Chapter 50: Wang Can's Thoughts

  The next day, early morning.

  Dong Zhuo sent someone to deliver the imperial edict appointing Wang Zan as the Governor of Hanzhong, and from then on, Wang Zan transformed into an official of the imperial court.

  Compared with Liu Bei who was still struggling and unfulfilled, Wang Can and Liu Bei were like heaven and earth.

  Although the situation is slightly better, Cao Cao is still trapped in Luoyang. Wang Can has already taken a step ahead and is at the forefront of the separatist forces.

  Wang Can gazed at the yellow imperial edict in his hand, his heart filled with excitement. After a long journey, he had finally achieved a major turning point in his life and become an official of the Great Han Dynasty. Putting away the edict, Wang Can instructed Pei Yuanshao to say: "Old Pei, go invite Feng Xiao, Gong Da, and Zhong De over, I have important matters to discuss."

  "Yes, milord."

  Pei Yuanshao replied in a low voice and then turned around to invite Guo Jia and the other two away.

  Wang Can was appointed by the imperial court as the Taishou of Hanzhong, and his identity had been made clear. He no longer needed to worry about the influence brought by the Yellow Turbans, so Pei Yuanshao's address changed from "Young Master" to "Master".

  Before long, Guo Jia and his two companions arrived at Wang Can's room.

  "My lord, I don't know what important matter you have summoned us for?"

  Cheng Yu bowed to Wang Can, then lifted his robe and sat down. Guo Jia and Xun You on either side also bowed to Wang Can, then sat down waiting for him to speak.

  Wang Can said: "Gong Da, what do you think of Hero Tower?"

  "Hero Tower?"

  Xun Yu was taken aback, and a flash of light suddenly appeared in his eyes as he exclaimed: "Is the lord planning to take Hero's Pavilion for himself?"

  Wang Can nodded and accepted Xun You's words.

  "It's a bit difficult to deal with this." Xun Yu stroked his beard and said in a low voice, "Although Shi Ah is the master of Hero Tower on the surface, the real master behind the scenes is Sword Master Wang Yue. Although Wang Yue doesn't hold an official position, he has been the emperor's teacher after all, and has made connections with many powerful officials. If our lord wants to take over Hero Tower, it might be a bit difficult. Moreover, Hero Tower has been established in Luoyang for many years, with a complex network of relationships, and who knows how many powerful officials are secretly supporting them. So if our lord wants to subdue Wang Yue, please think thrice before acting."

  Wang Can said, "I also know that the Hero Tower has a strong background, but the Hero Tower gathers people from all over the world, and it's a mixed bag of dragons and snakes. This kind of place is most suitable for gathering intelligence, if you can grasp the Hero Tower, it's like having a batch of scouts to gather information. Therefore, I had the idea of occupying the Luoyang Building."

  Xun Yu's eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his face showed a thoughtful expression.

  Cheng Yu heard this and also furrowed his brow. After all, Wang Yue was no ordinary person, and it would be somewhat difficult to subdue him.

  Guo Jia stroked his chin, where a few whiskers had sprouted, and smiled: "My lord, if you want to subdue Wang Yue, there is a way."

  "Oh, Filial Piety, what clever plan do you have? Quickly tell me and let me hear."

  Wang Can's face lit up with joy, and in his heart he secretly sighed that having a strategist was indeed good. Gathering thoughts and ideas, pooling their wisdom and strength, it seemed like subjugating Wang Yue would be a piece of cake. Although Wang Can had some ideas in mind, they were not perfect; with the strategist's suggestions, Wang Can could choose the best course of action and at the same time supplement his own thinking.

  Guo Jia shook his head and said: "My lord, what clever plan is there? It's all about power, wealth, and lust."

  Wang Can continued: "Tell me in detail, Xiaozhi."

  Guo Jia's right index finger gently tapped his knee, and he slowly said: "In the past, when Wang Yue was young, he arrived in Luoyang alone, bought a wine shop, and established the Hero Tower. At that time, Wang Yue also wanted to be an official, but unfortunately, Wang Yue was just a martial artist and didn't read the Four Books and Five Classics. Moreover, the aristocratic families of Luoyang had deep-rooted prejudices against commoners, so no one looked up to Wang Yue, who came from a humble background, and therefore he never became an official."

  However, relying on the reputation of Hero's Building, Wang Yue became more and more well-known to people, especially since his swordsmanship was unparalleled and unmatched by anyone else, which further increased his fame and earned him the title of the world's number one swordsman. Later, Emperor Ling heard about Wang Yue and summoned him as a swordsman, making Wang Yue the emperor's swordsmanship teacher. However, although Wang Yue appeared to have become an official on the surface, he had no real power. Therefore, Wang Yue was always dissatisfied and never achieved his aspirations.

  "Wang Yue is a person who views wealth and lust lightly, his only weakness being power."

  "The master wants to conquer Wang Yue, the only way is to start from his official position."

  Guo Jia was young, but he knew a lot and understood many things about Luoyang.

  Wang Can's face showed a puzzled expression after listening, and he asked: "Feng Xiao, since Wang Yue is an official enthusiast who wants to be an official with all his heart, why doesn't he rely on the powerful? Even if many aristocratic families have a door threshold concept, it can't be that all big family thresholds are like this, right?"

  Guo Jia smiled and said, "It's said that Wang Yue had also relied on several powerful officials who didn't have a gatekeeper mentality, but he could only hold positions like a guard official, without being entrusted with important tasks. After all, Wang Yue was just a martial artist, not well-versed in poetry or literature, and the powerful officials of Luoyang were all people who had long resided in Luoyang and didn't go to battle, so the kind of position that Wang Yue could handle would be something like a guard official."

  "Didn't Wang Yue ever take refuge with any other vassals?" King Can asked again.

  Guo Jia said: "After Wang Yue was disappointed several times, he gave up his mind to rely on the powerful and aristocratic families. However, later on, there were also people who successively recruited Wang Yue, but most of them were not sincere enough, or had no real power. Therefore, Wang Yue put his mind on the emperor, but even if Wang Yue became the emperor's swordsmanship teacher, he still did not get any official position."

  Wang Can nodded and smiled: "Hehe, this is indeed a bargain for me. It's really true that after searching everywhere, I got it without any effort."

  Guo Jia shook his head and said, "My lord, this matter is not so simple."

  "Why?" Wang Can's eyes gazed at Guo Jia and asked in a gentle voice.

  "Has milord thought of a suitable official position for Wang Yue?" asked Guo Jia with a smile.

  Wang Can said: "Isn't Wang Yue an official enthusiast? Let him take on a general, what's the harm, as long as he can satisfy Wang Yue?"

  "Your Excellency, Wang Yue is a martial artist, but he can navigate the complex relationships among the high-ranking officials in Luoyang. He must be a man of great tact and strategy. If you were to casually bestow an official position upon him, he might think that you value his influence rather than himself. Even if you do value his influence, you cannot reveal such thoughts; instead, you must show that you highly esteem Wang Yue's talent."

  "A gentleman would rather die than betray his friends."

  Guo Jia's eyes shone with wisdom as he spoke slowly.

  Cheng Yu continued, "Your Excellency, Feng Xiao is right. What you should do now is to consider a suitable position for Wang Yue, rather than recklessly recruiting him. Once the position for Wang Yue is decided, Your Excellency can recruit him."

  After listening to Guo Jia's analysis, Wang Can nodded his head. He had also thought that Wang Yue's weakness was his obsession with official positions, and using an official position to lure Wang Yue in, but he hadn't detailed what specific official position would be used to persuade Wang Yue.

  Fortunately, there was Guo Jia's analysis, so he didn't rashly recruit Wang Yue.

  Wang Can glanced at Guo Jia and the other two, his brow furrowed in thought.

  Wang Yue was a martial artist and did not understand military deployment, so he could not hold positions such as general or colonel; Wang Yue also did not understand poetry and books, so it was impossible for him to be a civil servant; at the same time, Wang Yue, such an arrogant person, would not go to do a logistics officer who transports grain, so arranging Wang Yue's position became a very difficult problem.

  Wang Cai thought about the official position that suited Wang Yue, from Qin Dynasty, Han Dynasty to Ming and Qing Dynasties. All the official positions that Wang Cai knew were considered one by one.

  Suddenly, a bright light flashed through Wang Can's mind.

  Having thought of a plan, Wang Can burst out laughing, with a triumphant smile spreading across his face.

  PS: Still four updates today, first update. It's great to be on the new book chart, so refreshing, please give me some motivation~~~