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

Chapter 297 The Robbery of Ten Thousand Scrolls
Upon entering the Cai family's gate and seeing the bamboo slips drying in the courtyard, Liu Xie gasped, "There are so many?"

There are indeed many, and the key is that the whole yard is drying in the sun, so it looks like there are even more.

Bamboo slips and leather belts are prone to getting damp and moldy, so they need to be taken out to air frequently. Of course, the fact that so many are being aired out right now is obviously something Cai Yan did while organizing her collection of books.

Most of the books in Cai Yong's home were regulated.

If it is one of the Seven Classics (the Book of Poetry, the Book of Documents, the Book of Changes, the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Gongyang Commentary, the Book of Rites, and the Analects) or a classic interpreted by a famous Confucian scholar, the bamboo slip is generally two feet four inches (56 centimeters) long.

A scroll typically consists of over a hundred bamboo slips, which can be six or seven feet long when unfolded and often weigh over ten kilograms, so reading is indeed a physically demanding activity...

However, the word count... a volume only has a few thousand words.

If it is a biography of the Hundred Schools of Thought, the length of the bamboo slip is generally one foot and two inches (28 centimeters) - half the length of Confucian classics. This is a regulation specially set after Confucianism became the dominant school of thought, in order to show that Confucianism is the main school of thought.

But actually, short texts are easier to read... because they are less tiring to hold, and their length of just over a foot is also easy to read at a glance, so you don't have to nod and peek.

Officials typically used eight-inch wooden slips for everyday documents. Inscriptions and official documents were also official documents, and sometimes the wooden slips were made wider to make them easier to carry and read.

The fact that there were standardized regulations indicates that most of Cai Yong's book collection came from the palace.

Seeing Liu Xie's amazement, Cai Yan pointed with some pride to a pile of large boxes that had been prepared in the courtyard: "There are more than 13,000 volumes of books in the family. I have selected more than 400 volumes of classics by famous authors and put them into the boxes. If you need other volumes, General, you can choose them yourself."

Liu Bei stepped forward and looked at the boxes. Inside were neatly stacked various Confucian classics, including many annotations by masters of Confucian classics.

These four hundred-plus volumes of classics weigh several thousand kilograms and are enough to fill five trucks. For an average person, that's quite a lot—it's enough to make one "learned enough to fill five trucks."

But for Liu Bei, five carts were certainly not enough...

"Yes, Zhao Ji's heroic spirit far surpasses that of any man in the world!"

Liu Bei nodded and waved to Zhao Yun: "Zilong, have the brothers come over... and move all the books here."

"Ah... ah?"

Cai Yan was dumbfounded. She turned around and looked at the yard full of books: "Move them all?"

"Yes, didn't Zhaoji say that I could choose whatever I wanted if I needed it?"

Liu Bei nodded matter-of-factly: "I think all of them are needed..."

"This...this isn't robbery..."

Cai Yan was a little anxious, probably wanting to say 'robbery,' but after glancing at Liu Xie, she stopped herself: "General, there are many rare copies among them. If they are lost along the way, they will never be passed down to posterity!"

"Yes, that's why we need a large army to protect these rare books and prevent them from being lost... There are many rebels in Chenliu, and there are traitors in various counties of Yanzhou who have joined the rebellion. It is really not safe to leave these precious books here. As the Junior Tutor, it is my duty to protect the works of our ancestors!"

Liu Bei turned around and waved, signaling Zhao Yun to lead the troops inside: "Zilong, tell the brothers to be careful and not to lose a single bamboo slip."

Diao Chan covered her mouth and chuckled to herself.

Liu Xie, curious, stepped forward to search for the strange books he had never seen before.

Diao Chan's early education was quite good; Liu Xie already knew most of the commonly used characters and could read on his own.

In fact, the number of books in the palace was originally no less than that in Cai Yong's household, but the palace did not have as many miscellaneous books—it used to have some, but since the Han Dynasty's practice of selecting imperial concubines became widespread, the palace's collection of books mainly consisted of classics.

The Dongguan library now mostly contains only ancient and modern interpretations of various classic texts, while the Xiping stele in front of the Imperial Academy contains only the Seven Classics after careful collation.

In fact, most of Cai Yong's collection of books was acquired through book repair, but he did not steal the books; rather, he copied them again. Cai Yong was the main person in charge of book repair at the Dongguan Library, so he would naturally have his subordinates copy the books during the repair process.

However, there are indeed many rare copies that were secretly sold by palace servants.

Liu Bei's troops were well-mannered; they all moved with great care, and to avoid accidental damage, each person carried only one scroll, placed it on the cart outside, and then came back to retrieve it.

Zhao Yun even had his men pad the carriage with straw to cushion the bamboo slips.

Hundreds of large trucks were pushed over and lined up in a long row in front of the Cai family's house, much like trucks queuing up to pick up goods at a wholesale market in later years...

Cai Yan sighed helplessly: "General Liu, is this the behavior of a thief? Isn't this act of robbery tarnishing your reputation?"

"Hmm? Zhaoji has good eyesight..."

Liu Bei nodded and laughed: "Let it be thieverything... but how can borrowing books be considered robbery? This matter should be a good name that will be passed down for generations!"

Cai Yan was very dissatisfied: "What? Does the general think he'll ever repay this loan?"

"Of course I'll pay you back... I'll borrow ten thousand books from you to copy, and I'll return one hundred thousand next year!"

Liu Bei said very seriously, "If Zhao Ji doesn't believe me, she can come with these books and guard them herself... With so many books, we need a librarian..." Liu Bei was shameless, and Cai Yan had no way to deal with him. She wanted to scold him but was worried about Liu Xie being there. She hesitated several times before finally glaring at Liu Bei hatefully.

Judging from his expression, he seemed to intend to kill Liu Bei with his eyes.

Just then, Liu Xie searched around for some books and picked up a short, old scroll. He held it up and asked Liu Bei, "Grand Tutor, what book is this? Why can I read every word, yet it is so obscure and difficult to understand?"

Liu Bei reached out and took it, only to find it was a scroll of Daoist scriptures, titled "Secret Play: Eight Techniques of the Bedchamber"...

The choice of words is exquisite, and the writing style is simple and unadorned; the writing alone is already of great literary value.

If you combine it with the content... then it becomes even more valuable!

It not only involves medicine and health preservation, but also sociology and Taoist philosophy, and even describes physical movements in detail... The only regret is that the bamboo slips cannot be illustrated.

This thing is certainly not suitable for Liu Xie, who is only eight years old.

So Liu Bei tucked it into his robes, intending to study and critique it personally, hoping to contribute to the population growth of the Han Dynasty...

Cai Yan turned her head and saw it. Of course she knew what book it was. She was a little embarrassed, but it was indeed a classic book that had been passed down through generations, so there was nothing to be ashamed of.

Seeing that Liu Xie had returned with a book on bedroom arts after wandering around, Liu Bei glanced at Cai Yan, then patted Liu Xie on the shoulder: "Zhao Ji is most familiar with the books stored here. She is knowledgeable and has a strong memory, possessing a vast knowledge of poetry and literature... We should appoint Zhao Ji as our 'Lady' and address her as our teacher."

Liu Xie nodded, turned to Zhao Ji, and bowed with great admiration: "I request to become Mr. Cai's disciple. Would Mr. Cai be willing to teach me to read widely?"

Cai Yan knew that this was the emperor. When she saw the emperor bowing to her as a teacher, she was stunned and didn't know what to do.

"Zhao Ji is renowned for her talent. Everyone in the capital knows that she is knowledgeable, proficient in music and calligraphy, and is a remarkable woman. Your Majesty is of school age and certainly needs a tutor to proofread books."

Diao Chan kindly stepped forward and took Cai Yan's hand, saying, "The palace is heavily guarded, and it is inconvenient for men to come and go. The Junior Tutor is leading the army to pacify the four directions and cannot accompany His Majesty all the time. Zhao Ji is most familiar with these books. If you can't bear to part with these books, then you should become His Majesty's proofreader."

……

Two days later, Liu Bei led his army away, and Cai Yong's collection of books was swept away, leaving his house looking as if it had been ravaged by war.

Hundreds of large carts carrying books continued eastward.

Cai Yan did indeed become a proofreader, after all, the emperor himself had come to invite her, so she had no choice but to accept the position.

If Diao Chan could be a female official, Cai Yan could naturally be one too, and Cai Yan truly couldn't bear to part with her family's collection of books...

To be honest, robbing a vast collection of books is indeed a remarkable story, especially since the eight-year-old emperor himself came to rob it. This would elevate the Cai family's reputation by two levels.

Although Cai Yan was somewhat unhappy...

But the servants of the Cai family were overjoyed to see Liu Bei and the others leave—they would no longer have to busy themselves with drying books on sunny days, which relieved them of a big task!

Because the vehicles were slow, they took a detour from Chenliu to Yu County. When Liu Bei returned to the Henan road, he ended up behind the emperor's carriage, which was behind Jia Xu.

The officials and Jia Xu had discussed things smoothly at the foot of Mount Beiman. The convoy that accompanied the emperor on his eastern tour set off only one day later. Because everyone wanted to catch up with Liu Bei and Liu Xie's journey, the convoy traveled quite fast and ended up ahead of Liu Bei.

Jia Xu knew that Liu Bei was going to "borrow books" and realized that Liu Bei would most likely fall behind, but the others did not know Liu Bei's whereabouts and urged Jia Xu to speed up.

So the imperial carriage, which had everything except the emperor, led the way.

Meanwhile, Liu Bei and Liu Xie followed leisurely behind, unnoticed by anyone.

Traveling in the imperial carriage first is certainly prone to problems...

When they arrived near Dunqiu in Dongjun, the same Dunqiu where Cao Cao had once served as magistrate, both groups set their sights on the "imperial temporary capital".

One group consists of Zhang Liao, who doesn't know where to go, and Cheng Yu, a renowned scholar from Dongjun, who are currently hiding in Dunqiu.

The other group consists of Cao Cao and Li Qian, a powerful figure from Jiyin, who are currently hiding in Lihu.

The Henan Imperial Road passed between Dunqiu and Lihu counties, and it also served as the boundary between Dongjun and Jiyinjun.

The information Zhang Fei received in Jibei was actually accurate; Cao Cao had indeed entered Taishan County earlier.

However, Cao Cao did not go to Xuzhou, nor did he travel with Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao. Instead, he turned around and came out from Shanyang County in the west after entering Taishan County, and then went through Jiyin and circled around to Chengshi.

With Li Qian's help, Cao Cao temporarily escaped the limelight.

Cao Cao had previously received Li Qian's support when he was pacifying the Yellow Turbans, and this was the second time Li Qian had helped Cao Cao.

However, this time, Li Qian's help was not free.

(End of this chapter)