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

Chapter 173 Distinguished Scholars from Jinan
At the end of March in the second year of Zhongping, bandits from the Black Mountain bandits attacked Ye County.

The villa of the family of Zhang Rang, a high-ranking official, was surrounded. His son Zhang Feng and daughter-in-law He were terrified, thinking they were doomed.

Zhang Feng was not Zhang Rang's godson, but his biological son. Zhang Rang had a child when he was a teenager, and only entered the palace to become a eunuch after giving birth to Zhang Feng.

Moreover, Zhang Feng and the emperor were brothers-in-law.

Empress He was able to catch the emperor's eye because of Zhang Rang's help.

Zhang Feng was the first to discover the beauty of the He family's daughter. He and his son presented He Shi to the palace, and Zhang Feng later married Empress He's sister.

In other words, Zhang Rang's daughter-in-law was Empress He's sister.

Zhang Rang was indeed a member of Liu Hong's family, and it was perfectly reasonable for Liu Hong to call him "Grandpa"—a brother-in-law's father, or uncle by marriage, was indeed addressed as "Grandpa" at that time.

Everyone could understand why the Black Mountain rebels attacked Zhang Feng's home, even Zhang Feng himself could understand it...

Fortunately, Liu Bei, the Commandant of Ganling, sent Zhang He, a separate commander, to provide assistance.

Zhang He led his troops into the Black Mountain army and forced the bandits to retreat.

Zhang Yan, the leader of the Black Mountain bandits, abandoned the siege and retreated to the Zhang River. Zhang He, with few troops, did not pursue him...

Subsequently, all the salt, iron, rice, silk, and other supplies stored by the Guo family of Ye County at the Zhangshui Wharf were looted by the Black Mountain Army.

The Guo family of Ye County had long controlled the salt and iron trade in Wei County and the Zhanghe River waterway, making them a well-known wealthy family in Wei County and the ancestral home of Guo Tu, a famous scholar from Yingchuan.

Zhang Rang was originally from Yingchuan, but after he gained power, his family acquired property in Ye County, Wei Commandery.

There were too many aristocratic families in Yingchuan, and the entire area was filled with partisans. The power of the aristocratic families was too strong. In recent years, the upright officials and the eunuchs were irreconcilable enemies, and the eunuch families faced too many restrictions on their development in Yingchuan. So Zhang Feng moved his entire family to Hebei to acquire property.

The Guo family, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. Originally from Hebei, the Guo family had long controlled the waterway transportation hub, so the gentry of Yingchuan accepted the Guo family members to settle down in Yingchuan. Guo Tu was also appointed as an accountant by Yin Xiu, the prefect of Yingchuan, and became a famous scholar in Yingchuan.

In fact, this is also a business. What the Guo family bought was recognition and reputation, which is the future of scholars.

After the Guo family wharf was robbed, Zhang Rang's son, Zhang Feng, very considerately gave Zhang He a lot of money and food to support the army.

Zhang Feng understood that few aristocratic families were willing to come to the aid of eunuch families, so Zhang He's willingness to provide assistance meant that he should indeed be given some money and provisions as a form of aid.

Actually, doing business with the eunuch's family was quite pleasant; the business was also done in installments, with payments made monthly.

The amount collected was not much; based on the number of people in the clan, each person paid five dou of grain (about thirty jin) per month, which was roughly one person's monthly food ration.

This is the same as collecting a poll tax, except that instead of money, only grain is collected.

This method of acquisition was, of course, intended to discourage the powerful clans of Ji Province from gathering too many people, lest the Black Mountain Army be unable to defeat them, making subsequent business difficult...

At the same time, if any household underreports its population, the Black Mountain Army can ensure that only the number of people they reported remains in that household... just as fair as the imperial court's poll tax.

Five dou per person was indeed not much for Zhang Feng, whose family was not large to begin with. Including all the servants, maids, and other family members, there were only a little over three thousand people in total.

Maintaining a private army consumes food, and money is spent on equipment and military pay. If aid can be obtained at a reasonable price, then it is a business that should be done.

But the Guo family wasn't so sensible.

The Guo family not only refused to pay protection money, but also accused Zhang He of extorting money by demanding exorbitant sums.

To be honest, this does indeed qualify as extortion...

Collecting protection money is entirely voluntary; there is no coercion.

Following Liu Bei's instructions, Zhang He did not argue, but only accepted the protection money from Zhang Feng's family before leading his troops back.

Just a few days later, Zhang Yan made a comeback.

This time, the Guo family's fortified village was completely breached by the Black Mountain Army. Their stored money and grain were looted, and many people died.

The one who led the attack on the fortified village was Zhang Baiqi, a bandit who had just joined the Black Mountain bandits.

Shen Pei did not send troops this time either—not because he did not want to provide assistance, but because he did not have the time.

Zhang Yan feigned an attack on Ye City, preventing Shen Pei from leaving the city. Meanwhile, Zhang Baiqi's raid on Guo Family Fortress was extremely efficient, ransacking the entire house in just two hours, leaving no chance of rescue.

Zhang Baiqi thus officially became one of the important leaders of the Black Mountain Army and built a stronghold on Wujin Mountain north of Zhangshui.

With the Guo family's example in mind, Zhang He's protection fee business began to proceed smoothly in western Jizhou.

The operation was underway in Zhongshan, Changshan, Julu, and Weijun. Zhang Baiqi was responsible for contacting the bandit leaders in each county, while Zhang He was responsible for sending troops to "repel the bandits" and collecting protection fees per person.

If they can get grain, they'll take it; if they can't, they'll just let the Black Mountain raid them.

Soon after, the powerful clans of various counties in Ji Province also began to discuss joining forces. They elected military leaders skilled in leading troops within their counties and quickly formed county armies to protect themselves.

But the money and supplies required to build an army are actually much more than the protection money, and—isn't providing money and supplies to the commanders in the county also a form of protection money?
There's not much difference.

The real difference is that the troops formed by various families in the county might not be able to stop the Black Mountain Army, while the troops sent by Liu Bei would definitely be able to force the Black Mountain Army to retreat...

Even if Liu Bei only sent a few hundred men, he was able to make tens of thousands of Black Mountain troops retreat—in reality, they distributed the grain and transported it back into the mountains, so the trip wasn't in vain.

Sometimes, when Liu Bei didn't have enough men, the Black Mountain Army would help him transport grain to Ganling...

In fact, everyone in Ji Province understood that Liu Bei was most likely colluding with the Black Mountain Army, which was definitely a way of keeping bandits around for his own benefit.

The problem is that the Black Mountain Army is indeed powerful now. Unless the imperial court sends a large army to suppress them, just like it did when it attacked Zhang Jiao, the various counties of Ji Province alone cannot handle it.

As long as the Black Mountain Army remained, the powerful clans of Ji Province could not antagonize Liu Bei, or at least could not openly antagonize him; they could only secretly report against Liu Bei.

After all, the fate of the Guo family is obvious.

But at this point, where would the imperial court find the resources to annihilate the Black Mountain Army?
Moreover, the Black Mountain Army did not attack cities or seize territories; after committing a crime, they would immediately retreat back into the mountains. This kind of banditry was actually the most difficult to eradicate.

For Montenegro, receiving a monthly food allowance is certainly much better than simply robbing a bank.

Zhang Yan needed to sustain the survival of Heishan in the long term. Unlike the powerful clans of Jizhou, he couldn't purchase or allocate grain through their own channels.

With such a large population, Montenegro cannot sustain itself by purchasing food from elsewhere.

If they loot extensively in the short term, they will only completely destroy the surrounding counties of Black Mountain, leaving no place to plunder.

A steady, long-term approach, allowing powerful clans to procure grain and pay monthly tribute, not only ensures a longer-lasting supply but also gradually fosters tacit understandings with those who pay protection money—such as helping them eliminate other powerful clans and allowing them to seize more of their servants' land…

High-quality clients who pay protection money should naturally receive some benefits, and the more land and servants they acquire, the more protection money they will pay.

In business, you can't let customers suffer too much loss, otherwise they'll leave bad reviews.

Too many negative reviews will make it difficult to do business; we need to get customers to give us at least a five-star review.

Zhang Yan now understands what it means to be an official...

In the western part of Ji Province at present, Zhang He is a tax official, Zhang Yan is a government soldier, and Liu Bei... is the imperial court.

The imperial court sent Zhang He to collect poll tax; those who refused to pay were forcibly levied by government troops.

The powerful clans of Ji Province are now truly ordinary people.

This is actually how Jizhou looked when it collected taxes two years ago, only the roles have been reversed.

I wonder if the "people" of Jizhou now will also raise their flags and rebel like the Taiping Dao...

……

Liu Bei wasn't idle in Ganling either; he was working with Liu Yu to recruit refugees.

At this time, the entire Ganling Kingdom had only a few hundred thousand people.

However, the land in Ganling could easily support 300,000 people.

With grain continuously being stored, we should naturally take this opportunity to increase the population and restore people's livelihoods.

This was also in order to quickly strengthen their capabilities.

The military is only one aspect of overall strength, the visible surface of power, but not the whole picture.

Those who survived because of Liu Bei were the ones with true strength.

In fact, Liu Bei's military strength was already quite strong.

There are 1,200 men stationed in Xihe, led by Zuo Yuan and Jian Yong respectively.

There are three in Ganling.

The central army headquarters, commanded by Guan Yu, consisted of a regular force of one thousand men, all fully armored, with squad leaders and above wearing iron armor. It also had four hundred packhorses and one hundred and sixty warhorses. The western commander, Bai Yao, led seven hundred men, selected from the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, currently serving as a second-line force for maintaining order. This second-line force was also fully equipped, though only platoon leaders and above wore iron armor—platoon leaders were transferred from Liu Bei's personal guard.

The area around Cui Yan in the east doesn't count.

Zhang He, the commander of a separate division, currently has an actual strength of 600 men, but recently he has been leading the central army to collect protection money. Guan Yu did not go; Guan Yu was in charge of training the troops.

In addition, Liu Bei's guard consisted of 500 armored soldiers, 300 of whom were cavalry. The guards also served as instructors during training, and Zhang Fei was still their commander.

There are also 1,200 new recruits currently undergoing training. They were just recruited from the Yellow Turbans brought back by Bai Yao. After their training is completed, they will be assigned to the three divisions of troops.

All told, there are already five thousand soldiers.

The remaining 80,000 Yellow Turban rebels in Ganling all regarded Liu Bei as their benefactor. Although there weren't many able-bodied men among them, if the people's livelihood wasn't a concern, mobilizing several thousand men as auxiliary troops wouldn't have been a problem.

If we really want to calculate it, if Liu Bei had mobilized all his forces regardless of the cost, he could have even sent tens of thousands of people.

Zhang Yan was willing to share the profits with Liu Bei not only because Liu Bei's solution could indeed solve the problem, but also because Liu Bei's strength was indeed very strong... stronger than any other force in the Black Mountain Army.

Zhang Yan's direct troops numbered no more than three thousand. Including his family and elderly relatives, Zhang Yan's Dapi Mountain only had thirty thousand people. The total number of people in the more than twenty peaks of Heishan Mountain was three hundred thousand, which did not belong to Zhang Yan's family.

Liu Bei's current military strength is definitely far beyond what is needed for the inland commanderies and kingdoms.

Ganling was a small state. In the past, Ganling only had a Commandant and not a Military Commander. According to regulations, a small prefecture should only have a part of the prefecture's troops, which were led by the Commandant.

However, Liu Bei set up three Sima (military commanders) and one additional commander... This was indeed an overreach of authority.

Of course, times have changed. With the Black Mountain bandits rampant, it's only right that Liu Bei deploys more military forces to defend the territory and protect the people...

After all, to become a pillar of the nation, one must recruit soldiers, build armor, and collect taxes.

—That's what military officers do, isn't it?

To recruit more soldiers, one needs money and provisions. To maintain a continuous supply of money and provisions, one must absorb displaced people to increase the population and simultaneously develop the economy.

This is not an attempt to win over the people.

If people can be fed, treated as human beings, and treated fairly, then the hearts and minds of the people will naturally be won over.

When people can't get enough to eat, feel like they're not being treated like human beings, and feel that things are unfair, then public support will naturally crumble.

However, the "people" here refers to the common people.

There are many kinds of people.

Those who follow the rules are called good citizens.

Those who don't follow the rules are called troublemakers.

Right now, Liu Yu has encountered many troublesome people...

These troublemakers were also refugees, after all, they came to Ganling territory along with the refugees from the plains.

Resettling the refugees shouldn't have been too difficult, since Liu Bei had acquired a lot of grain and freed up a lot of land...

With land, food to sustain them, and a little help such as farm tools, refugees can settle down and make a living.

Liu Yu has been working on this for the past two months, and has settled nearly 20,000 people in the southern part of Ganling, which has been quite successful.

However, subsequently, many 'refugee leaders' dressed in brocade robes led large groups of people to migrate to Ganling.

Those who could afford to wear brocade were certainly not poor people, but they were indeed refugees—they had fled from places like Qingzhou to Ganling, and they were scholars and their families and servants.

These aristocratic families also had no food, no place to live, and were also illegal migrants; they were, of course, refugees.

In fact, from the perspective of officials these days, these people are the real "people." The so-called "buying the hearts and minds of the people" actually refers to buying the hearts and minds of these people.

But if these people are treated the same as ordinary citizens, then it's not an invitation to bribe...

The charitable shelters in Ganling that absorbed refugees were of the same social standing.

Refugees could eat three meals of porridge at the charitable shelter, then register to settle down, first signing a three-year military settlement document, and for three years they would be military settlement residents of Ganling, after which they could obtain temporary residence registration as refugees.

Once you obtain temporary residency, you can receive grain and a month's worth of rations, as well as a plot of wasteland.

After the land is cleared, the migrants can continue to receive rations. The cleared land will be used as military settlement land. As long as they pay the required grain tax within three years, the land will belong to the migrants after three years, and their household registration can be changed to civilian registration.

—These are actually very favorable terms. For those who really want to settle down in peace, there is no pressure or insult. Although military settlements are also tenant households, they are not servants and there is no meaning of enslavement.

The only restrictions are simply to ensure that people farm properly during these few years.

But those scholars from Qingzhou were truly unruly. They registered and settled down, and signed the documents, but they ate all the grain they received—they even ate the grain they planted.

The land, however, remained undeveloped.

Even those who were clearly their servants did not clear the land.

If you don't clear the land, you won't receive any more food rations.

The scholars were very dissatisfied, even hurling insults, saying that the officials of Ganling were insulting the gentry, and even threatening to accuse Liu Yu and Liu Bei of forcing the gentry into slavery—because Ganling treated them the same as the common people…

Moreover, Liu Yu also had some disagreements with Liu Bei over this matter.

“Xuande, many of these people are disciples of great Confucian scholars, and some are even sons of officials from Qingzhou. They all call each other famous scholars. If they continue to cause trouble, it will indeed be disadvantageous for us… I plan to welcome them into the city and treat them well, but I don’t have much money and food on hand. Could you perhaps use some of the surplus food in Xuande’s army?”

Liu Yu still seems unable to let go of the word 'fame'.

"A disciple of a great Confucian scholar? Which great Confucian scholar would be so unwilling to even farm? Isn't passing down the tradition of farming and reading the classics the fundamental principles of a scholar's life?"

Liu Bei shook his head: "Lord Bo'an, these unruly people eat my food and still curse me. I am a petty person and I am unwilling to put up with this... It is already very kind of me not to send anyone to beat them up. Let them fend for themselves."

“But they will certainly ruin our reputation, as well as the reputation of all the officials under them… You and I may be able to stay true to ourselves, but if the officials do good deeds diligently but end up with a bad reputation, then who will be willing to settle the refugees in the future?”

Liu Yu sighed and tried to persuade him.

“That’s true… I’ll go and tell them to shut up.”

Liu Bei nodded, got up, and prepared to go out to commit the crime.

"Hey! Xuande!"

Liu Yu grabbed Liu Bei's arm: "Those people must not be killed, they are all renowned scholars..."

"Bei didn't say he was going to kill them; he just taught them some lessons and told them to shut up."

Liu Bei shook his head and sighed, "These people deserve to be called famous scholars? That's a worthless title... By the way, why are these people in Ganling? Their families must be big landowners."

"They say it was Cao Mengde, the Chancellor of Jinan, who harmed him..."

Liu Yu shook his head and said, "Cao Mengde is just like you, equating scholars with commoners, and in order to eradicate licentious worship, he destroyed the property of many people..."

"In addition, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in Qingzhou. These scholars said that Qingzhou was oppressed by eunuchs above and plundered by bandits below, so they crossed the Yellow River and moved to this place."

Cao Cao did indeed do a lot in Jinan, and banning licentious worship was just one of them.

The term "illegal worship" actually refers to the rampant spread of various illegal rituals.

Starting with the temple of Liu Zhang, the King of Chengyang, there were more than 600 temples dedicated to King Jing in Jinan alone. The temple priests used the rituals to deceive the common people and amass wealth by predicting good or bad fortune, and they also portrayed King Jing as a local evil god.

Its rituals also developed to be very brutal, including blood sacrifices, lewd songs and dances (the kind where men and women are naked), and so on.

Simply put, paying respects to King Jing and giving him money would bring great fortune, while those who didn't usually suffered bad luck within a couple of days—just like how the powerful clans of western Jizhou who didn't pay protection money would encounter Zhang Yan of Heishan.

This is, of course, a way of accumulating wealth controlled by criminal gangs. In Jinan, this method of accumulating wealth has developed into a collusion between officials, temple priests, thugs, and gangsters, and the sacrificial rituals are extremely bizarre.

For example, if someone brings a beautiful woman to the Jingwang Temple to offer sacrifices, and presents the woman naked as a sacrifice, this person will become a county official in Jinan the next day...

For example, if the forces behind the temple want to kill someone who doesn't know any better, they will "manifest their divine power" by making the statue's eyes bleed, then they will cut out the heart of the person who didn't know better and sacrifice them alive. Afterwards, they will see the statue smiling and shining, "manifesting its divine power" again...

In reality, it was a typical case of collusion between officials and the people in organized crime. Cao Cao's actions in Jinan can be seen as a crackdown on organized crime.

Liu Bei raised an eyebrow and laughed, "Cao Mengde has truly become a benevolent official who loves the people like his own children... How did these so-called scholars criticize him?"

"Of course, it means he was cruel and harmful to the people, seized the property of the gentry, dug up graves and destroyed ancestral halls... In short, he was disloyal, unfilial, unkind and unjust."

Liu Yu looked at Liu Bei very seriously: "In order to eradicate licentious worship, Cao Mengde did indeed demolish hundreds of temples dedicated to the King of Chengyang, and also destroyed many shrines and tombs of shamans, so it is not an accusation. But the words of famous scholars are always like this... sharper than swords, and Cao Mengde will probably be dismissed from his post."

“Xuande, if you do something to harm these scholars… I fear it will be more than just being dismissed from office.”

(End of this chapter)