Chapter 13: Bandit Troubles and Rumors

Gongsun Zan had not been in the county for some time, claiming he went hunting outside, but no one knew exactly where. Moreover, he had not followed the usual custom of visiting the prominent local families in the county.

Speaking of which, several influential families in Zhuo County had connections to Gongsun Zan, yet the relationships were somewhat awkward.

There were three major families in Zhuo County: the Zhangs, the Lus, and the Lius.

The Zhang family here was not the family of Zhang Fei, but rather a branch of the Yuyang Zhang clan settled in Zhuo County. Zhang Fei’s own household was hardly considered a major family; it was more of a modestly well-off merchant family running taverns and restaurants, not butchers. The tavern frequently visited by Liu Bei and Jian Yong was indeed operated by Zhang Fei’s family. Although Zhang Fei himself often engaged in butchering, it was mainly to supply the tavern with large quantities of meat for the workers.

In contrast, the Yuyang Zhang clan was a prestigious family with immense influence in Youzhou, boasting many senior officials holding the rank of “Two-thousand-stone” officials, such as Zhang Chun, the Prime Minister of Zhongshan, and Zhang Ju, the Governor of Taishan. The current commander overseeing military affairs in the Liaodong vassal state was Zhang Jian, also from the Yuyang Zhang clan—he held Gongsun Zan’s cavalry forces amassed in Liaodong at the time.

Naturally, Gongsun Zan was reluctant to deal directly with the Zhang family.

The Lu family was the clan of Lu Zhi, Gongsun Zan’s teacher. Ordinarily, as an official newly appointed to Zhuo County, Gongsun Zan would have at least paid a visit to his teacher’s household, but he had yet to do so.

This was because after briefly studying under Lu Zhi, when Lu Zhi abandoned his official post to join the Eastern Observatorium as a scholar, Gongsun Zan instead became a disciple of Liu Kuan, then the Grand Commandant. To gain Liu Kuan’s favor, Gongsun Zan even staged a public display.

At that time, Liu Ji, the Governor of Liaoxi, had fallen out of favor and was about to be exiled to Rinan. Gongsun Zan, then a county clerk under Liu Ji, went to Mount Beimang to perform a distant ancestral memorial, loudly proclaiming that as a subordinate of the governor, he would follow him to the malarial frontier, likely never to return, torn between loyalty and filial piety, begging ancestors and parents for forgiveness.

His tears and words moved those present, who hailed him as loyal and righteous.

In truth, Mount Beimang had nothing to do with his ancestors; Gongsun Zan chose it solely because it was the burial ground of Luoyang’s high officials, where Grand Commandant Liu Kuan was also paying respects. Soon after, Liu Kuan accepted Gongsun Zan as a disciple and helped exonerate Liu Ji.

Thanks to Liu Ji’s recommendation, Gongsun Zan was appointed an official through the filial and incorrupt candidate system.

This performance was much like the “finding joy in punishment” ploy Liu Bei devised for Jian Yong, a calculated act to gain reputation.

Each county had only one position for a filial and incorrupt candidate each year; without sufficient fame or strong backing, one could not succeed.

However, the act was too transparent. His former teacher had just resigned, and Gongsun Zan quickly took another high official as his master by such an obvious display. Just as Le Yin had recognized Liu Bei’s stunt for Jian Yong as self-promotion, Lu Zhi surely saw through Gongsun Zan’s charade.

Gongsun Zan himself was aware that his eagerness to advance was too blatant. While it was normal to have multiple teachers, it was still somewhat embarrassing before the Lu family.

The third major family, the Liu clan, to which Liu Bei belonged, was not awkward for Gongsun Zan. Liu Bei and his cousin Liu Deran had studied under the same teacher as Gongsun Zan.

Yet, Gongsun Zan had previously instructed Liu Bei to carry out robberies. Though Liu Bei had not disclosed this to others, Gongsun Zan could not be sure whether the Liu family knew or not.

Therefore, Gongsun Zan was also hesitant to engage with the Liu family.

To him, Zhuo County was truly an unpleasant place.

Thus, he entrusted county affairs to Zou Dan and went away.

In truth, when Zou Dan encountered difficulties, he could only turn to Jian Yong for help.

This was because Zou Dan was indeed unfamiliar with Zhuo County.

Though there were other clerks in the county, Zou Dan was even less acquainted with them. Only Jian Yong had traveled all the way from Liaoxi to deliver horses to Gongsun Zan and escorted him to Zhuo County, traveling over a thousand miles together.

It was important to make a good impression in advance.

In recent days, Zou Dan had been troubled.

Every day, reports of bandit attacks arrived from the various jurisdictions.

The county had about a dozen administrative posts, and nearly all reported in rotation, each day bringing new alerts.

The Liu, Lu, Zhang, and other prominent families came forward one after another, claiming that thieves were plundering merchant caravans and stealing horses, wreaking havoc.

Zou Dan was stunned.

Could the bandit problem in Zhuo County really be this severe?

Bandits every single day?

With Gongsun Zan absent and local gentry frequently coming to report incidents, Zou Dan had no choice but to ask Jian Yong to lead a campaign against the bandits.

Jian Yong led a patrol and returned, reporting that the bandits were likely numerous. Since multiple noble families were repeatedly victimized, the bandits were probably large groups of mounted raiders, swift and elusive—too much for ordinary county constables to handle.

They would need assistance from the county troops or request the exiled military officer Liu Bei to suppress them.

Zou Dan agreed and sought out Liu Bei.

Though Liu Bei, as an exiled military officer, was technically subordinate to the county commander and not under the county’s direct jurisdiction, he did not shirk responsibility. However, he explained that he lacked funds and provisions, as he was currently having his penal soldiers reclaim wasteland for farming. Without food supplies, how could he mobilize troops?

He even took Zou Dan to a barren field ten li away, showing him the “penal soldiers” at work farming.

In truth, those clearing the land were disciples of the Taiping Dao sect, while the so-called penal soldiers were perpetrating crimes elsewhere.

But Zou Dan could not distinguish them and found Liu Bei’s reasoning sound. After all, forcing the penal soldiers to chase bandits on empty stomachs would likely turn all former criminals into outlaws.

Of course, funds and provisions were needed, but it was early in the year, not yet tax season.

Thus, Zou Dan issued a public notice in the county, requesting the prominent families to contribute funds and grain in advance, promising that prepayment would count double against this year’s grain taxes.

This was actually a wise policy and reasonable under the circumstances.

But the problem was...

The wandering knights had been boasting loudly in the county these days.

New rumors had spread.

People claimed that the newly appointed county magistrate, Gongsun Zan, might have paid six million coins to buy his position. Having spent such a fortune, naturally he would squeeze at least six million coins from the people to recoup his investment.

Therefore, the county would definitely face heavy taxation this year—likely to be scraped bare.

They also said that Zhuo County had been peaceful under the former magistrate, but as soon as the new magistrate took office, banditry surged. So whose bandits were these?

These rumors were not baseless, as many in the county knew that the previous magistrate, Le Yin, had stepped down because he could not pay the price for his official post.

In fact, Gongsun Zan had not bought his position but was promoted through military merit.

Yet the people of Zhuo County did not care; all they knew was that the emperor sold offices, and without paying, one could not become an official. When Le Yin was in charge, banditry was minimal.

Zou Dan had certainly heard these rumors but was helpless.

With these rumors circulating, the county’s prominent families completely ignored Zou Dan’s notice about prepaying taxes with double credit, and even stopped reporting bandit incidents.

In the following days, the rumors grew wilder, eventually including tales such as “The magistrate is not in the county because he is out robbing others,” and “The magistrate favors local women and is out every day forcibly taking them.”

Eventually, even children on the streets began confidently gossiping about the “affairs between the magistrate and the local girls.”