Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 71 Crisis
Yan Yi, surrounded by other generals, walked into the main hall and sat down on the first couch in the north part of the house that once belonged to Qian Tong, while the other generals sat on both sides of the lower room.

Li Chou, Wei Kuan, and more than ten other generals who had just arrived from Wucheng marched out in two rows in the center of the hall. They knelt and saluted, saying, "Greetings to Captain Huwei. I, Li Chou, have been ordered by the commander-in-chief to serve you. If you command me, I will go through fire and water, even if it means death!"

The voices were uniform, loud and impressive.

As early as yesterday, the generals had already paid their respects to Yan Yi, and today they knelt and saluted in a formal occasion, publicly expressing their willingness to die.

Wei Kuan in the line was very nervous, fearing that Yan Yi would drive him away again.

When Yan Yi saw Wei Kuan yesterday, he knew what Yan Baihu wanted, which was to give him another chance.

After all, he was an old man who had served the Yan family for many years, so he couldn't be too heartless. Now that he had many soldiers under his command, he didn't care about a mere military marquisate. His eyes swept over Wei Kuan and he smiled at everyone, saying, "Everyone, please stand up. In our army, you must remember to fulfill your duties and strictly abide by military discipline. When you make military achievements in the future, I will reward you generously."

"I will follow the orders of Captain Huwei!"

The generals responded in unison, stood up from the ground and returned to their seats.

Fan Yan, who sat in the first seat on the right, was already the leader of Yan Yi's generals due to his rank, seniority, and age. He was the first to speak up, "Young Master, does the commander-in-chief want our troops to temporarily stay in Yuncheng?"

All the generals who followed Yan Yi to participate in the Battle of Yuncheng were somewhat worried that he would continue to lead troops to Haiyan after the war.

Yan Yi had long considered Yuncheng and Qian Gong Lei his base, and naturally would not easily leave until he had complete control of both fortresses. He nodded upon hearing this, glanced around, and revealed a piece of news that surprised and delighted everyone: "Yesterday, the inspector reported that Wu Jing and Sun Ben mobilized 8,000 troops to the north of Yongping, and seemed to be turning their attention to attacking Danyang and abandoning the conquest of Haiyan."

When he received this military report yesterday, he was somewhat surprised. Before Sun Ce crossed the river, Wu Jing had only occupied part of Danyang County and had shifted his focus to Wu County. Now, because he had eliminated Qian Tong beforehand, he had lost the internal support forces that could contain Wucheng. He was afraid to advance alone, so he changed his mind, abandoned the conquest of Haiyan, and shifted the focus of his military strategy back to Danyang. History had indeed undergone a small change here.

In history, after Wu Jing was expelled from Qu'a by Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou, he had no choice but to give up Danyang because his foundation in Danyang was unstable. He retreated to Liyang north of the Yangtze River. It was not until Sun Ce crossed the river that he followed Sun Ce to attack Danyang and Wujun again.

But now, Wu Jing has taken a step that is completely different from history: adjusting the strategic focus back to Danyang.

Looking at the entire Danyang County, except for Zu Lang of Jing County, other bandits are no match for Wu Jing. It can be imagined that the territory occupied by Wu Jing in Danyang is very likely to exceed the area he controlled in history and be more stable.

If this is the case, even if Liu Yao expelled Wu Jing in the future, Wu Jing might not retreat to Liyang and give up the occupied territory, but would instead settle down in Danyang.

If Wu Jing could gain a foothold in Danyang, Sun Ce would naturally not have to fight fiercely at Hengjiangjin and Danglikou before crossing the river. He could directly enter Danyang and start the conquest from Danyang.

At that time, Sun Ce's conquest of Wujun would most likely be earlier than in history.

This terrifying deduction result made Yan Yi break out in a cold sweat. He never expected that just by flapping his butterfly wings lightly, he would start to influence the course of history so quickly.

What made him even more speechless was that Yongping was located in the northwest of Wucheng, only two hundred miles away from Wucheng, and there were only some bandits guarding the area along the way. If Wu Jing made this the new main attack direction, perhaps before Sun Ce crossed the river, Wu Jing would have already advanced to Wucheng.

On this route of advance, Xu Gong's jurisdiction would no longer be a buffer zone between Yan and Wu Jing. Instead, Yan would become a shield for Xu Gong's army.

Yan Yi's face darkened at the thought. After capturing Yuncheng, although his strength had significantly increased, he also seemed closer to danger. However, Yuncheng had to be captured first, and he never regretted this.

Strength is king. If you don’t have strength, you will die sooner or later.

But now, he has to speed up the expansion of his army again, as the previous plan can no longer keep up with the changes in the situation.

Although it is only speculation that Wu Jing's subsequent advance may deviate from history, we should make arrangements based on the worst-case scenario to be prepared for any eventuality.

Compared to his worries, Fan Yan and others immediately relaxed their expressions after hearing Wu Jing's adjustment of the deployment. They did not know the development of history as well as Yan Yi, so their perspectives and angles on the changes in the situation were naturally different, and they lacked vigilance about the subsequent development of the situation.

Yan Yi gathered his composure, stood up, saluted the generals, and said in a clear voice, "This battle secured Yuncheng, all thanks to your contributions. I thank you!"

The generals quickly stood up and returned the greeting.

Yan Yi sat back on the couch and turned his gaze to Cao Qiu: "Zi Ji, please briefly explain the household registration records of Yuncheng and Qian Gonglei to everyone."

He urgently transferred Cao Qiu from Wucheng, and now he serves as the Hucao Yuan in Yuncheng.

Not only was there a shortage of military generals under his command, but there were also very few civil servants, so recruiting talent became a top priority.

Cao Qiu coughed lightly, stood up, bowed to Yan Yi, and said slowly, "Young Master, according to the latest household register compiled yesterday, there are currently 373 registered households in Qian Gonglei, and 1,458 in Yuncheng. The total registered population of the two cities is 1,831 households. Yuncheng's jurisdiction covers three townships, 15 pavilions, and 97 li."

The generals were secretly surprised when they heard this. If that were the case, wouldn't the average population of Tingbu be less than 130 households? Compared to Wucheng, this was too small.

You should know that even Geqiting, which has the smallest population in Wucheng, now has seven or eight hundred registered households.

Yan Yi was already aware of these situations. After nodding slightly, he signaled Cao Qiu to continue.

Cao Qiu noticed the surprise on the generals' faces and smiled. "The current population is indeed small, but there are still some civilians who haven't been registered, and the number of refugees is even greater. Furthermore, many refugees who admire the young prince are constantly pouring in from the townships around Yuncheng. I believe the registered population will soon increase significantly."

Upon hearing this, the generals felt relieved.

Cao Qiu continued, "The total amount of farmland in Yuncheng is over 1,300 acres, most of which are wasteland."

Upon hearing this, the generals sighed again. The number of acres of land is the foundation of a city's economy. With such a small number of acres of land, it is likely that they cannot even meet the food and fodder needs of 500 soldiers.

Cao Qiu paused and continued, "However, Yuncheng is flanked by the Changshui and Jiuqu rivers. As long as we dig ditches and build canals to divert water to irrigate the fields, the area of ​​farmland can be increased several times in a year."

Upon hearing this, the generals glared at him, startled. Could he possibly finish it all at once?!

(End of this chapter)