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

Chapter 368 The Uprising That Overthrew Tyranny (5K Combined Chapters)

The seventh day of July.

The Qixi Festival, also known as the Double Seventh Festival, is a day for praying for life.

The Qixi Festival is not just about praying for dexterity, but also for blessings, good fortune, longevity, wealth... you name it, you pray for it.

This is the day to pray to the Queen Mother of the West and the Big Dipper Star Lord.

These days, people believe that the Big Dipper Star Lord is the God of Fate, who controls destiny.

There is no curfew during the festival, and there are gatherings in each county on the night of Qixi Festival.

At this time of year, gatherings spontaneously form in each county; people always enjoy lively celebrations.

Although it was night, the streets of Linzi were brightly lit, and many people were gathering at the night market.

The outside disturbances did not seem to affect Linzi, and the city still appeared peaceful and serene.

Or rather... Linzi seemed completely unprepared.

……

In the inner courtyard of the East Pavilion, Bian Ji was holding her child, telling Ah Li and A Dou the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.

Bian Ji's own child is eight months old, a boy, nicknamed Ameng. He hasn't been given a formal name yet; it will be chosen after the baby's first birthday celebration.

Ah Li and A Dou are already three years old. Ah Li's full name is Liu Wan, and her brother A Dou is still called Liu Chan.

Ali is called Liu Wan because she is beautiful and has exceptionally good skin, just like Qi Wan, a famous specialty of Qingzhou.

Moreover, Ahri did indeed pick a piece of silk during her first birthday celebration, and then... she used the silk to wrap up all the other items from the celebration and took them away with her...

Qi Wan is a fine white silk fabric, one of the finest silk textiles, also known as Bing Wan.

This type of silk fabric pursues ultimate elegance and requires the finest silk material. The finished product is light, thin, and translucent, as light as if it were nothing, and as white and smooth as ice and jade.

Because of its extreme thinness, the finest Qi silk is more valuable than its weight in gold.

The original meaning of "纨绔" refers to expensive clothing materials that ordinary people cannot afford.

If a baby grabs a piece of silk during their first birthday celebration, it's considered a very auspicious sign of great wealth and prosperity.

Packing up all the items for the baby's first birthday celebration... This kind of ambition to have everything is called "encompassing all things" or "covering the universe," and it's an auspicious sign of sweeping across the world.

As for A Dou, the child was gentle, and during his first birthday celebration, he picked up a jade disc.

Liu Bei felt that Liu Shan's name was auspicious, and as a time traveler, he had to show some respect for the mystical.

Bian Ji had a special affection for the Qixi Festival. Liu Bei's men would gossip about her and call her the Weaver Girl. Because of this, Bian Ji practiced her weaving skills diligently. Now that it's the day, Bian Ji naturally wants the children to know the story of the Weaver Girl.

……

In the small courtyard to the side of the East Pavilion, Zhuge Liang was bowing to a set of wooden pieces and connecting rods whose purpose was unclear in his small workshop...

He was muttering something to himself, saying something like, "May the Star Lord bless me so that I may succeed this time..."

I don't know what kind of mechanism he was researching, but the workshop was full of broken wooden rods, which meant he had obviously failed many times.

……

In the palace behind the East Pavilion, Liu Xie stared blankly at the Big Dipper in the sky, lost in thought.

Diao Chan watched Liu Xie from afar in the corridor, a hint of worry in her eyes.

……

On the East Gate Tower.

The East Gate Tower is not a palace, but a city gate. It is a newly built high-rise building on the banks of the Zi River at the easternmost part of Linzi. It is quite large and has five floors.

Zuo Yuan was currently on the gate tower, looking at Dong'anping County on the opposite bank of the Zi River.

As Linzi has been expanding eastward in recent years, Dongge, the mint, machine workshops, military factories and other facilities have all been built to the east, and markets and households have gradually settled in the east.

The present-day Linzi has expanded many times over and no longer has an outer city wall. The original city wall has been enclosed within the new city, much like the inner palace wall.

The Zi River has become the moat of eastern Linzi, and the Dongque Tower is the high tower that guards the east.

From upstairs, you can see Dong'anping County across the river with the naked eye.

Below the East Gate Tower is the Zishui Bridge, which was also the camp of the Xuanjia Cavalry.

"Madam, Sima Ju of Le'an has already gathered tens of thousands of people and has entered Dong'anping under the pretext of the Qixi Festival gathering."

Jia Xu said from behind Zuo Yuan, "General Guan and Commandant Guan have crossed the sea to Duchang in Beihai, Zhang Junyi has arrived in Jinan, and Chen Gong has been blockaded in Tugu County. Everything is ready."

"Tonight I will light a fire here to lure the enemy."

Zuo Yuan continued to gaze at the stars reflected on the river: "Send orders to all units... immediately intercept and kill any armed groups that are seen operating on a large scale, and execute anyone who resists."

"What should be done if a treacherous person surrenders after failing in their mission?"

Jia Xu asked one more question.

Those who plot rebellion and treason shall not be pardoned...

Zuo Yuan turned around: "The Emperor is in Linzi, and my child is also in Linzi. For the sake of my child's safety, I dare not be merciful and cannot leave any survivors... not a single one. I trouble Minister Jia to take care of this."

Jia Xu bowed his head and said, "Madam is a heroine among women, truly a blessing for the Right General."

A moment later, the underworld soldiers waiting downstairs began to scatter.

"Burn down the houses outside the south gate of Linzi, ask Xianhe to raise Chen Gong's banner to incite an attack on the city, and have Yuanzhi raise Sima Ju's banner..."

"Zilong intercepted them at the Zishui River east of the city..."

"Let Junyi intercept them at Yuling..."

Jia Xu was continuously relaying specific orders.

The underworld soldiers were also splitting up and galloping off to various places.

These underworld soldiers and the military judges under Zhao Yun looked completely different.

They were all dressed in dark brown—brown helmet plumes, dark brown armor, and brown warhorses…

His clothes looked like they were all old and worn, even with a patina... He looked inconspicuous whether at night or at other times.

But this kind of old equipment is very expensive; it's not artificially aged, it's genuinely worn.

Any commander who leads a force will understand how valuable these veterans and old equipment are.

In the direction of Jinan, Tian Yu set up camp on the hillside north of Tugu County, with crossbow formations blocking the only road from Tugu to Linzi.

Guo Jia was allocating military supplies at Dongpingling, but not for Tian Yu; he was allocating them for Zhang He, mainly horses.

Zhang He's troops quickly arrived at Yuling in Jinan.

Zu Mao waited in ambush on the banks of the Zi River, north of Linzi City.

In the direction of Beihai, Guan Yu's troops and Guan Hai's troops traveled by water to Duchang and immediately split up. Guan Hai went towards Donglai, while Guan Yu led his army to Pingshou.

……

In fact, everyone is greedy, but the greed is different.

Liu Bei was also greedy.

Liu Bei would often issue decrees prematurely when they seemed inappropriate, because any decree needs time to operate effectively, to spread from local areas to prefectures and counties, or to grow from a small scale to a large scale.

Just like the military settlements, if the military system had not been strictly enforced from the beginning, the military settlements would not have been so successful now.

The same applies to policy examinations. If the Jixia Academy and various practical colleges hadn't been established in Qingzhou first, it would have been impossible to conduct policy examinations directly. Even so, they could only be implemented gradually, one state at a time.

This is a mindset that prioritizes efficiency.

However, the implementation of so many radical policies in just a few years has certainly had its side effects.

The mentality of the powerful will not change quickly, and people's habitual thinking will not change too fast either.

There are still many powerful clans in Qingzhou.

Initially, Liu Bei had Tao Qian purge a large number of powerful clans, leaving only those who had not impersonated the Yellow Turbans and participated in the Qingzhou uprising.

After Liu Bei took control of Qingzhou, the powerful clans compromised under the threat of military force.

However, Liu Bei did not appoint any famous scholars from powerful families. Instead, he built large-scale government-run farms and supported his retainers, merchants, pirates, and people from humble backgrounds.

According to the conventional thinking of the powerful clans of Qingzhou, Liu Bei would soon run out of people to rely on, and he would eventually have to use them, just like in the previous few hundred years, when the banners of Qi, Lu, Qin, and Han changed hands constantly, but the powerful clans remained powerful clans.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei held a special examination to select officials, preferring to appoint tenant farmers and commoners as officials rather than scholars from prestigious families.

Even a great Confucian scholar like Zheng Xuan left Liu Bei and returned to his hometown to teach.

Of course, Zheng Xuan had no problem with Liu Bei himself, it was just that their ideologies differed.

Moreover, officials who passed the examinations were indeed more reliable than those recommended for filial piety and integrity. If we're talking about moral character, only capable officials are qualified to discuss it.

If someone can't do anything and only knows how to talk about benevolence, filial piety, and propriety, what is the point of such a "virtuous person" for the common people?

Shouting slogans won't fill your stomach...

After returning to his hometown, Zheng Xuan did not criticize Liu Bei's policies, and some of his students from humble backgrounds even tried to take the policy examinations.

When one is rich, one should study and make a name for oneself; when one is poor, one should learn practical skills to make a living. Zheng Xuan was actually quite enlightened, but his stance did not allow him to openly support Liu Bei, otherwise the "profession" of Confucian scholars would have no market.

The powerful clans of Qingzhou were dumbfounded—Liu Bei treated the powerful clans and the common people equally.

This is even more painful than killing them...

In other places, these powerful families would probably have found another way to make a living, just like in Hebei.

Or they might collude with external forces to stir up trouble, just like what happened in Yanzhou.

But Liu Bei brought Liu Xie to Qingzhou by chance...

With the emperor here, how could the powerful clans of Qingzhou bear to give up? So they compromised again.

This is also one of the reasons why Liu Bei brought Liu Xie to Qingzhou. With a proper emperor here to issue edicts, the examination and selection of officials could be implemented so smoothly.

Subsequently, Liu Bei turned all of Qingzhou's grain, iron, salt, printing, and logistics into state-run enterprises...

Other things were fine, but the fact that grain, iron, and salt were only allowed to be state-run meant that the powerful clans were being exploited.

The Zhangqiu iron mine was once the source of wealth for the Fan family.

The Le'an Saltworks in northern Linzi was originally the property of the Sima family... not the Sima family of Hanoi, but the Sima Ju family of Le'an.

Xu He, a native of Yuling in Jinan, was once the black glove of the powerful families of Qingzhou, and was originally a private salt smuggler.

As for grain... Liu Bei's official farms only collected a maximum of 40% of the land rent, which was seen by the powerful clans of various states as completely disrupting the market...

Even small and medium-sized landowners felt that this matter was a matter of life and death.

However, with the emperor in Qingzhou, Liu Bei's power was also constantly rising. The scale of his bidding orders was getting larger and larger, his army was getting stronger and stronger, and he could abolish the feudal kings at will and destroy powerful families like the Kong family at will...

So the powerful clans of Qingzhou compromised again; they couldn't afford to offend them, and there was nothing they could do.

Now, in order to achieve rapid and sustainable development, Liu Bei needs to recycle inferior currency and exchange it for larger amounts.

The recycling of inferior currency had virtually no impact on tenant farmers, artisans who had risen to prominence thanks to Liu Bei, local small vendors, and college students.

Because they mostly used large sums of money, after all, their money came from Liu Bei.

But the powerful clans were different.

The wealth of the rich families was accumulated over generations. They wouldn't sell grain to Liu Bei, nor would they be hired like peasants to repair rivers, pave roads, or undertake engineering projects. Furthermore, Liu Bei forcibly monopolized essential businesses, so they couldn't earn much money.

Even emerging groups like self-employed farmers, artisans, and tenant farmers who had gained some wealth thanks to Liu Bei would only buy things from government-run shops, since there was a foundation of trust between them.

In the markets of various counties, farmers generally do not associate with the powerful clans, since the powerful clans have all the same official settlements.

The once most profitable powerful families have lost their source of income in Qingzhou and can only rely on smuggling.

However, the money smuggled from other states was also of inferior quality, which meant that all the inferior money in Qingzhou ended up in the hands of wealthy households.

One jin of inferior coins was only exchanged for fifty large coins. If we consider the face value, one jin of inferior coins in the Han Dynasty was more than one hundred and twenty coins...

In the eyes of the powerful families of Qingzhou, their wealth would shrink by more than half.

The markets in each region were originally influenced by powerful clans. When they had a lot of inferior currency, they would make the market accept the face value of the five-zhu coin.

When you have plenty of money in hand, the market will recognize the quality of your currency.

Now, they have nothing but bad money, yet they can't get involved in the market. Liu Bei has forcibly monopolized the market for essential goods and only recognizes large denominations.

This makes compromise very difficult.

The powerful clans did not want government-run farms, they did not want to take advantage of the imperial examinations, they did not want their land to be occupied by peasants, they did not want to pay taxes, and they did not want the widespread use of large sums of money...

They didn't want to be suppressed by Liu Bei any longer. They were the ones who made the rules, but Liu Bei wanted them to follow them... Although the rules weren't exactly harsh, they felt they were "unfair."

This is "tyranny," just like the Qin Dynasty.

Brutality depends on one's stance; to powerful clans, Liu Bei was brute.

However, if one wants to join Liu Bei's system, one must give up the family's accumulated wealth of hundreds of years and compete with commoners in terms of ability.

In reality, most people within powerful clans didn't live very well, and they had advantages in knowledge and connections. If they were willing to work under Liu Bei, they actually had a promising future... just like Liu Bei himself.

But the clan leaders are unwilling to give up... Who would be willing to give up their privileges?
The clan rules meant that those who were treated like cattle and horses within the clan could only be used as cannon fodder.

Liu Bei himself was a member of such a large clan, and putting himself in their shoes, he had sympathy for the cattle and horses.

The clan leader may deserve to die, and the evildoers within the clan should also die, but those clan members, cattle, horses, servants, and serfs should not all be buried with him.

But often... the first to die are the cattle and horses.

Liu Bei didn't want to kill too many people, and that was the reason.

Therefore, unless there was a mass rebellion, Liu Bei would not completely purge the powerful clans of Qingzhou, even if they did not support him.

Liu Bei could tolerate those who opposed him living in Qingzhou, and he could gradually change people's hearts by changing the environment, or force the wicked to stop being wicked.

According to Liu Bei's own plan, Chen Gong would not have been able to enter Qingzhou.

If Chen Gong cannot enter Qingzhou, most of the powerful clans in Qingzhou will not dare to make a move.

But Zuo Yuan and Jia Xu let Chen Gong in.

To survive, Chen Gong, with no other options, had to take a gamble.

The powerful clans of Qingzhou who had connections with Chen Gong began to have designs on him.

Liu Bei led a large-scale expedition, leaving the counties of Qingzhou undefended. This was a certainty in the eyes of the powerful clans of Qingzhou. Almost all the garrison troops and auxiliary troops had been mobilized, and all the garrison officials in each county were absent.

There are no garrison troops in the counties now, the emperor is in Linzi, and Liu Bei's wife and children are also there.

Linzi didn't even have city walls...

Furthermore, Chen Gong's men contacted various powerful clans to jointly achieve great things... This was undoubtedly the best opportunity for the powerful clans of Qingzhou to "overthrow tyranny".

Such a great opportunity may only come once in a lifetime.

……

late at night.

In Dong'anping, Sima Ju, a local powerful clan, gazed across the Zi River at the East Gate Tower of Linzi.

The East Gate Tower is on fire.

A faint commotion could be heard from within Linzi city.

Nearly ten thousand people had gathered on the riverbank behind Sima Ju.

and……

They all wore yellow turbans.

The people of Qingzhou seem to have developed a habit of always wearing yellow turbans when committing crimes.

In any case, all bad things can be blamed on Taipingdao.

Or rather, they are simply used to blaming others for all the bad things.

"My lord, Chen Gongtai's army has already entered Linzi."

Someone reported to Sima Ju: "Fires and noise have broken out in various parts of Linzi City, and the battle is fierce."

"They've finally arrived... Raise the flag! Let Xu He advance!"

Sima Ju raised his longsword: "The entire army cross the river! Purge the court of corrupt officials!"

……

In the northern part of Linzi, Xu He, who had been hiding for several years, raised the banner of "purging the court of corrupt officials" and launched an attack from Lixian.

Local armed groups also attacked Guantun in Pingshou and Yingling counties of Beihai.

Unidentified pirates also landed in Donglai and caused trouble.

In a short time, several rebel armies emerged in various counties of Qingzhou, all dissatisfied with Liu Bei's tyranny.

This could probably be considered the third Yellow Turban Rebellion.

If someone rebels under your rule, it doesn't necessarily mean that the rule is bad... it could also mean that the rule is too good.

The emperor rejoices in a bountiful year, while the powerful love disasters. Even if the common people are well-fed, it can still be accused of 'tyranny'.

……

Tugu County.

A small detachment of soldiers returned from the east.

"Lord Chen, Linzi is already ablaze and in turmoil, and Sima Ju has already made his move... We should take advantage of the fact that it is still dark and send troops out as soon as possible?"

Fan Qiang asked Chen Gong, "Now there is only Tian Yu's troops outside the city, which cannot stop us."

Chen Gong looked at his troops behind Fan Qiang, and they all nodded in agreement, saying, "My lord, send out troops immediately! Linzi is under attack from several sides. We can take advantage of the night to bypass the crossbow formations..."

"Then let's send troops to launch a surprise attack on Linzi!"

Chen Gong turned to Yuan Yi: "Boye, are you coming with me, or staying here?"

"I will hold this position here... You may leave."

Yuan Yi refused to go out no matter what.

Chen Gong's troops left Tugu County and headed straight for Linzi from the direction of Yuling in the east, seemingly bypassing Tian Yu's defense zone.

From Tugu to Linzi, a forced march takes only one day and one night.

But when they reached Yuling, Zhang He's troops suddenly appeared and charged into Chen Gong's ranks from the side.

This situation is no different from when we came out from the northern foot of Mount Tai and were ambushed by Zhao Yun.

Without Gao Lan, Chen Gong's ability to personally lead troops was indeed limited. Not just anyone can lead troops, and those most likely to fall into traps are those who are greedy and have no way out.

Knowing that you can only move forward, and that the enemy also knows that you can only move forward... being attacked from the side is inevitable.

Seeing that Zhang He's troops were not numerous, Chen Gong originally planned to take advantage of his superior numbers to launch an attack.

However, just as he ordered his troops to surround Zhang He, Chen Gong suddenly felt a sharp pain in his lower back, followed by a feeling of being twisted all over his body.

Fan Qiang's knife was stabbing Chen Gong in the kidneys.

(End of this chapter)