My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 528 The Grand Plan to Conquer Shu
Liu Feng did not expect that Lu Xun's opinion would be unanimously agreed upon by Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Du Ji, Du Xi, Gu Shao, Han Ji and others.

If civil officials are like this, one can only imagine how the military generals are.

It's just that Taishi Ci, Zhao Yun, He Qi, Gao Shun, Jia Kui, Zhou Yu, and others were far away in various places; otherwise, they would probably have been even more enthusiastic than these civil officials.

Liu Feng understood this to some extent. It was always a good thing for a subject to have the ambition to make contributions. Moreover, people like Lu Xun and Zhuge Liang were not the type to put personal interests before public ones, so this matter was feasible.

However, Liu Feng did not agree immediately. Instead, he recalled Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Lu Xun, and others to take full charge of the plan to conquer Shu.

The requirements are: first, secrecy; second, feasibility; and third, stability.

After handing over the task, Liu Feng continued westward to resume his inspection of the newly established counties.

By late December, Liu Feng had arrived in Xiangyang.

Except for the southern part of Kuaiji, which was too far away and inconvenient to travel to, he visited most of the newly built counties in Danyang and Yuzhang.

The inspection was quite successful. Most of the officials from Liu'er Camp were not corrupted by money and power. This was not because all of them were selfless, but because of Liu Feng's multi-pronged and targeted measures.

Liu Feng not only taught these people in his early education, but also listed the corrupting methods commonly used by powerful and wicked people.

The first approach Liu Feng adopted was to offer high salaries to encourage integrity.

As a person from later generations, Liu Feng had little to say about the Ming Dynasty's official salary system. Such a stingy salary system would only encourage corruption and would not have any positive effect whatsoever.

When a county magistrate can't even support his family, is it possible to expect him not to be corrupt?
There was probably only one Hai Rui in the entire Ming Dynasty.

On the contrary, during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, the "anti-corruption allowance" system implemented by the emperor did indeed have a certain deterrent effect. At the very least, this system provided officials who did not want to be corrupt with the means to maintain their positions, rather than forcing them into corruption under various circumstances.

Since Liu Feng came to power, Xuzhou has implemented two comprehensive salary increases, each time by as much as 10%. However, of this 10% increase, 60% went to the bottom level, 30% went to the middle and lower levels, and the top level was almost untouched.

Furthermore, considering the issue of currency, Liu Feng prepared a salary structure for officials within his territory, consisting mainly of grain (accounting for more than half), supplemented by cloth (accounting for 20%), salt (accounting for 20%), and currency (accounting for 10%).

The government took into account factors such as rising food prices and currency devaluation as much as possible, thus ensuring that the living standards of lower and middle-level officials did not decrease but rather increased.

Because Liu Feng knew very well that the hardest-working and most productive people were always the middle and lower-level officials.

Tax collection requires them to count the population, and land tax requires them to go to the countryside to conduct land surveys. Only by providing them with sufficient living resources can they, while not necessarily be able to treat the people well, at least ensure their motivation to do things and their obedience to the higher-ups.

Of course, everything has two sides.

Liu Feng did indeed offer many benefits and improve the treatment of officials, but at the same time, he also greatly increased the severity of punishment for corruption.

Not only were the inspection powers of the county-level inspectors strengthened, but the people were also encouraged to petition, and a special department was added to handle related matters.

Liu Feng was very harsh in punishing corrupt officials. Those who received less than two thousand coins were dismissed from office and fined, while those who received more than two thousand coins had their homes confiscated.

Such harsh punishment even drew Liu Bei's attention, but Liu Feng still refused to intervene.

The strong anti-corruption efforts, coupled with generous treatment and the suppression and admonition of local powerful families, resulted in Liu Feng's tax collection efforts far exceeding those of Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Yuan Shao. If the cost of fire tax is also taken into account, he was miles ahead of them.

The result of this multi-pronged approach was that the officials from Liu'er Camp all knew that Liu Feng hated corruption the most and that the anti-corruption efforts were unprecedentedly strong. As Liu Feng's cronies, these people had a wide path to advancement. As long as they had talent and merit, they could immediately catch Liu Feng's eye and be promoted. So they didn't need to be greedy for that little bit of money.

Ironically, it's often officials from established aristocratic families who fall victim to this. Upon investigation, nine out of ten still maintain they haven't committed corruption, claiming it's merely local custom—it's utterly ridiculous.

Along the way, Liu Feng dismissed one county magistrate, imprisoned two county magistrates and one county constable, and had the homes of seven other clerks and officials confiscated. He also reorganized the local area once again.

Upon arriving in Xiangyang, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Lu Xun, and others had already been waiting there for over half a month.

During this period, they produced an initial draft of their plan to enter Sichuan.

The initial draft of this plan to enter Shu established the general strategy of defending the north and attacking the south. Among the key points, the troops of Taishi Ci and Zhao Yun were not to be moved. Not only were they not to be moved, but some of their forces were also to be diverted to replace Zhou Yu's troops.

The main force for this campaign into Shu consisted of Kuai Yue, Zhou Yu, He Qi, Gao Shun, and the navy.

Among them, online trolls are of paramount importance.

One advantage here is that, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, apart from the Jiangdong and Jingzhou forces, other powers did not place much importance on naval forces. Even a powerful figure like Yuan Shao's navy could not compete with the navies of Jingzhou and Yangzhou, and it couldn't even defeat Liu Zhang's navy in Yizhou.

Yuan Shao and Cao Cao generally did not value their naval forces, so naturally they would not pay attention to the movements of Liu Feng's naval forces.

Compared to the navy, they undoubtedly valued the armies of Taishi Ci, Zhao Yun, and Jia Kui more. Their spies and intelligence agents also flocked to these places. In the past two years, Liu Feng had caught them more than ten times, with the number of spies and intelligence agents reaching as many as forty or fifty.

This expedition, based on the calculations of Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun, and Pang Tong, will require at least six naval units; if more could be deployed, that would naturally be even better.

Half of them flow along the Yangtze River, and the other half flow along the southern water system.

The Yangtze River is quite simple: start from Wuxian County, go upstream, and continuously capture strongholds.

This journey was not easy, with numerous passes and strongholds along the way.

Along the Yangtze River alone, there were important passes and towns such as Yufu, Quren, Linjiang, Pingdu, Huangshi, Zhicheng, and Jiangzhou.

Besides, after entering the Han River in Sichuan, there are still obstacles at Dianjiang, Anhan, Deyang, Guanghan, and Fucheng.

If you take the Jianshui River, you will also encounter obstacles at places like Fujie, Jiangyang, Han'an, Zizhong, and Niubi.

These counties and passes were all located along the river, making the navy of paramount importance.

Moreover, due to the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, large ships, especially multi-story ships, have difficulty moving upstream, and cannot travel at all.

Therefore, the value of the Mengchong was demonstrated.

The sturdy and heavy warship, though not particularly large in tonnage, can carry twenty to fifty people at a time, making it extremely suitable for this mission.

After reading the plan, Liu Feng felt that the ideas of Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun, Pang Tong and others were correct.

To enter Sichuan, one must rely on rivers for advance; otherwise, the terrifying mountainous terrain would pose a nightmare-like challenge to logistics.

However, there was a downside: they acted too hastily. This was understandable, as they had previously requested that the news be kept as secret as possible from the North.

The best way to block information is not to block it, but to resolve the battle quickly.

If the Yizhou issue can be resolved within six months, there will be no need to suppress the news. This is the high value of a swift and decisive victory.

Of course, this is impossible, unless the local forces in Yizhou collectively defect to him, just like when Huan Wen of the Eastern Jin Dynasty attacked Shu, the emperor of Cheng Han lost the support of the people, and the powerful figures from all over Shu actually stood by and watched.

Huan Wen's navy set off from Jiangling and marched straight in without any hindrance to Jianwei County. Then, they landed in an orderly manner southwest of Chengdu, and their only opponent in the decisive battle was the Cheng-Han Imperial Guard in Chengdu.

Without such good luck, let alone six months, it would probably be a stroke of good fortune to be able to take over Yizhou within two years.

After thinking it over, Liu Feng raised his hand and began to revise the plan.

"The grand plan to conquer Shu should be divided into four stages."

Liu Feng habitually began demonstrating on the hanging map.

"In the first phase, Mr. Kuai of Jiaozhou will be in full charge, with the main force consisting of He Qi's Shanyue New Army and Gao Shun's troops, supplemented by Xuezhou, Zheng Bao, and the Jiaozhou navy."

Liu Feng pointed to the three prefectures of Jiaozhi, Cangwu, and Yulin: "At this stage, the army can be divided into two routes. One route will rely on the Wen River (later known as the Pearl River) and travel west along the Wen River to Yizhou Prefecture and then north."

The Yizhou Commandery mentioned here is a commandery or kingdom under the jurisdiction of Yizhou, not Yizhou itself.

Yizhou Prefecture was located near Dianchi Lake, and the Dianchi Lake where the prefecture's capital was located is the area near Jinning, Yunnan in later times.

This road is well-established and has abundant water, making it ideal for large-scale military operations.

Decades later, Huo Yi led tens of thousands of troops eastward from here along the Wen River (Pearl River) and attacked Jiaozhou.

History has proven the smoothness and stability of this path, and Liu Feng has no reason not to use it.

"After taking Yizhou Commandery, we can rely on the Tu River to go north and attack Jianwei Commandery. The Tu River flows into the Yangtze River, and by going down the river, we can reach Bodao."

Liu Feng pointed to the location of the Bo Road, which is the confluence of the Min River and the Yangtze River. From here, one can turn into the Min River, pass through the important town of Nan'an, and reach Wuyang, the capital of Jianwei Prefecture. Wuyang is less than 100 li away from Chengdu as the crow flies, and more importantly, it is outside the mountains, consisting of vast plains and low hills, with no natural defenses.

"The other route starts from Jiaozhi, relying on the Xisui River (later the Red River), and travels northwest until it reaches the Pushui section, where it turns into the Jishui River. Then it travels to Qinzang County and takes a land route to join forces with the Wenshui (Pearl River) army. This route is a secondary route, which disperses the logistical pressure and increases the logistical supply while adding a reliable logistical line."

Listening to Liu Feng's eloquent speech and seeing the meticulous arrangements he made, Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun, and Pang Tong couldn't help but have the same question.

Are there really saints who are born with innate knowledge?
If not, how would Liu Feng explain this?

A young man from the north not only swept through the three southeastern provinces, but also knew Yizhou inside and out.

I'm afraid that even the elite sons of prominent families and powerful clans in Shu, let alone Liu Zhang and his son, wouldn't know as much about Yizhou as Liu Feng.
With doubt comes fear.

For humankind, the most feared thing is always the unknown.

The unusual behavior Liu Feng is exhibiting now is the biggest unknown for the intelligent and resourceful Zhuge Liang and his two companions.

Fortunately, this unknown person was their own lord, and a wise ruler with a broad mind who used people with sincerity, which undoubtedly alleviated their negative emotions.

Liu Feng was unaware of this and continued to express his thoughts: "I intend to entrust all military affairs in Jiaozhou to Mr. Kuai, without any checks and balances from the central government or any requirement for strategic cooperation."

The distance between the north and south is more than a thousand miles.

Furthermore, the terrain was rugged and mountainous, and in an era without telephones and telegraphs, the idea of ​​coordinating such a task was simply a pipe dream.

Rather than doing that, it's better to rely on each side to perform their own tasks, treating it as a single-pronged campaign to conquer Shu. Even if they can't coordinate well, they won't miss opportunities due to waiting, nor will they suffer defeat because of missing one opportunity.

Besides, if things were to work out by some unexpected twist of fate, it would be a wonderful surprise.

In fact, Liu Feng's plan was to launch a multi-pronged attack on Shu.

Each of these routes has the strength to independently attack Shu, and Liu Feng is quite certain that, given Liu Zhang's talent, situation, and personality, it is absolutely impossible for him to gather troops to meet one of them head-on.

There is a high probability that Liu Zhang will divide his troops to defend the city, while there is a small probability that he will concentrate his forces to besiege Chengdu.

No matter what Liu Zhang does, it's all already under Liu Feng's control.

If he could gather his elite troops and fight to the death, he might still have a slight chance of winning.

If Liu Feng's calculations had been correct, and he had divided his troops to refuse the attack and defend Chengdu, then the chances of survival would have been slim. Their only chance of survival was thanks to the extremely treacherous terrain of Shu.

Of course, there were special reasons why Liu Feng could delegate full command of the front line to Kuai Yue, just like when he conquered Jiaozhou in the south. This was not because Liu Feng blindly trusted Kuai Yue.

Now that Kuai Yue has been transferred away from his hometown of Jingzhou, all the members of his clan are with Liu Feng and under his rule, while he is all alone and far away in Jiaozhou. Although he has 100,000 troops under his command, almost all of the military commanders under his command are Liu Feng's confidants.

Leaving aside Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Lu Xun, and others, which of the generals such as He Qi, Gao Shun, Xue Zhou, Zheng Bao, Wei Yan, Huang Zhong, Wen Pin, and Liao Hua would support Kuai Yue's rebellion?

This is the source of Liu Feng's confidence in unconditionally delegating power to Kuai Yue.

Moreover, Liu Feng not only wanted to delegate power, but also wouldn't put time pressure on Kuai Yue, setting no deadline.

The central Yangtze River Army can make preparations in advance, but when to launch an attack depends on the progress of the Jiaozhou Army.

Liu Feng currently has two plans. The first plan is to wait until Kuai Yue has established a foothold in Yizhou Commandery and begins to attack Jianwei Commandery before the central Yangtze River Army can begin its operation.

In this situation, the central army would not need to pay attention to the threats from both sides of the strait, and could advance straight to the Bodao Pass. Even if its rear was cut off, it would not have to worry about supply issues.

The second option is to launch an early attack, advancing along the river and eliminating threats one by one.

The advantage of this action is that it can mobilize Liu Zhang's troops, effectively relieving the pressure on the Jiaozhou army. However, this reduction will not be too significant, since Liu Zhang's control over the southwestern prefectures and kingdoms is limited. At most, he can only transfer a few thousand troops.

(End of this chapter)