I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 488 Yu Zhize
"Father, I really don't know what the two brothers talked about. But later on, Brother Gonglu seemed to be in a bad mood, so they probably didn't reach an agreement."

Hearing Yuan Yin's words, Yuan Wei sighed.

After all, Yuan Ji was unwilling to be content with the status quo!
Yuan Ji seemed calm, but as the elder brother of Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao, he had always been suppressed by them. Now that Yuan Shao was regaining his power, Yuan Ji could not help but have some thoughts in his mind.

I just hope that what Yuan Ji did will not implicate his clan!
"Chengxu, go see him on my behalf and tell him that as the Chief Censor, you should monitor illegal activities and not break the law knowingly."

"Yes!" Yuan Yin was stunned after he said that. He thought Yuan Wei wanted him to warn Yuan Shu, but it turned out to be Yuan Ji.

"Later, if Gong Lu asks you what your father told you to do, do you know how to answer?" Yuan Wei asked.

"Just say that father missed me?" Yuan Yin asked tentatively.

"Do you want you to piss me off?" Yuan Wei was so angry that he was puffing his beard and glaring. Seeing that his children Yuan Yin, who were almost at the age of getting married, did not dare to look up because of his scolding, Yuan Wei had to comfort himself - after all, they were his biological children, there was nothing he could do.

"Just tell the highway the truth, and the highway will know what to do!"

Yuan Wei sighed, "In recent years, I have also seen clearly that given the temperament of the current emperor, if the Yuan family behaves properly, there will naturally be no trouble. But if there are any second thoughts... thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor!"

"I was wrong at first, but luckily I had a trick up my sleeve. The future of our Yuan family still depends on Gong Lu's hands."

Yuan Yin was stunned.

He swallowed his saliva and asked cautiously, "Father, you shouldn't tell Brother Gonglu about the rest of this, right?"

Seeing that his old father was not angry, Yuan Yin breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had guessed right.

After leaving, Yuan Yin sighed. Whenever something big happened, his father always treated him like this, which made him feel helpless.

There’s nothing I can do, I have to endure it, since they are my own children.

……

Just as Yuan Wei said, the small-scale theft incidents that are happening in various counties and states nowadays are best resolved by the counties and states themselves.

The highly autonomous counties and states have the ability to eradicate their own chronic diseases.

In Shangdang County, Bingzhou, this is what Cheng Yu thought.

After Cheng Yu took office, he discovered that the governance of Shangdang County under the previous governor Fang Mao was not only chaotic but also a den of snakes and rats.

The officials and the big families colluded with each other and seemed to be in harmony on the surface. This was also the reason why Shangdang County waited until the granary caught fire before the real thunderstorm.

But this naturally did not pose a problem for Cheng Yu.

Cheng Yu, who had observed many of the emperor's practices when he was the Imperial Censor, was ruthless when he arrived in Shangdang and beheaded a number of officials who had committed crimes and the sons of powerful families.

This made Cheng Yu's reputation in Shangdang suddenly become extremely bad, but it also made the governance of Shangdang County begin to become clear.

After the impeachments against Cheng Yu fell on deaf ears in Luoyang, the powerful families in Shangdang wanted to drive Cheng Yu away but couldn't, and dared not to rebel but resisted, so they had to soften their stance a little.

Cheng Yu did need talents from powerful families to help govern the counties. Seeing that he had established his authority in Shangdang, he decided to stop while he was ahead. The governance of Shangdang County then got on the right track.

However, in Cheng Yu's mind, making use of these children of powerful families was ultimately a temporary measure. He vigorously developed the county school during his tenure, and the powerful families also wanted to drive away the "cruel officials" all the time.

When the order to measure the land was issued, bandits were also rampant in Shangdang.

However, Cheng Yu was not at all panicked because he had other helpers.

"You must be careful when you go there. The most important thing is to kill the main culprit. As for those who blindly follow you, it is better to persuade them to surrender than to behead them."

Hearing Cheng Yu's words, the Southern Xiongnu Right Guli King Qu Bei smiled and said, "Don't worry, my lord. I remember all of this, but I don't know what I want..."

Cheng Yu replied: "Don't worry, when this mission is accomplished, I will definitely report the achievement to the court and personally tell the emperor your wish to return to your ancestral home."

Qubei was not a pure Hun. Strictly speaking, he also had some Han blood. He was the bloodline of Liu Jinbo, a general of Du Liao who was captured during the expedition against the Huns in his early years.

In fact, he can be considered as the descendant of Emperor Guangwu!

Cheng Yu couldn't confirm whether it was true or not, but even if it was true, by now his title had been lost, and at most Qu Bei would be added to the family tree of the lineage of King Pei, from which he was born.

If the emperor is willing to grant it, it will be a relief. But if he looks down on Qu Bei and thinks Qu Bei is worthy of the surname Liu, Cheng Yu also has his own way to deal with it.

After hearing this, Qu Bei was even happier. He said to Cheng Yu, "Your Excellency always keeps your promises. I feel relieved when you say this."

He said with anticipation: "When the time comes, I will be included in the family tree and will have to choose a nice name. I will have to trouble you then!"

"That's what I want." Cheng Yu agreed readily.

Even if Qubei cannot be included in the family tree of King Pei, he can still take a Chinese name!
In recent years, under the leadership of Cao Cao and others, the relationship between the Han and the Xiongnu has become increasingly close. In the past, in order to gain the support of his tribesmen to maintain his position as King of Youguli, Qubei would never mention his Han ancestry.

Because at that time, except for the Chanyu who was supported by the Han people, most of the other Southern Xiongnu people hated the Han people, and even the Chanyu's followers were mostly like that.

But now, with the reduction of Han people's exploitation of the Huns, the oppression of the Huns by local officials and powerful families has almost disappeared, and Han blood has suddenly changed and become a plus point.

This is what it means to get rid of inferiority.

Seeing that Qiangqu Chanyu was getting old, there were rumors in the past two years that because of his good performance, Qiangqu Chanyu would go to Luoyang to become a marquis.

The original Right Wise King Yufuluo had long been promoted to Left Wise King, the successor to the Chanyu, while the Right Wise King was Yufuluo's younger brother Huochuxuan.

Qubei thought that after Yufuluo inherited the throne of Chanyu, Huchuquan would become the Left Wise King. As a relative of Liu, he might be able to compete for the Right Wise King.

Moreover, what if...by that time something happens to the Chanyu and his Left Wise King, he, as the Right Wise King, will be the next Chanyu.

Of course, Qu Bei only dared to think about these things in his dreams, because the Chanyu was not from his lineage after all.

……

Bingzhou has no shortage of horse-producing land, but even in the border areas where horses are the cheapest, a good horse that can be used for riding is worth at least five thousand coins, which is more than the price of an acre of high-quality farmland. As for those that meet the standards of war horses, they are even more expensive.

Therefore, the wealthy and powerful families who love money like their lives are not willing to provide many war horses to their soldiers who they can abandon at any time.

But the Huns were different. Except for a small number of people who cultivated land, for most Huns, horses were their means of production for grazing.

In the battle between two legs and four legs, the thieves' usual strategy of getting the news in advance and fleeing in all directions has failed to keep up with the development of the times.

In Pingshun Village, Zhao Laosan was basking in the sun at the door of his house. It was the off-season, and at his age, he didn't have to do corvée. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard the sound of horse hooves getting closer and closer.

Years of experience told him that these must be cavalry, and there were quite a few of them.

Zhao Laosan's family was the first to open up to the outside world. He immediately stood up and looked out. Then he was frightened and shouted in panic: "Hurry, hide quickly, it's the Huns!"

His shouts soon attracted the attention of the neighbors.

Suddenly, a neighbor ran towards him. Zhao Laosan hurriedly said, "There are so many Huns here. Why don't you take your daughter and hide? Hurry up! It will be too late if you are late!"

"When the Huns start to cause trouble, they are not easy to deal with!"

"Uncle, didn't you notice that there were officials next to this group of Huns? They must be here to help us eliminate the thieves in the next village!"

"That won't work!" Zhao Laosan continued to push and leave, "Hurry up and hide your girl. Even if these Huns are here to help, they will snatch away any pretty girl they see... Even though the Huns look better when they are closer, they are hard to change their nature. Don't be fooled by them!"

His neighbor was stunned for a moment when he heard this, but he thought it was better to be cautious and that he really couldn't take any risks when it came to his daughter. So he quickly thanked him and went home to hide his daughter.

And under the urging of Zhao Laosan, most people in the village did so.

Soon, these Xiongnu people rode their horses and came to Zhao Laosan's village under the leadership of the officials. The leading official asked, "My name is Li Xi, and I am a clerk in the county's bandit department. May I ask where the leader of this village is?"

Zhao Laosan did not relax because of Li Xi's kind attitude and polite words. In his impression, some of the children of big families used to call someone father-in-law and chop him to pieces the next moment.

He quickly replied: "Li Kui has gone to the village to do some work. I don't know what you want me to do. I don't know if I can help you."

Zhao Laosan only hoped that the kind-hearted Li Xi would not be angry because Li Kui was not there, and that he would be able to control these Huns.

"It's not a difficult task. I am following the order of the Lord to lead people to clear out the thieves. When we got here, both the men and horses were a little thirsty, so I wanted to come here to replenish some water."

Zhao Laosan looked at the people and horses in front of him. He couldn't count them, he just felt that there were so many people.

Last year there was a drought, which also affected them. Although there was rainfall this year, the water level in the wells in the village has not been very high... Moreover, these Huns might destroy the wells they use for drinking water...

But Zhao Laosan didn't dare to refuse and could only lead the way.

Then, he heard Li Xi say to the Xiongnu people: "There is no need to repeat the Lord's strict order. You can take water, but you must not disturb the people. If you want to sell anything, you must pay for it!"

"Next, everyone will take turns going there. The horses should not go in, so as not to dirty the ground."

Zhao Laosan listened to Li Xi's instructions and saw that the Huns actually obeyed them obediently. He felt that he had learned a lot.

He had heard a saying before, that times have changed. Although Zhao Laosan had some understanding of this saying before, it was not much. But now, he felt it deeply.

"What are you thinking about, old man?"

"It's all right, it's all right, just follow me to get some water!"

……

In the past, the children of the rich families could still hype up the story of "the cold-blooded governor colluded with the Xiongnu thieves to massacre innocent people" to stir up public anger. Even the exchange of insults such as "what are you looking at" and "what's wrong with me looking at you" was enough to provoke a fight.

But now, with the weakening of the contradiction between Han and Xiongnu, the relationship between the two sides will not easily lead to conflict.

With Qubei's repeated achievements, the already safe Shangdang County became even safer.

"What a pity!" Qu Bei sighed, "I just hate that those people were so cowardly that they collapsed without a fight."

Cheng Yu smiled and said, "That's great. Since you have quelled the banditry, you can travel less. Moreover, your credit for quelling the banditry has already been confirmed. I have already written a petition to request credit for you."

Qubei was immediately overjoyed.

He doesn't care how many times he suppresses the bandits, as long as he has made contributions.

Cheng Yufu took out a sealed letter from his bosom and said to Qu Bei, "Your Majesty's wish is recorded here, and it will go directly to your Majesty without going through the court."

"But it involves some secrets, so I can't share it with you."

When Qu Bei heard what Cheng Yu said, he couldn't stop laughing.

As the Xiongnu Right Guli King, he was close to the power center of the Southern Xiongnu. Naturally, he had heard that some high-ranking officials of the Han Dynasty could write private letters to the emperor in Luoyang. Those who could do so were all close ministers around the emperor. For example, Cao Cao of the Chanyu Wang Ting was like this.

And Cheng Yu... Before today, Qu Bei didn't even know that Cheng Yu had this connection.

The look he gave Cheng Yu became even more fiery.

This person is a close confidant of the Han Emperor. If he can get help, the future of the Right Wise King, or even the Chanyu, will be promising!
Thinking of this, Qu Bei's smile became even wider: "I only regret that these thieves cannot be beaten, and I can't serve you for a few more days."

Cheng Yu smiled and said, "In fact, if you want to make more achievements, you may have a chance."

"However, this time you will need to select trusted confidants who can obey orders, and the number should not be too many."

Confidants? How many?
Qubei instinctively thought of the conspiracy tactics used by the Han people in the early years - the most classic of which was to use benefits to trick the Huns into coming over and killing them.

at the moment……

Qu Bei quickly let down his guard. Not to mention that he had no conflicts with Cheng Yu, he had been doing whatever Cheng Yu said all this time. The most important thing was that he believed that it would not take many days for him to return to his ancestral home and take the surname Liu.

In order to win Cheng Yu's friendship, Qu Bei agreed to Cheng Yu's request after a little hesitation.

Then, he knew what Cheng Yu wanted him to do.

Qu Bei watched his confidants and some county soldiers intimidating the Xiongnu people outside. The powerful families and wealthy men who had bullied the Xiongnu people openly or secretly were arrested and imprisoned one by one by the Han officials. They were so obedient that they dared not resist. He felt extremely satisfied in his heart.

If he had told him earlier that he wanted to do this, he would have been willing to do it even if he had to pay him.

Huh? Qubei suddenly pointed at one of the clerks and asked, "Sir, is that a Xiongnu?"

Cheng Yu nodded and replied, "That's right. He passed the examination last year and entered the county government."

Qu Bei immediately sighed: "I wonder if my son can become a minor official under the command of the Lord when he has learned enough in the future."

"Why not?"

(End of this chapter)