The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 603 Collapse
"If you have no objection, then the matter of Hutian is settled."

Puyang Xing's face was full of smiles, and he looked at the many officials around him.

This was the court meeting of the Wu State.

Emperor Sun Xiu sat on the throne, saying nothing, as if what was happening below had nothing to do with him at all.

The ministers who had exchanged views with Zhang Bu in advance had no objections at this moment. As long as they were not tormented, those low-class people could be tormented as they pleased.

Besides, Zhang Bu promised that he could get some meat to eat after the lake field was built, so let’s build it!

At this moment, Shi Ji, who was serving as the Grand General and the Left Grand Marshal, could not help himself.

The official title of Shi Ji was the highest grade that the State of Wu could bestow upon officials.

This is much higher than that of ordinary generals.

It has reached the point where it cannot be sealed anymore.

Although Shi Ji held a very high official position, in reality, he did not have much power in the court.

The main reason was that Shi Ji had no power of his own in the court and did not have many supporters. He was weak and could not have much influence on many policies of the court.

In history, Shi Ji also became a transparent person in the temple because of his highest official position.

Shi Ji looked at Puyang Xing angrily, then looked at the indifferent ministers around him.

"No!!"

Shi Ji interrupted Puyang Xing.

Puyang Xing was not surprised at all.

He smiled and asked, "General, do you have any ideas?"

Shi Ji said unhappily, "It was because of this lake field issue that so much trouble was caused. Jiaozhou rebelled, and bandits swarmed everywhere. We finally put it down, and now you want to continue?"

"I absolutely do not agree!"

Lu Kang wrote many letters to the court, hoping to contact a group of people to oppose it.

Unfortunately, the only people Lu Kang could contact in the end were the soldiers in the army.

Whether it was Shi Ji or Lu Kang, their influence was more at the local level. Among the soldiers and in the government, their voices were not loud enough.

Shi Ji, Wei Miao, Ding Feng and others followed Lu Kang in writing a joint letter, hoping to stop the construction of lake fields.

Most of the other civil and military ministers expressed their agreement.

Sun Xiu looked at the angry old general and slowly closed his eyes.

Puyang Xing sighed deeply, "General, if we stop now, what will we do with the previous expenses?"

"I don't know the original cost, but we've just been through a war, and it's time for the people to rest and recuperate. You're now rebuilding the lake fields. Won't the cost be less than before?"

If it comes to fighting or strategic vision, Puyang Xing is definitely no match for Shi Ji, but when it comes to arguing and verbal debate, Puyang Xing is not afraid of Shi Ji.

He immediately retorted, "It will certainly cost a lot to continue, but the benefits we'll get after completion are enough to make up for the past expenses. If we stop now, the previous expenses will never be recouped!"

"Don't we all know the importance of recuperation? General, you didn't defend Jingnan and Jiaozhou, causing a large number of people to lose their farmland and homes. They are now homeless. If you tell them to recuperate, where should they go?!"

"Do I have to go to Cao Cao's place to recuperate?"

Puyang Xing suddenly became righteous and said, "You all have seen Zhong Hui's letter before. Zhong Hui was so rude to us and humiliated our king. If the king humiliates his subjects, they will die!"

"If it weren't for the invasion by Cao Cao, this Hutian project would have been completed by now and would have achieved great results! Cao Cao ruined our project and is now using it to mock us! How can this be tolerated?"

Puyang Xing spoke very quickly, giving Shi Ji almost no chance to refute.

He added, "General, since we're talking about recuperating, we can't delay in working on the lake fields."

"Those people are displaced, without a place to live, and no way to make a living. If we can let them come here to build the lake fields, and then let them farm here after the lake fields are built, wouldn't that be a good thing?"

Under Puyang Xing's sophistry, Shi Ji didn't know what to say.

Zhang Bu stepped forward and said seriously, "Don't worry, General. I'll keep an eye on this matter. If anything goes wrong, I'll stop it!"

Shi Ji looked at the emperor, wanting to say something but stopping himself, but did not object.

The court decided to build the lake fields, but as soon as the court meeting ended, Shi Ji hurriedly found Emperor Sun Xiu.

Sun Xiu had great respect for Shi Ji. The old general showed great resilience when facing the State of Wei. It was really not easy for him to achieve this at his age.

Sun Xiu followed him into the inner hall. As soon as he sat down, Shi Ji couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, I'm not good at speaking, but this matter is indeed difficult to handle."

Looking at the old general who was fidgeting, Sun Xiu took his hand and said gently, "General, don't panic. Tell me what you think."

Shi Ji hesitated for a long time, then suddenly said, "I think Your Majesty has fallen into Zhong Hui's trap!"

Sun Xiu paused, then asked, "What's the plan?" "It's the simplest method of provoking someone!"

"Your Majesty, Zhong Hui's letter was intended to encourage you to build the lake fields! Your Majesty may not know that General Lu also received Zhong Hui's letter. Zhong Hui informed General Lu of his plan, and General Lu informed me."

"I know your majesty's wisdom! Therefore, I dare not hide it. Your Majesty, Jiangdong has just experienced a great war. Nine out of ten houses are empty. The people are exhausted. The farmland is barren. The situation is serious. At this time, we cannot impose labor service anymore. Even if it is truly effective, we cannot force the people to do so!"

"Your Majesty may not be aware that people in Jingnan, Jiaozhou, and other places are fleeing towards the rule of Cao Wei because Cao Wei has exempted local taxes, provided them with food, and distributed farmland. We can't suppress this news!"

"General Lu and the old ministers originally petitioned for a lighter taxation in order to stabilize these people. But if the court were to rebuild the lake fields, even more people would surely flee to Wei!"

Shi Ji's face was filled with bitterness. "This old minister dare not speak so loudly in the court, fearing it might cause a commotion. But Your Majesty must consider this carefully!"

Sun Xiu was genuinely surprised at this moment. He asked in disbelief, "How could the common people actually flee to the thief Cao's rule?"

"This thief Cao is trying to win people's hearts."

Shi Ji looked at Sun Xiu eagerly, but Sun Xiu suddenly asked, "How come I didn't know about this letter between General Lu and Zhong Hui? He told the general about this matter, but why didn't he tell me?"

Shi Ji also explained this, "General Lu said that because Zhong Hui was disrespectful to Your Majesty in his letters, as a minister, I simply couldn't bring myself to hand them over to you, so I destroyed them. He specifically told me this because he hoped I could discuss this matter with Your Majesty in private."

"Why didn't he tell the story privately?"

Shi Ji was a little confused. He didn't know why his emperor was so concerned about this matter.

Aren't we talking about Lake Field?

Perhaps noticing Shi Ji's bewildered look, Sun Xiu cleared his throat and smiled again, "General, I already know what you're talking about."

"Please don't worry, I will definitely think carefully before acting."

Shi Ji breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! As long as everyone is united, no matter how powerful Cao is, he will never be our opponent!"

Shi Ji has witnessed too many abominations in recent days and is almost despairing of the Wu Kingdom. The only thing that allows Shi Ji to maintain his faith is the current emperor Sun Xiu.

Sun Xiu respected him very much and gave him the highest official position.

He also made use of capable people like Lu Kang, and was also very intelligent and willing to listen to advice.

Jiangdong also has many talented people, and there is still hope to continue to hold on!
Shi Ji said goodbye to Sun Xiu and returned to his mansion.

Now Shi Ji has handed over all his garrisons to Lu Kang and Ding Feng. The two of them divided Jingnan and Jiaozhou equally and confronted the Wei people separately.

Shi Ji was responsible for the security of the homeland, namely Jiangdong and other places. Jiangdong was actually not peaceful either. There were barbarians making trouble around it, and there were rebellions from time to time.

After returning to the mansion, Shi Ji continued to be busy.

Shi Ji could do a lot to train the army in Jianye, fight against internal and external rebels, promote outstanding young people, and motivate meritorious soldiers.

But now, Shi Ji is imitating the system of Wei State and implementing a new training system in the country.

That is Ma Long's assessment method, which rewards and punishes people through assessments of the same level in his spare time.

Shi Ji also specially found some shipbuilders, hoping that they could help design and build new large ships to maintain the naval advantage over the Wei army.

Just as Shi Ji summoned shipbuilders from all over the country to listen to their suggestions and see who he could provide funding to, his nephew hurried into the house.

"Uncle!! The imperial court has officially issued an order!"

Shi Ji was stunned for a moment, then asked the shipwrights to wait next door. He then hurriedly asked, "What did you say? Has His Majesty changed his mind?"

Looking at his uncle who was full of expectation, his nephew became a little hesitant at this moment.

"Uncle, the imperial court has issued an order to officially build the lake fields. No one is allowed to submit a petition to object."

Hearing these words, the light in Shi Ji's eyes seemed to dim in an instant.

He sat in silence for a long time, without saying a word.

Shi Fang looked at him worriedly and said, "Uncle, don't worry. Maybe things won't be that bad."

Shi Ji still didn't reply.

There was an unusual silence in the study. After a long moment, Shi Fang asked again, "Uncle, should we call those shipbuilders in?"

Shi Ji looked at him, and the old general's eyes were full of turbidity.

"No need, let them go back."

He slowly put away the things in front of him, stood up shakily, and walked towards the dormitory.

"Ugh"

(End of this chapter)