Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 30 Lu Zhi is observing

The first month of the third year of Chuping.

The emperor, who was far away in Chang'an, issued a general amnesty.

The slightly chilly early spring breeze blows against the doorstep.

The stove in the house was burning brightly.

"It has been snowing heavily for three days in a row. This year is much colder than in previous years." Sitting on a mat couch in the study, Lu Zhi wrapped himself in a fur robe unconsciously, with a nostalgic look on his face.

Lu Zhi wore a egret crown on his head. He was over sixty years old with gray hair on his temples, but he was still tall and thin, and looked energetic, without any sign of hunchback.

After saying that, no one responded.

Suddenly I saw that Liu Bei, who was sitting opposite me, seemed to be troubled.

After looking him up and down for a while, he asked, "Why is Xuande suddenly so worried?"

Liu Bei came back to his senses, looked away from the hot tea set, and said thoughtfully: "To be honest with you, Master Lu, I will resettle the people held hostage by the Yellow Turbans in Jinan and Le'an. It has been snowing heavily these days, and I am afraid that many people will freeze to death."

Before that, the Yellow Turbans who had surrendered after being persuaded by Guan Hai in the vicinity of Li County and Gaoyuan County were dispersed and settled, and Qian Zhao was urgently transferred to Le'an to cooperate with a hundred officials in the county and Zhang Fei's garrison.

Arrange the remaining matters.

Guan Yu, who is still in Jinan, and Jian Yong, the Gongcao who is in charge of government affairs, will not be changed for the time being.

However, all the plans were disrupted by the sudden heavy snow in the past few days. The snow was so thick that all county affairs were suspended.

Fortunately, at the end of last year, Liu Bei issued an official document to Pingyuan County, asking the county's scattered officials, as well as the village officials, as well as the pavilion chiefs and pavilion soldiers, to visit every household to see if there is enough firewood to prevent the inconvenience of cutting firewood in the cold winter.

The documents sent to the other two counties had already been delivered by express horse. The previous reply said that there was a shortage of manpower and it might take a while.

However, heavy snow blocked the roads and frozen the rivers, and Liu Bei was worried about the situation.

Lu Zhi was silent for a while, then smiled and said, "I think both of you are capable of doing practical work, not just boasting."

"Since we have given it to them, why not let them have a try? If we are always worried, how can the people under us be able to take charge?"

"As for..." Lu Zhi paused for a moment.

"As for the people held hostage by the Yellow Turbans, you handled them quite skillfully, Xuande. If you had followed the example of Yizhen and Gongwei, the Qingzhou Rebellion would probably not have been quelled so quickly."

What Lu Zhi was talking about was the repeated killings of surrendered soldiers by Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun.

"Everyone has his own destiny. The Yellow Turbans were originally rebels. Now that they have surrendered and forgiven their past, it is already a generous gesture from the imperial court. We do not want the country to suffer more calamities."

"Besides, I heard that their daily necessities were not confiscated, so the situation may not be that serious. Xuande, don't worry."

The reason why Lu Zhi was so familiar with the situation in each county was that he had already reached Pingyuan when the Han army was still at the gates of Linji City.

During the months when Liu Bei was away on the expedition, Lu Zhi visited Pingyuan County and several places in Jinan, and only then did he understand what Liu Bei had done in the past few years.

The knights sang the song, the common people followed them, the nobles were frightened and the county officials were loyal to them.

At that time, Lu Zhi was so frightened that he almost thought that his master had met with misfortune and would soon lose his reputation.

If the world had not been in chaos, Lu Zhi would have immediately submitted a petition to the court to transfer Liu Bei away and then kill him immediately.

This is far beyond what an ordinary prefect can touch.

A few words immediately emerged in Lu Zhi's mind: "With Tai'a in hand, I can establish my own kingdom."

If it were three years ago, when Emperor Xiaoling was still alive, he would have immediately lied that he had the imperial seal, and then rushed into the army to quickly capture Liu Bei.

But later, when he saw his disciples leading the army back, and the soldiers' eyes full of enthusiasm and support, he couldn't help laughing at his own ignorance.

As soon as the great banner moved, the soldiers under his command immediately became motivated and rubbed their hands to fight. They saw that the formation was well-organized, the morale was strong, and there was a murderous aura in their hearts.

Even from a distance one can feel their absolutely fierce and powerful army on the battlefield.

Lu Zhi had been a general for many years, so he naturally understood what a strong army meant.

He immediately understood that even if the envoys went faster or in greater numbers, they would be captured on the spot. It would be impossible to rush into the enemy camp and capture the commander.

Unless he sent warriors to ambush and kill him from behind, he might be able to achieve success. But I heard that Liu Bei also had many brave generals under his command, and he himself was also very brave, so I'm afraid it would be difficult.

He originally wanted to leave, but with the intention of acting as a spy, he planned to learn more and then report to the court to eliminate the evil.

But after spending more than a month with Liu Bei, he was shocked.

From his disciples, Lu Zhi discovered that they had both the chivalrous spirit of Emperor Gaozu and the courage and decisiveness of Liu Zhang, Marquis of Zhuxu.

Emperor Xiaoxuan also had the habit of understanding people's sufferings despite his humble origins.

This made Lu Zhi feel at a loss.

What kind of disciple did he accept in the first place?

He never taught his disciples these things.

How can he teach if he himself can't do it? Even if he can do it, he wouldn't dare to teach. Exterminating three clans is no joke.

He had met Liu Bei once when he was fighting against the Yellow Turbans in the first year of Zhongping, but the situation was completely different then.

Lu Zhi stayed there with complicated feelings.

He didn't know why he stayed. Perhaps it was because he saw the endless chaos in the world and saw something completely different in his disciple from others, which made him subconsciously want to grasp this straw to save the dying country.

Perhaps it was because he was too old to support the Han Dynasty anymore.

I feel more and more that my health is not as good as before. I guess it is because I fought in the battlefields and suffered injuries which cost me a lot of life.

I have seen many officials who are blinded by greed and fighting for their own selfish interests, regardless of the lives of the country and the people, and only care about devouring the last remaining vitality of the Han Dynasty.

He had many wives, concubines and beautiful maids, and his home was filled with mountains of treasures.

In this situation, we suddenly see that although Liu Bei is pursuing personal gain, his mansion is simple and poor. He has no dancing maids or kept musicians, and he has no desire for luxury and enjoyment.

As for his lust for women, he only recently took a concubine, Guan from Pingyuan, and that was after repeated persuasion from the powerful families.

From his conduct, we can see that the people’s livelihood is difficult. He is frugal in conduct, personally manages government affairs, and governs with great diligence.

As he said in the letter: "I want to spread justice to the world, but I am troubled by my family background. It took me several years to become a county governor. I dare not delay in fulfilling my life's wish."

Lu Zhi was filled with emotion. He sighed as he thought of everything. "Xuan De, you have suffered a lot these years. I have experienced ups and downs in my career since I started fighting the Yellow Turbans. It is difficult for me to protect myself, let alone take care of my disciples."

Liu Bei laughed secretly and said, “Master Lu, your career has not been full of ups and downs, it has clearly been full of ups and downs!

Just because of your upright and strong character, it is extremely difficult for you and I, master and disciple, to meet again in this life."

"If I hadn't brought you to Qingzhou, you would have become Yuan Shao's prisoner again."

Liu Bei also sighed and shook his head.

Lu Zhi was upright but not tactful. Not long after Liu Bei arrived in Le'an, he received a secret letter saying that someone had been circling around Pingyuan and trying to make indirect suggestions to the people and officials.

He thought he was doing it secretly, but he didn't know that as soon as he turned around, someone went to the county government to report him.

It is said that there was an old man with white hair who was secretly asking about Lord Liu's affairs, his governance, and other county ministers.

A few days later, another messenger stationmaster brought news that an old official from Youzhou had been keeping the lights on late into the night for several days, and no one knew what he was planning.

Liu Bei was training his auxiliary soldiers in Linji when he suddenly received a secret letter from the rear. He was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Master Lu would never have dreamed that almost everyone in the county is my spies.

If Liu Bei had not written back to ask his attendant Liu He to monitor the local knights and prevent them from being disrespectful to Lu Zhi.

With such sneaky movements, he would probably be beaten by the rangers and then taken to the county government office before the police could catch him.

Liu Bei thought: "If I had evil intentions, I would never wait for you to see me..."

Lu Zhi didn't expect that his disciple Liu Bei had already figured him out.

(End of this chapter)