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

Chapter 126 The World Is About to Be in Chaos
Yes, if someone is outstanding and different from ordinary people, people will naturally come to befriend them.

And even if you ignore them, they will wait patiently.

While Liu Bei was busy dealing with the 6,000 rioters, many people tried to befriend him.

For example, members of various powerful families came one after another to present gifts.

However, it is quite difficult to completely subdue six thousand rioters; it will take a lot of time. The idea that thousands of people can be subdued with just a few words is simply impossible.

Moreover, this requires recruiting more new soldiers with a small force, so we must proceed slowly.

If you try to eat it all at once, you'll burst.

Liu Bei couldn't recruit too many people from them. Although they were all young and strong, only a little over a thousand could serve as soldiers. These thousand had to be divided into two batches to enlist—first as auxiliary soldiers, and then gradually promoted to combat soldiers. It was necessary to ensure that these people were reliable and to help them integrate into the new environment.

At the same time, Liu Bei also had to provide these people with land, continue to manufacture weapons, and train new soldiers...

With Duan Jiong gone, Liu Bei and Guan Yu had to take turns overseeing troop training and defense, leaving them no time to deal with those powerful clans.

This, on the contrary, earned Liu Bei a reputation for "strict self-discipline," because he refused to accept any gifts, did not see anyone during the mourning period, and only had Bian Bing and others entertain him properly before sending him off... which made him seem somewhat like a scholar.

But then, Wen Shu arrived.

When the bandits were causing a great disturbance, Wen Shu had no choice but to go to Guangyang to avoid the chaos because there were no soldiers in the prefecture. At the same time, he also wanted to borrow troops from Liu Wei.

The troops from Guangyang County were not lent out, but Jian Yong reported that the bandits in Zhuo County had been quelled, and the wealthy families in the county had elected three military commanders, thus replenishing the troops in Zhuo County. Wen Shu also accepted this debt.

Upon returning to Zhuojun, Wen Shu immediately sent a personal attendant to Liu Bei's home to express his gratitude in person.

In fact, Liu Bei did not want to see Wen Shu. He was very busy at the moment, not only to settle the able-bodied men, but also to organize people to receive the grain from the powerful families in the county. He was not at home all day.

Therefore, Liu Bei did not accept the visiting card, but said that if the governor gave an order, the people would naturally follow it, but he could not hold a banquet because his mourning period was not over, and asked the governor to forgive him.

A few days later, Wen Shu arrived at Xihe Pavilion alone, without any attendants or official robes, riding an old horse. He waited quietly at the bridgehead of the Juma River for an entire day—the very bridge where Bian Ji and Liu Bei faced each other across the river.

Guan Yu's residence and the military post of the Imperial Guard were both on the other side of the bridge.

Although the bridge doesn't appear to have any guards stationed there, it is actually heavily guarded.

Not only were there always people at the military post, but the houses at both ends of the bridge, including the place where Bian Ji had previously stayed, were all residences for the families of the tribesmen.

This bridge is the most convenient route to Liu Bei's manor, and it's also the bridge that's been used to transport grain over the past few months.

Wen Shu watched people transporting grain from the bridgehead for the entire day.

Naturally, someone informed Liu Bei of this situation immediately.

But Liu Bei didn't rush to receive him; he was busy with his own affairs and didn't go to see Wen Shu until evening.

"I was completely unaware of Your Excellency's arrival and have failed to greet you properly. My apologies... May I ask why Your Excellency is traveling so lightly? These are not peaceful times; there are many thieves..."

Despite the fact that he was in mourning, Liu Bei still had to be polite when he met people, though he didn't greet them with a smile—he was in mourning and had to be more solemn.

"Yes, there are plenty of thieves..."

Wen Shu's face was also very serious, and he didn't say a word of nonsense: "Xuande, there is no need to test me... I didn't bring anyone with me. I came here only for myself and to ask Xuande for help."

"Oh? Please come in, Your Excellency, so we can prepare some vegetarian food for our discussion."

Liu Bei extended his hand to invite Wen Shu into the manor, dismissed his servants, and then spoke with Wen Shu alone in the pavilion within the manor.

In fact, this was the first formal meeting between Liu Bei and Wen Shu, but neither of them said any polite words. Although they had never met before, they were not strangers to each other.

"I have come here for two reasons, firstly to thank Xuande for relieving the scourge of the bandits..."

Wen Shu adopted a humble posture and looked anxious: "Secondly, I want to ask Xuande how I can save my life."

"It was the Prefect and his three newly appointed military commanders who resolved the calamity of the bandits; it had nothing to do with me, Liu."

Liu Bei had already collected the grain from each household, so naturally he wouldn't claim any more credit. He was only interested in the second matter Wen Shu had mentioned: "As for saving my life... why do you say that, Lord?"

"Xuande should know that Minister Yuan has shown me great favor..."

Wen Shu spoke slowly and in great detail.

The Yuan Situ he mentioned was Yuan Wei.

In fact, Wen Shu had no intention of offending the local bullies of Zhuojun. He was here to become an official, not to go on an adventure... and he had no intention of becoming some kind of out-of-town tyrant.

However, Wen Shu was recommended by Yuan Kui when he served as Minister of Works during the Xiping era. He entered officialdom as a clerk under Yuan Kui, and the mark on him could not be removed.

After returning to Zhuojun, Wen Shu learned that the three Liu brothers were backed by the Yuan family—but when these three instigated banditry, it was Wen Shu who was the first to suffer…

If Liu Bei hadn't dealt with the bandits, and if the bandits had grown stronger through coercion, Wen Shu would not only have been guilty of losing land and harming the people, but he would also likely have died at the hands of the bandits.

Therefore, Wen Shu should indeed be grateful to Liu Bei.

However, with the bandits causing such a disturbance, the Yuan family's horse trade route was cut off, and the Fangcheng transshipment center was left with nothing.

The disruption of trade routes wasn't too serious, but the lack of manpower at the transshipment centers was a major problem. Although Zhang Nan, a powerful clan in Fangcheng, had rebuilt the transshipment and transportation troops, this was only an army to protect the transshipment centers; there wasn't a single able-bodied man left to handle transportation...

The reason why Liu Weitai and Yue Hedang were able to gather so many able-bodied men in such a short time, to the point that Liu Bei had already mobilized tens of thousands of them when he received the news, was because they had initially mobilized a large number of laborers from the Fangcheng transfer station.

With these able-bodied young men familiar with transportation operations gone, rebuilding the transportation system will require recruiting new staff and rearranging operations, which will take a lot of time.

If Zhuojun had enough grain and manpower, that would be fine, but so much of Zhuojun's land has been burned, so there will definitely be a grain shortage this year.

Moreover, at this time, the counties did not have county magistrates or officials in charge. They were lacking in everything from officials to laborers, and Liu Weitai had burned down the granaries and looted the inventory... This situation was more troublesome than having nothing at all; it was a state of debt.

This means that the transfer of supplies to Youzhou will be interrupted for a long time.

The border region of Youzhou was short of supplies, and apart from Liaodong, the other counties relied on Jizhou for their food and supplies.

If the border regions run out of food, Wen Shu will have to take the blame.

The Yuan family seemed indifferent to Wen Shu's life or death...

Or rather, some members of the Yuan family didn't care about the lives of Yuan Kui's officials, whether the Yuan family's trade routes would be cut off, what might happen in Youzhou... or even the safety of the Han Dynasty.

If the border regions of Youzhou do not receive food and supplies for a long time, will the border troops rebel?

Zou Jing, Liu Yu, and the Hu cavalry commanders of Shanggu, Yuyang, and Liaoxi were all preparing to cross the border to counter the Xianbei, and were currently discussing cooperation with the Wuhuan chieftains in various places.

Such cooperation can only be negotiated with grain and cloth. Everyone in Youzhou knows that if they want the Wuhuan people to send troops to help in the winter, or even to remain neutral, they must first ensure that the Wuhuan people have enough food.

What if, after reaching an agreement with the Wuhuan, they turn around and find there's no food available...?

Regardless of what Zou Jing and others will do, the Wuhuan people will definitely think that the Han Dynasty is full of liars... Most of the Wuhuan people don't trust the Han Dynasty much to begin with, and they have no psychological pressure to cooperate with the Xianbei people.

Wen Shu was, after all, a Han official, and he knew the seriousness of the matter.

Now, Wen Shu is thinking about rebuilding the transshipment and transportation system.

He wanted laborers—those coolies familiar with transport operations, those porters who participated in the riots—most of whom had now fallen into Liu Bei's hands.

During this period, Liu Bei used these people to transport grain from the homes of various powerful clans.

"Does the Lord mean to send these people back to rebuild the transport system?"

Liu Bei shook his head: "My lord... rebuilding the transport station will not only be of no use, but you will also be punished for it."

"Why do you say that, Xuande?"

Wen Shu did not understand Liu Bei's meaning.

"First, the high-ranking officials falsely accused good officials. Because there was no one to restrain them, the bandits then caused chaos. The Prefect has no officials in the county and no one to use. Even if he makes a mistake, he can justify it... The source of the fault lies with the high-ranking officials. The Prefect is just a victim. He only needs to go to Luoyang to report those high-ranking officials who made false accusations."

Liu Bei explained, “But if you rebuild the transport hub and keep it running, then all the losses caused by the interruption of transport will fall on your shoulders—the officials in the court will definitely find someone to take the blame, and whoever did the work will have to take the blame!”

"The matter of transferring the goods is of utmost importance; any delay would endanger the Han Dynasty..."

Wen Shu did indeed seem to have the heart of a Han official, which made Liu Bei feel favorably toward him.

These days, it's rare to find officials who still care about the safety of the Han Dynasty.

“My lord, it’s no use rebuilding the transport station now, because Jizhou will no longer transport grain to Youzhou… I sent a message to Commander Zou a few days ago, asking him to abandon the plan to cross the border.”

Liu Bei sighed: "Your Excellency must have received news from the south recently. There is an epidemic in Henan and Hebei, and there is also a severe drought... This year, the grain shortage in Jizhou and Qingzhou will be even greater than in Youzhou."

"Roads will be closed in various places due to the plague, making transportation impossible. But Youzhou is free from plague and drought, so it will become the place with the most abundant grain..."

"Although our prefecture suffered from the ravages of bandits and burned a lot of fields, it is still much better than under the plague and drought. As long as the prefect withstands the pressure from the court and stops levying taxes, that will be fine."

Liu Bei showed Wen Shu a stack of bamboo slips, which contained information that Zuo Yuan had collected from various places, including official documents and private intelligence.

"Does Xuande mean... that doing nothing is actually the best thing for me right now?"

Wen Shu thought about it carefully and asked with some helplessness.

"No, the Prefect has business to attend to."

Liu Bei nodded and sighed, "My lord, you must find a way to keep grain prices down and also prevent the plague, otherwise it will truly be a disaster..."

"...Was it for this reason that Xuande wanted grain but not fame?"

Wen Shu glanced through the intelligence documents Liu Bei had taken out and pointed to Liu Bei's storeroom.

"I'm just trying to survive. If I'm not mistaken, someone must have asked the Prefect to frame me for treason by hiding armor, right?"

Liu Bei turned his head to look at Wen Shu: "I have indeed been hiding my armor and amassing troops... but now only I can keep Zhuojun from falling into chaos. I wonder what choice you, Lord?"

"Mr. Wen is ill and needs to rest."

Wen Shu nodded and spoke readily: "I heard that there is a large medical clinic here, and I would like to seek treatment there."

(End of this chapter)