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

Chapter 177 Investment Immigration
In just half a month, Wang Men brought over 10,000 sheep and more than 700 horses to Liu Bei with the Wuhuan people. All of his dozen or so business-savvy followers became servants, and large tracts of land in the eastern part of Guangyang County were distributed to Wang Men's men.

Fortunately, Liu Bei had arranged for a group of herdsmen to settle north of Xihe Pavilion in advance; otherwise, no one would have been able to raise so many sheep.

Shi Ren has now been promoted; he will not only be the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses but also the Head Shepherd. Although he doesn't manage many people, he manages a vast number of livestock—he is probably the top livestock breeder in the Han Dynasty.

Those horses weren't good horses, but at least they could pull carts and serve as transport darts for the various infantry units.

More than 1,700 Wuhuan people became good citizens of the Han Dynasty, and they actually received military ranks and household registration in Guangyang. Moreover, they are still continuing to "develop" their downlines.

These Wuhuan people were willing to exchange sheep and horses for land, but of course, it wasn't just for that little bit of land... they wanted to step into the 'Han aristocracy' and continue to deceive others.

Wang Men cleverly added a tiny bit to Liu Bei's policies, just one sentence, which filled in a gap that Liu Bei, the time traveler, hadn't considered—the mentality of the Hu people.

He added, "Those who recommend fathers, sons, or brothers to offer sheep and horses can both receive Han titles and lands. Only those who receive Han titles can recommend others."

This seems to raise the bar, forcing the Hu people to persuade fathers, sons, and brothers to offer up sheep and horses in order to obtain Han nobility before they can qualify for the pyramid scheme.

Wang Men certainly understood the Wuhuan people of Liaoxi better. This threshold, specifically designed for the Wuhuan, ironically made them flock to it...

Yes, that's how people are; they don't cherish privileges that are easily obtained.

If the threshold is too low, they will suspect that you are trying to scam them.

However, if you first set a threshold and then tell them how to cross that threshold and change their status, many people will pursue this 'qualification' to become superior.

This also made it easy for the Hu people to understand that as long as they could persuade the head of the Luo family to bring them sheep and horses, they and the head of the family could immigrate as Han people and have the right to continue 'spreading the word' and enjoy the benefits.

—As for how the cattle, sheep, and horses were obtained, that doesn't matter.

Whether it's deception, theft, borrowing, or robbery, he's about to become a nobleman of the Han Dynasty, and the Han court won't investigate the crimes committed by a Han man in the territory of the Hu people.

In other words, this is investment immigration, and the investment doesn't need to be too clean... It's entirely possible to persuade the head of the household to take other people's things and offer them to the Han Dynasty, so that one's own family can become Han citizens.

This is a hands-on instruction to the Wuhuan people on how to do it, especially for the families of the Wuhuan cavalry.

Wang Men was indeed very thoughtful; he even taught these Wuhuan people the "ways of a lackey."

That is, the advice he received from Liu Bei on how to preserve himself as a foot soldier.

A tree dies when transplanted, but a person thrives; even horses need to follow lush pastures to gain weight...

That's human nature. People often don't pursue a better quality of life; instead, they pursue the supposedly 'better' world.

For the non-Han people, the lands of the Han people were a wonderful world.

The climate in the Han people's lands was good, there were no white blizzards, and the Han people could always get food from the land, always weave all kinds of brocade, and always make wonderful and useful things. Han girls were also more fair-skinned and beautiful...

Yes, that's right. In this day and age, even the moon seems rounder in the eyes of the Han people.

Furthermore, Liu Bei's policy only required one person to pass it on to three others. After passing it on, he could simply sit back and wait for his subordinates to develop. As long as one of his subordinates was capable, he was guaranteed to 'succeed'...

These Wuhuan people weren't of high status, but they could easily pass on the word to three people—relatives, friends, and comrades-in-arms—so they could always gather enough.

As a result, of the 6,000 cavalry that Qiuliju had originally brought, 700 surrendered to Jixian on the spot—this is the origin of the 700 horses; they were all two horses, one warhorse and one packhorse.

Warhorses are precious and should be kept by the Wuhuan people, while packhorses are worthless in their eyes. Giving them away in exchange for a Han noble title is obviously a good deal for 'investment immigration,' since they can also exchange them for a few acres of land.

Those ten thousand-plus sheep were actually taken from Qiuliju's army... The Wuhuan people usually did not carry logistical supplies, but when they gathered a large army to fight, they would drive sheep along with them, as sheep were their mobile rations.

These sheep were stolen by the shepherd slaves in the army of Chuliju. These slaves were equivalent to auxiliary soldiers, with very low status, so they naturally sought opportunities to change their lives.

After the troops were stationed in Changping, the sheep were naturally allowed to graze freely. But as time went on, the shepherd and the sheep disappeared together...

Meanwhile, almost all of Qiuliju's other followers were talking about investment immigration, and no one had the mind to fight... nor could they fight, as their military rations were almost gone.

Wang Men has now become a minor warlord. Although he doesn't care much about military rank, he does care a lot about this way of quickly acquiring legal land.

Most importantly, he thus became the de facto leader of those Wuhuan immigrants.

After all, Wang Men is their highest-ranking superior in the pyramid scheme, so they have a vested interest and Wang Men will genuinely protect them.

The Wuhuan people were poor, but not stupid. After they went to Ji County and became Han Chinese, they immediately returned to Lulong Pass and began to develop their own network.

Developing a downline doesn't require you to provide your own cattle, sheep, and horses. Isn't that better than going to war?

Soon after, Xu Rong also joined Liu Bei's group, and Xu Rong brought some Xianbei people with him.

Wang Men and Xu Rong were officially reinstated to their original positions and were reappointed by Liu Bei on behalf of the emperor as commanders of the Hu cavalry. This time, they were truly capable of commanding the Hu people and could also enjoy the benefits brought by them.

For the past six months or so, Wang Men and Xu Rong have been in a state of 'semi-dismissal' from their positions as commanders of the Huqi (a type of military unit).

When Guo Xun took office as the governor of Youzhou, he dismissed all the Hu cavalry commanders.

However, only Xianyu Fu and Zhang Chun resigned voluntarily at that time, while Wang Men and Xu Rong hid in the border region and ignored Guo Xun.

Ignoring him was equivalent to not actually handing over the reins of office. After Liu Bei killed Guo Xun as the leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the secret edict that Guo Xun brought naturally became a chaotic order. Wang Men and Xu Rong were still the commanders of the Hu Cavalry, but the court might not recognize them...

However, the various prefectures of Youzhou and the Hu people still accepted it because their resignation was not publicly announced to the prefectures and counties.

Xianyu Fu had previously helped Zong Yuan stabilize Youzhou and was reinstated before Zong Yuan left at the end of last year, while Wang Men and Xu Rong were only officially reinstated now.

In reality, Liu Bei, holding the imperial seal and in charge of the military affairs of the Wuhuan, only had military power over the Wuhuan and no administrative power. The only officials he could appoint were the Huqi Commander and his subordinate military commanders.

The so-called "holding of the tally" actually refers to two separate things.

The tally was a military tally. The military tally of the Wuhuan was shaped like a leopard, and the inscription on it read "Bestowed by the Emperor," which meant that the holder of the tally was authorized by the emperor to lead the army and served as proof of military power.

The ceremonial banner is a kind of ceremonial guard, which is roughly in the shape of a flag. The flagpole is very exquisite, with cloud patterns, and the top of the flagpole is a banner.

The knot is made of horsehair mixed with silk thread, shaped like a wheat ear, and divided into several layers.

Liu Bei held a temporary imperial staff, which was only for supervising the military affairs of the Wuhuan people. The staff had only three tiers and was the lowest rank.

Regardless of the number of levels, they all represented the status of imperial envoys, who only obeyed the emperor's edicts and did not need to concern themselves with procedures such as those of the Three Dukes and other government offices.

The three cavalry units thus reorganized themselves through pyramid schemes, but they are now unable to send troops because all their subordinates are engaged in business...

Zhang Ju's small-scale operations quickly lost their appeal under the grand business logic of "official pyramid scheme certified by the imperial court".

Meanwhile, the slaves in Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun's territories also began to have their own ideas.

……

Qiu Liju is starting to panic.

He had been working hard to learn Han culture and had read many Han classics. He was even more like a great Han scholar than Zhang Chun.

In fact, all the Wuhuan and Xianbei chieftains learned Han culture. After all, the strength of the Han Dynasty was deeply rooted in people's hearts, and being able to speak and write Chinese characters had long been an essential skill for the nobles of the Wuhuan and Xianbei.

Although Tanshihuai refused all the rewards and marriage alliances offered by the Han Dynasty when the Xianbei were at their peak, even Tanshihuai often flaunted the documents and letters from the Han Dynasty that conferred upon him the title of king...

As for the Wuhuan, they might raid the Han territory when they have nothing to eat, but their admiration for the Han has not diminished in the slightest.

But Qiu Liju just couldn't understand why these Han scholars had so many tricks up their sleeves.
First, Zhang Ju created a sect called Mitian Sect, which tricked many people in the tribe into worshipping Mitian.

Qiuliju understood this; it was simply another kind of shaman, which wouldn't actually harm the tribe much. It would just make more people friendly and compliant, but the tribe would still completely obey his commands. Whether or not they believed in Mitian, the tribe ultimately depended on the chieftain to determine social status. If you wanted to be a noble, you had to fight alongside the chieftain. Only warriors (Tuqi) who were loyal to the chieftain wouldn't be considered slaves.

After the arrival of the Heavenly Emperor, the animosity between slaves and nobles actually decreased, which may not have been a bad thing.

The Han Dynasty has rebels, the Xianbei are fighting amongst themselves, and the Wuhuan tribes are also fighting each other every year. In order to protect their status as chieftains, they must cooperate with Zhang Chun for the time being.

Qiu Liju knew that if he hadn't always been cautious, Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun might have killed him and supported his son, Lou Ban...

However, Zhang Ju's "Five Pecks of Rice" project recently caused some trouble. In order to get rich and make money effortlessly, many people in the tribe gave grain to Zhang Ju, and it was difficult to stop them.

—Indeed, some members of the tribe made a lot of money and food from this. If the tribe is prevented from getting rich, even the most loyal servants will rebel…

That's nothing, just five dou of rice per person, not much. If you run out of food, just rob someone.

The soldiers conscripted by the Han Dynasty in Wuzhong stole the grain from the Wuhuan people in Yuyang, and as a result, Zou Jing and Xianyu Fu killed many of them. Qiu Liju knew about this and realized that his side was indeed in the wrong...

But Xianyu Fu's territory was entirely inhabited by the Wuhuan people of Yuyang. He was seizing their grain, which was a matter between the Wuhuan people, an internal struggle between western Liao and the Yuyang tribe. What did it have to do with Zou Jing, a Han Chinese?
If the Wuhuan chieftain is not allowed to make a decision on the matter, and the Han army generals kill people directly, then they are not taking the chieftain seriously!
Zhang Chun said that the Han Dynasty was in decline and would inevitably be replaced by Mi Tian... But these Han officials were still so stubborn, so it seems that the Han Dynasty may not really be as decadent as Zhang Chun said.

However, Zou Jing and Xianyu Fu still have to pay a price for this, otherwise if others see that our Wuhuan are easy to bully, they will bully them even more!
Qiu Liju hastily mustered 6,000 cavalry and conquered Wuzhong. Upon learning that Zou Jing and Xianyu Fu had retreated to Jixian, he led his troops to Changping, wanting Zou Jing to give an explanation—after killing 300 Wuhuan tribesmen, he should at least pay tens of thousands of bushels of grain for the funeral!

What I didn't expect was...

Upon arriving in Changping, before even starting negotiations with Zou Jing, the Changping area became a massive family reunion venue—a third of the families of his own troops were already in Jixian, and everyone was urging their fathers, brothers, and sons to go to Jixian to become Han nobles, claiming it was a good business that would bring blessings to their descendants!

Qiu Liju inquired carefully and learned that Liu Bei used the imperial tally as proof to introduce a policy that "if a messenger presents military supplies, both of them can be granted a title, and the merits of the subordinate will be shared with the superior."

Qiu Liju understood that this was probably Liu Bei's way of targeting Zhang Ju's "Five Pecks of Rice" technique.

But when two Han officials were fighting, why were their own tribes the ones affected?
Qiu Liju tried to stop them, but he couldn't...

What kind of life did the nobles of the Han Dynasty live?
What kind of miserable life did the nobles of Wuhuan lead?

Putting everything else aside, even Qiuliju himself lived far worse than the minor nobles of the Han Dynasty...

Take Shi Ren, the horse breeder under Liu Bei, for example. He was just a minor official with a salary of 100 shi (a unit of grain), and he only had a few dozen horse breeders under his command. In the Wuhuan tribe, he wouldn't even be considered a centurion.

But Shi Ren is now dressed in fine silks and brocades. When he came to Youbeiping to buy breeding horses, he gave hundreds of bolts of silk as gifts!

Moreover, that wasn't public money given to him by Liu Bei; it was money that Shi Ren personally took out in order to make merit!
Qiu Liju himself couldn't produce that much silk...

Who wouldn't want to be a nobleman of the Han Dynasty? Qiu Liju wanted to too. If the Han Dynasty could bestow upon him a title of king... even if it was just to appease him and give him an honorary title, it would be enough to comfort him for the rest of his life.

Given the current situation, let alone forcing the Han Dynasty to appease and bestow titles upon them, most of the tribes would probably have to flee and become Han Chinese!
The Wuhuan people have been learning to farm from the Han people for quite some time now. The northern frontier is harsh and cold, and the harvest is meager, but even so, as long as they are not blind or deaf, they can understand the benefits of cultivating the land.

One qing (100 mu, approximately 46,000 square meters) of land cultivated by Han people can support dozens of people, but one qing of grassland cannot even support one luo (five people) of herders.

Their tribe was called the 'Liaoxi Wuhuan' by the Han Dynasty, but the territory they occupied in the north of Lulong Pass actually far exceeded the area of ​​Liaoxi Commandery.

It is at least twice the size of Liaoxi Commandery.

However, the land of two counties could only support 10,000 tribes, and every year hundreds of people in the tribes would die or be injured in the struggle for pasture.

In the Han Dynasty, the land of just one county was enough to support ten thousand households.

If the Han people were willing to accept the Hu people, if they were not treated as Hu slaves when they came to Han lands, if they could become Han nobles, if Han officials did not discriminate against them or arbitrarily increase taxes...

Who would want to risk their life every day fighting a war?
Seeing his cavalrymen running off to do business, Qiu Liju felt very sad. He knew that this had to be stopped, otherwise it wouldn't just be a loss of five pecks of rice, but a disaster that would cause the entire clan to turn against him!
Zhang Ju was cunning; he demanded five dou of rice in order to incite his tribe to plunder Han people for food.

And Liu Bei is treacherous; by deliberately only wanting cattle, sheep, and horses, isn't he essentially driving people to plunder the Wuhuan?!
And that Wang Men, that man is even more hateful! He actually taught his people some kind of 'path of lackeys'... in reality, he was just tricking the Wuhuan slaves into betraying their master for personal gain!

But Qiu Liju knew that what he needed to do right now was not to fall out with these people, but to find a way to seek cooperation...

Otherwise, if this method of transmission continues for too long, the tribes will likely become disunited in their pursuit of profit, and then I might really lose my position as chief!
Should we cooperate with Zhang Ju or with Liu Bei?

But Zhang Ju and Liu Bei are no good people either...

……

Ji County.

“I dare not forget the kindness of Governor Liu in the past. The Governor once taught me the way of the foot soldiers, and I have also taught these Wuhuan people the way of the foot soldiers... It seems that the results are quite good.”

Wang Men behaved with extreme respect in front of Liu Bei... This was probably because Guan Yu was also behind Liu Bei.

However, this time Guan Yu did not glare at him.

Liu Bei did indeed do Wang Men a favor; it was Liu Bei who recommended Wang Men to Zou Jing that enabled Wang Men to become the commander of the Hu cavalry.

He was dismissed from his post by Guo Xun last year, but he has now been reinstated, also by appointment by Liu Bei.

Liu Bei was not only his direct superior, but also his patron and financial backer, so he had to be respectful.

In recent years, Wang Men has been working in the border regions and has had many dealings with the Wuhuan and Xianbei people in western Liaoning. He used to help Zhang Chun and the Yuan family with their horse business, so he already had some connections.

As for pacifying or even controlling the Wuhuan in western Liaoning, Wang Men is not capable of doing so at present, because his relationship with Qiuliju is not good enough, and his approach is limited to the lower and middle-level tribes of the Wuhuan.

But if it comes to doing business or engaging in pyramid schemes with the small tribes of Wuhuan... then the Wang family is truly a perfect fit.

After all, he had been trading livestock, salt, and iron with those tribes for over ten years, and in recent years, as the Huqidu (Huqi Commander), he had also won over many Wuhuan people.

"We are old acquaintances, so let's skip the formalities. My purpose this time is to sever the roots of Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju, and to allow pro-Han people from the Wuhuan to settle in Youzhou. This will not only replenish the people of Youzhou, but also ensure peace in the northern border."

Liu Bei said directly, "Wang Qidu has made great contributions. Regardless of whether the court rewards him for this, I can at least reward him with land. The land north of Guangyang is only for your subordinates. You can choose whichever land you want."

"The governor has offered a reward, which I, Wang, will naturally accept... However, there is no need to rush this matter. It would be better to discuss the reward after the great success is achieved."

Wang Men didn't stand on ceremony. He generally understood Liu Bei, knowing that Liu Bei was always straightforward and that the court might not reward merit, so he would take the benefits he was entitled to.

“Alright, I will settle those Wuhuan people in Guangyang first. If Wang Qidu wants to achieve great merit again, why don’t you go and talk to Qiuliju for me?”

Liu Bei nodded, preparing to lead Wang Men to undertake larger-scale business.

"Qiuliju probably hates me to the core right now..."

Wang Men scratched his head, a little uneasy, but not intimidated: "What does the warlord want to talk to him about?"

"Of course, it's about surrendering to the Han Dynasty. No matter how much Qiuliju hates you now, he wouldn't dare to lay a hand on you. On the contrary, I can't appear in front of him."

Liu Bei shook his head and said with a self-deprecating smile, "Whether it's Zhang Ju, Zhang Chun, or Qiu Liju, the only way to get out of this predicament is to kill me immediately."

That's true," Wang Men nodded. "Now Qiu Liju is probably very uneasy, so it is indeed a good time to talk about submission. But if we want him to truly submit, we need to show the might of the Han army. The barbarians fear power but do not cherish virtue; they only submit to the strong."

“That’s right, so I will attack Changping directly in two days. I will be in charge of the fighting, and you will be in charge of the negotiations. Tell Qiuliju that if he cooperates with me, I can use this method with him to deal with the Xianbei and other Wuhuan tribes. Ask him if he wants to become the common leader of the Wuhuan tribes.”

Liu Bei nodded to Wang Men and asked, "But what if I lose the battle? You might die... Aren't you afraid?"

"afraid."

Wang Men nodded honestly, but then shook his head and laughed, "But how could we possibly lose this battle? Qiu Liju's troops have no will to fight right now, and in two days he probably won't even have any rations left..."

(End of this chapter)