My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 326 Sheng Xian's Appeal
Sheng Xianren was muddle-headed, but Prime Minister Zhu came with a mission, and it wasn't just him; Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang were all present.

Otherwise, even with the resources of the Zhu family alone, they wouldn't have been able to obtain such a complete map.

But now it seems that Liu Feng isn't as easy to talk to as I thought.

Zhu Xiang felt a heavy weight in his heart. He still had a trump card, but only one. And that trump card wasn't some easy benefit like a map; it was a real drain on his resources.

Therefore, not only did Zhu Xiang himself feel this way, but his nephew Zhu Huan, the head of his household, also instructed him to avoid using his trump cards if possible.

However, judging from the current progress, it's highly likely that we won't be able to save our trump cards.

"correct."

Liu Feng, seated in the main seat, raised his cup to Sheng Xian and Zhu Xiang, inviting them to join him. He said, "I have heard that when you, Lord Sheng, were being pursued by the villain Xu Gong, you once hid in Xu Zhao's house. I wonder if this is true?"

"This is true!"

Sheng Xian put down his wine cup and said solemnly, "In the past, I was forced into a desperate situation by the traitor Xu. Fortunately, Kong Wen saved me and I was able to escape. Later, the traitor Xu still refused to give up. Kong Wen had no choice but to think of Xu Mingjun, who was righteous and helped those in need and was not afraid of violence. So he went to him for help."

Xu Zhao, courtesy name Mingjun, was a native of Yuhang in Wu County.

Historically, there are very few examples of people with the same name who have achieved lasting fame and belong to the same era.

But Xu Zhao was an exception.

He achieved a remarkable feat in the same era, with all three yolks appearing in the same place, a historical record and a historical miracle.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, three Xu Zhaos who left their mark on history emerged from Jiangdong, and all of them were related to the Sun family.

The first was the rebel Xu Zhao, who wreaked havoc in Kuaiji, attacking cities and seizing territory, and was eventually defeated by Sun Jian.

The second was the assassin Xu Zhao, a retainer of Xu Gong. He successfully assassinated Sun Jian's son, Sun Ce, and was the leader of the three assassins, as well as the one whose name was recorded among the three.

The third was the powerful Xu Zhao, who sheltered Sheng Xian, Xu Gong, Yan Baihu, and others. They were eventually pardoned by Sun Ce and escaped death.

The Xu Zhao that Liu Feng is referring to now is the powerful Xu Zhao.

This person's abilities are unknown, but he has a reputation for righteousness and comes from a powerful family. He is not closely related to the four major families of Jiangdong.

Liu Feng was already considering this, which is why he asked Sheng Xian about Xu Zhao's situation.

Upon hearing Xu Zhao's name, Prime Minister Zhu could no longer sit still, but he still forced himself to remain calm. If he were to reveal his trump card now, it would be too blatant.

"Xu Mingjun truly lived up to his name, taking Gao Kongwen and me into his residence and treating us with courtesy, visiting us morning and evening. He is a true righteous man."

Sheng Xian praised Xu Zhao highly, and only then did he ask Liu Feng, "What is the general's intention?"

Liu Feng smiled and replied, "I have long heard of Xu Zhao's reputation. Now that I have just entered Jiangdong, I am short of people by my side, so I would like to give him a try."

Sheng Xian exclaimed with delight, "To be noticed by the general is truly a great honor for Xu Mingjun!"

Everyone praised and laughed, which made Prime Minister Zhu's face very ugly, but he still had to hold up his wine glass and force a smile to applaud.

After the matter had finally passed, Zhu Xiang suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Liu Feng.

Those who behave in this way at a banquet usually have something important to say.

Therefore, the laughter of the people around immediately stopped, and all eyes fell on Zhu Xiang.

As expected, after Zhu Xiang finished his formalities, he respectfully asked, "General, your army has been resting in Wuxi for many days. May I ask when you plan to send troops south?"

This issue concerning Prime Minister Zhu is not only significant, but also highly sensitive.

It's clearly inappropriate for someone like you, who came from Sun Ce's territory, to ask such a sensitive question.

However, Zhu Xiang had just presented a map, indicating his willingness to surrender. If we do not respond, we risk losing the hearts of the people of Jiangdong.

After all, the date of the troop deployment was not a particularly sensitive secret; everyone in Jiangdong knew that Liu Feng's southward march to Wu County was imminent.

Now that the Jiangdong gentry have already sent you maps, it would indeed seem petty and distrustful to keep the date of your troop deployment a secret.

"Military action may be launched within a month."

Liu Feng considered carefully and said, "Currently, the grain and military supplies are being transported. If there are any unforeseen circumstances, it may be delayed for some time."

Now Liu Feng's army has grown to tens of thousands of men, and the logistical pressure on military supplies is no less than that on food.

In a fierce battle, a soldier might need to change weapons two or three times, and his armor would need to be repaired or even replaced.

After all, most soldiers didn't have iron armor; some only had half-body leather armor. Those who could wear full leather armor were already the main force's elite troops. Add to that arrows, medicine, clothing, and other supplies, and the amount of transport required was quite staggering.

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Zhu was overjoyed; this was truly a perfect connection.

"General!"

Zhu Xiang said excitedly, "Our great families in Jiangdong have been waiting for the Southern Expedition as parents do for their children. With the help of all families, we have stockpiled 30,000 shi of grain, 20,000 arrows, 50 longbows, and 500 long and short weapons outside Wu County for the army's use."

Oh open!

Liu Feng's heart stirred. Seeing Zhu Xiang's excited appearance, he couldn't help but become suspicious.

Why did Prime Minister Zhu speak so excitedly right after he had expressed his concern for Gao Dai, Xu Zhao, and others? It all seemed like he was vying for favor.

Although Liu Feng harbored his inner grievances, his face revealed a look of shock and emotion.

“These families are all families of righteous men.”

Liu Feng feigned emotion and said, "With the strength of all the generals, Sun Quan is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot; he only has himself to blame."

Zhu Xiang was overjoyed, but before he could say anything, he heard Liu Feng change the subject and say, "It's a pity that the 30,000 shi of grain is only enough for my army for half a month. I'm afraid it will be difficult to take Wu County within half a month."

Zhu Xiang blinked, somewhat unable to believe his ears.

What does Liu Feng mean by this?
It sounds like they're going to raise the price.

Zhu Xiang raised his head, only to see Liu Feng staring intently at him. He was immediately overwhelmed and speechless.

Seeing that Zhu Xiang dared not speak, Liu Feng deliberately sighed: "I will not hide it from you, Zhu Jun. If the righteous men can provide 100,000 shi of grain, I will send troops south tomorrow."

To be honest, the fact that the four major families, together with the powerful clans of Wu County, pooled together 30,000 shi of grain was quite a show of sincerity.

After all, their 30,000 shi of grain didn't need to be transported; it was waiting right outside Wu County.

Just for this one point, the value should be increased by at least 10,000 shi.

But Liu Feng didn't see it that way. From his perspective, the so-called Four Great Families of Jiangdong were nothing more than four Wu County gentry families.

Gu Yong and his son, Zhang Yun and his son, and Zhu Huan and his son all possessed considerable talent, at least comparable to those of prefectural or county officials.

However, in Liu Feng's eyes, they were no longer necessities. The Liu family, which had a large number of famous scholars in the Central Plains, really did not need Gu Yong and a few others.

If Liu Feng were a little more ruthless, he could have simply brought the four major families into Sun Ce's ranks and then devoured them; it would have just required a bit more effort.

On the contrary, the Lu family, which is currently the weakest, is the one that Liu Feng values ​​the most.

To obtain Lu Yi, Liu Feng wouldn't actually need to exert much effort. In fact, given the current situation, if Liu Feng showed even the slightest sign of valuing Lu Yi, the Lu family would probably beg and plead to send Lu Yi to serve under Liu Feng.

In the end, Prime Minister Zhu could not agree, but he did not dare to refuse openly either, and only said that he would discuss it when he returned.

Liu Feng naturally agreed without hesitation, nodding in consent.

The next day, Sheng Xian appeared in Wuxi City, where he was immediately greeted with great enthusiasm by the local gentry and powerful families.

When Sheng Xian expressed his support for Liu Feng and his obedience to the imperial court, the powerful clans and gentry of Wuxi also immediately expressed their willingness to follow the order to conquer the south.

Seeing this, Liu Feng was somewhat taken aback. No wonder the Emperor couldn't tolerate Sheng Xian anymore. Even Liu Feng himself was surprised by Sheng Xian's reputation.

I knew you were famous, but I didn't know you were famous this much.

Fortunately, Sheng Xian now truly regarded Liu Feng as his benefactor and savior, which stemmed from Sheng Xian's life of hiding and fleeing for the past few years.

He was tired of living a precarious and fearful life, and Liu Feng's outward respect for him and his private intimacy made Sheng Xian quite satisfied.

Therefore, Sheng Xian spared no effort in supporting Liu Feng.

Leaving aside other matters, at Sheng Xian's urging and request, the powerful clans of Wuxi joined forces to donate 25,000 shi of grain, 1,000 able-bodied laborers, and a certain amount of military equipment and clothing to Liu Feng.

When Liu Feng received the donation, he was both angry and amused. These sweet-talkers were simply too much. He hadn't even started a massacre when he breached the city, and they all looked as obedient as dogs, yet they only donated 10,000 shi of grain and 500 laborers.

As a result, now that Shengxian has given an order, you have directly taken out 25,000 shi (a unit of dry measure).
If Liu Zhengnan weren't concerned about his reputation, he would have really used the handle of his knife to have a heart-to-heart talk with these "sweethearts."

But no matter how jealous Liu Feng was, Sheng Xian was indeed doing his best to cheer for Liu Feng, and Liu Feng could not deny this contribution.

Liu Feng hesitated at this moment regarding Sheng Xian's arrangements.

In Sheng Xian's heart, he really didn't want to continue being an official; he just wanted to find a place to live in seclusion.

But what can he do when his hometown is in Kuaiji?
Otherwise, he could have easily returned to his hometown long ago, but there was no way to do so in Kuaiji. Since ancient times, Wu and Kuaiji have been inseparable, otherwise why would there be the saying of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai in the future?

The close ties between Wu and Hui are also an important legal basis for Fujian's insistence that it is also part of the free shipping zone.

Good news kept coming in. Petitions from powerful clans and wealthy families in Piling, Qu'a, and even Dantu were received, hoping that the Emperor Shengxian could tour the area.

With Sheng Xian's prestige so high, Liu Feng couldn't help but have a thought.

Could we recommend Sheng Xian as the Prefect of Wu Commandery, oust Xu Gong, and then appoint our own subordinates to important positions such as Prefectural Assistant, Commandant, Chief Clerk, Registrar, and Clerk of the Five Offices, so as to control the administration of the commandery?

Judging from Sheng Xian's behavior and personality, he would only be happy about Liu Feng's usurpation of power, and would not feel the slightest dissatisfaction.

This method could also help Liu Feng take control of Wu Commandery more quickly.

To give a simple example, Liu Feng previously squeezed out 10,000 shi of grain by exploiting people's bones and marrow in Wuxi.

But Shengxian received an extra 25,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) with just one sentence.

It seems unbelievable that Sun Ce could maintain an army of 40,000 in Wu Commandery.

In reality, if he could truly gain the full support of the powerful clans and gentry of Wu County, he could support 80,000 troops, though it wouldn't be for long; he would have to expand rapidly outwards.

Yuan Shu did the same thing.

Back in Nanyang, Yuan Shu supported his own army of 60,000 men with the resources of just one prefecture, while also supporting Sun Ce's army of 40,000 men.

Although there is a saying that Nanyang is equivalent to a province, we must not overlook the fact that Yuan Shu was also indulging in extravagance and waste, as well as Sun Jian's series of battles.

A major battle is extremely costly, and Sun Ce was fighting one battle after another when he was campaigning against Dong Zhuo. While fighting Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao also sent the Zhou brothers to raid his base in Yu Province, and then he fought the Battle of Yangcheng.

Despite all this turmoil, Nanyang County managed to hold on for a full four years.

It is evident that the various prefectures and kingdoms were actually quite wealthy at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Why was it that in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, a feudal lord of a commandery could easily raise an army of 20,000 to 30,000 men, while in the early Three Kingdoms period, when Sun Quan was fighting Cao Cao with all his might, he only had 50,000 men, and even when Cao Cao was at his peak and marched south, he only had 200,000 men?

The root cause lies in the fact that the resources of various prefectures and kingdoms have been exhausted. Even the powerful clans and wealthy families have no surplus grain, and some have even lost their population.

Therefore, the fact that Sun Ce only had 40,000 troops in Wu Commandery, which had not experienced much warfare, and that Yuan Shu was providing him with supplies across the river, shows that Sun Ce was indeed unpopular.

This is the advantage of having the support of the local gentry and powerful families.

This is one of the reasons why Liu Feng made extensive use of orphans from Liu'er Camp to serve as local officials.

After much deliberation, Liu Feng decided to first grant Sheng Xian the title of military advisor, allowing him to tour the three cities and raise provisions for himself.

As for the governor of Wu Commandery, I'll consider it more carefully later.

Sheng Xian had no objection to Liu Feng's arrangements and set off by boat for Piling, full of enthusiasm. Zhu Xiang, on the other hand, left Wuxi the next day and returned to Wu County.

********
Luoyang, the General's Mansion.

Cao Cao was dealing with government affairs when he saw Xun Yu rushing over.

Xi Zhong was still recuperating in Xuzhou at this time, and his health was getting better and better, and he was recovering quite well.

However, intelligence gathering could not be left unattended, so Cao Cao entrusted the task to Xun Yu.

Hearing footsteps, Cao Cao looked up and saw that it was Xun Yu. He casually threw down his pen and smiled at him, "Wenruo, what's the matter that you're so flustered?"

Xun Yu quickly walked up to Cao Cao and bowed respectfully.

Seeing the other party bow, Cao Cao's dark face showed a helpless expression: "Wenruo, how many times have I told you, between you and me, we are nominally master and subject, but in reality, we are good friends. Why be so bound by formalities?"

It wasn't that Cao Cao didn't want to say they were brothers, but rather that he wasn't worthy to say it.

Even though he is now a great general, if he dares to address Xun Yu as a brother, it will only make Xun Yu resentful and alienate him.

This is where family background comes into play. No matter how successful Cao Cao became, his roots were in a family of eunuchs.

Why did Bian Rang dare to be so ungrateful and confront Cao Cao? Wasn't it because of Cao Cao's background?

If Cao Cao had come from a noble family, Bian Rang might have opposed him, but he would never have dared to insult him, because if he had, the other noble families would have condemned him for being ungrateful.

But Liu Bei was different. Not to mention his divinely inspired influence in this regard, the mere fact that he was a member of the imperial clan was enough to solve all problems.

As a member of the imperial clan, I'm calling you brother. Regardless of whether I'm down on my luck or not, I am, after all, of imperial blood. Calling you brother is hardly an insult.

After Xun Yu finished his formalities, he sat down opposite Cao Cao and replied solemnly, "General, etiquette cannot be disregarded."

Cao Cao nodded helplessly; he and Xun Yu were not actually close.

Because the two people's personalities, backgrounds, family circumstances, and principles of conduct are actually very different.

Xun Yu joined Cao Cao because he believed that Cao Cao was capable and could save the Han Dynasty.

The two are like-minded comrades, but they are by no means brothers who share the same ideals and interests.

"What happened?"

Cao Cao looked curious: "I actually made you come all this way in person."

Xun Yu had his own office courtyard in the General's Mansion, and he had more than ten officials under his command.

Under normal circumstances, Xun Yu would not come to Cao Cao's side. He had heavy responsibilities and simply did not have the leisure time.

Therefore, since Xun Yu has arrived, the matter must be quite significant.

Sure enough, Xun Yu then said, "News has come from the south that Liu Feng has captured Wuxi, and Xu Kun led his remaining troops to escape through the south gate in the dead of night."

"hiss!"

Cao Cao was greatly surprised: "So fast?"

Xun Yu's face also showed a hint of surprise, and he nodded in agreement.

Cao Cao, Xun Yu, and others had discussed that if Liu Feng could capture Piling before the end of the year, it would be a great victory.

Cao Cao himself can be considered one of the strongest military strategists of his time, while Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Man Chong, and others can also be considered first-rate military strategists.

Their judgment is based on sound reasoning.

At least the plan for Wu Jing and Xu Kun to fortify each city and resist step by step had already been guessed by Cao Cao and Xun Yu.

Based on this, Cao Cao put himself in Liu Feng's shoes and calculated the strength of his Qingzhou army.

"How could this be... Ouch!"

Cao Cao was so excited that he couldn't help but ask again how it could have happened so quickly. However, in his excitement, he accidentally plucked out a hair from his beard and cried out in pain.

Xun Yu, however, did not mock the other party, but instead gave a detailed account: "After Liu Zheng crossed the river, he proceeded slowly, paying homage to Liu Yao at Niuzhu, meeting Xue Li at Moling, and seeing Zuo Rong at Jurong. But after Jurong, he selected his elite troops, crossed the Xiangcao River, and rushed straight to the city of Qu'a, annihilating Sun's army of three thousand in one battle."

Cao Cao clicked his tongue and exclaimed, "This is the method of using speed to defeat slowness."

Cao Cao was unaware that Liu Feng had learned this trick from an old spies who had a very close relationship with the Cao family. This old spies' three most glorious achievements in their lives were almost all due to this trick.

At this time, Lao Yinbi had just turned twenty and was still studying at home.

"What about Piling and Wuxi? They can't hold them off no matter what..."

Cao Cao realized his mistake halfway through his sentence: "That's right, once Qu'a is taken down, I'm afraid Piling will no longer dare to defend itself. If I were to arrange the troops, Piling's army would not exceed two thousand, and they would definitely wait for the troops from Qu'a to retreat and regroup to defend the city together."

Cao Cao had a keen eye and guessed the truth almost immediately.

(End of this chapter)