"Young Master, Mr. Jinglue and the others are already waiting in the side hall."

Upon hearing Ju Shou's report, Zhao Hao nodded slightly and put down the book in his hand.

This is the latest edition of the "Three Character Classic," which Zhao Hao plans to use as a blueprint for the first step in promoting education.

With more school-age children in the territory, the plan for compulsory education can be planned and implemented.

However, there are more pressing matters at hand that Zhao Hao must address first.

"Young Master!"

"Okay, everyone, please sit down."

Inside the side hall, guarded by layers upon layers of personal guards, was where Zhao Hao planned to discuss matters with everyone that evening.

"Jinglue, convey the latest situation from all sides to them."

"yes."

Wang Meng read through the intelligence he had recently received from Huainan, Jizhou, Xuzhou, and other places one by one.

"Yuan Shao was truly a man who would not give up until he reached the Yellow River. In the four counties under his jurisdiction, he vigorously promoted agriculture and commerce, recruited soldiers and horses, and conducted constant training."

A rough estimate suggests that his army numbers over 200,000.

Ju Shou chuckled, "He's resorting to any means necessary to fight against our lord. But such reckless military campaigns will only render any efforts to improve the situation futile."

Everyone nodded and continued listening to Wang Meng's explanation.

"The conflict between Yizhou and Yunzhou continues unabated. However, only small-scale battles have occurred between the two sides, which suggests they have sensed our intention to maintain a balance of power and have refrained from large-scale warfare."

Gongsun Yang nodded. "Jia Long is not of one mind with you, young master. This man probably wants to take this opportunity to carve up Yunzhou and do what Zhao Tuo did."

Bai Qi, who rarely appears in public, stroked his beard and sighed.

"Heh, every year Shi Xie from Jiaozhou sends people on long journeys to visit, while the remote Yunzhou wants to follow in the footsteps of Zhao Tuo's separatist rule. The Wei Zhongxian you sent, young master, must be to suppress this situation, right?"

Wang Meng nodded and smiled, "That's right. Liu Yan is now critically ill. Under Wei Zhongxian's planning, Liu Mao will fight with Liu Zhang for a while, but it won't be long before he can deal with Jia Long."

Yunzhou is, after all, predominantly inhabited by southerners. Given Jia Long's abilities, he cannot completely unify them, so there is nothing to fear.

Then, Wang Meng picked up another silk scroll, glanced at it, and passed it around to everyone.

"Yuan Shu of Huainan intends to declare himself emperor. Everyone has actually calculated this, but the spies sent by our lord actually revealed the policy of 'southerners returning to the south and northerners returning to the north' to settle the displaced people."

Although there were capable officials like Zhang Xun who selected a small number of displaced people to cultivate land in Huaibei, after a few years, neither the aristocratic families who considered themselves southerners nor the common people would support Yuan Shu.

Ju Shou laughed heartily, "Even if it's a temporary measure, how can you utter such divisive words? When Huaibei is attacked, why would the people of Huainan come to your aid? Yuan Gonglu, you're digging your own grave!"

Zhao Hao smiled knowingly and subconsciously added.

"The bones in the tomb are nothing to worry about."

Everyone echoed his words, "Young master's insightful opinion!"

Then Wang Meng changed the subject: "However, this move has increased the strength of Sun Jian's forces, which has drawn your attention, to some extent. His son, Sun Ce, has sworn brotherhood with Zhou Yu and has even introduced a strategy of both suppression and appeasement against the Yue tribes."

"I'm afraid that within three years, Kuaiji will become an impenetrable fortress, making it difficult for Yuan Gonglu to extend his influence again."

Zhao Hao waved his hand, "It's alright. No matter how powerful they become, they'll only have a population of around two or three hundred thousand, which won't threaten our army. But if Yuan Gonglu really wants to become emperor one day, we must make them stand on our side and turn our backs on Yuan Gonglu."

Thus, a Yangzhou weakened by mutual destruction will be easier for us to control in the future!

Li Ru's sinister expression immediately appeared, and he echoed with a slight smirk.

"That's exactly right! Even if Sun Wentai is truly as virtuous and martial as you say, he can only manage a grueling battle against Yuan Gonglu. It's a pity that these laborers can't be used by us..."

"Wenhe, rest assured, when our troops point their swords at Huainan, they will all be valuable laborers." Zhao Hao paused, then added, "But if possible, we should try to find foreign prisoners to work for us."

"Many of the tribes surrounding our land actually have the blood of the descendants of Yan and Huang in their veins."

"Therefore, our methods can be used on those extremely wicked aristocratic families, but not on those who will one day become our subjects."

Li Ru nodded slightly, "Don't worry, young master, I can tell the difference."

Finally, Wang Meng will also present the situation in Xuzhou, which is of most concern to everyone.

"Liu Bei, a marginal figure in Xuzhou, seems to have received the help of a strategist and has actually submitted a memorial to the court to manage the matter of the unauthorized establishment of a governor in Xuzhou."

Although all the feudal lords in the world knew this in their hearts but did not say it outright, they could still speak of it with a legitimate reason.

Liu Bei is trying to get involved in the power struggle between the two Tao brothers, my lord. Should we let him succeed?

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Hao nodded in response.

"He already holds the title of a general with a miscellaneous title, so let's give him the rank of Marquis of Ting and the position of General of An Dong. If there is any unrest in Xuzhou, we can act as we see fit."

"Young master's insight is brilliant!"

"Well then, let Tao Qian's eldest son, Tao Shang, be appointed as the governor of Xuzhou, and his second son, Tao Ying, be appointed as the General Who Guards the East."

Tao Qian was once appointed General Who Guards the East. Now, he has granted Tao Shang, who is not supported by the civil officials of Xuzhou, the position of Governor of Xuzhou, and Tao Ying, who is not supported by most of the military generals of Xuzhou, the title of General.

In this way, the two will inevitably compete, and only the one who survives in the end will be able to have both!

As for concerns that the two sides might merge due to their close brotherly bond? Haha, that's not going to happen.

Even without Liu Bei's presence, it wouldn't have allowed the two brothers to reconcile and reunite.

With Zhao Gao secretly instigating things, all of this will naturally happen as planned.

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