Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 162 Liu Bei: I Don’t Know Everything

At Xia Pi Buddhist Temple, Zuo Rong was recruiting believers and cleaning the roads inside and outside the temple in preparation for the Buddhist scripture festival to be held the next two days.

This is not done to make it convenient for people to sit on the ground, but to show the grandeur of the Buddhist temple.

Zuo Rong knew very well that the common people had no money, and only the wealthy families who were frugal and had a full house were his real target.

More than once he had thought of killing the wealthy and powerful, robbing them of their money, and then running away to other states. Although his house was also full of gold and jade, who would complain about having too much wealth? He only hated that it was too little.

When Cao Song passed through Xia Pi and carried more than a hundred carts of baggage to Yangzhou, he was so jealous that he couldn't sleep well for several days, as if he had an itch in his heart.

Even the escorting captain Cao Bao refused to join him in the attack, which resulted in the loss of hundreds of cartloads of money. The former Grand Commandant Cao Song was known to be as wealthy as a king, so letting him escape was tantamount to losing hundreds of millions of wealth, which was heartbreaking.

Zuo Rong later angrily scolded Cao Bao, saying he was as stupid as a deer or a pig, which led to their rift and they never spoke to each other again until they died.

In order to prevent Cao Bao from transferring county troops to harm him, Zuo Rong won over many garrison commanders and military marquises, and recruited his subordinates to work for him, and only then was he able to completely suppress Cao Bao.

Although many of the soldiers selected by Zuo Rong from among his believers were fearless, they had little experience in military drills. They relied entirely on Zuo Rong's Buddhist scriptures to boost the morale of the soldiers.

"Rumble..."

Hundreds of people were cleaning in front of the Buddhist temple when they suddenly heard a muffled thunder. They looked up and were a little puzzled to see that the sky was clear and there was no sign of rain.

But after a few breaths, one person looked at them with wide eyes, his face turned pale instantly, his lips trembled violently, and he pointed to the front and said, "Cavalry...Cavalry..."

An overwhelming force of cavalry appeared in front of them, with nearly 4,000 riders, each with three horses, making a soul-stirring sound, and heading towards the Buddhist temple.

The closer they got, the more they could see the soldiers wearing armor and holding eight-foot-long spears. The hundreds of soldiers guarding in front of the Buddhist temple with swords in their hands hadn't even reacted before the charge killed them all, and screams and wails were heard everywhere.

In the plains, they were caught off guard and faced with armored cavalry that was several times their number. Not to mention these troops who had not experienced much fighting, even Liu Bei's previous opponents such as Yuan Shao, Liu Dai, Cao Cao and others would have been frightened if they encountered a surprise attack by Liu Xuande leading the cavalry on the battlefield.

Not to mention the small fry recruited by Zuo Rong, who didn't care about anything else when they met the cavalry and ran away, exposing their backs. Seeing this, Liu Bei stopped giving orders and directly charged towards them with great force.

The group of believers brought by Zuo Rong couldn't stop them for even a moment.

Seeing that the Qingzhou cavalry had wiped out all the defending soldiers, the knights turned around and surrounded the Buddhist temple. The believers who were still cleaning in front of the temple finally reacted and ran towards the door in panic.

People living in Xuzhou had never seen such ferocious cavalry. They pushed and shoved their way through the door, but could not get in. Some timid people even screamed.

"Lord Xuande has issued an order. This time the crime is on Zuo Rong. Anyone who puts down his weapon and kowtows on the spot with his two palms will not be killed. Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy!"

There was a knight with his sleeves stained with blood as he rode his horse back and forth, shouting.

As if they had been pardoned, everyone clapped their empty hands together and bowed their heads to show that they had no intention of resisting.

With trust and devotion to the Buddha, believers can do whatever they want in the face of corpses and blood everywhere.

Previously, I wanted to avoid taxes and make life easier, but if it means risking my life, then forget it.

Didn’t you see that the soldiers who regarded the Buddhist scriptures as their golden rule were running away when faced with armored cavalry?
The chaotic sound of horse hooves and shouts of killing outside frightened Zuo Rong, the clerks and officials in the Buddhist temple so much that they didn't know what to do.

Zuo Rong reacted quickly and ordered his soldiers to block the door.

But when the knights shouted that Lord Xuande had come to the temple in person, they only wanted to execute Zuo Rong according to the law. They also listed the many crimes that Zuo Rong, the prime minister of Xia Pi, had committed. Finally, they said that the crime was only committed by him, and those who surrendered would not be killed, and those who dared to resist would be exterminated. Zuo Rong's knees were a little stiff after hearing this. Although he was still wearing Buddhist robes, it did not give him any comfort.

Except for his close confidants, the eyes of the rest of the people looked at him with flickering eyes.

Zuo Rong had a premonition that he might not be able to leave this Buddhist temple today, as the temple he had built would become his burial place.

Unexpectedly, Liu Xuande used letters to paralyze him. An hour later, he received the letter, and unexpectedly, Liu Bei arrived soon after.

If he had known earlier, he would not have burned the bamboo slips and would have known what the other party said to him in the end.

Thinking of this, Zuo Rong shouted fiercely: "Liu Bei has no mercy on officials. If you believe him, aren't you afraid of being violently killed by invaders in the future?!"

"This is wrong. Lord Xuande restored order in Xuzhou and many heroes followed him. Since you have forgiven us for the past, we should serve you. Moreover, Lord Xuande should be called the governor of Xuzhou. You, Zuo Rong, are a traitor. You directly addressed Liu the governor by his name and spoke disrespectfully. You are disrespectful and should be killed by everyone."

An official stood up and stood opposite Zuo Rong, shouting angrily.

Lord Xuande came specially from Tan County with his cavalry, making it clear that he wanted to consolidate the power of Xia Pi County.

Anyone who still stands on Zuo Rong's side will really be seeking his own death.

It would be fine if Zuo Rong died, but they, as officials with families and from local wealthy families, could not die with this bastard.

At his shout, the others came to their senses and joined the light, drawing their swords and fighting each other. For a moment, the Buddhist temple was filled with the sound of weapons clashing.

Not long after, Zuo Rong was attacked from behind and killed on the spot during the fight. His close associates were all killed by the officials' followers, and the secretary also died tragically among them.

Outside, Liu Bei stopped Taishi Ci and Dian Wei from leading their soldiers to attack the Buddhist temple.

The situation was hopeless, and if he sent people to shout that he should kill Zuo Rong, few people would resist him to the end.

We can just wait for them to fight among themselves and send over their heads. Why increase the casualties of the soldiers?

As the governor of three states, Liu Xuande gave enough face to personally go to pacify Zuo Rong. If he also asked his generals to go in with spears and kill the rebels when the enemy was surrounded, it can only be said that the local powerful families and officials were too ignorant.

If they want to unite to this extent, they will have to plow through all the powerful families near Xia Pi to prevent them from hindering them later.

Looking at the attic Buddhist temple being built, I thought that instead of wasting it, it would be a good idea to turn this place into an official agricultural school after the Zao Rong area is pacified.

If troops are mobilized against Yuzhou and Yangzhou in the future, the Xia Pi waterway conveniently connects the north and south water systems, and can transport corn and beans from Qingzhou and Yanzhou in a timely manner by grain boats, which is very suitable for mobilizing troops.

This means that Liu Bei will stay in Xia Pi for a longer time, so it is more appropriate to place the official agricultural school there.

Xuzhou is close to the Yangtze River system. If it does not have elite navy, it will be more difficult to conquer Jiangdong, Jingzhou, and eliminate Gongsun Du in Liaodong in the future.

The southern water system is full of warships of all sizes, such as large tower ships, frigates, and running boats. If you are prepared, you can defeat others; if you are not prepared, you will be defeated by others.

"We need to prepare and build a navy, and we also need to find talented people who are good at commanding naval battles."

Liu Bei clapped his hands and thought for a long time, and suddenly realized that he was good at horse fighting, infantry fighting, and chariot fighting, but he did not understand water fighting.

(End of this chapter)