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

Chapter 125 is about coercing you.

"Are you using a mob to coerce us? Does Liu Bei also want to become a thief?"

A steward from a powerful family stood up indignantly and asked.

"I'm sorry, Feng has had a hearing impairment since childhood and couldn't hear what you said... Could you please repeat it?"

After Chen Feng finished distributing the bamboo slips, he stepped forward, slowly bowed to the other party, and pointed to his own ear.

"This is coercion!"

The powerful clansman looked angry, but dared not mention Liu Bei's name again, because although Chen Feng was young, he carried a horizontal sword on his back.

"Yes, that's right, it's coercion."

Chen Feng nodded politely to the other person: "So what?"

Bian Ji instructed him to always treat people kindly, and even if he had to resort to violence, he should never be violent, for valuing harmony was a matter of righteousness. Therefore, Chen Feng was very kind now, though his words were a bit direct.

"You rude brat!"

The powerful family member was even more furious.

“Feng has never studied etiquette; he has only just begun to learn righteousness.”

Chen Feng remained polite, unsheathing his sword from behind and planting it on the ground: "But my father died fighting because of these bandits... My master risked his life to wipe out the bandits. This duty to protect our homeland was done with my life. I wonder what your family did? Can your so-called courtesy eliminate the bandits?"

The powerful man looked at the young Chen Feng, opened his mouth, but then remained silent.

"This scoundrel is young and doesn't know any better, so his speech is inevitably a bit vulgar..."

Seeing that no one was speaking, Bian Ji patted the table and said, "But since we have come to this point, please bid. I will collect the payment in an hour. The amount you bid is entirely up to you."

After saying that, he led Chen Feng out of the banquet hall.

Jian Yong watched silently from the sidelines. He hadn't expected that this seemingly gentle and soft-spoken musician could be so assertive when it came to business.

As for Chen Feng... this kid is straightforward and stubborn, and he's not really suited for business, but he seems quite right for the occasion.

Seeing Bian Ji leave, several powerful clans held back Jian Yong: "Jian Gongcao, this matter..."

“I am powerless to help with this matter… In order to deal with these bandits, my elder brother’s family suffered heavy casualties, his fields were burned, and his retainers were killed… As you have seen, now even the children in his family have to come out and take charge.”

Jian Yong spread his hands and shook his head: "Sigh, none of you went out to fight in the fortified village a few days ago, so how can you bargain now? It's only right that you provide some food to kill the bandits, isn't it?"

"But we don't know how much grain we'll have to provide to satisfy Governor Liu..."

One of the powerful families said.

This time, the man wisely refrained from mentioning Liu Bei and instead spoke of Liu Yu.

Jian Yong sighed, finding these powerful clans quite interesting. They were afraid that Liu Bei would actually allow the bandits to cause chaos, yet they were also stingy and wanted to negotiate the price. No wonder Liu Bei was unwilling to come and negotiate in person.

If Liu Bei were here, it would probably be harder to negotiate.

“You should know that your elder brother is helping you…”

"A few days ago, Prefect Wen sent the county troops and the transport troops into battle, which resulted in the annihilation of the entire county army."

“Right now, Prefect Wen has no one by his side and has gone to Guangyang to avoid the chaos. If you contribute more grain and gain military merit and kill heads, you can directly let Liu Bo’an, the governor of Youzhou, take charge and let you take control of the troops in the prefecture. Once the grain is provided and the personnel are settled, Prefect Wen will have to acknowledge it when he returns.”

"If you don't provide grain now, after some time when Prefect Wen returns with his support and resumes his duties, he will surely make you provide money and grain to re-enlist the county soldiers... At that time, your family's money and grain will still be provided, and you will only be able to give them away to Prefect Wen for free..."

"How much more do you want? Give as much as you can! This is a matter of everyone in the county working together! Can't you even understand this?"

After saying this, Jian Yong also got up and left, leaving the various powerful families to discuss the matter amongst themselves.

Yes, no matter how much of a forced sale Bian Ji made, at least it was still a business transaction, and both parties benefited. But if they missed this deal, it would truly be a free gift.

……

An hour later, Bian Ji returned right on time to collect the debts.

The families within the prefecture recommended Lu Jie of Fanyang, Ma Tai of Rongcheng, and Zhang Nan of Fangcheng to be awarded military merits.

Only three bamboo slips were given in total.

However, the total amount of grain contributed by each household was very large, amounting to several hundred thousand bushels.

Lu Jie was Lu Zhi's eldest son born out of wedlock. Ma Tai and Zhang Nan were also local powerful figures, so the Zhuojun garrison was divided among various families.

Jian Yong immediately had everyone write a letter of recommendation and send it to the governor's office in Youzhou.

Wen Shu wasn't stupid; he couldn't possibly make enemies of all the powerful clans in the prefecture. He had to acknowledge these three military commanders.

Bian Ji and Chen Feng's tough stance would certainly attract gossip, but no powerful clan in the county would be hostile to Liu Bei.

As Jian Yong said, Liu Bei was helping them. The women and children were less efficient because Liu Bei had suffered heavy casualties in his campaign to eliminate the bandits and had no one else to rely on.

"You did very well today, showing a chivalrous spirit."

On the way back, Bian Ji praised Chen Feng.

"Madam... there is something you don't understand."

Chen Feng asked Bian Ji, "At home, your wife is incredibly kind and gentle, always treating everyone well. Why do you intimidate and oppress the families in the county when you are outside? Is this what my master meant when he said, 'Human nature is ever-changing and cannot be distinguished by good or evil'?"

The young man directly addressed Bian Ji as "teacher's wife," which made Bian Ji very happy.

However, he addressed Zuo Yuan as "Sister Zuo"... This generational distinction was indeed a bit confusing, but Zuo Yuan didn't correct it, mainly because she was simply used to it.

“With my elder sister Zuo keeping me in check, I must be kind and gentle to assist my husband’s benevolence. This is a balance of kindness and authority.”

Bian Ji explained, “But today, when we are outside, only Jian Xianhe can offer his advice, so I must be strict with him.”

“My lord has no clan support. If he is too kind to others, he will lose his prestige. I will then have to bear some of the infamy to deter others.”

"There is no right or wrong in the world, and no good or bad in people... The so-called constant change of people is judged by their actions, not by their good or evil or their character."

Bian Ji glanced at Chen Feng, noticing he still seemed somewhat confused, and added a few more words: "Kind-hearted people often do bad things, and wicked people often do good. Prefect Wen never harmed the people and had a reputation for kindness in the prefecture, yet he could only allow bandits to wreak havoc within the prefecture. Lord Ji Ming was a ruthless man feared by everyone, who regarded human life as nothing, yet he consistently protected Xihe Pavilion from the harm inflicted by bandits..."

"If you want to learn morality, you must first understand human nature. Everyone's path cannot be divided into good and evil. You should make more friends with people."

Chen Feng nodded as if he understood, then asked, "Feng has a hearing ailment and often cannot hear what people are saying, making others think that Feng is deliberately ignoring people and is therefore unable to make friends..."

"Then bind your ears so that everyone can tell you can't hear."

Bian Ji looked at Chen Feng's ears and gestured as if she were wrapping them with cloth: "Everyone needs to have distinctive features to be remembered. If you wrap your ears, everyone will be able to recognize you."

"But wouldn't that make you different from ordinary people? If you're different from others, wouldn't it be even harder to get along with them?"

Chen Feng didn't quite understand.

"If you were no different from others, what use would the young master have for you? If you are afraid of being disturbed by the words of ordinary people, then you can just close your ears and not listen... Just look at the young master and the people close to him, aren't they all different from ordinary people?"

Bian Ji could understand the child's mindset, because Bian Bing had also had similar thoughts: "If you want to stand out, you must be extraordinary. If you seek to be the same as others in everything, you will only be a mediocre beast of burden, and with such a mediocre mind, it will be difficult to get along with others."

"If you are outstanding and different from ordinary people, then everyone will come to befriend you. Even if you really turn a deaf ear, it will be regarded as the demeanor of a famous person."

Chen Feng seemed to understand, and bowed deeply to the ground: "I am deeply grateful for your teachings, Master's wife!"

(End of this chapter)