Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 399 Prophecy

Liu Daogui was startled when he heard the shout.

I never imagined that the public would be so fanatical.

The imperial court inexplicably bestowed the title of Duke of Pei, causing a huge uproar among the people.

There really is a hint of divine intervention at play.

Since everyone else had already shouted, Liu Daogui couldn't stop them, so he could only pretend not to hear and enter the city with his guards.

However, the guards' eyes gradually became fanatical.

Liu Daogui finally understood what it meant to be the will of the people.

During the Three Kingdoms period, the Cao family emperors were still capable, conquering the south and the north, sweeping away the barbarian tribes in all directions. The Xianbei, Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Qiang and Di all obediently groveled at his feet like dogs.

But during the Jin Dynasty, these dogs turned around and rode on the Sima family's head...

There were also the oath on the Luo River, the murder of the emperor in the street, the War of the Eight Princes, and other unbelievable events that made the people utterly disappointed with the Jin dynasty.

Not to mention the Han Dynasty, which produced many wise rulers, even compared to the Shu Han, it is far inferior. At least during Liu Shan's reign, there were no powerful ministers usurping the throne, no generals rebelling, and he was wholeheartedly focused on the Northern Expeditions...

Upon returning to the Liu family mansion, Cao Sifei, along with Shen Yuehan, Shen Yuewei, and other female relatives and children, came to greet them.

Standing at the front, Liu Yiwu was already as tall as himself, with a broad back and thick waist. The offspring of the Liu family of Pengcheng and the Shen family of Wuxing were indeed extraordinary.

There was a hideous scar on his left cheek, not like a sword or knife, and if it went any higher, his left eye would have been lost.

Behind him were several of his children, who stared wide-eyed at Liu Daogui.

Liu Daogui stared at them wide-eyed, recognizing their names but not knowing who was who...

"Greetings, my husband." Cao Sifei curtsied.

After she spoke, the others followed suit, saying, "Greetings, husband."

"Meet Father!"

"No need for formalities!" Although Liu Daogui didn't like this kind of behavior, she knew that as a woman, she couldn't manage such a large household without proper etiquette.

"Madam has worked hard managing the household all these years."

"This is my duty, how can I say it's hard work? It's my husband who is busy fighting on the front lines and is the one who is tired." Cao Sifei gently came up and took off Liu Daogui's cloak.

The eyes of Shen Yuehan and Shen Yuewei were glistening with tears.

"What happened to that scar on your face?" Liu Daogui asked Liu Yiwu.

Liu Yiwu said in a muffled voice: "A while ago, I went hunting in the mountains and encountered a mountain leopard. On a whim, my son fought it with his bare hands and was injured by it."

These days, there are countless stories of tigers and leopards being torn apart, but only when you actually stand in front of a tiger do you realize how insignificant human strength is.

Without armor or weapons, a single swipe of a tiger's paw can shatter a person's bones.

Although leopards are not as strong as tigers, they are fast, agile, and equally ferocious.

Liu Yiwu is fourteen years old this year, and he actually dared to fight with a mountain leopard. He is quite courageous.

"You killed that leopard?"

"Without a weapon, I can't do anything to it. If I had a dagger, I could definitely kill that beast..." Liu Yiwu scratched the back of his head.

Cao Sifei rolled her eyes. "What kind of father encourages his son to fight tigers and leopards? That's the behavior of a brute."

Liu Daogui laughed heartily, “A brute is always better than a coward. Our Liu family lives a life of licking blood from the edge of a knife.”

The Liu family rose to power through force rather than strategy. Among their descendants, there must be someone who can fight. In this day and age, you can put down anything, but you can't put down your sword.

The family dinner was a joyful and harmonious affair.

Although Yisheng, Yiming, and Yichen, the sons, were of average talent, under Cao Sifei's tutelage, they were both literate and martial, and had good character. Dressed in coarse linen clothes, they were polite and well-mannered.

Sometimes, being mediocre isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The soldiers took turns resting, and Liu Daogui also rested for a few days, spending time with his wife and children at home, enjoying a harmonious time together.

However, this period of peace was disrupted by Meng Ganzhi after only a few days.

A document was delivered to him: No one but the Liu family shall be king!

The golden knife has already carved, and the golden city is now in full bloom!
The dragon and tiger rise to save the people; the metal of the rabbit cultivates virtue to become the emperor…

They were practically calling out Liu Daogui and Liu Yu by their full names.

Liu Daogui frowned. "What are all these?"

Meng Gan said: "The Golden Knife Prophecy is circulating in various places, including Pengcheng, Guangling, Jingkou, Jiankang, Hefei, Shouchun, and Xiapi. It is being spread everywhere."

The various prophecies all have similar meanings: whenever the world is in chaos, a member of the Liu family will appear out of nowhere, sweep away the chaos, save the people from suffering, and restore peace to the world.

Although the Han Dynasty has been gone for two hundred years, its influence still lingers today.

In previous years, Liu Yuan's Han Zhao dynasty was smeared, but the stain left by Han Zhao gradually faded with time, and the Han dynasty was remembered again.

In particular, after Liu Yu and Liu Daogui were enfeoffed as Duke of Song and Duke of Pei, the Liu family was once again thrust into the spotlight.

It is obvious to anyone with discerning eyes that the Liu family's replacement of the Sima family was inevitable. Over the years, opposing forces both inside and outside the country have been eliminated one by one, and the resistance has become increasingly weak.

"Is someone secretly spreading rumors?"

Meng Ganzhi said confidently, "It shouldn't be. If there were spies spreading rumors, they would never escape our notice."

Feng Kai said, "After the fall of the Former Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu raised troops to capture the wicked. Mao Jin cultivated virtue and became emperor. Later, Emperor Guangwu indeed unified the world. There was also a similar situation during the Cao Wei period. During the Yongjia Rebellion, the Taishang Dongyuan Divine Incantation Scripture appeared in the north. It said: 'At the end of the Han and Wei dynasties, people migrated and half of them died. The Liu family, after five generations, established their lineage. By the year of Jiawu, the Liu family returned to China, established hegemony in Chang'an, brought great joy to Qin, and made the six barbarian tribes submit...'"

"Such a thing is possible?" Liu Daogui asked incredulously.

These days, metaphysics is all the rage, and people have a deep belief in prophetic techniques.

In fact, if you think about it more deeply, metaphysics is not entirely fictitious; it is also deduced from real objects and the times.

When Cao Wei replaced Han, it treated the Han imperial family well, allowing many people with the surname Liu to survive. Liu Ye, Liu Fu, Liu Shao, and Liu Fang all held high positions.

During the Western Jin Dynasty, there was a famous general named Liu Hong, who was also a childhood friend of Sima Yan. Liu Ne, one of the Twenty-Four Friends of Jingu, also came from the Liu clan of Pengcheng.

During the Yongjia Rebellion, Liu Kun, a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan, was left to defend the north alone. Although his ambitions were not fulfilled, his story is both moving and tragic.

Liu Kui, a member of the Liu clan of Pengcheng, followed Emperor Yuan of Jin, Sima Rui, south to Jiankang. He was granted the titles of General Who Guards the North, Military Governor of the four prefectures of Qing, Xu, You, and Ping, and was given the authority to act on behalf of the emperor and the title of Attendant Gentleman of the Palace. He led 10,000 men to guard Sikou, but was later defeated by Wang Dun.

There were also Liu Tan and Liu Hong, who supported Huan Wen's northern expedition.

Over the past century, the Liu family has long since formed a powerful force.

The Liu clans of Pengcheng, Peijun, and Dongguan were all gradually growing stronger. When faced with this chaotic world, Liu Laozhi took the lead and the other Liu clans followed suit.

Those who write prophecies do so only after long-term observation.

Of course, the most important thing is that the emperors of the Liu family all did a good job, bringing China to its peak.

In a comparison, the emperors of the Sima family paled in comparison. They lost the north, caused widespread suffering, and couldn't even protect their own ancestral graves. For the first time, the Hu people rode on the heads of the Chinese people, causing the fortunes of the Chinese nation to plummet to rock bottom.

Liu Daogui pondered for a while, then said, "Forget it. It's easier to stop people from talking than to stop a river from overflowing. Let the people talk if they want."

The will of the people cannot be stopped.

Now that Liu Yu and Liu Daogui hold all the power, both internal and external, they are not afraid of the Sima family and the powerful clans jumping up and down.

Times have changed. The rise of the Liu family was essentially the rise of people from humble backgrounds and military men, and had little to do with the gentry.

After resting for more than half a month, Liu Daogui recovered both physically and mentally and threw himself back into government affairs.

The Huai and Si regions recovered earliest and had not been ravaged by war for many years, resulting in the fastest population growth. In Pengcheng alone, there were 60,000 households and 300,000 people. Including Yan, Xu, Yu, and Qing, the total population reached over 3.7 million.

If it were Jingzhou and Shu, the population under Liu Daogui would be nearly five million.

Moreover, Pengcheng has effectively become the center of the north, completely overwhelming Shouchun and Xiapi south of the Huai River.

Inside the treasury, weapons and armor were piled up like mountains, and various crossbows and crossbow carts filled the warehouse.

Masts lined the harbor like a forest, and white sails filled the air like clouds.

The officials selected by the General's Office were mostly scholars from humble backgrounds, without distinction between the good and the bad. Promotion was based entirely on political achievements, not on family background or social status, thus ensuring good governance and harmony within the territory.

Although Meng Ganzhi's spies exposed some instances of embezzlement and bullying of men and women, the situation was far better than it actually was.

The only thing that displeased Liu Daogui was that the granaries only held 170,000 shi of grain, and the government treasury held less than 300,000 strings of cash.

These past few years have been filled with constant battles, resulting in enormous expenses for people and horses.

The Tiger Guard Army is a formidable fighting force, not only because of the bravery of its soldiers, but also because of the money it receives. Moreover, they do not engage in production, focusing solely on fighting, and receive a monthly stipend and a year-end bonus.

It's already quite remarkable that Wang Yuande didn't incur any deficit.

But this money is clearly insufficient to support a large-scale northern expedition next year.

According to Liu Yu's plan, not only should Yao Qin be destroyed, but the Northern Wei should also be dealt with at the same time. Jiankang had also suffered considerable losses in the war to destroy Shu the year before last.

Wang Yuande said, “General, there is no need to worry. Pengcheng will have at least 300,000 shi of grain left over from this year’s autumn harvest. We can have another 200,000 shi left over for next autumn and winter. Moreover, this grain is only from Yan and Xu. The grain from Yu and Si provinces in the west is stored in Xuchang. The Central Plains has been resting and recuperating for many years, and the granaries are full.”

Liu Daogui slapped his forehead, realizing he had almost forgotten about Xuchang.

Xuchang was also an important place for military farming. A few years ago, Xin Gongjing even boasted that all the grain and fodder for the Northern Expedition would come from Xuchang.

Pengcheng, Xuchang, and Xiangyang, three important towns, are now Liu Daogui's base.

“If that’s still not enough, we can levy grain from the people. These young generals have low taxes and levies, and the people are wealthy. Good households and ordinary households are well-off. With the general’s current prestige, the people will willingly hand over their money and grain with a single order.” Wang Yuande came up with a terrible idea.

When Emperor Wu of Han attacked the Xiongnu, he plundered the people through various means, such as taxes on vehicles and ships, taxes on wealth, orders to report wealth, state monopolies on salt and iron, price stabilization, equalization of transportation, and monopoly on wine and liquor. Only then did he send out 100,000 cavalrymen on a long expedition thousands of miles to the northern desert.

This explains why the Han army's performance deteriorated in later battles, culminating in the Battle of Yanran Mountain, where 70,000 Han troops were caught in a pincer attack by 50,000 elite Xiongnu troops, resulting in the complete annihilation of the Han army and the loss of the Han Dynasty's strategic advantage over the Xiongnu.

"The Northern Expedition is meant to benefit everyone. Imposing heavy taxes before the battle even begins will severely damage public morale. Who would be willing to follow me on expeditions in the future?"

With the money and provisions from Pengcheng and Xuchang, they had enough to conquer Yao Qin.

Everything in the world is inseparable from the word "profit".

If something is profitable, people will follow it without Liu Daogui having to urge him.

Things that are neither beneficial nor harmful are often difficult to sustain.

(End of this chapter)