Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 10: What are the preparations for the elder brother's inspection?
Perhaps he didn't want to reveal anything in front of others, or perhaps he was thinking about something else, Gongsun Zan didn't speak again.

Not long after returning to the county, Gongsun Zan summoned Liu Bei to his residence for a private meeting.

Liu Bei had anticipated this, and he even brought a gift with him before he went.

The gift was a food box containing several large flatbreads and two strings of five-zhu coins.

This was the relief that Gongsun Zan gave to the former Lang Ge when he was starving.

When Gongsun Zan saw the cakes and money, he sighed and gave Liu Bei a deep look. He shook his head and asked, "Why do you send me such a fine horse and these things, my worthy brother?"

“Brother Bogui, I treat you as I have always treated you, so I have given you all that I have… I wonder why you treat me this way?”

Now that there was no one else around, Liu Bei spoke very directly.

"...How did my brother Gongsun Yue die?"

Gongsun Zan did not answer, but instead asked about the cause of Gongsun Yue's death.

“I killed him. But he was already seriously wounded and surrounded. He didn’t want to fall into Yuan Shao’s hands, saying that if he were captured, Yuan Shao and Lu Shi would know that Brother Bo Gui was behind it all, and it might even bring disaster to his family…”

Liu Bei knew that Gongsun Zan must have some lingering resentment, so he simply admitted it directly: "He asked me to give him a quick death, and seeing that he was bound to die, I granted his wish. But I was afraid of death and dared not kill myself, so I confessed to the crime of being the mastermind and went to jail, so as not to implicate Brother Bo Gui."

This is half true and half false.

It's true that Gongsun Yue was injured at the time, and it's also true that the former Lang Ge claimed to be the mastermind, but that wasn't Lang Ge's reason for killing, nor was it his reason for claiming to be the mastermind...

Moreover, even if Gongsun Yue were to fall into Yuan Shao's hands alive, he would certainly only be imprisoned like Lang Ge, and his family would not suffer any misfortune, since Yuan Shao did not suffer any losses.

Of course, if Yuan Shao hadn't been trying to cultivate a benevolent image at that time, but instead insisted on being meticulous, then gathering a group of bandits to rob and plunder on the road could indeed have been a capital offense.

So it's normal to have the idea of ​​avoiding implicating the family at that time, after all, Gongsun Yue was only sixteen years old and very naive.

However, in any case, Lang Ge did not spit out Gongsun Zan at the time, otherwise Gongsun Zan would definitely have been punished. Although it was not a matter of life and death, he would definitely have lost his official position and future.

"...If that's the case, then it must be Yuan Shao who killed my cousin."

Gongsun Zan thought for a while and nodded in agreement.

He still seemed somewhat unwilling.

He accepted the box, picked up a cake, broke it in half, and handed one half to Liu Bei: "Brother, the Yuan family is powerful, and Zan still needs your help."

Liu Bei didn't take the half-cake, but stared at Gongsun Zan and said, "Brother Bogui, you may not know, but I've been waiting for you to rescue me in the Luoyang prison, only to hear that you've been recommended for the civil service and become an official..."

It was necessary to retaliate, otherwise Gongsun Zan would be even more uneasy.

In fact, Liu Bei usually didn't talk much when he was with Jian Yong and others. He never pretended to be enthusiastic or complained, and he didn't show his joy or anger on his face. But he was completely different when he was with Gongsun Zan.

Or rather, Liu Bei wouldn't play this game with his true brothers.

"...At that time, Prefect Liu of our prefecture was convicted of a crime, and I was busy running around for him. Afterwards, I was recommended for the civil service examination, but I was immediately ordered to go to Liaodong to fight. I really had no time to rescue my brother."

Gongsun Zan remained silent for a while before offering an explanation.

That's only partly true.

It is true that Gongsun Zan worked tirelessly to exonerate Liu Ji, the governor of Liaoxi, and therefore, after Liu Ji was exonerated, he recommended Gongsun Zan as a candidate for the civil service examination.

It is true that Gongsun Zan was immediately sent to Liaodong after being recommended for the civil service examination, but it is highly unlikely that he was too busy to help Liu Ji. He sought help from Grand Commandant Liu Kuan to exonerate Liu Ji. For Liu Kuan, it would have been easy to resolve Liu Bei's minor offense as well.

Liu Bei smiled and asked again, "Then, Brother Bo Gui... I still regard you as my brother, but I wonder how you regard me?" Yes, I was captured but didn't betray you, while you were 'too busy' to rescue me. I still regard you as my brother and would give you all my most valuable possessions.

But how can you be so shameless?

Gongsun Zan sighed, lowered his head, broke the cake in his hand, and stuffed it into his mouth piece by piece.

Only after finishing the half-eaten pancake in his hand did he look up again and say, "Brother, I am ashamed to be your elder brother. I have caused A-Yue's death and also caused you to be convicted... I am willing to make amends. Would you be willing to accept my offer?"

“I regard my brother Bo Gui as before. If my brother has any requests, I will certainly follow them.”

Liu Bei reached out and picked up the other half of the cake.

make up?

It should be a combination of making amends and causing harm.

"This county is plagued by numerous barbarian scourges; it is indeed appropriate to report to the prefecture to exile criminals who have been released from prison..."

Gongsun Zan looked at the cake in Liu Bei's hand and spoke slowly: "My worthy brother was previously punished because of me, so I appointed you as the military commander and led the soldiers to help you get out of punishment and gain merit... If you achieve military merit, you can be promoted to county commander, which will give you a future."

The term "谪戎尉" refers to the commander of a prisoner unit, roughly equivalent to a military officer.

Since most officials were unwilling to manage prisoner units, border prefectures would usually form their own separate units for the exiles, with a separate military officer in charge of managing them.

However, this position of military officer was only temporary.

Under normal circumstances, once the war is over, the prisoners are cleared of all their crimes and are all released. Naturally, the military commanders would not exist for long.

However, the formation of executioners usually requires an order from the prefect. The county magistrate can only make suggestions and recommendations, not directly appoint them, so the county magistrate generally would not do so.

But Gongsun Zan was no ordinary person...

His troops in Liaodong had just been seized, so he must be thinking of building his own private army.

In this way, Gongsun Zan was able to obtain the authority to form troops in a legitimate and legal manner, and gradually turn the troops into his private retinue.

This was a situation that Liu Bei had been subtly hinting at and guiding all along.

For Gongsun Zan, the best course of action was to use Liu Bei's name to build up troops in Zhuo County and then send Liu Bei to fight a battle.

If Liu Bei wasn't killed, it would make up for lost friendship and give Liu Bei a future.

It would be even better if Liu Bei died in battle...

"Actually, although there are some barbarian troubles in this county, they are not many. Brother Bogui, where do you plan to send Bei to gain military merit and clear his name?"

Just like Gongsun Zan had done, Liu Bei broke off pieces of the cake one by one and put them in his mouth.

After Liu Bei finished eating the cake, Gongsun Zan replied, "Since the soldiers were dispatched because of the trouble caused by the Hu people in this county, they should naturally seek credit in this county... As for the trouble caused by the Hu people, there are plenty of them."

Judging from this, does Gongsun Zan have a way to lure the Hu people into Zhuo County?
Could this guy have been keeping Kou as a spy to enrich himself?
Liu Bei thought to himself, nodded, and looked at the box on the table without saying a word.

Gongsun Zan also looked at the box on the table and said, "The establishment of the army still requires military funds... However, I am new here and do not know any of the elders in the county. I will need your help in raising funds and provisions."

This means they wanted to collect protection money from the powerful families in Zhuo County, but they didn't want to offend the local bullies, so they made Liu Bei take the blame.

This is to be expected, since Gongsun Zan had previously said that Liu Bei should lead the exterminators to be exonerated and make meritorious contributions, which was a huge opportunity for Liu Bei. Therefore, the task of military expenses would definitely fall to Liu Bei.

(End of this chapter)