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

Chapter 88 My Good Brother Jian Yong (Seeking First Subscription)
Jian Yong blinked, looked at Bian Ji carefully, and felt that this musician had quite a refined air: "She is not guilty, but her elder brother is observing mourning and cannot go out. Why don't you come with me back to Zhuojun to find her elder brother?"

"I am a courtesan, and I have no choice but to go wherever I wish..."

Bian Ji smiled slightly, but her smile was somewhat bitter: "It's good that Liu Lang is innocent. I won't bother you any longer."

After saying that, he turned around and prepared to leave.

"Hey...wait a minute..."

Jian Yong suddenly realized that Liu Bei had sent him to the music hall perhaps for Bian Ji's sake!

Otherwise, why would he specifically send himself to the music hall to find Cao Cao? People usually seek out officials in their official residences.

Well, it must be because my elder brother is too shy to say it outright... My elder brother must know that Cao Mengde is after Bian Ji!

At this time, my elder brother was observing mourning, so it was indeed inconvenient for him to speak openly.

A good brother should naturally help his elder brother solve this problem; he can't let someone steal his man!
Jian Yong felt he had discovered the truth: "Sister Bian, my elder brother sent me to the music hall to bring you back to Zhuojun... He was in mourning and couldn't come himself, but he was afraid that Bian Ji would no longer be here after the mourning period ended, so he specially sent me here..."

"Ah? Ah!"

Bian Ji was startled, then a blush crept onto her face, followed by a faint smile: "Liu Lang is indeed not a frivolous or flirtatious person..."

Jian Yong did not redeem Bian Ji directly because Bian Ji was very valuable, and redeeming her would cost at least two million coins—this was not the price for one person, but included Bian Ji's younger brother Bian Bing and others, whose entire family were registered as entertainers and their household registrations were tied together.

Jian Yong didn't bring that much money, but having served as a clerk for so long, he knew exactly how to handle the situation.

He gave the horse he had ridden and gold worth tens of thousands of coins to the Luoyang Household Official and the Music Official, respectively, and the bribery took place in the music hall.

Subsequently, Bian Ji, Bian Bing, and others were temporarily transferred to Zhuojun.

It was common for Yue Ji to be transferred to other prefectures. When he returned to Zhuo County, Jian Yong planned to give Liu Bei a surprise.

The reason Liu Bei asked Cao Cao to send someone to retrieve the horses was because Cao Song was the Grand Minister of Agriculture.

The Grand Minister of Agriculture was in charge of finance, taxation, money, grain, and material transportation. Only Cao Song's men could easily transport massive amounts of money to Zhuo County.

Only Cao Song had the financial resources to acquire all the horses from Liu Bei.

Moreover... Cao Song was a corrupt official with connections to the palace—not only were he closely associated with eunuchs, but he also had good relations with the He Jin family and the Yuan family.

He Jin's sister was made empress a year ago, and the He family's status rose accordingly. Although Cao Song was not a capable official, he was extremely perceptive in handling interpersonal relationships and immediately befriended the He family.

These days, only corrupt officials who are good at navigating interpersonal relationships can actually get things done.

Neither Zou Jing nor Liu Yu were corrupt officials, and both had a sense of loyalty to the country. However, the emperor's actions prevented these two talented individuals from making any use of their abilities.

Last year, Zou Jing and Liu Yu had a conflict.

The cause of the conflict lies in attitudes toward foreigners.

To be precise, it refers to the concept behind the operation of the mutual trade system.

Liu Yu had a mission: to try to win over the Xianbei and hoped that Zou Jing would open up markets to them, such as setting up temporary markets in Liaodong and Changli, to try trading with the Xianbei.

But Zou Jing refused.

Because trade is a double-edged sword. The abundant resources of the Han Dynasty can persuade some non-Han peoples to submit and not cause trouble, but it may also allow non-Han peoples who hate the Han Dynasty to obtain strategic resources, thereby exacerbating border troubles.

At the same time, Zou Jing had a good understanding of the mentality of the Hu people. He believed that if the Xianbei and Wuhuan were treated equally, the Wuhuan people would feel that it was unfair.

The Wuhuan people submitted to the Han Dynasty and helped fight, which should have deepened cooperation. However, if the Wuhuan people were treated the same as the Xianbei, who were enemies of the Han Dynasty, after joining the Han Dynasty, why shouldn't the Wuhuan people become enemies of the Han Dynasty?
Therefore, Zou Jing will not open the market to the Xianbei people at this time.

Furthermore, doing business with the Xianbei is not safe; the Xianbei might very well use trade as a pretext to launch a large-scale attack.

There's no need to create unnecessary trouble when the efforts to pacify the Wuhuan are about to bear fruit. Only if a Xianbei tribe openly surrenders should we attempt to pacify them, divide and conquer them, and eventually eliminate them.

Liu Yu knew that Zou Jing's words made sense, but he had another consideration—if the Han Dynasty never showed goodwill towards the Xianbei, then which Xianbei tribe would take the initiative to submit to the Han Dynasty?
They need to see the benefits before any communication can take place.

It's right to pull one group in and then attack another, but you have to be able to talk to them first, otherwise who are you going to pull in?
If we continue to treat the Xianbei with hostility, then the Xianbei will have no choice but to try every means to disrupt the trade, because the Xianbei cannot sit idly by and watch the Wuhuan be won over by the Han Dynasty.

In the end, the effort to appease the Wuhuan people will also be affected, and they may end up appeasing neither side.

Liu Yu's idea was to first extend equal goodwill, so that any tribe that was close to the Han could benefit from the trade, and then gradually assimilate them with the Han's financial and material resources.

Actually, both sides have their reasons, they just have different methods. There is no right or wrong, they are both doing this for official business.

The main difference lies in the fact that Zou Jing was ordered to pacify the Wuhuan, while Liu Yu was ordered to pacify the Xianbei; their motivations were different.

But the problem is...

Both of them held the title of Acting General and had the same authority...

Now that a dispute has arisen, whose opinion should be followed?
Both of them were quite rational; they were just arguing and didn't actually have any intention of fighting or turning on each other.

However, a rift eventually formed.

Liu Yu did not deal with Zou Jing, but simply stated that official business should be handled officially, and everyone should do their own thing and live in peace.

Zou Jing couldn't be happier.

Therefore, both of them acted impartially, neither daring to engage in any underhanded dealings or place their own people around, since they did not trust each other and could not guarantee that the other would not impeach them.

However, the fact that both of them were acting strictly in their official capacity allowed others to take advantage of the situation.

Since neither of them had their own people in place, the "imperial court" sent many officials to the trading areas such as Juyong Pass.

These officials held low-ranking and inconspicuous positions, yet they controlled the basic roles in trade and transportation within the border markets.

A new prefect named Wen Shu also arrived in Zhuojun.

This person was very low-key in his official career and did not make any big fuss. He only set up a transfer station outside Fangcheng County in the eastern part of Zhuojun to transfer the goods transported from Jizhou to various counties in Youzhou.

It is a very normal practice for border regions to rely on supplies from the Central Plains.

The original transfer station was in Zhuoxian, which took the central highway towards Zhongshan, while Fangcheng had to take the Jidong Road.

The daily trading volume in Changhu City, Juyong Pass, does not appear to be large.

The reason so many people are eyeing the trade fair is not because of the market itself, but because of the secondary market that it spawned – the Southern Horse Market.

After the border market was opened, more Hu people participated in buying and selling. The border market was supervised by the armies of both sides, and there was no credit owed to each other, so the transactions were also guaranteed.

Grain, cloth, salt, iron, and other goods were exchanged for horses at the Hu market. These horses were priced according to a set standard and were divided into several grades based on their quality.

On average, about four thousand coins' worth of supplies can be exchanged for a decent horse in Juyong Pass.

But these horses do not end up in private hands.

The border trade was a business conducted by the imperial court and could only be operated by the imperial court.

This so-called "court"... is certainly not one of Emperor Liu Hong's people.

Instead, they were officials planted by the Yuan family.

(End of this chapter)