Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 646 Subduing the Powerful and Pacifying the Kind

There's really nothing to discuss.

The first thing to do when a river breaches its banks is obvious to even a fool.

Of course, we need to plug the gap.

But theory is theory, and practice is practice. Theoretically, there are only three steps to putting an elephant in a refrigerator!

In those days, there were no excavators; everything relied on manpower. To plug the breach, laborers had to be gathered and water conservancy experts would take unified command. The breach would then be filled with bamboo baskets, wooden stakes, branches, stones, and even sunken ships.

This method existed as early as the Tang Dynasty; it is called "using bamboo strips to hold stones."

The key issue was that no one expected the Bian River to breach its banks. These things were not prepared in advance, and the mud and debris caused by the flood made it a major problem to even gather the laborers.

Moreover, it's winter, and working in the water for even a short time is enough to kill someone.

However, with Liu Huai using his prestige to forcefully push forward, these difficulties were overcome one by one.

The wealthy families in Suzhou originally wanted to bargain with Liu Huai, but after he confiscated several of their property on the grounds that they had "colluded with the Jin traitors, breached the Bian River, and destroyed the countryside," they immediately became obedient.

They contributed money, labor, and even the most scarce food.

Subsequently, the people around Fuli who had been affected by the disaster were organized and all served as laborers. The elderly and weak cooked and the young and strong did manual labor, launching a vigorous self-rescue movement.

It must be said that the power of the people is boundless. With the concerted efforts of everyone in Suzhou, the three smaller breaches on the Bian River were plugged in just three days, leaving only the last larger breach that had not yet been properly sealed.

On the night of December 17th, the cold north wind picked up again, and the temperature dropped rapidly overnight.

Liu Huai knew that this would inevitably make the lives of the disaster victims even more difficult, but what he did not expect was that after several days of low temperatures, this drop in temperature was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, completely freezing the Bian River.

Whether this is good news or not, at least the breach has frozen over, and the laborers finally have a chance to completely plug the breach.

“This is unstable.” Liu Shi stepped on the ice and looked at the large stones piled up at the breach. He said to Liu Huai, “Commander Liu, there are ice crystals connecting the large stones and the rammed earth. When the ice and snow melt in spring, the river water will gush out from there, and the riverbank will still breach.”

Liu Huai nodded: "Of course I know, but in order to deal with the urgent matter, I have no choice but to deal with it perfunctorily for now."

As he spoke, Liu Huai pointed to a camp of laborers on a high ground: "Just like the people of Suzhou, they have no food or clothing at this time. I can only give them some tattered hemp to make clothes, and some soybean meal, horse feed, and bran to eat."

"But I also know that people are not animals and cannot eat these things forever. They still need to have proper food to eat. Therefore, each household should have several dozen acres of land to cultivate, an ox for plowing, a couple of pigs and sheep to raise, and a few mulberry trees to live a decent life. Registrar Liu, don't you think so?"

When Liu Shi heard Liu Huai bring up the matter again, his scalp tingled. He cupped his hands and said, "Commander Liu loves the people like his own children, which I admire. But... those wealthy families are also Commander Liu's children! Even if they have made mistakes, they should be punished. How can they be so easily beaten and killed?"

Liu Huai glanced at Liu Shi indifferently and snorted coldly.

Several guards who had been keeping their eyes on the area immediately stepped forward, seemingly waiting for Liu Huai's order to kill Liu Shi on the spot.

Liu Shi was sweating profusely again.

Liu Huai took out several letters from his pocket and handed them to Liu Shi: "Take a look."

Liu Shi took the letter, first glancing at the signature, which revealed it belonged to a man named Liang Su. He then looked at the contents of the letter and became increasingly surprised as he read on.

“Xuzhou…Commander Liu, didn’t Xuzhou rise up on its own and come to join the Han army? Why resort to such cruel methods?”

Liu Huai gazed at the riverbank and shook his head, saying, "It's not that I want to use these methods, but rather that I'm forced by circumstances."

These letters were all written by Liang Su. When he arrived in Xuzhou to take charge, everything was fine at first, but as the specific power was transferred, trouble began.

Whether it was because they had gained courage after fighting the Jin army, or because they truly believed they had elite troops and could bargain, the powerful families of Xuzhou actually gave Liang Su a show of force on the second day after he entered Xuzhou.

It was truly a show of force. Right in front of the prefectural government office, in broad daylight, a servant of one of the powerful families drove his carriage and ran over Liang Su's usual mule.

This not only shocked and enraged Liang Su, but even those who had sincerely pledged their allegiance to him, such as Cheng Feng, were thrown into a panic. Of course, Liang Su was a prime minister; it would be a miracle if he backed down over such a trivial matter. He simply used this as an excuse to detain Cheng Feng and the other four, and then began to purge the entire city of Pengcheng.

This means going against the grain.

As it turned out, these powerful figures were powerless against legitimate soldiers. Having been given a taste of their power, Liang Su retaliated with an even more ruthless and decisive attack.

In just five days, Pengcheng seemed to have fought another major battle.

Although Liu Shi did not know the specific details, he could still tell from the few words in the letter the extent of the rectification that Xuzhou had suffered.

That place is Xuzhou, where the uprising took the initiative to respond!
This Liu Huai, Liu Dalang, truly has the nature of "those who obey me prosper, those who oppose me perish."

"Registrar Liu, you're a smart man. Make some requests," Liu Huai said calmly, tightening his robe and then resting his hand on his sword.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Shi gritted his teeth and said, "Young Master, I want to know what promises Cheng Dalang of Xuzhou has made."

Liu Huai said nonchalantly, "The Cheng family's land will be completely preserved, but the tenants cannot be forcibly retained, and the land must be converted to other land. Cheng Dalang's son is still young and serves as my page. The Cheng family can participate in maritime trade. If I can achieve great things, I will allow him to have a hundred li of land overseas, be granted a fiefdom, and follow the example of the Zhou dynasty, becoming a vassal state forever."

Points one, two, and three are quite practical. They allow one to retain land as a foundation, reap huge profits from maritime trade, and secure a future for one's son in the central government. But what's with the fourth point about granting land and titles overseas?

As if realizing Liu Shi's question, Liu Huai laughed twice before saying, "These were all proposed by Cheng Dalang. Mr. Liang made a promise on my behalf. As for why Cheng Feng would make such a request, I don't know either, but it doesn't matter."

What Liu Huai didn't know was that powerful merchants like Cheng Feng, who had connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles, were extremely well-informed. They also had some kinship ties with Shandong maritime merchants, and since He Zizhen opened up the sea route, more and more merchant ships had begun maritime trade, gathering a great deal of intelligence in just a few months.

Especially after establishing connections with merchants from Southeast Asia, these Shandong bumpkins realized just how vast the overseas world truly was.

Of course, it would be nonsense to say that Cheng Feng has great ambitions. Ultimately, Cheng Feng is using this method to show his loyalty.

This statement can express both his belief that Liu Huai will achieve great things and unify the world, and his willingness to dedicate his efforts to Liu Huai's unification of the world.

We share the same fate, we share the same glory, we share the same shame, we share the same interests, I am one of them!

Liu Shi was stunned for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "After I deal with the villagers, the Liu family will find it difficult to stay in Suzhou. I will divide the clan and flee to a distant place. At that time, I hope that you, my eldest son, can distribute land to your subjects according to the rules of land allocation."

Taking the initiative to separate is a good thing.

Liu Huai immediately made a promise: "I will move some people from Jinan Prefecture to Mizhou. You can take your children and grandchildren to Jinan Prefecture to live out your old age."

Liu Shi continued, "I still have three grandsons who are of marriageable age. They wish to follow Commander Liu and serve as...serve as officials."

Liu Shi didn't know how to address Liu Huai's close attendants, so he simply picked a similar official title from the Book of Han and assigned it to them.

Liu Huai laughed out loud and nodded repeatedly: "Good, good, I agree. Langguan... Langguan is a good title, it sounds better than Xiaolian."

Only then did Liu Shi realize what he had said, and he couldn't help but look up at the banner with the character 'Han' on it, feeling a little strange.

Suppress powerful clans, relocate wealthy families, select officials, and expel the Xiongnu.

Good heavens, are they really going to rebuild the Han Dynasty?

Thinking of this, Liu Shi's heart stirred, and once the desire for fame and fortune arose, he could no longer suppress it: "There is one more thing. Your subject wishes to serve in the military governor's office under the command of the commander-in-chief, and hopes that the commander-in-chief will grant your request."

Liu Huai nodded, then shook his head: "I can only say that I'm giving you a chance. The governor's office is full of talented people, and we can't let someone of inferior ability fill the position. Let's see how well you do this job."

Liu Shi bowed respectfully, loudly acknowledged the order, and then turned to leave to find the soldiers and clerks of the Jingnan Army who were temporarily serving under him.

Don't blame me for being ruthless; I hope you all do things cleanly in your daily lives.

(End of this chapter)