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

Chapter 44 The Use of Loyalty
The group headed north and returned to Zhuojun without any obstacles.

On the banks of the Zishui River in southern Zhongshan, the camp that was previously attacked at night is no longer there; in its place stands a newly built pontoon bridge.

Near Beixincheng, where Zhuojun and Zhongshan meet, lies Gongsun Zan's flag camp.

It appears they are recruiting refugees into their army.

Liu Bei ignored him and walked around him. He already knew how Gongsun Zan had obtained military power and didn't want to face Gongsun Zan again.

The bandit leaders did not return, but they left a message at Shili Pavilion, saying that they were having meals with Jiu Chi in the Taihang Mountains and making friends with the heroes of Taihang.

Only the Yellow Turban Taoist and the bandit leader's family remained at Shili Pavilion, along with a few wandering knights who liked to stay and freeload.

The wandering knights said they left someone in Anping to take care of Qian Zhao's father, but since no one could handle the horses, Jian Yong went to Zhang Shiping for help.

Duan Jiong still did not intend to meet with anyone he knew, so Liu Bei first settled him at Shili Pavilion and went to find Zou Jing by himself.

Zou Jing was still in the guesthouse in Zhuo County. He seemed to have almost fully recovered from his injuries and had several attendants with him.

"Xuande! Gongsun Bogui said you were missing, I thought you..."

Zou Jing was overjoyed to see Liu Bei return alive.

"The journey to Luoyang will be fraught with difficulties..."

Liu Bei truthfully recounted his experiences, but concealed the part about burning down the imperial prison to save Duan Jiong, only saying that the imperial prison suddenly caught fire.

"Gongsun Bogui actually used such methods to seize troops... I'm afraid he's going to cause trouble!"

Zou Jing shook his head and sighed, "When he reported Zhang Chun's treason, I felt something was wrong and didn't dare to agree to send troops to help... Fortunately, I didn't send troops. But now, Gongsun Bogui and Zhang Boren are probably at odds. What should we do?"

"Although Gongsun Bogui used me as bait, he did not harm anyone... I was indeed attacked by Zhang Chun's men. I can only blame myself for being too weak, but I cannot accuse Gongsun Bogui of being unethical."

Liu Bei shook his head and sighed, "Since they've become enemies, let them be. I'll just stay home and wait to be recruited."

“I’m only worried that chaos will break out in Yuyang and Liaoxi. If Zhang Boren and Gongsun Zan fight each other, the Zhang family of Yuyang will naturally fight against Gongsun Zan in Liaoxi. If this fight breaks out, I’m afraid the whole of Youzhou will be in chaos.”

Zou Jing smiled wryly: "My post is in Wuzhong, which is right between those two families... I need to hurry back to my post."

At this time, the Protector of the Wuhuan was stationed near Wuzhong County in Youbeiping. To the west was Yuyang, Zhang Chun's hometown, and to the east was Lingzhi in Liaoxi, Gongsun Zan's hometown.

"Then why doesn't the commander-in-chief take his troops to Shanggu to search for and annihilate the rebel Zhang Sheng?"

Liu Bei suggested, "I suspect that Zhang Sheng will still target the Commander-in-Chief. Why don't you lead your troops directly to Shanggu to find him, so as to avoid having to guard against thieves for a thousand days?"

“Taking the Wuhuan invading troops elsewhere could easily cause trouble…”

Zou Jing sighed again: "Moreover, given the current situation, if I take my main force with me and leave only the Wuhuan cavalry in Wuzhong, when a conflict breaks out between Yuyang and Liaoxi, the Wuhuan people, caught in the middle, might think that the Han Dynasty is going to attack them, and they might even rebel..."

Previously, the Protector of Wuhuan held a very important position, and could even lead tens of thousands of troops in major battles. However, after the great defeat in the campaign against the Xianbei, Zou Jing no longer had that much military power when he took over.

Currently, Zou Jing has two standing armies under his command. One is the regular Han army, which belongs to Zou Jing's main force and has a strength of one thousand.

The other unit was the Wuhuan cavalry, numbering about eight hundred. They were a rotating group of mercenaries, with members transferred from various Wuhuan tribes each year. This was essentially a gesture of goodwill from the Wuhuan towards submission, and they were considered mercenaries.

The leader of the Wuhuan cavalry was not Zou Jing, but was rotated among the tribal chiefs of the Wuhuan, and was under Zou Jing's control.

It's not convenient for this group of Wuhuan to be transferred away from their Wuzhong garrison, since the Hu people aren't particularly obedient and plundering along the way is normal behavior for them.

If a major war is confirmed, then of course the Wuhuan cavalry can be used, and more Wuhuan people can be recruited—if there is enough money and supplies.

However, if the goal is to search for and eliminate Zhang Sheng in Shanggu, then bringing the Wuhuan people along is not a good choice, and it would be easy for trouble to occur if the Han army were not left to keep an eye on them.

"In that case, we should prepare to lead men to Shanggu to pursue and annihilate Zhang Sheng, while the military governor himself returns to Wuzhong to oversee the situation and prevent any unrest in Yuyang and Liaoxi."

Liu Bei started taking on extra work himself again. "This... I just received a great favor from Xuande, and I haven't even repaid it yet. How can I let Xuande do more work?"

Zou Jing felt really embarrassed.

"Well, I can only wait at home for the imperial court's summons anyway, and I have nothing to do... Besides, I have a fellow disciple named Qian Zijing, who has a grudge against Zhang Sheng, and I have to help him get revenge."

Liu Bei said with great pride, "However... I have no soldiers at my disposal, and I need to borrow Commander Zou's flags and ceremonial guards to lure Zhang Sheng out."

He certainly wouldn't let Zou Jing repay the favor; the best outcome would be for Zou Jing to accumulate more and more debts until he couldn't repay them.

Demanding a reward after helping someone is simply a transaction.

If someone continues to consider others' needs after helping them, that's true loyalty and friendship.

A transaction is a one-time event, but a bond can continuously appreciate in value, even after death.

"In that case, I won't thank you."

Zou Jing stood up and cupped his hands in greeting: "The flags and ceremonial guards are easy to arrange; I'll send them to you later. But I'm having trouble with the troops. I can spare some men, but one... I'm afraid it won't be enough to pursue and annihilate Zhang Sheng."

It's definitely not enough. Even if Zou Jing doesn't receive a salary without working, his main unit only has a little over two hundred people.

However, too many people cannot be transferred, otherwise Zou Jing will not have enough Han soldiers, and it will be very difficult to suppress the Wuhuan.

"There is no need to transfer manpower. Just get some food and help the governor recruit some soldiers... The governor is currently guarding against the Xianbei, Yuyang and Liaoxi, and also subduing the Wuhuan. He must recruit more soldiers."

Liu Bei said he could handle it: "Many refugees from Zhongshan have entered Zhuojun. I can provide them with food and help them move. However, I am a scholar waiting to be conscripted and cannot recruit soldiers at will. The military governor must appoint Qian Zhao as his subordinate official and let him do it under the pretext of supplementing the military governor's personal guards."

"Recruiting refugees" is similar to what Gongsun Zan is doing.

Zou Jing is not a prefect, so he cannot arbitrarily recruit civilians into the army. However, Zou Jing had previously led dozens of his personal guards to Shanggu, and all of them were killed in the encirclement and annihilation. This vacancy should indeed be filled.

but……

There are only a few dozen vacancies.

Zou Jing glanced at Liu Bei and swallowed hard: "How many more men does Xuande plan to add?"

"We need to send at least five hundred more people..."

Liu Bei gestured with his right hand, then thought for a moment and withdrew two fingers: "If there's enough money and grain, and the refugees are eager to join, then adding two or three thousand more wouldn't be out of the question..."

"Cough cough cough..."

Zou Jing coughed suddenly: "We've exceeded the quota... I, Zou, am not receiving a salary without working."

"It doesn't matter. It's just a reinforcement. Who knows exactly how many we recruited? Besides, this is Zhuojun, not Wuzhong. Who would know these are Governor Zou's soldiers?"

Liu Bei spread his hands: "Besides, I can 'retire from the army and return to my farm' after I'm done using it..."

“Zou does not have enough grain to support his troops. The imperial court allocates grain according to the standard of two thousand men... At present, he only has a few hundred bushels left.”

Zou Jing said he was also very poor: "Besides, how do we procure military supplies when there are so many people? Where do we get weapons and armor?"

"It's alright, I'll handle this matter. The warlord can return to Wuzhong."

Liu Bei was determined to take on everything himself.

What we want is this pretext of supplementing regular soldiers, and incidentally, to give Qian Zhao a formal background. Everything else is just extra and doesn't matter whether it's there or not.

Gongsun Zan could seize military power through intrigue, and Liu Bei could also seize military power through loyalty, even making Zou Jing owe him a favor.

(End of this chapter)