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

Chapter 152 Mi Tian and Huang Tian (5K combined chapter)

Yuyang County, Yuyang Prefecture.

Places where Han and non-Han peoples live together always have some unique scenery.

In Jiuyuan, Bingzhou, one can see Han Chinese settlements and non-Han tribes mixed together, with farmland and grassland coexisting. Different cultures intertwined, but generally speaking, non-Han people were living in Han-dominated areas.

At first glance, Yuyang seems very similar to Jiuyuan, but in reality, it is now a place where Han people live between the lands of the Hu people.

The reason for this statement is that there are almost no civilians left in Yuyang County.

Although it was still controlled by Han people, there were only two kinds of people in this place—nobles and slaves.

In fact, the Zhang family was not the only family in Yuyang County, but all families were like this, using their relatives as soldiers and commoners as slaves, just like the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes.

The most powerful nobleman here is not Zhang Chun, but Zhang Ju.

Zhang Ju was the former governor of Mount Tai and also Zhang Chun's cousin. He had just resigned and returned to his hometown.

Taishan County is a place that values ​​martial arts, and its people are known for their fierce and tough nature—in fact, every place with many deep mountains and forests has a fierce and tough local culture.

Mountain people, when they pick up a hoe, they are civilians; when they put down the hoe, they are bandits. This has been their way of life since ancient times. If they are not fierce, they will easily starve to death.

Now that the Yellow Turban Rebellion has broken out, Taishan County was the first place to respond to the Yellow Turbans.

When it becomes impossible to distinguish between Yellow Turbans, commoners, mountain bandits, outlaws, powerful clans, and so on, the prefect usually has to flee as soon as possible.

Most of the prefects in Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Yanzhou were very agile.

Zhang Ju was also very fast on his feet.

Moreover, Zhang Ju was a studious person—he was very good at learning from the advanced experiences of developed regions…

"If it weren't for my elder brother telling me about Gong Qichou and Liu Zheng's acquisition of the mining profits, our clan would probably have been wiped out... Liu Bei has allied with the various families of Guangyang, and they are all our enemies. Now that we have lost the support of the Wuhuan, what should we do?"

Zhang Chun still seemed shaken.

"Why are you panicking?"

Zhang Ju appeared quite calm: "How can you say that everyone is an enemy? It's just that Liu Bei is your enemy... He released the mine slaves to gain fame, wanting to know the people's support, but he doesn't know that the support of the literati is true fame... As long as the literati all speak of his crimes, then he is guilty of heinous crimes, and no one will dare to walk with him."

Zhang Chun was still somewhat uneasy: "But Liu Bei's schemes are treacherous, causing the clan to lose the profits from copper and iron mines, and also losing tens of thousands of able-bodied men as slaves..."

It was probably only in front of Zhang Ju that he would show such weakness.

“Gong Qichou wants iron, and Liu Zheng wants copper, so just give them to them… But these two have difficulty making connections with the Wuhuan, and they don’t have any manpower available. If they want to mine, wouldn’t they still have to use their own clan’s manpower?”

Zhang Ju shook his head and smiled: "What's the use of ore if it's not smelted? Doesn't it still depend on our sect's iron smelting? In any case, it's just helping our sect rebuild the mines, so how can it be a loss? On the contrary, our sect members are freed from the constraints of mining..."

"Now that we've eliminated the traitor Gongsun in one fell swoop, no one can rival our sect. In a way, Liu Bei has actually helped our sect..."

Zhang Chun thought for a moment, then calmed himself down and sighed: "Whew... That's true, but tens of thousands of mining slaves and thousands of serfs have been taken away by them. Now, Guangyang and Zhuojun are all on guard against me, and the people of Yongnu County hate me to the bone. It's very difficult to bring young men here now... The tribe is short of food!"

They kidnapped people and enslaved them; in their language, this was called 'migranting'.

"If it's difficult to relocate, then don't relocate; if there's a shortage of food, then resort to rice... Zhang Jiao has gained such influence in such a short time, with the common people readily handing over rice to him. He didn't rely on farming..."

Zhang Ju squinted and tapped the table: "His surname is Zhang, and so are ours. We should be of the same lineage."

Zhang Chun was startled, but then nodded firmly: "Now that the Yellow Turban Rebellion has broken out, the court can hardly help us. The fate of the Han Dynasty is nearing its end, and it is time to raise the banner of rebellion..."

"nonsense!"

Zhang slammed his fist on the table: "What does the fate of the Han Dynasty have to do with us? I want to follow Zhang Jiao's example and use the art of incantation to win over the people, not to rebel! Right now, our tribe is short of men, and the Wuhuan are disaffected. If we rebel now, we will truly be enemies of the whole world, and everyone will come to punish the Yellow Turban rebels!"

"Huh? The art of incantation... but that's a medical art, I don't know how to do it..."

Zhang Chun was a little confused. He had left Zhongshan more than two years ago and had not been able to witness the development of Taipingdao in the past two years.

"In Mount Tai, there is a Taoist priest named Dafang of the Taiping Dao. Dafang, a renowned physician, heals people with talismanic water, saying that if they 'believe in the Yellow Heaven,' they will be cured. If they are not cured, it means they do not believe in the Yellow Heaven... He allows believers to pay rice to join the religion, thus exempting them from the imperial court's taxation. He also places rice and meat in charitable institutions, where all believers can take rice and eat..."

Zhang Ju recounted in detail the Taipingdao's operations last year.

"It seems this method requires no medical skills... Elder brother, you intend to...?"

Zhang Chun seemed to understand a little.

"The Wuhuan and Xianbei are all foolish and ignorant people, and they all have a deep belief in the gods. They are more likely to believe in this doctrine than the Han people..."

"The taxes levied on the Hu chieftains are even heavier than those levied by the Han Dynasty, and the suffering of their people and slaves is no different from that of the Han people. We only need to slightly modify the characters of the Taiping Dao (Way of Great Peace) to correspond with the Hu people's concept of 'Heaven'... and we can gather the Hu people and use them!"

Zhang Ju extended his hand and gave a perfunctory handshake: "In the past, we used profit to drive the Hu people. When the profit was there, they stayed; when the profit was gone, they would surely turn their backs. But from now on, we will use 'Heaven' to govern the Hu people, so that they will not turn their backs on us! The Wuhuan, Xianbei, Liaodong mixed Hu... all can be under our control!"

Zhang Chun exclaimed in admiration, "Brother, your insight is brilliant! I believe you are destined to be emperor! However, the gods worshipped by the various barbarian tribes are all different, so we need to find a title that combines all the gods into one..."

“Then it will be called ‘Mitian’… Mitian encompasses all the heavens as one body, and all the barbarians will surely worship it as the true heaven!”

Zhang Ju nodded vigorously.

Not long after, a new sect called Mi appeared outside Yuyang County. Zhang Ju claimed to be a "reincarnation of a celestial being," and Zhang Chun called himself "General Mi Tian." They used the name Mi Tian to perform rituals of incantation.

All the nomadic tribes who bring sheep, horses, and hides to Zhang Ju are welcome to enter the city. They can stay and eat in Yuyang City, or even enter the city to avoid taxes. If any tribal chiefs come to collect taxes, Zhang Chun will lead troops to resist them.

Zhang Ju was right; the Hu people were more likely to believe this kind of thing than the Han people.

Even if he knew nothing about Taoism and relied solely on making things up, with the Taiping Dao as a template, even his fabrications would have some semblance of authenticity.

Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun quickly became saviors in the eyes of the Hu people, and rapidly gathered a large number of Hu people. The various Hu people in the vassal states far away in Liaodong also heard of Mi Tian's name.

The Zhang family of Yuyang quickly became a true powerful clan.

……

Liu Bei ultimately underestimated the officials of the Han Dynasty.

His plan was originally going very smoothly.

Persuading Zhang Chun to fight against Gongsun Ji is like using one tiger to devour another.

Sending Zhang Chun with Han Chinese soldiers to meet Zong Yuan and then sending him to Liaoxi with Qiu Liju's main force was a diversionary tactic.

Shi Ren traded grain with Zhang Chun, instructing Zhang Chun to use the able-bodied men of Changping to transport the grain—a deceptive tactic.

Xianyu Fu led the Wuhuan of Yuyang to plunder grain and people. While Zhang Chun took away the Zhang family's troops, Tian Yu led the way, and Guan Yu and Zhang He attacked two mining areas to release the miners. When Qiu Liju learned that there was trouble at the Zhang family's mines, he would take advantage of the situation and retreat to the border. This was a decisive move.

Zhang Fei led his armored cavalry to "reinforce" Zhang Chun, but in reality, he took away the able-bodied men and provisions that Zhang Chun had captured from Liaoxi, thus cutting off Zhang Chun's food supply. This was a case of taking advantage of the situation.

Subsequently, Liu Bei deployed his troops to cut off Zhang Chun's retreat route, used Xianyu Fujie's grain to supply the troops and miners, and pursued Zhang Chun in Wuzhong and Yongnu on charges of plundering civilians. This was a strategy of waiting in comfort to catch the thief in a trap.

Qian Zhao, the only regular army under the Protector of the Wuhuan, led a team to purge the families in Guangyang County who had once surrendered to Guo Xun, taking their grain to supply the army and clearing out their fields and estates to prepare to receive the young men obtained from Zhang Chun—this was the beginning and the end of the stratagem.

This elaborate scheme was meticulously planned, with provisions, manpower, troops, influence, and land all having their uses, leaving Zhang Chun with virtually no choice.

It may seem complicated, but in reality, each person only has one task, and all of them are within their capabilities, so it's not difficult to operate.

Even if something unexpected happens, Liu Bei himself is there as a reserve force, ready to fill in any gaps.

In fact, it was only when Zhang Chun went to Yongnu County to pick up Tian Yu's mother that he kidnapped the elderly and weak outside Yongnu County and forced them to obstruct Liu Bei's army, which is why he led his clansmen back to Yuyang.

But by this time, the Zhang family's power had waned. Having lost the help of the Wuhuan people, as well as the mines and servants, the destruction of the Zhang family was imminent.

But then, two officials who were originally unrelated to the matter jumped out and ruined the promising situation.

Liu Zheng, the Prefect of Youbeiping, and Qi Chou, the newly appointed Protector of the Wuhuan.

Liu Bei could understand why Liu Zheng wanted to cause trouble—Liu Zheng had a good relationship with the Gongsun family and had done many transactions with them. The dispute over the Rushui copper mine was also because Liu Zheng sold the mining rights to the Gongsun family, making him an adversary of the Zhang family.

The problem is that Liu Zheng didn't intervene when Liu Bei feigned cooperation with Zhang Chun, nor when the Gongsun family was attacked by Zhang Chun. Instead, Liu Zheng only intervened when Liu Bei had clearly decided to deal with Zhang Chun and had him cornered.

Moreover, he immediately listed many of Liu Bei's crimes—raising assassins to kill officials and plot rebellion, privately recruiting Wuhuan to plunder, allowing troops to invade and occupy Youbeiping, and harming the gentry of Guangyang...

Honestly, if we disregard the orders given by Zong Yuan, then everything Liu Zheng said is indeed true.

Liu Bei did indeed maintain an excessive number of soldiers, and he did indeed kill Guo Xun;
It is also a fact that Xianyu Fu mobilized the Wuhuan people to plunder Zhang Chun's grain;

Driving Xianyu Fu, Guan Yu, Zhang He, and others to lead troops into Youbeiping Wuzhong and the mining area can indeed be considered as invading another prefecture;

Eliminating the powerful clans of Guangyang who were dependent on Guo Xun could indeed be considered an act of cruelty against the gentry...

The problem is that all of this was based on Qian Zhao holding the banner of the clan, and Liu Bei was doing it under the orders of the Protector of Wuhuan Zhonglang General to suppress the rebellion.

Originally, the crimes Liu Zheng listed wouldn't have caused any trouble. As the prefect of Youbeiping, he had no right to manage the chief clerk of Guangyang.

Unexpectedly, a new Protector of the Wuhuan, Gong Qichou, also used the same argument, and even added an extra point—that Liu Bei was holding the clansmen hostage, and that all military orders held by Liu Bei were arbitrary orders.

It doesn't matter what the Prefect of Youbeiping says, but if the Protector of Wuhuan says the same thing, then it will create a ripple effect.

Upon arriving, Gong Qichou immediately used military orders to pressure Qian Zhao, forcing him to attack Liu Bei. This was a drastic measure, and also served as a diversionary tactic to relieve the siege of Wei.

According to their positions of authority, Gong Qichou was Qian Zhao's direct superior and also the direct commander that Zong Yuan, the Protector of Wuhuan, should have designated. If Zong Yuan ignored Gong Qichou, it would indeed appear to others that he was being held hostage.

Qian Zhao had no choice but to resign and take Zou Jing's troops to his hometown of Anping to prevent the army from falling into the hands of Gong Qi Chou, and also to take care of his dying father. After being recommended by Liu Bei, Qian Zhao's family became better off and he hired many people to take care of his father, which allowed him to live a few more years, but now his father was also nearing his end.

At this point, Zong Yuan could only recall Liu Bei and try to mediate; otherwise, he would be branded as incompetent, foolish, and a traitor who had been held hostage by villains.

With the main force gone, Liu Bei had to settle the miners and the elderly and weak from Yongnu, so he could no longer pursue Zhang Chun and had lost his pretext for punishing the rebels.

Gong Qichou didn't accept any mediation at all. He didn't dare to see Liu Bei and went to Youbeiping to take over the mines with Liu Zheng...

—Clearly, he was afraid of Liu Bei.

He feared he would end up like Guo Xun.

He also knew that Liu Bei was capable of doing it.

Perhaps it was precisely because he and Liu Zheng were both afraid that they simultaneously reported Liu Bei.

Moreover, Liu Zheng even complained to Lu Zhi, saying that Zong Yuan had been kidnapped by Liu Bei and was causing chaos in Youzhou, and asked Lu Zhi to restrain him.

If it were just a matter of wrangling with Gong Qichou and Liu Zheng, Liu Bei wouldn't be able to pursue Zhang Chun, but he wouldn't be afraid of being punished either, so Liu Bei continued to settle the miners.

But soon after, Lu Zhi seemed to have truly believed Liu Zheng's accusation and sent an envoy with imperial credentials to Ji County, ordering Zong Yuan to quickly quell the rebellion in Youzhou and ordering Liu Bei to immediately go to Guangzong County in Julu Commandery to join the army in attacking Zhang Jiao.

Lu Zhi was the chief general in the campaign against the Yellow Turbans. If he disobeyed orders, he would indeed be considered a traitor.

Zong Yuan needed to protect himself and pacify Youzhou, so of course he couldn't start another war. Moreover, he couldn't label Zhang Chun as a rebel, otherwise Zong Yuan would probably really be kidnapped... After Liu Bei left, Zong Yuan only had Xianyu Fu by his side, so he could only defend Ji County and let Xianyu Fu stationed in Changping to guard against Zhang Chun.

Liu Bei knew that Lu Zhi didn't have a good impression of him to begin with, and the aftereffects left by his predecessor, Lang Ge, were still lingering, so he had no choice but to lead his army south.

This time, he also only brought a thousand soldiers. He had to keep enough troops at home in case Zhang Chun retaliated.

In fact, Liu Bei did gain some benefits; he obtained 5,000 able-bodied men from Zhang Chun—the rest were settled in Guangyang.

……

Guangzong.

Lu Zhi didn't really believe that Liu Bei would kidnap Zong Yuan, but he also didn't believe that Liu Bei was a good person.

Originally, Lu Zhi and Liu Bei didn't have much interaction. In fact, he didn't even know this disciple well before he dismissed Liu Bei. He had many disciples, and Liu Bei didn't like to study at the time. He was just a nominal disciple, not a direct disciple.

It was Yuan Shao who came to tell Lu Zhi that this man had robbed merchants and ruined the family's reputation, and told Lu Zhi to deal with it himself. That's when Lu Zhi first became aware of Liu Bei.

Yuan Shao reminded Lu Zhi that there were bad apples among his disciples, and that he would not punish them for any crimes, so as not to tarnish Lu Zhi's reputation. He allowed Lu Zhi to deal with the situation himself, which was a great act of kindness to Lu Zhi.

As for Lu Zhi, he certainly didn't have a good impression of Liu Bei.

This impression had changed somewhat when Liu Bei used Lu's land to settle refugees, but first impressions are hard to change.

Therefore, when Liu Zheng accused Liu Bei of kidnapping clan members, raising assassins, plotting rebellion, and plundering the gentry, Lu Zhi, while not entirely convinced, still felt that Liu Bei might be capable of some of these actions—such as associating with bandits or plundering…

After all, Liu Bei had indeed done it before, and the evidence was conclusive.

Upon seeing Liu Bei obediently come to report, Lu Zhi's first question was: "Did you plunder the gentry?"

"I only killed a few Yellow Turban rebels... General, I do not wish to argue with anyone, but only wish to inform you that Gong Qichou and Liu Zheng have now acquired the iron and copper mines of Yuyang."

Liu Bei certainly did not recognize the idea of ​​plundering the gentry. Although Guo Xun and the powerful families of Guangyang were all gentry, they were bandits.

Lu Zhi was from Youzhou, so he naturally knew about the mining situation in Yuyang. Moreover, the Guangping Iron Mine and the Rushui Copper Mine were originally state-run mines, and the Miyun Smelting Plant was originally the imperial mint.

"As the Protector of the Wuhuan, Gong Qichou's mission to reclaim mines for the court from the Wuhuan-occupied territory was his duty. Similarly, the Prefect of Youbeiping's management of the region's mineral resources was also his responsibility. Neither of them overstepped their authority..."

Lu Zhi frowned as he looked at Liu Bei. His tone was not stern, but rather more like an explanation: "But as the Chief Clerk of Guangyang, you are in charge of the affairs of Youbeiping, Liaoxi and other counties. That is overstepping your authority and abusing your power. It is not unjust for you to be reported."

It seems that Lu Zhi actually knew what had happened; the messenger he sent had clearly found out the truth.

"General Lu... Master Lu, if I don't take care of this matter, who will take care of the prefect and commoners who were killed by Guo Xun disguised as Yellow Turbans? Who will take care of the young men who were kidnapped by Zhang Chun? Who will take care of Anci County that was plundered by Gongsun Ji? And those tens of thousands of mine slaves... who will take care of them?"

Liu Bei met Lu Zhi's gaze without flinching and changed his address to "Master".

"If you've meddled in all these matters, what is the court supposed to do? Why do you think the imperial clan members shouldn't be involved? Why do you have to step in and take the lead?... Please don't call me 'Master,' I, Lu, am not worthy of that title!"

Lu Zhi shook his head, his brows furrowing even deeper: "Do you know that the crime of accusing you is not just something I can handle? Other matters may be explained by the clan officials, but disregarding the court and overstepping one's authority is a crime that cannot be explained."

"It is true that you led troops into Youbeiping, and it is also true that you illegally occupied the mining area. It is the prefect of Youbeiping's duty to impeach you!"

"If you cannot atone for your crimes by eliminating the real Yellow Turban rebels, how will you defend yourself?"

That's true. Zong Yuan was able to authorize Liu Bei to suppress the rebellion and label the Gongsun family as thieves, so no one in Liaoxi said anything.

However, Liu Bei's occupation of the mining area in Youbeiping was indeed illegal. Although he had to pass through Youbeiping to conquer Liaoxi, passing through the area was one thing, and taking over the area within Youbeiping with his troops was another.

Although the copper mine is no longer under the actual control of the Han Dynasty, this matter is only of little importance if it is not brought up, but it becomes extremely important once it is brought up.

“I admit to this crime… The general summoned me here to atone for my crime with military merits, and I thank the general for his kindness. However…”

Liu Bei turned his head and pointed to the distant Guangzong County: "I've been here before. The city is full of sick and weak people. They are indeed bandits, but they are not soldiers. General, slaughtering rebels does not count towards military merit..."

"When did I say I wanted you to slaughter the rioters?"

Lu Zhi chuckled softly and shook his head: "I know the city is full of sick and weak people, but I didn't ask you to be the first to capture the city... Do you know that Prince Anping, Liu Xu, is in this city?"

"Does the general want to kill him or save him?"

Liu Bei sensed something was wrong.

"No, Zhang Jiao sent someone to me the day before yesterday, saying that he wanted to exchange Prince Anping for grain and medicine with the court."

Lu Zhi sighed: "I have to do this deal. If you can bring back food and medicine, that will be a great achievement."

"This might not be a success..."

Liu Bei sighed as well: "Moreover, the only place with food and medicine right now is Luoyang!"

From now on, I will try to post longer chapters of 5 characters to keep the plot from getting interrupted.

The "Mitian Sect" still exists today, though it's uncertain whether it's related to Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju. However, Zhang Chun did indeed call himself "General Mitian An Ding," and Zhang Ju called himself "Son of Mitian," and was also referred to as "Son of Heaven." After this, the Wuhuan people acted as if possessed, attaching themselves to Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun and causing chaos. It's reasonable to speculate that the two did indeed establish a sect.

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(End of this chapter)