My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 195 Colluding with Xuzhou
From Kuai Yue's perspective, he should have decisively changed his strategy at this point, abandoned Liu Yao of Yangzhou, and directly sent envoys to Xuzhou to form an alliance, using military supplies as bait to invite Xuzhou to divide Yangzhou equally, or even Yuan Shu.

The two counties north of the Yangtze River can be given to Xuzhou, while Jingzhou can take Jiangdong. In addition, the other side will be compensated with money and grain, and trade in salt will be allowed. In this way, Jingzhou will have full control of the natural barrier of the Yangtze River.

Even if necessary, it wouldn't matter if Danyang and Wu counties were ceded to Xuzhou, as long as Yuzhang and Kuaiji counties were preserved, Jingzhou would be able to completely surround Jiaozhou.

Wouldn't it be more worthwhile to take Jiaozhou then than to waste time in Yangzhou?

Once Jiaozhou is captured, Yizhou can be surrounded from both sides.

I have heard that Liu Jiyu is weak and incompetent, and that rebellions are breaking out all over Yizhou. The people of Dongzhou and the locals of Yizhou are like fire and water. This is indeed a good opportunity to take action.

However, Kuai Yue knew that Liu Biao would not listen to him.

Because Liu Biao's personality was both ruthless and steady.

Liu Biao's ruthlessness lay in his willingness to fight to the death in the face of crisis, and his methods were cruel and reckless.

But his steadiness lies in the fact that he always looks ahead and behind unless he is on the verge of disaster.

For example, even though he clearly intended to conquer Western Sichuan, he always made piecemeal moves and dared not make a big bet.

He sent Liu He to Yizhou to incite local powerful families to rebel, but dared not send troops to support him due to his reputation, and watched as Gan Ning and others were suppressed by Liu Zhang. It was utterly ridiculous.

Admittedly, Liu Biao was quite politically astute. In just a few years after entering Jingzhou, he had built a loyal force through marriage alliances and kinship ties. However, once he had the resources, Liu Biao became increasingly stingy and lost all the boldness he displayed when he entered Jingzhou alone.

Moreover, Cai Degui's plan appears to reconcile the conflict between the two factions, but in reality, it still sides with the local faction in Jingzhou.

Because it satisfied the biggest need of the local faction: to sell surplus grain and buy scarce salt.

Therefore, the Kuai Yue brothers were happy to support Cai Mao.

As Kuai Yue had guessed, Liu Biao was indeed moved after hearing Cai Mao's words.

Because in Liu Biao's eyes, Cai Mao's plan was a small investment with a big return, a typical example of getting something for nothing. However, the plan was not without its flaws, and its biggest drawback was that it would cause many problems in the future.

Because capturing Yuzhang would mean surrendering the strategic initiative, the key to whether or not Yuzhang can be taken over will not lie with Liu Biao and Jingzhou, but with the changing situation in Jiangdong.

It's unclear whether Liu Biao lacked strategic acumen or deliberately overlooked the potential pitfalls; he only saw the possibility of achieving great success with minimal investment, but failed to see the underlying flaws.

"Alright, in that case, let's proceed with De Gui's plan."

In fact, Liu Biao did have his own plans, and he wasn't as bad as Kuai Yue thought.

Kuai Liang's statement that Xuzhou was not without food deeply moved Liu Biao, making him realize that Xuzhou was only short of food, not without food.

If my actions of going down the river and taking advantage of Liu Yao's misfortune to plunder and swallow him up really anger Liu Bei, and if Liu Bei were to squeeze out some food to fight me, then Jingzhou might not be able to hold out, because at that time it would very likely be Liu Biao fighting three against one.

Even if Liu Yao's former subordinates joined Liu Bei, they wouldn't support him, not to mention that Yuan Gonglu, whom he deeply resented, was also by his side.

In addition, with the price of salt in Jingzhou remaining high, Liu Biao, after much consideration, chose the safer option.

Liu Pan and Zhang Yun had no objection to Liu Biao's decision. For them, although conquering Jiangdong would be ideal, attacking Yuzhang instead was also acceptable.

Liu He seemed to want to say something, but in the end he swallowed it back.

Although Liu He was from Nanyang, he was closer to Liu Biao and could be considered Liu Biao's local representative in Jingzhou. As a result, Liu Biao appointed him as his chief advisor.

Therefore, Liu He had always tried to reconcile the relationship between Liu Biao and the local scholars of Jingzhou, and in making decisions, he tended to favor Liu Biao's demands.

However, over the past six months, Liu He's health has been deteriorating, forcing him to consider what will happen after his death.

Afterwards, Liu Biao and the others discussed the exchange ratio for grain to salt, as well as the quantity to be exchanged.

Regarding the quantity of the exchange, no one had any objections. In particular, Kuai, Cai, Liu, and others strongly advocated that the more the better, and even asked Liu Biao to order Huang Zu to send a fleet to participate in the trade.

There was a slight disagreement when discussing the exchange ratio of grain for salt.

Because the salt monopoly was in Liu Biao's hands, he hoped that the state government would purchase the surplus grain of the gentry and common people of Jingzhou at a fixed price, and then exchange it for salt from Xuzhou at a fixed price.

Upon hearing this, Cai Mao, Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, Deng Yi, and others vehemently opposed it, and even Liu He, the Prefectural Governor who usually sided with Liu Biao, disagreed.

However, Liu Biao's attitude was unusually firm, and he implied that the price could be negotiated, but the model could not be changed.

Liu Biao's attitude was so resolute for two reasons. First, if he were to relinquish control, half of the salt monopoly he had painstakingly secured would be lost. Second, the potential profits were simply too great, especially given the existence of frosted sugar and snow salt.

For Liu Biao, taking over Jiangdong was naturally the best option.

It was precisely because of his desire for Jiangdong that Liu Biao did not tell Kuai Yue and the others the truth; at least, he kept the news about frost sugar and snow salt from them.

Liu Biao was worried that these two items would influence the judgment of the gentry in Jingzhou, making them more inclined to barter for salt with Xuzhou.

Liu Biao hadn't expected that even though he had kept the news of these two things from him, these local scholars would still so strongly oppose the strategy of moving down to Jiangdong.

After his plan to conquer Jiangdong was rejected, Liu Biao was even less willing to give up this benefit, so he simply decided to keep it all for himself.

After a fierce negotiation, Liu Biao finally agreed that no matter what price Xuzhou offered, he would collect millet, barley, wheat, and rice at 180 coins per shi, rice, sorghum, and soybeans at 250 coins per shi, fine millet at 300 coins per shi, and fermented soybeans at 450 coins per shi.

At the same time, Liu Biao also agreed to sell Xuzhou salt at a price of 1200 coins per shi (a unit of dry measure), supplying at least 150,000 shi to the families present.

To be fair, Liu Biao's price wasn't excessive, but his behavior was truly appalling.

This blatant act of leaving the powerful families of Jingzhou aside and enjoying the spoils alone not only made everyone present quite uncomfortable, but also made Kuai Yue begin to suspect Liu Biao's intentions.

He knew Liu Biao too well; Liu Biao wouldn't take any risks unless he was on the verge of disaster.

But this time, Liu Biao took a risk.

Liu Biao was willing to break ties with the local gentry of Jingzhou just to intervene.

This made Kuai Yue even more suspicious of what kind of benefits were hidden in this that made Liu Biao so assertive.

In fact, Kuai Yue had guessed it. Liu Biao insisted on blocking the way, and besides the salt monopoly, his biggest intention was to monopolize the two invaluable commodities, frosted sugar and snow salt.

If handled well, the profit could be three to five times that of exchanging grain for salt.

"Otherworld, something seems amiss."

Once they got home, Kuai Liang spoke first, clearly having also noticed something unusual.

Kuai Yue nodded: "There must be something we don't know about."

Kuai Liang glanced at his brother and suggested, "Then what do you think we should do?"

Kuai Yue seemed to have already made up his mind and replied, "Let's send someone to Xuzhou to take a look. I've heard that Governor Liu of Xuzhou is also a member of the Han imperial family. He is a skilled and capable general, and his administration is efficient and harmonious. He can resist Cao Cao from the outside and subdue those who are not on good terms with him. If we can establish a good relationship with him, it might not be a bad thing."

“Very well, let us follow the view of the other.”

Kuai Liang nodded in agreement, then suddenly remembered something: "By the way, I heard that Zhuge Yigong is still in Xuzhou. He is from Langya in Xuzhou. Don't you have an old friendship with him? You can write a letter to him."

Kuai Yue nodded in agreement: "That's fine. I'll write a letter and send it to Xuzhou right away."

Aside from the Kuai brothers, Cai Mao and the others were also quite displeased after returning home. However, they didn't think as deeply as the Kuai brothers, nor were they as bold as them, actually trying to bypass Liu Biao and contact Xuzhou directly.

************
The day after Liu Feng returned to Tancheng, he went to visit Zang Ai.

Zang Ai naturally already knew that Liu Feng was the former Mi Feng.

He was deceived, but he couldn't feel angry at all. The other party had used an open trick. Not to mention himself, even his resourceful father had fallen into the trap.

Upon receiving news of Liu Feng's visit, Zang Ai and her younger siblings waited at the door early in the morning.

After getting out of the carriage, Liu Feng quickly walked towards Zang Ai, grasped his hand, and said warmly, "Shiqin, it's been so long! I've been so busy with work. My father sent me to Guangling, and then I went to Qu County. I only returned yesterday. As soon as I had some free time, I came to see you."

Zang Ai, courtesy name Shiqin.

Zang Ai was clearly caught off guard by Liu Feng's enthusiasm.

He actually felt somewhat guilty and ashamed of meeting Liu Feng.

In Zang Ai's mind, it wasn't Liu Feng who cheated him by buying grain, but rather his father's separatist rule in Kaiyang and disobedience to the local government that led to Liu Bei's suppression of the rebellion.

After Liu Bei's victory, he did not hold a grudge and gave Zang Ba an important position. Now, when he saw Liu Feng, the other party's attitude was as kind and friendly as when they first met. Zang Ai felt very ashamed.

After hesitating for a long time, Zang Ai finally said, "Young Master, I am unworthy of such praise." "Why do you say that, Shiqin?"

Liu Feng took the other person's hand and looked at Zang Ai's two younger brothers: "Shiqin, I'll have to trouble you to introduce me to them."

Zang Ai quickly introduced his two younger brothers, Zang Shun and Zang He, the older one being eleven years old and the younger one seven or eight.

Afterwards, Zang Ai led Liu Feng into the main hall and served him tea.

After a few polite words, Liu Feng steered the conversation to the main topic: "Shiqin, I have come here specifically to invite you to come out of seclusion and lend a helping hand to Xuzhou."

Zang Ai was taken aback, not understanding Liu Feng's meaning.

Liu Feng then said, "Shiqin, you may not know this, but Pengcheng Kingdom is in dire need of rebuilding. My father has appointed Mi Zhu as the Prefect of Pengcheng. I would like to recommend you to serve as the Magistrate of Pengcheng County. I wonder if you would be willing?"

Zang Ai was even more surprised, never expecting that Liu Feng had actually invited him to serve as the county magistrate.

His father was the prime minister of Rencheng, and now he's being sent to Pengcheng as a county magistrate?
Pengcheng is very close to Rencheng Kingdom; it only takes two or three days to travel by water.

After the initial shock, a strong feeling of gratitude welled up inside me.

This feeling of trust moved Zang Ai, who was originally an honest person.

"If Young Master Meng does not abandon me, I will do my utmost to govern the region and pacify the people."

Liu Feng was overjoyed and helped Zang Ai up: "Shiqin, there is one more thing I would like to trouble you with."

Zang Ai cupped his hands and said, "Young master, please give your orders. I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse."

Liu Feng then briefly described the planning of Pengcheng.

There were two main parts. The first part was to recruit and gather refugees, and then resettle them to cultivate the land. The state government would provide them with food, seeds, farming tools and clothing, and the harvest would be divided 50/50.

Another part involved mining to increase the production of iron and coal ore, which was then transported to the iron camp in Xiapi.

The current plan is to recruit 3,000 miners, with each person receiving 5 shi of grain and 500 coins per month.

Liu Feng originally wanted to add disability and death benefits, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.

Firstly, the opposition would be very strong. Secondly, if the conditions were really that good, the people would suspect that there was some kind of conspiracy. Thirdly, the most important thing right now is the war. If we lose the great war to compete for the world, then everything we are doing now will be a flash in the pan and useless.

The reason the salary was set so high was because miners also need to support their families, and the work is very arduous, so Liu Feng tried his best to increase the salary.

It is no exaggeration to say that this treatment was much better than that of miners recruited by the Eastern Han Dynasty in the past. Even the officially recruited miners only received about two-thirds of this treatment. As for criminals such as prisoners and iron slaves, or those serving as laborers, their treatment was even worse.

After explaining the specific tasks, Liu Feng made a request, hoping that Zang Ai could recommend some talented people for him. At present, Pengcheng Kingdom is in dire need of reconstruction and is very short of capable officials.

Zang Ai didn't understand Liu Feng's meaning at first, so Liu Feng had no choice but to explain his purpose directly: he wanted to ask Zang Ai to recommend Sun Yu, Chang Rong, and others for official positions.

Upon hearing Liu Feng's request, Zang Ai was once again shocked, feeling that Liu Feng and his son Liu Bei were truly magnanimous and had such a broad mind.

Just five months ago, Zang Ai's father was a local bully in Kaiyang, defying Liu Bei's orders.

He has now transformed into the Prime Minister of Rencheng, a high-ranking official with a salary of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain), and it is said that he will continue to expand the army.

Now Liu Feng is personally recruiting Zang Ai, Sun Yu, Chang Rong, and other second-generation members of the Taishan Party to serve as officials, starting as county magistrates and county heads.

Although everything was in ruins and the land was completely blank, the assistance, funds, and supplies provided by the state government were truly massive.

Zang Ai felt that if they couldn't succeed with so much help, they might as well just go home and have babies.

Therefore, Zang Ai assured Liu Feng that he would take charge of Sun Yu and Chang Rong's affairs.

Liu Feng readily agreed.

*************
The seat of Danyang Commandery was located within Wanling City.

After reading the letter, Zhou Yu placed it on the table, his gaze fixed on the letter, but his mind was actually wandering elsewhere.

This is the third letter Sun Ce has sent in the past two months.

Immediately after Sun Ce captured Qu'a, he sent a letter to Zhou Yu, hoping that he could persuade Zhou Shang to raise an army in support of him.

Zhou Shang was somewhat tempted at this point, but Zhou Yu became more cautious.

It's no wonder Zhou Yu was careless, because in the past two months, Liu Feng had written him six letters, twice as many as Sun Ce.

Although Sun Ce was unaware of this, his strategy in writing letters was completely outmaneuvered by Liu Feng.

This is also an important reason why Zhou Yu became cautious.

Sun Ce was actually very intelligent. He was not only a first-rate tactician and had a good strategic vision, but also decisive and tenacious in character. He truly inherited many of the advantages of Sun Jian.

Sun Ce keenly realized that the key to his ability to sweep across Jiangdong lay with Zhou Shang.

If Zhou Shang can launch a surprise attack on Niuzhu, Liu Yao will definitely be unable to defend against it.

This is not to say that Zhou Shang was particularly capable militarily, but rather that if Zhou Shang were to betray the regime, it would mean that the entire Danyang Commandery would be untrustworthy, and Liu Yao would lose his last foothold.

This had an enormous impact on the morale of Liu Yao's army.

To give a simple example, in the original timeline, after Lü Bu successfully attacked Xiapi, he only had a little over 3,000 men, which was far from enough to defend the city. Liu Bei immediately led 10,000 men back to reinforce the city and wanted to retake it.

But the result was dismal. When the 10,000 men reached the walls of Xiapi, they scattered without fighting a single battle.

The reason was that confidence had collapsed, and the families of these people were all in Xiapi.

In the letter, Liu Feng gave Zhou Yu a detailed analysis of Sun Ce's flaws and weaknesses, as well as Zhou Shang's importance and danger.

Most importantly, even if the Zhou family helps the Sun family sweep across Jiangdong, what will they gain?
Two sentences in particular deeply moved Zhou Yu.

The first sentence is: "The day Sun Jiaquan took Jiangdong was the day Zhou Shang stepped down from his post in Danyang."

The second point is that Yuan Shu's fear of the Zhou family was even greater than his fear of the Sun family.

The reason is simple: the Zhou family is the most powerful family in Huai-Si region, having produced two generations of high-ranking officials, and their influence is extremely strong.

Don't be fooled by the so-called Four Great Jiangdong Families of Sun Wu in later generations; these people weren't even worthy of carrying the shoes of the Zhou family.

During the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, the Zhou family actually rose to prominence quite rapidly. If the Eastern Han Dynasty had remained stable for another twenty or thirty years, the Zhou family would have been a family that produced three generations of high-ranking officials.

Unfortunately, after Zhou Yu died from his injuries, the Zhou family disappeared from the historical stage.

After calming down, Zhou Yu carefully deduced the situation and found that it was indeed as Liu Feng had thought.

If the Sun family really drives Liu Yao away and seizes Jiangdong, the Zhou family will not be able to keep Danyang.

Judging from Yuan Shu's past performance, he did indeed divide the spoils 50/50 between his own protégés and former officials, and the generals of the Sun family. Other gentry members who were not Yuan Shu's protégés and former officials hardly got any share of the spoils, and often became the victims.

If that's the case, then what the Zhou family really needs to do now is help Liu Yao stabilize the situation.

Zhou Yu carefully took out another letter, which was recently sent by Liu Feng.

In this letter, Liu Feng not only told Zhou Yu without any concealment that Liu Yao had asked Xuzhou for help, but that Xuzhou had also agreed.

The army is currently stationed in Guangling and will soon cross the river to enter Jiangcheng County.

The large-scale river crossing is currently impossible due to food shortages. It is hoped that the Zhou family can stand with Liu Yao and stabilize the situation.

Liu Feng also extended a strong invitation to Zhou Yu to visit Xuzhou, and subtly implied that if Zhou Yu were interested in Xuzhou, the province would have already been vacant.

Compared to Liu Feng's enthusiasm and sincerity, Sun Ce's side was quite insincere, spending the entire time reminiscing about the past without making any concrete promises.

Although Zhou Yu was also aware that Sun Ce did not have much real power to reward merit.

It's okay to lend a hand to a brother, especially one you admire and respect.

But it wouldn't be right for my family to pay a heavy price to help my brother, and I wouldn't be able to explain it to my family.

(End of this chapter)