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

Chapter 214 In a Chaotic World, Governors Are All Military Leaders

He Miao did not move a single soldier, but the Xingyang rebellion was quelled under his "leadership". As a result, He Miao was appointed as General of Chariots and Cavalry for his merits.

It was obvious that the emperor wanted to promote He Miao and have him compete with He Jin.

After the General of Chariots and Cavalry established his own government, the emperor appointed He Miao to control the capital region and the Three Rivers region.

He Jin then turned to control the Three Auxiliary Regions.

This was actually replacing He Jin's original role with He Miao, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, in order to weaken the somewhat disobedient He Jin.

In other words, Dong Zhuo and Zhu Jun are currently under the control of He Miao, whose power is growing and who has begun to recruit famous scholars and generals from all over the country.

However, Yuan Shu and Cao Cao acted rashly, resulting in all of He Miao's envoys dying in Xingyang without obtaining any confessions from the rebels. As a result, He Miao developed a dislike for the two men—those envoys were all his trusted followers.

He Miao did not praise Cao Cao and Yuan Shu for their achievements, but only submitted a memorial praising Sun Jian for his bravery in battle and his merit in defeating the enemy, and recommended Sun Jian as a consultant.

However, He Miao was straightforward, and Sun Jian also admired Zhang Fei. Both of them praised Zhang Fei's contributions.

After learning that Zhang Fei was a subordinate of Liu Bei, the emperor did not immediately promote Zhang Fei to a higher rank, but only gave him a gold-embroidered robe as a reward. It was not that the emperor did not want to give him an official position, but that he could not do so now, otherwise it would easily lead to misunderstandings by Liu Bei.

Soon after, the imperial court received a memorial reporting that Qu Xing, a powerful clan leader in Changsha, had rebelled. He Miao then ordered Sun Jian to go to Changsha to suppress Qu Xing.

When He Jin learned that He Miao had not claimed credit for Cao Cao and Yuan Shu, he immediately befriended the two and helped them recruit soldiers to enter the Western Garden.

Cao Cao and Yuan Shu were thus appointed as Colonels of the Western Garden—they were not actually acting under orders from the people of Guandong, but their family backgrounds would inevitably be regarded as part of the Guandong faction.

He Jin thus became the de facto representative of Northeast China.

Meanwhile, due to rebellions in various prefectures, the imperial court appointed several more prefectural governors.

Moreover, this time the appointment of governors was completely different from before; they were all military officers.

For example, Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, Ding Yuan, the governor of Bingzhou, and Di Bi, whom they had previously appointed—all of them were military leaders.

The governors of today have much greater authority.

After all, it was a chaotic time.

Chaos does not mean being free from the constraints of the imperial court; rather, it means that rebels are everywhere.

In states with rebel forces, the governor was given the responsibility of suppressing the rebellion.

Both involve holding the imperial staff and serving as a magistrate, but holding the imperial staff to quell a rebellion and holding the imperial staff to inspect prefectures and counties are completely different things.

For example, Liu Bei, due to the great upheaval caused by the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou, was serving as the Governor of Qingzhou while holding the title of Left General of the Household. His main task was to suppress the rebellion, while supervising Qingzhou was only a secondary function.

This is quite different from the typical governor.

Although Liu Bei was neither a general who established his own government nor a governor, he was now essentially in charge of both military and political affairs.

The core function of the governor was to supervise the officials within the prefecture. As long as any fault was found that met the criteria of the "Six Inquiries", any official, including the prefect, could be dismissed.

However, they could only dismiss people; they did not have the authority to directly appoint or dismiss officials appointed by the imperial court, such as prefects, commandants, and county magistrates.

This is very different from the governor. The governor has full authority over both military and political affairs and can directly appoint and dismiss officials of the prefecture and counties, including the prefectural governor and military officers such as the commanders of each county.

The governor had no right to interfere in the military affairs of the prefectures and counties, nor did he have the authority to command the army; he could only supervise.

But Liu Bei's situation was completely different.

Although the imperial court did not give Liu Bei a single soldier, the General of the Central Army who was in charge of suppressing the rebellion had a high level of military authority. Moreover, his most important authority was not to control the local troops, but to have the right to open fire.

The General of the Central Army, who is in charge of suppressing rebellions, has the authority to launch wars directly depending on the specific circumstances, and these wars are not limited to the areas under his control.

In other words, as long as the rebels have not been quelled, the general in charge of suppressing the rebellion can continue to fire legally and legitimately—anywhere is acceptable as long as it is for the purpose of suppressing the rebellion.

Who knows where the rebels will run off to? They'll probably attack wherever they end up.

Of course, war is risky, and whoever sends troops bears the responsibility; the responsibility for defeat must be borne by themselves.

What does the right to open fire combined with the governor's supervisory power mean?
This means that Liu Bei could create a rebellion at any time...

Whoever you call a rebel, you call them a rebel; you can attack whomever you want... as long as you can win.

Even if it wasn't an official from Qingzhou, but rather the governor of Youzhou or Jizhou, as long as Liu Bei framed someone for crimes like "colluding with the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou" or "being the mastermind behind the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou," he could still attack them first and deal with the consequences later.

Don't even mention reporting it first; after all, opportunities are fleeting, and it's not worth wasting time and letting the mastermind escape...

Don't even mention the lack of evidence. The rebels have a large army; how can you investigate them? You definitely have to defeat the rebels first...

However, Liu Bei lacked the power to appoint and dismiss personnel and was vulnerable to attacks from powerful local warlords, so he needed to carefully consider how to end the conflict after it was over.

This is why there is such a big difference between a regular prefectural governor and a prefectural governor during a period of complete chaos.

Newly appointed governors all hold military positions. As for whether the military position or the governor's supervisory authority is the primary responsibility, that depends on which is currently applicable...

Tao Qian served as Zhang Wen's military advisor during the Battle of Liangzhou, but the title of "military advisor" was merely a staff position within the general's office (Zhang Wen was then a General of Chariots and Cavalry with his own office), not an official position held by the imperial court. Tao Qian's actual official position was Cavalry Commandant.

After Zhang Wen was convicted and dismissed from his post, Tao Qian, who had betrayed Zhang Wen in advance, was not implicated at all. In fact, his upright character caught the emperor's eye, and he was appointed as the governor of Xuzhou.

Like Liu Bei, Tao Qian's main responsibility was also to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Xuzhou. Although his military rank was half a grade lower than Liu Bei's, the nature of his duties was the same.

Ding Yuan was similar.

At the beginning of the year, Zhang Yi, the governor of Bingzhou, was killed by the Xiutu Hu people. It is said that the Southern Xiongnu took the opportunity to rebel when the Baibo army was in turmoil.

But no one actually knows what the situation is, because the White Wave Army had blocked the roads, so the imperial court had no way of knowing the specific situation in Bingzhou.

After the White Wave Army was barely 'pacified' and Liangzhou was no longer a constant threat to Chang'an, the imperial court finally had time to deal with the affairs of Bingzhou.

Ding was appointed governor of Bingzhou because of his past achievements on the border. He was also transferred from commandery commandant to cavalry commandant and into the central army. He was given the authority to supervise Bingzhou and was responsible for pacifying the Southern Xiongnu.

In the present Han Dynasty, most states actually have large-scale rebel armies.

Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju of Youzhou were still alive, and Qiu Liju and other Wuhuan people were also part of the rebel army.

Bingzhou had too many ethnic minorities, with Han and non-Han peoples living together and external enemies. As long as the court was in turmoil, Bingzhou would inevitably be unstable. The rebellion of the Southern Xiongnu was a perfectly normal occurrence.

Needless to say, in Liangzhou, although Han Sui, Ma Teng, and others were not directly regarded as rebels, the fact that Di Bi, a military general, was sent as governor was also a case in point.

Jizhou was relatively better off, but at this time there were also Bohai pirates, who also called themselves Yellow Turbans. The actions of the Bohai pirates were somewhat strange, and they seemed to be a combination of the Salt Gang, the Canal Gang, and the pirates—all three of them had a leader behind them.

The number of Yellow Turban rebels in Qingzhou and Xuzhou has already exceeded that of ordinary citizens, and the problem has begun to spread to Yanzhou and Yuzhou, just like when the Yellow Turban Rebellion first broke out.

The barbarians in Yangzhou and Yizhou were never pacified from beginning to end. They would behave for a few days when the imperial army came, but would immediately rebel again as soon as the army left. They hid in the mountains and were impossible to wipe out.

Jingnan and Jiaozhou were formerly places of exile. The people in these two places were fundamentally resentful of the imperial court and would cause trouble from time to time. Even in peaceful years, they would still try to stir up trouble.

—No province is safe; even the Sili Commandery (the area encompassing the capital, the three surrounding provinces, and the three rivers) has White Wave bandits…

The practice of appointing governors who also held military positions, such as Liu Bei, Tao Qian, and Ding Yuan, would inevitably become the mainstream approach for appointing governors to various provinces.

Meanwhile... the rebels in Qing, Xu, and Bing prefectures will certainly not be quelled in a short time—no governor with both military and political power would allow the rebels to be quelled quickly, not only for the sake of power, but also for the sake of personal safety.

Everyone knows what kind of state the current court is in. It's not the first or second time they've discarded a useful tool after it's been used. If the rebellion is quelled, their military power and authority to suppress the rebellion will definitely be taken back, and then even self-preservation will be a problem.

Therefore, Liu Bei decided to move his family to Qingzhou.

Tao Qian was the same – he was from Danyang, but he moved his whole family to Xuzhou and recruited several thousand more Danyang soldiers, exceeding the authorized number by several times.

……

Upon learning that Liu Bei was going to Qingzhou, many people volunteered to go with him, including not only his retainers and family members, but also most of the people of Xihe, and even a small number of Wuhuan people.

Liu Bei moved primarily for the safety of his family, but he didn't actually want all the people of Xihe to leave their homes.

Settled residents cannot move around at will; they will be considered refugees. Moreover, it would be a real shame to leave the existing land uncultivated, since Xiheting is now considered a land of plenty, and it is the time for spring plowing.

Liu Bei earnestly tried to persuade everyone to reconsider, so as not to delay the farming work.

Even though they were considered refugees and their farming was disrupted, these people still voluntarily moved their entire families to follow them.

They were all afraid that after Liu Bei left, Youzhou would be unrestrained and would be harmed again by corrupt officials. Liu Bei couldn't dissuade them.

As a result, when Liu Bei set off for Qingzhou, more than 40,000 people from Youzhou followed him south.

People tend to follow the crowd; once this large-scale relocation of entire families becomes widespread, more people will have the same idea...

Meanwhile, Liu Bei's side had a large and powerful force, so naturally no foolish bandits would dare to come looking for trouble, making this journey relatively safe.

As a result, people whose original hometowns were in the Jizhou or Qingzhou area all joined the relocation army.

The refugees along the way also flocked to him. Most of the people on Liu Bei's side were refugees who had suffered the same hardships, so he shared some food with the refugees along the way, which caused more and more people to gather.

When they arrived at Ganling, many former Yellow Turban families wanted to follow Liu Bei. They trusted no one but Liu Bei.

Besides, Bai Yao is also moving to Qingzhou...

As a result, the number of people increased along the way, and by the time they reached the plains, there were so many that it was impossible to tell how many there were, but it must have exceeded 100,000.

The actual number could not be counted; all that was known was that the people at the very front had reached Pingyuan County, while the people at the very back had not yet entered the territory of Ganling.

There were too many people, so they moved extremely slowly. By the time Liu Bei arrived at Pingyuan, it was already early May of the fourth year of the Zhongping era.

By this time, Zhang He and Bai Yao had been waiting on the plain for two months.

The bandits in the Pingyuan County area have been eliminated by the two men. Many of the bandits who called themselves "Yellow Turbans" actually had no connection with the Taiping Dao at all. They retreated when they saw the army. Zhang He and Bai Yao did not fight a proper battle. They just couldn't find where the retreating "Yellow Turban bandits" had gone.

There were many powerful clans in the plains, but many families moved away to other places—some followed Liu Bei, while others fled from him.

It's normal for powerful clans to flee. If nothing unexpected happens, those rebels who originally called themselves Yellow Turbans on the plains are probably related to those powerful clans who fled the plains.

Originally, it was a good thing that the powerful clans fled, because Liu Bei could use the land and houses they left behind to settle the relocated people.

But as soon as Liu Bei arrived in Pingyuan, he encountered a very interesting case.

Liu Ping, a native of Pingyuan, representing the Prince of Pingyuan's residence, accused Zhang He and his family of three major crimes.

Yes, he reported Liu Bei's subordinates to Liu Bei... and Liu Ping really did just that.

……

The task of adjudicating the case naturally fell to the newly appointed judge, Zhao Lin.

Zhao Lin's position as the Judicial Officer is different from that of the Judicial Officer within the prefecture. He is currently the Chief Judge of the Special Cases Division of the Qingzhou Governor's Office, and his duties are not limited to civil cases; he is specifically responsible for judging official cases.

But perhaps Zhao Lin is born with a knack for internal strife, and this time he has to judge his own people again.

Zhang He is indeed a bit unlucky... he always gets tricked by others.

This is a huge mess—the Zhang family members from Mo County, Hejian, were involved in a treason plot, which is the case of Wang Fen…

The hundred or so young men that Zhang He brought to Liu Bei's army were from his own family, but the Zhang family had not split into different branches, and there were still several hundred members of the Zhang clan from Hejian living in Mo County.

Zhang He had originally been in Hanoi for some time, but after receiving Liu Bei's military order, he went to Ganling. The affairs of Hejian had nothing to do with him; that was the business of another branch within the clan.

But after returning to Ganling, Zhang He learned that some members of his clan had joined Wang Fen's army.

It wasn't that they participated voluntarily, but rather that they were recruited by Wang Fen. The Zhang family had no idea what they were supposed to do; they only knew that Wang Fen had hired them to transport military equipment and provisions, as well as to suppress rebels.

Wang Fen was the governor of Ji Province, and this was originally a normal act of conscripting soldiers.

The problem is that after learning that the rebels in Xingyang had been wiped out, Wang Fen fled, taking the Zhang family members with her.

—Wang Fen fled to the plains.

Unfortunately, Zhang He was on orders to work with Bai Yao to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the plains when he happened to capture Wang Fen.

Zhang He also learned the inside story of Wang Fen's plot to rebel.

The matter was not as simple as Liu Bei and Yuan Shu thought.

At the end of last year, Emperor Liu Hong originally intended to make a northern tour to his old residence in Hejian, Jizhou.

At that time, the rebels in Nanyang, Baibo, and Liangzhou took turns threatening Luoyang. The emperor felt that Luoyang was in dire straits and originally planned to gather the strength of his clansmen in his hometown of Hejian and bring some troops from Jizhou back to Luoyang.

The emperor intended to tour Ji Province, and Wang Fen, the governor of Ji Province, naturally received firsthand information. However, the emperor did not actually assign Wang Fen to be in charge of security. Originally, Liu Hong had assigned Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong to this task.

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong are currently settled in Ji Province. Zhao Zhong is from Anping, and Zhang Rang has a good relationship with Zhang Yan of Heishan. If the emperor really wants to go to Ji Province, he is actually well protected.

Especially after the White Wave Army was quelled, Ji Province and You Province became the most stable places in the Han Dynasty.

When Wang Fen learned of this, he planned to gather famous scholars from various states in the Central Plains. If they could seize the emperor on the way and kill Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong, wouldn't that be a great success?

Therefore, Wang Fen secretly submitted a memorial to the emperor, reporting that Zhang Yan of Heishan was attacking and plundering counties and requesting the court to allow him to recruit troops to quell the rebellion.

Meanwhile, Wang Fen made preparations along the only route from Luoyang to Jizhou.

Because Mengjin and Xiaopingjin were guarded by He Jin and He Miao, Tao Qiuhong stationed troops in the Xingyang area.

In addition, since Wang Fen reported Zhang Yan of Heishan for rebellion, the escort mission would naturally fall to Wang Fen—he could carry out an ambush in Jizhou, or even take the emperor hostage.

Even if they cannot directly march into Luoyang, they have a good chance of physically deposing Liu Hong and establishing a new ruler.

As for whether the new emperor is the Marquis of Hefei... that's irrelevant.

But by this spring, Liu Hong met with Liu Bei and confirmed that Liu Bei had no intention of rebelling. This sparked a conflict between the east and west, and the establishment of the Western Garden Commandant gained the support of the military generals of Xizhou. With troops in Luoyang, Liu Hong's backing was strengthened, and his desire to tour Jizhou in the north faded.

Meanwhile, a fortune teller in the palace said that there was a red glow in the north at midnight, stretching across the sky from east to west, and the Grand Historian also advised that "there may be a conspiracy, and it is not advisable to travel north."

Liu Hong then ordered Zhu Jun to investigate the situation in Heishan. Zhu Jun reported that there was no movement in Heishan, so Liu Hong knew that Wang Fen was in trouble. He canceled the northern tour plan and ordered Wang Fen to come to the capital immediately.

Subsequently, Sun Jian accused Tao Qiu Hong of plotting a rebellion in Xingyang, and He Miao sent troops to Xingyang.

Even so, Wang Fen did not actually convict Tao Qiuhong, because Tao Qiuhong had already been killed by Yuan Shu and there were no survivors.

Cao Cao and others were not personally invited by Wang Fen. Indirect witnesses cannot be substantiated, and as long as they cannot be substantiated, the family will not be implicated.

However, knowing that his scheme had been exposed, Wang Fen dared not obey the imperial edict to go to the capital, and instead fled south.

When they fled to Pingyuan, Wang Fen ordered his men to kill Tao Qiuhong's entire family. He was unaware that Yuan Shu had already killed Tao Qiuhong; he believed that Tao Qiuhong had betrayed him, which led to the emperor learning of his plan.

This killing naturally fell into the hands of Zhang He, who was busy maintaining order in the plains.

The people who killed Tao Qiuhong's entire family were Zhang He's relatives.

Zhang He himself certainly wouldn't consider the killing of Tao Qiuhong's entire family by his clansmen as a disaster. He even allowed the families of his clansmen and retainers to move directly into Tao Qiuhong's family residence. After all, relatives who had left their hometowns needed to be settled. Since Tao Qiuhong's entire family was dead, the house they left behind could be considered a waste.

However, the scholars of Pingyuan used this incident to sue Zhang He's entire family...

The charges were participating in treason, killing members of the gentry without authorization, and embezzling public property.

Zhao Lin is once again in a dilemma.

Are the Zhang family members considered to have betrayed the country?
In a real sense, it does count.

However, if the Zhang family members are considered traitors, then Zhang He will be implicated and punished.

Zhang He's occupation of Tao Qiuhong's family residence was indeed a crime.

Although Tao Qiuhong was killed for treason, and his entire family died in the infighting among the rebels, which was considered deserved, the court should have first confiscated their property and nationalized it before distributing it—usually, it would have been a reward for someone who had rendered meritorious service.

Although the outcome is likely to be no different, and Zhang He, who captured Wang Fen, will still be rewarded, the process of confiscating his property must be followed. If this process is not followed, Zhang He will indeed be guilty of embezzling public property.

These days, it's fine not to mention embezzlement of public property, but bringing it up is a serious crime.

When sentencing Zhao Yun, Zhao Lin did not hesitate at all.

But with Zhang He sentenced... Zhao Lin really didn't know what to do.

(End of this chapter)