Han family achievements

Chapter 439 Marquis Wucheng

Originally, this group of bandits were frightened and faced a rout. When a large group of cavalry came over, they were frightened out of their wits.

Yelling and escaping in all directions.

The leading man, Qu Shuai, was stabbed to death by Zhao Yun. The word "run" was only spoken out "quickly".

"Don't kill me, don't kill me!"

The round-faced man who played the role of 'strategist' was slashed by Zhang Liao. Seeing Zhang Liao swinging his sword and wanting to kill him, he immediately said urgently: "I know a big news, big news, about Yuan Shao, about Yuan Shao!"

Zhang Liao's raised knife suddenly stopped, and he immediately put it on his neck, lifted him to Liu Bian, and kneeled him on the ground.

The team of guards quickly controlled the other gangsters. No one escaped, and Huangfu Jianchang began to interrogate them as usual.

The others stood behind Liu Bian and looked at the round-faced 'strategist'.

"Do you know Yuan Shao?" Liu Bian clasped his hands behind his back and looked at him curiously.

There were such "green forest heroes" who occupied the mountains and became kings everywhere in the Han Dynasty. The total number of bandits was more than the army of the Han Dynasty.

But it would be interesting to know Yuan Shao on this hilltop in the wilderness.

The round-faced man didn't know which god he had offended, so he nodded repeatedly and said anxiously: "Yes, not long ago, Yuan Shao sent someone over to say he wanted to recruit us. To recruit us, he gave us a lot of money."

Liu Bian raised his eyebrows and glanced at Zhang Liao.

Zhang Liao immediately bowed and said with a tight expression: "I don't know, I don't know."

At this time, Huangfu Jian came over with a trace of nervousness on his face.

Liu Bian put his hands behind his back and said with thoughtful eyes, "Yuan Shao's hands are quite long."

Huangfu Jianchang immediately said: "I will investigate immediately and cut off all Yuan Shao's tentacles!"

The round-faced person had not heard Zhang Liao's "Chen" clearly before. This time, Huangfu Jian Chang heard "Chen" clearly. He was stunned in place, his legs were shaking, and his face was pale, without a trace of blood.

Liu Bian waved his hand, and the guards dragged the round-faced man away.

Zhao Yun stepped forward at this time and whispered: "Your Majesty, the old couple was frightened, but they are fine."

Liu Bian hummed and walked forward with his hands behind his back.

These gangsters are actually nothing, so it’s not surprising that Yuan Shao or someone wants to surrender. After successive wars, natural and man-made disasters, and a sharp decline in population, the 'young and strong' at this time have become an important 'asset', even more important than the land.

The issue that Liu Bian is concerned about is the impact of this bandit rebellion on his implementation of the "New Deal".

Without a peaceful and stable environment, everything will be done with half the effort, or even impossible.

However, if you want to suppress bandits, especially a large-scale cleanup of the entire territory, it will take time, and even more money and food.

At the same time, the place must be kept clean and the money and food must be put to practical use.

Going around and around, this comes back to 'official governance'. If 'official governance is unclear', nothing can be done.

This seems to be an endless cycle. Without money and food, nothing can be done. With money and food, officials need to manage. Without official management, taxes cannot be collected, and there is no money and food.

"Time?"

Liu Bian thought about it and finally came to the conclusion: "time".

'Purging out officials and governing' is a vast and long process. To eliminate corruption and preserve purity, those who were born in the college entrance examination need more time to grow up.

Huangfu Jianchang, Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, Lu Yu and others followed Liu Bian and did not dare to disturb him.

In their view, this banditry is just a trivial matter that can happen anywhere. Even if you include Yuan Shao, a sensitive person, it is not a big deal. After all, there are only more than thirty people in this banditry.

But the person in front of him was different. His thoughts were not simply to eliminate the banditry, but had deeper considerations.

Liu Bian paced, thinking for a long time, and said: "The key lies in the word 'do'."

After thinking for a long time, Liu Bian gradually got a clue and said with a smile: "Although the administration is not clear, we still have to do it while we are on the move. We can't delay, let alone wait. We must take multiple approaches and walk on multiple legs. While ensuring that the army can suppress local unrest, we must increase our efforts and be ruthless."

Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao and others did not have any feelings. They had not had much exposure to the 'New Deal', or in other words, they had adopted a distant and indifferent attitude towards government affairs.

But Lu Yu was different. As the head of the palace, he knew more about national policies than even the Chancellor.

With His Majesty in front of him, with a single word, he could clearly foresee that Shangshutai, Liucaojiu Temple, and even local officials would be under more and more terrible pressure.

Liu Bian suddenly felt thirsty and couldn't help but stop, looking at Xiapi City in the distance, and said, "Second Young Master, is Sun Ce about to arrive?"

Huangfu Jianchang said quickly: "Yes, it will be soon."

Before he finished speaking, maybe it was subconsciously, but he really seemed to hear the sound of horse hooves in his ears.

And then, he saw two fast horses not far away, coming at a fast speed.

Liu Bian looked at him from a distance and said with a smile: "It's really fast. What do you think I should do with this Marquis of Wucheng?"

Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, Lu Yu and others, even Lu Bu, stopped talking.

Sun Ce's reputation in the Han Dynasty is now extremely loud. He is brave, fearless, and loyal. He is like a rising star. Some people even compare him to Huo Qubing, thinking that he is the new champion, and there will be more in the future. Great achievements, famous in history.

But many people knew that the new Marquis of Wucheng was more rebellious and ambitious than his father, the Marquis of Wucheng.

Two years ago, he defeated Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo, and Yuan Shu in Wu County, firmly occupied Wu County and Guangling County, and was eyeing Danyang, Jiujiang, etc.

If it weren't for the sudden rise of Yuan Shao's new army and the rapid defeat of Yuan Shu, Sun Ce's expansion would have suffered a setback, especially the strong attack by the imperial court, which forced Sun Ce to retreat to Wu Commandery.

As we all know, under the complicated environment, Sun Ce cannot move for the time being, let alone kill.

It was the imperial court's strategy to adopt a "soft" approach towards Sun Ce and Jiang Dong.

Liu Bian didn't expect them to answer, so he was thinking to himself.

"Sun Ce, Marquis of Wucheng, comes to see my emperor. Long live my emperor!"

Sun Ce came to Liu Bian, knelt down on one knee and said in a deep voice.

"No gift."

Liu Bian looked at him with a calm voice.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Sun Ce responded, stood up and stood not far from Liu Bian.

He bowed his head, showing the respect of a loyal minister. Even so, he had already seen Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, Lu Bu and others on both sides of Liu Bian.

His expression remained calm, but he was secretly nervous.

He came one man and one horse, and the majesty in front of him was really malicious towards him, so today next year will be the anniversary of his death.

"Is your journey going smoothly, Qing family?" Liu Bian said with a smile, still thinking about how to deal with Sun Ce.

"It's been a smooth journey back to Your Majesty." Sun Ce answered in a straight tone.

Liu Bian still didn't think clearly, so he walked forward and said, "There are two main reasons why I asked the Qing family to come all the way this time. One is the disagreement between Liu Bei and the Sun family, and the other is about Yuan Shao."

Sun Ce followed Liu Bian, neither far nor near, with Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao on both sides in the middle.

Sun Ce said nothing and pretended to listen to the holy teachings.

It can be said that the marriage between Sun and Liu was forced by His Majesty. Sun Ce and many officials in Jiangdong did not agree.

Sun Ce's sister, Sun, comes from a family of military generals and is quite heroic. She is not an ordinary lady. After Liu Bei showed his cold attitude, she did not tolerate Liu Bei and did her own thing. Countless criticisms from the county.

Liu Bei had no choice but to build a small building for Sun and placed her there, hoping to be out of sight and out of mind.

But Sun became even more angry, and his relationship with Liu Bei became increasingly tense, and he even wanted to beat Liu Bei openly, which made Liu Bei quite embarrassed.

Originally, this kind of 'family matter' could not be brought to the forefront, but one of the two parties was the Marquis of Wucheng and the other was the General of Yuzhou. The situation was so unbearable that it naturally reached the court and became known to the whole world.

Liu Bei could bear it. Faced with the accusations from Marquis Wucheng and Jiangdong, he only wrote a letter to defend himself once and then became silent again.

But Sun Ce and Jiang Dong couldn't bear it, and believed that this was the court's "deliberate insult" to Wuchenghou and Wu Jun, so they made the matter worse and worse, making the situation ugly and not ending well.

Sun Ce was also dissatisfied with Liu Bei's weakness and incompetence, and was even more angry with Liu Bei for bullying his sister. He privately threatened to kill Liu Bei repeatedly.

Therefore, when faced with Liu Bian's embarrassing mention of this matter, Sun Ce remained silent, also expressing his dissatisfaction.

Liu Bian looked back at him and suddenly smiled and said, "When I was in Luoyang, I heard that someone wanted to arrange a marriage between your brother Sun Quan and the Cai family?"

Sun Ce's expression suddenly changed and he subconsciously said, "Your Majesty, this is a rumor. I have never heard of it!"

Liu Bian stopped and said with a surprised look on his face: "Fake? I still want to get closer to the Qing family."

There are many famous "Cai" clans in the Han Dynasty today, but the top one is the Cai clan in Caiyong, Luoyang.

Cai Yong is Liu Bian's father-in-law. After Cai Wenji's son Liu Shao gradually became the popular 'Prince of the East Palace', Cai's status became increasingly prominent. Even though Cai Yong had no real power, Cai's rapid rise was all very clearly foreseen.

"It's indeed fake." Sun Ce said bravely.

This matter is of course true. It was handled by Sun Ce and Sun Quan's uncle Wu Jing. By marrying the Cai family, they elevated the importance of Sun Ce and Wu County and planned and paved the way for the development of Jiangdong.

If Sun Ce were in Jiangdong, he would be happy to see his success, but when he comes to Liu Bian, he has to deny it!

Others don't understand the complicated relationship between Wu Jun and the imperial court. How can Sun Ce not understand?
When you should be low-key, you can't be high-key at all, especially with His Majesty in front of you!

Liu Bian smiled noncommittally and continued to walk forward, saying: "Sun Quan, I really like this little guy. It would be good to study in Shizhonglu. In the future, I will find a good marriage for him."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Sun Ce had no idea what Liu Bian wanted to do, so he could only steel his mind, respond first, and deal with it later when he went back.

Liu Bian looked back at Sun Ce and said, "How is the farmland in Wu County doing?"

Sun Ce lowered his head and followed step by step. Thinking about what Gu Yong and Cheng Pu told him before he came, he quickly said: "Your Majesty, Wu County is vast and sparsely populated, and the land is desolate. I have tried all my methods, but I can't be self-sufficient. What else can I do?" The court’s assistance is needed.”

There is a lot of fertile land around Taihu Lake in Wu County, but not much has been cultivated, or in other words, there are not enough conditions for cultivation at the moment.

But Sun Ce's statement that he cannot be self-sufficient is completely nonsense. The Sun family has the support of almost all the aristocratic families in Wu County, and there is no shortage of money and food.

It is a fact that the land is vast and the people are sparse.

Liu Bian hummed and said: "I have already issued an order to the Chancellor, ordering them to give priority to the money, food and equipment that should be given to Wu County. By the way, is there anything wrong with sending people with four legs to Wu County? of?"

In the name of promoting the "New Deal", Shangshutai issued a document to Sun Ce, carried out unified reforms to all states and counties in Wu County, and dispatched many officials, big and small.

"They are all capable officials,"

Sun Ce blurted out: "Everyone in Wu County welcomes him very much. He has done a lot of credit."

"That's good."

Liu Bian stopped, looked at Sun Ce, the hesitation in his heart gradually dissipated, and said with a smile: "Wucheng Hou has made countless contributions in the past two years, and the court has always recorded them. Tell me, what requests does the Qing family have, whether it is an official position or something else?" , I am not allowed to do anything!”

Sun Ce once again remembered what Gu Yong said before his arrival: If there is any favor, he will refuse it if it is a big one, and accept it if it is a small one. Never ask for it.

"I am willing to relieve your majesty's worries. I have succeeded to the title of Marquis. I dare not ask for anything else." Sun Ce replied respectfully.

"How about this,"

Liu Bian was too lazy to talk around with him and said: "I will add your family as the general of Yangzhou and supervise the military affairs of Yangzhou."

Sun Ce was shocked and quickly knelt down on one knee and said, "I have done little work and dare not receive a reward."

General of Yangzhou, all of Yangzhou except Wu County is in Yuan Shao's hands. If he is appointed as General of Yangzhou and supervises the military of Yangzhou, Yuan Shao will have to fight with him!

This is driving away wolves and devouring tigers!
Liu Bian waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's settled, the salary will be doubled. Come on, follow me to Yuzhou."

Sun Ce still wanted to refuse, but Liu Bian had already turned around.

Sun Ce opened his mouth, but did not shout in the end. He was just very panicked and wanted to return to Wu County as soon as possible.

Going to Yuzhou?
Sun Ce reacted suddenly. He wanted to accompany him to Yuzhou? Instead of returning to Wu County?
What does it mean?
Sun Ce couldn't figure it out and felt even more uneasy, even panicked.

He was already worried when he came this time, worried that the majesty in front of him would take the opportunity to kill him.

He is not killed now, but why take him to Yuzhou? Are you talking about getting along with him and Liu Bei, or is there another purpose?
When news spread that he was not in Wu Commandery and he was the general of Yangzhou, Yuan Shao sent troops to Wu Commandery. Who could resist?
Sun Ce's mind was spinning all over for a while. Before he could think much, Zhang Liao patted his shoulder and said calmly and indifferently: "Wucheng Hou, please."

Sun Ce was so excited that he had no choice but to nod. Surrounded by a group of imperial guards, he bravely caught up with Liu Bian who had already walked far away.

Liu Bian walked in front, having already made up his mind to take Sun Ce away temporarily.

This person really shouldn't be underestimated. He's capable, but he's also flexible and flexible.

This is the key to doing great things. Sun Ce has the ability to do great things!

Everyone got on their horses and, escorted by a large group of cavalry, did not go to Xiapi. Instead, they headed north in the opposite direction to Yuzhou.

(End of this chapter)