Liu Bian at the start, so you're called Dong Zhuo, right?

Upon hearing this, Liu Bian felt a weight lifted from his heart.

But he didn't stop, and asked another question:

"What does Guan Yu think of Lü Bu? Is he a capable man?"

This time, Guan Yu remained silent for an even longer period.

Zhang Fei couldn't help but let out a soft hum, as if he had something to say, but after glancing at Liu Bei's expression, he swallowed his words.

Guan Yu put down his teacup, looked at Liu Bian, and lowered his voice by half an octave:

"This man is indeed brave, but his loyalty lies in strength, not in righteousness."

He paused, his tone calm, yet for a fleeting moment there was an uncontrollable sharpness in his voice:

"If someone can give him a sufficiently heavy support, then he may be able to use it."

"Hmm?" Liu Bian frowned slightly.

"To give him something to rely on, something to fear, and something to cherish."

"If he lacks any one of these three elements, he is like a horse without reins, and he will hurt someone sooner or later."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Liu Bian lowered his head and pondered Guan Yu's words in his mind.

Rely on, fear, and think.

If someone could give him a strong enough support.

The historical Lü Bu never encountered such a person.

Liu Bian raised his head, looked at Guan Yu, and didn't ask any more questions. He simply nodded.

He kept this in mind.

-

Seeing that no one spoke again, Cao Cao put down his teacup and looked at Liu Bian:

"Your Highness, there are some things I wish to say truthfully on this trip."

"Speak," Liu Bian said calmly.

Cao Cao remained silent for a moment, as if considering his words, before finally speaking directly:

"Ji Province is not just something that can be easily conquered."

He didn't give any build-up, and his tone was flat, as if he were saying something he had already figured out:

"The Yellow Turban flag has fallen, but those who followed the Yellow Turbans are still here."

"They have no land, no food, and no home to return to. The number of refugees on the official roads, as I counted along the way, is not much less than during the Yellow Turban Rebellion."

He paused:

"Those people, they just haven't found their next Zhang Jiao yet."

The room fell silent.

After saying this, even Zhang Fei remained silent.

Liu Bei sat there without saying a word, but simply put down his teacup, his movements so light that it seemed as if he were afraid of disturbing something.

Liu Bian looked at Cao Cao, then glanced at Liu Bei, and asked:

"Lord Xuande, did you also see these people in Zhuojun?"

Liu Bei nodded, his voice flat:

"I've seen it."

"During the years I was in Zhuojun, every now and then there were refugees fleeing from the south. What they talked about was the same thing that Cao Cao said."

He looked up at Liu Bian:

"Your Highness, the Yellow Turbans have been defeated, but the root cause of their resurgence is still buried in the ground."

Liu Bian did not speak immediately.

He held the teacup, head down, watching the fine foam floating on the surface of the tea.

Of course he knew.

He knew it from the day he entered the palace. But "knowing" is one thing, hearing it from Cao Cao and then from Liu Bei is another.

This was not the official gazette from the Imperial Archives, nor a pile of folded documents on his desk, nor text that someone else had prepared and presented to him.

This was told to him by someone who had witnessed it firsthand, in the calmest tone:

The battle report says we won, but in those areas, we actually lost.

He put down his teacup and looked at Lu Zhi:

"Lord Lu, in Ji Province, has the post-war land survey been completed?"

Lu Zhi shook his head, his tone calm, as if he had expected to be asked this question:

"General Huangfu and General Zhu were busy suppressing the remaining forces. Five or six out of ten local government offices were already in ruins, and they had no spare capacity to conduct a thorough investigation."

"What about taxes?"

"During the war, two emergency taxes were levied, but after the war, they were not reduced or exempted and were still levied according to the original system."

Liu Bian closed his eyes.

Two emergency taxes were levied, the land was abandoned, the people fled, but the taxes were still levied at the original rate.

This is tantamount to forcing those who gritted their teeth and stayed to pay the taxes for those who had already run away.

No wonder there are still refugees.

No wonder there's still soil for the next Zhang Jiao.

He reopened his eyes, glanced at the people in the room, and his train of thought had shifted:

Where is the Tian Shang Guild's trade route now?

Cao Cao replied, "The five commanderies surrounding Luoyang extend partly to Yingchuan and Chenliu, but beyond that, there are none."

Liu Bian nodded, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke aloud the direction he had been considering for a long time:

"Continue towards Ji Province, continue towards Yan Province, continue towards Yu Province."

The tone with which he said this wasn't announcing anything major, but rather confirming something he had already decided on:

"After the battle, trade routes need to be established, and granaries need to follow suit. The Tianshang Association's name should be used to support grain prices."

"Let those who stay know that there is somewhere to buy food next year and somewhere to sell food this year."

Cao Cao frowned:

"To extend trade routes, you need people, money, and dealings with local officials."

"The government offices in Jizhou are in ruins, so we can't have much dealing with them."

"So we need to send people," Liu Bian said, looking at him. "Not people to sit in the government office, but people to actually build the road."

At this point, he shifted his gaze from Cao Cao and glanced at Liu Bei.

It was like a casual glance, which was then quickly withdrawn.

He picked up his teacup, lowered his head, took a sip, and changed the subject:

"Lord Lu, of the local officials left over from the war in these counties of Ji Province, how many are still capable?"

Lu Zhi thought for a moment, then slowly said:

"The prefectural magistrate of Wei Commandery is still here, and he is relatively stable. However, he has no surplus grain, and even a skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice."

"The prefects of Anping and Julu prefectures have both been replaced during the war. The new ones sent there are not familiar to me, so I dare not speak recklessly."

Liu Bian nodded, his expression unchanged, and continued to ask:

"What's the most difficult part of traveling along these trade routes through these counties?"

The question was directed at Lu Zhi, but his peripheral vision kept lingering on Liu Bei.

Lu Zhi, unaware of this, pondered for a moment:

The difficulty lies in people's disbelief.

He put down his teacup, his voice deepening:

"After a war, the first thing the people think about is not rebuilding, but protecting themselves."

"No one listens to the government, and when a strange chamber of commerce comes along and says they want to help them, no one dares to believe it."

Cao Cao chimed in from the side:

"I have traveled all the way through Ji Province, and this is indeed the case. Those who stayed behind, upon seeing outsiders, their first reaction was to close the door."

After listening, Liu Bian remained silent for a while.

Then he suddenly turned to Liu Bei, speaking casually as if they were chatting:

"What was the first difficult thing that Lord Xuande faced during the years he settled the refugees in Zhuojun?"

Liu Bei was caught off guard by the sudden shift in the topic to himself, and his hand holding the teacup paused slightly.

He raised his eyes and looked at Liu Bian, but did not answer immediately.

The room fell silent for a moment.

Liu Bei finally spoke, his voice low but each word clear:

"Let them speak."

Liu Bian looked at him without saying a word.

Liu Bei continued:

"When the refugees first arrived, they wouldn't answer any questions, and they wouldn't dare accept anything offered to them."

"I tried a few times, and then I figured it out—it's not that they don't want to talk, it's that they don't know if talking will be useful, and they don't know what price they'll have to pay if they accept."

He paused:

"So during those years, I didn't ask any questions. I just let them watch me do things."

"Make one, then make another, and only when they ask for it themselves can it truly be considered open."

Cao Cao, standing nearby, secretly glanced at Liu Bian.

Having followed Liu Bian for several years, he knew the boy's habit—when he listened to people, he never just listened to the content; he listened to the person speaking.

Liu Bei's words just now weren't anything earth-shattering, but every single one of them was something only someone who had crawled on the ground could say.

The wisdom isn't something you learn from books; it's something you hone through life experiences.

Liu Bian asked another question:

"And then, after it was opened?"

Liu Bei raised his head:

"Things became easier after that. Once people open their mouths, any difficult matter can be discussed."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head and said no more.

Liu Bian looked at him and remained silent for a moment.

This person never utters a word more than necessary. Yet every word he speaks carries immense weight.

He didn't ask any further questions, but instead turned to Cao Cao:

"Mengde, who do you think is the most suitable person to send to pave this road?"

The question came as a surprise to Cao Cao, who was slightly taken aback before realizing what Liu Bian was doing.

He calmly put down his teacup, thought for a moment, and slowly said:

"He has to be someone who can hold down the position for a while."

He paused, as if considering his words:

"They're not there to negotiate, not to inspect; they're people who can actually stay there and work things out one by one."

He didn't name names, but simply added:

"People like this are hard to find."

Liu Bian nodded without speaking, as if he was thinking about something else.

The room fell silent again.

At this moment, Liu Bei suddenly raised his head and looked at Liu Bian.

"Your Highness."

Liu Bian looked at him.

Liu Bei's voice was calm, as if he were asking about something ordinary:

"His Highness just said that he would send someone to build the road."

"Yes."

"Does Your Highness already have someone in mind?"