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

Chapter 74 Cleaning up the portal
Zhang He brought quite a few people to transport grain, and they were clearly not from humble backgrounds. Although Zhang He's attire didn't suggest a wealthy family, they were still considered a prominent household by most people.

Even wealthy families were subject to grain service.

According to Zhang He, his family was preparing to move back to Hejian, but they were harassed and assigned to the grain service...

The Zhang family originally came from Hejian, so it was quite normal for them to be ostracized by the people of Zhongshan. When they moved back, some people must have had designs on their family's land, for example, by using taxes and corvée labor to force them to sell the land at a low price or to frame them for a crime.

This is a common phenomenon these days, especially in places like Anxi, where the land is mostly owned by local powerful families, with very few small local households. If they want to pay taxes, they naturally have to target outsiders.

“If you want to resign, why don’t you go and ask the inspector to resign?”

Liu Bei parted the crowd and asked the granary manager.

However, his eyes kept lingering on Zhang He.

Liu Bei was unsure whether this green-faced young man would become the famous general of Cao Wei in the future. He looked taller than his peers, but his face was very delicate and did not look like a warrior at all.

Seeing that Liu Bei seemed to be speaking up for him, Zhang He also glared at the granary manager.

"You've already gone! You've gone several times! But the inspector refuses to see you, and there's no county magistrate here right now. What can you do?!"

The warehouse keeper's face was full of rage: "Who are you?"

When Liu Bei arrived, he hadn't yet put on his official robes, and the people of Anxi didn't recognize him, treating him only as a scholar watching the spectacle.

It's normal that Anxi doesn't have a county head now; small counties like this have little profit to be made, and it's hard to recoup costs...

Since the emperor raised the price of official positions, many small counties have lost their county magistrates and county lieutenants, while county magistrates in large counties are still in high demand.

"I see... I am Liu Xuande, the Commandant of Anxi. Since there is a discrepancy in the tax revenue, I will come to collect it... Zhang He, what is the tax quota for your family in the county?"

Liu Bei nodded, put on a show of composure, and looked at Zhang He.

"County Commandant?"

Zhang He noticed that Liu Bei wasn't wearing an official robe and asked suspiciously, "Someone actually came to be the county magistrate here... Is he newly appointed?"

Judging from his expression, he doesn't seem to trust her.

"Hmph! How could this be false? My elder brother is asking you a question!"

Zhang Fei called out impatiently.

Guan Yu pulled Zhang Fei aside and whispered instructions on manners: "Fei Lang, from now on, when the master speaks, you must not speak."

Zhang Fei covered his mouth with his hand and nodded.

Zhang Fei is now more obedient to Guan Yu because he really can't beat him. After the banquet for Wang Men, he secretly drank some wine again—unsurprisingly, he got drunk again and was beaten by Guan Yu.

"How many servants does he have?"

Seeing that Zhang He remained silent, Liu Bei turned to the granary manager and asked, "According to the large granary, how much grain tax is his family short?"

"His household's quota is five thousand bushels... directly assigned by the Central Inspector."

No one would impersonate an official in public, so the granary official didn't express any doubt like a young man. He bowed and replied, "The granary has received 3,500 bushels, but it's still 1,500 bushels short."

The shortage of 1,500 is actually a shortfall of more than 2,000 bushels.

That's exactly how it was calculated when the grain was collected and stored: 70% of every 10 bushels was deposited, with 30% deducted for losses as expenses incurred during transport to the prefecture.

But... a quota of five thousand bushels?
This is really a bit outrageous.

Liu Bei felt that he had seen the world – five thousand bushels of grain was equivalent to half of the grain tax that Anxi County should have collected!

Anxi is a small county with no magistrate, only a county head. Including tenant farmers, there are no more than 6,000 households in the county, and the grain output is at most 300,000 bushels.

At a rate of one-thirtieth, the annual grain tax would amount to 10,000 hu (a unit of dry measure).

One household's grain tax collection was used to requisition half the county's worth of grain...

Zhang Bancheng?

This was clearly malicious harassment, and its purpose was nothing more than to seize the land belonging to Zhang He's family.

Liu Bei shook his head, somewhat speechless, and beckoned to Zhang He: "Come with me to the government office, I'm here to inquire about your family's taxes." Seeing Liu Bei's amiable demeanor, Zhang He glared fiercely at the granary manager, then lowered his head and followed Liu Bei.

The county magistrate's office was deserted; there were no clerks, not even a gatekeeper.

The gate was open, and the inside was full of dust, looking like it had been abandoned.

There were only a few people at the patrol post next door, but they were clearly not qualified to receive Liu Bei. However, the patrolmen said that the county magistrate's office across the street had also been closed for many days and could not receive him either...

It was obvious that this was intentional; the county officials deliberately refused to greet him, as a way to give Liu Bei a hard time.

This was definitely not at the behest of Zhang Chun or Wang Men; it was likely a spontaneous act by local officials to force the new official to obey their orders.

This is the norm for new officials taking office.

The bamboo slips in the official residence were still there, and Liu Bei brushed off the dust and flipped through them.

"How should County Magistrate Liu inquire about a particular family's tax affairs? Is he going to pursue the outstanding taxes?"

Zhang He, growing impatient, asked, "My family has already paid the taxes! Five thousand bushels of new millet, not a single grain is missing!"

"I know, don't worry..."

Liu Bei rummaged through the old bamboo slips in the cabinet, then turned to Zhang He and asked, "I just heard you say that your family is moving back to Hejian. Why is that?"

"A few years ago, my father was appointed as a clerk and moved here from Mo County to start a family. Later, he had some disputes with the Liu family over land and property... After my father passed away last year, our family has often been ostracized by the local powerful families."

The anger in Zhang He's eyes grew stronger as he spoke: "I planned to move back to Mo County, but I didn't expect that this year the Liu family would become the Central Inspector and forcibly conscript me as a grain laborer, and they only conscripted one family!"

"He took advantage of Zhang's youth and wanted to seize his family's land!"

"Zhang never wanted to live here anymore. If we had been kind enough to buy his land, he would have sold it. But he insisted on using tax collectors to make things difficult for him!"

Zhang He grew angrier as he spoke, and his eyes even welled up with tears.

It's really not easy to grow up before you're even an adult and have to shoulder the burden of your family.

"...Is that inspector a member of the Liu family of Zhongshan?"

Liu Bei was stunned for a moment; the troublemaking inspector was actually a member of the Liu clan…

The Liu family of Zhongshan is the main branch descended from Prince Jing, while Liu Bei and Liu Yuanqi's branch is a branch of Zhuojun.

Gongsun Zan had previously mentioned to Liu Bei that the Liu family was the most powerful clan in Zhongshan, and they were also the ones who most liked to seize land by taking advantage of oppressive policies.

"...What? County Magistrate Liu...is also a member of the Liu family? Hmph..."

Zhang He noticed that Liu Bei was in a daze, and a mocking look appeared on his face. He turned around and prepared to leave.

"Zhang He, do you want to go and beat up that inspector?"

Liu Bei suddenly asked.

"Ok??"

Zhang He turned around and looked at Liu Bei with a face full of suspicion.

"I am indeed a member of the Liu family, but I come from the Liu family of Zhuojun. Since the people of Zhongshan have disgraced my Liu family, I naturally have to clean up their mess... Hmph, that inspector seems to be a generation below me..."

Liu Bei cracked his neck, threw down the bamboo slips in his hand, and called to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, "Come on, grab some sticks, let's go fight!"

"Ow!"

Upon hearing about a fight, Zhang Fei immediately became excited. His two bull-like eyes widened, and he retrieved a stick from the patrol pavilion: "Brother, who do you want to fight?"

"...Liu...Liu the County Commandant? Fighting?"

Zhang He was taken aback by Liu Bei's reaction.

"Ha, as an elder of the Liu family, it is my duty to educate the younger generation. This is a family matter, and elders can discipline younger generations... so feel free to do so!"

Liu Bei patted Zhang He on the back: "Come on, lead the way."

(End of this chapter)