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

Chapter 38 Crow’s Mouth

The Luoyang Prison is on fire.

The fire burned all night.

In fact, the Imperial Prison had caught fire a few years ago, which burned to death many partisans who were imprisoned due to the Party Prohibitions.

This fire burned down all the disgraced eunuchs.

That's fair enough.

Liu Bei alone certainly couldn't have done such a big job, but Yang Qiu could.

Fortunately, the people from the Court of Justice were not in the prison. The only people in the entire prison were from the Sili Commandant's Office, and there were very few of them. Most of the Black-Clad Guards and the Imperial Guards had been sent out to arrest Wang Fu's gang, leaving only a few jailers on site. Once the fire started, there was no way to put it out.

Yang Qiu carried out the torture privately in prison, so of course he wouldn't leave too many people present. All the prison guards and cell leaders were people Yang Qiu trusted.

The prison guards had actually done their best. Not only were they all fighting the fire, but they also notified the Luoyang government office immediately, which summoned the city's water dragon team.

But the fire was too big to be saved. Duan Jiong was very skilled at arson; the old general had fought for decades and was very adept at killing and arson.

You can't blame the firefighters for not being attentive; they genuinely worked all night, they weren't just putting on an act.

Duan Jiong was essentially burned to ashes, or you could say he disappeared. In any case, all that remained in the prison were dark skeletons, making it impossible to recognize anyone.

Yang Qiu submitted a memorial impeaching himself overnight, saying that in order to search for evidence, he led the imperial guards to Wang Fu's house to investigate, and instead of guarding Luoyang Prison, he caused such a big mess. He requested the emperor to punish him.

He also submitted a memorial to the emperor, accusing Wang Fu's cronies of setting the fire and requesting permission to thoroughly investigate the eunuch faction.

When Emperor Liu Hong woke up, he received a memorial from Yang Qiu impeaching himself, but he saw no one and made no response. Instead, he sat alone in the West Garden for a long time in a daze.

However, the price of official positions in Xiyuan subsequently increased dramatically.

From now on, prefects and magistrates in other regions will be charged double the price, while assistant officials with military merits will receive a 50% discount, but they will still have to pay the fee every year.

It is estimated that this was for the purpose of rebuilding Luoyang Prison.

It really wasn't easy for the emperor to carry out the renovations.

……

Logically speaking, if you commit arson, you should run away immediately.

However, Liu Bei did not leave Luoyang immediately.

The next day, he even went to the Grand Commandant's office to receive the reply of his merits, which was the imperial court's reply to Zou Jing and Liu Wei.

If you run out of the city immediately after a fire breaks out, you're likely to get caught. The city gate guards aren't stupid; they'll immediately seal off Luoyang City if they see a fire inside.

The real thieves act as if nothing has happened; working a normal job is the way to protect themselves.

The positive ball is also working normally, such as submitting false accusations or issuing fake certificates.

It wasn't until three days after the burning of the imperial prison that Liu Bei bid farewell to Yang Qiu.

"The recommendation letter from Zou Qidu for your official appointment has been submitted. Xiyuan has offered you the position of county magistrate, and the two million coins you obtained can be used to pay Xiyuan... But I don't know the specific whereabouts. You should go back to your hometown and wait for your appointment."

Yang Qiu no longer seemed as ferocious as before, probably because he had released some of his ferocity after brutally killing Wang Fu.

“Yang Sili, I think… you should ask to go out and govern a prefecture in a couple of days, because Luoyang is not a good place right now.”

Liu Bei gave Yang Qiu a piece of advice.

“I am a cruel and ruthless official, and only in the position of Sili can I make a difference… Everyone has something they must do.”

Yang Qiu seemed to understand, but he was indeed stubborn and still intended to continue taking the risk of remaining in his post as Commandant of the Capital: "Although you have not revealed your identity, Lord Duan is renowned throughout the land. Do not reveal your whereabouts when you leave the city."

Liu Bei did not try to persuade him further. He bowed and took his leave, heading towards the North Xia Gate of Luoyang with Zuo Yuan and several attendants.

Among those attendants, the oldest one was undoubtedly Duan Jiong.

The others were Yang Qiu's close associates, and also the jailers who "unfortunately died in the fire"... In reality, they were the people who knew the whereabouts of Liu Bei and Duan Jiong while they were in prison, and also the people who helped Duan Jiong set the fire. Of course, they had to "die in the fire" together, so that Yang Qiu could both pin the blame on the eunuch faction and ensure the safety of the Sili Commandant's Office.

The level of trust between Yang Qiu and Duan Jiong wasn't very high. These Yang family members faked their deaths and followed Liu Bei and Duan Jiong so that everyone could feel at ease.

Therefore, those close followers and Duan Jiong are now considered Liu Bei's followers.

Duan Jiong was so famous that when he was mixed in with a group of followers, wearing the same black robes and headscarves, he didn't stand out.

Upon arriving outside the North Xia Gate, the group found a pile of mangled corpses.

The corpses were scattered by the roadside, already rotting and decaying. Next to them stood a large wooden sign that read "The traitorous eunuch Wang Fu".

A pack of stray dogs are sniffing and licking here.

Just as Liu Bei and his entourage left the city gate, a procession of carriages and horses came along.

A man who looked like an eunuch was sitting in the carriage that was entering the city. He saw the sign by the roadside and made the carriage stop.

The eunuch got out of the carriage and chased away the stray dogs beside the corpses: "It's one thing for us to fight among ourselves, but how can we let the stray dogs fight over the eunuch's soup and fat?"

As she finished speaking, tears seemed to well up in her eyes.

The other eunuchs who accompanied them also took sticks to scare away the dogs.

Liu Bei walked out, avoiding the group of eunuchs, and seemed to be doing nothing out of the ordinary.

But when the eunuch got back into the carriage, he turned to look at Liu Bei and the others. Then, as if he had thought of something, he wiped away his tears with his sleeve, looked at them carefully again, and even frowned.

"That's Cao Jie... Let's go!"

Duan Jiong lowered his head and walked to Liu Bei's side to whisper in his ear.

To think I'd run into the Grand Eunuch at the city gate! What bad luck!

Liu Bei felt that Yang Qiu was a jinx...

Luoyang Beixia Gate is a troublesome place for me; every time I go there, something goes wrong.

It was rare for eunuchs to go outside the city on business, but Cao Jie was the Grand Chamberlain, and he was the one who handled most of the funerals and celebrations for nobles in the palace, so he would frequently come and go from Luoyang.

Duan Jiong is currently mingling among his close followers, so most people wouldn't notice him. Even if they saw him in person, they wouldn't recognize him as Grand Commandant Duan.

Unless you run into someone you know very well.

But unexpectedly, this is exactly what happened...

Liu Bei quickened his pace without making a sound and led his men northward.

Cao Jie turned his head and stared at Liu Bei and the others as they walked away, a thoughtful look in his eyes, before getting into the carriage and entering the city.

When the carriage arrived at the imperial prison in the city, Cao Jie saw the dark and chaotic scene and his eyes widened suddenly: "Luoyang Prison... what happened?!"

After saying that, he turned around and looked again.

But this place is already several miles inside the city, and the north gate is long gone.

"Quickly! I need to get to the palace!"

Cao Jie looked extremely panicked at this moment. He kicked the eunuch driving the carriage off the horse, snatched the whip, and prepared to drive the carriage himself.

But just as he raised his whip, he stopped, took out a token from his person, and threw it to the eunuch on the ground: "Go to the Yueqi Camp and have Po Shi lead troops to pursue those people encountered at the city gate! Dead or alive, go quickly!"

Then he drove quickly to Xiyuan.

The eunuch hurriedly picked up the black plaque and ran towards the Northern Army camp.

At dusk, a troop of cavalry emerged from the Yueqi Camp, clad in armor and armed with weapons, and headed north to search.

(End of this chapter)