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

Chapter 335 The Censor of Tax Supervision
After the morning assembly, the complete tender order was issued.

"...Heroes from all over the land are invited to take up the task of collecting taxes owed by various prefectures. The one who collects the most taxes will be appointed as the governor of Yuzhou. The top ten will be eligible to compete for the position of prefect."

"If the taxes to be recovered are paid in the form of livestock such as horses and cattle brought to Linzi, the amount can be doubled. If they are paid in cash, the amount can be halved."

"Those who wish to accept the contract, please go to the Right General's residence to receive the order."

"Those who lack military supplies may borrow them from the Right General's residence. The Regent Minister and Right General Liu Bei is willing to generously support heroes from all over the land to serve the country, and hopes that these heroes will protect the Imperial Censor who oversees taxation as he travels through the various prefectures..."

This time, Liu Bei didn't even need to send people to various places separately; the governors, officials, and county clerks would naturally distribute them to their respective regions.

Moreover, hundreds of "tax supervisors" selected from Liu Bei's army are ready to go.

The spies of unknown origin who had been waiting in Linzi also quickly fled in all directions.

Several transfer orders were issued simultaneously with the tender order.

Guo Yuan was transferred to the position of Chancellor of Jibei.

Zhang Liao was transferred to the position of Commandant of Dongjun.

These two commanderies belonged to Yanzhou, but Cao Cao had no objection to it. After all, the former Chancellor of Jibei, Bao Xin, and the Prefect of Dongjun, Qiao Mao, were both traitors and friends of Cao Cao... Cao Cao wanted to avoid suspicion.

Zhuge Xuan was transferred to Ji Province as the Agricultural Commandant, stationed in Qinghe, and was responsible for recruiting displaced people to settle and cultivate land.

Xu Rong was transferred to Youzhou and appointed as the Prefect of Youbeiping.

These two orders were issued to deal with the Bohai Kingdom, which was likely to cause problems, and to send Xu Rong to Youzhou to strengthen the defense against foreign tribes.

Xu Huang was transferred to Wei Commandery to garrison troops. This was ostensibly to oversee the tax collection in Hebei, but in reality, it was to liaise with the Black Mountain and White Wave tribes.

Liu Bei was rapidly expanding his territory, increasing the area of ​​land he controlled, and making it easier to suppress any dissent at any time.

At the same time, this was also to attract displaced people from the surrounding area at any time.

Liu Bei was well aware of the consequences of launching a large-scale tax collection campaign using a bidding order, and he needed to prepare in advance to receive the displaced people.

The officials sent to various places to seize territory were not his own retainers, because it was harvest season and Liu Bei's retainers and his own troops were busy collecting land rent separately.

After collecting the land rent, they still had to wait to receive various supplies.

Mi Zhu's promised iron ore has already been delivered in part, Tao Qian's promised grain is also being transported, and Cao Cao will also send some iron ore over.

Dong Zhuo's side is quite far, but next month he will also be transporting a large amount of money and horses along with Dong Bai... I estimate they will all be low-quality money and inferior horses.

The tender issued by Liu Bei was also a notice regarding the intended use of these supplies—in reality, it was an announcement of loans to various bidders.

Liu Bei always only did business with big clients...

The supplies they obtained from the bigwigs were intended to be lent to the heroes who participated in the bidding and tax collection, aside from the cattle and horses they needed themselves.

Yes, funding, lending, or even venture capital are all acceptable.

Those who participated in the bidding were certainly capable, but most of them lacked a solid foundation—which is why they used this method to become officials.

If you collect a lot of taxes and become a prefect, you'll need to find a powerful patron to avoid retaliation.

Liu Bei was certainly a great ally.

Using government bonds to attract investment is actually a way to bind a powerful and unshakeable conglomerate. Moreover, investors like Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao, and Tao Qian only receive dividends, do not hold shares, do not interfere with operations, and even help with business...

Sometimes the investment you receive isn't necessarily money; the investor's reputation is often the biggest asset.

The value of receiving investment from top-tier capital or state-owned enterprises is more important than the money itself. In fact, many times the investment is not actually made in cash; the goodwill appreciation brought about by the news of investment from top-tier capital can directly increase the valuation by dozens of times.

And this reputational capital can certainly be put out for further investment.

But what if the partner is not good at business and loses money?
Of course, we should help entrepreneurs, provide technical guidance, and endorse and support them.

Therefore, a "Tax Supervisor" must accompany the emperor with the imperial decree for collecting taxes.

The first person to arrive after seeing the announcement was Liu Pi, a member of the Runan underworld who had participated in multiple bidding processes.

Liu Pi was a member of the Yellow Turban Rebellion and should have been considered one of Yuan Wei's men before.

Of course, background doesn't matter anymore, since Liu Pi is now the military commander of Runan...

This was actually a nominal military officer, equivalent to a separate commander, but without any actual affiliation.

Generally speaking, titles like "military commander" or "soldier commander" are specifically used to appoint members of large clans or organized crime groups—but at least they have been legitimized.

How many units does Commander Liu currently have?

To avoid a subprime mortgage crisis, Liu Bei issued loans based on groups—only groups with more than 100 members could apply for loans, and groups that had previously participated in the bidding process had priority.

“There are plenty of men, more than three thousand, but we lack money, provisions, and weapons. That’s why we came to inquire after seeing the general’s proclamation…”

Liu Pi rubbed his hands together as he answered.

"Three thousand... Is Commander Liu going to collect overdue taxes from Runan or somewhere else?"

Liu Bei noted down the numbers—asking Liu Pi about the number of people was also to record the strength of each side. "The intention is naturally to attack Runan."

Liu Pi nodded.

"Very well, the imperial court will send two tax supervisors to your army so that news can be relayed in a timely manner. If you need reinforcements, the tax supervisors will help you communicate with the other armies."

Liu Bei continued, "Based on your and your three thousand brothers' trust, I will lend you a thousand weapons first. You can find a way to take them back yourself."

"Once the Imperial Censor joins your army, you will have the right to take grain and fodder from the county granary in Runan. The Imperial Censor will record the consumption of Liu's army. If anyone objects, the Imperial Censor will also levy taxes on their money and provisions according to the King's decree..."

"Three months later, Liu Junshuai will need to transport horses, cattle, and other livestock of equal value to Qingzhou to repay the expenses, without interest."

"If livestock cannot be transported, repayment can be made in the form of grain, iron, silk, or other goods, but interest of 50% will be charged on the goods."

The collateral is the credit value of all the current members of this group. This is a high-risk credit loan, but it is not based on individuals, but on the group.

Loans aren't about money; they're about weapons, connections, and prestige—that's what gangsters crave most.

"General You is kind and benevolent; I am deeply grateful..."

Liu Pi thought for a moment and then asked, "However, most county officials are in cahoots, and the county granaries may not have any grain. I wonder if the wealth of the local gentry and merchants in Runan can be used?"

"As long as the tax inspector approves, then it represents the imperial court..."

Liu Bei shrugged: "However, all the tax inspectors have been vagrants and cannot bear to see the harm done to the common people... Moreover, please protect them. If the tax inspectors do not return by the winter solstice, you will be guilty of treason."

"Yes, I will certainly repay the general's debt..."

Liu Pi understood; this was legal robbery.

Even if the gangsters didn't repay Liu Bei after receiving the benefits, it wouldn't matter... it wouldn't cause a subprime mortgage crisis.

After all, Liu Bei only provided some outdated weapons, and Liu Pi was allowed to take whatever food and supplies he could find nearby. Moreover, Liu Bei would send a "representative of the investor" – that is, to invest in a name and background, but without requiring Liu Pi to join Liu Bei's camp.

This is not an attempt to recruit Liu Pi; it will neither put pressure on him nor cause resentment. It does not involve a master-servant relationship; it is simply an equal partnership.

Liu Pi has manpower; all he needs is enough weapons and a legitimate reason to access the treasuries of various counties in Runan.

The tax inspector was essentially a military supervisor, but not a true military supervisor, so there would be no conflict, because they represented the court to provide Liu Pi with convenience and legal certification.

Investing doesn't necessarily mean putting money in your pocket.

Commanding the world's armies doesn't necessarily require people to defect to you.

After this job is done, military commanders like Liu Pi will naturally defect to the imperial court.

To 'take' money and grain from various counties and collect taxes, one would inevitably offend a large number of officials and powerful families in Runan, and thus must find a powerful backer.

……

After Liu Pi left with two tax inspectors, heroes from all walks of life came to visit in an endless stream.

In addition to Zheng Bao, Huang Shao, Chen Jian, Lei Bu, and others, there are also new faces such as He Yi and He Man from Yingchuan, and Zu Lang from Danyang.

There was also an old acquaintance I hadn't seen in a long time, Jiang Yiqu.

Jiang Yiqu's troops are currently in Anping, Jizhou. He plans to go to Bohai to take the lead. Liu Bei is providing him with military equipment and food supplies, but the food supplies are transported from Pingyuan, not for him to take locally.

Besides these underworld bosses, there were also some self-proclaimed "extraordinary people" who considered themselves to have great eloquence, connections, and fame, and they all came to accept the orders. Jia Xu received these people, but since it was a personal matter, he did not provide them with any financial assistance.

The support given to each person is actually different, and the needs of these people are also different, but one thing is the same: they each took two tax inspectors with them—inspectors are always sent out in pairs.

The tax inspectors were all Liu Bei's personal guards, and they would also become the link between these underworld bosses, as well as observers of the various groups' legal robberies.

Before long, armed tax collection movements began in various places.

……

Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao, Tao Qian, and others quickly returned to their respective territories.

They've just returned to their own territory, and they've already issued secondary bonds...

In other words, they followed Liu Bei's approach and got other powerful families or officials to invest in them.

Like Dong Zhuo, they all quickly grasped the core idea that 'if Liu Bei can do it, so can I'm doing it'...

Cao Cao acted cleverly; he issued a "province bond" based on the tax revenue of Yan Province.

He had the Xiahou family, Ding family, Chengshi Li family, Rencheng Lü family, and others raise funds to purchase the grain, quickly transferring the investment of 400,000 shi of grain to each family, and even raising an additional 400,000 shi... Cao Cao calculated that the tax revenue of Yanzhou would be about 800,000 shi.

Tao Qian took a more drastic approach, not using any collateral whatsoever... He didn't really understand the situation, but he still issued a secondary bond in an attempt to transfer the 300,000 shi investment, though it's estimated to be ineffective.

Dong Zhuo planned to have officials invest in the Dong Group on a voluntary basis, promising double the annual interest. Those who invested would receive Dong Zhuo's protection, while those who did not would be targeted—this was actually a traditional approach to political donations.

Only Mi Zhu, who truly understood business operations and whose family had a long history of lending money, did not engage in secondary debt—because he was originally a plant arranged by Liu Bei…

(End of this chapter)