Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 467: The Emperor's Assessment and Strategies
After Liu Bei finished questioning Kuai Liang, he glanced at Kuai Yue, who was nodding his head, and then at Kong Ming, Cao Ang and others. He asked in a dignified manner, "What do you think of what Lord Kuai said?"

Although Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu were both in their early twenties, they had previously served as military officers in Jiangdong, each serving as a garrison commander. They had never expected that they would be summoned by the emperor to the Secretariat, where even being a minor official was far better than being a garrison commander in Jiangdong.

When the two came, Cao Mengde also reminded them to read the military books and annotations of his military books more often at night, and to answer the emperor's questions truthfully and never give answers without understanding.

If you can stay in the Zhongshutai and not be eliminated, you should work hard and conscientiously. Even if you are a minor official for ten or twenty years, as long as you are still working in the Zhongshutai, you will eventually be noticed by the emperor and you will have a chance to make it.

Besides, the emperor has an excellent memory, and he will remember it as long as the impression is not bad.

So even though they didn't know how to answer, they gritted their teeth, raised their heads, and respectfully saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, we are humble but the commanders of a military garrison. We have been summoned by the emperor with great grace, and we dare not disobey his orders in front of the palace. However, we are short-sighted and ignorant about Yizhou, and we dare not rashly discuss important matters and harm the country."

"Kuai Zhuji is a famous scholar of wisdom and strategy in Jingxiang. His strategy and tactics must be better than the two of us, so there is nothing to say about it."

Cao Zhen bowed and explained, and Cao Xiu beside him quickly nodded. However, Cao Ang on the other side was hesitant to speak, but after thinking about it, he considered the face of the two Caos and did not stand up to answer alone.

This made Liu Bei look at Cao Ang with some interest, and he asked with a smile: "Zi Xiu, do you have anything to say?"

The reason Cao Ang could live to this day was also thanks to him who had driven Meng De away to Jiangdong early on, and had trapped Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu, uncle and nephew from Liangzhou, in Hongnong County. Otherwise, Cao Ang might have been five years old by now.

"Your Majesty, the rebellion of the powerful in the central part of Yizhou is not a concern. The only thing we need to guard against is the barbarians in the south. Ang had previously cleared out the Shanyue in Danyang County. Only a few civilians and craftsmen fled to the mountains due to the war and joined forces with the barbarians, making the Shanyue even more difficult to defeat."

"Even if the Jiangdong soldiers went 200 miles into the mountains, they could not stand the miasma and plague in the mountains. About three or four out of ten people got sick."

"I heard that the southern part of Yizhou is even more barren, with wolves and tigers rampant, swamps everywhere, many poisonous insects, and more humid and hot than Yangzhou, making it very easy to get severe malaria."

"The hotter the weather, the more unstoppable the sweating. First the cold, then the heat. Even if a soldier survives, the symptoms will relapse within ten days, until he dies."

"Your Majesty, it is easy to wipe out the powerful tribes. If the powerful tribes collude with the barbarians, the three counties of Zangke, Yuexi and Yongchang cannot be pacified quickly. We need to select those with prestige and divide them to comfort them."

Cao Ang frowned slightly and said thoughtfully.

He had experienced the severity of this disease before, and many soldiers in the army had died from it. Since then, he has been afraid of malaria.

"Zi Xiu, what you said makes sense. If the barbarians in the south were constantly harassing the counties, it would be a troublesome matter."

Hearing Cao Ang's suggestion, Liu Bei nodded slightly and agreed.

Although the rebellion of the southern barbarian tribes will affect the people's harvest from farmland, this is not a reason to stop measuring land.

The barbarians in the south of Yizhou had a close relationship with the powerful people. They could be said to be allies of each other and traded various daily necessities. These tribal leaders probably trusted the powerful people with whom they had been dealing with for many years and raised troops to attack the county town.

However, he had already dispatched Yide and Zhou Gongjin to take precautions against any disaster, and if anything happened, he would immediately send troops to attack Shu as reinforcements to quell the rebellion.

Together with the governor Man Chong, Sun Ce and other officials, if they cannot quell the war and barbarians caused by the Yizhou nobles, it means that everyone has neglected their duties.

Even if Meng De encountered such a lineup, he would not be able to get any benefit. Then Liu Bei's eyes were on Zhuge Liang and Sun Quan, wanting to hear how the two would make up for the shortcomings. Seeing this, Zhuge Liang, who was wearing a turban, bowed and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, Kuai Zhuji and Cao Shuzuo have already offered good strategies for the Han Dynasty. Liang is weak and has only one humble opinion."

"Back then, my uncle led several of us, the sons and nephews of the Zhuge family, to retreat from Yuzhang County to Nan County in Jingzhou. On the way, we encountered many Shanyue people. Most of them lived in the mountains. Although they had crops to harvest and did not have to pay taxes, they were in great need of salt, sugar, cloth and other daily necessities."

"The nobles in various places used this to lure the Shanyue tribes into submission to the Han Dynasty, and then they became its followers."

"Your Majesty, why not adopt this method? Take advantage of the rich resources of the Han Dynasty and continue to trade with the barbarians, so as to induce them to separate from the powerful people in Shu. The only disadvantage of this strategy is that it takes a long time and has little short-term effect."

After Zhuge Liang finished speaking, he bowed again.

In fact, he did not want to speak, but the emperor looked at him. He had received Your Majesty's great favor, so how could he not repay the great grace with all his sincerity and loyalty?

After hearing this plan, Liu Bei couldn't help laughing and said, "What Kong Ming said is a reminder for Zixiu, filling in the gaps."

Many people knew the pros and cons of doing business, but there were still many officials who were unwilling to do so, and some even resisted the barbarian leaders in southern Yizhou.

There is always a contempt for the Hu people in the minds of scholars.

At this moment, under his vigorous reforms, many officials finally began to change their policies towards the Qiang and Xiongnu people. They no longer oppressed the herdsmen as they had done before, and made the Hu people completely stand on the same side as the tribal nobles.

After several years of efforts by the officials of the Manchu court, the conflict between the Han and the Hu peoples has been temporarily resolved...

Seeing that the emperor's gaze finally fell on him, Sun Quan, who had a big mouth and a short beard, couldn't help swallowing.

He didn't know why he was suddenly conscripted by the emperor. Even his third brother Sun Yi was indignant when he heard about it.

He believed that his elder brother Sun Ce was biased, so he recommended his second brother to the emperor, but did not recommend him to the Secretariat. When Sun Ce invited him to go to Ba County to make achievements, he directly refused in anger.

If it weren't for his mother, Mrs. Wu, who was always there to persuade him, Sun Yi would probably have developed a grudge against both his elder and second brothers.

Even though Sun Ce explained it again and again in the letter he sent to Wujun, he still didn't know why Zhongmou was summoned by the emperor to be an official in the Secretariat, and Sun Yi was skeptical.

"Your Majesty..." Sun Quan considered his words, bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, I am deeply terrified. I don't know why the emperor values ​​me. I know I have no talent or knowledge, so I dare not follow the wise men to offer advice to Your Majesty. At this moment, I am afraid to speak, and I am worried about speaking, as if I am walking on water or fire."

"A few years ago, I was appointed by Lord Meng De as an official. I traveled around the village, and my job was just to serve the people. I am not very intelligent, and I am not very well-informed. How can I compare with the best talents in the world? I hope Your Majesty will understand."

After Sun Quan finished speaking, he bowed his head and put himself in a very humble position. In terms of background and knowledge, the Sun family of Wujun could never compare to the Cao family of Qiaoxian, the Kuai family of Xiangyang, and the Zhuge family of Langya.

Moreover, his eldest brother Sun Ce was often serving as a prefect in other places, and his mother Wu was unable to teach him how to answer the emperor's questions.

When facing the majestic Emperor of Han, he was able to speak without stuttering, hold his breath in his chest and keep his voice from trembling. This was the greatest way he could save face for the Sun family.

(End of this chapter)