Zhang Xi returned to Xiakou, immediately found Liu Bei, and reported to Liu Bei Zhou Yu's condition and the current military preparations in Baqiu and other places.
Liu Bei finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Lu Su had replaced Zhou Yu and settled in Baqiu, while Zhou Yu returned to Chaisang to recuperate.
Although Lu Su could not completely believe it, after all, Lu Su insisted on the Sun-Liu alliance, and he did not have much experience in leading troops on the front line. Sun Quan should not let Lu Su continue to send troops to Bashu.
But what should be prepared for should be prepared. Liu Bei asked Guan Yu to disband the assembled Jiangxia troops, but he did not let Zhang Fei and Xu Shu relax their vigilance. Moreover, Chen Jiu's navy still went to the mouth of Youjiang River in the name of changing defenses.
As for Zhou Yu
"Zhou Gongjin is really okay?!"
"According to what Mr. Zhang said, Zhou Gongjin should rest peacefully for half a year. If he is tired again, he will inevitably be in danger of his life."
"So, very good."
Liu Bei just asked this question, and after expressing his attitude, he didn't mention Zhou Yu's matter again.
After that, Zhang Xi said goodbye and left Liu Bei's mansion.
Because of the commotion in Jiangdong, Liu Bei has to continue to be in charge of Jiangxia, and he will not take it lightly just because the guard general Baqiu is replaced by Lu Su.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong will not return to Wuling for a while. They will not go back with Liu Bei until the gaffe has completely subsided.
Originally, Zhang Xi thought that since Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong were here and he had helpers, it would be much easier to handle Jiangxia's government affairs.
But Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong said that this kid just wanted to eat peaches.
They also have their own jobs, but they just change their offices.
There are many things around Liu Bei that require their advice and decisions.
Besides, Zhang Xi should understand these four words: loyalty to duty.
Zhang Xi is the Prime Minister of Jiangxia County, so Zhang Xi should be responsible for handling the government affairs of Jiangxia County. No matter how busy he is, he cannot pass it on to them.
Zhang Xi, the depressed one, could only continue to run to the government office every day, and the time for intimacy with his wife was repeatedly shortened.
Fortunately, Sun Shangxiang's relationship with Zhang Xi has been very good recently. After returning from a trip to Baqiu, Sun Shangxiang was completely obedient to Zhang Xi.
I don't know if he is grateful to Zhang Xi for saving Zhou Yu, or because he was instilled with some strange ideas when he was in Baqiu. In short, Zhang Xi now feels less and less that this Sun Shangxiang is the Sun Shangxiang in the historical reality line.
This is too gentle, so gentle that it makes people not want to go to work the next day.
Well, be loyal to your duty.
Zhang Xi still reported to the government office seriously every day, and finally solved the tax collection problem in Jiangxia County before winter.
After that, there is the renovation plan for the swamps and terraces, which is quite a headache.
It has to be as perfect as possible, and it has to be as economical as possible. Zhuge Liang, Party A, is really difficult to serve.
But at this time, Lu Su, who was in Baqiu, suddenly visited Xiakou and brought a quite incredible suggestion.
Liu Bei's group is going to hold military discussions again.
This matter is indeed very serious, because Lu Su suggested that the two families exchange land.
The bargaining chip Jiangdong took out was Nanjun, and what he asked for was Jiangxia, Changsha, and Guiyang counties.
See one for three again.
Lu Su really is so obsessed with this one-for-three plan.
But Zhang Xi was the first to quit.
If you had played one-for-three when Nanjun was just defeated, Zhang Xi would have to support you.
Now one for three, what good thing do you want? !
In addition to the superior geographical location of the three counties in previous years, in terms of economic value, the Nanjun occupied by Zhou Yu, even if it only has more than half of the Nanjun, is far superior to the three counties.
But it's different now.
It's hard to say about Changsha and Guiyang counties, but in Jiangxia County, this year Zhangxi resettled refugees and adopted new farming techniques. The population and tax revenue have greatly increased. In the next few years, in addition to grain production, , it’s hard to say how inferior it is to Nanjun.
This is all my own hard work.
In addition, Jiangxia County's important geographical location is like a stone weighing on Jiangdong's head. If Jiangxia County is given to Jiangdong, Jiangdong will be able to free up his hands, making it even more difficult.
Not to mention that there is Zhou Yu, a guy who is not dead after all. He will definitely interfere with it. Who knows if one day he recovers from his illness, he will lead his soldiers to stroll around Jiangling City without Lu Meng taking action.
Anyway, Zhang Xi disagrees.
Zhuge Liang also disagreed.
But it's not that I don't agree with the land exchange, but I feel that Jiangdong's conditions are not good, and it's just like a lion trying to eat a peach.
From a military point of view, Zhuge Liang was not completely opposed to it. After all, such a change of land could connect the two families' territories without having to deal with them one by one, which would be quite inconvenient to manage.
But from an economic perspective, Zhuge Liang, who had just seen the tax collection situation in Jiangxia, was a little reluctant to give up Jiangxia, let alone exchange one for three. Jiangdong was taking a big advantage.
Only Pang Tong agreed, because Pang Tong only considered military accounts and did not consider economic accounts for the time being.
From a military point of view, after Liu Bei acquires Nanjun, he can connect Wuling and Lingling counties and turn the defense line from scattered defenses into a whole. In this way, when he marches westward to Yizhou in the future, he will not need to fortify layers of defenses along the Yangtze River. It's a little trick.
Furthermore, the population and grain production of Nanjun are not comparable to those of the three counties. This is a more stable base than the three counties. It would be a pity not to capture it.
As for the need to directly face the pressure from Cao Jun in Xiangyang after exchanging Nanjun, this is not important. Cao Cao is busy sorting out internal problems now. How can it be so easy to go south again.
So, the final decision was left to Liu Bei.
Liu Bei thought about it for a long time before summoning Lu Su again. After some hospitality, he gave Lu Su an answer.
You can exchange, but you can't exchange one for three.
Liu Bei first generously showed Lu Su Jiangxia's taxation and population statistics this year, letting Lusu know that Jiangxia now is different from Jiangxia before. Not only was it a matter of taxation, but the population had also increased a lot.
After all, Zhang Xi has resettled between 50,000 and 60,000 refugees. All of these people are homesteaders with farmland, which is a huge asset to any force.
Lu Su did not suspect that what Liu Bei showed him was a fake account book. Anyone who wanted to show his face these days would not do such a thing.
Therefore, after reading Jiangxia's tax and Dingkou register, Lu Su immediately knew that his idea of exchanging one for three might not work.
If it were Lu Su, he wouldn't change it either.
When Lu Su originally thought that he had to make another trip in vain, Liu Bei suddenly proposed that Jiangxia County and half of Changsha County could be exchanged for Nan County.
This is Liu Bei's own decision.
First of all, Zhou Yu did not control the entire Nanjun. Part of the Nanjun area south of Xiangyang was still in Cao Cao's hands, while Wulin and other places in the east were given to Liu Bei early, and were not included in Jiangdong's control.
Therefore, what Jiangdong can get is most of Nanjun.
Secondly, Jiangxia County is now undergoing great development, its population and taxes have increased significantly, and it has not experienced many wars. All infrastructures are complete. Once Jiangdong acquires Jiangxia County, it can immediately reap benefits.
Finally, regarding the northern half of Changsha County, that area was originally a place where Liu Bei's forces and Sun Quan's forces were intertwined. Now Liu Bei has made concessions and withdrawn from these areas, leaving them all to Jiangdong.
The northern part of Changsha is basically the Baqiu area, where the development of the Yunmengze area is relatively mature. If Jiangdong can develop another grain production base around Baqiu Lake, it can also make up for the loss of the Nanjun grain production base. loss.
Generally speaking, this is a land exchange plan that Liu Bei believes is acceptable to both parties.
Needless to say, Lu Su was a little moved after carefully thinking about Liu Bei's condition.
When Liu Bei first occupied the four counties in Jingnan, Lu Su proposed to exchange one for three. At that time, it was considered fair and reasonable. After all, it was really difficult to develop in Jingnan, and Yunmengze was not so easy to tame.
But Zhou Yu didn't agree at the time, so the matter was rejected.
Now, Lu Su originally thought it was fair, until he saw Jiangxia's tax roll and Dingkou roll.
Indeed, if the exchange of one for three continues, the Liu Bei Group will suffer a bit of a big loss. In fact, with this plan, Jiangdong still has a considerable advantage.
After all, the total population of a county in Guiyang may not even be 100,000.
The number of Ding population here refers to the yeoman farmers who can pay the capitation tax, excluding those hidden by aristocratic families. These people are of no use to the government because they cannot collect taxes and cannot initiate corvee labor.
But Lu Su did not write to Sun Quan immediately. Instead, he proposed to Liu Bei that he wanted to walk around and inspect Jiangxia.
You have to look at the actual situation. Don't look back and just look good on the books. In fact, these data are the result of the Liu Bei Group's extortionate expropriation of Jiangxia.
Liu Bei naturally agreed and found Zhang Xi to accompany Lu Su to various counties and inspect the work. He would just come back before the end of the year.
As for why it is Zhang Xi, he is the county magistrate of Jiangxia. If he doesn't go, who will go?
Jiangxia County did not have a prefect, only Guan Yu temporarily supervised the prefect as a partial general.
You can't let Guan Yu accompany Lu Su.
Another thing, when they were in Jiangdong, Zhang Xi and Lu Su were old acquaintances. If you didn't accompany them, who would? !
(End of chapter)
