Chapter 188 Liu Bei, go and expand the territory for me!

The next day.

Liu Bei came to the governor's mansion according to Jin Mao's instructions.

Someone arrived earlier than him.

"Gong Miao!" Liu Bei stepped forward and greeted him enthusiastically.

In the past two months, Liu Bei and He Qi have been brothers in distress.

One ran away without permission and was left alone for more than two months, and the other acted on his own and was demoted.

However, they both have a common hobby, which is a love of luxurious life.

After He Qi joined Jinmao, not many projects were received.

It just so happened that Liu Bei had a lot of gold, and after a few interactions, the relationship between the two became very close.

Seeing Liu Bei greeting him, He Qi, contrary to his usual behavior, did not smile at Liu Bei and just bowed to him.

Liu Bei was keenly aware of the abnormality and showed his high emotional intelligence without asking any further questions.

Afterwards, the two were summoned together, and the guard who led them in was also an old acquaintance of Liu Bei, a good friend he met in the brothel.

Before Liu Bei could ask, the guard seemed to know what he meant. He chuckled and congratulated him in a low voice, "Xuan De's swordsmanship is first-rate. I'm afraid the lord will use you this time."

"When the time comes, don't forget your brothers when you get benefits."

Liu Bei couldn't help but curl up his lips, and said, "Of course, of course."

The three of them walked through the front yard and came to the meeting hall.

Liu Bei looked inside and saw three scholars standing next to Jin Mao, the youngest of whom was Zhou Yu.

Now Zhou Yu is nominally a secretary, but in fact he can be involved in all matters big and small. People who know the situation understand that Jin Mao is training Zhou Yu and they dare not disrespect him.

Liu Bei was naturally well aware of the situation. He looked at Zhou Yu with envy, then bowed his head and said, "Liu Bei greets you, envoy."

He Qi said: "Greetings, my lord!"

"Xuan De and Gong Miao are here." Jin Mao turned around, returned to the main seat, and waved, "Sit down, everyone."

Ever since he learned that Emperor Ling of Han had introduced and improved the chair, Jin Mao ordered people to build a throne chair for him.

The sword under his seat is made of rare small-leaf red sandalwood, which exudes a fresh fragrance.

As for the counselors, none of them were used to this kind of chair and they still sat on their knees with a low stool under their buttocks.

Liu Bei and He Qi also followed suit and knelt down below.

"Yesterday, Xuande's swordsmanship was truly extraordinary."

Jin Mao first praised Liu Bei and then He Qi: "Gong Miao is not bad either. He can fight Xuande with two-handed swords for fifty rounds."

The two of them said they dared not.

Liu Bei: "I have only a few skills to rely on for my own benefit. I am sorry to show you my poor skills."

He Qi: "My lord, you are too kind."

Jin Mao clapped his hands, and the people below brought a plate of dried lychees and gave some to everyone.

"Let's try it together." Jin Mao said as he peeled and ate, "I can't eat fresh lychees, so it's good to try dried lychees."

In this era, getting enough food was a huge problem, let alone eating fruits and snacks. Even rich people could not eat them every day like people in later generations.

Only super warlords or top aristocrats like Jin Mao can enjoy snack freedom, and even then it is limited to varieties that are easy to preserve.

Soon, there were only a pile of shells left on everyone's table.

"You don't know, this little thing is really precious. It cost me a gold!"

Jin Mao said with a painful look on his face: "If Jiaozhou wasn't so far away, how could it be so extravagant?"

"I tell you, if one day Jiaozhou is under my rule, I will definitely let the people taste dried lychees!"

"No! I want the people to taste fresh lychees!"

No one present was stupid. Zhou Yu, Xi Zhicai and Xun You were the first to react.

Liu Bei followed closely behind.

He Qi was the last one to hear Jin Mao's hidden meaning, but he was the first to stand up and clasp his fists and say, "How difficult is this?"

"As long as the lord and I have two thousand elite soldiers from the fifth battalion, He Qi is willing to take Jiaozhou for the lord!"

Jin Mao was delighted: "Well said!"

Then he looked at Liu Bei and asked, "What do you think, Xuande? Do you have any ideas?"

How could Liu Bei not understand that they wanted him to go to Jiaozhou, that godforsaken place?

Suddenly, his face turned bitter. His so-called future turned out to be going to Jiaozhou.

But Liu Bei heard that Jin Mao was not only going to take action in Guangling County and Xia Pi County of Xuzhou, but also to occupy the seven counties of Jingzhou.

With so many good opportunities to achieve success, why choose to go to Jiaozhou?

But what could he do if he didn't agree? Liu Bei believed that if he refused again, he would not be able to stay in Jinmao.

Wouldn't these two months be wasted?

Helpless, Liu Bei asked tentatively: "I am stupid, I don't know what you are referring to?"

Jin Mao smiled and said, "I would like to appoint you as the magistrate of Panyu County and temporarily take charge of Jiaozhou government affairs. I will replace you when I find a suitable person."

"What do you think?"

Liu Bei didn't expect that the pie this time was so big. The position was small, but the power was great!

Isn't this what he has always dreamed of?

Immediately, Liu Bei came out, bowed and said, "I am willing to serve you as a dog or a horse."

"Okay!" Jin Mao said happily, "Then Xuande, go down and prepare first. When Gong Miao is ready, you can follow the army to Jiaozhou."

"Yes!" Liu Bei was so happy that he went down without thinking much.

When the guard came to congratulate him, Liu Bei suddenly realized the problem: "Why didn't the envoy hand over the military power?"

Liu Bei did not do nothing in the past two months. He studied the new system thoroughly. While marveling at Jin Mao's talent, he also kept in mind various precautions.

Although the chief official does not have the power to make military decisions, he has the power of veto, and it is normal for the two to divide the work and cooperate with each other.

Liu Bei was keenly aware of the problem and felt bitter in his heart: "You still don't trust me, envoy?"

Then, he kept this matter in mind: "Sir! Just wait and see. I, Liu Xuande, will definitely prove that I am a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty!"

the other side.

Jin Mao was much more friendly when facing He Qi: "Gong Miao, I'm sorry for putting you through so much these days."

"I know you had good intentions, but if you do something wrong you must be punished, otherwise it will be a mess. Don't blame me for being cruel."

He Qi bowed hurriedly and said, "My Lord! He Qi has never thought of this before!"

"That's good." Jin Mao said happily, "This time, you have a heavy mission to Jiaozhou. You will be responsible for all the food and supplies, marching and fighting along the way."

"I will send Bai Shi to cooperate with you. No matter what happens, you two can discuss and decide."

"Unless the commander-in-chief defected!"

"Or major events like the massacre of the city, you don't need to report anything else to me."

Jin Mao opened the door to convenience and said, "If you need anything, just ask. How many soldiers do you need? How much food and fodder? You can ask for anything."

"I have only one request!"

"Take Jiaozhou down for me!"

He Qi breathed heavily. This was a huge achievement. If he could accomplish it, it would be no problem to be granted a title of nobility or a general.

"My Lord, please give me a day, no! Half a day to prepare." He Qi explained: "I still have no idea about many things, this matter needs detailed planning."

"Not bad!" Jin Mao nodded with satisfaction and said, "It seems that you have made great progress recently."

"One person's thoughts are not enough, Gongjin, please help Gongmiao to make some plans."

Jin Mao said to Zhou Yu: "Gong Miao is also an old general under my command. He has his own unique views on marching, fighting and even governing the local area. You should be more humble and learn more from the old seniors."

"Yes." Zhou Yu said confidently, "Don't worry, my lord. I will help Captain He calculate everything he needs."

"Captain?" Jin Mao said with a smile, "Gong Miao is not a captain yet."

"Well, I'm embarrassed to go out without a position." Jin Mao suddenly reacted and scolded with a smile: "You are so good, Zhou Gongjin, asking for an official position for Gong Miao, right?"

"He Qi, listen to my orders!"

"The general is here!"

Jin Mao stood up and said, "I will appoint you as the deputy commander of the southern part of Jiaozhou. When you complete your mission, I will make you a regular commander!"

He Qi looked at Zhou Yu gratefully, then bowed and said, "Thank you, my lord! I am willing to serve you till my death!"

Jin Mao waved his hand and said, "Don't be so stubborn. I want you to report back to me with good news."

"Yes!" He Qi replied.

Immediately afterwards, Zhou Yu wrote the appointment document, Jin Mao stamped it with the seal, and He Qi took it respectfully.

"Okay, you two should go down quickly and give me the plan as soon as possible."

When there were only three people left in the hall, Jin Mao asked, "Are two thousand elite soldiers enough?"

Xi Zhicai continued, "If we want to capture a city, then it will be enough. If we want to occupy it, I'm afraid 20,000 will not be enough."

Jin Mao frowned and asked, "Recruiting soldiers again?"

It will definitely not be easy to capture Jingzhou this time. It is impossible to send out all 50,000 soldiers and horses. We must leave some people to guard the place. It would be good if we can have 40,000.

Although after half a year of training, these soldiers are no longer new recruits but veterans with more than a year of experience, Jin Mao still feels uneasy.

The four counties in the south of Jingzhou, Changsha, Guiyang, Lingling and Wuling, were not too difficult to conquer and could be said to have been conquered with just a single order.

Jiangxia, Nanyang and Nanjun are not easy.

Jiangxia County is backed by the Dabie Mountains and has a small population. It may be a little difficult for others, but it is not difficult at all for Jinmao.

Whether they are Shanyue or bandits, Jin Mao has experience in dealing with these people.

The most troublesome are Nanyang County and Nan County, which support Jiangxia behind the scenes.

The combined population of these two places is almost as great as the total population of the six counties of Yangzhou!

As one of the three major talent pools in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there are many noble families and talented people here.

Jiangxia County is the key between Jing and Yang. As long as Jiangxia County is conquered, Nanyang County and Nan County will be almost flat and can be ravaged as one pleases.

No matter what, the two wealthy counties will certainly fully support Jiangxia County and stop the advance of Jinmao’s army.

This is not the only headache for Jinmao.

The Jingzhou Navy is a standing navy with a complete structure.

Not to mention the talents of the naval commanders, the completeness of the organization alone is enough to give Jin Mao a headache.

A complete navy would have ten tower ships, a hundred Mengchong warships, and hundreds of small warships such as Xiandeng and Chima.

There are over ten thousand combatants alone, and about twenty thousand including the logistics personnel!

Although Jin Mao has 10,000 naval forces under his command, their equipment is poor!
More than half of their troops are archers, while Jinmao has less than three thousand archers at most!
The attack power is twice as bad!
After all, the navy's combat effectiveness is mostly reflected in the archers, and the crossbow battle is at the end of the battle, when the victory or defeat is decided.

"My lord, we have enough troops." Xi Zhicai stood up and walked to the feng shui map, picked up a small wooden stick and moved it up and down.

"Our army can attack from both the upper and lower fronts. If the navy can break through, then break through. If not, use the infantry to attack from land."

"No matter how the enemy resists, they will inevitably lose sight of both ends."

Xi Zhicai said: "The navy of Jingzhou is indeed very strong, but I have never heard of any infantry in Jingzhou that can compare with the ones under your command."

Jin Mao also came to the feng shui map, observed it carefully, and nodded to agree that what Xi Zhicai said made sense.

"Gongda, what do you think?"

Xun You said: "My lord, I have a plan."

Jin Mao's eyes lit up and he said, "Gongda, tell me!"

"I heard that Jingzhou Governor Wang Rui and Wuling County Governor Cao Yin are not on good terms, and there will definitely be a fight between the two."

Xun You stroked his beard and said, "Why not let Governor Sun wait for the right opportunity and take advantage of it to get rid of Wang Rui."

"In this case, the Jingzhou navy will be leaderless, so won't it collapse without a fight?"

Jin Mao clapped his hands and said, "Great!"

"Please ask Gongda to draft a document to remind the Wentai."

"Here." Xun You picked up the paper money and started writing.

Jinmao has expanded the papermaking workshop, and the first batch of apprentices have already graduated. In the future, official business in counties and prefectures in Yangzhou will be completely handled by paper instead of bamboo slips.

"Zhicai, tell me about the food and supplies situation in each county."

While Xun You was writing the official document, Jin Mao wanted to understand the actual situation in more detail.

Xi Zhicai picked up a book bound with paper, opened the first page and took a look.

He had memorized these data long ago, and he took a look at them just to confirm them.

"The grain collected in Kuaiji County was 2,887,231 dan."

"Wu County collected 1,673,197 dan of grain."

"Yuzhang County collected 6,935,655 dan of grain."

"Jiujiang County collected 300 grains..."

"The total grain collected was 13,774,276 dan."

"After deducting the annual salary, rewards, disaster relief, pensions, etc., there is a balance of about 6.8 million shi."

Xi Zhicai finished speaking in one breath and added: "In recent years, disasters have occurred frequently, and it is expected that the world will be even more chaotic in the next few years."

“For future development plans.”

"My Lord, I suggest that we reduce the food consumption budget to less than 2 million shi for this expedition."

The last time we attacked Xuzhou, two million stones lasted for half a year, but this time it may not be the case.

We also have to support Sun Jian.

However, considering that wars in this era can last for two or three months, it is really long-lasting.

Who can withstand his consumption method?

Jinmao can support these 50,000 people, while others can support 100,000 or even 200,000 people!
"Okay, let's do it."

Jin Mao made the decision, and Xun You just finished writing. He asked, "Please review it, my lord."

Jin Mao took it, took just one look, and wanted to avoid it because he was not used to classical Chinese.

In the end, I had the patience to finish watching it.

"Gongda is very thoughtful."

"Let Sun Wentai come to Jiangxia County to receive the first batch of grain and grass."

"It also saves us the trouble of attacking via land."

Jin Mao exclaimed: "Gongda is a great talent!"

Having said that, he stamped it with the seal.

"Somebody come!"

"Send this letter to the governor of Changsha."

After the messenger left, Jin Mao began to study the points for stationing troops and storing food.

Since Sun Jian is attacking from land and breaking through Jiangxia County, Jin Mao only needs to consider the safety of the waterway.

"Qichun, pheasants come down!"

Jin Mao pointed at the geomancy map and said, "We will first take these two counties and use them as strongholds for storing troops and grain."

"Spread the war to other counties."

Jin Mao pointed back along the feng shui map and said, "Everyone gather at Pengze Lake first."

"We will still recruit 50,000 civilians for this expedition."

"Also, send out 8,000 nurses!"

(End of this chapter)