Chapter 53: Crisis Returns

End of June.

While Liu Bei was busy training his troops, news arrived from Shiliting.

Jiuchi and his companions had returned from the Taihang Mountains.

“Master, I found some old friends from our hometown in the mountains. They recently received arms and supplies from a man named Yan Gang. This year, the northern Taihang bandits plan to come down from the eastern foothills... He said you are a friend and asked you to hang this item at your gate, so you won’t be disturbed,” Jiuchi reported the information he gathered in the Taihang Mountains to Liu Bei, handing him a woven bamboo hat shaped like bull’s horns.

This hat was deliberately woven askew to resemble bull’s horns, apparently a token used by the Taihang bandits to distinguish friend from foe, somewhat like the Yellow Cloth hung at the doors of Taiping Dao followers.

Every autumn harvest season, the Taihang bandits would raid nearby counties for grain. The northern Taihang bandits emerging from the eastern slope were undoubtedly targeting Zhongshan and Zhuo counties.

The advance warning and the token given to Liu Bei showed that Jiuchi’s hometown friend was showing considerable respect.

As for Yan Gang, few people knew his name yet, but Liu Bei did.

He was the leader of Gongsun Zan’s volunteer troops. Previously, by the Zishui River, it was Yan Gang who told Liu Bei they needed to go upstream to build boats—that was likely when they entered the mountains.

Liu Bei could guess what Gongsun Zan intended. The plan was obvious: to collude with the Taihang bandits, nurturing them to strengthen himself, creating the reputation that “only Gongsun Zan can suppress the Taihang bandits,” thereby expanding his own power.

This was a common tactic used by frontier military leaders, but it was effective.

By leveraging the large-scale emergence of the Taihang bandits, Gongsun Zan could amass many private soldiers and followers, possibly even send troops to plunder county wealth—after all, it would be blamed on the Taihang bandits, and Gongsun Zan’s “bandit suppression” would gain him glory.

In fact, Liu Bei had anticipated this scenario and had Jiuchi deliver gifts to the Taihang Mountains as a precaution.

Gongsun Zan had always been a tremendous threat.

Although he never openly caused trouble for Liu Bei, only using him as bait in Zhongshan, Liu Bei never let his guard down.

True struggle was not about petty grievances or wielding official rank to intimidate, but like Yang Qiu—either you do nothing, or you strike decisively, leaving no roots for trouble to grow.

If Gongsun Zan, as a county magistrate, openly suppressed Liu Bei, he would feel no fear. Suppression, petty grievances, or deliberate harassment indicated no intent to kill.

Enemies who harassed for the sake of harassment were not truly dangerous.

But Gongsun Zan ignored Liu Bei normally, caused no grievances, yet used him as bait in every major move to achieve greater aims.

That was truly deadly.

---

Back then, Liu Bei and Yang Qiu used Wang Meng as bait against Wang Fu, and Wang Meng was the first to die in the Wang Fu family.

Similarly, if the northern Taihang bandits launched a large-scale assault on Zhuo County, the Juma River area would be the first to suffer.

Liu Bei’s “assistance to Zou Jing in recruiting troops” and the positioning of Zou Jing’s camp by the Juma River was no secret to Gongsun Zan.

The Juma River’s source lay at the northern foothills of the Taihang Mountains.

The lands beside the river were less than a hundred miles from the northern Taihang range, the closest part of Zhuo County to the Taihang Mountains, and were the estates of many wealthy families.

In other words, all the farms near the Juma River were targets of the Taihang bandits, including the horse farms and markets under construction.

Though the Wuhuan Commandery garrison was stationed there to deter attacks, bandits were different from the Hu tribes. The Hu were easily identifiable, but the Taihang bandits were Han people, making it hard to distinguish bandits from tenant farmers.

Civilians and bandits blending together was why the Taihang bandits were so difficult to eradicate.

Moreover, they only robbed the wealthy, never harming common folk, who in turn shielded them and even warned them of military movements, making the soldiers’ task harder.

Besides, Gongsun Zan was providing intelligence to the bandits...

It was almost certain the Taihang bandits would allow Gongsun Zan to “gain great spoils,” creating the reputation that “only Gongsun Zan can suppress the Taihang bandits.”

If Zou Jing’s headquarters were wiped out by the bandits, while Zhang Chun’s troops from Zhongshan were powerless, yet Gongsun Zan managed to handle the bandits—wouldn’t that make Gongsun Zan far superior to Zou Jing and Zhang Chun?

Then, should the Wuhuan Commandery Colonel or the Prime Minister of Zhongshan be replaced?

Liu Bei, to preserve the hard-won reputation and benefits, must protect Zou Jing’s headquarters and achieve some victories.

Otherwise, he would face the same fate as by the Zishui River—“killed in battle” or “missing.”

Liu Bei was certain that a large force would attack the Wuhuan Commandery garrison by the Juma River—and it would not only be the Taihang bandits.

But he could not accuse Gongsun Zan—since Liu Bei himself had obtained the information through dealings with the bandits, reporting this would only bring trouble upon himself.

Besides... on what grounds could he accuse Gongsun Zan of colluding with the bandits?

Gongsun Zan always had a justification for his actions, making accusations hard to prove.

Fortunately, Liu Bei had Jiuchi deliver a few forged passes, securing this timely intelligence.

Yet the bandits’ favor ended there—they did not specify when or from where they would emerge. Even knowing they would act in concert with Gongsun Zan, Liu Bei had no clear way to prepare defenses.

What was to be done?

---

After much thought, Liu Bei summoned his old subordinate Zhang Ba and sent the bull-horn hat to the Lu family estate.

...

“Your Excellency, recently a large number of Taihang bandits have invaded, wreaking havoc. Zan is preparing to dispatch troops to suppress them, so the bandits won’t disrupt the autumn harvest. Please provide some grain and military supplies,” Gongsun Zan was petitioning the Prefect Liu Wei.

“Taihang bandits have always been difficult to suppress. Each clan defends itself when attacked. Deploying troops to fight the bandits is better avoided,” Liu Wei naturally did not want to spend funds. This year, he had exempted the wealthy from grain taxes and cared little whether the bandits disturbed the harvest.

“Your Excellency, Zan was previously stationed at Beixin City recruiting troops. He personally witnessed the Taihang bandits approaching near Beixin City in great numbers, gathering and intimidating locals—this is no ordinary raid. Zan suspects Zhang Chun from Zhongshan is behind this mischief. If left unchecked, the large bandit force may soon head straight for Fanyang and Zhuo counties, where your villa is located...” Gongsun Zan was plainly threatening, but his words reflected the truth.

“Are you saying Zhang Boran’s troops are disguising themselves as Taihang bandits to plunder the county?” Liu Wei grew uneasy.

He knew Zhang Chun was capable of such deeds...

Liu Wei’s villa was now a massive treasury, freshly filled with a great fortune yet to be counted.

Ordinary Taihang bandits did not scare Liu Wei—he had several hundred private soldiers guarding the villa, and the fortress defenses were solid. Bandits were powerless against such fortifications.

But Zhang Chun’s troops were different. Regular soldiers had ways to breach fortresses, even cutting wood and crafting siege weapons to take the county seat, all easily blamed on the Taihang bandits.

“Your Excellency, we must fortify Beixin City and chase away the main bandit forces to prevent them from entering the fertile lands,” Gongsun Zan said, bowing respectfully.

“Then order troops to suppress the bandits and defend against them outside... notify all counties to fortify and resist the bandits,” Liu Wei, though reluctant, could only provide Gongsun Zan with grain and military supplies.