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

Chapter 174 Governor
“Lord Bo’an, these so-called famous scholars are nothing but the sons of corrupt officials behind the licentious cults in Jinan. If they were truly capable, they wouldn’t have been forced to flee with their entire families by Cao Mengde.”

Liu Bei slowly said, "At the beginning of the year, a great rebellion broke out in Qingzhou. There were 100,000 people in Jinan, Pingyuan and Beihai, all calling themselves Yellow Turbans. This is even worse than the Yellow Turban Rebellion last year."

"After Cao Mengde eradicated the licentious worship in Jinan, rectified the officialdom, and forced these so-called famous scholars to flee with their families on charges of witchcraft, the riots in Jinan were immediately quelled, while the Yellow Turbans in Pingyuan and Beihai remained unchanged."

"If Duke Bo'an treats these so-called famous scholars well, allowing them to gain a foothold in Ganling and bring the same methods from Jinan to Ganling, what will become of Ganling in the future?"

"If the rioters in Ganling rise up again, what we will lose is far more than just our official positions."

"In the past two months, Lord Bo'an has witnessed the respect of the people. I wonder, in Lord Bo'an's heart, do the hearts of the people weigh more, or the words of the scholars?"

After speaking, Liu Bei looked at Liu Yu, waiting for Liu Yu to think it over.

Liu Yu has indeed gained a lot of respect in the past two months. It is true that he likes to seek fame, but he can also treat the people well. The 20,000 refugees he settled truly regard Liu Yu as a benevolent ruler.

Now Liu Yu no longer deliberately wears patched clothes; he is now genuinely doing practical work. Cui Yan and Cui Lin are also well-managed by Liu Yu, and the Cui family has also contributed a lot to resettling refugees.

In recent days, people have often brought fresh wild fruits or freshly caught fish and shrimp to Liu Yu's door—these are gifts from refugees who have received help from Liu Yu, and are indeed given in gratitude.

Of course, Liu Bei had even more, so much that his guards couldn't finish it all. He then distributed it to the women and children who had voluntarily cleaned up Ganling County, which resulted in even more wild game being sent over.

“I, Liu Bo’an, once formed a clique to seek fame. At that time, I was not happy when I gained fame, but rather felt a sense of panic that my virtue did not match my reputation. Now that I am truly praised by young and old alike, and see a bunch of fresh fruit in front of my door every day, I know what true fame is…”

"But...but most people in the world are like Liu Bo'an before, they don't know what's true and what's false, they only know what they've heard...Xuande, I also know that those famous scholars are not good people, but only famous scholars can spread their words throughout the world..."

Liu Yu certainly preferred the hearts of the people, but he also feared infamy—he was good at being famous and craved fame, so he feared it.

"Then let them be unable to speak."

Liu Bei, however, felt no fear: "Lord Bo'an, among those famous scholars, who is the most renowned?"

"The most outstanding scholar was Tao Qiuhong from Pingyuan. He was as famous as Kong Rong from Lu and Bian Rang from Chenliu, and was the foremost scholar in Qingzhou."

Liu Yu replied, "But Tao Qiuhong was not from Jinan, so he should have nothing to do with the licentious worship in Jinan."

"Tao Qiuhong? He must be involved in the Jinan incident."

Liu Bei shook his head and said, "These people from Jinan did not migrate here by accident. The Yellow Turban rebels in Pingyuan were not yet quelled, and the Yellow River separated them. If no one had guided them, how could those people from Jinan have crossed the Yellow River and come to Ganling from Pingyuan?"

“Lord Bo’an, do you believe it or not, they came specifically for you…”

Liu Bei was certainly aware of the names of Tao Qiuhong, Kong Rong, and Bian Rang.

These three men were renowned for their "pure and eloquent scholarship, and literary talent that surpassed their contemporaries." All three were recommended for the civil service examination, yet they all refused to accept official positions from the imperial court, and were regarded as the most outstanding scholars.

Both Liu Dai and Liu Yao were recommended as outstanding talents by Tao Qiuhong to Jiao He, the governor of Qingzhou. At this time, both Liu Dai and Liu Yao were serving as censors in the court. These were supervisory officials who were in charge of local judicial affairs, supervision, impeachment, and handling rumors.

Tao Qiuhong was not yet thirty years old, but he was already recommended by many censors in the Censorate. He might not be able to accomplish anything, but it would be very easy for him to get local officials removed from their posts.

However, Tao Qiuhong's trip to Ganling was certainly not to force Liu Yu and Liu Bei to resign...

"Xuande, are you saying that Tao Qiuhong came to Ganling specifically to harm me? I have no grudge against him, surely not?"

Liu Yu failed to understand Liu Bei's meaning.

"Of course, he doesn't intend to harm Duke Bo'an. He probably wants Duke Bo'an to benefit greatly... If Duke Bo'an treats this person with respect and regards him as an honored guest, perhaps in a couple of days, strange phenomena will appear at Duke Bo'an's place, such as a white dragon entering the room or auspicious clouds circling the beams..."

Liu Bei pointed to the sky: "Those people in Jinan are good at using ghosts and gods to create illusions. Bo'an is a member of the imperial clan and a man of outstanding talent. It just so happens that the emperor is currently conducting a strict investigation of the imperial clan. In addition, I have several thousand elite troops in Ganling..."

Liu Yu shuddered: "Tao Qiuhong spoke with me yesterday, saying that there was a purple aura coming from the east in Ganling, but it was suppressed by dark clouds... I thought he was reminding me to treat scholars well, but now it seems that this person is indeed up to no good!"

"Ha, a famous scholar invites recognition and is recommended for the civil service examination, yet he refuses to take office... What else could he be after but this ambition? Throughout history, which of those who sought fame and prestige wasn't plotting rebellion?"

Liu Bei smiled apologetically at Liu Yu: "Lord Bo'an gained a great reputation in the past, and now he has settled the refugees. Tao Qiu Hong probably thinks that Lord Bo'an is also a person who tries to win people's hearts and plot big things."

Liu Yu pondered for a moment, then sighed: "In the past, I was not thoughtful enough and gained a false reputation, which led to me being entangled by cunning and treacherous people. But Tao Qiuhong cannot be killed. Killing him would inevitably lead to our dismissal from office. Now that Ganling has just been pacified and everything is in need of rebuilding, if neither of us is here, Ganling will surely fall into chaos again, and I don't know how many people will die..."

That's true. Although Tao Qiuhong didn't hold an official position, he did wield considerable influence in the imperial court.

If Liu Bei and Liu Yu lose their official positions, putting aside other matters, the 100,000 or so Yellow Turban rebels and refugees who have just been settled in Ganling will most likely be in trouble—they have already planted hundreds of thousands of acres of grain, and those are the prime farmland on the east bank of the Qinghe River that everyone envies.

If Liu Bei loses his official position, all the powerful clans in Ji Province will surely come to seize the land in Ganling. Whether they can seize it or not is uncertain, but Ganling will definitely not be able to farm properly, and it is hard to say how many of those 100,000 people will survive.

“I will handle this matter. Lord Bo’an can simply sign a document appointing him as the head of the decision-making department.”

Liu Bei stood up, sword in hand: "As for famous scholars, I've already appointed several. Cui Yan could be a Sima, Cui Lin could be a Gongcao, so why can't Tao Qiuhong be a Juecao?"

……

Tao Qiu Hong, courtesy name Zilin, was not surnamed Tao. Tao Qiu was a compound surname, which was adopted by a nobleman of the State of Song in the early Qin Dynasty to avoid disaster.

Liu Bei's method of dealing with Tao Qiu Hong was actually quite simple.

First, they arrested several scholars from Jinan on charges of insulting and framing their superiors—this was not a wrongful imprisonment, as these scholars had indeed insulted Liu Bei and Liu Yu, and even claimed that they had "forced the gentry into slavery," which constituted framing officials.

Insulting officials was certainly a crime, but in the Han Dynasty, people were not usually punished for their words; they were usually just reprimanded. So the scholars were not afraid and all signed their confessions.

However, according to Han law, insulting the prime minister should at least result in being slapped and forced into labor. If it involves framing an official, the minimum punishment should be cutting out the tongue and exile.

The verdicts all stated "tongue cut out and exile to the south"...

Upon learning that the Jinan scholar had been imprisoned and severely sentenced, Tao Qiuhong hurriedly went to Liu Yu's door.

But Liu Yu left, leaving Liu Bei in the official residence.

"Why is Commandant Liu arresting scholars without cause? Is he trying to emulate the eunuchs' wickedness? I heard that Commandant Liu sent troops to rescue Zhang Feng of Wei Commandery, but did not aid the Guo family, who are also in Ye County. It seems that he has deep connections with both the eunuchs and the Black Mountain bandits..."

When Tao Qiuhong met Liu Bei, he was quite impolite and immediately started to label him.

“Zhang Feng is related to the emperor by marriage. As a Han official, how can I not save him? Does the Guo family also have a marriage alliance with the emperor? It is the Commandant of Wei Commandery who should save the Guo family, not me, the Commandant of Ganling.”

Liu Bei glanced sideways at Tao Qiu Hong, then pointed to the bamboo slips on the table: "Lord Tao Qiu, you've come here for these traitors of Jinan, haven't you? If you insist on falsely accusing me, then you'll be guilty of the same crime as these traitors, and should be punished by having your tongue gouged out..."

"How can such a cruel punishment be inflicted upon scholars?!"

Tao Qiuhong's face was grim: "How is this trip any different from that of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty?!"

He didn't let up verbally, but he really didn't dare to mention Liu Bei again.

"This punishment is in accordance with Han law. If Lord Taoqiu feels it is inappropriate, the Prime Minister is preparing to recruit Lord Taoqiu as the Chief Judge... Lord Taoqiu can take on the role of Chief Judge and then change the judgment himself."

Liu Bei looked at Tao Qiu Hong with a forced smile and said, "The Prime Minister went out today to personally invite Lord Tao Qiu, but I didn't expect Lord Tao Qiu to come to the government office..."

"You arrested my friend just to force me to become an official?"

Tao Qiuhong asked, frowning.

"That's not quite right... I'm just a rough fellow from Youzhou, I only know about military affairs, not law. The prime minister, on the other hand, is upright and must enforce the law—if he does, then he'll have to cut out their tongues."

Liu Bei patiently explained, "The Chancellor also felt that this article of the Han law might be somewhat cruel, which is why he asked Lord Taoqiu to make the final decision, in order to obtain a judgment that is both lawful and reasonable."

After saying this, Liu Bei handed several scrolls of bamboo slips to Tao Qiuhong.

Tao Qiuhong read through the scrolls one by one. The bamboo slips recorded the crimes committed by the scholars of Jinan, along with the evidence, witnesses, and the scholars' own confessions and signatures—everything was included. The evidence was truly conclusive; even the individuals involved confessed their crimes…

"He is indeed guilty and deserves punishment, but he should be dealt with according to the proper laws. This decision is made by Cao Wu..."

Tao Qiuhong's expression softened, and he accepted the position of Jue Cao.

The following day, several Jinan scholars who had been imprisoned were sentenced to corvée labor, but not forced labor; instead, they were assigned to persuade displaced people to relocate throughout the prefecture.

This task doesn't actually require military service in Ganling, because it's something that Baiyao's troops are doing.

Moreover, it's less about convicting someone and more about planting one's own people in a dangerous location...

Liu Bei didn't care how Tao Qiuhong was sentenced. Anyway, when the soldiers took the judgment to the prison to pick him up the next day, the judgment document said, "He spreads heresies and misleads the public, and is sentenced to death according to military law. He may surrender silk to reduce his sentence by one degree, and be punished with castration and facial tattooing and sent back to his hometown."

This was a punishment in accordance with Han law, but it was much harsher than the original punishment...

The scholars of Jinan were terrified and asked why the punishment was so severe, and why someone could be killed for uttering a few words of abuse.

The soldiers who brought the man all said that it was the newly arrived judge, Tao Qiu Hong, who changed the verdict.

All the soldiers in Ganling were under Liu Bei's command, and all the county soldiers in Ganling were recruited by Liu Bei from the Yellow Turbans. Of course, they did whatever Liu Bei told them to do.

In the following days, some more scholars were arrested for crimes such as "causing trouble in their hometowns," and Tao Qiuhong continued to receive lenient sentences.

However, when the county sergeant brought people to justice, they were all sentenced to heavy punishments, mostly death sentences such as beheading or strangulation. They could also pay money to reduce their sentences by one degree—to castration and being sent back to their hometown.

Subsequently, all these scholars from Jinan were castrated, and Zhang Fei led troops to send them back to Jinan, where they were handed over to Cao Cao.

Along with the letter, Liu Bei also sent a letter containing only a few words: "Brother Mengde, when you served as the Northern Commandant, you strictly upheld the law. Why then are you not punishing these scoundrels who spread rumors and mislead the public? These scoundrels have fled to various places and continue to cause harm. Now, I have decided to punish Cao Tao and Qiu Hong according to the Han law. I request that Brother Mengde strictly supervise them, urge them to pay their silk, and not let these scoundrels go out again!"

This was actually telling Cao Cao how to win over these so-called famous scholars.

A few days later, Liu Yu indeed witnessed a strange phenomenon—similar to what Liu Bei had described: first, a white snake coiled around a pillar, then purple smoke swirled around the beams…

Tao Qiuhong did not explicitly mention the deposition or installation of an emperor, but instead told Liu Yu the story of Emperor Gaozu slaying the white snake.

However, Liu Yu did not kill the white snake. Instead, he scolded Tao Qiuhong and then dismissed him from his post and sent him back to Pingyuan.

Tao Qiuhong was unaware of Liu Bei's machinations. He initially thought that the scholars from Jinan had been released to serve as counselors, but upon returning to Pingyuan, he learned that they had all been castrated, and that he himself had made all the judgments—the judgment slips even bore his personal seal.

The words written on bamboo slips are easy to alter. Even if they are carved with a knife, there is someone like Zhang Fei, who is more skilled at carving bamboo slips, who can still make changes.

This wasn't really a case of framing someone, because these judgments were indeed made according to the law, but Tao Qiuhong's reputation in Qingzhou was beyond repair...

Tao Qiuhong was indeed guilty of "persecuting scholars." The scholars who had been castrated would certainly not give him a good reputation. Even if the scholars of Jinan did not believe that Tao Qiuhong had made the judgment, they would still hate him...

Such is human nature: those who suffer losses will hate Liu Bei, who captured them, and Tao Qiu Hong, who led them to Ganling and caused them harm.

Tao Qiuhong thus became a cruel official, and one who would castrate people at the drop of a hat. The Qingliu Party would definitely distance itself from him.

At the same time, the future of those Jinan scholars who were castrated was completely ruined, and they could no longer associate with scholars... Regardless of whether a scholar was a vanguard of the Qingliu Party before, once he was castrated, most Qingliu scholars would no longer associate with him.

If they still have ambition, then they can only learn from Zhang Rang and try to get a job in the palace.

However, the eunuch faction might not be willing to accept them...

Cao Cao received Liu Bei's letter in Jinan and also took in those castrated scholars. He then probably realized what was going on and quickly arrested dozens more people in Jinan, and put the castrated men sent back by Liu Bei in charge of the punishments.

Soon, dozens more eunuchs appeared in Jinan, and the officialdom in Jinan suddenly became as clean as water. There were no more civil unrest, and Cao Cao truly became the benevolent ruler of the people of Jinan.

After that, no one from Ganling came to cause trouble again.

The practice of mass-producing eunuchs in Ganling and Jinan truly frightened the Qingliu Party members, who were usually fearless.

Many people privately reported Liu Bei, but it had little effect, because if you wanted Liu Bei to be removed from office, you had to remove Liu Yu first.

Liu Yu was Liu Bei's direct superior. Even if Liu Bei's position as Commandant was removed from the Sikong Mansion, Liu Yu could still appoint Liu Bei as a Separate Commander and still have control over all the troops.

Liu Yu did not do anything to wrong the scholars; in fact, he continued to help them.

Besides, the current Minister of Justice, Cui Lie, is currently negotiating an installment payment plan with Liu Yu, and Cui Lie certainly wouldn't offend Liu Yu at this time...

Only Huangfu Song, the governor of Ji Province, could rightfully remove Liu Bei from office.

However, at this time, Huangfu Song was instead stripped of his position as Governor of Ji Province.

Huangfu Song's capital, Gaoyi, was captured by the Black Mountain bandit Zhang Yan. He fled in disarray with only a few hundred soldiers, and naturally, he could no longer remain the governor of Ji Province.

Last winter, the Xianling Qiang people in the north, along with bandits from Fuhan and Heguan, rose in rebellion, enthroning Gong Boyu and Li Wenhou, the Yi Cong Hu of Huangzhong, as generals, and killing Ling Zheng, the Protector of the Qiang.

Bei Gong Boyu and others kidnapped Bian Zhang, the military supervisor of Jincheng, and Han Sui, the official in Liangzhou, and put them in charge of military and political affairs.

In February, the Liangzhou rebels attacked and killed Chen Yi, the governor of Jincheng, and occupied the Jincheng Horse Ranch.

By early April of the second year of the Zhongping era, the Liangzhou rebels had tens of thousands of cavalry. Beigong Boyu led his army to plunder the Three Auxiliary Regions and marched into Chang'an under the pretext of "killing the eunuchs," threatening the imperial mausoleums.

Knowing he had offended too many people, Huangfu Song had no intention of returning to Jizhou to serve as the unfortunate governor. So he volunteered to guard the Western Mausoleum and protect the royal tombs.

Liu Hong then ordered Huangfu Song to attack Beigong Boyu, and appointed Dong Zhuo as his deputy. He also allowed Huangfu Song to take away the Sanhe cavalry and the Northern Army—after all, they were no longer the emperor's troops.

Subsequently, Huangfu Song fought against the rebels in the Lantian area of ​​Chang'an, but was easily defeated and had to retreat to Shanglin Garden.

Dong Zhuo marched into Liangzhou alone, but he had too few cavalrymen and suffered an initial setback.

Huangfu Song requested the transfer of 3,000 Wuhuan cavalry, which caused controversy in the court.

Previously, Zou Jing, following Liu Bei's advice, used Huangfu Song's infamous reputation to negotiate with Zhang Chun and petitioned the court to grant Zhang Chun the honorary title of "Xianbei Colonel," thus stabilizing Zhang Chun's position.

Upon learning that the court intended to mobilize the Hu cavalry, Zou Jing quickly submitted a memorial stating, "The Wuhuan army is weak; we should recruit Xianbei instead. The Wuhuan and Xianbei have been enemies for generations. If we recruit Wuhuan and send them to Liangzhou, the Xianbei will surely attack the Wuhuan, and the Wuhuan will definitely abandon their army and return. This would be tantamount to losing our army in battle."

General Han Zhuo also agreed with Zou Jing's point of view and suggested that Zou Jing, who was more familiar with the situation in Youzhou, should recruit Xianbei cavalry.

However, Ying Shao, a renowned scholar from Runan, objected: "The Xianbei people are ignorant of propriety and shame, and cannot be controlled. Recruiting Xianbei would only disrupt military affairs. At least the Wuhuan cavalry are relatively disciplined. If the Wuhuan troops are few, it would be better to have Li Can, the governor of Longxi, recruit some local Qiang and Hu people and reward them generously. Li Can is calm and resourceful, and he will surely be able to make the Qiang and Hu people hold their ground and slowly eliminate the rebels. It is not advisable to be too hasty..."

Subsequently, during the grand court assembly, the matter was discussed, and all the officials agreed with Ying Shao's proposal.

Therefore, the imperial court issued an edict ordering the Protector of the Wuhuan, Gong Qichou, to recruit three thousand Wuhuan cavalry.

Seeing this situation, Zhang Chun wrote a letter requesting to lead the Wuhuan cavalry to conquer Liangzhou.

But how could Liu Hong dare to let Zhang Chun lead the army... Zou Jing made things clear to Liu Hong when he appointed Zhang Chun as the Xianbei Colonel.

After much deliberation, Liu Hong issued an edict ordering Liu Bei, the Commandant of Ganling, to take command of the Wuhuan military affairs and lead three thousand Wuhuan cavalry to support Liangzhou.

When Liu Bei received the imperial edict, he almost cursed aloud—the enemy hadn't made him lose his post, but the emperor had transferred him away!
The situation in Ganling is excellent right now; it's the perfect time to develop agriculture. Why bother going to Liangzhou?

What will happen to the foundation in Ganling if he goes there?
Moreover, although the temporary position of military governor of Wuhuan could be called "governor", it only had the power to command troops and not the power to govern the people, so the government's finances and supplies would definitely be cut off!

Most importantly, would Liu Bei dare to use the Wuhuan cavalry recruited by Gong Qichou?

(End of this chapter)