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

Chapter 353 Following in the Footsteps of Martyrs
Xun You, with several hundred honor guards, blocked the curtain, separating the imperial platform and the emperor's tent from the outer camps once again, making it seem as if he were truly acting as an inside agent.

This was, of course, intended to urge all the rebels to act quickly.

Most of the "casual officials" who had participated in Liu Bei's bidding were also here. They were all experienced in combat, so they were not panicked when they saw this and all began to retreat.

Gang leaders tend to have better mental fortitude in such situations.

Although there was some chaos for a moment, most people did not panic. With Xun You blocking the platform, the other officials quickly understood the situation and retreated together.

This was also the effect of Xun You acting as an 'insider' to guide the rebels, giving them a unified and clear target. The rebels all rushed towards the emperor's entourage, and no one provoked the officials, since the rebels did not want to cause any trouble.

This is easy to solve.

As several groups of bandits stormed into the emperor's entourage, a unified shout erupted from the large tent behind the imperial platform.

"kill!"

Zhang Fei, clad in armor and wielding a spear, led a group of armored soldiers out from behind the emperor's entourage.

Xun You waved his hand, and the honor guards turned around, lined up inward, and launched a combined attack with Zhang Fei from both inside and outside.

Xun You himself withdrew and retreated to the outer perimeter.

Jia Xu, Jian Yong, and others appeared in various directions, each leading a guard to attract officials to line up.

Lü Qian and Sun Guan led the Taishan County troops to the outermost edge of the camp. They were originally responsible for maintaining order, and at this time they guarded various intersections. Most of the officials also withdrew from the camp.

In just a few moments, the camp became the pre-planned annihilation ground.

Cao Cao's guards, led by Shi Huan, also arrived at Cao Cao's side.

"Chen Gong, Gao Huan, Xue Lan... the rebels are from these families, and they are all now under your command, Cao Mengde!"

At this moment, Liu Bei was berating Cao Cao: "You think it's glorious that all of Yanzhou has submitted to you? But you've been betrayed and you don't even know it! Now you see what kind of bastards these are?!"

"They knew you were here... If I hadn't known beforehand, if His Majesty had truly been threatened, what do you think I would have done?!"

"If we kill each other, who will benefit?"

Liu Bei spoke sternly, and Cao Cao shrank back, not daring to speak.

"Liu Yao and Xu Gong's men are here for you too... Liu Chong plotted to make you fight with the Xu family, giving you this enemy for no reason. Yet you leave Liu Chong alone and don't attack him. Are you stupid?"

Liu Bei pointed irritably at the altar: "It's your own business, you figure it out yourself..."

"Only...Cao knows he was wrong."

Cao Cao said nothing, but bowed respectfully to Liu Bei.

He then disregarded the fact that he was not wearing armor and stepped forward to call out to Shi Huan: "Follow me to annihilate the rebels!"

……

These enemies were deliberately lured out by Xun You as an undercover agent; it was a case of entrapment. He was prepared in every aspect, so calming them down was not difficult.

Zhang Fei attacked the enemy from the inside out.

The actual commander of the outer guard of honor was Tian Yu, who carried out the annihilation from the outside in.

In order to remain hidden, the thieves were naturally not wearing armor; this was purely an extermination, and could not even be considered a battle.

Cao Cao led his troops in and attacked, his methods even more ruthless than Zhang Fei's.

Some tried to escape, but they were all intercepted and killed by Jia Xu, Jian Yong, Zu Mao, and others who led their troops to do so.

Even if someone manages to escape the camp, they will be intercepted by Sun Guan and Lü Qian.

The fire on the altar is still burning.

The bloodshed, both on and off the stage, quickly subsided amidst the fireworks.

By this time, Liu Xie had reached the mountainside, where smoke was already rising.

That was the place where Emperor Guangwu once offered sacrifices to Heaven at Mount Tai, and it was also the place where Liu Xie truly worshipped his ancestors.

From a distance, all you could see besides the smoke was a single white dot.

The white dot wasn't Liu Xie, but rather Zhao Yun's personal guards, all dressed in white linen, forming a large group that only appeared as a white dot from a distance.

If you look down from the mountainside, you can also see a small white stripe to the south of the camp.

The white stripes below the mountain indicate that Liu Bei has gathered all his officials back outside the camp and arranged for them, along with their guards and attendants, to line up in formation.

The officials had already seen the thick smoke rising from the mountain and understood that the emperor had already gone up the mountain.

This was unusual, but nobody said anything.

It's quieter to chat with our ancestors on the mountain; no one will bother us, and everyone understands...

Cao Cao personally took Liu Yao's head and confirmed that all the traitors had been killed before returning to see Liu Bei. Upon seeing Cao Cao's return, Liu Bei immediately pointed to the line of officials.

Cao Cao paused for a moment, then unfastened the sword from his waist and walked to the ranks of officials, standing with his hands at his sides.

Shi Huan and the others also consciously put down their weapons and stood at the back of the line.

Zhang Fei, Tian Yu, and others led their troops to line up outside the officials. The soldiers' weapons were all stained with blood, and their murderous aura had not subsided.

Now it really does look like a sacrificial ceremony to heaven.

"Gentlemen, His Majesty has already offered sacrifices to his ancestors in the mountains. We should pay our respects from afar below the imperial platform."

Liu Bei acted as if nothing had happened, leading everyone back into the camp and back to the altar.

Liu Bei walked up to the altar and looked down at the crowd.

"Your subject Liu Bei, having received the late emperor's dying wish, assisted in governing the Han dynasty, toured the eastern lands, and ascended Mount Tai."

“Looking up at the azure sky and down at the dark earth, I was filled with awe and trembling, and tears streamed down my face.”

"The world is not at peace now, wolves and jackals block the roads, beacon fires are lit at all corners of the land, and the land is scarred."

“Whenever I think of the suffering of the common people, my heart aches with pain; I am always ashamed of the trust placed in me by the late emperor, and I cannot sleep at night.”

“In the past, Emperor Xiaowu swept across the eight directions with his sword, and Emperor Guangwu turned the tide with his strength. Both of them left their mark on Mount Tai, bestowing blessings upon the people.”

"Your subject begs to follow the example of our ancestors and make sure that the remaining barbarians are beheaded, that the world is restored to peace, and that the spirits of our forefathers be comforted!"

"With utmost sincerity, we offer sacrifices of black and white jade, along with blood offerings... We humbly beseech our imperial ancestor to recognize our unwavering loyalty and to forever bless our descendants."

"May you enjoy this meal!"

Liu Bei was reading a eulogy.

At this moment, there was blood everywhere around the altar. Although the corpses had been dragged away, the atmosphere was extremely solemn and murderous.

This is a blood sacrifice, offered to the ancestors along with three kinds of sacrificial animals and wine.

In fact, this sacrificial text should have been read by the emperor...

But Liu Xie is on the mountain... He has his own eulogy.

On this altar, Liu Bei recounted how he inherited the legacy of his ancestors and declared his determination to restore the Han Dynasty and sweep away all obstacles in the world... and no one below the altar objected.

People on and off the mountain worship their ancestors at the same time, each with their own story to tell.

In reality, Liu Bei was the chief officiant.

The stench of blood was extremely strong beneath the altar, and no one made a sound.

……

After the sacrifice, Liu Bei announced a series of appointments directly on the stage.

Liu Pi was appointed as the governor of Yu Province because he had indeed recovered the most overdue taxes among all the officials, and had sent Liu Bei several thousand cattle.

In Hebei's Zhongshan and Changshan, Yuzhou's Liangguo and Runan, and Jingzhou's Yangzhou, the prefects and chancellors of those counties that did not voluntarily pay taxes were all appointed from the top ten in terms of tax collection.

Moreover, these underworld gang leaders were appointed to specific counties based on who was collecting taxes from which area...

This is both fulfilling the promises made in the bidding order and a deliberate attempt to promote soldiers from humble backgrounds to higher positions.

In reality, these people would not obey Liu Bei's orders, but they had benefited from following the bidding order along the way, so they would not be enemies with Liu Bei for the time being.

Moreover, Liu Bei was well aware that these military leaders would find it difficult to actually control the various counties.

But this was originally intended to create conflict between these military governors and local powerful families who came from underworld backgrounds—their conflicts had already begun when they were collecting overdue taxes, and in some places, they could even be described as deep-seated hatred…

For example, Liu Pi was hated by the powerful clans of Runan.

These underworld leaders were given official positions and were all transferred to the counties where they had just committed crimes. They all had grudges against local powers, and in order to keep their positions and their lives, they would almost inevitably continue to clash with the local tyrants.

But they couldn't possibly give up their official positions.

After all, Liu Bei was generous, and the governors... what were these military leaders doing fighting like gangsters?
With their limited abilities, they're unlikely to conquer the entire country; they just want a government job...

Of course, staying too long could lead to collusion with the locals, but that's difficult now, as not everyone is Cao Cao.

Liu Bei's intention was precisely this: the territories he actually controlled must develop quietly, while the territories he couldn't control couldn't be allowed to remain idle.

Whether it's Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, or local powerful families and military leaders, none of them will have a moment's peace...

They were forced to oppose each other, and even if they didn't have enemies, they were made to fight each other.

To incite infighting among the various states and counties, and to minimize civilian casualties during such conflicts, Liu Bei even issued a new tender order…

(End of this chapter)