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

Chapter 192 The Chapter of Hibernation
"Brother, weren't you afraid of having so many miners surrounding you just now?"

While reorganizing the miners, Zhang Fei quietly asked Liu Bei.

Zhang Fei had done this kind of thing several times before, and he was actually a little scared. However, Zhang Fei was thick-skinned and would get excited when he sensed danger.

But Zhang Fei himself knew he was afraid. Who wouldn't be flustered when surrounded by thousands of men?

"Actually, I'm quite scared, but that's precisely why I have to do it..."

Liu Bei honestly replied, "This place is too narrow for the brothers to form a battle formation. If we really start fighting them, we'll have no choice but to fight to the death. What if there are falling rocks from the cliff?"

"Leaving aside the outcome, our brothers will suffer heavy losses... Besides, even if we achieve a great victory and wipe them all out, what good will it do us? Winning is still losing..."

Zhang Fei then asked, "Brother, isn't the purpose of fighting to kill the enemy and win? Why is winning also considered a loss?"

Liu Bei paused for a moment, then shook his head: "War is not about winning or losing a battle, but about letting the enemy know that we have the ability to kill them... Yide, we use force to deter the enemy from using force, and we kill people to prevent the enemy from killing our people."

"The real winner is who can save more lives, not who can kill more people."

Zhang Fei nodded to indicate that he understood, but then he kept thinking about it, and it was unclear whether he truly understood it.

……

In fact, not all miners were willing to follow Liu Bei.

A small group, about five hundred people, secretly escaped while Liu Bei was surrounded by the miners.

Fan Fang actually wanted to run away, but he was controlled by Zhang Fei and couldn't escape.

Liu Bei didn't send anyone to give chase, because the miners had already spontaneously set out in pursuit...

The reason those people ran away wasn't because they were afraid of being killed by Liu Bei, but because they were afraid of being killed by the miners...

The miners here are all young and strong, most of whom were once clansmen and servants of various families in Lingzhi County, with the majority coming from the Gongsun family.

After being captured and enslaved, Gongsun Fan gathered his followers, including Fan Fang, to form a united group.

But they weren't doing it to benefit the miners; they were just trying to make their own lives better in the mines.

As Liu Bei said, when the Gongsun family occupied the mining area, they also forcibly abducted slaves to mine, which was no different from Zhang Chun.

Fan Fang and other retainers of the Gongsun family were originally skilled at driving and exploiting mine slaves.

Liu Zheng was from Beihai and had no relatives in Youzhou. After acquiring the copper mine, he lacked someone to manage it, so Gongsun Fan took the initiative to demonstrate his 'professional skills'.

So Liu Zheng used Gongsun Fan and other skilled workers from the Gongsun family as supervisors—in reality, he simply provided them with enough to eat and did not have to mine.

In order to have enough to eat and to avoid hard labor, Gongsun Fan and others became traitors who exploited the Gongsun clan.

Wherever there are people, there are social classes. Even among slaves, there will always be slaves eager to become their masters' lackeys.

When Liu Zheng was attacked by Qiu Liju and his forces were insufficient, he distributed weapons to Gongsun Fan and others, and promised to exonerate the Gongsun family and let Gongsun Fan lead the miners to deal with Qiu Liju.

But Gongsun Fan was very cunning. He took this opportunity to release all the miners and run away together, leaving Liu Zheng to die in the smelting field.

Although he had previously exploited the miners as a lackey, Gongsun Fan's move to free the mining slaves still garnered their support, which can be seen as a roundabout way of rescuing them.

However, Gongsun Fan actually had nowhere to go, so he decided to become a bandit in the mountains.

Most people blindly follow others. Although the miners didn't have much affection for Gongsun Fan, when they didn't know how they would live in the future, they could only follow Gongsun Fan, who was the only one who proposed the solution of 'becoming bandits'.

If Gongsun Fan hadn't died, these miners would surely have become bandits who occupied this area.

If any vehicles or horses pass through the stone gate, they will be ambushed by falling rocks to block the main road, and then they will enter the mountains through a side path to hide.

If no one comes here, they hide in the mountains and organize a large group of people to rob grain and women in the nearby counties during the autumn harvest—that's what most mountain bandits do.

But now that Gongsun Fan is dead, the miners are once again at a loss about what to do next.

Therefore, after Liu Bei proposed the more reliable solution of "rebuilding Xiyang County and making the people good citizens", many miners were naturally willing to follow. And when a group of people came to Liu Bei's side, most of them would follow along – which was actually blind obedience.

Those overseers who had enslaved the miners naturally ran away upon seeing this situation—Liu Bei had already declared he would never enslave anyone, so their fate was predictable.

The miners didn't hate Zhang Chun or Liu Zheng the most; they hated these supervisors the most.

Because of falling rocks at the canyon exit, the time to clear the roadblocks was extended again. A miner told Liu Bei that there was a small path in the mountains that could bypass Shimen Gorge from the mountain ridge, and that the path could also lead to Xuwu Mountain to the west.

Liu Bei then ordered the main force to continue clearing obstacles, and had the miners lead him up the mountain via a small path.

Once he reached the top of the mountain, Liu Bei realized how dangerous the night had been—there was a pile of huge rocks with almost hollowed-out bottoms on the ridge at the entrance to the canyon, which would roll into the valley if pried open with a crowbar.

However, the rockfall did not trigger anything, and it is likely intended to seal off the entire Shimen Canyon.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the canyon, at the exit where Tian Yu was, there were still hundreds of people guarding the mountain ridge—there was indeed no way to go up or down the mountain from there; to get down, one had to walk along the mountain ridge all the way to the slope on the west side of Xu Wushan.

In other words, if a fight breaks out with these miners, rocks will continue to fall from both ends of the canyon, and the main force will be completely trapped in the canyon, unable to move forward or backward.

Gongsun Fan's body was also under a tree on the mountain ridge, and the miners dared not move it.

They believed that the gods had taken Gongsun Fan's life and dared not offend Shan Kui.

Gongsun Fan had three crossbow bolts stuck in his body, one in his left shoulder and two in his chest and abdomen.

The miners said that the arrows were shot by the young leader of the vanguard in the canyon, and that the young man was constantly running, and Gongsun Fan could not be seen in the canyon. Under such circumstances, the fact that all three arrows hit Gongsun Fan was considered by people in those days to be the will of the gods.

……

When Tian Yu saw Liu Bei again, it was two days later in the evening.

It wasn't because clearing the roadblocks took too much time, but because Tian Yu overslept.

Tian Yu guarded the canyon exit all night, but failed to encounter any enemy, so he returned to his troops to remove the falling rocks at the canyon entrance.

By the afternoon, the canyon entrance had been dredged again, and the carts and horses that had been trapped inside were transported out. After the losses were tallied, it was already the early hours of the next day.

Tian Yu hadn't slept for two days. When he got sleepy, he fell asleep on the ground—this kid is carefree and can sleep in any environment.

When I woke up, it was already dark.

And as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw several burly men holding lanterns above his head, watching him.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and others were all present.

"Taking the bandit leader's life from among ten thousand troops is as easy as taking something out of a bag..."

"I don't think Yu Lang is some kind of peerless master. How come I've never seen such a skill before?"

"This technique is always fatal; of course, none of our own people have ever seen it before..."

The three of them watched and discussed it as they went.

Tian Yu felt a chill run down his spine from being stared at so intently. He instinctively shrank back, touched himself, and swallowed hard. "Brothers, what... what does this mean?"

Zhang Fei glared at him: "Hmph...you little brat, you possess extraordinary skills but you didn't tell us..."

Guan Yu squinted: "I've seen plenty of people shoot upon hearing a sound, but to hit the same person three times while running, without seeing the enemy... how is that possible? I need to use this to train my troops..."

Only Liu Bei was relatively kind: "Does Yu Lang know that the army is already saying that you are protected by a deity? They all say you are the messenger of the Mountain Kui..."

"Huh? This? It's just shooting a thief to death."

Tian Yu was still quite sharp-witted and immediately realized, "But... I don't know how I did it either..."

"Let's go, let's go outside and practice. I need to learn this..."

Zhang Fei dragged Tian Yu away.

Tian Yu can indeed reproduce his signature blind shooting technique from memory, but no one can learn that...

Just as Tian Yu couldn't learn Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's martial arts, talent cannot be imitated.

However, while Tian Yu's technique is indeed a unique skill, its applicability is too limited. Most of the time, the battlefield is noisy and chaotic, making it difficult to find the enemy leader. Enemies generally don't stand still, and their leaders are usually protected by guards.

Gongsun Fan was in a safe area on the mountain ridge, and he hadn't moved an inch. There was no one in front of him on the steep slope and cliff, which is why he was able to achieve this effect. But... why shoot blindly when you can see?
In any case, the identity of "Mountain Kui Envoy" is useful, at least enough to intimidate all the miners.

……

Two months later, the Xiyang mining area had been rebuilt, and the new Xiyang County had nearly 20,000 residents.

Having too many people isn't necessarily a good thing, because then there won't be enough food...

Of course, it was precisely because he knew that there might not be enough food that Liu Bei decided to rebuild Xiyang County.

These people weren't born wanting to be miners... half of them chose to farm.

Of course, the principle of voluntariness is still the basic principle, but there is one rule on the basis of voluntariness: no idle people are supported.

If you're good at smelting, go to the smelting plantation; if you're good at farming, go to reclaim wasteland; if you're good at killing, you can join the army.

If you don't know anything, then you have to go down into the mine.

The site of Xiyang County could actually be used to cultivate a lot of land. It is a valley, or rather a small basin surrounded by mountains.

It's bordered by Xuwu Mountain to the west, Lulong Pass to the north, Shimen Gorge to the south, and Ru River to the east—it has mountains, water, and minerals, plus nobody cares about it…

Moreover, there are some associated gold deposits in the Rushui Riverbed area to the east of the copper mine, but the grade is not high and they are not easy to pan for.

But as long as there are people, the grade of the ore is not a problem.

Most of the servants in the Zhang Chun family and the Gongsun family were skilled miners and smelters. The Zhang family started out in the salt and iron industry, while the Gongsun family had long been engaged in copper mining. Both families had many skilled craftsmen.

Craftsmen in the Han Dynasty actually had a high status; they were mostly retainers or household servants, not ordinary servants.

But nowadays, the craftsmen of these two families have no status whatsoever; they are considered traitors, guilty even of breathing, and it's a miracle they can even survive.

However, the two sides remain hostile to each other, and factional struggles have already broken out in this newly established Sunset County...

This faction is unsolvable because the feud between the two families runs quite deep.

But that doesn't matter. Liu Bei can't stay here for long, and Guan Yu can't garrison Lulong Pass forever. In the future, this place will need a few hundred soldiers to control 20,000 able-bodied men. Only with factions can the balance be maintained.

If the two sides are too united, then Liu Bei would probably be the one in danger.

After all, this place is where coins are minted...

Zhang Fei's skills came in handy once again—he started carving coin molds, specifically five-zhu coins for casting.

The existing coins could actually be used as master molds, but Liu Bei wanted to add some markings to the coins he was minting, so he had Zhang Fei re-carve the coin molds.

The added markings were on the edge of the coin, consisting of a rim and twelve dots, making the edge of the coin look like a clock. This prevented craftsmen from scraping the edge to extract the copper.

Although it only involved adding raised edges and dots, it was actually very difficult to carve by hand. Zhang Fei spent a lot of effort to ensure that the edges were delicate, the twelve dots were of uniform size, and the spacing was consistent.

People who can draw are really dangerous; they're either counterfeiters or rebels...

Actually, the Wuzhu coins minted by Liu Bei were not counterfeit, because there was no such concept back then... Although the imperial court had forbidden prefectures and kingdoms from minting coins privately after Emperor Wu, in reality, each prefecture and kingdom was still minting its own coins.

Besides, they're all cast in bronze and look the same. Liu Bei's coins are made of better material than those from the Nanyang Mint of the Han Dynasty, with more material and a more reasonable proportion...

The composition of the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin from the Tang Dynasty is 85% copper, 10% lead, and 5% tin, which is much better than the purity of the Han Dynasty Wuzhu coin.

Moreover, this Wuzhu coin is actually five zhu (3.25 grams) in weight, which is more real than a genuine coin.

Liu Bei did not have a high demand for copper production; he only had high requirements for the quality of the coins. This was because he did not intend for the smelters to produce anything else; he only intended to mint coins and not to manufacture other bronze artifacts.

He really looked down on bronze crossbows or bronze weapons; if you have the ability to forge steel, why would you need bronze?

There are blacksmiths in Xihe, and they are quite skilled.

Iron ore is also plentiful. Zhang Baiqi has now become Zhang Yan's confidant and is currently operating an iron mine in Wujin Mountain.

The iron ore from Wujin Mountain has far fewer impurities than that from Guangping Iron Mine. After being smelted into iron ingots, most of these iron ores were sent to Xihe by Zhang Baiqi. Therefore, Liu Bei did not occupy the easily noticeable Guangping Iron Mine, nor did he occupy Yuyang County.

Since Tian Yu was now regarded as a divine messenger, Liu Bei "appointed" Tian Yu as the county magistrate to manage the newly established Xiyang County.

This was obviously an illegal appointment, but for the vast majority of people in this place, even their very existence was illegal...

Moreover, the illegal appointments did not stop with Tian Yu. Xianyu Fu had already recovered from his injuries and was also in his twilight years. Liu Bei allowed him to stay at Lulong Pass and appointed Xianyu Fu as acting Lulong Pass Commandant—this was not only illegal but also presumptuous… In recent years, the position of Lulong Pass Commandant had actually been concurrently held by the Protector of Wuhuan Commandant or the Governor of Youbeiping.

Liu Bei himself didn't even have such a high rank.

In fact, Liu Bei submitted a memorial recommending Xianyu Fu as the Commandant of Lulong Pass. This was a border military commander with a salary of 1,000 shi (a unit of grain), and was also the de facto commander of the pass. Moreover, Liu Bei had the authority to control the passes of Youzhou.

However, this recommendation has not received a response... The imperial court is busy with the war in Liangzhou and probably cannot attend to Youzhou for the time being.

Even if they could manage it, probably no one would be willing to come to Lulong Pass as the chief official.

The Han court's attitude towards military generals was too obvious, and Lulong Pass could be said to be the most dangerous place in the Han Dynasty in recent years—those who had served as the commanders of Lulong Pass in recent years had either been demoted or died, and none of them had been able to get promoted or make a fortune...

If the imperial court had assembled a sufficient number of border troops, there might have been fearless young men from wealthy families who would have come to make their mark.

However, if the imperial court has no soldiers and forces the army to recruit its own troops to garrison the area, then certainly not many people would be willing to come.

It is estimated that Xiyang County and Lulong Pass will not be disturbed by the imperial court for a long time. As long as the city gates are well guarded and the Xianbei and Wuhuan are prevented from invading, it will be fine.

Xianyu Fuhui will cooperate with Guan Yu to recruit new soldiers from the miners and complete their training. Once the new soldiers are trained, Guan Yu will no longer stay at Lulong Pass.

After arranging affairs in Xiyang County, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei returned to Xihe. With Tian Yu in charge of the Xiyang Mint, Liu Bei was quite at ease.

Although Tian Yu was young and had to take charge of a region, everyone thought there was no problem, including Tian Yu himself.

Only Tian Yu's mother was very worried.

Tian Yu's mother has found a girl for him and has already asked a matchmaker, preparing for Tian Yu to get engaged and settle down as soon as possible.

But Tian Yu won't be back for a while, so the little girl is just left there waiting.

The girl was the eldest daughter of the Xu family, a prominent clan in Ji County, while Tian Yu's family was poor. Tian's mother felt uneasy, thinking that she might offend the Xu family.

Of course, Liu Bei knew very well that the Xu family would not dare to say a word.

It might not be the case in other places, but everyone in Ji County knows that Tian Yu was Liu Bei's confidant, and they also know what Liu Bei did in Guangyang.

However, this incident did serve as a reminder to Liu Bei.

Two years into our marriage, there has been no increase in the number of people in our family, which is clearly due to my own lack of effort.

Population growth has always been a major national issue... Now that we have a large family business, how can we afford to squander it all if no one dies?
It was now the winter month, the season for production.

……

November of the second year of Zhongping.

Liu Bei stopped his revelry and went into seclusion in Xihe, where he farmed and had children.

After Cao Cao left his post in Jinan, the court recalled him to serve as a consultant and planned to appoint him as the governor of Dongjun – an appointment orchestrated by Zhang Rang.

Although Cao Cao castrated many scholars in Jinan, he did not intend to join the eunuch faction. So he claimed to be ill and returned to Pei County, where he also went into seclusion to have children.

After Emperor Liu Hong granted amnesty to the Black Mountain Army, he clearly gained confidence, or it could be said that eunuchs like Zhang Rang gained confidence. Zhang Rang was even granted a marquisate—the merit of granting amnesty to the Black Mountain Army was indeed worthy of a marquisate.

The power of the eunuchs has risen again, and they have become more assertive. They have started to harass the discontented Qingliu faction once again.

Physician Zhang Jun submitted a memorial denouncing the eunuchs for misleading the country, and was subsequently arrested. Yuan Shao attempted to rescue him, but failed, and Zhang Jun was executed in prison.

So Yuan Shao also claimed to be ill and returned to Ruyang, where he too went into seclusion to have children.

Yuan Shu had a strained relationship with his brother Yuan Ji, and there were many rumors about him having two heads. Yuan Shu was unhappy about these rumors, so he temporarily went to Nanyang to have fun, which could also be considered as a secluded life to have children.

Liu Yu was recalled to Luoyang and, due to the great prosperity of Ganling State, was promoted to Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. In November, he was promoted to Grand Master of Ceremonies and became the head of the central army.

However, Liu Yu's central army was not actually in the central government—Yuan Shu, the Tiger-General of the Household, Zhang Yan, the General Who Pacifies Disasters, and Liu Bei, the Cavalry Commandant, were all nominally under the jurisdiction of the Grand Master of Ceremonies, but none of them were in Luoyang…

(End of this chapter)