My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 96 Killing the Chicken to Scare the Monkey (Six Chapters in One Go, Please Subscribe!)

Gu Jiang was from Qi County. When Cao Cao first attacked Xu Province, he fled from his hometown and luckily escaped the slaughter of Cao Cao's army, and is still alive today.

Gu Jiang was lucky from a young age. After growing up, he married and had children under his parents' arrangement. He thought that his life would just go on like this.

But the bloodshed of Cao Cao's army changed his world.

But in the end, he was still lucky. After all, not many people were able to escape from Qi County, let alone Gu Jiang, who had a family to support. He even managed to find a job in Tancheng County, which was enough to support his elderly father, wife and children.

When Gu Jiang learned that Liu Shijun, the newly appointed governor of Xuzhou, wanted to establish military farms and was recruiting households, she hesitated for a long time before finally giving up her job as a hired laborer and choosing to sign up.

After all, land is ingrained in the bones of the Han people. For Gu Jiang, an opportunity to own land was worth exchanging everything for.

The Gu family consists of four people: three adults and one child.

The Gu family, who met the requirements, were quickly notified that their application had been approved and they were assigned to farm in Xiangben County.

Gu Jiang was pleased to hear this, since Xiang Ben was right next to Tancheng, and being closer to the governor would make him feel safer.

Gu Jiang was overjoyed when he heard that it was the son of the governor who was personally escorting them.

If the governor's son were to be stationed permanently in Xiangben, then there would be nothing to worry about.

On the third day of the second lunar month, after a day's journey, Gu Jiang, accompanied by his family and the son of the governor, arrived in Xiangben County.

There were fine houses for them to live in, and a bowl of rice porridge was provided for them in the evening. Firewood and straw were even provided in the houses for them to keep warm.

Gu Jiang felt that everything was so wonderful, which made him think of the beautiful scenery of tending his own fields.

The next day, Lu Su's subordinates began going from street to street, informing them of the villages they were assigned to.

Liu Feng specifically instructed that everyone be randomly assigned and their assignments staggered to prevent any situation where a powerful clan would dominate the village.

Lu Su implemented this very well, and Gu Jiang was soon incorporated into Xishan Village.

This village is not far from the county seat. In fact, nowadays all villages are not far from each other, after all, there are only so many people.

The more than 500 households were temporarily divided into ten villages, and two pavilion chiefs and ten village chiefs were appointed.

Gu Jiang arrived at Xishan Village without any problems and was assigned land without any problems. Ten mu of the land was paddy fields, and there were twenty mu of irrigated land. Most of the remaining dry land was medium-sized fields, with only ten mu of low-grade fields.

This delighted Gu Jiang, for this was a family heirloom worthy of being passed down through generations.

Previously, the state government had advertised that each household could be allocated 80 mu of land, but he didn't really believe it. He felt that being allocated half, or even 30 mu, would already be a blessing from heaven.

Unexpectedly, the state government's words were so accurate, with no shortage of funds.

No wonder the people of the prefecture say that the newly arrived Prefect Liu is a good official. He not only drove away Cao Yanzhou, who massacred the people of Xuzhou, but he is also selfless and compassionate towards the common people.

Hearing that the prefecture was out of food, Magistrate Liu still managed to borrow grain from wealthy landowners to distribute porridge.

Many disaster victims said that if it weren't for Magistrate Liu, they would have starved to death outside the city and been eaten by wild animals long ago.

Although Gu Jiang didn't get to drink the life-saving porridge, she still had a very good impression of Liu Shijun.

As a commoner with no power or influence, he could only wish Prefect Liu a long and healthy life with many children and blessings.

Soon, the promised seeds, grains, and farm tools were distributed, and even a thin quilt was given out. As long as you stuffed dry straw inside, it would be very warm.

As she watched her days get better and better, Gu Jiang was naturally overjoyed.

But there was one thing that was giving him a headache.

The troublesome thing is his wife.

Gu Jiang's wife was originally surnamed Chen. After marrying Gu Jiang, she became Gu Chenshi.

This woman is good in every way; she is filial to her parents-in-law, considerate to her husband, and loves her children.

But he's too petty and can't stand being taken advantage of.

If someone takes advantage of them even slightly, they'll fly into a rage, making a huge scene.

This time, the government distributed grain. It was originally agreed that families like theirs would receive four and a half shi of grain per month, with each of the two able-bodied men receiving one and a half shi. Gu Jiang's father would receive one shi, and his child would receive half a shi.

This amount of grain is enough for them to eat their fill and have the energy to farm.

When the grain was actually distributed, Gu Jiang's family only received three shi and three dou of grain. One shi of grain had disappeared, and the other two dou were to be given as tribute to the officials who came to distribute the grain.

Without these supplies, the grain would be difficult to obtain.

Gu Jiang was a little frustrated. Why didn't his wife understand this principle?

Look at these forty or fifty households in Xishan Village, which one dares to cause trouble?
They all obediently paid their taxes and received only a meager amount of grain, and that was it?

Although the lack of that one shi and two dou of grain would indeed be insufficient for food.

It's freezing cold outside, and there aren't any wild vegetables to be found.

But at worst, I'll just eat one less bite.

Anyway, it's not spring yet, and the farm work isn't too heavy. I can manage by slowly turning over the soil myself.

When spring arrives, there will be more wild vegetables. If we eat more wild vegetables then, the grain will last until the summer harvest.

But if you make a rash statement and anger the men, you'll definitely suffer the consequences.

It's only because the men have taken pity on the whole family that they can kill them silently.

Just as Gu Jiang was squatting at the door, slowly drinking water and lost in thought, a dozen or so people approached from a distance.

The leader was a young man with delicate skin, who looked quite young and like a son of a wealthy family, but his clothes were rather ordinary.

From a distance, the young master's attendant shouted in their direction.

"Brother, could I have a bowl of water?"

Why can't that be?

Old Gu stood up, waved to the other person, and then went back into the house to fetch water again.

Drinking cold water in this weather would definitely be too cold, and the Gu family wouldn't waste firewood just to drink hot water. That's why Old Gu drank his water so slowly and deliberately, because it was too cold to drink.

Soon, the group of people came over, and Gu Chenshi didn't say anything more this time, hiding inside the house.

One of the men came over first and handed over a few copper coins: "Brother, I really can't stand drinking cold water. Could you please heat up some tea for me?"

Gu Jiang didn't accept the money, and replied with a smile, "It's just a few bowls of hot tea, I don't need this. Wait a moment, I'll ask my wife to start a fire."

Gu Chenshi inside clearly heard what was said, and without Gu Jiang urging her, she went to the kitchen to start a fire.

While waiting for the hot water, and since they had nothing else to do, the visitor started chatting with Gu Jiang.

When the topic of land division came up, Gu Jiang's lips curled up, and he couldn't suppress it no matter what he did.

But then the other party suddenly changed the subject, asking if there was enough food, and said that the prefectural government had put in a lot of effort to provide them with enough food.

Gu Jiang was slightly taken aback, then lowered her head and pretended not to hear.

Gu Jiang didn't say anything, but his wife couldn't hold back any longer and simply lifted the curtain and came out.

"We were promised four shi and five dou of grain, but we only received three shi and three dou. There are no wild vegetables to dig up in winter. Even if we eat less now, we can't take good care of the fields when spring comes and we have to work on an empty stomach."

"Three stones and three bushels?"

The young man became interested and asked curiously, "The prefecture clearly promised that each adult laborer would receive one and a half shi of rations, the elderly and children over eight years old would receive one shi of rations, and children under eight years old would receive half a shi. Did you really only receive three shi and three dou?"

Gu Jiang glared at her wife, but she had already said what she wanted to say, and there was no point in trying to cover it up now.

Upon hearing the young master's question, he could only nod with a bitter face and say, "We were given three and a half bushels of grain. When we received the grain, each household had to deduct two bushels for the loss."

The young nobleman understood: wasn't this just the Eastern Han Dynasty version of "drifting away"?

That's right, this young master is Liu Feng.

This time, he left Xiangben County with Pan Zhang and several guards and attendants to visit various villages and inquire about the distribution of land, grain, and various supplies.

However, the situation is far from satisfactory.

After visiting the villages, it turned out that Gujiang Village actually provided the highest amount of grain.

Only able-bodied men could receive one shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain, while those who were not able-bodied received no grain at all.

Even so, these people were still overjoyed. Although they were worried about whether they could handle the heavy farm work after the spring, at least life seemed to have hope again.

It seems that my father's repeated orders and Zijing's earnest teachings were no match for the allure of money and goods.

Liu Feng had considered that with such a large distribution of supplies, some people would inevitably try to profit from it; it was unavoidable. However, he always felt that since the prefecture had invested so much and repeatedly instructed its officials, surely it would have some effect?

But as a result, nobody really took him and Liu Bei seriously.

Liu Feng's heart was burning with murderous intent, but he wore a smile on his face and continued chatting with Gu Jiang's family. After the water boiled, he drank a bowl of tea, left ten copper coins, and then turned to leave.

After Liu Feng left, Gu Jiang couldn't help but scold his wife for talking too much: "What nonsense are you spouting? Aren't you afraid of bringing trouble to the family with your loose tongue?"

Upon hearing the word "disaster," Gu Chenshi, who had been stubbornly holding on, suddenly became discouraged and mumbled, "Isn't it because there isn't enough food? How will you be able to withstand the hard work when spring comes and we start working?"

Gu Jiang originally intended to say a few more words of reproach, but after hearing his wife's words of concern, he could only let out a bitter sigh.

Meanwhile, Liu Feng, who had left, was preparing to return to the county town.

This time, he has already visited two nearby villages.

Including the eight villages he had already visited, Liu Feng has now visited all ten villages in the first batch.

As a result, only Xiashan Village received its full food ration subsidy.

Apart from that, the best situation was in Xishan Village, which we just visited, where three shi and three dou were distributed, while the worst situation was in Shuize Village, where only two shi were distributed.

This outcome left him feeling helpless, angry, and also with a bittersweet sense of relief.

Liu Feng felt helpless because these events were within his expectations, yet difficult to avoid, leaving him only able to watch helplessly as they unfolded.

Therefore, at the beginning of the personnel selection process, he specifically instructed that officials with powerful backgrounds and from prominent families in Xuzhou be excluded. Instead, he specifically selected minor officials from humble backgrounds.

Unfortunately, although he knew how corrupt the officials of this era were, he still repeatedly issued orders and even took it upon himself to provide extra subsidies for these officials' salaries.

But the result still disappointed him. Even if he didn't want to kill, he would probably have to go on a killing spree this time.

The only consolation came from the officials in Xiashan Village; at least one of them had a conscience.

After returning to Xiangben County, Liu Feng went directly to Lu Su and told him about the situation.

Lu Su was instantly enraged, wishing he could immediately kill all those scoundrels.

Immediately, Lu Su knelt down and begged Liu Feng for forgiveness, saying, "It is my duty to cultivate land, yet such a serious case has occurred. The fault lies with me. Please inform the Duke so that I may be punished as well."

Liu Feng quickly stepped forward to help Lu Su up: "What makes you say that, Master Zijing? Father entrusted you with overall control, while I am specifically in charge of Xiangben County. Not only did I select all these officials, but I also arranged the distribution of grain. What does this have to do with you, Master Zijing?"

Liu Feng took all the responsibility upon himself, which greatly moved Lu Su.

But in fact, Liu Feng was not lying; this matter really had nothing to do with Lu Su.

Lu Su had neither the authority to transfer personnel nor the power to prosecute, so how could he be held responsible?

In fact, this was Liu Feng's deliberate act. If the officials selected this time were all honest and obedient, then now would be the time for Liu Feng to come and hand over power to Lu Su.

But they disappointed Liu Feng, so what Liu Feng had to do next was to take Lu Su's place as the villain and kill someone to establish his authority.

With this batch of dead chickens, I believe we can scare off the monkeys for a while.

“Mr. Zijing, please leave this matter entirely to me. I will give you an explanation in a few days.”

After comforting Lu Su, Liu Feng suddenly changed the subject: "By the way, we discovered a very talented person during this visit."

"This man's surname is Jin and his given name is Rui. He is the chief official of Tancheng County and is in charge of distributing supplies to Xiashan Village. As far as I know, he is honest and incorruptible, distributing all the supplies in full. Moreover, there were no additional losses during the transportation of the supplies. He can be called an excellent official."

Lu Su nodded: "Alright, I know about this person. I will promote him as appropriate."

It would be unrealistic to say that Lu Su was not displeased with Liu Feng's series of actions.

He was the one truly appointed by Liu Bei as the magistrate of Xiangben County, and also served as the military commander of agricultural settlements.

All of these things that Liu Feng did were things that he was supposed to do. In fact, if Liu Feng hadn't taken away his authority, he would have gone down to investigate in private long ago.

However, considering that Liu Feng had always respected him, and that Liu Bei had specially arranged for him to come to his side, it was clear that Liu Bei valued and had high expectations for him.

What does it matter if I suffer a little grievance in order to repay my lord's trust?
Lu Su was extremely shrewd, and his thoughts were never revealed on his face.

After all, this was a ruthless character who, after successfully raiding the three southern counties of Jingzhou during the Xiangshui Alliance, was still able to persuade Liu Bei to maintain the alliance.

Historically, it was not the Second Prince who went to the meeting alone, but Lu Su, who spoke righteously and sternly at the meeting, thus preventing a major battle between the two sides.

Although the final peace treaty was maintained by Liu Bei's concessions, this was inseparable from Lu Su's strategic vision in persuading Sun Quan to agree to peace talks and maintain the alliance.

It's worth noting that Sun Quan was already eager to break the alliance and start a war, and Lü Meng was also strongly supporting him. However, both of them were eventually persuaded by Lu Su, which shows how eloquent and insightful Lu Su was.

Finally, the Sun and Liu families used the Xiang River as a dividing line to stabilize the Sun-Liu alliance and fight against Cao Cao together. Lu Su deserves the greatest credit for this.

Both were surprise attacks, both were backstabbings.

Why did no one in history attack or insult Lu Su, but many people dislike Lü Meng?

The reason is here.

Because regardless of any previous conflicts between the two sides, even if we assume that Liu Bei was in the wrong, all the issues should be resolved through the Xiangshui Alliance.

The alliance between the two sides was witnessed by both Liu Bei and Sun Quan and has legal effect.

Of course, this doesn't mean the alliance can't be broken, but breaking the Xiangshui Alliance through a sneak attack would certainly be a disgrace.

Not to mention Lü Meng's shortsightedness, which made him completely blind to the weakness of Cao Wei in the Yuzhou war zone at that time. His betrayal once again completely shattered the last hope of Eastern Wu and Shu Han to turn the tide against Cao Wei.

This demonstrates Lu Su's shrewdness, magnanimity, ability, and vision.

Unfortunately, it was Liu Feng standing in front of Lu Su.

He knew perfectly well that Lu Su must have a problem with him.

Because Lu Su was an extremely capable and talented person, he would not willingly allow others to erode his power.

Even if this person is the Lord's son.

However, Liu Feng was in no hurry. He would wait until he had finished dealing with the matter before returning the power to Lu Su. At that time, Lu Zijing's expression would probably be quite pleasant.

But right now, it's more important to get down to business.

“Wenxiang, Wengui”.

"My subordinate is here!"

Xu Sheng and Pan Zhang stepped forward.

Liu Feng ordered, "You two take your elite soldiers and bring back all the local officials except for those in Xiashan Village."

"Yes!"

Xu Sheng and Pan Zhang accepted the order and then began to allocate manpower and take action separately.

At this time, Xiangben County was almost a ghost town. Most of the farmers who had settled there had already dispersed, and apart from the garrison, only officials of various levels remained in the city.

"What are you doing!?"

"Guards! The Danyang soldiers have rebelled!"

"I am a member of the Chen family! Let me go! Let me go!"

Soon after, various shrill curses, pleas for mercy, and warnings echoed from inside the county government office.

However, these voices soon converged on Liu Feng.

Nine clerks, along with twenty-seven constables, were bound and brought before Liu Feng.

"My lord, what crime have we committed?"

"Young master, spare my life!"

Liu Feng looked at the insects and nodded to Xianyu Lan and Zou Kai beside him.

During this period, he had Saheli transfer forty teenagers from Liu'er Camp to participate in the land reclamation work and accumulate governance experience.

Now it seems they can perfectly replace these maggots.

Xianyu Lan and Zou Kai are the most outstanding among this group of teenagers, and they have taken on the responsibility of being team leaders.

After seeing Liu Feng's actions, the two presented the evidence they had collected over this period of time to the officials.

Dear readers, I've released a massive 30,000-word update in six chapters. Are you all satisfied?
Starting tomorrow, I will write 10,000 words daily, updating at 8:00 AM.

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(End of this chapter)