I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 156 Garrison
From suppressing the two Sun brothers and pacifying Jiangdong to receiving news of Liu Miao and confirming his return, only a few days had passed.

But these few days felt like an eternity to those who stayed behind in Jiangdong.

When Liu Miao passed through Stone City, he could still see the traces left on it, and immediately asked, "Where are Sun Ben and Sun Fu?"

"Does the lord wish to see them now, in the water dungeon?"

Liu Miao stretched out the riding whip in his hand: "Of course!"

Can the ninth generation still take revenge? Although it lasts for a hundred generations!

When you don't have the ability to take revenge, you should naturally be patient. But if you have the ability to take revenge and still put on airs, wouldn't you become a hypocrite?

Liu Miao didn't even go inside his house; instead, dressed in armor, he went with Lu Kang to the water dungeon.

The water here is ankle-deep, and it's cold just to stand in, let alone sleep in it.

Liu Miao waded through the puddles to the depths of the prison. When he saw the two "Yuan" characters on Sun Ben and Sun Fu's faces, he laughed without any restraint.

"This has truly fulfilled your wishes! Aren't you all people who were born for Yuan Shu and will die for him?"

Hearing that familiar voice, Sun Ben struggled to open his eyes.

"My lord, you're not dead?"

"Not bad! You're lucky to be alive!"

Liu Miao touched the other person's face, then asked Sun Ben, "Does it hurt?"

"pain."

"It's okay if it hurts!"

Sun Ben weakly raised his head, his hair completely matted together, utterly lacking the demeanor he once possessed as the Prefect of Danyang.

Hearing Liu Miao mocking him at this moment, Sun Ben smiled wryly: "I thought the first thing our lord would do after returning was to treat us kindly, just to put on a show for Lord Cheng and the others."

"I disdain doing such hypocritical things, and I'm too lazy to do them."

Liu Miao understood Sun Ben's meaning.

They probably thought they still had value and wanted Liu Miao to play a "benevolent" trick so they could negotiate some terms with him.

But now Liu Miao also told Sun Ben—

impossible!
“Sun Ben, if I don’t want to kill someone, it doesn’t matter to me no matter what; but if I want to kill someone, I will kill him no matter where he runs.”

Liu Miao leaned against the railing.

"You used to be the former."

"Now, you are the latter."

"And don't talk to me about what will happen afterward or what conditions you'll meet. You're not qualified to do that because of the crimes you've committed."

At this moment, a hint of surprise finally flashed in Sun Ben's eyes.

When Sun Ben was on Liu Miao's side, he always felt that Liu Miao treated him with great kindness.

Only now that he has become Liu Miao's enemy can Sun Ben feel that bone-chilling coldness emanating from Liu Miao!

"He has a clear sense of right and wrong and acts ruthlessly... Our lord truly has the style of Emperor Gaozu. No wonder he can make great talents like Zhou Yu and Lu Su submit and serve him."

Sun Ben, sitting in the water, had no strength left. He had only exchanged a few words with Liu Miao when he began to pant heavily.

"My lord, this matter has nothing to do with anyone else, including Bo Fu. You are now, after all, his father, so please don't be too harsh on him."

Liu Miao rolled his eyes upon hearing this: "Now you know how to say these things? Did you think of Bo Fu or the Sun family when you started the uprising?"

"I thought about it."

Sun Ben's voice was filled with despondency.

"I just didn't know that I would lose so inexplicably when facing my lord."

"There were many things that my lord did that I didn't understand at first. But after actually fighting alongside my lord, I was able to understand many of them."

"If there is anyone in the world today who can truly pacify it... perhaps it is only you?" Liu Miao: "Don't think that I'll let you off the hook just because you're praising me now. I'm not that easily swayed."

“The words of a dying man are good.”

At this moment, Sun Ben truly witnessed many of the things Liu Miao had done.

Many things, though seemingly subtle and gradual, can actually bring about real change.

“If this had happened anywhere else, I would have been met with a huge response in Jinling. People like Zhu Huan would have come to my aid. But here in Jiangdong, I am now fighting this battle all by myself.”

The powerful families of Danyang and Wujun were completely wiped out by Liu Miao. Even outstanding figures like Zhu Huan were intimidated by Liu Miao and refused to send troops to help him.

The implementation of the equal distribution of land allowed people who had lived on this land for thousands of years to obtain their own private property for the first time!
Once people have private property, they will naturally stand on the side that protects their private property.

This also made the people of Jiangdong different from the people of other places.

Unless the outsiders, like Liu Miao, agree to protect the private property of the people of Jiangdong, there might still be a chance to compete with Liu Miao for control of Jiangdong.

Unfortunately, Sun Ben only thought of these things after he was knocked over by the fishermen of the Yangtze River and imprisoned in this dark and damp water dungeon. By then, it was too late for the situation to change.

Liu Miao's base of support in Jiangdong was never the support of the Lu or Gu families, nor was it the reputation that Liu Miao had never cultivated. Rather, it was the millions of Jiangdong people who had been allocated farmland and, for the first time in thousands of years, had the concept of private property.

Sun Ben sighed: "If I had thought of these things earlier, even if Guo Yi threatened to kill himself, I probably wouldn't have agreed to rebel with him."

"It is indeed a bit of a pity."

Liu Miao deeply regretted Sun Ben's fate.

But that didn't stop Liu Miao from killing him.

Liu Miao handed his horsewhip to the jailer and then walked out of the water dungeon.

As for Sun Fu, Liu Miao couldn't be bothered to even glance at him.

That evening, Liu Miao held a banquet at his residence to celebrate.

"The pacification of the rebellion of the two Suns is all thanks to your contributions!"

Liu Miao generously rewarded everyone.

Civil officials such as Lu Kang and Zhang Zhao were all given money, grain, and silk.

Military generals such as Xu Huang and Zhu Huan were all promoted one rank.

To everyone's surprise, even Cheng Pu, Wu Jing, Huang Gai, and others were among those awarded this time!

The men quickly declined, saying, "We have not done anything to deserve this reward."

"Isn't the suppression of Chen Lan and Lei Bo a meritorious deed?"

Thus, the number of Lieutenant Generals under Liu Miao's command increased dramatically to seven, namely—

Zhou Yu, Taishi Ci, Cheng Pu, Wu Jing, Huang Zhong, Xu Huang, and Zhu Huan.

Liu Miao sighed at the same time: "The fact that Sun Ben and Sun Fu were able to succeed is the consequence of insufficient garrison strength in Jiangdong."

"In this age of great strife, I intend to reorganize the military system and recruit new soldiers. What do you all think?"

coming!

Everyone knew that after the rebellion of Sun Ben and Sun Fu, Liu Miao would inevitably take corresponding measures.

Even if Liu Miao trusted Cheng Pu and other former subordinates of Sun Jian, the fact of the rebellion was right before their eyes, and no one could ignore it.

Although everyone was curious that Liu Miao had come up with a solution so quickly, they also felt at ease.

If Liu Miao really does nothing and changes nothing, then something is definitely amiss!
Therefore, the generals had long been prepared for this matter, and Wu Jing even looked up and asked, "How should our lord reorganize the military system?"

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Miao finally uttered two words slowly—

"The guards!"

(End of this chapter)