My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 402 Expansion of the Army and Division of Prefectures
"What are Father's plans regarding Runan?"

After discussing the main event, Liu Feng asked a new question.

Runan is too large, and to the west it faces threats from Yingchuan and Nanyang and Jiangxia.

Yingchuan is in a slightly better position. Not only do some border areas belong to them, but it is also the territory of Cao Cao, their temporary ally. Even if all the counties of Yingchuan are returned to Cao Cao next year, the threat from this direction is still relatively small.

In comparison, the threat from Nanyang is greater.

Although Nanyang has declined, it does not mean that Nanyang's military strength is weak.

In fact, Liu Biao always maintained a considerable number of troops stationed in Nanyang, consistently around 20,000 soldiers over the years.

On the one hand, Nanyang was a vital passage from Jingzhou to the Central Plains, and on the other hand, the land was fertile and rich in resources, including iron and copper mines. Liu Biao had always wanted to restore Nanyang to strengthen Jingzhou's power.

On the other hand, Xiangyang is surrounded by mountains on both sides, with only two roads leading to the north and south.

To the south lay his own territory and the Yangtze River, while to the north came numerous enemies, with Guanzhong, Luozhong, the Central Plains, and Henan all posing a threat. The only route for these enemies to advance south was to enter the Nanyang Basin from Fangcheng, cross Nanyang County, and reach Xiangyang.

Besides, Runan Commandery is far too large; the other five commanderies of Yu Province combined are only about the same size as Runan Commandery. In particular, the current governor of Runan Commandery is Zhou Shang, Zhou Yu's cousin, who was quite ambivalent and easily swayed in the original timeline.

The appointment of Zhou Shang as the governor of Runan was merely a stopgap measure by Liu Feng.

Now that the overall situation is settled, it's time to make some adjustments.

Of course, the best way to make adjustments is not to dismiss him or appoint Zhou Shang as the sole official.

"Father, I humbly request that Runan be divided into three prefectures, with Zhou Shang still serving as the governor of Runan. The western prefecture, Pingyu, should be the base, with 40% to more than half of its territory designated as a separate prefecture, with Uncle Yuanlong appointed as its governor. At the same time, a legion of 10,000 men should be formed. What do you think, Father?"

Liu Feng earnestly suggested to Liu Bei that he divide Runan.

The current governor of Yu Province is Liu Bei, and his eldest son usually pays great attention to his manners, so he naturally won't be impolite at this moment.

As expected, Liu Feng's attitude pleased Liu Bei greatly. He neither took on too much responsibility for the affairs of Runan, nor did he recommend Chen Deng, a trusted friend of Liu Bei. This made Liu Bei very happy.

"Feng'er, please tell me in detail."

Liu Bei became interested and asked Liu Feng to explain in detail how the division was made.

Liu Feng had a plan in mind, but he didn't rush to report it. Instead, he re-analyzed the situation based on the results of the discussion.

Liu Bei, however, was in no hurry. He sipped his tea and waited patiently for his eldest son to come to his senses.

After about half an hour, Liu Feng finally spoke up: "Father, how about making a bigger change?"

Liu Bei replied in surprise, "What do you mean?"

Liu Feng pointed to the map spread out in front of him and said, "Father, since you are personally in charge of Qiao County, why not carve out Chengfu in Runan, Jianping, Zan County, Dan County, Taiqiu, and Linsui in Pei State and establish a separate Qiao County, with the prefect naturally chosen by Father himself?"

Liu Bei stared intently at the map and traced the area Liu Feng had pointed out on it with his hand. This area comprised a total of seven counties, which was indeed sufficient to form a separate prefecture.

Liu Feng continued, "In the future, Ku County and Wuping County within the territory of Chen State can also be incorporated into Qiao Commandery."

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, then nodded heavily.

As is well known, the division of prefectures and counties in the Eastern Han Dynasty was designed to control local areas.

However, we are now in a time of great contention, and it is necessary to make some changes in the front-line areas. Otherwise, if two key counties belong to different prefectures and kingdoms, it would obviously be disastrous from a military perspective.

"can."

After Liu Bei nodded, he waved his hand, signaling Liu Feng to continue.

Liu Feng continued, “From Runan to Pingyu, there are fifteen counties in total. It can be established as a separate prefecture. I recommend my uncle Yuanlong as the prefect, to oversee the entire western region.”

Then, Liu Feng suddenly tapped the map, and after attracting Liu Bei's attention, he added, "The four cities of Xihua, Ruyang, Nandun, and Xiangxian are adjacent to the State of Chen. We can find a suitable opportunity to make an exchange with the State of Chen to try to obtain Kuxian and Wuping. If we can also obtain Yangxia and Fule, that would be even better."

The State of Chen is better preserved than Runan, especially Xihua and Ruyang, which were affected by the Yellow Turban Rebellion and are naturally not as good as Ku County and Fule within the State of Chen.

"If King Chen and the State of Luo agree, things will be much easier."

Liu Bei's tone carried a hint of hope, but there was no sense of reluctance.

Now that both King Chen and Luo Jun are biased towards Liu Feng and his son, there is no need for them to push each other away for the sake of two counties, both for public and private reasons.

Sure enough, Liu Bei then said, "Let's proceed with your original plan for now and discuss the garrisoning with Chen. The matter of Qiao Commandery can also be put into action, but we don't need to consider the counties and towns in Chen for the time being."

"Yes, father."

Liu Feng responded. His main task was to write letters to Liu Chong and Luo Jun to communicate about the garrison incident. The matter of establishing Qiao County as a prefecture would still have to be handled by Liu Bei himself. At most, he could only offer some suggestions.

As a result, the western part of Runan was divided and given to Chen Deng to establish a new prefecture, the northern part was given to Qiao County to establish Qiao Prefecture, and the central part was retained as Runan, with Zhou Shang as the prefect.

As for the south, Liu Feng himself coveted it greatly.

There's no way around it; this just brings us back to the Eastern Han Dynasty's system of dividing commanderies and kingdoms.
In the southern part of Runan, there are six counties, including Fubo and Qisi, connected by the Huai River alone. Starting from Shouchun, the longest journey along the Huai River takes only five or six days, which shows how closely they are connected.

However, Liu Feng found it difficult to speak up. In fact, Liu Feng's emphasis on the title of Governor of Yangzhou was partly aimed at Liu Bei.

This wasn't because Liu Feng and Liu Bei had any dirty secrets or conflicts, but rather because without the title of Governor of Yangzhou, Liu Feng and his son's legal standing over Yangzhou could only be derived from Liu Bei's position as Military Governor of the Three Southeast Provinces.

This title is not only legally weak, but it is also a temporary title that can be revoked at any time.

As a result, the prefects of various counties in Yangzhou did not have a clear superior-subordinate relationship with Liu Bei, and the addition of Liu Feng as the General Who Conquers the South further distanced them.

This is why Liu Feng was so furious when the emperor blocked his path to becoming the governor of Yangzhou, and why he retaliated so thoroughly.

Now that Liu Feng has the title of Governor of Yangzhou, he not only has supreme legal authority over Yangzhou, but Liu Bei can no longer openly interfere in Yangzhou's internal affairs.

It can be said that Liu Feng only truly became the ruler of Yangzhou at this time.

Similarly, if Liu Feng wanted to ask Yuzhou for territory, it would be overreaching. Liu Feng didn't want to give his father a bad impression, nor did he want to set such a bad precedent.

After all, putting himself in Liu Feng's shoes, Liu Feng, who now had his own territory, didn't want Liu Bei to extend his reach into Yangzhou.

"Feng'er's words make sense." Liu Bei was unaware of the many thoughts running through his mind; he had been pondering Liu Feng's suggestion the whole time.

Runan was indeed too large, and the governor was Zhou Shang. Although Liu Bei didn't say it, he didn't trust him.

Currently, Runan is divided into three, or even four. In this way, although Zhou Shang is still the governor of Runan, the counties under his jurisdiction are much smaller, and it will also be easier to replace him in the future. After all, a behemoth of thirty-seven counties has been split into eight or nine smaller counties, and the governor's position is naturally much less prestigious.

"Father, I have another matter I would like to ask for your help with."

Liu Feng coughed lightly, a hint of shyness appearing on his face.

This amused Liu Bei, and a sense of superiority as a father naturally arose within him.

"What is it, Feng'er?"

Liu Bei asked with a smile, "Tell me about it."

Liu Feng cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Liu Bei and said, "My troops also wish to expand, but we are short of food and supplies. I have no choice but to ask Father for help."

At present, Liu Feng only has Yangzhou, while Xuzhou and Yuzhou are nominally Liu Bei's territory.

Although both places actually had close ties with Liu Feng, Liu Feng could obtain large amounts of supplies from both places without even having to ask Liu Bei.

But as the old saying goes, Liu Feng paid great attention to the harmonious relationship between himself and Liu Bei, and was willing to devote energy and effort to carefully protect it.

At this stage, with formidable enemies like Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, the stronger the relationship between Liu Feng and his son, the greater their power will be.

Upon hearing what his eldest son said, Liu Bei couldn't help but laugh.

Even if Liu Feng didn't use his influence in Xuzhou and Yuzhou, Liu Bei was well aware of it.

He turned a blind eye to this for two reasons. Firstly, Liu Feng had played a crucial role in securing these territories. He not only never complained to Liu Feng, but also personally went to the front lines.

Liu Bei fought battles for half his life, but he didn't accumulate much territory.

On the contrary, after entering Xuzhou, he became more and more idle, relying on his eldest son.

They marched north to pacify Zangba, and south to retake Guangling.

Although they were both the main generals, it was always the eldest son who broke the deadlock first.

When it came to the time of the loyalist king, it became even more obvious. He remained firmly stationed in Pei State, while his eldest son went to war in his place, which made him feel much more comfortable for a long time.

Nowadays, whenever people around him mention Liu Feng, they all praise Liu Bei for having such a brilliant son. Liu Bei's ears are tired of hearing such compliments, but he still loves to hear them and can never get enough.

However, he also had some shortcomings, namely that his eldest son was too capable, which made him, the old father, seem somewhat incompetent.

Now that Liu Feng is asking him for help, Liu Bei may not show it on his face, but he's secretly overjoyed.

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Bei looked at Liu Feng's smiling face with a relaxed air, feeling so satisfied that he almost let out a groan of contentment.

Liu Bei then thought of Yangzhou Chuding, having heard from his eldest son that the drought in the two counties north of the Yangtze River was expected to continue next year, though not as severe as this year. Meanwhile, a powerful clan was rebelling in Kuaiji, and Yuzhang was still unsettled.

Based on this calculation, Yangzhou will likely only be able to reap the rewards from Wu Commandery and Danyang Commandery next year. Meanwhile, Liu Feng will be waging war in Yuzhang and Kuaiji, so food supplies will inevitably be very tight.

“If that’s the case, I, as your father, cannot stand idly by.”

So Liu Bei made a decision in secret and slowly said, "Starting from this autumn harvest, Runan and Guangling counties will each allocate one million shi of grain to you. In addition, the two prefectures will allocate another fifty million coins to you every year. As for military equipment and supplies, your people have always been in charge of Pengcheng, so I don't need to allocate them myself, do I?"

Liu Bei was incredibly generous, and Runan was a super-large county, equivalent to an entire province, at its peak contributing millions of shi of grain annually. Although the economy is currently sluggish, it still contributes over two million shi of grain each summer and autumn harvest.

Guangling was no match for Runan, and its future granary was far inferior to that of later generations.

Although Guangling is considered to be rich in resources, it has too many lakes and marshes, and the coastal area for more than ten miles is all saline-alkali land. Seawater intrudes year-round, eroding the land, and no crops can be grown on this eroded land.

Therefore, Guangling County could only hand over about one million units of grain each year.

If we also consider the 100 million coins, Liu Bei's generous gesture was essentially giving Liu Feng the output of two Guangling counties.

Now Liu Bei seems to be quite wealthy and powerful. After acquiring a large province like Yuzhou, his tax revenue and grain have almost doubled.

Even Liu Feng himself was quite surprised that he was so generous to Liu Feng.

Liu Feng originally expected that Liu Bei would be satisfied if he could provide him with 500,000 shi of grain and 30 million coins every year, and also retain his investment in Pengcheng.

But now Liu Bei is giving Liu Feng much more than he expected, which is truly an unexpected surprise.

Liu Feng didn't even bother to haggle and agreed immediately.

"Father's kindness to his child is as heavy as a mountain, and his child does not know how to express his gratitude."

Liu Feng's words were sincere; Liu Bei had given him far too much.

Liu Bei pulled Liu Feng up, patted his hand, and sighed, "Why do you say such things, you and I are father and son? But Zisheng, I only hope that you will remember that we are descendants of Prince Jing of Zhongshan, and are members of the Han imperial family. Now the world is in turmoil, and as sons of the Liu family, we should take it as our responsibility to stabilize the people and bring peace to the world. We must not slacken our efforts."

Liu Feng was initially quite moved, but at this moment he couldn't help but recall a famous scene from a classic novel from later generations.

Considering how high Dad is standing right now, he shouldn't be indulging in banquets and parties, right?
After discussing the important matters, the father and son chatted casually.

Liu Feng had been separated from Liu Bei for many years, and after being brought to Xuzhou, he was busy with many things, so the father and son really didn't have many opportunities to strengthen their relationship.

Liu Feng and Liu Bei were both aware of this, so whenever they had the chance to meet, they would always try to connect and build a closer relationship.

This time is no exception.

Afterwards, Liu Bei had a meal with Liu Feng. Before parting, he remembered something and instructed Liu Feng: "The things that Zijing and Ziyang did earlier have come to fruition. Although Xuezhou and Zheng Bao are river bandits and pirates, they are quite righteous. After being persuaded by Zijing and Ziyang, they immediately repented and came to Shouchun to surrender ten days ago."

Liu Feng was immediately delighted. These two men were not commanders without troops; they represented hundreds of warships of various sizes and thousands of elite naval forces.

This is great news.

(End of this chapter)