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

Chapter 321 Chain Plan

How did Princess Yang'an die?

Liu Bei asked Bian Bing somewhat anxiously.

Bian Bing was originally stationed in the area around Linzi to cultivate land and was also responsible for maintaining order and security. He was the first general to arrive at the scene, which is why Zuo Yuan sent him to deliver the message.

“She said she was going back to Dongwu, but she was ambushed and killed just twenty miles outside Linzi City. When I arrived, I only saw a dozen or so corpses. The maids and servants were all dead, and all the carriages and horses had been looted.”

Bian Bing described what he knew: "She was escorted by nearly a hundred servants from the Fu family, and Dongwu City is not far away. Nothing happened when she came... Moreover, Princess Yang'an looks like she committed suicide."

"Suicide? Nearly a hundred servants were escorting him, and more than a dozen died... What about the other servants?"

Liu Bei then asked, "Have all her servants run away?"

"It was her servants who returned to Linzi to report the news... Those servants said that they were robbed by about one or two hundred thieves, who looked like all kinds of people, including farmers and merchants. I asked the farmers in the vicinity, and some of them did see a group of people looting the carriages and horses from afar."

Bian Bing replied, "Afterwards, I followed the hoofprints and footprints for two miles, but found that the footprints were scattered and could not be traced... Sister Zuo is currently investigating this matter personally."

In other words, the thieves had planned this in advance and dispersed shortly after succeeding.

This also suggests that the thieves knew Liu Hua's movements in advance, and that there might be a traitor among Liu Hua's servants.

During this period, many people visited Linzi, especially after the pacification of Xuzhou, when many people came from Xuzhou to participate in the policy examination.

With the increase in the migrant population, there are also more itinerant vendors around Linzi.

There was a large floating population, but after Liu Bei sent troops, Linzi was short-handed. If the thieves disguised themselves as ordinary people and hid, it would indeed be difficult to investigate them in that era.

Liu Bei felt somewhat uneasy.

Because this doesn't seem logical.

This doesn't seem like Yuan Shao's method. At least from what Liu Bei knew, Yuan Shao preferred to use a small number of assassins for small-scale assassinations.

If Yuan Shao were to attempt an assassination, he most likely wouldn't target Liu Hua—Liu Xie, Zuo Yuan, Bian Ji… even Jia Xu's family, or even Cao Song, would have caused Liu Bei considerable trouble.

But what would be the point of assassinating Liu Hua?
The Hebei rebels withdrew and retreated northward, which was not a good thing for Liu Bei either.

Why retreat so suddenly when Liu Bei's main force had been deployed? This must mean they knew his main force was heading north. Either they were trying to lure him in, or the enemy had some kind of surprise attack plan.

With himself in the open and Yuan Shao in the shadows, Liu Bei couldn't possibly make any big moves before receiving accurate intelligence.

At the same time, Princess Yang'an was murdered, which means that the perpetrators were most likely Yuan Shao's gang; otherwise, it wouldn't be such a coincidence.

But why?
framing himself?
There's no need for that...

Liu Hua was the daughter of Emperor Huan, Liu Zhi, and had no blood relation to Liu Hong and Liu Xie. Her death in Linzi had no significant impact on the situation.

Is he trying to lure himself back to Linzi?
Why did the bandits in Hebei retreat?

Besides, although Liu Hua was a princess, she wasn't that important. Unless something happened to Zuo Yuan, Bian Ji, or Liu Xie, Liu Bei wouldn't change his military plans so easily.

Liu Bei couldn't fathom the logic behind this, only subconsciously sensing that it might be an attempt to harm Liu Xie. So he ordered his troops to halt, sent scouts further away to investigate the enemy's movements, and went to consult with Jia Xu.

"...My lord should first return to Linzi to investigate this plot."

After learning of this matter, Jia Xu considered it for a long time and proposed a possibility: "Lady Zuo is decisive in killing in Linzi. Perhaps the villains intend to lure Lady Zuo out... No matter why the villains do this, we must not give the enemy an opportunity."

"But Hebei... the one who will establish the Prince of Ganling as emperor in Bohai will surely be Yuan Shao. If Yuan Shao is given the opportunity, and if he gains a foothold in Hebei, it will be difficult to pacify the region quickly."

Liu Bei hesitated: "Although Yuan Shao lacks the ability to employ people, he is extremely skilled at gathering them. Though he is fickle and cowardly, he is ruthless... Such a person is not a threat as an official, but he is extremely troublesome as a bandit... And now Yuan Shao can only be a bandit, I am worried..."

"Yuan Shao?... As long as Qing and Xu are not lost, why should my lord worry about the enemy?"

Jia Xu shook his head and advised, "My lord is about to gain power, and talented people from all sides are gathering in Qingzhou. With your abilities, my lord will become stronger and richer in just a little time. Why rush things?"

"My lord, you only need to defend yourself to quickly become strong. Yuan Shao is now nothing but a stray dog. Even if he has the ability to gather people, he can hardly gather the talents of the world like my lord."

"The ones who should be racing against time right now are the enemy."

Finally, Jia Xu added, "My lord is usually calm and composed, but he becomes impatient when he suspects Yuan Shao is gathering troops... Is it because of a grudge?"

Yes, Yuan Shu has publicly accused Yuan Shao of killing Yuan's relatives. Now Yuan Shao can only resort to banditry. Although Yuan Shao did have many chivalrous friends and saved many partisans in the past, it is impossible for him to compare with Liu Bei in terms of overall growth rate.

The current Yuan Shao is just an enhanced version of Zhang Chun.

Liu Bei nodded slowly: "Perhaps so... Yuan Shao is both a personal grudge and a national grudge against me, and I always want to get rid of him as soon as possible... I am worried that after he gains a foothold, he will collude with foreign tribes."

"My lord's move to issue the bidding order was a stroke of genius. Once the bidding for Lu is completed, my lord can issue a bidding order to the whole country to attack Yuan Shao."

Jia Xu nodded in understanding and added a word of advice: "But at this time we cannot be sure that the rebels in Hebei were instigated by Yuan Shao... My lord, haste makes waste. Without definite information, relying solely on speculation may lead to misjudgment and give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage, which is a major taboo in military strategy. Preserve yourself, wait for the right moment, and defeat the enemy with a grand and imposing force. That is the way to go."

This was not Jia Xu's usual practice—he generally wouldn't offer such frank advice. Liu Bei took a deep breath and bowed earnestly to Jia Xu: "Thank you for your kind words, Wenhe."

Liu Bei could still distinguish between good and bad.

Jia Xu was taken aback for a moment, then quickly returned the greeting: "My lord, you might as well change the name of Ganling to Qinghe and let Yun Chang and Junyi lead the army. With Zhang Yan as our ally in the west and Youzhou as our aid in the north, the enemy is already surrounded by us. We can take a defensive approach and slowly deal with them."

"it is good."

Liu Bei agreed and immediately arranged the troops in Hebei according to Jia Xu's advice.

Guan Yu no longer led Liu Bei's central army, but instead took command of a separate force as the Prefect of Qinghe. Bai Yao, Zhang Rao, and other remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion were all transferred to Guan Yu's command, and Guan Hai's navy was also placed under Guan Yu's control.

Zhang He was appointed Prefect of Pingyuan, assisted by Shi Ren, and Sun Qian was stationed in Pingyuan as a liaison for the various allied forces.

"The affairs of Hebei are under the control of Yun Chang. You may govern according to his decrees, and how to defend against the enemy is up to you."

After giving his instructions, Liu Bei returned to Linzi with Jia Xu.

This was essentially the establishment of a new Hebei Army. Although it was not far from Linzi, the presence of the Yellow River made it inconvenient for the army to travel back and forth, so Guan Yu was allowed to manage military affairs independently.

That day, scouts sent back reports one after another, confirming that the enemy in the north was indeed retreating. The enemy in Xipingchang, Banxian, and even Leling had all retreated, leaving Zhang He and others to take over the county towns.

The enemy only reorganized their defenses after they retreated to the Dongguang and Xinle areas.

Yan Liang was stationed in Dongguang, Wen Chou in Xinle, and Gao Lan in Raoan. These counties were all not far from Nanpi.

However, no banners bearing the character "Yuan" were seen among the enemy troops; only the imperial regalia was present. Moreover, the enemy commander appeared to be Feng Xun. Neither the scouts nor the undercover soldiers had discovered any information related to Yuan Shao.

……

Linzi.

Zuo Yuan was leading his guards to investigate the case.

Liu Hua is a princess after all; she deserves an explanation.

In order to investigate the case, Zuo Yuan mobilized a lot of people to search everywhere and once again carried out a city-wide search in Linzi. In the past few days, some suspects have been arrested, but no useful information has been obtained through interrogation.

At this time, the East Pavilion was under martial law. Fu Shou and Liu Xie were both in the inner courtyard, and Zhang Fei led his troops to protect the courtyard closely. Zuo Yuan also felt that this was a plot to harm Liu Xie, so he told Zhang Fei not to go anywhere and to stay here and guard.

The servants and maids sent by the Fu family also gathered in Fu De's courtyard.

However, Fu De had already been tied up and his mouth was gagged.

"Zhang Fei's troops are still around... Is it appropriate to take action now?"

"This is the only chance... Liu Bei has led his troops out, Zuo Yuan is not here either, Tian Yu has sent troops to transport grain, and Jian Yong has also gone to the north of the city. This is the time when the defenses of Dongge are at their weakest."

"But with the eldest princess gone, they can't even enter the emperor's residence... How can we let Princess Yang'an die?"

"How could I stop her from committing suicide?"

"Stop talking. Isn't there still the young master? He's the emperor's study companion. Besides, it's perfectly reasonable for a brother to send his sister a few maids..."

"Zhang Fei is keeping a close watch; it'll be difficult to get in..."

"It's not like we're sending palace maids to the Emperor, it's just sending servants to Lady Fu. We can't leave her without anyone to serve her... The Emperor hasn't taken Lady Fu as a concubine, so Zhang Fei can't interfere in the Emperor's family affairs... Hurry up, Zhang Fei is easy to handle, but Zuo Yuan is difficult to deal with. If we wait for Zuo Yuan to return, then this matter will really be impossible to accomplish."

Several men dressed as servants were whispering and plotting.

Fude glared angrily, struggling and whimpering, as if trying to spit out the wad of cloth from his mouth.

A burly man walked up to Fu De and whispered, “Young man, you should know why we are here. We don’t want to make things difficult for you. You just need to write a letter to send them into the Emperor’s residence under the pretext of serving your younger sister… Otherwise, you will die tonight.”

Behind the burly man stood several women, all of whom looked quite young, but each one was the type with broad shoulders and thick waists.

Fu De stared fiercely at the burly man, his eyes almost bursting out of their sockets.

The burly man shoved a pen into Fu De's hand, placed an official document on the table, and untied Fu De's right hand, which was bound in front of him.

Fu De threw the pen aside, still glaring angrily at the burly man while muttering something under his breath.

"This was also your father's intention... What happened to your mother was not our doing; she committed suicide out of defiance. Your father deceived her..."

The burly man picked up the brush and explained, "Young man, your father had no choice. If you refuse, then he will have no choice but to go see your mother."

Voldemort's tears welled up instantly, but his mouth was tightly gagged, and he couldn't make a sound.

(End of this chapter)