My game can make money starting from the Three Kingdoms period.

The Shu Han state was at a critical juncture of life and death.

Shu Han was forced to fight on two fronts simultaneously.

One force, led by Pang Tong, suppressed the rebellion in the south.

One route, led by Li Yan, recaptured the lost territory of Jingzhou.

This was a battle that determined the fate of the Shu Han state.

In Sichuan, men were already fighting and women were transporting supplies.

The process here is complicated and intricate, so I won't go into too much detail.

Until the autumn of 223

Surprisingly, the first to report the good news came from Jingzhou.

Sun Quan took the initiative to withdraw his troops, retreat to Chaisang, and cease his invasion of Jiangxia.

Although the commanderies of Lujiang and Yuzhang were lost, and Nanyang was seized by Cao Wei, the remaining commanderies were still retained, which was a victory in itself.

News of the retreat of the enemy in Jingzhou reached Chengdu.

Liu Shan was overjoyed.

After consulting Zhuge Liang, Liu Shan appointed Li Yan as the Governor of Jingzhou, concurrently General of the Cavalry, and granted him the title of Marquis of a County, stationing him at Jiangling.

Lu Xun was appointed General of Chariots and Cavalry, enfeoffed as Marquis of Anxiang, and stationed at Xiakou.

Wen Ping was appointed General Who Guards the East, enfeoffed as Marquis of Guannei, and stationed at Lukou.

Why was Li Yan genuinely willing to rescue Jingzhou?

Because Li Yan had long ago made it clear that if he wanted to seize real power, he could only do so in the Jingzhou region.

If Jingzhou is lost, where will Li Yan take power?

At that time, only Yizhou will remain. Although the current emperor of Yizhou is Liu Shan, everyone knows that the power of speech is in the hands of Zhuge Liang.

Now Zhuge Liang holds immense power in the court, and the emperor decides all matters, large and small, with him.

Furthermore, when Zhuge Liang established his own government, he promoted a group of talented individuals who were loyal to him.

Jiang Wan, Ma Su, Wang Lian, Xiang Lang, Zong Yu, Liao Hua... these people all share a common label: the Jingzhou Group.

Even Yang Yi of the Imperial Secretariat was very close to Zhuge Liang.

Under such circumstances, Li Yan still wants to seize power in Yizhou? Dream on!

Therefore, no one wanted to defend Jingzhou more than Li Yan.

Therefore, Li Yan was more sincere than anyone else in his desire to rescue Jingzhou. He set up camp at Lukou, contacted Lu Xun, and prepared to fight a decisive battle with Jiangdong, even if it meant mutual destruction.

Seeing this situation, and with Cao Wei showing signs of attacking Hefei, Sun Quan chose to withdraw while he was ahead.

Although the goal of conquering Jingzhou was not achieved, the face lost back then has now been regained.

The Jiangdong defense line has also been extended to Jingzhou, and Hefei has also been captured.

If we simply accumulate strength and wait for the right opportunity, then the strategy of "couch potato" can continue to be implemented.

Currently, Cao Wei is harvesting its autumn crops first. If we do not cease hostilities, Cao Wei will surely take advantage of us.

Neither side wants others to reap the benefits, so the best tacit understanding is for each to cease hostilities.

Therefore, the tripartite balance of power could only continue.

With Jingzhou stable, Yizhou can focus on suppressing the rebellion in the south.

winter solstice

Lu Qian went to the Censorate to process the succession of the title.

This is related to his family's food allowance for the coming year.

"The fief of the Marquis of Duting should be allocated directly, consisting of one hundred households. However, there seems to be an error in the document; please wait a moment."

After receiving Lu Qian, the official went to compare the documents.

Before long, the official returned and said, "I'm truly sorry, I cannot process your succession to the title."

Why?

The official placed the documents, household registers, and imperial edict before Lu Qian. "His Majesty has decreed that Lu Congtian's son shall inherit the title. However, your household register is not under Lu Congtian's name, but under Lu Congshan's name. Therefore, it cannot be proven that you are Lu Congtian's son."

Lu Qian was stunned.

Previously, in order to make up for the regret of his uncle Lu Congshan having no children, his father had Lu Qian adopted into Lu Congshan's family.

In other words, legally speaking, Lu Qian is Lu Congshan's son.

Lu Congtian has two daughters, Lu Ansheng and Lu Yusheng, but no sons. Therefore, he cannot inherit the title normally.

"Of course, if you can provide proof that Lu Congtian is your father, I can process your application normally."

Lu Qian knew that the officials were not trying to make things difficult for him.

He was simply following the law.

This was not a troublesome matter for Lu Qian; he only needed to go to the Prime Minister's residence and trouble Zhuge Liang.

They then went to the Prime Minister's residence.

When he went to see the official, he saw him rushing in and out.

"Greetings!" Seeing Jiang Wan, despite her busy schedule, welcome Lu Qian into the mansion.

"Gonghe has arrived at the perfect time; she can go and comfort the Prime Minister."

Lu Qian asked in surprise and confusion, "Gongyan, what happened?"

Jiang Wan asked in surprise, "Gonghe, were you unaware of the Grand Commandant's accident?"

"What?!" Lu Qian's pupils dilated, his face filled with worry. "What happened?"

As Jiang Wan led Lu Qian into Zhuge Liang's room, he said, "The Grand Commandant led his troops to suppress the rebellion in the south, advancing with unstoppable momentum. Within three months, the rebellion was quelled. Just as the Grand Commandant was returning to Chengdu, Meng Huo of the south rebelled again. At that time, the weather was hot, and the Grand Commandant was constantly on the move, which caused him to fall ill and never recover."

Lu Qian's body suddenly stiffened.

"I previously suggested that winning hearts and minds should be the best approach; perhaps the Grand Commandant did not heed my advice?"

"It has been adopted. However, the situation at the front is complex. The Grand Commandant's army has not yet arrived. With just a letter sowing discord, Yong Kai was killed by Gao Ding's soldiers. The Grand Commandant then easily killed Gao Ding and pacified Yuexi County. Commander Ma Zhong led troops to attack Zangke and easily pacified Zhu Bao. The pacification was too easy; there was no time to win hearts and minds..."

Lu Qian now knew exactly why Pang Tong had been running around so much.

The rebellion in the four prefectures was suppressed as easily as playing house, something no one had anticipated, including Lu Qian.

Who knew the southern barbarians were so easily defeated?

This easy pacification made Pang Tong lose interest in educating the southern barbarians, believing that he had already subdued them.

As a result, the Nanman, led by Meng Huo, turned against him again.

This leads to the situation that Lu Qian previously described: "The people of the South have long been dissatisfied; even if we defeat them today, they will rebel again tomorrow."

Hopefully, nothing serious will happen to Pang Tong.

Otherwise, the Shu Han state would have been solely under the command of Zhuge Liang.

Jiang Wan asked curiously, "If Gonghe didn't come because of the Grand Commandant's matter, then what brings you here?"

Lu Qian then explained how his attempt to inherit the title had been thwarted.

Upon seeing Zhuge Liang's worried expression, Lu Qian made no mention of the matter of inheriting the title.

Now that Pang Tong has fallen ill at the front lines, Lu Qian doesn't want to trouble Zhuge Liang with his own trivial matters.

On the contrary, Jiang Wan quietly made a note of this matter.

"I suppose Gonghe already knows about the situation in Nanzhong?" Zhuge Liang's mind was elsewhere.

Pang Tong was a close friend of Zhuge Liang. If something happened to Pang Tong, the Shu Han state would collapse.

After Lu Qian finished his greetings, he cupped his hands and said, "I already know."

"Are you still committed to winning hearts and minds?"

Lu Qian nodded, "Keep it up. However, we still need to use a combination of kindness and firmness."

How to combine kindness and severity?

"One bestows favors, the other wields power."

"Who bestows favor? Who wields power?"

Lu Qian gestured with his hand, saying, "If the Prime Minister desires long-term peace and stability in the South, he must personally bestow favors and give the barbarians hope. Then, he should send a general to eliminate the vicious and rebellious, and use force to deter the South. With such a combination of kindness and power, the South will not dare to rebel even if it wants to. Furthermore, the Prime Minister can take all the oxen, warhorses, gold, silver, and rhinoceros hides from the South to replenish military supplies."

Zhuge Liang looked at him with admiration, saying, "Gonghe and I have the same idea."

Jiang Wan quickly interjected, "Prime Minister! The Grand Commandant... I beg you, Prime Minister, do not take the risk!"

Zhuge Liang raised his feather fan to stop Jiang Wan, saying, "If you want to pacify the south, you must borrow my name."

Zhuge Liang looked at the two men before him, his mind stirred.

"Gongyan, I intend to recommend you as an outstanding talent."

Zhuge Liang's move flattered Jiang Wan, who exclaimed, "Prime Minister, you absolutely mustn't! Gonghe is a thousand times better than me; we should choose Gonghe!"