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

Chapter 230 Ziyi loses his justice
At this time, Liu Bei's memorial had already been sent to Luoyang. The messenger responsible for delivering the memorial was Sun Qian, and Mi Fang accompanied him as a bodyguard.

Liu Bei's memorial contained a lot of information, including military reports on the suppression of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, matters concerning the management of the Yellow River, the appointment of Zang Ba as Cavalry Commandant, and a formal request to the court to establish more military colonels and commanders in various regions to reclaim wasteland and provide famine relief.

It covered military, personnel, and political affairs, and since the matter of the Colonel of Agricultural Settlements was directly related to Mi Fang's family, Liu Bei asked Mi Fang to explain the matter to Liu Yu and have Liu Yu put it on his behalf in court.

The position of Colonial Colony was actually a good policy, especially when there were many starving people in the country.

Liu Bei suggested that the Colonel of Agricultural Settlements be placed under the jurisdiction of the Grand Master of Ceremonies, treated as the emperor's personal army, and that famine-stricken people be recruited to reclaim wasteland. He also proposed to establish a unified standard for the rent of public land tenants, so that landless people could make a living, and that local rents could be regulated by official standards.

This was actually a form of public land contracting, but it was not under the jurisdiction of prefectures or counties. Instead, it was assigned to the imperial army, with military officers in charge of the land, and it could not be inherited.

This not only ensures the central government's food needs and prevents grain taxes from harming the people, but also to a certain extent restrains local powerful families from annexing land. At the very least, it provides a new option for those who cannot survive, preventing them from all becoming rebels.

In fact, if every prefecture in the country had a military agricultural colony and every county had a military agricultural colony, the imperial court would no longer need to collect grain taxes from the people. Instead, it could allow displaced people who had lost their land to contract public property and become tenants of the imperial court. It could also set up granaries to prepare for famine at any time.

But in the eyes of the powerful clans, this was of course an evil policy—it was "seizing farmland from the people," after all, "people" and "people" are completely different.

Sun Qian had been on his way for several days with his memorial, traveling along the official road.

However, Taishi Ci traveled day and night on horseback, taking only back roads, and when he arrived in Luoyang, he reached the gate of the imperial carriage before Sun Qian.

The Gongchemen, officially known as the Gongche Simamen, was not a city gate of Luoyang, but rather a gate to the palace. It was responsible for receiving and forwarding memorials from the prefectures and counties, and also for accepting local recommendations of talented individuals.

When Sun Qian arrived, Taishi Ci was already waiting there, and had even found a green feather to put in his headdress.

Upon seeing Sun Qian holding the flag of the Qingzhou Prefectural Governor, Taishi Ci stepped forward and asked, "Are you the envoy from the Qingzhou Prefectural Governor?"

Sun Qian did not recognize Taishi Ci and thought he was a servant of the Imperial Carriage Gate, so he nodded in agreement.

"Where is the memorial? Let us retrieve it and examine the inscription."

Taishi Ci was seven feet seven inches tall, with a neat beard and dignified appearance. He wore a red robe for reporting official documents and had a blue feather inserted in his crown, making him look no different from the attendants of the Imperial Carriage Office.

However, the real envoy was still sitting inside the government office; the clerks on duty in Luoyang wouldn't be so eager to greet him at the door.

Sun Qian knew that the memorials had to be inspected and sealed beforehand, so he took out the memorials and showed them to Taishi Ci for verification.

This inspection was not to examine the contents of the memorial, but to check whether the seals and stamps of the governor or prefect were intact, to verify the authenticity of the memorial, and to determine if it had been altered.

The memorials were written on silk, in the form of a single-column scroll, and sealed with silk rope and oil wax.

If the seal is incomplete, or if the memorial is damaged or stained, it cannot be submitted to the court, as it would be suspected of being tampered with.

But Taishi Ci had a dagger hidden in his bosom. As soon as he received the memorial, he drew the dagger and cut it in two with a single stroke...

Sun Qian was horrified: "You scoundrel, how dare you!"

Seeing this, Mi Fang became even more furious and was about to draw his sword when Taishi Ci slapped the hilt of his sword, putting it back in its sheath.

Then Taishi Ci grabbed Mi Fang's wrist: "This is the palace gate. To resort to violence here is treason..."

Mi Fang gritted her teeth and snorted, but she didn't dare to move again.

It is indeed forbidden to use force in front of the palace gates; this place is different from the outer city gates.

No guards or attendants were allowed to enter; only Sun Qian and Mi Fang were present.

Sun Qian stopped Mi Fang and looked at Taishi Ci: "Do you know that destroying a memorial is a capital offense? Are you not afraid of death?!"

Taishi Ci said in a low voice, "If you had not given me the memorial, I would not have been able to destroy it. The memorial was destroyed by both of us, and our fortunes and misfortunes are now equal and we cannot escape them... If we are to determine the punishment, I am not the only one to suffer this punishment."

"What a thief!"

Sun Qian laughed in anger: "Who are you? Do you have any grudge against me?!" "Taishi Ci, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat of Donglai... has no personal grudge against you, I am only here on orders."

Taishi Ci pulled Sun Qian aside and advised him, “As an envoy, you have caused the memorial to be destroyed. You will surely be punished by Governor Liu. Governor Liu is cruel and inhumane. You are bound to die. Rather than waiting to die, you should flee with me. At least you can save your life and avoid unnecessary torture.”

"Liu the Prefect is cruel and inhumane? Who said that? Lord Kong of Donglai?"

Upon hearing Taishi Ci say that he had come under orders, Sun Qian understood a bit: "Since you were ordered to destroy my memorial, and you have succeeded, why are you also trying to escape?"

"If I do this, Magistrate Liu will surely kill me. If I don't escape, I'm afraid I'll definitely die..."

Taishi Ci bluntly said, "Why don't you come with me to Liaodong to avoid disaster? Perhaps we can both survive."

"Haha...hahaha..."

Sun Qian suddenly burst into laughter, shaking his head at Taishi Ci: "Well done, Lord Kong! Well done, Taishi Ci... Where is your memorial from Donglai?"

"What? Aren't you afraid of being punished by Magistrate Liu?"

Taishi Ci was somewhat surprised to see that Sun Qian remained calm.

"Lord Liu won't use this to punish me... Lord Kong also had a memorial for you to submit, right? Since you destroyed my memorial, I should destroy yours in return for it to be fair..."

Sun Qian stared at Taishi Ci: "Don't you think this makes sense?"

That was indeed the case, but Taishi Ci couldn't hand the memorial to Sun Qian: "I have already submitted the Prefect's report to the Imperial Carriage Office."

"I see... Donglai rushed to submit his memorial first, presumably to falsely accuse Governor Liu, right?"

Sun Qian sighed, bent down and picked up the memorial that had been cut in half on the ground: "Taishi Ci, do you know what the memorial you destroyed was about?"

"It's nothing more than a matter of boasting and deceiving Heaven... I personally witnessed Magistrate Liu's massacre of scholars, forced labor of starving people, and seizure of farmland..."

Taishi Ci frowned as he watched Sun Qian's actions.

Sun Qian shook his head, put the report, which had been torn in two, back together, and unfolded it directly:

"The powerful and influential people, under the guise of the Yellow Turbans, plundered the villages, causing widespread unrest. Governor Liu seized the land and grain of these powerful and influential people to provide relief to the starving and needy, thus quelling the unrest in Qingzhou at minimal cost... This is what you mean by the massacre of scholars."

"Hundreds of thousands of starving people had no food or clothing. Your Excellency managed the Yellow River and implemented a work-for-relief program, which not only saved these people but also quelled the Yellow River's floods and yielded countless fertile fields. In total, nearly 300,000 people from Qingzhou were resettled... This is what you call the forced labor of starving people!"

"The people of Qing and Xu have been in turmoil for a long time, and most of the fields are abandoned. Your Excellency requests the court to establish a military agricultural colony to reclaim wasteland and provide famine relief, so that the soldiers and civilians have food, and that the poor in the world have a place to live as tenants... This is what is called the cruel and inhumane occupation of farmland!"

"All of these things... everything that Prefect Liu has proposed are good policies to benefit the people. There is not a single word of deception, nor any false accusation or abuse of power. It was only after seeing this memorial that I, Sun, was willing to serve the Prefect."

"Taishi Ci, do you know that you have not only destroyed the memorial to the throne, but also destroyed the very foundation of benevolence and kindness! You will surely be punished by Heaven for this unjust act!"

Liu Bei's memorial was indeed completely honest; it not only avoided any wordplay but was also quite detailed.

Since Zhuge Jin was in charge of writing the documents, Liu Bei didn't mind spending a little more time writing.

Besides what Sun Qian said, he also informed the court that the bandits from all over had fled to Taishan County, and therefore recommended Zang Ba, a native of Taishan, as Cavalry Commandant to quell the bandits—a legitimate and necessary measure.

Taishi Ci stared at the pieced-together memorial, frozen in place: "How could...this be?"

"Taishi Ci, if you still have even a shred of justice in your heart, then come with me to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to explain this matter..."

Sun Qian gritted his teeth and said coldly, "If you want to escape, you can flee to Liaodong and see how the people of Qingzhou will treat you! Your parents will probably have no face to live in this world!"

(End of this chapter)