My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 504 Cao Ang's Intentions
The previous conditions would only be fulfilled after Shamoke fully agreed to register the people as citizens and surrender his military forces. Although Shamoke was tempted at the moment, the transaction was too difficult, and there was a lack of mutual trust between the two parties. Things would definitely have to be done step by step.

However, with Shamoxiong's interaction, it's believed that Shamoke's trust in their side will increase. They don't need to achieve everything at once, just to get cooperation started; then they won't have to worry about things not going well.

As expected, Ma Liang reported to Liu Feng that Shamoke was willing to try registering ten villages with a population of about three to four thousand, and was also willing to send a thousand barbarian soldiers to be at Liu Feng's command.

Liu Feng asked leisurely, "What conditions does Shamoke require?"

"I want a title from the imperial court."

Ma Liang replied, "In addition, the village needs our assistance with food rations, seeds, oxen, and most importantly, farming tools."

Liu Feng nodded. These conditions were within his expectations. Although they were somewhat generous, there was clearly some room for negotiation.

"A title can be given, but with only ten villages, it's at most a two-pavilion system, so forget about a noble title. We can give him the title of Wuxi Commandant, with a rank equivalent to 1,000 shi of grain. In addition, we can subsidize him with a total of 500 shi of grain and seeds, no more. As for farm tools, give them 200 iron farm tools, half plows, half harrows, and half hoes, but not a single ox."

Iron farm tools are now extremely profitable, an industry that Liu Feng has almost monopolized.

At the same time, the iron farm tools of today are not made of pure iron. Whether it is a plow, harrow or hoe, the handle is still made of wood, and only the head of the tool is made of iron. It does not consume much iron, but it is much more expensive than wooden or stone farm tools.

After all, iron farm tools are lightweight, easy to use, and more efficient than wooden or stone tools.

Liu Feng tapped the table with his index finger, and after a moment, he set the rules: "Go talk to Sha Moke according to these rules. Also, Han people should make up half of these ten villages, and the village chiefs can divide their duties 40/60. I only need four villages."

Ma Liang first bowed his head in agreement, then asked, "What about the supplies for the Han people?"

Liu Feng immediately stated, "Then naturally the government will bear the responsibility."

Ma Liang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If that was the case, then there was still room for negotiation. Then, he remembered something else and quickly added, "My lord, Shamoke wants a curved plow. I wonder if we can agree to that?"

"Quyuanli?"

Liu Feng laughed: "This barbarian king is quite knowledgeable, and knows quite a lot."

It should be noted that although the curved plow has spread to Jingzhou through the trade of the two Lius, it is mainly concentrated in the three northern counties of Jingzhou, and not so much in the four southern counties.

Liu Feng was planning to promote the product on a large scale in Jingnan and sell it to local gentry and powerful families. This would not only bring Liu Feng's government a lot of money, food and various supplies, but also win favor with the local gentry and powerful families. It was a very profitable business.

Unexpectedly, before the local powerful clans could even speak to him, the barbarian king had already seen the benefits of this thing.

Liu Feng's opinion of Shamoke rose even higher. After a moment's thought, he instructed Ma Liang, "I can give it to them, but the current scale of registered households is too small. You can discuss with Shamoke that at least one county needs to be registered, with 3,000 households and over 120,000 mu of farmland. In return, I can donate 200 curved-shaft plows and 1,000 iron farm implements to the local area. As for the per capita subsidy, it will also be issued together. The curved-shaft plows and iron farm implements are extra rewards."

Nowadays, a county with more than 10,000 households is considered a superior county, one with less than 10,000 households and more than 3,000 households is considered a medium-sized county, and one with less than 3,000 households is considered a inferior county.

Liu Feng only wanted one county. If we calculate based on young and strong people reclaiming wasteland, each household could consist of only a husband and wife. These three thousand households could be filled with just six thousand people.

However, although the population size appears to be smaller, the quality of the population is frighteningly high, consisting entirely of young and strong laborers. If Shamoke wanted to exploit this loophole, Liu Feng would be more than happy to welcome him.

Ma Liang responded, while pondering whether such conditions would persuade Shamoke to agree.

Fortunately, Liu Feng was not in a hurry. Even if Shamoke dared to cause trouble, he had enough troops to suppress him in the mountains and not affect the overall situation.

If Shamoke stands on his side as he has in history, Liu Feng will not disappoint him and will certainly reward him handsomely.

After all, Shamoke was a very important figure in Jingnan, and to Liu Feng, one man was worth 40,000 soldiers.

He opposed Liu Feng, so Liu Feng left 10,000 to 20,000 troops in Wuling and Lingling to fight against Shamoke's barbarian troops.

Shamoke had several thousand barbarian soldiers under his command, but that didn't mean he only had a few thousand troops. Every member of the Wuxi barbarians was a soldier; they were farmers at home and soldiers when they went out. Otherwise, Shamoke wouldn't have been able to mobilize tens of thousands of people to help in the Battle of Yiling in the original timeline.

According to Liu Feng's estimate, if Shamoke were to mobilize to the maximum extent and have enough time, his mobilization force would be between 20,000 and 30,000 people, but only about 10,000 of them could be considered elite.

However, if Shamoke sided with Liu Feng, Liu Feng would not only no longer need to set up a large army to guard against the Wuxi barbarians, but could also draw 10,000 to 20,000 men from the Wuxi barbarians to go north and participate in the war. This would amount to a difference of 40,000 men.

After seeing Ma Liang and Sha Moxiong off, Liu Feng continued north for eighty li, then boarded a boat on the Qingshui River, bypassing what would later become Qianyang, where it joined the Yuan River. He then traveled north along the Yuan River, inspecting the three counties of Chenyang, Yuanling, and Yuannan before arriving at Linyuan, the capital of Wuling Prefecture.

Here, Liu Feng received the latest news: Cao Cao's eldest son, Cao Ang, the accessory of the "One Cannon, Three Sages" trio, had arrived.

Liu Feng, who originally planned to have a good gathering with the powerful clans of Wuling in Linyuan, had to change his itinerary and speed up his journey. He would then take the Yuan River through Dongting Lake into the Yangtze River and go upstream to Jiangling.

Cao Ang had been waiting for him in Jiangling City for quite some time.

When they met again, Liu Feng had grown much taller, and Cao Ang had become more mature.

Having escaped the Battle of Wancheng and avoided becoming an accessory to Dian Wei and Jueying, Cao Ang is now married to Ding Chong's daughter, becoming the brother-in-law of the brothers Ding Yi and Ding Yi.

Liu Feng was somewhat surprised to learn of this; it seemed that Cao Cao's life was not going too well.

Liu Feng's judgment was entirely due to the wisdom of two thousand years later.

Cao Cao was extremely ruthless towards the Ding family in history.

Although he deeply loved his principal wife, Lady Ding, the couple turned against each other after Cao Ang's death and never saw each other again. As for Ding Chong and his two sons, who were relatives of the emperor, they were essentially killed as part of Cao Cao's plan.

The reason is simple: the Ding family, as relatives of the emperor, were too formidable, and Cao Cao subconsciously wanted to suppress them.

Cao Cao's mother was a woman from the Ding clan, Cao Cao's wife was a woman from the Ding clan, and the wife of his trusted general Xiahou Yuan was also a woman from the Ding clan, who was also Cao Cao's brother-in-law. Cao Cao's mother and wife even wanted to arrange for their first heir, Cao Ang, to marry a woman from the Ding clan. It would be abnormal if Cao Cao wasn't afraid.

The wives Cao Cao chose for his sons illustrate this point well. Cao Pi married Zhen Mi, the wife of Yuan Xi, who was from Hebei; Cao Zhi married Cui Yan's niece, who was also from Hebei; and Cao Zhang married Sun Ben's daughter, who was from Jiangdong.

None of the three candidates qualified to compete for Cao Cao's legitimacy married women from Henan, let alone Yingchuan. As for the Ding family woman, at that time, even the leader of the Ding family in Qiao County had already been eliminated by Cao Cao.

But now?

Cao Ang's marriage to a woman from the Ding family was certainly not a choice Cao Cao made willingly, but this alone is enough to demonstrate Cao Cao's current predicament. Even on the issue of inheriting a man's wife, he had to bow down to the gentry of Yingchuan and even the gentry of Henan.

Without a doubt, Cao Ang's marriage to Lady Ding was not only a victory for Lady Ding, but also a victory for the gentry of Yingchuan and even the gentry of Henan.

Liu Feng was actually happy to see this happen, after all, Cao Cao was not an honest man. The harder you suppressed him, the stronger his rebound would be, and the bigger the rift would become.

"I was unaware that Zixiu had come from afar, causing you to wait so long; this is truly the fault of the governor."

After arriving in Jiangling City, Liu Feng did not meet with Cao Ang immediately. Instead, he summoned Pang Degong, Huang Chengyan, Zhou Gongjin, and others to inquire about Cao Ang's purpose.

Unfortunately, Cao Ang was very tight-lipped and refused to reveal any secrets.

Left with no other choice, Liu Feng could only hastily bathe and change his clothes before meeting Cao Ang.

After the host and guests were seated, Cao Ang looked at the imposing Liu Feng and couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.

This is not only because of Liu Feng's current power and status, but also because they are quite envious of Liu Feng's physique.

Liu Feng is now over 1.73 meters tall, exceeding 7.5 feet, and is expected to reach 8 feet.

However, Cao Ang was not very tall. Although he was taller than his father Cao Cao, he was not by much. Therefore, Cao Ang himself was actually only about 1.66 meters tall in modern times, about half a head shorter than Liu Feng.

However, Cao Ang was young at this time, quite robust, skilled in both literature and martial arts, and highly valued by Cao Cao. Having held a high position for a long time, he had already gained considerable influence.

Unfortunately, this kind of imposing manner was no match for Liu Feng.

"General Zuo, you flatter me. My father often said that General Zuo is a young phoenix whose voice is clearer than that of an old phoenix. He is a promising young man and a pillar of the nation. He guards the southeast for the court and his achievements are unparalleled. He is truly a pillar of the country."

Cao Ang humbly replied, "I am overjoyed to see you again today, General."

Liu Feng nodded in gratitude, then asked, "I wonder what brings you here from afar, Zixiu?"

Cao Ang hesitated for a moment, then organized his thoughts before speaking: "The former general has been defeated by the Grand Marshal and died by self-immolation after his defeat. Now Yi County has fallen to the Grand Marshal, and Hebei is unified. I wonder if the Left General has heard of this?"

Yuan Shao's pacification of Hebei was a momentous event that shook the entire country. At present, apart from Liu Zhang of Yizhou and Shi Xie of Jiaozhou, other warlords, even Ma Teng and Han Sui of Xiliang, should have heard about it.

Liu Feng was no exception. In fact, if he hadn't been serving as a temporary county magistrate in Jingnan, he would have received the news much earlier.

Upon receiving this news, Liu Feng wrote directly to Liu Bei, advising his father to make preparations early, be wary of Yuan Shao, and also be careful of Cao Cao's betrayal.

"At this point, I already know that after the Grand Marshal pacifies Hebei, his attention will likely shift south, and Hanoi and Yanzhou may become his targets."

Liu Feng was just speaking casually. Everyone knew that Yuan Shao's plan to march south, and the two best routes to the south were Mengjin in Henan and Baima in Yanzhou.

Liu Feng had no idea that Cao Ang was waiting for these words. He immediately rose from his seat and bowed deeply, saying, "General Zuo is indeed a pillar of the state, and he sees through the Grand Marshal's ambitions perfectly. I have come here on the orders of the Grand General to seek General Zuo's assistance in Jingzhou."

Liu Feng looked embarrassed, never expecting that a casual remark would be seized upon by the other party.

After a moment of silence, Liu Feng asked, "What does the General intend to do?"

Cao Ang remained prostrate on the ground. Upon hearing Liu Feng's voice, he respectfully replied, "I request three things."

Liu Feng waved his hand and said, "Tell me."

With Liu Feng's permission, Cao Ang spoke cautiously yet with a hint of eagerness: "Firstly, there are matters concerning Hanoi. My father once defeated Sui Gu in Hebei, and that man now commands a large army in Hanoi. My father is worried that he is unstable, so he would like to ask General Zuo to write a letter, explaining the advantages and disadvantages, so as to avoid internal strife and the situation where friends are hurt and enemies are pleased."

"can."

Liu Feng agreed without hesitation, but he also replied cautiously: "Although I have had many dealings with Sui Gu and have benefited from his services, Hanoi is still thousands of miles away. Even if I write a letter, it will not be able to be completed. You must report this matter to the General."

In terms of personal relationships, Liu Feng and Sui Gu certainly had a good relationship. After all, since three years ago, Liu Feng had been entrusting his trade with Hanoi to Zhang Yang, Yang Chou, and Sui Gu.
These are all glittering gold treasures. Sui Gu isn't stupid, so why would he have a bad relationship with Liu Feng?

However, Hanoi is now embroiled in a world-class war. While the wealth is tempting, life and future prospects are undoubtedly more important.

Even Liu Feng himself wasn't confident he could persuade Sui Gu to stand against Yuan Shao and fight for him and Cao Cao.

Therefore, Liu Feng's words, though seemingly a evasive response, were actually the truth. Cao Ang understood this clearly and immediately said gratefully, "My father and I are already extremely grateful to receive a letter from General Zuo. What Sui Gu decides to do is none of General Zuo's business."

Liu Feng nodded in response, "Since Brother Zixiu is so reasonable, there should be no oversight in this matter."

Seeing that the first matter was accomplished so easily, Cao Ang's face flashed with joy. He then brought up the second matter: "Secondly, the Grand Marshal is based in Hebei and has an army of 400,000 men, which is almost three times the size of my father's. Hanoi is easy to attack but difficult to defend. My father sent me here to ask for help. I hope that General Zuo will not forget our old friendship and agreement and will lend a helping hand."

"I did have an agreement with the General on this matter."

Liu Feng readily admitted to the agreement he had made with Cao Cao in the past and promised, "If the Grand Marshal crosses the river to the south, the troops that my father and I have deployed along the line of Runan, Rencheng, and Lu will definitely come to his aid."

(End of this chapter)