My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 488 Pan Jun Volunteers
The complete opposite of Pan Jun is readily available: Fan Zhou, who was the one Liu Feng had previously used to host a grand banquet for the scholars of Jingzhou.

This man was extremely loyal to Liu Bei. After Eastern Wu launched a surprise attack on Guan Yu and seized Jingzhou, he even joined forces with Xi Zhen to launch a mutiny. Because he was quite influential in Jingzhou, he caused a stir in Wuling, and there was a strong indication that he was going to seize the county and defect to Liu Bei.

When Sun Quan sought advice from Pan Jun, Pan Jun completely disregarded it and told Sun Quan directly that Fan Zhou was too incompetent to accomplish anything.

Just as Pan Jun had predicted, Sun Quan gave him 5,000 troops, and within three months he pacified Wuling, killing Fan Zhou and Xi Zhen in battle.

Pan Jun did not look down on Fan Zhou for no reason; there was a reason behind it.

When Fan Zhou hosted a luncheon in Xiangyang, he invited more than ten prominent figures from the city. The luncheon, intended for a dozen or so people, dragged on for three hours without a proper meal and ended in discord.

Based on this, Pan Jun concluded that Fan Zhou was nothing more than a man of high aspirations but low abilities, and at the very least, lacked the capacity for governance.

Liu Feng also agreed with Pan Jun's view, believing that someone like Fan Zhou would be a disaster in practice. But does that mean Fan Zhou is unusable?

Obviously not. Fan Zhou was so loyal to Liu Bei that he was willing to die for him. He was a very rare and valuable person.

Therefore, the most suitable places for Fan Zhou are those involving abstract concepts or foreign affairs.

Fan Zhou's strengths are loyalty, reputation, family background, and eloquence, so we should make the most of his strengths and minimize his weaknesses.

Today's audience with Zhuge Liang and the other two was a great success, as these talents were all prepared for them.

As for Pan Jun and Ma Liang, Liu Feng had other plans for them.

Pan Jun was from Wuling, and Ma Liang was from Xiangyang, but the Ma family had a deep relationship with the Jingman people of Wuling, and they maintained trade with each other for over a hundred years, which can be described as a relationship spanning several generations.

Jingbei cannot be touched for the time being, but Jingnan is different. Liu Feng will reorganize Jingnan next, and the Wuxi Barbarians are a big problem.

To solve this problem, the Pan family, to which Pan Jun belonged, and the Ma family, to which Ma Liang belonged, were undoubtedly good starting points.

When Liu Feng revealed his plan, everyone in the hall showed expressions of surprise and delight.

Whether it was Feng Xi, the brothers Xi Zhen and Xi Hong from prominent families, or Fu Tong and Huo brothers from powerful families, or Wei Yan and others who were surrendered from Liu Biao, they were all overjoyed, as if a pie had fallen from the sky.

This is understandable given their reaction; according to the proper procedures of that era, these people would need several years to demonstrate their subservience and loyalty. Powerful clans like the Feng and Xi families would have to contribute even more grain and wealth to show their obedience.

As for powerful families like Fu Tong and the Huo brothers, they were only promoted after powerful clans like Feng and Xi gained Liu Feng's trust.

But now, Liu Feng has actually given them a task, and this task is to be carried out with the cabinet members that Liu Feng trusts the most, which naturally makes them overjoyed.

After carefully listening to the mission, they keenly realized that it was a mission that could earn them military merit, and they were overjoyed. In their view, such a mission to pacify the Yue and Jing barbarians was now highly sought after.

Now that Liu Feng has actually allowed them to assist Zhuge Liang and the other two in carrying out their mission, it is clear that he has at least skipped the trial and error phase and accepted them directly.

This means that both for them personally and for their families, it directly saves them years of wasted time and money.

How could they not be happy about this?

Fortunately, these people were all carefully selected talents by Liu Feng, so he was not so happy as to lose his composure. What pleased Liu Feng even more was that just by looking at their expressions and attitudes towards him, he could tell that their loyalty to him had undoubtedly reached a new level.

Afterwards, Liu Feng handed these people over to Zhuge Liang and the other two, while he himself summoned the unperturbed Pan Jun and Ma Liang.

Liu Feng led the two to the back hall. After they took their seats in the study, he teased them with interest, "Chengming, Jichang, do you feel any envy?"

Pan Jun first bowed to Liu Feng, then replied solemnly, "Your Excellency has summoned me here for a reason. I only need to follow your instructions. As for my colleagues being employed, it is because Your Excellency is more capable than them. What is there for me to envy?"

Liu Feng smiled and nodded. This answer was very much in line with Pan Jun's temperament—slightly aloof, yet quite practical.

In contrast, Ma Liang's reply was much more modest and gentle. He simply said, "What Your Excellency thinks, I dare not presume to know. Whatever Your Excellency commands, I will obey without question."

Liu Feng gave Ma Liang an approving look, and then said, "I have summoned you two here. The matter to be discussed is the Five Streams Barbarians."

Upon hearing Liu Feng's words, Pan Jun and Ma Liang both thought to themselves, "Just as I expected."

Both of them were intelligent and resourceful. Just now, when Liu Feng explained his plan for appointing people in the main hall, Pan Jun and Ma Liang became suspicious and couldn't help but wonder about Liu Feng's purpose in seeking them out.

They soon realized this.

Of the tasks Liu Feng assigned to Zhuge Liang and his two companions, only the Five Streams Barbarians of Jingnan were not included. Pan Jun, on the other hand, hailed from Wuling Commandery, where the Pan family was a prominent and powerful clan.

Although Ma Liang's family was from Yicheng, Xiangyang, they also had very deep ties with the Wuxi barbarians.

With that, there was nothing the two of them couldn't see through, and they immediately guessed Liu Feng's purpose.

Pan Jun and Ma Liang exchanged a glance, each with their own plans, but also somewhat wary of the other, unsure of what the other truly wanted.

This was also because the matter was handled hastily; Liu Feng only announced it after gathering everyone. Otherwise, Pan Jun and Ma Liang would definitely have communicated privately, and as long as there was no fundamental conflict of interest, the two families would have strived to maintain alignment of interests.

But now, the two can only rely on their own unique abilities.

Ma Liang waited for a moment, after all, compared with the Pan family, the Ma family was slightly inferior.

But Pan Jun was lost in thought and did not speak for a moment.

After hesitating for a moment, Ma Liang decided to seize the initiative.

"I wonder what strategy the lord has for dealing with the Wuxi barbarians? As the saying goes, everything has a target. I dare to ask how the lord plans to deal with the Wuxi barbarians so that I can prescribe the right medicine and offer advice to the lord."

Liu Feng glanced at Pan Jun, who remained deep in thought, and then replied to Ma Liang, "The Five Streams Barbarians number in the hundreds of thousands and should not be underestimated. My intention is naturally to bring them down from the mountains to register them as commoners and conscript them into the army. However, if we act rashly and hastily, I fear we will not be able to accomplish anything."

Ma Liang felt relieved. What he feared was that Liu Feng's demands were too harsh and too hasty.

Now that Liu Feng himself has said that the time is not ripe, his requirements will naturally not be too strict, so Ma Liang will relax a lot.

Then, Ma Liang continued to ask, "What is the lord's intention?" Liu Feng stood up and began to pace around the study.

Although he had already thought of the answer to Ma Liang's question, he still hesitated when the time came. After a while, he finally made up his mind and said, "I intend to let Shamoke lead 5,000 Jingman soldiers out of the mountains and organize them into a battalion, ready to be deployed. If Shamoke agrees, I can recommend him to be a Lieutenant General and open a separate market, allowing him to go down the mountain to trade and buy and sell goods."

At this point, Liu Feng suddenly remembered something and added, "This market will be managed by your Ma family, and you are allowed to take 10% of the commercial tax, which will be used specifically for the market's operating costs."

Upon hearing this, Ma Liang was overjoyed.

Liu Feng's request was not unreasonable at all. In the original timeline, when Liu Bei lost Jingzhou, Shamoke was willing to bring more than 10,000 Jingman troops to help him. At this time, the entire Jingzhou belonged to Liu Feng. Unless Shamoke was desperate, he would not refuse to serve Liu Feng.

Moreover, Liu Feng wasn't just asking him to serve for nothing; he was giving him enormous benefits. Compared to the rank and title of General of the Household, the benefits from the border markets were far greater.

Ma Liang was very confident that he could persuade Sha Moke to agree, and Ma would also receive a reward for the management of the market, which was a very worthwhile deal.

Just as Ma Liang was about to agree immediately and volunteer to go to Wuxi to persuade Sha Moke, Pan Jun spoke first.

"My lord, I, Jun, am unworthy, but I am willing to go to Wuxi to persuade the barbarian king Shamoke to surrender."

Liu Feng was momentarily stunned and asked hesitantly after a moment of confusion, "Chengming, do you want to persuade Shamoke to surrender?"

"Exactly!"

Pan Jun immediately responded, his expression calm and composed, exuding an air of complete confidence: "My lord, you may not know this, but Shamoke admires Han culture and has long harbored the desire to submit. However, he lacked both the opportune moment and the support of the people. Now, my lord is wise and powerful, and shows no favoritism towards barbarians. Zulang is merely a chieftain of the Yue tribes, yet he was appointed by my lord as the Commandant of Poyang. This demonstrates the magnanimity of my lord, which few can match."

Liu Feng paid no attention to Pan Jun's praise; what he cared about was whether it was true that Pan Jun wanted to persuade Shamoke to surrender.

Pan Jun then gave a detailed account of the current situation of the Wuxi barbarians.

The Wuxi barbarians of today are almost indistinguishable from the Han people, and they are no longer simply a fishing and hunting people; most of them have become a farming and hunting people.

Most of the Wuxi barbarians now lead settled agricultural lives. They are able to grow crops such as rice and soybeans, and have accumulated certain agricultural production experience over a long period of development. They are able to reclaim farmland, build water conservancy facilities, and ensure the stable progress of agricultural production.

At first glance, they are no different from the Han Chinese.

However, because they were no match for the Han people, they were forced to live in the mountains, cultivating crops on the small plains in the mountain valleys and supplementing their meat needs with fishing and hunting.

After listening to Pan Jun's detailed explanation, Liu Feng clicked his tongue and seemed to understand.

The reason why the barbarians were so difficult to deal with was mainly because they were not an agricultural people. They could run away without any scruples and lead the Han army to circle around in the mountains, playing hide-and-seek.

But now the Wuxi barbarians have begun to settle down and have developed a mature agricultural system.

This means that the Wuxi barbarians now have assets they can't get rid of, and they've lost their former carefree lifestyle.

Once the Han army strikes at the heart of the problem, directly targeting the enemy's settlements and farmland, the Wuxi barbarians will have nowhere to run, unless they can truly abandon everything.

No wonder Pan Jun was so confident in persuading the Wuxi barbarian king, Shamoke, to surrender; it turns out the Pan family knew the Wuxi barbarians so well. Pan Jun's confidence clearly stemmed from his grasp of the Wuxi barbarians' weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

Liu Feng continued, "Chengming, if you can persuade the Wuxi barbarians to surrender, you will have rendered a great service. But I wonder what conditions you would require to persuade Shamoke to willingly submit?"

Weaknesses aside, expecting Shamoke to submit without any benefit is wishful thinking. Even if Shamoke were willing to surrender, the vested interests among the Wuxi barbarians would absolutely not agree.

Pan Jun then revealed his true intentions.

"My lord, the Wuxi barbarians are located in the Wuxi region. These five streams are the Xiongxi, Manxi, Chenxi, Youxi, and Wuxi streams, which are located on the upper reaches of the Yuan River within the territory of Wuling County."

This region comprises 60% of Wuling Prefecture. Wuling Prefecture has a total of twelve counties, eleven of which are located in the central and northeastern parts of the prefecture. These areas combined only account for two-fifths of Wuling Prefecture's land. The remaining three-fifths consist of only one county, Tancheng, which is entirely situated in the mountains.

A large portion of this area, though called Han territory, was actually the territory of the Wuxi barbarians.

After introducing the situation in the Wuxi region, Pan Jun then made a reasonable request: "Therefore, I request that several more counties be established in the southwest of Wuling to encompass Wuxi, so that the talented people of their clans can be appointed to official positions, which may lead to a great success."

Liu Feng suddenly realized that this was Pan Jun's plan.

This is not to say that Pan Jun's method was bad. He was able to see the problems on both sides of the Five Streams Barbarians and the Han court, and to devise a plan accordingly, which shows that he was indeed exceptionally intelligent. More importantly, his plan was quite feasible.

At worst, it won't have any negative effects.

Since that's the case, why not let him give it a try?

Liu Feng's gaze swept across Ma Liang's face, noticing a complex expression that included shock, doubt, and a touch of admiration.

Liu Feng's heart stirred, and the words he was about to say changed again: "Chengming, you will be in full charge of this matter, with Ji Chang as your deputy. If you can persuade the Wuxi barbarians to surrender, the two of you will be credited with the greatest merit."

Pan Jun was surprised that in the end, he still couldn't get rid of Ma Liang. Ma Liang was both surprised and delighted, not expecting Liu Feng to appoint him as Pan Jun's deputy.

Although Pan Jun was dissatisfied, he dared not voice it and could only reply along with the overjoyed Ma Liang, "Yes, sir! We will obey the general's orders."

**
After seeing off the people from Jingzhou, Liu Feng closed his eyes and rested for a while in his study.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Zhuge Liang waiting in front of him.

Liu Feng asked with some guilt, "When did Kongming arrive? Why didn't he wake me?"

Zhuge Liang shook his head: "My lord has been working too hard these days, and you should also take care of your health."

Liu Feng nodded: "What brings you here, Kongming?"

Zhuge Liang replied, "My lord, we now hold important local positions and will soon be assigned to other posts. However, after we leave, who will the cabinet select to fill our vacancies?"

(End of this chapter)