Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 169 Many people have recently fallen into wells and drowned!
On the 25th day of the fourth month of the seventh year of Guanghe (868), in Yong'an Palace...
Liu Bian propped his head up with one hand, his elbow resting on the table, his brows slightly furrowed.

The early summer heat is like a layer of sticky gauze, seeping in bit by bit, making people feel weak and drowsy.

The cicadas in the forest seemed to be competing with each other, their sharp chirping piercing his ears and adding to his irritability, making him restless and unable to sit still.

Suddenly, a commotion came from outside the hall. Liu Bian's already annoyed expression instantly hardened, and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes, causing an inexplicable surge of anger to rise in his heart.

"Great news! Your Highness! Great news! Great news has arrived!"

Gao Wang's face was flushed, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Holding a memorial in his right hand, he ran wildly through Yong'an Palace, his clothes fluttering wildly with his running. He completely disregarded the rules of the palace and rushed straight into the side hall.

But Gao Wang seemed to suddenly realize his rude and disrespectful behavior of running around in the palace. He hurriedly bent his knees and tried to kneel down to beg for forgiveness, but because he was running too fast, he couldn't stop for a moment. His knees hit the ground heavily and he slid two steps with the inertia, but just then he handed the memorial to the Crown Prince's desk with both hands.

"Your Highness... Your Highness, General Wei's report of victory has arrived!" Gao Wang gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

Looking at Gao Wang's somewhat comical appearance, Liu Bian's originally tense lips unconsciously turned up slightly, and he shook his head and smiled lightly. Then he immediately resumed his rigid expression, raised an eyebrow, and pretended to scold, "As a dignified eunuch and the assistant of Yong'an Palace, how can you be so flustered? What kind of behavior is this!"

Gao Wang smiled apologetically, his eyes narrowed into slits, and said nothing. He hurriedly unfolded the bamboo slips with both hands and carefully placed them on the shelf on the Crown Prince's desk.

Liu Bian gave a soft hum, leaned forward slightly, and looked down at the victory report written by Ju Shou and stamped with the seal of General Wei. His fingers gently stroked the edge of the bamboo slip.

The urgent postman traveled four hundred li a day, taking two days to travel from Taishan County to Luoyang. Ju Shou, as the military clerk, maintained a frequency of reporting to him every two days, providing detailed reports on all matters, large and small, within the military.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Zhu Miao, Ju Shou, Huang Zhong, and others; it was just that the court and the gentry and common people needed a piece of good news to boost morale and increase their confidence in the court.

However, with the successive rebellions of the Qiang and Hu people in Liangzhou and the Xiongnu people in Bingzhou, most of the people in the Three Rivers region used their surplus money to purchase grain.

After all, if the Qiang and Hu tribes of Liangzhou were to invade the Three Auxiliary Regions, their military might could directly target the Three Rivers region. Alternatively, if the Xiongnu of Bingzhou were to break through Bingzhou, they could also launch a high-altitude attack on the Three Rivers region. Therefore, even though the people generally believed in the fighting power of the Han army, they could not help but feel fear and anxiety.

Therefore, Liu Bian had people take the battle reports sent by Ju Shou and have them edited by Chen Lin, the Junior Chamberlain, together with Lu Cui, Ruan Yu, and the Five Classics Doctors, to write a "court gazette" in vernacular Chinese that the people could understand, so that the people would know the progress of the battle at the front.

After writing it down, he ordered the postmen to deliver it to the counties of Sanhe, and then the county magistrates and chiefs of each county were responsible for making it public to the people. They also sent people to deliver it to the villages immediately, and from the villages to the pavilions, so as to inform the people of Sanhe of the progress of the war with the imperial court.

The official gazette actually existed as early as the Former Han Dynasty, but it was not the kind of newspaper that was open to the public in later times. Instead, it was more like the official eyes and ears of local prefectures and kingdoms.

Each prefecture or state established a "di" in the capital, which was similar to a "liaison office" of the prefecture or state, and was responsible for transmitting information between the central government and local governments.

The "Di Li" (officials stationed in the capital) collected information from the central government, copied it, and sent it to local prefectures and kingdoms through the postal system. They were also responsible for forwarding reports from local prefectures and kingdoms to the court.

However, the "Di Li" was only responsible for transmitting information and had no other powers. Moreover, the "Di" was an office set up by the prefecture or state itself, not a formal administrative agency set up by the central government. The prefecture or state officials paid for the "Di Li" to rent houses and pay their salaries out of their own pockets.

These official gazettes circulated only within the prefectural and state governments and were not open to the general public. However, the official gazettes issued by Liu Bian in the Sanhe region were open to the public. Up until Hu Wugao cooperated with the army to capture Fenggao City, all the victories reported by the court were announced to the people in the form of official gazettes.

In particular, the stories of the Taishan bandits who were moved by the king's way and raised troops to join the righteous cause, and the story of Hu Wushi of Fenggao who served the bandits but eventually turned against them, were the focus of the official gazette. Zang Ba, Chang Xi, Sun Guan and other Taishan bandits, as well as Hu Wushi and the powerful families of Fenggao County behind them, all became the beneficiaries of this trial of the official gazette.

In short, the contents of the official report can be roughly summarized as follows: wherever our country and army went, the people welcomed them wholeheartedly, truly taking full advantage of the right time, place, and people!
"Yes, this battle was fought well. My second uncle is indeed good at recognizing and employing people."

After reading it, Liu Bian nodded slightly. Although his tone was calm, the smile that unconsciously curved the corners of his mouth was unmistakable.

The report stated that after Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun led 2,000 county soldiers and 20,000 able-bodied men to evacuate Fenggao City, 22,000 of their men fled under cover of night, and they could not be stopped. Even the county soldiers who were in charge of supervising the able-bodied men fled with them.

After killing several deserters with his weapon, Zhang Chun coerced the rest to return to the ranks, but was instead surrounded and killed.

Knowing that the situation was hopeless, Zhang Ju led more than three hundred trusted followers to flee southeast, intending to become an outlaw in the Linle Mountains.

Unexpectedly, Zhang He had already asked Zhu Miao for permission to lead a thousand cavalrymen around Liangfu Mountain and ambush Zhang Ju on his only way to escape to Linle Mountain.

Of course, Zhang He was just trying his luck.

After all, the only possible escape route was in the area near Leshan. Zhu Miao didn't care much, as he still had two thousand cavalrymen in his army, more than enough to pursue and intercept them. So he let Zhang He go.

Zhang He never expected that he would actually block Zhang Ju and successfully capture him alive. This great achievement made all the generals and officers in the army envious.

"Hmph, considering the bravery of the soldiers on the front lines and their great victory, I will spare them from severe punishment today." Liu Bian closed the bamboo slip in his hand, a faint smile on his lips, and gently tapped Gao Wang's head three times, saying, "Go, personally prepare a bowl of chilled plum juice for me and all the ministers. If it tastes bad, then I will punish them severely."

Gao Wang bowed with a grin, a sly glint in his eyes, and said, "Your Highness, Liu Ruzi has already prepared chilled plum juice for Your Highness and all the ministers. It is currently chilling in the ice chest. This servant would not dare to show off my skills in front of Liu Ruzi's expertise."

Half a month ago, Liu Qing was promoted to Crown Prince's heir, making her the only female mistress in the Crown Prince's palace at present.

"You're lucky. Lianyi just happened to help you avoid punishment. Go and thank her yourself." Liu Bian chuckled and pointed at Gao Wang. There was no trace of blame in his words, only a smile.

The prince's retainers in the side hall were already used to this kind of drama. This Attendant Gao always had all sorts of strange and unusual methods, and even went so far as to make a spectacle of himself to amuse the prince and relieve his worries.

The Crown Prince knew that this Attendant Gao was flattering him, but he only criticized him verbally, or ordered him to slap himself a few times, or to prepare some drinks, or to have Gao Wang prepare some pastries. These were all minor punishments and instructions, clearly just playful banter between master and servant. The Crown Prince's retainers should just treat it as a farce and have some fun, and not take it seriously.

If anyone truly believes that this Attendant Gao is foolish, or that His Highness the Crown Prince dislikes this Attendant Gao who repeatedly "makes mistakes," and wants to replace him or impeach him...

Hehe, it's been so hot in the palace lately that quite a few eunuchs have fallen into the well and drowned while drawing water.

(End of this chapter)