Han officials

Chapter 336 Scraping the Bone to Treat the Wound
Wei Zhe actually had high hopes for Yu Fan.

It's not because he performed a great service, but because this guy is really healthy!

If Wei Zhe remembers correctly, after Yu Fan was demoted to Jiaozhi by Sun Quan, he lived there until he was over seventy years old, lecturing every day. Over the decades, he actually boosted the literary atmosphere of Jiaozhou.

Even under these circumstances, Yu Fan was experiencing setbacks in his official career and was depressed.

It's important to know that Jiaozhi Commandery was even further south than Lingnan, and that area was already within the territory of what is now Vietnam.

However, Yu Fan did not show any symptoms of acclimatization problems and did not die in his prime.

Based on this alone, he was irreplaceable in Wei Zhe's eyes.

Wei Zhe hoped that Yu Fan could live as long as Zhao Tuo could withstand the heat and humidity of Jiaozhi.

……

Let's not even talk about how ambitious Yu Fan was.

After pacifying Yangzhou, Wei Zhe's busy schedule had only just begun.

With a large army in command, he seized the opportunity and started farming in Yangzhou.

This is also the experience that Wei Zhe has summarized over the years.

Such a radical and thorough undertaking as land surveying cannot be accomplished all at once; it must be done gradually, in stages, batches, and by region.

Take Wei Zhe for example. He first cultivated land in Liaodong, occupied Youzhou, and then expanded his territory.

By occupying a state and surveying its land, the backlash from the reforms was minimized!
In Wei Zhe's view, Emperor Guangwu was too hasty when he was conquering the country. He only thought about restoring the Liu family's rule, but forgot that the reason why the Former Han Dynasty was destroyed was not as simple as the emergence of Wang Mang.

Even without Wang Mang, given the turbulent situation at the end of the Han Dynasty, a Chen Sheng and Wu Guang would have emerged sooner or later.

However, even though Wei Zhe had made ample preparations, many people still died during the Yangzhou land survey.

There's no way around it; blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents.

Wei Zhe's land acquisition in Yangzhou was undoubtedly a brutal exploitation of the powerful clans throughout the city.

When the knife is turned on their own bodies, they are truly capable of anything.

They did everything without hesitation: inciting crowds to cause trouble, colluding with bandits, or even directly launching a rebellion.

This is because this is a chaotic world, not a time of peace.

Events that occurred in Jizhou, Youzhou, and Yanzhou were difficult for local counties thousands of miles away to know.

Those aristocratic families who were truly well-informed were able to see the big picture and make informed choices.

For example, the Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang families of Wu County did not resist at all; on the contrary, they actively cooperated.

Lu Kang even issued an order to his family that anyone who dared to resist the land transfer at this time would be removed from the family genealogy.

Upon hearing this, even though Madam Lu was somewhat muddle-headed and felt heartbroken, she could only obediently comply.

After all, removing someone from the family genealogy is not as simple as just crossing out a name. In more serious cases, the parents' memorial tablets and coffins may be affected, and they may be thrown out of the ancestral hall or moved from the ancestral graves.

In contrast, the powerful clans of Yuzhang Commandery were more unruly.

In fact, the most intense resistance to Wei Zhe's land survey in Yangzhou came from Yuzhang County.

As the county bordering Yangzhou and Jingzhou the most, Yuzhang County had very convenient access to Jingzhou.

Seeing that Wei Zhe was carrying out large-scale land surveys, they actually raised their banners in rebellion, attempting to seize counties and districts and surrender to Jingzhou.

In Lujiang County, which borders Jingzhou, some powerful local figures attempted to pledge allegiance to Huang Zu of Jiangxia, but Lu Kang suppressed them without hesitation.

Clearly, this group wanted to drag Liu Biao into their scheme and use the power of Jingzhou to rebel against Du Tian.

……

Xiangyang, the Chu Duke's Mansion.

On the throne, Liu Biao said calmly:

"You all, tell me, how should this matter be handled?"

After saying this, Liu Biao ordered his men to circulate the memorials of surrender from Yuzhang to his men, and none of them were missed.

Cai Mao, Kuai Liang, and the others had no choice but to take the papers and read them one by one.

Actually, there wasn't much to see; they already knew the inside story before even attending the court assembly.

Looking at the accusations made by the Yuzhang gentry against Wei Zhe in their surrender petition, Kuai Liang couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

To be honest, Kuai Liang still hasn't recovered from the shock.

Kuai Liang had anticipated Yuan Shu's downfall.

But he never expected that his mission to Yizhou would end in the loss of Yangzhou upon his return.

You have to understand, that's an entire state!

If Yangzhou were so easy to conquer, Jingzhou wouldn't have remained untouched for so long.

Of course, it wasn't just Kuai Liang who was shocked; everyone in Jingzhou was astonished.

They even felt that Yuan Shu's defeat and demise were happening too quickly!

After all, those were 200,000 Yuan soldiers, how could they have lost so quickly?
Even if there are 200,000 pigs, it's impossible to catch them all in half a month, right?
As soon as they received the news of the fall of Shouchun, they were shocked to learn that Yuan Shu had died without a complete body. Half a month later, news came back that Wu Commandery, Kuaiji Commandery, and Yuzhang Commandery had surrendered.

By the time they realized it, Yangzhou had already fallen under the jurisdiction of the Wei family.

There was absolutely no time for Jingzhou to intervene!
Well, now Jingzhou has a chance to interfere in Yangzhou, it just depends on whether they are willing to do so.

However, it is clear that the people within Jingzhou are not very willing.

Cai Mao and Kuai Liang exchanged a glance and nodded in tacit agreement.

"Your Highness, I believe this matter should be discussed at length!"

Cai Mao stepped forward first and solemnly said:

"Yangzhou has five prefectures, covering a vast area. Why is only Yuzhang Prefecture in turmoil? There must be something fishy about this!"

"Now that the Wei family has occupied Yangzhou, Jingzhou is like a tiger's mouth."

"Moreover, the Wei army is fierce and ruthless, a sight rarely seen in the world. At this time, we should prioritize our own survival before considering anything else!"

Upon hearing Cai Mao's words, many civil officials wholeheartedly agreed and nodded in agreement. They were all terrified by the efficiency with which the Wei army had swallowed Yangzhou, and at the moment, they had no desire to expand their territory; they only wanted to preserve their own wealth and status first.

As for the gentry of Yuzhang?

Let them die however they want, don't get involved.

Actually, their mentality is not hard to understand.

As the Wei Kingdom grew stronger, the conservative faction within Jingzhou became more and more conservative.

From initially neither agreeing nor opposing the decision to attack the State of Wei, to later opposing any proposal that might offend the Duke of Wei, for fear of a retaliation from Wei.

Some prominent figures from Jingzhou and elderly scholars from Xiangyang even suggested that as long as Jingzhou remained sufficiently submissive to Ye City, preventing the Duke of Wei from finding a pretext to retaliate, they could enjoy peace and tranquility.

Frankly speaking, this statement is almost indistinguishable from that of some Western-worshipping sycophants in later generations.

Following Cai Mao's speech, many civil officials also stepped forward to express similar views.

Seeing this, Liu Biao's brows furrowed even more deeply.

He certainly knew that the Wei army was fierce, but Liu Biao was also reluctant to give up the lucrative territory of Yuzhang Commandery.

You should know that he had long coveted Yangzhou, but he just hadn't had the chance to make a move.

In his previous life, it was only after Zhou Shu, the governor of Yuzhang, died that Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, secretly appointed Zhuge Xuan as the governor of Yuzhang, attempting to expand his sphere of influence into Yangzhou.

However, at that time, the forces of Yuan Shao, Sun Ce, Taishi Ci, and other factions were intertwined in Yuzhang County, creating a chaotic situation. As a result, Zhuge Xuan died in the chaos, and Liu Biao's Yangzhou strategy failed.

Although Liu Biao did not suffer any setbacks in this life, his ambition remained unchanged.

Seeing that most of the officials in the hall shared this attitude, he immediately looked at Kuai Liang, who was seated at the right.

Seeing this, Kuai Liang knew it was his turn to speak, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

However, after Kuai Liang stepped forward, he did not directly discuss the internal strife in Yuzhang, but instead talked about other things.

Kuai Liang then spoke eloquently:
"Your humble servant has heard that before sweeping across the northern frontier and splitting the Xianbei, Duke Wei once made a bold statement."

He once said, "How can I allow someone else to snore beside my bed!"

He bowed somewhat helplessly to Liu Biao and said:

"Today's Yangzhou is like the Wei family's bed."

"How can someone who wouldn't even allow a peep to be seen beside his own bed be expected to sleep in the same bed with someone else?"

"If Your Highness interferes in the affairs of Yuzhang, I'm afraid Jingzhou will never have a peaceful day again."

"The 100,000 Wei troops in Yangzhou will soon head west towards Jingzhou."

At this point, Kuai Liang immediately turned to the military officers and generals on the other side and asked sincerely:

"Excuse my boldness, but may I ask you generals, who among you can defeat these 100,000 Wei soldiers?"

"If you have any good ideas, please feel free to share them!"

Good heavens, as soon as Kuai Liang said that, even the generals who had been neutral just now became unsettled.

They had just thought those civil officials were too cowardly and lacked any backbone.

Some generals were even dissatisfied, believing that these civil officials simply did not want them, the military generals, to achieve meritorious service.

But now, after listening to Kuai Liang's analysis and recalling the achievements of the 100,000 Wei troops in Yangzhou...

Hmm, very good, all the generals of Jingzhou have calmed down!
Let's talk about making achievements another day; preserving our lives is the most important thing right now.

We must not fight! We absolutely must not fight!
Although these Jingzhou military generals did not express their opinions, their attitudes were already clear.

Upon witnessing this scene, Liu Biao, seated at the head of the table, sighed with regret.

Although he was still somewhat unwilling, Liu Biao knew that he couldn't fight them because of Wenwu's attitude.

This is often the case: if a military force cannot reach a consensus internally, the outcome of the war is essentially predetermined before it even begins.

From this perspective, Liu Biao was at least a rational local warlord!

Once he had made up his mind, Liu Biao acted decisively and betrayed the gentry of Yuzhang.

"Send all these letters of surrender to Shouchun to show our Jingzhou's intention to maintain good neighborly relations!"

"Lord Wei is benevolent and virtuous; he should understand my good intentions!"

"Here!"

Upon hearing Liu Biao's suggestion, Kuai Liang and the others readily agreed.

Anyway, it was the gentry of Yuzhang who died, what does it have to do with the gentry of Xiangyang?
The aristocratic families were regional, not concrete political groups.

As for the anthropomorphic political will of the aristocratic class, that is even more of a fabrication.

The reason why the Han Dynasty has become what it is today is due to the accumulated problems of the two Han dynasties over four hundred years, not because of any deliberate actions by certain groups.

Several days later, in Shouchun.

When Wei Zhe received Jingzhou's overtures, he couldn't help but smirk slightly: "This fellow is quite sensible!"

After saying that, he tossed the lists to Bu Zhi and said coldly:
"Send an order to Yuzhang, instructing Zhang He to arrest them by name."

"The property of the noble families involved in the case was confiscated, the ringleader was executed, and the rest of the family members were all taken as government slaves."

Upon hearing this, Bu Zhi's heart tightened, and he quickly took the roster and carefully left the study.

Since entering Yangzhou, this was the first time Bu Zhi had seen Wei Gong so full of murderous intent.

After Bu Zhi left, Wei Zhe looked in the direction of Jingzhou and pondered for a long time, but in the end he shook his head with some regret.

Although he coveted Jingzhou, his army had been out for almost half a year and needed to rest.

If Wei forces an attack on Jingzhou, even if the Wei army is willing to obey orders, their morale will likely be greatly affected. Wei Zhe will not do something as short-sighted as draining the pond to catch all the fish.

He had worked so hard to assemble such a large army, and he couldn't bear to waste it in a place like this.

"Very well, let's call it a day after we finish the field crossing!"

Thinking this, Wei Zhe simply threw aside his many worries and returned to his room to enjoy blissful moments with the Qiao sisters...

(End of this chapter)