My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 648 Rewards based on merit
"Sima Yi ran away quickly."

Liu Feng snorted coldly, feeling quite dissatisfied.

Fortunately, the weather is gradually getting warmer, which reduces the grass's ability to keep warm and provide insulation. Moreover, within Liu Feng's controlled territory, some Shu counties and Jianwei counties have resumed spring planting. As long as they hold out until the summer harvest, their food supplies can be partially replenished locally. After the autumn harvest, there will be no longer any risk of food shortages.

After the fire was extinguished, Zhang Song naturally led the local officials from the prefecture, county, and township levels in Chengdu to conduct a headcount.

Liu Zhang's retreat to the east was unpopular, and almost all officials did not follow him, but instead stayed in Chengdu for various reasons and excuses.

Liu Zhang was weak-willed and had little desire to kill. Seeing that these people were unwilling to follow him, he did not force them and pretended not to know.

After Liu Feng entered the prefectural capital, his first priority was to reward those who had contributed, especially Zhang Song, Qin Mi, Yang Hong, Fa Zheng, Meng Da, and Ma Qiu, whose contributions needed to be recognized as soon as possible. This was not only a matter of credibility for the Left Guard Army, but also a way to reassure the officials of all ranks in Chengdu.

Liu Feng left several people in front of the hall, including his confidants Lu Xun, Xu Shu, Gu Shao, Sun Quan, Zhang Wen, and Sun Yi, to discuss the matter together.

Gu Shao was the first to speak. After discussing with the cabinet clerks around Liu Feng, he drafted a preliminary plan for Liu Feng's reference.

"Zhang Ziqiao was a descendant of a prominent family in Sichuan. Both brothers were guests of Liu Jiyu and were treated with great respect. The elder brother served as a prefect of a county with a salary of two thousand shi, pacifying the region; the younger brother resided in the state and was appointed as a deputy governor, truly the head of all officials."

Moreover, Ziqiao was the first to come and join the lord when the lord first arrived. He was also the first to propose to support the lord, and he also gathered the people, secretly devised a good plan, summoned heroes, and personally implemented the plan. His achievements were the greatest among all his accomplishments.

Now, in determining merit and rewarding achievements, Ziqiao should be considered the foremost. Based on his merits and the extent of his hard work, only the position of prefect of a major commandery can adequately reward his loyalty and diligence. Therefore, the officials have tentatively proposed the positions of prefect of Runan, Jiangling, Jiujiang, Wu Commandery, and Nan Commandery for Ziqiao, so that his contributions may not be undeserved.
As for the final decision, that rests solely with Your Majesty; we, your subjects, dare not presume to make it our own, but merely offer this for Your Majesty's consideration.

After hearing Gu Shao's words, Zhang Wen, Xu Shu, Sun Quan, and the others all stood up and bowed in greeting.

"Gentlemen, please do not stand on ceremony, but take a seat."

Liu Feng first had Gu Shao and the others return to their seats, then hesitated before saying, "What you have proposed is without fault. However..."

The worst thing is a sudden turn of events.

Upon hearing this "but," Gu Shao and the others immediately felt their hearts leap into their throats.

In fact, Liu Feng was not being harsh or difficult towards Gu Shao and the others. The fact that they thought of rewarding Zhang Song with a large prefecture was, in all common sense, quite sufficient.

After all, Zhang Song had no experience serving as a prefect with a salary of two thousand piculs, so it was impossible for him to rise to the top in one step and jump directly from the position of assistant prefect to the position of governor.

If we count the five commanderies and kingdoms—Runan, Jiangling, Jiujiang, Wujun, and Nanjun—given by Gu Shao and others, it is no exaggeration to say that these were the most important territories in Liu Feng's hands.

These prefectures and kingdoms are all fertile lands with many counties under their jurisdiction, abundant produce, developed economies, and large populations. They also offer extremely valuable credentials. As long as Zhang Song doesn't perform too badly in these places, he can almost certainly be recommended for the position of governor of a prefecture, and if he enters the imperial court, he will start as one of the Nine Ministers.

However, Liu Feng felt that although these arrangements were good, they were somewhat out of place.

At present, both Liu Feng and Zhang Song themselves must hope to stay in Shu.

As for Liu Feng, Sichuan was in turmoil and the land was in ruins. Zhang Song was a member of a prominent family in Sichuan and held the high position of Biejia, which was personally conferred by Liu Zhang. If the other party could use such a title to come forward and appease the people, it would undoubtedly be twice as effective with half the effort.

Zhang Song had just achieved great merit and joined Liu Feng's command. However, his hometown was in turmoil. How could he feel at ease leaving Yizhou to take up a post outside Sichuan?

Did Zhang Song feel that Liu Feng was abandoning him after using him, fearing his prestige in Shu, and therefore eager to drive him out of Sichuan?
"In my opinion, Zhang Ziqiao will not be allowed to leave Sichuan for the time being."

Liu Feng voiced his thoughts: "At least until we reclaim Guanghan and drive Cao Cao's army back to Hanzhong, we cannot make such an arrangement."

Lu Xun, Gu Shao, Xu Shu, and others were still somewhat surprised, while Sun Yi's eyes were clear and bright. Only Sun Quan had come to his senses.

"Zhongmou seems to have gained some insight?"

Liu Feng keenly noticed this and, realizing that Sun Quan didn't want to say more, he took the initiative to point it out, forcing Sun Quan to answer: "Is my lord worried that Zhang Ziqiao and the others might misunderstand and not want to discourage the meritorious officials?"

"exactly!"

Liu Feng feigned surprise and asked, "However, the Three Mutuals Law of our dynasty is an old system established by our ancestors and cannot be changed rashly. Does Zhongmou have a brilliant plan to relieve my worries?"

Sun Quan couldn't help but mutter to himself, "There are plenty of laws and regulations from the Han Dynasty, but I've never seen you treat them all like treasures."

However, Sun Quan only muttered a few words to himself. With his political wisdom, he naturally knew why Liu Feng attached so much importance to the Three Mutuals Law.

Sun Quan pondered for a long time, and Liu Feng did not urge him. After a cup of tea, he slowly said, "Zhang Gong's achievements this time are outstanding, truly worthy of high praise. However, precisely because of this, my lord should bestow upon him special favors and rewards to show his eagerness to seek out talented people and to express his sincerity in accepting Zi Qiao's allegiance. However, Zi Qiao is originally from Shu, and according to regulations, he cannot be appointed as the governor of Shu Commandery. If he were to govern Guanghan and Jianwei Commanderies, it might be misunderstood by the world, who might suspect that my lord is promoting him in name only and demoting him in reality. If he were to be placed outside of Yizhou, it might be suspected that my lord intends to send him away from Sichuan. Moreover, now that Western Shu has just been pacified, the people's hearts are not yet won over. We need to rely on Zi Qiao's reputation to pacify the people and stabilize the region. How can it be appropriate to send him far away at this time?"

Sun Quan's words were not meant for Liu Feng, but for Lu Xun and the others who were still pondering the matter. As for his beloved younger brother Sun Yi, even though Sun Quan had explained things so clearly, his gaze remained as clear as ever.

Lu Xun, Gu Shao, Xu Shu, and the others suddenly realized what Liu Feng was hesitating about.

“What Zhongmou said is exactly what I think.”

Liu Feng praised Sun Quan without hesitation. To be fair, Sun Quan's political ability was quite strong, and at this time, Sun Quan did not have the same ambition as in history.

Forget about being a great emperor; he has absolutely no desire to even establish his own fiefdom, and he's even being suppressed by his brother above him.

Sun Quan's greatest aspiration now is nothing more than to catch Liu Feng's eye and have the opportunity to serve as a prefect of a region, or even a governor, and finally to enter the court and successfully retire as one of the Nine Ministers, returning home in glory.

Don't underestimate Sun Quan's wish; this alone shows that Sun Quan's ambition was much stronger than that of ordinary people.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, the rule was that one should retire at the age of seventy. Retirement was not permitted before seventy unless one became ill and could no longer handle the demanding work. The prerequisite for retirement was seventy years old; in the Qin and Han dynasties, living to seventy was truly a rarity.

This alone shows that Sun Quan's ambition was quite large, so it's not surprising that other things, such as being sent out of the prefecture to serve as a clerk or being appointed as one of the Nine Ministers, were not so surprising.

Hearing Liu Feng's praise, Sun Quan was overjoyed. Besides his ambition, Sun Quan was actually quite insecure and inherently suspicious.

This was probably a common characteristic of all warlords during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and Liu Bei was the most magnanimous among them. Compared to Liu Bei, not to mention Cao Cao and Sun Quan, even Yuan Shao and Liu Zhang were more suspicious and jealous.

Putting aside other things, wasn't Zhao Wei forced into rebellion by Liu Zhang's suspicion?

Pang Xi was later sidelined and dismissed due to Liu Zhang's suspicion.

Sun Quan's unease had historical roots. From a young age, he followed his father, Sun Jian, to various official posts, and wherever they went, there was always war. In such a chaotic and war-torn environment, it was not surprising that a child would be caught up in it.

It was this sensitivity that made Sun Quan sense Liu Feng's alienation and dislike towards him, and whenever he used Liu Feng, it was mostly out of necessity.

This estrangement greatly troubled and puzzled Sun Quan.

Sun Quan felt that Liu Feng's estrangement and wariness towards him were even greater than towards his brother Sun Ce. This was the most incomprehensible thing for Sun Quan, and it forced him to be cautious in his words and actions, for fear of doing something wrong that would make Liu Feng feel even more disgusted.

Today, however, Sun Quan keenly sensed Liu Feng's appreciation for him and even gave him a chance to perform. This was unprecedented, and Sun Quan felt both surprised and nervous.

Liu Feng, unaware of Sun Quan's many thoughts, smiled and continued to ask, "Now that Zhongmou has seen the situation clearly, do you have any brilliant strategies to offer me?"

Sun Quan suppressed his distracting thoughts and replied respectfully, "Your subject is foolish. After much thought, I have come up with a method, but I do not know whether it is suitable for use."

"It doesn't matter."

Liu Feng urged him gently, "Zhongmou, just present it. Whether it's suitable or not, I will decide for myself."

Although Sun Quan was surprised by Liu Feng's friendliness, he knew that the opportunity should not be missed, so he quickly and carefully presented his plan: "My lord, since we cannot arrange a position for him in the government, why not appoint Zhang Ziqiao as a general? Then recruit him into the general's staff and appoint him as a chief clerk, merit officer, or other similar positions, so that he can oversee the local area as a left-hand staff member. After Shu is stabilized, he can then be transferred to a local position as a prefect."

When Sun Quan presented his plan, everyone applauded and cheered.

Liu Feng also thought about it seriously for a moment and gladly accepted Sun Quan's opinion.

With Zhang Song's problem resolved, things became much easier to arrange for the others.

Qin Mi and Yang Hong could then stay in Shu without any problem.

Fa Zheng and Meng Da could be deployed at will, since despite their great contributions, their official positions were very low. Meng Da at least had a minor official position under Liu Zhang, while Fa Zheng had long since resigned from his position as a servant and was now a commoner.

This made promotion quite easy, and since neither of them were from Shu (Sichuan), but from Guanzhong (Guanzhong), there were even fewer concerns.

In the end, Liu Feng finalized the reward plan.

"Zhang Song was appointed General Who Pacifies the South, concurrently serving as the Chief of Staff of the Left General's Office, and given command of the various armies in Chengdu. He was bestowed with 100 bolts of Shu brocade, 1,000 bolts of silk of various colors, 2 fine horses, 1 pair of Ruyi scepters, 1 pair of ivory scepters, 1 pair of rhinoceros horns, 2 sets of cotton clothing, 10 shi of sugar, 10 shi of sesame oil, 50 shi of snow salt, 10 hu of pearls, 500,000 coins of Wuzhu, and 100 gold and 100 silver coins each."

Qin Mi was appointed Prefect of Shu Commandery, and was bestowed with twenty bolts of Shu brocade, one hundred bolts of silk of various colors, two shi of sugar, two shi of sesame oil, ten shi of salt, one hundred thousand coins of five-zhu coins, and twenty gold and twenty silver coins each.

Yang Hong was appointed Prefect of Guanghan, and was bestowed with twenty bolts of Shu brocade, one hundred bolts of various colored silks, two shi of sugar, two shi of sesame oil, ten shi of salt, one hundred thousand coins of five-zhu coins, and twenty gold and twenty silver coins each.

Zheng Fazheng was appointed as an official in the Left General's staff. He was bestowed with five bolts of Shu brocade, twenty bolts of various colored silks, one stone of sugar, one stone of sesame oil, five stones of salt, fifty thousand coins, and ten gold and ten silver coins each.

All other meritorious individuals will be rewarded, with honors bestowed according to their contributions.

According to this reward plan, Zhang Song was promoted to a general with a miscellaneous title of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), and also served as the military commander in the Left Staff. He held dual positions in the imperial court and the staff, which was an extremely honorable honor.

At the same time, Zhang Song was given the power to command all military affairs in Chengdu, although this power was not a real position. Chengdu not only had capable ministers and famous generals such as Lu Xun, Huang Zhong, and Wei Yan, but also Liu Feng personally in charge, so it was naturally not up to Zhang Song, a mere scholar, to lead troops.

Therefore, this position was purely an honorary title, reflecting Liu Feng's respect and trust for Zhang Song.

Of course, all of this was for show. Liu Feng would definitely find an opportunity to talk to Zhang Song in person later and tell him his concerns and considerations. He believed that he would surely gain Zhang Song's understanding and support.

As for the final rewards of gold, silver, money, Shu brocade, silk, rhinoceros horn, ivory, rare and precious items, and sugar and salt, they were actually the lowest in value.

But these things cannot be withheld, because the common people value them the most. For them, high-ranking officials and great wealth are more distant and elusive.

Once the agreement was reached, Liu Feng began to adjust the city's defenses.

Now, only a few troops, including those of Gan Ning and Cuan Yang, remain in Guangdu City. Most of Gan Ning's troops have to be transferred to Chengdu and stationed at the military port in Chengdu.

Therefore, a large amount of supplies from Guangdu must be transported to Chengdu as soon as possible.

However, this task can be assigned to the navy led by Gan Ning. The waterway is only twenty miles long and has abundant water, so the navy can make several round trips a day, and the daily transport volume can even reach tens of thousands of shi (a unit of dry measure).

Although a large number of young and middle-aged people in Chengdu were taken away, they were not completely wiped out.

Putting aside other factors, the scions of the major aristocratic and powerful clans, as well as the hidden population, retainers, tenants, and servants, constitute a considerable number. Of course, if Liu Feng wants to tap into this potential, the support of Zhang Song, Qin Mi, Yang Hong, and others is indispensable.

After discussing with Lu Xun and others, Liu Feng decided to have Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Wen Pin and other generals from Jingzhou guard the main city, which is the East City, while Ling Tong, Zhang Nan and Feng Xi would guard the smaller city, which is the West City.

Lü Dai's troops returned to Guangdu and garrisoned there together with Cuan Yang's troops. They would not be redeployed until all the supplies from Guangdu were transported to Chengdu.

It must be said that Sima Yi's strategy was quite effective.

Even though Sima Yi launched his attack prematurely due to Zhang Song and others, failing to achieve complete success, the current situation alone was enough to infuriate Liu Feng.

(End of this chapter)