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

Chapter 218 Strategy for Pacifying the Rebellion
"Could it be Zhao Jialang from Changshan?"

The bandit leader Zhang Yao looked at Zhao Yun, and there was a hint of reminiscence in his eyes.

Dozens of armored bandits beside Zhang Yao looked around and slowly surrounded Zhao Yun.

"Why...are you in Qingzhou?"

Zhao Yun was somewhat surprised to see an old acquaintance.

But on second thought, it was perfectly normal for Zhang Yao to join the Yellow Turbans... Of course, he might not be a real Yellow Turban, since nowadays everyone who does thievery claims to be a Yellow Turban.

"That's what I should be asking you..."

Zhang Yao stepped forward and waved to the other thieves: "Disperse, everyone. This is an old friend from my hometown."

"Brother Zhang has actually become the leader of the Taiping Dao?"

Zhao Yun watched as Zhang Yao waved his hand to dismiss his subordinates, and seeing that he was in the main seat surrounded by strong, armored men, he could tell that this was the leader of the bandits.

After all, Zhao Yun always followed behind Liu Bei, and Liu Bei always had many armored guards around him.

"...Not the commander...I am Zhang Yu, just the only survivor among the brothers who raised the uprising."

Zhang Yao shook his head, walked up to Zhao Yun, looked him up and down for a long time, finally tapped the bamboo in Zhao Yun's hand, glanced at Guan Yu's military camp on the other side of the river, and smiled slightly: "Why is Zhao family son working as a ferryman here? Are you going to the military camp on the other side?"

Zhao Yun understood that this was actually a way of telling himself that he was no longer the Zhang Yao of the past, but Zhang Yu.

Moreover, Zhang Yu had already figured out Zhao Yun's intentions.

"Zhao Zilong, the military supervisor of the Qingzhou prefecture...is indeed going to the opposite military camp."

Knowing he had been seen through, Zhao Yun no longer concealed his intentions: "Brother Zhang, do you intend to kill me?"

"The Qingzhou Prefectural Command...under Liu Bei's command?"

Zhang Yu showed no hostility, nor did he summon his guards. Instead, he asked seriously, "Commander-in-Chief... are you going to relay orders to the people on the other side?"

"Yes, if you don't kill me, I'm leaving."

Zhao Yun turned his head to look at the Ji River beside him, then at Zhang Yu, who was three steps away. His gaze slowly rose from Zhang Yu's hand to his head and face until they met.

“Zhao Jialang, you have spared my life twice. If I were to kill you, I would be inhuman… But I also cannot let you cross the river, otherwise I would be harming my brothers…”

Seeing Zhao Yun's look, Zhang Yu smiled helplessly: "Tell me, what should I do?"

"Then...why don't you join my lord? If we become comrades, you won't have to be in such a predicament."

Zhao Yun also laughed. He knew that Zhang Yu really didn't want to kill him, but in the current situation, no one had a choice, so he simply made a joke.

After saying that, Zhao Yun began looking for an opportunity to jump into the river and escape.

"To seek refuge with Prefect Liu? Heh... If I could seek refuge with Prefect Liu, I'd really like to."

Zhang Yu did not take Zhao Yun's words as a joke, but put away his smile: "But, in order to obtain grain and survive over the years, I have killed scholars from Qingzhou, powerful families from Pingyuan, and officials from Gaotang... I know that Prefect Liu is benevolent, but as the ringleader, would Prefect Liu dare to spare my life?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun thought there was something to discuss, and quickly shook his head: "My lord is different from others... Even Chu Feiyan of Heishan has become a general of the Han Dynasty, so why can't my lord spare your life? As long as Qingzhou can be stabilized, my lord would rather not kill a single person."

“Zhao Jialang, no matter how benevolent Prefect Liu is, he wouldn’t dare to let me go… Otherwise, neither the court nor the gentry of Qingzhou would let him go. If I live, Prefect Liu will not be able to govern Qingzhou.”

Zhang Yu said expressionlessly, "I believe in you, Zhao Jialang, and I am willing to believe in Prefect Liu. But I do not believe in the imperial court, nor in this world... Besides, we are currently facing a food shortage. No matter how benevolent Prefect Liu is, he cannot conjure up enough food for hundreds of thousands of people, let alone create a place to bring peace to the people."

"You command hundreds of thousands of troops?"

Zhao Yun was shocked. Zhang Yu actually had this strength?
Zhang Yu shook his head: "They are not under my command, but people like me who are just trying to survive... Zhao Jialang, do you know why the armies that rose up in Qing and Xu provinces all call themselves Yellow Turbans?"

"To gather people using incantation techniques?"

Zhao Yun also understood the Taiping Dao's incantation techniques.

"No... In the beginning, it was a powerful clan in Donglai who, under the guise of the Way of Peace, enslaved the villagers and unleashed their troops to cause chaos, forcing the officials of Qingzhou to flee."

Zhang Yu said solemnly, "After that, most of the powerful clans in Qing and Xu followed suit... We, the wild people who fled to the countryside, had no choice but to fight back in the name of the Yellow Turbans in order to survive. If everyone formed a Yellow Turban group, they would not be deceived by the powerful clans."

"……Then what?"

Zhao Yun wasn't surprised, because Liu Bei had already made this guess.

"Then... everyone banded together to avoid disaster, and the fields in Qingzhou were abandoned. We, who had no food, could only wander around looking for food. But food was scarce everywhere, so when we wandered to other places, the people there naturally also had difficulty feeding themselves."

"The number of people who can no longer survive is increasing, perhaps exceeding several hundred thousand. The counties of Qingzhou are becoming increasingly desolate, with less than one-tenth of the farmland remaining and no grain to harvest. And now, the Yellow River is overflowing..."

Zhang Yu lowered his head as he spoke: "Zhao Jialang, you also know that if a person has no food, there is only one way to go."

"Even if we submit to Magistrate Liu, even if Magistrate Liu is willing to accept us, in the end there is still only this one path... because there simply isn't enough grain, nor enough land. If we, the common people, want to survive, we can only compete with the powerful clans for food..."

"No matter how benevolent and righteous Prefect Liu is, he is still an official of the imperial court. How can he compete with powerful clans for grain and profits?"

“I have seen officials who compete with the gentry for profit before… The last one to do so was Lord Cao of Jinan, but he was soon punished and dismissed from his post…”

Zhang Yu once again revealed that same bitter smile from years ago: "It's not that I don't trust Magistrate Liu, but the world is like this, and even Magistrate Liu cannot protect us."

"Qingzhou has no food and no land... You fled south of the Yellow River, is it to plunder Yan and Yu again?"

Zhao Yun understood what Zhang Yu was going to do.

It's not that Qingzhou lacked farmland, but rather that it was all abandoned and no crops were grown there. As a result, the people of Qingzhou had no choice but to plunder and survive in Yanzhou or Jizhou.

Liu Bei brought over 100,000 people with him from Ji Province. This year, there was no large-scale reclamation of land on the plains, so food was already insufficient.

Zhang Yu retreated south of the Yellow River because he knew that the plains would also be short of food, and there would be no benefit in staying on the plains to fight against Liu Bei.

"Yes, I originally intended to quickly advance into Yan and Yu to join forces with the bandits of Mount Tai, and then seize the grain from Yan and Yu during the autumn harvest to retreat into Mount Tai. I was only trying to help the people survive, not to fight against anyone. I just didn't expect that someone would be guarding the Ji River."

Zhang Yu nodded, looked at Zhao Yun, and smiled bitterly: "We are only trying to survive."

"Since that's the case, you can send me south of the Ji River, and I'll have Commander Guan clear the way, abandon Licheng, and let you go to Yanzhou to seek your life."

Zhao Yun looked at Zhang Yu for a while, then pointed to the military camp across the Ji River: "The order that my lord sent me to convey is that Commander Guan should no longer be stationed here."

"...Are you lying to me?"

Zhang Yu stared at Zhao Yun with some suspicion.

"If you don't believe me, send a messenger to the other side and have Guan Sima's men come over. I will give them the order in front of you."

Zhao Yun snapped open the bamboo tube in his hand, took out the bamboo slips inside, and handed them to Zhang Yu: "Or you can take me with you."

The bandits in Gaotang had already seen these bamboo slips, so there was no need to hide them anymore.

"Both the north and south are impoverished, and there is no profit in trade. My brother should take refuge in Dongpingling..."

Zhang Yu was also literate and saw the words engraved on the bamboo slips: "Why is Prefect Liu's military order the same as a merchant's letter?"

"If not, why would Gaotang let me leave?"

Zhao Yun calmly looked at Zhang Yu: "Will you go and deliver the message, or should I?"

“If Governor Liu does this, he is essentially letting bandits run rampant…Aren’t you afraid of losing your post and being punished? Even a humble countryman like me knows the power of the gentry and powerful families in Yan and Yu provinces in the court.” Zhang Yu returned the bamboo slips to Zhao Yun: “Young Master Zhao, go ahead…Anyway, the enemy on the other side of the river can’t attack. If they really retreat, they won’t be able to stop my tens of thousands of men from crossing the river.”

Indeed, Zhang Yu wasn't too worried.

There are no passes or strategic locations south of the Ji River. If Zhang Yu's main force crosses the river, even Guan Yu, no matter how powerful, will be unable to stop tens of thousands of men from entering Yanzhou.

"Brother Zhang, in truth, the lord might be able to give you a way out..."

Before leaving, Zhao Yun gave a few instructions and then jumped into the Ji River.

He had an unusual confidence in Liu Bei.

No food to eat?

That is what the lord is concerned about. Yun only needs to inform the lord of this, and the lord will surely have a solution.

That night, Guan Yu retreated his troops to Licheng.

The following day, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei abandoned Licheng and led their troops eastward, marching towards Dongpingling.

Zhao Yun returned to the banks of the Ji River once again.

At this time, Zhang Yu's main force had already begun crossing the river.

Zhang Yu was still waiting in the same spot.

"Zhao Jialang is indeed a trustworthy man."

Upon seeing Zhao Yun return, Zhang Yu nodded to Zhao Yun: "I am afraid of death and dare not go with Zhao Yun to see Lord Liu."

"But if Governor Liu can truly grant us beggars a chance to live, I, Zhang, am willing to risk my life and lead the people to join me. However... if you wish to save lives, Governor Liu must be willing to make enemies of all the powerful clans in the land..."

……

A few days later, in Pingyuan County.

"Hundreds of thousands of people? Given the current situation in Qingzhou... if we want to acquire grain and land, we can only take food from the mouths of powerful clans..."

When Liu Bei met Zhao Yun, he said something similar to what Zhang Yu said: "Zilong, you've had a hard time. Has Zhang Yu already entered Yanzhou?"

Zhao Yun nodded: "He has abandoned Gaotang and gone south to Jibei, leaving some ships as a gift for our lord. But Gaotang has been seized by him, and most of the people of Gaotang County have followed him. Now Gaotang is in ruins."

"Zilong, how many people has Zhang Yu taken hostage?"

Jia Xu suddenly asked.

"There may have been more than 100,000 people, including the old, weak, women and children."

Zhao Yun had a clear understanding of the situation along the way: "Zhang Yu is not a very evil person. I have never seen his troops commit any bloodthirsty acts. It seems that he is only trying to save the people."

"He led people in search of food and survival, but all he could do was leave behind wastelands in his wake... He did not commit cruel killings, but the people he passed through were forced to submit to his actions. In order to survive, the starving people resorted to looting food from all directions, and looting food inevitably resulted in death and injury..."

Liu Bei shook his head weakly: "Zhang Yu is not a truly evil person, but his subordinates, in order to survive, will inevitably kill countless people, so he knows he is doomed..."

Zhao Yun nodded.

Jia Xu sighed and looked at Liu Bei: "Does my lord wish to incorporate their troops?"

Liu Bei nodded, then shook his head: "I do want to, but we can't incorporate them. We ourselves are short of food... Unless we plunder the powerful families of Qingzhou. But as the governor of Qingzhou, I can't just let my troops plunder Qingzhou, can I? Besides, we don't have that many troops available."

"Moreover, it is impossible to provide land for so many people. It is already quite difficult to resettle more than 100,000 people under the Xianhe regime. Most of the land in Qingzhou is already owned. If we forcibly take the land, we will be besieged."

"Actually, there is a way."

Jia Xu glanced at Liu Bei, then at Zhao Yun, and said softly, "The situation in Xuzhou should be similar to that in Qingzhou..."

"Xuzhou... Wenhe means that we can join forces with Tao Gongzu..."

Liu Bei's eyes lit up: "Rob the rich to help the poor?"

"Yes, our lord cannot join forces with the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou, but he can join forces with Tao Gongzu."

"My lord, you can help the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou enter Xuzhou, seize the land and grain of the powerful clans of Xuzhou, and help Tao Gongzu out of his predicament. The Yellow Turbans have plenty of troops to spare..."

"Tao Gongzu could help the Yellow Turbans of Xuzhou enter Qingzhou, and his current situation is probably the same as our lord's..."

Jia Xu nodded slightly: "After the Yellow Turbans in Qing and Xu take over the lands and grain of the powerful clans, our lord and Tao Gongzu can lead their troops to 'quell the rebellion' again. This can also protect the lives of some powerful clansmen and prevent our lord from being attacked."

"After the rebellion is quelled, we will have land and food. Moreover... if anyone dares to take advantage of the situation to cause trouble, the lord will regard them as the mastermind behind the Yellow Turban Rebellion and eliminate them."

"However, this matter must be kept secret. Only the lord can personally explain it to Tao Gongzu. Now that there are rebel armies all over Qing and Xu, it may be somewhat dangerous."

Liu Bei had barely arrived in Pingyuan when the gentry started to plot against him. Jia Xu had previously devised a strategy that would leave the gentry with no way to speak, and he would likely be targeted by the gentry of Qingzhou in the future. Since he was going to be targeted anyway, Jia Xu certainly wouldn't be too polite to the powerful clans of Qingzhou.

This is actually another tactic that leaves people with no way to complain.

"Why not directly drive the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou to attack the powerful clans of Qingzhou?"

Zhao Yun was a little confused.

"The Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou were mostly driven by the powerful clans of Qingzhou..."

Liu Bei explained, "Zhang Yu has already attacked the powerful clans of Qingzhou that could be conquered; otherwise, how could he have gathered 100,000 men?"

Jia Xu nodded: "That's right. The relationship between the two states must be very complicated, and they will be wary of each other. So we can only let the two states take from each other so that we can 'rob the rich to help the poor' without any scruples."

“Yun understands, but… even powerful families have virtuous members, so we need to distinguish the virtuous members first.”

Zhao Yun was quite fair: "Now that the Yellow River is flooding, why not first order the wealthy households in Qingzhou to provide disaster relief and repair the dikes?"

“Very well, with Mr. Wenhe overseeing the dike repair, it’s easy to tell who is truly virtuous.”

Liu Bei made the decision: "Zilong, contact Zhang Yu again and have him meet with me. It's in Langya Kaiyang. Since he's going to Mount Tai, Langya must be a safe place for him. It'll be good for us to meet Tao Gongzu together."

……

Mid June.

Xuzhou, Donghai, Tancheng.

Many people believe that the seat of Xuzhou was in Xiapi, but that is not the case. Tancheng in Donghai was the actual seat of Xuzhou.

The capital of Qingzhou was not Jinan, but Linzi of the State of Qi.

Liu Bei did not head straight for his capital, Linzi, because the ferry crossing was impassable, and Pingyuan County was more stable and suitable for settling the more than 100,000 people who followed him.

Tao Qian was different; he had a strong personality and went straight to Tancheng.

The result was, of course, a bit troublesome—Tao Qian had just entered the city when he was attacked by a large number of Yellow Turban rebels, numbering around 100,000.

Tao Qian was besieged in Tancheng.

(End of this chapter)