I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 626 Why do I only meet good people?

However, after the two sides met, Zhang Fei was delighted to see that Xu Shu had been "recovered" and had brought back so many capable officials.

But although Xu Shu was delighted after the meeting, he was not as excited as Zhang Fei.

When he found a private house and stopped to rest, he found Zhang Fei and said bluntly: "My Lord, I came from the south not just to travel, but to investigate and find that the governance of Beidi County is not as good as I expected. The officials use excuses or deceive the people that they don't know the law to increase the punishment in every possible way."

"In addition, the customs fees for merchants coming to Beidi are higher than those in other places. The common people and the officials have colluded to defraud the money of the merchants from other places... If this continues, I am afraid that the few merchants willing to come to Beidi County will become even fewer. The materials that Beidi County lacks now are almost entirely transported by the court, but this method cannot last long. In addition to the old land on both sides of the river, more land in Beidi County is more suitable for grazing. The sale of livestock and furs has to rely on the help of merchants."

Zhang Fei was completely shocked when he heard this.

He then briefly told Xu Shu about what he had seen while setting out from the prefectural governor's mansion to look for Xu Shu. The only thing he skipped was "horse milk" - "From what I have seen along the way, it is hard to say about other places in Beidi County, but in Fuping County, it can definitely be said that it is a place of outstanding people and simple folk customs."

Xu Shu resisted the urge to roll his eyes and said to Zhang Fei, "My Lord, have you forgotten that you have been flying under the banner of the governor all the way?"

"In fact, if you want to see the real situation of Fuping County's governance, it's quite simple... Most of the officials I brought with me are not from the north, and it's not impossible for them to disguise themselves as merchants and travelers with their servants. You just need to follow behind and see."

Zhang Fei became interested when he heard it.

It was a pity that his features were too obvious, and he was reluctant to shave off his carefully grown beard, making it difficult for him to disguise himself, so he could only lag far behind like Xu Shu.

The ones who accepted the important task of showing the truth to Zhang Fei were Zhang Ren, who performed extremely well in this trip, and Fu Gan, who was from Beidi County.

……

The next day, a group of merchants came to the Xianbei village where Zhang Fei and his party had stayed overnight. Among them was a young man who spoke with a northern accent and seemed to be a guide who didn't know the way very well. The leader was a man in his thirties who claimed to be from Shu. He came from afar with a group of servants.

The Xianbei commander learned that this group of merchants came to buy animal skins, and he warmly welcomed them into the tent of the village.

Neither Zhang Fei nor Xu Shu approached, but waited from a distance.

Zhang Fei was very confident in the Xianbei general. He said to Xu Shu, "The people here are very generous and have fought with me before. They will definitely not do anything to harm others!"

Xu Shu did not comment much, but just said to Zhang Fei: "You will know later!"

Seeing Xu Shu so confident, Zhang Fei felt a little uneasy... Then they changed a small road and walked in front of Zhang Ren and Fu Gan. In the afternoon, they finally met the two people who had finished their business.

"How is it? Are you still generous and magnanimous?" Zhang Fei asked impatiently.

Zhang Ren was still thinking about how to start the conversation when Fu Gan spoke up: "Just as the Lord of the Mansion said, he is indeed generous and magnanimous. He was generous with wine and meat when entertaining us. When talking about the price of animal skins, he didn't even bother with politeness and directly told us to sell them to him at the lowest price."

When Zhang Fei heard this, he immediately said to Xu Shu, "Yuanzhi, what do you think?"

Xu Shu then turned to ask Zhang Ren: "Gongyi, how much is the sheepskin sold for?"

"One hundred and sixty coins for a good sheepskin." Zhang Ren replied.

A good sheepskin sold for 160 coins in the inland area, which was not a big problem, and could even be considered cheap. But the problem was that this was Beidi County, where there were many herders, and sheepskin should not be sold at such a high price.

Zhang Fei also knew about this. After thinking about it, he said, "Maybe the sheepskin from his family is of good quality."

Xu Shu said: "Then bring all the sheepskins and have a look..."

Soon someone brought in piles of sheepskins, but when they checked those placed in the middle, someone soon discovered that there were incomplete sheepskins hidden among them.

Even Fu Gan was a little confused. He said, "He clearly told me at the time that if there was any problem with one of these sheepskins, he would compensate me with ten. But... he was so generous when we were drinking and eating meat..."

Seeing this, Xu Shu realized that Fu Gan was still young. He shook his head and explained to Fu Gan, "Do you know why they treated you with such a sumptuous feast of wine and meat?"

"Once you think the hides are too expensive or you find problems with them and decide not to buy them... you will also spend a lot of money on these meats and wines! And it is only natural that you should pay for food and drink."

Zhang Fei was silent for a while, and finally stood up and said, "I never thought that they would be so... treacherous when facing other people! No, I have to go there myself! Ask them!"

"Master!" Xu Shu stopped Zhang Fei and persuaded Zhang Ren and Fu Gan in front of him, "The customs of the people in Beidi County are like this. The reasons are complicated. It will take time to change it. There are many places in Beidi County that do this. The reason is that Beidi County is not well educated, and the people are keen on killing the goose that lays the golden eggs to get money. It is also because they do not feel that their current life is stable."

"This is exactly why I asked Your Majesty to allow so many officials from the three departments to come to Beidi County. Changing customs and habits is not the work of one person, nor the work of one year."

With this lesson learned, Zhang Fei observed more carefully on the way back to the prefectural government.

One of the main reasons why the Huns were unwilling to sweep the snow in front of their houses was that the Han people living with them were not so willing to accept them.

People who went to Fuping County to buy coal briquettes would lie to their neighbors when they got home and tell them that the price of coal briquettes in the county had increased, and they would make a profit from the difference.

The Xianbei people who had brought dead sheep with them and received Zhang Fei's promise had no intention of selling them in the market. After arriving in Fuping County, they went straight to the prefectural governor's mansion and sold the sheep at the highest price based on Zhang Fei's promise...

"My Lord, think positively. At least these people are not afraid of you, especially the Xianbei people. They dared to go to the governor's mansion because of your words, and they are not worried that the sheep they brought with them will be embezzled by the county officials." After returning to the governor's mansion, Xu Shu comforted Zhang Fei, "Doesn't this prove that the efforts of you and me over the past year have not been in vain?"

After hearing this, Zhang Fei felt that what Xu Shu said made a lot of sense.

He sighed, "Originally, I was somewhat complacent when I saw the atmosphere in the county, but now that Yuanzhi reminded me of the truth behind it, I know that I still have many shortcomings."

Xu Shu said: "The task is heavy and the road ahead is long. I hope to work with you!"

He had learned from Pang Tong that Zhang Fei was somewhat worried that he would never return.

"Yuan Zhi!"

"Fu Jun!"

At this moment, Zhang Fei suddenly wanted to see Liu Bei and Guan Yu.

(End of this chapter)