Three Kingdoms: I rely on system loopholes to survive

After Zhong Ping and Li Meng left, Zhang Yan raised his head from behind the desk. The curtain swayed slightly, and a familiar figure imitated Zhong Ping and sat cross-legged on the ground.

"I thought the people were displaced because of the oppression and exploitation of powerful officials and the endless wars in various places. But after meeting the Grand Historian tonight, I began to wonder, if there is peace in the world one day, will the government be clean and the people be at peace?"

Zhang Yan's eyes were filled with confusion. "I heard that the day when 'everyone has land and clothing' mentioned in our doctrine is called 'Great Harmony' by scholars. So can it be achieved with a wise emperor and a group of honest officials, as those scholars said?"

The man sitting on the ground changed his posture, resting his elbows on his knees, saying indifferently, "How many years have those Confucian scholars been saying this? They all say that the Master's words are profound and righteous, and when his portrait is hung in front of the hall, they all call him the Great Sage and Teacher and bow down to him. Then what? Aren't officials Confucian scholars? Isn't Confucianism what the emperor respects? What about the Great Harmony? I'm afraid they can't even see 'benefiting the people'."

Zhang Yan listened silently, not knowing whether he agreed or disagreed. He thought for a moment and said, "I think... if people like us become officials in the future, will we be able to achieve what we want?"

"Ok?"

The man stood up with interest, his footsteps silent: "Aren't we rebelling now?"

"No...I mean."

Zhang Yan had a vague idea in his mind, but he didn't know how to describe it: "That is...all officials in the court and the countryside are selected by people like us, not the powerful, nor those nobles; any political decrees are decided by us, as long as they are good for the people, they can be implemented without the emperor's consent... No."

For a moment, Zhang Yan seemed to have a flash of lightning in his heart, and he briefly had an extremely rebellious idea:

As long as there is one great god Zhonghuang Taiyi in the world, why do we need an emperor to give orders?

Zhang Yan was so surprised by this sudden thought that he froze in place, unable to utter a word.

"It's hard."

The man stated his attitude succinctly and twisted his beard: "Why can those people become officials? Without mentioning family background, the most important reason is that they can read, have books to read, and know how to use books, right? People like us, even if we can really rebel one day, we will be completely in the dark when we become officials, and we may even make things worse."

Zhang Yan stopped talking.

He didn't know many words, so Zhang Yan couldn't help asking himself:

If I were to become an official and govern the people of a region, could I really make the people there live the life described in the scriptures?

"take it easy."

The man grabbed the silk book left by Zhong Ping on Zhang Yan's desk, turned his back and waved at Zhang Yan: "At least now, every piece of land we have conquered is divided equally among the brothers. A mouthful of rice can keep a person alive."

He lifted the curtain and left as silently as he came. The shiny ox horn pendant on his waist cast a faint light in the endless darkness.

---------------

Perhaps Zhang Yan's secret expansion of the Yellow Turbans provided the refugees with a way out, or perhaps it was just luck, but Zhong Ping and Li Meng did not encounter any bandits along the way, and successfully returned to the caravan's resting place in the early morning light.

"Don't go through Yingchuan, go directly to Jingzhou by water."

Horses were inconvenient to transport, so Zhong Ping glanced at the dozens of men in the team and assigned more than ten people to serve as guards for Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping, and asked the two to meet up with them directly in Jiaozhou.

Because Jiaozhou had a bad reputation, Zhang Shiping was a little hesitant at first, but when he heard that Liu Bei had taken over the post of prefect of Cangwu County and was suppressing a rebellion in Jiaozhou, he immediately volunteered and prepared to go home with Su Shuang to sell their property and take all the horses they had to Jiaozhou.

Zhong Ping was somewhat accustomed to it, but Li Meng and Liu Bei rarely had conflicts and were quite surprised at the two men's decisiveness.

"The waterway here is not easy to travel..."

Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping were already doing business in Hanoi, so it was easy for them to use their connections to get some travel permits. Zhong Ping was not too worried about this problem. He was thinking about the maps of each state in his mind, and he remembered some of the mountains and rivers, but they were not very detailed.

It is too difficult to plan the shortest route, so we can only try to minimize the possible detours on the road.

Qingshui has many tributaries, and the river near Bicheng is relatively wide, with two open ferries for boat rides.

Zhong Ping was not in the carriage, and Li Xian certainly did not dare to sit in the carriage alone. Looking around, there were only strange strong men, so he had to stand obediently beside the carriage and stare blankly.

Hearing that Zhong Ping wanted to go by water, he felt that he had a chance to show off, and said with a flattering smile: "Taishi... Sir, there are quite a few of us in this group. I see that the ferry is full of small boats, so we need to rent five or six. For such a big business, I'm afraid the boat owners will raise the price. I am a humble person, but I have some bargaining skills, why don't I..."

Zhong Ping looked at a ferry with no boats moored at a distance. At another ferry, an old man was rowing a boat. He said, "I've taken a boat in Jingzhou before. I know the boat prices there. I think they won't be much different from here. Please ask for the price. If the difference is not much, don't mind if it's a few cents higher."

Li Xian thought that he was finally useful. Henei was far away from Jingzhou. If he behaved well today, he would have to deal with the boat owners along the way. Although his status was lowered, he was no longer in danger of his life. For a moment, the smile on his face became even bigger.

"Considering the delays along the way, Dad must be getting really angry waiting for me in Jingzhou, right?"

Zhong Ping touched his nose, feeling a little guilty.

Knowing Zhong Ji's stubborn nature, he had long ago secretly planned with Xun You that once Xudu was in chaos, he would first beat his father with a club at home. If he wanted to send Zhong Ji out of the city, a sober Zhong Ji would be the biggest obstacle. As long as he beat him with a club well, there would be no problem that his father would not be able to leave.

Xun You had already arranged for someone to pick them up. As long as Zhong Ping secretly sent the unconscious Zhong Ji out of the mansion at night, Xun You's people would immediately dress up Zhong Ji and stuff him into a thin coffin. As soon as the city gate opened the next day, they would leave the city as if they were attending a funeral.

Zhong Ping was sure that the coffin would not be inspected, so as long as he made sure that there were enough knockout blows to prevent Zhong Ji from waking up in the middle of the journey, leaving the city would not be difficult.

Unfortunately, Zhong Ji was not at home on the night the riot broke out, and Zhong Ping had to lobby everywhere during the day to stir up trouble, so he lost the opportunity to beat his father with a stick. Fortunately, Zhong Ping knew that Zhong Ji had to go somewhere during the day, so he asked Huo Qiu to wait outside the palace in advance.

As long as there are no accidents, there will be no accidents in this series.

Zhong Ping thought that when he arrived in Jingzhou, he would probably be scolded by both his father and his teacher. He felt uneasy in his heart, but a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth involuntarily.

The white river water was like a silk ribbon. Zhong Ping squatted at the bow of the boat, soaked his hands in the cold water, gently stirred the water, and muttered something in a low voice.

Li Meng was guarding beside Zhong Ping, and he vaguely understood that Zhong Ping was struggling, not knowing whether it was right or wrong to give the contents he had written on the cloth in an impulse to Zhang Yan.

"No matter how I think about it, it's too radical...Will my dad beat me up if he finds out?"

Zhong Ping shook the water off his hands and wiped them clean on his clothes.

A clean white pancake was brought to Zhong Ping's eyes.

You can tell from the color how good the ingredients used in this cake are.

Zhong Ping took it and took a bite:
It’s still the familiar choking feeling.

When he swallowed it, he almost choked and rolled his eyes.

"This cake is made with really solid ingredients...Thanks, Wang San."

"It's okay, it's okay. I prepared them specially for you. I have several of them in my arms. I carry them with me every day. They are always warm when I eat them."

Wang San's voice came from behind Li Meng's left. Zhong Ping turned his face to the other side calmly, and finally saw the familiar face. Wang San looked much stronger, and the blue on his face faded to a yellow color similar to brown soil.

Zhong Ping took a bite of the cake and held it in his mouth, waiting for his saliva to soften before swallowing it. He thought that if he ate it this way, there would probably still be some cake left over after two or three days, so he decisively broke off two-thirds and gave them to Wang San and Li Meng.

Li Meng touched the water bag around his waist and silently lowered his head to eat the cake.

Wang San squatted beside Zhong Ping happily and ate the cake in his hand in two bites. He smacked his lips with a savoring taste. Zhong Ping, not believing it, took another bite of the cake and then fell into doubt about his life.

"This is my first time riding a boat. It's really stable and fast."

"It's a favorable day, and the water route is fast."

The boatman was replaced by the old man's son. The old man had his hands free and said something casually.

"We don't have much business on the water here. Compared to staying on the shore and getting into trouble, having a skill to row a boat will make life much safer on the water, and you can also earn a living."

"Are there many bandits in Bicheng?"

Li Meng saw that Zhong Ping seemed to be interested, so he took the initiative to answer the old man's question.

"More than just bandits!"

The old man shook his head and raised two fingers: "You are here at the right time to do business in Hanoi. In the past... two years ago, those Xiongnu were really violent. They robbed people everywhere, including food and people. They harmed men, women, and children... There was no one they didn't harm."

"But now we can hardly see any trace of the Huns?"

Zhong Ping asked.

"Anyway, a general named Li came. The cities were in chaos, and everyone was fleeing everywhere. After the general came, although he kept fighting and recruiting soldiers, and heard from a few old guys he knew, he also looted a lot of food...but at least the Huns were more restrained. That old guy could die in the village, taking care of his children, without having to watch his descendants being abducted. After he died, his soul couldn't be together."

After the old man finished speaking, he walked into the cabin with a fairly brisk step and asked his wife to cook.

Zhong Ping knew that the general the old man was talking about was Li Jue. He squatted there in a depressed mood, staring down at the swaying water waves, wondering what he was thinking.

(End of this chapter)