Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 228 The Crown Prince's affected manner and composure reveal a magnanimous spirit!

After Liu Bian left Zhangde Hall, he immediately dispatched fifty guards from the Crown Prince's residence to escort Liu Man back to her sleeping quarters in the Southern Palace.

After the guards had marched away in formation, he raised his hand to straighten the wrinkles in his black brocade robe, looked at Ju Shou, and said loudly, "It would be fine if you and I rode in the same carriage."

After speaking, Liu Bian did not wait for Ju Shou to accept or refuse. He lightly swept his sleeve across the carriage shaft and boarded the carriage. Ju Shou naturally had no choice but to board the carriage as well.

Liu Qing and Cai Yuan, the two young princes, naturally did not leave together. The crown prince had military affairs to attend to, and the two young princes had no suitable reason to leave.

Inside the carriage, the air was filled with the scent of sandalwood.

Liu Bian sat on a soft cushion, his dark robes billowing like water, his right hand tapping the carriage wall intermittently.

After Ju Shou entered, he sat opposite the Crown Prince. Gao Wang, who was serving him, saw that Ju Shou's forehead was covered with fine sweat and he was breathing heavily. He knelt down and poured a cup of honey water from the gilded water jug ​​in the carriage, bowed and handed it to Ju Shou: "Please accept this, Commander."

Ju Shou, who was covered in sweat from running, naturally cast a grateful glance at Gao Wang. After accepting the honey water, he returned the bow and said, "Thank you, Attendant Gao."

Liu Bian silently accepted a warm bowl of kudzu root hangover soup from Gao Wang, took a small sip, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

The soup, even before the kudzu root's hangover-relieving properties take effect, has a spicy and sour taste that already removes the slight intoxication, and is even a little too refreshing.

After regaining his senses, Liu Bian removed the waterproof raw cowhide bag that wrapped the bamboo slips. Using a specific tool, he matched the shape of the sealing wax on the outside of the bamboo slips with the shape of the wax seal before peeling it off.

Sealing wax exists to ensure the confidentiality of information. Its shape and specifications have strict requirements, and there can be no slight deviation. Otherwise, the person who seals the seal will be punished.

Gao Wang knelt beside Liu Bian, his left hand steadily holding the candlestick. By the light of the candle, Liu Bian stared intently as he read the battle report sent by Huangfu Song.

A moment later, Liu Bian's eyebrows twitched slightly. His slender fingers rolled up the bamboo slip and put it into his sleeve. He pursed his thin lips and remained silent, ignoring the questioning gaze that Ju Shou cast at him. He simply turned his head slightly and looked out at the starry sky outside the carriage curtain.

Ju Shou didn't know whether the Crown Prince was happy or angry, so he dared not speak and could only swallow his doubts.

When Dong Huang drove the carriage to Yong'an Palace, Liu Bian slowly entered the side hall used for office work. All the officials of the Crown Prince's residence who were on duty that night stood up and bowed to the Crown Prince. However, the Crown Prince raised his hand and gestured for them to sit down. He casually threw the battle report on the table with a calm expression. His eyes were as calm as an ancient well, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or worried.

This expression made many people scratch their heads in frustration, but the Crown Prince just wouldn't say whether he had won or lost.

If we win, we should discuss the matter of returning to base, how many people to leave to garrison Liangzhou, and the subsequent rewards.

If we are defeated, we should prepare to transfer troops from various states in the Guandong region to the Sanfu region, or summon the large army from Bingzhou to provide support. At the very least, we cannot lose the Sanfu region as well.

Ju Shou, who had been holding back all the way, considered himself quite composed, but faced with this "out-of-the-box" question, he couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, how is the battle in Liangzhou going? What was the Left General's report about?"

Liu Bian leaned against the jade table, took a sip of the hangover soup, and said calmly, "General Zuo has already defeated the enemy."

After speaking, Liu Bian stretched and walked towards his bedroom in his wooden clogs, placing the open battle report on the table with a barely perceptible smile on his lips.

The crowd was puzzled. Since they had defeated the Crown Prince, they should be happy. So why did he look neither happy nor sad? Did he win or lose?

Once the Crown Prince's figure disappeared around the corner of the corridor, everyone could no longer contain their curiosity and immediately gathered around the table. Ju Shou rushed forward, snatched the battle report, and quickly skimmed through it. Suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed, then handed the report to Ruan Yu, ordering him to read it aloud to everyone.

Ruan Yu accepted the bamboo slips with both hands, his clear voice echoing in the hall.

Your subject, General Song, respectfully reports to Your Highness the Crown Prince:

Your subject led the elite troops in a hunt at Jincheng Yuzhong in Liangzhou.

At dawn, taking advantage of the fog, they launched their attack. Liu Xuande, the Commandant of the Changshui Army, and Zhu Gongwei, the Governor of Liangzhou, secretly led their troops from the north and Longxi to join forces, flanking the enemy from both the north and south. The three armies fought valiantly, breaking through the enemy's fortifications like dry leaves. Xu Gongming, under the command of Liu Zhengli, the Protector-General of the Army, captured the bandit leader Beigong Boyu in the enemy camp. Zhang Yide, the Commander of the Hu Cavalry, bound the rebel leader Bian Zhang in the chaos of battle. Cao Zixiao, the Left Cavalry Supervisor of the Imperial Guards, beheaded the traitorous general Li Wenhou in battle.

In this battle, 49,000 were beheaded and more than 31,000 were captured. The remaining enemy forces numbered about 30,000 to 40,000, and I have led my troops in pursuit day and night.

This victory report will surely comfort Your Highness's hopes and reassure the people of Sili. Your Highness awaits our news of victory!
"Song respectfully reports this."

Huangfu Song won!
Not only did they win, but it was an unprecedented victory for the Later Han Dynasty in the Liangzhou region!

The largest victory for the Later Han dynasty in Liangzhou was the pacification of the Qiang in the first and second years of Jianning by Duan Jiong. In the two battles at Fengyi Mountain in Anding Commandery and Shehu Valley in Hanyang Commandery, a total of 38,000 Qiang people were killed. Apart from the 4,000 people who surrendered before the battle, there were no prisoners. More than 420,000 head of livestock were captured.

However, Duan Jiong, that murderous bastard, never discriminated between soldiers, the elderly, women, and children when beheading them; he even slaughtered all the prisoners. His beheadings were far less substantial than those of Huangfu Song.

Huangfu Song beheaded 49,000 and captured more than 31,000, all of whom were actual soldiers of the rebel army!

The population reported by Liangzhou last year was only about 700,000. The Qiang and Hu people nominally accounted for only 30%, but the population of the Qiang and Hu people was difficult to count. Many Qiang and Hu tribes that submitted to the government chose to bribe local county officials to conceal their population and pay less tax.

After all, the Qiang people were incredibly prolific, with families typically having at least ten children. Such a tax, including both the poll tax and the tax on taxes, would almost deplete the entire income of such a large family. If the court were to conscript Qiang and Hu volunteers, the family would inevitably starve to death.

However, the Qiang people like to have a large number of children, regardless of whether they can afford to raise them. Moreover, they always believe that the children who survive must be healthier and stronger. In the end, they chose to restore the control of the prefectures and counties, and put the taxes that should have been handed over to the court into the pockets of these people in exchange for concealing the population and ensuring the survival of their families.

Therefore, the total population of Liangzhou should actually be close to 900,000, and the Qiang and Hu people should account for nearly half of it, that is, about 400,000.

The beheading of nearly 50,000 people was enough to cripple the Qiang and Hu tribes, not to mention the 30,000 prisoners. If Huangfu Song were to press his advantage and pursue the enemy, there probably wouldn't be any major rebellions in Liangzhou for the next ten years!
But the Crown Prince remained completely calm and composed.

Tian Feng stroked his long beard, recalling the Crown Prince's expression just now, and couldn't help but sigh, "The Crown Prince's affected manner shows his composure and magnanimity!"

Those who are pretentious suppress their emotions.

"Pretentiousness and suppression" refers to the suppression of emotions, making it impossible to guess one's intentions; "magnanimity" refers to the demeanor and elegance of an emperor.

Ju Shou nodded in agreement. Although such behavior seemed too mature, the Crown Prince was indeed becoming more and more like an emperor.

At this moment, inside the palace, Liu Bian, whom Tian Feng had described as having "the capacity of a high-ranking official," finally shed all pretense and cunning. Unable to contain his joy any longer, he laughed and paced back and forth in the palace, performing an ugly dance. Anyone who came in would have been momentarily convinced that the late Emperor Taizu Gao had been resurrected in the middle of the night.

Suddenly, with a crisp "crack," the teeth of Liu Bian's wooden clogs broke, and he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Gao Wang hurriedly tried to step forward to help him up, but was pushed away.

Liu Bian simply lay down on the ground, still unable to stop laughing, releasing his wild joy in the quiet night.

At this moment, Liu Bian was genuinely happy. The successive victories in Bingzhou and Liangzhou meant that the biggest military crisis in the entire Later Han Dynasty had been temporarily resolved.

He finally took the sword off his neck!

Having weathered these two crises, he will have at least ten years of stable development.

Ten years is enough time for him to accomplish many great things!
-

From the Biography of Xie An in the Book of Jin: After Xuan and others defeated Jian, a messenger arrived with a letter. An was playing Go with his guests at the time. After reading the letter, he put it on the bed without any sign of joy and continued playing Go as before. When the guests asked him why, he slowly replied, "The young ones have already defeated the enemy." After finishing, he went back inside. As he crossed the threshold, he was so happy that he didn't notice that his clogs broke. Such was his affected composure.

The Book of Jin, Biography of Huan Chong: At that time, Xie An had already sent his nephew Xuan and Huan Yi and other troops. Huan Chong said that they were not enough to make a difference. He summoned his assistants and sighed to them, "Xie An has the capacity of a high-ranking official, but he is not good at military strategy."

(End of this chapter)