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

Chapter 65 Feng Shui Treasure Land
Liu Wei is very valuable to Liu Bei now.

Liu Wei is now all alone, with no officials or servants left, and for a long time he has to rely on Liu Bei.

Such a prefect is a rare breed, and should naturally be cherished.

Zhuo County is also very valuable now. The county magistrate is dead, and all the officials under his jurisdiction are gone. Jian Yong, the corrupt official, can basically manage everything...

We need to build up our military strength, raise funds, and establish a solid foundation.

Moreover, they wouldn't have to be Liu Wei's subordinate.

Because Liu Wei simply didn't have the confidence to summon Liu Bei, he could only use the method of 'inviting' him, temporarily hiring Liu Bei to help solve the problem.

Several groups of sentries had been set up to take turns on duty at the entrance of the building where Liu Wei was staying. The captain of the sentries was named Zhang Fei.

Zuo Yuan was also in the guesthouse because Liu Bei and Jian Yong's mother had not moved back.

Zuo Yuan led the physician and maids to the residence to care for the prefect's injuries.

Zhang Fei led his men outside the gate to 'protect the prefect's safety,' ensuring that not a single mosquito could fly in... nor could a single mosquito fly out.

After leaving the guesthouse, Liu Bei raised the banner of Protector of the Wuhuan and set up defenses within the city.

He then went to Liu Wei's fortified village.

Having already achieved their core objective, the Taihang bandits were no longer capable of fighting the regular army to the death. Zhuoxian was actually safe, and even Liu Yuanqi's side would be fine.

There are quite a few people in Liujiawubao. The Taihang bandits have already fought fiercely with Gongsun Zan, so they won't suffer any more unnecessary losses.

The Taihang bandits' primary concern now is to quickly transport the property in Liu Weiwu Fort back to the Taihang Mountains; they have no interest in fighting.

Therefore, Liu Bei went directly to negotiate with Zuo Zi.

The vast majority of the Taihang bandits had gathered at Liu Wei's fortified village, cleaning up the battlefield and moving their valuables.

The fortified village was indeed rich in money and provisions. The treasury contained far more than one hundred million coins, as well as tens of thousands of bushels of grain and a lot of cloth. Although the Taihang bandits were numerous, they still had not loaded all the goods onto the carts by this time.

"Zuo Zi, it's impossible to trade in Zhuo County now. The prefecture has already lit the beacon fires to request aid from the northern prefectures, and Commander Zou's headquarters has also entered Zhuo County. Right now, I can only send you back to the Taihang Mountains."

Liu Bei cut to the chase and canceled the deal: "You've already gained enough from the Taihang Mountains. I've been appointed to oversee the troops to recover lost territory, and the beacon fires will soon summon armies from all over the country. You'd better take your men back to the mountains as soon as possible."

"I have also seen the flames of war... I will remember this favor. Brother Da'er, please lead the army south. I will have the brothers in Taihang retreat fifty li every day so that Brother Da'er can recover the lost territory."

Zuo Zi was already planning to call it a day; he couldn't take any more with him anyway: "But Brother Da Er can't fulfill his promise about the deal in Zhuo County this time, so what about the money..."

"Since I can't make the deal this time, I won't take the money... However, I can't just give you all those carts for free."

Liu Bei pointed to the bandits who were loading the carts and said, "You are transporting money and grain, so you probably won't be able to bring back all the spoils of this battle."

"That's easy to say."

Upon hearing that Liu Bei didn't want money or provisions, Zuo Zi generously replied, "Brother Big Ears, do you want military merit? We have your heads..."

“I don’t want heads… I don’t need people to claim credit for me. You can bury the bodies yourselves to avoid the spread of plague.”

Liu Bei interrupted Zuo Zi: "What I need are armor and weapons, the armor of the governor and Gongsun Zan's troops, and the weapons stored in the governor's fortified village... These heavy items are not easy for you to transport back to the mountains."

Heavy items are indeed difficult to transport; the main things to bring back from the Taihang Mountains are money, grain, and cloth.

But when it came to armor, Zuo Zi still hesitated.

The bandits in the Taihang Mountains also needed some armor.

After thinking for a moment, Zuo Zi gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Da Er, I can only give you half of the armor. Gongsun Zan's soldiers are really powerful, and I also need to train some armored soldiers."

This was inevitable; Liu Bei had helped Zuo Zi's gang reap the greatest benefits, so Zuo Zi couldn't be too stingy.

However, if Zuo Zi wanted to maintain his position as the leader of the Taihang Mountain Alliance, he had to strengthen his own military equipment, and being willing to share half was already quite generous.

"Alright, then let's call it a day."

Liu Bei nodded, then began making his second deal: "Brother Zuo Zi, you must need farmland in the Taihang Mountains, right? I have a piece of land that no one is cultivating, and it's located at the foot of the Taihang Mountains..." "Farmland?"

Zuo Zi was stunned: "The land at the foot of the mountain? Where?"

He certainly needs it...

The vast majority of people in the Taihang Mountains came into the mountains because they had no land. If they had arable land, who would risk their life to rob people every year?

"The river bend thirty miles east of Guangchang (Laiyuan) has mountains and water, and the entire area within a radius of twenty or thirty miles is top-quality land..."

Liu Bei picked up a stick and started drawing: "You should be very familiar with that place."

Zuo Zi was indeed very familiar with the area; everyone in the northern Taihang Mountains knew that place because they frequently descended from that area.

Guangchang, also known as Laiyuan, is actually the source of the Juma River. It belongs to Dai Commandery and is located at the junction of Dai Commandery, Zhongshan Commandery, Shanggu Commandery, and Zhuo Commandery.

This place controls the Flying Fox Road, with the North China Plain to the east and the Shanxi Plateau to the west. It was originally an important pass on the northern foothills of the Taihang Mountains.

If troops or other military units needed to cross the Taihang Mountains, they would usually have to take the Guangchang Feihu Trail.

However, after the great battle between the Han and Xianbei two years ago, the Han army suffered a major defeat, which led to chaos in Dai County and Shanggu County, and many people went to the Taihang Mountains to avoid disaster.

As a result, Guangchang County lost most of its population and has now become a military fortress, the garrison of the Feihu Road garrison.

The river bend that Liu Bei referred to is now fifty or sixty li upstream of Xinting on the Juma River.

That location was only thirty li from Guangchang and a full one hundred li from Zhuoxian, but that river bend was indeed within the territory of Zhuojun, the westernmost edge of Zhuojun.

That land is now ownerless and uninhabited, for a simple reason—the Taihang bandits and the Hu people frequently operate in that area, making it far more dangerous than Xinting on the Juma River. Not only do wealthy families not want it, but even landless commoners dare not go there.

Only horse merchants who buy horses from Hu people might go there.

The people of Taihang Mountain did not dare to cultivate the land there. The place was a certain distance from the mountains and too close to Guangchang. They also had to guard against the Hu people, so farming there was not stable.

The Hu people dared not stay there for long, because the Flying Fox Road garrison was located nearby.

This is a typical example of the shrinking of border counties. No one dares to stay there, and no one feels secure in that river bend. So it has become a no-man's land that no one cares about.

But Liu Bei felt that the place was a geomantically auspicious location.

A place where no one cares is a good place.

"Brother Big Ears, that place is too chaotic to farm."

Zuo Zimeng shook his head: "Of course I hope that the people in the mountains can have a place to grow food, but there..."

"What if I stationed troops there?"

Liu Bei continued drawing the simple map on the ground: "I have the authority to recruit volunteers and command troops to quell bandits. I will buy that land, station troops there to train soldiers, drive out the Hu people, and pursue and annihilate the 'Taihang bandits.' At the same time, the headquarters of the Protector of the Wuhuan will also be stationed nearby..."

“If you have any skilled farmers in the Taihang Mountains, such as the elderly, women and children… I will help them register their household registration.”

“I can sell them a piece of land and help them settle down as law-abiding citizens of Zhuojun.”

"Of course, you'll have to pay for the land yourself, but I can help you with the taxes on that land."

"The land price is only half the market price. I will pay the taxes on your behalf. I will only charge 20% of the grain as expenses for paying the taxes each year. I guarantee that you will not have to pay any other exorbitant taxes or be conscripted into labor."

"In this way, the elderly and women can also contribute surplus food to the Taihang Mountains, and they can even support you in return."

"Most importantly... your children can become good citizens along with your women."

"Of course, if war breaks out, remember to send troops to help me from Taihang Mountain, otherwise we'll all be starving."

After Liu Bei finished speaking, he quietly looked at Zuo Zi, waiting for him to consider.

(End of this chapter)