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

Chapter 377 The Subordinate's Thoughts

Upon hearing Zhao Yun's report, Liu Bei immediately summoned all the important officials who were still in Linzi for a meeting.

The reason why Cao Song's death was considered bad news was not because Cao Cao might turn against him.

Liu Bei is not worried about becoming enemies with Cao Cao at present.

This terrible news actually means something else.

This is not an assassination, nor a rebellion, nor is it any kind of infiltration or covert operation.

Based on what Zhao Yun saw and heard, Ying Shao's abduction of Cao Song and subsequent escape was likely the idea of ​​the Cao family when Cao Ang went to capture Ying Shao.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy for Ying Shao, an outsider, to kidnap Cao Song.

However, Ying Shao and Cao Song were killed when they arrived at the post station in the south of the city, and the post station's courier had also been killed not long ago, indicating that the person who did it knew very well what had happened in the city.

Judging from Ying Shao's expression towards those archers, he must have been fooled; he probably thought those people were there to meet him.

Knowing the news within the city and being able to quickly and undetected clear out the southern post station, the only person in Linzi capable of doing this could not be an outsider.

—This was done by one of our own!

This is neither a traitor nor a mole...

The simplest logic is: if they have such ability and such good information, why not just ambush Liu Bei if their goal is to deal with him?
These people were not Liu Bei's enemies...

Moreover, those archers didn't actually shoot arrows at Zhao Yun; Zhao Yun did notice.

Zhao Yun was in front of the carriage at the time, but only the horse's rump was hit by an arrow, while Cao Song and Ying Shao were both shot dead.

—They didn't even want to hurt Zhao Yun.

These people knew Zhao Yun's abilities, and they deliberately shot at the horse to stop him from pursuing.

This was done by someone who followed Liu Bei but also had their own agenda.

……

Liu Bei himself was skilled at committing crimes and was able to determine the motive for this crime.

It's highly likely that this was to silence witnesses, which is related to the forged imperial edict that Diao Chan found.

It's highly unlikely that this was intended to sow discord between Liu Bei and Cao Cao—the probability is very small. By the same logic, if the goal were to sow discord, they could simply eliminate Cao Song; there's no need for this tactic.

If someone has the ability to quickly eliminate the post station without being detected, then they also have the ability to eliminate Cao Song. Cao Song often went to the medical school to see Hua Tuo for treatment, so it wouldn't be difficult for an insider to assassinate him.

Those people who were able to wait for Ying Shao at the post station must have known in advance that Ying Shao would be pursued and knew the route. They had originally arranged to "meet" Ying Shao at the post station.

This means that Ying Shao originally had a bigger plan and had contacted those people as inside agents—possibly through Cao Song or Cao Ang.

But those people turned against him and killed Ying Shao and Cao Song.

At that time, Zhao Yun was about to capture Ying Shao.

—They didn't want Ying Shao to fall into Liu Bei's hands alive. They knew Ying Shao couldn't escape Zhao Yun's pursuit and didn't want to be implicated by Ying Shao, so they wanted to silence him.

Liu Bei was somewhat angry, but he was also the one who could understand this kind of thing the most.

Liu Bei had his own ideas, and so did others.

Those who followed Liu Bei did not necessarily share the same goals as him.

The boss is thinking about how to keep the company alive and how to make it number one in the industry, but the employees are probably thinking about whether they will get overtime pay or whether their wages will increase...

Even a vice president is probably thinking about how to cash out their shares and whether their company can take over the group's business—it's normal to seek personal gain without harming the company.

Subordinates are human beings too; they are not puppets who only obey orders. Each of them has their own thoughts and ideas.

Even with shared interests, there will be differing desires and choices. Although it's unknown who is orchestrating this operation without authorization, those posing as couriers are unlikely to escape punishment.

Zhao Yun's cavalry were all elite guards. Qingzhou was not what it used to be; there were government-run settlements everywhere, and the guards could call for reinforcements to conduct searches in most places.

……

"It seems this could only have been done by one of our own people..."

Jia Xu reached the same conclusion as Liu Bei.

Liu Bei did not appoint a separate prefect in Qi Commandery. If Liu Bei was not present, Zuo Yuan and Jia Xu would actually handle the affairs, so there was no need to set up a prefect's office, which would lead to multiple authorities issuing orders.

The Commandant of Qi Commandery was Zhao Yun.

The South City Barracks was Tian Yu's camp.

As Liu Bei's territory continued to expand, the communication and reception affairs at the various post stations in Linzi became very frequent, and the number of post stations and personnel increased significantly.

Xu Shu was in charge of personnel at the post station, while Jian Yong managed its specific operations.

All of these people have now gathered at the South City Inn to examine the crime scene.

"...Yes, it can only be one of our own. We must find out as soon as possible. Zilong, lead your troops to investigate this matter...the entire army should investigate."

Liu Bei still ordered Zhao Yun to investigate the case.

Zhao Yun was involved in the incident and even killed a fake courier on the spot, so he was certainly trustworthy.

At the beginning, besides Ying Shao and the Cao family, only Zhao Yun and Diao Chan knew that Liu Bei wanted to capture Ying Shao.

But we cannot look for problems solely in these individuals.

Zhao Yun and Diao Chan were actually the most reliable. Otherwise, Diao Chan would never have let Liu Bei arrest people, and Zhao Yun was fully capable of acting in secret without reporting back to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei ordered the arrest, and Zhao Yun's subordinates and the several maids brought by Diao Chan were all aware of it.

Among these hundreds of people, anyone could pass on a message, and it could be passed on to anyone else. Arresting Ying Shao is an official business, and cooperation between departments is normal. No one would be wary of their own people.

“It’s not just the military who can do this… County and prefectural officials come and go from the post station south of the city every day, and officials from all departments should investigate.”

Jian Yong flipped through the registration documents in the post station: "Last night I received Wang Xiu, an official from the Beihai Military Camp, who was reporting on civil affairs... Today, Guan Shen from Donglai also came to report on military supplies..."

The post stations were responsible for both relaying messages and receiving and lodging officials. If a visiting official suddenly caused trouble, the post station staff could easily get into trouble.

Both postmasters and postmen were government officials, not soldiers, but their jobs were always high-risk.

Most of the post station workers were equipped with horse archery equipment due to the needs of their work, which is also the source of equipment for those imposters.

“Wang Xiu, a man from Yingling, came to see me today. He is currently waiting for the lord to summon him.”

Xu Shu said, "He has come to inquire about the reconstruction of Yingling."

"Where is Guan Shen? The military supplies report... Did Guo Rang see him?"

Liu Bei turned to ask the quartermaster, Tian Yu.

"I have seen it. They said the Donglai navy needs to purchase bows and crossbows to repair their ships in preparation for Liaodong."

Tian Yu also confirmed that this was indeed the case.

"My lord, if we are to pursue the murderer, let's wait for Zilong's troops to return first... If there are any survivors, we can find out the truth with a simple questioning. If there are no survivors, then let's wait a few more days; someone will surely go to find Cao Ang or Cao De..."

Jia Xu suddenly reminded Liu Bei.

Liu Bei turned to look at Jia Xu, and then understood: "Alright... Everyone go and investigate, and give me a result within three days."

(End of this chapter)