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

Chapter 229 Brutal and Inhumane
Donglai, Huang County.

"...Does Your Excellency know why Liu Bei did not send troops to deal with Zhang Kai? I personally witnessed that the one who attacked Dongpingling with Zhang Kai was none other than Liu Bei's trusted confidant, Zhang Fei!"

"Liu Bei ordered his men to impersonate bandits and commit atrocities. Good men and women in Jinan, Le'an, Qi and other places were all harmed by them. The blood was so deep that it flowed like rivers and the Ji River stopped flowing!"

"In the past, Cao Cao persecuted loyal officials, and now Liu Bei has allowed his troops to commit atrocities... If we do not punish them, Qingzhou will never have a peaceful day!"

Xu He, a man from Jinan, is fabricating charges against Liu Bei.

He was one of the remnants of the rebel army who saw Zhang Fei enter Dongpingling, and had followed Tao Qiuhong to Xingyang.

The claim of "rivers of blood" is a slight exaggeration, but it's true that many powerful clans were killed; Zhang Kai and Cao Bao were indeed ruthless.

It is true that the Ji River stopped flowing because of the large number of people. Jia Xu ordered them to dig a wide canal, dozens of feet wide, connecting the Yellow River and the Ji River, and to build a flow control dam at the bottom of the canal.

This was Zhuge Xuan's idea.

When the Yellow River's water level is high, it flows through the Tongqu Canal to the Ji River, where it is diverted by the Ji River channel.

At the same time, with the flow dike, the water flow speed in the canal will be accelerated, and the accumulated silt will be washed downstream.

In other words, the lower reaches of the Ji River have now become a branch channel of the Yellow River; the Ji River has indeed stopped flowing, and the Yellow River is now flowing instead…

"Is that so?!"

Qin Zhou, the Chancellor of Beihai, was greatly alarmed: "I thought it was Tao Qian from Xuzhou who came to Qingzhou to cause trouble, but I never expected it was Liu Bei who unleashed his troops to commit atrocities... But Zhang Kai and his men are ruthless, often wiping out entire families. Liu Bei's army is quite strong, and he has joined forces with Tao Qian... Now who can punish them for their crimes?"

Qin Zhou was originally the Chancellor of Beihai. When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in Beihai, the governors and chancellors of various prefectures in Qingzhou all fled to avoid the chaos. Qin Zhou then fled to Huang County, the seat of Donglai Prefecture.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou originally originated in Donglai, but Huang County, the seat of Donglai Prefecture, was completely untouched by the Yellow Turban raids...

The places that were not looted were Zheng Xuan's hometown of Gaomi and Ren Zhan's clan residence of Bochang—Ren Zhan was known as a 'virtuous man' and had an excellent reputation among scholars.

The Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou never harassed the renowned scholars of Qingzhou...

If Zhang Rao hadn't been a real bandit, Gaotang wouldn't have been attacked in the first place—Hua Xin's family lived in Gaotang.

In Xuzhou as well, Chen Deng's family was also spared from the Yellow Turban attack.

This was certainly not because the Yellow Turbans of Qingxu respected famous scholars and Confucian masters. Starving people who were almost dying of hunger, who could care about whether they were famous scholars or not? They had almost eaten all the grass.

The true nature of those behind the so-called Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingxu is quite obvious; otherwise, Liu Bei wouldn't have sent Tao Qian to carry out this massive purge.

It's just that those who rushed to the front as cannon fodder were indeed starving people and bandit leaders.

Zhang Kai, Zhang Rao, Xu He, and others were originally the black gloves of the powerful clans of Qingzhou.

"This matter should be brought to Luoyang... How can border warriors like Liu Bei and Tao Qian be in charge of the affairs of an entire province?"

"I think it over and say it," said Kong Zan, the prefect of Donglai.

Kong Zan and Qin Zhou were not very famous in later generations, but they were well-known figures at that time.

Kong Zan was a member of the Kong family in the State of Lu, a nineteenth-generation descendant of Confucius, and a cousin of Kong Rong.

Qin Zhou was a famous scholar from Chenliu, one of the "Eight Chefs", and was as famous as Zhang Miao.

“Liu Bei and Tao Qian are highly regarded by the emperor, and both of them instigated the villains to do the work. We have no concrete evidence, so it is probably not appropriate to sue them…” Qin Zhou shook his head and frowned.

"The matter of litigation must come first... Since these two have recruited thieves for their own use, they will surely submit a memorial to the court to claim credit and recommend their subordinates for official positions. My nephew Kong Rong is currently working in the Imperial Carriage Office. If you and I can submit a memorial to the court before him, we can ensure that the court will first determine their guilt!"

Kong Zan was clearly very adept at political maneuvering.

Qin Zhou nodded: "As long as we can send the memorial to the government office first, accusing them of treason, so that the court can judge the crimes of Liu and Tao first... But this matter needs to be done as soon as possible. The memorials from the prefectures and counties have probably already been sent to Luoyang. If the memorials from the prefectures and counties are inconsistent, then the court will probably have to debate for a long time... We need to intercept Liu Bei's memorial first."

"Treason... No, we cannot accuse him of treason. We only need to say that he allowed his troops to commit atrocities and harm the gentry. Moreover, we should also submit a memorial stating that the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou has been quelled, both praising Liu Bei's merit in pacifying Qingzhou and condemning Liu Bei's cruelty and inhumanity... Only in this way can we get the court to remove him from office quickly."

Kong Zan turned his head: "Lord Qin, please write the memorial with me. I will immediately send the clerk of the Imperial Secretariat to the capital by fast horse..."

Kong Zan's approach was indeed very clever.

This refers to Liu Bei's achievement in suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which was a military accomplishment.

At the same time, this also indicates that Qingzhou is now stable and it is quite safe to be an official. Scholars who want to become the governor of Qingzhou, or powerful officials in the court who want their subordinates to control Qingzhou, will immediately start making arrangements...

Military achievements cannot offset political responsibilities.

The accusation that Liu Bei unleashed his troops to commit atrocities during the pacification of Qingzhou, and that he massacred and plundered the wealth, grain, and land of the gentry, is true and not a false accusation.

This statement would lead the court to immediately conclude that Liu Bei was a military general who was "good at fighting but not suitable for governing local areas."

Moreover, since there was no false accusation and everything said was true, even when accusing Liu Bei, they first acknowledged Liu Bei's contributions, which made it very credible and also demonstrated the 'uprightness' of Kong Zan and Qin Zhou.

Furthermore, the fact that a descendant of Confucius and one of the Eight Chefs jointly submitted the petition makes it even more convincing.

In fact, to anyone unaware of the inside story, Kong Zan's actions were absolutely correct, and even if the court did send someone to investigate the matter, it would all be the truth.

Although hundreds of thousands of people were saved in Qing and Xu provinces, Liu Bei and Tao Qian's actions were indeed seen as cruel and inhumane by the scholars.

Even Jia Xu's use of labor relief to employ over 100,000 starving people to repair waterways was considered a brutal act in those days—it easily evokes comparisons to Qin Shi Huang's engineering projects.

As long as the work-for-relief program is not mentioned, and only the fact that more than 100,000 starving people were forced to repair the flooded Yellow River is mentioned, it is undoubtedly an atrocity.

Consider the impressions of the First Emperor throughout history. Did they also acknowledge his achievement in unifying the country, but also consider him cruel and inhumane?
The pen was in the hands of the gentry.

Moreover, what they are best at telling are true lies.

……

The official in charge of reporting to the emperor in Donglai County was named Taishi Ci, courtesy name Ziyi. He was a native of Huang County and was twenty-one years old at the time.

“Ziyi, Prefect Liu has indeed demonstrated military prowess in quelling the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou. However, he has also harmed the local gentry and forced tens of thousands of people to dig canals. His cruelty and inhumanity have caused great hardship and financial loss to the people. We cannot allow him to govern this prefecture again.”

Kong Zan instructed, "Not only must this petition be submitted to the government, but it must also be intercepted before Governor Liu reports to the capital. Otherwise, the court may be deceived by Governor Liu. Governor Liu has committed such atrocities in just six months in Qingzhou; I dare not even imagine what Qingzhou will become if he remains in office longer..."

Taishi Ci nodded in agreement, took the memorial, selected three fine horses, and rode off at full speed.

Upon arriving at the Ji River, Taishi Ci witnessed tens of thousands of people digging the riverbed. Along the way, he also saw countless wealthy families' homes destroyed, with bloodstains visible everywhere.

Taishi Ci then concluded that Kong Zan was right; Liu Bei must be a cruel official who was good at fighting but not good at governing local areas.

(End of this chapter)