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

Chapter 128 I just like big ones

In the sixth year of Guanghe (183 AD), when the Han Dynasty was facing the greatest food shortage, Liu Bei once again took office.

At the end of May last year, Liu Bei reminded Zou Jing to abandon the plan to cross the border and fight against the Xianbei, not to recruit Wuhuan cavalry, to retreat to defense, and to save food as much as possible.

That was when Liu Bei had just dealt with the bandits in the county, and when Zou Jing, Qian Zhao, Liu Yu and others had just begun to negotiate with the various Wuhuan tribes.

Fortunately, Liu Bei reminded him early, and fortunately, Zou Jing was willing to listen.

Otherwise, if we really launch a major offensive against the Wuhuan but can't provide them with food, it will cause a real problem.

The entire Han Dynasty was short of food. Since they could not fight back against the Xianbei, Zou Jing discussed with Liu Yu and the commanders of the various Hu cavalry to temporarily shrink the defensive line and strictly guard all key roads.

The Han Dynasty was also fortunate; when food was most scarce, the Xianbei people completely split apart.

This is definitely a competition of who's worse...

Tan Shihuai's sons vied for power, and his second son, Helian, eventually succeeded him as leader.

However, He Lian's abilities were far inferior to Tan Shihuai's. He was lustful, greedy, and unable to command respect. Last year, when he invaded the northern lands, he was shot to death—the arrow was stuck in his back when he died.

With Helian's death, the vast Xianbei tribe established by Tanshihuai split into several branches, each unwilling to submit, and the threat to the Han Dynasty was much smaller.

However, the Xianbei continued to raid the borders after the split, and they raided even more fiercely in the year immediately following the split, probably because they all wanted to become the next Tanshihuai.

To ensure the border defense, Liu Bei sent 20,000 bushels of grain to Ji County so that Zou Jing would have enough food to feed his troops and Liu Yu could stabilize the border army.

The invasion of foreign tribes was not a matter for one person or one family; Liu Bei had to do his part, also for his own safety.

Moreover, one must cultivate good relationships to have friends to support them.

If possible, Liu Bei would even like to contribute more grain to resolve the Xianbei threat as soon as possible, but this is all he can manage for now, as there are still so many people in Xiheting who need to make a living.

These 20,000 bushels of grain were not much for the army, but they were extremely precious at this time.

The border troops were not completely without food, but there was a shortage. Liu Bei transported grain to Ji County, which was a short distance and did not cost much. This made up for the food shortage of the various garrisons in the Guangyang area.

As long as we don't engage in battle and our marches are minimal, our food consumption will be low, and we can barely manage to survive.

This precious grain also earned Liu Bei a reputation for generosity and benevolence in Youzhou.

Subsequently, with the recommendation of Zou Jing, Liu Yu, Wen Shu, Liu Wei and others, Liu Bei was granted an official position again in March of the sixth year of Guanghe (183), just after the mourning period had ended.

When the Han Dynasty was most short of food, Liu Bei contributed 20,000 bushels of grain to ensure the border defense, which was a great achievement. This recommendation is absolutely genuine.

This time, the imperial court also granted him an official position commensurate with his merits—the Chief Administrator of Guangyang County.

Of course, the money for buying an official position still had to be paid. Although Liu Bei's treasury was empty, he wasn't short of six million coins.

The Chief Clerk was a military assistant officer in the border regions, and at that time, this position was only established in the border regions.

With the defensive line contracted, Guangyang has now become a completely border region. This position of Chief Clerk is newly created, and it can be said that Zou Jing and Liu Yu specifically dug out a "carrot hole" for Liu Bei.

Unlike military diplomats like the Chief Administrator of the Liaodong Dependent State, the Chief Administrator of the border prefecture was in charge of land reclamation and defense.

Because of his meritorious contribution of grain, he was appointed as the chief clerk, a military officer in charge of agricultural settlements.

Moreover, Liu Bei, a native of Zhuojun, serving as an official in Guangyang County also conformed to the Three Mutual Law, which stipulates that the governor of a province should not be a native of the province, and the prefect, chancellor, assistant prefect, and chief clerk of a county should not be native of the county.

Liu Bei was not born into a family of filial and incorrupt officials; he had previously served as a county magistrate. His appointment as chief clerk was a fitting and meritorious assistant position.

Furthermore, in strategically important border regions, it is best for assistant officials like the Chief Clerk not to have a particularly prominent family background, otherwise they could easily interfere with military affairs due to their family connections. Liu Bei's situation was just right.

Everything was just right and reasonable – this is a typical example of upward management. Zou Jing, Liu Yu, and others were helping the court make a choice, and for the time being, Liu Bei was the most suitable candidate for this position.

The position of Chief Clerk of Guangyang was certainly a good one for Liu Bei, as he was temporarily considered to be in the same group as his nominal superiors, such as the Governor of Youzhou, the Prefect of Guangyang, and the Protector of Wuhuan.

My residence is in Ji County, which is close to home.

Liu Bei's work at this time was simple: to cultivate land. Since Zou Jing and others had already arranged the border defenses, Liu Bei didn't need to worry about it.

Moreover, the chief administrator of the border prefecture had convenient powers—he could decide where to establish military farms based on the actual situation.

The actual situation, of course, was that they were farming along the Juma River.

The river bend has fertile land and is close to the border, making it the most suitable place.

So, Liu Bei actually worked from home...

The soldiers and troops at home now had a truly appropriate name.

The prefectural chief clerk had the authority to directly command his troops. Although it was a civil service position, it was actually a combination of military and political power, and he could lead a unit of garrison troops.

Moreover, although the Chief Clerk was an assistant official, he was still a legitimate official appointed by the imperial court and could appoint his own subordinates.

The head of the subordinate officials was naturally Jian Yong, who resigned from his position as the Chief Clerk of Zhuo County and took on the role of Chief Clerk under Liu Bei, which was essentially his chief secretary.

Guan Yu served as the Military Commander of the Agricultural Settlements, leading his troops and being the head of the military officials.

Zhang Fei did not directly join the army, but instead served as Liu Bei's personal guard captain as a retainer.

Qian Zhao was promoted, but he was no longer under Liu Bei's command. He was promoted to Attendant Gentleman of the Protectorate of the Wuhuan, a title that, while seemingly only adding the word "Gentleman," carried significantly more power. He was now considered a senior advisor, able to participate in decision-making and diplomatic negotiations, while still leading the Han army headquarters, assisting Liu Bei in land reclamation and handling Wuhuan affairs. Currently, everything revolved around food, and with no one hindering him, and Liu Bei having several thousand able-bodied laborers at his disposal, he began reclaiming land along the Juma River, connecting the fields of Xiheting with those of Xinting along the Juma River.

Most of this area belongs to Zhuojun, and a small part belongs to Shanggujun. Although it is indeed close to Guangyang, it is not located within Guangyang's territory at all...

However, Wen Shu turned a blind eye to this.

This was military business, and Liu Bei hadn't occupied anyone else's land, so naturally no one cared. Even the tax collection was arranged by Liu Bei himself, the chief clerk.

Military farms typically employed tenant farmers. Liu Bei had 5,000 able-bodied men, all of whom became tenant farmers in the farms.

Furthermore, Liu Bei, together with Qian Zhao, organized several friendly Wuhuan tribes to settle and cultivate the land in the area of ​​the Han Great Wall in Shanggu, attempting to register them as citizens.

There were three small tribes, nearly three hundred tents of Wuhuan, totaling about fourteen hundred people. They settled in Liu Bei's Chief Clerk's Hu tribe as pastoralists.

The price paid was providing them with some necessities, such as grain seeds, farming tools, salt, pottery, iron pots, and so on.

However, at this time, Liu Bei did not have a suitable person to serve as the supervisor of the Wuhuan people, so the Wuhuan people were temporarily under the management of Qian Zhao, who was quite familiar with these Wuhuan people.

These Wuhuan people would try farming, raise horses, and recruit soldiers if necessary.

This was also to ensure safety; with these Wuhuan people blocking the way from the north, Liu Bei could settle down and cultivate the land with peace of mind.

The days of farming were relatively peaceful. Liu Bei had neither the mind nor the energy to consider matters in other prefectures and counties. Growing grain to feed his own family and ensuring the supply of military provisions were his primary concerns.

Of course, peaceful days are not boring.

Guan Yu and Xiu Niang held a formal wedding ceremony again, with Liu Bei officiating. They even specially chose Guan Ping's birthday as the wedding day and had the five-year-old Guan Ping serve as the wedding boy.

Because Guan Yu sent an invitation to Xiahou Dun, Cao Cao also came to attend the ceremony.

Since Cao Cao submitted a memorial last year impeaching the ministers and saying that he would "release the owl and imprison the phoenix," he has stopped caring about court affairs and has been slacking off, spending his days wandering around aimlessly.

However, Zuo Yuan intensified his intelligence gathering efforts, and Liu Bei learned that Cao Cao had recently been recruiting private soldiers and making armor, estimating that he had already produced several hundred armored soldiers.

These are times when simplicity is needed, and Guan Yu and his wife were not nobles, so the six rites were simplified and the wedding was held for only one day.

The atmosphere was quite good, especially after Zhang Fei presented gifts on behalf of his troops...

He gave her a screen.

Well, Zhang Fei was no longer satisfied with just carving small bamboo slips; this guy started creating life-size art.

The artwork on the screen was life-size and even more detailed, with every hair clearly visible. Apart from being slightly exaggerated in proportion, it was truly lifelike.

Zhang Fei's family still runs a wine shop and restaurant business, so they are considered wealthy. They have many female servants at home and in the shop, and they have probably been observing the situation every day recently.

To be honest, everyone would want Zhang Fei's gift...

Cao Cao, who came to witness the ceremony, was very envious. He even felt that the gold and silver jewelry he had given was too vulgar and could not compare to Zhang Fei's elegance.

So he secretly asked Zhang Fei, "Do you really have any women in your household that big?"

Zhang Fei was quite surprised: "Of course not, this is a drawing, not a real person. However, Cao Yilang, don't scholars like you all say 'not that big is beautiful'?"

"That's all just talk... Do you think we don't know what kind of beauty would make us fall for her?"

Cao Cao curled his lip, disdainful of the so-called scholar-official's rhetoric: "The stirrings of the heart will naturally show on one's body; there's no way to fake that..."

"Then why would Confucian scholars say that greatness is not the ideal of beauty?"

Zhang Fei sincerely began to ask for advice.

"The so-called Confucian scholars' idea of ​​not valuing size is just to accommodate the situation where girls get married in their teens... and also to accommodate the eccentricities of some nobles."

Liu Bei chimed in from the side: "Actually, when scholar-officials go to brothels to have their fun, they still choose the big ones with cleavage... right, Brother Mengde?"

"Great minds think alike... pedantic scholars always like to find a seemingly reasonable explanation for unreasonable things, which is quite hypocritical."

Cao Cao agreed, as Cao Mengde was always straightforward in this regard: "Fei Lang has excellent craftsmanship. Could you also commission a screen for me?"

"Sure, but I only know how to draw this kind of picture, nothing else..."

Zhang Fei was quite happy that his skills were recognized.

"That's exactly the kind of beauty I've been looking for!"

Cao Cao nodded, gestured with his hand, and then gave Zhang Fei a large bag of gold ingots.

Actually, Liu Bei also liked this kind of beauty...

I happen to have two at home, each with a better figure than the other, even more beautiful than Zhang Fei in the painting.

but……

If there was only one person in the family, Liu Bei would definitely have acted immediately after the mourning period ended.

But if there are two, it becomes more difficult to make a move...

(End of this chapter)