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

Chapter 53 Crisis comes again
End of June.

Just as Liu Bei was busy training his troops, news came from Shili Pavilion.

Jiuchi and the others have returned from the Taihang Mountains.

“My lord, I have found a fellow villager and old friend in the mountains. These days he has received military equipment from a man named Yan Gang. This year, the people of the Northern Taihang Mountains will come down from the eastern foothills... He said that you are a friend and asked you to hang this item in front of your door so that you will not be disturbed.”

Jiu Chi reported the news he had obtained in the Taihang Mountains to Liu Bei and handed him a rattan hat shaped like a cow's horn.

This straw hat was deliberately woven at an angle into the shape of a cow's horn, suggesting it was a token used by the Taihang bandits to distinguish friend from foe, somewhat similar to the yellow cloth hung in front of the doors of the Taiping Dao believers.

Every autumn harvest season, bandits from the Taihang Mountains would raid the surrounding counties for grain. The bandits from the northern Taihang Mountains would come out of the mountains from the east, naturally aiming for Zhongshan and Zhuojun.

He deliberately warned Liu Bei in advance and gave him a token, so Jiu Chi, that fellow villager, was quite considerate.

At this time, probably not many people knew the name Yan Gang, but Liu Bei did.

This is the leader of Gongsun Zan's followers. He was the one who told Liu Bei that he wanted to go upstream to repair the boat when they were by the Zi River. It was probably around that time that they entered the mountains.

Liu Bei could guess what Gongsun Zan was planning, because the plan seemed very obvious: to cooperate with the Taihang bandits to nurture them and build up the reputation that "only Gongsun Zan can suppress the Taihang bandits," thereby increasing his power.

This is a common tactic used by border military leaders, but it's very effective.

With the Taihang bandits making a large-scale comeback, Gongsun Zan will inevitably be able to amass a large number of private troops during this period, and may even directly send troops to plunder the county's wealth—in any case, it will all be attributed to the Taihang bandits, and Gongsun Zan can still gain merit by 'suppressing the bandits'.

In fact, Liu Bei had considered this situation beforehand, and sending Jiu Chi to Taihang Mountain to deliver gifts was a precautionary measure.

Gongsun Zan has always been a huge threat.

Although Gongsun Zan never openly caused trouble for Liu Bei, only using Liu Bei as bait in Zhongshan, Liu Bei never actually let his guard down.

The real struggle is not about petty squabbles like trying to make things difficult for someone, nor is it about using one's official position to pressure others and cause trouble. It's about being like Yang Qiu: either don't do it at all, or if you do it, do it to the point of death and eliminate all traces of the enemy.

If Gongsun Zan, in his capacity as county magistrate, openly suppressed him, Liu Bei was not afraid at all. Suppression, making things difficult for him, or deliberately causing trouble all meant that he did not intend to kill him.

If an enemy persecutes for the sake of persecution, or persecutes people for the sake of persecuting people, then such an enemy is not worth fearing at all.

Gongsun Zan usually ignored her and didn't make her feel wronged or oppressed, but he used her as bait in every big move to achieve his greater goals.

That's what's truly deadly.

Back then, Liu Bei and Yang Qiu used Wang Meng as bait to deal with Wang Fu, and Wang Meng... was the first member of Wang Fu's family to die.

Just like now, if the mountain bandits of the northern Taihang Mountains launch a large-scale attack on Zhuojun, the Juma River area will definitely be the first to suffer. And the fact that Liu Bei helped Zou Jing recruit soldiers and set up Zou Jing's camp on the banks of the Juma River was no secret to Gongsun Zan.

The source of the Juma River is located on the northern foothills of the Taihang Mountains.

The land along the river is less than a hundred miles from the northern foothills of the Taihang Mountains. It is the closest place in the entire Zhuojun to the Taihang Mountains, and the area is full of properties owned by wealthy families.

In other words, all the villages along the Juma River were targets of the Taihang bandits, including the horse farm and market that were under construction.

Although the presence of the Protector of Wuhuan's military camp served as a deterrent, mountain bandits were different from Hu people. Hu people were easily identifiable, but the Taihang bandits were Han Chinese, making it difficult to distinguish whether they were mountain bandits or tenant farmers.

The inability to distinguish between civilians and bandits is the reason why the Taihang bandits have been impossible to eradicate.

They only robbed wealthy families and never targeted ordinary people. Not only would the common people protect them, but they would also actively inform the Taihang bandits, making it very difficult for the army to deal with them.

Furthermore, Gongsun Zan was providing information to the Taihang bandits...

If nothing unexpected happens, Gongsun Zan will undoubtedly reap considerable rewards from the Taihang bandits, creating the reputation that "only Gongsun Zan can suppress the Taihang bandits." If "Commander Zou's headquarters" is wiped out by the "Taihang bandits," and Zhang Chun's troops from Zhongshan are also unable to deal with the Taihang bandits, yet Gongsun Zan manages to subdue them—wouldn't Gongsun Zan be far superior to both Zou Jing and Zhang Chun?

Then, shouldn't the Protector of the Wuhuan, or the Chancellor of Zhongshan, be replaced?

If Liu Bei wanted to preserve the reputation and benefits he had finally gained, he had to protect "Commander Zou's headquarters" and also make some gains.

Otherwise, they might end up like those on the banks of the Zishui River, either "dying in battle" or "disappearing."

Liu Bei was certain that a large force would attack the headquarters of the Protector of the Wuhuan at the Juma River, and that it wouldn't just be bandits from Taihang.

But this matter couldn't be reported to Gongsun Zan—Liu Bei himself had obtained the information by colluding with the Taihang bandits, so reporting it would be tantamount to inviting trouble upon himself.

Furthermore... on what grounds do you accuse Gongsun Zan of colluding with the Taihang bandits?
Gongsun Zan has always acted in this way, always with a justification, making him truly impossible to criticize.

Fortunately, this time, Liu Bei had Jiu Chi send several fake intelligence reports, which resulted in this timely intelligence.

However, the Taihang bandits only showed Liu Bei so much respect, neither mentioning when they would set out nor where they would emerge from the mountains. Even if they knew that the bandits would cooperate with Gongsun Zan, they didn't know how to defend against them.

How to do it?

After thinking for a long time, Liu Bei summoned his old subordinate Zhang Ba and sent the ox-horn hat to the Lu family manor.

……

"My lord, recently a large number of bandits from Taihang have invaded and caused havoc. I am preparing to send troops to suppress the bandits in order to prevent them from disrupting the autumn harvest. I request that you provide some grain and military supplies."

Gongsun Zan was at this moment giving advice to Prefect Liu Wei.

"The bandits of Taihang have always been difficult to suppress. When they encounter bandits, each clan will gather in their fortified villages to protect themselves. Let's forget about sending troops to suppress them."

Liu Wei certainly didn't want to pay any money. This year, he wouldn't collect grain taxes from the wealthy households, and he didn't care whether the Taihang bandits would disrupt the autumn harvest.

"My lord, when I was stationed in Beixin City recruiting soldiers, I personally witnessed the Taihang bandits invading the vicinity of Beixin City. Their scale was enormous, and they were gathering and threatening people, unlike ordinary looting. I suspect that Zhang Chun of Zhongshan is behind this. If we let it go unchecked, I fear that large groups of bandits will soon head straight for Fanyang and Zhuoxian. As for your villa, my lord..."

Gongsun Zan was clearly threatening him, and that was indeed the case.

"You mean Zhang Boren's troops disguised themselves as Taihang bandits and plundered this county?"

Liu Wei was indeed starting to panic.

He knew Zhang Chun was capable of such a thing...

Liu Wei's villa is now a huge money vault; he just made a fortune, and he still hasn't counted it all!
Liu Wei, a simple bandit from Taihang Mountain, was not afraid. He had several hundred private soldiers guarding his villa, and the fortified village was well-defended. Mountain bandits really couldn't do much to take the fortified village.

But Zhang Chun's troops were different. Regular troops had plenty of ways to break through fortified villages, and it was even possible to temporarily cut down trees and make weapons to attack county towns. In any case, they could all blame it on the Taihang bandits.

"My lord, for now we can only set up defenses in Beixin City and hunt down large groups of bandits to prevent them from entering fertile lands."

Gongsun Zan cupped his hands in greeting.

"Then we shall send troops to suppress the bandits and defend against the enemy...and issue a notice to all counties to guard against the bandits."

Although Liu Wei felt bad, he could only supply Gongsun Zan with food and military supplies.

(End of this chapter)