Chapter 195 Hooking up with Xuzhou
From Kuai Yue's point of view, we should change our strategy decisively at this time, abandon Yangzhou Liu Yao, directly send envoys to make an alliance with Xuzhou, use military rations as bait, invite Xuzhou to divide Yangzhou equally, and even Yuan Shu .
The two counties in the north of the Yangtze River can be returned to Xuzhou, while Jingzhou can take the east of the Yangtze River, and then additionally compensate the other party with money, grain, and trade salt. In this way, Jingzhou will take all the natural insurance of the Yangtze River.
Even when necessary, it doesn't matter if Danyang County and Wu County are given over to Xuzhou. As long as Yuzhang County and Kuaiji County are preserved, Jingzhou will be completely surrounded by Jiaozhou.
Wouldn’t it be more cost-effective to capture Jiaozhou when the time comes than wasting time in Yangzhou?
Once Jiaozhou is captured, Yizhou can be surrounded from both sides.
I heard that Liu Jiyu was weak and incompetent, and rebellions broke out in Yizhou. The people of Dongzhou and the locals of Yizhou were in the same situation, so I can take advantage of this.
It’s just that Kuai Yue knew that Liu Biao would not listen to him.
Because Liu Biao's character is ruthless and stable.
Liu Biao's ruthlessness lies in his courage to fight to the death in the face of a crisis, and his cruel methods, regardless of the consequences.
But his stability lies in the fact that he must look forward and backward unless he is facing the abyss.
For example, he clearly plotted against Xichuan, but he always did it piecemeal and did not dare to make big bets.
Liu He was sent to Yizhou to incite the rebellion of the local powerful in Yizhou, but he did not dare to directly send troops to respond due to his reputation. It was ridiculous to sit back and watch Gan Ning and others being suppressed by Liu Zhang.
It is true that Liu Biao's political skills are quite strong. In just a few years after entering Jingzhou, he has established a force loyal to Liu Biao through marriage and kinship. However, after gaining capital, Liu Biao behaved badly. He is becoming more and more stingy, and is far less heroic than when he rode into Jingzhou alone.
Moreover, Cai Degui's plan seems to reconcile the conflicts between the two factions, but in fact it is still on the side of the Jingzhou native faction.
Because it meets the biggest needs of the local faction, which is to sell excess grain and buy scarce salt.
So the Kuai Yue brothers were happy to support Cai Mao.
Sure enough, just as Kuai Yue guessed, Liu Biao was really moved after hearing Cai Mao's words.
Because in Liu Biao's eyes, Cai Mao's plan has a small investment and a big harvest. It is a typical example of using small to make a big difference. However, this plan is not perfect. Its biggest drawback is that it will cause more troubles in the future.
Because capturing Yuzhang is equivalent to handing over the strategic initiative, the key to whether Yuzhang can be taken into the stomach will not lie with Liu Biao and Jingzhou, but with the changes in the situation in Jiangdong.
I don’t know whether Liu Biao was incapable of wisdom or deliberately ignored it. He only saw how to use small things to make a big difference, but could not see the flaws behind it.
"Okay, if that's the case, let's go with De Gui's plan."
In fact, Liu Biao did have his own plan, and it was not as unbearable as Kuai Yue thought.
Kuai Liang's words that Xuzhou is not without food deeply moved Liu Biao, making him realize that Xuzhou is only short of food, not without food.
If Liu Bei is really angered by his actions along the river to rob Liu Yao, and the other party squeezes out food to fight with him, then Jingzhou may not be able to hold on, because at that time it is very likely It was Liu Biao who was one against three.
Even if Liu Yao's old men defected to Liu Bei, they would not support him, let alone having Yuan Gongdao next to him with a deep hatred.
Coupled with the high price of salt in Jingzhou, Liu Biao thought twice and chose to play it safe.
Liu Pan and Zhang Yun did not have any objections to Liu Biao's decision. For them, although it was best to go to Jiangdong, it was not unacceptable to attack Yuzhang instead.
Liu He seemed to want to say something, but finally swallowed it.
Although Liu He was from Nanyang, he was closer to Liu Biao and could be regarded as Liu Biao's local spokesperson in Jingzhou, so he was treated as a separate person by Liu Zheng.
Therefore, Liu He has always worked hard to reconcile the relationship between Liu Biao and the local scholars in Jingzhou, and at the same time, he is more biased towards Liu Biao's requirements when making decisions.
It’s just that in the past six months, Liu He’s health has gotten worse and worse, forcing him to think about his future affairs.
Subsequently, Liu Biao and others discussed the exchange ratio and quantity of grain for salt.
No one had any objections to the exchange quantity, especially Kuai, Cai, Liu and others who strongly agreed that more is better, and even asked Liu Biao to order Huang Zu to send a fleet to participate in the transaction.
There was only a little disagreement when it came to the exchange ratio of grain for salt.
Because the power over salt was in the hands of Liu Biao, Liu Biao hoped that the state government would purchase the surplus grain of the noble people in Jingzhou at a fixed price, and then exchange it for Xuzhou's salt at a fixed price.
As soon as this was said, Cai Mao, Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, Deng Yi and others fiercely opposed it. Even Liu He, who had always been on Liu Biao's side, did not agree.
But Liu Biao's attitude was extremely firm and said that the price could be negotiated, but this model could not be changed.
The reason why Liu Biao's attitude was so resolute was that if he let go, half of the monopoly power he had finally won would be abolished. Secondly, the benefits are too great, especially the presence of frosting sugar and snow salt.
For Liu Biao, taking Jiangdong is naturally the best choice.
It was precisely because of his desire for Jiangdong that Liu Biao did not tell the truth to Kuai Yue and others. At least the news about Shuangtang and Xueyan was concealed by Liu Biao.
Liu Biao was worried that these two things would affect the judgment of the Jingzhou nobles and make them more inclined to exchange for salt with Xuzhou.
But Liu Biao did not expect that even the news of these two things would be given to him. Although it was concealed, these local scholars were still so strongly opposed to Xia Jiangdong's strategy.
After the plan to go to Jiangdong was rejected, Liu Biao did not want to give up this benefit, and simply made up his mind to live alone.
After a fierce confrontation, Liu Biao finally agreed to levy corn, barley, wheat and rice at one hundred and eighty cents per stone, and two hundred and fifty cents per stone no matter what price Xuzhou gave. The price of rice, millet and soybeans is levied at 300 qian per shi, Liangmi (high-quality millet) is levied at 300 qian per shi, and tempeh is levied at 450 qian per shi.
At the same time, Liu Biao also promised to sell Xuzhou salt at a price of 1,200 qian per shi, supplying at least 150,000 shi to the families present.
To be fair, Liu Biao’s price is not excessive, but his appearance is really ugly.
This naked rejection of the Jingzhou nobles to eat alone not only made all the nobles present quite uncomfortable, but also made Kuai Yue begin to doubt Liu Biao's intentions.
He knew Liu Biao too well. Liu Biao would not take risks unless he came to Linyuan.
But this time, Liu Biao took a risk.
Liu Biao did not hesitate to break up with the local gentry in Jingzhou, but also wanted to intervene in the middle.
This made Kuai Yue even more suspicious of how much benefit was hidden in it, which actually made Liu Biao so tough.
In fact, Kuai Yue guessed that Liu Biao insisted on blocking a path in the middle. Apart from the salt, his biggest intention was to monopolize frost sugar and snow salt, two things worth thousands of gold.
If this is done well, the profit can even be three to five times that of exchanging grain for salt.
“Xeno, things don’t seem quite right.”
After arriving home, Kuai Liang spoke first. Apparently Kuai Liang also noticed something abnormal.
Kuai Yue nodded: "There must be something we don't know about."
Kuai Liang glanced at his brother and half-suggested: "Then what do we do? Okay?"
Kuai Yue seemed to have made up his mind a long time ago and replied: "Send someone to Xuzhou to have a look. I heard that Xuzhou Ambassador Liu is also a clan member of the Han Dynasty. He is good at warfare and has good political skills. Linghe can resist Cao Mengde on the outside and surrender to injustice on the inside. If you can have a good relationship with him, it may not be a good thing." br>
Kuai Liang nodded in agreement, and then suddenly remembered something: "By the way, I heard that Zhuge Yigong is still in Xuzhou, and he is still a member of Langya in Xuzhou. Don't you have old friends with him? You can write to him. "
Kuai Yue nodded in agreement: "Yes, I will compile a book and send it to Xuzhou. "
In addition to the Kuai brothers, Cai Mao and others were also very worried after returning. , but they didn’t think as deeply as the Kuai brothers, and they were not as bold as they actually wanted to directly bypass Liu Biao and contact Xuzhou.
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On the second day after returning to Tancheng, Liu Feng went to visit Zang Ai.
Zang Ai naturally knew that Liu Feng was the former Mi Feng.
Even though he was deceived, he couldn't be angry at all. The other party was using a conspiracy. Not to mention himself, his resourceful father also fell into the trap.
After receiving the news of Liu Feng's visit, Zang Ai and his brothers and sisters waited at the door early.
After Liu Feng got out of the car, he walked quickly to Zang Ai, held his hand, and shouted affectionately: "Shiqin, I haven't seen you for a long time. We are really busy with things. He was sent to Guangling by his father before. I went to Qu County again and came back yesterday. I came to see you when I had time. "
Zang Ai, courtesy name Shiqin.
Zang Ai was obviously caught off guard by Liu Feng's enthusiasm.
He was actually a little guilty and ashamed of meeting Liu Feng.
In Zang Ai's understanding, it was not Liu Feng who bought grain and harmed him, but his father's separatist rule in Kaiyang and his disobedience to the state government, which attracted Liu Bei's counter-rebellion.
After Liu Bei won the victory, he ignored the past grudges and re-employed Zang Ba. Now when he saw Liu Feng, his attitude was as amiable as when they first met. Zang Ai felt very ashamed.
Zang Ai hesitated for a long time, but finally said: "Master, I am ashamed of myself." "Why did Shi Qin say this?"
Liu Feng took the other person's hand and looked at Zang Ai's two younger brothers: "Shiqin, I have to trouble you to introduce me."
Zang Ai hurriedly introduced, His two younger brothers are named Zang Shun and Zang He. The older one is eleven years old and the younger one is seven or eight years old.
Afterwards, Zang Ai introduced Liu Feng into the main hall and served him tea.
After a few polite words, Liu Feng brought the topic onto the right track: "Shiqin, I am here specifically to ask you to come out and help me in Xuzhou."
Zang Ai was taken aback and didn't understand what Liu Feng meant.
Liu Feng then said: "Shi Qin is not aware of anything. Now the country of Pengcheng is in ruins and waiting for prosperity. Mi Zhu has been appointed by my father to be the prime minister of Pengcheng. I would like to recommend you to come out and serve as the county magistrate of Pengcheng." I wonder if Shiqin is willing to take the post of magistrate."
Zang Ai was even more surprised. He didn't expect Liu Feng to ask him to be the county magistrate.
His father is the Prime Minister in Rencheng. Are you going to let him go to Pengcheng to be the county magistrate?
Pengcheng is very close to Renchengguo. It only takes two or three days to get there by water.
After the shock, a strong feeling of gratitude came over me.
This feeling of trust moved Zang Ai, who was always an honest person.
"Master Meng will not give up, and Ai Bi will do his best to govern the place and appease the people."
Liu Feng was overjoyed and helped Zang Ai up: "Shiqin, there is one more thing I want to do. Excuse me."
Zang Ai cupped his hands and said, "Young Master, I am willing to do my best."
Liu Feng then briefly described Pengcheng's plan.
There are mainly two parts. The first part is to recruit and gather the refugees, and then resettle them to work in the fields. The state government will provide rations, seeds, farm tools and clothing, and the harvest will be divided into 50 and 50.
The other part is to dig mines, increase the output of iron ore and coal mines, and transport them to Tieying in Xiapi.
The current decision is to recruit 3,000 miners, and each person will be paid five dan of grain and five hundred dollars per month.
Liu Feng originally wanted to add disability and death benefits, but after thinking about it, he gave up.
Firstly, the force of opposition will be very strong. Secondly, if the conditions are so good, the people will suspect there is some conspiracy. Thirdly, the most important thing right now is the war. If we lose the battle to compete for the world, then what we do now Everything will be fleeting and useless.
The reason why the salary is set so high is because miners also need to support their families, and the work is very heavy, so Liu Feng tried his best to increase the salary as much as possible.
It is no exaggeration to say that this treatment is much better than that of miners recruited by the Eastern Han Dynasty in the past. Even the miners who were officially recruited were only paid about two-thirds of this. As for criminals such as prisoners, iron slaves, or The remuneration for serving in the labor force is extremely poor.
After explaining the specific affairs, Liu Feng made a request, hoping that Zang Ai could recommend several talents for him. Now Pengcheng Kingdom is full of waste and is very short of capable officials.
Zang Ai didn't understand what Liu Feng meant at first, so Liu Feng had no choice but to explain his intention directly, asking him to recommend Sun Yu, Chang Rong and others to serve as officials.
After listening to Liu Feng's request, Zang Ai was shocked again. He felt that Liu Feng and Liu Bei, father and son, were really magnanimous and had such a big heart.
Zang Ai's father was still a local snake in Kaiyang five months ago, disobeying Liu Bei's orders.
Now he has suddenly changed into the Prime Minister of Rencheng and has become a feudal official with two thousand stones. I heard that he will continue to expand his army in the near future.
Now Liu Feng has personally come forward to recruit Zang Ai, Sun Yu, Chang Rong, the second generation of the Taishan Party, to serve as officials. They started out as county magistrates and county magistrates.
Although it is a completely empty land waiting to be renovated, the assistance, funds and materials provided by the state government are really huge.
Zang Ai felt that if they couldn't do it despite so much help, then they might as well just go home and have a baby.
So Zang Ai gave Liu Feng a guarantee, and he would be responsible for Sun Yu and Changrong's affairs.
Liu Feng followed the good advice and agreed.
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Danyang County governs Wanling City.
After Zhou Yu finished reading the letter, he put it on the desk and his eyes fell on the letter, but in fact he was wandering in the sky.
This is Sun Ce’s third letter in the past two months.
After Sun Ce captured Qu'a, he immediately sent a letter to Zhou Yu, hoping that he could persuade Zhou Shang to raise troops to respond to him.
Zhou Shang was a little excited at this time, but Zhou Yu became cautious instead.
Don’t blame Zhou Yu for being careless, because in the past two months, Liu Feng wrote him six letters, which was twice as many as Sun Ce.
Although Sun Ce didn't know it, his strategy in the letter was completely blown away by Liu Feng.
This is also an important reason why Zhou Yu became cautious.
Sun Ce is actually very smart. Not only is his tactics superb, his strategic vision is also very good, but he is also decisive and tenacious. He really inherited many of Sun Jian's strengths.
Sun Ce was keenly aware that the key to whether he could sweep Jiangdong lay in Zhou Shang.
As long as Zhou Shang can sneak attack Niu Zhu, Liu Yao will definitely be unable to defend him.
This is not to say how strong Zhou Shang's military ability is, but once Zhou Shang betrays the enemy, it means that the entire Danyang County cannot be trusted, and Liu Yao will lose his last foothold.
This had an extremely huge impact on Liu Yaojun's military morale.
To give the simplest example, in the original time and space, after Lu Bu succeeded in the sneak attack on Xiapi, he actually only had more than 3,000 troops in total, which was not enough to defend Xiapi City. Liu Bei immediately brought 10,000 troops back He wanted to get reinforcements and wanted to take Xiapi again.
But the result was disastrous. The ten thousand people walked to Xiapi City and dispersed without fighting.
The reason is that confidence has collapsed, and the families of these people are all in Xiapi City.
In the letter, Liu Feng gave Zhou Yu a detailed analysis of Sun Ce's flaws and weaknesses, as well as Zhou Shang's importance and danger.
The most important thing is, even if the Zhou family helps the Sun family sweep Jiangdong, what will they get?
Especially two sentences deeply moved Zhou Yu.
The first sentence is that when Sun Jiaquan took Jiangdong, it was the day Zhou Shang resigned from Danyang.
The second sentence is that Yuan Shu is more afraid of the Zhou family than he is of the Sun family.
The reason is very simple. The Zhou family is the largest family in Huaisi with two sons and three sons, and its momentum is extremely strong.
Don't look at the descendants of Sun Wu and other four major Jiangdong families, these people are not worthy of carrying shoes for the Zhou family.
During the period of the Second Emperor Huan Ling, the Zhou family actually had a strong upward momentum. If the Eastern Han Dynasty could be stable for another twenty or thirty years, the Zhou family would at least be a family with three generations and three fathers.
Unfortunately, after Zhou Yu died of his injuries, the Zhou family immediately withdrew from the stage of history.
After Zhou Yu calmed down, he deduced it carefully and found that it was exactly what Liu Feng said in his heart.
If the Sun family really drives away Liu Yao and seizes Jiangdong, the Zhou family will not be able to keep the territory of Danyang.
Judging from Yuan Shu's past performance, it is true that the number of his disciples and former officials plus the generals of the Sun family is 50/50. Other descendants of the gentry who are not Yuan Shu's disciples and former officials can hardly get a share of the cake in his hands, and often Will also become a victim.
If this is the case, what the Zhou family really needs to do now is to help Liu Yao stabilize the situation.
Zhou Yu carefully took out another letter, which was the one recently sent by Liu Feng.
In this letter, Liu Feng not only told Zhou Yu without any concealment that Liu Yao had asked Xuzhou for help, but Xuzhou had also agreed.
The army is currently stationed in Guangling and will soon cross the river to station in Jiangcheng County.
Just because of the shortage of food, large-scale crossing of the river is currently not possible. I hope that the Zhou family can stand on Liu Yao's side and stabilize the situation.
Liu Feng also tried his best to invite Zhou Yu to Xuzhou as a guest, and secretly said that if Zhou Yu was interested in Xuzhou, Xuzhou would have already been vacant.
Compared with Liu Feng's enthusiasm and sincerity, Sun Ce is very insincere. The whole article is full of nostalgia and nostalgia, and there is no actual commitment.
Although Zhou Yu also knew that Sun Ce did not have much real power to reward his merits.
It's okay to help a brother, especially a brother you admire.
But if your family has to pay a heavy price to help your brothers, this is unjustifiable, and there is no way to explain it to your family.
(End of this chapter)