Chapter 717 The Way of Balance is in It
How stupid!
Qiao Wei felt that he was worrying too much about the gentry in Wu County, Jiangdong.
But there's no way.
When people live in this world, they naturally have identity labels, and other people use identities to distinguish friends from enemies.
For example, the factions under the command of various princes are now generally organized based on regions.
Outsiders are naturally not trusted.
And never think about entering the innermost circle.
After all, those families have been intermarrying for hundreds of years.
For example, the Xiahou family was clearly a different family from Cao Cao, but they were clan generals. Xiahou Dun even had a higher status than the Cao family, so they were almost a family.
The families of Yingchuan Xun, Chen, Zhong, Guo and others were intertwined and formed a group under Cao Cao's command.
The four major families of Cai, Kuai, Huang and Pang in Jingzhou were of the same blood and made Liu Biao so angry that he became a guard dog.
The same is true for the six surnames of Jiangdong.
Even the Luo family is no exception. Without many people supporting the Luo family, it would not have the current momentum.
If one wants to betray one's origin and give up one's identity, the price to pay is unimaginable, and one cannot even destroy oneself.
Because even your ashes do not belong to you alone, they are engraved with your origin and background.
This is what is called——
Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains!
The relationship between the Qiao and Luo families allows the Qiao family to have a way out.
But if he still wants to realize his political ambitions, he must protect the six surnames of Jiangdong. If he fails to protect the six surnames of Jiangdong, his Qiao family will also be marginalized in the end.
Perhaps he would be given a high position and then marginalized politically, which Qiao Wei could not tolerate.
The reason why the other surnames were unwilling to pay this money was very simple. Their political ambitions were different. What they wanted was to defend their territory, not to expand their borders.
In the minds of these Jiangdong locals, although no one said it, they all had one idea, which was how could Jiangdong possibly unify the world?
Prince Chu is indeed very powerful, and the current Jiangdong talents are also very strong, but together they are no match for King Xiang.
At the beginning, King Xiang became the emperor, but was defeated by Emperor Gaozu after only a few years. The history books said that "his rise was so rapid, and his fall was so rapid, it was unprecedented."
In the land of Jiangdong, there has always been a secret circulating about the reason why King Xiang failed, which is that the king of Jiangdong lacked royal spirit.
That is why King Xiang lost the Mandate of Heaven within a short period of time after he obtained it.
The people of Jiangdong, especially those of Wujun, believed in this rumor without a doubt. After three hundred years, this kind of thinking was deeply rooted in the hearts of almost every person in Wujun.
Even if Luo Chu came to Jiangdong, he could not change this thinking.
Since there is no hope of unifying the world and since the destiny does not fall on Jiangdong, why should we waste a lot of manpower and resources to do things that are meaningless to the family?
But in Qiao Wei's opinion, this idea is stupid.
People should not go against the general trend. Now it is obvious that the voices of Luo Chu's subordinates who want to expand territory are louder.
The six surnames of Wu County had only two choices.
The first is support, the second is opposition.
If you support it, you will naturally have to invest manpower and material resources. If you fail, there is nothing to say, but after you succeed, you will definitely be able to get a lot of benefits.
If you oppose it, you will be drawn into confrontation, and the resources you want to save will only be wasted in the confrontation. This is the so-called internal friction.
Whether supporting or opposing, it will be a loss to the family, so why not choose to support it?
The fruits of victory will not necessarily fall into the hands of the factions that led the war. Haven't there been many cases of victories being stolen since ancient times?
Instead of being timid now, it is better to plan early on how to take the possible victory into your own hands.
For example, after conquering Jiangxia County, he appointed Lu Su as the governor of Jiangxia, which could be considered a great victory for the exile faction.
What if the governor of Jiangxia is from one of the six surnames of Jiangdong?
Isn’t this a great victory for the six surnames!
The six surnames are not without talented people who can govern a county. Gu Yong's talent is enough to govern Jiangdong.
Lu Kang, the head of the Lu family, looked at the people around him, then looked at Qiao Wei, pondered for a moment, and recalled his own talented child, Lu Xun.
When Luo Chu just entered Jiangdong a few years ago, Lu Xun had already shown his talent and intelligence. After these years, Lu Kang was full of praise for Lu Xun.
Lu Xun is very different from most of the Lu family's children. He can draw inferences from one example when doing anything. At a young age, his wisdom is better than most people in the family. He is also very calm and has a clean character. Although he is not Lu Kang's son, Lu Kang believes that it is Lu Xun who will make the Lu family prosperous in the future.
Lu Xun had his own views on the situation in Jiangdong. Just a few months ago, when Lu Kang examined Lu Xun, Lu Xun replied with a resounding voice: "Prince Chu governed Jiangdong by doing nothing.
He stabilized the situation in Jiangdong, preventing Jiangdong from falling into internal strife, and then did not express any strategic actions.
He will act according to the ideas of whichever faction has the upper hand.
But he has outstanding talents, whether it is offense or defense, he can do it flawlessly.
But he is unwilling to make some choices himself, but needs to be pushed. He puts the right people in the right positions based on this.
The current situation in Jiangdong is different from when Prince Chu entered Jiangdong.
At that time, Jiangdong was said to have six counties, but in fact there were only two counties: Wu and Kuaiji.
At that time, Jiangdong was of course mainly our Jiangdong, but now Jiangdong has recovered Jiujiang, Lujiang, Danyang County, and Yuzhang County. The scholars in these counties also occupy high positions in Jiangdong.
Wujun's status in Jiangdong has inevitably declined.
Later, Jiangxia County was captured and Lu Su became the prefect of Jiangxia. This was a very scary thing. Those officials who had no roots in the exile system now had a place to settle down.
We once said that Jiangdong is south of the Yangtze River, but in the current Jiangdong, the three counties in the north of the Yangtze River are becoming more and more powerful. On the contrary, there are still countless Shanyue peoples entrenched in the four counties in the south of the Yangtze River, which are restraining the power of our old Jiangdong.
The Xiao family of Lanling and the Han family of Huaiyin went south.
Although they have good relations with our six surnames, it is more likely that they will strengthen the power of the pro-war faction.
Because once Jiangdong has the hope of becoming stronger, they will definitely hope to return to their homeland. After all, Yangzhou and Xuzhou are so close.
Especially the Huaiyin Han family, which is right next to Jiangdong, how could they not want to go back?
Moreover, although Prince Chu ruled by doing nothing, judging from the fact that he constantly introduced foreign nobles into Jiangdong, he might have the ambition to achieve great things deep in his heart.
The family should have made plans early."
A young man's voice kept echoing in Lu Kang's ears at this moment. He suddenly realized that Lu Xun's guesses were correct. What Xiao and Han said today proved that they had finally chosen to take another path.
Gongzi Chu's words today also slightly revealed some of his true thoughts deep in his heart.
What should Lu do?
Qiao Wei slowly opened his eyes, and Lu Kang suddenly said loudly: "Sir, we are all from the same county of Yangzhou, and we are all fellow villagers. I used to be the governor of Lujiang, and I am really sad to see the scene today.
The Wujun Lu family is willing to donate their medicinal herbs. "
Lu Kang's sudden voice startled the other families for a moment, and then they saw Lu Kang winking at them, and Qiao Wei also looked at them from time to time.
Except for Gu Yong, no one else knew what had happened.
Among the six surnames of Wu County, Gu Yong is considered a rare talent. He has been thinking about his future path these days.
He had just made up his mind to completely side with Luo Chu. As long as he didn't let the Gu family members go to their deaths, the rest of the money and food would be nothing.
Unexpectedly, Lu Kang was even faster than him. After Lu Kang said this, although the other three family heads didn't know what was going on, they clasped their fists, bowed and spoke almost at the same time.
Willing to donate medicine and food to provide disaster relief for the three counties in Jiangbei.
Zhou Yu and the others all narrowed their eyes slightly, with deep fear in their eyes. These six surnames in Jiangdong are truly of the same blood.
At this critical moment of political statement, he did not forget to help other families. Even though they did not know what was happening, they chose to advance and retreat together without hesitation, even if their interests might be damaged.
This kind of political alliance is so terrible that it is impossible to penetrate it even if a needle is inserted into it and water is poured out of it. If one person succeeds, six families will prosper.
Qiao Wei slowly suppressed the curse in his heart towards his allies. Fortunately, these people were not so stupid.
Qiao Wei turned his gaze to Luo Chu. The two looked at each other and nodded slightly without attracting anyone's attention.
In Jiangdong now, only Qiao Wei and Xiao Qiao know about Luo Chu's thoughts, no one else knows.
What Qiao Wei meant to Luo Chu was very simple. No matter what the Six Families of Wu County think in their hearts, they will always be your solid backing and the power you rely on to do anything in Jiangdong.
People like us don't have any big ambitions, unlike those outsiders.
After receiving these hints, Luo Chu expressed satisfaction with the influence of the Qiao family. With the Six Surnames of Wujun, his position in Jiangdong would be indestructible no matter how it changed.
After the six families of Wu County expressed their opinions, the rest of the second-rate gentry in Yangzhou naturally followed suit.
They are said to be second-rate aristocratic families, but in fact, in the eyes of the Central Plains aristocratic families, among these Jiangdong aristocratic families, only a few families such as the Lujiang Zhou family and the Six Surnames of Wujun are worthy of attention and can be regarded as aristocratic families.
After all, being a noble family requires more than just holding an official position. One must also have ancestral classics and so on. Otherwise, even if one becomes one of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, he is just a meteor.
Especially nobles like the Xiao and Han families.
Yes.
The Xiao and Han families, or the Five Surnames and Seven Families, are usually called aristocrats, because they have been prominent for too long and have a title that cannot be changed for three hundred years. They are different from those aristocratic families who pass down their family names by relying on official positions.
As for the Luo family, let’s not mention it.
In the eyes of many people, although the Luo family only has the title of duke, they are like royal family.
Most of the gentry in Jiangdong were just ordinary powerful people and were at the bottom of the contempt chain.
Although the performance of the Six Families of Wu County today has caused some fear and dissatisfaction, the final result is good. Luo Chu stood up, raised the wine cup high in his hand, and said loudly: "Jiangdong is harmonious, what difficulties in this world can't be overcome?
Is there anything in this world that the heroes of Jiangdong cannot overcome?
Please drink this cup to celebrate this day."
Everyone could see that Master Chu was very happy. The heads of the three families, Chu, Zhu and Zhang in Wujun, were so frightened upon seeing this that they broke out in cold sweats and even their hands holding the wine cups were shaking.
Why would Prince Chu suddenly change his promise to them?
Doesn’t Prince Chu just want to rule Jiangdong?
Could it be that simply getting Jiangxia had changed Gongzi Chu's mind?
Countless thoughts flashed through their minds, but fear arose from it all.
One of the most terrifying things for the nobles is not being able to figure out the true thoughts of the leaders of their faction.
The gentry were powerful but also weak. Especially in times of chaos, a family could be destroyed at any moment.
The Yuan family of Runan had three dukes in four generations. If Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu had not run away quickly, they would have been wiped out by Dong Zhuo in Luoyang city.
If a warlord holding a knife really wants to destroy a family, it is very easy as long as he holds the idea of dying together.
Not to mention a single family, even the entire state's aristocratic families could be destroyed.
Families like the Xiao and Han families all left Xuzhou because they were worried about the destruction of their families.
Even a prominent family like the two Lu families in Qingzhou had to submit to Yuan Shao on the surface, because they had to give Yuan Shao face and could not openly oppose him.
Luo Chu was invited to Jiangdong by the Six Surnames of Wujun. Since entering Jiangdong, he has been rather harsh towards the Six Surnames of Wujun, but he has not caused any real harm to them. Instead, he has helped the Six Surnames eliminate some bad apples and guided the Six Surnames to a higher level.
But now, the three families almost stood against Gongzi Chu. Fortunately, there were still people who could guess Gongzi Chu's thoughts.
Most people left the palace. When Luo Chu reached the threshold, Qiao Wei stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "My dear son-in-law, when are you going to announce that matter?
This kind of thing should be done sooner rather than later. If there are too many interests involved, then you will be stuck in a dilemma and you can’t do it as you want.”
Luo Chu also whispered: “Don’t worry, father-in-law, this kind of thing is not something that should be done sooner rather than later, but at the right time.
Today, Jiangdong is still part of the Han Dynasty. This kind of thing is not easy to do. I am waiting for an opportunity, and this opportunity should be coming soon. Some people are ready to make a move, and some people are already deeply bound and can no longer tolerate this political order. "
After hearing what Luo Chu said, Qiao Wei knew that Luo Chu had something in mind, so he nodded and said, "Since you have your own rhythm in mind, I won't say any more.
This damn plague has accumulated for three years and was completely destroyed in one day. The three counties in Jiangbei were destroyed in a short period of time by this plague. Jiangdong’s major plans will be affected.”
Luo Chu also felt helpless when he heard this, and even a rather absurd idea arose in his mind, that is, is there really no royal aura south of the Huai River?
Why did a major plague suddenly sweep across the south when the economy was clearly booming, causing a large number of casualties and interrupting the upward momentum?
In this world without destiny, such coincidental events still happen.
Cao Cao and Luo Chu were busy licking their wounds and recovering their strength which had been damaged by the plague, and Liu Bei was unable to escape either.
The only thing to be thankful for is that Xuzhou is not as downstream as Jiangdong.
Liu Bei's biggest loss was that the army encountered a plague, which caused many soldiers to die from the plague. He even did not dare to lead his soldiers back to Donghai County, for fear of bringing the plague back to Xuzhou.
He endured like this until Luo Xuan invented the medicine to treat the plague, but one third of his soldiers were killed or wounded.
So miserable!
The casualties are almost comparable to those suffered during the years of continuous battles with Cao Cao.
"God doesn't bless me, Liu Bei!"
After Liu Bei finally returned to Xuzhou, he was silent for a long time when facing Luo Qi and others, and only said this sentence.
There is endless bitterness in these words.
Mi Zhu, Zhang Fei and others didn't know how to comfort Liu Bei. After all, he was so unlucky. Liu Bei led the army to travel, as if he was going to die. He lost one third of his troops and gained nothing. Instead, Cao Cao got Runan.
But this cannot be blamed on Liu Bei. It can only be said that it is destiny, which is why people sigh.
"Young Master Qi is here!"
At this moment, someone suddenly spoke loudly, and everyone's eyes lit up. If anyone could persuade Liu Bei, it would only be Gongzi Qi.
Everyone quickly made way for a wide path. Luo Qi rode over, paused, then jumped off his horse and clasped his fists, saying, "Lord Xuande."
Liu Bei held Luo Qi's arm with both hands, unable to speak. Luo Qi said, "I understand what Lord Xuande is thinking. Who did I bring for you?"
As he spoke, he stepped aside and let a middle-aged man with a refined appearance come out. When Liu Bei saw him, he was immediately surprised and said, "Yuanlong!"
It was Chen Deng and Chen Yuanlong from Xuzhou. He and Liu Bei were old acquaintances. To some extent, they were from the same school. In that era, they had a very close relationship.
"Lord Xuande, I haven't seen you for many years. I hope you are doing well!"
Chen Yuanlong's face was full of smiles. He bowed respectfully to Liu Bei. He was completely willing and in favor of Liu Bei being the governor of Xuzhou.
Liu Bei held Chen Deng's arm with one hand and said in surprise, "Yuanlong, when I first entered Xuzhou, I wanted to find you, but your mother said you were not in Xuzhou and I didn't know where you were. It was a pity. I didn't expect you to come back now.
Are you willing to help? If I get you, even if I lose a lot of troops this time, it can barely comfort me."
Chen Deng almost burst into tears upon hearing this, and bowed down and said, "I am grateful for your kindness, my lord. I am here to see you, my lord!"
Liu Bei laughed loudly, then turned to the crowd and pointed at Chen Deng and said, "Everyone, this is an old acquaintance of mine, Chen Deng Chen Yuanlong, born in the Chen family, a great family in Xuzhou. He is both civil and military, and there are few people in the world who can surpass him. With his help today, I am a little closer to achieving my great cause."
Seeing that Liu Bei had changed from his previous confusion and became excited, everyone became even more curious about Chen Deng.
The Xuzhou gentry and powerful people were no strangers to Chen Deng. After all, unlike wealthy merchants like the Mi family, the Chen family was a real gentry. If it weren't for the two great gods, the Xiao and Han families, in Xuzhou, the Chen family would be considered the leader of the gentry, and their status would be similar to that of the Yingchuan Xun family among the Yingchuan gentry.
Chen Deng's statement towards Liu Bei today is a shot in the arm for the entire Liu Bei force.
This shows that the current crisis in Xuzhou has not affected the confidence of the Xuzhou gentry in Liu Bei, and the entire Xuzhou is still united around Liu Bei to overcome the difficulties together.
Yes.
Let’s overcome this difficult time together.
Anyone with political wisdom can see that the current situation in Xuzhou is very dangerous.
After Liu Bei and others entered the Donghai County government, they immediately convened a special political and military meeting in Xuzhou to discuss matters concerning Xuzhou.
Liu Bei sat in the main seat, and below him were Luo Qi, Mi Zhu, Chen Deng, Liu Ye, Sun Gan, Jian Yong, Liu Yan and other civil officials. Although Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others did not understand much about these things, they also sat nearby.
Only Lu Shen and Taishi Ci, who were far away in Taishan County, did not come here. However, those two cannot move lightly and will be informed of the results later.
Liu Bei's face was quite solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "Everyone, the current situation in Xuzhou is extremely precarious. I wonder if you have any solution."
Except for Zhang Fei and other generals, the rest of the people had solemn expressions.
The area of Xuzhou has been a battleground for military strategists since the Zhou Dynasty. Ji Zhao returned to Haojing only after he had fought his way here.
The biggest battle was the fight between Emperor Gaozu and King Xiang at the end of the Qin Dynasty, which almost determined the fate of the world.
This place is indeed important, connecting the north and the south, but the biggest problem is that it is flat with no mountains or rivers separating it, making it easy to attack but difficult to defend.
Wanting to simply rely on Xuzhou to defend the foundation is basically a dream. The reason why Liu Bei was able to sit back and relax before was because Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou and Yuan Shu occupied Runan, and the two of them were the biggest rivals.
No matter who wanted to attack Xuzhou, Liu Bei could form an alliance with another person, but now Cao Cao had obtained Runan and now owned the entire Yanzhou and Yuzhou. The entire western part of Xuzhou was under Cao Cao's control.
Cao Cao could now attack Xuzhou from any direction without restraint, while Xuzhou had to defend itself on a thousand-mile long line of defense.
This is absolutely impossible!
Although Liu Bei was not good at other things, he was very good at fighting wars, so when he said that Xuzhou was in danger now, it was not an exaggeration at all.
Seeing that no one was talking, Luo Qi said slowly: "Lord Xuande, Xuzhou is surrounded by four battlegrounds, none of which are strategically located, but fortunately, Taishan County and Yinghou State are in our hands.
As long as Taishan County is defended, the opponents coming from the north will not be able to enter Xuzhou. Even if they want to enter from Langya County, Taishan County can cut off their food supply. The north is stable and there is the sea to the east, so there is no need to worry.
The only thing to worry about is the west and the south. The southernmost part of Xuzhou is Guangling County, which is connected to Jiujiang County and Wu County. However, Wu County and Guangling County are separated by the Yangtze River, making it difficult to travel. The only thing to worry about is Jiujiang County.
But what if we think about it from another angle?
Runan County is connected to Jiujiang County, Lujiang County and Jiangxia County, and since Yuan Shu, he has always included Jiujiang and Lujiang counties north of the Yangtze River in his possession.
This is the natural goal that the forces occupying Runan County hope to achieve. After all, it is not difficult to capture the area north of the Yangtze River.
Compared with Jiujiang, Lujiang and Runan County, its strength is inferior.
In this case, Jiangdong is also extremely wary of Cao Cao. If it were not for this plague, Jiangdong and our army should be fighting Cao's army in Runan County at this moment.
If we can send a letter of alliance, explain the pros and cons, and volunteer to attract Cao Cao's firepower for Jiangdong, Cao Cao will be afraid to lead a large army to attack Xuzhou after learning about it.
As long as Cao Cao does not mobilize his entire army, it will not be difficult for the people of Xuzhou to defeat his small troop with their united will.
The current ruler of Jiangdong is Qi's younger brother. He is a man of great talent and knows the pros and cons. He will certainly agree with our proposal."
Liu Bei's eyes lit up. Luo Qi's method was actually a variation of the previous three-party check and balance. The only difference was that Yuan Shu was dead and someone else was appointed to balance the power.
Checks and balances?
Liu Ye suddenly had an idea, and he said excitedly: "My lord, I just thought of something from your plan.
If you are still worried, why not sign an agreement with Yuan Shao, where he withdraws half of his troops from Qingzhou, and we withdraw half of our troops from Taishan County.
This will certainly put more pressure on Cao Cao."
?
What does this have to do with Yuan Shao?
Only Luo Qi and Chen Deng understood what Liu Ye wanted to say. Chen Deng explained to Liu Bei in a deep voice: "My lord, what Lord Zi Yang meant is that the war between Jizhou and Youzhou is at its most critical moment. If a new force attacks at this time,
Then Gongsun Zan will definitely lose.
If Yuan Shao obtained Youzhou, his next target would definitely be Cao Cao, because he could not attack from Taishan County and could only attack Henan and Yanzhou, which were all Cao Cao's territories.
This is another strategy of driving the tiger to devour the wolf, but it is somewhat difficult to implement. The most important thing is that we don’t know how far the war in Youzhou has progressed.”
I see!
After listening to Chen Deng's explanation, Liu Bei finally understood.
This was actually Cao and Liu's previous judgment on the situation in the Central Plains, that is, the two of them joined forces to fight against Yuan Shao, but they did not expect that the waste Yuan Shu would suddenly be defeated, even faster than Yuan Shao fought Gongsun Zan.
As a result, Cao Cao got a great advantage.
The plague also prevented others from spying on Runan, and Luo Xuan even cured the plague directly. It must be said that it seemed as if God was on Cao Cao's side, and all good things happened to him.
One of them is to ally with Luo and Chu to check and balance Cao Cao.
The second is to strengthen Yuan Shao and force Cao Cao to ally with him.
This was the idea that everyone suggested to Liu Bei, the so-called strategy of forming alliances, but Liu Bei shook his head and said, "I can't do that. Gongsun Zan is my elder brother. It's fine if I can't help him now, but how can I join forces with Yuan Shao to harm him?
Moreover, since we want to balance the power, why can't we unite with Gongsun Zan to balance Yuan Shao?
Then join forces with Yuan Shao to check and balance Cao Cao.
There is also Liu Biao in Jingzhou and Zhao Hong in Nanyang, which is also next to Runan County.
The alliances you just mentioned can definitely be expanded in scope.
I once heard that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty, there were strategists who were able to unite the countries through either vertical or horizontal alliances. Can't the same be done now?
Cao Cao may be stronger now, but isn’t the strategy of forming alliances to unite the weak to suppress the strong?
When the plague is completely over, we will start looking for allies and help each other. Isn't that wonderful?"
Luo Qi was a little surprised that Liu Bei could think of this, but since Liu Bei had brought it up, there was no problem in implementing it in advance.
————
In the eighth year of Jian'an, a plague caused devastating damage to the economy of the south. From historical records, it can be concluded that for two whole years, the southern princes did not carry out large-scale military operations, which was unimaginable in the chaotic times. The plague objectively delayed the outbreak of the second war between the states. - "History of Wars in the Late Eastern Han Dynasty"
(End of this chapter)
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