Chapter 173 Allied Morale
Jiangling, the county magistrate's office.

Compared with Xiangyang, Jiangling is more like the most prosperous capital in Jingzhou.

Merchants from Yizhou, Jiaozhou and Yangzhou gathered here, and there were even some merchants from the north.

In the county magistrate's mansion, Liu Qi was studying a thick stack of official documents sent by Black Bear, which looked more like letters between the two of them.

On the ordinary bamboo paper, Black Bear briefly described the process of conquering Guanzhong, and then proposed various material transactions.

The first batch of transactions was mainly private, with wealthy families and merchants in Jingzhou escorting grain and cloth to Nanxiang; then they went to Lantian to purchase various bronze wares from Guanzhong.

What can I say about these bronze wares? Most of them are large-scale ones, and many of them were forcibly transported to Guanzhong when Dong Zhuo moved the capital.

It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a national treasure and a royal possession of the imperial family.

Hei Xiong hopes that Liu Qi and Yi Ji can guarantee and promote this private trade.

If this matter is accomplished, Black Bear will send people with gold to Jiangling to purchase all kinds of supplies, which will be of great help to Liu Qi.

It is not a matter of how much profit can be made from the price difference, but if purchasing from Jiangling, it will make it easier for Liu Qi to win over the scholars in the four counties of southern Jing.

Whether purchasing from Jiangling or Xiangyang, both routes use the Han River and Dan River for transportation; but the emphasis is different and the partners are also different.

If purchasing from Xiangyang, most of the rice still comes from Jingnan, but the dominant power falls into the hands of Liu Biao.

How much gold is purchased in this batch?

Fifty thousand gold!
The huge trade value of 50,000 gold was enough for Liu Qi to immediately gain the support of the powerful people in southern Jing.

Especially with Black Bear taking over Guanzhong, Liu Qi's position had already become more stable. Now that this trade was concluded, no one could shake Liu Qi's position.

The people of Jingzhou knew very well that if they wanted to maintain this paradise in troubled times, they must have strong external support.

Huang Zu blocked Sun Quan downstream, there were the natural barriers of Kuimen and Jingmen upstream, and Liu Bei was guarding Wankou in Nanyang.

After the Tiger Tooth Army has completely occupied Guanzhong, it will strategically threaten the Central Plains and allow the peaceful life in Jingzhou to continue for a long time.

Simply put, after the news of the Huya Army's annexation of Guanzhong came, real estate such as residential land within the city and farmland outside the city in large cities such as Jiangling and Xiangyang began to appreciate in value, recovering to the level of the late Han Dynasty.

Jingzhou's commercial vitality will be further released.

The confidence of the people is more important than anything else.

Therefore, the purchase of 50,000 gold must be completed.

Doing this job well is far more important than getting 50,000 gold directly!
Liu Qi put down the letter and couldn't help but let out a long breath. He didn't expect that Black Bear's return would come so soon.

With 50,000 gold coins circulating in Jingzhou, he was unable to consider in detail the various benefits.

But it was still a bit regrettable. Black Bear would rather take out 50,000 gold to buy supplies than take out five fairy peaches.

Wang Wei is neither blind nor dumb or deaf, and he has been continuously providing feedback during this period.

Liu Qi has already concluded that if the black bear is willing to sell it, a fairy peach would be worth not only ten thousand gold coins, but also a thousand gold coins.

As he was about to write a reply, his new chief clerk Yang Lu came in quickly with an official document: "Mingsir, the Zhennan Shogunate has sent a letter inviting you to discuss the matter of defending Jiangxia against the enemy."

The document was opened and placed in front of Liu Qi, who glanced at it and threw it aside: "Father, you are interested in this fifty thousand gold."

Yang Liu was puzzled, but when he saw Liu Qi pushing a thick stack of yellow bamboo paper towards him, he immediately picked it up and read it.

He straightened his back in an instant and flipped through the papers quickly: "Mingsong, if this is accomplished, my Jingzhou will be harmonious and the people will be excited and full of vitality!"

Yang Lu was only sixteen years old, but he was also a young celebrity who owned an estate and had teaching experience.

Naturally, he knew that what was limiting the development of his own estate was not competitors, but the fact that the products were produced but could not be sold. The more he produced, the more losses he would suffer during storage, and the greater the loss.

Therefore, there are too many people who spend their time doing nothing after having enough food. Now that 50,000 gold has been dropped, all the powerful people who want to get this wealth will try their best to resume production.

Fifty thousand gold is really not important. What is important is the series of events behind the fifty thousand gold.

Seeing Yang Lu's happy look, Liu Qi couldn't help but secretly look at and analyze Yang Lu and Black Bear, as they were of the same age.

He had also met another child prodigy from Lingling, Zhou Buzhi. Liu Qi's eldest daughter was thirteen years old and would be able to reach marriage age in two more years.

It was thought that Black Bear would have ups and downs after entering Guanzhong, or even be driven back; but the opponent fought too bravely, just like Han Xin's pacification of Hebei. The whole process seemed magical to people like Liu Qi and was really difficult to understand.

He had been thinking about this marriage since he conquered Yang Lu.

This is not a marriage of inferiority, and there is a possibility that Yang Lu will refuse.

As long as there is no marriage, the Yang family will always be a prominent family in Nanjun, and whether Liu Biao and his son fall in the future will not affect the Yang family.

So don’t think that Liu Qi’s daughter is valuable. For Yang Lu and Zhou Buzhi, the overall benefits of rejecting this marriage are greater.

Seeing Yang Lu's focused look, Liu Qi secretly gave up the idea.

When Yang Lu finished reading, Liu Qi said, "I will work with Mr. Jibo to promote these two matters. This is a matter of public interest to the officials and people of Jingzhou, and it must not be delayed. There is another small matter, but I don't know if it is appropriate now."

"Please speak frankly, sir."

"It's like this. When I said goodbye to Black Tiger Fang, I swore that after he unified Guanzhong, I would send a son to train with him. I saw that he had the potential to greatly improve the academic achievements in Chang'an, and I felt that this opportunity was very precious and should not be missed."

He observed Yang Lu's expression, wanting to see his attitude.

In fact, what Black Bear meant at the time was to wait until the child became an adult before going to Guanzhong, at least until he was fifteen or sixteen years old, so as to avoid the long-term separation between parents and children, which would lead to emotional estrangement.

Liu Qi has no shortage of children. Ma Teng has so many alone. Liu Qi has basically been in a state of self-care in recent years, and as a result, he has many children.

When Yang Lu heard the agreement, he immediately said, "Sending our sons as hostages will hurt the morale of Jingzhou. It would be better to wait until Chang'an University is well developed, and then send our sons to study there." Sending a hostage sounded so ugly that Yang Lu even felt embarrassed. It was obvious that the sons were going to study and conduct an investigation!
"That's fine."

Liu Qi tried hard to hold himself to the standards of a wise ruler, and his main characteristic was that he dared to accept the correct opinions of his subordinates.

Then he said, "Ma Shoucheng's daughter and Hei Huya have become a couple, and the current chaos has been resolved. Who is suitable to go to Guanzhong on my behalf to congratulate them?"

Yang Lu thought for a moment and said, "Gong Cao Pang Shiyuan has known Hei Hu Ya for several times, and he is also from Lumen Mountain School. Let him go and find out the truth about Chang'an University."

"Then tell Pang Shiyuan, I will give instructions personally."

Liu Qi stood up to see Yang Lu off and said, "Bring Wen Zhongye to see him as well."

Liu Qi had two teams, one was the officials in the county governor's office who were from Nanjun, and the other was the General Fubo's office which had no restrictions on place of origin.

So now if Liu Biao wants to split the northern counties of Nanjun into Xiangyang County, people like Pang Tong and Yang Lu will oppose it.

After the split, they belonged to Xiangyang County and could no longer serve in the Nanjun County Magistrate's Office.

Pang Tong held the power to inspect the political achievements and disciplines of the counties in Nanjun. He was by no means a soft-hearted person. Since he took office, he had executed three county magistrates in Nanjun for corruption, and most of the rest resigned voluntarily.

Even Sha Xianchang of Jiangxia County was beheaded for corruption by Pang Tong when he passed by him on the Han River.

It was really just a matter of time, and he caught him red-handed. He did not report it to Liu Biao and Huang Zu, but executed him on the spot.

Originally, Huang Zu was still looking for trouble with Liu Biao, and Liu Biao also wanted to put pressure on him.

But after the war in Guanzhong stopped and the news came, there were fewer voices from Huang Zu and Liu Biao questioning Pang Tong for exceeding his authority.

Now that the murderous Pang Tong has been sent to Guanzhong to avoid the limelight, the matter of exceeding his authority and killing people may be exposed.

As long as Pang Tong's official position is preserved this time, when Pang Tong returns, it would be equivalent to Liu Biao and Huang Zu tacitly agreeing that Liu Qi's people would have the power of life and death over the chief officials of various counties in Jingzhou.

The power to kill is very important. After realizing this, who would dare to ignore or shirk the military orders and documents from General Fu Bo's Mansion in the future?
Soon Yang Lu and Pang Tong came together. After Liu Qi gave them some instructions, they agreed on the scale of the gift.

Giving a generous gift is a demonstration to the scholars in Guanzhong, which is beneficial to Black Bear's rule and integration of Guanzhong.

Liu Qi has already tasted the sweetness, so naturally he wants to maintain and strengthen this alliance.

Then Wen Pin went in and paid his respects to Liu Qi.

Liu Qi currently has a separation of military and political power, with the county governor's office discussing political affairs and the general's office being in charge of military affairs.

"Black Tiger Fang praised Wang Wei a lot in his letter. The eight hundred officers and soldiers under his command don't like the cold autumn weather in the north, so they miss their hometown a lot."

Liu Qi observed the changes in Wen Pin's expression and said, "Hei Hu Ya has the ambition to revive Chang'an University. I intend to send Pang Shiyuan as an envoy to Guanzhong. The first is to take the entrance examination to Chang'an University, the second is to repair Wang Zhongxuan and participate in the excavation and transcription of Cai Gong's posthumous letters, and the last is to present a gift to Hei Hu Ya's marriage."

Wen Pin responded: "General, do you want to send a battalion of soldiers to escort Pang Shiyuan and the gift, and exchange them with Wang Wei's troops?"

Wang Wei's battalion of soldiers has been fully educated. Although they have not experienced any brutal wars, they have indeed received continuous training under a state of war. Their mental state is obviously different from that of the various armies in Jingzhou.

"One battalion is not enough. I hope to have three battalions of 2,000 soldiers, led by Zhongye himself."

Seeing that Wen Pin showed no resistance, Liu Qi continued, "Guanzhong is where Black Tiger Teeth lives, but it is also the lifeline for Jingzhou to enjoy peace. My three battalions of soldiers are enough to guard the three counties for him. This time we will set out in October and withdraw in mid-April next year, and the garrison period will be half a year."

"Yes, I will carefully screen the officers and soldiers and select an elite division so that the Guanlong people will not look down on them."

The Fu Bo Army had seven battalions with 5,000 men, and a naval force of 3,000 men was still planning to build boats and warships.

Wang Wei's eight hundred men were not in the Fu Bo Army. As long as they were transferred back, they could be expanded to two thousand people, forming a separate colonel unit.

"Prepare plenty of winter clothes. The Han and Dan rivers are plentiful in October. Leave as soon as possible."

Liu Qi stood up and paced: "When we get to Nanxiang, put the armor into storage and leave someone to guard it."

"General, are you planning to replenish the Nanxiang arsenal?"

"Well, I have discussed this matter with Mr. Ji Bo and Black Tiger Fang. If the battle in Jiangxia is critical, Black Tiger Fang will lead the elite troops to rush to the rescue, open the arsenal in Nanxiang, and then take a boat down the Han River and head straight to Jiangxia."

Liu Qi gave detailed instructions: "Sun Quan in Jiangdong has already begun to prepare for war. Let Huang Zu hold off first. When Sun Quan's offensive weakens, we can join forces with Black Tiger Teeth to rescue Jiangxia and attack Sun Quan's exhausted army."

"Yes, I will understand!"

Wen Pin bowed solemnly and could not help but say, "General, I am afraid that after hearing this, you will not have the courage to attack. General Huya's offensive was swift and fierce. He conquered Guanzhong in a few months, which was more fierce than Sun Bofu. With Sun Quan's character, how dare I offend him?"

If they are defeated while marching against the Yangtze River, aren’t they afraid that the soldiers of Jingzhou will go downstream and crush Jiangdong in one battle?
As long as the battle is in our favor and downstream, who knows how many volunteers will emerge to take advantage of the situation.

So Wen Pin thought that Sun Quan was under great mental pressure. If he suffered a defeat, his entire army would be wiped out and his entire family would die.

Pressure will not disappear out of thin air. If Sun Quan is under greater pressure, Huang Zu will be under much less pressure.

Huang Zu and his troops will defend and resist Sun Quan more tenaciously and actively to delay and wait for reinforcements to arrive on the battlefield.

The increase and decrease offset the benefits Sun Ce gained from defeating Huang Zu that year.

It is difficult to estimate the impact that a heavyweight ally will have on the morale of friendly forces and the morale of enemy forces.

Even though the Danshui waterway transportation is inconvenient, Jingzhou must build up momentum for the Danshui waterway transportation.

As long as the people of Jiangdong believe that the heavenly soldiers from Guanzhong can travel by boat, eat well, sleep well and gain weight before coming to Jiangxia to join the battle, then everyone from Sun Quan onwards will give this matter serious consideration.

Wen Pin's point of view immediately made Liu Qi nod his head: "What Zhongye said makes sense, but Cao Cao and Sun Quan are definitely not incompetent. In my opinion, these two people are thinking of countermeasures, so our army should not be careless, nor should we rely on good alliances."

"Yes, General, you are wise."

Wen Pin was quite surprised, but also felt relieved, and bowed to Liu Qi and complimented him.

(End of this chapter)