Hearing Yuan Yao's explanation, Lu Su looked doubtful and turned his gaze to the young Zhuge Liang aside again.
Zhuge Liang was stared at by Lu Su and said to himself that I came here to visit Lu Zijing in Dongcheng because of his fame. I came to study and make friends, not to succeed him as an official.
Okay, now not only have I failed to make friends, but I’m also probably going to have a grudge against Lu Su!
What is this!
Seeing Zhuge Liang stand up suddenly, Yuan Yao quickly said before Zhuge Liang could speak: "Little Zhuge, please sit down first. I haven't finished speaking yet. Why are you so anxious?"
Zhuge Liang seemed not to have heard Yuan Yao's greeting. He stood and bowed to Yuan Yao, took a deep breath and said, "Young general, you can drink water randomly, but you can't talk nonsense."
"How can this young man compare to Gan Luo, Guan Zhong and Le Yi?"
After saying that, Zhuge Liang turned around, bowed to Lu Su again, and said politely: "Magistrate Lu, my brother and I have often heard of your virtuous reputation, so I came here to visit you today. I never thought about becoming an official." Please don’t worry, Magistrate Lu, about this matter.”
Seeing Zhuge Liang's rude remarks to Yuan Yao, Lu Su became inexplicably angry. He slapped the table and said angrily: "How dare you speak so brazenly even though you are a mediator?"
"Is this Magistrate Chaisang not worthy of you?"
"Do you really think of yourself as the ancient Gan Luo, Guan Zhong and Le Yi?"
Zhuge Liang was stunned and thought, why are you so angry at me? I am also a victim!
It was obviously your young master who put me on the fire!
But it’s okay, since my words can irritate you, they should also irritate Yuan Yao.
Hey hey hey, I'm so smart.
Zhuge Liang quietly raised his head and saw Yuan Yao looking unconcerned. He just smiled and said: "Zijing, don't get angry. This guy is deliberately irritating you and me so that he can escape from the place of right and wrong. But don't get caught." His plan!”
Lu Su was stunned when he heard this, and looked at Zhuge Liang again, just in time to see a drop of cold sweat dripping from Zhuge Liang's forehead.
Seeing this, Lu Su became suspicious. He immediately stood up and walked around the young Zhuge Liang several times.
This young man is only a young man with his hair tied back. How can he really have such a clever idea?
But the young master never makes a mistake, and everything he says is always conclusive and true.
Is this young man really a genius?
But he looked at it for a long time, and judging from his appearance, there was nothing special about this boy except for his majestic appearance and talent.
Zhuge Liang was looked at from left to right by Lu Su, looking up and down, making goosebumps all over his body.
He said in his heart that ever since he met Yuan Yao, Yuan Yao could see through his extremely intelligent little head every time.
From the first time the two met, Yuan Yao saw through his own temptation and used retreat to advance. While winning applause from the audience, he almost couldn't get off the stage.
Then he waited until his uncle Zhuge Xuan refused to listen to good advice and was at the end of his rope. Although he saw through Yuan Yao's plan, he could only enter the game with his own body and use himself as a hostage in exchange for his uncle's family to leave Nanchang safely and avoid being liquidated afterwards.
Then Liu Yao and Liu Biao conspired to plot against Yuan Yao to encircle Wei and rescue Zhao. While Yuan Yao saw the tricks, he approached him before taking the crucial step, as if he knew that with his own resourcefulness, he could come up with a solution.
Finally, this time, Yuan Yao was the first to find him after returning to Shangxiao, asking him if he wanted to go with him to Chaisang, and was willing to help him introduce Lu Su to him.
Although I felt that something was fishy at the time, I didn't think much about it for a while. I just thought that Yuan Yao was repaying him for his suggestion of a surprise attack on Jiangxia. However, he never expected that Yuan Yao actually wanted to deceive him into being cheated by Chai Sang. County magistrate!
In the Han Dynasty, counties with more than 10,000 households were called large counties, and those with less than 10,000 households were called small counties. The head of a large county is the county magistrate, and the head of a small county is the county magistrate.
Large counties and small counties are divided into three levels each, making a total of six levels. The county magistrates of the first-class counties have the highest rank, which is one thousand shi; then, the magistrates of the sixth-class counties have the lowest rank, which is 300 shi.
Chaisang County is a third-class county, and the county magistrate's rank is six hundred stones, which is not high but definitely not low.
The hierarchy of official positions in the Han Dynasty was distinguished by "rank". Those with a rank of ten thousand shi to a rank of less than 2,000 shi are high-level bureaucrats; those with a rank of 1,000 shi to 600 shi are middle-level bureaucrats; those with a rank of less than 600 shi are low-level bureaucrats.
In a society like the late Han Dynasty, where the politics of the noble clans had already taken shape, a person from a humble family could be regarded as having a glorious ancestor if he could reach the position of "county chief" of a lower third-class county in his lifetime.
If you can go from a "county magistrate" with a rank of less than 600 shi to a "county magistrate" with a rank of more than 600 shi, then you really have "crossed the class", and you have lifted your entire family from a humble commoner to a local wealthy family. Right clan.
But for the aristocratic families that have controlled the Chaju system, the county magistrate with a rank of three hundred shi and the magistrate of a large county are only the starting point for the children of the family to serve as officials, while the rank of a thousand shi and the rank of ten thousand shi are the end points.
Local nobles like the Langya Zhuge clan are bound to serve as officials, but they usually start as county magistrates and county magistrates in small counties. After being promoted as filial, honest and talented, they then serve as county magistrates and county magistrates in large counties. Finally, they can become magistrates and county magistrates. That's the end of a two-thousand-stone county guard.
Zhuge Liang's father Zhuge Gui and uncle Zhuge Xuan were like this.
How is it possible that he could start his official career as the magistrate of Chaisang County with a salary of 600 shi!
I don’t have the same background and background as you, Mr. Yuan Yao and Yuan. I have been born with the aura of “the family of the fourth generation and three princes” and “the first generation of famous family”. There are a lot of people trying to catch up with me for being filial and honest. I will endorse and recommend you, and you will be a Langguan and a county captain from the very beginning!
The most important thing is that I am only fifteen years old. I have just reached the age of study. I have not yet traveled to study, let alone have any success in school or become famous.
Becoming an official now is not justified by the name!
Even if you, Yuan Yao, dare to think about it, I, Zhuge Liang, don’t dare to do it!
How dare you!
Your father is Yuan Shu, you are awesome!
Just when Zhuge Liang raised his head in embarrassment and opened his mouth to refuse, Yuan Yao seemed to already know what he was going to say and waved his hand to signal him to sit down again.
"Look at you two, you're already in a hurry before General Ben has finished speaking."
"Everyone sit down and let me finish."
After comforting Lu Su and Zhuge Liang and sitting down, Yuan Yao continued: "Before coming to Chaisang, I did want to let little friend Zhuge succeed Zijing as the magistrate of Chaisang County."
"As for Zijing, my original intention was to transfer you to Poyang, but I didn't come here specifically to demote you."
"But what I didn't expect is that under your governance, Chaisang, the people's support is so available. If you are transferred hastily, I am afraid it will also have an impact on my next project to build a new city."
Lu Su's face was full of doubts: "Young Master, you have said that you want to build a new city since you came in. Do you think that Chaisang City is old and small and want to find another place to build a new city as the new seat of Chaisang County?"
Yuan Yao shook his head and looked at Zhuge Liang: "Little Zhuge, tell me where I want to build a new city."
Seeing that both of them were looking at him, Zhuge Liang smiled bitterly and said: "The geography question that the young general asked me turned out to be the answer here."
"Then let me show my humility."
"As the head of Chaisang County, Magistrate Lu, where does he think the place to defend the fortress is?"
Lu Suxin said that the young master is asking you, why are you asking me again.
But he still said without thinking: "Of course it is Chaisang City, which is surrounded by mountains and rivers!"
"If this city had a wall three feet high and a pool ten feet deep, it could stop thousands of troops!"
Zhuge Liang nodded slightly, then turned and shook his head: "Yes... but not!"
"If we only protect Chaisang County, this city will be okay!"
"However, if we want to protect the entire county of Yuzhang, this city is dispensable!"
Lu Su had a calm temperament and was not upset when he heard this. After thinking about it carefully, he nodded and said, "That's true."
"Little friend Zhuge, do you have any ideas?"
Zhuge Liang nodded secretly in his heart. This Lu Su was indeed a loyal and benevolent person as his brother said.
"Sixty miles upstream of this city, there is a river island called Banzhou. Does Magistrate Lu know about it?"
Lu Su thought for a moment, then said: "Young friend Zhuge, and the young master, it turns out that you want to build a new city in Banzhou?"
Zhuge Liang looked at Yuan Yao and happened to see Yuan Yao looking at him with a smile on his face.
"Yes, this is what I have in mind!"
Zhuge Liang breathed a sigh of relief and deliberately winked at Yuan Yao.
You mean, I answered the geography questions you asked me pretty well, right?
What Zhuge Liang said was actually exactly what Yuan Yao thought.
Although the two have never discussed this topic, it only takes a little bit to reveal it.
Lu Su is also a smart man, but he has been the magistrate of Chaisang County for more than half a year and is used to thinking about the people of Chaisang in everything. For a while, it is difficult to change his thinking from the magistrate of Chaisang County to the role of Yuan Yao's adviser.
But all it took was Zhuge Liang to say it, and Lu Su's idea suddenly became clear.
Yes, why not build a new city in Banzhou?
Banzhou is a river island surrounded by water formed by the sediment accumulation of thousands of years in the Yangtze River. It is located 60 miles upstream of Chaisang.
The water flow near Banzhou is gentle, which is an important place for crossing the Yangtze River from north to south.
Not only that, Banzhou is also the boundary between the three counties of Lujiang, Yuzhang and Jiangxia.
Going upstream from Banzhou to the west, you reach the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in Jiangxia County. After passing Banzhou and heading east, you enter the wide Pengli Ze.
Lu Su pondered for a while, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that building a city in Banzhou would have many benefits. He couldn't help but pat his thigh and praised: "This strategy... is ten times better than repairing the old city of Chaisang... not a hundred times more!"
"If we build a new city in Banzhou and garrison it with heavy troops and ships, we can guard the entire west entrance of Pengli. From now on, if the Jiangxia navy invades again, they can stop it outside Yuzhang County!"
"Wonderful! Why didn't I think of that!"
"But this should be considered building a fort, not a city, right?"
Yuan Yao was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "That's true."
"The purpose of building a fort in Banzhou is not just to protect Yuzhang and block the enemy from the west to the west of Pengli Ze."
"If we can build this fortress, then the Pengli Lake, which is thousands of miles away, will become my inner lake."
"At that time, we can build warships and train our naval forces on the lake; given time, we can also switch from offense to defense. I can also go up and down the Yangtze River!"
When Lu Su heard this, he repeatedly raised his hands and applauded: "That's so good! So good!"
"This time the Jingzhou Army invaded so quickly that we were caught off guard. It almost caused the Major General to repeat the mistakes of the previous Battle of Pangjuan and Maling. This was also because our navy was weak and could not stop the enemy from upstream."
"If this happens, why should our army be afraid of Liu Jingsheng in the future?"
"only……"
Lu Su suddenly looked troubled.
Yuan Yaozheng was immersed in the recognition of everyone, and when he saw this, he said: "It's just what? Zijing just said it doesn't matter!"
Lu Su: "I'm just thinking that just to build a new city on the ground requires the efforts of all the people."
"If the young general wants to build a fortress on this river island, it will cost a lot of people and material resources! And the time required will not be achieved overnight!"
Yuan Yao smiled, he had already guessed what Lu Su wanted to say.
"Zijing, are you worried that I will forcibly draw Ding to build a fortress?"
"Don't worry, I saw your notice at the city gate. If you want to raise men with grain, just do it as you think."
"Even if you scatter all the taxes and rations from Chaisang County this year, I will never interfere!"
Lu Su raised his head and asked, "Young Master, aren't you afraid that the grain reserves in Chaisang County are not enough to support such a large project?"
Yuan Yao was stunned for a moment, then smiled calmly and said: "Don't be afraid!"
"I'll give you a guarantee. If you don't have enough money and food, I'll transport it to you from Liling and Haihun! If it's not enough, I'll empty the granaries in Shangliao and Nanchang for you!"
"In short, no matter how much food is spent on this fortress, it must be built!"
"The Banzhou Defense Line is the most important guarantee for what I want to do next!"
As he spoke, Yuan Yao suddenly smiled slyly: "Zijing, do you know why I finally decided to let you stay in Chaisang as the county magistrate and the supervisor?"
"It's because I know that you can definitely help me build this fortress without delaying the farming time or causing chaos among the people!"
Looking at Yuan Yao's confident expression, Lu Su, who actually didn't have much confidence in his heart, only felt a strong confidence injected into his heart.
Chai Sang's grain reserves and this year's grain harvest are quite large, but if they really build forts on the continent, will they be enough to support them?
Although the people's support is available at the moment, I will start major construction projects in less than a year after taking charge of Chaisang. Will the people of Chaisang still support me as they do now?
None of this is known!
However, the look in that person's eyes told me that he would recognize my style of doing things and support me to do it to the end!
that's enough!
It all depends on people. Perhaps in the end, whether you are dealing with your superiors or your subordinates, you will have a satisfactory explanation.
Seeing Lu Su's eyes twinkling and not making a statement immediately, Yuan Yao decided to give Lu Su a chance to choose.
"Zijing! You don't want to know why I originally wanted to transfer you to Poyang?"
Lu Su withdrew his thoughts and shook his head: "Su doesn't want to know. Su just wants to build this half-continent defense line for the young master."
But Yuan Yao asked and answered his own questions and insisted on finishing his words: "I transferred you to Poyang to be the governor of the newly established Poyang County!"
"My appointment is still valid. Next year... Poyang is as important to me as Banzhou, and there will also be a need for talents like you, Zijing, to serve me."
"You don't have to make a decision in a hurry now. You should think about it before answering me."
After saying that, Yuan Yao stood up and called Zhuge Liang to leave the county government and go to the inn to rest.
But Lu Su didn't hesitate at all and stood up from his seat: "Young General, Su still said the same thing."
"Su just wants to build this half-continent's defense line for the young master!"
