Bronze door through time and space

Chapter 613 Rewards and Problems

Although there were still hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban bandits roaming around in various states, it did not prevent Huangfu Song and his party from returning to the court to receive flowers and applause.

This time, in addition to Liu Bei, who was one of the three Zhangs who killed in battle, there were two new generations who also stood out for their military achievements and returned to Luoyang to receive rewards. They were Cao Cao and Sun Jian.

Unlike Liu Bei who was reduced to selling straw sandals, these two people won at the starting line from the very beginning.

For example, Cao Cao's grandfather Cao Teng was a eunuch, but he was a great eunuch who served five emperors in four dynasties. The key point was that he had a good reputation, which was extremely rare for eunuchs, and therefore he was not targeted by the Qingliu.

Although his father Cao Song was Cao Teng's adopted son, he inherited the connections and good reputation left by Cao Teng, and his official career went smoothly, rising to the position of Grand Marshal.

It is obvious that Cao Cao’s background could not be bad if he could play with the arrogant Yuan Shao.

Although Sun Jian's family background was not as prominent as Cao Cao's, he claimed to be a descendant of Sun Wu and was not of ordinary origin.

If he was recommended as a captain just because he killed a thief when he was a teenager, people would believe him if you said he came from an ordinary family.

After all, if you can become a captain just by killing a thief, the constables in the yamen will laugh to death.

However, apart from their family background, the two are also outstanding men of the time, capable of both literature and martial arts, brave and resourceful.

If his fate had followed its original trajectory, Liu Bei would have been a nobody compared to these two.

Fortunately, he met him. With the help of Yan Xu, Liu Bei was able to build a decent army from the very beginning. He had the confidence to start his own business and the capital to be respected by others.

It can be said that Liu Bei can be compared with these two, and Yan Xu has made a lot of efforts behind the scenes.

The three men had made great military achievements, but they were still three small shrimps in Luoyang, waiting obediently to be summoned, and did not dare to go out at all, for fear of any setbacks.

Right now the court has become a mess, with bigwigs from all sides attacking each other. If they were dragged into it, they wouldn't even be able to get out.

There was no way out. Although the Yellow Turban rebels were still spreading their evil influence widely, any discerning person could see that they were not far from their destruction, so they devoted their energies to infighting. After all, in the process of annihilating the Taiping Dao and Zhang Jue, the eunuchs, foreign relatives, the upright officials, and the aristocratic families had done a lot of pulling each other's legs and stabbing each other in the back. Otherwise, the fight would not have lasted so long and caused such a big mess.

The hatred accumulated during this period, coupled with the credits waiting to be divided, would have been strange if there hadn't been any trouble.

Fortunately, the contributions of Lu Zhi and the other two could not be erased. As the rewards were finalized, the rewards for Liu Bei and the other two were also determined.

This time it’s not the county lieutenant, nor is it Anxi County.

Yan Xu wrote a letter in advance and asked Jian Yong, who had stayed in Zhuo County from the beginning, to go to the prefect Liu Yan as a lobbyist.

And Liu Yan really gave him face. After all, the more merits Liu Bei achieved, the more meritorious he recommended, and the more he appeared to be a wise judge of people. So he wrote a letter to the governor Liu Yu.

Because of the butterfly effect, Liu Yu had been serving as the governor of Youzhou, and he was very happy when he saw the letter.

After all, they all have the surname Liu, and Liu Bei not only has military merits, but is also valued by Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, so Liu Yu is naturally willing to promote this relative of the Han royal family. As a result, Liu Bei was appointed Sima of a separate department and concurrently served as the magistrate of Zhuo County. His two brothers were also rewarded, so they did not end up as a penniless person.

This is considered a normal reward. In the original book, it was just bullying because he had no one behind him.

After receiving the reward, Lu Zhi gave him a few instructions, telling him to leave immediately and not to stay in Luoyang for too long. After bidding farewell to his mentor, Cao Cao and Sun Jian, Liu Bei immediately took his troops to take office.

With the prefect Liu Yan above him and the powerful Zhang family below him, and as he was promoted based on his military merits, naturally no one would be so blind as to seek a fight with him.

But when Liu Bei gradually took over the affairs of the county government, he found that he had thought things too simply.

The destruction caused by the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Youzhou was beyond his imagination. Even though the three brothers killed the leader Cheng Zhiyuan, the Yellow Turbans still rose up everywhere and showed no signs of disappearing.

In fact, the reason is very simple. Too many people could not survive, so when the Yellow Turbans came, they surrendered and went out to find food together. As for the damage and serious consequences caused, who cared about these when they were almost starving to death.

Fortunately, Liu Yu, who served as the governor of Youzhou, was not only a good man, but also an expert in domestic affairs. During his tenure, he adopted a conciliatory policy towards the nomadic peoples, successfully resolved the border problems of Youzhou, enabled the people to live and work in peace, and reduced taxes, developed production, and was deeply loved by the people. Therefore, although Youzhou was in chaos, it was not a complete mess.

But the current situation is still beyond Liu Bei's capabilities.

He is not afraid of fighting. Three thousand elite soldiers follow him in his battles, which gives him the confidence. But fighting alone is not enough, he also has to stabilize the people.

At this time, Liu Bei regretted very much that he did not study hard under his mentor. When he really needed the knowledge, he regretted not having enough, so he called Jian Yong.

Jian Yong knew Liu Bei when he was young, and they had a good relationship. Naturally, he would not forget Jian Yong when he started his army.

However, Jian Yong was not a strategist, nor was he good at domestic affairs. He was arrogant and disliked being restrained. Staying in the army with strict discipline was like being in a cage. So he was kept by Yan Xu, and with the reimbursed travel expenses and a cellar of rice wine, he made friends and gathered intelligence everywhere.

He did a very good job in this regard, so good that no one could find any fault with him. Liu Bei was able to be successfully appointed as the Sima of the Separate Department and concurrently serve as the magistrate of Zhuo County. His contribution as a lobbyist cannot be ignored.

But when Liu Bei asked him how to govern and improve Zhuo County, he scratched his head and spread his hands.

It wouldn't be a big problem for him to manage a county, but it was just management. To deal with the Yellow Turban bandits and prepare to resettle the people at the same time was a bit beyond his ability.

"I can't kill a few Yellow Turbans, and I can't turn them into money and food. There's nothing I can do about it." Jian Yong happily took a sip of rice wine, exhaled the alcohol, and said while being a little drunk.

Seeing his childhood friend like this, Liu Bei shook his head as if he was already used to it and said.

"I didn't ask you to go, I just asked you to think of a solution."

"Hey, you don't ask the gods for help, but come to trouble a mortal like me." After Jian Yong said this, he stood up shakily and walked away, leaving Liu Bei thoughtful.

Liu Bei was in awe of Yan Xu, but that also made him feel a little distant from him. Now he thought that it was only him who was distant, not the gentleman.

Thinking of this, Liu Bei did not prepare any gifts, but only brought a few followers to Zhang's Taoyuan.

Everyone was busy, including Yan Xu, because he not only got a magical treasure from Zhang Jiao, but also three volumes of Taiping Yaoshu.

Since then, I have been attracted by the various mysteries and have generated countless inspirations and questions, which is why I need more Taoist scriptures to search and compare.

Yan Xu sat on the ground in the peach blossom forest, with maids serving tea and dancers playing music, but his attention was all on the book in his hands. He did not look up until Liu Bei arrived.

(End of this chapter)