My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 478 A Second Visit to Ruo Kingdom

As night deepened, the candlelight flickered in the study, casting shadows on Liu Feng's face and revealing his thoughtful expression.

"If you calculate the time carefully, Gongsun Zan might have already died by self-immolation by now."

He murmured softly, his voice carrying a sigh of the impermanence of life.

Gongsun Zan, the once formidable White Horse General who dominated the north, has met such a tragic end, which is truly lamentable.

If history hadn't changed, with Gongsun Zan dead, Yuan Shao's next move would inevitably have been a large-scale military parade.

Yuan Shao was an ambitious man who had always coveted the Han dynasty. Through his war with Gongsun Zan, he also learned that military strength was not the same as numbers.

In the original timeline, after Gongsun Zan's death, he almost immediately launched a grand military review, carefully selecting elite troops during the review, preparing for a southward march.

Less than a few months after Gongsun Zan's death, Yuan Shao's vanguard troops arrived at the Yellow River. The army watered their horses in the Yellow River, eager to try their luck, and showed no sign of hiding their ambition to march into the Central Plains.

Liu Feng dared not think about what a bloody storm it would be.

At this delicate juncture, engaging in a major battle with Cao Cao would undoubtedly be handing Yuan Shao a tremendous gift. Liu Feng could almost picture Yuan Shao's smug and overjoyed expression upon hearing the news, and he remained secretly vigilant.

Liu Feng paced back and forth in his tent, his mind a cacophony of pros and cons. After a long while, he finally nodded with difficulty and said slowly, "Well, actually, before we decided to invade Jingzhou, we had already considered the possibility that Liu Biao would bow down to Cao Cao. We just didn't expect him to do so so decisively and so quickly."

Recalling the planning of the invasion of Jingzhou, Zhuge Liang confidently pointed out that Liu Biao, after being defeated, would most likely seek help from the imperial court and Cao Cao. Lu Xun, seeing Zhuge Liang speak, then echoed his sentiment, expressing the same view.

As a native of Jingzhou and a member of the Pang family, Pang Tong was more familiar with Liu Biao and thus had a better understanding of Liu Biao's character and the political situation in Jingzhou.

Therefore, he not only agreed with Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun's views, but also spoke eloquently, analyzing in detail the circumstances under which Liu Biao would bow down to Cao Cao.

Liu Feng also strongly agreed with their views at the time. Everyone believed that Liu Biao, as a powerful local warlord who had long held a high position, had his own pride and dignity. He would only give up completely and choose to bow down to Cao Cao in exchange for the latter's assistance in resisting the Yangzhou army when he was at his wit's end and had nowhere else to turn.

This is also why Liu Feng deliberately slowed down the pace of the attack, taking a steady and gradual approach.

Firstly, this opportunity could be used to train the army, allowing soldiers to accumulate experience in actual combat and improve the overall combat effectiveness of the army; secondly, it could give Liu Biao a false hope, making him mistakenly believe that there was still room for negotiation, so that he would not ask Cao Cao for help too early.

After all, once winter arrives, the water level of the Han River will decrease drastically. In extreme cold weather, the Han River may even freeze over. At that time, the Yangzhou army's supply lines will be severely affected, making the transportation of supplies extremely difficult, and supplies will naturally decrease accordingly. If they can hold out until then, the Yangzhou army will have no choice but to withdraw, otherwise it will be tantamount to courting death.

But who could have imagined that in just August, Liu Biao would have already backed down and even sent someone in a hurry to ask Cao Cao to mediate? This turn of events came too suddenly; truly, life is unpredictable and completely beyond everyone's expectations.

However, if they had more information and knew about the many things that had happened in Xiangyang recently, they would understand that this outcome was actually quite reasonable.

After all, the whole incident was caused by Liu Biao vomiting blood and fainting in court. This sudden situation caused the power of Jingzhou to temporarily fall into other hands, giving Han Song, Cai Mao and other pro-Cao factions an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. This is a typical black swan event.

If anyone could have predicted all of this in advance, it would be as if they had gained supernatural insight, and they might not be inferior to Liu Feng, who came from the future.

"Then let's meet them first."

After sulking for a while, silently cursing Liu Biao for being too weak-willed, Liu Feng slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and said helplessly, "Now we can't afford to offend the General."

Thinking back carefully, Liu Feng had always gained the upper hand in his previous encounters with Cao Cao. The first time, it was like snatching food from a tiger's mouth, and all he relied on then was the threat of mutual destruction. And this is precisely what Cao Cao is now using as leverage.

This truly is a case of fortunes changing, and what goes around comes around; now Cao Cao has seized the opportunity.

"That's right. Even if the General manages to mediate successfully, we can still strive for other things."

Zhuge Liang nodded slightly, a wise glint in his eyes, and said in agreement, "My lord, besides, the Grand General's mediation of this matter may not necessarily be a bad thing."

Zhuge Liang's words successfully piqued the curiosity of Liu Feng, Lu Xun, and Pang Tong.

"Oh? How do you say this?"

Zhuge Liang said calmly, "Now that the General and the Lord are allies, this matter can be seen as a joint effort between the two sides to share Jingzhou. With this deal, the General will naturally trust our province more, which will also be beneficial for our future joint efforts against Hebei. Furthermore, once the war in Jingxiang is quelled, we can take our time to rest and recuperate. In addition, we also need to free up manpower to take over Jingnan and Jiaozhi."

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng and the others all showed expressions of agreement.

Pang Tong, a native of Nanjun, also smiled and said, "It is rumored in the province that Liu Zhendong has stockpiled no less than three million shi of grain, military equipment, wealth, and other supplies in Xiangyang. My lord, you must not be soft-hearted this time. You should know that if we are not allowed to take these things, they will most likely benefit the General."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xun chimed in, "Liu Jing Sheng actually possesses such abilities?"

Pang Tong nodded and explained, "Half the credit still belongs to our lord."

Liu Feng exclaimed in surprise, "I actually played a part in this?"

"The curved plow and iron farm implements came in very handy."

Pang Tong smiled and said, "I'm not familiar with the situation in Nanyang, but in my own Nan Commandery alone, last year's grain harvest far exceeded previous years by 25%. If it weren't for the war this year, we estimated that production could have increased by more than 40%." Liu Feng couldn't help but gasp. He had developed the curved plow and iron farm tools using his knowledge from later generations, so he knew all too well how effective they were. What surprised him, however, was that Liu Biao was so bold as to invest so heavily in promoting them in Jingzhou. Judging from Pang Tong's words, if Liu Biao hadn't gone all out and promoted them throughout Jingzhou, Nan Commandery's annual output wouldn't have increased so dramatically.

Lu Xun also praised, "The curved plow made by our lord is now a household name in Jiangdong, and its promotion has been extremely successful. Its popularity in Jiangdong is probably even greater than in the north."

Lu Xun's words hit the nail on the head. In the original timeline, the curved plow first appeared in the Jiangnan region of the Tang Dynasty, and the further north you go, the weaker and more limited its assistance becomes.

In the Jiangnan region, the curved-shaft plow could be used year-round, transforming adult men into hardworking human oxen and horses. However, along the Yellow River, it could only be used for eight to ten months, as the severe cold of the north caused the ground to freeze, rendering the curved-shaft plow useless.

Further north, in Youzhou and areas north of it, the curved-shaft plow's lifespan is reduced to only six months. Moreover, the soil in the north is heavy and sticky, easily adhering to the plowshare, making it far less lightweight than in the south. It is also more troublesome to maintain and more expensive.

However, this did not prevent Liu Feng from vigorously promoting the curved plow and iron farm tools, because in addition to increasing grain production, this also contained an important political tool: to curb or even break up powerful clans.

As is well known, the aristocratic clans, a unique historical phenomenon, originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty, reached their peak in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and gradually declined until the late Tang Dynasty. Many people who are not well-versed in history like to attribute the downfall of these clans to Huang Chao, but this is simply absurd and laughable.

Huang Chao was just a bandit who had barely even been to Hebei, one of the strongholds of powerful clans. How could he possibly be qualified to eradicate these powerful clans?

The saying goes, "He trampled the bones of high-ranking officials on the streets," but how many could he actually kill?
When the Western Jin Dynasty fell, the powerful clans in the north were slaughtered by ethnic minorities in turn. However, during the Northern Wei Dynasty, they still thrived. Apart from the Xianbei people, the prominent officials in the court were all from Han Chinese clans. Several prime ministers were from Han Chinese clans who took turns holding the position.

At the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Erzhu Rong, known as the "Little Cao Cao of Northern Wei," held a world-shaking "diving competition" in Heyin, drowning more than 3,000 aristocratic "athletes" in one go. How could Huang Chao compare to Erzhu Rong?
Even so, have the powerful clans disappeared?

No, they still wielded immense power during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

The imperial examination system of the Sui and Tang dynasties, ostensibly for selecting talent, actually prioritized recommendations over academic performance. Why was this?
It's all to leave a backdoor for the gatekeepers.

What truly and thoroughly destroyed the foundation of aristocratic clans was the development of technological productivity, and the birth and popularization of the curved plow and iron farm tools.

It was precisely because of these two things that farmers no longer needed to rely on the resources of powerful clans, such as oxen and farming tools. And powerful clans could no longer use these means of production to control the population.

Adult men could plow fields using a curved plow on their own, greatly reducing their reliance on expensive oxen. Combined with iron farm tools, an adult man with enough land could support his wife and children on his own.

Under these objective conditions, the core of the powerful clans—the manor system—began to collapse, while the small-scale peasant economy began to rise strongly. The powerful clans lost their means of controlling the population, and thus, under the crackdown at the state level, they were slowly dismembered into small self-sufficient farming families.

This kind of radical, ruthless reform is the true demise of powerful clans.

Huang Chao is nothing more than a new generation of "Ran Min" championed by some online historians with extreme heroic views of history.

The false aristocracy refers to family-style groups led by high-ranking officials, prominent figures, and celebrities who occupy the imperial court.

A true aristocratic family is a family-run group that uses the means of production as its core to confine tens of thousands of people to land centered around their own fortified village, thereby gaining government concessions, political recognition, and the allocation of political resources.

If they lose their land and population, can they still be called powerful clans?
Nature left only one outcome: complete extinction.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the powerful clans and gentry were still quite naive. Like the warlords, they were not adapted to this chaotic world and did not understand how to survive and thrive in this turbulent era. Most importantly, they had not yet tasted the benefits of the manor system economy, nor had they experienced the enormous profits that came from controlling a large population.

It would be relatively easy for Liu Feng to promote the curved plow and curb the powerful clans from restricting the population. Even if he resorted to force, they would be no match for him.

The curved plow has now been widely adopted across half of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but the popularity of iron farm tools is still far from sufficient, mainly due to the lack of raw materials.

Liu Feng has a solution, but he doesn't plan to reveal it yet.

Because that method involved gunpowder.

Gunpowder mining was epoch-making for mineral development, but Liu Feng didn't want to reveal it so hastily, considering it a surprise tactic. Traditional manual digging or simple tool mining methods were inefficient, limiting the daily ore extraction, and the harsh working conditions led to the deaths of many able-bodied men.

However, once gunpowder is used for mining, the enormous energy generated by the explosion can instantly break up a large amount of ore, separating the originally difficult-to-mine ore from the ore body. Theoretically, compared with traditional methods, the daily ore mining output may increase by several times or even dozens of times.

For example, in some smaller mines, if manual mining could yield a few tons of ore per day, using gunpowder mining technology could yield tens of tons or even more per day.

Most importantly, the manpower required for gunpowder mining is far less than that required for manual excavation, and mining can become a normal profession, rather than a job for criminals or forced laborers.

"good very good."

Liu Feng said happily, his eyes sparkling with excitement: "We must continue to promote it so that every household can use the curved plow for farming. In this way, the demand for cattle and horses will also decrease a lot."

**
When Xi Lu first met Liu Feng, although he already knew the man's age, he was still shocked by his youth. He couldn't reconcile the young man before him with the cunning and treacherous warlord Cao Cao had described.

Liu Feng was very enthusiastic, receiving Xi Lu in the main hall of the Ruoguo County government, which was quite a show of respect for him.

After the formalities were completed, Liu Feng asked, "May I ask what brings the envoy here?"

Xi Lu's eyes flashed with what seemed like surprise, but he replied respectfully, "The Emperor was deeply saddened to hear that the states of Jing and Yang had fallen into discord and were even at war with each other. He specially ordered me to come here as an envoy to mediate the misunderstanding between the two states, so that the war can be ended and peace can be restored."

(End of this chapter)