My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 290 The Feng Family Has a Daughter
Hearing the noise behind her, the girl naturally turned around.

The moment the girl turned her head, her stunningly beautiful face unfolded before Liu Feng like a radiant painting.

The girl's beauty was like a rare treasure, stunning everyone. Her face was pure and ethereal, her features exquisitely crafted, as clear and translucent as morning dew, and her delicate skin made one want to touch it.

Upon seeing Liu Feng and Xu Chu behind him, the girl was clearly startled and quickly stood up and knelt down before Liu Feng.

"This humble servant greets the General."

Her delicate body trembled slightly, revealing her inner fear and unease, which aroused an irresistible urge to control her.

Liu Feng couldn't help but sigh, this woman was indeed a beauty of unparalleled grace, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

No wonder Zhou Tai reminded him like that before. Liu Feng originally thought that the other party was reluctant to part with the woman, and even thought that after finding out the woman's background, he would simply give her to Zhou Tai as a reward.

Now that he saw it, he realized that Zhou Tai was clearly worried that he wouldn't value such a rare treasure.

It's not that Zhou Tai was tempted. In Liu Feng's opinion, Zhou Tai probably already saw this young lady as the best spoils of war, something he wanted to offer to him.

That's why I kept reminding myself so as not to betray his unwavering loyalty.

Liu Feng had already begun to recognize who the girl was, but he wasn't quite sure yet.

So Liu Feng deliberately asked, "Who is this young lady? Are your father and brothers still with you?"

The young woman, surnamed Feng, lowered her head and answered softly, "My surname is Feng. My father, Feng Fang, served as the Grand Minister of Agriculture during the reign of the late emperor. He passed away eight or nine years ago. My brother and I still live in the city."

As expected, it was Feng Fangnu, Yuan Shu's favorite concubine in history, and in the novel, she even became his empress after Yuan Shu became emperor.

She was a great beauty who was praised for her unparalleled beauty in official history, no wonder she was so beautiful.

It is said that Yuan Shu saw Feng Fangnu passing by below the city wall and fell in love with her at first sight. He then abducted her to the palace and took her as his concubine.

I never expected to run into this situation myself.

"Oh, you still have an older brother who is alive."

Liu Feng nodded.

Feng Fang was a man of no talent or virtue. He rose to power by becoming the son-in-law of a eunuch and was once a very influential figure in the court.

After all, his father-in-law was Cao Jie, no ordinary eunuch; he was the father of one of the Ten Attendants.

The Ten Attendants, in terms of both ability and skill, were not even worthy of carrying Cao Jie's shoes.

He Jin lost simply because he was too stupid, not because the Ten Attendants were so capable.

Cao Jie was completely different. He entered the palace during the reign of Emperor Shun of Han and was promoted to Xiao Huangmen. He rose to prominence during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han and was promoted to Zhong Changshi. During the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, he was not only enfeoffed as a marquis for his meritorious service in supporting the emperor, but also joined forces with Zhu Yu, the official in charge of the five offices of Changle at the time, to forge an imperial edict to kill Dou Wu, Chen Fan and others.

Zhang Huan, one of the three luminaries of Liangzhou, was a true scholar-official, a genuine scion of a prominent aristocratic family, a renowned scholar and writer in Liangzhou, and a student of Grand Commandant Zhu Chong. He was a true model of a literati.

As a result, Cao Jie made a fool of him, using him to kill Dou Wu, Chen Fan, and others, and then seized control of the court for thirteen years.

Although history does not describe Feng Fang's appearance, if he were an ugly man, he probably wouldn't have been able to become the son-in-law of Cao Jie, who held immense power in the court.

Liu Feng thought that Feng Fangnu was so beautiful probably because she inherited the best features of both her parents, and could be considered to have combined the strengths of both families.

"Yes, my elder brother is in Shouchun City."

Feng Fangnu's voice was very pleasant, much like the sound of jade beads falling onto a plate, clear and melodious.

Recalling the fleeting moment of amazement he had just witnessed, Liu Feng couldn't help but order, "Raise your head."

Feng Fangnu was truly very obedient. Although her cheeks were flushed, she still lowered her head and looked up meekly, but her eyebrows were lowered and she did not dare to look at Liu Feng.

She didn't look at Liu Feng, but Liu Feng could see it very clearly; she was indeed as exquisite as a porcelain doll.

Moreover, historically speaking, this woman was not only innocent and lovely, but also very obedient; however, her ending was somewhat tragic.

Because of her exceptional beauty and charming personality, Feng Fangnu was immediately favored by Yuan Shu upon entering his palace. She was even granted the status of a secondary wife, which infuriated the other concubines in Yuan Shu's palace.

These concubines first conspired to deceive Feng Fangnu, saying, "General, you are a man of noble character. You often weep and grieve, and you will surely be respected for a long time." Feng Fangnu believed this, and later she would shed tears whenever she saw Shu. Shu, seeing her as a man of noble character, felt even more sorry for her.

As a result, by sheer chance, Yuan Shu came to believe that she had great ambitions, and as a result, he spoiled her even more.

But a rabbit is a rabbit after all, and its nature is to eat grass. How could it possibly withstand a mother wolf, let alone a pack of mother wolves?

Seeing that their underhanded tactics were ineffective, the group of women decided to resort to force.

Yuan Shu's concubines in the palace actually joined forces and strangled Feng Fangnu, then hung her up to make it look like a suicide.

Yuan Shu, that fool, actually believed it, even though Feng Fangnu was already pregnant at this time.

Just as Liu Feng was somewhat captivated by Feng Fangnu's stunning beauty, Xu Chu at the door suddenly spoke up, asking, "Would the young master like to rest here?"

Upon hearing Xu Chu's words, Feng Fangnu's fair face flushed slightly, clearly understanding the meaning behind them. Even though she was shy and uneasy, she didn't dare lower her head, obediently appearing endearing.

But Liu Feng suddenly woke up and came to his senses.

Feng Fangnu was indeed a woman of exceptional beauty and gentle, charming personality, making her an excellent candidate for a concubine.

But Shouchun has only just been captured, and there are unstable factors everywhere in the city. Although they have been suppressed for the time being, this is only suppression, not resolution.

Now is not the time to indulge in lust.

Liu Feng couldn't help but remind himself, "Your surname is Liu, not Cao."

This is Shouchun, not Wancheng.

Liu Feng slowly shook his head, then said, "You should rest here. No one will disturb you. When it gets light, I will send someone to find your brother."

After speaking, Liu Feng glanced at Xu Chu, who still looked innocent, as if he hadn't asked the question.

That shrewd brown bear!

Liu Feng sneered inwardly, then resolutely turned and left the inner hall.

After leaving the inner hall, Xu Chu asked in a憨态可掬 manner, "Young Master, where are we going?"

Liu Feng rolled his eyes at Xu Chu, then replied, "Go to the wounded soldiers' camp first, then patrol the camp. After everything is over, find a place to take a nap."

Although the fighting was not extensive that night, it was quite intense.

Those who were still willing to risk their lives for Yuan Shu at this point were his trusted confidants, loyal followers, and elite troops.

Therefore, the Xuzhou army still suffered many casualties, with more than 140 seriously wounded and more than 200 lightly wounded, totaling four or five hundred casualties.

One-third of them were armored soldiers, which shows how fierce the battle was.

If soldiers in leather armor were replaced, the casualties would at least double.

Seeing Liu Feng appear in the wounded soldiers' camp, the soldiers' pain seemed to lessen somewhat.

Liu Feng earnestly instructed the doctor and his assistants to pay close attention to cleanliness, to boil all water, and to cool drinking water in clean containers.

Bandages must be changed daily and scalded with boiling water for at least 15 minutes before washing.

Although the wounded soldiers' battalion of the Xuzhou army was also a separate battalion like the wounded soldiers' battalions of other warlords, their objectives were completely opposite.

Other warlords feared that the horrific scene in the wounded soldiers' camp would demoralize them and erode their fighting spirit.

The Xuzhou army, concerned that their wounded would not receive adequate care and a quiet place to recuperate, generally put more effort into the camps where the wounded were located. Not only were the locations carefully chosen to prevent flooding, but large amounts of lime were also used to disinfect the camps.

This also resulted in an absurdly high recovery rate for the wounded soldiers of the Xuzhou Army.

In an era when nine out of ten wounded soldiers do not survive, a recovery rate of 40% to 60% is indeed a miracle.

Afterwards, Liu Feng inspected the palace city and other key points, and found that none of the soldiers of Xuzhou were slacking off. Although they were very tired, they still stuck to their posts, which made him feel much better.

After praising Jiang Qin and the others, Liu Feng took Xu Chu back to the side hall, found a clean room, and fell asleep immediately, sleeping until 3:45 AM the next day.

"Is it so late?"

While washing up, Liu Feng asked, "Is the city still safe?"

The third quarter of the hour of Si (巳时) is already 10:30 in later times.

"The city is very peaceful. Yuan Shu's former troops are all in their respective camps and are not allowed to go out. The captains, lieutenants, and commanders of each camp have all entered the palace and are waiting for the young master to receive them in the main hall."

Xu Chu, standing beside Liu Feng, reported, "Mr. Liu Ye is in the outer room. He has finished calculating the large amount of wealth in Shouchun's treasury and wants to report it to the young master."

The so-called large treasury mainly consisted of money, goods, and grain. These items were all of a large value and easy to calculate, so Liu Ye managed to produce them in one night.

However, this is just a calculation, not an investigation. If a real investigation were to be conducted, it would take several days just to check the grain, not to mention other valuables.

However, for now, we only need to have a general idea of ​​the quantity of the spoils and calculate the amount. In the future, we will naturally need to count them carefully to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation and engaging in embezzlement or corruption.

"Ah."

Liu Feng wiped his face and then asked Xu Chu, "Zhongkang, please invite Mr. Liu in." "Yes, young master."

Xu Chu turned and went out, and a moment later, he followed Liu Ye into the house.

Although he hadn't slept all night, Liu Ye was radiant and energetic, not at all like someone who hadn't rested.

"Young Master, what a bountiful harvest!"

As soon as Liu Ye entered the house, he said with a beaming smile, "This Yuan Gonglu is really good at exploiting people. He has actually amassed such a huge fortune. It is only right that our prefecture should become rich. Now it has all benefited us."

Liu Ye took out a silk scroll from his bosom, which recorded the quantities of various large-value supplies.

Although Xuzhou has begun mass production of paper, most of this paper is used for official documents. The military has not yet purchased it and continues to use silk books for important military documents.

This is partly because silk books are easier to store and transport than paper books, and partly because Liu Feng had not yet promoted them in the army.

However, in many parts of Xuzhou Prefecture, paper had already begun to be used instead of bamboo slips and silk books. In addition, with the purchases by wealthy merchants and gentry from other prefectures, Xuzhou's production could not even keep up with the sales.

Therefore, paper production in Xuzhou remained only at the prefectural level and did not reach the counties and villages.

Liu Feng took the silk scroll and began to read it.

Good heavens, the grain reserves alone amount to a million shi (a unit of dry measure).

Other treasures contained tens of thousands of catties of gold and silver. In addition, there were large quantities of high-quality Han Wuzhu coins, well-stocked silk fabrics, and small quantities of snow salt and sugar purchased from Xuzhou.

After reading it, Liu Feng frowned slightly.

The grain reserves are still too low.

Many people felt that with a million shi of grain already seized, why was it still not enough?

In reality, these more than one million shi of grain were not disposable; the vast majority of them were rations for Yuan Shu's army.

The relationship between these two is analogous to the gap between personal income and personal disposable income.

Shouchun usually has 30,000 to 40,000 troops stationed there, plus officials from the Jianghuai region. The food rations for these people all have to come from the grain reserves.

Based on a population of 30,000, each person would need 60,000 shi of grain per month, which would amount to 720,000 shi per year.

This wiped out almost half of the warehouse.

Besides, if no one else knows, how could Liu Feng not know?
A severe drought is imminent and will affect the entire Jianghuai region, including Runan and southern Pei State.

Liu Feng was under considerable pressure at this moment.

Fortunately, he had already made contingency plans, and it is believed that if things proceed according to the plan, things will not go as badly as they have in history.

His most pressing task is to stabilize the entire Jianghuai region as soon as possible.

Only when the overall situation is stable and the war ends can the autumn harvest in the entire Jianghuai region proceed in full without being affected.

This is the last harvest of grain before the great disaster strikes, so we can't waste it.

As for building water conservancy projects along the Huai River and dredging existing water conservancy projects such as Shaopi, these are not urgent and can be arranged after the autumn harvest.

Liu Ye noticed Liu Feng's frown and his heart sank.

This man was known for his deep thoughts and enjoyed trying to figure out what his lord was thinking. However, he lacked Guo Tu's talent, and the lord he encountered was not as easy to predict as Yuan Shao.

Liu Ye originally thought that Liu Feng would be overjoyed when he saw the grain storage data.

Judging from the data, the harvest this time seems to be about the same as the total amount of Yellow Turbans in Yingchuan and Runan.

However, the amount of food available for disposal far exceeded the amount of grain contributed by the Yellow Turban Army in Runan and Yingchuan.

Because it was March or April at the time, the Yellow Turban Army relied on that food for sustenance. Even if Liu Feng captured it, unless Liu Feng chose to kill all the Yellow Turban Army in Yingchuan, the food would still be consumed.

But things are different now. It's harvest time, and the new grain is about to be harvested, so it's naturally a different story.

Therefore, Liu Ye came excitedly to claim credit, but he didn't expect that reality was completely different from what he had imagined.

How many people are there in the city?

Liu Feng casually asked, "If we were to conscript laborers in Shouchun, what would be the minimum number of people we could mobilize?"

Liu Ye was taken aback and swallowed the question he was about to ask, replying instead, "There are still more than 13,700 households in Shouchun City, with a total population of more than 52,000."

Then, Liu Ye paused for a moment, then said a number: "If we need to mobilize, we can recruit at least three thousand laborers."

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, a typical household consisted of only three or four people, with perhaps only one male among them.

Three thousand laborers were drawn from more than thirteen thousand households, which is almost one in four able-bodied men.

"can."

Liu Feng nodded: "I'll trouble Mr. Ziyang to make preparations as soon as possible."

Liu Ye's eyes suddenly lit up: "Young Master, does the army intend to cross the river again?"

In Liu Ye's view, Liu Bei was currently acting on imperial orders to quell the rebellion, with the emperor's backing, and was conquering the region in the name of the court. Now that even Yuan Shu, the mastermind, had been captured, the remaining Jianghuai region could naturally be pacified with a simple proclamation, so there was no need to conscript laborers.

Liu Feng's decision was clearly likely motivated by a desire to capitalize on his great victory, cross the Yangtze River, and advance into Jiangdong.

Liu Feng shook his head: "I plan to take advantage of this winter to dredge the Shaopi Canal and prepare the water conservancy projects in the entire Jianghuai region."

"Improving water conservancy?"

Liu Ye nearly lost his composure; this was so different from the answer he had expected.

Liu Feng didn't notice Liu Ye's shock; his gaze remained fixed on the silk scroll.

Although the grain reserves didn't surprise Liu Feng, the amount of wealth that followed truly delighted him.

With so much wealth and food, we can recruit even more laborers.

So, the only thing missing now is talent.

Laborers alone are not enough; we also need master water conservancy engineers.

Liu Feng had several candidates in mind, one of whom was Chen Deng, his father's most trusted confidant and a renowned scholar.

Chen Deng is truly a hexagonal warrior, practically a miniature version of Zhuge Liang, and that's only in his future full form.

Liang Ge nowadays might not be as awesome as Chen Deng.

Historically, Chen Deng successfully oversaw water conservancy projects in Guangling County, achieving remarkable results.

If Cao Cao hadn't ultimately chosen to abandon it, Guangling would never have become a desolate, uninhabited wasteland, like it has in history.

The second bigwig is Jia Xi. Although he is nearly seventy years old, he is still in good health and is currently still working hard for his second uncle. It is time for him to be transferred to the Southeast.

The last two are in Shouchun City, and Liu Feng has already arranged for someone to invite them.

"Mr. Ziyang, I have a secret to tell you. Please keep it a secret and never reveal it, not even to your family."

Liu Feng's serious expression made Liu Ye's heart skip a beat.

If it were anyone else, they might have backed down, but Liu Ye valued fame and fortune highly. He was so excited about Liu Feng's trust that he had no time to think about backing down.

Looking at Liu Ye's eager eyes, Liu Feng felt a strange sense of admiration: "Next year, there may be a severe drought in the Jianghuai region."

"Severe drought!?"

Liu Ye's pupils suddenly contracted. How severe must the drought be for Liu Feng to take it so seriously?

Liu Feng nodded slowly: "Yes, there is a severe drought, and it is very likely that the two counties north of the river will suffer a complete crop failure."

"No harvest at all?"

Liu Ye could no longer maintain his composure.

Even though Liu Ye was never the type to love his people like his own children, these two counties north of the Yangtze River were his hometown.

Instead, Liu Feng comforted Liu Ye: "Mr. Ziyang, there is no need to worry. Now that the two counties north of the Yangtze River have been brought under the control of the court, the emperor and my father will not abandon them. Moreover, putting aside Lujiang for the time being, Jiujiang has mature water conservancy projects such as Shaopi, and there are many lakes and rivers within its territory. As long as we seize the time to repair and dredge them, we can recover some of the harvest."

Liu Ye breathed a sigh of relief. Recalling Liu Feng's previous arrangements, he was both moved and delighted, but he did not doubt Liu Feng's words at all.

Firstly, falsely reporting the drought would not benefit Liu Feng at all, and secondly, Liu Feng's prestige within Liu Bei's group was exceptionally high.

"Young Master, all the generals are waiting in the main hall."

At this moment, Xu Chu suddenly spoke up, reminding Liu Feng.

All the high-ranking generals in Shouchun City had arrived at the main hall and were waiting for Liu Feng to receive them.

(End of this chapter)