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

Chapter 171 Black Mountain Flying Swallow
End of February in the second year of Zhongping.

Liu Bei resettled more than 30,000 Yellow Turban rebels.

These are the people Bai Rao has been searching for in various parts of Jizhou over the past three months. They include the elderly, the weak, women, and children, and are essentially refugees.

After this incident, Bai Rao publicly committed suicide outside Dongwu City.

Liu Bei found a head in Dongwu City and sent it to Luoyang, claiming that he had led his army to lift the siege of Dongwu City, killed 2,800 Yellow Turbans, and executed Bai Rao, the right colonel of Zhang Liang's Yellow Turban army. Ganling Kingdom was pacified.

These 2,800 people were actually the number of people who died in the infighting among the families in the city.

Subsequently, the military commander of the western army of Ganling was given a position named Bai Yao.

Bai Yao brought back more than 2,500 Yellow Turban soldiers, who were reassigned to various units by Liu Bei. 1,200 who were still willing to join the army were selected to receive formal training, while the rest were distributed to land and settled on the east bank of the Qinghe River.

That year, Ganling did not delay farming. Large tracts of fertile land in the eastern part of Qinghe and the south of Guangwu City were connected, and 80,000 people planted the first batch of new millet in two years on this land.

The Cui family did not lose any land; on the contrary, they increased their land holdings and their servants—most of the slaves left behind by the powerful families who fled Guangwu City were taken in by Cui Lin.

However, the reputations of the Cui brothers, Cui Yan and Cui Lin, were beyond repair, and the fleeing powerful clans portrayed them as ruthless villains.

For example, he was accused of 'massacring the people of Guangwu City,' 'murdering his elders and being disobedient and unfilial,' and 'slaughtering the gentry and seizing farmland.' He was referred to as 'the traitors of the Cui clan' and 'the villains of Guangwu.'

However, they were not only infamous. Liu Bei kept his word and attributed the credit for defeating the Yellow Turbans to Cui Yan. Cui Lin was also recognized as a generous gentry who sold his wealth to relieve famine. In recognition of their merits, Liu Bei officially appointed the two as the Sima of the Eastern Region of Ganling and the Hucao Yuan of Ganling.

The two are now loyal ministers who have rendered meritorious service to the country, but their reputation among scholars is extremely poor.

The once prestigious Cui family of Ganling, known for its classical studies, is now being portrayed by various powerful clans as local tyrants in Jizhou. Countless stories describing the Cui family's deceit and charlatanism have spread rapidly throughout the four prefectures of Hebei, and the once renowned family has been reduced to local bullies and scoundrels.

Many members of the Cui family could not accept this drop in reputation and went to seek refuge with the Cui clan of Anping.

Many clansmen also left their homes, changed their surnames, and moved elsewhere with their retainers, severing ties with the Cui family.

Cui Yan and Cui Lin let these clansmen leave on their own. Cui Lin even changed their household registration, but did not allow them to take their clan servants with them.

The number of Cui clan members in Guangwu City has decreased from over a thousand to several hundred, and most of their retainers and apprentices have also scattered, although they still have tens of thousands of servants.

From this moment on, the Cui family of Ganling transformed from a scholarly clan into a local tyrant and warlord, and their current reputation is roughly the same as that of the Li family of Cheng.

Of course, Liu Bei also had a bad reputation among the gentry. However, Liu Bei had not actually participated in anything like "harming the gentry." The gentry of Ji Province could not fabricate stories to frame court officials, so they portrayed Liu Bei as "a mediocre talent who allowed bandits to cause trouble" and "who may have been harboring bandits to enhance his own power."

—Although the starting point and arguments were somewhat biased, the conclusion was quite fair and not wrong at all…

But in the eyes of the remaining 80,000 Yellow Turban rebels, it was a completely different story.

Liu Bei freed up land belonging to powerful clans to settle these guilty remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, distributed rations to them, re-registered them as commoners, and did not reduce them to the status of lowly or enslaved people.

To others, this might have simply been about settling 80,000 refugees, but to the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it was an immense act of kindness from heaven, earth, and humanity, far exceeding even the virtue of being reborn.

The concept of Heaven, Earth, and Man is defined by the principle that Heaven is above, and Earth is below, where people live. Only with Heaven and Earth can the people in between truly live as human beings.

Without this world, even if one survives and is reborn, one would only continue to suffer torment and would not be considered human at all.

It was at this time that Liu Yu returned from Luoyang and rebuilt Ganling with Liu Bei.

Upon learning of the Cui family's situation, Liu Yu quickly completed all the necessary procedures and immediately recommended Cui Yan for the position of Gentleman of the Palace, and appointed Cui Lin as the Chief Accountant of Ganling. Usually, those appointed as Chief Accountants could be recommended as candidates for the position of Filial and Incorrupt Official after gaining recognition in the officialdom.

Liu Yu did not return with the Prince of Ganling; Liu Hong allowed the Prince of Ganling, Liu Zhong, to remain in Luoyang.

In addition, Liu Yu told Liu Bei that Liu Xu, the Prince of Anping, had been poisoned to death in Luoyang prison for the crime of "treason".

After the main force of the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled at the end of last year and the emperor announced a change of reign title, he pinned the blame for the Yellow Turban Rebellion on Liu Xu, the Prince of Anping, claiming that it had been found that Liu Xu intended to declare himself emperor and therefore instructed his henchmen Zhang Jiao and others to gather a crowd to rebel.

Subsequently, the Emperor ordered General of the Cavalry Dong Zhong, Governor of Henan He Miao, Attendant of the Imperial Secretariat Jian Shuo, and the newly appointed Director of the Imperial Clan Liu Yan to thoroughly investigate the princes and marquises of the imperial clan in various regions to determine if there were any members of the imperial clan plotting rebellion.

Liu Yu also went through the motions of being investigated in Luoyang, so he returned a little late.

"This decree from the Emperor will likely make all the members of the imperial clan feel insecure, but I don't understand why the Emperor would do this. Doesn't the world already seem chaotic enough?"

In the Ganling guesthouse, Liu Yu and Liu Bei discussed this matter privately.

"The Emperor had no choice but to do this... the Northern Army, the Three Rivers Cavalry, the Imperial Guards, the Tiger Warriors, the Three Auxiliary Regions..."

Liu Bei pondered, counting the troops in the capital region on his fingers: "Now, in the three regions of the capital, which army can still completely obey the emperor's orders? If someone were to depose or install an emperor at this time, the emperor would be helpless. Therefore, we can only take the initiative and make every member of the royal family and princes suspected of treason... In this way, no one will dare to depose or install an emperor."

The five battalions of the Northern Army no longer have much to do with the emperor.

There's no need to talk about Yuan Shu, the Commandant of the Changshui Cavalry...

Ma Ridi, the Colonel of the Archers, was a grandson of Ma Rong and the nephew of Ma Lun, the wife of Yuan Kui.

Zhang Wen, the Commandant of the Yue Cavalry, is also the current Minister of Works. Zhang Wen's initial appointment was recommended by Cao Teng. Two years ago, Cao Song temporarily resigned due to the disruption of the grain transport, and Zhang Wen took over his position as Minister of Agriculture. Subsequently, the collection of grain taxes in the capital triggered a major upheaval in Ji Province, and Zhang Wen was then serving as Minister of Agriculture. As soon as the main force of the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled, Zhang Wen was immediately promoted to Minister of Works and also assigned command of the Yue Cavalry Battalion of the Northern Army.

Tunqi Xiaowei Bao Hong was a subordinate of Huangfu Song. When Huangfu Song served as the governor of Beidi, Bao Hong was his supervisor—the supervisor of the imperial guard was the most trusted general in charge of the personal guard.

Guanqiu Yi, the infantry colonel, was previously a subordinate of He Jin, serving under the Grand General, but it was Yuan Shao who recommended him to He Jin…

The Five Battalions of the Northern Army are just a typical example. Most of the original Sanhe cavalry also died in battle in Nanyang. The troops that Zhu Jun brought back to Luoyang to receive rewards were similar in composition to the Five Battalions of the Northern Army.

The Imperial Guards were under the command of He Jin, but the facility was essentially useless, serving as a combination of a nursing home and a kindergarten.

The Tiger Warriors consisted of two colonels, the left and right. The left colonel was relatively normal, commanded by General Dong Zhong, the nephew of Empress Dowager Dong, and had a strength of about a thousand men. This force was barely loyal to the emperor, but they had to guard various imperial mausoleums and serve as palace guards. With only a thousand men, they were not even enough for shift patrols.

The Right Colonel is under the command of Yuan Shu, the Tiger General of the Central Army, but the elite troops of the Right Colonel have been transferred out, and now they are all old and weak.

The West Garden Branch, newly established by Huangmenling Jian Shuo under the guise of filling vacancies in the Tiger Guard, currently has less than a thousand men, all of whom are raw recruits. Although many skilled martial artists have been drawn from the Tiger Guard to serve as instructors, it is not yet capable of forming a true fighting force. Some Tiger Guard members have resigned because they were unwilling to obey the eunuchs, such as the famous swordsman Wang Yue.

The entire area surrounding Luoyang had tens of thousands of troops.

But in reality, the only troops the emperor can actually command are Dong Zhong's thousand elite soldiers and Jian Shuo's greenhorn recruits.

With fewer than two thousand men, their strength was even less than Liu Bei's.

If all the powerful families were to unite and launch a coup to depose Liu Hong, then hold another imperial selection to choose a minor member of the royal family to establish a new emperor, then Liu Hong would truly be helpless.

Therefore, Liu Hong's thorough investigation of the royal family's rebellion at this time was actually a way to protect his own reputation—by pinning Zhang Jiao's rebellion on the Prince of Anping, he was making a declaration that anyone who now harbored thoughts of deposing or installing a new emperor was a second Zhang Jiao, and the whole world could unite to punish them.

After all, Liu Hong had been emperor for so many years, and although he no longer had military power, his edicts still carried some weight.

Now that various powerful families are dividing up the military power in Luoyang, they all naturally have their own selfish motives. No one wants to get their hands dirty or their reputation tarnished, which is why Liu Hong is able to survive in the cracks.

Liu Hong actually understands the mentality of these wealthy families very well.

In addition, there were the proverbs and strange phenomena such as rare flowers and herbs that Liu Yu had put a lot of effort into spreading—if something happened to Liu Hong now, Yuan Wei would immediately become the second Wang Mang.

Just as the emperor issued his edict to thoroughly investigate all the princes and marquises, Minister of Works Yuan Kui suddenly requested to resign, citing that he was too grief-stricken to manage affairs after his wife's death, was ill, and was temporarily unable to return to Luoyang.

Clearly, Yuan Wei understood Liu Hong's intentions and quickly resigned his post to avoid suspicion.

It doesn't matter whether he holds an official position or not. Even if he doesn't hold any official position, he will still be the head of the Yuan clan of Runan and the leader of scholars in the world.

However, Yuan Wei's absence from Luoyang will ultimately give Liu Hong more room to struggle.

In order to raise funds to form a new army as soon as possible, and to get some usable people to resist the powerful families, Liu Hong started selling official positions again.

Due to widespread economic hardship, a sluggish market, and an urgent need to raise funds, Liu Hong implemented an extremely advanced "use first, pay later" and installment payment policy.

In other words, you can get the official position first and then receive the money, with payments made in monthly, quarterly, or annual installments, and the number of installments can be negotiated...

This is not just about raising funds...

These days, you can't just deduct money directly from a bank card; you have to pay in installments. This requires frequent contact with the palace and sending a "collection team" out of the capital to collect the money. At the same time, this policy suits the tastes of party members and scholars—the upright officials value their reputation, and wouldn't spending too much money at once to buy an official position ruin the hard-earned reputation of the upright officials?
We are completely honest and incorruptible, and have never been tainted by money!
If one could become an official without spending money, and then be "coerced into bribing by the hateful eunuchs" or pay money secretly without anyone knowing, wouldn't that give one both fame and official position?

They could even use the pretext of extorting bribes from eunuchs to swindle money from the land, and still gain a good reputation for it...

For example, Cui Lie, the head of the Cui family in Anping and the Minister of Justice, was actively contacting the palace—or rather, the palace was contacting him.

Madam Cheng, Liu Hong's former nanny, negotiated a deal with Cui Lie in Luoyang—taking advantage of Yuan Kui's resignation, Liu Hong planned to sell the position of Minister of Works to Cui Lie.

Moreover, Liu Yu was given a small task: to collect installment payments from the Cui family every month... which meant he was in charge of debt collection.

However, Liu Yu was not familiar with the Cui family, and he was not good at debt collection.

Seeing that Liu Bei had already made dealings with the Cui family and had even obtained a large amount of grain from them, Liu Yu handed over the task to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei then handed the job over to Cui Yan—who was now Liu Bei's subordinate, and the military commander of the prefecture was naturally required to obey the commandant's orders.

This wasn't to exploit Cui Yan, but rather to drag the Anping Cui family, who had already become warlords, down with them.

The Cui family of Ganling is the main branch of the Cui clan. Since the main branch has already "harmed the gentry and acted disobediently and unfilially," then the Anping branch should at least be "covered in money and clinging to eunuchs." Otherwise, how can the two families maintain a balance?
……

Meanwhile, in Gaoyi.

Huangfu Song has been trapped in the city for two months.

He wasn't idle these past two months—he kidnapped the families of various powerful clans in Gaoyi and forced them to hand over their clan soldiers to him for unified command.

Even so, the troop strength was still insufficient to break through the encirclement.

Huangfu Song's own troops were all elite, numbering about 1,500. He also gathered more than 4,000 miscellaneous troops from various families within the city, leaving Gaoyi with a total force of less than 6,000.

Normally, a force of nearly six thousand men would be enough to maintain the stability of a state.

But right now, the Black Mountain Army alone, which is besieging the city with Chu Yan, numbers 20,000.

Less than 30 li east of Gaoyi, Zhang Niujiao's army attacking Yingtao numbered approximately 30,000.

There is also Zuo Zi's large army in Zhongshan. It is said that they have already captured Lu Nu and are heading south. They are already close to the Xiaquyang area, and their numbers exceed 20,000.

Although these bandits' troops were not considered a strong army, their numbers were truly terrifying... Moreover, these bandits were unlike the Yellow Turbans south of the Yellow River—the Black Mountain and Taihang Mountain bandits did not send out old and weak soldiers, but only young and strong men.

Seventy thousand able-bodied men...

The fact that so many people could be mobilized means that there are even more people providing logistical support for these young men. Even if the proportion of people providing logistical support to the bandits is relatively low, the total number must still exceed 100,000.

Even if an army of 100,000 used only hoes, they could level Gaoyi.

Yingtao was garrisoned by armed forces from various powerful clans in Jizhou. This was originally intended to claim land in Julu—most of Julu was now uninhabited and vacant land, which was actually quite fertile. After the main force of the Yellow Turbans was quelled, the various clans in Jizhou discussed how to divide the land in Yingtao.

Therefore, each family brought a lot of manpower and grain to Yingtao—both for growing grain and for having enough food for half a year.

Zhang Niujiao attacked Yingtao in order to obtain grain.

Chu Yan besieged Gaoyi not only to shield Zhang Niujiao from behind and cut off Ying Tao's support, but also to eliminate Huangfu Song.

Black Mountain had taken in too many remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and they all wanted to kill Huangfu Song, driven by both official business and personal grudges.

As for Huangfu Song, if he couldn't break through the encirclement quickly, Zuo Zi from the north would come over in a few days and join forces with Zhang Niujiao and Chu Yan, then he would have no chance at all.

Xiaquyang is not far from Gaoyi. He must break through the encirclement within three days, or he'd better slit his own throat...

In truth, Huangfu Song was indeed a renowned general. Although he often suffered heavy losses while leading his troops, he always managed to achieve his goals.

He organized the various powerful clans' troops to break out to the south, luring Chu Yan to lead troops to intercept them, while he himself betrayed the private armies of the various powerful clans and led his own troops to launch a surprise attack towards Yingtao.

There was Zhang Niujiao's 30,000-strong army in the direction of Yingtao. Chu Yan really did not expect that Huangfu Song would lead a small number of troops to break through in the direction with the largest number of troops. Zuo Zi was coming to the north to provide reinforcements, and Zhang Niujiao's army was in the east. If they broke through from Gaoyi, shouldn't they go south and west?

By the time Chu Yan had dealt with the larger number of private soldiers from the powerful clans in the south and seized Gaoyi, Huangfu Song had already rushed behind Zhang Niujiao's army.

Huangfu Song was indeed skilled at surprise attacks. Taking advantage of Zhang Niujiao's siege, he raised his banners and made a great commotion, breaking into Zhang Niujiao's main camp as "reinforcements".

Zhang Niujiao had a large army and was originally able to stop Huangfu Song's attack, but at this time, the troops in Yingtao County saw that a "large army was coming to the rescue," and their morale soared. They all came out of the city to attack from both sides.

Zhang Niujiao had no choice but to order his troops to form two separate battle formations on the east and west sides, waiting for Chu Yan to lead his army to defeat them in one fell swoop. However, the Black Mountain Army's training level was not yet at the point where they could be used as limbs, and there were many gaps between the various units.

Huangfu Song seized the opportunity, and on Ying Tao's side, a powerful clan leader also seized this fleeting moment.

However, their choices were very different...

The powerful clan leader was named Zhao Fu, a native of Changshan. Seeing that Zhang Niujiao's army was not in formation and that Zhang Niujiao himself was there, he led his troops to charge into the enemy lines and attack Zhang Niujiao's main force.

Zhao Fu had only a few hundred soldiers, but he broke through Zhang Niujiao's army and almost reached Zhang Niujiao's side.

Only twenty or thirty paces away, Zhao Fu shot an arrow that struck Zhang Niujiao in the chest. The arrow was so powerful that it pierced through Zhang Niujiao's breastplate.

The Black Mountain army, in its attempt to rescue Zhang Niujiao, lost its formation, which ironically gave Huangfu Song an opportunity to escape.

Taking advantage of the chaos in Zhang Niujiao's army, Huangfu Song quickly fled among the various tribes of Heishan. His troops were small, and he was quite agile in his escape.

Furthermore, by sacrificing pawns to save himself, he successfully led the remaining five hundred or so men to escape the battlefield.

Zhao Fu had originally fled with Huangfu Song, but Huangfu Song deliberately abandoned him halfway through. Zhao Fu almost lost all his clan soldiers and escaped alone on horseback, wounded.

Soon after, Chu Yan arrived and captured Yingtao County, but by then Huangfu Song had disappeared and Zhang Niujiao was seriously injured and on the verge of death.

Before his death, Zhang Niujiao entrusted Chu Yan with the command of the Black Mountain Army.

Zhang Niujiao had no children, so in order to ensure that Zhang Niujiao's lineage would continue and to show his ambition to carry on the legacy of the Yellow Emperor, Chu Yan changed his name to Zhang Yan and held a funeral for Zhang Niujiao as his adopted son.

Subsequently, Zhang Yan led his troops out of Yingtao and turned towards Changshan.

Upon learning that Zhang Niujiao was shot and killed by Zhao Fu, Zhang Yan, as the adopted son, naturally felt obligated to avenge his father.

Zhang Yan made a very good show of force, and the Black Mountain troops not only did not scatter because of Zhang Niujiao's death, but became more united because of revenge.

However, Zhang Yan and Liu Bei had no close relationship, so he only informed Zuo Zi.

After Jiu Chi's death, the connection between Heishan and Liu Bei was already much less. Zhang Niujiao was also different from Zuo Zi. Zuo Zi and others' families were all in Xihe, but the Heishan army did not have such a close relationship with Liu Bei.

Liu Bei learned of Zhang Niujiao's death from Zuo Zi.

After Zuo Zi conquered Lu Nu, he intended to meet with Zhang Niujiao, but he learned of Zhang Niujiao's death. Chu Yan had only raised an army for a year, and Zuo Zi was not familiar with Chu Yan, but was only familiar with Zhang Niujiao.

After Zhang Niujiao's death, Zuo Zi sent his troops back to the Taihang Mountains, attended Zhang Niujiao's funeral, and sent a message to Liu Bei.

Not long after, Zhang Yan led his army to conquer the Zhao family in Zhending, but did not continue to attack Zhending. He only killed Zhao Fu and then led his troops back to Heishan, and sent people to search for Huangfu Song's whereabouts.

……

When Liu Bei received the news, it was already March, and there were no more bandits in Ji Province.

In fact, everyone, including Liu Bei, launched their campaigns at the beginning of the year in order to obtain enough food and seeds.

Now that the grain and seeds have been obtained, no one will delay farming anymore; for everyone, grain is the top priority.

Zhang Niujiao was an old friend who had helped Liu Bei, so of course Liu Bei had to pay his respects. After receiving the news, Liu Bei took his guards to Black Mountain.

Not only do we need to pay respects to our deceased friend, but we also need to see Zhang Yan; we cannot lose our ally, the Black Mountain Army.

(End of this chapter)