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

Chapter 385 The Other Half of Life

In the winter of the third year of the Chuping era, Liu Xie acquired a new identity.

His leg injury has healed, and he is now studying at Yiwu Academy under the name 'Jiang Ye'.

Diao Chan is now his older sister, working as a "helper" in Zhuge's workshop, which is actually to facilitate communication between Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang.

The older sister's name was Jiang Li, and the younger brother naturally also had the surname Jiang. The character "Ye" was chosen by Liu Xie himself, meaning to live in seclusion in the countryside.

His "home" was located outside the Ji Gate of Linzi City, a "school district house" specially built for scholars who came to Linzi to study.

Many young scholars from all over the country came to Linzi to study, and Liu Xie was inconspicuous among them.

An eleven-and-a-half-year-old child is in the prime of puberty, and it's already difficult for him to sit still in the palace.

Although Liu Xie was more determined than most children and naturally possessed political acumen, he was still a human being who wanted to have peers and experience a life more in line with the mindset of a young person.

Many people dream of becoming emperor, but only those who actually become emperor know the immense pressure that lone throne in the vast, empty hall brings.

Ordinary people certainly didn't have a good life, and most people would probably envy Liu Xiesheng for living a life of comfort and ease in the royal family.

But few people realize that the young emperor also suffered a terrible fate.

An underage orphan has no real power, no control over anything around him, and no freedom.

No relatives, no friends.

By the age of four or five, they had learned patience; by the age of seven or eight, they had learned composure; and by the age of ten, they had learned to bury everything in their hearts so that no one could see it.

Is it because he's a genius?

No, it's just because of loneliness and helplessness.

Those qualities that would be considered 'precocious' or 'extraordinary' by ordinary people are merely survival instincts shaped by the environment in the young emperor.

The so-called luxurious life is actually just fixed 'standard work clothes' and 'standard work meals'. Every meal may be unsafe, and even sleeping may be dangerous.

Everyone he could come into contact with only saw him as a tool or property; everyone around him had their own master; everyone he could meet had their own purpose; and those he couldn't meet only wanted to fight for 'guardianship'.

Without ideals and pursuits, one's life goals are already fixed, and one's life is destined to be glamorous, but there is no choice, not even the choice to 'give up' or 'lie down'.

From birth to death, there is no period of time that we can choose for ourselves; we are born without 'human rights'.

That twelve-tasseled crown that could cover his face, when placed on the head of a twelve-year-old boy, would not inspire mystery or awe, but would instead make people overlook his most basic identity—he was a person, a person who was not yet an adult.

Apart from Liu Bei and Diao Chan, who grew up with Liu Xie, no one would treat Liu Xie as a human being.

Even people in later generations mostly did not regard the emperor as a human being.

But even the emperor is just an ordinary person...

Liu Xie wanted to see more of the outside world than anyone else.

This land of the Han dynasty, nominally the emperor's territory, was often the one most unfamiliar with.

He knew he couldn't choose his own life, and he understood he wouldn't have much freedom or space. He had suppressed the instinct to explore the outside world that every child inevitably possesses to the extreme.

But given the opportunity, he does look forward to having a different experience.

He was also willing to go among the people, to experience the hardships of life, and to understand people's lives.

Just as he was willing to try going hungry.

In fact, Liu Xie always admired Zhuge Liang.

He envied Zhuge Liang for being able to freely do what he wanted outside, and he also envied Zhuge Liang for always being able to learn Liu Bei's "miscellaneous knowledge" by doing hands-on experiments.

For example, geometry, levers, heat and force, our understanding of the universe, basic biology, and some simple chemical reactions...

In fact, Liu Bei's math and science skills were limited, only at the compulsory education level, and he had many affairs to attend to, making it difficult to organize them into a systematic subject.

But Liu Bei made Zhuge Liang do all the experiments himself—it didn't matter how much he learned, or how fast or slow he learned; the key was to truly master and apply the knowledge he learned.

Zhuge Workshop was not given any important task; it was merely used as a laboratory.

The lever crossbow developed in the workshop is not currently used on a large scale by the military because its power is insufficient to penetrate armor, and it can only be held horizontally, otherwise the bolt will fall. For infantry, its range and power are insufficient, and for cavalry, it is not as versatile as the bow and arrow. It is only suitable for people like Liu Bei who do not know how to use a bow and arrow.

Now, Liu Xie has the opportunity to tinker in the workshop.

Liu Bei did not restrict Liu Xie to staying outside the palace; Liu Xie could return to the palace at any time if he wished.

However, such identity exchanges cannot be carried out frequently, and Liu Xie himself understood this.

Therefore, Liu Bei and Liu Xie agreed that if Liu Bei chose to return to the palace after leaving it, he could not come out again—otherwise someone would die as a result, and Zhuge Liang would also be in extreme danger.

Liu Xie will not easily give up this hard-won second life.

Liu Xie wanted to see if he could become an official based on his own abilities after honing his skills outside for a period of time—he made a plan to take the policy examination when he was fifteen years old.

He couldn't assess his own abilities while in the palace, nor could he understand the specifics of the affairs. The inability to assess himself made him feel insecure, and the lack of understanding made him constantly anxious.

He wants to understand himself and the world; this is the attitude of a responsible child.

……

Zhuge Liang also envied Liu Xie.

Everyone is the same; we always have high expectations for things we don't understand.

Those inside the wall want to get out, and those outside want to get in...

Therefore, Zhuge Liang also gained a new life experience.

He was to wear a twelve-tassel crown, receive an education in the palace, and incidentally temper his character.

Zhuge Liang no longer needs to attend elementary school; he has been taught by so many people over the years that he has long since reached the graduation standard for elementary school.

His paternal uncle, Zhuge Xuan, was a learned man, and Zhuge Liang was always able to seek advice from Liu Bei, Jia Xu, and others. He also had a good relationship with young people such as Xu Shu and Tian Yu. Zhao Yun often went to the workshop to check on his studies.

However, Zhuge Liang was too young to enter the Great Han Military Academy—which had requirements for height, age, and physical fitness. He was not suitable to participate in military training at his current age, so he could go to the palace to learn about human nature.

This is also a way of learning through experimentation.

In fact, Zhuge Liang was very excited—he found this very thrilling…

Liu Bei was a little confused. Wasn't Zhuge Liang known for his extreme caution throughout his life?
Why is my Zhuge Liang so fond of adventure?

Could it be that the way I opened it was wrong?
But after thinking about it carefully, Liu Bei understood – if Zhuge Liang didn't have a spirit of adventure, how could he have accepted Liu Bei's invitation when he was living under someone else's roof?

What level of challenge did he accept at that time?

At that time, Liu Bei had nothing but a group of old brothers and was in a state of repeated defeats. When he met Zhuge Liang, Cao Cao had already unified the north, while Liu Bei was on the verge of bankruptcy.

To put it bluntly, they really can't even afford to pay salaries... They can only make a living by providing outsourced military services to Jingzhou Group, and are suppliers affiliated with large enterprises.

A small business owner who has failed in his startups multiple times, is operating with debt, and hires a strategist in his twenties to manage the operations. However, his competitors are state-owned monopoly groups...

It's important to know that Zhuge Liang's brother was a senior executive in the Jiangdong Group, and his father-in-law and brother-in-law were shareholders of Liu Bei's parent company, Jingzhou Group. Many of his friends were high-ranking executives in state-owned monopoly groups, so he could get internal referrals to any major company he wanted to work for.

But instead of joining a big company and getting a high salary, Zhuge Liang chose to work with Liu Bei, redo the business plan, repackage new products, and continuously capture the market. He actually managed to take this small, run-down company public.

After Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liang inherited the mess and launched one Northern Expedition after another, constantly attacking stronger opponents with weaker forces, capturing nine mines from one, and never stopping his conquests until his death. He died on the front lines of the Northern Expeditions.

This is a true hero who goes against the current; there are very few people with a greater spirit of adventure than him.

Zhuge Liang's cautious approach to military strategy stemmed from the fact that he couldn't afford to lose any troops, his resources were too limited, and he had no room for trial and error, not from a conservative personality.

The one who was truly cautious throughout his life was Zhuge Liang's rival.

……

Not many people in Qingzhou knew Liu Xie; they were only somewhat familiar with people like Yang Xiu, who had served as his study companions.

However, Yang Xiu and others would not study elementary education or attend any academy.

Even if they saw 'Jiang Ye' outside, they wouldn't immediately think he was the emperor; they would only think he was a child who looked like Liu Xie.

In fact, the only people who truly knew Liu Xie were Diao Chan and the old women who took care of his daily life.

Liu Xie had not attended court assemblies often before, except for major court assemblies where he would observe the government's affairs, and he rarely spoke except when issuing edicts to confer titles.

The throne in the palace was far from the officials, and their faces were covered by tasseled crowns, so their faces were indeed not clearly visible, and very few people would look up at them.

Even Jia Xu wasn't very familiar with Liu Xie, but he certainly knew that the person on the throne had changed, since he was very familiar with Zhuge Liang.

However, Jia Xu was indeed cautious... He didn't even ask, and pretended not to see it.

The first grand court assembly that Zhuge Liang participated in was when he issued an edict to comfort Tao Qian.

Tao Qian was granted the title of General of Andong and enfeoffed as Marquis of Liyang.

At the same time, he removed Tao Qian from his post as governor of Xuzhou and allowed him to return to his hometown to retire.

Liu Bei genuinely hoped that Tao Qian could retire peacefully. Although Tao Qian was not a good person and his governing ability was limited, he had indeed helped Liu Bei.

Tao Qian actually had no objections, and he never expected to be granted the title of Marquis of Liyang.

Liyang was a county under Danyang Prefecture, the hometown of Tao Qian, and a true land of plenty. Tao Qian was already content.

Tao Qian had two sons, but he felt that his two sons were mediocre and lacked talent, so he did not let them become officials. He only wanted his two sons to make more money, take more concubines, have more children and enjoy life.

Tao Qian wasn't particularly bothered by his post in Xuzhou. In those days, it was already a rare privilege to be able to retire peacefully, and Liu Bei hadn't pursued the matter of Tao Qian embezzling funds during his tenure.

For example, looting Huaxian County, plundering exiled gentry, etc... After all, these things can indeed be considered 'attacking the enemy,' which is barely acceptable.

In order to seize the time to prepare for famine and prevent disasters next year, Liu Bei transferred Zhang Fei to be the governor of Xuzhou. He sent Zhang Fei to Xuzhou to handle tax affairs and expand the area of ​​official farms in Xuzhou with Mi Zhu. Jinan was taken over by Guo Jia.

Liu Bei himself will remain in Qingzhou for the time being to coordinate the people's affairs—the climate in Qingzhou next year is certainly not going to be good, so Liu Bei plans to relocate some of the government-run settlements and households to Xuzhou.

Xuzhou has a relatively warmer climate, which makes its food supply more secure.

Ensuring sufficient food is more important than anything else.

In fact, Tao Qian's way of retiring from officialdom by being granted titles and honors was an immense honor and something many people would pursue throughout their lives.

However, in some people's eyes, Liu Bei's decision to change the governor of Xuzhou at this time might have been a bit like "taking advantage of someone's illness to kick them when they're down."

Many people were reluctant to see Tao Qian leave, especially those who were seriously ill and unable to perform their duties...

For example, Zuo Rong, a subordinate of Tao Qian.

……

Zuo Rong was a local tyrant in Danyang and one of the commanders of the Danyang army. The other commander was Cao Bao, the Commandant of Pengcheng.

Currently, Zuo Rong serves as the Commandant of Xiapi and oversees the canal transport of the three prefectures of Pengcheng, Xiapi, and Guangling. His residence is in Xiaxiang County, between Xiapi and Guangling, which is the confluence of the Si River and the Huai River—the hometown of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu.

After receiving the transfer order, Zhang Fei immediately went to Tancheng in Xuzhou. He first checked the accounts in Xuzhou and found that the grain rent from the official granaries in Xuzhou this autumn was actually 30% less than last year.

Especially in Xiapi, after Que Xuan was eliminated, the official garrison in Xiapi had the most land in the entire Xuzhou, and the land was the most fertile, but the amount of grain rent paid was the least.

Xiapi had been changed from a state to a prefecture, and its governor was Chen Deng.

Tao Qian and Chen Deng both fell ill when temperatures plummeted after the autumn harvest, and Donghai and Xiapi were left unsupervised for the past few months.

However, in the case of Mi Zhu, the military officer in charge of agricultural settlements, who also lacked oversight, grain rent increased by 20%—which is the normal situation.

So Zhang Fei quickly went to find Mi Zhu to find out what was going on.

Mi Zhu said that it was Zuo Rong who embezzled during his tenure, but Tao Qian had not restrained corruption much in order to maintain stability in Xuzhou—and indeed, the Danyang soldiers could not be restrained either, so Tao Qian did not want to cause a mutiny.

Chen Deng, the governor of Xiapi, suffered from gout, and the Chen family was clearly unwilling to fall out with the Danyang soldiers. The Chen family knew very well that Tao Qian would protect the Danyang family's assets, but they were also unsure of Liu Bei's mindset.

After all, Zuo Yuan's previous attitude was very clear: with the powerful clans of Qingzhou being purged, the powerful clans of Xuzhou would naturally be afraid.

In fact, the Mi family also dared not interfere. If it weren't for Mi Zhu often acting as a shill for Liu Bei and trusting him more, the Mi family would probably be afraid.

The situation in Xiapi would directly affect Liu Bei's plan to relocate people to Xuzhou, because Xiapi was the region with the best farming conditions in the entire Xuzhou—it was almost entirely plains, with a suitable temperature, a dense network of waterways, no place lacking water, and rice, wheat, millet, and beans could all be grown, and the land was fertile.

Zhang Fei and Mi Zhu went to Xiaxiang County for a secret investigation.

……

……

Unlike others, Zhang Fei rarely carried out ceremonial processions, preferring instead to travel lightly on horseback like a wandering knight.

After all, he was an artist and didn't care much about the pomp and circumstance of being an official.

When Zhang Fei went to Xiaxiang, he only took his personal guards and two hundred elite soldiers from the Wufeng Camp headquarters.

Upon entering the territory of Xiapi County, Zhang Fei sensed a certain degree of decay, a stark contrast to the vibrant atmosphere of Qingzhou.

Along the way, one could see starving people huddled among the ruins, surviving on snowmelt and tree bark.

Upon reaching the outskirts of Xiaxiang County, we saw thousands of people prostrating themselves in the snow, kowtowing before the porridge distribution tents.

After receiving a spoonful of thin porridge, one must follow the monk in his robes and kowtow, saying "I take refuge in Buddhism."

"The Zuo Duwei is a devout Buddhist, and most of his followers are believers..."

Mi Zhu whispered to Zhang Fei.

An old farmer shakily poured a bag of plump millet into a wooden box carved with lotus patterns, in exchange for a smear of cinnabar on his forehead. A monk shouted, "Immeasurable merit!"

"May I ask who this benefactor is?"

The monk approached Zhang Fei, and upon closer inspection, he discovered that Zhang Fei's robe was made of brocade.

Zhang Fei gripped the sword at his waist, watching the old farmer's unsteady departing figure, his brows furrowed deeply.

Zhang Fei often inspected Guantun in Jinan, and he knew that it was a bag of seeds.

The millet seeds were supposed to be sown in the ground in the spring, but now they have become a so-called "merit."

"What benefactor... Summon Zuo Rong to see me!"

Zhang Fei had a vague feeling that something was wrong. He had seen Zhang Ju's Mitian Sect in Youzhou and always felt that this Buddhist sect was not compassionate at all.

(End of this chapter)