Chapter 44: The Exercise of Loyalty

Everyone traveled northward and returned to Zhuo Commandery without encountering any obstacles along the way.

On the southern banks of the Zishui River in Zhongshan, the encampment that had previously been raided at night was no longer there, replaced instead by a newly built pontoon bridge.

Near Beixincheng, at the border between Zhuo Commandery and Zhongshan, there was an encampment bearing the banners of Gongsun Zan. It appeared that refugees were currently being recruited to form an army.

Liu Bei ignored them and bypassed the area. Having already learned how Gongsun Zan had seized military power, he had no desire to cross paths with him again.

Those previous bandit chiefs had not returned, but they had left a message at Shili Pavilion stating that they were hanging around the Taihang Mountains with Nine-Foot to make friends with the local heroes.

Only the Yellow Turban Daoist, the families of the bandit chiefs, and a few wandering knights who enjoyed freeloading meals remained at Shili Pavilion.

The wandering knights mentioned that they had left some men behind in Anping to look after Tian Chou’s father, but since no one knew how to handle the horses, Jian Yong had gone to seek Zhang Shiping’s help.

Duan Jiong still had no intention of meeting people who recognized him, so Liu Bei first settled him at Shili Pavilion and went alone to find Zou Jing.

Zou Jing was still staying at the guesthouse in Zhuo County. His wounds appeared to have mostly healed, and he now had a few attendants by his side.

"Xuande! Gongsun Boji said you were missing, and I thought..."

Zou Jing seemed overjoyed to see Liu Bei return alive.

"There were quite a few troubles all the way to Luoyang..."

Liu Bei truthfully recounted his experiences, though he omitted the part about burning down the imperial prison to rescue Duan Jiong, claiming instead that the prison had suddenly caught fire.

"To think Gongsun Boji would use such methods to seize military power... I fear he intends to rebel!"

Zou Jing shook his head and sighed, "When he reported Zhang Chun for treason, I already felt something was amiss and did not dare agree to send troops in aid... Fortunately, I did not dispatch troops. But now, Gongsun Boji and that Zhang Bozhi are likely at mortal odds. What is to be done about this?"

"Although Gongsun Boji used me as bait, he did not actively harm anyone... I was indeed attacked by Zhang Chun's men, and I can only blame my own weakness; I have no grounds to accuse Gongsun Boji of lacking honor."

Liu Bei shook his head and sighed, "Since they are at daggers drawn, let them be. I will simply stay quietly at home and await a summons."

"My only concern is that Yuyang and Liaoxi might also descend into chaos. If Zhang Bozhi and Gongsun Zan come to blows, the Zhang clan of Yuyang will naturally clash with Gongsun of Liaoxi. Once this fighting starts, I fear the entire You Province will be thrown into turmoil."

Zou Jing smiled bitterly, "My garrison is in Wuzhong, sandwiched right between their territories... I must hurry back to take up my post."

At this time, the headquarters of the Protector of the Wuhuan was located near Wuzhong County in Youbeiping, flanked to the west by Yuyang, the hometown of Zhang Chun, and to the east by Liaoxi Lingzhi, the hometown of Gongsun Zan.

"In that case, why doesn't the Military Inspector lead his troops to Shanggu to hunt down and suppress the rebel Zhang Sheng?"

Liu Bei proposed, "I suspect Zhang Sheng will still target the Military Inspector. Why not lead the army directly to Shanggu to find him, rather than perpetually guarding against thieves?"

"Bringing allied Wuhuan troops elsewhere easily stirs up trouble..."

Zou Jing sighed again, "Moreover, in the current situation, if I take away my core regular troops and leave only the Wuhuan elite cavalry in Wuzhong, once conflict erupts between Yuyang and Liaoxi, the Wuhuan people caught in the middle might think the Great Han is about to attack them, and they might well revolt..."

In the past, the office of the Protector of the Wuhuan held immense authority, capable of commanding tens of thousands of troops during major campaigns. However, after the disastrous defeat in the campaign against the Xianbei, Zou Jing did not inherit quite that level of military command.

Currently, Zou Jing’s standing army consisted of two divisions. One was the Han regular infantry, belonging to Zou Jing’s core force, with an establishment of one thousand men.

The other division was the Wuhuan elite cavalry, numbering around eight hundred horsemen. They served as rotating allied troops, with personnel swapped from various Wuhuan tribes each year. This acted as a token of the Wuhuan's allegiance, functioning essentially as mercenaries.

The commander of the Wuhuan cavalry was not Zou Jing, but was instead taken in turns by the chieftains of the various Wuhuan tribes, operating under Zou Jing’s jurisdiction.

It was rather inconvenient to transfer this unit of Wuhuan away from the Wuzhong garrison. After all, the barbarians were not particularly obedient, and pillaging along the way was considered standard behavior for them.

If a major war broke out, the Wuhuan cavalry could certainly be utilized, and more Wuhuan could be recruited—provided funds and provisions were sufficient.

However, if the purpose was to hunt down Zhang Sheng in Shanggu, bringing the Wuhuan along was by no means a good choice, and leaving without Han troops to keep an eye on them would easily lead to trouble.

"If that is the case, then why not let Bei lead men to Shanggu in pursuit of Zhang Sheng, while the Military Inspector returns to Wuzhong to hold the fort and guard against the chaos in Yuyang and Liaoxi?"

Liu Bei once again took the initiative to shoulder a task.

"This... I have just received a great favor from Xuande and have yet to repay it. How can I burden Xuande once more?"

Zou Jing genuinely felt a bit embarrassed.

"Ah, in any case, I can only wait at home for a court decree right now and have nothing to do... Besides, my fellow disciple and good friend Tian Zijing has a grudge against Zhang Sheng, and I must help him exact revenge."

Liu Bei said magnanimously, "However... Bei has no troops at his disposal, and I must borrow the Military Inspector's banners and ceremonial equipment to lure Zhang Sheng out into the open."

Of course, he had no intention of letting Zou Jing pay back the favor simply like that; the ideal scenario was for Zou Jing to owe him more and more favors until they became impossible to clear—that was the supreme strategy.

To help someone and immediately demand a reward was merely a transaction.

To help someone and continue to proactively look out for their interests afterward—that was loyalty and deep affection.

Transactions were one-time deals, but affection and loyalty continued to appreciate in value, useful even after death.

"Since you put it that way, I will say no more of thanks."

Zou Jing stood up and cupped his fists, "Banners and ceremonial equipment are easily provided; I will have them sent to you shortly. But troops are difficult for me to manage as well. I could detach one division of men, but a single division... I fear it would not be enough to hunt down Zhang Sheng."

Indeed it was not enough. Even if Zou Jing did not pocket pay for ghost soldiers, a single division of his core force numbered only a little over two hundred men.

Furthermore, he could not detach too many men, or else Zou Jing would lack sufficient Han soldiers, making it extremely difficult just to keep the Wuhuan in check.

"There is no need to detach your men. Just procure some grain, and Bei will help the Military Inspector recruit some troops... The Military Inspector must guard against the Xianbei, guard against Yuyang and Liaoxi, and overawe the Wuhuan all at the same time; you must recruit more soldiers."

Liu Bei indicated that he could handle the matter.

"Many refugees from Zhongshan have entered Zhuo Commandery, and Bei can distribute grain to gather and resettle the populace. But as a scholar awaiting appointment, I cannot recruit troops at will. You must appoint Tian Chou as an Aide-de-Camp to my command, allowing him to carry this out under the guise of reinforcing the Military Inspector's personal guard."

"Gathering and resettling the populace" meant recruiting refugees, much like what Gongsun Zan was currently doing.

Zou Jing was not a commandery administrator; he could not arbitrarily gather people to form an army. However, Zou Jing had previously taken dozens of personal followers to Shanggu, and when they were ambushed and intercepted, all of those followers had died in battle, leaving a vacancy that genuinely needed filling.

However...

That amounted to only a few dozen vacancies.

Zou Jing looked at Liu Bei and swallowed hard, "How many men does Xuande intend to add to the roster?"

"At least five hundred men..."

Liu Bei gestured with his right hand, thought for a moment, and then retracted two fingers, "If funds and provisions are plentiful and refugees are eager to join, adding two or three thousand is not out of the question either..."

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Zou Jing broke into a violent fit of coughing, "That exceeds the establishment... I do not pocket pay for ghost soldiers."

"It does not matter. After all, since it is a reinforcement, who knows how many we actually recruit? Besides, this is in Zhuo Commandery, not at the Wuzhong garrison; who is to say these are the Military Inspector's troops?"

Liu Bei spread his hands.

"Besides, once we are done using them, they can simply 'lay down their armor and return to farming'..."

"I do not have that much grain to feed an army. The court allocates grain and forage based on a standard of two thousand men... By my current reckoning, there are only a few hundred bushels remaining in surplus."

Zou Jing expressed that he was also poor.

"Moreover, once there are more men, how are military equipment and supplies to be procured? Where are we to get weapons and armor?"

"No matter, I will handle this matter. The Military Inspector need only return to Wuzhong."

Liu Bei took full responsibility and prepared to manage it himself.

All he needed was the pretext of reinforcing the regular troops, along with securing an official background for Tian Chou. Everything else was just a bonus; it didn't matter whether it was there or not.

Just as Gongsun Zan could use schemes to seize military power, Liu Bei could use loyalty and righteousness to gather military power, while additionally getting Zou Jing to owe him yet another deep favor.