My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 28 Discussion on Relocating the Government Office
Historically, there was another coincidence that led to Liu Bei losing Xuzhou: Chen Deng was entrusted with an important task and sent to serve as the governor of Donghai Commandery in order to counterbalance Chang Xi, the governor of Donghai Commandery.

If Chen Deng had stayed in Xiapi instead of taking up his post in Tancheng, given Chen Yuanlong's strategic acumen and Zhang Fei's trust in him, Lü Bu would have had a much harder time successfully launching a surprise attack on Xuzhou, and Cao Bao might not have even fallen out with Zhang Fei to the point of fighting.

However, history is impossible. Liu Bei only had a few trustworthy confidants, and even fewer talented ones. If he hadn't allowed Chen Deng to check Chang Xi, the entire Donghai Commandery would have been lost.

By then, Liu Bei would have truly become the Chancellor of Xiapi, holding the title of Governor of Xuzhou.

When Liu Bei invited him, Chen Deng readily agreed.

After arriving at their home, the group enjoyed a feast and made merry, accompanied by Guan, Zhang, Tian, ​​and Zhao.

At the banquet, Chen Deng showed no affectation typical of scholars. Instead, he acted casually, downing his drinks without a trace of pretension, which impressed the military officers.

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, and everyone was slightly tipsy, Liu Bei said to Chen Deng, "Yuanlong, I invited you here today to show you a treasure."

Liu Bei had already communicated with Liu Feng; the curved plow was something that couldn't be hidden, nor was there any need to hide it.

Instead of hiding it and letting locals pirate it later, we should just share it with them and increase production in exchange for their willingness to pay taxes and serve in the military.

Liu Bei already favored Chen Deng, so he was naturally willing to share this good stuff with him.

However, due to Liu Feng's opinion, since Liu Feng was the one who created this thing, if he were to forcefully tell Chen Deng, it would break his son's heart and cause him great distress.

Fortunately, Liu Feng agreed immediately, preventing him from being caught in the middle and having no choice but to comply.

Liu Feng simply instructed Liu Bei to use this to exchange for more benefits, and not to be fooled by Chen Yuanlong into giving it away for nothing.

Even if it benefits Chen Yuanlong, at least other powerful clans and wealthy families should pay more taxes.

Finally, Liu Feng emphasized to Liu Bei that the state granaries in Tancheng County were so poor that rats could run around in them.

Xuzhou is now extremely poor, and Liu Bei also feels that life is really hard.

He would be very willing to make a change if given the chance.

Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Xuzhou's annual output was about 200 million shi (a unit of dry measure). According to the Han Dynasty's land tax system of one-thirtieth of the total tax, the government could collect about 7 million shi of grain.

However, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, various regions were affected to varying degrees.

When Cao Cao entered Xu, he almost turned Pengcheng Kingdom into a wasteland.

Xuzhou consisted of five commanderies, with Langya Commandery under the control of Zang Ba. Starting from the time of Tao Qian, Zang Ba's Langya Commandery not only stopped sending money and grain to the prefecture, but also demanded that the prefecture subsidize its military expenses.

Guangling County was in the hands of Zhang Chao and Zhang Menggao, both from Shouzhang in Dongping.

Although he is not currently in Guangling County, he has led his troops to Yanzhou to help his brother Zhang Miao rebel against Cao Cao.

Yuan Sui, who was appointed by Zhang Chao to act as the prefect, remained neutral and did not acknowledge Liu Bei, nor did he take the initiative to show goodwill to Liu Bei so far.

As for Pengcheng Kingdom, it was already in ruins after being burned, killed, and looted by Cao Cao's Yanzhou army.

In the end, only Donghai Commandery and Xiapi Kingdom remained.

The western part of Donghai Commandery was also devastated, making it impossible to harvest grain. The northern counties were occupied by Chang Xi, the Donghai Commandery governor appointed by Tao Qian, a local warlord from Xuzhou and an ally of Zang Ba. The eastern counties were the private domain of the Mi family. It was likely that only the southern counties would be able to collect taxes, and that the Mi family would be willing to pay some taxes.

The only major taxpayer was Xiapi, which had experienced relatively little warfare and was well preserved. It was the most populous prefecture in Xuzhou, with a total of 16 counties under its jurisdiction, twice that of Pengcheng.

Its population was over 600,000, second only to Donghai County, which had not experienced war.

Now, it is undoubtedly the largest prefecture in Xuzhou, and it still has great potential for tax revenue.

Chen Dengzheng was from Huaipu in Xiapi. The Chen family was the head of the gentry in Xiapi. They were not just local bullies, but practically local dragons.

As long as he is willing to step in and coordinate, there will be no problem with the tax revenue of Xiapi.

This is the fundamental reason why Liu Bei wanted to move the prefectural capital from Tancheng County to Xiapi County as soon as he took over Xuzhou from Tao Qian.

Therefore, Liu Bei really hoped that Chen Deng could step forward and persuade the local gentry and powerful families to pay more taxes. Otherwise, the grain collected by the state government this year wouldn't even be enough to feed his own troops, which would be a real problem.

Chen Deng agreed to Liu Bei's request without hesitation, without mentioning any conditions.

What moved Liu Bei even more was that Chen Deng not only agreed to collect the money and grain from Xiapi for Liu Bei, but also reassured Liu Bei.

"Your Excellency need not worry. The people of Xiapi are all loyal to the emperor and patriotic, and they will certainly not delay the tax collection. I dare to guarantee that this year's autumn harvest in Xiapi will deliver at least 300,000 shi of grain to the prefecture. But please rest assured, Your Excellency, if there is any mishap, you will be held responsible."

Liu Bei was overjoyed and moved, so he couldn't help but walk up to Chen Deng and grasp his hand, saying, "Yuanlong, how can I possibly thank you enough?"

During times of peace in Xuzhou, the government could receive seven million shi of grain annually. However, after deducting the salaries of officials at all levels in the prefecture, county, township, and village, as well as the expenses of governance, the actual surplus that could be transferred to the central government was only about one and a half million shi.

Given the current situation in Xuzhou, the fact that Xiapi can supply the prefecture with 200,000 shi of grain already shows Liu Bei's utmost loyalty.

Unexpectedly, Chen Yuanlong dared to make a guarantee to supply 300,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) to the state government, which delighted Liu Bei.

With just 300,000 shi of grain, Liu Bei had enough to support his army, which meant that he had truly secured his position as the governor of Xuzhou.

How could he not be extremely grateful to Chen Deng?

"Why do you thank me, Your Excellency? This matter was simply my duty, and I do not deserve such praise from you."

Chen Deng spoke with great passion: "The people of Xiapi regard you as their father, which is why they are so devoted to serving the state. This shows how high their hopes are for you."

"The other day, Deng suggested to you that you move the prefectural capital to Xiapi. This would save on the expense of transportation and would also garner the full support of the soldiers and people of Xiapi. It would be a win-win situation. I wonder what you think of this, sir?"

Chen Deng was indeed a renowned scholar from Xuzhou, but he was also a native of Xiapi, and naturally hoped that Liu Bei would move the prefecture's capital to Xiapi.

After all, Xiapi has always been the second-best in Xuzhou, while Donghai County is the seat of the prefecture, and the prominent families of Donghai are the elite of Xuzhou.

The Chen family was able to rival the gentry of Donghai County entirely because the Chen family produced a famous Grand Commandant, Chen Qiu, who was not only highly learned but also sacrificed his life on the front line of eliminating eunuchs.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, this was the ultimate political correctness, which earned the Chen family a lot of credit.

(End of this chapter)