Chapter 45: A Great Talent? A Great Fortune.

Zou Jing had departed from Zhuo Commandery.

Before leaving, Liu Bei recommended Qian Zhao to him. Zou Jing appointed Qian Zhao as an Attending Official, tasking him with managing the internal affairs of the Colonel Protector of the Wuhuan.

The Attending Official was responsible for banners and official seals, functioning much like an assistant. This was a high-ranking subordinate official that Zou Jing had the authority to appoint directly.

Avenging his father was an act of utmost filial piety for Qian Zhao. Furthermore, he was the most brilliant scholar under the tutelage of Le Yin and came from a respectable family. Appointing him as an Attending Official was almost doing him a disservice, as subordinate officials were not considered part of the orthodox imperial officialdom.

This was a case of Liu Bei recommending a fine talent to assist Zou Jing, and Zou Jing actually owed Qian Zhao a debt of gratitude for his help.

To Qian Zhao, of course, this was Eldest Brother Xuande giving him the opportunity for revenge, as well as providing him with a proper stepping stone for his career.

During this period, under Liu Bei's "financial sponsorship," Qian Zhao began "filling the vacancies" for the regular troops of the Colonel Protector of the Wuhuan.

Zou Jing had mentioned before leaving that he would send some money and grain to Liu Bei, but his journey would take time. For now, recruiting soldiers and purchasing horses had to be sustained by Liu Bei himself.

However, Liu Bei had little money or grain on hand.

Jian Yong had taken the horses to seek Zhang Shiping's help and had not yet returned.

As for food, there was none at all; even their daily meals had to be cadged from the Taiping Taoist communal kitchen.

Consequently, Liu Bei sought out Administrator Liu Wei.

When Liu Wei saw Liu Bei, he had actually already realized that Gongsun Zan was merely trying to seize military power. However, the appointment of the Separate Battalion Commandant had already been granted, and since Gongsun Zan shared the same intellectual lineage under Liu Kuan as Liu Wei himself, they were considered members of the same faction, making it difficult for Liu Wei to say anything further.

Moreover, a massive number of refugees had indeed poured into Zhuo Commandery from Zhongshan. Fearing that the unruly masses might cause chaos or that Zhang Chun might instigate a rebellion at any moment, Liu Wei simply allowed Gongsun Zan to recruit soldiers in Beixincheng.

However, he did not provide Gongsun Zan with much money or grain. After all, the autumn harvest had not yet arrived, and there were not many supplies left in the granaries to begin with.

"Prefect, I must remain at home recently to fulfill my filial duties to my mother and await a summons from the imperial court. I am compelled to resign from my post as the Acting Qu Hou bestowed upon me by the Prefect. Please forgive me."

Upon arriving at the Administrator's Residence, Liu Bei tactfully resigned his position as Acting Qu Hou first. "Now that Gongsun Bogui holds the post of Separate Battalion Commandant, it would be best to incorporate that company of Penal Labor Soldiers into Bogui's command, so as to prevent them from being left without supervision."

"That... is acceptable. Xuande has rendered meritorious service to this commandery, and now that he has received honors, I share in the glory as well."

Liu Wei was not merely exchanging polite pleasantries. Since Liu Bei's military exploits had been officially recognized by the court, Liu Wei naturally shared in the credit.

"However, although I have cleared my past wrongdoings, my reputation is not yet widespread. To make it convenient for handling affairs in the future, I wish to build a reputation for benevolence and filial piety within the commandery. I wonder if the Prefect would be willing to assist me?"

In truth, Liu Bei's name was already quite prominent within Zhuo County itself, but once extended to the surrounding commanderies, virtually no one knew of him.

Unlike Jian Yong, whose reputation for filial piety had nearly spread across both You Province and Ji Province.

Liu Bei already had his record of merits in hand and was certain to be summoned for an official appointment. According to the logic of the gentry in this era, Liu Bei indeed needed to acquire a reputation as a great philanthropist to make things easier when serving as an official in other commanderies later on.

For Liu Wei, this was an opportunity to smoothly do a favor: "I wonder how Xuande plans to carry out these benevolent and filial deeds?"

"I have a tract of barren land that remains uncultivated, and with so many refugees arriving from Zhongshan, I intend to take them in and establish agricultural colonies."

Liu Bei certainly appeared sincere in his desire to perform good deeds and accumulate virtue: "However, I currently have no grain to keep the refugees alive. I would like to ask the Prefect to advance a loan of millet, which I shall repay with interest next year once the harvest comes in."

"This is indeed a benevolent act, and I ought to support it. However, the commandery's grain storehouse currently has no surplus... Ah, if only all the prominent families shared Xuande's noble intentions..."

Tens of thousands of refugees had flooded in from Zhongshan, posing a severe security risk. Liu Wei naturally wanted to resolve the issue, but the commandery granaries truly had no grain.

Yet, privately, Liu Wei actually possessed plenty of money and grain. He had several hundred personal servants alone, hundreds of private retainers and troops, a secondary estate built right here in Zhuo Commandery, and kept over a dozen concubines...

"If the Prefect wishes to encourage the various clans within the commandery to practice charity, I do have a suggestion."

Liu Bei once again began offering unsolicited assistance: "The Prefect might as well lead by example by contributing some money and grain first, then call upon the various clans to donate aged millet to save the common people. This can be written off and offset at a double rate against this year's tax grain. Furthermore, the families who make donations can have a merit archway for benevolent households erected in their honor. This will surely draw in a substantial amount of money and grain."

"This... double the offset against tax grain..."

Liu Wei began to hesitate.

"Prefect, these words of mine are meant for Your Honor's ears alone..."

Liu Bei whispered softly: "If the various families donate ten thousand bushels, the Prefect can write off thirty thousand bushels from the tax grain. As for the excess... well, it was all distributed as gruel to the refugees anyway, who can possibly verify how much was actually consumed?"

"Oh?"

Liu Wei's eyes lit up.

"Moreover, once the benevolent archways are erected, it will suffice to prove to the court that the Prefect applied the grain to the righteous cause of relief. This endeavor will surely win the praise of all the clans in the commandery. After all, by receiving a double tax exemption, they suffer no loss and gain a sterling reputation as well..."

Liu Bei continued: "However, the land under my name is far too little to accommodate so many refugees. We must guide the majority of the refugees toward the Shanggu region, where they suffered heavily from military disasters and there is an abundance of ownerless land."

"Guide the refugees to Shanggu?"

Liu Wei's eyes lit up once more, and visions of Wu Zhuo coins were practically gleaming in his gaze.

"Indeed. The Prefect can issue a commandery decree conscripting laborers to repair the frontier defenses, using the pretext of supporting the garrison in Shanggu. You can have Shanggu's Juyang receive the refugees to repair the border wall. At present, Shanggu has no Administrator and is in no position to reject the laborers sent by the Prefect to assist..."

Liu Bei smiled as he looked at Liu Wei: "In this way, I only need to issue a one-time supply of dry rations to the refugees for their journey, so we won't continue to exhaust vast amounts of grain on ongoing relief... Won't that surplus grain..."

"Ah! Brilliant, Xuande! The northern barbarians are a grave scourge to Shanggu, and our commandery ought indeed to render support... Let it be done just as you say!"

Liu Wei felt that Liu Bei's plan was thoroughly considered.

It would compel the wealthy families to cough up grain, save him the trouble and loss associated with collecting the autumn harvest tax grain, and most importantly, line his own pockets.

With the memorial archways standing there, the various major clans would all speak on his behalf during the imperial evaluations, and he would also forge favorable ties with the wealthy families.

Liu Bei resigned from his position as Acting Qu Hou and no longer commanded the Penal Labor Soldiers.

By this time, the Penal Labor Soldiers were no longer treated as criminals, but rather as commandery troops. However, they had no desire to follow Gongsun Zan. Hearing that Liu Bei had resigned, they one after another requested to return home to farm the land.

They had been an ad hoc auxiliary force to begin with, and having fought the Xianbei, their mission was essentially concluded; the commandery naturally could not force them to stay.

Gongsun Zan offered them the standard remuneration of private military retainers, but the Penal Labor Soldiers still refused, leaving him with no choice but to let the matter drop.

However, upon returning home, these fellows all settled down in Shili Pavilion as tenant farmers, and though there were over a hundred of them, they rented a grand total of only two mu of land...

Liu Wei used this year's uncollected tax grain as an offset and ordered the wealthy families of the commandery to pool together grain.

However, when Liu Wei executed the write-off, he wrote off a full three hundred thousand bushels—wiping out the entirety of Zhuo Commandery's grain tax quota for the year.

Afterward, Liu Wei had Liu Bei recruit refugees under the pretext of "conscripting laborers to assist Shanggu Commandery in repairing the border wall."

It took some time for the wealthy families to transport the grain. Liu Wei personally led by example and soon shipped a quantity of grain to Liu Bei... nominally claiming it was five thousand bushels.

In reality, however, the amount of grain that actually arrived at Shili Pavilion was a mere one thousand bushels—losses along the road, naturally...

Yet, Liu Wei's secondary estate—which was also the location of his private granary—was situated not far to the southeast of Zhuo County, a mere thirty li away from Shili Pavilion... To suffer such catastrophic losses over a distance of thirty li was quite an impressive feat indeed.

If nothing unexpected happened, the wealthy families would eventually raise tens of thousands of bushels of grain for Liu Wei, though none of that grain would likely ever reach Liu Bei's hands, nor was such a vast amount actually needed in the first place.

No matter; at least Liu Bei had grain in his hands now.

That thousand bushels consisted entirely of aged millet, but at least it was edible.