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

Chapter 175 Ancestral Secret Recipe
On the 12th day of the fourth month of the second year of Zhongping, in Luoyang.

Liu Hong was in the warm pavilion of the West Garden, listening to the crackling sounds overhead and looking at the mess outside the window, feeling extremely depressed.

The fourth month of the lunar calendar is already early summer, so hiding in the warm room is certainly not for warmth.

The warm pavilion is the most solidly built part of the entire West Garden. To ensure that the temperature of the hot spring pool can be locked in during the winter, while also allowing for ventilation, it has a three-layer roof.

Right now, strong winds are blowing in the Luoyang area, and hailstones the size of eggs are falling like flying stones with the strong winds. The ground is covered with ice lumps and broken tiles, and the exquisite West Garden has been smashed to pieces.

It was just as dilapidated as the Han Dynasty is today.

In the first month, a rebellion broke out in Liangzhou. Beigong Boyu raided the Three Auxiliary Regions, and tens of thousands of cavalrymen approached Chang'an.

In February, a major fire broke out at the Southern Palace in Luoyang. The fire burned for half a month before being extinguished. Not only was the Quefei Hall (where the emperor conducted his daily work and held emergency meetings) burned down, but the treasury was also destroyed, and the Hongdu Gate School near the Southern Palace was also reduced to ashes.

In March, many houses outside Guangyang Gate in Luoyang collapsed on their own. Most of the collapsed houses were government offices, namely the Luoyang South Office, which was an administrative and military administrative area located in the southern part of Luoyang.

On April 12th, a fierce wind blew and hailstones fell like stones.

Liu Hong had seen hail before; hail fell in Luoyang in the sixth year of the Xiping era (177 AD) and the seventh year of the Xiping era (also the first year of the Guanghe era, 178 AD).

Liu Hong clearly remembers everything that happened during those two years.

How similar it is to today...

In the sixth year of the Xiping era, there was a severe drought and locust plagues in seven prefectures.

In August, the Han army suffered a crushing defeat in its war against the Xianbei, severely weakening its forces.

Subsequently, Grand Commandant Liu Kuan was dismissed from his post, Minister of Works Liu Yi was dismissed, and Minister of Education Yang Ci was dismissed.

— All three were from the Three Auxiliary Regions. Liu Kuan and Yang Ci were both imperial tutors from Hongnong, while Liu Yi was a member of the Nanyang imperial clan. Moreover, all three were recruited into the court by Liang Ji when he was the Grand General.

After the war with the Xianbei, Liang Ji's retainers, who had controlled the court for many years, lost their military strength, and Liu Hong truly secured his throne, no longer fearing being deposed.

Back then, Wang Fu sent the Han army from the Three Auxiliary Regions to fight the Xianbei; and last year, the gentry sent the Han army from the capital region to fight the Yellow Turbans... In fact, they are all the same kind of people, and none of them are more noble than the other.

Similarly, after the Han army suffered heavy losses...

In the first month of the seventh year of the Xiping era, the Wuhu barbarians of Hepu and Jiaozhi rebelled, and the rebels of Jiuzhen and Rinan attacked and captured counties; the barbarians of Jiujiang and Lujiang also rebelled at the same time.

In February, a solar eclipse and an earthquake occurred, damaging the Luoyang Nangong Palace. Liu Hong then built the Xiyuan Garden.

In March, the Hongdu Gate School, established to attract scholars from impoverished families, collapsed on its own. Hongdu Gate was one of the south gates of Luoyang, located only a few miles away from Guangyang Gate.

On the seventh day of the fourth lunar month, strong winds blew, hail struck Luoyang, and another earthquake struck.

But after the storms and hail came years of drought, floods, locust plagues, epidemics, and rebellions...

—These natural and man-made disasters, apart from the change in roles, are almost exactly the same as those in Zhongping in the past two years, and even the events that happen every month are not much different.

Liu Hong sometimes wonders, does the interaction between heaven and man really exist?

Does the concept of reincarnation, as described by Tibetan Buddhism, truly exist?

Does the Taoist concept of cause and effect truly exist?
If such a thing exists, why does Heaven never bestow blessings, only calamities? Does it mean that everyone in the world has committed a grave sin?

If it doesn't exist, then why have the past events been repeating themselves like a cycle all these years?

In fact, Liu Hong was well aware that he had indeed done many things that were contrary to the laws of heaven and humanity in order to obtain the throne. If there was a divine response, it would be understandable that he would suffer calamity.

But I'm just trying to survive...

What happens if the emperor loses his throne?
Then the only way out is to go into the tomb!
Not to mention losing it... even the slightest sign of instability in the throne, or even a slight weakness, would attract countless tigers and wolves to pounce.

If the world changes, subjects can switch allegiances, but the emperor will surely die...

Who can know the hardships involved?

At the beginning of the year, the ministers were again raising the issue of establishing an heir.

Every time the high officials mentioned the matter of establishing an heir, it was when the emperor's personal guards were weakened... and it was also when there were natural disasters and the people were suffering.

But Liu Bian, the Marquis of Shi, had been turned into a pedantic scholar by the scholars under Empress He's tutelage. He knew nothing, so how could he understand the difficulty of the throne?

Liu Xie is intelligent, but young. If he is made crown prince now, he will probably die a violent death in a few days.

Liu Hong always remembered clearly how Empress He treated Liu Xie's mother.

In fact, ever since Liu Xie was sent to Yongle Palace to be raised by Empress Dowager Dong, Liu Hong never allowed Empress He to enter the West Garden or Yongle Palace, nor did he himself ever go to the Empress's Changqiu Palace again.

Ironically, all the officials in the court said, "Empress He is enjoying great favor..."

These court officials had never been eunuchs and could not enter the harem, yet they spoke with absolute certainty about the Empress's favor, as if the Empress's lack of favor was equivalent to digging up their ancestral graves.

On the contrary, He Jin remained silent... because He Jin was the one who truly knew that Empress He was out of favor.

Perhaps it was because Empress He was out of favor that He Jin grew closer and closer to the partisans. He not only recruited many partisans as his general's aides, but also colluded with the Yuan family for a long time, and even became Yuan's henchman!
The fire at Luoyang Nangong Palace must have been arson, just like the fire at Yongle Palace. Yongle Palace was burned down to cut off food supplies, but this time Nangong Palace was burned down to cut off money!

Who did this?

The prime suspects are undoubtedly the people from Changqiu Palace. Otherwise, the fire at Nangong Palace burned for half a month without spreading to any part of Changqiu Palace, and even the garden right next to Nangong Palace remained completely intact...

Or should we just depose the empress?
No... If I depose the empress, He Jin and He Miao will surely oppose me, and then I will truly be an enemy of the whole world.

He Miao is still quite sensible now, so she needs to be gradually allowed to take over He Jin's power. He Miao and He Jin are not related by blood or mother...

However, if He Miao is to be dedicated to her duties and He Jin is not to become too disloyal, then he must suppress his discomfort and favor Empress He. He must truly make her a favorite.

There wasn't much difference between the emperor and the concubines; sometimes, both needed to use their beauty to please others...

First stabilize the palace, then form a new army to control Luoyang.

The Liangzhou rebels and the Guandong gentry could not get along. Since the Guandong gentry wanted to fight for military power, let them fight the Liangzhou rebels...

Huangfu Song wanted the Wuhuan cavalry, but he certainly couldn't give them to him, yet he couldn't refuse to conscript them either...

This matter cannot be explained openly. The Northern Army is out of control, and Zou Jing, the commander of the Northern Army, can only be recalled to monitor Huangfu Song.

Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun of Youzhou and Yuyang spread the Mitian Sect widely, so the only option is to have Liu Bei, who knows about this matter and has fought against Zhang Chun, keep an eye on it. Regardless of whether Liu Bei is reliable or not, at least he has a grudge against Zhang Chun.

This shattered empire is beyond repair; even the emperor cannot issue a clear edict…

After all, Liu Hong knew better than anyone else that once he became emperor, there would be no longer good or evil, loyalty or treachery in the world, only useful people and useless people.

There are not many capable people, and those who are capable will inevitably have their own thoughts. In this bustling world, who doesn't want to be a duke or marquis for generations?
When he first ascended the throne, he also had great ambitions and wanted to be like Emperor Wu of Han.

But now it seems...

Forget it, let's leave it at that. It's good enough that Luoyang wasn't destroyed.

Just make sure this big man doesn't die in your hands.

After pondering for a while, the hail gradually stopped.

Liu Hong did not leave the greenhouse, but instead went to a quiet room.

He knew that countless people would come to report the damage caused by the disaster, and Zhang Rang must be waiting outside the quiet room now.

Liu Hong didn't want to hear about the damage caused by the strong winds and hail; it would be useless to listen anyway.

The imperial court is currently short of funds; it doesn't even have enough money to recruit a new army, so it cannot provide disaster relief.

But the Southern Palace must be rebuilt, otherwise there won't even be an office... The Southern Office of Luoyang must also be rebuilt, otherwise the minor officials from various prefectures will have to enter Luoyang City to handle their official business, which will make Luoyang even less safe.

"Grandfather..."

Liu Hong called out towards the door.

"The minister is here."

Zhang Rang was indeed at the door.

"A decree is proposed... This year, in addition to the regular taxes, a land tax of ten coins per mu will be levied to repair palaces..."

Liu Hong gave the instructions with some hesitation.

“But… Your Majesty, last year the Nine Provinces were ravaged by war, and the common people have not yet been able to recover. This edict may cause unrest…” Zhang Rang agreed, but still whispered a reminder to Liu Hong.

“I know. But nowadays, do the common people own all the land? An imperial edict has been issued, ordering all prefectures and counties to investigate land records and collect taxes according to the records... Only those without land are exempt from paying.”

Liu Hong played with the four-inch (9-centimeter) square Imperial Seal in his hand, looking at the words "By the mandate of Heaven, may its longevity be everlasting": "If anyone who owns land does not pay, no matter who he is, he will be demoted to a commoner... If county officials cannot collect the money according to the land documents, they will also be dismissed from their posts and demoted to commoners."

At present, only the legitimacy of the Han emperor represented by this seal can play a little role.

Liu Hong knew that once this edict was issued, scholars throughout the land would all cry out that "exorbitant taxes harm the people"...

Yes, heavy taxes harm the people.

But when no harsh taxes are imposed, does that mean no one will rebel?
……

Youzhou, Yuyang.

Zhang Chun has been reinstated as an official. Although the position of "Xianbei Colonel" is nominal and the court does not actually have such an official post, it at least shows that the court is still treating Zhang Chun well.

After all, Zhang Chun doesn't dare to go to Luoyang to report on his work now.

At the same time, Zhang Ju was also summoned to serve as the Prefect of Jincheng by the imperial court.

But Zhang Ju certainly wouldn't answer the summons; Jin Cheng was still in Bei Gong Boyu's hands at the moment...

"The court has actually appointed Liu Bei as the military commander of the Wuhuan, and then used the position of prefect of Jincheng to test my cousin. It seems they already suspect us... Cousin, perhaps..."

Zhang Chun looked at Zhang Ju and asked hesitantly.

"It's not the right time yet... Although we have enough troops, we can't supply enough money and food. Just as Zou Jing said, the court quelled the Yellow Turban Rebellion in just half a year. The Xianbei and Wuhuan are now afraid of the court's military might. We need to wait for a better opportunity."

Zhang Ju shook his head, pondered for a moment, and said, "Let's observe those three thousand Wuhuan cavalry... If those Wuhuan are willing to fight for the Han Dynasty, then the Han Dynasty's fate is not yet over. But if they all flee..."

Zhang Chun understood and nodded: "Indeed, we have to wait until they are no longer afraid of the imperial court... Right now, we need to stockpile grain, but the border areas are sparsely populated and poor, so there is really no grain to rely on."

“Then we will use Zhang Xiu’s Five Pecks of Rice technique… Let the disciples of the Mitian Sect go out to spread the word and make recommendations. Anyone who pays five pecks of rice will be protected by our sect. For every five pecks of rice paid, one peck will be given to the recommender.”

Zhang Ju drew on the ground with his 'staff': "If the person introduced by the introducer preaches again, and they contribute five dou of grain, one dou will be divided between the introducer and the preacher... If they introduce another person, three dou will be distributed... so that the first preacher can enjoy the blessings that follow. Once ten people have been preached, he will be promoted to a marquis. By extension, everyone can preach and contribute grain!"

"Brother of the clan has deep plans, and my foolish brother respects me!"

Zhang Chun bowed deeply in respect, truly admiring his exceptionally intelligent cousin, Zhang Ju.

Zhang Ju is now completely bald, his head is bald.

The Zhang family of Yuyang probably has a genetic predisposition to hair loss; they start going bald as they get a little older. Zhang Chun was only in his forties at the time, but he already had a receding hairline and looked like a Xianbei.

Zhang Ju, though not yet fifty, was already completely bald, his head resembling an egg.

This method of preaching, introducing, and distributing food is indeed very advanced...

However, this is not how the Five Pecks of Rice Sect operates. The Five Pecks of Rice Sect does not have a multi-level distribution logic; it is just a deceptive practice.

The founder of the Five Pecks of Rice sect was Zhang Xiu, a native of Ba County.

Just like when the Taiping Dao decided to raise an army, Zhang Xiu also taught the patient to kowtow and reflect on his mistakes, and then made him drink talisman water.

If you recover, it's said to be due to your faith; if you don't recover, it's said to be due to your lack of sincerity.

In addition, Zhang Xiu set up a quiet room for the patients to reflect on their mistakes, and appointed someone to serve as the "Master of the Way and Virtue," who would then have the patients study the "Tao Te Ching."

The chief priest appointed "ghost officials" to be responsible for praying to the gods for the sick. The specific method was to write down the patient's name and explain the patient's intention to confess their sins. The document was divided into three parts: one part was placed on a mountain to the heavens, one part was buried underground, and one part was sunk in water. This was called the "Three Officials' Handwritten Letter".

If the patient recovers, they should be thanked with five bushels of rice.

If rice is not paid, most patients will suddenly die.

In fact, this development approach is quite ordinary and completely different from what Zhang Ju wants to do.

Zhang Ju merely borrowed the "five pecks of rice" from the Five Pecks of Rice sect and the incantation technique; the management structure he set up consisted of "schoolmasters" and "officials."

After all, he calls himself the 'Son of Heaven,' and he has no intention of becoming a Heavenly Master.

Moreover, Zhang Ju used a promotion system—if a believer went out to preach and deceive people, and paid taxes to ten people, he could become a 'Lang'.

If ten of the Lang's subordinates are also promoted to Lang, then this Lang will be promoted to Xiao...

Of the five bushels of grain handed over, one bushel went to the disciples who spread the teachings, one bushel went to the superior officer, one bushel went to the officer above that, and the remaining two bushels went to Zhang Ju, this "son of heaven".

Of course, you could also pay money. One dou of rice cost one hundred coins. At that time, grain was precious, so this price was quite reasonable.

If you get promoted to a higher level, it's like starting your own business, no longer belonging to the previous school; you've "graduated," and you can start earning money passively...

If there are those who refuse to pay rice, cause trouble, or engage in vandalism, then Zhang Chun, the "General of the Vast Sky," will handle the matter using physical methods.

Soon after, the Yuyang Mitiandao sect spread rapidly from person to person, with Xiao and Lang recruiting followers with great enthusiasm. The Yuyang prefecture and the surrounding areas gradually became obsessed with it...

To be honest, this is indeed an extremely advanced distribution system. If external production capacity can keep up, this kind of distribution is indeed very powerful.

Moreover, nobody has ever seen this kind of fission-style three-tier distribution system before...

Fortunately, Liu Bei had met him.

After receiving the imperial edict appointing him as the military commander of the Wuhuan, Liu Bei ordered Zhang He and Bai Yao to each lead their troops to remain in Ganling to continue collecting protection fees, while he himself led his own troops to Ji County.

Even the raw recruits were brought along, essentially as part of the military training exercises.

Upon arriving in Ji County, instead of seeing the Wuhuan cavalry recruited by Gong Qichou, they encountered a group of people engaging in pyramid schemes...

Zong Yuan was no longer in Ji County. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Nanyang was quelled, Zong Yuan resigned due to illness and returned to his hometown. However, he was not relieved of his post as Protector of the Wuhuan, and Ji County in Guangyang was still nominally Zong Yuan's residence.

During this period, the one who actually controlled Guangyang was Zou Jing, the Marquis of the Northern Army—Zou Jing's main force had returned to his side.

Upon meeting Liu Bei, Zou Jing was very anxious: "Zhang Ju's 'Mitiandao' scheme in Yuyang is spreading like wildfire, and now it's also rampant in Ji County. Everyone wants to get rich from it, and even the county officials are neglecting their duties! If this continues, all the money and grain in Youzhou will fall into Zhang Ju's hands!"

“I have already seen him… However, I did not see Gong Qichou, nor did I see the Wuhuan cavalry he recruited. Could it be that the Wuhuan cavalry have already dispersed?”

Liu Bei wasn't worried about Zhang Ju's pyramid scheme; he was more concerned about the three thousand Wuhuan.

Liu Bei never underestimated the wisdom of the ancients, but he never expected that pyramid schemes were also an ancient secret recipe.
Although it was shocking, Liu Bei knew very well that such an unrestricted pyramid scheme was very easy to collapse, especially in this era.

These days, if productivity can't keep up, it won't be long before there are more scammers than honest people.

If there aren't enough honest people, scammers will have to turn into robbers, and the system will naturally collapse, and there might even be internal strife.

The most urgent matter at present is to receive those three thousand Wuhuan.

It's highly unlikely that the Wuhuan people would go to Liangzhou to fight, unless the imperial court could afford an extremely high commission—not only would it have to pay the commission, but it would also have to provide compensation, even for the dead horses, and it wouldn't allow the Xianbei to invade the Wuhuan-controlled territory...

These conditions are too demanding; the imperial court cannot afford them.

But we can't let these Wuhuan cavalry scatter.

Liu Bei realized that if the Wuhuan cavalry could not be used by the Han Dynasty, then Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju would surely rebel. Zhang Chun wanted to lead the Wuhuan cavalry as a test. He knew that the court would not give him this army. He just wanted to test who the Wuhuan people wanted to follow.

If Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju were to rebel at this time, at the very least, Xihe would certainly be destroyed.

Liu Bei needs to delay for a year or two, until the fields in Ganling have a good harvest, until he has enough money and food, and until Heishan and Beitaihang have enough resources to launch long-range attacks. Currently, Heishan and Beitaihang are short of food, so the area where they collect protection fees is only around the Taihang Mountains in western Jizhou.

“The Wuhuan were indeed recruited, but I had Gong Qichou station the Wuhuan people in Wuzhong and Shanggu Wuhuan tribes in Youbeiping, not in Guangyang… They must remain in the Wuhuan settlements, otherwise they will scatter if the Xianbei attack. I have already received the imperial edict to rush to the aid of Chang'an, and Xuande can only go to the two places to receive the cavalry himself.”

Zou Jing is reliable when it comes to Wuhuan affairs. The Wuhuan cavalry has gathered together, but they are still staying in their respective tribes' controlled areas, which is in line with the wishes of the Wuhuan people and the current situation.

“Commander Zou, you must not go to Chang’an now, otherwise your troops will certainly be lost. Huangfu Song has never hesitated to send troops.”

Liu Bei and Zou Jing discussed, "Let's wait and see. Right now, the general in charge of suppressing the Liangzhou rebels is Huangfu Song. We should wait until he resigns before we go. Only then can Commander Zou truly become the supervising officer."

"Does Xuande mean that Huangfu Song will be defeated?"

Zou Jing frowned: "Although he has some ulterior motives, his ability to lead troops in battle is indeed outstanding... Surely he can't have suffered such a crushing defeat?"

"No matter how capable he is, it's useless. He already has the Three Rivers Cavalry under his command, so why does he still need the imperial court to recruit Wuhuan cavalry?"

Liu Bei explained, "It's because the powerful clans of Guandong are no longer willing to provide him with troops! He simply cannot mobilize troops in Chang'an. Of the five battalions of the Northern Army, he can at most mobilize Bao Hong's troops, but he can't move a single cavalry unit from the Three Rivers region..."

(End of this chapter)