The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 525 What does he know?
When Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing sat in front of Sun Xiu and learned about Lu Kang's situation, their faces changed immediately.

"This person is simply talking nonsense!!"

Zhang Bu hadn't said anything yet, but Puyang Xing couldn't help it.

Puyang Xing has been busy coordinating the reclamation work these days.

The loss of Jiangbei greatly reduced the national strength of Wu. Wu now wanted to maintain a large army, but also had food problems.

Sun Xiu wanted to learn from some of Cao Wei's policies, develop the south more, reclaim more arable land, utilize those refugees and mountain people, and increase tax revenue.

Puyang Xing was controversial in the court.

Zhang Bu was fine. After all, he was directly involved in the event of getting rid of Sun Chen and was the most important and critical person among them.

He had also saved Ding Feng at the beginning.

Sun Xiu wanted to use him, and the ministers had nothing to say. After all, he had made real contributions and deserved any reward for his contribution in protecting the emperor and eliminating the bandits.

But what about Puyang Xing?

Why should he?

When he was getting rid of Sun Chen, he neither offered any advice nor put in any effort.

At most, he was just a verbal supporter, and he himself had no qualifications. He was promoted so quickly only because of his good personal relationship with Sun Xiu.

The ministers were very dissatisfied with him, and were even more dissatisfied with his collusion with Zhang Bu to control the power of the temple.

Puyang Xing was also eager to prove his talent. He wanted to let the ministers know that he did not rely on the emperor's favor to sit in his current position, but that he also had real talents and knowledge.

This time, when he learned that Sun Xiu was eager to improve the national strength, this wise minister immediately proposed a great plan to build Danyang Lake Field and Puli Pond.

According to Puyang Xing's plan, after completing this major project, the State of Wu will not lack food for many years.

However, the ministers did not support Puyang Xing's plan.

Many ministers clearly opposed it. They felt that with Wu's current national strength, it was simply wishful thinking to complete such a project. If they did so, it would be extremely costly and it was unknown when it would succeed. This was absolutely not acceptable.

Puyang Xing believed that the ministers opposed him because they looked down on him, not because there was something wrong with his ideas.

Now, when he heard Sun Xiu say that Lu Kang clearly opposed his policies, he immediately became restless.

He said unhappily, "Your Majesty, Lu Kang is just a young man. It is only because of his father's meritorious service that he is able to offer advice to Your Majesty. How can such a man possibly know about world affairs?"

After hearing Puyang Xing's words, Sun Xiu did not rush to answer him.

Zhang Bu, of course, was on the side of his allies at this moment. He said, "Your Majesty, Jingnan is impregnable. It's definitely not as he said. The general and General Ding have an army of 70,000 men, and there are generals around to support them!"

"Lu Kang's words are a bit exaggerated."

Sun Xiu pondered for a long time before speaking, "I've heard Lu Kang describe the events on the front lines, and it doesn't sound like he was just making random remarks. Furthermore, even Zhuge Ke praised him highly, so I don't think he's without talent. I intend to appoint him as the commander of Chaisang, responsible for the defense of the front lines. If necessary, he'll assist the general and others."

Zhang Bu was about to persuade him, but when he heard that he was responsible for the front-line defense, he suddenly fell silent.

After thinking about it, Zhang Bu quickly said, "I think it's okay."

Puyang Xing on the side was stunned for a moment, but still expressed his agreement reluctantly.

Sun Xiu immediately issued an imperial decree, appointing Lu Kang as the commander of Chaisang and putting him in charge of the defense of the front line.

Of course, he did not adopt the suggestion of reclamation.

Lu Kang left Jianye, and Puyang Xing used the land reclamation as an excuse to exclude dissidents and suppress those who disobeyed him, forcing the ministers to pass his so-called land management policy.

Puyang Xing decided to start the process this year.

It was already February of the fourth year of Zhengyuan in Cao Wei.

What Sun Xiu, Puyang Xing and others didn't know was that Jingnan had already been caught in a tough battle at this moment.

Shi Ji's concerns are absolutely correct.

Wang Ji ignored Wu County and walked forward in a swagger under the pretext of attacking Yong'an. He then left a detachment behind and led the main force to continue advancing. After Yong'an, they crossed the river in the territory of Shu.

At this moment, the Shu army was in Yong'an, and Wang Ji easily reached the other side of the river.

Then, he would attack Jianping County directly by land from here.

The Wu army had been stationed along the coast, relying on the power of warships for defense. When Wang Ji launched a fierce attack from a direction they had never expected, Jianping County could not resist at all. Fortunately, Yidao's army arrived at the battlefield in time.

However, this was of no use. Wang Ji had a complete advantage in terms of military strength at the moment, and his combat effectiveness was far greater than that of the enemy. He just pushed forward all the way. The most tragic thing was that the troops along the coast were stabbed in the back and suffered heavy casualties.

Fortunately, reinforcements from Yidu County and Nan County arrived in time, otherwise Jianping County would have been conquered by Wang Ji immediately.

Wang Ji divided his troops and launched a fierce attack directly towards the completely empty Wuling County.

Shi Ji distributed his troops along the defense line from Jianping County to Jiangxia County. There were not many troops or generals in the Jingnan area in the rear.

Wang Ji used the newly recruited Wang Jun, the military commander of Zhennan, as the vanguard to lead the troops to capture these places.

Wang Jun encountered no resistance along the way, and he killed everyone in his path. This completely disrupted Shi Ji's plan. Seeing that the enemy was heading towards conquering the four counties, Shi Ji had no choice but to divide his forces and summon the troops of Hengyang County to resist them.

Wang Ji was not in a hurry to break through Shi Ji's defense line. He led the main force to slowly attack Jianping County, while watching his men continue to regain lost territory.

At the same time, Wen Qin finally made a big move. After Wang Ji took control of Xinling in Jianping County, Wen Qin's army crossed the river from here and headed directly towards Jingmen and Yidao.

When Shi Ji saw Wen Qin appear, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then asked Ding Feng to send people to rescue, and he led the army to Yidao to provide support.

For a time, the entire Jingnan was in chaos.

What is different from Jingnan is the Shu Kingdom, which is now extremely peaceful. Oh, no, it is the Shu land.

At this moment, Cao Mao had already led the Shu emperor and other ministers who were willing to leave and headed towards Luoyang.

Zhuge Dan and others also led the central army to evacuate.

The appointment of local officials once again troubled Cao Mao.

At this moment, Cao Mao was sitting in the carriage. It was still extremely cold outside, with strong winds blowing. Especially from Chang'an, one could see the snow on the road that had not melted yet. Cao Mao felt cold even sitting in the carriage.

Fortunately, he left those old ministers in Hanzhong. If he had forced them to follow him, they would probably have died by now.

During this period, Cao Mao met privately with the ministers of Shu.

These ministers had a very good attitude towards him.

Especially Qiao Zhou.

As the elder brother who led the surrender, Cao Mao had to give him enough rewards and honors.

However, during his several meetings with Qiao Zhou, Cao Mao discovered that Qiao Zhou was not a flattering villain.

His health was indeed not good, and he was shivering in this cold weather. Cao Mao was thoughtful enough to give him a luxurious carriage to keep him warm enough.

When Qiao Zhou spoke to Cao Mao, his words were very upright and he did not have the attitude of a mean person.

Cao Mao also met several of Qiao Zhou's disciples.

Chen Shou was just a young man at the time. When he saw Cao Mao, his face turned red and he stammered for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence.

Cao Mao sat in the carriage, looking at the many documents in his hands.

The first thing was the administrative planning of Yizhou. Cao Mao fully consulted the ministers in the court. Finally, he decided to adopt the opinion of the minister Lu Qin.

Lu Qin believed that Shu should be divided into three. The geographical advantage of Shu was too suitable for separatism, and it could not be allowed to become a whole. Moreover, such a large state was not suitable for governance, so it was best to divide it into three states.

Lu Qin's proposal was to establish Liangzhou, an ancient name, with Hanzhong as the center, Yizhou with Chengdu as the center, and Ningzhou with Jianning, Yunnan and other counties as the center.

Cao Mao was not surprised at all. Isn't this the way Sima Zhao divided things in history?
So it was you who suggested it!

However, Cao Mao was somewhat hesitant about the specific candidate.

The first one is the governor of Yizhou.

This position is really too important, and we must send a confidant, and he must be someone who is not too extreme, who can appease the local people and do the post-disaster work.

It is really not easy to find such people.

Cao Mao thought about it and finally chose a candidate, Guanqiu Dian.

Originally, Guanqiu Dian was demoted to the local area by Cao Mao because of his poor management of the Censorate, and served as a local county governor. He also accumulated a lot of experience in the local area.

Moreover, he is an upright person who will not do anything wrong and is completely worthy of my trust. In all aspects, he is a suitable person.

Once the governor of Yizhou is chosen, the other two places will be much easier.

Cao Mao still wanted Huo Yi to continue staying in Nanzhong and serve as the governor of Ningzhou. Of course, he had to meet this person first.

As for Liangzhou, Cao Mao had also decided on a candidate.

Cao Mao planned to appoint Qian Hong, the county magistrate who had made great contributions this time, to take the position.

Qian Hong was the son of Qian Zhao. He was a strong man, very much like his father. He was capable of fighting and governing the local area. Moreover, with his previous achievements, he was more than qualified to be a governor of a place.

As for other county magistrates and the like, the Minister of Personnel will have to find a solution himself.

Cao Mao was unable to appoint so many people. In addition, there were also soldiers who had made great contributions during the war, and these people also had to be rewarded and appeased.

There are still many things to do.

Shortly after Cao Mao's carriage left Chang'an, he heard the bad news from Luoyang.

Sima Zhao committed suicide.

He left a letter, saying that he was a guilty man and that the emperor would punish him when he returned victorious. In order to avoid humiliation, he decided to commit suicide. He also wrote down all the plots and crimes within his clan.

(End of this chapter)