I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 914: Envoy from Jingxu
"You said you don't know Sun Ce's whereabouts?"

On August 15th, at the Shouchun wedding banquet, Su Yao couldn't help laughing after receiving the battle report from the front line:

"Then was it Zhou Shang who pulled off this comeback all by himself? He doesn't have the ability to do that, you know."

Su Yao casually threw the battle report on the table, picked up the wine glass and took a sip, and swept his eyes over the guests. The sound of stringed instruments and bamboos at the wedding banquet was still going on, and everyone was holding their breath because of this battle report.

Yuan Shao took a deep breath while holding his wine glass, secretly thanking himself for surrendering early, otherwise he would have to share the same fate as Zhou Shang. The other powerful men in Huainan felt a chill down their spines, and their glances were filled with fear.

None of them knew what decision the general would make on this auspicious day.

However, it was obvious that Su Yao did not take the battle report from Danyang seriously. He just followed the established plan and sent Taishi Ci to lead 5,000 elite troops to attack, cross the river and go south to clean up the mess.

Then he turned his attention back to the wedding banquet.

Weddings of the upper class have never been as simple as everyone having a feast, drinking and joining in the fun, not to mention that this wedding was presided over by a general who was above all others, so its significance was even more extraordinary.

Through this wedding, Su Yao strengthened Guan Yu's loyalty on the one hand, and improved the prestige of his own trusted team on the other. He also wanted to use this opportunity to demonstrate his strength to the princes and powerful people around Huainan, intimidate the villains, and better promote his rule.

In this sense, this wedding event was undoubtedly a great success.

Before the deadline of August 15, all powerful families had to report all their hidden land, the contracts for the dismissal of slaves and servants were neatly stacked on the desks of the New Government Office, and privately stored weapons were also being transported to government warehouses in an endless stream.

The aristocratic forces that once had deep roots in Huainan were completely tamed by Su Yao's thunderous tactics. Shouchun City was decorated with lanterns and flowers, and the wedding banquet of Guan Yu and Feng was held grandly under the attention of the public.

The news that the general would personally officiate at the wedding attracted countless dignitaries. Not only did scholars and literati come in droves, but even the surrounding princes sent gifts.

Among them, the most eye-catching ones were the envoys from Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Tao Qian of Xuzhou.

Speaking of Su Yao's reforms, one of the most important was the separation of military and political power in the local area. The former prefect's powers were divided into two, with administration under the jurisdiction of the county magistrate and military affairs under the jurisdiction of the local garrison chief.

Based on this idea, the post of provincial governor, who had been sent out by Emperor Lingdi due to the chaos in the country, was abolished and no new one was set up. The original supervisory function of the provincial governor was also reiterated and he was prohibited from interfering in local military affairs.

However, Su Yao did not abolish the three-level system of local administration of prefecture, county, and county, and return to the two-level system of county and county. Instead, he sent another central official to the prefecture level - the acting governor of X prefecture's civil affairs, who was in charge of the administration of a prefecture.

After defeating Yuan Shu this time, Su Yao transferred Xun Yu to take charge of Yangzhou as well.

It has to be said that this is a breakthrough. As the prime minister of a central government, he is in charge of the civil affairs of an entire state, which shows how much Su Yao values ​​this place.

But, it is just civil affairs.

Because, at the same time, the military functions of the General's Office were also expanded.

Su Yao established a Grand Marshal's Office under the Grand General's Office to assist him in controlling the military affairs at home and abroad. At the same time, he was responsible for dividing military regions across the country according to the circumstances, selecting central government rewards, and commanding local troops.

Huangfu Song was also promoted to the first Grand Commander due to his prestige and previous achievements, and was responsible for helping Su Yao deal with various miscellaneous management matters.

Lü Bu will continue his previous mission as the governor of Guanzhong, while Guan Yu will take over his current mission as the governor of Jianghuai after Huangfu Song returns to Beijing, maintaining law and order, fighting bandits, and monitoring the newly surrendered territory. Outside of this system, Liu Biao and Tao Qian belong to another system.

Since they were not conquered by Su Yao's military force, although they still expressed their respect for the court, they still followed the previous old system and exercised the power of provincial governors in their capacity as provincial governors.

Such "one country, two systems" obviously cannot last long.

This is something that everyone present is well aware of.

Therefore, the appearance of the two congratulatory envoys under Tao Qian and Liu Biao also attracted the attention of the crowd.

"Jingzhou Governor Liu Jingsheng congratulates General Guan on his wedding and offers a hundred kilograms of gold, a hundred pieces of Shu brocade, and ten hu of pearls!"

"Xuzhou Governor Tao Gongzu congratulated General Guan on his wedding and presented him with a pair of coral trees from the East China Sea, a hundred pearls, and fifty fine horses!"

As the ceremonial officer sang loudly, the two envoys slowly walked into the venue and saluted Su Yao and the newcomer Guan Yu on the main seat. Everyone looked at them eagerly, wanting to see how these two envoys of frontier officials would deal with the general.

The Jingzhou envoy Kuai Liang stepped forward first and bowed, saying:
"The great general is feared throughout China, and General Guan is the bravest of the three armies. Now they have found a good match, which is truly a match made in heaven. Liu Jingzhou specially sent me here to congratulate you and convey his loyalty to the court."

Su Yao nodded slightly: "Liu Jingsheng is thoughtful. I wonder if Jingzhou is doing well these days?"

Kuai Liang's expression froze, and he answered cautiously, "Thanks to the great blessing of the general, the bandits were driven out of Nanyang, and the people of Jingzhou are now able to live and work in peace. However, recently there are still some powerful people in the southern counties of Jingzhou who refuse to obey the rules. Liu Jingzhou is worried day and night, fearing that something unexpected will happen."

"Oh?" Su Yao raised his eyebrows. "In that case, why not ask the court to send troops to help?"

Kuai Liang's forehead was covered with sweat: "Liu Jingzhou thought that it was just a small matter and he dared not trouble the court."

Su Yao chuckled and stopped asking questions. He turned to look at the Xuzhou envoy and asked, "How is Tao Gongzu's health these days?"

Chen Deng, the envoy from Xuzhou, stepped forward and said respectfully, "Thank you, General, for your concern. Although Envoy Tao is old, he is in good health recently."

Chen Deng paused and continued, "Envoy Tao often taught us that the court is the orthodoxy of the world, and the general is the one that everyone expects. All of Xuzhou takes it as their responsibility to obey the court in Luoyang. Envoy Tao wanted to come in person for General Guan's wedding, but he was unable to spare the time because of the resurgence of the Yellow Turbans in Xuzhou. He specially ordered me to deliver the gift to show my sincerity."

It is true that the Yellow Turbans rose again.

The Yellow Turbans in Qingxu had been causing chaos a few years ago. He had only managed to contain the rebellion a little by sending Taishi Ci to Qingzhou some time ago. Recently, he had deployed troops from Qingzhou to fight in the south and north. The emptiness of the local area had obviously given the Yellow Turbans room to develop. However,
"I heard that Tao Gongzu squeezed out Pengcheng Xiang Xue Li just because of his personal likes and dislikes. Is this how you show respect for the court? How come I didn't know that the governor had this power?"

Chen Deng's face changed slightly, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead, but he still tried to remain calm and replied in a deep voice:

"General, you are wise. Xue Li is a bad ruler. The people of Pengcheng are suffering. Envoy Tao's move is in line with the will of the people and is to maintain peace in the area."

"After Xue Li left for Danyang, Envoy Tao wrote to the court, begging for a new virtuous person to govern Pengcheng. If the general is unaware of this, perhaps the envoy encountered bandits on the way. Xuzhou is willing to send another envoy to report the matter to the court in detail!"

(End of this chapter)