Jingzhou was in jubilation, but the Central Plains fell into silence.
Cheng Yu withheld food and fodder, mixed dried human meat with it, and harmed the people. His behavior was outrageous and his crimes were intolerable to heaven. The emperor was furious and issued an edict to exterminate his entire clan.
There was drought and locust plague in the Central Plains for consecutive years. Some officials believed that it was caused by the royal fortune. Ziwei and Beidou responded and wrote a letter to suggest moving the capital to Hebei.
As the decree to move the capital was issued, everyone in the court was shocked, and there was crying and wailing again in the city of Xuchang.
All the officials and palace maids who followed the emperor were filled with grief. This move of the capital might even mean the end of their fate.
Cao Cao had just finished dealing with these trivial matters with a headache, and was considering whether to go out in person to teach the capricious Sun Quan a lesson.
When Hu Zhi brought the news back to Xuchang, Cao Cao was furious and cursed Liu Qi as a despicable villain. He had just suffered a defeat and now he had to pay five million yuan in compensation, which was a great shame and humiliation.
Xun Yu said: "Although Liu Qi is asking for 5 million in money and food, I estimate that it will be the same as last time, no more than 3 million. Prime Minister, why don't you promise him a high position and generous salary, and marry him to ease his military momentum, and wait until Huainan is stable, and then calmly deal with the enemy."
Cao Cao had never been threatened like this before. He was so angry that his face turned blue. He said in a deep voice: "Little Liu Qi, I swear to avenge you!"
Dong Zhao offered a suggestion: "Liu Qi is in charge of Jingzhou, and his ambition is not small. We should not let him become too powerful. Now Dongwu is changing its stance according to the wind, and Zhao Fan is timid and cowardly. Why not persuade the Wuxi barbarians to rebel? If they can disrupt the land of southern Jingzhou, the prime minister can calmly organize the troops and take revenge."
Xun Yu nodded and said, "The barbarians are greedy for profit. If you promise them gold, pearls and other valuables, they will surely rise up and cause chaos. Liu Qi is too busy to take care of himself, so he has no intention of heading north."
"I don't want Liu Xuande to die, and another Liu Qi will rise!" Cao Cao sighed, "If I had a son, I'd rather be like Liu Bowei. The blue-eyed man is fickle-minded and a villain!"
He ordered Xun Yu to handle the matter and bring back Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun as soon as possible. Giving Liu Qi official titles and positions were not a problem. The key was to reduce the money and food as much as possible. How could we provide aid to the enemy before fighting
After everyone left, Cao Chun said, "Liu Qi insulted my brother and went too far. If he is not removed soon, he will become a serious threat."
Cao Cao rubbed his brows helplessly and said: "However, Liu Qi has grown up, and Sun Quan's son is disturbing Huainan. Now the people of Jingzhou have lost their hearts. It will be difficult to go south again!"
Cao Chun said: "Sun Ce was known as the Little Overlord, sweeping across Jiangdong, and no one could stand up to him, but he was still killed by a villain! Liu Qi is just a sick man, why not follow Sun Ce's example and get rid of him before he grows up?"
"Hmm..." Cao Cao squinted his eyes and thought for a long time, then nodded and said, "Liu Qi must have death squads guarding him, so we need to plan this carefully and not alert the enemy."
Cao Chun clasped his fists and said, "Don't worry, Prime Minister. Our people will never act rashly unless they are absolutely sure."
"Humph, it's just a minor setback, what can it do to me?" Cao Cao swept away his annoyance, waved his sleeves and sneered, "Hebei has been pacified now, only the south of the Yangtze River is left. Even if Liu Qi and Sun Quan join forces, I will still destroy them. The Xuanwu Lake Navy must strengthen its training."
Generally speaking, the advantage of Cao's army is self-evident. They occupy the entire Hebei Province and the Central Plains and have half of the country in their hands. One defeat is not enough to determine success or failure.
…
After meeting his fiancée, Liu Qi returned home feeling very satisfied. With such a virtuous wife who could run a business, it was much easier to exchange new business ideas.
Although everything was on the right track, Liu Qi still felt that development was insufficient. The land and resources were controlled by aristocratic families, which was a huge constraint. He must not follow Sun Quan's old path.
In order to consolidate Jiangdong when he was young, Sun Quan had to compromise and cooperate with the aristocratic families. In the later period, they became too powerful to be controlled and started a killing spree, which led to the decline of talent in Jiangdong and internal emptiness. Jianye was conquered by Cao's army in one fell swoop.
We must not do things that kill the chicken to get the eggs, and we must put an end to things that try to quench thirst with poison!
Zhuge Liang was busy getting married, and could only discuss military and political affairs with Xu Shu. The hidden dangers in the four counties of southern Jing had to be resolved as soon as possible. Although they were all officials appointed by Liu Biao, they did not necessarily obey Liu Qi's orders.
Zhao Fan is just one of them. Jin Xuan, Liu Du and his son, and Han Xuan may collude with Cao Cao. In addition, Dongwu has always coveted the land of southern Jing, so more capable people must be sent to take office to ensure the stability of the rear.
Han Xuan has only been in office for less than a year, so it is not a bad idea to transfer him back to Xiangyang. Jin Xuan was appointed by the court, and Liu Du is not a relative of the Liu clan. It is not known what the attitudes of these two people are for the time being, and the key lies with Zhao Fan.
If Zhao Fan can be properly dealt with and the affairs of the county can be smoothly transferred, the other two families will also be easy to deal with.
Zhao Fan was first connected with the Cai family, and then secretly colluded with Cao Cao, which showed that he was an uneasy person. However, he did not start a rebellion, which showed that he still had some concerns. Liu Qi decided to give him a chance.
However, a rash transfer would inevitably cause Zhao Fan to panic and might lead him to take risks, so Liu Qi decided to go to Guiyang in person and visit Lingling celebrities Jiang Wan and Liu Ba.
The order to recruit talents had been sent to various places for several months, but the ones recruited were all misfits. Although the talents had been divided up by then, Jiang Wan and others were still waiting and watching.
He thought that after the great victory over Cao Cao, his reputation would be improved and Cao Cao would be willing to surrender, but in the end, he remained indifferent, which made Liu Qi somewhat disappointed.
While they were discussing how to contact Zhao Fan, a spy came to report that the Governor of Jiaozhou Lai Gong and the Prefect of Cangwu Wu Ju had fallen out, and Wu Ju led an army to attack Lai Gong.
Liu Qi angrily said: "Who is this Wu Ju? How dare he counterattack the governor? How can this be possible!"
Xu Shu said: "Jiaozhou is far away from the mountains and seas, and it is not easy to control. Most of the officials fight on their own and do not obey the king's orders. This has been going on for a long time. If we are not careful, Dongwu will take the opportunity to advance, and Jiaozhou will no longer belong to the general!"
Liu Qi asked, "Lai Gong and Wu Ju were both appointed by my father, so they should give me some respect. Who do you think should be transferred back?"
Although Jiaozhou is remote, it includes Guangxi and most of Vietnam. It is a coastal city with great potential. It is also related to Liu Qi's future business territory. If Sun Quan takes it, it will not only create a strong rival, but also affect his money-making plan.
Xu Shu thought for a moment and said, "Lai Gong is a man of extraordinary talent. It is easy to find someone who can lead an army, but it is hard to find someone who can lead a country. Since he is highly regarded by the envoy, you can keep him to govern Jiaozhou and win the hearts of the people. Although Wu Ju is brave, he is not outstanding. If Dongwu attacks, he may be useless. Now Jingnan is in need of talents, so you can transfer him back to his hometown Changsha, killing two birds with one stone."
Liu Qi nodded and said, "Yes, for now, we should focus on governing the people. I will immediately ask my father to write a letter to the two of them to make peace, transfer Wu Ju back, and order Lai Gong to govern the territory and recruit talents to ensure the stability of the south."
After the two men had discussed and decided, Liu Qi came to see Liu Biao, but saw Liu Pan hurrying back home. He came up to him and said with a smile: "Da Lang, today I finally found a talented person."
Liu Qi had something on his mind, so he waved his hand and said, "Thank you for your concern, brother. I'll leave it to Liu Biejia to arrange."
Liu Pan said, "You must go and see this man in person, otherwise he will just walk away in anger."
"Hey, you have no skills, but you have a bad temper!" Liu Qi knew that there were no talented people in Jingzhou anymore, and said unhappily: "It's not that I don't have the heart to respect the wise and humble, but you also saw that the previous banquets were a waste of time. I am in charge of Jingzhou now, and I am busy with all kinds of affairs. If this person doesn't want to stay, let him go!"
Liu Pan nodded and smiled, "Da Lang is right. In front of the dignified Lord of Jingzhou, a mere phoenix chick is nothing. I will go and get rid of him right away."