I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 185 Liu Bei’s Determination

During the banquet, Wang Fang became even more enthusiastic after learning from Zhang Fei that he and Liu Bei, the lieutenant general sent by the imperial court, were brothers.

Wang Fang inquired: "Zhang Jun is a talented man. I wonder if he has ever been married?"

Zhang Fei glanced at Wang Fang's figure and appearance, and he suddenly panicked as he killed people without blinking an eye on the battlefield.

He shook his head repeatedly.

But Wang Fang misunderstood and said: "I have a daughter who just passed the wedding ceremony..."

Zhang Fei quickly changed the subject: "This Qingzhou delicacy has its own characteristics..."

Wang Fang was a little disappointed that he could not develop a further relationship. Liu Bei may not be as easy to fool as Zhang Fei.

He stopped at that point and did not continue to entangle, lest the marriage would not work out and turn into enmity.

Two days later, Liu Beicai led his army to Ju County.

He had learned about Zhang Fei's achievements on the way and was very happy.

Now his two brothers have shown their talents. As the elder brother, how can he lag behind?

Liu Bei understood that the emperor gave him the sword not just to put down rebellion!

Therefore, after arriving in Ju County, Liu Bei only exchanged brief greetings with Wang Fang, Sima Fang and others, and then approached Zhao Cai, the military commander of the school affairs department, on the grounds that the military situation was urgent.

Zhao Cai came from a humble background. He was originally a subordinate of the cavalry general. Because he was alert and capable, he could always find clues that others ignored when investigating cases, so he was promoted by Guan Yu earlier.

At that time, he consciously began to learn to read.

Later, Jia Xu asked them, the backbone of the chariot and cavalry generals, to be literate. Zhao was the best performer, and he was reused by Jia Xu.

The name Zhao Cai was chosen by himself because his original name, Zhao Si, was no longer worthy of his current status.

Outside of official duties, Zhao Cai's biggest wish was to ask Guan Yu or Jia Xu to give him a name after returning to Beijing from Qingzhou.

Zhao Caiben had received orders from the school captain to fully cooperate with Liu Bei, and he had great trust in Liu Bei, who had a good relationship with his former commander.

Liu Bei answered every question he asked.

As a result, Liu Bei gained a lot more understanding of Beihai Kingdom and even Qingzhou as a whole.

Zhao Cai told Liu Bei about an old case.

The same thing is told from different angles and focuses, giving people different feelings. It is difficult to distinguish the right and wrong.

When such a matter involves different interests of states and counties, and the two parties have always been in conflict and cannot reach an agreement with each other, whichever party's memorial arrives first in Beijing will be able to take the lead.

"There was a famous official in Donglai County, named Taishi Ci. When the prefecture had already sent the letter, he followed the order of the prefect and traveled day and night, arriving later."

"He waited for the state official who delivered the memorial in Luoyang, and pretended to ask the state official about the memorial. The state official did not know his identity, and Taishi Ci took the opportunity to destroy the memorial."

"Taishici was guilty of destroying the memorial. Taishi Ci persuaded the panicked state officials to flee together, but he sneaked back to Luoyang to deliver the county's memorial, thereby completing his mission."

"Later the state learned about this and sent state officials to issue the memorial again, but it was already too late."

"For this reason, Taishi Ci is quite famous in the county, especially in his hometown of Donglai and the neighboring country of Beihai. He first committed a crime, and although he was later pardoned, he was afraid of the revenge of officials in the state, so he avoided living in Liaodong, and he has lived in Liaodong ever since. I dare not come back." After hearing this, Liu Bei sighed with emotion: "It is a great pity that such a brave and resourceful man cannot serve the country because of the incompatibility among the officials!"

Zhao Cai responded: "It is a pity that Taishi is compassionate, but for the state official who was deceived, it is an unreasonable disaster."

After Liu Bei heard this, he stood up and bowed to Zhao Cai: "What you said is like a wake-up call. The reason why the prefectures and counties are afraid that the other party will submit the memorial first is because they are worried about such a situation happening? Bei knows."

He planned to write this situation into his memorial, and the discord between states and counties may not only be in Qingzhou.

Zhao Cai suddenly understood why Guan Sima, whom he admired, admired Liu Bei so much.

He immediately stood up and bowed back: "Mr. Liu was so complimentary. The official just sighed for a moment. If you don't blame me, it's the official's fault..."

"Why do you say that?" Liu Bei interrupted Zhao Cai and pulled him to sit beside him. "The matter in Qingzhou has a long way to go. You and I should speak up and encourage each other!"

With Zhao Cai's help, Liu Bei understood that Qingzhou's problem was not as simple as it seemed.

Not only were there problems with local officials, but the long-standing conflicts between Qingzhou's prefectures and counties instead of being alleviated by time and the replacement of two thousand stones as governors, in fact intensified.

From this point of view, I am afraid that the reason why the state and county soldiers did not come to rescue Beihai Kingdom is not only because Jiao He, the governor of Qingzhou, believed in the art of divination.

But since Liu Bei has arrived in Qingzhou on the orders of the Emperor, how can he be afraid of trouble!

Liu Bei took Zhao Cai's hand and said sincerely: "The most urgent task now is to hunt down the escaped thieves. We must not let the thieves escape justice! Of course, during the search, there are some things that can be done together."

Both Liu Bei and Zhao Cai understood that with the manpower of the school affairs department, even a blister would not appear if it were spread throughout Qingzhou.

On the issue of official administration, we can only deal with it together when we find it, and never compromise, as a deterrent!

Zhao Cai took out a carefully kept piece of paper from his arms. After spreading it out, Liu Bei saw that the words on it were crooked and had no shape at all. There were obvious homophonic typos in some places, and there were several symbols that he didn't know what they meant.

But Liu Bei did not laugh at Zhao Cai because of this. Instead, he took it seriously and patiently asked for advice.

He knew that these were the fruits of Zhao Cai's hard work.

After meeting Zhao Cai, Liu Beicai summoned Wang Fang, Sima Fang, and Jiao He, the governor who had been in the army, to discuss how to hunt down the fleeing thieves.

Especially the two thieves who ran away.

It was said to be a discussion, but Liu Bei listened to very few opinions, and it was more like a notice.

But as a confidant of the Emperor, a disciple of the Grand Tutor, and an old official of the General, he was fully qualified to do so.

Even if he can call people together in the name of discussion, it is no longer domineering.

Only Sima Fang was a little hesitant. Liu Bei's performance was inconsistent with what he had heard, but he was a smart man and only kept his doubts in his heart.

Therefore, Liu Bei used the Xiyuan Army he brought as the backbone, supplemented by state and county soldiers and county and national soldiers, to search for places where the rebels might be hiding.

Especially the remaining Yellow Turban thieves, who plundered a lot of food and grass this time and hid their traces in the mountains. Liu Bei vowed to eliminate them all.

As for Zang Ba, Liu Bei sent official documents to the neighboring Taishan County and Langya Kingdom, including the corresponding governors of Yanzhou and Xuzhou in the two places, to prevent Zang Ba from escaping to other states.

In addition, accountability documents for Donghai Prime Minister and Xuzhou Governor, where Zang Ba was originally a pirate, are also indispensable. How Zang Ba crossed from Donghai Kingdom to Langya Kingdom and came to Beihai Kingdom is probably impossible to figure out, but we still have to try.

So Liu Bei sent Jian Yong, who was most capable of this important task around him, to Xuzhou.

After doing this, Liu Bei refused Wang Fang's request to stay, and did not stay in Jixian for a long time. Instead, he personally led troops to hunt down the thieves.

(End of this chapter)