Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 302 Walker
Huang Yueying originally thought that this condition was not unacceptable to the General's Mansion, so she felt that her father's judgment was too harsh.
However, now it seems that she obviously didn't think enough, Bai Tu refused without even thinking...
But at least this shows that Bai Tu is indeed trustworthy and has no intention of using false promises to get something for nothing.
But after listening to Huang Yueying's words, Bai Tu felt a little bored. After all, Liu Biao was still alive. Bai Tu even knew that in history, Liu Biao became completely bedridden seven years later and died of illness eight years later.
Now her cousin Liu Cong was born only a few years ago. Not to mention the aristocratic family of Nanjun, whether he could persuade Liu Biao to depose the eldest son and enthrone the youngest son, in seven years... Bai Tu might have already captured Xiangyang.
"My father once said that judging from the old white-faced man's complexion, he might have already developed an illness. If you are willing to wait, Nanjun will return to you in three to five years." Huang Yueying had a strong dislike for Liu Biao because of her aunt.
"If the Nanjun families are willing to surrender, there is no need to wait for Liu Biao's death." Bai Tu refused in disguised form.
Firstly, Bai Tu knew that Liu Biao might live for another seven or eight years; secondly... Huang Chengyan could not promise Bai Tu anything now, so how could he slow down the offensive now?
Moreover, judging from what Huang Yueying relayed about Huang Chengyan, Huang Chengyan himself might not be sure that he could persuade the Nanjun families to form an alliance. In comparison... it seemed that he could only influence a few families within the Cai family.
That was why after Liu Biao's death, he first relied on the strength of all the Nanjun families to seize the inheritance rights of Jingzhou Prefecture, and then relied on Cai's maternal family status to force the surrender to the General's Mansion.
Otherwise, as Bai Tu said, if all the surnames in Nanjun could be persuaded, why bother waiting for Liu Biao to pass away? Wouldn't it be better to just tie that old white-faced man to the general's mansion?
Huang Yueying didn't have much talent for negotiation, or in other words, she didn't have the heart to negotiate with Bai Tu, so she said directly: "My father can't convince the Nanjun nobles, he can only convince my aunt..."
At this moment, a middle-aged male voice with a certain elegance came into the hall: "Girl, how can you bargain like this?"
"Who!" Upon hearing the voice, Lu Lingqi put on armor on the spot and held his spear in front of Bai Tu.
Although this small county town is simple, but... there are guards outside. How could anyone easily approach it without notifying?
Lu Lingqi didn't want to know how the other party approached her, but since he approached stealthily, he must be an assassin!
The other party did not show off and immediately showed up, entering through the middle door with dignity. It was not until then that the guards outside seemed to react.
The newcomer looked thin, with dry and yellow hair, but he looked very energetic. His eyes seemed calm at first glance, but deep inside he was hiding a stubbornness. He was wearing a half-Confucian, half-Taoist robe, and holding a dry wooden staff in his hand. He didn't look like he had any martial arts skills, but no one had noticed him before!
"Dad! Can't you just come out safely?" Huang Yueying said helplessly.
Sure enough, the person who came was Huang Chengyan.
"Traveler Huang Jun, greetings to Mr. Bai." Huang Chengyan ignored Lu Lingqi with a halberd in front of him and the guards with swords drawn behind him, and bowed slightly to Bai Tu.
Traveler. Buddhism was not yet popular in the Central Plains at that time. Huang Chengyan’s “traveler” obviously did not mean a Buddhist ascetic monk, but a person who walks or travels.
"Okay, don't be nervous." Bai Tu persuaded the guards to leave, and then pulled Lu Lingqi.
Huang Yueying rolled her eyes, while Huang Chengyan had a middle school expression that said "go wherever you want to go".
"It turns out to be Mr. Huang. I've long heard of your name." Bai Tu said politely.
Huang Chengyan doesn't look like he's good at fighting. He approached silently just now, which must be some special "strategy".
Bai Tu has also discovered that some strategies can be very strange, especially those that are not awakened in an official position.
For example, Bai Tu had previously awakened a strategic technique - the Source of the Rainbow, which increased its effectiveness when inspiring and motivating his subordinates.
"Encouragement" and "motivation" are behaviors that will improve work efficiency and enhance loyalty and a sense of belonging. Bai Tu's "Source of the Rainbow" makes it easier for him to be deeply rooted in people's hearts when encouraging and motivating.
"I'm just a country bumpkin, my reputation is not worth mentioning." Huang Chengyan looked a little arrogant, but he was still humble in his words.
"I heard that Mr. Huang is willing to assist the General's Mansion. I would like to thank Mr. Huang for his kindness." Bai Tu looked emotional.
Although the deal had not been concluded yet, Bai Tu still wanted to express his gratitude first - after all, according to what Huang Yueying had just said, at least Huang Chengyan was interested in the General's Mansion.
“The General’s Mansion has accumulated a lot of experience and has hidden treasures in the wild. Others only see a little bit of its glimmer and think that someone can be compared to it. They only know that the North has strong soldiers and healthy people, great virtuous people, strong cities and fertile land, and they easily say that they will win. This is unworthy of being cultivated.” Huang Chengyan shook his head when he heard this.
Bai Tu didn't expect that Lao Huang would be so direct in praising people...
Seeing Bai Tu's expression, Huang Chengyan said with some dissatisfaction: "In the past three months, I have traveled to 97 of the 104 counties in Jiangdong and Huainan. Others don't understand the reason. Could it be that I am wrong?" He seemed unhappy, and Bai Tu thought he was just bragging.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the six counties of Jiangdong are said to have eighty-one counties, but in fact, according to the registration of Chengjichu, Yangzhou has a total of sixty-four counties, not counting Jiujiang County and Luling County, and a total of ninety-two counties, and Guangling County has twelve more counties.
The General's Office now controls a small number of counties in the three prefectures of Runan, Jiangxia and Guilin, a total of more than 120.
Hearing that Huang Chengyan had traveled through all ninety-seven counties in just three months, Bai Tu couldn't help but be surprised...
On average, he can reach a county town in one day. If Huang Chengyan is not bragging, his leg strength... is several times stronger than Yu Fan's.
With the roads and transportation of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it would take three months for an ordinary general to travel so fast, let alone in Yangzhou in the south which is mountainous and forested. Even in the smaller places in the Central Plains such as Yan, Yu and Xu which have flatter roads!
It was precisely because Huang Chengyan had looked everywhere that he came to this conclusion.
Although it is undeniable that the development of the General's Mansion is still progressing rapidly only in Shouchun and Jinling, the two central cities in Huainan and Jiangdong respectively, and other counties, especially the remote areas in the south and the newly-administered areas, are still plagued by the phenomenon , but after the mandatory addition of the Ministry of Rites' schools, the Ministry of Personnel's quarterly attendance, and the Ministry of Justice's criminal courts, changes are still appearing bit by bit.
In particular, the emergence of workshop clusters and the establishment of a new household registration system attracted more and more people to concentrate in Jinling and Shouchun.
In addition, there are several ports and salt fields along the coast, which seem to be the next initiative to promote it. Many second-tier workshop clusters have begun to appear in such places.
It is equivalent to directly avoiding certain deep-rooted obstacles and pulling the "nutrients" directly up from the roots!
If we look at the leading regions, although the population of Jinling today is not as large as that of Luoyang during the Eastern Han Dynasty, which was at its peak and had a population of one million, judging from the current trend, it will be able to catch up in the next few years.
Moreover, the commercial activities in the market town have surpassed those of Luoyang in the past. The flat and wide roads, the complex drainage system, the "88-horse carriages" and "44-horse carriages" passing by from time to time on the road, the mental outlook and clothing of the people all declare its strength.
Now the public carriages in Jinling have also been improved. The small carriage can accommodate four people, and there are four seats on the second floor, which is equipped with two horses, that is, a 4-4 carriage. The number of seats in the 8-8 carriage is doubled, and it is equipped with three horses.
This kind of thing...if it were in Xudu or Yecheng, I'm afraid it would be of no practical use.
After all, the rich and powerful have their own carriages, but the common people... why do you ride in carriages?
Huang Chengyan, who has been elusive and has traveled all over the Han Dynasty in recent years with his special strategic skills, should be the most qualified person to evaluate the appearance of each city. Today's Jinling and Shouchun are far inferior to Yecheng, Xudu, Xiangyang, Chengdu, Pengcheng...
As for Luoyang and Chang'an... they are already a thing of the past, especially the former, which is now in ruins and is not even as good as an ordinary county town. It is really heartbreaking.
During a small chaos, live in the city; during a big chaos, live in the countryside. This is the simple philosophy of the people, and it also reflects their true thoughts. When people everywhere were still in the midst of "big chaos", the confidence of the people of Yangzhou in the General's Mansion even made them think that the world was only in a "small chaos".
Coupled with the attraction of the workshop cluster on the population, the population of Jinling, Shouchun... and several important port counties along the coast began to increase significantly.
Look at the salt and steel produced every day, the large-scale breeding of pigs and cattle, and the magical substance sprinkled on the fields that is more useful than "manure", combined with various water conservancy projects, which has increased the efficiency of farming several times - in addition to the fact that Yu Ji was in charge of the "Gongkou City", Huang Chengyan almost lost his way, and Huang Chengyan also secretly saw many "confidential" places!
Of course, Huang Chengyan had no intention of leaking the secrets of the General's Mansion, and he didn't even look closely at the principles behind it.
Huang Chengyan just wanted to see what the General's Mansion looked like, and didn't care about the specific principles. This was due to his personality and also the limitations of the "Traveler" strategy.
It was because of what he had seen with his own eyes that Huang Chengyan was more optimistic about the General's Mansion than Bai Tu...
It was also because of this that Huang Chengyan was very dissatisfied with the aristocratic families of Nanjun, including the Huang family from which he was born and the Cai family from which his wife belonged.
The aristocratic families of Nanjun chose to support Liu Biao, and took advantage of this to reap the benefits of Jiangxia, Nanyang, and the four counties of Jingnan. It can be said that they won a great victory in the first gamble in the troubled times.
Although they offered Cai Shuang to support Liu Biao, which displeased Huang Chengyan, it cannot be said that they were unwise...
But now Huang Chengyan can point his finger at their noses and say - you are crazy!
Liu Biao gradually gained real power, which meant he was truly turning the tables. Moreover, the alliance of the Nanjun aristocratic families had recognized the truth that "success can only be achieved in the north". Even if they wanted to sell Jingzhou, they would only consider Cao Cao or Yuan Shao... It all depended on the outcome of the battle in the Central Plains.
The most direct manifestation is that the government seat of Jingzhou Prefecture has been moved to Xiangyang, and Jiangling, the former number one city in the south, has gradually been neglected.
In addition to more efficiently controlling Nanyang and guarding against the north, it is also to move the center of gravity of Jingzhou to the north...
