The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 80 The Husky in the Wolf Pack

Miwei didn't need to grow his hair long and go into the mountains to live like a wild man.

Because Deng Zhi sent someone in the afternoon to say that he didn't have many servants and that there were enough empty houses in the prefectural government.

If Miwei doesn't mind, why not live together?

Miwei, of course, didn't mind and moved back that very night.

If Deng Zhi didn't have a wife and children, and he wasn't worried about being too abrupt, he would have even wanted to sleep with his thighs together.

Of course, one cannot stay at night.

This did not prevent Mi Wei from visiting Deng Zhi and Yang Yi's house during the day.

Thanks to this, Mi Wei found out why Yang Yi had suddenly transferred to Jiangxia.

It turns out that during the coldest time of last winter, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat Fa Zheng unfortunately fell ill and was unable to perform his duties after the spring.

After discussion, the officials in Shu believed that Liu Ba, the Minister of Works, was qualified for the position of Minister of Works, and Liu Bei agreed.

Apart from Yang Yi, who was also a minister.

Yang Yi was always arrogant and considered the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat to be his for the taking. How could he possibly accept this?

He argued with Liu Ba quite a bit, both inside and outside the company.

Upon hearing of this in Jiangling, Liu Bei immediately ordered Yang Yi to be stripped of his position as Minister and expelled from the Ministry of Personnel.

However, Zhuge Liang believed that Yang Yi was talented and it would be a pity not to use him.

I suggest you first assign him a sinecure and observe the results.

Liu Bei naturally valued Zhuge Liang's advice.

At that very moment, he was considering sending Deng Zhi to guard the strategically important Jiangxia County.

So they simply demoted Yang Yi to the position of Assistant Prefect of Jiangxia County, making him Deng Zhi's deputy.

This was to use Deng Zhi's frugal and gentlemanly demeanor to suppress Yang Yi's petty arrogance.

It should be noted that the functions of the Prefectural Assistant in this era, like those of the Prefectural Commandant in earlier times, had long been usurped by the Prefectural Governor and were now largely superfluous.

Therefore, Yang Yi held the title of Prefectural Assistant but was essentially a figurehead commander.

No wonder he acted so strangely as soon as he got off the ship.

Fortunately, Miwei didn't mind at all.

He'll just think he got a great deal.

He consulted Yang Gong every day, asking for advice on this and that.

It made Yang Yi too embarrassed to make sarcastic remarks.

This saved Deng Zhi a lot of trouble.

……

That day, Mi Wei returned from his patrol and was about to visit Deng and Yang.

Suddenly a group of people came from downstream.

Mi Wei dared not be negligent and immediately went out to greet him.

But seeing that the leader was none other than Fei Yi, whom they hadn't seen for two months, they couldn't help but wonder:
"At the beginning of the month, I heard that there seemed to be some instability in the south. His Majesty has already set off to return to Shu. Why didn't Wenwei leave with the imperial carriage?"

"Has the Commandant forgotten that you previously recommended me to the King for the position of Gentleman of the Imperial Secretariat?"

Fei Yi stepped forward with a smile to greet him.

"The King said that those who enter the imperial court must be well-versed in local affairs, and he has asked me to first serve as the magistrate of Dangyang for one year."

"Promote him after he has achieved good results in governance."

I actually became Fei Yi's sponsor!

Has this meant they've completely latched onto a powerful patron in the future?
Miwei immediately felt cheerful.

However, upon hearing the place name "Dangyang," I couldn't help but feel a bit of a shock.

Twelve years ago, Liu Bei was ambushed by Cao Cao's light cavalry at Changban in Dangyang, and all his previous efforts were in vain!
The reason why Cao Cao dared to abandon his baggage and launch a light cavalry raid southward was because of this.

This is because Dangyang County is located in the northern part of Nanjun, directly facing Xiangfan, and has always been an important land transportation hub.

If Jingling is a bridgehead on the Han River, then...

Dangyang was an outpost on the Jingxiang Trail.

Whether it was Guan Yu's northern expedition or Cao Wei's southern campaign, these two places were the first to bear the brunt.

If Fei Yi were to remain in such a strategic location and something were to happen, wouldn't that backfire?
He then frankly expressed his concerns.

Fei Yi smiled upon hearing this:

"Commander, do not worry. General Guan has ordered Guan Dangkou (Guan Pingxin's new title) to lead 5,000 regular soldiers to garrison Dangyang in preparation for the northern enemy's invasion in the autumn."

"My mission this time is merely to oversee the transport of auxiliary troops and laborers northward to assist Guan in suppressing the bandits and stationing troops."

Miwei was finally relieved.

Then Fei Yi said:
"This group of laborers totals four thousand people. General Guan's idea is to divide them equally between Dangyang and Jingling."

"Can the commander accommodate so many people here?"

We absolutely must accept it!

Mi Wei nodded repeatedly.

In fact, during this period he recruited soldiers everywhere and seized refugees to settle in the fields, wasn't it because the local area was in dire need of manpower?
Even though he was extremely busy.

In two months, the number of troops in the main force was only increased to 1,500.

It was a time of war and chaos, compounded by various natural and man-made disasters, resulting in a massive loss of population in Jiangxia and even the north and south of Jingzhou.

Otherwise, where would the vacant houses have come from when Miwei planned to move out of the county government?
These are all things that were abandoned after the various major battles and pandemics of the past decade.

The root cause of this was Cao Cao's southward march to Jingzhou in the thirteenth year of Jian'an.

Before Cao Cao, although there were many battles in Jingzhou, they were mostly on the border, and the inner counties were relatively stable.

As Cao Cao marched south, especially after the Battle of Red Cliffs, the tripartite balance of power gradually took shape. Jingzhou then became a battleground on all sides.

The once prosperous and wealthy scene is gone forever.

Mi Wei: "Nanjun has always been short of people, how come there are suddenly four thousand more people?"

Fei Yi: "It's not from Nanjun. It's the Jiangdong laborers that were previously detained by Prefect Ma of Wuling!"

"Previously, Sun's army crossed the lake and rushed to attack Linyuan, which can be described as a long and arduous expedition."

"Afterwards, they suffered a humiliating defeat. It was a testament to the general's skill that he could control his own regular troops. How could he possibly manage everything?"

"After Magistrate Ma cut back on expenditures, he heard that there was a shortage of people in Jiangbei, so he specially sent a general to supervise the transport of four thousand men to Jiangling to be handled by General Guan!"

What else can Miwei say?

Ma Liang is awesome!

Now Sun Quan lost both the city and his troops.

Of course, two thousand people is neither a small number nor a large number.

Especially now, Miwei is also shouldering the strategic task of guarding the Han River channel.

He then turned to Fei Yi, partly to complain and partly to ask for advice:

“I have been surveying the terrain around Shicheng for the past few days.”

"If we want to establish a firm foothold here in the future, we must first build fortifications and station troops in the strategic locations north of the city; and second, we must build more docks and store ships near the water."

"But the summer off-season is not like the winter season; the fields cannot be neglected after all."

"I'm afraid we won't be able to conscript a large number of local laborers before the autumn harvest."

“Even the two thousand men that Wenwei brought had to be divided up to take care of the military settlements.”

"In that case, before the autumn harvest, we must decide whether to build the fortifications first or the dock first... Wenwei, which do you think I should build first?"

Upon hearing this question, Fei Yi, who was usually quick-witted, fell into deep thought, which was rare for him.

He paused for a moment before saying:

"I think the Commandant's question is actually aimed at the military deployment after the autumn harvest, is that right?"

"As expected of Wenwei, his words hit the nail on the head!" Miwei praised lightly.

"That's right. Building fortifications and stationing troops is mainly for defending against enemies on land."

"The construction of the water docks and the storage of ships were not only for defense against enemies, but also for future northward advances to Xiangfan."

Fei Yi: "If that's the case, Commandant, you only need to think about one thing: with the current reserves of Jingzhou, can we raise a large army to march north again within two years, just like last year?"

Miwei shook his head decisively.

After last year's fierce battle between the North and South, how much wealth does Jingzhou still have left?

Why did Liu Bei personally supervise spring plowing?
Why was Deng Zhi parachuted into Jiangxia County?
Why did I go to recruit soldiers and establish military settlements?
Because this place lacks soldiers, food, capable officials, and weapons... in short, it lacks everything!
Without two years of rest and recuperation, how can we even think about launching a northern expedition?

Just as I had told Zhuge Ke before.

At present, Guan Yu can only go to Yizhou to consolidate his base and cannot expect to immediately head north to conquer cities and seize territory.

Thinking of this, Mi Wei let out a soft breath and stopped worrying.

……

After that, Fei Yi shared some recent personnel changes with Mi Wei.

Besides Guan Ping's northward garrison at Dangyang.

Before leaving, Liu Bei specifically left the naval forces of Wu Ban and Chen Shi, who had accompanied him to Jiangling, in Jingzhou.

He then ordered the two generals to garrison troops in the cities of Zhijiang and Maicheng.
He then ordered the two generals to seize the opportunity to march north and capture Linju and Zhangxiang, two strongholds guarding the Ju and Zhang rivers.

Once the Ju and Zhang rivers are opened up, their northern ends can be connected to the three eastern prefectures.

In the future, the two generals will not only be able to work with Liu Feng and Meng Da to support Guan Yu's northern expedition, but also support each other when necessary.

This provides an additional connecting passage between Hanzhong and Nanjun, north of the Yangtze River.

Although it is not as convenient as the Han River channel where Xiangfan is located, it is worse than nothing.

It is said that Pan Jun saw through Liu Bei's strategic intentions at a glance.

The next day, he asked Liu Bei for permission to go west to Shangyong to assist Deputy General Liu Feng in handling civil affairs in the three counties.

Of course, we'll have to wait until the roads are clear.

Encouraged by his courage, Liu Bei readily agreed and immediately bestowed upon Pan Jun the title of General of the Central Army.

Mi Wei was moved by the prevailing circumstances, and realized that Old Deng was finally willing to do something worthwhile.

The question is whether this new variable in the three eastern commanderies will further escalate the conflict between Liu Feng and Meng Da.
Then I thought about it again.

Now, the front line north of Jingzhou stretches from east to west.

Deng Zhi, Yang Yi, Guan Ping, Fei Yi, Wu Ban, Chen Shi, Liu Feng, Meng Da, and later Pan Jun... it was a gathering of capable ministers and fierce generals.

Not to mention that Guan Yu was stationed in Jiangling in the rear.

If I were in that situation, wouldn't I be like a husky that has infiltrated a pack of wolves?
Now I can finally relax, right?

So he returned to the prefectural government that night and, unusually, slept soundly for half the night.

however.

After midnight.

Miwei suddenly woke up and rushed naked into the courtyard.

First, I looked towards the north.

Then they looked northwest.

Heartbeat.

His breathing was heavy and labored.

(End of this chapter)