Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 30 The imp is difficult to deal with
Zhongshan Lu Nu.

Prime Minister Zhang Chun was throwing a tantrum.

He felt that he might have offended Tai Sui recently.

The things that happened were getting worse and worse.

First, the horses sent from my hometown of Yuyang were intercepted on the way. Hundreds of horses were detained by Zhuoxian County without even informing me.

Then that bastard who stole my horse actually made a big show of presenting it as tribute, and even paraded it along the official road in Zhongshan!

what is this?
This is a slap in the face to Zhang Boren!
How can you bear this?
Can bear it.

Although it's true that the more you endure, the angrier you get, and the more you think about it, the more you feel you've lost out... but you can't endure it. Those horses are tribute, and robbing tribute isn't as simple as just getting your head killed; it's considered treason.

Zhang Chun is doing quite well as the governor and has no immediate plans to rebel.

Let that brat from the Gongsun family be smug for a few days, and we'll teach him a lesson when we get to Luoyang!
But what I didn't expect was that even though I had tolerated it, my own men couldn't resist and went to rob us on their own!

They even claimed to have received definite intelligence and guaranteed that there would be no problems!

If you're going to rob someone, then just rob them. As long as you kill them all, there will be no more victims, and naturally, you'll be free of guilt.

Just like the work we did before in the Zishui Wuji area, as long as no one is left alive, no one can say anything, since it was all done by the Taihang bandits anyway.

This time, it was naturally done by the bandits of Taihang Mountain.

The problem is, this time those good-for-nothing bastards under his command not only failed to kill everyone, but also got a few of them captured!

It’s his mother’s fault!

Those arrested were his own private soldiers, Zhang family retainers!

Wouldn't that mean we're doomed?

After much deliberation, Zhang Chun decided it was best to strike first.

Of course, we can't rebel, but we have to report Zhuojun's magistrate Gongsun Zan before the accusations reach Luoyang.

If he accuses you of robbing tribute horses from Zhuoxian, then you should first accuse him of robbing tribute horses from Zhongshan!
That's a fact!
If he dares to say that the Duke is causing trouble, the Duke will first accuse him of plotting a rebellion—anyway, it's just a matter of who has more money, more people, and a stronger background.
In terms of money, people, and background, who in Youzhou could the Zhang family of Yuyang be afraid of?

After smashing several vases and breaking the heads of several servants, Zhang Chun sent men to build a pontoon bridge over the Zi River and began to collect tributes in a grand manner, preparing to present them to Luoyang—the tributes were also white horses, a total of eighty.

This was the standard regulation for tribute items presented by the Zhongshan Kingdom: one bolt per thousand households.

Actually, Zhongshan doesn't have 80,000 households now... it's hard to say if it's even half of that.

But it must be 80,000 households, and it can only be 80,000 households.

……

Meanwhile, in Luoyang.

Traveling light and with few followers, Liu Bei's journey was swift, and he arrived outside Luoyang City in about ten days.

Right now, Liu Bei is in a familiar old place.

Liu Bei traveled south by imperial road, naturally crossing the Yellow River at Mengjin and arriving at the north gate of Luoyang.

The north gate is called Xia Gate, which is the area under the jurisdiction of the Northern Commandant of Luoyang.

He and Zuo Yuan were to exchange passes here.

The procession involved verifying the identity of the official at the city gate, confirming the mission, and only allowing entry into the city after the verification was completed.

The gatekeepers of Luoyang were concurrently held by the six commanders of the Left, Right, East, West, and North departments. The Left and Right departments were responsible for guarding the imperial city, while the East, West, and North departments were responsible for guarding the city gates in each direction.

As the capital of the Han Dynasty, the duties of the Six Commanders of Luoyang were quite important. In addition to guarding the city gates and maintaining order, they were also responsible for handling documents and delivering military reports. After all, Luoyang was not like other county towns.

Liu Bei was nominally there to report his achievements, but this was a military matter, and the Northern Commandant needed to transmit the military report to the Grand Commandant's office.

At the same time, Liu Bei needed to help Zou Jing deliver intelligence. In order to avoid the messengers Zou Jing had sent before disappearing without a trace, and also to be able to meet with Yang Qiu, the Commandant of the Capital Region, he needed to have the Commandant of the Northern Region issue a "triumphant message," which was a high-level pass for delivering good news.

After all, "defeating Tan Shihuai's main force and killing seven centurions in battle" was indeed a great victory.

This way, Liu Bei could directly enter the Sili Commandant's office without any hindrance. However, Liu Bei's handling of this simple official business at the Northern Office did not go smoothly.

The documents submitted by Zou Jing and Liu Wei to report their achievements were actually not problematic. Liu Bei's travel itinerary also stated "a successful report of the expulsion of the Xianbei in Zhuojun." However, the current Northern Commandant was dragging his feet and not doing anything, saying that he needed to follow the proper procedures.

This was probably because Liu Bei didn't bring any attendants, only a female musician.

These days, officials are always surrounded by a retinue when they do things. Even county officials usually bring a lot of followers.

After all, all the officials came from aristocratic families, and the vast majority of them came from prominent and wealthy families with many retainers and servants.

Especially in the last two years, many wealthy people have come to Beijing to buy official positions, and almost every one of them brings a large group of servants with them.

This young military officer came to Luoyang to report his achievements, but he didn't bring any personal guards or troops with him...

It's quite obvious that Liu Bei was a man with no background who only achieved some merit by chance.

Since there's no background to speak of...

That's not important, let's just go through the motions first!
In fact, Liu Bei knew this situation might occur. He had brought his men with him, but they couldn't come.

Then, during the process, it was discovered that Liu Bei had a criminal record—he had previously been imprisoned in Luoyang Northern Commandery.

Actually, the criminal record itself is not a problem, since he has already served his sentence and been released. Moreover, he now has military merits, so there should be no need to pursue his past.

However, the current Northern Commandant used this criminal record as an excuse to detain Liu Bei's whereabouts, saying that he needed to investigate it carefully.

Of course, he didn't do anything to Liu Bei, after all, the memorials from Prefect Liu and Zou Jing were genuine, and Liu Bei's military achievements were clearly recorded.

He simply took Liu Bei's lodging and told Liu Bei to wait outside the city until they had "verified" it before making any further decisions.

They just dawdle and don't get anything done.

But how can we wait outside?
Sleeping in the wilderness?
This was because Liu Bei had brought women with him, and they deliberately delayed him and made things difficult for him.

In fact, Liu Bei knew that resolving this small problem was quite simple.

Just give me the money.

Getting things done always requires spending money; this has been true in any era. Officials in the capital region don't care about offending minor officials in the border areas. The Northern Commandant's behavior is all about making money.

The so-called process and verification are nothing more than the process from giving money to counting money...

The problem is that Liu Bei swam across the river before, and you can't carry too much money while swimming, so he had already spent most of his money on the way.

It's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings. After being taken in by the Northern Commandant, he really couldn't enter Luoyang City.

Speaking of which, Liu Bei was a gang leader in Zhuo County, and his men were all ruthless bandits...

Having been a gang leader for so long, he's inevitably picked up some of the gangster's ways.

Moreover, Liu Bei had just been tricked by Gongsun Zan and was already in a bad mood. Seeing that the Northern Commandant completely ignored the report of military merits and insisted on making things difficult for him, he was indeed angry.

As the sun began to set and curfew was fast approaching, Liu Bei pondered the matter for a moment and decided that he could not tolerate it.

Before the officials finished their shifts, Liu Bei stormed into the government office, grabbed the Northern Commandant by the collar, dragged him to the city gate, and angrily cursed, "You have military merits! You shameless villains dare to obstruct your reporting of victory, you must be colluding with the Xianbei bandits! Even if I have to give up my reputation, I will beat you to a pulp!"

After cursing, he kicked the man over, snatched the bag back and stuffed it into his bosom, then grabbed the scabbard and began to whip him across the head and face.

He roared as he slapped the ground, "These blows were delivered on behalf of Cao Mengde! You shameless scoundrel, you've ruined the great reputation Cao Mengde left behind!"

Several city gate guards rushed to stop him, but Liu Bei punched their leader to the ground. He then pointed at the guards and continued to curse. Whenever the guards moved, he would use his sword sheath to whip the Northern Commandant with a loud cracking sound.

"Don't move! Otherwise, this bastard will be beaten to death by your father!"

Seeing Liu Bei's ferocity, the soldiers were indeed somewhat hesitant to act.

The Northern Commandant lay on the ground to hide his sobs, but Liu Bei did not strike him hard again. Instead, he spat and continued to curse, occasionally kicking the Commandant to prevent him from getting up.

With curfew approaching, many people were leaving the city, including other officials who had come to handle business.

Seeing the dispute, everyone gathered around to watch, creating quite a lively scene.

(End of this chapter)