Chapter 404: A Bright Future
Yizhou is too large, has a large population and abundant resources.

If the war potential is awakened, the Dongzhou soldiers will not be able to suppress it at all.

Unless Liu Zhang's throne can be stabilized and he can completely suppress the people of Yizhou, the sooner the war potential of the people of Yizhou is stimulated, the closer the day of misfortune for the Dongzhou soldiers will be.

In contrast, Zhang Lu of Hanzhong had completed all-round war mobilization.

You simply cannot incite the powerful families or leaders of the Ba people in Hanzhong to rebel. Hanzhong has been on the rise in recent years.

Even if some of them are tired of war, they will only show perfunctory behavior and will not do anything to collude with outsiders.

Hanzhong surrendered decisively under this situation, and now they are trying to persuade Yizhou to surrender...

Liu Mao could see through the other party's intention at a glance. Yang Song and Yan Pu had a simple idea, which was to persuade them to surrender and gain merit in persuading them to surrender, so that the people of Yizhou who surrendered later could become stepping stones for the civil and military officials of Hanzhong.

If they refused to surrender and fought against each other, the greatest credit would go to the military officers, and it would be difficult for Yang Song and Yan Pu to take all the credit.

Although he understood the actions of Yang Song and Yan Pu, Liu Mao still didn't understand: "Uncle, this matter of the King of Ba is absurd."

"Yeah, I didn't think it would come to this."

Wu Kuang had done such great things in his early years, but now he felt that the behavior of the Grand Marshal of Guanzhong was too absurd.

But seeing Liu Mao's expectant eyes, Wu Kuang explained: "At that time, the Grand Marshal returned victorious from his expedition against the Hu people in Hexi and temporarily returned to Guanzhong to handle government affairs, but heard that Yizhou claimed to be the King of Liang. He also heard rumors that Ji Yu and Shu Gui were fighting for the throne, so he made an imperial edict to confer the title of King of Ba on Shu Gui to divide Ji Yu's power, and it would be best if Ji Yu and Shu Gui could fight each other."

Wu Kuang sighed and said, "However, after this imperial envoy entered Hanzhong via Ziwu Road, he heard that the Shu Road was more difficult and dangerous than the Ziwu Road, so he took the Qishan Road to find the Grand Marshal to report. This person is so reckless. If there is a chance in the future, I should expose and correct this matter."

Wu, who was kneeling beside Liu Mao, suddenly had a rosy complexion and she suppressed her excitement. She never thought that she would one day become the queen.

No matter how irresponsible the imperial envoy is, at least the edict is authentic and there must be a copy of it.

In the archives of the Guanzhong Shangshu Xingtai, Liu Mao is the King of Ba!

Wu Kuang said to Liu Mao and his wife who were restraining their emotions: "I think the Grand Marshal was just venting his anger at that time. He didn't expect that the Qiang people in Hehuang would flee and let him win the battle. He didn't expect Zhang Lu to surrender with the entire Hanzhong. Now it seems that this is not destiny, what else can it be?"

Liu Mao nodded slowly: "Since this matter cannot be done, I will step forward and find a way out for the officials and soldiers."

Being an official, no matter where you are, you can be an official.

At this time, Wu Kuang handed the last silk book to Liu Mao and said: "This was written by my fellow countyman Lu Cui, who is a student of Cai Xue and is now the military officer of the Grand Marshal and the military counselor."

Wu Kuang was from Yu County, Chenliu, a fellow townsman of Cai Yong.

Now that Lu Cui from the same county had stepped forward to act as a guarantor, Wu Kuang's confidence increased greatly, and even Liu Mao felt that the situation was stable.

Lu Cui's handwriting is like a guarantee from the Grand Marshal.

But when the time came, Liu Mao hesitated again: "Uncle, if I fight with Ji Yu, I will be laughed at by the world."

"Confused."

Wu Kuang, who had participated in the Luoyang Mutiny, took a tough stance: "Now that Ji Yu's foundation is unstable, he can only rely on the people of Dongzhou to suppress the big families in Yizhou. When his foundation is solid, how can he tolerate you and me? Doesn't Shugui really know how the men and women of Yizhou view us Dongzhou people?"

Liu Mao was silent. Wu Kuang took a sip of the wine and said, "Over the years, few Dongzhou soldiers have married and have few children, so there is a lack of successors. When the young and strong men in front of us are old and weak, even if Ji Yu is kind, he will definitely look for someone else to rely on."

The marriage of Dongzhou soldiers is a very troublesome issue. It is not just that the locals are unwilling to marry their daughters. If they are forced, it will cause real and difficult to resolve conflicts.

Another factor is that the Dongzhou soldiers lived in other places and were engaged in agricultural reclamation and garrison work, so many people who were eligible for marriage would refuse to get married.

It's not that he refuses women, but simply refuses all kinds of support burdens. Life is not very happy, and there are dangers at all times, so Dongzhou soldiers also have some mental problems.

The conflicts with the locals are intensifying and escalating all the time, and are almost impossible to ease.

The most fatal thing is that the Dongzhou soldiers lack successors, and this lack of successors makes the Dongzhou soldiers lack the desire to take root in the local area.

From the beginning to now, the Dongzhou soldiers have always had a primitive idea of ​​wandering and living as sojourners, and have never regarded themselves as Yizhou people.

They originally came to Yizhou to escape the war. If their hometown returned to peace, they would naturally return home.

Even when many Dongzhou people were so poor that they were starving, they still regarded Yizhou as a remote place. They were unwilling to stay and settle there, nor did they want their descendants to settle there.

A combination of various factors made it difficult for Dongzhou soldiers to integrate into the local community.

Liu Mao could understand what Wu Kuang could see.

Soldiers from Dongzhou would be killed in battles and die of illness on a daily basis. There were two ways to replenish them: either there was chaos in other states and more people migrated to Yizhou; or they got married and had children.

Judging from the history of the past decade or so, it has been difficult for Dongzhou soldiers to integrate into the local community due to the resistance of a certain ethnic group's will.

After Liu Zhang became king and consolidated his position, he could rely on the local people and use them as the mainstay of his strength; but Liu Mao had no choice, and the Dongzhou soldiers were his only support.

It is difficult for Dongzhou soldiers to integrate into the local community, and when they are in their forties, they are bound to become victims.

When a woman gets old and loses her beauty, no one will pursue her, give in to her or compliment her anymore; and men are just as pitiful when they get old.

Considering the bleak future of the Dongzhou soldiers, Liu Mao lowered his head to look at the silk book written by Lu Cui, the military strategist, for a moment and said, "Uncle, can you arrange a retreat so that Ji Yu and his family can return to Jiangxia?"

"Shugui, have you forgotten how your two elder brothers, He Jin and He Miao, were defeated?"

Wu Kuang asked back, his eyes cold: "If there is any mistake, the whole family will be destroyed. If it weren't for the great Sima's strength and Cai Xue's mediation, why would I risk coming to Chengdu?"

At this time, Liu Mao's close servants came to report, and soon Wu Kuang's nephew Wu Yi also got involved.

Wu Yi sat beside Wu Kuang and took the three silk books to read. He was surprised: "King of Ba? The Grand Marshal loves me so much, Shugui must not underestimate himself!"

After folding the silk book, Wu Yi handed it back to Liu Mao. This was an important evidence for Liu Mao to win over and incite other military officers and leaders to rebel.

Among the Dongzhou soldiers, there are really not many who are loyal to Liu Zhang.

If Liu Zhang's diehard followers could fully control the Dongzhou troops, why would Liu Mao need to step in?

Wu Yi's thoughts changed, and he whispered to Wu Kuang, "Uncle, this is a great opportunity."

Wu Kuang also nodded slightly. He and his son, uncle and nephew, abandoned their official posts and fled from Guanzhong when Dong Zhuo was defeated, and led their troops and fellow villagers to take refuge in Yizhou.

At that time, Zhang Lu was still obedient and did not make things difficult for them.

Later, when Li Jue and Guo Si rebelled, a large number of people from Guanzhong migrated here, and many of them successfully passed through Hanzhong and entered Shu County.

Because of these reasons, Wu Kuang was the common leader of the scholars and people of Guandong and Guanzhong and had great influence.

The Grand Marshal of Guanzhong is related to the daughter of Cai, and they are a good match for each other. The Wu family has a bright future.

(End of this chapter)