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

Chapter 336 The Calamity of Nanyang
Before long, the entire giant man was like a handful of peppercorns thrown into a boiling oil pot, boiling and exploding.

Small-scale fighting occurred in most states and counties.

Even in the few places where no fighting has occurred, various disputes are taking place...

Gangsters use a variety of methods to collect taxes, not just robbery.

Of course, this is not the most intense moment yet. At present, it is just the first time that the entire Han Dynasty has experienced this reverse operation of "the underworld collecting taxes from the governor", and everyone is a little unaccustomed to it.

Even the gangsters themselves are finding it a bit strange...

Actually, the fact that there's unrest everywhere makes it the least likely place to escalate into a major war—because if every household is on fire, then no one can send reinforcements.

In addition, it is harvest time, so everyone has to prioritize harvesting grain.

Qingzhou is also collecting grain rent at this time, and it is very efficient, and it will be finished soon.

Liu Bei's main source of food was the share of grain from military farms. The proportion of military farms varied in different counties, but overall it accounted for roughly one-third of the entire Qingzhou.

However, the revenue generated accounts for 90% of the entire Qingzhou's revenue.

Military settlements are mostly large tracts of good land, because these lands all came from the former wealthy clan farms that had been cleared out.

According to rough estimates, more than 600,000 people have become tenants in military settlements.

There were initially over 100,000 followers, resettled Yellow Turbans from Qingzhou, farmers who lost their masters after the purge of the powerful clans of Qingzhou, and tenant farmers who switched allegiance from the current powerful clans of Qingzhou.

Collecting land rent is actually much easier than collecting taxes, since the leaders of each military settlement are Liu Bei's subordinates, and the military settlements are concentrated in one area, so the tenants will not resist paying rent.

This is also the biggest advantage of military settlements.

In fact, military settlements do not lead to increased production, and they have serious long-term consequences...

But at least for now, military settlements can continuously guarantee logistical supplies, enabling most of the poor to survive by becoming official tenant farmers. The army itself is a natural manager and protector, making the system more stable.

There is definitely some embezzlement when collecting rent, but not much, because it is easy to check. You can find out the problem by simply estimating the ratio of output to land rent.

Even if embezzlement occurs, it will not cause a large deficit, at least not to the point that it would make it impossible for ordinary people to survive, like the grain tax collected by prefectures and counties.

This is also why Liu Bei temporarily set aside corruption and focused only on improving people's livelihoods.

Without officials and powerful clans acting as intermediaries, military settlements could simply determine whether the local military settlement commander should be buried in the ground by observing whether the tenants had enough to eat.

Cao Cao has already begun to promote military farming in the Qiao County area. Cao Cao is indeed very good at learning. He has developed double stirrups, armored cavalry, and cavalry spears. Military farming is also following suit.

However, Cao Cao would probably find it difficult to emulate Liu Bei's military settlement model.

Liu Bei's military settlements operate according to the existing military promotion system, which has been in operation for ten years. The original veterans and retainers have now mostly become military commanders or marquises.

Officers like Guo Yuan, who were in charge of agricultural affairs, were actually supervisors. The actual management of the military farms was done by Liu Bei's own troops, with elite soldiers serving as farm leaders. The soldiers managed the tenants, who in turn provided food and supplies.

At the same time, new recruits were promoted from the tenant farmers and advanced according to the military merit-based promotion system.

The main force is fully dedicated to its duties, so its numbers have only increased slowly and the number of soldiers has never been particularly large.

On the surface, Liu Bei seemed to be somewhat 'harsh' on his subordinates, failing to reward them for their achievements on several occasions. However, this was actually because Liu Bei's soldiers had their own independent promotion system.

Accepting too many additional imperial rewards would undermine the foundation that has already been established.

Besides, Liu Bei's subordinates were promoted very quickly.

So far, all of Liu Bei's subordinates are officials with real power, holding positions with a salary of over two thousand shi (a unit of grain measure).

Even Mi Fang and Shi Ren have become captains.

The positions of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Vice Minister of the Censorate, Agricultural Commandant of each prefecture, Commandant of the Imperial Guards, Military Supervisor, Personnel Officer, and Tax Officer in charge of the prefectures and counties under Liu Bei's actual control were all given to his brothers. Liu Bei did not give his subordinates empty titles; they were all core officials with real power.

Liu Bei's main army consisted entirely of professional soldiers. Liu Bei provided their equipment, food, and pay. Each family was allocated land, and everyone was responsible for managing military farms. There were clear promotion paths, and no one could withhold military merits.

Similarly, it may seem that Liu Bei's troops did not fight frequently and did not send out troops many times... In fact, Liu Bei's main force always had a stable pace of sending out troops to fight every year, and when they were not fighting, they were managing military farms.

This was neither a system of granting land based on military merit nor a system of conscripted soldiers—Liu Bei did not practice hereditary status, and there were no military households or garrison households.

The current logic of military settlements actually treats the soldiers of the garrison as 'agricultural officials,' which are appointed under management authority.

Starting as a tenant farmer (laborer in the military settlements), then becoming a new recruit (transport soldier in the military settlements), a regular soldier in the main force (also serving as the head of the military settlement), a guard or squad leader (also serving as the head of the military settlement), a county garrison commander, a military commander (responsible for a region within the prefecture), a captain (responsible for the military settlements within the prefecture)...

The military settlement management was aligned with Liu Bei's army's subordinates, and the channels for upward mobility were completely open.

In any era, there are not many bosses who can make their promotion methods open and transparent, especially those who are fair to both superiors and subordinates. Currently, there is only one such boss in the entire Han Dynasty.

Cao Cao couldn't learn this system in a short time, because it required completely forgetting the aristocratic class, forgetting promotion and recommendation, forgetting everyone's status, and re-establishing a complete promotion system from commoners to officials with salaries of two thousand shi (a unit of grain).

This system can coexist with the aristocratic recommendation system, but it cannot be achieved overnight; it can only be formed through long-term implementation and habit formation.

Moreover, this actually complements the policy examination system for selecting officials.

Liu Bei did not engage in any class struggle... nor did he intend to establish any "ism".

He simply regarded the common people, the poor scholars, the powerful, and even kings and nobles as the same thing—human beings.

The Celestial Master teaches without discrimination.

This was originally about destruction before construction, but Liu Bei didn't want to destroy the vitality of the Han people; he wanted to destroy something else entirely.

For example, the underwear of a prestigious family, the authority of a high-ranking official, the virtue of a renowned scholar, and the barriers that have stood for millennia... and so on.

Now, a nationwide tax demand has been launched, with both the legitimate and criminal factions going to local governors to collect debts. This is a deliberate attempt to create a situation where "the people are making officials pay taxes," a reverse operation, in order to make people see these things that are breaking down as soon as possible.

Of course, this will also produce some other effects.

...Nanyang, Wancheng.

"The regular taxes from last year and this year have all been converted into cash and silk, and there is quite a lot of wealth. Be careful on the way. You can send it to Pei State first and ask General Cao to send more men..."

At the city gate, Prefect Yang Xu was seeing off the transport convoy.

"Your Excellency is unwell, please go back and rest. We will depart now."

Nanyang Shangji bid farewell to Yang Xu and prepared to leave the city with his caravan.

Yang Xu's health was indeed poor. He was not yet fifty years old, but he was already severely hunched over and had to use a cane to walk.

Nanyang has been relatively stable under Yang Xu's rule for the past two years. After receiving Liu Bei's tax collection order, Yang Xu immediately allocated money and silk from the treasury. Last year, Luoyang was in great turmoil and no taxes were paid, so it was necessary to make up for the shortfall.

Nanyang's tax revenue has always been the highest among the 105 prefectures in the country, even more than Luoyang's. Even when converted into money and silk, it still filled hundreds of large carts.

However, as long as it is transported to Cao Cao first, Cao Cao can transfer it to Linzi by waterway, which is not too troublesome.

There were too many carriages and horses, causing some congestion at the city gate.

At that moment, a cavalry caravan galloped in from outside the city.

As Yang Xuben was about to enter the city, he saw cavalry approaching and turned back to greet them.

"Lord Yang...why didn't you escort the tax money to Luoyang, but instead sent it all the way to Linzi?"

It turned out to be Sun Jian who brought cavalry with him.

"Sun Wentai, why are you in Nanyang instead of handling affairs in Changsha?"

Yang Xu clearly didn't have a good impression of Sun Jian.

“Nanyang is prosperous… I, Sun, am being pressed by the imperial court to pay my overdue taxes, but the treasury is empty, so I have no choice but to come and beg Lord Yang for a loan…”

Sun Jian stared intently at the large cart at the city gate: "Lord Yang, would you be willing to provide some financial and material assistance?"

"Hmph... What does it matter to me if you're broke in Changsha?"

Yang Xu said irritably, "Sun Wentai, if you recruited fewer bandits and did more good work, how could you be short of money and food?!"

Sun Jian turned his face, a cold glint in his eyes: "Lord Yang, do you look down on me?"

"Hmph... What crime did Wang Rui, the governor of Jingzhou, commit? Why did Lord Wang die?"

Yang Xu indeed looked down on Sun Jian: "Who were the bandits who raided Nanyang last year? You, Sun Wentai, are probably involved too, aren't you?"

"……seek death!"

Sun Jian was furious and drew his spear to stab.

The tip of the spear stopped in front of Yang Xu.

Yang Xu remained unmoved, still glaring at Sun Jian: "You dare to kill me? Cough cough... Come on, try it!"

At the city gate, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Sun Jian ultimately did not dare to stab.

Sun Jian glared at Yang Xu with resentment, then waved his hand and led his army south.

After Sun Jian's cavalry disappeared from the road, the clerk asked Yang Xu, "Lord, shall we still transport the tax revenue?"

"Continue transporting... cough..."

Yang Xu nodded: "Speed ​​up, lest that scoundrel come back and cause trouble again... Go and ask General Right and Cao Zhengdong to send troops to kill Sun Wentai."

The transport convoy traveled eastward along the highway.

……

That night, a large band of robbers appeared outside Ye County, northeast of Wancheng. The tax money being transported by Nanyang Prefecture was robbed, and more than half of the more than 800 people in the transport team were killed. The Nanyang officials were all killed, and only a hundred or so soldiers escaped back to Nanyang to report the news.

Upon hearing this, Yang Xu was filled with hatred and anger, and his anger overwhelmed him, causing him to fall ill and bedridden.

The next day, a large number of bandits attacked Wancheng again, and the leader was said to be named Wang Sheng.

The hundred or so soldiers who "escaped" back to Nanyang last night actually opened the city gates from inside the city.

Wancheng was occupied by thousands of bandits in a very short time. The county troops that rushed from various counties were unable to come to the rescue in time and could only surround Wancheng.

However, Yang Xu was kidnapped by bandits inside the city, and the county troops dared not attack the city at all.

A few days later, Sun Jian reappeared outside Wancheng, claiming that he had come to reinforce the city after hearing the news. He then entered the city alone to negotiate with the bandits, saying that he wanted to save Yang's life.

In just half an hour, Sun Jian claimed that he had reached an agreement with the bandits in the city, and that he would use Nanyang's money and grain to incorporate Wang Sheng's bandit soldiers in the city, and brought out Yang Xu, who was seriously ill and injured.

Entering the city alone to "rescue" Yang Xu, he was considered a hero by everyone...

But Yang Xu didn't count.

"Sun Jian... traitor... traitor!"

Yang Xu was already on his deathbed, but he still cursed Sun Jian.

Sun Jian smiled and did not retaliate. He simply turned around and led the bandits in the city to transport all the wealth of Nanyang out of the city.

Yang Xu was already seriously ill, and was further afflicted by the bandits, suffering severe injuries. In his anger and resentment, he died shortly after Sun Jian left.

(End of this chapter)