Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 630 Southeastern Guests
"What are your thoughts on the matter of pardoning the sons of the Cao family?"

Zhang Liao looked around at everyone and asked.

“The enemy has surrendered the city. To appease the surrendered people, it would be better to pardon the Cao family’s sons and brothers!” Sun Zi said.

“Cao Cao has no favors to the southeast. What difference does it make whether we kill him or not?” Ma Chao said, “In my opinion, Cao Cao had no intention of surrendering. It was only because of his illness that the soldiers and officers in the city were willing to surrender. Therefore, considering Cao Cao’s intentions, we can kill Cao’s sons and brothers.”

“During the southern campaign, His Majesty ordered us to refrain from killing. Now that the Cao family has surrendered, why must we slaughter them all?” Hao Zhao said.

Wen Ji was indignant and said, "If the Cao family is not punished, they will surely become a scourge in the future!"

Seeing that everyone was arguing, Xu Huang thought for a moment and said, "The Cao family are no ordinary officials. We should report to His Majesty first and see what His Majesty thinks."

"That makes sense."

Just as Zhang Liao was about to agree, Jia Xu interrupted him, saying, "It's four or five thousand li to Chang'an, and tens of thousands of li round trip. The military situation is urgent; how can we not make a decision?"

Then, Jia Xu offered a plan: "Commander-in-chief, you should adapt to the situation and first respond to Lu Su's request to send troops to seize Jinling and order the southeast to cease hostilities as soon as possible. When His Majesty's memorial arrives, you can then deal with the Cao family. If they are pardoned, the Cao family's children will live; if they are not pardoned, they will be punished with other crimes."

Jia Xu didn't act first and report later; instead, he first deceived Lu Su. Once the specific punishment for the Cao family members was given, he could handle the situation accordingly. If Zhang Yu wasn't killed, the Cao family members would be safe; if Zhang Yu insisted on killing them, he could find another pretext to execute them.

After all, waiting for Chang'an's approval had taken too long. To avoid any unforeseen complications, Jia Xu directly suggested taking action. Once the dust settled, killing Cao Cao's descendants would be too easy. Besides, Zhang Liao had promised a pardon, but not a permanent one.

"Your words of protection of the monarch are reasonable!"

Zhang Liao suddenly realized something and said, "I will now agree to Lu Su's request and let the troops of Jinling leave the city so that my Tang army can take over."

"promise!"

In order to quell the rebellion in the southeast as soon as possible, Zhang Liao agreed to Lu Su's request for surrender and promised to obtain a title for the pseudo-emperor of the Southern Han.

On July 23, seeing that Zhang Liao had agreed to pardon the Cao family and promised not to harm those who had surrendered, Xun Yu opened the city gates and allowed Xiahou Yuan, Yu Jin, and Hao Zhao to hand over military power. Xu Chu then led troops into the city and took over the defenses of Jinling.

The next day, Zhang Liao, Sun Zi, Jia Xu and other civil and military officials entered the city. Zhang Liao and Jia Xu comforted the surrendered people, Xu Huang opened the treasury to reward the soldiers who were on the southern expedition, and Sun Zi went straight to the Prime Minister's residence to collect laws and books.

After surrendering in Jinling, Cao Ang vacated the Prime Minister's residence and moved the Cao family, young and old, to another place so that the central army could move to the Prime Minister's residence to conduct its business.

Accompanied by Xun Yu, Sun Zi and the clerk went to the Prime Minister's residence to examine the map of Yangzhou.

"How many households are there in Yangzhou today?" Sun Zi asked, flipping through the map.

“Reporting to Lord Sun, in the southeast there are three categories of households: soldiers, garrison farmers, and farmers. In Yangzhou, there are a total of 320,000 registered households, with 1.47 million men and women.” Xun Yu opened the bamboo slips and pointed out, “Among them are 173 counties and 11 prefectures, including Guangling Prefecture.”

Sun Zi nodded slightly and commented, "Since the turmoil in the world, Hebei was originally the most prosperous among all the prefectures, but due to the division of prefectures and counties, Yizhou has risen to the top. Now, the southeast is subjugated, and the most prosperous place is Yangzhou."

Large-scale turmoil in the north led to the dispersal of the population from the core areas to the periphery. For example, Jingzhou and Yizhou received refugees from the central regions, while Yangzhou and Pingzhou accepted people from the eastern coastal areas who were seeking refuge from the war. This resulted in population growth in the four provinces and indirectly contributed to the historical division of the four kingdoms.

Xun Yu shook his head and said, "Although Yangzhou has a large number of 320,000 registered households, it is still slightly inferior to the well-preserved Jingzhou. The four southern prefectures of Jingzhou have nearly 200,000 households, and the prefectures along the Yangtze and Han rivers are prosperous. The sum of the two should be better than Yangzhou."

Sun Zi pondered for a moment and asked, "The six prefectures of Jianghan, including Nanyang, Xiangyang, Nanjun, Jiangxia, and Shunyang, have about 200,000 households. I wonder what the population of the five prefectures of Jingnan is?"

Xun Yu took out the Jingzhou bamboo slips from the cabinet, spread them out and said: "The five prefectures of Changsha, Guiyang, Lingling, Wuling and Yiling have 180,000 households, so the total number of households in the north and south is 380,000, with a population of 1.75 million men and women."

"Compared to Yangzhou, Jingzhou has a population of 300,000 more."

Sun Zi clicked his tongue and said, "In the past, Your Majesty took Hebei and gained 400,000 households, which greatly strengthened your body and enabled you to secure the Central Plains and eventually unify China. Now Cao Cao dares to confront China, and he has 500,000 households in Jiangnan."

Although the population gap between the North and South was significant, it was at least within a certain proportion. Cao Cao, Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and others attempted to control China from the south because they saw the potential for division due to the large population.

With the empire now unified and under Zhang Tang's rule, the southern population will likely surge, land will be developed, and the economic gap between the north and south will narrow, potentially achieving a 50/50 economic split. However, the possibility of the south surpassing the north is highly unlikely under Zhang Tang's rule. This is because the chaos in the north disrupted its production, leading to a large-scale migration south and further development. Only if Zhang Tang can restore the north's prosperity will there be any hope of the south surpassing the north.

Thinking of the disparity between the North and the South, Xun Yu sighed softly, his voice filled with helplessness at the prospect of national subjugation.

While everyone was busy, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who had accompanied the Tang army on their southern expedition, had already entered Jinling. After some inquiries, they finally found the residence of their elder brother, Liu Bei.

"Big brother!"

"Yide, Yunchang!"

Led by attendants, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, clad in armor and swords at their sides, entered the mansion. Upon seeing Liu Bei, they rushed forward, excited to meet him. Liu Bei greeted them and embraced them passionately.

After a moment of excitement and reunion, Liu Bei lamented, "I regret that I didn't listen to Yun Chang's advice and trusted Cao Cao too much. I was tricked into going to Jinling and imprisoned there. I almost thought I would never see you two again."

Guan Yu did not blame him, but instead showed a look of shame and said, "Yi De and I have failed our brother's trust, losing five counties, all of which were taken by Cao Cao."

"It is not Guan Yu's fault!"

Liu Bei sighed and said, "I have no idea how to judge people, that I entrusted such an important matter to Li Yan. That man is greedy for fame and fortune, and led his followers to defect to Cao Cao, which is why I lost my base in Jingzhou."

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu said dejectedly, "When the Tang army was conquering Jingzhou, Li Yan led his troops to defect, but now he has been appointed as the governor of Changsha, with an official rank of two thousand shi. How comfortable he is!"

Zhang Fei said with dissatisfaction, "My second brother and I submitted a memorial requesting the execution of Li Yan, but the Tang people used the pretext of appeasing the people to obstruct my second brother and me. This is truly unpleasant!"

Liu Bei grasped Zhang Fei's hand and reassured him, "The Tang people are determined to unify the country; they won't care about our thoughts. Now that you're under someone else's command, Yide, you must be careful with your words and actions!"

Zhang Fei waved his hand and laughed, "Let's not talk about troubles. I'm happy to see my elder brother!"

Liu Bei led the two brothers into the hall, arm in arm, and said with a smile, "The wine in my mansion is quite good; you and I, brothers, can have a feast."

"it is good!"

The three sat down to drink and reminisce about the past, enjoying themselves immensely.

"Brother, what are your plans for the future?" Guan Yu asked, taking a sip of wine.

Liu Bei frowned in thought, then exhaled a long breath and said, "I am already content to have met with the two of you. From now on, I will have to wait and see what the Emperor of Tang decides!"

Zhang Fei, eager to try, said, "My second brother and I still have 10,000 soldiers under our command. If you intend to rebuild your empire, I am willing to be the vanguard and fight our way back to Jingzhou."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Liu Bei rebuked him, saying, "Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, and Gongsun Zan were all heroes of their time, yet they were all defeated by Zhang Yu. Now that China is at peace, how can we expect to win if we raise an army? Moreover, the people of Jiangnan have just found peace; how can we raise an army and implicate them?"

Under Cao Cao's years of imprisonment, Liu Bei was gradually corrupted by sweet words and bribes, and his spirit waned. In particular, as he himself said, all the heroes of the land had been wiped out by Zhang Yu, including the three incredibly powerful figures Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shao, who all failed. His rebellion with ten thousand men was nothing more than a stepping stone for some Tang general to achieve his goals.

"Yide, now that we are under someone else's rule, do not speak nonsense in the future!" Liu Bei warned. "If any evil person hears this, he will be impeached for treason."

"Yes!" Zhang Fei said, taking a swig of wine.

Guan Yu pondered for a moment and said, "The Tang Emperor is magnanimous. If you are summoned by him, you might as well treat him with the respect due to a guest. If you can please the Tang Emperor, you might even be granted a noble title."

"Don't worry, Yun Chang, I have my own plans!" Liu Bei reassured him.

"I will stand with my brother through thick and thin!"

(End of this chapter)