Late Han Zhao Tang

During Zhang Yu's tenure in Xiangyang, he made many arrangements for the navy and summoned Huang Zu, who was guarding Xiakou.

Huang Zu and his family paid a visit to Zhang Yu, who warmly received them and hosted three banquets over two days. For Huang Zu's meritorious service in defending against the enemy, Zhang Yu bestowed upon him the title of Marquis of Duxiang and appointed his son, Huang She, as a Gentleman Attendant, showing the Huang family the utmost favor.

Seeing that Zhang Yu showed no suspicion and treated his family with courtesy, Huang Zu felt greatly relieved and, to demonstrate his loyalty, handed over the books related to Jiangxia Commandery to Zhang Yu and offered to send him and the families of his generals and officers to Chang'an.

Zhang Yu, citing the convenience for Huang Zu to meet with his family, left Huang Zu's family in Xiangyang City, and patted him on the back affectionately.

"Huang Jun's loyalty and filial piety are known to all, so there is no need to use this to demonstrate his loyalty. In the past, Xiao He sent his sons and brothers to serve the emperor, but Emperor Gaozu did not accept them. Geng Chun burned down his house to follow him, and Emperor Shizu did not betray his deep intentions. I already know your heart. It is not in accordance with common sense for you to send your wife and children to Chang'an, and they may be disturbed by war if you leave them in Xiakou. Would it be better for you to stay in Xiangyang so that I can visit them?"

Huang Zu thought he had met a wise ruler, and was deeply moved. When it was time to part, he was reluctant to leave and promised to guard Jiangxia for Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu treated Huang Zu so well not only because Huang Zu was the de facto controller of Jiangxia, but also because he valued Huang Zu's abilities.

In the eyes of many in later generations, Huang Zu was labeled as mediocre because he did not give Gan Ning a prominent position, and was only valued by Liu Biao because of his local power. However, judging from the evaluations of the generals of Jiangdong and a closer look at Huang Zu's life, it is clear that Huang Zu was by no means an incompetent person.

Sun Ce described Huang Zu as "a cunning and treacherous man who, in order to show his loyalty, went out as a henchman," which shows that Huang Zu was cunning in his military tactics and was not a man without strategy, which made Sun Ce quite wary of him.

Before Gan Ning defected to Jiangdong, Huang Zu defeated the Sun family. After Gan Ning fled to Jiangdong, he advised Sun Quan to attack Jiangxia, but Zhang Zhao opposed the idea. Gan Ning, however, persuaded Sun Quan to decide to attack Jiangxia by arguing that "Zu is old and senile, his wealth and grain are scarce... he neglects farming, and his army is disorganized."

Therefore, as can be seen from the above, Huang Zu's military strategy should not be underestimated. With Liu Biao's support, he held sway over Jiangxia for more than ten years, making it the eastern bulwark of Jingzhou. His later defeat and death were nothing more than the intense struggle for the crown prince position within Jingzhou, Liu Biao's terminal illness, Huang Zu's own old age and mental instability, and the laxity of the Jiangxia's military.

In order to ensure Huang Zu's stability in Xiakou, Zhang Yu specially appointed Wang Wei as his deputy general to fight against Cao Cao's troops together.

"Your Majesty employs surrendered generals from Chen, such as Huang Zu, Wen Pin, Han Hao, and Wang Wei. Aren't you afraid of them turning against you?" Zhang Yang asked, puzzled.

Zhang Yu laughed and said, "I know how to recognize and appoint people, and I trust my generals completely. I have no shame before my generals, and how could they betray me? Even if they betray me and surrender to the enemy, I suppose they are already exhausted and have no other choice but to surrender. This is the essence of trusting those you employ and not employing those you don't trust!"

Zhang Yang remarked with emotion, "In the past, Ma Yuan said that Emperor Shizu treated people with sincerity, and now I understand the meaning of that."

In his early years, Zhang Yu often worried that his trust would be betrayed, but with a series of victories and based on later evaluations, he gradually chose to trust. In particular, he made large-scale appointments of surrendered generals from the Chen state, something most suspicious rulers would never do. However, apart from appointing Xu Huang as commander-in-chief, Zhang Yu appointed all other border generals to surrendered positions.

Zhang Yu is currently brimming with confidence. He now controls China, and unifying the world is only a matter of time. If any surrendered general from Chen were to betray him, he would inevitably suffer heavy losses. However, regardless of the circumstances, human nature is unpredictable, and Zhang Yu's unwavering trust in him truly earns Zhang Yang's heartfelt admiration.

While the uncle and nephew were chatting, Xun You, Jia Xu, and Guo Tu entered the room, all three with smiles on their faces, clearly indicating that there was great news.

"Meet the king!"

"I wonder what joyous occasion has brought you all?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Your Majesty, according to military reports from the Central Plains, Man Chong has captured Linzi, killed Yuan Tan, and dispatched generals to quell the bandits in Qingzhou, intending to pacify the various counties of Qingzhou."

Xun You reported in detail, saying, "Li Song subdued Zang Ba, Sun Guan and other bandits of Mount Tai, and together they attacked Gao Gan. Gao Gan was defeated and fled to the East Sea, where he was beheaded by Mi Fang. Tao Shang was terrified upon hearing the news and sent an envoy to surrender to our army, who has now been sent to Chang'an."

Zhang Yang clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "Qing and Xu have surrendered, and Qi and Yuan have been destroyed. In this campaign, Your Majesty first conquered Yanzhou, then Jing and Yu, and then conquered Xu and Qing. In less than a year, you have gained five provinces. Now there are no strong enemies in the world. The Han dynasty has fallen and the Tang dynasty has risen. Your Majesty will become emperor!"

Zhang Yang could not afford to be unhappy. As Zhang Yu's uncle, he would become a member of the imperial family once the Tang Dynasty was established. According to the old system of the Han Dynasty, he would surely receive a princely title. In the past, it was precisely because of the allure of the princely position that he disregarded personal gains and losses.

"hehe!"

Zhang Yu chuckled a few times and said, "The vast territory we have today is all thanks to your dedicated service." "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on unifying China!" the three men bowed and smiled.

Zhang Yu composed himself and asked, "Is there any information about the rest of Qingzhou?"

"Your Majesty, Qingzhou has suffered greatly from the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Various heroes have risen up in the mountains and seas, and the people have been displaced. Therefore, although we have now conquered Qingzhou, it will not be easy to pacify it. Now, Man Chong requests Your Majesty to appoint officials to the prefectures and counties."

Xun You handed over Man Chong's memorial and said, "According to Man Chong's estimate, there are more than 50,000 registered households in Qingzhou. However, if we can quell the bandits and reorganize the powerful clans, retainers, and servants, Man Chong believes that Qingzhou may have 100,000 households."

Zhang Yu reviewed the memorials and asked, "How is Gongsun Du's position in the county seat he occupies in Qingzhou?"

"We have already defeated the Liaodong troops, and the defeated soldiers have retreated back to Liaodong by sea," Xun You said.

Seeing that Man Chong recommended Wang Xiu to be the prefect, Zhang Yu said, "Wang Xiu has made meritorious contributions in persuading people to surrender and is also a loyal and righteous man. Now he will be appointed as the prefect of Langya to inspire the people of the coastal area."

"Now that Qingzhou has been initially pacified, I wonder how Xuzhou is doing?"

"To persuade the generals of Mount Tai to surrender, Li Song promised them titles of nobility and honors, and also granted Zang Ba the title of Marquis of a Thousand Households. Now, Li Song has assigned 10,000 soldiers to the generals, ordering them to select the best soldiers and eliminate the old and weak to return to their hometowns. Tao Shang has not yet been rewarded; it needs to be officially conferred by Your Majesty," Xun You said.

"As reported by Li Song, so be it!"

Li Song's unauthorized bestowal of rewards did not displease Zhang Yu. After all, a general in the field cannot always be entrusted with military orders. If he were to personally report everything to Zhang Yu, it would not only waste time but also delay crucial battle opportunities.

"Tao Shang is granted the title of Marquis of a County with three thousand households, and Prime Minister Zhong is ordered to choose a residence to settle down!"

"promise!"

Xun You submitted a memorial to Li Song, stating: "The registered households in the four prefectures of Xuzhou number over 60,000, but due to the displacement of the people, large clans have hidden their retainers. According to the verification by Li Song and the officials of Xuzhou, there should be around 100,000 households in Xuzhou. Therefore, Li Song ordered Chen Deng, Mi Zhu, and other former officials to persuade those who had not yet surrendered, and also compiled a register of the generals, retainers, and retainers of the Taishan generals. Among them, Mi Zhu donated more than 3,000 families to the government."

"More than three thousand?"

Even Zhang Yu, who had weathered many storms, was astonished to see Mi Zhu offer up more than three thousand families of people without cause.

"Why did Mi Zhu suddenly offer up more than three thousand families?" Jia Xu frowned and asked in confusion, "Could it be that he intends to use this to seek an official position?"

Zhang Yu looked at the contents of the memorial and pondered for a moment before saying, "Regardless of Mi Zhu's intentions, he has now offered more than three thousand families to the country, so the court should reward him according to the established system."

"An imperial edict was issued to Mi Zhu, who is now enfeoffed as a Marquis of a Township with a fief of five hundred households. His son, Mi Fang, is enfeoffed as the Marquis of Duting for his meritorious service in beheading Gao Gan, with a fief of two hundred households. As for official positions, Mi Zhu is appointed as the Prefect of Beihai Commandery, and Mi Fang is appointed as the Acting General of the Central Army, temporarily serving in the Xuzhou Army."

"Your Majesty, Chen Deng is from a prominent family in Xuzhou and has served our army diligently. Should we also grant him an official position?" Xun You asked.

After a moment's thought, Zhang Yu said, "Chen Deng is from Xiapi. Let him take up the post of Prefect of Qi Commandery and go to Qingzhou to assume his post."

"promise!"

The scholars of Qing and Xu prefectures are familiar with each other, have had frequent exchanges in the past, and their customs are quite similar. Allowing surrendered officials from the two prefectures to govern each other might bring stability to both prefectures as soon as possible. (End of Chapter)