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

Chapter 378 Fighting between left and right
Actually, this didn't even last three days.

With Jia Xu's reminder, Liu Bei first went to see Wang Xiu, and then confirmed the answer to the matter.

Wang Xiu was not the murderer; he had only come to report on the reconstruction of the Beihai Yingling Mausoleum.

When the powerful clans of Yingling rebelled, Wang Xiu provided considerable support when Guan Yu quelled the rebellion.

The Wang family was also a prominent aristocratic clan, but they cooperated well from the moment Liu Bei entered Qingzhou. After Zuo Yuan purged Qingzhou, the Wang family split into separate branches.

When Guan Yu returned to Ji Province, he entrusted Wang Xiu with the temporary task of rebuilding Yingling.

Rebuilding the county seat was not a chore, but a lucrative one. It was a reward for Wang Xiu's support in quelling the rebellion, and also a way to win him over.

This kind of reconstruction work is very profitable, and restoring production is the most highly regarded practice; those who achieve success will surely be given important responsibilities.

The strategy test set up by Liu Bei was not just a test of writing and speaking. Writing a thesis and passing the defense was just the beginning. The practical assessment required doing concrete things.

The internship period after the examination was also to hone and verify practical skills; one needed both theoretical knowledge and practical skills to become an official.

If someone can demonstrate strong practical skills, this is actually a special test, and Liu Bei always values ​​such talents. Guan Yu is giving Wang Xiu an opportunity.

Upon meeting Liu Bei, Wang Xiu first raised a question: "General of the Right, when I was in Yingling, I encountered two difficulties. General Guan's order to quell the rebellion and the court's decrees after General Guan's departure were similar in policy, but their implementation conflicted..."

Guan Yu's order was given at the time by Zuo Yuan and Jia Xu, when Liu Bei was still in Yanzhou.

The resumption of production in the later stages was carried out through imperial decrees issued to various counties, which was part of the routine administration.

What conflict is there?

When Liu Bei heard about the difficulty of the two methods, he already vaguely realized the problem.

"General Guan ordered Xiu to oversee the restoration of production and the rebuilding of the city, as well as the construction of official military settlements to accommodate the remaining people, so that the construction of the mausoleum would not be delayed in the autumn. However, General Guan issued a military order, which was given to the army. Therefore, Xiu was ordered to first recruit troops for the Right General and supervise the establishment of official military settlements, and then use the official military settlements to supervise the county affairs."

Wang Xiu explained, “After General Guan returned to Ji Province, the imperial decree issued by the court seemed to be exactly the same as this one, but the imperial decree was issued to the officials in charge of agricultural settlements, ordering the county officials in charge of agricultural settlements to set up official agricultural settlements. The two decrees are the same, but the decrees belong to different departments. I do not know which decree to follow, so I came to ask the Right General for instructions.”

Guan Yu's military order was normal. Guan Yu was Liu Bei's retainer, and he wanted Wang Xiu to also serve as Liu Bei's retainer and recruit soldiers for Liu Bei. Wang Xiu would rebuild Yingling and supervise the official garrison as a retainer.

This is to strengthen Liu Bei's own forces and control.

The subsequent decrees issued by the imperial court were also normal. With the establishment of agricultural settlement officials in Qingzhou, it was natural to have these officials in the counties oversee the construction of official agricultural settlements. Yingling had just experienced war, so it was appropriate to elevate the authority of the agricultural settlement officials, allowing them to independently recruit county soldiers to quickly restore production.

However, the officials in charge of agricultural settlements were not Liu Bei's retainers; they were officials of the imperial court and locals from Qingzhou.

Allowing the officials in charge of agricultural settlements to establish official settlements meant that the recruited soldiers and households would no longer be Liu Bei's personal troops.

Of course, this situation is quite common. Zhang Liao was also cultivating land in Dongjun, Xu Huang was also cultivating land in Weijun, and there were also Xu Rong, Xianyu Fu, and so on.

Everyone used the same methods as Liu Bei to establish official farms, managed farm affairs with their own troops, recruited displaced people as tenants, and implemented the same policies and land rents.

However, they were generals of the imperial court, and their troops were not Liu Bei's troops.

The same decree, but with different powers assigned to it... that's completely different.

Originally, Wang Xiu was asking about ownership, but Liu Bei immediately realized what was going on...

His subordinates had split into two factions.

The faction of retainers and the faction of court officials.

There might also be a neutral party...

The retainer faction naturally consisted of people from Liu Bei's general's headquarters, such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Shi Ren, Bian Bing, and others.

Not only the old brothers, but also new recruits have been added over the years.

Since every soldier in Liu Bei's army was an administrator of the official military farms, and most of those who came from his own unit were now high-ranking officials with real power, the faction of his retainers was not just limited to the army; they represented millions of households in the official military farms.

Meanwhile, the retainers always followed the same promotion path within Liu Bei's own army.

Most of these people came from humble backgrounds; even the scholars were from the lowest rungs of society, mostly without any connections, and all of them had left their hometowns.

The court officials were those who followed Liu Bei and obeyed his orders, but they were court officials, not Liu Bei's retainers or followers.

For example, Zhang Liao, Xu Rong, and possibly Xun You.

These people were all from aristocratic families, but their background was not the most important thing; what mattered was that they followed the system of court officials.

The court officials also included many people from Qingzhou, such as local officials who passed the examinations. As Wang Xiu mentioned, the officials in charge of agricultural settlements were all natives of Qingzhou. They might not have been originally from Qingzhou, but were resettled refugees who had settled in Qingzhou.

Of course, those who served as retainers in the imperial examination system can now also take the examination route to become officials. The examination itself is not divided by faction, but whether or not one came from Liu Bei's retainers is a very obvious mark.

Both factions had armies, both factions had authority, and both factions implemented the same policies...

But the ownership of power is different.

People like Jia Xu, Xu Shu, and Guo Jia could be considered neutral, since they didn't command troops.

The commander of the Underworld Soldiers is Zhang Baiqi, who is subordinate to Zuo Yuan. Jia Xu will assign them tasks, but Jia Xu has no other military power.

In fact, regardless of which faction they belonged to, they all obeyed Liu Bei's orders. If we're talking about 'loyalty and righteousness,' they were all loyal and righteous.

Liu Bei knew that no one would rebel against him, as those who had rebelled had already been eliminated by Zuo Yuan.

When facing external enemies, everyone cooperated very well. However, when the crisis posed by external enemies was not so obvious, especially when Liu Bei's strength was growing rapidly and the court's prestige was rising, the struggle for interests began to emerge.

The reconstruction of Yingling and the ownership of Guantun became a point of contention.

No one would tell Liu Bei about this factional struggle.

When no one mentions it, Liu Bei would hardly notice.

Because there hadn't been any malicious backstabbing or obstruction before, everyone was pushing for the expansion of their influence.

This incident is an example of a conflict of interests escalating to the point where it involves the emperor.

As for why...

—If Liu Bei doesn't 'promote' them, the official positions held by his retainers have already reached their limit; they are all positions with real power, and given the current situation, they cannot be promoted any further.

When an official's position reaches its limit, they will seek personal gain.

The retainers were originally from humble backgrounds and had left their hometowns, so it was instinctive for them to plot for local power.

Many of the lower-level officials sent by the court officials came from Qingzhou, and it was instinctive for them to obtain more resources from Qingzhou.

Zuo Yuan's ruthless purge of the powerful clans in Qingzhou gave two factions an opportunity to compete for resources. This competition did not affect Liu Bei's overall strength; there was healthy competition as well as vicious struggle.

However, the lord of the retainer faction was Liu Bei, and they disregarded the emperor...

The courtiers, on the other hand, considered the emperor as their sovereign.

When competing for resources, some people will see Liu Xie as an obstacle.

In particular, during the hunt at Shenchi, the emperor was injured and hung upside down on the prey, while Liu Bei did what an emperor should do.

This would be a normal accident for other children, but its symbolic significance is very serious these days.

Liu Bei, Jian Yong, and Qian Zhao were all Liu Xie's senior fellow disciples. The faction of his retainers would not necessarily be detrimental to Liu Xie, but there would inevitably be people who would try to create conflict between Liu Xie and Liu Bei, weaken the emperor's influence, and make Liu Bei change from supporting the emperor to holding the emperor hostage.

In this way, Liu Bei would be pushed forward step by step by his retainers.

If Liu Xie loses influence, the court officials will also lose power and will most likely join the faction of powerful retainers.

This is easy to judge – the retainers only need Liu Xie to live as a puppet, but the court officials must take Liu Xie as their banner.

The courtiers were not "loyal to the emperor." They were simply distant from Liu Bei, not part of his inner circle, and unable to integrate into it. There was nothing they could do about it.

They were already officials of the imperial court and could no longer serve as Liu Bei's retainers. If they wanted to gain greater power and benefits, they could only stand under the emperor's banner and weaken Liu Bei's influence.

Of course, they were actually happy to let Liu Bei become a powerful minister and the head of all officials, but if they wanted to share the benefits, they could only oppose the faction of his retainers.

In fact, both sides would consider Liu Bei's interests and protect Liu Xie's safety; no one wanted anything to happen to Liu Xie or Liu Bei.

From any perspective, both sides are loyal subjects.

But even loyal ministers can be self-serving.

The conflict is already underway, and both sides will help Liu Bei find another common interest that better suits their needs.

On one hand, it was to ensure that Liu Bei continuously 'improved'.

On the other hand, it was to obtain authorization from the emperor.

Both factions would cause conflict between Liu Xie and Liu Bei.

Ying Shao was most likely collaborating with Liu Bei's retainers. The forged edict was not intended to "summon righteous men," but rather to demonstrate that "the emperor harbored resentment towards Liu Bei." As long as the forged edict appeared, it would certainly have an effect.

However, Diao Chan discovered it too quickly, and the accomplices had to quickly silence them by killing the postman and Ying Shao...

Cao Song was originally intended to be a scapegoat.

Those couriers who were killed were probably not innocent either... Ying Shao drove straight to the post station in the south of the city, and the route was very clear, which means that the postmaster and the couriers were likely also aware of the situation, and that killing the couriers was to silence them.

Zhao Yun's cavalry might be able to capture the murderer, but they certainly wouldn't be able to capture anyone alive.

It's very likely that the real culprit will not be found in this case. Liu Bei's retainers are all skilled criminals, and almost all of them have committed serious crimes in the past. They will definitely cover for each other.

Liu Bei knew that Jia Xu's statement that someone would inevitably go to Cao Ang or Cao De was a reminder to him...

Now that Cao Song is dead, we should first consider how to handle our relationship with Cao Cao. The real culprit may not be found, and if we do investigate thoroughly... the trouble will be even greater.

Liu Bei now truly understands Liu Hong's pain.

—If Liu Bei insists on investigating to the end, it will intensify the struggle between the two factions. One side will try to cover it up, while the other side will try to frame someone. This will inevitably escalate the factional struggle into mutual murder!

This is a dilemma that Cao Cao also faced in history.

Ambidextrous fighting.

but……

Liu Bei could not be controlled by anyone, regardless of who it was or whether it was "for his own good".

(End of this chapter)