Chapter 323 Huainan King
Throughout June, the Central Plains, Hebei, Jingyang and other areas were all quiet due to the scorching heat.

After entering the leap month of June, all parties remained silent and no one showed any intention of taking the initiative.

It was not until the fifteenth day of the intercalary sixth lunar month, the beginning of autumn, that the Jiangdong Army, which was the first to prepare for war, began its Northern Expedition.

After repeated lobbying failed, the Jiangdong Army officially launched an attack.

In Hefei City, Liu Fu looked at the map hanging on the wall with an expressionless face.

During this period, Sun Quan had done his best to investigate the situation in Huainan; he was also actively preparing for war.

The population from all places retreated, leaving only Wancheng as the southwestern stronghold, and then Hefei City.

The population was evacuated to the Huai River Basin, and the city of Shouchun was repaired to increase strategic depth and room for maneuver.

Even if Hefei City was lost, the retreating soldiers and civilians could rely on Shouchun to resist.

Jiang Ji stood beside Liu Fu and said calmly, "The envoys Liu Jingsheng and Liu Jiyu have reached an agreement. Now among the important officials of the southern vassal states, only you are unwilling to be crowned king."

Jiang Ji patiently advised: "The Grand Marshal is now on a campaign in Henan. The situation is unclear and the war has been going on for a long time. It is difficult to return to rescue. Please make friends with the various vassal states and temporarily claim the title of king. In this way, the people of Xu and Huai will have something to rely on and fight to the death. You can also get help from upstream."

Liu Fu put his hands behind his back, his face expressionless: "They want to be king, why do they have to drag me into this?"

Jiang Ji bowed slightly and smiled: "The envoy is on good terms with the Grand Marshal. The envoy claims to be a subject of the Grand Marshal. Then the other vassal kings can do the same. It's just like what happened in the early Han Dynasty."

What Liu Biao wanted was not Liu Fu's congratulatory letter or written persuasion in support of their becoming kings, but Liu Fu's actual action of becoming king himself.

Liu Fu really didn't want to be king. This was very troublesome and if not handled properly it would lead to the extermination of his entire family.

Seeing Liu Fu remained silent, Jiang Ji said, "Cheng Pu and Lu Meng have already besieged Wancheng. Without Jingzhou's support, even if we repel the Jiangdong army, the more than 10,000 defenders of Wancheng will be killed by the enemy. The enemy army has penetrated into Shaobei and captured officials and civilians, both men and women. The number of victims is more than 100,000. You must be careful. Afterwards, you should apologize to the Grand Marshal. I believe that the Grand Marshal will forgive you with his generosity."

Jiang Ji was pessimistic about the war situation.

Liu Fu felt even more pressured after hearing this, and said, "I'm afraid Liu Jingsheng is deceiving me."

Jiang Ji didn't know how to explain this to Liu Biao.

Jiang Ji then said, "Many of the Grand Marshal's fellow villagers live in Shaobei. If one of them is close to him, and he is captured by Jiangdong, I think this will be a disaster that will kill him and destroy his entire family. I implore you to investigate this matter."

Liu Fu was also stunned. Jiang Ji initially cooperated in the investigation of this matter, but later he arrested a group of people and handed them over to Xu Du. Jiang Ji then stopped asking about it.

After the news that Black Bear had killed Wang Yun's three clans came, Jiang Ji comforted the refugees who had migrated there.

Liu Fu was in a dilemma, and Jiang Ji went further and said, "Calling the king may not necessarily anger the Grand Marshal; but if you hurt someone close to the Grand Marshal, the disaster will be serious."

Lowering his voice, Jiang Ji said, "The Grand Marshal was orphaned when he was young and was fostered in Liang State. He has very few friends and relatives. If one of us is injured, how can we survive?"

When executing Wang Yun's three clans, wasn't he aware that it would anger and force the two counties to rebel?

But the Grand Marshal did it anyway, and the result was that the big families and powerful people in the two counties were basically wiped out.

Jiang Ji was a famous scholar in Jianghuai, but he was punished by having his head shaved simply because he wanted to hide a few people to paint the portrait of the Grand Marshal.

Now it seems that the Grand Marshal was already exceptionally kind at that time.

As a man who had his hair shaved once, Jiang Ji really didn't want to offend Guanzhong.

What Jiang Ji said made a lot of sense, and Liu Fu agreed with it deeply.

The importance of a childhood friend of a great man is immeasurable.

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Fu asked, "What title should I take?"

"Take Huainan as your king's title."

Jiang Ji immediately replied in a firm tone: "Based on my understanding of Liu Jiyu and Liu Jingsheng, these two people must have used a single-character title to become kings, which would definitely not be tolerated by the Grand Marshal. Your Excellency is the King of Huainan, and he intends to maintain peace and self-preservation, which can be tolerated by others."

Liu Fu was relieved now, but still said: "Don't trust Liu Jingsheng easily, he is not trustworthy." As long as Liu Fu was willing to become king, Jiang Ji would agree to anything and immediately agreed repeatedly.

Letting Liu Fu become king was not intentional to harm him.

It has become a foregone conclusion that each party will claim to be a king. If Liu Fu, as the governor of Yangzhou, leads the Huainan area to serve the Grand Marshal's office, it is one treatment; if he leads the officials and people of Huainan to serve as the King of Huainan, it will be another treatment.

The levels are very different, and what significance can Jiang Ji have as a mere Yangzhou Beijia?
But if he suddenly changed his identity and became the Prime Minister of Huainan Kingdom and attached to the Mansion of Grand Sima, and became the leader who persuaded the King of Huainan to attach himself and surrender, how could Jiang Ji enter the core of the Mansion of Grand Sima in one fell swoop!

The same was true for Jiang Ji, and so were other civil and military officials in Yangzhou.

Especially after the Xudu Incident, those Liang Pei fellow villagers who defected to Liu Fu were eager to whitewash themselves and prove themselves.

In the process of establishing the Huainan Kingdom, many people were able to be whitewashed and their status was improved.

The three dukes, nine ministers, guards, and four generals in a kingdom alone can enable many people to complete their identity transformation.

When Jiang Ji was about to take a deep breath, he noticed that Liu Fu's expression had changed and he seemed to want to change his mind again, so he immediately persuaded him: "If you are worried about being held accountable by the Grand Marshal, I have two plans. One is to ask the future Crown Prince of Huainan to be a hostage in Guanzhong, and the other is that we are willing to protect you with our lives."

Thinking that he only had one son, and letting this son be held hostage in Guanzhong as the crown prince, it was basically full of sincerity.

Having come this far, if he is still purged by the Grand Marshal in the future... this shows that becoming the king or not is no longer the key, but other things.

Liu Fu was finally relieved. He turned around and patted Jiang Ji on the shoulder: "Then this matter is settled."

Jiang Ji took three steps back and bowed, "There is no time to lose. Tomorrow we will set up an altar outside the city to announce it to the heavens, the earth, and our ancestors."

“Would that be too hasty?”

"Why is there such a rush? If it weren't for the fact that it's past noon, we could do it today."

Jiang Ji bowed again and said, "Please be at ease, sir. Allow me to discuss this with you all."

Liu Fu watched Jiang Ji quickly retreat, then turn around gracefully and walk over the threshold. For a moment, Liu Fu had to lower his right arm, which he was about to raise.

His experience and knowledge told him that being king was a dangerous thing.

But now, all the Liu clans in the south want to be kings, and the people in Huainan also want to support him to be king.

The three states of Jing, Yi and Yang alone mean three kings, and it is not clear whether Liu Bei will become king.

In the side hall, Liu Fu felt a little tired both physically and mentally. He returned to the desk and sat directly on it, looking up at the roof beams.

Liu Biao and his son will definitely take the King of Chu, but what about Liu Zhang?

The King of Shu and the King of Ba both lost some points. Considering Liu Yan's madness in building an imperial carriage after entering Shu, Liu Zhang had to choose a king title that had a promising future and was legally justified in Yizhou.

Liu Fu frowned as he thought about it. He felt that Liu Zhang was very likely to make trouble for the Grand Marshal and choose King Liang.

And would Liu Bei go a step further and respond directly by proclaiming himself the King of Wei?

In the Central Plains, there are not many suitable titles for kings.

Among these royal titles, the only one who is capable of fighting, powerful, and has deep roots in the Han Dynasty is the King of Wei.

The King of Wei and the King of Liang are actually two sides of the same coin. How does the Grand Marshal deal with the title of Marquis of Liang?

There is also the King of Chu, whose significance is even more extraordinary, second only to the Han Dynasty, and on par with the Qin, Jin, Zhou, and Qi dynasties.

Anyway, I was determined not to have a single-character title, so King of Huainan was just right and not excessive at all.

It’s just that this King of Huainan was also the Governor of Yangzhou.

Perhaps, he would also have to serve as an important general of the Han Empire.

(End of this chapter)