The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

These powerful clans had long since fought to the bitter end and were no longer able to offer much resistance.

They almost never needed to use the second plan again.

"Mr. Wenhe, Mr. Zhongde," Li Chang reined in his horse, pointed to the fortified villages ablaze ahead, and laughed, "Our 'rescue' work should begin."

Jia Xu stroked his beard; his slightly plump body and smile made him look even more like a kind old man.

"Rest assured, Prefect, I will also rescue them from this dire situation!"

Cheng Li remained expressionless: "I guarantee it will be spotless; we won't even leave them any corpses!"

The three split into three groups and headed straight for the fortified villages of the three powerful families: the Wang, Guo, and Zhao.

Along the way, take all the people, money, and provisions that the Xiongnu abandoned!

"Oh my, we've found another person! They insist on coming home with me!"

There was also money and food that nobody wanted! So I had no choice but to reluctantly take it all with me!

Meanwhile, Jia Xu and Cheng Li are making faster progress.

Jia Xu didn't even need to lift a finger; he only needed to say one sentence to the terrified clan heads:

"The Xiongnu army will arrive soon. I will take you to a safe place!"

Those people were already terrified. Upon seeing the Han army, they decisively abandoned their servants and slaves, and even begged Jia Xu to take their core clansmen away first.

Jia Xu reluctantly agreed and obediently led them away with the soldiers.

Then, a large number of Han soldiers, who seemed to be bandits, left behind only a needle and thread!

Cheng Li went even further, sending the people away for protection without leaving them even a corpse!

Overnight, almost all the prominent families in Taiyuan Prefecture were emptied out.

All the gold, silver, grain, weapons, and land they had accumulated over hundreds of years fell into the hands of Liu Bei's army.

The next morning.

The Prefectural Governor's Residence of Jinyang City.

They discovered Zang Min, who had hanged himself after leaving a confession.

Liu Bei stood under the roof beam, looking up at the corpse hanging on the swing, and remained silent for a long time.

Zang Min's hair was disheveled, his eyes were open, and his face seemed to carry guilt, resentment, and despair!

At his feet lay a confession he had voluntarily written, the ink still wet.

Liu Bei reached out and picked it up to read it.

I burst into tears when I saw the end!

The letter reads: Zang Min admitted that he was coerced by the powerful families of Taiyuan during his tenure, and that he had colluded with the Black Mountain bandits and concealed the families' hoarding of weapons, all in an attempt to frame Liu Bei!

Even when Fuluo marched south, he ordered the gates of Jinyang to be opened!

"I, Zang Min, have been paid by the emperor but have failed to serve him faithfully, resulting in the massacre of the people of Jinyang and my collusion with powerful families to betray the country."

"Your Majesty, I deserve to die ten thousand times. I now offer my death to atone for my sins, hoping that General Liu will punish the treacherous officials, pacify the people, and protect the territory of our Great Han. Even in the netherworld, I will be eternally grateful."

The last stroke was executed with extreme force, as if a pang of conscience had struck, almost tearing the paper apart!

Liu Bei closed the confession and let out a long sigh.

He originally wanted to ask Zang Min in person how he, as a high-ranking official of the Han Dynasty, could do such a thing.

Now that he's dead, there's no need to ask anymore. Zang Min can no longer answer!

"My lord."

Jia Xu and Cheng Yu walked in one after the other. Neither of them looked well.

"What is it?" Liu Bei turned around.

Jia Xu stepped forward and handed over a stack of letters wrapped tightly in oilcloth: "They were found in Yufuluo's central army tent."

Liu Bei took it, opened the top letter, and his pupils suddenly contracted!

"hiss!!!"

It was actually a handwritten letter from Yang Mei, the prefect of Shangdang, to Yu Fuluo!

The letter agreed to coordinate an attack from within and without to capture Taiyuan!

At the bottom is a map of Taiyuan Prefecture, densely marked.

The locations of all the powerful families' fortified villages, the amount of grain they stored, the number of their private soldiers, and even the weaknesses of each fortified village were circled in red. The signatures were left blank!

Liu Bei slammed his fist on the table, cracking the solid wood table.

"A bunch of bastards!"

He was so angry he was trembling all over:

"They are all officials of the Han Dynasty, all from powerful families of the Han Dynasty, yet they do such a thing as betraying their master for personal gain! What good does it do them to let wolves into the house for their own selfish interests?"

They nearly caused the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians under the iron hooves of the Xiongnu! Do they have even a shred of conscience? Do they have even a shred of decency?

Guan Yu stood aside and said, "Brother, these people deserve to die. Let their bones be crushed and their ashes scattered, to comfort the dead people."

"It's too late," Cheng Yu said expressionlessly.

"Last night, when the Xiongnu entered the city, the first thing they raided was the fortified villages of these aristocratic families."

They thought that by making an agreement with the Xiongnu, they could protect themselves, but they didn't expect that the Xiongnu would be so untrustworthy and would rob them before they even had a chance to plunder the people.

Now, all the prominent families in Taiyuan Prefecture have either died at the hands of the Xiongnu or have been "rescued" by us and moved to a safe place.

A few days later, before they had even finished dealing with the mess in Taiyuan, Zhao Yun from Shangdang sent a letter.

A bodyguard rushed in, holding an urgent letter sealed with wax:

"General! General Zhao of Shangdang has sent an urgent message, traveling 800 li!"

Liu Bei's heart skipped a beat. He took the book and opened it. After reading a few lines, his face turned deathly pale, and he staggered back a step.

"Brother!" Guan Yu grabbed him and helped him up.

Liu Bei raised his head, his eyes vacant:

"Shangdang... Shangdang is the same. The bayberry tree actually has connections with the Southern Xiongnu!"

The prominent families of Shangdang were all in cahoots with Yangmei.

Zilong also found almost identical letters and maps treasonous with the enemy in Yangmei's study.

The entire lobby fell silent. Everyone was speechless.

The Yanmen family, the Taiyuan family, and the Shangdang family all colluded with the enemy.

The entire Bingzhou, from top to bottom, from the prefect to the commandery officer, from powerful families to local tyrants, is rotten to the core!

They received salaries from the Han Dynasty, occupied Han Dynasty land, and secretly colluded with the Hu people, betraying their own compatriots.

But why? This doesn't benefit them at all!

Could someone have framed them? But Bingzhou has no grudge against them!

Or perhaps the Black Mountain bandits and the Southern Xiongnu have joined forces?

The more they thought about it, the more likely it seemed! It must be that the Southern Xiongnu and the Black Mountain bandits had joined forces!

Liu Bei stood still, looking towards Luoyang.

"How could the Great Han... have become like this?" he muttered to himself. "Is it really... all over?"

"Brother, it's not that bad."

Li Chang walked up to Liu Bei and pointed to the old tree in front of the door.

Nourished by the spring, the old trees have sprouted new buds, and the withered trees in the yard seem poised to bloom again this year.

"The Great Han is not over yet. As long as our leader is here, and as long as we who are still willing to risk our lives are here, the Great Han will never be finished."

Those termites are better off dead. Only by cutting away this rotten flesh can a strong man grow new flesh.

Liu Bei looked at him, his gaze slowly returning to normal.

"So what do we do now?"

"Simple." Li Chang pointed to the letters and map on the table:

"All evidence of treason should be sent to Luoyang untouched by the enemy, via express courier."

The report attached stated that we had quelled the rebellions of the Southern Xiongnu and the Black Mountain Army, killed Yufuluo, and recovered the two commanderies of Taiyuan and Shangdang.

As for those aristocratic families, everything was reported truthfully, and in the end, they only said that we suspected it might be a fabricated alliance between the Black Mountain bandits and the Southern Xiongnu.

We simply arrived and rescued the surviving civilians, confiscating their remaining money, grain, and weapons to appease the local population and provide tribute to the imperial court.

They only need to get started slightly, and they will naturally be matched with the appropriate teammates and opponents!

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, then nodded:

"Alright, do as Fourth Brother says. Immediately send someone to deliver the evidence and battle report to Luoyang."

Order the entire army to rescue the civilians, bury the dead, extinguish the fires, and restore order to Jinyang and Shangdang. Looting the civilians is strictly prohibited; those who disobey will be executed.

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.

Then, Li Chang pointed to the map and the ground beneath his feet:

"Now that the governors of Taiyuan and Shangdang prefectures are gone, and the commandery officers and assistant commanders are missing, we will temporarily assume the positions of governors for the sake of the people!"