The Law Applies Even to the Exalted, and All Generals Submit

The Law Applies Even to the Exalted, and All Generals Submit

Seeing Liu Bei was about to take the punishment in his stead, Zhang Fei immediately lost his composure.

If Liu Bei punished him, he could grit his teeth and endure it.

But Liu Bei taking the punishment for him was something he simply couldn't bear.

For a moment, all the grievance in his heart vanished. He hurried forward, grabbed Liu Bei, and said:

"Elder brother, no! You absolutely must not do this!"

"I alone broke the rules. How can I let you suffer in my stead?"

"Please get up quickly, elder brother. I won't dare do it again!"

But upon hearing this, Liu Bei felt sorrow in his heart and said through tears:

"Don't stop me from receiving punishment. If you truly meant to change, why would you have waited until today?"

"In the past, I repeatedly warned you that drinking in the army and flogging soldiers were forbidden, that they would surely bring disaster one day."

"But did you listen? Every few days, you broke the rules again."

"Now it seems it was all my fault. Losing Xuzhou is a small matter, but what if you lose your life someday? What then?"

"You, Guan Yu, and I swore brotherhood in the Oath of the Peach Garden, promising to share hardship and fortune alike. If you cause trouble someday, how could Guan Yu and I go on living alone?"

"Rather than regret it in the future, I would rather take the punishment for you!"

Having said this, he looked up at Xu Shu.

"Yuanzhi, do it. From today onward, if Yide breaks military discipline again, he need not be punished. I will bear it all in his place!"

"If he flogs a soldier, I shall repay it upon my own body tenfold!"

"Even if he beats me to death one day, it will only be because I, his elder brother, failed to teach him properly!"

At these words, Zhang Fei's eyes reddened. He gripped Liu Bei's hand tightly and said:

"Big brother, elder brother! Don't do this. I know I was wrong!"

He had had no brothers since childhood. His parents had died early, and after leaving home, he had long regarded Liu Bei and Guan Yu as his closest family.

His earlier display of temper had only been because he couldn't stand seeing Liu Bei suffer such indignity.

How could he have imagined that Liu Bei would react this way?

Thinking of how Liu Bei had gone to such lengths in hopes that he would mend his bad habits, while he himself had always been so willful, Zhang Fei felt deeply ashamed.

If these blows landed on Liu Bei, he truly wouldn't know how he could face his two elder brothers afterward.

Hearing this, Guan Yu was also deeply moved. He hurriedly crouched down and gently urged:

"Elder brother, Yide knows his mistake. Please rise."

Seeing this, the other generals hurriedly joined in urging him:

"My lord, please rise! You must never submit to punishment!"

Xu Shu watched this and nodded to himself before stepping forward to persuade him as well.

This was precisely the method he had suggested to Liu Bei.

Because he knew that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei differed from others. They followed Liu Bei entirely out of personal affection, without any ties of interest.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei complemented one another and supported one another. None of the three could be absent.

Thus, whether through words or harsh punishment, there would be little effect on those two.

The best method was to use brotherhood and loyalty to restrain them.

And this was also what Qin Tian had hinted that he should do!

Why did Zhang Fei dare to drink in the army? Where exactly lay the problem?

Was it because military discipline wasn't strict enough?

Or because Liu Bei had indulged him?

Or because Zhang Fei was rebellious by nature?

Xu Shu pondered for a long while before finally discovering the root of the problem: the authority of the Liu Bei Army's military law was insufficient!

In other words, the Liu Bei Army's military law only worked on lower-ranking officers, not on Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei themselves!

For an army, that was absolutely a fatal flaw.

As the saying went, those below followed the example of those above. In an army, once military law held no power over commanders, its deterrent effect on lower-ranking officers would likewise become minimal!

For now, it was only Guan Yu and Zhang Fei breaking the rules. In the future, it might be other officers.

After all, everyone knew Liu Bei was kind and benevolent. Over time, they would stop taking military regulations seriously!

In that case, no matter how strict the army's management was, it would be of little use.

Look instead at the rules under Cao Cao. So long as a regulation was set by Cao Cao, Cao Cao himself would be the first to obey it!

That was also why the Cao Army possessed such formidable combat strength.

Therefore, to resolve the issue with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, the only way was to begin with Liu Bei and enforce military law and discipline seriously!

Under military law, no one could stand above it, including Liu Bei!

That way, the authority of military law would immediately be established!

In the future, even if Guan Yu and Zhang Fei wanted to break the rules, they would have to consider whether they could bear the consequences!

And Liu Bei taking his two brothers' offenses upon himself and punishing himself would be the decisive stroke!

If Liu Bei punished himself, it would be something neither Guan Yu nor Zhang Fei could accept.

For men like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who could face ten thousand enemies, their heads could be severed and their blood could be spilled, but the word loyalty could never be betrayed.

If they knew Liu Bei would take punishment for them and still chose to violate the rules, that would be disloyalty to Liu Bei.

This would very quickly establish the authority of military law.

It would remove the Liu Bei Army's greatest hidden danger!

Thinking of this, even Xu Shu couldn't help but marvel at Qin Tian's keen insight.

Before even entering public service, he had been able to spot so many hidden dangers at a glance and propose solutions.

Such ability wasn't something one could learn merely by reading books.

However, his goal had now been achieved, so Liu Bei no longer needed to take the punishment in Zhang Fei's stead.

He came to Liu Bei's side and said:

"My lord, since General Zhang already knows his fault, spare him this time."

"If there is a next time, it won't be too late to punish him then!"

Seeing this, Zhang Fei hurriedly said:

"What sir says is right. I know I was wrong. I won't drink or beat people again. Elder brother, please rise."

But despite everyone's pleas, Liu Bei's face remained firm.

"The laws of our army were all established by me. When my brothers violate them, it is no different from my own violation. If I am not punished today, how can I convince the masses?"

Having said that, he turned to Guan Yu.

"Yunchang, you have read the Spring and Autumn Annals and understand great righteousness. You will carry out the punishment today!"

Seeing Liu Bei like this, Guan Yu's lips moved, but for a moment, he couldn't speak.

When Guan Yu remained silent, Liu Bei looked toward Mi Fang and Fu Shiren.

"You two, come carry out the punishment!"

Seeing this, the two generals both dropped to their knees.

"My lord, we absolutely dare not!"

Liu Bei's eyes widened as he shouted:

"This is a military order. Do you dare disobey it?"

None of them had ever seen Liu Bei so fierce. All of them were filled with fear.

Knowing they could not refuse, the two generals exchanged a glance and stepped forward tremblingly to take the military staff.

Seeing them approach, Zhang Fei's leopard eyes widened. He quickly rose and glared at them.

"With me here, who dares strike my elder brother?"

But Liu Bei flew into a rage.

"Yide has defied a military order. Add twenty military blows! If you defy orders again, I will add another twenty!"

Hearing Liu Bei add more and more punishment, Zhang Fei felt his heart tremble. He turned back, knelt on the ground, and said tearfully:

"Elder brother, don't add any more! It was my fault!"

"I won't dare defy military orders again. Please don't add any more, elder brother!"

Sixty military blows would leave even them with damaged muscles and bones.

Not to mention that Liu Bei was far less powerfully built than they were.

Seeing this, Liu Bei gritted his teeth.

"Since you know your mistake, carry out the punishment at once!"

Hearing Liu Bei once again order the punishment, Zhang Fei wanted to rise but didn't dare. He could only turn his pleading gaze toward Xu Shu.

Seeing the current scene, Xu Shu knew Liu Bei truly intended to establish authority through himself today. He couldn't help but admire him inwardly. Noticing Zhang Fei's expression, he thought for a moment and said:

"My lord, please wait. The Spring and Autumn Annals speaks of righteousness: the law is not imposed upon the exalted."

"As the lord of an army, how can you punish yourself?"

"Even if you take the blame in another's stead, you should not receive as many as sixty military blows. The great cause before us is paramount. In my view, why not administer ten blows first? General Zhang can receive thirty himself, while the remaining twenty may be held in reserve for now!"

When Zhang Fei heard Xu Shu reduce the sixty blows to ten, he was immediately overjoyed.

"Yes, yes, yes! Just hit me!"

"My offense deserves these thirty military blows!"

Before Liu Bei could object, he threw himself facedown onto the ground and turned back to shout angrily:

"Come! Carry out the punishment!"

Seeing this, the soldiers had no choice but to step forward and carry out the sentence.

Guan Yu stroked his beard and sighed.

"What elder brother said is correct. Third brother's fault is also due to we elder brothers failing to keep him in check. I will take the remaining twenty military blows!"

He immediately looked toward the soldiers behind him.

"Bring the military staff. I will receive twenty blows myself!"

He had always cherished his soldiers. Seeing this, the soldiers all hesitated and remained still.

Guan Yu narrowed his phoenix eyes.

"Do you also wish to defy orders?"

The soldiers didn't dare resist and could only obey.

Seeing Guan Yu and Zhang Fei act this way, Liu Bei was moved to tears.

"Second brother, third brother, why must you do this?"

The staff was now falling upon Zhang Fei's backside. Enduring the pain, Zhang Fei forced out a smile.

"It was clearly my fault, yet I have burdened both elder brothers with punishment. It truly shouldn't have happened. Rest assured, elder brothers, I won't dare do it again!"

Guan Yu also smiled faintly.

"Elder brother just spoke of sharing hardship and fortune alike. Now that elder brother and third brother are being punished, how could I dare keep myself apart?"

"Good, good! It is enough that second brother and third brother understand my painstaking intentions!"

Liu Bei was so moved that tears streamed down his face.

The surrounding generals were all moved and filled with emotion.

From then on, the three brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei each received a round of military blows. After that day, no one in the Liu Bei Army dared privately violate the rules again.

All the generals in the army sincerely submitted and no longer dared harbor private resentment.

PS: Once again, this book will be released tonight. Since it first launched on Q Reading, it is being released earlier there. It seems members here may be able to read it for free. If you didn't see the supplement added to the previous chapter, you can take a look; I won't waste everyone's money repeating it here.