Chapter 185 Sun Jian, you have to believe me, that’s all slander!
Late September.

Dong Zhuo, together with Minister of the Interior Huang Wan and Minister of Works Yang Biao, brought the iron axe to the court to present a letter.

They demanded the rehabilitation of Chen Fan and Dou Wu, who were politically labeled (framed) as traitors during the September coup in the first year of Jianning (168 AD), and the numerous party members who were arrested and killed in the "Second Party Persecution" in the following year (169 AD).

Liu Xie (Yuan Wei) approved the request, restored the titles of Chen Fan and others, and promoted their descendants to officials.

Dong Zhuo was close to Zhou Bi (son of Zhou Shen), Wu Qiong, and former officials of the General's Office He Yong and Zheng Tai also became his aides.

On the advice of his aides, Dong Zhuo became close to scholars and recruited famous people (such as Xun Shuang, Han Rong, and Chen Ji) to serve as officials in the court. Among them, Cai Yong became Dong Zhuo's most trusted aide.

At the same time, Dong Zhuo selected a large number of famous scholars (such as Han Fu, Liu Dai, Kong Rong, Zhang Zi, Kong Rong, Ying Shao, and Zhang Miao) to serve as local governors and other important positions. He even put aside past grudges and appointed Yuan Shao, Wang Kuang, Bao Xin and others who had resigned from their posts because they hated him as governors, as a sign of reconciliation.

On the third day of October, Dong Zhuo took advantage of the burial of Empress Dowager He's body to open Wenling (the tomb of Emperor Ling of Han) and ordered people to steal the treasures inside.

Relying on the power of his military, Dong Zhuo allowed his soldiers to rob wealthy families, seize property, and rape women in Luoyang City.

On the first day of November, Dong Zhuo appointed himself as prime minister and had the privilege of "entering the court without walking, and wearing sword and shoes". From then on, Dong Zhuo's power in the court was at its peak.

Dong Zhuo also named his mother "Lord of Chiyang" and appointed a commander and a chancellor.

The local gentry received benefits from Dong Zhuo but did not appreciate his kindness. They recruited soldiers and horses in their local areas and tried to fight against Dong Zhuo's rule.

Qiao Mao, the governor of Dongjun, even forged three official documents and distributed them to various state and county governments, stating Dong Zhuo's crimes, calling on various regions to raise troops to rebel against Dong and restore Liu Bian to the throne.

It was at this time that Dong Zhuo remembered that Jin Mao, the governor of Yangzhou, was a natural ally.

The third day of November.

Dong Zhuo wrote a letter to Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, recommending Jin Mao as the General of Annan.

Dong Zhuo would readily give out the positions of county governor or governor to his enemies, but he was very stingy towards his allies.

At the court meeting, Emperor Xian Liu Xie proposed to confer the title of General of the Guard on Jin Mao, grant him the imperial seal, give him an axe, and confer the title of Marquis Wushang.

Before Dong Zhuo jumped out, someone else jumped out to oppose him.

Situ Huangwan: "Your Majesty, please think twice. The princes of the world are recruiting soldiers and buying horses. This is a sign of chaos to come."

"Yangzhou Mu is the most powerful among them. If he is given more titles, the chaos will be unstoppable."

Liu Xie was very unconvinced: "The governor of Yangzhou is a royal family member! He is my uncle. He will definitely quell the rebellion in the world just like he quelled the rebellion in Yangzhou!"

"Why do you say that about him?"

Huang Wan sighed and said, "Your Majesty only knows one side of the story, not the other."

"The governor of Yangzhou is extremely violent. When I was the governor of Yuzhou, I heard that the governor of Yangzhou killed countless people."

"Don't be fooled by appearances."

Liu Xie was only a nine-year-old boy. He could not stand the sophistry of the old fox Huang Wan and remained indecisive.

At this time, Dong Zhuo couldn't help but feel fearful. He didn't expect that after making so many contributions to the little emperor, he was still no match for the governor of Yangzhou in a remote area.

At this moment, Dong Zhuo finally believed what Li Ru had told him, that no matter who he promoted, he should not promote Jin Mao.

One word becomes a motto!
It turns out that this natural ally may turn into a natural competitor.

If Jin Mao were allowed to come to Luoyang, seeing Liu Xie's attitude, Dong Zhuo would probably have to fight with Jin Mao before he could regain power.

It's better to keep the status quo.

While Emperor Xian Liu Xie was hesitating, Taiwei Dong Zhuo stepped out and said, "The governor of Yangzhou is too young. Your Majesty can first appoint him as General of Annan and order him to quell the rebels from all sides."

The abacus makes a crackling sound.

Liu Xie compromised this time and said, "Then I will appoint him as the governor of Yangzhou and the general of Annan, give him the imperial seal, grant him the axe, and make him the Marquis of Wushang."

Okay, just change the general’s title, and keep everything else the same!
Dong Zhuo was angry: "Your Majesty! I said only to make Annan a general!"

Looking at the ferocious Dong Zhuo, Liu Xie said in fear: "Then do as the commander says."

The court officials watched Dong Zhuo bullying the young emperor, but they were angry but dared not say anything.

It is absolutely impossible to ask them to cheer for Jinmao!
Although they could not understand Jinmao's operations, the Shizu Group instinctively felt disgusted with Jinmao.

...

Jianye County, Danyang Prefecture, Yangzhou.

In the past few months, Jinmao has successfully completed the plan to relocate the political center, moving the administrative center from Shanyin to Jianye.

There is also a lot of good news that comes with it.

Hua Tuo is indeed an expert in treating infertility. He easily solved Jin Mao's concerns about not having heirs with one move. Tang Ji and Shi Yu became pregnant one after another.

Thanks to this period, many refugees from Xuzhou and Yuzhou in the north fled to Yangzhou for refuge, and Jinmao's vigorous energy had a place to be used.

Otherwise, Tang Ji would not be enough as her personal maid.

November 11th.

Sun Jian, the governor of Changsha, came to visit.

These days, Jin Mao had to deal with the busy grain collection campaign in various counties while settling and dealing with refugees from all over the place.

Not only does he have no free time at all, he also has to find time to go to Guangling County to deal with Zhang Chao, the prefect of Guangling.

This guy actually dared to jump out and resist. Jin Mao's subordinates all thought that this was the best time to take over Guangling County.

However, Sun Jian's visit disrupted all plans.

Jianye County, the governor's mansion, is a new mansion built on the basis of the original county government office with some protective measures added.

Jinmao has lived in high-rise buildings in later generations and has no special requirements for living there, but safety must be put first.

The meeting hall (formerly the court).

The two sides greeted each other.

Behind Jin Mao stood Dian Wei and Zhou Yu; behind Sun Jian stood Sun Ce and Cheng Pu.

Zhou Yu was not in the mood to go to work today. A few days ago, he received the news that Zhou Zhong's son Zhou Hui was brutally killed by Dong Zhuo. So Zhou Yu ran from Juchao to Jianye to avenge his cousin.

Just then Sun Jian came to visit, so Jin Mao had to put the matter aside.

"Brother, you must have come here for something important."

Sun Jian is straightforward and Jin Mao doesn't like beating around the bush either, so he goes straight to the point.

"I will help wherever I can."

Unexpectedly, this time Sun Jian spoke and talked about something else.

After a cup of tea, Jin Mao became impatient. He still had a lot of things to deal with. How could he waste time here?
"Grandmaster Sun, please tell me what's going on!"

"You know that hundreds of thousands of people have flowed into Yangzhou recently. I have a lot of things to deal with, so I don't have the time to chat with you!"

Sun Jian also heard the dissatisfaction in Jin Mao's words, so he said without hesitation: "To be honest, I will soon go north to attack the traitor Dong Zhuo, but the governor of Yangzhou is in Dong Zhuo's entourage, I am worried..."

"Bullshit!" Jin Mao was instantly furious: "When did I become Dong Zhuo's accomplice?"

"Even you believe these nonsense?!"

Sun Jian's face was filled with embarrassment. It was the first time for everyone present to see the furious Jin Mao, and they all stood there in a daze.

Dong Zhuo took advantage of the fact that Jin Mao was in possession of the late emperor's will and "legitimately" supported Emperor Xian to ascend the throne.

It would be fine if Jinmao got some benefits, but it got nothing and got into trouble instead.

The most hateful thing is this group of gentry outside Yangzhou, who always say that Jin Mao is Dong Zhuo's accomplice.

Jin Mao naturally knew why these people were targeting him. The aftereffects of killing so many nobles and powerful people had come!

But he did not regret it, he was just afraid that the people of Yangzhou would believe these lies.

Fortunately, the Shinshin religion is strong enough and has a high reputation among the people, which is inseparable from the efforts of the first chairman, Bai Shi. During this period, Bai Shi's position has been replaced by Dian Wei, and Bai Shi himself has devoted himself to the cause of promoting the Shinshin religion.

Not only did the Shenxin religion develop rapidly among the Han people, but even the nursing army became the first army to protect the religion, and each of them was a senior believer.

It can be said that the attitude of the Yangzhou gentry was unclear, but the people absolutely supported Jin Mao's rule.

Are you kidding? Those hundreds of thousands of refugees brought all the tragic conditions from the outside world to Yangzhou.

Without comparison, there is no sense of happiness. The people of Yangzhou thought they were happy enough, but they didn’t expect they could be even happier!

This made Jinmao even more determined to go down this impossible path to the end.

Even if he could never realize the idealized society of the future until he died, as long as there was a little progress, Jin Mao would die without regrets.

Meeting hall.

Jinmao apologized to everyone for his gaffe.

"I can't go with you on this Northern Expedition."

Jin Mao explained: "I am responsible for the lives of nearly four million people in Yangzhou."

Sun Jian looked gloomy, thinking that he would return empty-handed this time.

Unexpectedly, Jin Mao changed the subject and said, "Although I cannot lead the troops myself, I can support you with food and supplies."

Sun Jian was overjoyed as he didn't expect that there would be a silver lining after all. War is all about logistics, after all.

Sun Jian suppressed his restlessness and unconsciously used the honorific title: "How much support are you prepared to give?"

Jin Mao was not sure either, and turned to look at Zhou Yu: "Gong Jin, how much grain is expected to be obtained in Juchao County this year?"

After several months of training, Zhou Yu not only did not become more restrained, but became even sharper.

"My Lord, excluding the gains of the common people, Juchao County will harvest 8,800 dan of grain and 13,800 dan of rice straw, for a total of 21,800 dan of grain and straw!"

Jin Mao asked curiously, "I remember that Juchao County hasn't finished harvesting yet, right?"

"That's right." Zhou Yu said confidently: "This data can't be wrong!"

Seeing Zhou Yu's determined eyes, Jin Mao said nothing more and asked, "Do you think Juchao County can be the best in Yangzhou?"

"Of course!" Zhou Yu said calmly, "There are 3,435 mu of paddy fields in Juchao County, which yielded 22,000 dan of grain, with an output of 6.5 dan per mu!"

"In the whole Yangzhou, no one is better at growing crops than me!"

Jin Mao turned his head and said to Sun Jian with a wry smile: "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, but this kid needs to be disciplined."

Sun Jian laughed and said, "Cer is the same."

Speaking of Sun Ce, Jin Mao couldn't help but ask, "Brother, are you really going to take Ce'er to the front line?"

"If jade is not polished, it will not become a useful tool." Sun Jian said proudly, "A real man should go to the battlefield and experience the bloodshed!"

Then, Sun Jian changed the subject: "When Ce'er returns, he will be able to complete the task you assign to him."

Jin Mao was delighted: "That's great!"

This was Sun Jian using Sun Ce to show his goodwill to Jin Mao in public. He could naturally see that this was Sun Jian's way of asking for more benefits from him.

Adhere to the principle of returning a favor.

Jin Mao waved his hand and said, "Brother, go north without worries. I will take care of the rear. Don't worry about the food and supplies!"

Sun Jian was ecstatic and felt like he had made a profit instantly.

The two further discussed the details of the marching route.

Although Sun Jian has rich combat experience, his experience in large-scale military marching is no match for Jin Mao.

This time, Sun Jian only recruited 5,000 men, plus his own 1,000 cavalrymen, a total of 6,000 people marching, which was a headache.

If Jinmao hadn't helped him with the logistics, he would have had to fight and rob his way there, which was so uncivilized.

Jin Mao's help was not in vain. While Sun Jian played as a vanguard, he would pick up the slack in the rear. He had been coveting the territory of Jingzhou for a long time.

Sun Jian had no objection to this.

Otherwise, how can food and supplies be transported to the army?

There was no air transport in this era. Unless all the obstacles on the ground were resolved, it would be a blessing if ten stones out of a hundred stones of grain could be transported.

the other side.

The two bosses were discussing important matters, and the younger brothers had nothing to do.

Zhou Yu wanted to listen to some experiences, but was pulled aside by Sun Ce to reminisce about the past.

"Gongjin, I feel like I am a commodity that was sold to the governor of Yangzhou by my father."

Sun Ce was very unhappy and said: "A man should be strong. This time I will make sure that everyone in the world knows my name, Sun Ce!"

Zhou Yu was already in a bad mood because of family matters, and he did not have the opportunity to learn knowledge that was not in the military books. This made him even more annoyed and he could not help but speak without thinking.

"If you can sell it at a high price, just be happy."

"So many people begged for it but couldn't get it, and yet you're still being hypocritical."

Sun Ce was stunned: "Gongjin, why have you become so cold?"

Zhou Yu came back to his senses and reacted, but he didn't change his tone. He pointed at Cheng Pu and said, "It's not just you, he is also one of the price tags!"

Zhou Yu said bluntly: "Do you think marching 6,000 troops is a small matter?"

"Just the food for the people and horses is an astronomical amount, plus the laborers who transport the food and fodder, have you ever calculated how much food and fodder it will cost?"

"You haven't calculated it!"

Zhou Yu asked again: "Do you know how much effort it takes to grow one dan of grain?"

"you do not know!"

"Do you know how many civilians you will need even if the envoy helps you solve the problem of food and grass supply?"

"you do not know!"

Zhou Yu advised: "Bofu, you and I are both adults, not children anymore, we should be more reasonable!"

Sun Ce was also a smart man. After being awakened by Zhou Yu, he thought about the time he had been working under Sun Jian and it seemed that he had not made any progress at all.

Then he bowed and said, "Thank you for your teachings, Gongjin!"

Zhou Yu waved his hands, his face showing joy. He could finally learn the combat experience of a large army at close range.

Unfortunately, Jin Mao had already finished his sentence: "Brother, I can only store food and grass in Nanyang County. I can't do anything further north."

Sun Jian looked at the national geomancy map carefully, and understood the key point. He nodded and said, "It's enough!"

"I have another matter to trouble you with." Jin Mao pulled Zhou Yu over and introduced him: "He is Zhou Yu, Duke Zhou of the Zhou family in Lujiang."

Sun Jian nodded. Of course he knew that he was Sun Ce’s friend.

"Not long ago, Zhou Yu's cousin Zhou Hui was killed by Dong Zhuo for no reason. I hope you can help him get revenge!"

Sun Jian said solemnly: "We should do our best in everything we can do!"

After solving the two problems in a row, Jin Maocai said to Sun Jian: "The troubled times have come. Our two families must work together in the future to overcome the difficulties together."

Sun Jian clasped his fists and said seriously: "If you don't abandon me, I am willing to swear an oath of blood and become your brothers!"

Jin Mao was overjoyed: "It's better to do it today than to wait for a better day!"

So, Sun Jian and Jin Mao became sworn brothers that day.

(End of this chapter)