Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 540: Lucky Jianghuai
Liu Bei's eastward tour of Xu Yang was not only to pay homage to Queen Mi, but also to inspect the counties of Wu and Yue to see whether the people's livelihood and whether the officials were lazy and negligent.

The first stop was Yuzhang, accompanied by Xu Shu, the governor of Jiangzhou. Liu Bei inspected Chaisang County and talked with the county magistrate Zhou Li. When the emperor and ministers talked about governing Poyang, Zhou Li presented a strategy for governing Poyang, which greatly surprised Liu Bei.

Poyang County was separated from Yuzhang County in the past and is located between Poyang Lake and Danyang Mountains.

Huo Jun, the first county governor, established the Jiangzuo Navy with the help of Ping Poyang water thieves. Later, as Huo Jun's governance focused on Jiangbei, Poyang County was governed by others.

Since then, Poyang County has suffered from governance issues and a special geographical location. People often fled into Poyang Lake to avoid taxes or military service, thus hiding or becoming water thieves.

When the officers and soldiers marched in to suppress the enemy, the water thieves hid in the lake; when the officers and soldiers withdrew, the water thieves plundered surrounding villages and counties. Even if a county guard can temporarily suppress the water thieves, water thieves will breed again soon. Over time, Poyang County's reputation as being difficult to govern spread among the Southern Han Dynasty.

Today, there are only 6,100 registered households in Poyang County, which is far less than the 8,000 registered households verified by Huo Jun when the county was first established. The difficulty of governing Poyang County not only gave Xu Shu, the governor of Jiangzhou, a headache, but also left Wuhan Shangqing helpless.

Zhou Li's strategy for governing the county provided Liu Bei with a detailed analysis of why water thieves often appeared in Poyang County and the reasons for the decrease in household registration.

Moreover, Zhou Li pointed out in his memorial that due to its special geographical location, the people of Poyang County were prone to movement and difficulty in settling down. In the future, we will try not to recruit troops in Poyang County, and we will even reduce taxes on the people of Poyang County and reduce the number of corvee levies. If this can be done, Poyang County will be safe in the future.

Seeing that Zhou Li had great plans, Liu Bei immediately adopted Zhou Li's suggestion and promoted him to be the governor of Poyang County. He was also in charge of the army and horses of the county and was responsible for the exclusive administration of Poyang County.

The next stop was at Lujiang, accompanied by Deputy Governor Pang Tong and County Governor Gao Xiang. Liu Bei went to Shucheng and admired the water conservancy project of Qimen and Sanyan. He was very happy to see the Huai people on the left of the Yangtze River returning home one after another.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Bei and Pang Tong headed south from Chaohu, passing through Shicheng, Wuhu and other places, and finally arrived at Jiangdu.

Upon hearing that Liu Bei had arrived in Jiangdu, Huo Jun led Jiang Ji, Xu Sheng, Ding Feng, Huo Du, Liu Ji and other Jianghuai civil and military personnel to the Jiangkou to meet Liu Bei.

That night, Liu Bei hosted a banquet for Jianghuai civil and military officials and had a brief chat with everyone. However, because Empress Mi was unwell, the banquet ended hastily.

Early the next morning, Liu Bei and his entourage drove to the camp to review the Jianghuai troops.

"嘘嘚~"

Chen Dao held the talisman and led more than a hundred imperial troops to gallop over.

When they arrived at Dayingkou, Chen Dao took hold of the reins and looked up, only to see the gatekeepers wearing armor, wielding sharp blades, and equipped with bows and crossbows.

Now I see Chen arriving and Bai Lai riding. The soldiers have already strung their crossbows and loaded their arrows, and are on alert.

Chen Dao rode his horse slowly, held up the talisman, and shouted: "The Emperor is here, please open the door to welcome him!"

The gatekeeper rode out and replied: "The governor is waiting in the stronghold, and the general will enter the camp to verify the talismans!"

"promise!"

Chen Dao asked his attendants to report back to Liu Bei, and he led his troops into the military camp first.

Huo Jun, as always, put on his armor, personally verified the talisman in Chen's hand, ordered the military gate to be opened wide, and personally led the civil and military personnel of the camp to the camp gate to welcome Liu Bei.

After a while, smoke and dust billowed in front, and there was the sound of a large number of war horses galloping, with banners and banners and tall trees, and their momentum was huge.

"Your Majesty is here!"

Huo Jun greeted and led everyone forward.

Liu Bei was holding the carriage railing, wearing gold armor. Although his hair on the temples was white, he became more majestic and kingly.

"Shut up!"

The charioteer held the reins, and the horse slowly stopped.

"Chen Jun pays homage to Your Majesty!"

Huo Jun led the crowd to perform military salutes and said: "I am wearing armor, so I perform military salutes. I hope your majesty will forgive me!"

Liu Bei looked at the stern camp and nodded slightly, appearing very satisfied.

Ma Liang held up the reins and stepped forward to answer: "Your Majesty has an order, all generals are exempt from courtesy. Please come with me, the Marquis of Jiangling!"

"Your Majesty is driving, it is inconvenient for Jun to accompany you!" Huo Jun said postponed.

Liu Bei said in a rough voice: "Zhongmiao managed the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers. He worked hard and achieved great results. For the Han Dynasty, he should have made a great contribution. Please get in the car and go with me!"

"promise!"

With Liu Bei's approval, Huo Junfang dared to step on the footstool and get into the car.

After getting in the car, without waiting for Huo Jun to say hello, Liu Bei held Huo Jun's hand and said with a smile: "I wanted to get drunk with you last night, but unfortunately the queen was not feeling well due to the rush, so we ended it hastily. If I have time today, I will have a drink with you." I won’t return until I’m drunk.”

"I wonder how your highness is feeling?" Huo Jun asked.

"nothing!"

Liu Bei took Huo Jun's hand and said, "I have been on the boat for too long, and I am very tired. I asked a doctor to prescribe it last night, and I think it will be fine today."

As he said that, Liu Bei pointed to the Jianghuai camp and said with a smile: "I haven't seen Zhongmiao's soldiers for a long time. Today, let me enter the camp to review!" "Your Majesty, please review!"

At Liu Bei's order, the attendant drove a carriage into the camp.

When he was about to enter the gate, the soldiers blocked him with spears, forced the attendants to stop, and said in a deep voice: "According to the military law, galloping is not allowed in the camp. If you want to gallop, please your Majesty and the governor to modify the military order."

The charioteer wanted to get angry, but Liu Bei stopped him and said, "This is not a palace. You must follow the military orders and move slowly with the bridle pressed."

After a pause, Liu Bei ordered: "Come here, the soldiers will perform their duties and reward them with money and food."

"promise!"

When Liu Bei spoke, his hand pressed on the bridle and he walked slowly. The ministers also lowered their speed and followed Liu Bei's cavalry.

As the car drove slowly into the camp, musicians beat drums and pipes, and the sound of drums resounded throughout the military camp; the soldiers lined up on the left and right, shouting long live.

Liu Bei waved to the soldiers lined up on the left and right. In order to avoid accidents, Chen Dao led his cavalry to guard both sides.

"Long live your Majesty!"

"Long live your Majesty!"

Listening to the shouts like a tsunami, Liu Bei was very satisfied and said to Huo Jun: "Looking at the army's strength, they are tall and strong, so they are elites; listening to their voices, their morale is high, and they can be used for great purposes. I heard that the Huai soldiers commanded by Zhongmiao He is a leader in the country, and he is on par with the imperial army. What he said is true after seeing him today."

"The Forbidden Army is the elite of the four sides, and the Huai soldiers dare not compare with it. If your Majesty feels pity for the bravery of the soldiers, maybe some elites can be sent to the capital." Huo Jun answered with cupped hands.

"Jianghuai is close to the Central Plains, how can it be without elite soldiers to guard it?"

Liu Bei smiled, shook his head, and said, "Zhong Miao leads these warriors, which can be used in the Northern Expedition. If you live in Wuhan, you will feel deserted!"

Yu Jin among the crowd sighed secretly as he looked at the Jianghuai military camp that was killing people.

He has always been known for his strict military management, but now he sees that the camp under Huo Jun is starting to feel ashamed of himself. He originally thought that Huo Jun could always defeat Cao Wei because his troops outnumbered others. However, along the way, he realized that Huo Jun's troops were better than them in terms of military discipline.

Suddenly, Liu Bei asked in the car: "Wen Ze, how do the soldiers commanded by Huo Du compare with yours?"

Since Yu Jin was captured by Guan Yu, he has been offering good food and drink in the Southern Han Dynasty, and often appears as an adviser to Liu Bei's Wei army. Now Liu Bei is patrolling the Yangtze River and Huaihe River eastward, and Yu Jin is still following him.

In front of Jince's horse, he raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I thought that military discipline was strict. Now that I saw the soldiers commanded by Huo Du, I thought that military discipline should be better than that of my subordinates. The troops and horses commanded by Gai Cao Gong may be comparable to those of Jianghuai. Argument."

Don't be fooled by stereotypes. Don't look at Cao Cao's massacre of Xuzhou, but in terms of strict military discipline, among the generals in the late Han Dynasty, except for Zhuge Liang, almost no generals can compare.

Even people always have the impression that the Mongolian army killed, burned, and looted, and had no military discipline at all. In fact, the strict discipline of the Mongolian military is far beyond everyone's imagination.

There are eleven cuts in the Mongolian army, the most famous of which are two, which are for looting and lack of discipline.

What is meant by looting is that no one is allowed to seize the spoils of war until the end of the war. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed.

There is no uniform discipline, that is, when marching or camping, you must not damage nearby farmland or harass the people. Some herd sheep and horses, trample on the fields and gnaw fruit trees; some trespass into people's homes to kill chickens and seize property. Soldiers and officers who violate this rule will be severely punished.

Therefore, the Mongolian and Yuan armies had a great contrast. On the one hand, they killed people without restraint, and on the other hand, they had extremely strict military discipline. You can even see it in the Mongolian army. There is no military order and it rains heavily. The Mongolian soldiers would rather get wet than forcefully enter the house and snatch the rain gear.

Of course, the nomadic people's urine nature cannot be obeyed obediently, so Mongolia also has military orders to compensate for crimes with merit, that is, if the crime is punished, the person will be killed, and if the merit is recorded, he will be exempted.

Hearing Yu Jin's words, the Jianghuai generals showed disdain. Like many Han generals, they looked down upon Yu Jin who sought glory and surrender.

Ding Feng sneered a few times, drew out his whip, and said, "How dare the captives say that military discipline is strict? How dare they march together with His Majesty and Huo Du?"

Hearing this, Yu Jin glanced at Ding Feng and felt ashamed. He slowed down his horse and did not dare to keep pace with the driver.

Seeing this, Liu Bei scolded him in a deep voice and said, "Yu Jun is a great minister of the Han Dynasty. How dare you be so negligent?"

Ding Feng saw that Liu Bei was angry and did not dare to say anything. He could only apologize and retreat.

"Wen Ze, don't worry!"

Liu Bei calmed him down and let the driver continue to move forward.

Yu Jin replied weakly, not daring to say anything anymore.

Since he surrendered to the Han Dynasty, even though Liu Bei repeatedly emphasized treating Yu Jin politely, some people still looked down on him, but Yu Jin gradually got used to it. Now that he was insulted by Ding Feng, who was much younger than him, he did not dare to retaliate with words. He probably knelt too much and couldn't stand up anymore.

As the car drove forward, Huo Jun apologized and said, "Ding Feng is illiterate and a vulgar man. I hope your Majesty will calm down."

"nothing!"

Liu Bei didn't pay attention and said with a smile: "Many warriors in the army are like this. How can you not be angry when you see someone who has surrendered and talked so loudly!"

　This chapter is awkward, please forgive me!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)