Chapter 26 The name of benevolence and righteousness is passed on to Hebei
On the snow, four war horses galloped wildly.
Dian Wei did not follow them to Puyin, but dispersed on the spot and returned to their respective homes.
The New Year is here, and Dian Wei also wants to go home to celebrate the New Year and accompany his parents.
Anyway, Yanzhou and Jizhou are not far apart. Chenliu is just below Yangping County. From Yuancheng to Jiwu, it is only more than two hundred kilometers.
After the New Year, Dian Wei planned to move his family to Jinan and work under Liu Bei's account peacefully.
The four brothers galloped wildly for a quarter of an hour before finally stopping to rest their horses.
In the end, Liu Bei was first, Zhang Fei was second, Guan Yu was third, and Chen Mu was fourth.
After the four people stopped, they looked at each other and laughed.
The speed of war horses is fast, but only by running wildly without caring about the horse's life and death can it reach thirty or forty kilometers per hour.
In order to prevent the horses from being exhausted, they had to let the horses rest and not continue to run.
They rode horses and jogged all the way, maintaining a speed of about ten kilometers per hour. More than three hours later, around four or five o'clock in the afternoon, the four of them had arrived in Guantao County, north of Yuancheng.
The county town is not big, with only one main street connecting the east and west gates. It is winter, and the city is not lively, and the people coming and going on the street are sparse and pitiful.
The four of them found an inn, dismounted their horses, rested, and went into the inn to have something to eat. At the same time, they also had to make arrangements to feed the horses fodder and soybeans.
“I don’t know how many people will freeze to death due to the heavy snowfall this year.”
Liu Bei sighed.
Chen Mu was afraid that he would start worrying about the country and the people again, so he changed the subject and said, "By the way, brother, how is the Prime Minister of Jinan doing? Are the people under his rule stable?"
Before Liu Bei spoke, Zhang Fei said happily: "It's a pity that you are not here, fourth brother. After my eldest brother arrived in Jinan, he first dealt with a group of corrupt officials, then protected the country and the people, attacked thieves everywhere, and killed thousands of people. He was so powerful.
The whole Jinan."
Guan Yu also stroked his beard and said: "After my eldest brother took office, he was busy handling government affairs until late at night every day, settling disputes in various places. My third brother and I also led troops to fight and attack bandits. When I was not an official before, I didn't know how hard it was to be an official.
Only when I became an official did I realize that things were happening everywhere, and the responsibility for the people's livelihood in this place rested on my shoulders, which was heavier than Mount Tai."
The Yellow Turban Rebellion not only dealt a heavy blow to the ancient and decadent Han Empire, but also brought countless disasters to various states and counties. Whether in the name of the Yellow Turbans or remnants of the Yellow Turbans, they caused chaos everywhere and harmed local areas.
Liu Bei went to Jinan for two months, and the first thing he did was of course to attack the bandits and pacify the people. He fought several battles and defeated all the bandits who dominated the mountains and fished in troubled waters in Jinan.
In addition, the officials were rectified, the local governors were warned, and all the corrupt officials in Jinan were eliminated. For a time, the political and religious affairs were prosperous, and the whole county was peaceful.
Now that it was the end of the year, Liu Bei had taken some time to rest. The matters in the county were left to Ju Shou and several Qingzhou celebrities recruited by Liu Bei in Jinan, while he ran out to accompany Chen Mu back to Puyin.
In fact, this trip was not only to accompany his second and fourth brothers home, but also to return to his hometown in fine clothes. Liu Bei's mother went to Jinan, but the Liu family of Lousang was still there. Liu Bei lost his father when he was young, so his ability to grow up was largely due to his clan.
To support, especially the clan uncle Liu Yuanqi, he also had to go back to repay his kindness.
However, although he had done a lot in two months, Liu Bei was still not satisfied and said: "It is a pity that it is winter and people's livelihood is still very poor. I went around fighting thieves and collected very little food, grass and money, but it still cannot benefit the entire Jinan people."
In the end, the people of the county had to rectify the corrupt officials and confiscate their property, so they could barely survive. Let's see if we can help the people of the county to survive until the spring of next year."
"It's definitely okay to hold on until spring. If it doesn't work, just ask those powerful people to "borrow it!" Those guys are not good people. I suspect that the dozen or so assassins who assassinated Big Brother last time were sent by them.
"
Zhang Fei said fiercely.
Liu Bei glared at him: "Third brother, didn't you tell me not to mention this matter?"
Chen Mu said in shock: "Assassin, what kind of assassin?"
"this......"
Zhang Fei knew that he had spilled the beans and his eyes widened and he was at a loss.
Liu Bei also told him before that he should not tell Chen Mu because Chen Mu was studying in Luoyang, so as not to worry him and prevent him from studying.
But now that he has let it slip, it doesn't matter. Liu Bei smiled bitterly and said: "Last month I went out to the city to hunt. I took my second brother, third brother Liangbi Ziyi and four others without any followers. As a result, I encountered more than ten assassins and were killed.
We killed him, but we haven’t found out who did it yet.”
Guan Yu shook his head: "That group of people used bows and arrows. Fortunately, the elder brother and Taishi Ci had amazing archery skills, and Dian Wei, the boy, used his flying ax to kill them one by one. Otherwise, we might be in danger."
That’s it.”
Good guy, even five people including Liu Guan, Zhang Dian and Taishi dared to assassinate him together, but they thought they would live too long.
Chen Mu's face was ashen and he said: "These people are so brave and have such contempt for the court's laws. When I go to Jinan early next year, I will find out and avenge my eldest brother."
In the manor economy of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was no secret that wealthy aristocratic families concealed their population and raised dead soldiers. The three disciples of Xu Gong were typical representatives, and they used bows and arrows to assassinate the little overlord Sun Ce.
In "Three Kingdoms", it is not uncommon to send assassins to kill enemies. Yuan Shu did it, Yuan Shao did it, Cao Cao did it, and Liu Bei was also assassinated by an assassin when he was in the plains.
Assassinations were common at that time, and there were many cases of sending dead soldiers or even mounting horses to assassinate someone in person at the slightest disagreement, which was not new.
The problem is that unlike Sun Ce, Liu Bei had already reached the end of the Han Dynasty, when the court was controlled by Dong Zhuo, and the Han court's dominance was extremely low.
Today, the rule of law has not collapsed, and the authority of the imperial court still exists.
Liu Bei, as the prefect of a locality appointed by the emperor Liu Hong and the highest official of a county, held a high position of authority.
Anyone who dares to assassinate him is tantamount to contempt for the court and the rule of law. If he is caught, it is undoubtedly a rebellion and he will be killed immediately.
All we can say is that the man behind the scenes is really audacious and does not know whether to live or die.
Hearing Chen Mu's words, Liu Bei smiled and waved his hands: "It doesn't matter. I'm fine anyway. Zi Gui should study peacefully and come back from graduation as soon as possible. The four brothers and I can always be together. That's the most important thing."
Chen Mu was about to say something, but the store just brought the dishes over, so he had no choice but to swallow what he wanted to say.
Zhang Fei shouted: "It's a good banquet today, how can we not have wine? When the store brings wine, let's go to the two altars first."
"I'm coming."
The shopkeeper at the counter made a long sound and brought out two jars of local rice wine.
The four of them were preparing to have a drinking banquet.
The shopkeeper stared at Liu Bei motionless, thinking hard.
Liu Bei saw that he didn't leave even after delivering the wine. He stood beside him in a daze and asked, "Staff, is there anything else?"
The shopkeeper looked at him for a long time and froze in place. He was awakened by Liu Bei's words and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, I just thought that the strong man looked very familiar, so I dared to ask him his name."
Although he didn't quite understand why the shopkeeper asked him his name, Liu Bei still replied out of politeness: "I am Liu Bei, whose courtesy name is Xuande."
Liu Bei Liu Xuande?
The shopkeeper was shocked and said: "But Liu Bei, Sima of the Northern Army?"
Liu Bei was surprised and said: "Does the store owner know me?"
thump!
The shopkeeper knelt down and kowtowed: "I, Li Tong, finally met my benefactor."
Liu Bei was startled, stood up from his seat, and quickly went to help him: "The store owner can't help me, please get up quickly."
According to the ritual of the ancient "Zhou Rites", the head is bowed to the ground as the Jishou, which is the ceremony of kowtow and kneel down.
This etiquette is a very solemn etiquette. It is written in the "Li of Zhou" that "the most important thing in worship is that ministers worship the emperor." It is second only to the bowing ceremony among the nine worships.
Even the emperor would only use it in large-scale court meetings, such as the annual court meeting.
In normal times, only parents and teachers can kneel. A man has gold under his knees. Now is not the time in the Qing Dynasty to kneel down when seeing an official the size of a sesame seed.
So the store owner suddenly kowtowed to Liu Bei and almost frightened Liu Bei so much that he jumped up from his seat and hurriedly went to help him.
The shopkeeper burst into tears and said tremblingly: "At the beginning of the year, the Yellow Turban bandits broke out, and I fled Yangping with my family members. I met the Yellow Turban bandits on the road. It was the general who led his troops to kill the thieves. If it hadn't been for the general, I would have waited for my wife and children.
The entire clan has been killed."
So that’s it.
Liu Bei suddenly realized that in June, Lu Zhi had already surrounded Guangzong and surrounded Zhang Jiao.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lu Zhi sent him to clear out the small Yellow Turban forces in surrounding counties and prevent Zhang Jiao from gathering more troops. This was considered to have a certain strategic purpose.
At that time, there were countless victims affected by the military disaster along the way. The people fled with their families and their families. There were starving people on the road and people were dying. Liu Bei couldn't bear to see it. He spent all his money on relieving the people, even though tens of millions of dollars were spent.
It was a drop in the bucket, but it also saved countless lives and saved many people.
"Liu Xuande, you are Liu Xuande!"
Before Liu Bei could speak, other diners in the store suddenly stood up and exclaimed.
In this cold winter month, the hotel business was average, but there were still a few tables of guests. When they heard the commotion, they all looked over. When they heard Liu Bei's name, they even gathered around.
"It's really General Liu. One of my fellow villagers almost starved to death, but it was General Liu who saved him. No, I have to inform him immediately."
"General Liu's benevolence and righteousness make him truly a hero of the world."
"Now the whole of Hebei is singing about General Liu. In our Yangping County alone, it is said that thousands of people have benefited from his grace."
People talked a lot and surrounded Liu, Guan, Zhang and Chen as if they were watching celebrities.
Liu Bei had no choice but to stand up and persuade him: "Everyone, we are just ordinary people, there is nothing special about us. We have to go on our way later, so everyone should continue to eat."
Someone said: "General Liu is a benevolent and righteous gentleman who has served countless people in my palace. I will treat you to this meal, and no one should steal it from me."
"I'm the one who invited you. I also asked General Liu to sleep at my house tonight. It's also a way of expressing my gratitude to the Taoists and me."
"No, no, General Liu saved my clan's wife and children, how can I make him pay?"
Everyone, including the shopkeeper Li Tong, wanted to help him pay the bill.
Don't think this is incredible.
The Han Dynasty valued filial piety, trust, promise, benevolence, and righteousness.
At the beginning, Zhang Jian criticized the eunuchs and became famous all over the world. He was hunted down by the court and went into hiding in Tibet.
However, wherever he went, the people would take him in, and he was known throughout the world.
Liu Bei's fame also became famous as he spent all his property to save countless people in southern Jizhou. It is no exaggeration to say that he went all the way north to Zhongshan Kingdom, and as long as his name was mentioned, he didn't have to spend a penny on the way.
People are willing to pay for it.
That's the benefit of fame.
Chen Mu smiled and said nothing.
This result was what he had expected.
Because it is his handiwork.
After learning that Liu Bei had dissipated all his family wealth, although he was a little frustrated that the four brothers had become paupers again, as a counselor, his first thought was of course not regret, but thinking about how to spend the money effectively.
As for giving it away for free.
So after Liu Bei took office in Jinan and recruited Jushou, he sent a private message to Jushou, asking him to mobilize the Jize clan to build momentum for Liu Bei in Jizhou.
After all, this time is not the information age. The main method of news transmission is person-to-person. It is very difficult to spread fame.
But once it is spread, it is easier said than done. Because information was not developed in ancient times, a piece of news would have a great impact on ordinary people and would be easier to remember.
Looking back at the Internet era in later generations, countless news is delivered to people every day through the Internet. The memory of the Internet is short, and people are accustomed to all kinds of information. Once the popularity is over, it will be trivial and will be forgotten soon.
So compared to modern times, fame in ancient times was more real.
Liu Bei himself has a good reputation. The people he rescued are scattered all over Jizhou, and they already have a certain influence on a small scale.
After Jizhou settled down, Jushou began to exert his efforts in an organized manner, and his reputation naturally fermented, with great stamina. Liu Bei didn't even know it in Jinan. His reputation had long been spread throughout Jizhou, and he was remembered and admired by the people of Jizhou.
.
Seeing the local people in Guantao rushing to pay for him, Liu Bei was also confused. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and the other three looked at each other at a loss.
At this time, there was a noise outside the door, and more people heard the news and crowded over.
"Where is General Liu?"
"Benefactor, I want to see my benefactor."
"It's right in this hotel."
"Where is the benefactor?"
Outside the door, dozens of people who had been rescued by Liu Bei wanted to come in, and there were also hundreds of onlookers, and soon the outside of the small hotel became very lively.
Not only the people, but also the local officials were alarmed. The county magistrate of Guantao Song Dynasty and other officials from the county came to the scene.
The magistrate of Song County came out of the crowd, walked into the store, looked around and said, "Who is Ambassador Liu?"
The county magistrate was not as closed-minded as the villagers. He had long known that Liu Bei had become the prime minister of Jinan. He heard that a prefect of the county was passing by, and regardless of whether he was famous or not, he had to come and take a look.
Liu Bei saw that the incident seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, even the local officials were alarmed, so he had to stand up and say: "I am."
"It's really Mr. Liu."
The county magistrate of Song laughed loudly and said: "My name of benevolence and righteousness has been spread across Hebei Province. I came to Guantao today to make my Guantao rejoicing. Please allow me to replace the people of Guantao and fulfill my duties as a landlord and come to our county office to have a rest."
"
Liu Bei just felt a headache. It was the first time he was worried about being too famous. He couldn't help but smiled bitterly and said: "I hope the county magistrate knows that the New Year is coming soon. I am passing by Guantao today and want to go back to Youzhou to celebrate the New Year. I might not be able to make it back to my hometown in time."
After meeting family members and having dinner, we have to travel all night, so we can’t delay any more.”
"this......"
When the Song County Magistrate heard Liu Bei's difficulties, he hesitated for a moment and said, "In that case, please allow me and the people in the city to see the envoy off. The envoy will eat first, and we will wait aside."
Liu, Guan, Zhang and Chen looked at each other with big eyes and small eyes. Hundreds of people gathered around to watch them eat. They were really restless.
But there is no way, who makes Liu Bei famous now?
The four of them had no choice but to sit down and hurriedly took two mouthfuls of rice in front of everyone watching. The wine in the bowl suddenly lost its aroma, and they quickly finished the two mouthfuls like chewing wax.
"Store, how much does it cost?"
Liu Bei took a few bites at random. Seeing that his three brothers had no appetite, he took out the money to pay the bill and wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, before he even took out the money, he was held down by everyone.
"Your Majesty, I can't, I'll treat you to this meal."
"I'd better do it, my family has money."
"So what if your family is rich? If you can treat a kind person like Liu Shijun to a meal, my family will definitely have a good reputation among the neighbors. I will treat you."
"This meal is free, how can I charge the general for it?"
Everyone almost got into a fight over the money for this meal.
Chen Mu quickly came over and said to Liu Bei: "Brother, say something quickly, otherwise we will never get out of Guantao today."
Liu Bei bit the bullet and shouted: "Listen to me, everyone, it is natural to give money to eat. You cannot be special because I have helped others. You must treat everyone equally..."
"Liu Shijun is unparalleled in his benevolence and righteousness. Since he can't stay in Guantao for a longer time, how can he not let us fulfill our friendship as landlords?"
"Yes, if my mother knew that I missed the envoy today, she would scold me for being unjust."
"I was once saved by Shi Jun. If I don't invite you to this meal, I'm afraid my fellow villagers will poke my spine."
Before he could finish his words, he was drowned out by everyone's words.
Seeing that everyone was still fighting for the money for the meal, everyone took out their money one after another to give it to the shopkeeper Li Tong, but Li Tong refused to accept it. Various silver coins fell to the ground without anyone picking them up.
Chen Mu had an idea and shouted: "Everyone, listen to me. I am Liu Shijun's younger brother. I have something to say. Please listen carefully."
Hearing that he was Liu Bei's younger brother, everyone slowly became quiet and looked at him.
Chen Mu said with a smile: "My eldest brother Liu Bei has countless people alive in Jizhou, which is obvious to everyone. If it were in the past, my eldest brother would definitely fulfill everyone's loyalty and stay in Guantao for two more days. But now that the new year is approaching, I have to go back.
There is no way to pay filial piety to your relatives during the New Year. So I have a plan that can fulfill everyone's righteousness without wasting time."
"What can I do, please tell me."
Magistrate Song raised his hands and said.
Chen Mu thought for a while and said: "This meal should cost hundreds of dollars. There was a sea of people outside the door, and I almost stepped on the threshold of the store, which shows that there are many people. Since everyone is Guantao people, they represent Guantao
Welcome my eldest brother. How about each of you contribute a sum of money to the store owner, firstly to fulfill your loyalty, and secondly to prevent the store owner and my eldest brother from having a difficult time, what do you think?"
Each person pays a dollar?
Everyone looked at each other, and after a while, they all shouted: "Okay, let's do it."
Everyone thought it was okay, and Magistrate Song and the shopkeeper Li Tong finally agreed.
There was no way. Although Li Tong wanted to pay his benefactor, if he didn't accept the money, he would be refusing the local people in Guantao to express their gratitude to Liu Bei. This was something that would get stabbed in the back in his hometown, so he had to agree.
After finishing their meal, Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Chen cupped their hands in all directions and walked out of the store.
Everyone moved out of the way. When he passed by, everyone consciously separated and bowed their heads slightly to show respect to Liu Bei.
The Han people worship people with high moral character. Even if only a small number of the hundreds of people here have received Liu Bei's favor, there is always a connection between people. Whether they are relatives, fellow tribesmen, or fellow villagers, as long as there is such a connection,
Then I have the idea that my fellow villagers, relatives and clansmen have received favors from Liu Bei, and I have to respect this kind of people.
After leaving the store, they led their horses, and hundreds of people on Guantao Street gathered around Liu Guan and Zhang Chen, all the way to the north gate.
After the four people got on the horse, Magistrate Song stood at the front of the team, bowed his hands and saluted: "Congratulations to the envoy!"
"Congratulations to the envoy!"
Hundreds of people bent down and saluted at the same time, and the scene was spectacular.
At this moment, even Chen Mu felt how shocked the Han Dynasty's idea of admiring benevolent and righteous gentlemen was.
Most of the people here may not know how to read, but their gratitude and righteousness have already been deeply rooted in their bones and engraved in their hearts. Because they know who is the one who treats them well!