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

Chapter 189 Self-reliance
"Zhang Yan rebelled and was appointed general and given a government office, while my elder brother worked diligently but did not have real power..."

Zhang Fei said indignantly, "The court treats its meritorious officials so poorly, isn't that condoning rebellion and chaos? No wonder there are rebellions everywhere..."

Indeed, the court's actions were tantamount to encouraging rebellion.

"Being appointed as a general and establishing a government is just a title. No matter what position I hold, the court will never provide me with troops and provisions. What difference does it make whether I am appointed as a general or a cavalry captain?"

"Even if I resign and become a commoner, what difference will it make? Will my brothers abandon me because my official position is no longer prominent?"

Liu Bei himself remained calm: "It's just that the brothers have rendered meritorious service but have not received any rewards, which is unfair to them..."

"Fei doesn't care about any rewards or honors; he's just indignant on behalf of his elder brother..."

Zhang Fei shook his head and sighed: "I am truly frustrated. With the court being so unjust, who will be willing to fight for the country in the future?"

"Yide, why are you angry? Even you and I don't care about rewards and honors, so why would you care, elder brother?"

Guan Yu advised Zhang Fei from the side, "Let's just listen to what our elder brother says."

"Hahaha... Yun Chang knows me well."

Liu Bei laughed and put his arms around the necks of the two men: "We heroes of the world do things according to our hearts, why should we think about the rewards of the court? If the emperor does not reward us, we will reward ourselves!"

Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, then his resentment vanished, and he turned around and laughed loudly: "Brother, your chivalry remains unchanged... In the past two years, I have followed you in doing some mundane official duties, and I almost forgot my roots... I shall punish myself with three cups of wine!"

"Hey! Self-punishment? That's called self-admiration! You're craving alcohol, aren't you..."

"Fei did earn some merit in battle, after all. He should reward me with a jar of wine for every barbarian head he takes..."

“That won’t do. The barbarians aren’t worth that much… Besides, Guan Yu killed two thousand enemies; we don’t have that much wine to reward him.”

"Hahaha... Elder brother must have wine but refuses to share it, so I, Guan, will take it myself..."

"Ah? I never expected Yun Chang to be a thief..."

The three of them went to the tavern arm in arm, just like Liu Bei did before he became an official.

……

In fact, Liu Bei could understand the emperor's suicidal behavior.

He knew he had no chance of being promoted to a higher position.

He didn't care what official position he could hold.

Liu Bei didn't do things for the sake of being granted titles and ranks...

He is Liu Bei, a chivalrous hero of his time, not a keyboard warrior writing online novels for monthly votes. When does he need to be rewarded by others?
Moreover, this big man has to get whatever he wants himself.

The emperor can't offer any real benefits—what does the emperor have besides the imperial seal? What good things can he offer?

Even if offered high-ranking official positions and prestigious titles, Liu Bei might not be interested.

What others give you... whether it's from the emperor or the court, it's not really yours.

Even if someone is granted a title or rank, it can be revoked at any time.

For example, General Huangfu Song.

At the end of July, the Xianling Qiang people in the north and the rebel forces from Fuhan, Heguan and other places attacked the Sanfu region. Huangfu Song suffered repeated defeats, and the rebel forces approached Xiling.

Situ Cui Lie even proposed abandoning Liangzhou and ceding territory to sue for peace...

However, Cui Lie was severely reprimanded by Fu Xie, who was then serving as an Imperial Secretary, in front of all the officials. Fu Xie even directly stated, "Please execute the Minister of Works to bring peace to the world."

Although Liu Hong was indeed a spendthrift, he was not so wasteful as to abandon Liangzhou... He recalled Huangfu Song, dismissed him from his post as Left General of Chariots and Cavalry due to poor performance in battle, stripped him of his fief of 6,000 households, and demoted him to Marquis of Duxiang.

Fortunately, the rebels did not breach the imperial tombs; otherwise, they would have suffered far more than just losing their official positions and titles.

In early August, the imperial court appointed Zhang Wen, the Minister of Works, as General of Chariots and Cavalry, to take over the military affairs of the Three Auxiliary Regions and Liangzhou, and appointed Yuan Pang, the General of the Imperial Guard, as his deputy. They once again mobilized troops from various prefectures to garrison Meiyang and protect Xiling.

The decision to grant amnesty to the Black Mountain Army was also made at that time.

Zhang Yan actually caught a "good time," otherwise this matter would have been debated for a long time—the vast majority of aristocratic families actually disagreed with the offer of amnesty, and there was great resistance in the court.

Or rather, they didn't disagree with the offer of amnesty, but rather with the offer of amnesty to eunuchs...

Zhang Feng was the one who suggested the surrender, and Zhang Rang was the one who carried it out—nearly a million people and tens of thousands of soldiers in the Black Mountain had become the eunuch faction's followers. This was outrageous!

The Liangzhou rebels are indeed difficult to deal with in the short term. If Zhang Yan is not granted amnesty, the imperial court will have to send troops to suppress the Black Mountain rebels. However, the imperial army is currently composed entirely of powerful families...

There was no other way but to compromise.

The Liangzhou rebels are about to capture Chang'an. No one in the court opposes granting amnesty to Zhang Yan. However, the officials are all sending people to Heishan.

The reason the emperor granted Zhang Yan such high authority was because he had to offer him enough benefits; otherwise, it was uncertain who would win Zhang Yan over.

But things were different for Liu Bei...

The appointment of Liu Bei was actually discussed for a long time, much longer than the recruitment of the Black Mountain Army, so Liu Bei did not receive the imperial edict until the end of August.

It was Liu Bei who suggested the idea of ​​recruiting the Black Mountain Army, and Liu Bei's name would naturally appear frequently in the court.

Many people knew about Liu Bei's previous practice of collecting protection money in Ji Province. Although Liu Bei didn't get any grounds for criticism, everyone understood what was going on.

It was precisely because they understood this that no one openly provoked Liu Bei, lest they attract the Black Mountain Army...

In addition, Liu Bei had wronged many powerful families when he was in Ganling, and these families had complained about him many times before.

For example, there was Situ Cui Lie, Liu Dai and Liu Yao, who were recommended to the court by the famous scholar Tao Qiuhong, Guo Tu, who submitted a report from Yingchuan, and Yuan Shu, who had an old grudge against Liu Bei, etc.

Offering amnesty to the Black Mountain Army was a necessary step, but no one wanted Liu Bei to have too much power.

Including the emperor.

When Liu Bei was the Commandant of Ganling, he was able to collect protection money from Ji Province. If Liu Bei were to control the troops of You Province, wouldn't the entire area north of the Yellow River have to pay protection money?

If Liu Bei were given too high a position, not only would the emperor be uneasy, but the officials in the court would also be uneasy—even if they wanted to win him over, they would have to make sure that Liu Bei was not given important positions.

In truth, stripping Liu Bei of all his power would be in line with the wishes of Cui Lie and his ilk...

But Liu Bei did indeed have merit; his contribution in defeating the Xianbei was real.

Furthermore, Liu Bei clearly had a good relationship with Zhang Yan. If Liu Bei were dismissed without cause, Zhang Yan might cause trouble again.

Therefore, Liu Bei's crimes were even discussed in the imperial court.

However, none of the charges had any concrete evidence. Zhang Yan was already a general of the Han Dynasty, so they couldn't bring up Liu Bei's collusion with the Black Mountain Army... So after searching around, they could only find one charge—the Wuhuan's rebellion.

The same thing can have a different nature depending on how it's said.

For example, the rebellion of Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun in alliance with Qiu Liju can be described as:

When Liu Bei was stationed in Ganling, he committed many illegal acts. This time, holding the imperial insignia to oversee military affairs with the Wuhuan, he again caused a Wuhuan rebellion. His discord with Zhang Chun led to Zhang Chun raising Wuhuan troops and wreaking havoc in Youzhou… Fortunately, Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army came to the rescue of the border; otherwise, the Han Dynasty would have been in grave danger…

That's what Cui Lie said.

On the contrary, Yuan Shao, the Grand General's aide, said a few good words to Liu Bei, but these words were said in a very skillful way: "Although the Wuhuan rebelled after Liu Bei took command of them, Liu Bei did his job conscientiously and managed to repel the rebels, so at least his merits and demerits are balanced. Now that the rebel leaders Ju and Chun are on the run, we might as well let Liu Bei execute them..." This was actually tantamount to convicting Liu Bei... but at the same time, it gave the emperor a way out.

Liu Hong had long since run out of ideas to discuss this matter—it had been discussed in two large court assemblies and four small court assemblies, plus three private meetings, and Liu Hong was truly fed up.

The emperor was not a patient person, so he took advantage of Yuan Shao's words and directly settled on a compromise.

Neither praise nor criticize, to avoid further disputes.

As a result, Liu Bei was transferred to the position of Cavalry Commandant.

Just like when Situ Cui Lie proposed abandoning Liangzhou and was immediately beheaded by Fu Xie in court—Liu Hong neither punished Cui Lie for his insubordination nor Fu Xie for his insubordination.

Most emperors who plunged the country into chaos shared the same flaw...

Moreover, many people share similar circumstances with Liu Bei.

For example, Fu Xie, who once served as the military commander under Huangfu Song.

Fu Xie was the most meritorious official in the campaign against the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou. He killed leaders such as Bu Si, Zhang Bo, and Liang Zhongning in battle. He deserved to be ennobled for his merits.

However, after the main force of the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled, Huangfu Song was granted the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry and the title of Marquis of a County with Special Merit, while Fu Xie did not receive any reward for his merits.

Fu Xie had offended many people, but not the Guandong gentry, but the eunuch faction led by Zhao Zhong, the Grand Eunuch.

Fu Xie's appointment was also discussed in the court for a long time, with constant debate between the gentry and the eunuchs. In the end, a compromise was reached and he was appointed as the Commandant of Anding. He was transferred from the position of General of Chariots and Cavalry to the position of Commandant of Anding, which was a lateral move like Liu Bei's.

However, Liu Bei was transferred from a local organization to the central organization, while Fu Xie was transferred from the central military organization to a local organization.

Afterwards, Fu Xie claimed to be ill and resigned... which basically meant he quit and went back to his hometown.

However, after resigning from his post, he was immediately summoned back to the capital to serve as an advisor, and was transferred back to Luoyang, but he lost his military power.

This is how the imperial court has always been: it's either struggle or compromise.

After all, this is the kind of person the current emperor is. If he were truly a wise ruler, the world wouldn't be in such a terrible state...

Liu Bei did not intend to resign on the pretext of illness like Fu Xie. After all, the position of Cavalry Commandant was actually quite good. Although there was no specific place to be stationed, at least he was not subject to the control of the state and county officials and could go wherever he wanted.

Even if we don't have the right to wage war, we can still 'provide assistance'.

If you don't receive orders to recruit soldiers, you can 'hire workers' instead.

As for provisions and pay... when has Liu Bei ever relied on the imperial court for provisions and pay?

Liu Bei has suffered considerable losses and is not very wealthy, but his brothers have rendered meritorious service in killing the Hu, so he should give them some real benefits.

Most of the grain harvested in Xihe this year was used by Zhang Yan as military rations, and half of the people in Xihe went to Heishan. After the Taihang bandits were incorporated into the Heishan army, Zhang Yan moved the residences of the leaders to the southern Taihang Mountains, and the families of these leaders and their confidants were taken away by Zhang Yan.

Currently, those remaining in Xihe are all people willing to follow Liu Bei. Zhang Yan also left some grain, which is barely enough for the remaining people to eat until next year.

Zhang Yan still had some sense of shame. He had no intention of seizing Liu Bei's territory, and when he reported the Black Mountain Army's jurisdiction to the court, he did not mention the Xihe area. He only wanted to control the families of the former Taihang bandit leaders.

Xihe is still a no-man's-land, only with fewer people and a lot of land vacated.

The land in Xihe originally had land deeds, and each family owned several thousand acres. When the Taihang bandits were settled, they were all registered under the names of various leaders. There were about a hundred households, but more than 20,000 people.

In other words, Zhang Yan has now moved all the "household heads" away, and these "household heads" have essentially become refugees, moving into the "Hebei mountainous area" under Zhang Yan's jurisdiction.

And the land of Xihe once again became ownerless.

However, Liu Bei did not sell any more land; he engaged in some of the feudal practices typical of feudal society.

He granted all the land in Xihe to his troops who had made meritorious contributions in battle.

From Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhang He, to the soldiers of various units, they all became landlords.

He then let his brothers hire tenants themselves.

They may freely hire "guards" or domestic helpers, but they must not be regarded as slaves; it must be an equal labor relationship, and the buying and selling of people is not allowed.

Liu Bei only set a land rent limit for his brothers, stipulating that the rent collected could not exceed 50%, and that taxes and grains should be paid by the landlords.

As for where the tenants came from, Liu Bei didn't care.

He asked his teacher, Yueyin, to help supervise the matter.

Farming and ensuring the well-being of the people have always been of paramount importance. While Le Yin is not particularly interested in other matters, he is indeed very willing to take charge of this one.

……

Just as Liu Bei was redistributing the land in Xihe, the imperial court issued an autumn inspection order to Youzhou.

Most of the time, at the end of August each year, the imperial court would issue the annual grain tax collection method to all prefectures and counties. While collecting grain taxes, the court would also conduct a strict investigation of official conduct, hence the name "autumn investigation".

This year's autumn inspection was ordered by the imperial court to strictly investigate the officials of the prefectures and counties. If any official had won a military victory in the fight against the Yellow Turbans, his or her performance would be examined. Those with poor performance would be dismissed—in reality, this was a way to bribe officials.

Of course, direct bribery is also an option, and it's definitely cheaper than buying an official position...

This matter will not affect Liu Bei. Liu Bei is now a special envoy of the central army and is not under the control of the prefectures and counties—this is probably one of the benefits of being a cavalry captain.

At the same time, each prefecture was to levy an additional tax of twelve coins per mu, nominally to be used as military pay for the various units in Youzhou...

The imperial court wasn't refusing to replenish the border troops in Youzhou; it was just preventing Liu Bei from doing so. Liu Hong was actually planning to have the "imperial court" raise money to recruit soldiers.

This may be what Liu Hong meant by "pacifying the internal affairs".

Liu Bei didn't need to pay the land tax, because he didn't own any land himself.

All of Liu Bei's subordinates had to hand over the land, as they had just been allocated a considerable amount of land.

The emperor's logic of collecting miscellaneous taxes caused considerable resentment among the brothers—the court claimed that the land tax was to be used as military pay for Youzhou, but it was actually taking money from the soldiers of Youzhou… So the money was coming from the soldiers themselves, right?

Liu Bei didn't care about others, but he would protect the interests of his own brothers.

Liu Bei took his brothers to Yuyang County.

This isn't about tax evasion. Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju have already fled to the Hu lands, and Yuyang County is currently unmanaged, so of course we have to take it over first.

In fact, Yuyang was not an empty city, but after Zhang Ju opened Yuyang to the Xianbei and let them in, Yuyang County was basically looted and turned into a wasteland. However, Zhang's clansmen and servants were still in Yuyang, totaling nearly 10,000 people.

After Zhang Chun, Zhang Ju, and others fled, they had nowhere to go. They dared not go to the Hu lands, and were afraid of being seen as rebels, so they could only stay in Yuyang County.

Fortunately, it was harvest season. Although Yuyang had little farmland, at least some harvest could be left. With the remaining grain in the fields, these people could barely make ends meet.

These former members of the Zhang family now work as miners.

Liu Bei planned to seize the copper mines and smelting sites along the Ru River... and mint his own coins.

The so-called self-reliance means doing what you need yourself.

The brothers were allowed to mint their own coins to pay taxes, and then the imperial court would send the coins back to the brothers as military pay...

This probably does indeed qualify as official money laundering.

(End of this chapter)