Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 348 Struggle

The city was still in chaos.

Even at this point, there were still many loyalists of the Huan clan who set fires in the city, created chaos, and delayed the Northern Army.

Some people were even caught up in the fighting without knowing what was happening.

At dusk, the Northern Army finally quelled the riots and fighting in the city.

Huan Qian and Huan Zhen have disappeared without a trace, but their families have all been captured.

Late at night, Meng Ganzhi and a group of scouts, covered in blood and mud, came to report: "Huan Qian and Huan Zhen fled from the west city and disappeared into the Ju River. Their whereabouts are unknown."

The Ju River is a major river west of Xiangyang. It is a tributary of the Yangtze River, connects to the Han River, and stretches east of the Daba Mountains. The area it passes through is mostly deep mountains and forests with complex terrain.

Both of them were local strongmen; once they slipped inside, even a god couldn't find them.

"They've run away, so what? Xiangyang has been captured, what can they do now?" Liu Daogui reassured the crowd.

The main problem was that the attacking force was too small to surround the entire city, and some troops inevitably slipped through the net.

Putting aside other things, Huan Qian was quite good at escaping. When he was the Prefect of Kuaiji, there was a rebellion by bandits. When he saw that things were not going well, he ran away and escaped. Later, in the Battle of Fuzhou Mountain, he guarded the Dongling on the northeast side of Fuzhou Mountain. He also turned around and ran away, avoiding the annihilation of the entire army.

Catching him is not an easy task.

After Xiangyang was captured, Liu Daogui posted notices overnight to reassure the people and distributed the money and grain from the treasury to the entire army.

Each person received no less than thirteen bushels of grain, as well as money, silk, and other items, so they no longer had the intention to massacre the city.

Even with generous rewards for the entire army, only one-third of the money and grain in the treasury were used.

The territory that the Huan family had cultivated for decades was indeed extraordinary.

Liu Daogui simply continued to bestow favors, distributing five liters of grain to each household in the city.

As previously agreed, each surrendered Chu soldier was rewarded with five strings of cash and three bushels of grain.

For a time, cheers of "General of the Cavalry" were heard everywhere.

Huan's henchmen were searched out one by one and sent to the front lines. Evil must be eradicated completely. This was the rule of the times. If I fell into their hands, I wouldn't fare much better.

Without any hesitation, Liu Daogui ordered his execution.

The long sword fell, and the head rolled away.

The city fell silent.

After Xiangyang fell, the cities of Fan and Deng north of the Yangtze River could not hold out any longer and surrendered.

Within half a month, the two prefectures of Xiangyang and Nanyang were completely pacified.

The Huan clan was left with only Yidu County in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

Mao Qu besieged the area for more than half a year but still failed to capture it, mainly because the county was connected to central Guizhou, with many mountains and rivers, making it extremely difficult to conquer.

Sima Zun imprisoned Mao Qu to determine his guilt, and Mao Qu indeed dared not act rashly.

He did not rebel, so Liu Daogui remained in Xiangyang, watching from the sidelines. He also submitted a memorial to the court, requesting that Mao Dezhu be appointed as the governor of Yongzhou and Liu Zhong as the governor of Jingzhou. He also suggested that the court separate Xiangzhou from Jingzhou and appoint Wang Zhen'e as the governor of Xiangzhou to guard Changsha.

Liu Daogui had no intention of spitting out what he had already eaten, otherwise he would be letting down the fallen soldiers and the generals who had fought valiantly.

The Western Prefecture has already submitted; it's impossible for it to be handed over to Liu Yi so easily.

However, the memorial was submitted but no imperial edict was issued. Instead, there was a secret letter from Liu Muzhi, stating that the Left Minister Meng Chang, the Grand Secretary Xie Hun, the Right Vice Minister Pi Shen, and others unanimously recommended Liu Yi as the Governor of Jingzhou.

Yin Zhongwen said, "It must be that someone in the court is wary of the general's power and wants to use Liu Yi to divide him up!"

"Does Liu Yi even deserve to compete for the position of Governor of Jingzhou?" Liu Daogui scoffed.

Yin Zhongwen said meaningfully, "General, you have defeated Huan Chu and your military might is awe-inspiring. I believe that at this time, we should conceal our strength and wait for the right opportunity."

Liu Daogui understood the implication perfectly.

Having destroyed Huan Chu and recovered Jingxiang, his glory was too great. After all, the world was not yet under the Liu family.

However, Jingzhou is different from other prefectures. It is the location of the Western Prefecture, controls the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and is the seat of the Jiangzuo (southern China) power.

"I can give up other places, but I cannot give up the Western Prefecture. It must be in my hands. Now, I control 60% of the elite troops of the Northern and Western Prefectures. They are the ones who should restrain their brilliance!"

Liu Daogui resolutely refused.

Now that the Western Army has been integrated and there are no fewer than 50,000 elite troops under its command, who would believe that it is wise to bide its time and conceal its strength?
The essence of power struggles is strength; it is they, not ourselves, who should compromise.

If we back down at this point, others will not back down; instead, they will become even more unscrupulous.

The key question is: what will his subordinates think, and what will the newly established Western Army think?
"Jingxiang's heart is with the imperial court. If the imperial court issues an edict, how will you, General, conduct yourself?" Yin Zhongwen said meaningfully.

Struggle is everywhere, and Liu Daogui cannot remain uninvolved.

"Then let's settle down in the western part of the city and divide the land among ourselves!"

Conquering Jingzhou and Xiangyang was easy, but governing them in the long term was extremely difficult.

The regional conflict between the Northern and Western Prefectures has lasted for decades and cannot be resolved overnight.

Liu Daogui could only start from the root, not only distributing land to the surrendered Chu soldiers, but also to the common people, in order to win over the hearts and minds of the army and the people.

"The general doesn't own any private property?" Yin Zhongwen asked in surprise.

From the Sima family at the top, to powerful clans and wealthy families at the middle, to lowly officials from humble backgrounds, everyone was trying to expand their own land. Any relatively wealthy county in the country, such as Guangling, Donghai, and Kuaiji, was either a fiefdom of the Sima family or the territory of aristocratic families.

Liu Daogui is now a General of the Cavalry, holding military power. According to the customs of this era, he should take over the land and servants of the various clans, seize land on a large scale, and keep household slaves.

"The world belongs to all, what use is my private property to me?" Liu Daogui's interest lay not in these things, but in the Northern Expedition.

Yin Zhongwen was completely convinced. "To bear the nation's shame is to be the master of the state; to bear the nation's misfortune is to be the king of the world. General, your great talent and strategy are not for outsiders to know." This fellow had been intentionally or unintentionally encouraging and implying this all along.

Liu Daogui turned a blind eye.

In fact, given his current position, many things are already out in the open, and it's impossible for him to back down now.

"I'll leave the land distribution to you. You can choose the people you want, but there's only one rule: you absolutely mustn't slack off or ruin my important plans!" Liu Daogui immediately assigned him a difficult task.

Distributing land to the common people inevitably leads to conflicts with powerful clans and aristocratic families.

Yin Zhongwen served as an official in Jingzhou and Xiangyang for many years and knew these people very well.

This was also a test and an opportunity for Liu Daogui. If you have talent, everything is fine; if you don't, you can only stand aside.

He was clever enough to immediately understand Liu Daogui's intention, and solemnly cupped his hands, saying, "Your subordinate will certainly not fail the general's trust."

That very evening, a long document was delivered.

They believed that the population and land of the various prefectures in Jingzhou and Xiangyang should be verified first, and a trial should be conducted in Xiangyang Prefecture to cultivate a group of talented people before the program was extended to other prefectures. Ideally, it should be in line with the pace of land acquisition by the imperial court to make it easier to leverage the imperial court's influence.

After reading it, Liu Daogui was full of praise.

People from high-ranking families are not without talent, but they use their minds to scheme and plot.

Yin Zhongwen's idea was more detailed, prudent, and feasible than Liu Daogui's.

Liu Daogui immediately promoted him to Chief Clerk of the Cavalry and discussed various details with him every day.

It was called a land redistribution, but it was really a land seizure...

Jiankang.

"Back then, I discussed with Agui that we would give Jingzhou to Liu Yi to appease the generals of the Northern Army and stabilize the situation first." Liu Yu's gaze fell on a map woven from silk brocade.

After Liu Daogui took over Nanyang and Runan, he connected with Yan and Yu provinces, thus encircling Jiangzuo in the middle.

Liu Muzhi, standing nearby, advised, "The Western Prefecture is located in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, with abundant wealth and a large population. If it is handed over to outsiders, it will truly become a major threat!"

"To implement the local policy, we must first appease the generals of the Northern Army."

The resistance encountered by the Tu Duan was immense. It didn't bother the aristocratic families and high-ranking officials, but when it came to the generals of the Northern Army, they had to be cautious.

Now, there are signs that the aristocratic families are uniting with the generals of the Northern Army, forming a new interest group.

Liu Yi was merely the person they pushed out to the forefront.

The Sima clan and the aristocratic families could tolerate the emergence of another Huan Wen, or even another Huan Xuan.

However, as soon as Liu Yu took power, he killed Sima Xiu, the Prince of Zhangwu, imprisoned Sima Zun, and implemented the land reform. His ambition was obvious, and his courage and methods were completely different from Huan Xuan's.

If the territorial division is successful, a northern expedition will inevitably follow. Given the strength of the two brothers, the northern expedition has a very high chance of success.

Then we will take over the Sima family and replace them.

This was unacceptable to some of the Northern Army generals who were loyal to the Jin dynasty.

"I think we can lure the snake out of its hole!" Liu Muzhi's eyes flashed.

"Oh?"

"Now that Jingzhou and Xiangyang are pacified, the General of the Flying Cavalry commands tens of thousands of elite troops. He draws his sword and looks around, and no one dares to challenge him. We might as well depose the Grand General. If anyone raises an army, the General of Chariots and Cavalry and the General of the Flying Cavalry can attack them from the east and west, and wipe them out in a flash. If no one dares to move, then the matter of territorial settlement can be accomplished smoothly."

Liu Muzhi had spent more than half a year with Liu Yu and had already caught up with his pace.

The two brothers controlled 70% of the elite forces in the land, and the rest were no match for them.

"Why depose him? If we release him, he'll just turn against me again. We must eradicate evil completely. He should be executed for treason." Liu Yu's calmness was chilling.

However, after saying these words, his face turned pale and he began to cough violently.

It requires both local control and strategic maneuvering against various forces, demanding both mental and physical effort.

Liu Yu was already seriously injured and was somewhat overwhelmed.

Liu Muzhi's eyes were filled with worry, "General..."

"It's alright. You can take care of the matter of Tu Duan. I will handle it personally, Sima Zun. Since A Gui wants the Western Prefecture, then take it. However, the governor of Yongzhou will be changed to Tan Pingzhi, and Mao Dezu will be the governor of Sizhou."

Liu Yu lay reclining on the low table, his eyes closed, his face showing obvious signs of exhaustion.

Liu Muzhi cupped his hands in greeting and was about to leave when he suddenly heard the sound of several children arguing outside.

"I am the elder brother, and I will become a great general in the future. You all must give way to me. Yoshizane and Yoshitaka cannot compete with me!"

"Why should you be the general, but I can't?"

"How about the eldest brother does it today, the second brother tomorrow, and the youngest brother the day after?"

"How can that be? There can only be one great general in the world!"

Then came the sound of a struggle.

After a while of playful fighting, the laughter returned.

Although Liu Yu's eyes were not open, his face was full of doting affection. His expression shifted slightly. "After the Jingxiang matter is settled, I plan to transfer A Gui to Jiankang to take charge. What does Daohe think?"

Important things are often left until last.

Liu Yu's statement suggests that he must have had this idea long ago.

Liu Muzhi's answer was neither yes nor no, so he could only give an ambiguous reply: "The affairs of the world are all in the hands of the general, and your subordinate will do his best to assist you."

(End of this chapter)