Chapter 171 Chapter 168 Liu Bei flees, Jin Mao returns to Yangzhou

Jin Mao became the governor of Yangzhou, but Empress Dowager Dong and General Dong Chong had lost their power in the palace, and his father-in-law was not in Luoyang.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Jinmao's support for Liu Xie to ascend the throne would be postponed indefinitely.

As an insider, Jinmao understands the future trends better and hopes that everyone will look down on him so that he can keep a low profile.

Build walls high, accumulate grain, and slowly become king.

This strategy is particularly suitable for Jinmao now.

But some people just don't want it to develop peacefully.

At the end of May, Jiujiang County.

Wuqiu Yi recruited the former rebellious captives and trained them into an army, and demoted all the refugees and civilians who had migrated from far away to the status of low-class untouchables.

In addition, Wuqiu Yi also constantly hunted down and killed the elite soldiers under Yuan Jinmao. In just a few months, the military settlement system that had been painstakingly established was completely destroyed.

Jiujiang County fell into chaos again.

Wuqiu Yi was not a talent for governance, but a qualified destructive talent.

this day.

Wuqiu Yi received an order from General He Jin, requiring him to stop Jin Mao and not let him return to Yangzhou safely.

He Jin would not allow anyone who could threaten Emperor Shao Liu Bian to exist.

Wuqiu Yi immediately wrote letters to Lujiang County, Danyang County, Wu County, and Kuaiji County to contact all parties.

He gathered an army of 20,000 in Jiujiang County, composed entirely of Jin Mao's defeated generals and captives.

Danyang County.

Zhou Xin received Yuan Shao's letter earlier than Wuqiu Yi. He had already assembled an army of 10,000 people and was conducting emergency training.

Wu County, Wujun.

During this period, Liu Bei was in high spirits.

Whenever he visited any of the prominent families, everyone who saw him had to address him respectfully as "County Magistrate Liu".

Food, clothing and other necessities were all delivered to his door, so Liu Bei only needed to focus on doing his job and not worry about anything else.

this day.

Wu Jun Shou Sheng Xian came to visit Liu Bei.

The two sides exchanged greetings and sat down.

Sheng Xian first gave an impromptu debate. After this period of time, Liu Bei also understood a thing or two. Although the views he put forward were very shallow, he still received great praise from Sheng Xian.

The atmosphere reached a climax, and Sheng Xian said with embarrassment: "I have a lot of knowledge, but I can't govern Wu County well. I am extremely ashamed."

"Why do you say that?" Liu Bei asked in surprise, "Isn't Wu County getting better under your governance?"

"It's just Wu County." Sheng Xian said, "Of the thirteen counties in Wu County, the people in twelve counties are in dire straits."

Liu Bei didn't dare to respond.

Sheng Xian also knew this, and this was not his purpose.

"I heard that County Magistrate Liu adopted the system of Yangzhou Mu in Wu County, which was very effective."

"I wonder if you could teach me?"

Liu Bei looked proud, but he was humble in his words, saying that he was not very skilled.

Sheng Xian sighed and said, "No matter how incompetent you are, you are still better than me."

"Before the governor of Yangzhou left, he entrusted Wu County to me, hoping that I could govern the place well."

"Now, Wujun is in a state of disrepair, and it's all my fault."

After expressing his feelings, Sheng Xian stood up and prepared to leave.

"Today should be the last time we meet."

"Next time we meet, County Magistrate Liu, please remember our old friendship and come to visit me in my hometown, Taimo County."

Seeing Sheng Xian's firm words, Liu Bei, who didn't know the grudge between Sheng Xian and Jin Mao, was finally moved and asked, "Why is it so?"

Sheng Xian was secretly happy but did not show it on the surface.

"You don't know, our Yangzhou governor is very strict with his behavior. A governor like me who has no achievements will definitely be dismissed."

"Not only me, but also Wang Lang of Kuaiji County, Zhou Xin of Danyang County, and Wuqiu Yi of Jiujiang County were all not spared."

Sheng Xian used a trick to confuse the public. Jinmao would indeed target them, but not for the reason he said.

Liu Bei became even more anxious and asked, "Is there any use for me?"

These people have all given face to Liu Bei. They gave him horses, luxurious weapons and equipment, beautiful women, gold and silver. It can be said that Liu Bei was able to live so happily during this period because of these people.

Of course, he didn't know that these people were all in the same group and were allies.

Seeing Liu Bei take the initiative to speak, Sheng Xian was overjoyed, but he said hesitantly: "The people only trust the policies of the Yangzhou governor."

"If you can grant us a title, I will be very grateful!"

"This..." Liu Bei hesitated.

He is not a subject of Jinmao. If he lends the name of Jinmao to others at will, who will be responsible if something goes wrong?
Sheng Xian also knew this, so he continued to tempt him, saying, "We will not treat you unfairly. After the matter is completed, we will give you a thousand gold coins as a reward."

As the saying goes, money can make people happy and money can make the world go round.

Liu Bei thought that with this huge sum of money, he could go anywhere in the world, so he asked, "What should I do?"

Sheng Xian was overjoyed and took out a bamboo scroll from his sleeve and said, "You just need to stamp it with your seal."

Liu Bei took it and looked at it. There was nothing wrong with it. It was exactly as Sheng Xian said.

He took out the county magistrate's seal and placed it on the bamboo slips under Sheng Xian's eager eyes. He then asked, "This is easy. Where is the reward?"

Seeing Liu Bei's unwillingness to release the eagle until he sees the rabbit, Sheng Xian cursed inwardly and said, "It's already in my house."

Liu Bei readily covered it, but he did not give it to Sheng Xian. Instead, he took Sheng Xian's arm and said, "Then I will go with you, Lord."

Liu Bei had already thought of a way out. Once he got the gold, he would take the money to find his second and third brothers and then run away.

He is not stupid. Sheng Xian and others must be holding back their farts.

…Guangling County.

Jin Mao arrived with his army. After checking the effectiveness of He Qi's leadership, he rewarded him with a promotion and ordered him to hand over his military power and return to the main force.

He Qi had anticipated this and did not put up any resistance.

However, Jin Mao did not remove He Qi from his position as the second battalion commander. Instead, he allowed him to continue to command the expanded second battalion.

The fleet continued to set off.

Early June, Qu'a County.

Jin Mao arrived with his troops and rewarded and promoted Yu Fan, He Wei, Dong Xi, Gong Lei and their troops.

Gong Lei became the first colonel in the entire army!
Jin Mao wanted to recommend Gong Lei as the captain of the Baiyue Guard and the commander of the five main battalions, but was rejected by Gong Lei.

"My Lord, my ability is limited and I cannot take on such a heavy responsibility. Please take back your order."

Gong Lei's behavior has really put Jinmao in a difficult position. It is a big taboo to go without rewarding someone for his meritorious service.

As a last resort, Jin Mao came up with a bad idea: "It's okay if you don't lead the five battalions. Then you can claim the position of deputy commander of the Imperial Guards and instructor of the adjutants of the entire army. Teach them well how to become a qualified adjutant in the future!"

This position is equivalent to the director of the political department of a military region. Of course, the status is not as high, but the functions are similar.

Gong Lei didn't know how important this position was, but he accepted it anyway.

Due to Gong Lei's promotion, the position of the commander of the first battalion of the main force is vacant. According to the priority, He Qi should be promoted.

But Jin Mao promoted the commander of the third battalion, Ling Cao, to the commander of the first battalion, transferred He Qi to the fifth battalion, and promoted Dong Xi to the second battalion, leaving the position of commander of the third battalion vacant.

Those who don’t understand this operation will be confused, and those who understand it will be terrified.

On the surface, he said, "Gong Miao is good at leading troops. I feel relieved to leave the five battalions to him."

In fact, He Qi understood that Jin Mao was warning him, and at the same time, warning those who liked to figure out the thoughts of those in power.

Jinmao’s meaning was very clear: “Don’t think about it anymore, just work hard! As long as you make achievements, you will get what you want!”

The matter of Qu'a was completed.

Jin Mao originally planned to split his troops into two groups to deal with Jiujiang County and Danyang County nearby.

Unexpectedly, I learned a shocking news.

"Liu Bei ran away?!"

Jin Mao originally planned to let this half-baked county magistrate go after giving him a light punishment and a stern warning.

Although Liu Bei made a mess of Wu County, Jin Mao knew that it was all due to the nobles deceiving their superiors and subordinates, so he would not blame him too much.

The cause of the incident has to start from the first month of the year.

A new official starts with three things.

At the beginning, Liu Bei didn't think about burning anything, but he really wanted to do something.

They imitated Jinmao's system and began to try to implement it in Wu County.

For various reasons, Jinmao only implemented the new system in the six western counties of Wujun and did not interfere much in the east.

That was the territory of the gentry, and there was Sheng Xian, a troublemaker, so Jin Mao didn't want to do a thankless task.

Liu Bei had no idea what the new system was. He only learned the form of the new system but not the spirit. He did not provide any help to the people and even collected half of the rent.

In addition, the people have to pay taxes!

For such an abnormal new system to be implemented, it must be due to the efforts of the major prominent families in Wu County.

But Liu Bei was so immersed in the sugar-coated bullets that he could not hear the cries of the people and was still immersed in his beautiful dream.

When Jin Mao got the news, he wanted to punish Liu Bei by sending him to a remote area to be a county magistrate, so that he could gain experience from the bottom, which could be considered a small punishment but a big warning.

I never expected that Liu Bei would run away?
Something even more unexpected.

Sheng Xian told the people of Wu County that this was all Jin Mao's idea, and he also brought out the agreement signed by Liu Bei.

“Sheng Xian!”

"I will kill him!"

Jin Mao was so angry that his teeth were itching. Fortunately, the two military advisors were sober and stopped him, saying, "My lord, if you kill this guy who is only seeking fame and reputation, won't it help him gain fame?"

"What should we do?" Jin Mao said angrily, "Just let him be so disgusting?"

Xun You said: “My lord, you can select soldiers and civilians from Wujun in the army, ask them to recite the real new system, and then send them back home for ten days.

If he tells his family the truth, Sheng Xian will do something desperate.”

"Great!" Then Jin Mao thought of another question: "The new system is complicated. You two should compile a simple and easy-to-understand explanation and give it to the soldiers to recite."

Xun You was well prepared and took out a scroll of bamboo slips and asked Jin Mao to take a look.

"Okay!" Jin Mao immediately decided: "Let's recite this!"

After dealing with Sheng Xian, Jinmao turned its attention back to the main battlefield.

"Where are Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin?"

"The general is here!"

Jin Mao looked at the two people standing with their fists clasped below and asked, "How is the training of the Second Naval Battalion going? Can it fight?"

Zhou Tai promised: "Don't worry, lord! In this section of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in Yangzhou, there is no one who can defeat us!"

"Okay!" Jin Mao immediately ordered: "Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin, listen to my orders!"

"I want you two to blockade the Jiujiang and Danyang rivers and find out the enemy situation and report back."

"Here!"

Jin Mao said: "I will give you seven days to prepare and give priority to the supply. If you can't do it, then change people!"

Zhou Tai immediately issued a military order: "If this fails, I will bring my head to you!"

Jiang Qin on the side was confused and said, "Brother, have you asked for my opinion?"

I don't want to die with you!

(End of this chapter)