Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 64: Land Survey in Two Counties

The Liaodong army collapsed at the sight of this and collapsed like a broken dam.

Armour and weapons were thrown everywhere, and no one cared about the baggage carts and weapons scattered all over the camp.

The Qingzhou army was chasing them closely from behind, and if they rested they would die here. No one dared to hesitate. The Liaodong soldiers tore off their armor piece by piece while running, and they felt much lighter.

Suddenly, his feet felt faster and he ran even faster.

The auxiliary soldier who ran back first did not dare to stop even though he was almost out of strength, for fear of being beheaded.

In order to catch up with their comrades, some people threw away all their belongings and only kept some dry food to fill their stomachs.

Seeing this, the Qingzhou army's light cavalry raised their bows and shot arrows, hitting the target with every shot.

The knights holding lances moved back and forth, and facing the defeated soldiers who had abandoned their armor, it was as easy as threading a gourd.

When the Liaodong soldiers heard the sound of approaching horses' hooves, they ran for their lives, fearing that the long-handled spears would pierce through their backs and into their chests, leaving large bowl-shaped holes.

Their lord Gongsun Du fled by changing horses all the way until the cavalry horses were out of breath and only stopped to catch their breath when dusk approached.

With the help of his confidants, Gongsun Du staggered off his horse, with the insides of his legs rubbed bloody.

He sat on a rock, took the water bag handed to him, and took a few gulps.

He lowered his head and looked at his disheveled hair on his chest. The mark of the warhorse's reins remained on his palm for a long time.

Gongsun Du said bitterly: "How could I end up like this, so miserable..."

In the attempt to escape, several horses died.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the hired Hu cavalry ran away to who knows where.

Thinking about the more than 20,000 infantrymen under his command whose lives were unknown, he couldn't help but feel sad.

The situation is hopeless now. If I don't hurry back to Liaodong to stabilize the situation, I'm afraid even Liaodong will be lost. After this defeat, I'm afraid I'll never have the chance to set foot in Qingzhou in this lifetime.

After resting for half an hour, I heard the sound of horse hooves from behind, and there were quite a few people.

Gongsun Du and his cavalry had no intention of fighting again, fearing that they would be entangled by the enemy, so after shouting and cursing, they rode their horses again and continued on their way.

After running for a long distance, they received a report from a scout that the people following them were Goguryeo people.

This made everyone, including Gongsun Du, feel relieved. They were currently very wary of the Qingzhou army.

Liu Bei certainly wanted to pursue the enemy at night, but he had too few cavalry and the enemy still had only two thousand cavalry left.

In case there is someone brave enough to launch a counter-ambush.

It will make this big victory ugly in the end.

Therefore, after the sunset, they withdrew their troops back to the city and captured five or six thousand surrendered soldiers.

Liu Bei said to Qian Zhao: "Disperse the surrendered soldiers and send them to various counties to do lifelong labor service to atone for their sins in Donglai County."

Qian Zhao nodded, this is a good idea.

No matter how much you hate him, you cannot kill him, otherwise it will not only affect Xuande's personal reputation.

However, this battle was already a rare victory, with only 3,000 men defeating 30,000 enemies, and Xuande will become famous throughout the world again.

Qian Zhao said secretly.

The combat soldiers and auxiliary soldiers had already killed many enemies during the pursuit. Apart from the surrendered soldiers, only three or four thousand of Gongsun Du's infantry escaped.

For Gongsun Du, it was a tragic defeat that was unforgettable.

Liu Bei was feeling a little annoyed. He looked towards the north and sighed. Gongsun Du was bound to run away, and his assistants had to guard the surrendered soldiers. Moreover, the entire army needed to rest for three or four days after fighting hard.

I'm afraid that old villain Gongsun Du can't catch up. If he had 3,000 more soldiers, he could chase him all the way until he killed him.

But fortunately, at least the purpose of the expedition was achieved, and Donglai could have ten years of peace. By that time, the old man was not dead yet, so Liu Xuande would personally lead his troops to Liaodong to meet him and reminisce about the past.

...On June 11, Liu Bei arranged the affairs of Donglai County and met with many famous nobles. There were many relatives of the early Han Dynasty here. Even the descendants of Liu Fei, the King of Qi, came to establish a relationship with him.

There are also the Wang and Hou Shi families from Ye County.

But at this moment, the wealthy families were feeling extremely painful as they had been slaughtered by Gongsun Du of Liaodong. Liu Xuande wanted to execute the entire family on the charge of colluding with rebellion.

The troops of these people were almost all destroyed by Gongsun Du's conscription, so they had no choice but to donate generously to redeem themselves from minor crimes.

Liu Bei was not polite at all to the powerful families who were swayed by the wind.

First he flirted with Yuan Shao, then Gongsun Du led his army across the sea and turned back. Now seeing Gongsun's defeat, he turned around and paid a visit to Liu Bei, the governor of Qingzhou.

I will side with whoever has more power.

Since he had come here, he couldn't make a wasted trip. Liu Bei simply took advantage of the great victory to re-implement the Land Measurement Order issued by Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu in Beihai and Donglai, causing the powerful people to complain.

The two counties were ordered to measure the land, re-verify the household registration, correct the reclaimed land, population and taxes, and investigate the land of unknown origin.

Although the land measurement order was often implemented during the Eastern Han Dynasty, its effectiveness became weaker and weaker as time went on, and finally it became just a formality.

Liu Bei is now serious about his actions. He wants to make an example of some powerful people who want to rebel before the army returns.

He once deliberately said at the banquet: "Gongsun Du killed all the powerful families who refused to obey the conscription. Now I am following the example of Emperor Guangwu in measuring the land. Can't I also kill all the powerful families who violate the law?"

When this word spread, many powerful families dared not resist.

Even if they dare to resist, the clan members with less land in their clan will come forward to report them, and at least they can make amends for their crimes.

There are at least hundreds of relatives in the villages and clans of the wealthy families in various places, and many of them live in poverty. The direct relatives do not share their family property with the clan relatives, so why should they share the difficulties together?

In the eyes of those clans, the direct descendants usually take up most of the enjoyment, while our branch clan can only get some benefits, have no chance of getting any good things, and will be doomed to suffer the disaster of clan extermination.

Even if we are blood relatives for generations, who would be willing to share the burden with you?

Because of Liu Xuande's reputation of keeping his word, his reputation was widely known in Qingzhou, including women and children.

The wealthy families did not dare to try and could only be forced to carry out Liu Bei's orders.

When the officials, nobles and Confucian scholars in Beihai heard the news of another land survey, they were all horrified.

After so many years, no one has a clean bottom.

They all went to find Kong Rong, the Prime Minister of Beihai, and wanted him to plead for them, saying that they needed to think twice before proceeding with the land measurement.

Kong Rong didn't care and said, "Xuan De is a member of the Han royal family. There is no one more suitable than him to help the country and eliminate the evils."

"We should follow the law with regard to the local nobles. If anyone dares to rebel, why not attack and destroy them?"

"Beihai has already received favors from Xuande, and he is also the governor of Qingzhou. What's wrong with adjusting the land?"

Someone retorted: "Lord Xuande is only a provincial governor, not a governor. What right does he have to manage all matters?"

Kong Rong gave him a strange look and said, "Lord Lu has asked someone to submit a petition to appoint Liu Xuande as governor of the state. The time is almost up."

"You can only say these rude words to me. If you say them outside, the rude knights in the market will not let you go."

The man was so frightened that he dared not speak.

Kong Rong waved his hand and told them to go back and make arrangements and just focus on farming, as it was not something they had not done before.

It has continued from the time when the dynasty was first established to the present day, but the execution was poor in the past, allowing many people to take advantage of loopholes.

I'm not asking you to make up for all the taxes you've evaded, so why risk your life and property against Xuande's sharp blade?
He had long seen that Liu Bei was the kind of person who could not tolerate any sand in his eyes.

The troops are currently stationed between Beihai and Donglai, waiting for someone to show up so they can launch a lightning strike.

After Kong Rong finished his persuasion, he stood up and saw the guest off.

　Thanks to my book friends Fucheng Rice Noodle Farmer and Shao Nian Yong Bu Fa Ke for their tips!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)