Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 159 White Jade Beauty
Liu Bei had made a decision in his mind, but he still had to find out the situation in Xia Pi before taking any action.

If Cao Mengde had not attacked Xuzhou, Zuo Rong would have served as the prefect of Xia Pi County for a longer time. Perhaps at this time he would have built many Buddhist temples and recruited a large number of believers.

Previously, he was appointed by Tao Qian to supervise the grain transport in Xia Pi, Pengcheng and Guangling counties. He killed people at will and accumulated a lot of money.

Liu Bei sent a minor official to call Mi Zhu to inquire about Zuo Rong's construction of a Buddhist temple in Xia Pi.

Mi Zhu thought about it and bowed his hands, saying, "Your Excellency, Zuo Rong should not act rashly. Lord Tao is ill, and he has become more and more bold. He has built Buddhist temples in Xia Pi County and recruited believers. He even exempted believers from corvée and taxes, so that many people have converted to Buddhism. Believers have voluntarily donated money to support the temples. He took the opportunity to recruit 10,000 followers and started making weapons and arrows."

"At that time, Lord Tao also wanted to send soldiers from Danyang to fight, but unfortunately many people were deceived by Zuo Rong and became believers, acting as spies in the village to pass on information. Zuo Rong found out after two or three days of the soldiers' march and promptly dispatched soldiers from the county to guard the city. Lord Tao was ill and was afraid that it would provoke a rebellion in Xuzhou, which he would not be able to stop, so he had no choice but to withdraw his troops."

When Liu Bei first heard about Zuo Rong's approach, he couldn't help but frown. What a guy, whether it was exempting taxes and corvée or using the people as eyes and ears, it was almost the same as him.

The difference is that he exempted taxes in order to develop the government soldiers, while Zuo Rong had to resolve the matter as soon as possible in order to make more money. If he delayed it any longer, Xia Pi County might have become a Buddhist country.

Liu Bei thought to himself.

"Envoy, this matter needs to be handled with caution. Don't act rashly."

When Mi Zhu saw Lord Xuande nodding thoughtfully, he was afraid that it would incite rebellion in Xia Pi, so he hurriedly tried to persuade him.

"Don't worry, Zi Zhong. I won't act rashly." Liu Bei said with a smile.

If he took action, he would certainly do it with lightning speed, catching the enemy by surprise and leaving them no time to prepare, and then rush into the camp and capture them.

If Tao Gongzu was so slow in mobilizing troops and his subordinates were not cavalry, it would be strange if the enemy did not react.

Bo Tu also used all his strength. In order to prevent Zuo Rong from escaping upon hearing the news, he had to bring the Huben Cavalry and the Ruichong Battalion, quickly block him in the city, dig tunnels, destroy the city walls, and then kill him in the city.

We can't let him gather his followers and believers, otherwise he won't be able to be controlled by just killing a small number of people.

"Envoy, Zhu has something to ask of you."

Mi Zhu looked a little embarrassed and bowed.

"Zi Zhong, you and I have been friends for many years. If you have anything to say, just tell me." Liu Bei said with a smile.

Unexpectedly, he soon regretted speaking too early.

Mi Zhu asked, "Your Excellency, your younger brother Mi Fang wants to be appointed as a state official. He feels that he is not in a position to ask for the position, so he asked me to come and ask. I heard that many people have been dismissed from the state official list, and they need to recruit new scholars. Mi Zifang begs your Excellency to let him have a try."

Liu Bei immediately understood that this was a way for Mi Zhu to get him some backdoor help.

The Xuzhou prefecture was the same as that of Yanzhou, with many clerks, scribes, chief clerks, chief recorders, councilors, and miscellaneous officials, all of whom were there to eat and do nothing.

Why did he transfer Man Chong, Mao Jie, Gao Rou, and other people who were good at laws and regulations to Xuzhou? It was because the officials in Xuzhou were too outrageous. When the documents and records from the treasury reported by the accounting officials were checked with those from the counties, either they did not match those from the state or the county.

The counties and townships could be coordinated with the prefectures, but Liu Bei could see at a glance that the two levels of counties and prefectures were definitely deceiving their superiors and concealing the truth, secretly colluding with each other to falsify the accounts. During the last six months when Tao Qian was seriously ill, he was no longer able to control the counties of Xuzhou.

These officials thought that there was no one to restrain them, so since Xuzhou had a new owner, they would take the opportunity to make a fortune.

Moreover, the law does not punish the masses. How could Lord Xuande gain a foothold in Xuzhou without the help of these local nobles and powerful families when he first arrived in Xuzhou? The nobles and powerful clansmen who served as officials in various counties were skilled in modifying the numbers in the accounting books, while the prefects and county governors of various counties turned a blind eye and colluded with the nobles.

Since the Han Dynasty, whenever prefecture and county officials arrived in a place, they would generally select local noble families and wealthy families as Gongcao and Zhubu as Changli to be in charge of the official affairs of the entire county in order to win the support of the nobles. After the officials took office and left, the court would appoint other officials, and they would also need people who were most familiar with the local situation and had power as clerks.

Officials would come and go in turns, but the powerful and aristocratic families would always be in office and their influence on the local people would grow.

The famous scholars who emerged among them used their power as senior officials to control the public opinion in the village, manipulate the elections of county and township elders, and take root in the village.

This is also one of the reasons why the rebellion of powerful people can inspire the people to rebel together.

If you meet a prefect or county governor with a weak character, their power will be directly stripped away by the subordinates. You will be satisfied with your respect for your master, but don't even think about the real power. To put it nicely, you will be ruling by doing nothing.

If they meet a sensible governor, local celebrities will take the initiative to promote his reputation, saying that the governor is in control of the country and can rule the country by lying down. If people believe them, they will really become puppets.

The gentry and powerful families at the end of the Han Dynasty were said to be brave and would become obedient if one or two members of their clan were killed.

Even though they were timid, they dared to plot to depose and enthrone Emperors Liu Hong and Liu Xie.

Liu Bei was filled with emotion. He realized that only by employing the cruel officials of the Legalists could he govern the prefectures and counties that he had captured without bloodshed.

Just like a seriously ill person, if no surgery is done and no blood is shed, there must be some serious illness hidden inside the body.

Although the state was in urgent need of clerks, Liu Bei was still unwilling to allow Mi Fang to become a state official through connections.

Holding Mi Zhu's arm, he said earnestly, "Zi Zhong, I don't know how Tao Gongzu appointed officials, but nowadays, state officials must be examined. The reason why I streamlined the officials is to select useful talents for appointment."

"If Zifang has extraordinary talent, let him come and examine it. If he really can't do it, he can be awarded a title when he succeeds, and your brother will still be a rich man."

Liu Bei thought about it and decided that if Mi Fang could really pass the examination, he would keep him by his side as an official. If not, he could let him go out as a businessman. In the future, it would not be impossible to confer a title on him for the sake of Mi Zhu and the Mi family.

"Mi thanks you, envoy."

Mi Zhu bowed deeply in gratitude. He knew of course that Mi Fang was just an ordinary person. Apart from being quite proficient in mercenary business, he might not be able to pass the examination of Zhang Zhao, Zhuge Jin, Chen Jiao and other scholars to become a clerk.

With Lord Xuande's words, as long as Mi Fang didn't make any big mistakes, he would be guaranteed wealth and honor in the future.

"My Lord, there is good news coming."

Just at this moment, footsteps were heard, and Guo Jia walked in with a smile in his eyes. Seeing Mi Zhu was there, he paused and bowed to him.

"What's the joy again?" Liu Bei asked curiously.

Guo Jia handed over a scroll of documents and said with a smile, "When Chen Hanyu, the Prime Minister of Pei State in Yuzhou, heard that the nobles of Xuzhou had presented the envoy with a beautiful concubine, he also found a beautiful white jade beauty in Pei and presented her to the envoy. Now he has sent servants to escort her in a carriage, and she will arrive in Tan County in a few days."

"Congratulations to my lord on getting another concubine, who will bring more offspring to our Han family."

(End of this chapter)