Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 218
At noon, Xiang Zhuang marched into the boundary of Shanyin County under the escort of five hundred cavalry. The new Kuaiji County Sheriff Wu Qi and the county captain Ji Xin led eighty miles north to greet him. Ji Xin was Ji Bu. His younger brother, who is also a veteran of the Chu army, can barely be regarded as Xiang Zhuang's direct descendant, so Xiang Zhuang entrusted him with the important post of Kuaiji County Captain.

In order to gain the support of the old Chu family, the Jiangbei gentry and the Jiangdong clan, Xiang Zhuang had to compromise politically, giving up the positions of the three major prefects and most of the county magistrates and county magistrates. The position of county lieutenant is basically controlled by Xiang Zhuang's direct descendants.

The county lieutenant is in charge of the garrison of a county, Xiang Zhuang is not at ease in handing over the military power to others.

On this point, the aristocratic, gentry, and clan did not insist too much, because they also knew very well that Xiang Zhuang, as the king of the Great Chu Kingdom, would absolutely not allow the local military power to fall into the hands of others. And the only thing the clan can fight for is the governance of the local counties and counties.

Today's Jiangdong seems to be calm, but in fact there are many problems.

However, after experiencing many things, Xiang Zhuang has fully matured politically, so he has not lost his way in the face of the intricate political puzzle.

Xiang Zhuang knew very well that there were only two urgent tasks in front of him, one was government affairs and the other was military affairs. The government affairs were to register the number of registered households in the three counties of Jiangdong, and to conduct a systematic inventory of Chu's national power and manpower. , military affairs is a comprehensive reorganization of Xiang Tuo, Xiang Guan's remnants, county garrisons and clan armed forces.

Xiang Zhuang came to Sanyin this time to fully reorganize the clan armed forces in the fifteen counties of Shanyin.

For Da Chu, these clan armed forces are definitely a big hidden danger. Right now, these clan armed forces have succumbed to Xiang Zhuang's feet because they have no leader. However, once external forces intervene, it is unknown whether they will be as honest as they are now. Therefore, these hidden dangers must be resolved as soon as possible.

Otherwise, when external forces intervene on a large scale, these clan armed forces are likely to make waves from it. At that time, the Chu army will be trapped internally and externally, and the situation will be quite passive.

After the ceremony, Xiang Zhuang invited Ji Xin to his carriage. Xiang Zhuang's favor made Ji Xin very flattered. It should be known that Xiang Zhuang is no longer the general of the Western Chu Kingdom, but the Great Chu Kingdom. Wu Qi, who accompanied Ji Xin, was not only disdainful but also quite jealous of the favor Ji Xin received.

"Ji Xin, you have been here for more than half a month, how do you feel?"

Under Xiang Zhuang's fierce gaze, Ji Xin dared not look straight at him. Today's Xiang Zhuang is becoming more and more powerful. Except for Gao Chu, Xiao Kai and a few trusted generals, others dare not even take a breath in front of him. However, Ji Xin is Ji Bu's younger brother, and he is already Xiang Zhuang's direct descendant, but he is still trembling in front of Xiang Zhuang, walking on thin ice.

"My lord, there are fifteen counties under the jurisdiction of Kuaiji County, including Shanyin, Zhuji, Juzhang, and Yin County. Each county has a clan armed force. The small clan armed forces have only a hundred people, while the large ones have hundreds or even thousands of people. Many clans are in-laws and clan relatives, and the relationship is intricate and complicated, and it is very difficult to deal with it." Speaking of business, Ji Xin immediately became calm and no longer as stiff as before.

Xiang Zhuang nodded lightly. This situation was already in his expectation. If the clan armed forces in Kuaiji County were easy to clean up, he would not have to go there himself. Said: "How many clan armed forces do you estimate there are in Kuaiji County, and how many people are there in total?"

Ji Xindao: "Since taking office, I have traveled all over the six counties in the north of Kuaiji County. There are 160 clan armed forces in these six counties, and there are about [-] people in total. As for the nine counties in the south , Due to the high mountains and the long distance, I haven't had time to make an unannounced visit, but I heard such a saying."

Xiang Zhuang touched the curled beard at the corner of his lips, and said, "What do you say?"

Ji Xindao: "I also heard it from hearsay. I don't know if it is true or not. When I secretly visited a small county called Shan, I heard such a saying in the local area that although the population of Nanjiu County is small, the number of clan armed forces is far away. There are more counties than the six counties in the north, and the fighting power is much stronger. It is said that the nine counties in the south are no longer under the rule of Chu State."

Xiang Zhuang nodded silently, he knew that although Ji Xin said it very euphemistically, what he said was the truth.

Historically, neither the Great Qin Empire nor the Great Han Empire had real control over Zhejiang and Fujian. The tentacles of the empire only extended to the densely populated plains, while the vast hills and mountains were controlled by clans of all sizes. Relying on the armed forces, these clan armed forces seem to be independent kingdoms.

There is actually another way of saying these clan armed forces, and that is Shanyue!
Shanyue is actually an ethnic group after the fusion of refugees who fled from the Central Plains and the local aborigines. Throughout the Qin and Han Dynasties, Shanyue has always been outside the rule of the Central Plains Empire. The ruler has always focused on appeasing and rarely provoke them.

It was not until the Three Kingdoms came together that Shanyue was finally destroyed by Sun Wu.

After being separated from Wu County, Kuaiji County governs the next fifteen counties, and the North Six Counties are located in the Ningshao Plain.

The scope of Nanjiu County is much larger, which is roughly the area of ​​western Zhejiang, southern Zhejiang, northwestern Fujian, and southeastern Jiangxi. This is where the Red Army fought guerrillas. To really rule these wild lands, it is indeed somewhat powerless.

As for Sun Wu, the reason why he pacified Shanyue at all costs was entirely to rob Shanyue's strong population. Because during the period of the Three Kingdoms, the population of the Central Plains dropped sharply, and the total population of the entire Jiangdong was even less than one million. As a last resort, Sun Quan made up his mind to deal with Yamakoshi fought and eventually won the battle of conquest.

Therefore, the main body of the Kuaiji clan's armed forces is actually Shanyue. If Xiang Zhuang wants to truly pacify Shanyue, it is as difficult as reaching the sky, at least for now, it is absolutely impossible. Fortunately, Xiang Zhuang is not so greedy. The plains are fertile and densely populated. Xiang Zhuang must ensure the governance of this fertile land. As for Nanjiu County, appeasement is still the main priority.

At that moment, Xiang Zhuang waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry about the clan armed forces in the nine counties in the south. The most urgent thing is to solve the clan armed forces in the six counties of Qiantang, Shanyin, Yuyao, Zhuji, Juzhang, and Yin County in the north, especially the clan armed forces in Qiantang. The Lu clan is still jumping up and down and operating secretly, so it must be eradicated as soon as possible."

Ji Xin said: "The Lu clan is the largest clan in Qiantang. It used to have thousands of strong men, but after Xiang Guan was destroyed, it lost a large number of strong men. Now there are about 1000 strong men stationed in more than a dozen forts. However, the Lu clan is related by marriage to the other two big clans in Qiantang, the Zhang clan and the Yan clan, and they have a very close relationship."

Xiang Zhuang waved his hand, and said in an unquestionable tone: "The clan armed forces in Kuaiji must be reorganized. If the clans of all surnames refuse to accept it, they will all be wiped out!"

In today's Jiangdong, a political compromise has been reached, those who should be wooed have already been wooed, and those who should be isolated have also been isolated. Next, it is time to destroy those forces that should be eliminated. However, the tree wants to be quiet but the wind More than that, Xiang Zhuang didn't know that a big net aimed at strangling Da Chu was rapidly forming!
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Pengcheng, Huainan Palace.

Kuai Che straightened the E crown, and then walked into the warm pavilion, first gave a deep bow to Ying Bu who was sitting on the table, and then said: "Your Majesty is summoned late at night, I don't know why?"

Ying Bu didn't answer, but just handed the letter in his hand to Kuai Che.

Kuai Che took the slips and read the ten lines at a glance, his expression changed slightly, and he said, "The king of Han ordered the princes of the world to attack Jiangdong, and whoever goes down to Jiangdong first will be the king of Chu?!"

Ying Bu nodded and asked, "President Guo, what do you think of this matter?"

"Your Majesty, Old Liu Bang is trying to drive away wolves to devour tigers!" Kuai Che said without hesitation, "Zhou Yin, Jin She, and Li Zuoche are no more than mediocre, and Si Luoyao and Si Wuzhu are even strangers." The barbarians are not good enough to plan big things, if your majesty raises an army, he will definitely be the first target of Xiang Zhuang's attack, majesty, this is the way to bring disaster!"

Ying Bu picked up another roll of bamboo slips from the desk and said, "Then read this again."

Kuai Che took the bamboo slips from Ying Bu with some doubts, but after reading it, his expression changed drastically, and he lost his voice and said, "What, King Wu Rui of Hengshan also agreed to send troops? The general Mei Yan has assembled an army of [-] in Lujiang?! "

Hengshan King Wu Rui's weight is completely different from Zhou Yin, Si Wuzhu and his ilk, and Mei Yan is a famous general in the world. If the Hengshan Army is involved, there may be a chance to destroy Chu.

Even if the state of Chu cannot be destroyed, it is entirely possible to severely injure the Chu army.

After all, Xiang Zhuang has just inherited the throne of King Chu, and the situation in Jiangdong is far from peaceful. Once external forces intervene, the internal rebel forces will inevitably rise up upon hearing the news. , I'm afraid I can't stand it anymore, this situation is different from the original battle of the Dabie Mountains.

In the battle of the Dabie Mountains, Xiangzhuang did not have any burdens, and the Chu army did not need to guard the city, but in this battle of destroying the country, Xiangzhuang had many burdens and a city that must be defended. Will be greatly restricted, so can Xiang Zhuang still be as brave and unstoppable as he was in the Battle of Dabie Mountain?
Seeing Kuai Che's silence for a long time, Ying Bu asked quietly, "How are you, Prime Minister?"

Kuai Che took a deep breath and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, if the Hengshan Army is really able to participate in the battle, then this battle is very promising, and Your Majesty might as well participate in it, but..." After saying this, Kuai Che continued, "Our Huainan Army It is not advisable to join the war too early, you must wait until Mei Yan sends troops before you can intervene in the war."

"It's only natural." Ying Bo said, "As for King Hengshan, I will never lie to you."

One must know that Wu Rui, King of Hengshan, is Yingbo's father-in-law, and the two had a close relationship when Qin Mo rebelled. Yingbo was sure that the father-in-law would never lie to him.

(End of this chapter)