit of rage, "Guan Xing, you little thief, how dare you insult me ​​like this? I'll fight you to the death!"

After saying that, he swung his hand and slapped Guan Xing across the face. Guan Xing raised an eyebrow and clenched his fist to retaliate, but Zhang Bao was faster than him. He grabbed Guan Xing's shoulder with his left hand and quickly pulled him away, while his right fist clenched and swung out forcefully, hitting Yuan Hui's mouth precisely before Yuan Hui's slap could come.

Zhang Bao's fists were powerful enough to kill an ox. Yuan Hui, who was over fifty years old, could not withstand such a heavy blow. He collapsed to the ground almost as soon as he was hit by Zhang Bao's fist.

Zhang Bao, whose temper was just as fiery as his father's, would not tolerate such an insolent old man. When he saw him fall to the ground, he thought it was an act and rolled up his sleeves to continue. Guan Xing quickly grabbed his belt and advised, "Forget it, let's run quickly, lest he try to extort money from us and ask us for medical expenses and compensation for emotional distress."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei suddenly came to his senses and quickly raised his hand to stop him, saying, "Xingguo, stop! Send two people to lift Mr. Yuan into the carriage."

He could ignore Guan Xing's scolding and watch the show without worry. After all, scolding won't kill anyone. Besides, Guan Xing was saying things that he wanted to say but couldn't say himself. With such a good mouth, how could he bear to stop him?

But Zhang Bao beating someone is different; it's possible that he could actually kill someone. Yuan Hui can't die, at least not in front of him. Otherwise, how would the gentry of the Central Plains view him, and how would the people of the world view him?

He also wanted to use Yuan Hui's reputation to win over the gentry of the Central Plains. If he killed Yuan Hui, wouldn't the gentry of the Central Plains collectively oppose him?

Besides, although Yuan Hui is annoying, he is still useful. How can he die when his remaining value has not been fully exploited?

Liu Bei quickly stepped forward and pulled back his two nephews, Guan Xing and Zhang Bao, who were too rough with their hands. He then ordered his men to lift Yuan Hui into the carriage and leave quickly.

On the way, everyone continued to chat and laugh as if nothing had happened. When the Jiangdong gentry chatted, they would occasionally look back at the timber on the river. Seeing the timber made Guan Xing seem much more pleasing to the eye.

Although Guan Anguo forced everyone to pay the down payment for the houses, he also personally went into the mountains to cut down trees. If these high-quality timbers were used for his own house, the money spent wouldn't seem so wasteful.

So it seems Guan Xing is not bad; at least he does his job when he gets paid.

Shi Xie also had his eye on Guan Xing's timber. During his casual conversation with Liu Bei, he turned around and casually said with a smile, "General Anguo, I am old and my days are numbered. I urgently need a top-quality coffin. Your golden nanmu..."

Guan Xing laughed and said, "No problem, General Shi. You can talk to me about anything. I'll give you a 10% discount, but if you want me to deliver it to Jiaozhou and deliver it to your door, you'll have to pay extra."

You can't skimp on shipping costs. In this day and age, shipping costs are often more expensive than the product itself. If you have to pay for shipping, you'll lose a lot of money.

Shi Xie was stunned. You want money back?

Liu Bei awkwardly kicked Guan Xing and said speechlessly, "Go away and play somewhere else. What have you been learning from Mi Fang?"

After dismissing Guan Xingcai, he said to Shi Xie, "Children speak without thinking, General Shi, please don't take offense. I'll have someone select the best timber and send it to you later."