Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 109: Wild Grass and Bones
On the third day of October, a fast horse rushed to report that the imperial edict from Chang'an would be delivered to Pingyuan.

Li Jue appointed the Grand Tutor Ma Ritian as an envoy to Qingzhou in an attempt to win over Liu Bei.

The envoys from Dongjun to the imperial court in Pingyuan were all shocked as they went up the river. Many common people and soldiers worked together to control the flood, officials also took the lead, and local nobles also participated.

Children and women brought food and water, and worked hard in the fields, which made the officials from the court feel absurd. Is this still the Han Dynasty where the people are living in poverty, officials are greedy, wealthy families are causing trouble, and princes are fighting each other?

There was an endless stream of ships on the river, and merchants from various counties transported all kinds of supplies to the severely affected counties and towns by ships and horse-drawn carriages. Zhao Qi, the accompanying coachman, asked someone and learned that the Qingzhou provincial government had an agreement with the merchants, but the specific content of the agreement was unknown.

All we know is that after August, merchants from Qingzhou, Yanzhou, Xuzhou and Yuzhou traveled around the prefectures and counties of each state as if they were in the new year. Especially in the counties and counties that were hit by the disaster, the state governments allocated money from the treasury to purchase supplies, and the boats and carriages were loaded with many daily necessities, grain, millet and meat.

Ma Riti and Zhao Qi stood on the bank of the river, looking at the prosperous scene with people coming and going, and their eyes were almost popping out.

There are so many boats lined up along the river that you can't see the end of it.

The counties that had been hit by drought and floods were visibly recovering little by little under Liu Bei's forced intervention.

He took control of dozens of large and small wealthy families in Qingzhou, took the money that had been saved by their generations, and transferred it from the wealthy families to the hands of merchants, resulting in a short period of population and prosperity.

"Isn't that the cart made by the eunuch Bi Lan? I never thought it could be used to divert canal water to irrigate fields. How could the Shaofu not know that this cart could be used in such a wonderful way?"

Some of the accompanying officials saw that each ditch in the fields was about three meters high and flowed along with the water flow, carrying the river water further to irrigate the farmland.

I took a curious look and couldn't help but exclaimed, "What a great guy!"
No wonder it looks familiar. Isn’t it the instrument for pleasure that Emperor Xiaoling ordered the Ten Eunuchs to make?
If they are not kept in the palace, they can be placed in the fields to help with farming. I didn't expect that the officials in the various departments of Qingzhou are so good at using the tools.

When the court officials arrived in Gaotang County, they saw the soldiers ready for battle. They knew that the first drum was for the troops to be organized, the second drum was for them to practice their formation, the third drum was for them to eat, the fourth drum was for them to debate strictly, and the fifth drum was for them to set off.

When they were marching in formation, there was complete silence. When they heard the drums, they raised their flags and moved. There was a murderous look in their eyes. The army was so majestic that it could be called a dignified formation and a well-disciplined army.

The soldiers held their heads high and chests puffed out, looking arrogant and ready to sweep the enemy from all directions. Only those who have repeatedly defeated powerful enemies on the battlefield can display such momentum, and only strong soldiers and brave generals can have it.

Ma Riti whispered to the equally shocked Imperial Household Minister Zhao Qi, "How come the Guandong soldiers are even more ferocious than the Liangzhou troops currently in Chang'an? Could it be that Liu Xuande is another Dong Zhuo?!"

Zhao Qi shook his head without saying anything, still looking at the Qingzhou soldiers.

Zhao Qi, with white hair and beard, is over sixty years old. He has seen too many arrogant and domineering people in his life, from Liang Ji to He Jin and then to Dong Zhuo. A person who can love the common people will never have a murderous heart.

If he could stand in the shoes of a lower-ranking person and consider the other party a little, his reputation among the royal family would probably be no less than that of Liu Yu.

Moreover, what Liu Bei did was not isolated. Looking at the Han clan over the past few decades, Liu Xuande was not a descendant of Emperor Guangwu, and his actions were even better than those of the Later Han clan.

It's just that he was too good to the people and soldiers, which made him a little confused.

"It looks like the Qingzhou army is preparing to send troops again, perhaps to Yanzhou. Why should the Liu family kill each other and let the outsiders laugh at them?"

When Ma Riti saw the soldiers raising their flags and riding their horses southwards towards Yanzhou in the west, he could not help but sigh.

The imperial court was in decline, and the Lius did not join forces to help the country, but instead fought for their own selfish desires. This was the case with Liu Yan of Yizhou, Liu Biao of Jingzhou, and Liu Bei of Qingzhou. If the three families could work together to march into Guanzhong, how could the two thieves Li and Guo dare not return the emperor.

With the emperor's wisdom, if he returns to Luoyang and reorganizes the country, the Han Dynasty will be able to revive.

Ma Riti was filled with emotion. Even Liu could not be relied upon, so who else could the emperor rely on?

Why is the current situation similar to that of the period of King You of Zhou? The princes of the Ji clan all hoped that the Quanrong would invade Haojing, destroy the Zhou emperor so that they could re-establish a new monarch.

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed wrong. Ma Riti suddenly shook his head and threw away this ridiculous idea.

Zhao Qi didn't know what was wrong with him. He suddenly shook his head and smiled, saying honestly, "Without the garrison in Luoyang, the imperial court's authority has been destroyed. Everyone in the world knows this. How can we check and balance the princes in various places? Moreover, Qingzhou is the place where Duke Huan of Qi wanted to dominate. Whoever occupies it will definitely attack the other sides."

“When the situation is strong, advance; when the situation is weak, defend. This is an eternal truth.”

Ma Riti smiled bitterly and said, "Taifu Zhao sees things clearly. I understand the situation well. I just don't know how long we have to serve the thieves. We can't keep doing this forever, can we?"

The soldiers from Liang Province committed all kinds of atrocities in Guanzhong and plundered many women from the homes of ministers and nobles. The two thieves Li and Guo were even worse than Dong Zhuo. The gentry and wealthy families were all trying to escape from Guanzhong and Chang'an.

While the two men were talking, all the servants and followers around them had been sent away, so there was no need to worry about anyone reporting them to Li Guo.

Zhao Qi also sighed, "Thanks to you for bringing Cai Bojie's daughter out of Chang'an, otherwise she would have been defiled by the evil thief, and we would all be ashamed of Bojie."

Ma Riti could not help but say: "The prince is stubborn and self-willed, and is determined to kill Bo Ji. My repeated pleas are of no avail. The only girl left in the Cai family is an orphan, and I cannot bear to see her fall into the hands of thieves."

Cai Yan was beautiful, proficient in music and calligraphy, and grew up under the love and care of Cai Yong. If she were to be allowed to fawn on the two thieves Li and Guo, these close friends would have no face to see Cai Bojie in the afterlife.

After he finished speaking, Ma Riti added worriedly, "Although Zhaoji followed our cavalry back to Chenliu Yuxian to settle down, Liu Xuande has raised troops in Yanzhou. Chenliu may not be unaffected by the war. Even if she has relatives to take care of her, how can she, a weak woman, protect herself? I can't help but worry!"

"Besides, she brought back more than 4,000 volumes of books. Money can move people's hearts, and it is inevitable that her relatives will be moved."

Zhao Qi had no choice but to comfort him, saying, "Uncle Weng, don't worry. I have asked Zhang Miao, the governor of Chenliu, to take care of it. Even if someone wants to seize Cai Boqi's collection of books, they dare not act rashly."

"I heard that Liu Bei's military discipline is very strict. After attacking a city and defeating the enemy, he only controls the residences of officials, granaries, arsenals, and household registration locations. The soldiers do not occupy people's houses, take their grain, kill their livestock, or plunder their women wherever they go, to show the people that they have no intention of being cruel. His military style is similar to that of Sima Rangju, a general of Qi, who was widely known in Dongjun. He is not like the brutal soldiers of Liangzhou."

"I hope so." Ma Riti looked at the plains in the north and sighed lightly.

When will this chaotic world end? Countless people have died because of it. Many lives have been buried under the grass, and their bones are piled up with no one to bury them.

I recall that on the road from Chang'an to Luoyang, there was not a single sound of dog barking for a hundred miles, as if it were a den of ghosts. At that time, Dong Zhuo moved to Chang'an, and he killed people like wildfire wherever he passed, and the stench of corpses could be smelled for ten miles.

"Alas..." Ma Riti sighed and followed the convoy slowly northward. The plain was vaguely visible.

(End of this chapter)