My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 323 The Chosen Land

Gao Yu had longed for Nanqing Prefecture for a long time, and even before Yuan Ziyou sent people over, he had already made preparations to take actual control of Nanqing Prefecture.

In the name of the Tian Ce Prefecture, he sent Cui Jishu with men to Tuancheng, the capital of Nanqing Prefecture, to request the registered household data from Ru Huailang, the governor of Nanqing Prefecture, and obtained a slightly official figure.

Nanqing Prefecture appears to have only three counties under its jurisdiction, which is much worse than Qing Prefecture, which has seven counties.

In fact, the overall area of ​​Nanqingzhou is only slightly smaller than that of Qingzhou.

Previously, it was the front line between the Northern Wei and the Southern Dynasties, and also a war-torn area.

There were basically no powerful clans left in that area. The capable clans had long since fled, and there were hardly any powerful families left. It was only after the Northern Wei reclaimed Xuzhou that Nanqingzhou ceased to be the front line of the conflict, and powerful families began to emerge slowly.

This was practically the 'chosen land' for Gao Yu!
Such a large area has only 16,459 registered households, totaling just over 50,000 people.

It's a vast area with a sparse population!
Even if the data held by the governor of Nanqing Prefecture is inaccurate, there must be a large number of unaccounted-for refugees within its territory.

In other states, a large number of migrants would certainly cause conflict between the locals and the migrants, but there are hardly any locals in Nanqing State. Aren't these migrants the able-bodied men that God has bestowed upon Gao Yu?
Moreover, after taking Nanqingzhou.

Ok.

Gao Yu's next target was Guangzhou on the Jiaodong Peninsula. Guangzhou was similar to Nanqing Prefecture, serving as the front line against the Southern Dynasty, and was also sparsely populated.

This was indeed somewhat beyond Gao Yu's expectations. He wasn't a god who could know the situation in Nanqingzhou and Guangzhou in advance. He initially chose Qingzhou as his base only because Xing Gao had gathered people to rebel there and caused some damage. He wanted to implement various policies in a place where there would be less resistance.

The cases of Nanqing Prefecture and Guangzhou Prefecture were purely unexpected surprises. After Gao Yu had his men investigate the actual situation, he was quite certain that there was no problem with using the 'Fubing system'!
There aren't even any powerful families in the area, just a few local strongmen, whom Gao Yu can easily control!

Shandong!

OK!

Once he takes Gwangju, the entire lower half of the Bohai Bay will be under his actual control.

Being by the sea, the next step could be to sun-dry sea salt to produce refined salt, further increasing their income. They could even have someone develop shipbuilding techniques, build a large-scale merchant fleet to make money in the Southern Dynasties, and travel north to Pingzhou and Youzhou to buy warhorses.

However, this matter still needs to be done step by step. These are just general frameworks in Gao Yu's mind. The specific implementation still requires him to call on Cui Xian, Yang Yin and others to make a plan together.

Forewarned is forearmed, without prejudging the waste.

Without a plan, going about things haphazardly will only lead to stagnation.

Yang Yu pressed further, "General, how many soldiers do you currently command?"

"I have gathered all the soldiers for today's martial arts training."

Gao Yu looked troubled. "Previously, the bandit leader Xing Gao wreaked havoc in Qingzhou. I had to organize the people to restore production and also wipe out the remaining bandits in the area. I really didn't have any extra energy..."

Yang Yu just smiled.

How could he possibly believe that?

However, this was not what he was concerned about. Instead, he instructed, "The current situation is uncertain. His Majesty and the court need pillars of the nation like you, General, to maintain stability. General... you still need to train your troops more."

"Your Majesty knows that the general has concerns; if too many troops are trained, it may easily attract criticism."

"His Majesty asked me to tell the general that he trusts him and will not listen to the slander of petty people."

Yuan Ziyou is now eager for Gao Yu to quickly amass a large army.

In other words, Erzhu Rong was such a great threat that Yuan Ziyou couldn't care less about Gao Yu's strong army and help him defeat Erzhu Rong. Would he then become the second Erzhu Rong?

In fact, for Yuan Ziyou...

The best possible outcome would be...

Erzhu Rong was wary of Gao Yu and dared not act rashly. There were two powerful ministers in the court who checked and balanced each other.

This has been the situation for the past two years, but Erzhu Ying'e's pregnancy disrupted this delicate balance. "Please convey to Your Majesty that this humble general will certainly not fail Your Majesty's expectations!"

........................

Bingzhou, Jinyang.

"Thank you, Prime Minister, for your kindness in helping me return to my hometown in glory."

Gao Huan bowed respectfully, his attitude extremely respectful!

In fact, Shuozhou is closer to Huaishuo. Hengzhou is a bit further away, but it can still be considered a 'glorious return home'.

"Why are you being so polite, young master?"

Gao Huan remained unmoved and continued, "Prime Minister, in recent years the Rouran have been raiding southwards. I fear I have failed His Majesty and the Prime Minister's high expectations. I am not a military expert, so I hope the Prime Minister will send someone to assist me in such an important place as Mayi."

The greatest threat to Erzhu Rong from Hengzhou was Mayi, the northern gateway to Sizhou.

This is the only passage from Hengzhou southward into Shanxi.

When Erzhu Rong went south to Luoyang back then.

Only after sending trusted confidants to capture the two important passes of Mayi and Jingxing did they dare to move south with peace of mind.

What Gao Huan wanted to express was nothing more than...

Although he was the governor of Hengzhou, and Mayi was under the jurisdiction of Hengzhou, he was willing to give Mayi to Erzhu Rong to put Erzhu Rong at ease.

Actually.

Mayi is now in Erzhu Rong's hands. Even if Gao Huan doesn't give it to him, he won't be able to get this important city.

But this is how he expresses his unwavering loyalty.

Your attitude needs to be made clear.

A hint of joy flashed in Erzhu Rong's eyes. Gao Huan's departure from Jinzhou meant that he had actually been kicked out of the central area.

Hengzhou had been completely destroyed by the previous rebellion of the Six Garrisons, and it would take at least ten years to recover. Naturally, the threat it posed to him had decreased significantly.

"We are related by marriage, why be so formal?"

Gao Huan then spoke up, "Prime Minister, I have heard that the former six garrison households in Bing and Si prefectures who surrendered are not in accordance with your authority and often gather to cause trouble?"

Erzhu Rong's expression froze for a moment, then he looked at him calmly, "It is indeed true."

Gao Huan said solemnly, "Prime Minister, I have a small reputation among the military households in Huai Shuo and Wu Chuan. I ask that you allow me to meet with them. I am willing to use my persuasive tongue to convince them to serve you willingly."

Erzhu Rong hesitated for a moment.

He glanced at Gao Huan from time to time, then frowned and pondered deeply.

It seemed like he had thought of something.

A look of joy appeared on Erzhu Rong's face, and he nodded.

"That would be good. Most of the soldiers and civilians in the six towns are brave and valiant. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they could be put to my use?"

"Thank you for your trust, Prime Minister. I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

Erzhu Rong waved his hand and ordered someone to take Gao Huan away.

He seemed completely oblivious to the warning glances from Wang Xiang and the others beside him.

(End of this chapter)