In the Three Kingdoms period, the opening scene features the killing of Huang Gai, shocking Zhou Yu!

"Zhang, how is it?"

"This is the 'exploitation' of the North. What do you think would happen if the people of Yizhou knew...?"

That last sentence is truly poison.

If this isn't covered up, and if the people of Yizhou find out...

If they knew that there were people in the North who could eat meat twice a day, take it home, and earn more than officials... how could this world possibly survive?

Who would still honestly farm the land?

Who would still be willing to be a slave or a tenant farmer for a powerful family?

Who would obediently pay those various exorbitant taxes and levies?

Everyone in Yizhou will definitely flee!

Yizhou's economy will also collapse!

The privileges of those in the upper class will become a complete joke.

"No, no, you must be lying to me. This is poison coated in sugar!"

Zhang Song shook his head violently.

Try to banish other thoughts from your mind.

"Cao Cao is using money to buy people's hearts! He's undermining the Han Dynasty's hierarchical system!"

"If this trend were to reach Yizhou, the rites and music would collapse! The nation would cease to exist!"

He did not answer Yang Xiu's question.

"Registrar Yang! Take me away! Get me out of here quickly!"

"I believe it, I believe it all, I'm not watching anymore, I'll never watch it again!"

He had to escape.

Escape this place that treats people like treasures.

He wanted to escape back to their old world.

Perhaps, only there could he regain the sense of security he felt as an "upper-class person".

……

Back to Ye City.

Zhang Song went directly to the post station official and instructed everyone to pack their belongings.

He left the city without saying goodbye to Cao Cao.

"Hurry! Hurry up and head south!"

Zhang Song, inside the carriage, would occasionally lift the curtain and look back.

Actually, there was nothing behind it.

But he always felt that those smoke-belching chimneys had legs and were chasing him.

"My lord, the horse is practically foaming at the mouth from running..."

"Enough talk! Head south! We have to run, even if we die!"

"Heading south, where are we going?"

"Go to Xuchang, leave the tribute there, and then immediately return to Yizhou!"

The road from Yecheng to Xudu was naturally paved with cement.

Looking at the endless cement road, Zhang Song imagined countless scenes:

At the end of the cement road, things began to differentiate, giving rise to countless gray-white hands that tried to grab him.

Zhang Song looked back and saw that the tentacle was in Ye City. Where did it come from?

They firmly controlled everything in the North.

"This isn't a road, it's shackles! These are the tentacles of that industrial monster!"

"It extends from Ye City, all the way to Xuchang, and continues to stretch south!"

"Wherever it goes, it turns everything into soulless stones!"

"Look! The roadside weeds have been crushed to death by these stones! This is a road destined to bring misfortune and childlessness!"

Coachman: "Sir, those are workers from the Ye City Road Administration Bureau weeding for aesthetic purposes..."

"Shut up! Have you even read the classics? Those are the lamentations of the earth! The screams of nature being strangled!"

Two days later,

The convoy sped to Xudu.

At this time, Xudu, under the siphon effect of Yecheng, appeared somewhat deserted.

Zhang Song led his men to the gate of the Xudu Imperial Palace.

The guards at the gate stopped him: "Who goes there? This is forbidden territory of the palace... Oh?"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Song had already directed his men to unload the several carts of priceless Shu brocade from the vehicles.

They were piled up at the doorway like trash.

"I am Zhang Song from Yizhou! I have come to pay tribute on the orders of my lord, Liu Zhang!"

"Tell Your Majesty that your subject, Zhang Song, has been here! My loyalty to the Han Dynasty is as clear as day!"

"But I have traveled a long way and am suffering from acclimatization problems; I am dying and must go first!"

The guards were dumbfounded:

"No... sir, you've come all this way, can't you even see His Majesty? You should at least ask for a reward."

"Give me a break! You want to see His Majesty? If I stay any longer, my soul will be consumed!"

Zhang Song jumped onto the carriage.

"Hurry! Get out of this cement area! I want to step in the mud! I want to smell the horse manure! Quickly!"

Heading south.

at last,

After crossing the Han River, we entered the territory of Jingzhou.

The carriage clattered loudly.

Sinking into a muddy puddle,

Zhang Song was not angry.

Instead, he took a deep breath and a look of ecstasy appeared on his face.

"Ah... this familiar earthy smell, it's just right."

"This is the kind of road the Han Dynasty should have; these potholes are the pulse of the earth!"

After getting off the bus, I even wanted to scoop up some muddy water from the ground and drink it.

Unfortunately, he was stopped by his attendants.

There's no black smoke, no roaring machines, and no crazy people with eyes shining, who only work three hours a day.

Only the common people, pale and emaciated, dressed in rags, were terrified at the sight of them and dared not even lift their heads.

"That's more like it!"

"This is the normal way of the world! A clear hierarchy, strict social order, and people content with a simple life!"

"That's how those peasants should be! All that buffet stuff, all that four-shift work—it's a nightmare!"

"I'm finally back in the human world!"

……

Whose territory is Jingzhou?

It belongs to Liu Bei.

Upon hearing that the Prefect of Yizhou had arrived, Liu Bei received him with the highest honors.

As for why, it's all because Zhao Yu has been making a big splash in the north.

The news reached Liu Bei.

After the Jiangdong incident, Liu Bei became even more convinced that Zhao Yu was a royalist and a "loyal minister of the Han Dynasty" in their eyes.

Why does Zhao Yu want to undertake large-scale infrastructure projects in the north?

Why give meat to laborers?

Was it for Cao Cao?

No! Superficial! Vulgar! Utterly baseless!

This is about distributing wealth to the people and winning their hearts!

He was using Cao Cao's money to support the people of the Han Dynasty! It was all to ensure that the people of the north could thrive; it was a roundabout way to save the country.

In this den of wolves and tigers, not only do you have to deal with Cao Cao's demands, but you also have to find ways to protect the people, ensure they have enough to eat, and help them grow.

The cement they produced was clearly in preparation for a swift and decisive attack on the king.

Liu Bei was anxious. He was really extremely anxious.

Zhao Yu is working so hard in the north; what if Cao Cao marches south and tries to coordinate an attack with Liu Bei from within?

As a result, Liu Bei's side had few soldiers and generals, and couldn't even hold them off. Wouldn't that make him a sinner for all time?

That's not the decline.

So, he consulted with Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong.

Take Yizhou.

Only, and indeed only, can conquer Yizhou.

Only by relying on the natural defenses of the Shu Road and using the money and grain from Jing and Yi provinces can we cooperate with Zhao Yu's grand plan.

Therefore, Zhang Song must win over this key person.

It is also the most important breakthrough.

Liu Bei, accompanied by Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang, personally went out to greet them.

"Oh dear! Brother Yongnian!"

That honest and kind-hearted person immediately grabbed Zhang Song's hand tightly.

"I heard that Brother Yongnian went to the north? He must have suffered terribly on his journey! He really suffered!"

How could Zhang Song resist Liu Bei's charm? Tears streamed down his face.

"Uncle... Waaah... You understand me! You really understand me!"

"That place...that place is absolutely unfit for human habitation!"