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

Chapter 186 The fickleness of human nature
It was the second day of the seventh lunar month, and Zhang Yan was preparing for the New Rice Tasting Ceremony at Dapi Mountain.

The New Rice Sacrifice is the first of the autumn sacrifices. It is a ceremony held in the Han Dynasty to worship Houji. There is no fixed date. It is held when the first ear of millet in the local area is ripe.

Houji was the god of grain (the god of grain), an agricultural official during the reign of Emperor Shun, and the ancestor of the Chinese people who spread the cultivation of grains.

July is the season when millet ripens. The New Millet Festival is a time to offer the first bunch of ripe millet to the God of Millet, to thank the ancestors for passing down grain seeds to future generations, and to show that the descendants are still inheriting the food left by their ancestors.

This is a ceremony performed before the millet harvest, not to pray for a bountiful harvest, but to pass on the tradition of farming, carry on the great path of the past, and remember the achievements of our ancestors.

In July, people would offer sacrifices to the god of millet. After the millet harvest was completed in August, an autumn festival would be held in mid-autumn to worship the land god. That was the harvest festival.

The term "state" comes from this – land and food.

Typically, the autumn sacrifices in each region are led by the local official, which is also an important task for the prefect and county magistrate.

Of course, there are no local officials in Heishan, and the mountain people don't cultivate much land. It's mostly land carved out from the surrounding valleys, so the grain harvest won't be very plentiful.

But Zhang Yan still led the mountain people in preparing for the autumn sacrifice in a very formal manner.

At this moment, Zhang Yan had already developed the awareness and demeanor of an official.

He now knows what it means to be an official, and he also knows how to be one—Liu Bei and Zhang He demonstrated this to him in Ji Province.

“Brother Xuande, who in Hebei doesn’t know that Yan is a bandit from the Black Mountain? How can he serve as an official? The fact that the imperial court hasn’t come to suppress Yan is already a great favor from you, Brother Xuande…”

Zhang Yan smiled at Liu Bei, a somewhat simple and honest smile.

It looks exactly the same as Zhang Niujiao's expression when he was alive.

"Now the rebel army has risen up in Liangzhou, the Xianbei are causing trouble in Youzhou, the people are rebelling in Jingyang, and there are countless rebels in Taishan... The whole world is in chaos."

"The imperial court needs troops to quell the rebellion, but the emperor is short of soldiers and generals..."

"Heishan has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians. If we submit a memorial to treat them as military settlements, then the Heishan army will be the pillars of the court, and Brother Feiyan will be a general of the court. How can you not be an official?"

Liu Bei pulled Zhang Yan aside and said, "As long as Fei Yan is willing, I can definitely turn the Black Mountain bandits into an army!"

Zhang Yan didn't speak, but looked at Liu Bei, who nodded to him.

Zhang Yan cupped his hands and asked, "I wonder what Brother Xuande needs me to do?"

This guy is definitely a smart man.

"I intend to ask Fei Yan to take Taihang as a base and lead troops to help me pacify Youzhou. If there is a shortage of military supplies, you can take all the grain from my Xihe region."

Liu Bei nodded and said frankly, "Flying Swallow drove out the Xianbei and pacified the two provinces of You and Ji. He was promoted to general and ennobled for his real merits... This is the right path and the proper way. Is Flying Swallow willing to be my comrade-in-arms?"

Zhang Yan bowed respectfully with a solemn expression: "Brother Xuande invites me with the grace of the Great Dao, how dare I refuse? However, I have committed a grave offense, and I do not know how this matter should be handled?"

"Feiyan only needs to send an envoy to Luoyang to request battle against the Xianbei; I will take care of the rest."

Liu Bei helped Zhang Yan up, preventing him from bowing: "When Youzhou is pacified and the Xianbei retreat, when I go to the capital to report on my duties, that will be the time for Fei Yan to establish his own government and be appointed general."

Zhang Yan bowed deeply, completing the full bow: "To expel the barbarians and pacify the borders is my duty, and I cannot shirk it!"

It must be said that Zhang Yan adapted quite quickly, and he really did have the air of a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty.

……

In fact, Liu Bei didn't need to come to the capital to report on his duties if he wanted to recruit Zhang Yan...

Liu Bei only wanted Zhang Yan to send troops to help him.

Because Liu Bei did not intend to directly recommend so many bandits from Taihang Mountain for official positions.

If Liu Bei were to suggest appeasing more than a dozen bandit groups in one go, the emperor would certainly see it as a harbinger of Liu Bei's rebellion...

After all, Liu Bei also had the surname Liu. To recruit so many mountain bandits at once was equivalent to recommending a dozen military officers who could lead thousands of troops, and all of them were rebels—what was he trying to do?

With so many generals recommending him, is he trying to emulate Yuan Wei?

However, if we only recruit Zhang Yan from Heishan, all the problems can be solved at once.

Let Zhang Yan annex the Taihang Mountains and become the leader of the entire Taihang Mountains. Treat all the bandits in the Taihang Mountains as the "Black Mountain Army" and then recruit the new Black Mountain Army.

Given the influence of the Black Mountain Army, the emperor would never believe that Liu Bei had any intention of rebelling—the Black Mountain Army was too large, and if he were to be granted amnesty, Zhang Yan's official position would inevitably be higher than Liu Bei's.

Moreover, this nominally only resulted in the pacification of the Black Mountain Army.

The leaders of each mountain stronghold will also be appointed as officials because Zhang Yan was recruited, and Liu Bei's promise will be fulfilled.

Of course, this was a very big matter, and Liu Bei's report might not be able to reach the emperor, so a middleman had to be found to handle it.

After leaving Mount Dapi, Liu Bei quickly headed to Ye County.

Zhang He was already waiting for Liu Bei at Zhang Feng's house; this was the message delivered by a fast cavalryman who had rushed to Ganling.

Zhang He not only had to lead troops to support Liu Bei, but also had to introduce Liu Bei to Zhang Feng.

Zhang Feng was the son of Zhang Rang, who was the first to pay protection money.

As the son of Zhang Rang, a high-ranking official, the brother-in-law of Emperor Liu Hong, and the brother-in-law of Empress He, Zhang Feng was the most suitable intermediary.

Most importantly, Liu Bei did indeed send Zhang He to protect Zhang Feng.

Although protection money was collected, it was collected reasonably, with each person only receiving five bushels of grain, and the protection was long-term.

If it were any other army, the amount of money they would have spent on extortion and bribery would be far more than this.

Furthermore, since other aristocratic families disliked Zhang Feng, a descendant of a eunuch, Liu Bei's timely assistance was a genuine act of kindness.

Zhang He had been collecting protection money from Zhang Feng's house every month for the past few months and had become quite familiar with Zhang Feng, but Zhang Feng had never been able to meet Liu Bei.

However, as soon as Liu Bei arrived at the Zhang family's residence, before Zhang He could even introduce him, Zhang Feng came forward to greet him.

"Could it be Lord Xuande in person? I am deeply grateful for Lord Xuande's assistance. I have heard that Lord Xuande has something important to tell me. May I ask what it is?"

Zhang Feng was very polite.

This is the first time someone has addressed Liu Bei as "Duke"... In fact, Liu Bei is not worthy of this title at present.

But Liu Bei did not refuse the title: "I have come here to deliver a great service to Brother Zhang, and also to completely resolve the matter of the Black Mountain bandits..."

"Oh? Lord Xuande wants to attack Black Mountain?"

Zhang Feng was both pleasantly surprised and somewhat astonished: "But the Black Mountain will probably be difficult to wipe out..."

Having lived in Ye County for so long, he knew very well that without an army of 100,000, it would be virtually impossible to wipe out the Black Mountain bandits.

Previously, Liu Bei's troops were able to "deal with" the Black Mountain forces, and no matter how they did it, that was a skill in itself. Zhang Feng addressed Liu Bei as "Duke" because he was actually wary of him.

When Zhang Feng heard Liu Bei say that he wanted to completely eliminate the Black Mountain bandits, his first reaction was actually – was Liu Bei here to extort military funds?

"It's not a campaign, it's an offer of amnesty."

Liu Bei bluntly told Zhang Feng, "Zhang Yan of Black Mountain has gathered a million men. I cannot defeat him, nor can anyone subdue him... But Zhang Yan intends to submit to the court and wants me to find him a way. And Brother Zhang... isn't this the perfect way?"

Zhang Feng's eyes lit up: "Is that really true?"

"Of course, I have already brought the Black Mountain envoy. This is a meritorious deed that brings peace and stability to the country, but it will require Brother Zhang to trouble himself to travel back and forth to Luoyang..."

Liu Bei turned and gestured for the messenger to come and see Zhang Feng.

That messenger was actually Zhang Baiqi.

This is no exaggeration; Zhang Baiqi is indeed Zhang Yan's important right-hand man and enjoys his complete trust. His stronghold is located at Wujin Mountain, which is also the site of the Black Mountain Iron Mine. This is not because Zhang Baiqi's surname is Zhang, but because Zhang Baiqi is indeed highly efficient at robbing and is most effective at collecting protection money in cooperation with Zhang He, which has indeed generated considerable revenue for Black Mountain.

After all, Zhang Baiqi had always been able to get the cooperation of Zhang He and Bai Yao...

Moreover, Zhang Baiqi was indeed the most suitable person in the Black Mountain Army to be an envoy. He was a regular army officer and had been trained in etiquette, behavior, language, and manners.

For this matter, Zhang Baiqi also restored his original name—Zhang Yan.

In fact, it was not difficult for Zhang Feng to do this task when Liu Bei asked him to. He only needed to go to the capital to deliver a message to Zhang Rang.

But this is indeed a huge achievement...

Zhang Rang knew exactly what the emperor needed; if all that was needed was to inform Zhang Rang, the matter would almost certainly succeed.

The officials recommended by Zhang Rang were naturally part of Zhang Rang's faction, and Zhang Rang would do everything in his power to make the matter happen, both publicly and privately.

The pacification of the Black Mountain Army, which now possesses a powerful armed force in Hebei, is a monumental achievement that would allow the eunuchs to once again suppress the scholars.

For the emperor, this was a business opportunity that could completely extricate him from his predicament—a huge profit!
Liu Bei could use Zhang Yan to deal with the Taihang bandits, drive out the Xianbei in one fell swoop, and even take over Youzhou entirely... Of course, this depends on whether the emperor is sensible or not.

Zhang Feng was naturally very cooperative. He would get credit for offering the plan, and not only would the Black Mountain tribe stop harassing his family, but they would also protect him with all their might. As a result, Zhang Rang's family would expand rapidly.

This is a huge boon for everyone, even the Taihang bandits—it will make them believe that Liu Bei can not only appoint bandits to official positions, but also has the ability to send openly rebellious traitors like Zhang Yan to the emperor.

Of course, if Liu Bei suggested accepting the imperial pardon, he would have to bear the subsequent responsibilities; this was customary. When Gongsun Ju rebelled again after accepting the pardon, it was Duan Jiong who went to clean up his own ranks.

If the Taihang bandits want to become officials, they must find out who is trying to harm Liu Bei and join Zhang Yan's Black Mountain Army.

If they did that, it would be unlikely they would rebel again; if they did, Zhang Yan would eliminate them...

If we don't do this, Zhang Yan will kill us anyway...

As for Zhang Yan, Liu Bei had indeed shown him great kindness. When Zhang Yan sent troops to fight against the Xianbei with Liu Bei, it was out of genuine camaraderie and recommendation.

Furthermore, with Zhang Baiqi (Zhang Yan) monitoring and restricting them, as long as there is no fundamental conflict between the two sides, it will be a relatively stable alliance.

However, Liu Bei's strength is currently limited. He can gradually absorb the Black Mountain Army and bring it under his complete control when he has sufficient strength in the future.

……

While Liu Bei was discussing amnesty with Zhang Yan in Ji Province, a number of Taihang bandits had already settled in Shiliting, Zhuo County.

Those were the leaders of various mountain strongholds and their cronies.

But they did not enter the city.

They came to Zhuo County, of course, because they learned that Liu Bei was going to hold a banquet to recommend them for official positions.

The reason they did not enter the city was precisely because Wang Zheng's troops had already all entered the city.

Liu Bei first invited Wang Zheng into the city, and then sent Wang Zheng to deliver an invitation to a victory banquet. The most important effect of this was actually to give the Taihang bandits many other ideas...

such as……

Has Wang Zheng already defected to Liu Bei? Otherwise, why would his troops have entered Zhuo County directly?

Liu Bei said that, apart from Zuo Zi, the other thirteen leaders of the Taihang Mountains could all become officials?
Does this mean they want to unite all sides to take down Zuo Zi?
Liu Bei said he wanted to hold a victory celebration banquet, but who would celebrate victory after being betrayed by an ally? And what victory would they be celebrating?
This whole thing looks like it's about forming factions and choosing sides...

But... what would happen if I didn't attend this so-called victory celebration banquet?

The memorial written by Liu Bei was indeed genuine. Everyone recognized Liu Bei's trustworthiness; he always kept his word and never lied.

If everyone else went, but I didn't...

If there were no option to be recruited into the government, all the leaders would definitely have to help Zuo Zi, otherwise they would become everyone's enemy.

But with the option of being granted amnesty and becoming an official available—that left mustache actually became an obstacle for everyone…

This was the usual practice of the imperial court; when offering amnesty, the ringleaders were never pardoned, while the rest could be pacified.

So, about this matter...

The Taihang bandits were filled with questions and exclamations.

In fact, some Taihang leaders had asked Wang Zheng about this in person, but Wang Zheng was unable to explain in detail.

What did Wang Zheng say?
Wang Zheng had no idea what Liu Bei was planning...

In fact, Wang Zheng already believed that Liu Bei was indeed going to appoint the leaders of Taihang as officials; he just didn't believe that Liu Bei would actually recommend his enemy.

Wang Zheng could only surmise that Liu Bei probably intended to unite the thirteen leaders to eliminate Zuo Zi and offer a pledge of loyalty in exchange for amnesty.

This is natural and reasonable. It was indeed Zuo Zi who first planned to kill Liu Bei. This was told to Liu Bei by Wang Zheng, and it was the truth.

And Wang Zheng truly didn't care whether Zuo Zi lived or died...

He couldn't wait for Zuo Zi to die so he wouldn't have to worry about his previous two-faced behavior.

So Wang Zheng could only say, "Let's go and take a look first. Anyway, it's just a banquet and a drink. We can discuss it together later."

Of course, among the thirteen leaders, there would be some loyal ones who would tell Zuo Zi about Liu Bei's banquet.

But Zuo Zi didn't know how to deal with it either...

Is it to obstruct the advancement of the various leaders? Or to openly lead an army to attack Zhuo County?
Wang Zheng's troops have already entered the city. If Wang Zheng has already surrendered to Liu Bei, then Zhuo County has three thousand garrison troops. With everyone having their own agendas, can Zhuo County be captured?

If Wang Zheng had not surrendered to Liu Bei, then whether he blocked the various families from attending the banquet or directly attacked Zhuo County, it would have been the same as handing Wang Zheng's troops over to Liu Bei, making no difference.

The key issue is that the leaders of various factions may not be willing to deal with Liu Bei right now. If they are pushed too far when faced with the opportunity to become officials, they may very well turn against him on the spot.

The person most familiar with Liu Bei was Zuo Zi, who knew that Liu Bei would keep his word and that the promise of an official position was true.

Zuo Zi could only protect himself first—he stayed in Xihe to guard the soon-to-be-harvested grain and also to control the families of the various bandits.

All the bandits of Taihang were outside Zhuoxian City, waiting for Liu Bei's banquet, but their thoughts were all different.

No one realized that Liu Bei was not even in Zhuoxian at this time.

The reason Liu Bei was betrayed by the Taihang bandits was ultimately because he did not truly control them and his principles differed from theirs.

However, once Liu Bei gave them a legitimate official path, their attitudes and roles changed.

Liu Bei is no longer their obstacle; Zuo Zi is...

On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, Liu Bei returned to Zhuo County with Zhang He.

Zhang He led a small force of only eight hundred men, but it was enough to protect Liu Bei as he entered the city and to keep Zhuo County stable.

During these ten days, Liu Bei was almost constantly on the move. He lost weight, but his spirits seemed even stronger.

Because at this point, Liu Bei had both a clear direction and the confidence to solve the problem.

Feigned confidence and composure can never compare to genuine composure. Anyone familiar with Liu Bei could see at a glance that he was very different now than before.

"My husband seems to have regained the spirit of those days when he single-handedly repelled the enemy. Does he already have a plan?"

Seeing Liu Bei's spirited demeanor, Zuo Yuan probably recalled past events: "Does Yuan still wish to beat the drums and advance the army for her husband?"

"Haha... Alright, beat the drums, march!"

Liu Bei burst into laughter: "Prepare a banquet and invite the guests into the city!"

(End of this chapter)