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

Chapter 180 The Swordsman's Thorn
Since the sheep couldn't be traced, Liu Bei quickly investigated the cattle and horses, tracing their origins and the people who presented them, in order to at least return them to the families in Zhuojun.

The original intention of this pyramid scheme was to harm those Hu people who practiced slavery, such as Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju, because the Hu people had more cattle, sheep, and horses.

But if the various families in Zhuojun suffer losses as a result, their foundation will be unstable...

In fact, the families in Zhuojun suffered considerable losses. For example, many tenant farmers lost their will to work and went to the territory of the Hu people to do business. Moreover, some of the families had runaway slaves who stole their masters' cattle and came to seek refuge with Liu Bei.

According to the laws of that era, if you saw a runaway slave in someone else's house and did not send him back to his master, the master could sue you for misappropriation of property.

Those runaway slaves were all sold into servitude. Their masters had contracts of servitude, and once they were sold into slavery, they became the property of their masters. Although the Han Dynasty prohibited the abduction of people into slavery, the sale of people with contracts was legal at that time.

After the runaway slaves received military ranks and were allocated land, they believed that Liu Bei would protect them, so they stopped hiding.

As a result, Zuo Yuan and Bian Ji received many letters demanding the return of runaway slaves and cattle.

Because Bian Ji had a notorious reputation for extorting grain from various families in Zhuojun, and Liu Bei was the general in charge of the army, the families in Zhuojun were relatively polite and only demanded their property without mentioning anything else.

Of course, the escaped slaves took advantage of this loophole, because Liu Bei initially did not restrict where they got their cattle, sheep and horses—after all, the vast majority of them came from the Hu people.

However, if Liu Bei were to treat those who sought refuge with him as runaway slaves and return them to their masters, he would be breaking his promise. This logic is based on Liu Bei's own credibility; once he loses that credibility, everything collapses.

Although the Five Pecks of Rice pyramid scheme run by Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju was not very reliable, they never broke their promises and always delivered on their word.

But the families in Zhuojun have been quite cooperative, and it wouldn't do to let them suffer losses like this...

These are all problems.

Moreover, Liu Bei was also constantly worried about being assassinated... but whether he was involved in pyramid schemes or not made no difference.

Of course, the benefits Liu Bei gained still far outweighed the troubles.

Cattle are productive forces, horses are fighting forces, sheep are a source of food and clothing, and population is the foundation of military manpower. These are all benefits that need to be utilized quickly.

After the war, it was customary in the Han Dynasty to grant unclaimed wasteland to those with military ranks, which was equivalent to granting land to soldiers with military merit. Liu Bei, holding the imperial insignia, had the right to do so.

Moreover, with Liu Yu cooperating in Ganling and Zou Jing cooperating in Guangyang, Wen Shu in Zhuojun wouldn't say anything, since Liu Bei recorded this as 'contributing military funds to obtain a title,' which is considered military affairs.

When land was granted to military officers, it naturally belonged to military settlements and was designated for military use.

Before the 'military land' designation was lifted, military farms did not collect regular taxes; only military taxes were collected to supplement the needs of the border troops.

When Liu Bei was in charge of military affairs for the Wuhuan, he had to raise military provisions for his troops, and the amount of military tax collected was naturally up to him.

Of course, it's not time to collect taxes yet.

Overall, there were no other problems, except that it led to the infringement upon Han people and the acceptance of stolen goods, which was indeed likely to provoke public anger.

At the same time, once the land is distributed, those people should be encouraged to cultivate it properly, and they should be restrained to prevent them from harboring the idea of ​​getting something for nothing.

Of course, this aftereffect had to be addressed. After careful consideration, Liu Bei instructed Zuo Yuan and Jian Yong to invite various families, including the prominent families of Zhuojun, to another meeting to patch up this logic.

Thus, the imperial tally bestowed by the emperor was once again used by Liu Bei as ceremonial equipment for his 'business training meeting'...

It's quite interesting, really. The main function of this tally was to represent military power, but in reality, Liu Bei didn't gain any military power through it at all. Instead, he used the envoy status attached to the tally to engage in illegal marketing activities...

This business meeting was held in Zhuoxian County, mainly because of its good location, which is not far from several places.

"Guangyang, Ganling, and other places were granted land by military ranks and were used as military settlements, just like Xihe. The various Hu cavalry commanders have already led their troops to be stationed in the three military settlements in Guangyang. After the autumn harvest, they will go to Liangzhou to suppress the rebels."

Liu Bei first set the tone for the matter: "But nowadays, those who have been granted titles are a mixed bag, which has led to unrest and even some people plotting to harm Han people in order to obtain cattle and horses."

"From now on, the origin of all cattle, sheep and horses must be clearly identified. If they are obtained from the Hu people, then nothing will be prohibited; but if they are obtained from the Han people, then it will be considered theft and illegal! Those who offer or recommend them will have all their merits and titles revoked, and their superiors and subordinates will also be implicated."

"Let bygones be bygones. From this moment forward, everyone is to restrain their subordinates and forbid them from forcibly taking the property of Han people; otherwise, they will be punished according to military law!"

"Furthermore, those who receive Han titles and have Han household registration are all Han people... We do not distinguish between Han and non-Han people based on ethnicity, but only on their household registration. If a Han person goes to a non-Han area, then he or she is a non-Han person!"

This served as a reassurance to the Han Chinese elites, indicating that the matter was specifically targeted at the non-Han people.

This also indicates that Zhang Chun's family, who stayed in the Hu region and refused to submit to the court's control, were actually considered Hu people.

“Commander Liu, your words are very wise, but some time ago a runaway slave went to your camp... I wonder if you could send him back?”

Zhang Nan, the Transport Commissioner of Zhuojun, asked.

"Runaway slave?"

Liu Bei did not answer. Chen Feng came out and glanced at Zhang Nan: "Commander Zhang, my family has followed the teachings of our master and never treats people as slaves. Where would you find a runaway slave in the army?"

"Ahem... Zhang misspoke. That was the thief who stole the cattle and horses from Zhang's house..."

Zhang Nan quickly changed his tune.

"Since it's a thief, it should be reported to the authorities and handed over to Lord Wen for handling. Why should Zhang Sima personally get involved?"

Chen Feng turned to Wen Shu and said, “Indeed, a thief stole the Zhang family’s valuables, but this thief is not in the army and has changed his name and whereabouts. Please decide how to deal with him, Your Excellency.”

Wen Shu shook his head and looked at Jian Yong: "Since the thief has changed his name and disappeared, we should naturally pursue him... Jian Xianhe is most skilled at tracking down thieves, why don't you ask Jian Zhubu for help, Zhang Sima?" Jian Yong smiled at Zhang Nan: "Does Zhang Sima want to pursue the thief?"

After going around in circles, no one could persuade Liu Bei to return the slaves...

Zhang Nan opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and dropped the matter.

"Since everyone has no objections, I will offer you some additional benefits..."

Seeing that no one spoke, Liu Bei began to release the next patch: "I have acquired a lot of cattle and sheep, and many people have come from the Hu lands to receive military ranks from the Han. We don't need so many people to raise sheep, but those people are not good at farming, so I plan to have you all help them learn how to farm."

“If you teach one person, you will receive two large sheep. If any of your servants or tenants have spare time, they can go and help out. Consider this a benefit.”

This is certainly a benefit. Teaching people how to farm doesn't actually take too much time. The key is that these wealthy households don't need to teach them; they can just have their elderly servants and tenant farmers help.

"In addition, all the cattle I have will be provided to farming families. From now until next spring, all self-employed farmers who have been granted titles can rent my cattle to plow their fields for free. There is no rent required, as long as the cattle are well cared for."

After Liu Bei finished speaking, he looked at the people present and said, "At the same time, those who donate cattle can have priority to select cattle from the pasture for use, and as long as the cattle are not harmed, no money will be charged."

……

These patches have indeed dispelled many concerns; at least in Zhuojun and Guangyang, there are no longer any dissenting voices.

Liu Bei no longer guarded Ji County, but returned to Xihe to continue recruiting and training soldiers.

While you're at it, get a little more intimate with Zuo Yuanbian Ji...

At the end of May, Liu Bei, accompanied by Bian Ji, inspected the fields in Xihe. The millet in the fields had already formed ears, and the harvest looked quite good.

"My lord, a few days ago, quite a few unfamiliar faces moved into the river bend south of Xihe Pavilion. Are you aware of this?"

Bian Ji asked as she walked.

"I don't know... There are too many people registering their residency recently, and I can no longer review them one by one."

Liu Bei shook his head.

“I feel that those people seem to be a bit restless, often sneaking into Xihe to spy and stalk.”

Bian Ji walked to the head of the Juma Bridge and pointed to a person wearing a straw hat in the distance: "Look, that person neither works nor leaves, and has been going back and forth here several times. This is not how a farmer should behave."

Liu Bei glanced at the man and then ordered his guards to summon him so he could question him in person.

"Who are you, and why are you lingering here?"

Liu Bei looked the man up and down.

This person doesn't look special; he has an average face, the kind you wouldn't notice in a crowd.

With his dark skin and calloused hands, he really looked like an old farmer.

He was dressed like an old farmer, wearing hemp clothes, straw sandals, and a straw hat, which was nothing special.

But this man had a sword at his waist.

The sword didn't look like anything valuable. It had no brass hilt decoration or handguard; it just looked like a simple wooden scabbard with an iron plate attached and a handle wrapped with hemp rope.

But Liu Bei felt that this sword... or this person, was somewhat unusual.

"Wang Yue, I have just met Governor Liu..."

The man took off his straw hat, smiled at Liu Bei, and then threw the hat at the guard's face.

After throwing away his straw hat, the man drew his sword with lightning speed and thrust it at Liu Bei!
The speed of this sword was unprecedented in Liu Bei's life. The sword was drawn and thrust without a sound, without even a glint of light!
All I could see was a dark shadow.

Liu Bei was quite skilled and alert, so he immediately realized something was wrong, but Bian Ji was right beside him...

In order not to hurt Bian Ji, Liu Bei simply stepped forward, bent his arm and used his elbow to block the sword, shielding Bian Ji behind him.

At this time, Liu Bei was in Xihe, near the bridge not far from his own doorstep, and chatting with Bian Ji. Naturally, he didn't have many guards around him, only two.

Bian Ji stepped back, and the guards who had been partially covered by the bamboo hat quickly protected her and began blowing horn whistles as a warning.

Another guard drew his sword and rushed towards Wang Yue, but by the time he drew his sword, Liu Bei had already been stabbed in the arm by Wang Yue.

Liu Bei bent his elbow to block the sword because he was wearing inner armor, and his elbow was essentially a double-layered iron plate.

However, Wang Yue's sword was unexpectedly sharp. Liu Bei's forearm was almost pierced by the sharp blade. The sword pierced in about an inch before being barely locked by the silk layer of the inner armor.

Bleeding.

But in any case, he managed to block it, at least his vital organs weren't injured, and Liu Bei finally managed to draw his sword.

,

(End of this chapter)