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

Chapter 109 How to handle things
Just as Liu Bei was talking with Qin Yilu, Zuo Yuan entered the barracks outside the fortress.

"But Sister Xiu Niang? My husband has a gift for you."

Upon seeing a beautiful woman changing the bandages of a wounded soldier, Zuo Yuan immediately went up to strike up a conversation.

"you are?"

Xiu Niang had never seen such a female swordsman before and was quite wary, but when she saw the gift Zuo Yuan handed her, her expression immediately relaxed: "Guan Lang is really doing something big..."

That was Guan Yu's proposal to Liu Bei, requesting Liu Bei to allocate ten million taels of silver.

"Sister, where is Brother Yun Chang right now?"

Seeing that Xiu Niang no longer had any doubts, Zuo Yuan asked.

"Yun Chang? Oh... he changed his name... He went to Jiuyuan, saying he found traces of his enemy."

Xiu Niang looked at the plan a couple more times, then carefully tucked it into her bosom.

“Sister, come with me, there are enemies here too.”

Seeing that Xiuniang no longer had any doubts, Zuo Yuan led her towards the pavilion.

……

Inside the pavilion, Qin Yilu was revealing the truth.

The Du family was indeed harmed by the Qin family.

The Qin family does indeed have connections in the military, and these connections come from Ding Yuan, the military commander of Yunzhong Army.

However, Ding Yuan was not the mastermind. Ding Yuan initially only asked the Qin family to provide military funding in order to recommend Qin Yilu for a military post.

After the Qin family spent too much on military expenses, they couldn't support themselves and decided to start another business.

Bingzhou's military expenses have always relied on salt taxes, so the Qin family naturally thought of smuggling salt.

But if you want to develop industries, you can't do it nearby; you have to do it elsewhere, like in Hedong.

Therefore, the Qin family first lured the Du family into making a deal with the Xianbei people by offering a marriage contract—with the marriage contract, all the members of the Du family would come to the wedding, and this was not just to gain their trust.

But those so-called Xianbei were not Xianbei people at all, but Southern Xiongnu.

The Southern Xiongnu were subordinate to the Han Dynasty and were mainly distributed in counties such as Wuyuan and Yunzhong. They lived and intermarried with the Qiang and Hu peoples for a long time, and many of them were hired into the army.

The Southern Xiongnu's attire was indeed similar to that of the Xianbei, as they both shaved their heads and wore queues. Although they were of different races, the mixed-race Southern Xiongnu looked very similar to the Xianbei.

The only way to distinguish them is that the Xianbei shaved their entire heads, leaving the hair around the sides; while the Xiongnu shaved their foreheads and part of the top of their heads, leaving the hair on the sides and back of their heads.

But to most Han Chinese, this difference is negligible; they all look like Mediterranean.

When members of the Du family came to Yunzhong to trade with the Xianbei, Ding Yuan's men killed the Du family members and stole their valuables.

The Qin family deliberately saved Xiuniang and her son, but not the others—this was to use Xiuniang to seize the Du family's assets left in Hedong.

The elders of the Du family and most of the clan members were killed, essentially wiping out the entire family.

If it weren't for the unexpected appearance of Guan Yu, Qin Yilu might have already married Du Xiuniang in a grand manner under the pretense of "arranged marriage by the dying wishes of Du's parents," and taken over the Du family's property in Hedong, namely the salt fields and smuggled salt business.

Those who were injured were genuinely wounded in the fight to rescue Xiuniang; there was no fabrication involved. Ding Yuan's subordinates were unaware of this situation; only Ding Yuan himself knew.

However, the army usually doesn't harm women and children, which is why Xiu Niang escaped unharmed.

But it was precisely because this matter was genuine that Xiu Niang believed it without a doubt.

Even if someone from the Du family escapes, as long as Xiu Niang, the person directly involved, believes that the Qin family is their savior, the Du family will still consider the Qin family to be good people...

Those soldiers from the Yunzhong border who committed the murders actually believed that what they did was justified—the Du family sold smuggled salt to the Xianbei when they were raiding the border, which was aiding the enemy, and according to the law, they should indeed be killed.

The Qin family did not aid the enemy. Once this matter is over, Ding Yuan will naturally accuse the Qin family of being undercover agents, using "schemes to create opportunities for war."

By luring and killing the Du family to seize their property, Qin Yilu was recruited into the Yunzhong Border Army. He married Xiuniang according to the agreement of the Du family elders, and even gained a reputation for 'loyalty and filial piety'—this was Qin Yilu's gain. By eliminating the "traitor" who aided the enemy and driving out the Hu people, he not only gained military merit but also plundered a large amount of wealth, and could continue to ensure the Qin family's financial support—this was the gain of Ma Dingyuan, the commander of the Yunzhong Army.

This is not a crime, but rather a meritorious act. It is not killing innocent people to claim credit; at most, it can be considered entrapment and excessively harsh enforcement.

The superiors might even think that Ding Yuan was a diligent and capable official, because this would indeed strengthen the army in Yunzhong and safeguard the border defense of the Han Dynasty.

This scheme is far more sophisticated than the one orchestrated by Su You and the Liu family.

Liu Bei was able to frighten Qin Yilu into telling the truth because he had the incident with Su You as a reference. By examining things with the mindset of a wicked person, he was able to see the truth through the flaws.

The Qin family's weakness lay in the fact that they arranged for the Du family to trade with the so-called "Xianbei people" in the winter month.

Conducting large-scale salt and horse trade with the Xianbei people was something even Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, hadn't been able to do... let alone in winter.

During the period when the Xianbei invaded the border, did they exchange salt for horses with the Xianbei?

Even someone as audacious as Liu Bei never thought of such a thing...

Do you think the Xianbei people would be polite to you if you left large quantities of salt outside the county?
People can just rob it; why bother with a business transaction?
The Du family had never done business with the Hu people and had lived in Hedong for a long time, so they had no understanding of the Hu people. It was normal for them to fall for this trick—ultimately, it was due to their greed.

Xiu Niang, caught up in the scheme, was preoccupied with repaying kindness and wouldn't have considered these conspiracies.

Guan Yu was preoccupied with Xiu Niang's situation and was a man of principle and straightforwardness, so he naturally wouldn't think of any conspiracy.

Righteousness can either open one's eyes or blind one's vision.

……

As Qin Yilu was saying these things, Xiu Niang and Zuo Yuan were hiding behind the artificial hill next to the pavilion, right behind Qin Yilu.

Actually, people on both sides saw them, but no one stopped them.

The Qin family got involved because they were already familiar with Xiuniang and considered her to be Qin Yilu's fiancée.

Zhang Fei and the others had long since learned to turn a blind eye.

Liu Bei actually saw them, but Qin Yilu, with his back to the artificial hill, was completely unaware.

Xiu Niang kept her mouth covered, afraid that she would curse out loud or rush out.

The Du family did put some pressure on her marriage, but overall they did treat her like their own daughter. She covered her mouth and held back because she was worried about harming Zuo Yuan and the others.

But Zuo Yuan wasn't worried at all. She put her arm around Xiu Niang and took off the sword from her waist.

"Qin Yilu, I'll teach you how to handle things... Look, this whole thing was a scheme orchestrated by your family to murder for money. Since you want to take over the Du family's assets, then you'll have to make sure the Du family is taken care of..."

Just as Qin Yilu finished speaking, Liu Bei gave him a very reasonable solution to the problem.

Qin Yilu was a little taken aback, but still nodded: "Who else is in the Du family?"

"Du Xiuniang".

Liu Bei smiled, stood up, and looked behind Qin Yilu.

Qin Yilu frowned, still confused, when he turned his head following Liu Bei's gaze, only to see a sword being handed to him.

It even went down into the throat, all the way to the cervical vertebrae.

Qin Yilu's eyes widened, and he reached out and scratched twice, as if he wanted to say something, but only a spurt of blood came out of his throat and he collapsed to the ground.

That was Zuo Yuan's sword, but the person wielding it was Xiu Niang.

Xiu Niang didn't cry or say anything; she just stared coldly at Qin Yilu until he breathed his last.

This probably counts as having taken care of things.

(End of this chapter)