The Three Kingdoms: A vicious plan was offered, and Liu Bei was stunned!

Chapter 193: Wen Pin surrenders naturally, Luo Yuan reduces the three armies

Luo Yuan said: "I have no intention of going to war with my uncle and Jiangdong. Of course, this is not because I am afraid, but because there is no need. Cao Mengde will lead an army of 500,000 to the south next year. Now the vanguard Xu Zhu, Cao Hong and others should have arrived in Bowang. Why do you still want to fight for Jiangling? It is better to go back and think about how to deal with Cao Cao. Let me keep Jiangling for now."

Luo Yuan stood up, looked at Huang Gai and Zhang Fei and said, "We must put the overall situation first."

Huang Gai and Zhang Fei were so angry that they were speechless. They could not argue with Luo Yuan and were even more unwilling to go to war with Luo Yuan. They were really not sure of the outcome, so the two could only retreat.

Luo Yuan then looked at Wen Pin and felt embarrassed.

When I met Wen Pin earlier, I just said something casually, but I didn't expect Wen Pin to take it seriously and has been keeping it in mind until now.

I feel very embarrassed.
"Hey, General Wen, thank you for your hard work!"

Wen Pin is about to cry. Do you know how I have been through these past few months?

Zhou Yu beat me, Liu Bei beat me, and the people from Xiangyang threatened that if I didn’t give up Jiangling, they would kill my whole family.

Wen Pin felt like his days were living in hell, fearing that Luo Yuan would go to the north and never come back.

"Gongqi, you've killed me. If I had known I shouldn't have listened to you that day!"

"It's all over now. I'm here now. Jiangling is mine. Cai Mao and others have agreed. You can rest assured now!"

Wen Pin was stunned. He knew this was inevitable, but he still felt a little sad after hearing that Cai Mao and others gave Jiangling to Luo Yuan.

Liu Biao had such a great kingdom, and people like Cai Mao were really generous in giving away people.

Wen Pin felt sad for a moment, but he also knew that the general situation was like this, and it was not something that one person could change. "So, can I go back to Xiangyang?"

"What's the point of you going back?" Luo Yuan said, "Cai Mao and others will definitely join Cao Cao, so why not stay?"

"My family is still in Xiangyang. If I don't go back, I'm afraid they will be harmed by Cai Mao and others!"

Luo Yuan smiled and said, "I will send you a letter of divorce and ask Cai Mao and others to send your family over. They will not dare to disobey!"

Wen Pin thought that he was unwilling to go back if this was the case, so he said, "I am willing to submit to you!"

Without waiting for the other party to kneel down, Luo Yuan supported Wen Pin and said with a smile: "When I came to Jiangling to borrow grain, if it weren't for you, Zhongye, showing mercy, how could I be where I am today? Don't be polite, I remember all those things!"

Wen Pin looked at Luo Yuan with emotion. Luo Yuan was not a famous person in the world before, but now he is no longer a simple person.

In a short period of time, Luo Yuan became famous all over the world!
"My lord, you are too kind!"

Whether it was an exaggeration or not, Luo Yuan knew it clearly. If Wen Pin had not spared him, it would have been difficult for him, Zhang Fei and others to get food from Jiangling.

Those foods helped Luo Yuan a lot!

Luo Yuan said: "Tell me about Jiangling's situation!"

Wen Pin said, "My lord left Jingzhou, and Zhou Yu attacked. Later, I sent the grain in Jiangling to Liu Bei. I thought my lord was still with Liu Bei, but I didn't expect my lord to go north to Yecheng. Later, Cai Mao and others complained about me and transferred most of the grain and horses from Jiangling. Now Jiangling has only 50,000 naval forces and 8,000 infantry to defend the city, and the grain is only enough for one month. If my lord came a month later, Jiangling would probably belong to Jiangdong!"

Luo Yuan arrived just in time, and the situation in Jiangling was not bad. The 50,000 navy surprised Luo Yuan. Jiangling was right on the Yangtze River, and with the navy, everything was possible.

He glanced at Wen Pin. It must be Wen Pin's efforts that saved these navy soldiers. This man is really good, but he still needs to be reformed.

As for food, Luo Yuan didn't care at all because he had plenty of it.

That day Luo Yuan led his army into Jiangling!
Afterwards, he arranged the job assignments, with Gan Ning as the naval captain, and 10,000 men were selected from the original Jingzhou navy to form a new navy.

Another 10,000 men were left to be commanded by Wen Pin, and the rest of the navy was disbanded and turned over to the people.

He ordered Huang Zhong to select 20,000 infantrymen, build a military camp near Jingjiang Village, and train the soldiers.

In addition, we recruited civilians to build ships, and appointed Liu Guangda as the chief craftsman of ordnance!
He began to recruit soldiers and conduct large-scale military training with the original veteran troops as the backbone. Half a year later, at the beginning of spring, Luo Yuan was going to attack Changsha.

Wen Pin was also stunned when he saw that Luo Yuan had made all the arrangements. Other princes were worried that they did not have enough troops, but Luo Yuan was different and actually wanted to cut down the navy!
"My lord, we rely more on the navy to fight on the Yangtze River. If the navy is reduced, our army will be short of manpower."

Luo Yuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, Zhongye. 20,000 naval forces are enough to hold the river. The quality of an army is more important than its quantity. Gan Ning and you are both powerful generals on the water. 20,000 naval forces are enough to be used as 200,000. How well the navy works depends on who uses it. How can I fight with others on the Yangtze River?"

Luo Yuan’s navy was mainly responsible for transportation, and all it had to do was transport the troops.

The more navy the better?

How many naval forces did the Eastern Wu have in the later period? A full 300,000, but they still surrendered in one go. What a use.

Opposite Jiangling is Gong'an County, which belongs to Wuling Commandery. The governor, Jin Xuan, is of average ability, and has no capable fighters under his command.

Xu Shu said: "We can send troops to Wuling County. Jin Xuan has no one available, so he is no match for our army. We can capture Wuling County and then force Changsha!"

Luo Yuan smiled and said: "Jin Xuan is not a problem"

Jin Xuan was a foreigner, originally from Jingzhao, which is now Chang'an. He had been the Imperial Court's Yellow Gate Assistant Minister, specializing in delivering imperial edicts to the emperor. His surname was Jin, indicating that his ancestors had Hu ancestry.

During the reign of Emperor Wu, there was a man named Jin Midi, who was originally a Xiongnu prince who changed his surname!
As for the Han people's fault, most of them look down on foreigners, and the gentry like to divide people by bloodline.
Although the Nine-Rank System was established by Chen Qun during the Jin Dynasty, it was formulated based on the social customs of the time.

The rules for people and the levels of surnames had already appeared by this time.

As an outsider, Jin Xuan must have a hard time in Wuling!
Luo Yuan said: "Jin Xuan is just trapped in Wuling County. We can make him a friend, not an enemy. We can't take over the four counties of Changsha in one go."

"Why?" Huang Zhong said, "My lord, I heard in Changsha that Jin Xuan is incompetent and has no subordinates, so it is easy to take Wuling!"

Luo Yuan smiled and said, "Why did we take Changsha? Was it for the territory? What we want is for the people to live in peace and tranquility. That means we have to consider the cost of ruling. It is not enough to just take the city, we also need to rule it."

"To help the people distribute land, build houses, repair roads, and help them get rich and live a good life, we need to consider the cost of governance. It is not good to have more and more territory."

"We will take Changsha, because the plains here can grow rice, which can be harvested twice a year. There are many people here. If we take Wuling as well, how can we govern the people? Will we still need the nobles?"

Luo Yuan shook his head: "That's not the case. For a county, I would need thousands of petty officials. Our management is not good enough. Local governance requires the gentry. Wouldn't that mean we are back to the old ways? So, we have to wait for the right time to take Wuling, Lingling, and Guiyang!"

(End of this chapter)