Three Kingdoms: I rely on system loopholes to survive

"Bo Heng, Bo Heng!"

Guo Yuan's voice brought Zhong Ping back to his senses. Even though he had been in Cangwu for several days, Zhong Ping still looked absent-minded, often sitting alone and staring into the air in a daze.

"what……"

Zhong Ping realized it belatedly and stood up to salute, with a somewhat apologetic look on his face: "Ping thinks Gongyou is right. The tax systems of Jiuzhen and Cangwu counties are chaotic, and the people in the counties have long suffered from complicated and harsh taxes. Now that the rebellion in Cangwu has just been quelled, it is the time to rebuild everything. We should sort out the taxes and encourage agriculture and sericulture."

Liu Bei agreed with this deeply. He sat at the top and it was obvious that he had straightened his robe, but from the torn corners of his robe and the blue color under his eyes, it could be seen that Liu Bei had been busy with many things since he came to Cangwu and had not gotten enough rest.

He looked at Guo Yuan who was sitting on his left: "The tax system will be handled by Zi Ni. If there is a shortage of manpower, just ask Gong You and Xian He for assistance."

Cangwu had just been pacified a few days ago, and Guo Yuan was busy resettling the people. His face was still a little haggard. Now that he was appointed, he looked more energetic: "I will live up to the trust of the lord."

Liu Bei did not have many advisers now. Apart from Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Jian Yong, the rest of the people discussing matters in the room included Sun Qian, Guo Yuan, Cheng Bing and others. They were basically all disciples of Zheng Xuan, recommended by Zhong Ping in letters.

Zhong Ping looked at the people in the room, all of whom had bloodshot eyes and faint signs of fatigue, and took the initiative to say, "Ping knows a little about farming, and is willing to take the responsibility of encouraging people to learn farming and mulberry."

Liu Bei hurried forward to help Zhong Ping up, without much politeness, but promised solemnly: "Please trouble Bo Heng, if there is anything you need, Bo Heng can take it at will."

Zhong Ping was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Thank you, Lord Xuande."

"Brother! What about me?"

Zhang Fei listened for a long time and found out that his second brother was assigned the task of assisting Shi Xie in suppressing the rebellion of the Fan brothers, but his name was not mentioned at all. He couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Liu Bei looked at his third brother, who was full of energy and had eyes as bright as copper bells, and could not help laughing. "Cangwu and Jiuzhen are very far apart. Although I nominally rule two counties, I am here for the first time after all. The title of prefect may not be of much use. At the banquet that welcomed us that day, only Governor Zhang was warm to us. Jiaozhi Prefect Shi Xie's words showed a sense of caution. After the rebellion in Jiuzhen, the Fan brothers led the southern barbarians to attack Jiaozhi. Logically..."

Zhang Fei listened carefully. Liu Bei was very patient in treating Zhang Fei. He almost broke everything down and explained it to Zhang Fei clearly. He paused slightly at this time, not only to guide Zhang Fei to think, but also to take this opportunity to give Zhong Ping a general idea of ​​the situation in Jiaozhou.

"Logically, it's not too late for this soldier to ask us to send troops to help! Why is he still dithering? There's still no response until today. Second brother has to take the initiative to lead the troops to rescue him?"

As soon as Zhang Fei raised his voice, the people in the room became visibly more energetic.

"I don't think this scholar has anything good to say! Can the second brother go? Or take me with you. If he does something bad, I'll just kill him with a spear!"

Sun Qian immediately shook his head: "General San is so reckless, wouldn't it alert the enemy if we go over there?"

Zhang Fei glared and was about to argue, but Guo Yuan also said, "That's right. I heard that Shi Xie likes to entertain guests with fine wine. I'm afraid the three generals are drunk and have made mistakes."

Zhong Ping watched several people singing in unison from the side, and he understood what was going on, and watched the fun with great interest.

"What are you talking about! I can tell the difference between the important and the unimportant!"

Zhang Fei felt aggrieved.

He respected the advisers under Liu Bei. They all made great contributions in suppressing the Cangwu Rebellion. However, Liu Bei had told him in such detail. Zhang Fei knew how important this matter was, so he was naturally extremely careful and did not dare to make any mistakes. However, no one believed him!

"Boheng, please say something for me!"

Seeing that he was about to lose his part in the matter, Zhang Fei very cleverly decided to ask for help from Zhong Ping who was watching the show.

"I?"

Zhong Ping ate the melon and it fell on his head. He looked at Sun Qian and Guo Yuan.

The two men immediately turned their heads away, looking up at the sky and down at the ground, but not at Zhong Ping.

Zhong Ping went to see Liu Bei again. Liu Bei seemed to have thought that Zhang Fei would pull Zhong Ping in. He couldn't help laughing and stretched out his hand to point at the wine jar on the table.

"The Third General is a rough but meticulous person. Some strategies can be used by the Third General to achieve miraculous results. It is better to let the Third General go."

Zhong Ping suddenly thought of a man under Shi Xie who could help Liu Bei with his urgent need to govern the county, and said with a smile, "Ping has a great plan that can be used by the two generals."

When Zhang Fei heard Zhong Ping praising him, he immediately felt more confident: "Brother, Bo Heng has a plan, you should be relieved, right?"

"Hey, General San, don't worry."

Zhong Ping held out his hand to stop Zhang Fei's movements: "If you want to go to Jiaozhi, General, you must first do three things according to Ping's instructions."

"Let alone three things, what if there are ten or a hundred things?"

Zhang Fei thought that there was only one stroke left, and he could not ruin things at this time. He raised his hand and swore: "If I don't listen to Bo Heng's advice and make mistakes, then... let me come back with this head!"

At this moment, Zhong Ping finally understood why Zhuge Liang carried a feather fan with him. It turned out that it was to cover up his smile at times like this.

He really wanted to laugh out loud right now, but it was really hard to hold it back.

"The first thing is, of course, not to drink alcohol."

Zhong Ping straightened his expression and asked, "General, do you know about the 'wine bug'?"

Zhang Fei himself was aware of his own shortcomings, so when Zhong Ping asked him to do three things, Zhang Fei guessed that one of them was "not drinking alcohol". He just didn't expect Zhong Ping to suddenly bring up the "alcoholism bug".

"What is this?"

Cheng Bing, who had been sitting in the corner writing something on a bamboo slip, raised his head with a curious look in his eyes.

"There is a bug with a human face in Emperor Wu's Ganquan Palace. Dongfang Manqian said that this bug is called 'Strange' and it is formed by the sorrow and resentment of the people. Wine can relieve sorrow, so it can be transformed by wine."

Cheng Bing moistened his pen with his mouth, lowered his head and wrote down these words on the bamboo slips.

"In that case, wine is really a good thing."

Zhang Fei grinned halfway through listening.

"General, aren't you curious why wine can relieve sorrow?" Seeing that Zhang Fei had fallen into the trap, Zhong Ping asked slowly.

Zhang Fei thought for a moment and said, "The wine tastes good! When I get drunk, I can just lie down on the ground and all my worries will disappear."

Guan Yu paused as he was stroking his beard, thinking that what his third brother said was a bit nonsense.

"According to what the general said, if you get drunk you will have no worries. If everyone in the world drinks every day, wouldn't the world be peaceful and the people healthy?"

Zhang Fei frowned, feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out why.

"'Strange' refers to the resentment of the people during the Qin Dynasty. A glass of wine poured on it can dispel the resentment during the Qin Dynasty, not to mention the resentment of the people from the time of Emperor Wu until now, which has lasted for hundreds of years. This shows that wine is really a good medicine for healing the world."

Zhong Ping walked to Zhang Fei's side and asked: "I heard that when the general is drunk, he likes to whip his soldiers?"

Zhang Fei was still wondering whether drinking was good or bad, but he didn't expect Zhong Ping to suddenly expose his shortcomings in front of several people he respected. For a moment, he was embarrassed and didn't dare to answer.

"How strange! How can wine relieve the people's resentment, but the general drinks and makes the soldiers resentful instead?"

Liu Bei and Guan Yu had advised Zhang Fei before, asking him to treat his soldiers well and drink less, but Zhang Fei would only behave himself for a few days and would soon return to his old ways.

Zhong Ping's gentle words made Zhang Fei lower his head and think.

"Wine is really a good thing."

"I won't drink anymore."

Zhang Fei muttered in a low voice.

"I'm not asking you to stop drinking." Zhong Ping raised the wine jar on the table, "I just hope that before you drink in the future, you can first fill this jar and pour it on the ground. If you can kill a 'strange', it can be regarded as a contribution to resolving the people's resentment."

"How can I drink any more after you've said that... resentment and strange insects..."

Zhang Fei muttered to himself, but his voice was so loud that everyone in the room could hear him clearly.

Zhong Ping didn't think that his words could really make Zhang Fei quit drinking, but it would be enough as long as he could make him have some concerns before drinking.

"The second thing: The three generals must not be impatient. When facing the Shi brothers, patience is the best way. A little impatience will ruin a big plan."

"Ping doesn't mean that the general should be humiliated. Shi Xie is known for his generosity, but his brother Shi is not. Besides, the Shi family has deep roots in Jiaozhou, which is far away from the Central Plains, and several governors have lost their jurisdiction. Perhaps these people have already regarded Jiaozhou as their own and will not allow outsiders to interfere."

"If the generals come into conflict with the Shi brothers in Jiaozhi, not only will it be difficult to suppress the rebellion now, but it will also cause trouble in managing the two places of Cangwu and Jiuzhen in the future. The three generals must be patient for a while."

"I understand, don't worry, Boheng, I will never let you down."

Zhang Fei nodded repeatedly and carefully wrote down the names mentioned by Zhong Ping.

"The third one..."

Zhong Ping pretended to be profound: "Please treat the fortune teller well, General."

"Why?"

Zhang Fei was a little confused. The first two points made sense and were all aimed at his shortcomings. Why was the third point so weird?

"If the three generals meet a fortune teller under Shi Xie, they must treat him with courtesy. Ping knows that the general does not care about villains, but the fortune teller may be of great use, so the three generals have to be patient and treat him with more courtesy."

"But the general also knows that treating a fortune teller so well for no reason will only arouse Shi Xie's suspicion, so the general has to either pretend to be obsessed with divination or treat the soldiers around him well."

Zhong Ping thought for a moment and added, "I will give you the brocade bag later. If the general encounters the fortune teller and cannot bear his temper, he can open the brocade bag and take a look."

Zhang Fei opened his mouth. The third point was indeed difficult for him, but Zhong Ping was so sincere and thoughtful in everything he did. He was not the kind of person who didn't know right from wrong, so he couldn't open his mouth to say he couldn't do it.

He thought that if he did not agree to these three points, when the other teachers all received their assignments and his second brother went to fight in Jiaozhi, he would be the only one staying by his eldest brother's side with nothing to do. He felt as if there were ten thousand ants crawling on his body, and he immediately made up his mind.

"I agree to all three of these! If I can't do any one of them, I will come back to see you with my head held high!"

"Good third brother."

Liu Bei heard Zhang Fei's determination, and walked down with relief and patted Zhang Fei on the shoulder: "Just do your best. I will wait for you and my second brother to come back in Cangwu. If you are unable to do it, please protect yourself."

"Brother, don't worry."

Guan Yu stood up and bowed to Liu Bei together with Zhang Fei.

Seeing that no one was looking at him, Cheng Bing approached Zhong Ping without knowing when, and asked in a low voice: "Bo Heng, what is the story behind this strategy being put in a brocade bag?"

The next day after Zhong Ping arrived in Jingzhou, he wrote a letter and sent it to Xudu, returning all the seals and ribbons. Now he was a commoner, and he was a little uncomfortable when he heard Cheng Bing calling him by his given name.

"It was a random act, there is no allusion to it."

Zhong Ping felt somewhat helpless. He casually said a few words to Cheng Bing and started to daydream again.

Dong Cheng failed in his attempt to assassinate Cao Cao. In a rage, Cao Cao not only killed Dong Cheng's followers, but also sent soldiers to break into the palace and kill the pregnant Dong Guiren. The news had gradually spread to Xudu.

But no matter how they inquired, it seemed that this matter did not involve Zhong Ji and his son. If Zhong Ping had not taken the initiative to resign from his post, he would still be the Grand Historian now, and no one would have heard any word about Zhong Ji.

Therefore, Zhong Ping still holds on to a vague hope: maybe Zhong Ji will retreat in the end; maybe Zhong Ji has not been found out; maybe Zhong Ji is just imprisoned...

After all, Cao Cao still has to be busy dealing with Ma Teng, and he will be busy for a while. Isn't it too late to clean up the internal situation?

Is it better to have hope or to be completely despair? Zhong Ping could no longer think too deeply. He just thought: at least there is still an idea to think about, maybe this is enough.

(End of this chapter)