My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 275: When will Yi Ji be able to return after conquering Jingnan?
Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

While Zhao Yun continued to besiege the city of Changsha in southern Jing, he was also encircling the remote counties of Lingling and Guiyang.

After taking over all the Han settlements in Wuling County, Zhang Fei's army withdrew its troops and deployed along the south bank of the Yangtze River, playing the bad guy and preventing Liu Biao's army from sneaking across the Yangtze River.

Gan Ning was not feeling well and was not used to the hot climate and soil in the subtropical region. He also had diarrhea recently, so Liu Bei simply asked him to take a temporary leave and return to Wuchang to recuperate.

It was announced to the outside world that Gan Ning's river patrol navy was temporarily transferred to Zhang Fei and was under Zhang Fei's command.

After all, having an ignorant man like Zhang Fei under Liu Bei's command was enough to give Liu Biao a headache.

If another Gan Ning is not sensible, it would be too fake. Moreover, Gan Ning came from Liu Biao, which could easily irritate Liu Biao.

At this time, letting Gan Ning take good care of his illness is the best of both worlds.

Faced with all these watertight measures, Liu Biao's camp would certainly not sit idly by and watch its core interests being invaded and divided.

Therefore, as early as the end of June and the beginning of July of this year, after Zhang Fei ended the Battle of Wuling and secured the defense line on the south bank of the Yangtze River, Liu Biao had already sent the first wave of envoys to Wuchang County, Jiangxia County, to negotiate with Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang.

The envoy was Yi Ji, Liu Biao's fellow villager from Shanyang County and the Jingzhou Beijia who was deeply trusted by Liu Biao.

Yi Ji naturally did not hesitate to work hard. He set out from Xiangyang on the third day of July, went downstream along the Han River, and arrived in Wuchang on the eighth day. He took Liu Biao's letter of negotiation and asked to see Liu Bei, thus starting the first round of negotiations.

……

Of course Liu Bei knew what Yi Ji was here for, so he pretended to be sick for a day or two, letting others serve Yi Ji with good food and drink, and observing his attitude.

Liu Bei himself avoided the meeting temporarily and consulted Zhuge Liang for countermeasures.

"Sir, what do you think I should do when Yi Ji comes here? I'm afraid that as soon as he sees me, he will ask for the four counties of Jingnan back. How can I refuse him so as not to officially break off relations with Brother Jingsheng?"

Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan and said with great wisdom: "It depends on how greedy you are, lord. If you really don't want to pay anything back and don't want to give up any benefits, there are ways. Liang still has a plan to make Liu Biao dare not use troops against him, but I am afraid that it will damage the reputation of the lord's benevolence and trustworthiness, and lose the hearts of some Jingzhou scholars.

If you want to be known as a trustworthy and righteous person in the world, then you must give Liu Biao some benefits. "

Liu Bei sat upright and carefully confirmed: "Sir, what you said about giving up some benefits... can we not cede land? Can we still keep all the counties in southern Jing that we have already obtained?"

Zhuge Liang thought about it seriously and said, "Of course, we have to talk about it to find out the details, but I will have enough justification to ensure that the other party will allow us to continue to station troops in the four counties of southern Jing.

However, he might have to give up some of the power to appoint local civil servants to save Liu Biao's face. If the local officials appointed by Liu Biao want to help Liu Biao raise money and food during their subsequent terms, he cannot completely stop them - if the lord does not care about the righteousness and the people's hearts in Jingzhou, then he does not need to give up these rights. "

Liu Bei thought about it and decided that since he could maintain military control, it would not be unacceptable for him to make some concessions in other matters and win people's hearts.

Liu Bei was a person who was quite bound by morals.

He then made the decision and said, "In this case, it will all depend on you and Ji Bo to argue. It doesn't matter if you give up some false reputation and profit. Jingnan is already poor, and there are many barbarians who have not yet naturalized. Especially in Wuling and other places, it is difficult to raise money and grain.

The reason why I am reluctant to give up the land is not for the land itself, but to ensure that I can control the Yangtze River. If Wuling is lost, the Yangtze River waterway to Yizhou will be cut off in the future, which will not be conducive to gaining profits from trade. "

Zhuge Liang: "In that case, I have a plan. Please summon Ji Bo."

……

The next morning, Liu Bei asked someone to invite Yi Ji to the Wuchang Marquis' Mansion and met him in person.

Zhuge Liang led Yi Ji into the inner hall and saw Liu Bei leaning on the couch with a linen towel on his head and a cushion behind him.

Liu Bei coughed lightly, but did not stand up. He bowed on the couch and said, "Don't blame me, Master Ji. I was ill yesterday and have not recovered yet, so I was unable to meet you immediately."

Yi Ji hurried forward and saluted: "General Chariot and Cavalry is so respectful to the wise and humble, I am flattered. Since I am ill, there is no need to rush..."

Liu Bei waved his hand and said, "It's okay. I'm just exhausted. What official business you have today is up to Kong Ming to handle. You two can talk, and I'll listen."

Since Liu Bei said so, Yi Ji had no choice but to bargain with Zhuge Liang alone.

Yi Ji also knew that Zhuge Liang was a man of great foresight and eloquence. He was very careful with his words and only mentioned some of the requests that he had thought about on the way here and was very confident about. He did not mention the other requests that he was not sure about or that were not completely reasonable.
"My lord Liu Jingzhou and the General of Chariots and Cavalry are of the same clan and are like brothers. This time the General of Chariots and Cavalry led his troops to suppress Zhang Xian, who was a traitor to Cao Cao. My lord is deeply grateful for his kindness and will repay him in the future.

It's just that...quelling the rebellion in southern Jing is, after all, the job of the governor of Jingzhou. Last time, our army was fighting with the Cao army in Wancheng, so it was difficult to withdraw them for defense. Now Wen Pin, Huang Zhong and other troops have returned to Jiangling.

But Jiangnan's Chanling, Yidao, Baqiu and other places were controlled by General Zhang Yide, who strictly guarded the river and did not allow any troops to cross the river to the south. Why was that? The general of the chariot and cavalry has always been upright and upright, and knows the righteousness of the cause. Why didn't he allow the friendly troops to do their part and suppress the rebellion on their own? "

Zhuge Liang just smiled and replied, "This must be a misunderstanding. When a general is away from home, he is not subject to the orders of the king. General Zhang has always been fiery and inflexible. I hope Mr. Ji Bo will tell Liu Jingzhou that Hailiang does not need to worry about it.

Moreover, along the river, after defeating the Wuling County troops besieging Chanling and Xing Daorong's troops in Lingling, many of the remnants of the defeated troops fled. Some of the diehard thieves should have been arrested and punished according to the law. However, they hid in various places along the river, waiting for an opportunity to sneak out of the country by boat. General Zhang also did not want to let the traitors escape, so he strictly guarded the river.

Moreover, the rebellions in various parts of southern Jing have been basically suppressed, with only Changsha City, where Zhang Xian himself is entrenched, still resisting stubbornly. The rest of the counties no longer need Liu Jingzhou to send troops to help.

The mobilization of a large army will certainly cost a lot of money and food. Since our army has already achieved this, we can just finish the task in one battle. Why bother the soldiers and civilians in northern Jing? Generals Wen and Huang, please go back." After hearing this, Yi Ji's face changed slightly, and he asked in disbelief: "In this case, does the general want to directly annex the four counties in southern Jing, and make Jingnan like the southern part of Jiangxia County, and no longer obey the dispatch of my lord Liu Jingzhou?
This matter... I'm afraid it will be difficult for the people of the world to be convinced, right? Everyone in the world knows that my master is the governor of Jingzhou, appointed by the emperor, and has been guarding Jingzhou for ten years, without any harm to the people, and has also accommodated many exiled northern scholars, so that the people of the world can find a paradise in the troubled times -

This is something that even Mr. Kong Ming personally experienced. If Liu Jingzhou had not asked Gan Ning to help you return to Yuzhang to visit your relatives and rescue them, how could the Zhuge family be what it is today? How could Mr. Kong Ming have the heart to repay such a virtuous person with resentment? How could the General of Chariots and Cavalry have the heart to seize his counties?
Although our army is weak, such an act would be a loss of justice in the eyes of the world. I think it is not worth it for the reputation and integrity of the general!"

Zhuge Liang had to admit that what Yi Ji said made some sense.

After all, the relationship between Liu Biao and Liu Bei is now that of allies who follow the same orders, although Liu Biao did not actually contribute much and at most just wanted to take back Wancheng, he had no other ambitions.

Liu Biao had some friendship with Zhuge Liang and even with Zhuge Xuan. For this reason alone, Zhuge Liang could not disregard his reputation and repay kindness with resentment.

The most important thing is that Liu Bei himself cares about the reputation of righteousness, and he wants to do the opposite of Cao Cao.

Zhuge Liang then said pertinently: "Mr. Ji Bo, why do you say that? When did we say that we would seize the four counties in southern Jing? We are only here to help suppress the rebellion! But Lord Jing Sheng was just a scholar, not familiar with military affairs, so he failed to take precautions. The continuous war in southern Jing brought disasters and implicated the people. This is an indisputable fact!"

My lord, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, is famous for his bravery, determination and wisdom. If our army had not dispatched troops at night and doubled the speed to cut off Xing Daorong when Zhang Xian sent him to invade Jiangling, and finally joined forces to annihilate Xing Daorong, I am afraid that Nanjun would have been severely damaged by the war by now! Even if Jiangling City could be defended, the people would inevitably be displaced, and farming would be delayed, resulting in famine.

Why is Lord Jingsheng so obsessed with the land of Jingnan County, but fails to see the kindness our army has shown to the people of Nanjun!"

Yi Ji was choked by Zhuge Liang's rebuttal and had to admit that it did make sense.

After all, Liu Bei's army helped Liu Biao annihilate an enemy force that invaded Liu Biao's heartland and inherent territory. This was a favor in any case and should be exchanged for some gratitude.

Yi Ji was an honest man, and could not save face, so he could only say: "Of course, we should thank the general for helping our army to repel the enemy, and I have always known his kindness and trustworthiness. However, one thing is one thing, and it is unreasonable to completely occupy the four counties in southern Jing just for this little favor.

Just now, the gentleman said that the General of Chariots and Cavalry had no intention of occupying the four counties by force. I wonder what this means? As long as your army really does not want to occupy the four counties by force, other conditions can naturally be discussed, and our army can also retreat a few more steps in other aspects, and find ways to express gratitude for the enemy's retreat."

Zhuge Liang then revealed his true intentions and said, "Of course our army did not intend to seize the four counties by force, but after the rebellion of Zhang Xian, many officials in southern Jing were guilty and the people were in a panic. Some of them were die-hard followers of the bandits and have been executed by our army.

But some were just forced by the situation and coerced by others. When the king's army arrived, they all rebelled and submitted to my master. If we return these places to the management of Lord Jingsheng in the future, how can these officials not worry about being liquidated by Lord Jingsheng?
Perhaps Jing Shenggong has the capacity to tolerate others, but the world knows that Jing Shenggong may not be able to do everything on his own in Xiangyang! How many affairs are controlled by the Kuai family and the Cai family! If the Kuai family and the Cai family want to take the opportunity to expand their power and kill dissidents, and in the future they will attack these surrendered officials who were once coerced, and replace them with their own people, then my lord, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, will not be a breach of trust with the world and fail to protect the loyal ministers who came to surrender!
Therefore, we must not surrender any counties that are managed by the loyal ministers! And we must keep troops stationed there to ensure that Kuai and Cai will not send people to settle accounts and frame us! As for those officials who were stubborn followers of the bandits and whose positions were vacated after being executed, we can give Jing Shenggong the power to reappoint them.

For example, Jin Xuan, the governor of Wuling, was killed for being a diehard follower of the bandits, and his position is vacant. If Lord Jingsheng has a suitable candidate, we can let him appoint the new governor of Wuling. But we still have to station troops in Wuling County to ensure that Li Yan, the governor of Chanling County, and Dong He, the governor of Yidao County, who have returned to China, will not be framed and liquidated by Cai and Kuai!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Ji was suddenly speechless.

Zhuge Liang's request seemed to be completely justified from the perspective of justice. He had already said that he had no intention of occupying the land, but only wanted to protect the loyal ministers who had rebelled.

Everyone knows that if Li Yan was originally Liu Biao's man, but he was threatened by Zhang Xian during the war and temporarily joined Liu Bei, and fought Zhang Xian together with Liu Bei. Then after the battle, if Li Yan was allowed to go back to Liu Biao, even if Liu Biao said that he would not care, who could guarantee that? What if he was liquidated for another reason in the future?

There have been too many such cases in history.

Zhuge Liang helped Liu Bei raise the banner of "I don't want your land, I just want to protect these righteous men who have rebelled against the Japanese." In this way, he was able to completely win over the hearts of the people in Jingzhou and let the scholars in Jingzhou know that "Liu Bei will not betray anyone who has surrendered to him."

In this way, although a small amount of governance rights were given up, a good reputation was actually won.

As for those vacancies where local officials were guilty and killed by Liu Bei, if you, Liu Biao, want to parachute a few civil servants over, then let Liu Biao appoint them. This can be regarded as a gesture and setting some benchmarks and mascots.

With one or two commanders-in-chief who were unable to bring their troops with them, and a few county magistrates, Liu Bei was confident that he could slowly control the situation.

Moreover, Yi Ji had already said before that he would think of other ways to "repay Liu Bei's army for rescuing Jiangling and annihilating Xing Daorong's troops that invaded Nanjun." Now Zhuge Liang gave him a way out and allowed him to repay the favor in this compromising way, and it was difficult for Yi Ji to refuse.

In the end, after some wrangling, Yi Ji was unable to defeat Zhuge Liang in any argument and had to accept the negotiation framework in principle.

The two sides roughly finalized a few details, and the results of the first round of negotiations came out:

The prefects of Wuling and Lingling counties were both diehard followers of Zhang Xian. They had been killed and the positions were vacant, so the two prefects allowed Liu Biao to parachute in new people to take over.

Similarly, there were a total of five or six county magistrate positions under the Wuling and Lingling counties. Those who refused to surrender to Liu Bei were killed, and some of them were vacant, so Liu Biao was allowed to appoint.

However, these people were not allowed to bring in foreign troops, because Liu Bei's army did not trust the armies controlled by the Kuai and Cai families.

However, in exchange, Liu Bei's army also allowed the prefects of Wuling and Lingling, who were airdropped by Liu Biao, to recruit new soldiers in the two counties, or to recruit prisoners of the original county soldiers, and rebuild the local county soldiers.

Obviously, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang were gambling. After this incident, the people of Jingnan had already turned to Liu Bei. The county soldiers rebuilt from the people and captives of Jingnan would not necessarily be taken away by Liu Biao.

In addition, as for the two counties of Changsha and Guiyang east of the Xiang River, Liu Biao certainly could not get involved at all.

On the one hand, Changsha City had not yet been captured. Liu Bei's army had fought so many siege battles, and Liu Bei must have complete control over Zhang Xian's core territory.

Secondly, Liu Bei felt that Changsha was a place where rebellions had occurred many times over the past decade. History had proven that Liu Biao was incapable of managing it, and a strong ruler was needed.

After Yi Ji received this condition, he had to go back and report to Liu Biao.

(End of this chapter)