Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 88 Liu Bian: Your mother is a maid! Scholars do not think about serving the country, but embezzle the granary to fill their own pockets. They deserve to be killed!

As the great banner of the Crown Prince of Han entered Xindu City, the soldiers and civilians of the entire city were in an uproar, and they all took to the streets with food and drink to welcome the royal army.

Of course, Liu Bian did not think that this was because he had won the hearts of the people. The people spontaneously welcomed the royal army simply because they felt an unparalleled sense of security.

Is there anything more reassuring than the Crown Prince of Han personally leading reinforcements to aid Xindu?
If the crown prince personally rushed to Jizhou to provide assistance, doesn't it mean that the imperial court is about to completely put down the Yellow Turban Rebellion in one go?
The prince has arrived, and Xindu is at peace!

Now that the prince is here, there will be a clear sky!

After a day of rest, Liu Bian sat in the main seat and summoned his teacher Lu Zhi.

"Teacher, the embroidered messenger has learned that Zhang Jue is dead."

Liu Bian raised his right hand slightly and signaled the eunuch Yang You to hand a piece of silk to Lu Zhi.

This was the message directly conveyed by Xiu Yizhi, who was hiding in the Yellow Turban Army.

The reason why this man in embroidered clothes was able to pass on such accurate information was not because he had infiltrated the upper echelons of the Yellow Turban Army, but because of his strong physique, he was incorporated into the Yellow Turban strongmen and participated in the guarding of Zhang Jiao's tent.

Given his position, he had no right to approach Zhang Jue's camp, but Zhang Bao was short on wisdom and had numerous flaws. Zhang Bao isolated the inside and outside of the camp, claiming Zhang Jue was ill and needed to rest. However, no Yellow Turban warrior ever saw anyone delivering medicine or even food.

Could it be that the great and virtuous teacher really practiced fasting?

These flaws were not unnoticed in the Yellow Turban Army, especially several of Zhang Jue's disciples, who gathered together privately and suspected that General Di Gong was trying to seize power while the Great Sage Master was seriously ill. So they led their troops to break into the camp and eventually discovered the truth about Zhang Jue's death.

Although these disciples swore to keep their mouths shut after being reprimanded by Zhang Bao, the news of Zhang Jue's death still spread.

Perhaps Zhang Jue had ambitions when he started his rebellion, but for the Taiping Dao followers, Zhang Jue was their god.

To them, "Zhonghuang Taiyi Tianzun" is just a clay statue. Although they worship it every day, they cannot see its true face. However, they saw the great virtuous teacher go to the countryside to give talismans and water despite the hard work.

Therefore, Zhang Jue held a high status in their hearts and was irreplaceable by General Zhang Bao, the Lord of the Earth, and General Zhang Liang, the Lord of the People.

As soon as Zhang Jue died, the faith of the Yellow Turban Army collapsed.

The blue sky is not dead, but the yellow sky has collapsed. This is undoubtedly the most powerful refutation of Zhang Jiao's prophecy that "the blue sky is dead and the yellow sky should be established."

Even organized deserters began to appear in the Yellow Turban Army, with entire groups of soldiers fleeing the camp together. The Yellow Turban Army on duty just watched numbly and were too lazy to even try to stop them.

Upon hearing the news of Zhang Jue's death, Lu Zhi's frown, which had been on his face for months, instantly relaxed. A rare smile appeared on his face. He slowly stroked his beard with his right hand and said in a loud voice, "Traitor, you will be punished by Heaven!"

Since being appointed as the governor of Jizhou, Lu Zhi has been troubled by Zhang Jue's rebellion. He almost lost his official career and his family's reputation because of a letter from Zhang Jue.

Although He Yong was the main culprit, it was understandable that Lu Zhi resented Zhang Jiao.

"Then how do you plan to defeat the enemy, Master? Huangfu Yizhen's army will arrive in about three days. By then, not counting the soldiers from the counties and states, our army will have 70,000 people." Liu Bian rested his hands on his knees and looked at Lu Zhi with anticipation in his eyes.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion finally came to an end.

As long as the three brothers Zhang Jue were eliminated, the remaining Yellow Turbans would be nothing more than a minor threat, and he would have survived the disaster that was leading to the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

However, Lu Zhi's next words inevitably made him feel a little disappointed.

"My Royal Army is a righteous army. We will deliver the declaration of war, agree on a date, and then crush you with overwhelming force!"

Immediately, Liu Bian couldn't help but shook his head and smiled bitterly. How could every battle be as brilliant and exciting as the fire attack outside Changsha City?
Moreover, with 70,000 Han soldiers at the front and over 10,000 soldiers from the prefectures and kingdoms supporting them, why would they fear 140,000 Yellow Turbans? Putting aside the question of whether the combination of Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi could completely defeat Zhang Bao, how could the Yellow Turban generals withstand an all-star lineup like Sun Jian, Lü Bu, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Xu Chu, Dian Wei, and Fu Xie?

Furthermore, with the Han army consisting of 60,000 fully armored men from good families in the six counties and three rivers, 5,600 strong from the five schools of the Northern Army, 2,000 Tiger Guards, and 3,000 Yulin Cavalry, combined with the lineup composed of the above-mentioned generals, how difficult would it be to fight one against two?

"I'm not worried about the war, only about the food and fodder." Lu Zhi's face showed a trace of worry. He took out a bamboo slip from his sleeve and handed it to Liu Bian through Zhao You. His tone was a little tired. "The grain in Xindu's granary is only 60,000 dan. If Huangfu Yizhen is also traveling light, then 60,000 dan of food and fodder will not be enough to support the army."

Liu Bian was stunned, a trace of surprise and confusion flashed across his face. Jizhou is a major grain-producing province. As the capital of Jizhou, why would Xindu worry about food and grass?

During wartime, each soldier must eat at least one stone of grain per month. This is only the wartime food standard for soldiers from counties and states. The food standard for soldiers from good families must also include pickled vegetables and some meat, not to mention the professional soldiers such as the Northern Army, Huben Army and Yulin Left and Right Cavalry, whose food is more refined and nutritious.

Liu Bian said nothing, his fingers subconsciously stroking the bamboo slips, his expression solemn as he silently flipped through the account book handed to him by Lu Zhi, which recorded the specific details of the grain in and out of the Xindu granary.

Before Lu Zhi took office as the governor of Jizhou, he had checked the Xindu granary reserve accounts reported by the former Jizhou governor Wang Fen in the Secretariat, and found that there should be 400,000 dan of granary, which was roughly consistent with the number in this account book.

Logically speaking, even if this number is inflated, there shouldn't be only 60,000 shi of grain left.

Moreover, these 60,000 dan of grain and grass actually took into account the grain and grass that Dong Zhuo's army brought with them when they retreated into the city. In other words, the actual amount of grain and grass left in the granary in Xindu City was only 30,000 dan!
Of the 400,000 shi of grain and grass, more than 10,000 soldiers from the counties and states consumed about 40,000 shi of grain and grass in March and a half, leaving 30,000 shi. Could it be that the other 330,000 shi had grown legs and run away?

Taking a deep breath, Liu Bian slowly stood up and walked to the corner of the hall. With heavy steps, he looked at the bronze Boshan furnace in the corner, with wisps of green smoke seeping out from the gaps in the lid of the Suan Ni furnace.

Liu Bian reached out and grasped the iron tongs, with the tips of the tongs inserted into the furnace belly. Three inches of incense ash were winding along the Boshan pattern. He tapped the black silver tongs handle with his fingers, and the lingering vibration of the cold iron startled the hidden sparks at the bottom of the furnace.

Looking at the three inches of incense ash that collapsed instantly at the slightest touch, just like the granary and account books that could not withstand inspection at all, Liu Bian was almost laughing at the indignation of these greedy rats.

They even staged a "Yellow Turban conspiracy" to burn the granary, but fortunately the rescue was timely and saved 70,000 shi of grain and grass, settling the account of 330,000 shi of grain and grass in one go.

"Lu Jizhou, are you really going to let this rat embezzle money like this?"

Liu Bian turned around suddenly and glared at Lu Zhi, which was rare for him. Even the way he addressed Lu Zhi changed.

Because this loss of 330,000 shi was reported to the Secretariat and acknowledged by Lu Zhi after he stamped the governor's seal. Isn't this just watching the wealthy and powerful families embezzle food and supplies?

Lu Zhi even praised the few people who put out the fire in time? This is a huge irony!
"Your Highness, I have been investigating the granaries and arsenals since I took office. How could I not know about the corruption?"

Facing the prince's anger, Lu Zhi could not help but smile bitterly, his face full of helplessness and bitterness. He took out a list from his sleeve, which recorded the amount of grain embezzled by the wealthy families in Xindu City. The amount ranged from 10,000 dan to as much as 50,000 dan!

"I have long since secretly investigated the corruption of various families, but the Taiping Dao is under threat right under my nose. I am on guard day and night, fearing that the aristocratic families will collude with the Yellow Turbans. I can only pretend to be on good terms with them. After the war, I will naturally settle accounts with these rats."

"I really didn't expect them to be so bold!"

Even Lu Zhi did not expect that this group of wealthy families would simply burn down several empty granaries. Even several minor officials who knew the inside story were attacked and killed by the "Yellow Turban Rebellion". All the evidence was completely cleaned up, so that now Lu Zhi has no way to report after the war.

In order to ensure the stability of Jizhou, he had to go against his conscience and stamp the seal of the governor to temporarily stabilize these wealthy families.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bian's face grew even darker, his expression almost frosty. He couldn't help but blurt out a curse word through his clenched teeth: "Your mother is a servant!"

"Scholars who do not care about serving their country but instead embezzle grain from the granary to fill their own pockets deserve to be killed!"

While scolding, Liu Bian rolled up the bamboo slips that recorded the list of embezzlers, looked at Guo Tu, who was standing beside him and was already ready to take action, and stretched out his hand to hand it to him, with murderous intent that could not be concealed in his eyes.

(2637 words)
(End of this chapter)