The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 153: Unrequited Admiration, Loneliness Above Everyone Else
As we were talking, there was a noise outside the house.

The two sisters sat down.

I saw the person coming slowly in the evening light, without a speck of dust on him, yet full of gentleness.

He raised his wrist and gently lifted the curtain.

Her eyes are as clear as mountains and rivers, and her lips are as bright as the moon.

He is indeed a noble young man, handsome and elegant.

When Yuan Ying saw that it was Li Yi coming, her eyes suddenly lit up and she opened her lips to speak.

But suddenly I remembered what my sister had just said.

Things are different now than they were in the past. Because of my special status, I should be more cautious.

Then he stopped walking and stood still, gently twisting the handkerchief in his hand.

When Li Yi came closer,
Yuan Ying and Yuan Ying both bowed their heads and saluted upright:
"I… meet Mr. Ziyu."

Yuan Ying was the most reserved, probably because she dared not behave in any rude manner in front of Li Yi after being reminded by her sister just now.

Li Yi nodded slightly, and his voice softened unconsciously.

"...You two don't have to be so polite. Are you used to living in the palace?"

The two girls looked at each other and said in unison:

"Thanks to the care of the master, I am used to it."

good……

Li Yi's eyes turned and he continued:
"I discussed with General Liu and decided to take one of your two girls into the palace."

"I wonder if you two would be willing?"

Li Yi went straight to the point without too many beating around the bush.

The two girls blushed when they heard this, but they still lowered their eyebrows and bowed and said:

"It would be a blessing for my sister to serve General Liu and Mr. Li."

Ok……

Li Yi was still very satisfied with the attitude of the two girls. It seemed that no matter how noble a lady was, she would be able to accept the setbacks.

Also know to bow your head.

"In that case, who of you two is willing to follow me?"

Li Yi was too lazy to choose, since there wasn't much difference between the two girls anyway.

It would be better to give them a chance to choose for themselves.

"……sister."

Yuan Ying glanced at Yuan Ying. Although she didn't say much, the meaning in her eyes was already evident.

Yuan Ying saw what her sister was thinking. This Mr. Li was young and promising, and also considerate.

By staying with him, I thought my sister wouldn’t suffer too much.

Then he bowed to Li Yiduanfang and said:

"If Mr. Meng Ziyu doesn't abandon me, I will let my younger sister stay with you and serve you morning and night."

"……sister."

Yuan Ying saw her sister's intention to give in, and she was moved and sad. She couldn't help but choke up with sobs and held her sister's sleeve.

"...Sister, you have to be well too."

A tear rolled down my cheek and I couldn't say anything.

Li Yi only felt a dull pain in his heart. This was the way the world was. In fact, this was already a very good ending for them.

He reached out his hand and gently wiped away the tears on his sister's face, with a gentle smile still on his face.

"Okay, don't cry anymore."

"Your sister will not be bullied in Xuzhou."

Sister Yuan Ying gradually stopped sobbing and looked up at Li Yi's face, "...really?"

The woman of the top and second-in-command of Xuzhou, who can bully you in Xuzhou?

"Li never speaks much."

Li Yi said seriously.

After a long while, it was elder sister Yuan Ying who spoke first:
"With Mr. Ziyu's words, my sister and I are satisfied."

"It is a great honor for us to serve General Liu and Mr. Ziyu."

At the same time, he couldn't help but sigh, Li Ziyu is indeed a gentle gentleman.

Now he is a guest of honor and her sisters are prisoners, but he is still willing to humble himself and communicate with them.

There is absolutely no sense of class gap in the gaze.

Maybe this is what my sister said, the difference between Li Yi and others.

They should really feel lucky that they were captured by Li Yi.

If they had been captured by General Xiahou and fallen into Cao Cao's hands, no one knew what would be waiting for them.

Anyway, they had seen Cao Cao.

He is not good-looking, short in stature and has small eyes.

The Han Dynasty was an era that placed great emphasis on appearance.

Many people are curious about why Cao Cao likes Guan Yu so much.

In fact, Guan Yu is the perfect self in Cao Cao's mind.

He was eight feet tall, with a face as red as a date and a beautiful beard, a standard handsome man according to the aesthetic standards of the Han Dynasty.

Then he is also a martial arts expert, loyal and righteous, and a knight-errant.

The above points are what Cao Cao most desires to become.

In his early years, he also had a desire to serve his country.

After assigning the two daughters of the Yuan family, Li Yi invited them to take a seat.

Seeing this, the two girls guessed that Li Yi must have something to discuss with them.

"I wonder if there is anything my sister can do for Mr. Ziyu."

"As long as we sisters can do it, we will do our best."

Yuan Ying took the initiative to ask.

The corners of Li Yi's mouth curled up slightly. After all, he was born in a wealthy family and was indeed a thoughtful person.

"I heard that your uncle is still in Danyang. Can you ask him to lead his troops to surrender?"

Although Yuan Shu has been destroyed, he still has a lot of remnant forces left.

Among them, one of the more influential ones was the remnants of the Yellow Turbans headed by Liu Pi of Runan.

These bandits all depended on Yuan Shu for their livelihood. If Yuan Shu died, they would definitely make trouble.

Don't underestimate these Yellow Turban bandits in Runan.

Although they are thieves, Runan has many mountains and forests.

The bandits are scattered and disorderly, and often engage in guerrilla warfare, making them very difficult to clear out.

in history,
Cao Cao pacified Runan in the first year of Jian'an, but four years later, during the Battle of Guandu, Runan was still able to launch a large-scale rebellion.

As a result, Cao Cao had to divide his troops to suppress the rebellion in Runan, further widening the gap in military strength between the front line and Yuan Shao.

However, Li Yi had already handed the issue of Runan to Cao Cao and Lu Bu.

Let them both worry about it.

What really concerned Li Yi were Liu Xun of Lujiang and Yuan Yin of Danyang.

One of them was a general under Yuan Shu, and the other was Yuan Shu's cousin.

Let Cao Cao take his time to attack Lujiang.

As for Danyang, it is adjacent to Jiujiang and Guangling, and is also connected to the Sun Wu forces.

It can be said that the geographical location is very special.

Not to mention that Danyang is rich in elite soldiers.

Among Lao Liu's troops in Xuzhou, the Danyang soldiers are the main vanguard.

However, the only drawback of Danyang is that there are many aristocratic families, which makes it inconvenient to rule.

In other words, there are many scholars and nobles in the entire Jiangdong.

Li Yi had to go to great lengths to help Old Liu unify the various factions in Xuzhou.

Now we have to digest Jiujiang, and we really have no strength to reach out to Danyang.

After Sun Ce unified Jiangdong, his approach was relatively simple.

It's all rumbling.

However, the consequences of the massacre of the aristocratic class in the late Han Dynasty were very serious.

Cao Cao killed Bian Rang, which caused the entire Yanzhou to rebel.

Sun Ce swept across Jiangdong with military force and was known as the Little Overlord, but he was still assassinated by the nobles.

So, according to Li Yi's idea.

It is to support a puppet regime in Danyang.

After Yuan Shu's death, everyone in Danyang was in panic.

Yuan Yin himself was helped to rise to power by the Danyang nobles and Yuan Shu.

In this case, it would be better to keep him in Danyang.

Not to mention being like Lu Bu, who served as the hub to ease the relationship between Cao and Liu.

Yuan Yin was used more to restrict the development of Sun Wu and prevent Sun Ce from continuing to expand towards Danyang.

And it would be a good idea to use Yuan Yin to provide blood transfusion to Xuzhou in Danyang.

——"Danyang is a place with dangerous mountains and strong people. They are good at martial arts and war, and have noble spirit and strength. It is a place of elite soldiers!"

Yuan Yin can send some Danyang soldiers from time to time to restore health to Xuzhou.

Li Yi also temporarily formulated such a policy in Danyang.

First, he and Lao Liu each married a daughter of the Yuan family.

As these two girls were Yuan Yin's nieces, the Yuan and Liu families were considered to be related by marriage.

The Left General of the Han Dynasty, a descendant of the imperial family, and three dukes for four generations.

Taking all these backgrounds into consideration, Li Yi couldn't think of any reason why Lao Liu would lose.

"How is it? I wonder if this matter is difficult for the two young ladies?"

Li Yi asked again, still with a gentle smile on his face.

It seemed as if he would not make things difficult for the two women even if they refused.

Yuan Ying and Yuan Ying looked at each other and said:

"This is our responsibility."

"Please give us paper and pen, Mr. Ziyu, so that we can write a letter to persuade Uncle Yuan to surrender."

“…Hahaha, okay!”

Li Yi was overjoyed, and immediately ordered someone to bring paper and pen, and asked the two girls to write the letter.

Li Yi personally supervised from the side, and he was responsible for checking the wording and sentence structure in the letters.

If there were any shortcomings, Li Yi would order his two daughters to revise them.

Soon, the letter was written.

Li Yi put it away and bowed to the two girls:
"Thank you both for your cooperation!"

The two girls were about to speak when they suddenly heard a sound of footsteps outside the house.

The one who came was the commander Xu Chu.

"……military adviser."

Xu Chu bowed and glanced at the two women, but did not directly explain his purpose.

Li Yi asked calmly, "What's the matter?"

Xu Chu then spoke, "It was Mr. Zijing who was looking for you."

Lu Su...

Li Yi nodded, "Got it, you go down first, I'll be there soon."

"Here."

Xu Chu bowed and accepted the order and left.

Don't say unnecessary words, don't do unnecessary things, this is his style.

"You two, I'm sorry to leave you."

Li Yi raised the corners of his lips slightly and said goodbye to the two girls.

The two girls bowed in unison and respectfully saw Li Yi off.

After going out, Li Yi saw Lu Su waiting outside.

"...Zijing, are you looking for me?"

Li Yi stepped forward and saw Lu Su holding several plates of books in his hands.

"Mr. Ziyu, I have cleaned up the books in the treasury as you instructed."

"I have roughly calculated the population of Shouchun."

Oh?
It happened so fast.

Li Yi smiled slightly. Lu Su's efficiency was indeed quite good.

"Shouchun has a total of more than 13,700 households, of which more than 52,000 civilians can be recruited."

Lu Su reported truthfully to Li Yi.

This data is definitely a rough estimate, and the actual population will vary.

However, it is not easy for Shouchun to still have such a population after experiencing chaos and being exploited many times by the Skeleton King.

"If I want to recruit civilians, how many civilians do you think Shouchun can recruit without hurting the people?"

Li Yi asked again.

this……?
Lu Su paused, thought for a while, then frowned and said:
"Shouchun has been through war and chaos, people are cannibalizing each other, and the country is in great hardship."

"If we want to do this without hurting the people, I think we can recruit between three and five thousand people at most."

Normally, a family has three or four people, with one or two men.

If three to five thousand laborers were to be conscripted from more than ten thousand households, that would be almost one in four men.

"Just do it."

Li Yi put his hands behind his back and gave an order, "You pass on my order to recruit the civilians of Shouchun."

"All adult males who are willing to be conscripted will be conscripted."

After a slight pause, he added, "The people of Shouchun are in poverty. If you hire me as a laborer, in addition to the daily grain supply, you can get some extra grain to supplement your family expenses."

Lu Su nodded repeatedly, "If that's true, I think the people who want to apply will respond unanimously."

The topic changed again, "But now Huainan is not stable, the people are not stable, and the palace is in ruins."

"Mr. Ziyu is requisitioning civilians on a large scale. I wonder what he will do with them?"

Normally, when conquering a new place, one would first take care of the people.

Especially farming. During the war, people were unable to farm properly.

Now that we have settled down, we should concentrate on farming.

Rashly conscripting civilians will cause great harm to their labor and farming.

Li Yi had his own considerations, he explained:
"I want to dredge the Shaobei channel before the beginning of next spring."

"Prepare water conservancy works in the Jianghuai area."

"Oh? Sir, you want to improve the water conservancy in Jianghuai."

Lu Su suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Li Yi would spare no expense and conscript civilians at this time.

It turned out that it was to dredge the Shaobi channel.

Shaobi is located south of Shouchun, with Feishui flowing through it.

The rulers of Cao Wei established military farms in Huainan, and Deng Ai personally presided over the project. In seven years, they obtained 30 million hu of grain.

On the one hand, it is naturally because Deng Ai is the top farming expert in the Three Kingdoms.
Another reason is that the Cao Wei rulers spared no expense in building a large number of canals.

For example, Suiyang Canal, Quanzhou Canal, Taolu Canal, Baigou, etc.

In Huainan, Shaobi Canal is the most important water conservancy project.

Li Yi held Lu Su's hand and explained to him the grand blueprint he had envisioned as they walked.

"The richest place in the north is Jizhou, the richest place in the Central Plains is Yuzhou, and the richest place in the south is Jingzhou."

“Although Yangzhou is not as prosperous as other prefectures and counties, it is still as prosperous as other places in Huainan.”

"The majority of Yangzhou's population is concentrated in Huainan, where there is a lot of fertile land."

"It's a pity that the water diversion is too little and cannot be fully utilized."

"If we can dig canals in Huainan, divert water for irrigation, store up military rations, and open up waterways for grain transport."

"In this way, Huainan can become the best fertile land behind Xuzhou."

"It only takes three to five years to compete with Hebei. It might be worth a try."

Lu Su nodded as he listened. He could understand that Li Yi wanted to turn Huainan into fertile land in the rear.

Because the geographical location here is really good and the soil is fertile.

Even though the Skeleton King is such a ruthless person, he can still collect so much wealth.

If we dig canals and divert water for irrigation, we can obtain a large amount of food.

"Does my lord know about this?" Lu Su asked.

"I will discuss this matter with the lord in a moment. This is a move that benefits the country and the people. I think the lord will agree to it."

In fact, the construction of canals today is also based on the shoulders of our ancestors.

Previously, Li Yi strongly supported Chen Yuanlong in building the Han Canal in Guangling, which had been built once before King Fuchai of Wu.

The current Shaobi River channel was repaired once before by the State of Chu.

The King of Chu connected the Huai River, Fei River and Bi River to create the famous Shaobi water conservancy system.

Although it is not as good as the Zhengguo Canal and Dujiangyan of the Qin State, it turned Huainan, which was originally flooded by the river, into a land of fish and rice.

This laid a solid foundation for the State of Chu to dominate the world.

The Skeleton King was able to make Huainan rich thanks to the State of Chu.

Li Yi first ordered Lu Su to make preparations in advance. As for Liu Bei, he would go and talk to him in person.

Lu Su knew that Liu Bei always obeyed Li Yi's strategies.

In that case, he made arrangements in advance.

Li Yi found Liu Bei, who was then trying to appease Yuan Shu's newly joined ministers and chatting and laughing with everyone.

Seeing Li Yi coming, he stood up quickly, pulled his sleeve, and introduced him to everyone with a smile:

"Come, come, come, let me get to know you all."

"This is our army's military advisor, Li Yi Li Ziyu."

Seeing this, Li Yi also cooperated very well and greeted the new colleagues.

Yuan Shu's old ministers were all in awe of Li Yi's extraordinary appearance.

After the two sides exchanged greetings, Liu Bei also invited Li Yi to take a seat.

Li Yi took the lead and said:

"My Lord, I have already made arrangements for the two daughters of the Yuan family."

"You can send someone back to Xia Pi first."

Liu Bei, however, didn't care, waved his hand and said:

"We are not discussing this here in front of all the ministers."

"Zi Yu, you came at the right time. We were just discussing you."

Discuss me?
Li Yi raised his eyebrows and asked:
"What are you talking about about me?"

One of them stood up with a smile and said:

"General Liu is discussing what official position to recommend to you."

Well……

Li Yixian bowed and asked, "Who are you?"

"Haha, Chen Diyuan Huan has met Mr. Li."

Yuan Huan bowed and greeted Li Yi.

"So you are Yuan Yaoqing. I have heard of your great name for a long time."

Liu Bei only recommended two people as talented people in his life, one was Yuan Tan and the other was Yuan Huan.

Although both of them have the surname Yuan, they come from different regions.

There are two major Yuan families in Yuzhou. One is the famous Yuan family of Runan with three generations of dukes in four generations, and the other is the Yuan family of Chenjun which was later abolished as a country and governed a county.

Strictly speaking, the Chenjun Yuan family is the main lineage, and the Runan Yuan family all migrated from Chenjun.

This is also why when Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he shouted the slogan "The Yuan family will leave Chen."

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Yuan family of Chen County became the top family at that time.

However, at the end of the Han Dynasty, although the Chenjun Yuan family was the main branch, they were still inferior to the Runan Yuan family.

Historically, Liu Bei recommended Yuan Tan as a talented person in order to befriend Yuan Shao.

The reason why Yuan Huan was recommended as an outstanding talent was because he was the governor of Yuzhou in Xiaopei at that time.

He used Yuan Huan's family background to show his eagerness to recruit talented people, hoping that talented people from all over the world would come under his command.

Later, Yuan Huan took refuge in Jianghuai and served under Yuan Shu.

Now that Yuan Shu was defeated, he naturally surrendered to Liu Bei, his own leader.

The hall was filled with Yuan Shu's old ministers, with Yuan Huan in particular being the chief and the most favored by Liu Bei.

Li Yi thought to himself that the reason Liu Bei valued Yuan Huan so much was not only because of their old friendship, but also because he valued Yuan Huan's background.

Yuan Huan's father, Yuan Pang, is now serving as the Prefect of the Guards in the court.

Their family has been active in politics for hundreds of years and held important positions until the Tang Dynasty.

Based on this identity, Liu Bei also had to win him over.

"This little bit of fame is not worth mentioning. It is you, Mr. Li, who is truly famous in Jianghuai."

Yuan Huan burst into laughter. "Everyone was talking about you just now, saying that you have extraordinary talent."

"Today we finally get to see the real person."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the ministers stood up and responded one after another.

Li Yi didn't know why he suddenly had so many fans.

However, Yuan Shu usually employed flatterers and sycophants.

Although these newly surrendered old officials have been screened, there is no guarantee that they will not develop the habit of flattery under Yuan Shu. These people respect him on the surface, but how many of them are attracted by his status and want to get close to him?
Li Yi felt this deeply. Because of his father's relationship, all the people in the group were trying to curry favor with him.

Li Yi was very disgusted by this.

The reason why he worked so hard was to prove that he didn't rely on his father to get to the top.

But everyone's flattery ignored his efforts.

So when he saw everyone's extreme flattery towards him, Li Yi's heart remained calm and there was no change at all.

He was used to it.

And whether in modern times or in ancient times, he always set an example and opposed forming cliques for personal gain.

"Everyone should perform their duties and act accordingly."

"The officialdom style of Yuan Shu in Huainan must not be brought to Xuzhou."

Li Yi spoke up to remind everyone.

Everyone looked ashamed, but still nodded in agreement.

Yuan Huan had only heard of some of Li Yi's deeds, but after meeting him today, he realized that he was indeed a man of high character.

Immediately, he was impressed and said:

"Mr. Li is truly a noble gentleman. Yuan admires him very much."

"Easy to say..."

Li Yi's gaze scanned the area and landed on the person behind Yuan Huan.

The man was quite young, and perhaps he had never seen someone like Li Yi, so he looked a little nervous.

Especially after meeting Li Yi's gaze, she hurriedly avoided it, not daring to look him in the eye.

"Who is this……?"

Li Yi asked.

"Oh." Yuan Huan hurriedly pulled the man in front of him and introduced him to Li Yi.

"This person is my younger brother Yuan Min, also known by his courtesy name Yingqing."

After saying this, he gently tugged at Yuan Min's sleeve and winked at him.

Yuan Min understood, straightened his clothes and saluted Li Yi.

"Yuan, Yuan Yingqing meets Mr. Li!"

"Mr. Yuan, there's no need to be so polite."

Li Yi reached out to support him, he could see that the child was very nervous.

"I wonder what position Ying Qing holds now?"

Yuan Min quickly replied, "When Yuan Shu was alive, I was the magistrate of Yinling County."

Well……

Li Yi nodded, "This is a bit of a waste of talent."

When Yuan Min heard this, her heart suddenly moved.

He was much younger than his brother, and it was not easy for him to serve as a county magistrate at that time.

But Li Yi, an important official in Xuzhou and Liu Bei's deputy, chose himself among all the ministers, saying that it was a waste of his talent to be a county magistrate.

A gentleman will die for his friend. Just this one sentence moved Yuan Min deeply.

"Min is still young and cannot take on big responsibilities."

Yuan Min thanked Li Yi with great trepidation.

Li Yi patted him on the shoulder and praised Yuan Min highly.

"Otherwise, I heard that Ying Qing is good at martial arts and is good at water skills."

"You have been in Jianghuai for some years, so you should be familiar with the water situation in Huainan, right?"

Faced with the sudden soul-searching question from his superior, Yuan Min bowed and answered:

"Yes, in addition to martial arts, Min also studies the art of water control and reads some books on water control on weekdays."

well.

Li Yi smiled and nodded, "Huainan is currently in need of a river bank supervisor. I wonder if Lord Ying is willing to take on this role?"

Liu Bei asked curiously:

"Why do you suddenly want to find the river bank supervisor? Are you planning to control the flood?"

"Almost. It's about building water conservancy projects."

Li Yi's smile did not fade, and he just nodded, "Yi came here to explain this matter to the lord."

"Yi plans to connect the Huaishui River, Feishui River, and Bishui River, and dredge the Shaobei Canal."

"It is used to irrigate the farmland in Huainan."

"I just asked Zijing to do some statistics. Although Huainan has suffered from war, it has sufficient manpower."

"As long as we dig canals and divert water for irrigation, we can store up military food."

"Besides, when Xuzhou deploys troops, half of the troops are responsible for transporting military rations, which costs more than tens of millions of silver."

"My lord, you must have experienced this deeply during your expedition to Huainan this time."

Liu Bei frowned and agreed with Li Yi's opinion.

The expedition to Huainan was the largest-scale war he fought in his life.

What put Liu Bei most under pressure during the war was the transportation of military rations.

In the past, there were fewer people going to war, and they did not realize how serious these problems were.

But when it comes to real large-scale combat, we discover how complicated the work is.

Half of the soldiers would be required just to transport military rations, and the cost would be astronomical.

Just attack Huainan and burn all the wealth that Lao Liu had accumulated in Xuzhou over the past two years.

It was the first time that Lao Liu realized how expensive war was.

"So, in order to solve this problem, Yicai plans to dig more canals in Huainan, increase farmland irrigation, and open up water transport."

"We can station 30,000 people on the ground, with a ratio of two-tenths, and take turns to rest."

"This goes on and on, cultivating the land while digging canals, waiting for the right time to rain."

"We can guarantee a minimum of 2 million hu of grain every year. With this solid foundation, we will be invincible."

Liu Bei has always supported Li Yi's ideas and immediately expressed his attitude.

"Earlier, the military advisor had strongly recommended Chen Yuanlong to build the Hangou Canal, and today he wants to build the Shaobei Canal in Huainan."

"These are good things that benefit the country and the people. Since the military advisor has made the arrangements, we should just act according to his wishes."

With Liu Bei's approval, Li Yi immediately appointed Yuan Min as the river embankment envoy and ordered his brother Yuan Huan to assist him.

Specially responsible for water conservancy projects in Huainan.

In this way, the Yuan brothers took on a national-level job without knowing it.

Yuan Min was under the greatest pressure. Although he was good at water engineering, he lacked experience in water management.

Li Yi gave him this important project, which made him feel both pressured and surprised.

"Mr. Li, I..."

"No need to say more, Ying Qing. Just do it."

Li Yi knew that Yuan Min would give him a heads-up first, so he simply spoke up to block it for him.

"I think there is no one in Huainan who understands water conservancy better than Bi Yingqing."

"Just do it. If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me."

Among Liu Yingzhong, the real water conservancy talent was actually Chen Deng.

But he was still busy supervising the construction of the Hangou River and was unable to get away to go to Huainan to build the Shaobei Canal.

Besides, it is not a good idea to just pick on one person. It is better to promote some fresh blood and give young people more opportunities.

Yuan Min has a talent for water conservancy and has lived in Huainan for many years, so Li Yi is confident in handing over this project to him.

"Then I wonder how long Mr. Li plans to build this canal?"

Yuan Min asked Li Yi for his opinion.

"Three hundred miles!"

Li Yi said lightly.

I go!

Not to mention Yuan Min, even the other Huainan ministers were shocked when they heard it.

How much money and grain would it cost to build a 300-li canal?
Moreover, if we want to extend the area to 300 li, we have to build not only in Jiujiang, but also in Runan and Pei.

Only by connecting the water systems there can the total distance be reached to 300 miles.

This is not only a problem of engineering difficulty, but also a problem of cost.

The time cost and the money and food cost are both huge.

"Military Advisor, is this project too big?"

Even Liu Bei was a little hesitant.

At first he thought that the Shaobi Canal that Li Yi wanted to build was similar to the Hangou River.

But no one expected that he would just open his mouth and build a 300-mile long canal.

"The war has just ended, the soldiers need to be comforted, and the people need to be appeased."

"Local counties and prefectures also have many miscellaneous matters that need to be dealt with."

"Isn't it too risky to rashly embark on such a huge project?"

Water conservancy projects do bring huge benefits, but the problem is that the costs are also high.

Most people can't afford it.

The world is in chaos now, with many princes rising up against each other, and it is hard to predict who will win.

If you rashly invest a lot of money in water conservancy projects, you may end up making wedding clothes for others.

"That's fine. We can dredge the river and irrigate the farmland at the same time."

Li Yi patiently explained to Liu Bei.

Although the canal needs to be built for 300 miles, it does not mean that it can only be used when it is completed.

Once a canal is built, it can be used directly for irrigation.

"According to Yi's estimate, if this 300-li canal can be completed, it will be enough to irrigate 20,000 hectares of farmland."

“And it can connect Huainan and Huaibei into one.”

"Within three years, from Xia Pi to Shou Chun, military camps could be seen along the road, and the sounds of chickens and dogs could be heard."

"Our Xuzhou army can also take a boat and go directly to Jianghuai."

"Military expenses and food can be greatly saved, and floods can be eliminated."

“Isn’t this a good thing?”

Liu Bei knew that Li Yi was an outstanding strategist who always had a long-term vision.

only……

Liu Bei had his hands behind his back, still looking somewhat worried:
"If we only build canals in Shouchun, Xuzhou can still bear it."

"It's just that the project proposed by the military advisor is too huge."

"If we follow the military advisor's request, we will have to recruit tens of thousands of civilians in Huainan at least."

"Now that Jianghuai is exhausted, I am planning to reduce taxes and levies and give the people of Huainan a rest."

"If we start this construction, I'm afraid it will harm people's livelihood."

As soon as he said this, Yuan Min also chimed in and advised Li Yi:

"General Liu is right. I know Mr. Li has a long-term vision."

"But it is indeed not appropriate for Huainan to start such a massive construction project right now."

"Since Yuan Gonglu entered the Jianghuai region, he has been exploiting the people to excess, forcing them to sell their children and daughters, and suffering terribly."

"Jianghuai is no longer the land of plenty it was a few years ago. It can no longer withstand the turmoil."

Yuan Huan also came out and said:
"Mr. Li has a heart that loves the people, which is a blessing for the people of Jianghuai."

"It's just that starting construction at this time is not appropriate for Huainan."

"For example, if a person is seriously ill, he should first drink porridge and then take medicine."

"Wait until the internal organs are in harmony and the body is gradually at peace, then use meat to nourish it and strong medicine to treat it."

"Then the root of the disease will be completely gone, and the person can live a complete life."

"If we can first give the people of Huainan a three-year rest, then we can start construction."

Yuan Huan gave his own opinion.

Li Yi had his own considerations, "I also know that this is very difficult, but time is running out."

"The world is in turmoil now, with many heroes rising up. Yuan Shu was destroyed, but Yuan Shao still survives."

"Gongsun Zan is now trapped in Yijing City. He will be destroyed by Yuan Shao within two years."

"If Yuan Shao completely eliminates the threat from the northern border, do you think he will look south?"

Only then did Li Yi reveal the truth about the need to speed up the construction of Huainan.

The current historical line has already changed.

Historically, Cao Cao expanded rapidly in recent years.

Within two years, he unified the four states of Yan, Xu, Yu and Qing, and also occupied a large part of the Sili area.

Is this territory big enough?

But Cao Cao still did not have the confidence to go to war with Yuan Shao.

In the historical Battle of Guandu, it was Yuan Shao who took the initiative to attack Cao Cao.

Even though Cao Cao owned the entire Henan Province, he was always suppressed by Yuan Shao in the early stages.

Now, Cao and Liu are divided, and Henan is not unified yet.

It would be absolutely impossible for Old Liu to stop Yuan Shao's army within three years.

So Li Yi has been racing against time to strengthen Lao Liu's strength.

To this end, he even asked Lao Liu and Cao Cao to put aside their past grudges and unite to fight against Yuan Shao.

This is because Cao Cao is not easy to deal with. Even if you are really a super god and can destroy him within three years, your own national strength will inevitably be greatly reduced.

After taking over Cao Cao's territory, he might become weaker than before.

Therefore, it would be better for the two companies to unite first.

When Yuan Shao looked south, the first to be attacked were Cao and Liu. It was not difficult to achieve this alliance.

Li Yi not only had to race against time to build fertile farmland in Huainan, but also had to help Lao Liu gain as many allies as possible during this period.

It is too late to annex each other, so it is better to unite first and guard against Yuan God, the number one god in the world.

Therefore, when dealing with the Danyang issue, Li Yi opposed sending troops to resolve it.

Just let Yuan Yin of Danyang be a vassal. Even if he doesn't provide blood transfusion to Xuzhou, he should not make trouble behind the scenes.

"Military Advisor, are you so confident that Yuan Shao will attack Henan within three years?"

Liu Bei asked Li Yi with a serious expression.

This is a very serious issue and is not something to be joked about.

Given Yuan Shen's strength, Lao Liu himself has no confidence that he can win at the moment.

Even if he allied with Cao Cao, he still had to maintain a cautious and optimistic attitude.

"Gongsun Bogui has been trapped in Yijing City and is defending the city to the death."

"My lord, how long do you think General Gongsun can hold out?"

After Li Yi's question, Liu Bei fell silent.

Gongsun Zan acted perversely and lost the support of the people.

Destruction is indeed just a matter of time. As for when, Li Yi has just given a specific answer.

Within two or three years, Gongsun Zan will be destroyed, and Yuan Shao will recover a little and then send troops to the south.

In other words, Liu Bei only had two or three years to prepare.

No wonder Li Yi attaches so much importance to the development of Huainan.

If a war really breaks out, military rations will be of paramount importance.

Everything is in preparation for future wars...

"Do you think what I said is just empty talk?"

Li Yi asked everyone again.

No one could answer.

Yuan Huan's eyebrows were filled with discontent, and he said in a deep voice:

"Jizhou has a population of one million, a prosperous population, and much cultivated land."

"The soldiers have sufficient food and mulberry and jujube crops."

"If Yuan Jizhou really led the troops from Hebei to the south, it would be difficult to stop them."

Liu Bei's expression became increasingly heavy. He sat on the stool without saying a word.

Finally, he stood up and said to Li Yi solemnly:
"Okay, let's do as the military advisor says!"

"Everything is prepared for war!"

Originally, Liu Bei planned to give the people of Huainan a few years to rest and recuperate.

But after listening to Li Yi's analysis, Liu Bei realized that Yuan Shao's threat was approaching.

Then we can only let the people suffer first.

Once the Shaobi water conservancy project is completed, it will also benefit the people of Huainan.

That night, Liu Bei hosted a banquet to entertain all the surrendered generals.

At the same time, extra meals were provided to all the soldiers, and everyone was rewarded with wine and meat.

After the banquet was over, the leaders of each camp returned to their homes.

Li Yi was planning to go back to his room to rest, but was informed by a servant that General Liu wanted to see him.

He hurried to Liu Bei's room.

"My lord, why did you summon me?"

As soon as Li Yi entered the door, he asked directly.

His relationship with Liu Bei had reached the point where there was no need for too much courtesy.

When they met in private, when only the two of them were present, they would rarely perform the empty formalities between a ruler and his subjects.

"Zi Yu, you're here just in time."

Liu Bei's desk was full of books. When he saw Li Yi coming, he took the books from the desk.

He handed it to Li Yi with a smile and said:

"Zi Yu, what is this?"

Li Yi took the letter and unfolded it.

It turned out that what was written on it was a memorial from Liu Bei.

During this expedition to Huainan, Liu Bei made a great effort to petition the emperor for promotions and rewards for his subordinates.

This is actually nothing.

However, among the rewards given to Li Yi, Li Yi noticed a special reward.

Liu Bei wrote a letter to the emperor, hoping that Li Yi would be granted the title of Marquis of Tan and a fief of 3,000 households.

Li Yi was shocked when he saw this and was about to speak, but was stopped by Liu Bei.

"Sir, please don't say anything!"

Liu Bei knew that Li Yi would react like this, so he immediately held his hand and said sternly:

"I know that the military advisor is a humble and low-key person who does not covet fame and wealth."

"It's just that the military advisor has been with me for nearly three years, and has worked hard and made great contributions. The military advisor has been busy with all the affairs of Xuzhou, big or small."

"I have seen it all. If I cannot reward my meritorious officials, people will say that I do not know how to reward and punish."

Li Yi raised his eyebrows and said seriously:

"Yi overheard that a gentleman should act according to his position."

"Since the lord has appointed me as his military advisor, I shall take my place and do my duty."

"Yi just did his job well, how can you say he has made great contributions?"

"Even if you want to reward me, you shouldn't give me such a high position."

Li Yi was indeed a little flattered.

He was granted the title of Marquis of Tan and was granted a fief of 3,000 households.

Because Li Yi met Liu Bei in Tan County, Donghai, Liu Bei mistakenly thought Tan County was Li Yi's hometown.

He made Tan County his fiefdom and wanted to recommend Li Yi as Marquis of Tan.

This is a title of county marquis level.

You should know that the county marquis is the highest rank among the marquises.

Like Guan Erye’s title of Han Shou Ting Hou, he was just a Ting Hou.

Prime Minister Zhuge's title of Marquis of Wuxiang was just a marquis of a township.

The rank of county marquis is higher than that of pavilion marquis and township marquis, and can be inherited.

Now Li Yi is asked to take over the title of County Marquis, which is higher than the titles of Guan Erye and Prime Minister Zhuge. How can Li Yi feel at ease?
"This proposal is inappropriate."

"The soldiers of the three armies fought bloody battles on the battlefield, and I was just giving advice behind the scenes. How can I compare to the soldiers who risked their lives?"

"I hope my lord will think twice."

Li Yi declined Liu Bei's kindness, thinking that his achievements were not enough to receive such a high position.

But Liu Bei had his own ideas. He calmed Li Yi down and pulled him to sit down.

Patiently explained to Li Yi what was in his mind.

“I have heard that consideration is the first step to success, and planning is the basis of reward.”

"Achievements in the wild cannot surpass those in the imperial court, and many battles in war cannot surpass national honors."

"Sir, although you didn't fight the enemy directly, how can fighting on the battlefield compare to the number of people fighting in the temple?"

"How can military exploits compare to contributions to the country?"

"So the gift of Qufu was not later than that of Yingqiu, and the land of Xiao He was earlier than that of Pingyang."

"It is true that strategies and plans are important, both in ancient and modern times!"

Liu Bei said sincerely.

……

(Thanks to our group member Hitomi Asano for the drawing. This is the latest map after Cao and Liu divided up Yuan Shu's forces)
(This is a sketch, for reference only, do not go into details)

(End of this chapter)