Tiger Owl

Chapter 249 Abandoning Illusions
When news of Cao Cao's attack on Lujiang County reached Chaisang, the entire Western Chu region remained calm, as everyone had expected.

It is now mid-September, and Cao Cao's army's move at this time is entirely within Gan Ning's expectations.

In the military and political council hall, Gan Ning once again convened a meeting of high-ranking officials. Except for Xu Shu, who was in Queyue City, the other six high-ranking officials all came.

"Commander Zhuge, has the immigration been completed?" Gan Ning asked Zhuge Jin.

Zhuge Jin, who was in charge of the immigration, quickly replied, "Reporting to the Marquis of Chu, it is basically completed. The Huang family also moved to Wuchang County ten days ago."

Gan Ning nodded and said to everyone, "From now on, we will face a difficult situation. Jiangdong's attitude is ambiguous, and the surrender and compromise factions have an absolute advantage. Even if Sun Quan suddenly realizes his mistake, we cannot expect him to reverse the situation in Jiangdong. Therefore, we must rely on ourselves. Advisor Lu, please make the announcement!"

Lu Su stood up and slowly said, "From the moment Cao Cao's army attacked Lujiang County, we officially entered wartime. The three ministries jointly drafted and formulated the 'Wartime Regulations,' which consist of nine articles and thirty-six clauses, covering military affairs, control, internal security, commerce, finance, and so on. I will read them aloud now, and if there are no objections, the Marquis of Chu will sign them to make them effective."

Lu Su began to read aloud. The content was extensive, including the promotion of generals. Generals Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, and Taishi Ci were promoted to Third-Rank Generals, while generals Xu Sheng, Wei Yan, Ding Feng, and Wang Ping were promoted to First-Rank Colonels.

In addition, the soldiers' treatment has been improved. The standard land for military households has been increased from 20 mu to 30 mu, military merit rewards are calculated separately, and the pension has also doubled.

The total military strength will be increased from the current 200,000 to 240,000. At the same time, a militia system will be established, and all able-bodied men over the age of seventeen will be incorporated into the militia. In their spare time, they will undergo military training, mainly in archery.

Social control, overseen by the Inner Guard, will be strengthened, primarily through measures such as closing city gates in advance, imposing a curfew at night, requiring all non-local residents to register with the government, establishing ledgers for all inns, and prohibiting the raising of pigeons among the common people.

The most important aspect here is finance, which is key to supporting the strength of the Western Chu state and resisting Cao Cao's army. In order to increase revenue and conserve energy, seven measures were specifically formulated, including increasing the amount of coins minted and distributing military supplies to the people, such as donkeys, sheep, wine, salt, etc.

After Lu Su finished reading the terms, he asked, "Let's vote now! Anyone with objections can raise their hand."

But no one raised their hand. Lu Su nodded. "Since there is no objection, it is unanimously approved."

Inside the official residence, Gan Ning signed the "Wartime Regulations" and handed it to Lu Su, saying, "Let's officially implement them starting tomorrow!"

Lu Su took the regulations, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "When does the Marquis of Chu think Cao's army will reach Queyue City?"

Gan Ning said calmly, "It will happen soon. Once Cao Cao's army takes the first step, they will speed up the rest. Even if they have a plan, plans can't keep up with changes. They need to cooperate with Jia Xu's negotiations in Jiangdong and make Jiangdong believe that their target is us, not Jiangdong. They need to make Jiangdong completely give up the idea of ​​joining forces with us. That is Jia Xu's goal."

Lu Su sighed, "I really can't understand why there are so many surrender factions in Jiangdong?"

Gan Ning gave Lu Su a strange look. Had he forgotten how Lu Su had persuaded Sun Quan in history?

"What aristocratic families fear most is war, and what they fear least is the change of rulers. No matter how many rulers come and go, an aristocratic family will still be an aristocratic family. But once a war is experienced, the ancestral hall will become a graveyard. As for Sun Quan, he was confused. He forgot that everyone can surrender, but he alone cannot surrender."

"Lord Chu is right. Sun Quan is confused. Everyone else can surrender, but he can't. I wonder when he will realize this."

Lu Su took his leave, and a moment later, Gan Ning sent someone to fetch Wang Xiaoman.

Wang Xiaoman currently holds the official position of Chief of the Internal Security Forces, a third-level captain, and will soon be promoted to a second-level captain. He leads three thousand internal security soldiers to maintain the internal security of Chaisang.

"This humble servant pays respects to Lord Wu!"

Wang Xiaoman bowed respectfully.

Gan Ning waved his hand. "I'll be frank. There are definitely Cao Cao's scouts and even hidden warriors in Chaisang City. I hope to find them as quickly as possible, preferably within a month, but without alerting them. I need to use them." "Your subordinate obeys!"

Wang Xiaoman bowed and hurriedly left.

Gan Ning paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, his mind racing as he considered various countermeasures and pondered the current complex situation.

Cao Cao's attack on Lujiang County was indeed to coordinate with Jia Xu's negotiations in Jiangdong.

Jia Xu's negotiations in Jiangdong were also quite difficult. One reason was that he needed to confirm with Cao Cao, which took a long time to travel back and forth.

Another reason was that neither side was willing to budge on their demands. Jiangdong insisted that Cao Cao promise not to attack Jiangdong for ten years, while Cao Cao would only promise for a maximum of three years.

However, both sides reached a consensus on one point: when Cao Cao's army launched a major offensive against Yuzhang County, Jiangdong was not allowed to betray Cao Cao's army. Sun Quan agreed to this.

Inside the Wu Hou residence, Lü Fan was earnestly trying to persuade Sun Quan.

"Lord Wu, Cao Cao is a man of no integrity whatsoever. His talk of three or five years is all empty words. Once they destroy Yuzhang, they will definitely turn around and destroy us. In fact, we are his target, not Gan Ning. Otherwise, why would he raise Sun Ben?"

Although Sun Quan was somewhat dismissive of Lü Fan's words, Lü Fan's last sentence reminded him that he had actually forgotten about Sun Ben.

Sun Quan paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, pondering for a long time before saying, "I think I understand a little. Cao Cao promised not to attack us, but he didn't promise not to let Sun Ben attack us. It's very likely that they attacked Yuzhang County and then let Sun Ben attack us."

"Lord Wu is absolutely right. Lord Wu, Jia Xu is full of tricks, we must not be deceived by him. Lord Wu, we should join forces with Gan Ning, this is the best way to protect ourselves."

Sun Quan hesitated. He had never considered joining forces with Gan Ning, but he suddenly thought of Sun Ben and the fact that Gan Ning had sent troops to resolve the crisis in Danyang County last year when Sun Ben invaded the county.

For a moment, he wavered again.

Could I join forces with Gan Ning again to deal with Sun Ben?

Just then, Zhang Zhao rushed over.

"Reporting to Lord Wu, the other side has conceded."

Zhang Zhao's words immediately extinguished any lingering thoughts Sun Quan had about joining forces.

His eyes lit up, and he immediately perked up and asked, "How can we make concessions?"

Zhang Zhao quickly replied, "Jia Xu just received a reply from Cao Cao, agreeing not to attack Jiangdong for eight years. However, Cao Cao also put forward a series of conditions."

"Strategist, please sit down. Tell me the specific conditions."

Looking at Sun Quan's excited face, Lü Fan's heart sank into despair.

(End of this chapter)