The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 682 Singing Double Act

Liu Shan, Guan Xing, and others toured the surrounding area and returned to Ma'erling around noon to rejoin the main army. They then escorted You Chi and his bandits back to the county town.

Although Liu Shan had decided to give Youchi an important position, the necessary procedures still had to be followed. Moreover, Youchi was a bandit-like fellow who was not easy to control. Before giving him an important position, he had to be given a warning first. Otherwise, if he was put back without any backup plan, who knew what kind of trouble he would cause?

Although Liu Shan had already decided Youchi's fate, Youchi himself was unaware of it, and therefore he was extremely nervous on his way back to the county town.

The unknown is the most terrifying thing, because you don't know whether death or exile awaits you.

The only thing known is that he doesn't want to accept either death or exile, but it seems that he has no choice in the matter, so one can imagine how Youchi feels.

Compared to Youchi, Magistrate Bao Sheng was in a much better mood. With the biggest bandit in the county dealt with, he no longer had to worry about Youchi attacking the county town and could finally sleep soundly.

Upon receiving the news, Bao Sheng led all the county officials out of the city for ten miles to welcome Liu Shan. When he saw Liu Shan from afar, he ran forward, bowed and said, "Your subject Bao Sheng greets Your Highness the Crown Prince. Congratulations on your triumphant return! Your Highness has prepared a banquet. Please come to the county office."

Liu Shan readily agreed, and after Guan Xing settled the army and prisoners, he took Youchi to the county government for a banquet.

Inside the hall, after the guests were seated and several rounds of drinks had been served, Liu Shan suddenly asked, "Magistrate Bao, although Youchi is a bandit leader, he is a subject under your jurisdiction. What do you think should be done with him?"

Youchi was not entitled to sit down and was forced by soldiers to stand in the center of the hall as a backdrop. Upon hearing this, he was so frightened that his legs went weak and he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, saying, "Magistrate Bao, although I took your farm tools, I only took your farm tools. I did not do anything else wrong. You cannot take revenge in front of His Highness the Crown Prince."

Youchi's will to survive is really strong. He's not even thirty yet, and his best years are just beginning. How could he bear to die?

Bao Sheng was in a dilemma upon hearing this. His original intention was naturally to eliminate You Chi, a potential threat to public order, but he should not forget that You Chi was not only a bandit leader but also the second son of the Youxi barbarians. If he offended the Youxi barbarians and the other barbarians, he might not be able to hold his position as county magistrate.

Although Youchi failed in the competition for clan leader and was expelled from the clan, he still has a close bond with his elder brother, Youlong, the current leader of the Youxi Barbarians. While Youchi is alive, his elder brother might not care, but if he dies, his elder brother, as the leader, might remember their brotherly bond, after all, the dead should be respected.

Thinking of this, Bao Sheng became even more hesitant to make a judgment, so he had no choice but to pass the buck to Liu Shan and ask, "Your Highness, what do you think?"

Liu Shan had never intended for Bao Sheng to judge You Chi, so upon hearing this, he decisively took over and looked at Guan Xing, asking, "What do you think, Marquis of Shence?"

Guan Xing tilted his head and pretended to be deep in thought. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "According to the custom of the Han Dynasty, bandits should be appeased. Those who have not done anything wrong should be sent back to their hometowns to farm, while those who have done wrong or have murder on their hands should be exiled or beheaded. But this is only the treatment for bandits. As for the bandit leader, I think he should be brought to a public trial and then beheaded to appease public anger."

Execution?

Is a public trial still necessary?

Thinking of the consequences of a public trial and execution, Youchi was so frightened that he almost lost control of his bladder. He wailed, "Lord Shence, you can't do this! I really haven't done anything wrong!"

Liu Shan picked up the conversation and laughed, "You Chi's words make sense. Apart from robbing farm tools, he really hasn't done anything wrong. Isn't a public trial and execution a bit too harsh?"

Guan Xing pretended to think for a moment and said, "Then we can only exile them. Japan is in dire need of manpower for mining, and Youchi would definitely be a good laborer there."

Upon hearing this, Youchi felt like dying. He didn't even know where Japan was. That damned Guan Xing actually wanted to exile him to a place he had never even heard of. He would have to work in the mines there. If he really went to Japan to work as a miner, he would be bullied to death by the other miners since he was unfamiliar with the place. Moreover, the mines were perfect places to kill and bury people. If you killed someone, you could just dump the body anywhere and it would be gone for hundreds of years. It was better to be executed, at least that would be a quick death.

Thinking of the outcome of the mining operation, Youchi looked at Liu Chan with a hopeful expression and said aggrievedly, "Your Highness, I...I..."

He wanted to beg for mercy but didn't know what to say. He could only look at Liu Shan with pleading eyes, hoping that Liu Shan would have a change of heart.

Liu Shan seemed to understand his helplessness, and pretended to think for a moment before saying, "Japan is isolated overseas, and it takes seven or eight days to get there by boat. Youchi has lived in the mountains for a long time and has never seen the sea. He will definitely get seasick if he goes out to sea suddenly, and he will probably die before he even reaches Japan. It doesn't seem like a good idea to do this. After all, the barbarian king Shamoke is still guarding the border for the Han Dynasty. Even if we don't care about Youchi, we have to give the barbarian king face."

Upon hearing this, Youchi was overjoyed and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Highness is wise! Your Highness is wise! If Your Highness spares my life, I am willing to go through fire and water for Your Highness, even unto death."

Liu Shan and Guan Xing played the good cop and the bad cop, respectively, which terrified You Chi so much that his whole body went weak and he felt like his bones were about to melt.

Seeing that he was frightened enough, Guan Xing changed the subject and asked with feigned doubt, "Then, in Your Highness's opinion, how should this be handled?"

Liu Chan pondered, “When I inspected Ma’erling earlier, I found that the mountains were too isolated and the roads were extremely rugged and difficult to travel. Some places looked only a few dozen meters away, but in reality, you had to cross one or even several mountains to get there. In this situation, if we could dig a passage through the mountains or build a bridge over the river, places that would normally take an hour to reach could probably be reached in half an hour. So I want to build roads and bridges in these places where transportation is inconvenient. What do you think?”

Guan Xing frowned and said, "So Your Highness wants Youchi to pave the road?"

Seeing Liu Shan nod, he continued, "But Youchi doesn't know how to repair roads either. I'm afraid I wouldn't feel comfortable entrusting this task to him."

Upon hearing this, Youchi immediately declared, "Your Highness is wise. I know how to build roads. I really do know how to build roads. Rest assured, Your Highness, I will definitely build roads well and strive to turn the natural barriers in Lingyang into thoroughfares."

Although building roads and bridges is hard work, it's much better than being exiled to Japan or being publicly tried and executed. Plus, I'm building roads in my own hometown so I don't have to go far. This is so much better than nothing, so I have to seize this opportunity!

Liu Shan looked at him with suspicion and asked, "Are you really capable?"

Youchi nodded hastily and said, "Yes, yes, I'll guarantee it with my life."

Liu Shan said, "Then I'll give you a chance. I'll appoint you as the Commandant of the Main Roads, under the command of the Magistrate of Bao County and the Prefect's Office. Within three years, you must build five bridges and repair a hundred-mile road for me. If you succeed, you'll be promoted and ennobled; if you fail, we'll settle accounts in the autumn. Do you dare to accept?"

Youchi was in a bit of a predicament. He had no funds, no tools, and no manpower. How was he supposed to fix it?

However, he seemed to have no choice but to grit his teeth and continue to save his life, no matter how difficult it was.

Thinking of this, Youchi nodded decisively and said, "I dare, I am willing to sign a military pledge."

Liu Shan smiled and said, "Then it's settled. I'll find a way to allocate the necessary tools for you. Please take a seat, Commandant Tongqu."

Bao Shengming brought over a table, and Youchi carefully sat down in front of it, feeling his still weak legs with a strange expression.

How did I suddenly go from a bandit to a government official? Is something wrong?

After the banquet ended and they returned to the military camp, Guan Xing did some ideological work with the bandit prisoners under You Chi's command, and then threw them back to You Chi to take them to repair the road.

In addition, to support the road construction, Liu Shan gave half of the five hundred sets of farm tools that Youchi had stolen to Youchi as start-up capital. He then wrote a letter ordering a nearby steel mill to fill the vacancies for the county government. At the same time, he also transferred many hammers, chisels, pickaxes, and other road construction tools to Youchi. It is clear that Liu Shan really wanted to build the road.