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

Chapter 337 The Road
Jingzhou, Xiling County, Jiangxia Commandery.

Yuan Shu appeared here.

In the past two years, Yuan Shu has been wandering around the Jianghuai region like a street urchin.

However, his actual residence was still in his hometown of Runan—bordered by Nanyang to the west and Jiangxia to the south.

Although Yuan Shu was appointed General Who Destroys the Enemy after killing Que Xuan, he did not concurrently hold any administrative positions such as Prefect.

Right now, the bidding process is focused on collecting taxes, and since Yuan Shu isn't serving as governor, he has a good business opportunity to pursue.

In fact, Yuan Shu did not initially intend to get involved in the tax collection business. It was Zhao Qian, the governor of Runan, who came to ask Yuan Shu for help, saying that Liu Pi, the military commander of Runan, was causing a rebellion and he wanted Yuan Shu to help drive Liu Pi away.

But Yuan Shu knew Liu Pi, who had previously worked for the Yuan family...

Upon inquiring with Liu Pi, Yuan Shu learned that Liu Pi had robbed several wealthy households in various counties to demand back taxes from Runan. If Runan did not pay the outstanding taxes, Liu Pi would continue to plunder the powerful clans and fortified villages in Runan's counties...

Ostensibly it was for "collecting tax revenue," but in reality it was legal robbery.

Liu Pi didn't even take over the tax arrears from Runan; he only sent people to "escort and supervise" the process, letting Runan submit their own tax payments to Linzi...

Zhao Qian had already compromised and was willing to pay the tax, but the tax money couldn't be transported out of Runan at all. It was robbed by bandits as soon as it left the prefecture's city of Zhian.

The robbery was carried out by Huang Shao—he and Liu Pi were in cahoots, and the people who helped "escort and supervise" were obviously insiders.

Yuan Shu saw this as a good idea and immediately discussed cooperation with Liu Pi.

Liu Pi agreed to give Yuan Shu 30% of the profits, not to harass Yuan's businesses and family members, and to allow Yuan Shu to be mentioned in case of trouble...

Then Zhao Qian immediately abandoned his post and fled.

At this time, Liu Pi was still robbing the powerful clans and fortified villages in Runan. In any case, Zhao Qian was paying taxes himself, and Liu Pi was paying taxes for him, so it didn't affect the business. The tax supervisor was by his side.

All they had to do was rob a few more wealthy households, collect all the taxes owed, and then return a lot of cattle and horses to Liu Bei. The tax inspectors did calculate the losses of provisions and military supplies as loans, but they only calculated losses, not income; they didn't care how many wealthy households they robbed…

Because the plundering of wealthy households... well, it should be called 'requisitioning grain and military supplies on the spot' was originally directed by the tax supervisor, which was Liu Bei's trusted guards who designated the target.

Making the powerful clans pay protection money is fine too; I've done that kind of work before in Jizhou.

This was actually a large-scale sweep. People like Liu Pi, who could quickly understand the situation, naturally gained the most benefits—this was a license for private plunder, but who exactly to plunder was controlled by Liu Bei's people.

Of course, there will be times when things get out of control, but few gangs will turn down profits until they've made enough.

Few people would risk their lives when they could openly reap benefits—the tax inspector was a license to plunder, and if the inspector did not return, or did not repay the debt or taxes, then the tax collection group was considered to be committing treason.

If they're plotting rebellion, they should just issue a tender notice; naturally, other clever groups will bid for it.

There are certainly those with poor comprehension skills, who honestly collect taxes without robbing; there are also those who are weak and are wiped out by the governors of various counties or the armed forces of powerful clans—but regardless of whether they can collect taxes, at least they can restrain the various counties and prevent large-scale coordinated actions.

Yuan Shu, on the other hand, possessed both strong comprehension and practical skills, and was also adept at applying knowledge to new situations—a testament to his family's scholarly traditions…

Liu Pi wasn't particularly strong, so Yuan Shu collected 30% of his profits as protection money, and they operated as a joint venture...

Yuan Shu himself went to Jiangxia to open up new markets.

"General Yuan, Jiangxia has always been poor, and we can't collect much tax at all..."

Liu Xiang, the governor of Jiangxia, pleaded poverty before Yuan Shu: "I'm already making efforts, but last year's taxes are due, and this year's regular taxes are also due. I'm afraid I can't raise enough money for two years' worth of taxes..."

Liu Xiang was from Lingling, the son of Liu Yao, the governor of Cangwu, and like Liu Biao, he was a renowned scholar from the imperial clan.

After Zhao Ci's uprising in Jiangxia, Liu Xiang was appointed as the governor of Jiangxia to quell the rebellion.

Zhao Ci attacked Nanyang but was killed by Yang Xu. However, Jiangxia was still in chaos. It took Liu Xiang more than two years to barely pacify Jiangxia. Jiangxia is indeed very poor at present.

"Enough with the nonsense... Pay up your taxes owed in Jiangxia first. I'm only concerned with collecting last year's back taxes; this year's regular taxes are none of my business."

Yuan Shu ignored Liu Xiang's complaints of poverty: "You yourself transport the tax money owed last year to Linzi... You'd better not dawdle. My army has spent a lot of money and supplies on this mission. Every extra day we delay, we'll have to requisition more money, supplies, and military provisions locally..."

For Yuan Shu, whether Jiangxia paid taxes or not was irrelevant; he was just there to collect protection money...

The person who recovers the most back taxes will be appointed Governor of Yu Province. This was announced publicly in the imperial court, and Yuan Shu felt that this position was very suitable for him.

For other tax collection gangs, it may take a lot of effort and many methods.

But for Yuan Shu, this was simply a matter of demanding it in person. Yuan Shu was originally a powerful figure in the Jianghuai underworld, the leader of the criminal alliance…

Liu Pi and Huang Shao were formerly Yuan Kui's men, while Lei Bu, Chen Lan, and other underworld figures were originally Yuan Shu's men. Zheng Bao, Mei Qian, and other bandits from Huainan were also acquainted with Yuan Shu...

In addition, there was the legacy of his family's four generations of high-ranking officials—many of the prefects of various counties and powerful clans had once been protégés of the Yuan family. Now, Yuan Shu was the only heir of the Yuan family. Even if those protégés and former officials did not like Yuan Shu, they would at least give him some face.

"Yes, yes, yes... General Yuan has given the order, how could I dare disobey? I will immediately prepare money, provisions, wine, and meat to reward the general for the troops..."

Liu Xiang said with a mournful face, "But, General, the richest place in the world is Nanyang. If you want to collect taxes, you should go to Nanyang!"

Clearly, Liu Xiang was also very perceptive and understood Yuan Shu's thoughts.

"Hmph... I've heard that thieves have appeared in Nanyang, and that Sun Wentai has recruited those thieves. I've also heard that Sun Wentai has taken all of Nanyang's wealth... Nanyang is already broke, so what use is it for me to go there? Am I supposed to go and provide relief to the poor?"

Yuan Shu was clearly well-informed; of course, such important news spread very quickly.

"Since the general knows about this, why don't you go and find Sun Wentai?"

Liu Xiang continued, "General Yuan, Jiangxia is only inhabited by bandits, river pirates, and barbarians, so no matter how much we pressure them, they won't be able to produce much wealth. But what Sun Wentai gained from Nanyang is immeasurable..."

"...Well, once we have enough military supplies in Jiangxia, I will go to find Sun Wentai...Sun Wentai should have passed through Jiangxia on his way back to Changsha, right? Do you know how much wealth he acquired from Nanyang?"

Yuan Shu thought about it and agreed. Nanyang, a single prefecture, was equivalent to a province. If Sun Jian obtained the Nanyang treasury, it would definitely be much richer than Jiangxia.

“There were thousands of carriages and horses, and the ruts were very deep, so they must have been carrying valuable gold items.”

Liu Xiang also seemed somewhat envious: "General, Sun Wentai rescued Nanyang and persuaded the river pirate Wang Sheng to accept the amnesty in just two or three days. In such a rush, Sun Wentai could not possibly have taken away Nanyang's grain supplies; what he took away should have been all the wealth from the treasury."

The "treasury" in Nanyang actually refers to a copper and iron vault, and there was more than one. It contained copper ingots, copper coins, steel, ironware and other items.

Nanyang was the metallurgical center of the Han Dynasty. The official mint and the largest steel plant in the country were located in the Wan County area. In the early years when the country was relatively stable, the Nanyang Iron Official, with a salary of 600 shi (a unit of grain), was the most lucrative position in the Han Dynasty, even more so than the Nine Ministers.

"Was the thief in Nanyang Wang Sheng?"

Yuan Shu suddenly remembered the name Liu Xiang had mentioned: "That's right... Wang Sheng is also from Fuchun... What a Sun Wentai! It seems that sending people on the streets is already a common practice!"

Wang Sheng had served in Yuan Shu's army and had even volunteered to be an inside agent for Que Xuan. After Que Xuan's death, Wang Sheng disappeared. Liu Bei had reminded Yuan Shu to investigate this man.

Now that he heard that the bandit in Nanyang was Wang Sheng, Yuan Shu naturally knew what was going on.

“General, Wang Sheng is a river bandit, and he may indeed have some past connection with Sun Jian. Sun Jian is inherently a bandit, but he is brave and often spends money to recruit soldiers. Now his troops are strong and well-equipped, and none of us dare to speak out…”

Liu Xiang once again urged Yuan Shu to leave Jiangxia as soon as possible: "General, your family has been high-ranking officials for four generations, and you have the support of the people. You also have a powerful army at your disposal. You should be able to subdue Changsha. Why waste your time in Jiangxia?"

"Moreover, Sun Jian has thousands of carts of gold and silver. If we arrive late, Sun Jian will surely distribute the gold and silver to recruit soldiers, or he may offer the gold and silver to the Right General... At that time, the General may not be able to do anything to him."

That's true. Yuan Shu thought for a moment, then glanced at Liu Xiang: "So, Lord Liu, what do you intend to do?"

"Liu will naturally follow General Yuan's lead..."

Without a moment's hesitation, Liu Xiang quickly bowed and knelt down.

Yuan Shu nodded with satisfaction: "Since Sun Jian did not take the grain stored in Nanyang, then you go to Nanyang to procure grain for me, and I will no longer need to obtain military supplies in Jiangxia."

"Nanyang?"

Liu Xiang was taken aback for a moment, but then lowered his head and replied, "...Xiang obeys."

Yes, that means wanting everything. Since Nanyang has grain and hasn't suffered too much from the war, Yuan Shu will definitely go there to take the grain.

After Liu Xiang left, the chief clerk Yan Xiang said to Yuan Shu, "My lord, Liu Xiang seems to have sent you to cause trouble for Sun Jian, but in reality, he seems to be on the same side as Sun Jian. We must be wary of him..."

“Call his son to my side… His son is quite talented and should be my son’s companion.”

Yuan Shu nodded: "Go and tell Liu Xiang, so that people won't say I kidnapped their relatives..."

This is the usual practice. Since they've said they'd come to join them, they have to give up a child as a hostage, since there's no emotional foundation between them.

Liu Xiang's son, Liu Ba, is fifteen years old and already has some talent. Yuan Shu has even heard of him in Runan.

(End of this chapter)