Chapter 177 Welcoming the Envoy in the Main Hall
Hearing Mi Zhu’s questioning tone, Liu Feng was already prepared.
"Brother, there are two ways to go."
"The first is Guangling. To this day, no one has taken up the position of Guangling prefect. Previously, it was because of the continuous war. Now, it seems that my father has not yet made a decision. With my eldest brother’s qualifications, ability and achievements, it is not impossible to appoint him as a county governor.”
Mi Zhu’s contribution is too great, so Liu Bei took over first. Xuzhou's contribution to setting the tripod was later followed by his contribution to subsidizing the fields by donating grain and wealth. Later, when he conquered Zang Ba, both he and Lu Su contributed a large sum of money.
Although this money is only a temporary loan and not a donation, it still helps a lot.
The reason why Liu Bei recommended Mi Fang as the prefect of Langya County was obviously because he considered these merits and regarded it as a kind of reward.
However, if we really calculate it carefully, the scaled-down version of Langya County Sheriff is still not enough to pay for his merits.
Hearing the position of Guangling Prefect, Mi Zhu's heart moved, and her eyes became a little eager.
Obviously, Mi Zhu was very moved.
After all, Guangling County is a large county and a frontline, so there will obviously be no shortage of opportunities to make meritorious deeds.
More importantly, being able to stay together with Liu Feng for a long time and enhance their relationship is simply killing three birds with one stone.
However, Mi Zhu did not decide directly, but continued to ask: "I wonder what the second way is?"
"Pengcheng Prime Minister."
Liu Feng Explained: "With the presence of Lu, Pei and Rencheng Kingdom, Pengcheng Kingdom is no longer on the front line of Xuzhou, so naturally it cannot be allowed to be abandoned."
According to Liu Feng's investigation, Pengcheng Kingdom was indeed massacred, but it does not mean that there are no people in Pengcheng Kingdom.
Cao's army massacred the city and looted the suburbs.
Those in the city cannot escape, but those in the rural areas can escape, and there are always a lot of people left.
Although Pengcheng State is a palm-sized place, it has the smallest area and number of counties in Xuzhou, but its population is 500,000, which is 80,000 or 90,000 higher than Guangling County.
Now some of the residents of Pengcheng Kingdom have gone into the mountains. Pengcheng at this time is Xuzhou in the future. There are mountains around it, but they are not high.
In later generations, the hills around Xuzhou were about one to two hundred meters, protecting the city of Xuzhou in the middle. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, because there was no subsidence, the surrounding mountains were much higher, three to four hundred meters, and the area was larger. Some accommodated many Pengcheng scholars and people hiding in them.
It is also because of the existence of these mountains that Pengcheng has the reputation of being easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it became the only barrier to the west of Xuzhou during the Han Dynasty.
After Cao Cao defeated Tao Qian in Pengcheng, he completely took the strategic and tactical initiative and swept across the entire Xuzhou. Tao Qian was no longer able to resist and could only huddle in Tancheng and linger, no matter what Cao Cao did. Xuzhou was burned, killed and looted.
Another part of them hid in Weishan Lake. Just in the north of Pengcheng Kingdom, there is a super large lake. The southernmost part of it is called Weishan Lake. There are also some islands in the water where you can stay. There are aquatic products in the lake. Rich enough to feed many people.
There are also some people who returned to the ruins of cities, villages and other places. After Cao Jun looted, they would continue to fight and would not stay in Pengcheng forever, so these people waited until Cao Jun left and secretly returned home. .
The last group of people went to work as refugees in the surrounding areas, begging and selling themselves to survive.
Taking it all together, there are probably tens of thousands of people in Pengcheng. As long as someone gathers them, these Pengcheng people can be organized and rebuild their homes soon.
"Although Pengcheng was massacred by Cao Yanzhou, there are still tens of thousands of people who have not left their homeland. My father has always been worried about Pengcheng."
Liu Feng sighed: "It was just the situation last year. Brother, you know that we are really unable to help. This year, the situation is getting better. My father is determined to increase the number of farming households. Originally, he wanted to put it in the three counties of Xiangben to facilitate management. If the eldest brother is willing to go to Pengcheng and serve as Pengcheng Prime Minister, I can urge my father to transfer these resources to Pengcheng first."
Mi Zhu on the opposite side was deep in thought. From his perspective, although Guangling was good, it was not a competitor. There are many. Although Pengcheng is poor, it is easy to rise to the top.
After all, his status is just a stranger. If he wants to directly take over as the prefect of Guangling, there will still be some resistance. But if he wants to go to Pengcheng, there will probably not only be no resistance, but also a lot of inexplicable "help".
Liu Feng glanced at Mi Zhu, who was silent, and continued: "Although the Tieguan camp mentioned earlier is located in Xiapi, it can be allocated to the elder brother to manage it. At that time, the young people can also mine in the slack season. To subsidize the family.”
Mi Zhu nodded, knowing that Liu Feng was sincerely helping her plan for the future, and she was very grateful.
Mi Zhu hesitated again and again, but finally wanted to hear Liu Feng's opinion: "In the opinion of the young master, where should Zhu choose?"
Liu Feng hesitated.
In fact, no matter which one Mi Zhu chooses, he will personally help him, because it will be of great benefit to him.
If Mi Zhu chooses Guangling Prefect, then given Mi Zhu’s temperament, Liu Feng will obviously get the full support of the other party. It is not surprising that he will become the shadow prefect, and in critical moments, he can also obtain wealth and food from the Mi family emergency resources, an extra layer of insurance.
But if Mi Zhu chooses Pengcheng as Prime Minister, it will also be a good choice for Liu Feng and his son.
In order to achieve results, Mi Zhu will definitely not only rely on the help of Liu Bei and his son, but will definitely allocate resources from the Mi family to increase the recruitment of refugees and increase the scale of farming. In this way, Pengcheng Kingdom’s recovery speed will be obvious It will become faster, and from next year, it will be able to feed back the capital of Xuzhou. Isn’t this also a great thing?
After thinking about it for a while, Liu Feng made a decision that was more beneficial to the overall situation and a win-win decision.
"Prime Minister Pengcheng, after all, there may not be a major war this year or next. Instead, Pengcheng has gathered the refugees and developed the farmland, which is an undoubted political achievement. The eldest brother can become famous as Prime Minister of Pengcheng and then be transferred to the post of governor of Guangling. "
Mi Zhu nodded and agreed: "Okay, I will be the Prime Minister of Pengcheng. I will send a letter to Duke Ming tomorrow to ask for a foreign minister."
Pengcheng is now in ruins. , Mi Zhu is willing to go to Pengcheng to serve as the Prime Minister. This is to share the worries of the Lord. Liu Bei is too late to be happy, and the rest of the people will not have any objections.
Then Mi Zhu asked again: "Who will the Guangling prefect give it to?"
Liu Feng smiled. Although Mi Zhu was kind, he was not a fool, so he did not intend to hide it from him. , replied directly: "It may be Mr. Chen Gong, the father of Mr. Changwen, it may be Mr. Xun, or there are other more suitable candidates."
Mi Zhu suddenly realized.
After talking about the matter, Liu Feng originally planned to leave.
But how could Mi Zhu let Liu Feng leave like this? Naturally, he enthusiastically tried to persuade him to stay, and in the end he could only have dinner at Mi Mansion.
At six o'clock on the second day, Xuzhou's senior officials met with Liu Yao's envoy in the main hall.
Liu Bei naturally sat on the main seat, leaving a place for Liu Feng behind him.
Xuzhou's civil and military officials sat in two rows.
Mi Zhu, Chen Deng, Chen Qun, Lu Su, Liu Ye, Jian Yong, Sun Qian, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Gan Ning, Dong Xi and others were all present.
Xu Shao then led Teng Zhou into the main hall.
If it were a private situation, many people in the main hall were Xu Shao's fans, and seeing him would be like fans of later generations seeing their idols.
It’s just that in the main hall, the matter belongs to two states, so it is natural to put public affairs first and then private affairs.
Liu Bei straightened his body, showed a kind smile, and invited: "Mr. Zijiang, please take a seat first."
"Shao thanks Uncle Fang."
Xu Shao and Teng Zhou moved toward Liu Bei bowed first, then walked to the empty seat and sat down.
The main hall fell into silence. After a while, Mi Zhu took the initiative to ask as a farewell guest: "Mr. Zijiang came to Xuzhou, and I don't know why?"
Xu Shao straightened up. He bowed his hand towards Liu Bei and then said: "General Yuan Shu of the left was favored by the imperial court and was given a title, but he did not want to serve the country. Instead, he invaded our Yangzhou. Not only did he separatize the place, he also repeatedly raised troops to attack our lord and treated the imperial court The discipline is in nothing.”
"I have long heard that Commander Liu of Xuzhou is kind-hearted, loves the people, is self-denial, and is loyal to the court and the emperor."
Xu Shao first praised Liu Bei, and then continued: "With the loyalty and filial piety of Commander Liu, he will definitely not sit back and watch. General Zuo is acting unscrupulously and oppressing the local area. Our lord has fought hard for the people of Yangzhou, but it is difficult to support him alone. Now the people of Yangzhou are in dire straits, and our lord is unable to do what he wants, so he sent a foreign minister to Xuzhou to ask for help from Lord Liu. "
"I beg Liu Shijun, for the sake of the millions of people in Yangzhou, to send out righteous soldiers and go to Jiangdong to support orthodoxy and reject Yuan Shu."
After Xu Shao finished speaking, he looked at Liu Bei and waited. The other party’s decision.
Unexpectedly, Liu Bei did not speak for a long time, as if he was deep in thought.
Instead, it was Liu Ye who stood up first: "Mr. Zijiang, I haven't seen you for a long time." "It turns out to be Liu Ziyang. I saw in the past that you are a talented person who can help the world, but your pearl is covered with dust and cannot be mastered. I didn't expect that you would become Liu Shijun's He is under his command, and the monarch and his ministers get along well with each other, which really makes me envious."
When Xu Shao saw Liu Ye, a smile appeared on his thin face. When he was in Lujiang in the past, It was also thanks to the care of Liu Ye's family that he was able to live in peace and contentment for a period of time.
For this reason, he also had a good reputation for Liu Ye. He bluntly said that Liu Ye had the talent to help others and that the relationship between the two families was actually good.
Seeing Liu Ye sitting in the main hall now, obviously having a high status within the Xuzhou Group, Xu Shao hoped that the other party would have a nice word for him.
If it were Liu Ye during Cao Rui's time, Xu Shao would definitely be able to achieve his dream, but now, Liu Ye is young and frivolous, high-spirited, and has to be reused by Liu Bei and his son to successfully speak against Guangling. Although there are some flaws in the process, it is good in the end. ending.
At this time, how could Liu Ye, because of his past relationship, cause Liu Bei and his son to misunderstand that he was abolishing public service for personal reasons?
In fact, Liu Ye spoke first because he was afraid that Xu Shao would appear passive if he spoke to him first.
"Sir, you are overly complimentary."
Liu Ye smiled back at first, and then said with a straight face: "Sir, since Ziyang has surrendered to Xuzhou, he should put the interests of Xuzhou first, and use his words If there is any offense, please don’t blame me.”
Xu Shao's heart skipped a beat. He didn't expect that Liu Ye, the only person he had any friendship with, would be so honest and even act as a vanguard. Did Xuzhou Liu Bei not want to rescue Zhengli? Otherwise, why would Liu Ye have such an attitude.
Before Xu Shao could come up with the answer, Liu Ye had already continued to speak: "Mr. Zijiang, I heard the sage said, cultivate one's character, harmonize the family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world."
" Today, Xuzhou is in dire straits. Within two years, it suffered two military disasters. Pengcheng was wiped out. More than half of Xiapi and Donghai countries were scorched, and refugees were everywhere. Our lord is kind and kind, and he did not hesitate to use military rations to help the people, and he was frugal in food and clothing. With food and drink, we survived last year's cold winter."
"Don't be afraid of the envoy's jokes. The military rations for us to recover Langya in the first half of this year were all lent by the family."
< br>Liu Ye shook his head and sighed: "But even if you don't praise Xuzhou's wealth, how can you support such a war? If Governor Zang hadn't been impressed by Ming Gong's kindness and surrendered Kaicheng, would Langya now be ordered by our state government? It’s not yet known.”
"In such a situation in Xuzhou, we can only do light service, rebel and give the people of Xuzhou time to recuperate, so that Xuzhou can be stabilized."
"Let Xuzhou send troops to rescue Yangzhou at this time, what's the difference? To make the people of Xuzhou save others?”
“Mr. Zijiang, you are also a famous person in the world, how can you tolerate saving one person and killing another?”
Liu Ye’s words are reasonable and well-founded. Complaining, and then reasoning, even Xu Zijiang didn't know how to refute for a while.
Before Liu Ye finished speaking, Chen Deng also stood up and raised his hands towards Xu Zijiang: "Mr. Zijiang, I'm going to Pi. Although the two countries in the East China Sea are broken, the people still have states. The government and officials came to rescue them, but Cao Cao slaughtered them. From the county guards down to the people, everyone was destroyed. At this time, there were tens of thousands of people left in Pengcheng, with no one to rely on. "
"Sir, I would like to ask, should my lord deal with Pengcheng first and rescue the victims of Pengcheng."
Chen Deng's help made Xu Shao realize that this task was more difficult than imagined.
After pondering for a while, Xu Shao raised his hands directly to Liu Bei and said: "Your Majesty, Xuzhou was invaded by Cao Cao in the past, so that the people were devastated and the people were in dire straits. Fortunately, Duke Xuande came to take charge, calmed the people's hearts and provided relief. The victims of the disaster finally returned to the world, which is the great merit of the emperor."
"Yangzhou today is like Xuzhou in the past. How can you bear to look at the people of Yangzhou if you save Xuzhou from danger? Fall into the sea of fire?”
“Kuang Yuanjiu relies on his noble family and despises the envoy.”
Speaking of this, Xu Shao made a special explanation: "Shao is not a divorce plan, so you can send people to investigate on your own. When Yuan Gongluo took the emperor into Xuzhou, he ignored the facts, made arrogant remarks, and even slandered the emperor. "Who is Liu Bei, who pretends to be a clan member and deceives the world and steals his name? He is worthy of taking over Xuzhou." This man has been coveting Xuzhou for a long time. If our lord had not risen up to resist and led the people of Jiangdong to resist tyranny, and if Yuan Shu had been allowed to rule Jiangdong, would Xuzhou still have peace? ”
When Xu Shao mentioned falsely calling himself a clan member and deceiving the world and stealing his name.
Liu Feng, who was sitting behind Liu Bei, could clearly see his father's fist becoming hard.
Before Xu Shao finished, he went on to say: "Let me be clear to you, at this time Yuan Jiujiu still claims to be the uncle of Xuzhou, and his ambition towards Xuzhou is obvious."
"Therefore, My lord and the envoy are not only relatives in the clan, but also close friends. Duke Xuande is helping my lord by helping him.”
Xu Shao's words first affirmed Liu Bei's achievements and achievements in taking control of Xuzhou, and then described Yuan Shu's actions, provoking antagonism, and then explained the truth and explained the relationship between the two sides.
It must be said that Xu Shao's plea was quite effective.
At least many people in the audience were moved by it.
However, I am still impressed, but there is still a distance between truly agreeing with me.
Seeing that Xu Shao only expressed his feelings but offered no benefits, Chen Qun, as a fellow villager, stood up and hinted: "What Mr. Xu said is really good advice. My lord is also worried about the situation in Yangzhou and often wants to help. "
Both were from Yingchuan, how could Xu Shao not know Chen Qun.
He knew that this was Chen Shi's grandson and Chen Ji's son, so he did not dare to neglect and listened carefully to what the other party said.
The first half of the other person's sentence seemed to be speaking for himself, but Xu Shao still did not dare to neglect it.
Chen Qun continued: "It's just that Xuzhou is in decline and lacks money and food. Even if our lord wants to help Yangzhou, he may not be able to do so. If there is two or three years to recover, Xuzhou can send troops south to help. Mr. Zhengli."
Xu Shao frowned. On the surface, Chen Qun's words were flawless, but the meaning behind them was also very obvious.
Xuzhou is asking for something in return.
Xu Shao was very unhappy, but he had nothing to do.
What the other party said was also true. Xu Shao and Liu Yao also heard about what was going on in Xuzhou.
Xu Shao and Liu Yao actually wondered where Liu Bei got the money and food to retake Langya and go south to Guangling, and they didn't understand why the Xuzhou army was suddenly so good at fighting.
But they always understand that Xuzhou itself is still short of money and food.
Before Xu Shao came, Liu Yao naturally gave him a bargaining chip, but people always thought that there was no need to give money when they could have sex for free, and they wanted to try to see if they could persuade Liu Bei to send troops.
Now it seems that these people in Xuzhou are not afraid of rabbits.
Xu Shao pondered for a moment and then spoke again: "After the event is completed, Yangzhou is willing to pay 200 million in money and 1 million stone in food, which can be repaid in ten years."
Hearing this Liu Feng almost laughed out loud.
Liu Zhengli is planning to pass Yangzhou to his son.
Repaying it in ten years is not what Xu Shao said.
What's more, a mere 200 million yuan and a million stones of food may not be enough to support the Xuzhou army.
Based on the original plan to expand the army by 20,000 in Guangling, it would cost 500,000 to 600,000 shi of food to stay in Guangling that year. If we move forward, even if there is more water in Jiangdong, the food consumption may increase. 30% to 50%, or even double.
Xu Shao actually knew that this condition was very insincere, but he deliberately threw it out, wanting to test the attitude of everyone in Xuzhou.
His eyes quickly passed over Liu Bei's face, and then he looked at the important officials of Xuzhou one after another. When he found that most of them had angry looks on their faces, he continued: "In addition, I The Lord only wants to keep Jiangdong, and is willing to give up the two counties in Jiangbei."
As soon as these words came out, the direction in the hall suddenly changed.
Chen Deng and Liu Ye, who were about to stand up and angrily reprimand Xu Shao, almost lost their composure.
Xu Shao was also helpless. The temptation just now made him realize that the people in Xuzhou not only had a huge appetite, but also definitely coveted the land of Yangzhou.
This is obvious. If the Yangzhou land was not coveted, then there would be no reason for the other party's reaction to be so fierce, and everyone would look angry.
We can continue to talk about everything.
If you are dissatisfied with the money and food, you can naturally continue to communicate. As long as Yangzhou can afford it, Liu Yao or Xu Shao will never refuse.
But the other party didn't talk about it and was still so angry, so he could only want Yangzhou's territory.
(End of this chapter)