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

Chapter 447 The Truth Can Be Infuriating

Right after the leaflets were shot into Hulao Pass, a riot broke out inside the pass.

The unrest lasted for three days.

These past few days, Liu Bei has been using all sorts of tricks to insult Zhu Jun, exposing his true colors completely.

Moreover, everything Liu Bei revealed was true.

Zhu Jun's life followed a path common among the gentry of that era: seeking fame, climbing the social ladder, and climbing the social ladder through opportunism. If you didn't expose his true nature, all you would have was a good reputation.

Zhu Jun was known for his good reputation, including being filial to his mother, being generous and righteous, being both a scholar and a warrior, and having made outstanding military achievements. He was regarded by the gentry as a famous general whose reputation was known throughout the world.

But if you look closely, it's a different story.

A good reputation and a bad reputation are actually one and the same.

Zhu Jun also came from a poor family. His father died when he was young, and his mother made a living selling silk. However, his family was not poor; they were one of the wealthiest families in Kuaiji.

These days, ordinary people can't do the silk business. Silk itself is money, and it's a harder currency than the Wuzhu coin.

When Zhu Jun was young, Zhou Gui, a fellow county magistrate, was summoned by the Three Dukes' Office. Before setting off, he borrowed one million coins from the county government as expenses for making arrangements before entering the capital.

This kind of loan business has always existed. It wasn't because of buying official positions, since the imperial court hadn't yet collected money for buying official positions back then, but the recruitment of officials for the Three Dukes also required money.

Before the imperial court stopped charging money for official positions, the business of selling official posts was actually done by the government offices. It was the same as paying money to grant official positions, but unlike Liu Hong, the prices were not clearly marked.

This is also the biggest reason why Liu Hong openly sold official positions—since they were all being sold anyway, why let middlemen make a profit? At least the officials Liu Hong sold himself could be subject to the court's arrangements.

The reason why the price wasn't marked was that the Three Dukes' Office sometimes only took money and didn't do the service... Liu Hong was actually very trustworthy in business, and he didn't sell official positions all the time. For those who had made real contributions, Liu Hong really didn't take money.

Zhu Jun's fellow townsman Zhou Gui was a victim of the Three Dukes' Office selling official positions. He spent the money, but Zhou Gui only served as an official for a few months before being dismissed due to the turmoil in the court. Zhou Gui was recruited by Chen Fan, who was praised by the gentry as a model of the world.

— Every "role model" actually has a lot of dirty laundry to show for it.

At that time, eunuchs such as Cao Jie and Wang Fu launched a coup, and Chen Fan was killed by Cao Jie, and Liu Hong took power in his own right.

After the bigwig who sold official positions was taken down, Zhou Gui, fearing he would be implicated, returned to his hometown.

Subsequently, the county government urged repayment of the loan, but Zhou Gui's family was unable to pay it back in the short term.

Zhu Jun secretly stole the silk his mother used for business, thus relieving Zhou Gui's urgent need.

Zhu Jun's mother was furious after losing her business capital and blamed Zhu Jun for squandering the family fortune.

Zhu Jun said, "Small losses lead to great gains, and being poor at first but rich later is an inevitable principle."

This reputation for 'filial piety towards his mother'... was originally earned by his mother's business, and he was just sponging off her.

Moreover, he was quite ruthless, even stealing his mother's savings for her funeral and giving it to outsiders. If that money had fallen into someone else's hands, it would have been considered unfilial and disobedient.

Yet he actually had the reputation of being 'filial to his mother' and was even recommended as a candidate for the civil service examination...

Zhu Jun's "inevitable principle" means that to become an official, one must spend money to curry favor.

Although Zhou Gui had returned to his hometown, the fact that he was recruited by Chen Fan meant that the Zhou family had connections.

The silk worth millions of coins was exchanged for Zhou Gui's help in getting Zhu Jun to the position of Du Shang, the county magistrate of Shangyu. Du Shang then recommended Zhu Jun to the county government as a county official.

Afterwards, Zhu Jun served in the prefecture. When Yin Duan, the succeeding governor, came to Kuaiji, Zhu Jun also used a similar method to gain access and became Yin Duan's chief clerk.

At that time, Xu Zhao gathered a crowd to rebel, raised an army in Gouzhang, proclaimed himself Grand General, established his father Xu Sheng as Emperor Yangming, and attacked counties and prefectures.

Yin Duan's campaign against Xu Zhao ended in defeat, resulting in the loss of troops and territory. He was reported by the governor of Yangzhou and sentenced to death.

Zhu Jun then brought a large amount of gold to the capital, bribed the officials in charge of reporting to the emperor, and altered the memorial submitted by the prefect. As a result, Yin Duan was only demoted by the court.

When Yin Duan stepped down, he asked his successor, Xu Gui, to recommend Zhu Jun as a candidate for the civil service examination.

—This reputation for being 'generous with money and righteousness' is true in that he is indeed generous with money, but this thing has nothing to do with 'righteousness'. It's just about buying his way out with money.

As for 'both literary and military talents' and 'illustrious military achievements'...

Anyway, he and Huangfu Song did get a lot of heads, so their military achievements were "well-documented." In any case, the more the Yellow Turbans were suppressed, the more they multiplied, and the more chaotic the world became.

Even the fiefdom granted to Zhu Jun by Liu Hong was located in the no-man's-land where Zhu Jun had carried out massacres.

And the so-called 'renowned reputation throughout the world'...

Honestly, Liu Bei never saw any "prestige" from Zhu Jun. The Sanhe cavalry, the strongest fighting force in the entire Han Dynasty, could only deal with peasants under Zhu Jun's command...

Perhaps the criteria by which these scholars evaluate 'famous generals' are different from those of ordinary people.

Anyway, Liu Bei listed out all the accusations against him, such as "disobedience and lack of filial piety, currying favor by buying official positions, killing innocent people and claiming credit, and deceiving the world and stealing fame."

In addition, he also took the opportunity to curse the "entire family of corrupt officials" and the "disaster to the country and the people".

The phrase "a family full of corrupt officials" refers to Zhu Jun's eldest son, Zhu Fu.

The Zhu Fu was one of the root causes of the Shanyue rebellion, and could be considered the biggest cause of the disaster.

After the main force of the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled, Zhu Jun was ennobled and appointed as a general, which was indeed a glorious moment for him. His son also became an official because of this.

The eldest son, Zhu Fu, succeeded Jia Cong as the governor of Jiaozhou, while the second son, Zhu Hao, became an advisor.

Zhu Fu's treatment of the people during his tenure in Jiaozhou could not be described as harsh; it should be called abuse.

Appointing fellow townsmen and selling official positions are common practices, to say the least.

When Zhu Fu saw that fishermen in Jiaozhou did not pay grain tax, he invented a fishing tax—for every fish caught, a bushel of rice had to be paid as tax.

The saying goes, "The poor get rich later." The money Zhu Jun spent in the past was recouped tenfold or even a hundredfold by his son during his tenure.

The people of Jiaozhou could not tolerate this oppressive government. Some rebelled out of resentment, while others rose up in rebellion. The original Han people also went into the mountains and became the "Mountain Yue".

The Yue people were originally few in number; the vast majority of those considered mountain Yue were actually Han Chinese who were forced into the mountains to rebel.

The rebellion of the Yue people in the mountains must be suppressed. After suppressing it, they would gain merit and become officials, then incite the people to rebel again, and then suppress it again. This could be considered a closed loop. Moreover, in the future, there was a guy who called himself the Great Emperor who also came up with this approach.

Moreover, Zhu Fu was lucky. Liu Hong died during his tenure, and Liu Bei's influence could not reach Jiaozhou. At present, Jiaozhou was far from the emperor's reach, and there was really no one to restrain him.

However, Zhu Fu was about to be overwhelmed by the Shanyue rebellion. It was reported that Longbian County in Jiaozhi (the original capital of Jiaozhou) had been captured by the rebels, and Zhu Fu had been forced to move the capital to Guangxin.

In fact, the Zhu family was a typical representative of the literati of that era.

Liu Bei was all too aware of the good reputation the gentry spoke of...

If Zhu Jun truly has a clear conscience, then he has no reason to be angry.

Just as those gentry members criticized Liu Bei for "bringing chaos to the world, killing famous scholars, deceiving the emperor, and cruelly oppressing the people," Liu Bei actually didn't care.

But Liu Bei was telling the truth...

Seeing the commotion inside Hulao Pass, Zhu Jun probably couldn't resist.

……

Three days later, in the dead of night, a force rushed out from inside Hulao Pass, attempting a night raid on Liu Bei's camp.

However... Liu Bei's camp was not so easily attacked. The training methods left by Duan Jiong were specifically designed to counter night raids.

Those veterans who had undergone night training with Duan Jiong and are still alive today have all risen to the rank of cavalry commander or infantry garrison commander or higher, and they have passed on the experience they had gained to their subordinates. Furthermore, Liu Bei's rebuke of Zhu Jun was originally intended to lure him out of the pass.

When this force from inside Hulao Pass rushed into Liu Bei's camp, Liu Bei's troops had already completed an emergency assembly.

In this battle, Liu Bei still had no chance to make a move. Just like more than ten years ago, he could only yawn while having someone light a brazier, deliberately exposing himself to the firelight.

After all, Zhao Yun was in the camp, so it wasn't Liu Bei's turn to personally take the lead.

Then, Liu Bei heard the enemy soldiers shouting something about "revenge"...

"Who is coming? It doesn't seem to be Zhu Gongwei?"

The shouts were too loud for Liu Bei to hear clearly, so he asked Guo Jia, who was standing beside him.

Guo Jia carried his favorite lever crossbow and moved closer to the camp gate. After observing for a while, he retreated and said, "It should be Zhu Jun's second son, Zhu Hao. He looks like he's wearing a mourning scarf... Zhu Jun might be dead."

"You got so angry you died? You're so petty..."

Liu Bei shook his head: "Zilong, go and capture Zhu Hao alive. Once you capture him, we can break through the pass."

Zhu Jun is indeed dead.

He didn't even leave a last message before he died.

As you get older, it's indeed not advisable to get angry, let alone argue with others.

If someone of your age is subjected to humiliating insults and insults, it's easy to become stressed and lose face.

If high blood pressure is also present, the chances of triggering cerebral hemorrhage or cerebral infarction are quite high.

After Zhu Jun fell into a coma, his son Zhu Hao did not know how to perform first aid. By the time the doctor arrived, Zhu Jun had already passed away.

Zhu Hao seemed to have some filial piety, and he rushed into Liu Bei's camp shouting "Revenge!"

But as soon as they entered the camp, they heard the sound of drums.

Zhu Jun's troops were a private army that had been organized in Zhongmu a few months ago. Since their formation, they had neither received proper training nor fought any real battles. In fact, the entire army was quite incompetent, and only Zhu Jun could hold his own.

Zhu Jun stayed inside the pass and didn't come out because he knew how incompetent his troops were... Although Zhu Jun himself wasn't much better, he had fought for so many years and still had some insight.

If they were to defend Hulao Pass, it would indeed cause trouble for Liu Bei, because Liu Bei did not bring siege equipment.

But they left the city to attack Liu Bei's camp, and Zhu Jun wasn't even in the army...

This is basically a gift.

Liu Bei's troops just finished a top-tier tournament and returned as champions...

Zhao Yun led his troops out of the camp to meet Zhu Hao, who was wearing a hemp turban.

Zhu Hao was quite brave, roaring as he charged at Zhao Yun with his halberd... But despite his bravery, his skills were rather crude. When Zhao Yun thrust his spear at him, he didn't even know to dodge.

Actually, Zhao Yun didn't expect Zhu Jun's son to be so incompetent...

After all, he had been playing in the peak matches before, and suddenly he was in the bronze matches, so Zhao Yun was not used to it.

When the spear was within a foot of Zhu Hao, Zhao Yun realized that he seemed unable to dodge or defend against it.

So Zhao Yun had no choice but to temporarily stop his attack, forcefully deflecting the spear that was originally aimed at Zhu Hao's face, which made Zhao Yun a little unsteady.

This was a charge on horseback; once the spear is drawn, it's very difficult to retract it. Zhao Yun has already pushed his limits.

Liu Bei said he wanted to capture them alive, but Zhao Yun was not very skilled at this kind of task. So far, Zhao Yun had never captured an enemy general alive. He was ruthless and wanted to kill with his actions.

It is estimated that in the eyes of many gentry, he was considered a "cruel and inhumane lackey of Liu Bei," and together with Zhang Fei, they were considered the two major henchmen of "murder" and "arson."

Guan Yu should be considered a 'butcher,' or that's probably how the gentry of Jinyang viewed him...

Seeing that Zhao Yun's spear had missed by a full foot, Zhu Hao probably thought Zhao Yun was even less skilled than him, and shouted "Die, you traitor!" before turning his horse to chase after Zhao Yun...

In their second encounter, Zhu Hao's weapon was knocked away by Zhao Yun, who then grabbed his belt and, like prey, lifted him and placed him in front of the saddle.

Zhao Yun then disregarded the other enemy troops and led Zhu Hao back to Liu Bei.

He's not interested in beating noobs.

……

"You villain, you killed my father! Such cruelty to a meritorious official will surely be punished by Heaven!"

Zhu Hao, however, was quite defiant. Even after being thrown in front of Liu Bei by Zhao Yun, he still glared angrily at Liu Bei.

"Your father is really dead? He was just petty, how did that make me the one who harmed a meritorious official?"

Liu Bei was somewhat speechless: "Judging from your attitude, it seems I should eliminate you completely..."

"My father was a hero all his life, yet you have slandered him as a fraud and a charlatan! You traitor, I will never forgive you!"

Zhu Hao shrank back, but still glared fiercely at Liu Bei: "Do you really think you'll let me go? If you want to kill me, then kill me. Why bother with this pretense!"

"What? Zhu Jun can deceive the world and steal a reputation, but I can't say anything? Is that reasonable?"

Liu Bei sighed: "Fine, I originally intended to spare your life, but since you've already asked me to kill you, then I'll grant you your reputation for filial piety... Zilong, take him to the gate of Hulao Pass, then prosecute and execute his entire family. Anyway, I've already been accused of harming meritorious officials, so I can't bear this infamy for nothing."

Zhao Yun, standing to the side, said "Yes," and stepped forward to take Zhu Hao away.

Seeing Liu Bei's reaction, Zhu Hao became somewhat intimidated: "You... what right do you have to exterminate my entire family? What crime has my Zhu family committed?!"

"You've already said you're my sworn enemy, so are you just going to leave your family here to seek revenge? Zhu Jun may be a fraud, but he's not stupid. How could he have such a foolish son?"

Liu Bei shook his head and said, "I think Zhu Jun was probably angered to death by you..."

Zhu Hao's expression changed, and he seemed to want to beg for mercy, but he couldn't help but retort: ​​"A noble family like yours, how can you execute someone without a crime? You are truly cruel and tyrannical..."

"Your father slaughtered over 100,000 civilians, far more cruel and tyrannical than I am. Your brother abused the people in Jiaozhou, killing over a million, leading to widespread uprisings in Jiaozhou, also far more cruel and tyrannical than I am... When your father and brother killed civilians, were they ever punished according to the law?"

After saying that, Liu Bei waved his hand, signaling Zhao Yun to take the guy away.

"How can we, noble lords and virtuous men, be compared with lowly humans!"

Zhu Hao shouted, "I'm not convinced! No..."

"I don't need your submission... Who do you think you are, daring to call yourself a lord or a virtuous scholar?"

Zhao Yun grabbed Zhu Hao by the back of the neck, choking him before he could finish speaking.

Zhu Hao's attack on the camp has only been going on for a short while, but the battle inside the camp is basically over, and the troops he brought have scattered and fled.

Zhao Yun didn't like to bully weaker opponents, but the greenhorn Chen Dao was quite interested in it. In just a quarter of an hour, Chen Dao had already chased after them for five miles...

After the martyrs' memorial service, Chen Dao filled the vacancy in Liu Bei's central army and became Zhao Yun's subordinate.

He missed the Northern Expedition, and this Western Expedition is his first time participating in a war.

On the way to break through Hulao Pass with Zhu Hao, Zhao Yun encountered Chen Dao chasing the enemy. Seeing that Chen Dao was full of energy, Zhao Yun gave the credit for breaking through the pass to this junior from the military academy.

(End of this chapter)