Chapter 17, Part 1: Everything is in ruins and needs to be rebuilt.
"Your Highness, we have been out for three days. If we don't go back soon, the lord will probably be anxious."
Liu Jun sat on his horse, silently surveying the land beneath his feet.
After arriving in Jinyang, Liu Kun was busy with official duties and had no time to pay attention to him. So he took Lu Jing with him to travel around, observe the terrain, understand the people's livelihood, and think about whether there was a way to break the deadlock.
"Do you think there's any hope for this place?" Liu Jun asked slowly.
Although Lu Jing felt inwardly that things were going to be tough, he still comforted him, saying, "My lord is a hero of his generation, and with the court as his backing, given time, the people will surely live in peace and prosperity."
"Peace and prosperity for the people?" Liu Jun smiled. "Your knowledge has improved recently, but you've been exaggerating a bit."
"Everything is being rebuilt?" Lu Jing asked again.
Liu Jun's gaze swept over the frozen, thorny land, where he could still vaguely see piles of white bones. "Even without any foreign invasion, it will probably take five to ten years. Oh well, let's go back."
When Liu Jun returned home, Liu Kun was sitting at his desk writing furiously. Upon seeing him, Liu Kun put down his pen and said, "I don't know what's so interesting about the scene outside."
Liu Jun touched his nose, knelt down beside him ingratiatingly to grind ink for him, and looked at the bamboo slips on his desk.
"I am stubborn and ignorant, with limited ambitions. Due to a series of circumstances, I have been unworthy to assume this post. I set off at the end of September. The road is treacherous and the mountains are steep. The Hu bandits blocked the way. I always fought against the enemy with a small force, risking my life to advance. I encountered many dangers and hardships, and finally reached Hukou Pass on the same day..."
"I had heard that my father was quite talented in his youth, and that he was 'a brilliant man in Luoyang, like Qing Sun and Yue Shi.' The world has not been wrong. Just these few words have fully described the hardships of this journey." Although there was a hint of flattery in his words, Liu Jun was indeed speaking from the bottom of his heart. In this era, there were very few scholars like Liu Kun who were both literate and skilled in martial arts.
Liu Kun shook his head and sighed, "How can you say everything? Putting aside other things, the former Xiongnu general Liu Jing ambushed us at Banqiao. If I hadn't reacted quickly, we probably would have been wiped out before we even reached Jinyang."
"Is that so? Liu Yuan has already set his sights on Jinyang?" Liu Jun was surprised at first, then laughed.
Liu Kun suspected that his son's mental state was clouded due to the extreme misery he had witnessed along the way. "What's so funny?"
Liu Jun sighed, "I never imagined that the Xiongnu Han also harbored ambitions to conquer the world. First take Hedong, then occupy Guanzhong, and after years of military preparation, they could directly take Luoyang. Wasn't that what Emperor Gaozu of Han did? In this light, Pingyang is in grave danger! Jinyang is even more perilous!"
Liu Kun's mind raced, and he suddenly stood up. "Oh no! If it were just this, it would be fine. What I'm worried about is if all five barbarians were subdued and united as one... Now that the Central Plains are isolated, how can we contend with them?"
Despite the precarious situation, Liu Jun felt a strange sense of excitement. He repeatedly warned himself not to repeat the impetuousness and recklessness of his past life. After calming himself down, he said, "Father, since the barbarians think this way, if we can get ahead of them, wouldn't we be able to cut off their path? Since we are divided into five tribes, they will surely be plotting against each other and scheming against one another. If we keep a close eye on them, we will surely find an opportunity to divide and conquer them."
Seeing that this small man remained calm and composed in this time of crisis, displaying remarkable courage and determination, Liu Kun felt an immense surge of energy and exclaimed, "Good! My son and I are of one mind. Even if we die for our country, it will be a worthy death! I have already established a good relationship with the Xianbei tribe. Perhaps we should make secret contact first to prevent them from being won over by the Xiongnu. This time, I will request five million bushels of grain, five million bolts of silk, and five million catties of cotton from the court. If we need to borrow troops from the Xianbei, I will certainly have to make some concessions."
Liu Jun agreed, but Liu Kun then worriedly said, "But now the people are scattered, and there are less than 30,000 households in Jinyang. In the long run, how can we resist the barbarians?"
Liu Jun stood up. “Father is absolutely right. Right now, our population is so small that only one in ten survives. If the barbarians come, we will be nothing but fish on a chopping block. We must recruit more people and increase our population; that is the only long-term solution.”
"Tell me, is it feasible for me to ask the court to relocate a thousand or even ten thousand households here?" Liu Kun said, then shook his head. "Even Sima Teng fled on his own. Even if the court were willing to issue an edict, there would still be people willing to come..."
Liu Jun comforted him, saying, "The affairs of the prefecture and county are numerous and complex, and the restoration and continuation of the state cannot be accomplished in a day. With your reputation, Father, as long as Jinyang is well governed, why worry about no one coming to serve you? Although I am young, I am willing to share your burdens. Father has already arranged for people to clear away the thorns and bury the dead, and I am willing to go as well."
“You are the heir of a marquis; you should be studying literature and martial arts at this time. How can you do such vulgar work?” Liu Kun objected instinctively.
“It’s not too late to study literature and martial arts after the world is at peace. Right now, it’s better to follow Mencius’s advice, toughen your mind and strengthen your body, so that you can become a great man. Besides, at this time when people are needed, if you can take the lead, it will greatly benefit your father in caring for the people.”
Liu Kun, seeing the logic in his words, sighed in agreement. Looking at his simple clothes, he slowly said, "When your father was your age, he associated with General Zheng Lu and others, with guests as numerous as clouds, composing poems every day. How carefree and happy he was! My son, you were born at the wrong time..."
Liu Jun raised an eyebrow. "Grandparents and parents are all alive, the whole family is happy and harmonious, they have no shortage of food and clothing, and they are free to come and go as they please. People at the time praised them a lot. Now, they are helping their father turn the tide and make achievements. How can such a good life be called being born at the wrong time?"
So Liu Jun, with dozens of his retainers and full regalia as governor of Bingzhou, prepared carts and reed mats and began searching the city. There was no need to search deliberately, since the scene was desolate, with fields and gardens in ruins, corpses covering the ground, and the elderly and the weak constantly being seen on the roads.
They collected the corpses they found, filled a cart with them, and buried them together in a place with good feng shui; they cleared away thorns and brambles, gathered up any remaining farm tools, repaired them, and prepared them for future use; they found damaged bridges and tried to rebuild them with planks or stone slabs...
At the same time, Liu Kun contacted the Xianbei tribe while taking his eldest son Liu Zun to appease the refugees. Most importantly, he gathered the scholars and gentry who had not yet left, rebuilt the government offices and prisons, and dealt with several bandits who took the opportunity to kill, steal, and rob. Gradually, Jinyang began to stabilize.
If refugees flee to Jinyang in a panic, they will see a handsome and distinguished man, sitting upright in a simple government office every day to handle military and political affairs, and occasionally patrolling the city to care about the people's livelihood; they may also see a dashing and cheerful young man, leading soldiers to patrol back and forth every day to fight against bandits.
You might also see a mature but still somewhat immature boy who works alongside the adults every day. He is dressed in coarse cloth and covered in dirt, and you might easily miss him if you're not paying attention.
However, upon closer inspection, one would find that he had bright eyes and sparse eyebrows, and that he still possessed a calm and composed demeanor amidst poverty and calamity. Yet, when he was collecting the remains, his lowered eyes were filled with a sense of vicissitude and compassion.
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