Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 56 Whoever doesn’t pay is a collaborator with the bandits!

On the fourth day of October in the sixth year of Guanghe, the crown prince and the General of the Central Army Huangfu Song, who was in charge of suppressing rebellion, led a large army and arrived outside the city of Changsha.

The chief of the city, Xun Chen, had already been waiting outside the city gate. He leaned forward slightly, with his hands folded and bowed respectfully in front of him. The people in the city also knelt neatly on the side of the road, with their heads lowered, not daring to breathe, and quietly welcomed the royal army.

Xun Chen looked at the mighty and majestic army before him and immediately knelt before Liu Bian and Huangfu Song, saying earnestly, "Your Majesty, I, the head of the Changshe community, Xun Chen, pay my respects to His Majesty the Crown Prince. On behalf of the people of this city, I thank His Majesty the Crown Prince for sparing my life!"

"Thank you, Prince, for saving my life!"

Following the words of President Xun Chen, the people along the road also expressed their gratitude.

Liu Bian's lips curled up slightly, revealing a gentle smile. He dismounted and quickly walked over to Xun Chen. He extended his hands and gently helped Xun Chen up. "Xun Youruo, you've staged a wonderful show of the common people offering food and drink to welcome the royal army, haven't you?"

As he spoke, Liu Bian carefully brushed the dust off Xun Chen's legs, smiling and teasing, but his eyes could not hide the joy.

Which king would not be happy to see the people welcoming the royal army? This really satisfied Liu Bian's vanity greatly.

But no matter how happy he was, Liu Bian still didn't like the local officials wasting people's money and time on this matter, thinking it was not worth it.

It’s like building a palace. Isn’t he different from Liu Hong, who doesn’t like living in a luxurious palace and listening to music and watching dance every day?
It's nothing more than restraining desires.

Faced with the prince's enthusiasm, Xun Chen took the initiative to dismount and help him up, and even brushed the dust off his body. He couldn't help but feel flattered.

Xun Chen quietly looked at Xun Yu behind the prince. He knew that his younger brother had been assisting the prince in military and political affairs these days, and was even more favored than Chen Lin, Qian Zhao and other people who had become officials of the prince's mansion earlier.

But even if Xun was about to become a relative of the emperor, and his younger brother became the crown prince's new favorite, he wouldn't love the whole family so much, right?

Xun Chen took a deep breath, collected himself, and regained his composure. He replied calmly, "Your Highness has misunderstood. With over a hundred thousand Yellow Turbans besieging the city, the people believed their lives were in danger, destined for death at the hands of the bandits. Unexpectedly, a messenger left the city at night to request assistance, and your reinforcements arrived that very night."

"The people's action is actually a spontaneous kneeling to thank the grace of saving their lives."

What Xun Chen said was indeed from the bottom of his heart.

He also didn't expect that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would be so decisive and send all the cavalry to raid the Yellow Turban camp at night.

He was leaning on the top of the city wall and looking at the battlefield. He saw fires and the deafening sounds of fighting in the distance, and he also saw the cavalry retreating calmly after their victory.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bian just nodded slightly.

He knew that while Xun Chen's words were sincere, the people's gratitude was probably exaggerated. However, he did not point this out. Instead, he seized the opportunity to establish his image as a wise ruler. He slowly bowed to the people and spoke sincerely, "You are all my subjects. It is my fault that you have suffered such a disaster."

The people were terrified and fell to the ground with their foreheads pressed against the ground. It was not until Liu Bian's carriage entered the Changsha County Government Office that they stood up carefully under the command of the clerks, received the reward of grain, and dispersed.

In the county government office, Liu Bian sat in the main seat and ordered Xun Chen to summon many wealthy families in Changsha City to hold a celebration banquet for this great victory.

During the banquet, Liu Bian directly grabbed Sun Jian's arm and half-pushed him to sit next to him.

Sun Jian fought this battle so brilliantly that he lost more than half of the 120,000 Yellow Turbans, while his own losses were 79 Tunqi, 218 Yulinqi and 587 Sanhe knights. The total casualties were less than 900, and he even defeated six major camps of the Yellow Turban Army.

To be honest, even the veteran general Huangfu Song was shocked by this record, and even suspected that Sun Jian had falsely reported his military achievements.

It wasn't until Sun Jian returned victorious and recounted the battle in detail that everyone realized how lax the Yellow Turbans' main camp defenses were, lacking even a single barricade. It was a mob scene like no other. After the battle, the military commander compiled the cavalrymen's recollections of the number of enemy killed and wounded, estimating the number to be over 15,000. Even if only these 15,000 were counted, Sun Jian, the commander-in-chief, would have likely earned the title of Marquis of Guannei.

During the banquet, Liu Bian raised his wine cup in one hand, raised his arm high, and raised Sun Jian's arm with the other. His face flushed, he said loudly: "Gentlemen, the preservation of Changsha was all due to the bravery of Sun Wentai, right?"

"Your Highness is right. Congratulations to Sun Tunqi!"

"Yes, congratulations to Sun Tunqi!"

Everyone echoed the sentiment, and the sound of flattery for Sun Jian was endless, making Sun Jian feel a little dizzy for a moment. His cheeks flushed and his eyes were blurred. He didn't know whether it was the imperial wine that intoxicated him, or the flattery that intoxicated him.

"In that case..."

Everyone thought the Crown Prince was going to congratulate Sun Jian, but Liu Bian chuckled softly, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he changed the subject, "In this battle, Sun Tunqi lost many soldiers and horses, and no fewer than three thousand horses. Our army is suppressing the rebellion, and the daily expenditure on food and fodder is enormous. I wonder if you gentlemen would be willing to contribute to our army's financial assistance?"

Wow!
Liu Bian's words were better than the most effective hangover soup, and all the wealthy families in the room sobered up instantly.

The prince is here to blackmail us!

Liu Bian snorted in his heart, a hint of displeasure flashed across his face. Did he really think he didn't know?
If it wasn't him, the crown prince, who personally led the army to quell the rebellion, but Huangfu Song as the commander-in-chief, wouldn't these wealthy families immediately send money and food to Huangfu Song in the hope that Huangfu Song would do his best to ensure the safety of Changsha City?
Why, when I, the prince, personally led the troops to suppress the bandits, you, the representatives of various families, refused to pay the life-saving money?

Could it be that you took kickbacks from all the benefits given to me by various companies?!
"The nobles and officials of Luoyang, though unable to fight, have donated countless war horses, bows, crossbows, and fodder to the national crisis." Seeing no response, Liu Bian's face darkened. He slammed his hand down on the table, spilling the soup, and said coldly, "Why are you so hesitant?"

Guo Tu's eyes rolled, and he stood up and left the table. Pointing at the representatives of the wealthy and powerful families, he said, "Someone here must be secretly communicating with the Yellow Turban rebels. I beg Your Highness to find this traitor and execute his entire clan as a warning to others!"

When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked and their faces turned pale in an instant.

This is clearly a heart-breaking statement!

If you don’t donate money, you will be accused of colluding with the Yellow Turbans?
But no one dared to speak out and refute, allowing Guo Tu to investigate thoroughly. After all, they all had some ties to the Taiping Dao, so who could claim to be completely innocent?

Besides, Guo Tu is obviously a cruel official. Even if there is no evidence, he can fabricate evidence for you.

"I am willing to provide 1,500 dan of grain and fodder!"

"I still have a hundred fine horses at home!"

Seeing the enthusiastic donations from various families, Liu Bian smiled warmly and turned to Guo Tu, saying, "Gong Ze, look at you, always accusing someone of colluding with the Yellow Turbans. I see that all the gentry here are 'men of virtue', how could you be so?"

"You are obviously drunk. Why don't you leave and sober up immediately?"

Guo Tu also resolutely admitted his mistake, bowed to the prince and said: "I spoke carelessly after drinking. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Seeing that the prince simply defined Guo Tu's words as drunken gaffes with just one sentence, these wealthy families could only sigh helplessly.

When Guo Tu left, he gave the representatives of the aristocratic families a provocative sneer.

You don’t have to give it to me. The prince never forces others!
However, if you don’t give it to me, the prince will send troops to quell the rebellion!
　The writing platform seems to be a little weird recently. Sometimes after I finish writing, I will make revisions based on typos and grammatical errors pointed out by readers, and I will also polish and refine it before publishing. But from the few days before the Spring Festival until now, it seems that the situation where the chapters before and after the revisions always appear at the same time seems to appear. I don’t know if it’s a version conflict and then an error occurs. If readers see this, please be sure to tell me. Thank you!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)