Volume 1 Jiangdong Fengyun Chapter 27 Family Dinner
Lu Bu's "family banquet" was very much in the style of Bingzhou. A Huchuang was used and everyone sat around a small table with wine and food on it - a rare communal banquet.
And it was indeed a "family dinner". The dishes were very simple and were said to be made by Diao Chan herself.
As for Diao Chan...Bai Tu and Lu Lingqi both call her "Auntie".
But now Lu Lingqi looked at the bowl in front of Bai Tu, which was almost piled up to his chin with boiled and grilled meat, and her own pitiful bowl, which had only a few slices of vegetables on top of the white rice, all picked by her aunt, and she couldn't help but fall into deep thought...
After three rounds of drinks, Lu Bu also talked about business with Bai Tu, which was about their trip to Yangzhou later!
"Yuan Shu has evil ambitions. Now Jiujiang and Lujiang in the Huainan area, as well as Yuzhang in Jiangdong, are all under his control. The prefect of Danyang was also recommended by Yuan Shu. Yan Baihu of Wujun is in rebellion. Kuaiji is slightly better. The prefect Wang Lang is said to be a famous Confucian scholar..." Lu Bu said in a somewhat mechanical manner.
"He must have memorized it by force." Lu Lingqi muttered softly.
After being glared at by Lu Bu, Lu Lingqi pursed her lips and said nothing, but fiercely took a piece of meat from Bai Tu's bowl.
At that time, there were a total of six counties in Yangzhou. Jiujiang and Lujiang were in Huainan, and there were only four counties in Jiangdong. The reason why Sun Quan later claimed to be known as the "Six Counties of Jiangdong" was because he divided the largest Yuzhang County into three - this was also a common practice among warlords in the Three Kingdoms era.
Firstly, it looks intimidating, and secondly... the more detailed administrative divisions have indeed improved military and political efficiency.
The current governor of Yuzhang is Hua Xin, whose fame is higher than that of Kong Rong. In a peaceful era, he is qualified to be a minister. Even in a chaotic era, he is capable of laying a solid foundation for the rear of the princes. However, in the early days of the chaotic era, facing direct military threats, his actions are limited.
Although Hua Xin was unwilling to go along with Yuan Shu, he was unable to stop the corruption under his rule by Yuan's disciples and former officials. He had to agree to transfer a portion of manpower and tax revenue every quarter to Yuan Shu, who claimed to be the governor of Yangzhou!
Although Lu Kang was the nominal governor of Lujiang, he had been attacked by Yuan Shu since last year because he had expressed his opposition to Yuan Shu and refused Yuan Shu's order to transfer grain. Now he has been besieged in the isolated city for almost a year, and all the counties in the county have attached themselves to Yuan Shu.
As for Jiujiang, it was Yuan Shu’s base camp.
The Jiangdong area, which is the southeast side of the Yangtze River, flows more from southwest to northeast rather than horizontally from west to east.
The direction of the Yangtze River was even more so during this period, so the term "Jiangdong" became more popular.
At the same time, Jiangdong was divided into two by the Ganjiang River flowing from north to south. The west side was Yuzhang County, which was relatively developed, and the east side was Danyang, which was mostly mountainous. How mountainous? It was because there were too many mountains and too many Shanyue people in the mountains that the people of Danyang had a tough character!
The east coast of the sea, the north is Wu County, which is the Wu Kingdom in the Spring and Autumn Period, the south is Kuaiji County, where the Yue Kingdom was located in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the areas where the Shanyue people were most in chaos were Danyang and Wuyue...
The bandit army led by Yan Baihu controlled Wujun , but "according to Lu Bu's speculation", there were Jiangdong aristocratic families behind it.
Kuaiji County is currently in the best situation for Bai Tu. The prefect Wang Lang is not an ambitious person. Moreover, after Bai Tu's deeds are spread by Da Han Ji, I believe that a famous scholar like Wang Lang should have a good impression of Bai Tu.
"Why don't I believe that this is just your speculation." Lu Lingqi poked the meat in the bowl and muttered softly.
"Hard Drive, are you full? What are you still standing there for? Why don't you clean up the dishes?" Lu Bu said to Diao Chan and his daughter with a stern face.
Diao Chan looked at him silently, then responded with lowered eyebrows... But for some reason, Bai Tu felt that Lu Bu seemed to stiffen for a moment.
"Tsk... I'm going to train after dinner!" Lu Lingqi ran out directly.
What is cleaning up the dishes? After Lv Lingqi grew up, she ate more often in the military camp. Even now in Xiaopei, she usually spends more time in the military camp than living in the mansion.
"How about Qu'a?" Bai Tu asked tentatively.
How was it? Bai Tu was not very clear, but he knew that Liu Yao went to Qu'a at the beginning. Even though he was a relative of the Han Dynasty and the legitimate governor of Yangzhou, Liu Yao did not dare to attack Huainan right away, but went to Jiangdong... Qu'a was a county in the northern part of Wu County, close to the Yangtze River.
However, after some efforts, Liu Yao was able to get along relatively well in Jiangdong, but he was completely unable to adapt to the rules of the chaotic times and was eventually swept away by Sun Ce.
To quote Zhuge Liang: "Liu Yao and Wang Lang each control a prefecture, and when they discuss peace and strategy, they always invoke the sage. The people are filled with suspicion and have many difficulties. If we do not fight this year and do not attack next year, we will allow Sun Ce to grow stronger and eventually take over Jiangdong."
Translated into vernacular, Liu Yao, Wang Lang and others clearly had some foundation in Jiangdong, but they were all full of nonsense and did nothing, which made Sun Ce grow stronger and stronger and swept them out...
There is a saying that goes, "Tomorrow and tomorrow, how many tomorrows are there. I live waiting for tomorrow, and Sun Ce will be the big brother."
"That's right, Gongtai...you and I think so too!" Lu Bu nodded.
Bai Tu suddenly realized that Chen Gong had no better idea.
In fact, this is inevitable. After all, Liu Yao had his reasons for choosing Qu'a.
Firstly, Qu'a is located in the northern part of Wu County, close to the Yangtze River. Yan Baihu, who occupies Wu County, has no righteous status after all. His main control area is in the central and southern parts of Wu County where the aristocratic families are more powerful. Qu'a, which is located in the north close to the Yangtze River, should still obey the righteousness of the court.
Secondly, Qu'axi will take over Danyang. Although the governor of Danyang was recommended by Yuan Shu, he is not a direct descendant of the Yuan family. There is no need to worry that he will be removed by Yuan Shu before he can gain a foothold...
But getting to Qu'a is a big problem.
If Guangling County of Xuzhou, which is located on the coast of Huainan, still existed, we could go directly through Guangling and arrive there after crossing the Yangtze River.
However, the entire Huainan is now under the control of Yuan Shu.
If he went alone like Liu Yao did, he would not be discovered, but... Bai Tu's starting point was better than Liu Yao, and Lu Bu and his Bingzhou army would also support him. But how could these 5,000 cavalrymen cross Huainan and cross the river to the east quietly ?
In the past few months, Lu Bu stationed troops in Xiaopei. The original 4,000 cavalry from Bingzhou and Liangzhou was expanded to 5,000, including 3,500 Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry and 1,500 Xiliang Iron Cavalry.
In theory, these two types of troops must be trained in Bingzhou and Liangzhou, but if they want to "replenish their troops", they can use troops from other places, but it requires a certain "loss rate".
In fact, this is in line with the laws of reality. Even without the training function of Cheng Ji, with more than 4,000 cavalrymen from Bingzhou and Liangzhou, recruiting new soldiers in the Central Plains, as long as the number is not large, they will naturally be trained and assimilated by the veterans from Liang and Bing!
But the elimination rate may be higher...
Therefore, it is completely reasonable to consume extra manpower when replenishing troops in other places. At the same time, it is limited to "replenishing personnel". It is completely impossible for Lu Bu to use the 3,000 Bingzhou Wolf Riders and expand them by tens of thousands of cavalry in other states and counties. Even if he is given so many war horses, he cannot do it!
At the same time, there were several thousand infantrymen in Xiaopei, but neither Lu Bu nor Bai Tu had any intention of moving these infantrymen.
Suddenly I have to stand Liu Bei up and go to Yangzhou. I feel a little embarrassed, but I have to take his infantry with me? You can't bully an honest man like this...
And now with only these 5,000 cavalry, Bai Tu and Lu Bu are both having a headache.
"Gongtai... and what I mean is that a forced breakout is not advisable. If it really doesn't work, you and I can take our soldiers and travel light as a caravan to Qu'a first. Wenyuan and the others can stay and help Liu Bei defend for a while, and then reunite with us when there is a chance."
Bai Tu was somewhat moved. Lu Bu was ready to start from scratch again...
