The Battle of Jiangdong was over. The Cheng, Hao, Zuo, and even the Zhang, Zhao, and Zhang family were exterminated by Liu Mang.
Following behind these big aristocratic families, there is also a group of small aristocratic families. Liu Mang's harvest is not small.
"I thought Jiangdong was of little value, but I didn't expect there to be so much wealth!" Liu Mang was surprised. In Jiangdong, Liu Mang obtained a palm's worth of gold. Five thousand gold? Haha, fifty thousand gold? Haha, a total of five hundred thousand gold.
Liu Mang only brought back a few hundred thousand gold from Jingzhou. He did not expect to obtain five hundred thousand gold from the Battle of Jiangdong.
With this five hundred thousand gold, Liu Mang could even expand the warships and cannons.
"Since Jiangdong has been taken, let's build two more shipyards there." Liu Mang was very generous. He gave 100,000 gold to the painter. The cost of building two shipyards was equivalent to 200,000 gold.
Xu Shu stood at the side and nodded with a smile.
"Give me another hundred Three-Thousand Venerable Cannons." Liu Mang said with a smile.
Xu Shu stood there and nodded with a smile.
"The palace also needs to be reorganized. I was looking at the palace that was left behind by father-in-law. It should be expanded now." Liu Mang was a bit pleased with himself. Like all the other warlords, after having money and expanding their armaments, they also wanted to make their lives more comfortable. As long as they had power and influence, they would be comfortable in any dynasty.
"Yes!" Xu Shu nodded with a smile.
"How about we build some roads?"
"Yes!" Xu Shu nodded with a smile.
"How about we refurbish the Wang Residence?"
"Give the people some extra food?" Xu Shu nodded with a smile.
"Yes, Yuanzhi, go and do it!" Liu Mang waved his hand at Xu Shu. He, Liu Mang, was rich, but he could not enjoy it alone. He, Liu Mang, was still thinking about the people. Liu Mang was very proud. The country was prosperous and the people were at peace. Wasn't this the talent of a wise ruler?
However, Liu Mang was not done being happy. Xu Shu extended his hand to Liu Mang.
"What's wrong?" Liu Mang was confused.
"Give me the money!" Xu Shu said to Liu Mang.
"Give what money?" Liu Mang asked.... Isn't there five hundred thousand gold? "
"Haha, Milord, that 500,000 gold has already been taken away by the Ministry of Revenue." Xu Shu said to Liu Mang.
"All five hundred thousand gold was taken by Mi Zhu?" Liu Mang frowned. The Ministry of Revenue was supposed to be a place to increase income and reduce expenditure. Liu Mang was counting on Mi Zhu, Zhao Yun's brother-in-law, to make money for Yangzhou. What did he do with the five hundred thousand gold? Could it be that Mi Zhu had the same idea as in Xuzhou? Using the government's money to fill his own pockets and wait for the right price to sell?
"There's nothing left of the five hundred thousand gold." Xu Shu said to Liu Mang. After waiting for Xu Shu's explanation, Liu Mang found out that Mi Zhu did not take the five hundred thousand gold to fill his own pockets. He was only following Liu Mang's orders.
500,000 gold was all spent on buying and selling land. In Jiangdong, although there were some nobles like the Cheng, Hao, Zuo, and Zhang families who rebelled, there were also some who continued to follow Sun Ce. There were also nobles who didn't join the ranks of the rebels. For example, the Lu family. They didn't participate in Sun Quan's rebellion, so Sun Ce couldn't just kill them.
As for Liu Mang's policy, it is the land ownership system. All the land belongs to the government. However, Jiangdong was not Yangzhou. Yangzhou was a barren land. Liu Mang could do whatever he wanted. Most of Jiangdong's land was not under Sun Ce's control, nor was it in the hands of the commoners. Because of this, it became a big problem.
Liu Mang needed to buy back the land. He couldn't rob it. If he did, then Liu Mang's reputation among the nobles would be ruined. Even if the nobles rebelled, he would not be able to subdue Liu Mang.
Although the five hundred thousand gold seemed like a lot, once it was used to buy land, it would be a stretch.
"Alright, alright. The warship can be delayed. " Liu Mang smiled bitterly twice. The warship was not in a hurry to appear. However, taking back the land of Jiangdong and distributing it to the commoners was an urgent matter. Only when the commoners got the land, and the commoners' land would not be annexed, then the commoners would support the government.
"However, Yuanzhi, let them train the troops diligently. The war may come soon." Liu Mang looked towards the north. The north of Yangzhou was Cao Cao's territory.
…
North, Jizhou.
Cao Cao's army was like a hot knife through butter. It could be said that it was basically unstoppable. The Yuan family's brothers, their father could not play against Cao Cao, let alone the two prodigal sons.
Originally, when the two joined forces, they could contend against Cao Cao, but now it seemed that it was not the case. At least, the two brothers had more than one war. Cao Cao easily used the strategy of two peaches to kill three soldiers to turn the two brothers against each other.
Therefore, Cao Cao quickly spread from Ye City to the whole territory after occupying half of Jizhou. The Yuan family's brothers had already begun to retreat to Liaodong. The two brothers only reacted now and joined forces to deal with Cao Cao, but it was already too late. It was only a matter of time before Cao Cao defeated them.
"Fengxiao, look, that kid Liu Mang has already taken Jiangdong. In this way, in the nine regions of the world, this Liu Mang has already occupied three regions. This is a big problem." Cao Cao looked at the envelope in his hand and could not help but frown.
He really did not expect that the King Of Shu, Liu Mang, would develop so quickly. From being a guest in Lujiang, to taking over Yangzhou, and now even taking over Jiangdong.
"How is that possible?" Guo Jia had always been paying attention to the war in the north. Or rather, he wanted to pay attention to the south. However, he was unable to do so because Guo Jia's condition had worsened. In the past few days, his face had become pale. From the beginning to the advance of the army, Cao Cao sent an urgent message to Guo Jia. Then, Guo Jia gave advice to guide the army.
Guo Jia felt that it was impossible because of Sun Ce. He was Jiangdong's Little Conqueror. He was a prideful person. Liu Mang had taken over his Lujiang and slowly developed. This Sun Ce would not swallow this resentment.
"Nothing is impossible." Cao Cao shook his head. This was true because Liu Mang's letter was already on Cao Cao's desk.
"Zhou Yu!" Cao Cao explained Guo Jia's doubts. Because Zhou Yu was seriously injured and on the verge of death, Sun Ce gave up Jiangdong in order to save Zhou Yu. When Cao Cao received this information, he could not help but sigh. If the parties involved were changed, Sun Ce would be replaced by Cao Cao, and Zhou Yu would be replaced by Guo Jia, then perhaps Cao Cao would also do the same.
"Milord, this King Of Shu, Liu Mang, what does he think of us? Do we have to give him the title of Marquis just because he wants it? Could it be that this big fellow has the same surname as Liu Mang? "Cheng Yu immediately shouted. He was very unhappy.
"Haha!" Guo Jia and Cao Cao smiled bitterly. Although Cheng Yu said those words out of anger, there was one thing they had to admit. The Great Han Dynasty's surname was still Liu. Before the vassals shed all pretense of cordiality and pulled down the last layer of cloth, his surname was still Liu.
"Milord, in my opinion, this King Of Shu, Liu Mang, should do what he should do. He even dares to ask for the title of Marquis. Ignore him." A general from the Xiahou Clan said.
His words represented the thoughts of the other generals. Generals had always been straightforward people. If anyone made them unhappy, they would make them unhappy and fight back. Liu Mang made them unhappy. Naturally, they did not want to make Liu Mang comfortable. Therefore, they persuaded their lord, Cao Cao, not to send out Liu Mang's letter.
Cao Cao suddenly asked one of the generals. "Feng Yi, what do you think?" Some of the generals did not even know who this Feng Yi was. However, when they followed Cao Cao's gaze, they found this person. This person was neither a commander nor a general. He was only a commandant who controlled five thousand troops.
"Ahhhh!" When Zhang Yi was called out by Cao Cao, he was stunned. Logically speaking, he was only a commandant. Above him, there were other generals and commanders. How could it be Zhang He's turn to be the commander-in-chief?
Moreover, Feng Yi was a surrendered general.
That's right, this person was the surrendered general of Hebei Yuan Shao, Feng Yi. This person was known as one of the four pillars of Hebei in the army. He was on the same level as Yan Liang and Wen Chou. His strength was obvious. However, he was not given an important position by Yuan Shao. After being forced by the Yuan family's second son to side with Cao Cao, Cao Cao liked this Zhang He very much. From time to time, he would ask Zhang He some questions. Although Zhang He was originally in command of heavy cavalry under Yuan Shao, after subduing Cao Cao, he should have been in command of the infantry. However, Cao Cao let him continue to command the heavy armored troops.
Zhang He was not as boorish as the other generals. Instead, he gave off a delicate vibe. If one had to use a word to describe him, it would be the 'pretty boy' that these men would always talk about. Of course, they would say it with a hint of jealousy.
Zhang He's face brought him a lot of trouble. After being asked by Cao Cao, Zhang He's face turned red. If he dressed up, he would be a beautiful lady.
"Sissy!" Sure enough, some of the men were jealous and said in private.
Zhang He was a little angry. He was a little beautiful, but was there anything wrong with that? Since they were jealous of his appearance, he would make them even more jealous. It was because of his delicate appearance that Zhang He wanted to prove himself in terms of ability. He wanted to prove that he was not someone who relied on his appearance to make a living.
"Milord, I think that not only should we not restrict the King Of Shu, Liu Mang, but we should also do our best to help Liu Mang obtain the title." Zhang He said to Cao Cao.
"Oh?" Cao Cao was puzzled. "You are indeed a scholar.
There is no need to be a child. A mountain cannot hold two tigers. The King Of Shu, Liu Mang, did not respect the Emperor's order and occupied Yangzhou. Now, he has occupied Jiangdong. He is a hidden danger to our Great Han. We should immediately stop him. Otherwise, sooner or later, he will become a disaster for the Prime Minister. How can we help him obtain the title? "One of Cao Cao's generals said.
"Are you going to move the soldiers for a mere title? Those with a title can live a luxurious life. However, in the hands of the Prime Minister, it is just a letter. Those with a high position will disband their schemes, those with a middle position will disband their friends, and those with a lower position will disband their soldiers. " Zhang He was not inferior when it came to retorting. Someone called him a child while Zhang He mocked that person as a lower position.
"You!" The person who was scolded almost jumped out and wanted to kill Zhang He.
"Enough, shut up!" Cao Cao frowned. In the end, this conflict was caused by him. That was why the generals of Yanzhou and Hebei were not on good terms.
Cao Cao was also to blame for being too fond of talents. That was why he valued Zhang He and the others so much.
For example, although Zhang He was only a commandant, he had fought more battles than the Xiahou brothers in Hebei. In every battle, Zhang He's soldiers and horses were involved in the battle. Even Cao Cao's relatives from the Xiahou Clan were jealous of him.
If Zhang He was an idiot, the generals might not have thought much about it. Even if Cao Cao liked him and he was useless, there was nothing they could do about it.
However, Zhang He was really a talent. He was able to complete the tasks that Cao Cao asked him to do. As a result, the credit that originally belonged to them was gone. Zhang He also took the credit for other things. With Zhang He around, what would the other brothers do?
Cao Cao knew that if he continued to ask, the old school generals of Yan Province and Hebei Province would definitely quarrel. At that time, it would not be easy to deal with them. He could only punish each side fifty times.
Since he couldn't ask the generals, he would ask the civil officials.
"Fengxiao, what do you think?" Cao Cao trusted Guo Jia the most. Although Guo Jia was seriously ill, Cao Cao still subconsciously asked Guo Jia.
"My lord, General Zhang He and King Of Shu have the same idea. Not only do we have to give the letter to Liu Mang, we have to give it to him quickly. We can't give Liu Mang any excuse to invade the Central Plains and cause chaos in Yanzhou. We have to stabilize him first. Once we pacify the north, it will be time for us to fight Liu Mang!" Guo Jia's idea was to give the King Of Shu some benefits first and stabilize him. As long as he was stable, there wouldn't be any problems. They would let Liu Mang think that they were afraid. After the war in the north was over, they would return to fight Liu Mang.
"Should we stall him first?" Cao Cao frowned. This wasn't safe. Cao Cao had less than 100,000 soldiers in Yanzhou, and there were many elites among them. However, Cao Cao was still worried. This was because although Liu Mang had 100,000 soldiers, their fighting strength wasn't weak at all. Just this letter might not be able to move Liu Mang.
"My lord, why don't you give the King Of Shu, Liu Mang the Governor of Yangzhou and the Governor of Jiaozhou as well?" Guo Jia's offer was a little too high. This way, it would be justifiable. With these two positions, Liu Mang would be the embodiment of justice. Otherwise, he would still be the King Of Shu temporarily replacing the position of Governor of Yangzhou.
"Yangzhou and Yuzhou, withdraw your troops and guard against Yanzhou and Qingzhou!" Guo Jia continued.
"Xuzhou? Why? " Some of the generals were not convinced. Yuzhou was still fine. After all, Cao Cao only had two or three cities in Yuzhou. Cao Cao had left his troops in Yuzhou to annoy the King Of Shu, Liu Mang. However, Xuzhou was different. Now, Liu Mang only occupied half of Xuzhou, and the other half was in Cao Cao's hands. Xuzhou was really fought by the generals of Yanzhou under Cao Cao. Now that Xuzhou was directly given away, how could these generals not be anxious?
What's more, their lord had lost his brother Cao Chun in Xuzhou.
"Although we lost the cities, we didn't lose Xuzhou!" Guo Jia shook his head and said to the generals under him. Guo Jia chose to withdraw his troops from Xuzhou to leave a buffer zone with Yangzhou. Now that Liu Mang had swallowed Jiangdong, his next target would naturally be Jingzhou or Xudu.
Guo Jia wanted to use space to exchange for time. He threw Xuzhou to you and let you digest it for a while. When you finished digesting Xuzhou, our north would be pacified, and you would spit out what you ate. Therefore, Guo Clan only gave you the cities of Xuzhou, but not the position of Governor of Xuzhou. At this point, the generals of Xu Du nodded their heads.
"What if the King Of Shu, Liu Mang, is insatiable?" Someone asked. What if the King Of Shu, Liu Mang, looked down on the cities of Xuzhou, or wanted to attack Yanzhou?
"Then let's see if Liu Mang is stronger or if my 100,000 troops are stronger!" Only then did the generals remember that Cao Cao had also left 100,000 troops in Yanzhou under Cao Ren's command.
"My lord, where is Liaodong's Gongsun Du? Has the lord sent someone to him?" Guo Jia asked Cao Cao.
"Fengxiao, rest assured. I have already sent an envoy. I'm afraid that the letter will reach Gongsun Du's desk in a few days!" Cao Cao nodded. Contacting Gongsun Du was Guo Jia's plan.
"That's good! My lord, you should discuss with Gongsun Du as soon as possible. I'm not afraid that Gongsun Du has a big appetite, but I'm afraid that he has no appetite. We have to seize the time and take down the two brothers of the Yuan family. Only then can we move to the Central Plains. " Guo Jia had already used this idea a long time ago. That is, when the northern Yuan Shao's army was pressuring the border, Cao Cao still sent troops to Xuzhou to suppress Liu Bei. This was a time difference. Before the Yuan Shao could react, Cao Cao was suppressed and Xuzhou was restored. Now, Guo Jia was treating Liu Mang as the Yuan Shao. The two brothers of the Yuan family were Liu Bei.
How good would it be to have another Battle of Guandu?
"My lord, what if Gongsun Du's tail is not big enough?" Someone frowned. He was afraid that after eliminating the two brothers of the Yuan family, another Sun family would appear in the north. That wouldn't be good.
"Rest assured, this Gongsun Du is still sensible. If he doesn't, then we'll just destroy him together!" Guo Jia said coldly. Those who were targeted by the Guo family's Military Advisor didn't have a good ending.
"Then we'll do as Fengxiao says!" Cao Cao said to Guo Jia. The people below didn't have any objections.
"Fengxiao, do you know anything about Sun Quan and Sun Zhongmou?" Cao Cao suddenly asked the Guo family.
"En?" Guo Jia was stunned for a moment. Then he looked at Cao Cao in puzzlement. Why did Cao Cao ask this question? Cao Cao handed another letter to Guo Jia. Guo Jia saw that the letter was written by the King Of Shu. Liu Mang recommended this person to be the Emperor of Han's study companion. This person was Sun Quan.
"Send Sun Quan to Xu Du?" Guo Jia also frowned. Who was Sun Quan? Guo Jia knew a little about him. Guo Jia wanted to kill Sun Ce because he wanted Sun Quan to be in power and fight against Yangzhou together with the Jingzhou Alliance. However, Sun Quan was a little unlucky and didn't succeed. This person was an outstanding person who knew how to adapt to circumstances. Or it could be said that he had purple hair and blue eyes, and he was scheming.
"This person is talented!" Guo Jia knew about Sun Quan. If Sun Quan calmed down, he would be very scary.
"Then why did Liu Mang recommend Sun Quan to Xu Du?"
"But it is also troublesome!" Guo Jia thought for a moment and smiled bitterly to Cao Cao. Sun Quan was ambitious. The Emperor of Han, Liu Xie, was also ambitious. The Emperor of Han's other study companion, Cao Cao, was also not an easy person to get along with.
Sun Quan wanted to make a name for himself and fight for the throne. Liu Xie wanted to suppress Cao Cao and take over the throne. The other young master, Cao Cao, was also constantly encouraging his father, Cao Cao, to ascend to the throne so that he could inherit the throne.
Guo Jia looked at Cao Cao with a bitter smile. He wanted to explain to Cao Cao, but he didn't know how to say it. Could it be that his son wanted him to take over the throne? Did his son want to be the Emperor? Or could it be that all three of them wanted to be in that position?
… …
"Cao Cao is so kind?" In Shouchun, Yangzhou's Emperor and his ministers were also plotting against the group in the north.
Liu Mang held the imperial edict in his hand. On it was written Liu Mang's letter to Zhou Yu, Sun Jian, and the others. Not only did the letter agree, but Cao Cao also gave Liu Mang two blank tattoos. On the side, two big seals were shining on the table. One was the seal of the Governor of Yangzhou, and the other was the seal of the Governor of Jiaozhou. When did Cao Cao become so easy to talk to?
"Reporting, reporting to Milord, Guangling's Governor, Chen Deng, has sent a letter!" The messenger rushed in and brought Liu Mang the news from Guangling's Chen Deng.
Liu Mang looked over. In Xu Province, Cao Cao's soldiers were all retreating. They were retreating toward Yan Province. Liu Mang saw that Cao Cao's soldiers were retreating toward Yan Province. Now, the cities that Cao Cao's troops originally occupied were all empty. They had become ownerless lands.
Chen Deng couldn't make up his mind, so he sent a message to Shouchun.
"Milord, Yuzhou has also sent a letter saying that the cities occupied by Cao Jun in Yuzhou are also empty." A general on the side reported to Liu Mang.
Cao Cao had sent a title and the position of Governor. Cao Cao in Xuzhou had also retreated. What was Cao Cao playing at? Could it be that Cao Cao had found his conscience and wanted to do charity? Xuzhou was clearly given to Liu Mang!
If Liu Mang also took over half of Xuzhou, then Xuzhou, Yangzhou, Jiaozhou, and most of Yuzhou, it could be said that Liu Mang controlled three continents, which was almost four continents. The world was not divided into nine parts, and he occupied four, almost half of it.
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