Chapter 153 Guan Yu
On the busy streets of Danyang County, two groups of people were confronting each other.

On one side were the 420 elite troops led by He Qi, and on the other side were two men and two horses.

Liu Bei clasped his fists while sitting on his horse and said, "How polite, General. My name is Liu Bei, courtesy name is Xuande, and I am a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan."

He Qi stood in front of the two men with his hands behind his back and said, "Please dismount and answer me!"

Guan Yu got angry again, and Liu Bei stopped him again, "Brother, get off your horse."

Liu Bei was the first to dismount. Guan Yu was indignant and eventually got off his horse as well.

He Qi then clasped his fists and said, "I am He Qi, the commander of the second battalion of the main force under the command of Jin Shijun, the governor of Xuzhou. Nice to meet you two."

"I wonder what your relationship is with the troublemakers?"

Liu Bei clasped his fists and said, "His name is Zhang Yide, and he is my sworn brother. We are as close as brothers, closer than real brothers."

He Qi nodded and said, "It was originally just a small matter. Your sworn brother can leave Yangzhou after paying the money and accepting the fine."

"But now he has injured my men and Envoy Jin's men. This matter cannot be resolved peacefully."

Guan Yu stepped forward and wanted to ask for an explanation, but Liu Bei had to pull him back by force.

"I don't know how to let my third brother go?"

Liu Bei said sincerely: "As long as no one's life is lost, we will accept any punishment."

Seeing Liu Bei's cooperation, He Qi hesitated and said, "I can't make the decision on this matter. My lord needs to make the decision."

Liu Bei quickly asked, "Where is Envoy Jin?"

He Qi estimated, "You are almost at Danyang County. Didn't you come with Wu Qiuyi? My Lord will definitely come to Danyang County when he hears the news."

Liu Bei bowed again and asked, "How long will it take?"

"It will arrive in two or three days at the fastest, or four or five days at the slowest."

He Qi said: "Your third brother must be imprisoned. I hope you can understand."

"Of course." Liu Bei took out a gold cake from his sleeve and handed it to him, saying, "Please take good care of Yide."

He Qi accepted it without blinking, and said with a smile: "No problem, as long as your third brother stays here honestly, I will ensure that he is safe."

Watching He Qi gather his troops and leave, Guan Yu could not help but say, "Brother, that was our last remaining money, why did you give it to others so easily?"

Liu Bei looked at Guan Yu with tears in his eyes and said, "Brother, what can I do? This time, you have hit a wall. You are lucky to be alive."

Guan Yu's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he said, "Brother, let's break the prison! As long as we rescue our third brother, these people can't do anything to us."

"Don't be reckless, brother." Liu Bei wiped away his tears and said, "Envoy Jin is definitely not a name he got for nothing. His elite troops are not something the two of us can contend with."

Guan Yu said disdainfully: "Brother, you think too highly of them."

"Judging from the way this corrupt official is accepting money, he must have done a lot of evil things in the past."

"No matter how elite these soldiers may seem, they are nothing more than a mob!"

Liu Bei explained: "Second brother, you can't just look at the surface. Envoy Jin is very strict with his subordinates, but he is lacking in the management of officials."

Guan Yu still didn't believe it.

Liu Bei said helplessly: "Well, go and find out more about these people. If there is an opportunity, we can rob the prison."

"Yes!" Guan Yu took the order excitedly.

Watching Guan Yu riding away, Liu Bei shook his head and said, "Yide, can't you save some energy for me?"

Liu Bei mounted his horse and rushed to the county magistrate's office. He also wanted to find Wuqiu Yi, hoping to get help.

the other side.

Guan Yu came to the conscription office and wanted to get some information from the soldiers.

However, he attracted everyone's attention as soon as he appeared.

Guan Yu was nine feet tall, which was like a giant coming to a country of dwarves in front of the people of Danyang, whose average height was only seven feet.

Stand out from the crowd!

It's impossible not to be noticed.

Guan Yu was just thinking about who to ask for information when suddenly the person in charge of the conscription office came over and asked, "Would you like to join the army?"

Guan Yu clasped his fists and said, "Guan Yunchang greets you, Your Excellency."

The person in charge responded, "You can just call me Xu Niu. I am just a nobody who volunteered to work for Envoy Jin."

Guan Yu's expression changed, and he asked, "What does voluntary mean?"

Xu Niu replied: "The Jin envoy is going to Xuzhou to quell the rebellion. He has specially recruited 40,000 volunteers from Yangzhou to join the army. They will only be provided with food and training, but no more salary or pension."

Guan Yu was very confused: "Is there anyone who wants to join such an army?"

Xu Niu looked at Guan Yu and asked, "You are from another place, right?"

"You know about the Yellow Turban, right?"

Guan Yu nodded.

"You know how Qiantang Hou talked so well when he came to Danyang County to recruit people, but what was the result?"

"You still want a pension after the war, it would be great if I could give you a salary!"

Xu Niu gave another example, "For example, when Zu Lang invaded last time, the county governor recruited soldiers, which was even worse. Not to mention the salary, they couldn't even have enough food to eat!"

When talking about Jin Maojun later, Xu Niu's expression changed again.

"Envoy Jin is different. He gives us three full meals a day!"

"If one day you are lucky enough to join the regular army, that would be...what's the saying?"

"Flying into the sky and hiding in the ground!"

Guan Yu corrected: "Rise to prominence."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Xu Niu invited again: "Brother, I see that you have a head like that. You must eat a lot for one meal. Don't worry! Envoy Jin will definitely make sure you are full!"

Guan Yu asked in disbelief: "That's impossible, have you been deceived?"

"How is that possible!" Xu Niu patted his chest and assured: "What I said is absolutely true!"

He leaned closer to Guan Yu and said, "I am not afraid to tell you that I personally participated in the campaign against the Yellow Turbans and stopped the traitor Zu Lang. I saw with my own eyes how the people under Envoy Jin were treated!" "Not a bit of this is false!"

Xu Niu lowered his voice and said, "I tell you, this year, when the Jin envoy opens the granaries to release grain, all of it, except for military rations, will be returned to the people."

"How could such a big shot deceive you?"

Guan Yu still shook his head and said, "I won't join the army."

Xu Niu was very sorry: "It's a pity for you not to join the army."

Guan Yu still insisted.

Xu Niu shook his head and sighed, "If you join the army, I dare not say anything else, but Envoy Jin will definitely let you join the Imperial Guard!"

"That's a royal guard..."

Guan Yu couldn't help but be curious and asked a few more questions.

Afterwards, Xu Niu talked about the composition of the Jinmao army.

When Guan Yu left, Xu Niu was reluctant to let him go.

When I came out of the conscription office, it was just time for lunch.

Guan Yu did not go to find Liu Bei, but came to a high ground outside the military camp, where he could overlook the entire second camp.

Only after he saw that the Second Battalion could actually get enough food did Guan Yu begin to believe what Xu Niu said.

But in this case, it would not be easy to save Zhang Fei.

It’s not that they don’t dare to rescue, but the cohesion of such an army is extremely terrifying.

The next day.

Guan Yu discovered another strange thing.

There were two groups recruiting soldiers at the recruitment office. Needless to say, Xu Niu's group was the most important, while the other group was recruiting soldiers under the banner of Jinmao.

Guan Yu found Xu Niu again.

The latter glanced at the recruiting office next door with disdain and said, "These people are indeed related to Envoy Jin. They can be considered retired veterans."

"But I look down on them!"

"He is a traitor. When he heard that the envoy was going to be transferred, he thought he had lost his position and immediately defected to someone else."

"Bah!" Xu Niu was very ashamed: "You are a waste who lives for vulgar things!"

Guan Yu was also disdainful of such people, but he was more curious about Xu Niu and other people who volunteered to join the army, and couldn't help asking: "Have you ever thought about joining the army over there?"

"Perhaps their salary and benefits are better?"

Xu Niu glanced at Guan Yu and said, "You look kind, so I'll say a few more words."

"To tell you the truth, no one in this world can be trusted, except Envoy Jin, who always keeps his word!"

“He never missed an appointment.”

Xu Niu gave an example: "For example, in the case of pensions, the envoy did not have enough food and money before, but everyone trusted the envoy and did not ask for it."

"This year! This month! The envoy will pay back all the compensation!"

Xu Niu exclaimed: "That's millions of shi of grain! The envoy didn't even frown and paid it all."

"Just tell me, have you ever seen such a good official?"

Guan Yu still didn't believe it: "You didn't see it with your own eyes, how do you know?"

Xu Niu was so angry that he slapped his thigh and said, "Yesterday a gangster made a big fuss in Yihong Courtyard. Did you know that?"

Guan Yu's face turned dark red. How could he not know that he was his third brother?

Xu Niu didn't notice this and said, "Those people with missing arms and legs, who do you think they are?"

"Let me tell you, I know that foreman. He used to be a member of the Imperial Guards, but he had to retire because his right hand was broken. The envoy gave him a pension of 500 koku!"

Guan Yu subconsciously said: "Impossible!"

Xu Niu didn't want to talk to this big guy, and said unhappily: "If you don't believe me, just go and ask!"

“Who in Danyang County doesn’t know about this?”

After saying this, Xu Niu hurried away.

Guan Yu opened and closed his mouth. The more he understood, the more he felt that these people were demonizing Jin Mao.

The ancient sages were no more than this, right?

The compensation for a wounded soldier is 500 dan. It's really too much money to burn!

Back then, when Guan Yu followed Liu Bei and gathered hundreds of people to fight the Yellow Turbans, they raised less than 500 dan of grain and fodder.

The compensation for this one wounded soldier is more than the food and fodder for hundreds of people!
This is simply a fantasy.

"Impossible!" Guan Yu hypnotized himself: "Envoy Jin must have used some magic!"

But when I saw the conscription line, there was a long queue on one side and only a few people on the other side. The occasional few asked and then went back to the long queue.

Guan Yu had to believe it, "Maybe what Xu Niu said is all true?"

This Golden Envoy is too scary.

For the next two days, Guan Yu traveled around the city, and the news he received was truly demonizing.

What about the Golden Envoy who turned beans into soldiers and easily annihilated Zu Lang's army of 100,000?

What's the point of turning stone into gold? The grain yield per mu is ten dan. Yangzhou produces over 100 million dan of grain a year. If there were really so much, how could there be famine and refugees?

What is even more outrageous is that people imagine Jinmao to be ten feet tall, with three heads and six arms, knowledgeable about astronomy and geography, and omnipotent, even more godlike than a god.

This is also because Jinmao is not very willing to show his face, so people know very little about what Jinmao looks like, which leads to such imagination.

However, no matter how much Guan Yu knew about Jinmao, he only said good things about it and never said anything bad about it.

Even the people of Danyang County hoped that the prefect could be replaced as soon as possible, so that Jin Mao could govern Danyang County.

(End of this chapter)