My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 371 Questioning Gu Yong
In his letter, Jia Kui also wrote some suggestions, including a plan to secretly spread Wu Fan's words.

Jia Kui strongly recommended this as a good plan. First of all, the local gentry and powerful families in Kuaiji have been dealt with almost completely. Those who remain are basically either pro-court, pro-Liu Feng, or timid and rational.

At this time, news spread that Liu Feng was protected by auspicious purple energy, and many of these people were likely to believe it. If even a small fraction of them were inclined to believe it, Liu Feng's rule in Kuaiji would be much more effective.

At the same time, because the local gentry and powerful families of Kuaiji had just fiercely resisted Liu Feng, even if the court reacted to this, it would suspect that the rebellious gentry of Kuaiji were deliberately spreading rumors about Liu Feng.

Unable to openly rebel against Liu Feng, they resorted to spreading rumors and slander against him, sowing discord between him and the imperial court.

In short, in Jia Kui's view, secretly spreading the news that Liu Feng was protected by purple aura was far more beneficial than harmful, almost entirely beneficial.

After reading Jia Kui's analysis, Liu Feng was quite tempted.

Unfortunately, he lacked capable people around him. He had originally planned to take Zhuge Liang with him to Jiangdong, but some unexpected events occurred, leaving him to stay in Xuzhou.

At this point, there was no one left to discuss things with.

Liu Feng tapped the table rhythmically with his right index finger, the faces of Lu Xun, Gu Yong, Zhou Yu and others flashing through his mind, but then he shook his head.

Lu Xun's political abilities are difficult to assess. On the surface, he was manipulated by the emperor in his later years and ultimately died as a result of the emperor's scheme.

However, considering Lu Xun's unwavering loyalty to the emperor and his suggestions for governing Eastern Wu, he was quite capable. It's just that his intelligence seemed to automatically drop when he was around the emperor.

Zhou Yu would be a suitable candidate, possessing both considerable political ability and a broad perspective, but he is too far away, making it inconvenient to communicate through letters.

On the contrary, although Liu Feng did not trust Gu Yong much, he was still able to control him.

After considering it for a while, Liu Feng made up his mind and immediately sent someone to invite Gu Yong to meet him.

Gu Yong's appointment as magistrate of Shanyin County at this time was actually the most relaxed among all the counties.

At this time, there were not many people left in Shanyin City, and the city had a large grain reserve, so it was easy to stabilize the people in the city.

Therefore, Gu Yong only needed to allocate grain, appease the local farmers outside the city, and organize them for the summer harvest.

After these waves of attacks, the powerful clans and gentry within Shanyin City were almost completely wiped out, and few of them remained outside the city either.

All the land originally occupied and allocated to the Sun family has been taken over by the General of the Southern Expedition. One of Gu Yong's most important tasks now is to replenish the insufficient labor force for these lands and ensure the summer harvest.

Therefore, Gu Yong has spent most of his time outside the city these days, rather than inside it.

Upon receiving Liu Feng's summons, Gu Yong immediately returned to Shanyin City to request an audience with Liu Feng.

“Yuan Tan, this matter is quite troublesome and highly confidential.”

Liu Feng pointed to the documents on the desk and said, "After much thought, I believe only Yuan Tan can share my burdens. Please take a look at this report first."

After hearing Liu Feng's words, Gu Yong's heart sank.

For Liu Feng to reveal something that is both difficult and confidential, that must be a real problem.

It might not only be troublesome, but also dangerous.

But the situation was pressing, and Gu Yong had no choice but to calmly step forward, take the document, and carefully read it.

When he saw Wu Fan's name, his brow twitched slightly.

Wu Fan's reputation was mainly concentrated in Kuaiji, but Wu and Kuaiji were originally one, and the people of the two counties were closely connected. Moreover, the matter that Wu Fan was involved in was so important that Gu Yong, as a famous scholar of Wu County, could not possibly have been unaware of Wu Fan's deeds.

Sure enough, when Wu Fan predicted the arrival of auspicious purple clouds from the east, Gu Yong almost lost his grip on the silk handkerchief.

"This……"

Gu Yong couldn't help but look up at Liu Feng at the head of the table.

Liu Feng waved his hand and said, "Yuan Tan, don't be in a hurry. Let's finish reading first before we discuss it."

Gu Yong quietly exhaled a breath of stale air and lowered his head to continue reading.

Sure enough, there were also many other things, such as the auspicious purple clouds coming from the east, which were actually protecting Liu Feng, and the suggestions made by Jia Kui.

Gu Yong was already in an uproar. He began to doubt whether what Wu Fan said was true or false.

If it were true, Gu Yong's heart tightened.

Liu Feng is a member of the imperial clan.

Once Gu Yong realized this, he couldn't help but think of Emperor Guangwu.

Could the Han Dynasty really have been rebuilt three times?!

The feelings of the Jiangdong scholars towards the Han Dynasty were quite complex.

After all, during the Chu-Han Contention, Xiang Yu's base of support consisted of the people of Jiangdong, and his eight thousand soldiers were mainly officers and non-commissioned officers.

Although Xiang Yu's territory was mainly Xuzhou and Yuzhou, it was essentially the first time that the south had a de facto struggle with Guanzhong for control of the country.

The State of Chu cannot be counted, because the State of Chu was essentially only interested in vying for hegemony, not in conquering the world.

Therefore, the powerful clans and gentry of Jiangdong were always ranked quite low in the hierarchy of the Han Dynasty, far below the people of Hebei.

The powerful clans of Jiangdong did not want to change this situation, but the powerful clans of Wu County had a good economy, fertile land, and a large population, so they wanted to improve the status of the entire Wu County gentry through official promotions.

The document described Wu Fan's merit in supporting the emperor, which deeply moved Gu Yong, to the point that he could hardly control his trembling hands.

After taking a deep breath, Gu Yong made a decision.

"General, I believe General Jia's plan is feasible!"

Gu Yong returned the document to the table with both hands, took two steps back, and cupped his hands, saying, "I believe that it can be disseminated not only in Kuaiji, but also in Wujun and Danyang."

“Wu Fan’s name has long been known in Jiangdong, and scholars all know of his abilities.”

Gu Yong looked up and met Liu Feng's eyes: "Although I do not know him personally, I have long heard of his name. Wu Fan must have real talent and learning."

Liu Feng's lips curled into a smile; Gu Yong was pledging his loyalty to him.

Wu Fan said he was protected by auspicious purple energy, and Gu Yong said Wu Fan had real talent and learning. Isn't that because Gu Yong thought Wu Fan's statement was correct?
Under Gu Yong's tense gaze, Liu Feng slowly nodded.

However, Liu Feng did not adopt Gu Yong's suggestion, but instead said conservatively, "Since Yuan Tan also thinks this proposal is feasible, let's try it out in Kuaiji first. As for Wu and Danyang... let's postpone it for now." Gu Yong was a little puzzled. He genuinely wanted to serve Liu Feng, so spreading this news in Wu and Danyang was what Gu Yong considered a sign of his allegiance.

He originally thought Liu Feng would readily agree, but to his surprise, the other party actually refused.

Liu Feng glanced at Gu Yong, but did not answer the other's question. Instead, he asked with a smile, "Yuan Tan, do you see any purple aura about me?"

Gu Yong's heart tightened, and he quickly bowed and said, "Wu Wenze is a famous scholar of physiognomy in Jiangdong, and his ability far surpasses mine. However, in my opinion, since you crossed the river, you have won many battles. The enemy army has tried its best, but it has been unable to stop you. I had some doubts before, but now that you have Wu Wenze's opinion, it may clear up my doubts."

Liu Feng laughed heartily and hosted a banquet for Gu Yong at the prefectural governor's residence that evening.

********
A rumor quietly spread in Kuaiji, its contents shocking yet somewhat believable.

As a result, the remaining powerful clans in Kuaiji became more submissive. Although small-scale rebellions still occurred in various places, more powerful clans preferred to donate their stored grain or even land rather than participate in violent resistance.

Liu Feng compiled the battle reports from various counties in Kuaiji. Most of the rebellions had shifted from being led and organized by local gentry and powerful clans to being organized by mountain tribe leaders in collusion with local people.

This is undoubtedly a very good sign, almost clearly indicating that the local gentry and powerful families of Kuaiji have begun to yield and are no longer actively resisting Liu Feng.

In response, Liu Feng offered some benefits and incentives, and began to recruit the earliest and most obedient local gentry and powerful families into the ranks of officials.

Because of the large-scale disappearance of the gentry, the remaining powerful clans also got a considerable share of the spoils.

Generally speaking, powerful families without a background in the central government, no matter how strong they are, can only rise to the level of a county magistrate with a salary of 600 shi (a unit of grain), and most of the time they can't even achieve that.

It is almost impossible to break through this ceiling, because the key to breaking through—the recommendation system for those who are recommended for filial piety and integrity—has always been in the hands of the scholars.

There wasn't enough to go around among the scholars, so there was no way there would be any surplus to distribute to the powerful families.

But things are different now. News has been quietly circulating in the General of the Southern Expedition's mansion that, due to the decrease in the number of scholars, Liu Feng intends to allocate one of the 'filial piety and incorruptibility' positions to a capable person from a powerful family.

This caused quite a stir in Kuaiji.

According to the system of the Han Dynasty, Liu Feng's decision was perfectly reasonable.

Because there was never a clear official document stipulating that those recommended for the position of "filial piety and incorruptibility" must come from aristocratic families.

For a long time, this was merely a matter of actual control by the aristocratic families, but not a matter of legal control.

From a legal perspective, even farmers were eligible to be recommended for the position of "filial piety and incorruptibility". In fact, throughout the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were indeed farmers and merchants who were recommended for this position.

Therefore, Liu Feng's decision cannot be said to be particularly innovative.

However, for the local scholars of Kuaiji, this was truly difficult to accept.

However, the local gentry forces were severely weakened and lost their publicly elected leader. Even Yu Fan, He Qi, and others no longer held meetings in the north. Although the gentry still had considerable strength, they could not unite and could not influence Liu Feng.

At this point, the scholars of Kuaiji were truly frightened. They discovered that they not only had no reliable people around Liu Feng, but also had no influence over him, while Liu Feng held the dominant power in Kuaiji.

As a result, the scholars of Kuaiji were horrified to discover that they were losing control of Kuaiji.

Liu Feng, in Shanyin City, was also quite nervous at this time, paying close attention to the developments in Kuaiji Commandery.

This move was a test by Liu Feng, and even the official positions he had previously offered were to cooperate with this test, a sweet treat in case the situation got out of control.

Liu Feng's purpose in doing this was to force the Kuaiji gentry to unite with him, rather than forcing him to unite with them.

Right now, the local gentry of Kuaiji are at their weakest, most scattered, and most powerless. Kuaiji is a vast and resource-rich land with a long stretch of coastline.

Liu Feng was well aware of the enormous population this land would support in the future.

A hundred years later, during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the population here had reached around 15 million, a size that Guanzhong could not match with its 8 million. Not to mention, the population of Jiangdong would only become more and more terrifying as time went on, and the gap between it and Guanzhong would only widen, until finally Guanzhong could only look on in awe.

In particular, the agricultural weapon that Liu Feng has brought out now will have the greatest effect in Jiangdong.

The best region for growing Champa rice is the Jiangdong region, and the vast plains and numerous rivers and lakes of Jiangdong undoubtedly provide the best foundation for water conservancy projects.

Liu Feng had high expectations for the entire Jiangdong region, which is why he wanted to completely break the backbone of the Jiangdong gentry and powerful families, making them obediently serve him.

These news caused quite a stir among the local gentry and powerful families of Kuaiji.

While the scholars were filled with lamentations, the powerful and wealthy were celebrating their newfound power.

As a result, some rifts began to appear between the powerful clans and aristocratic families.

At this very moment, Liu Feng suddenly announced in a high-profile manner that he would begin his tour of the counties, inspecting various places in northern Kuaiji.

For a time, the eyes of the locals in Kuaiji were focused on Shanyin. Soon, news spread that Liu Feng's first stop on his inspection tour was Shangyu County.

Liu Feng had tried his best to travel light, but the entourage still numbered as many as a thousand.

If Liu Feng hadn't strictly forbidden people from going more than five miles outside the city to greet him, Jia Kui, Wu Fan, Wei Teng, and others from Shangyu would have loved to come directly to the outskirts of Shanyin City to welcome Liu Feng.

Liu Feng traveled by land and it took him three days to reach Shangyu.

Along the way, he also inspected many villages, and it must be said that the situation in the south was indeed much better than in the north.

The situation here is more stable, the security is better, there is less war, and there is more food reserves.

Although they are still exploited by corrupt officials and powerful clans, they can at least survive.

It's no wonder that when Cao Cao later unified the north, gathered 100,000 surrendered soldiers from Yuan Shao, and gained another 100,000 Jingzhou soldiers who surrendered without a fight, he only had a total of over 200,000 troops when he marched south to Jiangdong. In contrast, Sun Quan, who only controlled two-thirds of Yangzhou, had 60,000 troops, almost a quarter of Cao Cao's forces.

If Jingzhou were to form an alliance with Sun Quan, the combined forces would number at least 150,000, enough to rival Cao Cao.

This is the fundamental reason why Cao Cao could never again gain an absolute advantage over the south after his defeat at the Battle of Red Cliffs. At the same time, this is also why, after the Three Kingdoms period began, Cao Wei's advantage over Shu Han and Eastern Wu grew stronger over time.

Ultimately, it was because too many people died in the Central Plains.

Soon, Liu Feng arrived in Shangyu, where Jia Kui led his officers and local gentry and powerful figures such as Wu Fan and Wei Teng to greet him five miles outside the city.

Shangyu is currently the most stable and peaceful county in the entire northern region, except for Shanyin.

Especially considering that Shangyu is quite large, ranking among the top five in the entire Kuaiji region, and is also a water and land transportation hub in northern Kuaiji.

With Shangyu stable, communication between the eastern and western parts of the Northern Alliance can be maintained.

(End of this chapter)