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

Chapter 194 Things in life often don't go as planned
Originally, there was not much noise in the court, but after Liu Yan spoke, the officials started arguing loudly, and the court suddenly turned into a marketplace.

But the officials were no match for Liu Yan, because Liu Yan brought up a current real-world example: "Zhao Ci, the rebel leader of Jiangxia, has captured Nanyang. Do you all think this is a misunderstanding?! It is true that Zhao Ci is a rebel, but do you not know why he rebelled?!"
"The Zhao family of Zhending is loyal and has never rebelled because of injustice. This is because the Zhao family of Zhending is virtuous and our great Han Dynasty is fortunate."

"But why would someone like Zhao Ci raise an army in rebellion? How many people like Zhao Ci are there in the world?"

"How many people have sought fame and fortune to gain a reputation for integrity? And how many have used that reputation to harm the common people and incite them to rebellion? Why is Liangzhou still so difficult to pacify? Don't you gentlemen understand this?"

"If we do not deal with these heinous villains who have caused rebellion throughout the land, are we to rely on your 'good reputations' to bring peace to the world?!"

"I request that truly honest and capable officials be appointed to govern the regions to prevent such acts of oppression and rebellion from happening again!"

This is a rather broad scope of attack, and Liu Yan has elevated this matter to the level of "defining its nature".

This not only stigmatizes "Qingming" (a name implying integrity and integrity), but also attempts to severely punish those involved in the rebellion—especially Yuan Shu and Huangfu Song.

However, Liu Yan did not directly mention names like Huangfu Song or Yuan Shu; he only said "extremely treacherous and wicked."

This is no private occasion; it's a grand court assembly. Every word spoken by everyone is strictly recorded by the scribes. No one will speak carelessly, because every word uttered represents the will of their faction.

Lu Zhi described the injustice suffered by the Zhao family as a "misunderstanding," which was not merely to plead for Huangfu Song. Since it was a misunderstanding, the Zhao family should be exonerated and some compensation should be made.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened.

Previously, the emperor asked the court officials to recommend corrupt officials in various counties based on rumors and public opinion. However, the officials in the court falsely recommended honest officials without any backing, which resulted in Zhuojun having no officials available. This led to Liu Weitai causing a rebellion by bandits.

When officials who had been dismissed without cause came to the capital to report the matter, the court claimed that "the rumors were wrong" and regarded the matter as a misunderstanding. The emperor also provided compensation and reinstated all the officials who had been falsely accused as advisors.

At the same time, Lu Zhi and Huangfu Song did have a friendship, and if he did not speak up for Huangfu Song, he would be seen as heartless and ungrateful.

Therefore, Lu Zhi said it was a misunderstanding, which would clear the Zhao family's name without causing a major upheaval in the court.

Although Lu Zhi's statement was simple, it was actually the most efficient way to resolve issues in the court. No one, from the emperor down to the officials, would have any objections, nor would Liu Yu and Zhao Lin themselves.

Liu Bei sent Zhao Lin to Liu Yu to report Governor Wang Fen, simply to clear the Zhao family's name. Liu Yu pointed the finger at Huangfu Song because the root of the matter indeed lay with Huangfu Song.

Liu Yu wanted to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, so he didn't involve anyone else.

Huangfu Song was already unpopular, and if Liu Yan hadn't gotten involved, this matter would have been easily resolved. The emperor would most likely have overturned the Zhao family's case and provided some compensation, and the matter would have been over.

For Liu Bei, this would give him another loyal ally. If Zhao Lin became an official, he would surely follow in Liu Bei's footsteps.

At the same time, Liu Yu gained three hundred young men from the Zhao family, and Zhao Lin will become a bridge and peacemaker between Liu Yu and Liu Bei.

Whether or not Huangfu Song is dealt with is not important, because Huangfu Song will fall from power no matter what.

But Liu Yan suddenly appeared, escalating the situation and muddying the waters.

After all, everyone boasts of a "clean reputation," even eunuchs do so.

Liu Yan said that a good reputation is not to be trusted, and mentioned the root cause of Zhao Ci's rebellion and the Liangzhou uprising—in fact, this root cause cannot be resolved in a short time, but if it is not resolved, then this "good reputation" will really be untrustworthy in the future.

Many seemingly minor disputes are actually quite serious. Private meetings allow for free expression and the making of many arbitrary decisions, but every conclusion reached at a general assembly will be cited in the future—just like a thesis, it will cite existing conclusions and cases to support its arguments.

Every minor conclusion is hotly debated at the grand court assembly.

This is similar to the previous debate about the nature of Liu Bei's official position.

The decision to grant amnesty to the Black Mountain tribes was made in just one court meeting, but the appointment of Liu Bei as the Commandant of Ganling, a seemingly insignificant matter, was debated for more than a month. The arrangement of Liu Bei actually represented the court's attitude towards meritorious military figures in the border regions, and also represented the struggle between several factions for military power and the right to speak.

This time is the same.

Liu Yan's meddling was certainly not out of righteous indignation—Liu Yan was from Jiangxia, and before he became the Minister of the Imperial Clan, that is, more than three years ago, he served as the Prefect of Nanyang.

Most people are unaware that Yuan Shu's bullying of men and women in Nanyang led to Zhao Ci's mutiny, but Liu Yan, a native of Jiangxia, was well aware of this.

Liu Yan wanted to use the grand court assembly to shift the blame onto Yuan Shu.

The person with the best reputation in the world over the past twenty years was actually Yuan Shu's deceased father, Yuan Feng.

Yuan Feng was known for his generosity, sincerity, integrity, and incorruptibility, but in reality, everyone knew that the Yuan family was excessively wealthy, and everyone also knew about Yuan Shu's behavior. Therefore, the so-called reputation for integrity and incorruptibility was actually self-defeating in the eyes of the Yuan family.

The reason Liu Yan wanted to drag Yuan Shu into the matter was, of course, for military power...

Huangfu Song's downfall is inevitable.

Yuan Shu, holding the positions of Colonel of the Changshui Cavalry and General of the Tiger Guard, was a coveted military command of the imperial guards stationed in Luoyang.

The emperor appointed Liu Yu as Grand Master of Ceremonies, which was an intention to give members of the imperial clan some military power. Although Liu Yu currently only had members of the Zhao family under his command, as Grand Master of Ceremonies, he could rightfully take over the central military power.

The emperor clearly intended to have the imperial clan act as a third-party faction to maintain the balance of power in the court.

Liu Yan understood this point.

If Yuan Shu loses his official position, who will take over the Changshui Battalion and half of the Tiger Battalion under his command?
The most suitable person was not Liu Yu, but Liu Yan.

The emperor would not allow Liu Yu, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, to continue to hold too much real military power, but the emperor expressed his willingness to let members of the imperial clan take command of the army. Therefore, it was most reasonable to let Liu Yu, as Grand Master of Ceremonies, command the armies of Zhang Yan and Liu Bei, and to let Liu Yan lead the imperial guards.

Even if he didn't get military power, he might still be sent to govern a local area—the so-called 'truly incorruptible and capable minister', of course, refers to Liu Yan himself...

This is not self-praise. Liu Yan was indeed very honest and incorruptible during his time as an official in Luoyang, because he was not short of money. He had once managed the Nanyang Mint... He really wanted to go out and govern a prefecture again.

But of course, this matter couldn't be resolved quickly, and the argument in the court lasted for more than a month.

Moreover, Liu Yan ultimately failed to achieve his goal.

Because the court ultimately made a compromise decision—Yuan Shu would no longer serve as the Tiger General, but neither the Changshui Battalion nor the Tiger General command was obtained, as Yuan Shu was sent to Liangzhou to support Zhang Wen.

Simply put, if Yuan Shu could achieve merit in Liangzhou and quell the rebellion, then what he did could be considered just a misunderstanding.

If Liangzhou cannot be pacified, then let it be sacrificed on the battlefield as cannon fodder.

As far as the emperor was concerned, those were all soldiers from aristocratic families anyway...

Meanwhile, the newly appointed governor of Nanyang, Yang Xu, will be responsible for quelling Zhao Ci's rebellion.

Yang Xu was a member of the partisan faction. After the partisan ban was lifted, he was reinstated by Grand Commandant Yang Ci. He was a meritorious official in suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Lujiang and was known for his integrity and incorruptibility. He was a representative of "pure reputation"—Yang Xu was indeed very incorruptible.

Such is the way power struggles are in the imperial court; no one ever gets what they truly want.

However, in any case, the injustice done to the Zhao family of Zhending was indeed overturned on the grounds of a "misunderstanding," and Zhao Lin did receive compensation.

The official position he was compensated with was even promoted one rank—acting magistrate of Ji County.

The word 'acting' was added mainly because Zhao Lin was indeed too inexperienced, having only served as an official for less than a month.

The main reason Zhao Lin was able to get this position was because the position of magistrate of Ji County had been vacant for several years and no one had bought it.

Ji County was both the seat of a prefecture and a state, with two layers of jurisdiction. In addition, the military commander of Youzhou was also stationed in Ji County. This meant that the county magistrate had no real power in either military or political matters, and all the government offices in the county were subordinate to higher-level officials.

In addition, Ji County was frequently the site of battles, a place that Youzhou would fight over in every war. It was truly a case of having little power but great responsibility, not only unable to gain any benefits, but also easily losing one's life.

Moreover, Ji County is a large county, and it costs at least six million yuan to renew every year—anyone who wants to buy this position must be out of their mind.

Zhao Lin certainly didn't pay to get this official position, but he'll definitely have to pay the renewal fee at the end of the year...

However, he had to accept the emperor's goodwill, because it was compensation for the Zhao family.

The emperor's good intentions in making amends restored the Zhao family's innocence and allowed Zhao Lin to regain his official position, even promoting him from a minor county lieutenant to a major county magistrate. If Zhao Lin did not accept this, it would truly be considered a disrespect to the emperor.

However, the position of magistrate of Ji County was also a compromise result after a power struggle.

If Liu Yan hadn't complicated the matter, Zhao Lin would most likely have been compensated with military positions under the Guanglu Xun, such as Tiger-General, Imperial Guard Supervisor, or Attendant Gentleman.

Because the Zhao family of Zhending had already proven their loyalty to the Han Dynasty—they hadn't rebelled even after being falsely accused of treason, so they should naturally become a genuine garrison force. These imperial guard positions didn't offer high salaries, but they were good positions…and these were the positions that would allow Liu Bei to gain greater support.

But things in this world are never as one wishes, and no one's wishes come true.

……

Yuan Shu was quite lucky; the imperial army was defeated shortly after he was sent to Liangzhou.

To be precise, as soon as he arrived in Liangzhou, Sikong Zhang Wen had already suffered a major defeat and dared not launch another attack—Yuan Shu's troops no longer had to risk their lives, which was really lucky, otherwise he might not have been able to return.

Last August, when Zhang Wen first settled in Meiyang, he wanted to recall Dong Zhuo, who was leading troops wandering in Liangzhou, and gather all the elites to launch a major attack.

But Dong Zhuo did not return until October.

As a result, Zhang Wen stayed in Meiyang for the next three months and was beaten by the rebels so badly that he had almost no chance to fight back.

By the end of October, Dong Zhuo finally arrived at a leisurely pace.

Because Dong Zhuo arrived too late, Zhang Wen blamed Dong Zhuo, but Dong Zhuo retorted rudely: "Minister Zhang leads an army of 100,000. Does the absence of Dong Zhongying's few thousand men mean we can't fight a war?"

This is the truth. Dong Zhuo only had four thousand men under his command, while Zhang Wen truly gathered an army of one hundred thousand.

Because Dong Zhuo's words were somewhat offensive, Sun Jian, the military advisor, suggested that Zhang Wen execute Dong Zhuo according to military law for being late, so as to establish his authority.

The reason Zhang Wen was constantly being beaten by the rebels was not because his military strength was insufficient, but because none of his troops were willing to fight to the death. Although he had a large army, it was all cobbled together from the powerful clans of various counties. Although Zhang Wen was the Minister of Works, his prestige was indeed insufficient.

Of course, Sun Jian suggested that Zhang Wen kill Dong Zhuo mainly because Sun Jian had his eye on Dong Zhuo's troops—Dong Zhuo had somehow gotten involved with someone and brought back a lot of cavalry. In addition, Dong Zhuo already had a lot of elite soldiers and armored warriors, so they seemed to be quite powerful in combat.

However, another military advisor, Tao Qian, advised Zhang Wen not to make a big fuss over the offense. After all, Dong Zhuo was Yuan Wei's man, and this crime could be used to make Dong Zhuo the vanguard, thus making Dong Zhuo truly committed to his duties.

After much deliberation, Zhang Wen adopted Tao Qian's suggestion to appoint Dong Zhuo and Bao Hong as the vanguard—Bao Hong was a disciple of Huangfu Song, so he would naturally be used as cannon fodder by Zhang Wen.

In November, a comet appeared in the sky, its long tail of light falling over the rebel camp of Beigong Boyu, causing the donkeys and horses to neigh and become restless.

The rebels considered this an ominous sign and prepared to retreat.

Upon learning of the situation, Dong Zhuo was overjoyed and, together with Bao Hong, launched an attack, inflicting a great defeat on the rebel army and beheading thousands.

The rebel army retreated to Yuzhong County, Jincheng Commandery, Liangzhou. Zhang Wen saw this as a good opportunity to quell the rebellion and sent General Zhou Shen to lead 30,000 men in pursuit.

Dong Zhuo believed that Jincheng would not be easy to capture, and suggested to Zhang Wen that he lead troops to support Zhou Shen in order to prevent the supply lines from being cut off.

But Zhang Wen refused, and divided his troops into six routes to launch a full-scale attack on the counties of Liangzhou.

Dong Zhuo was forced to lead 20,000 troops from various counties to attack the Xianling Qiang.

As a result, all six armies suffered a crushing defeat and returned home in disarray. Bian Zhang and Han Sui did indeed take a detour and intercept the imperial army's supply lines. Zhou Shen abandoned all his baggage and fled in panic, and almost all of his 30,000-strong army was wiped out.

Dong Zhuo led his army to Anding, but was also surrounded by the Qiang people. His army ran out of food and the situation was critical.

However, Dong Zhuo was quite skillful. He had his soldiers pretend to build a dike in the Wei River, claiming it was for fishing, while actually letting his army quickly pass under the dike. By the time the rebels discovered this, it was too late to catch up.

Although both were retreats and neither resulted in victory, Dong Zhuo's entire army returned safely with virtually no losses.

By March of the third year of the Zhongping era, of the six armies dispatched by Zhang Wen, five suffered major defeats and returned home, while only Dong Zhuo's army returned to Youfufeng intact.

Moreover, Dong Zhuo and Bao Hong were the only victories, so the court enfeoffed Dong Zhuo as the Marquis of Taixiang, with a fief of one thousand households.

Yuan Shu arrived in Youfufeng in April of the third year of Zhongping—just in time to miss this battle.

At this time, the Liangzhou rebels had completely withdrawn from the Three Auxiliary Regions, and there were no longer any enemies urgently threatening Chang'an or the late emperor's mausoleum. Zhang Wen also did not dare to launch another offensive, and Liangzhou was temporarily locked in a stalemate.

In reality, this wasn't a standoff, but rather a situation where Zhang Wen was unable to send troops, the imperial army was short of food and morale was low, with countless soldiers deserting, leaving them with no choice but to hold their ground and wait for reinforcements.

No one on the Liangzhou battlefield could be considered to have had a smooth journey.

……

In May of the third year of the Zhongping era, Liu Bei received an imperial decree ordering him to join his cause.

Due to the defeat in Liangzhou, the imperial court dispatched Liu Bei, the Cavalry Commandant, as reinforcements to participate in the battle in Youfufeng.

The defense of Youzhou will once again be overseen by an old acquaintance, Zong Yuan, who is still the Protector of the Wuhuan at this time. He is also the only general who was not dismissed from his post after the suppression of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Zhao Lin also returned to Youzhou with the imperial envoy to assume his post, and brought Liu Yu's letter to Liu Bei.

In his letter, Liu Yu informed Liu Bei that this transfer order was the Emperor's will, and that there should be no fighting in Liangzhou during this period. The purpose of sending Liu Bei to provide support was actually to monitor Zhang Wen—the Emperor suspected that Zhang Wen was colluding with the Liangzhou rebels, or that he intended to support the rebels for his own benefit.

In other words, this was not to send Liu Bei to his death, but to fulfill the duties of a cavalry captain.

Meanwhile, Zou Jing will also go to Youfufeng as a military supervisor.

But the problem is...

At this time, Zuo Yuan was already seven months pregnant.

Moreover, if Liu Bei were to leave Youzhou at this time, Youzhou would most likely descend into chaos again!

The border troops in Youzhou had not yet been fully replenished, because the land tax collected under the pretext of recruiting border troops had not been sent to Youzhou at all...

Liu Bei paid his subordinates' military salaries out of his own pocket. The court's credibility in Youzhou was already low, so few people were willing to guard the border, and even fewer were willing to come to Youzhou to serve as officials.

Zong Yuan returned to Youzhou to recruit soldiers to replenish the border troops.

Liangzhou...of course we can't go there!

Or rather, we can't go now; we have to wait a few months.

There will be no fighting in Liangzhou during this period, not until the autumn harvest. Going there would be a wasted trip.

The imperial army was short of food and could not launch a proactive attack; the rebels had just withdrawn to Jincheng at the beginning of the year and could not possibly attack the Sanfu region again in the summer. The war would not start again until at least August or September.

By then, the child will have been born, the border defenses of Youzhou will be replenished, and with no more worries about home, one can focus on one's duties.

But if you're not going for the time being, you'll have to find a reason.

For example, resigning from a job, or being unable to go due to road obstructions.

Liu Bei was very agitated. He didn't care about his official position, but this was a military order. If he resigned before battle, it would be considered cowardice and reluctance to advance...

Once you've earned that title, you can forget about being loyal to the Han Dynasty anymore.

Loyalty to the Han Dynasty is not the same as loyalty to the emperor. Sometimes, disobeying the emperor's orders is what it means to be loyal to the Han Dynasty. Liu Bei could distinguish this, but most people might not...

As for the road obstacles... if you want to go from Youzhou to Youfufeng, you have to pass through places like Henan and Hedong.

“Husband, you need not worry about me. I promise I will not go out again… I am indeed comforted by staying by your side every day, but this is not what you should be doing. You should go and achieve great things.”

Zuo Yuan knew what Liu Bei was thinking and took the initiative to advise Liu Bei to follow orders.

“If I leave, not only will the child’s birth be delayed, but the stability of Youzhou will also be disrupted… You don’t need to worry about this, I have my own way.”

Liu Bei really didn't want to go anywhere. Making merit and being ennobled was nothing to him; seeing his child born was more important.

Once outside, Liu Bei turned and summoned Zhang He for a private discussion: "Send someone to Baibo Valley to deliver a message to Guo Daxian. He should make some moves too."

Guo Daxian has been quietly developing his power in Baibo Valley for a year and a half. If he doesn't make some moves soon, then it's time to replace him as the successor of the Taiping Dao lineage...

(End of this chapter)