He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Chapter 103, Year 198 (Part 1)

"I'm still young!" Chen Jiao's words were indeed easy to make people think, as if Lu Wan was about to meet the Lord of Mount Tai.

"Even young people should find an assistant. You can't take on everything and then blame no one for helping you." Chen Jiao also felt it was a bit strange. Among the group, only Lu Wan hadn't found a protégé to train and was relying entirely on her own efforts.

"I understand your concerns, but is it really necessary to set up such a temporary new position? Once it's abolished, this problem will disappear."

Lu Wan then revealed another consideration of his: "Actually, I still want to retain this staff system. In the past, military campaigns relied on the experience of generals, which was too uncertain. If anything went wrong, not only the general himself, but all the troops under his command would be wiped out. Future wars will definitely need to minimize this instability, which requires the army to have a safety net in its decision-making."

To ensure that Chen Jiao, who was unfamiliar with military affairs, could understand, Lu Wan explained this part of the knowledge in great detail.

"With the existence of a staff department, even if the commander-in-chief is mediocre, he won't be completely clueless from the start, and then suddenly have a brilliant idea that will kill everyone."

"Wen Yuan, there's no need to worry too much about the future of military talent. How can we know that a prodigy who is even more skilled in battle than the Marquis of Huaiyin won't emerge from among the later generations? Moreover, judging from the current training system, our current state is already quite good."

Lu Wan knew Chen Jiao was right; someone who could rival or even surpass Han Xin would indeed appear in the future, but how many years would that take? So he said directly, "Don't worry, Ji Bi. Just when you think everything has reached its lowest point and can't get any worse, a clever guy will always appear and shout, 'He can dig tunnels!' How do you know that a guy even dumber than Zhao Kuo won't appear in the future? Don't always place your hopes on future generations."

Chen Jiao, who was always known for his composure and calmness, was not amused by Lu Wan's words, but instead began to ponder them seriously:

Throughout history, putting aside other aspects, in terms of morality, people in the Eastern Han Dynasty were truly inferior to those in the pre-Qin period.

"I understand. Wen Yuan, you want to legitimize positions like the General Staff Headquarters and prevent them from conflicting with other positions, right? And you also want to ensure that this position can provide a safety net for military operations, guaranteeing that even if a major victory isn't achieved, a major defeat won't occur?"

That's about it.

Chen Jiao paused, looked up at Lu Wan's figure, and raised the most crucial question, "However, there is an important issue: how should authority and responsibility be defined? For example, if the General Staff disagrees with General Guan and General Zhang, whose opinion should prevail? If the General Staff's plan fails, is the responsibility on the commanding general or the staff officer? If this issue is not clarified, conflict is almost inevitable, and this is the cause of disaster."

Lu Wan turned around, her face showing a "you've really hit the nail on the head" expression: "This question really gets to the heart of the matter. I believe that the definition of authority and responsibility should follow three principles: First, the commander's authority to command is inviolable. In the face of changing circumstances, wherever the flag points, everyone must obey the commander's orders. The staff can only make suggestions and cannot participate in commanding operations."

Second, the General Staff will be responsible for the quality of any plans. The strategies presented must be well-founded and supported by evidence; if defeat is caused by poor planning, the General Staff will also be held accountable.

Third, and most importantly, the responsibility for decision-making ultimately rests with the commander-in-chief. The power to decide which strategy to adopt and how to implement it lies with the commander-in-chief. In other words, the staff provides "choices" and assesses the risks; the commander-in-chief makes the "choices" and bears the final consequences.

Chen Jiao nodded. Lu Guan's words showed that he had indeed carefully considered the specific measures of this new reform, and it wasn't just a random idea. He picked up his pen again and wrote a memo, then said to Lu Wan as if to make up for lost time, "This definitely can't be discussed clearly in a short time. I will send a letter to Changwen and ask him to consider it carefully. I will also talk to the lord and General Guan to see what they think. Wen Yuan, is there anything else? Tell me all at once and I'll take care of it all at once."

Lu Wan waved her hand gently and said, "That's enough, that's enough for Xuzhou to digest for a while. As for Zizhong, we can only make him suffer a little longer. I'll take the blame, but he really has to behave himself now. Xuzhou's development in all aspects has entered the construction phase. I've done everything I can, and what the outcome will be is beyond my control."

Time flies like an arrow, and time flies like an arrow.

In the blink of an eye, it was the third year of Jian'an, which is 198 AD.

The changes in Xuzhou are unprecedented and enormous. After all, the development and construction speed of labor-intensive handicrafts far surpasses that of agriculture, even though this industry is at a very, very low level.

Firstly, in agriculture, the nearly 500,000 refugees resettled in the lower reaches of the Huai River have basically achieved self-sufficiency. Although in terms of taxation, the refugees are required to hand over 60% of their grain according to regulations, leaving them with only a very small amount of grain to feed their families, it is still much better than those who did not escape from the war zone.

The main reason Liu Bei's army was able to recover its losses in the first year was that the land allocated to the refugees was almost entirely arable land. The population of these lands had been nearly wiped out by Zuo Rong, which benefited these people. The soil was fertile, and there were no troublesome plant roots or stems to hinder cultivation. Therefore, even with a shortage of animal power, Liu Bei's army could still cultivate the land normally.

Other regions also saw a significant increase in production, roughly five percent more than in previous years, reaching an astonishing 3000 million shi (a unit of dry measure). The Xuzhou government alone collected 900 million shi of grain, enough for Liu Bei to wage a major war even if most of it was stored for future use.

The main industrial advancement was the construction of textile mills, which further enhanced Xuzhou's trade dominance, making it the undisputed super factory of the late Eastern Han Dynasty. The enormous profits generated by the looms, in particular, astonished even those in Xuzhou who had initially been skeptical of this sector, as the sheer volume of production took their breath away.

A frail woman with no strength to even kill a chicken was able to weave more than a bolt of linen in a month. Keep in mind that the looms of the past could only weave 5 to 8 bolts of cloth a year.

This stuff is still in high demand, especially now that labor and production have been disrupted all over the world. People are only willing to grow grain in the fields and will not put their energy into planting mulberry and hemp.

Now, the only people in Xuzhou who still held negative views about Lu Wan's workshop construction were a few old pedantic scholars. Most of the others were practical people who wanted to make a profit from this new business. Even if Liu Bei suddenly wanted to become emperor, they still wouldn't agree to that, but they could let Liu Bei become king first.

At the same time, because Lu Wan designed the structure of the loom, he was also revered by the craftsmen of Xuzhou as the "Great Master of Skills" and was an object of worship and learning for all the craftsmen.

Commercial progress and industrial development complement each other. Industrial development enriches the variety of goods, while commerce transports these goods out to exchange for money or other things to support industry.

Merchant caravans from Xuzhou spread throughout Jiangdong, Jingzhou, and Jizhou, even reaching as far as Liaodong and Yizhou. Shu brocade, medicinal herbs, and horses gradually flowed into Liu Bei's territory from other places. While merchants were practically inhuman in their pursuit of profit, they objectively served as a smooth operator; the common people would only complain about the merchants' exorbitant prices, but wouldn't cause any further trouble.

Besides these aspects, other places in Xuzhou have also changed a lot, especially Xiapi, where the changes have been the most dramatic.

The booming economy allowed everyone in Xiapi to enjoy the benefits of the times, making the citizens of Xiapi among the most well-off people in Xuzhou.

This place is truly a place where as long as you're willing to put in the effort, you're guaranteed to make money. Coupled with the safe environment created by Liu Bei, it's practically a paradise on earth, making it extremely attractive to the people.

Correspondingly, a population siphon effect occurred in other areas of Xuzhou. People from other cities and rural areas began to come to Xiapi in order to improve their lives and earn more money, trying to make a name for themselves there.

The influx of people not only posed a challenge to the ruling group led by Liu Bei in many aspects such as sanitation and public security, but also successfully caused land and housing prices in Xiapi, a city in the Eastern Han Dynasty, to soar. As a result, the people had no choice but to build sheds outside the city to live in. Over time, a residential area appeared outside Xiapi.

At the same time, within the overall environment, change remains constant.

In the past six months, almost all the warlords in the land have become obedient. The root cause is that the Han Dynasty's local resource reserves accumulated over the years have been almost exhausted by these people. They can no longer continue fighting and need to replenish their resources.

After Cao Cao's intelligence department suffered two severe blows at the hands of Liu Bei, its level and technology improved rapidly. At least the situation of large-scale arrests like the first time would not occur again, and many measures were also taken to ensure the safety of intelligence organizations and personnel.

For example, superiors in intelligence agencies will not tell subordinates unnecessary information, but only the information that each team needs to know to complete its mission.

This change was proposed by General Xiahou Dun, who found himself quite adept at intelligence work after starting in Chongzhou, and thus discovered his strengths.

Moreover, Cao Cao's strategy in Guanzhong was a great success. The troops he sent there successfully relocated all the people there to Luoyang. As a result, Chang'an and the surrounding cities were completely transformed into military fortresses, and the land near the cities was also transformed into military farmland. Although they missed the wheat planting season, they could still grow some vegetables that were not so time-sensitive.

The diplomatic relationship between Cao Cao and Liu Bei became even more delicate. This was mainly because when Cao Cao sent an envoy to Xuzhou to re-establish trade relations and inquire about the development level of Xuzhou, someone leaked the news that Cao Cao's delegation had arrived in Xuzhou, and the entire city of Xiapi knew about the visit of Cao Cao's delegation.

These citizens were unaware of the grand strategy of allying with Cao Cao against Yuan Shao, nor did they believe that their "little father," Liu Bei, would betray the interests of Xuzhou and become a traitor. Driven by their most basic hatred for Cao Cao, they did something that no one expected:

These people, carrying sticks, stormed into the inn where Cao Cao's delegation was staying, shouting at the envoys and telling them to get out of Xuzhou.

The envoy was also encountering such a situation for the first time. He was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. He kept saying nice things, but in his heart he cursed himself for being greedy for credit.

While the envoy was still considering how to appease the rioters, the Cao army guards accompanying him directly cursed at them, telling them to get out immediately. They also implied that Liu Bei was indeed a peasant, and the people he had raised were a bunch of impolite savages; Cao Cao should have wiped them all out back then!

In the guard's mind, such a rebuke was a tried-and-true method under Cao Cao's rule, and other commoners would even tremble with fear at such words. However, he clearly forgot that this was not his home turf, and the trembling people under Cao Cao's rule were not afraid of his words, but of Cao Cao behind him.

So after he said those words, the previously noisy atmosphere suddenly quieted down, with only the whispers of some people in the back rows asking questions to those in the front rows, and the whispered replies from those in the front rows. Seeing the shocked looks on these people's faces, Cao Jun's guards suddenly felt that speaking out loud might not be a good choice.

Cao Cao knew that the quality of the envoy was crucial; it was a decisive factor in whether a diplomatic mission would turn into a diplomatic disaster. Therefore, Cao Cao was very careful in selecting the envoy, fearing that Liu Bei and the envoy might fail to reach an agreement, leading to the negotiation's failure.

However, Cao Cao, who had been a member of the upper class since childhood, did not know that sometimes history is driven by ordinary people, just like how he dared to mock Cao Cao's guards at this time.

The citizens of Xiapi were not going to tolerate the bad temper of Cao Cao's guards. They immediately raised their sticks and started shoving. Even if the guards drew their swords to fight back, they couldn't do so because sticks were coming from all directions. In particular, one stick hit his knuckles directly.

That hurts so much!

The sword in the hands of Cao Jun's guard slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground, only to be taken away by someone in the blink of an eye.

There was no time to worry about the spare parts. Under the siege of so many rioters, the guards finally gave in, squatting on the ground with bruised and swollen faces, their previous arrogance completely gone. The foul-mouthed one received special attention, with sticks aimed at his drum, which was already bleeding slightly.

A mob member who appeared to be the organizer grabbed the messenger who was lying on the ground. The messenger had been hit hard and fell to the ground. He found that the mob would stop attacking him once he was lying on the ground, so he simply stayed there.

"Hey! Hey! You people are Cao Cao's lackeys! You should all be dead here, but our Lord Liu is kind-hearted, so we will spare your lives!"

Upon hearing this, the envoy, whose forehead was still bleeding, was overjoyed and thanked him profusely. He immediately ordered his men to pack up and leave, and he himself was half-bent over as he prepared to leave when suddenly a long stick was placed in front of them.

"Wait a minute, we said we wouldn't kill you, not that we'd let you leave!"