Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1376 Thoughts

After Lu Xun and others offered sacrifices to Sun Quan from afar, they finally got back to business. Lu Xun ordered his servants to hang up a huge linen map, and everyone stood up and walked to the map.

Looking at the densely packed rivers and road signs on the map, everyone was shocked. They had long known that Yuan Xi had been maintaining a large team at a considerable cost since he came out of the mountains. The intelligence agency had grown from a hundred or so people at the beginning to thousands and possibly even tens of thousands.

This is the Procuratorate, and its personnel composition is extremely complex. The identities of most people are secret. They may be street vendors or officials in the court. Lu Xun only knows a small part of them. Their main task is to collect intelligence.

As for why so many people are needed, it is because this so-called intelligence not only includes the enemy's military situation and movements, but also includes detailed mapping of roads, rivers, mountains and lakes.

To achieve all this requires talent screening and a lot of professional training. The cost is definitely not a small amount for Yuan Xi who is just starting out. This forced Yuan Xi to take the elite route and invest the limited funds in recruiting and training personnel for the Procuratorate.

But the return on the investment was also generous. Yuan Xi not only achieved accurate mapping in his own territory, but also obtained a lot of valuable information in the enemy's territory. He made detailed surveys and calculations of the marching time and strategic locations for each season and each road. The key points covered far exceeded the marching maps of other forces.

This gave the Jin army a huge advantage in marching and fighting, enabling the Jin army to dispatch troops more quickly and march in a more accurate direction. It was one of the important magic weapons for Yuan Xi to defeat his opponents.

Although the people present were already members of the core circle of the Jin State, it was the first time for many of them to see such a clearly marked and detailed map. Jiang Qin stood in front of the map and looked back and forth several times. Finally, he sighed and said, "I'm afraid it would take thousands of people ten years of hard work to draw this map alone."

"Your Majesty has such a far-sighted vision. As his enemy, it is not unfair for us to lose."

Xu Sheng had surrendered to the State of Jin earlier under the persuasion of Lu Su and others. This picture was a bigger blow to him, because he seemed to see in the picture the route of his failure in fighting against the Jin army.

From the Battle of Chaohu Lake to the Battle of the Korean Peninsula, and then to Poyang Lake in Wankou, this map clearly shows the direction and speed of the water system, the sailing depth, the speed predictions of various ship types, and even the distribution of reefs on the waterway. Looking at the densely packed reef signs on the coastal routes, Xu Sheng, who had suffered a lot from sailing in the past, could not help but be extremely shocked. How much effort and hard work did it take to achieve this?

Lu Xun said, "Looking at this picture, I am also very proud, because since I surrendered to Your Majesty, I have been responsible for this work."

"We also experienced a lot of difficulties during this period, but what surprised me the most was not the historical records of our noble families, but the fearless spirit of those craftsmen from commoner backgrounds recruited by Your Majesty."

"For example, every mark on this river, including the reefs and undercurrents, was verified by the crew and sailors with their lives. Without them, we, the people sitting in the court, would not be able to complete this map."

"Your Majesty has said that the world belongs to everyone, not only the nobles, but also all the common people. Therefore, he appointed officials and established imperial examinations, so that everyone in the world is eligible. The subjects covered are not limited to classics, but also include technology, agriculture, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, geography, etc. These are all the new six arts of your majesty's imperial examinations."

"Nowadays, more than half of the lower-level officials in the Great Jin Dynasty are from official backgrounds other than Confucian classics. And judging from the situation, it will be difficult for young officials to move up in the future if they only study Confucian classics."

"Especially in the past two years, almost all of the young officials selected by His Majesty are well versed in astronomy and mathematics. Everyone, what we are about to witness may be a new dynasty that is completely different from the past."

Everyone looked at the map in silence. Bu Zhi said, "Your Majesty's intention this time is to use Shouchun as the starting point to open up the upper reaches of the Huai River and connect Yingchuan to Guanzhong?"

"That's right," Lu Xun said, "Xudu Luoyang is already in the hands of Jin, and together with Jiangling in Jingzhou, they have formed a blockade and siege of Chang'an. It's only a matter of time before we take it down. Your Majesty means that we can't wait until the war is over before rebuilding. We can completely restore the people's livelihood in Luoyang while maintaining pressure on Wei."

"Your Majesty predicts that within three years at most, Wei will abandon Guanzhong and retreat to Yizhou and Liangzhou. The reconstruction of the Sanfu region, which has suffered from war for decades, can be put on the agenda."

"I am calling you to come on behalf of your majesty. It is the Guanzhong waterway. Going south, it passes through Jiangling and Nanchang, and going east, it passes through Shouchun and Guangling. These are the two important water routes planned by your majesty for Sili. We need your full cooperation to expand the waterway routes as quickly as possible."

Lu Su smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, you have great confidence."

"This is the State of Wei. If it were five years ago, who would have imagined that the then powerful and powerful State of Wei occupying the Central Plains would be beaten like this?"

Bu Zhi sighed, "Let alone the Wei Kingdom, who could have thought that a million Xianbei people would be defeated like this two years ago?"

"That's a million foreign barbarians, and they were defeated by a plague. Add to that Kobinen's unexplained death. I always feel that there is nothing in the world that Your Majesty can't do."

Liu Ye suddenly said, "I always feel that the epidemic is not such a coincidence."

"Do you think His Majesty knows something? If he uses this method on Wei..."

Everyone was shocked, and Lu Su quickly stopped them, saying, "Zi Yang, be careful with your words. The foreign barbarians are foreign barbarians. The Wei people are also Han people, and they will be your majesty's subjects in the future. If you use such means, I'm afraid it will damage your majesty's reputation."

Liu Ye said, "That's why I said that Your Majesty is soft-hearted. If it were Cao Cao or even Lord Sun, I'm afraid they would have used it long ago."

Everyone smiled bitterly. Liu Ye was too straightforward. It made sense, but it was too scary to think about it. This was an epidemic that could kill most of the people in a city!
Bu Zhi quickly changed the subject and said, "In fact, Dong'an, which Jing Yu is in charge of, is also included in the plan."

"Your Majesty attaches great importance to that port."

Liu Ji said, "Yes, His Majesty once mentioned that he wanted to open up two new routes. One is from Dong'an to Yizhou, south to Zhanghai, west to Jiaozhi, or even further."

"The other one goes northeast," he pointed to the open sea near the Korean Peninsula. "His Majesty said that beyond the open sea is the land, and many of the things he wants to find are there. However, the voyage is difficult and it may take decades before anything can be gained." Everyone looked at the empty sea and wondered why his majesty could always see further than others?

Did God tell him this?

At this time Jiang Qin whispered: "There is one thing I still don't understand."

"What is your Majesty's attitude towards the Second Young Master? Why did you let the Governor-General take care of him alone?"

"The same thing happened to the eldest son of Yecheng. Now that the two sons occupy two different places, isn't Your Majesty worried?"

After hearing this, everyone hurriedly said, "Gong Yi, you are drunk, go sober up first."

Jiang Qin blushed, "I'm not drunk!"

"What did I say wrong? Is it because I don't understand that I asked?"

"I think you are overthinking it. You have been with His Majesty for longer than I have. Don't you see that His Majesty has a broad mind and would never create opposition like this?"

"Your Majesty is not the King of Wei or the King of Wu. He is so magnanimous. Why did he let me and Zijing lead the army to Jianghuai to confront Wu?"

"Besides, isn't it the duty of a minister to inquire about the heir apparent?"

Everyone was speechless for a while. After a long while, Lu Su said self-deprecatingly: "Gong Yi is right. Is it because we have stayed in Wu for too long that we think wrongly?"

"Over the years, have you ever seen any minister being punished for offending His Majesty privately?"

“We are scaring ourselves.”

Liu Ji said, "That being said, this is the position of crown prince after all. Your Majesty has been slow to express his opinion. We have to guess what Your Majesty is thinking. I'm afraid no one dares to say that they are definitely right."

Bu Zhi said, "In fact, I don't think the matter is that complicated. On the one hand, Wu is indeed favored. Not only does she have the second son, but the first son's first wife is also Lady Sun, the daughter of Marquis Sun. Wu's position is difficult to shake."

"But on the other hand, Empress Zhen's position is still unshakable. She is the only one who participated in the coronation ceremony of His Majesty. This has already explained everything. For this reason, Madam Wu was even specially sent to Shouchun in advance."

"If you ask me, just because your Majesty doesn't say it doesn't mean we, as your subjects, can't say it."

"I actually had the intention of submitting a letter to Your Majesty a long time ago, suggesting that Your Majesty should appoint the eldest son as the crown prince as soon as possible. This is also a statement for us Jianghuai officials."

Xu Sheng frowned and said, "What if I guessed wrong?"

Bu Zhi smiled and said, "If your majesty doesn't want to, you won't publicize our memorials."

"If His Majesty is interested, he will certainly present our letter to the court for discussion among the ministers."

After hearing this, Lu Xun and others nodded and said, "Zishan is the one who thinks clearly."

Everyone jointly submitted a petition, and soon after, the petition reached Yecheng.

Yuan Xi took it and read it, and said to Zhen Mi: "The people in Jianghuai are indeed a bit twisted in their thinking, and they think more than the officials in the north."

"Well, let's bring it out for discussion in the court tomorrow."

Yecheng was originally the seat of officials from Zhuge Liang's faction, so the memorial submitted by the Jiangdong officials was unsurprisingly approved by them. As a result, the matter was settled, and a ceremony was held on a chosen day, with the eldest son Yuan Rui being made the crown prince.

Before Cao Wei, the heirs of the kings were called princes, and only Cao Cao to Cao Pi were heirs. But now that Yuan Xi had become emperor, the title of prince returned, so Yuan Rui was made the prince and given the title of king.

Yuan Qian in Shouchun was granted the title of marquis. Now the officials in Jin could understand this, so the previous small thoughts of some factions disappeared.

Seeing that everything was settled, Yuan Xi prepared to set off for Luoyang to meet Zhuge Liang and personally lead the attack on Chang'an.

(End of this chapter)