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

Chapter 224 Emulate benevolence and righteousness to demonstrate virtue

Liu Bei set up a camp and a soup kitchen on the banks of the Shu River, fifteen li east of Tan County, which is also fifty li south of Sangong Mountain.

The Shu River flows through Sangong Mountain, and there used to be many fields along its banks, but most of them have been abandoned.

Liu Bei intended to provide relief to the starving people here.

Famine relief cannot be given close to the city, especially not inside the city or near the city gates, and certainly not in residential areas.

This was taught to Liu Bei by the Taoist priest of Taiping at Shili Pavilion.

Hungry people are difficult to control, and large gatherings can easily lead to riots. If chaos breaks out, and rioters flood into the city or cause stampedes, then good deeds can turn into disasters.

There are ways to do good deeds. The idea of ​​distributing porridge to tens of thousands of people at the city gate only exists in movies and TV dramas. If that were really done, none of the officials, wealthy households, and merchants in the city would survive.

People who are hungry and poor hate the rich; such is human nature.

Now Liu Bei has extensive experience in providing relief to famine victims, and he always chooses open areas close to the riverbank.

In Zhuoxian, the locations chosen were Shiliting and the banks of the Juma River; in Beixincheng, the location was the south bank of the Yi River; and in Ganling, the location was the east bank of the Qing River. All of these locations were large tracts of wasteland, several miles away from the city.

It is not far from the county seat, but not in a residential area. This makes it convenient to transport food at any time, avoids the impact of starving people on the county seat, and the open terrain will not cause crowding and stampedes.

Even if people in the city need relief, they have to come outside the city to eat, and they can go back after they finish eating.

Moreover, Liu Bei would always set up military camps first and station troops before opening soup kitchens.

At the same time, it is located on the riverbank so that water can be drawn at any time.

Just like Zhang Bao did back then, they lit many bonfires on the riverbank and kept boiling water.

Whether or not medicine is boiled in the water is irrelevant; as long as hot water is continuously supplied, the starving people can wait with peace of mind, and order can be easily maintained.

Zang Ba has now occupied Sangong Mountain, and the plan is proceeding smoothly. Several Taishan bandit leaders were ambushed and killed at the foot of the mountain by Zang Ba's inside agents, and thousands of Taishan bandits have been incorporated into Zang Ba's army.

This is certainly not all of the Taishan bandits, but these several thousand men are the elite of the Taishan bandits.

At this time, Zang Ba brought Sun Guan to Liu Bei's camp to report.

Having several thousand soldiers under his command, Zang Ba was initially hesitant.

Upon seeing that Liu Bei was indeed providing relief to the starving people, Zang Ba's hesitation turned into bewilderment.

He had never seen an official like Liu Bei.

Liu Bei ordered him to ambush the leader of the Taishan bandits as originally planned, control the Taishan bandits, and use the Taishan bandits to kill the powerful families of Xuzhou to seize grain and land. This was clearly illegal.

In the eyes of scholars, he could even be described as a cruel ruler.

Wouldn't doing this make us enemies of all the gentry and noble families in the land?

However, Liu Bei's acquisition of grain and land was truly for the purpose of resettling starving people. This was indeed in order to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion and was the only way to stabilize Qing and Xu provinces.

We've seen plenty of lawless officials and tyrants, but this is the first time we've encountered someone who uses illegal means to do good and to bring peace to a region.

The officials in Youzhou don't seem to follow the law very well...

For example, Zhang Ju, the prefect of Mount Tai a few years ago, was also an unlawful official.

Zang Ba's father, Zang Jie, was once the prison warden of Taishan County.

At that time, someone tried to report Zhang Ju for illegally minting coins, and was imprisoned by Zhang Ju. Since he could not prosecute them, Zhang Ju ordered Zang Jie to kill these prisoners in prison.

Zang Jie strictly adhered to the law, believing that no one should be executed without cause, and refused to comply even unto death.

Zhang Ju was furious and accused Zang Jie of "colluding with bandits," and sentenced Zang Jie to be sent to Xishan as a slave—the same charge that Liu Bei was currently using against the powerful clans and bandits of Qing and Xu.

At that time, Zang Ba was eighteen years old. Upon learning that his father had been imprisoned, he gathered more than a dozen retainers and rescued his father in Xishan, Feixian County.

At that time, there were more than a hundred soldiers escorting Zang Jie, but they were all afraid of Zang Ba's bravery and fled one after another.

Afterwards, Zang Ba and his father fled to Donghai County, and Zang Ba's reputation for filial piety, bravery and valor spread throughout the countryside.

From then on, Zang Ba called himself Nu Kou and became the head of the underworld in the Yimeng area.

But despite both being officials in Youzhou, both committing illegal acts, and both killing people without authorization… Liu Bei and Zhang Ju were completely different. “Yingzi, what do you think Lord Liu truly desires?”

Zang Ba stood at the soup kitchen outside the camp for a long time, then asked Sun Guan, who was standing beside him, a question.

"Perhaps it is to uphold justice and rectify righteousness. At least from what we have seen and heard, all of Lord Liu's actions are righteous."

Sun Guan wasn't too bothered by it. He had become Zang Ba's sworn brother when he was fifteen, so he could just follow his brother and not think too much about it.

"Can we uphold justice and rectify wrongdoing by allowing thieves to run rampant and disregard the law?"

Zang Ba murmured to himself, as if speaking to Sun Guan, yet also as if speaking to himself.

“Upholding righteousness and justice means observing one’s actions and heart; saving lives is benevolence, and quelling chaos is righteousness.”

Suddenly someone behind him spoke up: "Law is a policy for governing the people, not a foundation of benevolence and righteousness... Does Zang Xuangao not know this?"

Zang Ba turned around: "Mi Zizhong, why have you come here?"

"I've come to deliver grain to Magistrate Liu. Xuzhou is currently short of food, and Magistrate Liu has opened a soup kitchen here. If I hold onto the money and grain, I'm afraid Brother Zang will soon seize the grain and exterminate my clan..."

A scholar-like man walked up behind him, with an elegant demeanor and a refined appearance: "In the past, I thought Xuzhou was difficult to pacify, so I could only retreat to my home. Now that I see an opportunity to pacify Xuzhou, I naturally want to come and learn from him."

This is Mi Zhu, a native of Qu County, Donghai Commandery. His family had been engaged in land reclamation for generations, and they had nearly 10,000 servants and retainers, making them extremely wealthy.

Moreover, half of the Mi Zhu family lived on Lian Island in the East China Sea (Lianyungang), and the family also engaged in maritime trade.

At that time, Lian Island did not have the modern topography. The alluvial plain had not yet formed, and Lian Island was not connected to the mainland. It was a large island with an area exceeding two counties, suspended overseas.

This large island is entirely owned by the Mi family, encompassing agriculture, fishing, salt production, and hemp farming, making it a large-scale family business.

Moreover, these days, anyone who runs a maritime trade business is also a pirate on the side...

Because they could always escape to Lian Island and had plenty of manpower at home, the Mi family had not been robbed in recent years and was the richest family in Xuzhou.

The Mi family certainly hoped that Xuzhou would be pacified.

Tao Qian had previously sent a recruitment notice to the Mi family, and Mi Zhu had responded. However, due to the slow pace of transporting grain, they had only just arrived in Tan County.

Zang Ba knew Mi Zhu, because Mi Zhu was neither a scholar nor a pure merchant.

Over the years, Zang Ba has befriended many chivalrous knights-errant from Xuzhou—Mi Zhu was one of them.

Although Mi Zhu always dressed like a scholar and looked refined, he was actually skilled in horsemanship and archery.

"Brother Mi is a man of both literary and military talent, and possesses the abilities of Tao Zhu Gong. He should have been appointed to a prefectural post long ago..."

Zang Ba exchanged a few polite words, then cupped his hands and asked, "Brother Mi, have you come to seek refuge with Magistrate Liu?"

"No... If we were to exchange wealth, wouldn't that be like Marquis Wenxin, selling off rare commodities? I, Mi, have no desire to end up in a situation where I drink poison..."

Mi Zhu shook his head: "I am just here to see the layout of this soup kitchen, as I plan to set up a similar place to bring peace to the people in Qu County. Your Excellency is virtuous, and I should emulate your benevolence, follow your righteousness, and demonstrate your virtue... What do you think, Brother Zang?"

Marquis Wenxin was none other than Lü Buwei. Everyone is familiar with his exploitative tactics and his tragic end.

Mi Zhu was as wealthy as Lü Buwei and was willing to provide financial and material support, but he did not intend to act as a venture capitalist. Instead, he wanted to emulate Liu Bei and spread his virtue far and wide.

The hesitation and confusion in Zang Ba's heart were suddenly illuminated.

Yes, Liu Bei didn't want hostages and even specifically said that his comrades were all brothers who shared the same heart and soul. Why didn't I understand that back then?

Moreover, Liu Bei's plan to eliminate powerful clans and traitors was not actually about making enemies of the scholars of Xuzhou, but rather about separating the wise from the fools...

A clever person like Mi Zhu could immediately respond to and emulate Liu Bei, and would inevitably grow stronger in the process—this created benefits and opportunities for far-sighted people.

Those foolish thieves who are unwilling to part with money and grain and can only see what is in front of them will be devoured by wise people like Mi Zhu...

“Brother Mi wishes to emulate the magistrate, and I, Zang, should follow in his footsteps… Please guide me, brother.”

Zang Ba took Mi Zhu's arm and made him walk in the middle, while he and Sun Guan stood behind Mi Zhu and entered Liu Bei's tent together.

(End of this chapter)