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

Chapter 330 Three Matters of the Court Meeting
On May 14, Bian Bing captured Liu Cheng, the King of Qi.

On the same day, Han Fu also arrived in Linzi.

Currently, Linzi has a temporary court, which is the former front hall of the Qi King's Mansion.

The rhythm of the court assemblies remained unchanged: a grand assembly on the first and fifteenth of each month, a smaller assembly every five days, with one day on and four days off, six times a month.

But this 'court' was actually Liu Bei's mansion, and Liu Bei was usually in charge of things, except that he never sat on the throne in the middle.

Liu Xie would come to observe politics on the first and fifteenth of the month, but in reality, he came to listen to lessons on governance practices and usually did not speak.

This isn't about treating Liu Xie like a stamping robot; it's mainly because Liu Bei's grand court assemblies were generally only used to issue decrees and hear results.

Unlike the vegetable market model in Luoyang, the grand court assembly in Linzi does not discuss specific matters, but only reports results and issues tasks.

Liu Bei would not waste anyone's time on arguments.

All memorials were presented at the small court assembly, where various opinions and suggestions, as well as the division of labor and cooperation between departments, were discussed. This was also the business of the small court assembly—and only the heads and first deputies of each department participated in the small court assembly, without any irrelevant people.

The real, concrete discussions and debates are all conducted in regular, smaller meetings.

On May 15th, there will be a great meeting.

At each grand court assembly, Liu Bei usually only issued three announcements, and today was no exception.

The first thing is rewards and punishments.

First came the punishment.

Liu Bei had been discussing with his team for a long time how to deal with the King of Qi.

The final conclusion was that the King of Qi should hurry up and die.

This would normally be the proper course of action, given that it was a rebellion.

But there is actually a problem with this matter—King Qi did not openly plot a rebellion, and Zhang Kai was not caught. Only the servants of the Fu family can serve as witnesses to Zhang Kai's plot to murder the eldest princess.

As for the other charges, it was nothing more than conspiring with the Kong family, but King Liu Cheng of Qi could not be considered a traitor because the Kong family had not yet become a rebel at that time.

Based solely on evidence, it is impossible to definitively prove that the King of Qi committed treason. At most, it can be said that the King of Qi instructed Zhang Kai to commit the crime. After all, since the executor Zhang Kai was not caught, no one can confirm whether it was on the King of Qi's orders or at someone else's instigation.

As for the plan to abduct Liu Xie, it was still Zhang Kai who handled the matter, and the actual execution was carried out by the Fu family's retainers, so it is also difficult to find evidence against the King of Qi.

Liu Yan was also unsure whether the King of Qi was plotting a rebellion. He only knew that Zhang Kai had been hired by the King of Qi, but he did not know what task the King of Qi had assigned him.

Since the prince had not clearly shown any signs of rebellion, nor had he directly murdered the princess, it would have been inappropriate for Liu Bei to execute him directly. In such a situation, he should usually have been demoted to a commoner and imprisoned for a long period of time.

However, to avoid further trouble in the future and to deter others, Liu Bei did not intend to give any schemers any hope.

"...Recently, King Qi Cheng, knowing his crimes were grave and fearing punishment, murdered his only son and then committed suicide in prison..."

Liu Bei calmly recounted a story in court about the King of Qi who killed his son and then committed suicide.

This is no different from how Yang Qiu killed Wang Fu.

Most people listened without changing their expressions, without making a sound.

Han Fu's expression changed drastically. He wanted to object to Liu Bei's approach, but seeing that no one else spoke up, he didn't dare to be the first to criticize Liu Bei.

Liu Xie remained silent on the throne.

"Han Zhongcheng has made great contributions by beheading the traitor Liu Zhong, but we do not yet know where Liu Zhong's son and his whole family are now. I remember that Liu Zhong had a son."

Liu Bei noticed Han Fu's expression and specifically asked him about it.

Han Fu has already retrieved Liu Zhong's head, but Han Fu did not mention Liu Zhong's family.

"...His son...had already disappeared...during the Yellow Turban Rebellion."

Han Fu stammered in response, looking a bit hot, as her face was already sweating.

"Where's the family?"

Liu Bei continued to press for answers.

"...My family...they...they've also disappeared..."

Han Fu's face was covered in even more sweat.

"Lord Han, this is a court assembly."

Liu Bei kindly reminded him, "His Majesty will reward you for your merits, but if Liu Zhong's family and children reappear, you will be guilty of deceiving Heaven."

"...Yes, I understand...I understand."

Han Fu looked increasingly flustered.

"Very well, now that the traitors have all been dealt with, let us reward those who have rendered meritorious service... Han Zhongcheng pacified Hebei, and for this merit he deserves to be ennobled and appointed as a general. Moreover, Han Zhongcheng once inspected Xizhou and is quite familiar with the affairs of Guanzhong. I hereby recommend Han Fu to be appointed as General of Valiant Might and transferred to the position of Prefect of Jingzhao, so that he may oversee the military affairs of the Three Auxiliary Regions and garrison the old capital Chang'an. I request Your Majesty's approval."

Liu Bei didn't say much, and turned to ask Liu Xie.

Of course, in reality, this is a direct appointment.

"The position of Prefect of the Capital should be filled by two people, not one person..."

Han Fu stopped stuttering this time and spoke fluently.

“Gai Xun has been recommended by Dong Sikong and should be transferred to the position of Taichang to govern the capital. The Prefect of the Capital cannot be without a position for even a day… Han Zhongcheng, please do not decline. This matter cannot be left to you.”

Liu Bei interrupted Han Fu directly.

"This……"

Han Fu looked around; everyone present was one of Liu Bei's subordinates, and none of them spoke.

The officials of Luoyang were still on their way to Linzi, and even Cao Cao and Tao Qian had not yet arrived in Linzi, so no one could speak up for Han Fu.

"I am not capable of leading the Three Auxiliary Regions... I beg Your Majesty to rescind your decree. I am frail and ill, and I request Your Majesty to grant me leave due to illness."

Han Fu gritted her teeth and bowed again.

"Is he sick? Quickly go to the medical school and ask Mr. Hua to take a look. Han Gong is a pillar of the nation, and we cannot afford any mishaps."

Liu Bei immediately gave instructions to his guards.

"Alas... Your Majesty, I recommend Feng Xun, the Chancellor of Ganling, to be appointed Prefect of Jingzhao..."

Han Fu quickly spoke again.

"The war in Xizhou has been quelled. Previously, the jurisdiction of Liangzhou and Sanfu was unclear. His Majesty has decided to re-establish Yongzhou, and Feng Xun will be reassigned as the governor of Yongzhou."

Liu Bei smiled and shook his head: "The Prefect of Jingzhao can only be Lord Han, and His Majesty will also bestow upon Lord Han the title of Marquis of Fuping. Does Lord Han perhaps feel that this reward is insufficient?"

Fuping is a county in Beidi Prefecture—that was Huangfu Song's hometown.

The title of County Marquis, plus the title of Governor of the Capital, and the title of General of Valiant Might, is already a very generous reward, and everyone knows that Han Fu's merits were originally undeserved.

Han Fu didn't know what to say, so she kept quiet and frowned.

Liu Bei then ignored him and continued to bestow other rewards.

This time, all of Liu Bei's men received rewards, because it was not based on military achievements, but on the merit of 'pacifying the world,' which was a collective achievement.

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Zhang He, and Xu Rong were all appointed as colonels and were established as the Five Colonels of the Imperial Guard, but the title of Northern Army was no longer used.

Jia Xu officially assumed the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and Jian Yong took over Han Fu's original position as Vice Censor-in-Chief.

Zhuge Liang, who had rendered meritorious service in protecting the emperor, was granted the honorary title of Councilor, while almost everyone else was promoted one rank.

Liu Bei himself concurrently held the position of Commandant of the Capital Region and continued to serve as Right General and concurrently as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

Since the emperor is in Qingzhou, Qingzhou can certainly be called Sili... If the emperor returns to Luoyang, then Henan will be Sili.

Since Cao Cao had not yet arrived in Linzi, the rewards related to the campaign against the Kong family had not yet been announced, but everyone knew that as long as they went to the State of Lu, everyone would receive a share.

Liu Bei also appointed Cao Ang as a Gentleman Attendant (侍中侍郎) in advance, and gave Cao Song the honorary title of "Special Envoy" and granted him a residence to live in peace. This was Liu Bei's way of showing his stance to Cao Cao.

At the same time, Liu Bei appointed Dong Zhuo as Grand Commander to oversee affairs in Guanzhong—this was not an official position, but rather an assignment.

Dong Zhuo was already the Minister of Works, so there was no need for him to be promoted. He was only given an additional 3,000 households of fiefdom and placed in Meiyang.

Since Dong Zhuo's sons were all dead, and only his granddaughter Dong Bai remained, Liu Bei appointed Dong Bai as the Lady of Meiyang—which was essentially acknowledging the official document sent by Dong Zhuo.

Let's give each other face first, and deal with other matters first.

Huangfu Song served as Commandant of the Guards, and Gai Xun served as Grand Master of Ceremonies; both held official positions in Luoyang.

Han Sui was appointed General of Anqiang, and Ma Teng was appointed General of Andi. Liangzhou and Yongzhou were also re-established according to Dong Zhuo's suggestion, but the appointment of Liangzhou was not mentioned.

The governor of Ji Province has not yet been appointed, but Liu Bei asked Han Fu again, "Lord Han is familiar with the affairs of Ji Province. Do you know who is suitable to govern Ji Province?"

Han Fu shook her head and remained silent.

"In that case, let's select the best performers from each department..."

Liu Bei made the decision immediately: "The deadline is three months, and the appointments for each prefecture and county will be made on the fifteenth of August. I hope you all will work hard."

……

The second important thing is collecting debts.

The world is now 'pacified' and the Han Dynasty will resume its normal rule. The various prefectures that owed taxes last year will need to send people to collect them.

The start date was also set for August 15th. Liu Bei gave them three months; if any prefectures did not voluntarily pay taxes by August 15th, they would be urged to do so through a bidding process.

Moreover, this is not only issuing a government decree, but also issuing a tender order.

The fourth bidding order issued by Liu Bei was to collect debts.

The tender notice had already attracted so many gangsters; gangsters, after all, are good at debt collection and protection money... it's their specialty.

We welcome heroes from all walks of life to come and take on the contract... cough, to come and bid.

You can choose to collect taxes from a certain county or even a certain state. Grain taxes can be converted into money, copper, iron, silk, and various high-quality grains, as long as the value is equivalent.

As for collection methods... well, these are all regions where people don't voluntarily pay taxes, so it doesn't matter.

Just don't rob ordinary people, otherwise the debt collection gangs will have to issue bidding orders themselves.

From leading his army to suppress the rebel forces of Que Xuan, to having Cao Cao lead the campaign against the Kong family, and then to widely issuing "heroic invitations" to collect debts, Liu Bei had been gradually making bidding a routine and regular practice.

—The decree was issued in the name of the emperor, but the bidding order was issued by Liu Bei.

Now, half of the Han Chinese have already adapted to the bidding order.

These three months give all the heroes a chance to prepare, and the underworld also needs time to travel.

……

The third major event was the announcement that the emperor would go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to his ancestors on the winter solstice this year.

The summer solstice is for offering sacrifices to the earth, and the winter solstice is for offering sacrifices to the heavens. Choosing these days is, of course, to communicate with heaven and earth and to pray to the ancestors, signifying that the world is temporarily at peace and that the descendants are following in the footsteps of their ancestors.

At the same time, this is also to give officials from various regions enough time to get to Mount Tai.

The debt collection will also end on the winter solstice.

……

The task of Liu Bei's staff was singular.

Stockpiling grain.

In the past few days, Guo Yuan, who is in charge of the agricultural department, had a big argument with Zhuge Xuan and others.

Previously, Liu Bei used the grain from Qingzhou to support the campaign to wipe out the Kong family of Lu, and entrusted Zhuge Xuan with the logistics.

It was only right for Liu Bei, as the "court," to bear the responsibility of providing provisions and military supplies for Cao Cao's dozens of newly formed "official armies" in battle, and no one objected to that.

However, in order to reduce transportation costs, Zhuge Xuan ordered Tian Yu to use the newly established granaries around Linzi to transfer all the famine relief grain from the entire Qi Commandery.

Moreover, when the soldiers transported grain, they also took away the soybeans that had been reserved for seeds in the granary.

The Changping Granary in Linzi was a cave granary, essentially a large, enclosed, and hardened cave dwelling—a dark environment designed to better preserve grain.

This is a large-scale kiln built by Guoyuan for long-term storage. It is insect-proof, rodent-proof, and moisture-proof. The dark environment can prevent germination and mold, allowing the grain to be stored for a longer time.

Regular county warehouses wouldn't have these kinds of kiln silos.

Ever-normal granaries were originally intended for war preparedness and famine relief, and they should indeed be used when urgently needed in times of war.

Normally, the warehouse manager is responsible for opening and moving the grain out of the warehouse, but this is military business and time is tight. In order to speed up the process, Tian Yu, who is in charge of transportation, organized a lot of laborers to quickly move all the grain out of the warehouse.

Military affairs cannot be delayed by asking for instructions, so the warehouse manager readily handed over the keys.

Other grains were not stored in the warehouse, but soybeans were special because soybean seeds need to be completely protected from light and moisture.

The laborers didn't distinguish between the soybeans and the grain warehouse, and emptied them out as well.

By the time the granary manager realized it, it was too late; Tian Yu's transportation operations were just too damn fast.

By the time Zhuge Xuan received the report and rushed to recall the grain, it had already been transported to the southern part of Taishan Commandery and handed over to Cao Cao.

The removal of the soybean seeds was indeed unintentional. In fact, Zhuge Xuan had said not to use the remaining grain reserves, but the laborers really couldn't tell the difference... Moreover, the granary manager didn't have enough manpower. Tian Yu took over the warehouse and had the laborers help move the grain, which was intended to help and improve efficiency.

But Guo Yuan was extremely angry and berated Zhuge Xuan and Tian Yu several times.

It wasn't a problem with the process, it was because we ran out of soybean seeds!

Summer solstice has arrived, and wheat is already being harvested, but the season for other crops is long over—what to plant in the second half of the year?!
Qi Commandery was the seat of the state and also the place most in need of barley and wheat reserves.

Wheat straw is used as horse feed. Winter wheat is harvested in May, a time when food is scarce. Wheat itself is a staple grain for famine relief.

(Note: Millet, sorghum, wheat, rice, and beans, except for wheat, are all sown in spring and harvested in autumn. Only wheat is sown in winter and harvested in summer, serving as a life-saving food during the lean season.)
State capitals are generally places where wheat is grown in large quantities.

Because large tracts of official farmland along the Yellow River in Jinan, Pingyuan, Le'an and other places were entirely planted with millet and sorghum, half of the official farmland in Qi County used a combination of wheat and soybeans.

That is, planting wheat and soybeans, harvesting wheat in May, and immediately replanting soybeans, which are then harvested in August or September.

But now the soybean seeds are gone, and other counties haven't kept that many soybean seeds, so there's no way to support Qi County.

Besides the official settlements, other wealthy families or self-cultivating farmers also grew soybeans, but they would not keep extra soybean seeds because soybeans need to be stored in complete darkness, and not every family had a cellar.

This will directly result in half of the official farms in Qi County having nothing to plant for the second half of the year...

Apart from soybeans, summer is no longer suitable for planting other staple crops.

Currently, the area of ​​official settlements in Qi County accounts for almost half of all cultivated land—after the King of Qi was deposed, many powerful clans of the former Qi state were purged, and half of the land became official settlements.

In other words, half of the entire Qi Commandery, a quarter of its area—equivalent to the land of two counties—will have nothing to plant in the second half of the year…

A small mistake, or even something that wasn't a mistake, led to this result.

Of course, Liu Bei ultimately took responsibility for this matter himself.

It was reasonable for Zhuge Xuan to use the Ever-Normal Granary to ensure the army's logistics.

Tian Yu was only in charge of transportation. He, his soldiers, and the laborers were unaware that the dark cave contained the seeds of the current season's beans. It was understandable that they wanted to transport the beans as quickly as possible to avoid affecting the war effort.

It was only right for the granary manager to open the granary quickly and report back before delaying military affairs.

The only problem was that the granary manager accepted Tian Yu's request for laborers to help move the grain out of the warehouse and failed to stop the grain from being moved out in time—but this was hard to avoid. There were so many warehouses; if only the warehouse workers were allowed to move the grain, who knows how long it would take.

During combat, military supplies cannot be requested through multiple levels of approval; delays could result in many deaths.

The biggest problem actually lies in communication and cultural level.

There are many warehouses. When Guoyuan set up the warehouses, he put up a sign at the entrance of each warehouse, which stated the storage method and the type of materials stored.

If you could read, you wouldn't move when you saw the words "planting grain," because these days, causing losses to grain production by human intervention is punishable by death.

(According to the "Laws and Ordinances of the Second Year": Stealing cattle, horses, crops, fodder... all shall be punished by dismemberment. When the agricultural losses exceed the value of a single ox, the punishment is dismemberment by five horses, which is displayed to the public. This was a law promulgated by Empress Lü. Horses are calculated as three horses and one ox, fodder is fodder, and crops are crops and grains.)
However, most of the soldiers were illiterate, and it was impossible for the officials to stand guard over one warehouse after another to explain things. There weren't enough warehouse managers either—apart from the warehouse manager himself, the other warehouse workers were also illiterate.

Communication is inconvenient; it's impossible to report directly like you would by making a phone call.

The root of the problem is that the vast majority of people are illiterate.

But how do we solve this?
A nationwide literacy campaign?
It's unrealistic in the short term...

There's no problem with soybean seeds right now; it's too late to get or buy them from other places. We can only use those fields to grow vegetables and pasture grass for now. Wild vegetables and medicinal herbs are also fine, as long as they're suitable for summer planting—at least they won't be left barren.

To eradicate this problem, the only option is to optimize management processes as much as possible. This is why it is essential to strictly adhere to procedures once the scale of operations expands.

First, the types of warehouses were completely separated: Taicang, Changpingcang, county and prefectural official warehouses, and military warehouses were completely separated.

The military warehouses belong to the General's Office's Supply Department. When supplies are needed, they are purchased in advance from other warehouses through a low-price procurement process.

Taicang was managed by the Taicang Magistrate; county granaries were managed by the Agricultural Commandant; and Ever-Normal Granaries were managed by the Prefectural Governor's Office—all were managed separately.

Apart from military supplies, all grain was not transported long distances, but at most to the prefecture level. As long as the grain in the Ever-Normal Granary was satisfied, all other surplus grain would be purchased by the Military Supplies Department.

The military's field training exercises will also include an additional training item—transporting grain.

Since the troops need to eat even when they're not working, there's no waste if we don't use civilian labor.

The military warehouse would pre-store a large amount of supplies, and a separate military supplies manager would be appointed. The position was not given a separate name, but was simply called 'Quartermaster' or 'Quarter Officer', and would be directly responsible to Liu Bei.

The current quartermaster is Tian Yu—he's been scolded for days, so he's definitely the most attentive administrator.

So Tian Yu has been buying supplies everywhere these past few days.

Tian Yu was in charge of spending money, while Liu Bei was in charge of collecting debts. They were essentially giving each other IOUs – since Liu Bei had spent the money, he naturally had to ask the 'court' for funding.

Moreover, the imperial court hasn't allocated any funds for Liu Bei's pacification efforts over the years...

Although Liu Bei only needs to transfer funds from one hand to the other, the problem is that the imperial court is currently short of money, as last year's taxes have not yet been collected.

Of course, an IOU is required.

Or... you could say it was Liu Bei lending money to the imperial court.

Based on this, Liu Bei felt that he should open a bank and promote savings and commercial loan services.

Meanwhile, the agricultural college in the northern suburbs should also showcase its research findings.

Comic books were used for cultural development and literacy campaigns, and of course they can also be used for the development of productive forces.

The latest achievement of the Agricultural College is not high technology, but the "Agricultural Strategy," a name given by Liu Bei.

This is a reference book specifically for teaching farming – it's all pictures, demonstrating in a process-oriented way, you just need to follow each step, improving farm tools, making tools, selecting and cultivating seeds, soil conditioning and rotation... it even draws the weather, landforms and which environment each crop is adapted to.

However, the woodblocks haven't been engraved yet, so of course, they haven't been printed.

(End of this chapter)