My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 295: Divide Jiangdong and Force Zhou Yu to Land

As Sun Ce refused to surrender even at the cost of his life, Guan Yu successfully captured Qiantang and Yuhang counties, and the power of the Sun family was completely wiped out.

After Guan Yu entered the city, he arranged for someone to bury Sun Ce. However, the tombstone would definitely not write the new title of "Yangzhou Mu" that Cao Cao had conferred on Sun Ce after the Yidaizhao Incident broke out. Instead, it would only write Sun Ce's old official title before the Yidaizhao Incident broke out.

This was to show that Liu Bei's camp only recognized the imperial edict of the Emperor in Xudu until the Yidaizhao, and would not accept Cao's orders from then on. However, the generals and civil officials who had once submitted to the Sun family should also be appeased.

Especially since Zhang Zhao had surrendered in Moling, Zhang Hong finally negotiated with Guan Yu as Sun Ce's envoy in Qiantang, and Guan Yu agreed, so Zhang Hong surrendered. So the takeover of the civil service system was actually quite peaceful, the main problem was that the military commanders in various places were a little troublesome.

Then Guan Yu personally visited Mrs. Wu and Wu Jing to comfort them, telling them not to worry and to take good care of themselves.

He also said that the strife in the world did not extend to family members, and Sun Ce's crime was that he did not distinguish between loyalty and treachery, listened to Cao Cao, and became an accomplice to the tiger. Since the crime ended here, he could be put to death and his crime would be forgiven, and no further investigation would be conducted.

Guan Yu also asked people to leave some money and food, but Mrs. Wu threw them out, saying that she didn't need them. She was an old woman with a disease and didn't know how long she would live, so she didn't care. Guan Yu didn't insist.

The direct descendants of the Sun family chose to move out of fear, and only Wu Jing's family stayed. Guan Yu said that he would advise his elder brother to give Wu Jing's son Wu Fen a sinecure and a salary to provide for Mrs. Wu and Wu Jing in their old age.

After pacifying Qiantang, there were still two pieces of territories south of Zhejiang, the Lanxi River Plain and the Ningshao Plain, but there was no need to fight for either, just to grab the land and take it over.

Even if there were some conflicts, they were all fights with the defeated soldiers of the Sun family who fled and became bandits, as well as some Shanyue tribes. It is ironic that some of the Shanyue people wanted to rebel against the Han Dynasty. The so-called helping Sun fight Liu or helping Liu fight Sun was all nonsense. The essence was that whoever was in power in the local area would unite with foreign forces to resist the local Han princes.

Of course, there are also some Shanyue tribes who are relatively naturalized and willing to surrender.

In general, Guan Yu and Zhao Yun roughly estimated that it would take at least one or two months to seize all the counties in Kuaiji south of Zhejiang. It would take three months to send new officials to take charge.

The terrain in the mountainous area of southern Zhejiang is much more rugged than that in the northern Zhejiang plain and the Taihu plain, and the mountain roads are difficult to travel on. For the same area of land, the time required for reception can be several times slower than that in the Taihu plain.

If we want to eliminate the newly emerged bandits and scattered soldiers, it will take at least until the second half of the year. As for the Shanyue issue, it is hard to say, there is no fixed time limit. Therefore, in the first half of this year, Guan Yu's troops could not be used for other purposes, and Liu Bei's camp basically had to rest and recuperate for a while to digest the territory.

Historically, after Sun Quan completely took control of Jiangnan, he had been entangled with Shanyue for many years. This matter could not be resolved by force alone. The key was to develop productivity, improve the infrastructure in Jiangnan, provide more arable land for the people in the mountainous areas, and then use industry and commerce to attract the mountain people to move to the plains to make a living.

Guan Yu did not worry about these matters personally. He asked Zhao Yun to lead the light-armed troops to the south to encircle the land. After stabilizing the situation in Qiantang, he returned to Wuxian to discuss local governance issues with Gu, Lu and other Jiangdong clans, and to restore stability in Jiangdong as soon as possible.

He also wrote a letter to Zhuge Jin to report the victory, and also reported the victory to Liu Bei who was in Wuchang.

After receiving the letter, Zhuge Jin immediately rushed from Moling to Wu County to discuss governance matters together. In fact, Zhuge Jin was worried about another thing in his heart, because after Guan Yu captured Qiantang, he did not find other members of Sun Ce's clansmen. He only saw the sick Mrs. Wu, the Wu Jing siblings, and a group of servants and maids from the Sun family.

Guan Yu was arrogant and could not bear to see his subordinates killed. He felt that the other members of the Sun family had committed no crime. Moreover, he had already buried Sun Ce, and Madam Wu had thrown out the money and food he had sent, which meant that the other party did not believe that he "would not kill them all." So he was too lazy to look for them anymore.

Most of the Sun family generals who were willing to stay surrendered, and Guan Yu accepted them all. As for who was missing, Guan Yu did not search for them. Cheng Pu and Han Dang, two northern generals, had been with the Sun family for three generations. Now that the Sun family was destroyed, they were unwilling to stay in the south and fled on their own. This was normal, as long as they did not help Liu Bei's enemies.

But Zhuge Jin was much more sensitive than Guan Yu. He knew that Guan Yu underestimated Sun Quan, so he hurried to Wu County to learn the latest situation in person.

As soon as he arrived in Wu County, Guan Yu held a banquet in advance to welcome Zhuge Jin.

Zhuge Jin was in no mood to eat or drink. After three rounds of drinking, he asked about Sun Quan's whereabouts: "Why didn't Yunchang send someone to search carefully? What about the whereabouts of Sun Quan and others?"

Guan Yu seemed to have paid attention to it, but he did not deliberately pursue the result, so he answered casually:
"I sent someone to ask, and they said they had fled overseas with Zhou Yu. These people are still young, have committed no crime, and have no real power. The Sun family is not popular in Wu. Since their mother doesn't believe that my brother will let them go, there is no need to capture them. I am afraid that it will damage my brother's reputation and make those who come after me think that we are killing them all.

If Ziyu feels that it is inappropriate, he can continue to investigate. The counties in southern Zhejiang have not yet been taken over. Maybe the Sun family has retreated to southern Zhejiang."

Zhuge Jin shook his head and said, "Of course I am not worried about Sun Quan, but Zhou Yu is quite a military strategist, and we must not let him defect to other princes and become our enemy.

In my opinion, if Zhou Yu fled to the south, it would be nothing. Would Shi Xie of Jiaozhou dare to take him in? If he dared, with Shi Xie's ability, he would not be able to control Sun Quan and Zhou Yu at all, and sooner or later he would become the host.

But if Zhou Yu flees to the north, the situation will be bad. We must not let Zhou Yu surrender to Cao Cao. Qiantang has only been occupied for three or four days, so Zhou Yu may not have time to move too far.

Our army should use the navy to intercept and patrol. Let Ziyi, Lu Yi, and Zhang Duo continue to lead the sea-going navy to patrol along Wuxian and Haiyan every day. The warships of the Sun family navy are not as fast as ours, so if there is any movement, we can probably intercept it. "

(Note: Lu Yi has no name yet, and he just turned 18 after the Chinese New Year)
Guan Yu also agreed with this. He was too concerned about his reputation at the beginning and did not want his elder brother to be known as a ruthless killer, so as to avoid difficulties in recruiting surrenders and rebellions in the future. Ziyu was more thoughtful. Letting go of Sun Ce's children did not mean letting go of Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu still had to be arrested.

Even if it cannot be used by me, I cannot allow it to become an enemy.

Guan Yu had just finished the war and had too many things to do at the beginning, so he missed a lot of things. When someone reminded him of this, he corrected them immediately.

Zhuge Jin originally wanted to explain some specific details, but seeing Guan Yu's sincere attitude, he didn't say more on this occasion. He would just convey them to Taishi Ci and Lu Yi himself when the time came.

Anyway, Guan Yu has already supported his plan, so the specific implementation can be adjusted according to circumstances.

Taking advantage of today's welcoming banquet, representatives of other local prominent families in Wu County are also present. Zhuge Jin doesn't want to keep discussing military affairs with Guan Yu in a whisper, so he might as well take the opportunity to test the possibility of personnel adjustments and lay some traps for the long-term stability of Wuhui.

After a while, Gu Yong brought his nephew Lu Yi to toast Zhuge Jin, praising him highly. Zhuge Jin said tentatively in front of Guan Yu and other noble families:
"Lu Lang has contributed a lot to the court. Before this, Wu had not recovered. In order to protect you, I dare not grant you an official position, so as not to implicate the clan.

Now that the Sun family has been destroyed, there won’t be much use for naval warfare in the future. I wonder if Lu Lang is interested in civil or military service?”

Lu Yi was still a little nervous when facing Zhuge Jin. Although he had served Liu Bei's camp several times before, for nearly a year, he had never met Zhuge Jin in person, and only contacted him through Bu Zhi and others.

Through Bu Zhi's retelling, he knew Zhuge Jin's foresight and was afraid that his selfishness would be seen through. After a little hesitation, he took the initiative to express his position:
“Although there may not be many opportunities for naval commanders to make achievements in the future, my family has undergone a dramatic change since I was young. For several years, I have been thinking about revenge on the Sun family and have studied military tactics.

If I am allowed to govern the area, I am afraid that I will delay the people. I would rather continue to be a naval commander. Even if I have no merits, I can still ensure peace in the coastal areas."

Zhuge Jin was quite satisfied with this answer. If Lu Yi did not interfere in internal affairs, the Lu family would have a declining population and it would be difficult for them to recover to the level of power of the "Four Clans of Jiangdong". The problem of land annexation by the aristocratic families in Wu would also be alleviated.

But Zhuge Jin still said: "You are still young, why set limits for yourself? If you don't know how to be a civil servant, you can learn it slowly while leading troops. Then temporarily let you continue to lead the navy, block the mouth of the Yangtze River, patrol and eliminate the fleeing pirates in the surrounding areas.

In the future, when the pirates have subsided and you have some free time, you can slowly learn some civil service affairs. As for the specific military post, I will report it to the lord and he will make the decision. "

Lu Yi thanked him quickly and toasted Zhuge Jin with three cups of wine.

Zhuge Jin made arrangements with Lu Yi and then turned to Gu Yong.

On his way here, he had thought of a way to prevent the Jiangdong aristocratic families from becoming powerful and establishing their own regime - historically, Sun Quan was able to secure his position and survive the dangerous transition period after Sun Ce's death by sharing power and making concessions with the four Jiangdong clans, but this also laid the seeds of disaster for the Sun Wu regime.

Later, the military forces in Jiangdong were mostly private soldiers of generals. The army followed the generals and the power concentration was far less than that of Ji Han and Cao Wei. The aristocratic families also fenced off their territory and divided their spheres of influence more seriously than the other two families.

Later, when the last emperor Sun Hao ascended the throne, he wanted to take back some power, so he tried to move the capital from Jianye to Wuchang. He wanted to transfer the top leaders of the Four Clan of Jiangdong away from their hometowns and send them to serve as officials in other places, so that their control over Wuhui would perhaps be slightly reduced.

However, Sun Hao's rule had already aroused strong resistance, and the relocation of the capital to Wuchang only lasted for a short time before it was moved back to Jianye.

However, all these potential obstacles that the Sun family had to face in history did not exist at all for Liu Bei's camp - because before the Yidaizhao, Liu Bei had been granted the title of Marquis of Wuchang by the emperor's valid edict, and his fief was in Wuchang County.

No one could object to Liu Bei's decision to place the center of his rule in Jiangxia County.

For the Wuhui area, Liu Bei was originally a foreign conqueror. It was natural and a promotion for him to transfer local elites to the central government of Wuchang to serve as officials.

Just like in history, after the Western Jin Dynasty destroyed Wu, it was natural to transfer Gu Rong, Lu Ji and Lu Yun to Luoyang to serve as officials. Controlling the Gu and Lu families means controlling Jiangdong.

Zhuge Jin had these historical experiences to draw on, so his tactics were readily apparent.

I just heard him chatting with Gu Yong in a friendly manner, praising Gu Yong's moral integrity and humility.

Naturally, Gu Yong also wanted to brag about the business, saying that he had long admired General Fubo's far-sightedness and wisdom, and as for humility and self-control, he himself did not dare to compare himself with General Fubo.

Then, Zhuge Jin said:
"I heard that when Sun Ce was seriously injured, Sun Quan was temporarily appointed as the governor of Kuaiji, and wanted to appoint Gu Gong as the county magistrate? In my opinion, Sun Ce is also stingy. Gu Gong's talent is too much for governing a county. He should be the governor, not to mention the county magistrate? He will be in the central government in the future.

But the lord doesn't know Mr. Gu yet, so don't give him a high position for now, lest people be dissatisfied. I have a plan for Mr. Gu, I can take over my brother as the governor of Jiangxia, so that he can always be by the lord's side, maybe he can show his talent and seek promotion. "

Apart from Liu Bei himself, only Zhuge Jin could suggest this kind of trial-and-error approach. Even Guan Yu was not qualified to say so.

Because this kind of test involves giving Gu Yong a position. With Zhuge Liang's status, even if he has a new higher position, no one can ask him to resign from his old position, and he can just take on another one.

Only with Zhuge Jin's status, he could say that an outsider could take over his brother's position without being impolite. In the filial piety environment of the Han Dynasty, the elder brother naturally had the right to evaluate his younger brother.

Of course, Gu Yong would not accept this kind of temptation. He also had a high EQ and immediately said modestly:

"General Fubo, you are really overpraising me! Yong has just arrived and has not done anything, how can he be promoted? Moreover, I have no intention of fame and fortune. If I were promoted suddenly, outsiders would think that I surrendered to Wu for the sake of fame and fortune.

Moreover, Mr. Kong Ming is also a great sage in the world. With him as the governor of Jiangxia, it is in line with the emperor's order and the people of Jingzhou. Please revoke the order and save my personal morality!"

Zhuge Jin was just testing the waters, and after hearing Gu Yong bring up his personal morality, he stopped forcing it and took a step back, saying:

"Zhu Zhi and Zhu Ran have just passed away. Lord Gu is a kindhearted gentleman. Although he has surrendered the city, I believe he does not want to see the father and son of the Zhu family perish in their resistance. It may be a bit unreasonable for you to serve as an official now. In this case, if Lord Gu does not want to serve immediately, he can stay idle in Wu County this year. The lord will definitely recruit you for another position next year. I hope you will not refuse then.

As for the position, I think the position of Jiangxia governor is too high. You can first serve as a county magistrate for a year, and when you are familiar with Jiangxia's political affairs, it will not be too late to take over as governor. Don't worry, Mr. Gu, my brother is busy, and the post of Jiangxia governor will be suspended for another one or two years at most. It is not to make room for you. "

The conditions Zhuge Jin proposed for the second time were beyond doubt. Gu Yong's noble character was taken into consideration, and a buffer period was given, so Gu Yong had no choice but to agree.

If the leaders of Gu and Lu were transferred away from Wujun and no longer served as local officials, the problem of the aristocratic families of the Four Clan of Jiangdong would be alleviated a lot.

(End of this chapter)