Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 343 Treatment

Attacking Jiangling was easy, but attacking Wuchang, Xiangyang, and Yichang was extremely difficult.

Wang Zhen'e launched a fierce attack for more than a month but was helpless and suffered more than 1,300 casualties. In the north, with Huan Qian's scorched earth policy, Mao Dezhu could hardly gain any advantage in Xiangyang.

Moreover, Huan Qian announced his surrender to Yao Qin, attempting to curry favor with Yao Xing.

"Order Wang Zhen'e and Mao Dezhu to return to Jiangling." Given the current situation, Liu Daogui simply ordered the soldiers to retreat to Jiangling to rest and regroup.

There's no point in continuing this lousy battle; it will only increase casualties among the soldiers.

Liu Zun said, "Are we just going to let the Huan family go like this?"

Liu Daogui was confident. "It's not about letting them go, but about a temporary truce. To deal with the Huan family, we still need to rely on the strength of the Western Prefecture."

"Is the Western Prefecture willing to listen to us?"

"That depends on what we give them."

With neither siege equipment nor sufficient manpower, fortified cities like Xiangyang and Yichang are extremely difficult to conquer.

Ten days later, Mao Dezhu and Wang Zhen'e returned.

The imperial edicts and decrees of reward arrived, appointing Mao Dezhu as General of Guangwu, Liu Zhong as Prefect of Changsha, Wang Zhen'e as Prefect of Nanjun, and Liu Zun as Prefect of Xiangyang.

For his merit in destroying Chu, Liu Daogui was promoted to Attendant-in-Ordinary, Duke of Lanling, General of the Cavalry, and Supervisor of Military Affairs in Jing and Yong, with a fief of 10,000 households.

As the elder brother, Liu Yu rose in rank and was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry, Commander-in-Chief of all military affairs inside and outside the capital, and was enfeoffed as Duke of Yuzhang, with a fief of five thousand households.

Surprisingly, Mao Qu in the west also received a reward, being promoted to General Who Conquers the West, appointed as Attendant Gentleman of the Palace, and given the military command of the four provinces of Yi, Qin, Liang, and Ning, as well as acting governor of Yidu and Ningshu.

Mao Qu immediately dispatched Mao Jin and Mao Yuan to travel down the outer river from Chengdu, while his military advisor Qiao Zong led troops from Bazhou and Zitong counties down the Fu River to join forces with the Chengdu army in Bazhou to attack Yichang and Yiling.

Now that Huan Chu has fallen, everyone wants a piece of his corpse.

All indications suggest that Mao Qu was a staunch supporter of Sima Zun.

Mao's involvement in this power struggle further complicated the situation.

However, one must be strong to succeed. Without sufficient strength, all the thinking is useless. The core of Jingxiang is Jiangling, which has fertile soil and a large population, offering great potential.

With the authority to oversee military affairs in Jing and Yong provinces and the power of imperial insignia, Liu Daogui decided to act decisively, ordering the confiscation of the lands of the Huan, Yu, and Yin clans and the seizure of their estates and servants.

They seized most of the fertile fields surrounding Jiangling.

Each household has anywhere from four or five thousand servants to over ten thousand.

The Huan family had more than one son, Huan Xuan; there were also three other branches: Huan Yun, Huan Huo, and Huan Chong. Each branch had seven or eight sons, and they seized countless fertile fields. Jiangling was practically their private property.

And their followers, following their example, also have quite large appetites.

The Bian Mansion in Jiangling City occupied an entire li (a unit of distance in China), with more than 300 luxurious rooms and over 2,000 servants, not counting the manor outside the city.

Bian Fanzhi was a henchman of Huan Xuan, and he himself also had his own followers and relatives. He had five subordinate officials who owned 7,000 mu of land. The entire Tuo River had become the private river of Bian Fanzhi's nephew, and the people had to pay money to fish and cut grass...

In just one month, Liu Zun, Liu Huaijing, and Liu Huaimo confiscated 170,000 mu of fertile land, 610,000 shi of grain, 2.4 million strings of cash, 56 manors and houses, more than 40,000 servants, and more than 8,000 head of livestock.

Liu Daogui captured Jiangling City, but only seized a little over 200,000 shi of grain and a little over 700,000 strings of cash...

"Each soldier on this western expedition will be rewarded with ten strings of cash, with additional rewards for military merits." Liu Daogui waved his hand, letting the soldiers taste the benefits first.

Ten strings of cash could only buy two shi of grain in the famine-stricken Jiangzuo region, but in the Huai and Si regions, it could buy about eight shi of grain, enough to feed a family of five for half a year.

"Post another notice to recruit volunteers. Each volunteer will be allocated forty mu of land. After the capture of Xiangyang, they will be awarded land and houses according to their military merits!"

Jingzhou has been a populous prefecture since ancient times. During the reign of Emperor Shun of Han, there were three prefectures with a population of over one million: Nanyang with 2.43 million, Changsha with 1.05 million, and Lingling with 1 million.

During the Jin Dynasty, a large number of people from the north migrated south. Yu Yi and Huan Wen managed the area for decades. In recent years, the Celestial Masters sect broke out in Jiangzuo, causing widespread warfare, while Jingzhou remained peaceful.

Liu Daogui advanced rapidly and captured Jiangling quickly, so the population loss was not significant.

Jiangling alone had 37,000 registered households, and Changsha, which was guarded by Liu Zhong, had 14,000 households, totaling 200,000 to 300,000 people.

This does not include the households protected by powerful clans and wealthy families, or the scattered households living elsewhere.

The recruitment notice was posted, and the military supervisors and officers spread the word everywhere. In less than five days, seven thousand volunteers were recruited.

Many of them were prisoners who had been released earlier; one returned to his hometown with more than a dozen fellow villagers from his clan.

Many more are still on their way. These days, joining the army is a way to make a living; a few acres of meager land are simply not enough to support a family, not to mention that most families don't even own land…

"I have reduced the number of old and weak soldiers and obtained 4,120 elite troops." Wang Zhen'e was Wang Meng's grandson. He was not only good at military campaigns but also at handling military and civilian affairs.

Before becoming a military advisor in the Western Prefecture Navy, he served as the magistrate of Linli County in Tianmen Prefecture, where he was also adept at administrative affairs.

After reading the document, Liu Daogui was very satisfied. "Not bad. Better to have fewer but better ones. Don't give up on those who are laid off. Let them become laborers and prepare for reclamation and land clearing next year."

Wang Zhen'e asked, "What are your plans, Commander-in-Chief, regarding those 40,000-plus servants?"

Servants were all registered as slaves, unlike ordinary people.

Even if they were registered as civilians, these people had neither land nor houses, and would either become vagrants or continue to be enslaved by others.

"Order Cao Ji to transport him back to Yanzhou and convert him into a slave." Liu Daogui went all the way.

They've come all this way to fight a bloody battle; it would be a shame if they didn't get some tangible benefits.

Merchants like Cao Ji were indispensable in every major battle.

Soldiers are human beings too; they also need food, clothing, shelter, and daily necessities. They cannot carry all the spoils of war on their backs.

The role of merchants became apparent, providing various services to the army. Almost every military government had someone like Cao Ji behind it.

Previously, in the Huai and Si regions, the Jin army on the border would rob and kill refugees, seize their wives and daughters, sell them to merchants, and then resell them to Jiankang...

In military affairs, there were Mao Dezhu and Wang Zhen'e; in civil affairs, Liu Daogui directly promoted the corrupt officials in the Western Prefecture to official positions and recruited a large number of scholars from poor families to serve as county magistrates, county lieutenants, registrars, and military commanders.

During Huan Xuan's reign, the country was in chaos. After retreating to Jiangling, he became capricious and would kill people for minor offenses, causing widespread fear.

After Liu Daogui captured Jiangling, he eliminated its problems and established a strict reward and punishment system.

Everything must be done according to the rules.

The capable rise, the mediocre fall; their origins and social standing are irrelevant.

Jiangling quickly stabilized, and the government gradually returned to normal operations.

In the midst of our busy lives, time flies by, and before we know it, it's the new year.

Wuchang and Yichang were both tough nuts to crack, and Liu Yi and He Wuji were unable to capture them after a long siege, which drew criticism from the imperial court.

Mao Qu's attack on Yichang and Yiling in the west was also unsuccessful. His 40,000-strong army suffered heavy losses, and Liu Yuezhi, the prefect of Badong, was killed in battle at the foot of Yichang.

After reading the battle report, Liu Daogui couldn't help but feel a little schadenfreude.

If you want to snatch food from a tiger's mouth, you have to see if you have the ability. The blessings of a virtuous person will decline after three generations. The Mao family has been passed down for five generations. Mao Bao and Mao Muzhi were both valiant generals, and Mao Qu was also a veteran general, but the next generation gradually became mediocre.

The land shapes its people. Sichuan has enjoyed peace for a long time, and its soldiers have no will to fight to the death, unlike the fierce soldiers who fought their way out of the Central Plains.

One winter, Liu Daogui raised 26,000 volunteers.

After being selected by Mao Dezhu and Wang Zhen'e, they were all elite soldiers, including not only soldiers from the Western Army but also barbarians from Wuling. They were adept at navigating the mountainous jungles and were also skilled in swimming.

The people of Jingchu are known for their fierce and valiant nature. Guan Yu, a famous general of Shu Han, once led 30,000 troops on a northern expedition, flooding seven armies and shaking the Central Plains with his might, forcing Cao Wei to prepare to move its capital.

The squad leaders, fire chiefs, and captains in the volunteer army were all former members of the Xifu Navy.

The positions of Guanzhang, Quhou, and Sima were filled by Huben and Liu Daogui's troops, while several elite sons of the Liu and Cao families, such as Liu Huaijing, Liu Huaimo, Cao Yun, and Cao Zhen, were promoted to lieutenant generals.

This force was independent of both the imperial court and the Northern Army.

Liu Daogui almost completely reorganized the Western Army.

Based on the former Western Army, and with the Tiger Warriors and his troops as the backbone, they were firmly in their own hands.

On the first day of the new army's formation, Liu Daogui distributed land and houses to each soldier and paid them monthly allowances, allowing them to move their families into Jiangling City.

After fighting for so many years, Liu Daogui only knew one principle: with sufficient pay and provisions, the army's combat strength would not be too weak.

These people already had a foundation; after a little training and familiarization with the organization and flags, they would be ready to be used.

However, the situation in the north is not so optimistic.

Yao Xing dispatched Gou Lin with 5,000 infantry and cavalry to reinforce Xiangyang. Huan Qian's morale soared, and he sent proclamations to the prefectures of Jing, Yong, Jiang, Ning, and Yu, summoning his former troops and vowing revenge for Huan Xuan...

(End of this chapter)