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

Chapter 124 Forced Buying and Selling
After the funeral, Duan Jiong planned to take a long trip back to Wuwei.

It was Duan Jiong who set fire to the fields. Although the elderly and weak in Taihang died fighting with Li Yizi's men, the fact that Duan Jiong stood by and watched coldly also played a part. The people of Taihang Mountain did indeed harbor some resentment towards Duan Jiong.

Duan Jiong didn't care about being resented; he had made many enemies in his life, even the emperor was one of them...

He returned to Wuwei not to escape resentment, but because he knew that Xiheting had been exposed to the enemy and he could no longer hide there.

Staying here any longer would only harm Liu Bei.

Moreover, Duan Jiong is old.

He is already sixty-nine years old.

Duan Jiong barely participated in the battle, but he still strained his back.

Having fought countless battles throughout his life, Duan Jiong was filled with old wounds and knew his days were numbered. Seeing the scene of Jiu Chi rushing home to see his son one last time, Duan Jiong was deeply moved—he also wanted to go back to see his family one last time and perhaps see if he could find the clanswoman who had been captured and imprisoned in some imperial mausoleum.

Zhang Baiqi and his underworld soldiers continued their search in the capital region, and news occasionally came back.

Zhang Sheng's clansmen were not found, but some of Duan Jiong's former subordinates and their families were found, such as Xia Yu's relatives, who were doing hard labor in Xuanling at that time.

To fulfill one's final wish and then be buried in one's hometown is a wish that everyone has, and Duan Jiong was no exception.

Duan Jiong was already very gratified to have gained Zhang Fei as his good apprentice and Zuo Yuan as his half-daughter here.

As for Liu Bei... Duan Jiong was grateful for Liu Bei's help, but there was nothing he could teach him.

Liu Bei had mastered the basic operations of marching, deploying troops, and setting up camp two years ago, but as for other aspects... Liu Bei had his own methods, which Duan Jiong could not teach him, nor dared to teach him, for fear that his interference would only mislead Liu Bei's path.

Even Duan Jiong dared not teach Guan Yu, and Guan Yunchang was also a master of his own school, so no one could teach him.

It would be enough if Zhang Fei and Zuo Yuan could learn something from it.

Zhang Fei learned to sacrifice himself in battle, while Zuo Yuan learned to abandon his chariot to strategize for the sake of the commander. These were things that Liu Bei couldn't do personally, and they could be considered as helping Liu Bei make up for his shortcomings.

Duan Jiong did not say goodbye to Liu Bei. He did not even let Zhang Fei see him off. He only left Liu Bei a letter and a pile of bamboo slips, which were some military insights he had personally recorded, based on decades of experience.

He didn't want to cause any more trouble for Liu Bei. If Liu Bei knew he was leaving, he would definitely try to stop him, which would not only delay Liu Bei's affairs but also put him in more danger.

……

When Duan Jiong secretly left, Liu Bei was busy doing business.

"Brother, you want to sell your achievements? How?"

Jian Yong felt that his elder brother was up to his old tricks again, selling off all his achievements.

"With so many prisoners and half of the fields in Xiheting burned, I can't support so many people. This credit for suppressing the bandits should be sold to a wealthy family in the county for grain."

Liu Bei shook his head and said, "I cannot gain this merit now, nor can you, Xianhe... With Commander Zou and Zijing not here, Zhuojun has no soldiers available. If we resolve the bandits, we will most likely be falsely accused of being the masterminds of the bandits."

“Wen Shu is a disciple of the Yuan family, and the three Liu brothers are also acting on the orders of the Yuan family. They are clearly targeting me.”

"So the credit should go to the wealthy families in Zhuojun... They have people and soldiers in their families. If we give them the credit for dealing with the bandits, we won't have any problems."

"Moreover, there will be a food shortage this year, and only these large households have stored grain."

"Xianhe, go and inform the wealthy families in the prefecture to come to Zhuo County and discuss this deal with Bian Ji. The three Liu brothers, as well as those bandits... all the merits from this campaign to suppress the bandits will be sold."

It's best for Liu Bei to stay out of this matter himself, lest he give others a handle to use against him.

Jian Yong couldn't very well show up in person. As he was working in the county, he needed to maintain good relationships with the wealthy families. It was best for him to act as a go-between, as negotiating and bargaining face-to-face could easily offend people.

Therefore, Liu Bei allowed Bian Ji to take on this job as the head of the household's finances and provisions, so he could ask for exorbitant prices without any scruples.

Besides Bian Ji, there was also Chen Feng.

A twelve-year-old child is innocent and speaks without restraint, making it easy to negotiate prices.

...Bian Ji now has a new name—Bian Xiang.

It was the name Liu Bei gave her.

In the divination and feng shui system, Vega is also known as "Tianxiang" (also called Tiansun).

Liu Bei was trying to reassure Bian Ji; let her be the Weaver Girl, since she was already here.

Well, maybe I'm also a little tempted by their food, but since I'm already here...

Of course, Liu Bei still usually called her Bian Ji, because he could only admire her from afar, as the name Bian Xiang had not yet been registered in Liu Bei's household register.

Bian Ji was a person who observed proper etiquette. Before Liu Bei's mourning period was over, she avoided him and did not have any physical contact with him.

Despite her attempts to avoid him, Bian Ji was probably the one most concerned about Liu Bei's family fortune.

Previously, Zuo Yuan had recruited her to be the warehouse manager, and she had been diligently managing the accounts. Now, however, Liu Bei's warehouse was running low on money and grain.

She was anxious.

Therefore, when she was in the banquet hall of the Zhuojun residence, facing the various powerful families in the county, her way of doing business was beyond everyone's expectations.

"My family needs food."

"Gentlemen, I am not discussing this matter with you, but rather informing you of it."

“My husband recently defeated the bandits and gathered nearly ten thousand rioters, but he is in mourning and must do good deeds, so for now he can only support those rioters.”

"But in order to suppress the bandits, my family's fields were burned and we had no food left, so we couldn't support so many people."

“If we run out of food, my family will have no choice but to release these rioters back out and let them fend for themselves…”

"Did everyone understand?"

"Right now, the heads of Liu Weitai, Li Yizi, and Le Hedang, these three bandit leaders, along with the heads of three thousand bandits, are divided into three portions of merit... Each portion is enough to appoint one family as a military commander within the prefecture. Gentlemen, who wants this merit?"

Bian Ji has decided to force a sale.

"Steward Bian, we understand your merit in suppressing the bandits, but who should be appointed as the military commander... I'm afraid this matter should be decided by Prefect Wen, right?"

A manager from a powerful family expressed his doubts.

"Prefect Wen? Ha... There are no soldiers in the prefecture. Prefect Wen suffered heavy losses and fled to Guangyang to avoid trouble. He can't make decisions. Right now, whoever you all say should be appointed as Military Commander, that person must become Military Commander, otherwise the rioters will cause trouble again..."

Bian Ji chuckled: "The governor of Youzhou, Liu Bo'an, will surely agree with the recommendation... It's such a clear thing, even I, a woman, understand it, why do you still need to ask?"

The powerful family member fell silent.

Clearly, the so-called "those present" were actually Liu Bei in charge... Liu Yu would definitely support Liu Bei.

Otherwise, if Liu Bei releases the rioters again, who will deal with them?
Those weren't refugees; they were all able-bodied young men, starving and homeless, and most of them had taken lives while being coerced into it.

"How much grain should we sell for three portions of merit? How should we divide it?"

Finally, a powerful family member asked the right question.

"I'm not sharing this with you, nor am I discussing it with you... Please bid against each other, and whoever contributes the most grain will get the credit."

Bian Ji continued speaking softly, "There are no soldiers in the county at the moment. There are vacancies for the military commanders in both the east and west, as well as for the transport and distribution troops. There are exactly three vacancies. Whoever contributes the most grain can form an army from their household troops."

"This power to command troops will be lost once this time is over... Everyone, make your own plans."

At this point, Bian Ji gestured to Chen Feng to distribute bamboo slips to each household.

As Chen Feng distributed the grain, he muttered to himself, "Please write down the amount of grain you are willing to donate on the bamboo slips. You can also discuss the amount together among your families. But I must remind you again... if my family does not receive enough grain, then the rioters will have no choice but to be released..."

(End of this chapter)