Chapter 662 Jiangdong Qiao Clan
Although Luo Chu was young, he was very smart and he saw at a glance that Sun Jian's goal was to take control of Jiangdong.
But even Luo Chu had heard of Sun Jian's bravery and character. It was unclear whether it would be a blessing or a curse to release such a fierce tiger into Jiangdong.
Luo Chu only drank with Sun Jian, but did not respond to his conversation, so the banquet ended like this.
Looking at Luo Chu leaving, Sun Jian was quite helpless, but could only sigh, "If Prince Chu enters Jiangdong and links up with the various clans, it will be like an iron wall. What should I do?"
After Luo Chu and Sun Jian left, he frowned deeply as soon as he got on the boat.
Jiangdong is fertile and has no owner.
The primary goal of Yuan Shu's group, located in the upper reaches of the Huai River, is to occupy Huai and Si. However, Jiangdong is behind Huai and Si, so Yuan Shu's group will definitely seek to enter here. If there is no Sun Jian, there will be Wang Jian and Li Jian.
"Is Uncle Qiao unwilling to rely on the warlords? Or does he have other considerations?"
Without meeting Qiao Wei, Luo Chu could only guess his motives based on limited information.
The ship sailed downstream from Jiujiang towards Wujun. Once it entered the territory of Wujun, the prosperous scene that greeted it was far better than Yanzhou, Qingzhou and Xuzhou. The war in the Central Plains had not yet spread here, and it had not encountered too many wars, so this kind of scene appeared.
Although Jiangzuo had Confucian classics passed down from generation to generation, it was excluded by the Confucian scholar circle in the Central Plains and gradually developed its own set of evaluation system.
In addition, there were remnants of ancient Chu culture in Jiangzuo, and after the hundreds of Buddhist and Taoist schools were introduced here, they all changed.
After Luo Chu entered Wujun, he went straight to Wuxian. In the east of the Yangtze River, Wuxian was still called by its old name - Gusu.
The big families in Wu County also called themselves this: The Six Families of Gusu, the Best in Jiangdong.
Qiao Wei, who had been waiting for Luo Chu's arrival, sent his retainers to greet him. Soon they entered Qiao's garden, where they saw pavilions, towers, flowers, birds, mountains and rivers everywhere, which were in harmony with nature and very elegant.
"The scenery of Jiangdong, with its beautiful mountains and waters, is truly unforgettable."
Luo Chu walked into the pavilion and couldn't help but sigh, and then he heard a smiling voice coming, "Since my nephew likes the scenery of Jiangdong, why don't you stay in Jiangdong, isn't it beautiful?"
Luo Chu turned around and looked towards the source of the voice, and saw a rather elegant middle-aged man walking into the pavilion. It was Qiao Wei, the head of the Qiao family, with a gentle smile on his face.
Luo Chu quickly bowed and said, "My nephew greets my uncle."
Qiao Wei glanced at Luo Chu. It had been several years since they last met. Luo Chu was indeed completely different from before. He now had a handsome face and it was rare to find such a talented person in Jiangzuo. Qiao Wei remembered that there was a son of Zhou family in Lujiang who had a similar person.
The two of them sat down, Luo Chu poured tea for them, Qiao Wei smiled and said: "You have been traveling all the way, today I will welcome you and prepare a family dinner for you at home.
The next day, my uncle will gather the young men from Gusu for you. Nowadays, a kind of banquet is popular in Jiangdong, which is called "Qushui Liushang".
All the young men and women from Jiangdong families are present and will be seated. I will then introduce the scholars to you.”
Luo Chu thanked him. He knew that Qiao Wei wanted to show himself off to the aristocratic families of Jiangdong.
This kind of Qushui Liushang banquet might be just for fun at ordinary times, but if someone stands out at a banquet organized by a noble leader like Qiao Wei, then he will rise rapidly. Moreover, Qiao Wei also said that there will be both men and women, so it is very likely to become a meeting for marriage alliances among the families.
The meaning of Qiao Wei's words was very clear. Since the meeting was convened for himself, he was the undisputed protagonist.
He couldn't help but feel a little curious, why wasn't this level of display used on the Qiao family's children?
Qiao Wei said with a hint of emotion: "Nephew, since you came to Jiangdong these days, what do you feel about the people in Jiangdong?"
Luo Chu smiled and said, "I just feel that the young men in Jiangdong are talented and handsome, and the women in Jiangdong are also gentle and lovely, like spring breeze blowing on willows everywhere."
Qiao Wei smiled when he heard this, but Luo Chu saw a trace of worry between his brows, so he took the initiative to ask: "Uncle, is there anything you are worried about?"
Qiao Wei said softly: "The world is in chaos, can Jiangdong remain immune?
There are many talented young men in Jiangdong, but my family has never had any young men who can shoulder the great cause. How can I not feel worried?
Have you seen Sun Jian?"
Luo Chu nodded, and Qiao Wei said, "In the past, Wu Hou Qingji was the king, and the wise Sun Zi was the prime minister, so the Sun family flourished in Jiangdong.
However, a thousand years have passed, and the Sun family has long since fallen into decline. Even the family tree and ancestral hall were destroyed in the war, and now they are just a poor family.
Although Sun Jian came from a poor family, he was an extraordinary person. He was known as the Fierce Tiger of Jiangdong. He came from Wu County and was able to become a loyal prince along the way.
He was a first-rate general in the world. Not only Sun Jian, but also the prefect of Danyang was an outstanding person. All the counties in Yangzhou, including Jiujiang, Lujiang, Yuzhang and Danyang, had outstanding figures.
Who among these people doesn't want to enter Wujun and control Yangzhou to establish their own regime?"
Luo Chu knew what Qiao Wei was worried about. Now was a time of chaos, and it was the time for heroes to show their talents. These warlords began to choose their own places to hide.
The Six Families of Wu County have outstanding reputations and great power, but in terms of outstanding figures, they do not have any top-notch young men who can maintain the peace in Jiangdong.
Luo Chu hesitated for a moment and asked, "Uncle, are you still worried about the Three Mutual Methods?
Allow me to make a bold statement, I'm afraid the Han Dynasty will never be able to be revived, and it is right for each family to defend their own territory.
Ding Yuan, the former governor of Bingzhou, died in the Taiping Uprising. His adopted son Lu Bu, who was originally the chief clerk, now takes over as governor of Bingzhou.
Gongsun Zan of Youzhou is an arrogant person. He is not only the deputy governor of Youzhou, but also the military officer, and he controls the power of Youzhou. I am afraid that he will soon come into conflict with the governor of Youzhou and become the governor of Youzhou himself.
This Three Mutual Law exists in name only, why doesn't the uncle recommend the young man with the surname to be the leader?"
Qiao Wei shook his head and said, "It's hard to be an assistant minister, how can it be easy to be the ruler of a place in troubled times? There is no son or daughter of the six families in Wu County who can take on such a great responsibility."
Transforming the family into a country is the ultimate goal of most families.
But everyone knows the risks of turning one's family into a country. Once it fails, a lot of people will die.
People from poor families have nothing to begin with, so they have to be the first to start their own business. Once they succeed, they can turn their lives around in an instant.
For example, the Liu family. Although the Han Dynasty was in turmoil, in fact, there were branches of the Liu family among the aristocratic families in every province and county in the world.
Even the Luo family could not compare to this. Only the Liu family appointed princes to various places and left behind countless branch families.
Aristocratic families are different from poor families. Most of them are only willing to make investments. If they succeed, they will continue to be rich. If they fail, they will sacrifice the head of the family. The family will always be fine. There are very few who will personally take action like the Yuan family.
Luo Chu frowned slightly.
According to Qiao Wei, given the current situation in Wu County, it is inevitable that warlords from other places will take over. However, when warlords take over, they will definitely not come to be puppets. They will definitely bring their own forces, at least to check and balance the local gentry.
Yuan Shao got his start with the help of the Yingchuan gentry. Cao Cao was Yuan Shao's younger brother and also received help from the Yingchuan gentry. When the Yingchuan gentry arrived in Hebei, they naturally seized the positions of the Hebei people.
However, Yuan Shao was capable and did a good job of balancing the two. The Hebei gentry held official positions in the official department, and Xun Chen, the leader of the Yingchuan gentry, served as the chief strategist. Moreover, under Yuan Shao's mediation, they were able to work together and benefited from it.
The gentry is very powerful, but in fact they are not as omnipotent as imagined. As long as the chessboard is not overturned, the gentry will basically not lose. But once the warlords decide to overturn the chessboard, the best outcome for the gentry is that both sides will suffer losses.
Even a top-notch wealthy family like the Yuan family had to be humble in the face of Dong Zhuo, because Dong Zhuo could turn the entire Yuan family into ashes at any time. No matter how high the reputation was or how many disciples and former officials they had, it was all in vain without the people.
What Qiao Wei was worried about was that if they encountered a warlord who was incompetent, cruel, bloodthirsty, and short-sighted, the Wujun gentry would be in trouble.
Either the local nobles would be massacred, or there would be political strife. In either case, the six surnames would suffer heavy losses.
Luo Chu had a little guess that Qiao Wei either wanted him to be the lord of Jiangdong, or hoped to unite the six surnames through Luo Chu to fight against the warlords who would invade Jiangdong in the future.
In the end, he chose a warlord across states and counties who was far-sighted and capable of cooperation. In other words, Qiao Wei hoped that Luo Chu would be the governor of Yangzhou.
He knew that the Luo family would not be king, but being the governor of Yangzhou did not necessarily mean he had to fight for the world. For example, as the governor of Jiaozhou, who would have thought that he would fight for the world?
Just defend the territory and keep the people safe, and wait until the Central Plains is settled, then surrender directly. This way, Yangzhou will not have to encounter war, and both the gentry and the common people will be able to be preserved.
It's not just the Wujun gentry who think so; most of the gentry in the world think so.
Only the gentry in Guanzhong, Sanhe, Runan, Yingchuan and Hebei always thought about assisting the holy lord and unifying the world.
Luo Chu pondered. Qiao Wei knew that Luo Chu would be able to guess what he meant. He knew too well how smart this young man was. He had come up with a brilliant plan several years ago, and his plan would surely be even more terrifying after studying for a few years.
"Uncle, I probably know what you are thinking.
But Jiangdong is different from Jingchu. If you want to accomplish anything in Jingchu, you must control Yizhou and Hanzhong. Nothing can be accomplished in Jingchu alone.
But Jiangdong is different. Once you get Huaisi and Jiangdong, this place can become the foundation for an emperor!
Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Huai and Si have always been the key areas fought over by various princes.
Any prince who seized the Huai and Si rivers would never go north to fight for the world, but would definitely go down the Huai River to Jiangdong and demand Jiangdong's submission.
If Jiangdong were to take control of Huai and Si, Jiangdong would no longer be limited to defending its territory and its people, but would have to fight for the world to the north."
Qiao Wei sighed deeply upon hearing this. He had to admit that Luo Chu's analysis was correct and his previous thoughts were a bit too simple.
————
Chu went to Jiangdong, and Qiao Wei met him. The two sat and discussed. Qiao Wei asked him about the war and peace in Jiangdong. Chu discussed the nine provinces and said decisively: "When a hero sits and controls the southeast, the war will never stop!" - "Book of Wu·Biography of Yuzhang County Duke"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
