People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 151 Butcher Xu!
"This thief Xu Chen is more cunning than a wolf and more ferocious than a tiger. He is cruel and vicious, tyrannical and bloodthirsty. To my noble family, he is the biggest butcher in the world!"

"Yes, yes, yes. This guy slaughtered our nobles and powerful people like slaughtering pigs and dogs. He is so cruel and insane that he cannot be forgiven!"

"This thief has traveled around Zhuo County and caused harm to the county. Most of the nobles and powerful people in Zhuo County have been killed. If it was just their property that was robbed, it would be fine. But this thief is not satisfied and has repeatedly killed people from the nobles, even calling it "acting on behalf of heaven"!"

"Not only that, I heard that he brought disaster to Yuyang. Now there are no more powerful nobles in Yuyang and Youbeiping. This guy really brings disaster wherever he goes. We can't sit idly by and watch him continue to grow stronger!"

When Liu Yu asked this question, the scholars below were in an uproar and began to denounce Xu Chen's crimes.

From their excited expressions, one can see their hatred and fear towards Xu Chen and the Natural Religion. After all, the blood of countless powerful people and nobles has been shed before, which is enough to make them deeply feel the horror of Xu Chen.

Only Gongsun Zan stood there silently with a sullen face, he only despised in his heart.

Since they hated and feared Xu Guangtou so much, why was it that when the time came to punish the thief, each household was reluctant to give up the small fortunes they had in their hands? In the final analysis, it was just so that they didn't feel the pain themselves.

After Liu Yu heard this, he pondered for a while, then turned his gaze to Gongsun Zan and laughed.

"Bogui has worked hard in Youzhou over the years to lead the military to resist the Huang Rebellion. If Bogui hadn't been here, the situation in Youzhou would have been even worse. For this, many nobles and common people in Youzhou should be grateful to Bogui."

Liu Yu's words were so nice that Gongsun Zan felt relieved. "You are too kind, Governor. I am just doing my job. The enemy is powerful, and I am lucky to be able to protect a small corner of the country."

At this point, Gongsun Zan shook his head and sighed: "What a pity..."

Liu Yu asked, "What's the pity?"

Gongsun Zan looked around at everyone and said calmly, "It's a pity that I want to kill the bandits but I am too weak. In the final analysis, it is easier to defeat the bandits than to unite as one. Otherwise, I would have defeated Xu Chen two years earlier, and there would not be such a big problem today."

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene suddenly became quiet, and many scholars glared at him angrily.

Of course they understood who Gongsun Zan was implying. Although it was indeed the case, it would be wrong for you to say it out loud.

They also have something to say about this.

Who are you, Gongsun Zan? You are nothing but a bastard son of the Gongsun family. With your background, you expect people from aristocratic families to surrender to you and submit to you. Aren’t you thinking too much?
In this way, Gongsun Zan offended almost all the scholars present, but he didn't care much. After all, he had never gained much support from the gentry from the beginning.

After Liu Yu came, he realized that he would never be able to gain the favor of the gentry.

He understood this point just by looking at the completely different attitudes of the gentry towards Liu Yu. Compared to himself, Liu Yu, a relative of the Han royal family and a famous figure in the world, was the face of the gentry.

However, this made Liu Yu feel a little embarrassed. In the end, he could only pretend that he didn't hear it and asked about other things: "Bo Gui has fought against the Yellow Turbans many times. I think he has his own opinions about them. Why don't you talk about it here to clear up my confusion?"

Although Gongsun Zan was in a bad mood, he answered after a moment's hesitation out of respect for Liu Yu.

"What the governor should know is that the Yellow Turbans in Youzhou are by no means ordinary bandits. They have grown to this day, and not only does their army have a complete system, but their soldiers also have extremely high combat qualities. I can conclude that they must have strict and intensive training on a daily basis.

Moreover, Xu Chen is very good at inciting others. Most of the Yellow Turban soldiers are brave enough to fight to the death, and the morale of the army is high. If the battle with him is intense and lasts for a long time, I will easily be defeated.

If it were just that, it would be fine. I don't know where Xu Chen got so much iron from, but he actually forced his entire army to wear armor. I estimate that there are at least 10,000 armored soldiers in the battle formation. Even in terms of equipment, I am completely at a disadvantage."

At this point, Gongsun Zan shook his head repeatedly. He knew everything about the Yellow Turbans, but this knowledge was gained with blood and tears.

Many scholars were silent. They were also aware of how powerful the Yellow Turbans were now. That was why they were so afraid of Xu Chen, because they knew that once the Yellow Turbans attacked, everyone would be doomed.

Liu Yu was even more frightened. Although the imperial court knew that the Yellow Turbans in Youzhou had become too powerful to be eliminated, it was not clear about the specific situation.

It was only after listening to what Gongsun Zan said that he truly understood the fighting capacity of the Yellow Turbans. However, the result was really unexpected. How could he, who was so good at fighting, be a member of the Yellow Turbans?
Liu Yu felt something was wrong. When he set out to take office and saw Liu Hong's military parade, he felt that the Yellow Turbans described by Gongsun Zan were much more powerful than the Xiyuan Army he had seen at that time.

He originally wondered if Gongsun Zan had suffered repeated losses and deliberately exaggerated the Yellow Turbans to make amends for himself, but when he saw the worried faces of the surrounding nobles, he knew it was true.

It's unbelievable that the little thief from the past has grown to this point!
At this moment he suddenly felt a strong sense of relief, fortunately he had come at this time, at least there was still a possibility of saving the situation, otherwise if it was delayed and the Yellow Turbans were allowed to develop for two years, then it would really be a disaster.

"The bandits are so powerful that we will not be able to deal with them if we do not use all our strength. I intend to train an army of 50,000 to fight them. This requires the support of all the local heroes.

The Yellow Turban bandits not only endanger the Han Dynasty, but are also a direct threat to you all. In the face of a common enemy, I hope you can work together with all your heart and soul."

Liu Yu was worried about the strength of the Yellow Turbans, so he stopped talking and went straight to the point. After he finished speaking, the scholars present looked at each other and nodded in tacit understanding. Then two representatives came out, two scholars named Cheng Xu and Qi Zhou.

Cheng Xu bowed to Liu Yu and said, "The governor has worked hard to suppress the bandits, and we will do our best to prepare for war!"

Qi Zhou also had the same attitude: "Although the Yellow Turban bandits are powerful, with the governor in charge, we are confident that we can put down the chaos."

With this statement, Liu Yu felt relieved and smiled as he bowed to everyone, "You all understand the righteousness. If we succeed in defeating the enemy in the future, I will definitely ask the court for credit for you."

Amidst the laughter, the plan to catch the thief was initially finalized.

However, such a harmonious scene made Gongsun Zan jealous beyond recognition.

It took a lot of effort to raise an army of 20,000, but now Liu Yu just casually asked to form an army of 50,000, and the gentry didn't even blink an eye.

Before the comparison, Gongsun Zan was not particularly hurt. It was not until now that he realized how big the gap was between himself and Liu Yu.

What made him even more unhappy was that he clearly felt that he had been marginalized. Although he had expected this, he was still very angry when it really happened.

The Commandant of Po Lu was a military position at the core of the imperial court. Logically speaking, he had no direct subordinate relationship with Liu Yu, the governor of the province.

But the procedure is like this, the reality is another matter.

The reality is that the gentry do not take themselves seriously, and they do not have much voice in Youzhou, so they have to look at Liu Yu's face.

Of course, there was a round of drinking and chatting afterwards. The deal was settled and everyone had a bright future, except Gongsun Zan, who left in a depressed mood.

After the show, Qi Zhou and Cheng Xu did not leave, but stayed with Liu Yu.

As representatives of the gentry, the two of them would naturally serve as subordinates to Liu Yu in the future. This was also the tacit understanding among the gentry.

When they found Liu Yu later, they happened to see Liu Yu meeting a businessman.

"I heard that you have been doing business in the Yellow Turbans for many years. I think you know a lot about the situation there. I want to know more about it. Please tell me about it."

When Liu Yu saw Cheng Xu, Qi Zhou and the other two, he nodded and greeted them, then continued to ask about the merchants.

The merchant was already frightened when he was suddenly called over, and now seeing such an important figure like Liu Yu, he became even more terrified. As soon as he was asked, he quickly agreed and was very cooperative.

Liu Yu asked: "According to your experience as a merchant, what is the attitude of the people under the Yellow Turbans' rule towards the Yellow Turbans?"

Upon hearing this, the merchant was also somewhat surprised: "This is strange. From what I have seen, the people of Yuyang are praising the Yellow Turbans. If anyone says something bad about the Yellow Turbans, they will get angry. They really only care about the Yellow Turbans and forget about the Great..."

At this point, the businessman paused, startled himself, and almost said something he shouldn't have said.

Although he responded quickly, Qi Zhou and Cheng Xu understood what he wanted to say, so they both snorted coldly. Seeing this, the merchant quickly bowed and apologized.

Liu Yu did not blame them for anything, but just waved his hand and sent them away. Compared to making trouble for the merchants, he wanted to know more about how the Yellow Turbans did all this.

"How did the Yellow Turbans grant officials and reward land? How much tax did the people pay? Were there refugees under their rule?"

Liu Yu didn't want to ask one by one. He was good at people's livelihood and could achieve local governance no matter where he took office. Otherwise, he would not always be praised by the people.

What he was most concerned about was naturally the governance of the Yellow Turbans. It was difficult for him to understand why the Yellow Turbans could gain such support from the people.

In his opinion, the Yellow Turbans were clearly militaristic. How could they raise such a powerful army and equip 10,000 soldiers without extorting money from the people?

Unexpectedly, the businessman couldn't help but sigh when he heard this.

“To be honest, the Yellow Turbans were really good to the people. The people only had to pay 20% in taxes, and there were no other levies or taxes. Not only that, even if they joined the army, the Yellow Turbans would pay them military pay, and there would be compensation for those who died in battle.

I don't know about other places, but at least in Yuyang, the people are willing to join the army and fight, and every family has surplus food, and can even buy many things. Life is getting better and better."

(End of this chapter)