He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Lu Wan not only exploited the displaced people in terms of labor, but also had no intention of letting them off the hook in terms of their livelihood.

In the military settlements, grain was the hard currency. If refugees needed necessities like salt and ironware, they had to exchange grain for them at designated locations. If they didn't have enough grain, they could take out a loan.

Moreover, during the off-season, migrant workers also had to undertake corvée labor, such as building small-scale water conservancy projects and roads in the local area. This labor was of course unpaid, but it was generally not assigned to too heavy a task.

If you feel that you have the energy to spare after you have finished your work, you can also apply to join the various engineering teams. These engineering teams were established to build various facilities in the lower reaches of the Huai River. Lu Wan also encouraged these people to participate in the work. Naturally, there will be compensation for these people. The wages of these refugees are food.

The entire article was a blatant attempt to exploit the refugees, and Liu Bei grew increasingly furious as he read it, almost to the point of grabbing Lu Wan and beating her. This series of actions practically turned the refugees into tenant farmers for the government.

But Liu Bei understood that Lu Wan was doing this for his own good, so he simply called Lu Wan over and returned the bamboo slips to her.

"Wen Yuan, this method is far too harsh. It's practically denying the people a way to survive. You must have been too busy lately and your mind was a bit chaotic, which is why you accidentally submitted the wrong memorial. You don't really think that way, do you?" Liu Bei said through gritted teeth.

Seeing Liu Bei's somber expression, Lu Wan understood his good intentions, but she could not back down here, as this concerned the future development of Xuzhou.

Liu Bei's rise to power was much later than that of other warlords. While others had already established themselves and started recruiting talent, Liu Bei was still constantly working to integrate with local powerful families. This meant that Liu Bei was always a step behind in everything he did.

Cao Cao unified the two provinces of Yan and Yu, while Liu Bei was struggling on the brink of death; Cao Cao unified the Central Plains, while Liu Bei was still struggling on the brink of death; Cao Cao even annexed and digested Hebei, while Liu Bei was still struggling on the brink of death.

Are you playing Left 4 Dead here?

If Liu Bei wanted to catch up with the other warlords, he had no choice but to take an unconventional approach.

"My lord, this is my solution," Lu Wan quickly explained, seeing that Liu Bei was about to lose his temper after hearing this. "This is how we can save more lives at the lowest cost."

"Wen Yuan, that's not what I'm worried about. This is a good method. Anyone with eyes can see that after it's implemented, Xuzhou can recover to the level of Xiping in just two or three years."

My concern is that if this policy is implemented for too long, even if people want to change it later, they will be powerless to do so. From then on, these people will become slaves of the government, unable to escape for generations to come.

Liu Bei only vaguely sensed this possibility, but Lu Wan had studied history. Throughout five thousand years of history, how many temporary policies have gradually become ancestral laws due to the vested interests of those in power, becoming unchangeable? Take the three taxes at the end of the Ming Dynasty, for example. It was said that they would be stopped after a few years, but in the end, even after Emperor Chongzhen died, this sum of money was still weighing on the shoulders of the vast working people.

Lu Wan also had a solution: before the vested interests were cultivated, she first defined this temporary policy as a three-year period for these refugees. If they lived a stable life, they would be converted to civilian status after three years, thus avoiding the situation from dragging on for too long and creating inertia.

At this point, Lu Wan also had to help Liu Bei explain the matter clearly: "What you are worried about is also correct. If it is delayed for too long, departments like the Tuntian Duwei Office, which have people, money and power, will become the biggest obstacle to abolishing this policy."

However, this is precisely the situation my lord need not worry about. He entered Xuzhou with only a few thousand soldiers, and now Xuzhou has over twenty thousand. Furthermore, his prestige has increased unprecedentedly since defeating Yuan Shao. Whether or not to stop is entirely up to him.

That's the good thing about the first generation; they built all their wealth themselves. The prestige they gained from their military background meant that opponents could only resort to underhanded tactics to cause trouble. But that wouldn't work in the future. Their descendants, born and raised in the inner palace and under the care of women, could only rely on mediation and negotiation to get anything done.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei's expression gradually relaxed. He was afraid that such temporary emergency measures would become the norm. Now that this risk did not exist from the beginning, he naturally had nothing to worry about.

"If that's the case, it's alright, but it's pitiful for these people," Liu Bei said, reluctantly acknowledging the decree.

"Rest assured, my lord. The more we treat these refugees harshly, the more settled they will become. They have been wandering for so long and are in a state of extreme panic. If we rashly take them to an unfamiliar place and treat them well, they might start thinking all sorts of crazy things and scare themselves."

Moreover, this land reclamation is only a temporary measure. Once the current crisis is over, the lord can easily find a reason to pardon these people. Lu Wan had also thought of a way out for Liu Bei. If they won, everyone would be happy; if they lost, Liu Bei and Lu Wan would just run away, and there would be no need to consider these issues.

After hearing all this, Liu Bei finally felt relieved and admired Lu Wan's ingenuity in coming up with these ideas.

"Wen Yuan is truly a genius of our time; he came up with such a perfect method in just a few days."

Lu Wan replied, "It wasn't an idea that came to me all at once; it's just that a wise man keeps his talents hidden and waits for the right time."

The haphazard knowledge he acquired in his past life really came in handy; it wasn't for nothing that Lu Wan posted abstract things on Tieba every day. Strangely enough, before, when he asked questions properly, no one paid attention to him, and the comments section only had a few "GG" messages.

Lu Wan suddenly had a brilliant idea and started making some obviously wrong statements. As a result, a lot of people flocked to him. These people criticized him while giving the correct answers and even thoughtfully indicating the sources, just to prove that he was right.

As Lu Wan studied the explanations of various issues from different dynasties, she marveled at how topics that generate discussion are indeed more attractive.

Lu Wan is currently formulating her plan based on this idea. Once this law is issued, it will inevitably cause a huge uproar. There will be both praise and criticism, and Lu Wan's popularity will rise.

Black and red are still red.

The prison guards next door have already started to promote people based on merit, so Lu Wan should first show off her strengths. This is the first step to attract the attention of the prison guards!

Next, after seeing Lu Wan's decree, the prominent families of Xuzhou will surely stand on their moral high ground and criticize him, and Lu Wan's reputation in Xuzhou will gradually become infamous.

Need I say more? These people would undoubtedly rush to drive Lu Wan away. Even Liu Bei couldn't go against so many people's wishes, so he would have no choice but to dismiss Lu Wan with tears in his eyes. Lu Wan then went to the prison office as requested.

Thinking about this, Lu Wan couldn't help but feel excited. It's been so difficult; she never imagined that even changing jobs these days would involve so much trouble.

"Since Wen Yuan has completed the most difficult part, leave the rest to me." Liu Bei felt that since Lu Wan had already written the plan, he should also have the courage to go all out.

It is very important whose name the document is issued in. Liu Bei only knows that Lu Wan has put in a lot of effort for the ideal of restoring the Han Dynasty, and this document is proof of that. Therefore, Lu Wan must not be allowed to do anything that damages his reputation. This is Liu Bei's bottom line.

"Let this decree be issued in my name." Liu Bei certainly cared about his reputation for benevolence, but he also cared even more about his strategist. He couldn't let his subordinates do the work and take the blame.

Lu Wan naturally disagreed. She had finally come up with a clever way to smear herself, but instead of following the plan, Lao Liu, she wanted her to work for him for the rest of her life.

"No, my lord was able to become a regional lord from humble beginnings because of his reputation for benevolence. Now, you are all united around my lord because of his ideal of saving the people of the world. Although I am not talented, I am willing to bear this infamy." Lu Wan spoke earnestly, hoping that Liu Bei would stop being stubborn and could learn from those other lords and become a bastard.

Upon hearing Lu Wan's words, Liu Bei immediately said seriously, "No."

"Whom does the lord intend to send? Who is capable of doing so?"

Liu Bei fell silent. The only civil officials he could muster under his command were Jian Yong, Sun Qian, Chen Deng, Chen Qun, and Lu Wan. Jian Yong and Sun Qian were clearly not the right people for this job. Chen Deng was his partner who had bet on him back then, and Chen Qun had only recently reconciled with him.

After much deliberation, it really seems that only Lu Wan can take the blame.

"My lord, there's no need to worry about this. These are all empty titles to me, not worth mentioning. As long as I can truly save the people, I can bear any amount of infamy!" Lu Wanhong said, genuinely not caring much about it.

As if seeing Lu Wan for the first time, Liu Bei slowly stood up, walked to Lu Wan, bowed to him, and everything was understood without words.