The Later Three Kingdoms: Slaying Deng Ai, and Reviving the Han Dynasty

"Hahahaha!!!!!!!!!"

Chengdu, Qiao Zhou's residence. Qiao Zhou needed to maintain his reputation, so the servants in the residence were all simple, low-key, and very well-behaved.

Qiao Zhou rarely showed great joy or anger.

But today...

The servants exchanged glances or whispered among themselves, frequently glancing towards Qiao Zhou's room.

Qiao Zhou had been laughing for a long time since he returned from the morning court session.

inside the room.

Qiao Zhou finally stopped laughing, but his old face still couldn't stop smiling, and there were even tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. It was truly absurd, utterly outrageous.

Jiang Wei's military deployment in Hanzhong, though radical and risky, did have its merits. The strategy itself was sound, but the context matters. It would have been acceptable if it had been implemented under the regency of Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan, or Fei Yi.

But who is in control of the government now? Is it Zhuge Zhan? No, it's Huang Hao.

The country and the court are in such a state. Yet Jiang Wei wants to use a military victory to enhance his prestige and stabilize the government.

He could assert that the Han dynasty would perish because of Jiang Wei's strategy in Hanzhong.

unstoppable.

So he didn't object. Those who objected were Zhuge Zhan, Liao Hua, and others. But their objections were ineffective; Jiang Wei's strategy had already been approved and was about to be implemented.

No one can stop it.

"Son, we, father and son, will become subjects of Wei." Qiao Zhou turned to his eldest son, Qiao Xi, and said.

"Yes," Qiao Xi replied to his father with a smile, his face filled with longing. The Nine-Rank System! As long as they, father and son, were officials, their sons and grandsons would be officials too, generation after generation, without end. Wasn't that a hundred times better than serving Liu Han?

Qiao Zhou laughed wildly, but he only laughed while hiding at home.

The news quickly spread throughout Sichuan. Some wept bitterly, some were filled with despair and frustration, and some laughed wildly in the streets.

Of course, there are also people who support Jiang Wei.

People's hearts are divided, each with their own ambitions.

This led to the increasing decline of the Han Dynasty.

Jiang Wei resolutely carried out his plan, and Hu Ji, the governor of Hanzhong, led his elite troops to garrison in Hanshou.

The imperial court began to disregard Yangping Pass and instead transported supplies to places like Yang'an Pass, Le, Han, and Huangjinwei as military resources.

The imperial court also transferred Jiang Shu, the governor of Wuxing, to lead troops to Yang'an Pass as the garrison commander and deputy to Fu Qian, the governor of Guanzhong.

The chariot built by Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, the Han dynasty, sped wildly toward the cliff.

in contrast.

The Northern Kingdom, this new chariot, is constantly increasing in strength.

Shu brocade is a boon to the world.

Salt and iron were national interests that even Zhuge Liang had to personally fight for.

South Central.

The supplies, including gems, oxen, iron ore, rhinoceros horns, ivory, and cow horns, were first gathered in various counties and transported to Chengdu.

north.

Horses, cartloads of leather, ox horns, and a few gems traveled south along the Qishan Road into Sichuan and Chongqing.

Eastern Wu.

Thanks to Huang Chong's strategy, a large number of Yue people or people from Eastern Wu were sent on ships and transported to Bashu.

There were also items such as grains, ox horns, rhinoceros horns, ivory, and pearls.

These goods, which turned into a large amount of wealth, flowed into Liu Chen's pocket. Through Liu Chen, iron ore, timber, leather and other items were purchased, and transported by water from Chengdu to five Wangzhuang villages in Ba and Shu, where they were stored.

As for the profits from salt and iron, although they cannot compare to those from Shu brocade, they are still quite remarkable.

At the same time, because of such enormous wealth and such a powerful background, the land and manors under Liu Chen's name are expanding rapidly, just like an unrestrained gluttonous snake, growing wildly according to Liu Chen's vision.

As the number of villages increased, the production of grains, silk, Shu brocade, dried fish, and mountain delicacies also increased rapidly.

Liu Chen's wealth is beyond calculation.

Time flies, and winter has arrived.

Jiangdong.

The weather in Jiangdong that year was very bad, with drought in spring and summer. In winter, it was bitterly cold, and even scattered ice floes appeared on the Yangtze River.

The smiles on the faces of the people of Jiangdong are gradually decreasing. Their quality of life is also declining rapidly.

But they were alright, since the Eastern Wu court was there to back them up. The court's response was also relatively quick, rapidly opening granaries across the country for disaster relief.

But the situation is much worse for the mountain people. They have no government, only themselves. This year's harvest on the mountain is ruined.

Millions of Yue people in the mountains began to revolt, looting and plundering the people of Eastern Wu at the foot of the mountains.

There are genuine Yue people in the mountains.

Some Han Chinese clans went up the mountain and called themselves the Yue people.

The Eastern Wu court either garrisoned the area or sent troops into the mountains to attack. The entire Jiangdong region was engulfed in flames of war.

The Eastern Wu court possessed greater military strength. One after another, the Yue tribes were captured and wiped out. Large numbers of men and women were transferred to ships through powerful clans and transported to Sichuan and Chongqing. They hoped to obtain Shu brocade from Liu Chen, the King of Beidi.

"Brother, I'm scared." At a ferry crossing, an entire tribe of Yue people were being escorted onto a boat.

This is a group of Han Chinese clans who went up the mountain and called themselves Shanyue.

A dark-skinned girl nestled in the arms of her strong brother and spoke weakly.

The girl's name was Du Jiang.

The man's name is Du Shan.

"With your brother here, don't be afraid," Du Shan said softly, holding the girl tightly. But in truth, he was afraid too.

In fact, the battle was beneficial to both sides.

For example, this group of Yue people in the mountains had no choice but to plunder because of poor harvests. If they won, they would have food; if they lost, they would become a powerful clan in Jiangdong or a commoner in Eastern Wu, and they would never go hungry.

Both sides win.

But the situation is different now.

Because the King of Beidi controlled the Shu brocade market in Bashu, he explicitly demanded people. The powerful families of Eastern Wu dared not openly sell people, so the Yue people of the mountains were the first choice.

These mountain people from Yue were going to cross the ocean to work as laborers in Sichuan and Chongqing. It was utterly unheard of.

The arrow was on the bowstring, and it had to be released. The boats set sail, and this group of Yue people traveled up the river to Bazhong.

They docked at the ferry crossing outside Jiangzhou City. After boarding, a man claiming to be in charge of the Northern King took the Yue people away and settled them in various villages.

To prevent the clan or tribe unit from continuing to exist, the population was dispersed.

Fortunately, Du Jiang and Du Shan, the brother and sister, were not separated, and they came to live in Wangzhuang, a village under Jiangzhou.

They were allocated twenty mu of land. According to the steward, Bazhong's population was not large to begin with.

When Cao Cao occupied Hanzhong, he sent his general Zhang He to relocate the population. Although Zhang He was later defeated by Zhang Fei, the population was still significantly reduced.

There is a lot of abandoned land, and in recent years even more people have fled. As long as you have the strength, you can find land.

Liu Han's situation was even better than that of Eastern Wu.

If the Yue people were incorporated into the common people of Eastern Wu, it would be difficult for a man and a woman to be allocated twenty acres of land.

The brother and sister could hardly believe their ears and eyes. Then they were overjoyed. They took the tools, seeds and other supplies and started working like crazy.

It is winter now.

But there are many things that can be done.

They worked with their neighbors to build houses, construct irrigation ditches, cut down trees to make charcoal, and so on.

Wangzhuang even offers oxen for rent.

The brother and sister were just one of many Yue people in the mountains.

The population and land holdings of Liu Chen's estates expanded rapidly in this way.

Time quickly passed to the fifth year of Jingyao.

Liu Chen planned to have a legitimate son.