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

Chapter 365 Greed (Combined Chapter)

"Is Prefect Cheng trying to lure the snake out of its hole?"

Guo Jia, standing nearby, said, "If we're going to turn the tables on them, we'll have to put on a grand show... How about I immediately send troops to hunt down and kill Prefect Cheng and Commander Yue? I might as well die at Prefect Cheng's hands..."

“Fengxiao’s words are exactly what I wanted to say. Just say that Fengxiao was killed by me in order to capture us... Wenqian was killed by General Zhang in order to protect me and help me escape.”

Cheng Yu nodded and said, "I will immediately ride back to Yingchuan and ask Lord Xuande to lead the army to garrison Puyang... Wenqian will remain in Jinan to set up an ambush..."

"Since people have died on both sides, Mengde and I have no choice but to go to war."

Liu Bei nodded: "I will send out the entire army of Qingzhou to see if Chen Gong will launch a surprise attack on Linzi... Let's create some more opportunities for Chen Gong. Let Fan Qiang go to Chen Gong and let him atone for his crimes."

Guo Jia asked, "Should we only send Fan Qiang? What should we do with Zhang Da?"

“Zhang Da is my military commander. He knowingly and deliberately minted coins, and his words were not true. He was not simply greedy and deceived. He has violated almost all military laws and must be punished according to the law.”

Liu Bei explained, “Fan Qiang is not one of my subordinates and doesn’t know much about the inside story. He’s just greedy for personal gain, so we can give him a chance. Besides, he’s a cousin of Fan Yi, so he’s likely to gain Chen Gong’s trust. However… he has to risk his life for this opportunity. If he can get Chen Gong to leave Juye and rush to Linzi, then the entire Fan clan can be spared.”

“In that case, let Jia ‘die’ in front of Fan Qiang. Whether Fan Qiang is reliable or not, at least it will let Chen Gong know that Jia is indeed dead.”

Guo Jia beckoned to Zhang Fei: "Master Zhang, brothers, please help me fix my makeup..."

Art academies certainly have people skilled in makeup. It's not difficult to make a living person look like a dead person, and they can even make wounds look incredibly realistic. Guo Jia himself is quite good at this.

However, bronze mirrors don't work very well these days, so we need the brothers' help.

……

In late June, Liu Bei spread rumors that Cao Cao, under the guise of purchasing grain, had sent his men to plunder Qingzhou, committing murder and arson, storming the imperial court, and even attempting to kidnap the emperor…

He also made a special mention of the fact that only large sums of money could buy food.

It is said that Yue Jin burned down the Jinan treasury and smelting plant. Guo Jia led his army to pursue Cheng Yu and Yue Jin, but was killed by Cheng Yu.

Subsequently, Zhang Fei led his troops to intercept Yue Jin, and a great battle ensued, resulting in heavy losses on both sides. Yue Jin was killed by Zhang Fei while protecting Cheng Yu's escape, but Cheng Yu fled to Lihu.

Therefore, Liu Bei personally led a large army westward. It is said that Liu Bei mobilized more than 30,000 troops, and the wagons transporting supplies stretched for five miles.

Countless grains were continuously sent to Puyang in Dongjun.

At the end of June, Liu Bei's army attacked Lihu, and Lijiawu Fortress was once again engulfed in flames.

At the same time, Zang Ba, the Chancellor of Pengcheng, led 5,000 troops to march towards Xiaopei, while Mi Zhu, the Agricultural Commandant of Xuzhou, sent nearly 10,000 auxiliary troops to support him.

Sun Guan, the Commandant of Mount Tai, also led 4,000 men to march into Lu County.

This is equivalent to Liu Bei mobilizing all his forces south of the Yellow River, totaling more than 50,000 troops.

This large-scale military operation immediately alarmed all the forces in the Central Plains.

This situation looks like Liu Bei was planning to destroy Cao Cao...

Cao Cao's reaction seemed swift as well. He immediately withdrew his troops, abandoned the siege of Chen, and personally led a large army to deploy defenses in the Lihu and Juyang areas.

Liu Chong, who had been facing Cao Cao's military might, was now under much less pressure.

Meanwhile, Cao Ren abandoned Xiaopei and retreated to Xiao County, where he joined Yu Jin in resisting Zang Ba.

Cao Hong was transferred from Rencheng to Lu County to resist Sun Guan.

There was no pressure around Shanyang County where Chen Gong was located.

……

Shanyang, Juye.

"My lord, a man named Fan Qiang is requesting an audience outside the city. He says he comes from Qingzhou and has brought this item with him, which he says he wants to give to you."

A guard came to inform Chen Gong and handed him a box: "It's a head."

Chen Gong was actually self-appointed as governor, but since this place was Liangshan Marsh, it was already considered restraint that he did not call himself king.

"Fan Yi?"

Chen Gong frowned when he saw the severed head in the box: "Fan Qiang... how many men did he bring?"

"He was the only one who claimed to be one of our own, saying that the Prefect would understand once he saw this head."

The guard replied.

Chen Gong nodded: "Let him in."

Guo Jia guessed correctly; Fan Yi was Chen Gong's man.

Sending Fan Qiang to Juye with Fan Yi's head was also an experiment—if Chen Gong didn't know who Fan Qiang was, or if Chen Gong didn't recognize Fan Yi's head, then Fan Qiang would definitely not be able to enter Juye County.

Fan Qiang's wife, children, elderly relatives, and hundreds of his clan members, along with his ancestral graves, were all in Tugu County, so it was impossible for him to defect to Chen Gong.

Actually, it doesn't matter if Fan Qiang fails on this mission, since Fan Qiang doesn't know about Liu Bei and Cheng Yu's plans... In fact, it doesn't matter if Fan Qiang really disregards the lives of his clan and surrenders to Chen Gong, because Fan Qiang has seen Guo Jia's 'corpse' with his own eyes.

Before long, Fan Qiang was taken to Juye County and handed the box containing Fan Yi's head to Chen Gong.

Upon seeing Fan Yi's head, Chen Gong asked, "Who killed Fan Yi?"

“I don’t know… He was already dead when I found him. Brother Fan once said that if he died, he would let me come and seek refuge with Lord Chen, so that my aunt and nephew could be taken care of.”

Fan Qiang answered with his head down.

This is true; Fan Yi's mother is Fan Qiang's aunt, and the two are cousins.

Chen Gong nodded, his expression softening slightly: "Where did you find his body?"

“South of Tugu County, on the banks of the Wen River… that’s the place where Brother Fan and I agreed to evacuate.”

Fan Qiang continued to speak the truth: "Brother Fan was probably killed by his subordinates. When I found him, he had no valuables with him... He had minted coins for a long time and made a considerable fortune, most of which he exchanged for gold and silver. He was quite wealthy..."

Chen Gong sighed, "Alas... People are all greedy. I'm afraid Zhang Kai was tempted by the money... Tell me in detail about what happened in Qingzhou?"

"Brother Fan found Zhang Da and we minted large coins together. After that, Le Jin came to exchange the coins. Brother Fan burned down the smelting plant, which led to Le Jin and Zhang Fei fighting each other. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, and the people in the smelting plant were also silenced."

"Afterwards, Yue Jin was surrounded at Tushan and had already surrendered. I was also captured and imprisoned in Dongpingling Prison... But for some reason, Cheng Yu led men into the prison, rescued Yue Jin, shot Guo Jia to death, set fire to the Dongpingling Treasury, and escaped in the chaos... That's when I escaped."

Fan Qiang, still with his head down, confessed: "After that, I fled south. Brother Fan had previously agreed with me to meet at the source of Wenshui to join Chen Jun. But when I arrived at Wenshui, I only saw Brother Fan's body and no one else."

"Guo Jia was really killed by Cheng Yu?"

Chen Gong pressed further, "You've come to join me, aren't you afraid your family will be harmed by Liu Bei?"

"I am afraid, but the Right General would not go so far as to exterminate an entire clan for the matter of privately minting coins. My Fan family has not raised an army to rebel... However, the Right General has never been friendly with us aristocratic families. If we were under the Right General's rule, my entire Fan clan would have no chance of advancement. We have long been looking for another way out."

Fan Qiang shook his head and said, "Brother Fan said that Lord Chen is as deep as the sea and has always had extraordinary ambitions... I grew up at the northern foot of Mount Tai and am familiar with the terrain and roads. Perhaps my Fan family can still have some future under Lord Chen's rule..."

Chen Gong nodded: "Can you lead men from the northern foothills of Mount Tai into Qingzhou?"

Fan Qiang nodded: "Of course, there is a path on the northern slope of Mount Tai. That's the path I took to get here."

"Then take my men and set up an ambush south of Tugu County..."

Chen Gong stared at Fan Qiang and said, "If what you say is true, I will make your Fan family a prominent family in Qingzhou... If it's a lie, hmph..."

"Rest assured, Mr. Chen, what I said is true." Fan Qiang looked up and stared directly at Chen Gong, his eyes revealing no falsehood.

He wasn't lying at all... Everything he said was based on his true experiences; there wasn't a single lie.

……

after one day.

Yuan Yi arrived in Juye County.

"The Right General's army has breached Lihu and is advancing towards Juyang. Li Qian has retreated to Chengshi... Both sides have large armies, and your subordinates dare not approach. However, the Li family's fortified village has been burned to the ground by the Right General..."

The scouts are reporting back to Chen Gong.

"Cao Cao's father and son were both in Linzi, yet Liu Bei didn't kill them?"

Yuan Yi said with some confusion, "Guo Jia died at the hands of Cheng Yu, and Yue Jin died at the hands of Zhang Fei. The two sides were already deeply sworn enemies. Logically speaking, Liu Bei should have used Cao Ang as a hostage to force Cao Cao to surrender."

"Liu Bei was not that kind of person... Cao Cao was not one to surrender easily either."

Chen Gong shook his head and said, "Liu Bei has already done what the Duke of Zhou did, so naturally he would not use other people's relatives to ruin his own reputation. He wants to govern the world with benevolence, so he will not easily cut off people's descendants. Cao Cao... will not abandon his subordinates because of his relatives."

"They are indeed two heroes... Now that Gongtai's plan has worked, war has broken out on both Lihu and Xiaopei, and Liu Bei and Cao Cao can no longer resolve this peacefully."

Yuan Yi said to Chen Gong, "It seems that Liu Bei has mobilized all his forces. Why don't we take advantage of his absence and seize Linzi?"

"It's not the right time yet. Let's wait until Liu Bei captures Chenliu before we march on Linzi."

Chen Gong shook his head: "Moreover, we also need to rely on General Yuan's strength and join forces with the wise men of Qingzhou, otherwise we may not be able to stop Liu Bei's army when he returns."

"The people of Qingzhou have long suffered under Liu Bei. If we simply demolish his academy, destroy his official farms, return the land to the families, and return power to the virtuous scholars, the gentry of Qingzhou will surely flock to him..."

Yuan Yi asked, "However, Gongtai can join forces with Prince Chen to take Linzi, and I can also contact the gentlemen of Hebei to launch an attack. We can do this ourselves, so why do we need to ask Yuan Gonglu for help?"

"Liu Chong is stubborn and difficult to work with... He has already proclaimed himself the Grand General Who Assists the Han. If we join forces with him to take Linzi, how will he regard us?"

Chen Gong shook his head and said, "Yuan Gonglu is your cousin, why is Boye unwilling to join forces with him?"

“That brat Yuan Shu… He took the wealth of Runan, but didn’t help us, his relatives, and let Runan be ravaged by Liu Pi and his gang… What kind of relatives is he?”

Yuan Yi said indignantly, "It's true that Liu Chong is stubborn, but Yuan Shu is also a selfish and self-serving person. If we join forces with him to attack Qingzhou, there's no guarantee he won't betray us..."

“But right now we need his troops, and he needs our help... Besides, since Yuan Gonglu is selfish, then we should let him go and hold Liu Bei back.”

Chen Gong advised, "Let us first gather our troops and go to Juye... Once Liu Bei attacks Chenliu, we will cut off the road to Dongjun and head straight for Linzi. Yuan Gonglu will surely go to Chenliu..."

Yuan Yi shook his head in confusion: "Yuan Shu is currently vying for Nanyang with Dong Zhuo, how could he possibly make enemies on two fronts?"

“He is short of food… Liu Bei has food, and it has already been transported to Puyang and Lihu. If Liu Bei’s troops advance into Chenliu, Yuan Shu will definitely take advantage of the battle between Cao Cao and Liu Bei to seize the food.”

Chen Gong said confidently, "Wait a few days, and this matter will surely be accomplished..."

……

In early July, Liu Bei's army passed through Heze and arrived at Jiyang in Chenliu from Lihu, with banners covering the sky.

—In reality, they delivered 100,000 bushels of grain to Cao Cao…

To make the performance more realistic, the Li family's fortified village in Lihu was actually burned down.

It's quite a coincidence, really. The last time Liu Bei committed a crime in Lihu, it was also to procure grain for Cao Cao...

There were indeed troops from Li Hu's side that clashed with Liu Bei's army, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of men. However, these were a group of mountain bandits, and Liu Bei was actually helping Li Qian suppress them.

Judging from the sheer numbers, Liu Bei's tens of thousands of troops should indeed represent all the forces in Qingzhou.

Chen Gong, Yuan Yi, Gao Lan and others also brought their troops from Juye to Jibei. Their forces numbered quite large, up to 20,000 men.

Guided by Fan Qiang, Chen Gong's army entered the mountain trails from the northern foot of Mount Tai.

In the south of Tugu County, the troops that Fan Qiang had led to ambush near the source of the Wen River were all safe and sound, and Fan Qiang's entire family was providing support to Chen Gong's troops.

Taking the back road was, of course, to bypass important places like Licheng and Dongpingling, and to go straight to Linzi from Zhangqiu.

A force of 20,000 men would certainly be difficult to hide, but even if they were discovered immediately after leaving the northern foothills of Mount Tai, they could still reach Linzi faster than most counties in Qingzhou.

However, such a raid could not be carried with supplies. Chen Gong and his men only brought ten days' worth of dry rations. Linzi had plenty of supplies, and once the Dongge military factory was breached, siege equipment would be readily available.

only……

As soon as the 20,000-strong army entered the northern foothills of Mount Tai, Sun Guan's troops immediately turned back and blocked all the mountain passes of Mount Tai.

Meanwhile, in the southern part of Tugu County, near the Zhangqiu iron ore mining area, and around the smelting site, many well-equipped elite troops appeared, such as the Xuanjia Army, the Wufeng Battalion, and the Shesheng Battalion...

Chen Gong's main force had just appeared on the flat land in the south of Tugu County and had not yet figured out their direction when they saw a cavalry force in full iron armor galloping from the side, with a huge 'Zhao' character on their banner.

At the same time, a deluge of crossbow bolts rained down like a storm.

Liu Bei did go to Chenliu, and Zhang Fei also went, but Zhao Yun and Tian Yu did not go.

The people Liu Bei brought to Chenliu were mostly reserve soldiers for farming and able-bodied laborers... The elite troops were all staying at home, hiding in the bushes.

The cavalry attacked from the flanks, the crossbowmen fired at their faces, and that wasn't all...

A mountain unit was also moving through the dense forest, attacking from behind. This wasn't actually a special forces unit, just Sun Guan's men—but in places like the foothills of Mount Tai, Sun Guan's troops were mostly locals…

……

"General Right, the main force of Yuan Yi's troops has already headed east, and a large army has entered the dense forests of Mount Tai from Juye."

In Jiyang, Liu Bei also received news from the east.

"Send a message to Mengde... Attack!"

After providing Cao Cao with enough grain to last until the autumn harvest, Liu Bei and Cao Cao jointly attacked Jiyin.

At this time, there were not many troops left to defend Jiyin and Shanyang. The main forces had been transferred by Yuan Yi and Chen Gong to launch a surprise attack on Linzi. The troops transferred away were all elite soldiers, and only auxiliary troops and civilians were left to defend them.

Before setting out for Jiyin, Zhang Da was executed by Zhang Fei using military law as a sacrifice to the flag.

Before killing Zhang Da, Zhang Fei even wrote a poem, which was quite unusual for him.

Given Zhang Fei's level of education, this poem was certainly not a refined and elegant piece; it was more like a doggerel.

But this limerick spread very quickly.

This poem is called "Greed".

In the past, when people were so poor they had nothing to eat, they could only ask for grass and bran.
Even with a thousand bushels of grain, I am still not satisfied.

When people are well-fed and clothed, they think of lustful desires; when they are extravagant and wealthy, they yearn for power.
He who gains control over a region will also benefit his descendants.

Blessings extend to close relatives, yet I still fear my days are numbered;
They search the world for immortality, their greed never-ending.

His life was filled with vast lands, but now his grave is just a three-foot mound.
The entire clan was implicated, and the large house became a haven for insects and rats.

The scourge has lingered for a century, and its descendants are unlikely to rise again.
The younger generation seeks only sustenance and warmth, just as they have always done in the past.

(End of this chapter)