I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 438 Let the common people suffer again

Qingzhou.

When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in Qingzhou, the entire Qi region was reduced to ruins. At that time, Kong Rong, a 20th-generation descendant of Confucius, was sent to Beihai Kingdom, where the Yellow Turban army was most rampant, to serve as prime minister because of his disagreement with Dong Zhuo over the issue of deposing and installing emperors.

At that time, all the officials in Qingzhou were dismissed and fled for their lives. Only Kong Rong slowly gathered the officials and people, re-established cities and towns, set up schools, recommended virtuous and talented people, and promoted Confucianism.

However, Kong Rong believed himself to be exceptionally talented, unmatched by any other prominent figure of his time. When selecting officials, Kong Rong was driven by curiosity and a penchant for the unusual, choosing only frivolous and restless individuals. While he treated gentlemen with respect, he did not discuss state affairs with them.

His pronouncements on doctrines and edicts filled the officialdom, and his language was elegant and refined, worthy of being read and recited. However, his discussions on practical matters were mostly superficial. When the taxes from Beihai were slightly delayed, Kong Rong executed five inspectors in a single day; corrupt officials and unscrupulous people disrupted the court and markets, yet Kong Rong was powerless to control them.

When the Yellow Turban rebels approached Beihai, Kong Rong drank heavily, mounted his horse, and personally led the defense against them on the Lai River. The vanguard of the Yellow Turban army clashed with Kong Rong, while the flanks crossed the river and attacked the capital of Beihai… The city fell, and Kong Rong was unable to enter. He was forced to retreat to the south, where his followers gradually deserted him. Kong Rong suffered repeated defeats and achieved nothing, unable to protect the entire country. He abandoned his post and later moved to Xuzhou.

It wasn't until Liu Bei succeeded Tao Qian as the governor of Xu Province that Liu Bei, mindful of Kong Rong's reputation, recommended him to serve as the governor of Qing Province. Only then did Kong Rong return to the devastated Qing Province.

Later, Yuan Tan attacked Beihai, and the battle raged from spring to summer. Kong Rong's soldiers dwindled to only a few hundred, arrows rained down upon them, and close combat ensued within the city. Kong Rong, however, remained calmly seated, reading and conversing as if nothing had happened. That night, the city fell, and his men perished. Kong Rong fled to the Central Plains, barely escaping with his life; his family was captured by Yuan Tan…

Admittedly, Kong Rong did some good deeds in Qingzhou.

But the harm he did to Qingzhou far outweighed the benefits he brought to Qingzhou.

Wang Xiu, a native of Beihai who had been recommended by Kong Rong as a candidate for the civil service examination, knew this all too well.

Therefore, although he served Kong Rong as his master, after Yuan Tan defeated Kong Rong, he served Yuan Tan as his master.

After Lü Bu seized Qingzhou, Wang Xiu was summoned by Lü Bu and given the high position of Chief Administrator.

As a scholar, Wang Xiu naturally had a strong aversion to a crude and vulgar warrior like Lü Bu.

However, Wang Xiu soon discovered that under Lü Bu's rule, Qingzhou was actually doing quite well, at least much better than when Kong Rong was in power.

At least……

If bandits were to appear in Qingzhou, Lü Bu would indeed ride Red Hare and personally lead the campaign against them.

Even when Chang Xi, the notorious bandit who had previously roamed Mount Tai, was robbed by a caravan, Lü Bu immediately led his soldiers to attack and kill him!

For Lü Bu, it was perhaps just swatting a fly.

But for the officials and common people of Qingzhou, Lü Bu's existence was like a god descending to earth!
Even the land issue, which was the biggest concern for aristocratic families like Wang Xiu, was handled exceptionally well by Lü Bu, by a series of unexpected events.

Lu Bu did not move the three chiefs and equal land distribution system of the Han Dynasty.

As for the reason... it was that Lü Bu found it troublesome.

As for land taxes, the amount collected by Lü Bu was pitifully small.

Liaodong and the Han Dynasty traded in Qingzhou. Lü Bu could make a fortune just from the commercial taxes. Why would he need to add extra taxes to squeeze money out of the people?

This led Wang Xiu to discover a fact that was laid bare before him, a fact he was somewhat unwilling to acknowledge—

Kong Rong, Yuan Tan, and Lü Bu.

Of the three who ruled Qingzhou, Lü Bu was actually the best!

The one who enabled the scholars of Qingzhou to live a good life was actually the crude and vulgar warrior they despised the most.

When Wang Xiu came to this conclusion, he was startled!
But the facts before him do not allow him to slander or deny them.

The once ruined city of Linzi has been rebuilt, with city walls that are now taller than ever before; the central avenue is wide enough to accommodate four carriages traveling side by side; the markets are teeming with merchants from Jiaodong, Liaodong, Jiangdong, and even Hebei; the city's granaries are already full. In Linzi alone, Wang Xiu has not seen a starving pedestrian die by the roadside, nor has he seen any bones discarded on the roadside for far too long...

Gradually, Wang Xiu also gave up his prejudices.

He wanted to understand why Qingzhou flourished under the rule of someone like Lü Bu, while suffering so much misery under scholars like Kong Rong and Yuan Tan, whose reputations were far better and whose status was more prestigious. Unfortunately…

Before Wang Xiu could figure these things out, Chen Deng approached him first.

"The eldest son intends to attack Qingzhou from Lu?"

Wang Xiu couldn't believe it.

"Isn't the eldest young master in Guanzhong?"

"Shuzhi, you don't understand military matters. But all you need to know is that Liu Miao cannot win this battle!"

The conversation with Chen Deng that day still echoed in Wang Xiu's ears.

"The reason Liu Miao hasn't brought the Jiangdong system to Qingzhou is because he's still wary of Northern Zhao! He's afraid that if Qingzhou falls into chaos, his flank will be lost!"

"But if Liu Miao wins, he will inevitably implement new policies! At that time, can you tolerate such an emperor? Such a Han dynasty?"

In the eyes of powerful clans, Liu Miao was roughly a level below Wang Mang but a level above Hu Hai.

What difference is there between letting such a monarch ride on their heads and taking their lives?
Wang Xiu originally intended to refute Chen Deng.

He hoped that Chen Deng would go and see Qingzhou and Xuzhou as they are now.

Actually, having a monarch like Liu Miao in a country like the Han Dynasty wasn't so bad...

But since Chen Deng was willing to talk to him, he certainly wouldn't give Wang Xiu a second option.

After weighing the pros and cons, Wang Xiu agreed to Chen Deng's request.

"Even someone like Lü Bu could govern Qingzhou well, so there's no reason why the eldest son... no, His Highness Prince Qin couldn't govern Qingzhou well, right?"

With this hope in mind, Wang Xiu began to do what he was supposed to do, as Chen Deng had instructed.

Using the pretext of the presence of Yuan's army in the north, they transferred the garrison troops near Linzi away.

Then, the military orders were changed, allowing Yuan's disguised troops to sneak into the vicinity of Linzi.

And then—

Fire! Firelight filling the sky!

That's all Wang Xiu can see!
A large number of Wuhuan cavalrymen stormed into Linzi city, burning, killing, and looting.

Thick smoke billowed as the people of Qingzhou scattered and fled, driven away by the Wuhuan cavalry as if they were chickens and ducks.

Upon seeing valuable ornaments, they would remove them and stuff them into their pockets; if they couldn't remove them, they would use daggers to pluck all the valuables from the body; upon seeing unarmed men, they would drive their warhorses to run them over; upon seeing beautiful women, they would dismount and rape them right there in the street; upon seeing young children, they would simply impale them with spears and laugh as they displayed them as their spoils…

"brute!"

With red eyes, Wang Xiu rode up to Yuan Tan and drew his sword: "What is Your Highness doing?"

Seeing the brutality of the Wuhuan, Yuan Tan felt a chill run down his spine.

But when Yuan Tan thought about the role of this Wuhuan cavalry, he closed his eyes—

"Let the common people suffer first..."

"I, Yuan Tan, will be eternally grateful in the future!"

(End of this chapter)