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

Chapter 148 The Scheme Fails
"I've heard that General Zong is always cautious; I'm afraid he won't give Duke Boyang the opportunity to take him as a hostage..."

Qiu Liju said something indifferently, then turned and left.

Zhang Chun frowned, looked at Qiu Liju, and sighed.

It's not a matter of whether the clan members are cautious or not, but rather that Qiu Liju doesn't want to do it.

Qiuliju could lead the Wuhuan tribe to help Zhang Chun plunder people, because they themselves were already plundering money and grain.

However, Qiu Liju did not want to take the blame for holding the Protector of Wuhuan Zhonglang General hostage.

Zong Yuan was a general of the Hu and Wuhuan tribes who held the imperial insignia. Moreover, he was sent by the emperor to quell the rebellion when the Central Plains were in chaos. If the Wuhuan people were to participate in holding him hostage, and if they were to fail and cause his death or injury, the Wuhuan would be wiped out once the Han Dynasty was free to deal with the matter.

Moreover, attacking the Gongsun clan was more in Qiu Liju's interest.

Qiuliju was the chieftain of the Wuhuan tribe in western Liaoning. He had long been vying for resources with the Gongsun family in western Liaoning, and the two sides were already enemies. Moreover, eliminating the Gongsun family would give Qiuliju's tribe more room to develop.

In fact, Zhang Chun only has one choice now.

He went to see Zong Yuan, received the order, and immediately led the Wuhuan cavalry to attack the Gongsun clan in Liaoxi.

Otherwise, Qiu Liju might have turned around and cooperated with Liu Bei.

Whoever attacks the Gongsun family under the banner of the clan members, Qiuliju will follow the banner of the Protector of the Wuhuan General—this is an order to suppress traitors, a legal confiscation of property, not looting, and there will be no repercussions.

Moreover, the Gongsun family's wealth accumulated over a century is indeed far greater than that of Guangyang today, and the risks they face are much smaller.

Although Guangyang is the capital of Youzhou, it is the smallest prefecture in Youzhou, with only five counties. Among them, Changping and Jundu are military defense zones with little to no profit.

In the old county of Guangyang, north of Liangxiang, there were only a few powerful clans with fortified villages, and Anci had already been occupied by the Gongsun family...

Only Jixian has some potential, but Liu Bei has already said that once Jixian falls, it will definitely be burned to the ground... So what benefits would Guangyang offer?
Neither Zhang Chun nor Qiu Liju doubted Liu Bei's statement—Liu Bei dared to come to negotiate with only five people; he was a desperate man, and most likely capable of anything.

Moreover, Liu Bei was the Chief Clerk of Guangyang. Problems in other counties were not his responsibility, but the failure to defend Ji County was Liu Bei's fault. For both public and private reasons, Liu Bei would defend it to the death.

Liu Bei appeared to be negotiating with Zhang Chun, but in reality, it was Qiu Liju who was persuaded.

Of course, this is not a bad thing for Zhang Chun either, since Guangyang has people and Liaoxi has people.

Moreover, with the help of the Guangyang troops and a legitimate reason, it was better than sneaking around as a bandit.

……

Upon leaving Changping, Shi Ren remarked with some emotion, "I had expected this journey to be extremely dangerous, but I never imagined that the Chief Clerk could persuade Zhang Chun..."

“I didn’t persuade him; I just gave him another option.”

Liu Bei shook his head: "Junyi, you have also done business, you should know that everyone pursues profit. If it is beneficial to everyone, then the business will naturally be easy to negotiate. However, there are many kinds of profit, and at this time, the Gongsun family is that kind of profit."

"The ignorant business I did in the past was completely unaware of this secret..."

Shi Ren followed Liu Bei with great admiration: "I beg you, Chief Secretary, to accept me as your servant. I am willing to serve you with utmost loyalty."

Liu Bei glanced back at Shi Ren and smiled: "You've seen those thousands of Wuhuan cavalry in Changping. Zhang Chun is still my enemy, not my friend. It would be extremely dangerous for him to join my ranks now."

“A man as incompetent and mediocre as me is in danger wherever I am. Chief Secretary has avenged Shi Ren’s family, and I will naturally follow him.”

Shi Ren honestly replied, "I am neither talented nor capable, but I do have some courage. I'm afraid the Chief Secretary will not think highly of me."

"Junyi has been kind enough to deliver the message overnight, and his willingness to follow me into danger has also been meritorious. He is already under my command. However, my army has its own regulations, and Junyi has not yet passed the selection of the military officers, so he cannot join my personal guard for the time being. But Junyi's merits are enough to qualify him to serve as an official under me. I wonder what position Junyi would like to hold?"

Liu Bei asked questions as he walked.

To be honest, Shi Ren is quite capable.

He was courageous, skilled in martial arts, had decent eloquence, was literate, familiar with the customs of the Hu people, and also knew a bit about business, finance, and interpersonal relationships.

Although none of his individual talents are outstanding, together they make him a rare talent, and Liu Bei wouldn't look down on him.

Top-tier generals like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei must be given strategies to achieve victory.

Shi Ren, who may seem unremarkable but is knowledgeable in a little bit of everything, is very suitable for strategizing against defeat—Liu Bei actually needed such a person.

"Serving as a soldier or an officer is a blessing for all men. If the lord gives any order, none of us will dare to disobey."

Shi Ren's face showed joy, and he immediately cupped his hands and addressed the emperor as "Your Majesty".

Liu Bei nodded: "Since that's the case, I'll give you a good job. You've been a merchant before, and you have a past with Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping. You can first become my stable supervisor... Do you dare to go and see Zhang Chun again?"

The Horse Supervisor, also known as the Horse Clerk, was an official under the Chief Clerk, with a salary of one hundred bushels of grain, responsible for the preparation, feeding, and management of military horses... In fact, he was the same as the Horse Keeper.

This position isn't high-ranking, but it's not low either, and it's definitely a good job.

Shi Ren nodded bravely: "Please give your orders, my lord."

"Go find Zhang Chun and do some business... Tell Zhang Chun that I know he's short of food and I'm willing to help him out. Ask him to bring some chariots to exchange for food with me..."

Liu Bei gave Shi Ren a business task: "The Zhang family is indeed short of grain, and Zhang Chun will surely agree... Zhang Chun has kidnapped able-bodied men from Changping, so let him use them to transport grain." "Does the lord intend to use grain transport as an excuse to take back the able-bodied men?"

Shi Ren nodded to indicate that he understood.

"No, how could I plunder friendly forces? I want others to come and take it, and I also want Zhang Chun to have something to do these next few days... Take Zhang Chun's men to Xinting on the Juma River to find Jian Xianhe. You should have heard of Jian Yong, right?"

Liu Bei pondered for a moment and asked.

Shi Ren nodded: "I know Clerk Jian. Last year, I led a group of people to help Commander Guan transport grain. I was hired by Clerk Jian."

"That's good. Xianhe knows what to do about this... and Xianhe happens to be your boss too."

Liu Bei sent Shi Ren to Zhang Chun again and returned to Ji County himself.

……

It's actually quite close from Changping to Jixian, and even closer to Xiying, just fifty li to the south.

Zhang Fei had already led 600 soldiers to garrison the western camp.

Liu Bei specifically asked Zhang Fei to meet him there, mainly to avoid any unexpected incidents on the way back to Ji County, since many powerful families should have already arrived in Ji County by then.

Liu Bei didn't bring many people with him when he went to Zhang Chun's place because he knew that Zhang Chun would at least listen to him finish speaking—as long as he could finish speaking, Zhang Chun wouldn't kill him.

But returning to Ji County was more dangerous than going to Zhang Chun's place.

Because those troops that Guan Yu had previously led south might now be heading towards Ji County.

Those were private soldiers from powerful clans who had previously surrendered to Guo Xun—many of them were out in the wilderness and may not have received any military orders from Liu Bei, or even known that Guo Xun was dead.

But once they get close to Ji County, they will definitely find out about these things, and they certainly won't enter the city on military orders, because they will worry about being purged by Liu Bei.

These people, who impersonated Yellow Turbans to murder Liu Wei, had something to hide and would never obey Liu Bei's military orders.

If they encounter Liu Bei on the way near Ji County, these people will surely be murderous. Therefore, Zhang Fei must lead troops to meet them to ensure their safety.

At the same time, it was also good that after talking with Zhang Chun, he immediately sent a message to Jian Yong and Qian Zhao, asking Qian Zhao to lead troops to Ji County in order to suppress Zhang Chun.

Actually, this can be considered as Liu Bei's improvement. He used to have a gambler's mentality, only thinking about winning and not about losing.

Now that I'm married, my mindset is a bit different; I'll start thinking about a backup plan first.

Trading grain with Zhang Chun was also a way to plan an escape route. It was to ensure that Zhang Chun would not suddenly attack and kill him, and also to bring back the young men who had been kidnapped by Zhang Chun.

There were already powerful clans setting up camp outside the city, and Guan Yu did not allow them to enter the city for the time being.

The powerful families within the prefecture were located at varying distances from Ji County. After receiving Liu Bei's military order, most of them came one family at a time. Currently, only two families have arrived.

Upon seeing Liu Bei's banner, both families sent messengers to deliver orders and entered the city with Liu Bei.

Zhang Fei waited outside the city. Whenever someone came, he would send their leader into the city to discuss matters.

"Since you gentlemen have come here, you are all loyal and brave men. Now that Lord Liu and Governor Guo have both devoted themselves to the country, we must naturally avenge them and punish the traitors."

"The bandit Gongsun clan is currently entrenched in Anci... I have no other plans but to call out names according to the land deeds. Anyone in this prefecture with 10,000 mu of land or a household of 100 people who has not submitted their orders to Ji County within two days is an accomplice of the Yellow Turban rebels, and we shall all join forces to punish them!"

"Whoever defeats the Yellow Turban rebels, the money, grain, goods, land, and tenants they obtain will be their spoils of war... The military achievements they gain will also be reported to the court by General Zong."

"The prosperity of your clans is at this moment! Please sign your names here and be incorporated into the righteous army under General Zong!"

Although not all the people have arrived yet, and he can only talk to them one by one, this is exactly the effect Liu Bei wants. Every time he comes to a family, he will take the military order and ask them to sign and seal it.

After signing the document, they became part of the "righteous army," which was considered a legal confiscation of property.

Money, grain, goods, land, tenants, military merits, official positions...

Isn't this what powerful clans keep their private armies for?
Those who are willing to obey are pulled, and those who are unwilling are beaten. It's that simple and brutal.

In fact, Liu Bei's explanation was more acceptable to the powerful clans than Guo Xun's previous approach—Guo Xun had led his clan's private army to plunder middle-class and common people, seize their land, force them into slavery, and confiscate their money and grain...

But robbing the poor is not as profitable as robbing the rebellious wealthy who don't obey orders.

Robbery and ransacking are two different things.

Moreover, Guo Xun couldn't record military achievements.

The governor had no authority to command troops, Liu Wei refused to cooperate, and did not hand over the two commandery troops to Guo Xun. In addition, Zong Yuan did not allow Guo Xun to fly the banner of Zhonglang General, so this military achievement could not be reported.

On the contrary, Liu Bei, although his official position is not high, is legally in command of troops, and now he is directly joining Zong Yuan, which is perfectly legitimate.

Zong Yuan forbade Guo Xun to use his name because he did not want to be involved in the conflict between the emperor and the powerful clans—helping either side was a crime, and the greater the military merit, the greater the crime.

(End of this chapter)