The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 519 It’s so difficult to go
This was the first time Jiang Wei met Chen Tai.

Although the two had fought each other in the past, they had never had the opportunity to meet.

Jiang Wei looked at Chen Tai, who was dressed like a scholar, but there was not much emotion in his eyes.

Chen Tai said at this moment: "You don't have to rush to seek death. Even if others want to save you, they can't. It's better to meet with my emperor."

"If you want to die, you should know who you are dying at the hands of, right?"

Jiang Wei remained silent, not saying a word, but Chen Tai didn't say anything more. He just asked someone to take him into the city.

Jiang Wei returned to Hanzhong as a prisoner and didn't know what he felt.

Jiang Wei did not seem to have the restraint and anxiety of a defeated general.

He wasn't even that scared.

He raised his head and stared at the road ahead indifferently.

The shackles on his hands and feet made violent clashing sounds as he walked.

He walked up the stairs steadily like a triumphant general and finally stood in front of Cao Mao.

Cao Mao was surrounded by many generals, who stared at the old man with expressions of anger, distortion, fear, and embarrassment.

Jiang Wei's hair had turned gray, and his thin face was covered with wrinkles, but his eyes were still sharp as he stared directly at the emperor in front of him.

Cheng Ji was furious and was about to step forward, but Cao Mao stretched out his hand and motioned him to step back.

"Jiang Wei, Jiang Boyue."

Cao Mao looked at the old general in front of him. He was probably the most famous person in the post-Three Kingdoms period and was respected by the most later generations.

"The Lord of Shu has surrendered, and the people you wanted to assist are gone. Why don't you submit to me?"

Jiang Wei still didn't answer.

Cao Mao shook his head. "I know you wrote to Liu Chan, hoping to help him build his great cause once again. However, Liu Chan may not appreciate your kindness. No matter how much you do, he will not consider you a loyal minister he can rely on. In his eyes, you may even be inferior to Huang Hao."

"Is such a person really worth your death?"

"Under my command, you will have ample opportunity to display your talents, achieve great things, and be honored by future generations."

Jiang Wei finally spoke.

"The Lord of Wei is a hero. I do not wish to humiliate him. Please grant me death."

Cao Mao looked at the ministers around him and asked, "How could Liu Chan have such a talented person to serve him?"

He looked at Jiang Wei again, "Since you don't want to live in disgrace, I won't force you. I'll give you some good wine."

"Also, don't worry about your future. Your clan will not be held accountable."

"I will take care of your wife and children myself."

Jiang Wei had family in Shu Kingdom, of course, he also had family when he surrendered to Shu Kingdom.

After he ran away, Cao Wei did not pursue the crimes of his family members, nor did he make things difficult for his mother.

Later, Jiang Wei had a wife and children in Shu, but they were all killed during the Chengdu Rebellion.

In this era, saying that someone supports someone else's wife is even an insult.

This "raising" does not mean taking the wife and children back to bed to take care of them, but it means not letting the wife and children starve, raising them until they reach adulthood, and arranging jobs for them.

Even if they were dragged to bed and raised, it was better than letting them starve to death or be killed. In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, remarriage was not a serious matter anyway, not to mention that there was a clan to take care of them. When the backbone of the family died, those clans would often divide up their property and land. The children might survive, but their life experience would definitely not be very good.

After hearing this, Jiang Wei finally bowed his head to Cao Mao. Perhaps this was his way of saying thank you.

The soldiers then pulled Jiang Wei away.

Zhang Hua sighed inwardly, what a pity.

Jiang Wei was taken to an empty house. Soldiers stood around him. Chen Tai brought some wine from somewhere and placed it in front of him.

Chen Tai took off his water bag.

"While still in the army, I couldn't drink alcohol, so I drank water instead."

Jiang Wei picked up the poisoned wine in front of him and drank it all in one gulp without any hesitation.

Chen Tai also put his water bag to his mouth and drank directly, then wiped his mouth, without any restraint of a scholar.

Chen Tai was about to say something, but Jiang Wei simply picked up the wine jug and started drinking.

Chen Tai was stunned.

Jiang Wei threw away the empty wine jug in his hand and looked at Chen Tai in front of him.

"My failure is fate!!"

Blood suddenly flowed out from the corner of Jiang Wei's mouth, and then he staggered and fell to the ground with his eyes wide open in anger.

Chen Tai sighed deeply, then slowly walked to his side and knelt beside him. "The fall of Shu Han was due to the ruler's stupidity and loss of morality, not the general's fault."

Then he reached out and closed Jiang Wei's eyes.

Shu Han was destroyed.

Cao Mao still had a lot to do in Hanzhong, and Jiang Wei's death only made him sigh. Jiang Wei was unwilling to surrender and was determined to die. For such a person, no matter what Cao Mao did, he could not keep him. Could he tie him up, gag him, and imprison him in the mansion as a spectacle?

That's a bit too cruel.

Since Jiang Wei wants to die, give him the respect he deserves and let him continue to pursue what he wants.

Cao Mao met with some local big families.

Speaking of which, these big families were extremely enthusiastic about Cao Mao. When they first met him, they even started complaining about how difficult their lives were under Liu Chan's rule.

Cao Mao did not mock them, but simply said that he would govern with benevolence and show kindness to Shu.

While chatting with the ministers, Chen Tai also talked about appeasing the Kingdom of Shu.

Chen Tai said, "Your Majesty, Shu has previously been levying taxes far too frequently. By taking over Shu this time, we can exempt them from taxes for a year. We can also take over those unowned lands, expand public farmland, and recruit homeless refugees. We can then follow the model of Jingzhou and Qingji and rent out crops."

"There's no need to worry too much about the local powerful families. These people have already been defeated in the war. We can just forcibly relocate them to the Central Plains and reclaim their farmland here."

Zhang Hua, however, had a different opinion. He said, "It's okay to take over unowned land, but it's best not to touch the farmland of the big clans themselves."

"What Mr. Chen said makes sense, but Wu has not yet perished. The local clans of Wu are very powerful and are watching the situation here. If we seize the land of the clans and forcibly make it public land right after conquering Shu, it will surely frighten the people of Wu."

"Wu's most elite troops are the private armies of the great clans. If this incident provokes the Wu people and causes them to resist with all their might, that would be disastrous."

"It's better to wait and see until we conquer Wu, then we can make plans together."

When the two talked about this matter, Cao Mao couldn't help but think of Zhong Hui's proposal.

Zhong Hui also expressed similar ideas.

However, he wanted to move the big families from the Central Plains there.

Cao Mao was not in a hurry to give them a conclusion. Of course, preferential policies such as tax exemption should still be given. If nothing else, at least the local people should know that under the rule of the new emperor, their lives would definitely be better than before.

There are still many issues that need to be resolved, starting with the state issue.

Regional planning of Bashu.

Bashu is so vast that it would be inappropriate to simply set up a state.

If we only let one governor be in charge, he would be exhausted running all the way from Nanzhong to Hanzhong. We still have to subdivide the area.

Cao Mao even wanted to make a detailed division of the Yongliang area.

After all, the threat from Shu has been reduced, and the policies there should be adjusted appropriately.

After the regions were divided, Cao Mao had to deal with the provincial governors and county magistrates in various places himself.

Even if Cao Mao trusted these surrendered ministers and county governors, it would be impossible for him to let them continue to hold their original official positions. That would be simply crazy.

In Cao Mao's idea, Shu had to be divided into two states at least, and the selection of two governors was enough to give people a headache, not to mention the county magistrates.

Cao Mao has been thinking about the personnel appointment list these days.

It was at this time that Chen Qian finally approached Hanzhong with many captives.

Liu Chan was sitting in the carriage, which kept shaking, which made Liu Chan extremely painful.

This road was really difficult to walk on, even though it was an official road. With the road shaking so much, Liu Chan couldn't even eat.

He couldn't help but call Chen Qian and told him about this.

Chen Qian said calmly, "Lord Shu, this is the road the Shu soldiers have traveled repeatedly for so many years, without missing a single year. Lord Shu has only traveled this road once, so why complain?"

"Don't worry, after this trip to Luoyang, you won't have to walk on such a difficult road again. The roads in Luoyang are exceptionally smooth."

After hearing this, Liu Chan fell silent and didn't dare to say anything more.

Huang Hao sat awkwardly on the sidelines. Seeing Liu Chan being confronted by Chen Qian, he didn't show his usual bravery to attack him. He didn't even dare to say a bad word about Chen Qian. At this moment, he just consoled him, "Your Majesty, please be patient for a moment."

The carriage was still shaking, and Liu Chan sat in it in a daze.

Suddenly, he asked:
"Is this the route they took to attack Wei?"

Huang Hao fell silent and said nothing.

Liu Chan asked again, "Where is Jiang Wei now?"

Huang Hao still didn't answer.

The ministers followed Liu Chan. The older ones could still ride in carriages, but the rest had to ride horses. These people walked on the road, groaning and complaining.

Deng Ai walked in front with an arrogant look on his face. Chen Qian did not talk to him along the way.

They rushed all the way to Hanzhong, and when Liu Chan got off the carriage, he almost vomited.

He had never suffered such a thing in his life.

Many veteran generals and ministers, such as Liao Huazongyu and Qiao Zhou, were also extremely tired at this moment.

For older people, walking on such a steep road once would basically kill them.

However, some people have walked this path many times at the age of knowing their destiny, and have never complained.

(End of this chapter)