Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 454 Liu He's Second Child
Seven days later, Liu He left the court meeting and returned to his general's mansion.

"These days, Chen Ji and his gang have been much quieter, and have rarely given me trouble in the court. Could it be that they have changed their nature?"

He took a sip of tea and said with doubt.

"My lord, don't be careless. How could these people give up so easily? They must have been the ones who set fire to the prison and let Lu Bu go. From the military reports of Generals Gao and Liu, it is known that after Zhang Yang was defeated, he took Lu Bu to Yuan Shao overnight. It is clear that there are many ministers in the court who are colluding with Yuan Shao. Now it's just that my lord is powerful and they can't find a chance, so they can only lie dormant for the time being."

Xun Yu sat down in the seat next to Liu He and spoke.

Cui Jun also sat opposite Xun Yu: "What Wen Ruo said is correct. Now all places under your jurisdiction are completely under the control of our army, and Yun Chang and other generals often patrol everywhere. In addition, since entering Luoyang, the lord has always strictly observed his loyalty to the emperor and has never violated the rules like Dong Zhuo. The emperor's fear and rejection of the lord in the past has gradually improved. Chen Ji and others have neither excuses nor opportunities, so they can only wait for the opportunity."

"Well, He also has some guesses about this. But since they are not jumping out to cause trouble now, I am too lazy to pay attention to them. For now, it is better to appease the people of Sili who were killed by Dong Zhuo and the Xiliang Army, restore production, train the surrendered soldiers, and prepare for the expedition to all directions next year. As long as many princes are wiped out, these people in the court will be nothing more than a minor problem and not a threat."

The princes of Guandong suffered heavy losses after the battle of Hulao Pass.

Now Liu Dai and Zhang Yang have all been killed, and Kong Rong, Tao Qian and Ma Teng have been temporarily won over by himself. Yuan Shu was shot in the shoulder by Ye Xiang's arrow that day, and although he survived by chance, given his temperament, he did not have the courage to become an enemy of the court after returning to Nanyang.

Sun Jian was a hero, but just like the original history, he now depended on Yuan Shu, who had recently sent a memorial to recommend him as General Po Lu and Governor of Yuzhou. Now Sun Jian was stationed in Runan, supporting Yuan Shu, and was busy eyeing the entire Yuzhou territory, as well as competing with Liu Biao, who had just arrived in Jingzhou, for the northern counties of Jingzhou. He had no spare energy to fight against the court.

Others such as Qiao Mao, Zhang Miao, Bao Xin and others were not in Liu He's eyes at all. Now only Cao Cao, who had killed Liu Dai and controlled the entire Yanzhou, and the powerful Yuan Shao were his biggest concerns.

At this time, Cui Jun suddenly said, "Oh, my lord, a few days ago you sent Dehui to lead 500 Thunder God Cavalry to Henei. This morning, I received a reply from him saying that the governor of Henei, Wang Kuang, did not wait for him to knock on the door, but ran to the camp of the Thunder God Cavalry, apologized, and presented the governor's seal. Now the Henei County is under the control of our army."

"If Zhou Ping hadn't mentioned this, I would have almost forgotten about it."

Liu He patted his forehead and said.

Wang Kuang, the governor of Henei, was dragged into the battle by Yuan Shao and attacked Hulao Pass, where he lost many soldiers and generals. Henei was near Luoyang, and he was trembling with fear after returning. Liu He sent Zhu Ye with only his own Thunder God Cavalry because he calculated that he would not dare to fight, and now it turned out to be true.

"Dehui wrote to ask how the lord would deal with Wang Kuang?"

Liu He waved his hand and said, "Since he surrendered voluntarily, there is no need to investigate. After all, he was deceived by Yuan Shao and others. Tell my fifth brother to let him go. Oh, there is no need to confiscate Wang Kuang's property. Let him take it with him. It is up to you to settle down wherever you want. Don't make it difficult for me."

"As you command, Jun will write back to Dehui as soon as he gets back."

Xun Yu smiled and said, "My Lord, this is a very good way to deal with it. This will set an example for all the princes in the world. When the ten princes who attacked Hulao Pass heard this news, I'm afraid some of them would be restless."

"Hey, it's not worth mentioning. How can it deserve such praise from Wen Ruo?" Liu He waved his hand.

"By the way, the Zhao family of Shangdang County almost lost their family and lives in order to fight against Zhang Yang. Zhao Jin performed well as the county magistrate of Dingxiang County. Now that Dingxiang has settled down, why not transfer him to Henei to succeed him as the prefect? ​​By the way, transfer Daozhun, Gongwei, Guangyuan and others from county magistrates to prefects of this county."

Liu He secretly used the system to check and found that Zhao Jin's intelligence and political skills had reached 74 and 81 respectively. This was more than enough for him to be a prefect in the relatively stable county of Hanoi.

"Yes, sir. I will do it later." Cui Jun bowed and accepted the order.

"By the way, have you checked the population situation under our army's jurisdiction?"

Two months ago, Liu He ordered people to sort out the population registration situation in each county in Bingzhou and Sili areas for future use in case of conscription.

Cui Jun replied, "My lord, I have already checked. In the Bingzhou area, the six northern counties originally have a registered population of about 230,000 households, including naturalized Hu people, and nearly one million people. In addition, Xihe County, Taiyuan County, and Shangdang County have more than 96,000 households and more than 340,000 people. The total number of people in Bingzhou is about 1.34 million."

"In the Sili region, including the situation of Henei County reported by Dehui, there are more than 920,000 households and more than 3.1 million people. However..."

Cui Jun paused, and Liu He asked, "But what?"

"But Jun checked the situation two years ago. At that time, there were more than 970,000 people in Sili, nearly 3.3 million people..."

Liu He frowned: "How come there are 200,000 fewer people in just two years?"

Xun Yu said, "Not only that, six years ago, the Sili region had over a million households, making it the most prosperous place in the Han Dynasty. But later, the rebellion of eunuchs and foreign relatives intensified, and local powerful families annexed land, leaving the people with no land to farm and heavy taxes. Later, they were bullied by Dong Zhuo and the Xiliang army, so many people died or fled in recent years. Among them, the majority of people fled to Bingzhou, Jing, and Yu."

Liu He was furious when he heard this: "These people, apart from undermining the government and bringing disaster to the people, are probably capable of nothing else. They really deserve to be killed."

"Now that the lord is guarding this place, resting with the people, encouraging farming, and reducing exploitation, the people's strength should be gradually restored. After the summer harvest next year, the taxes of the two places and the harvest of the military farms managed by Zhan Lian and others will add up to no less than 5 million dan of grain. In addition, there are nearly 6 million dan in the Luoyang treasury. In this way, our army will have no worries when it goes out next year." "Good!"

Liu He was cheered up.

"But... there are still some small matters that need to be resolved."

"Oh? Wen Ruo, tell me about it."

"Among the three dukes and nine ministers in the court, although the three dukes support the lord, they don't have any real power after all. The ones who hold real power are the nine ministers and the Shangshutai. Now that the lord has power over the court and the country, he is not afraid of other things, except for one person. If our army is to go out to fight, this person must be replaced by the lord's confidant."

After Xun Yu said this, Liu He became a little confused.

"What does Wen Ruo mean?"

Xun Yu said respectfully, "The Grand Minister of Agriculture is one of the Nine Ministers. He is in charge of the national grain warehouse and is fully responsible for regulating prices, distributing grain for disaster relief, salaries of officials, and the needs of the imperial palace. Although the current Grand Minister of Agriculture has not explicitly opposed the lord, he has not expressed support either. However, several of his subordinates are resentful and opposed to the lord, so we must be on guard."

"Well...if Wen Ruo hadn't reminded me, I really wouldn't have remembered this part. This matter..."

Liu He was just about to discuss with Xun Yu and Cui Jun how to deal with the matter when a maid from the mansion suddenly ran over.

"General, great joy..."

Liu He looked puzzled: "What great joy? What are you talking about?"

The maid knelt down and said, "General, the lady is pregnant!"

"Huh? Yu'er is pregnant?" Liu He was very surprised.

"General, this morning, my wife felt a little unwell, so she asked the imperial doctors to see her. Both doctors concluded that my wife has been pregnant for more than a month."

Xun Yu and Cui Jun stood up to congratulate.

"Haha, Zhou Pingwenruo, please sit down for a while. I'll go see Yu'er."

Liu He called out, left the two of them behind, and ran towards the backyard as fast as he could.

In the room where he and Zhang Yu lived, Liu He's mother Xu, as well as Zhang Yong and Zhang Yu's parents were sitting around Zhang Yu, asking about her well-being.

"Yu'er... oh..."

Liu He ran into the room in a panic, tripped over the threshold and almost fell.

Xu pretended to be angry and looked at him: "You are already an adult, but you are still so impatient. No wonder you didn't know that your wife was pregnant for more than a month, and you are still a general."

"Mother-in-law, don't blame He'er. He is no longer the little kid from Huangshui Township. He is now a general of our Han Dynasty. State affairs are heavy. Yu'er's affairs naturally require us, the elders, to worry more about him."

Zhang Yu's mother came to Liu He's rescue.

Liu He was happy and apologized to the three elders repeatedly, then sat down beside Zhang Yu's bed.

"Yu'er, how do you feel? Are you feeling unwell? Let me ask someone to bring Mr. Hua Tuo from Yanmen to Luoyang so that he can be under constant care. Uh... bring Mr. Xu Kang along as well. He has been a pharmacy owner for decades. Although he cannot compare to Mr. Hua Tuo in terms of medical knowledge, he can still help in selecting medicinal materials."

Zhang Yu looked at his flustered appearance and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"How could you forget, my husband? I also practice martial arts to strengthen my body. I am not an ordinary weak woman. Moreover, this is not my first child. My husband is busy with state affairs and does not need to worry about me. Doctor Hua has taught many disciples in Yinguan City and has finally achieved some success. You just spread him to Luoyang like this. Isn't this a big deal?"

"Oh... Yu'er is right. But I am still worried. How about this? I will just move the entire 'Huairentang' to Luoyang. Those of Mr. Hua Tuo's dozens of disciples and apprentices who are willing to come to Luoyang can move here with their families. Luoyang is a place near the capital, where there are more doctors. This will also be beneficial to the development of the clinic. Isn't this the best of both worlds?"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Since it is a good thing, my husband, please do as you please. It is not convenient for me to interfere in the affairs of the court, so I will not say anything more."

A 3,000-word chapter
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(End of this chapter)