It was noon and everyone was empty-bellied. Liu Yao and Qiao Ying came at the right time.
Yuan Yao and the generals sat on the ground, eating delicious food and drinking fine wine while discussing the recent military situation in Jiangdong.
With Wang Lang's exile at sea, the six counties under Yangzhou's jurisdiction have been completely reshuffled.
From a nominal point of view, the entire Yangzhou is now owned by Yuan Shu!
If we add the Guangling County of Xuzhou, Runan County of Yuzhou, and the southern part of Pei State, Yuan Shu has become the leader of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River and dominates the southeast alone!
Since withdrawing from Runan, Yuan Shu's arrogance has increased instead of decreasing, and he actually claims to have 200,000 soldiers under his command!
He also sent people to appeal to Xuzhou, Yuzhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Jingzhou, asking the princes from all sides to respect him as the leader of the alliance and send troops together to destroy Cao Cao!
The various princes reacted differently to this, some were disapproving, such as Cao Cao, who had just occupied Yingchuan and moved the center of power to Xu County; others were scornful, such as Qingzhou Governor Yuan Tan and his father Jizhou Mu Yuan Shao.
There are also those who are frightened and uneasy, such as Jingzhou Shepherd Liu Biao.
After hearing that Yuan Yao had pacified Danyang County, Sun Ce had defeated Wang Lang, and that Yangzhou was finally monopolized by Yuan Shu, Liu Biao decisively sent envoys to make peace with Yuan Shu, and sent ships to transport 5,000 hu of grain and grass to Yuan Yao to clear up the previous suspicion.
There are also those who turn a blind eye, such as Liu Bei and Liu Xuande who have been pretending to be transparent since they took over Xuzhou.
What surprised Yuan Yao was that there were still people who showed their obedience to Yuan Shu!
And the one who followed Yuan Shu was none other than the "Lü Bu among men" who was disliked by everyone and ignored by dogs!
Due to the influence of Yuan Yao, Lu Bu now did not get the opportunity to stab Liu Bei in the back. Therefore, until now, Lu Bu is still playing poker with Xiao Pei, Chen Gong, Gao Shun and Zhang Liao.
When Yuan Shu saw Lu Bu's letter agreeing with him, he was so happy that he didn't even know his last name. He actually sent Han Yin to send 20,000 dendrobium grains and grass to Lu Bu.
When the news reached Yuan Yao's ears, Yuan Yao was very angry.
Lu Bu is greedy and greedy, this move is tantamount to a meat bun beating a dog!
But he couldn't change Yuan Shu's mind, so he simply didn't bother to care about anything about Yuan Shu anymore.
They just sent people to Yuzhang County, Poyang County and Luling County, and strictly ordered each county to not mobilize food, grass, troops and horses without Yuan Yao's order.
In Danyang County, Yuan Yao also secretly ordered the county magistrate Yuan Huan and the meritorious officer Chen Jiao to slowly replace officials at all levels with officials loyal to him without disturbing his uncle Yuan Yin.
It has been less than a year since Yuan Shu became emperor in history. If he cannot change history in the end, he must be prepared for the worst outcome.
What Yuan Yao wants to do is to increase his strength as much as possible before Yuan Shu becomes the target of public criticism and the anger of both humans and gods!
Therefore, Yuan Yao's first goal since time travel is to take over Jiangnan!
Just relying on the land of Huainan and Yuan Shu's stupid, loyal and mediocre people, it is absolutely difficult to make an enemy of Boss Cao, who has gathered almost all the elite talents from the Central Plains.
A Lu Bu with only a few thousand soldiers and horses could defeat Yuan Shu's seven-pronged army, let alone Boss Cao, who had tens of thousands of elite soldiers and generals under his command.
Not to mention that since Yuan Yao traveled through time, he had no available people or soldiers for the first time, and Yuan Shu couldn't listen to any of his opinions.
Therefore, if he cannot confront Cao Cao head-on in the early stage, he will have no choice but to snatch food from the tiger's mouth, Sun Ce!
And even if he wants to accumulate strength in Jiangnan, he can only avoid Sun Ce's sharpness in the early stage and go to Yuzhang County first, so that he can develop his fat tiger into a strong and capable body.
Only by occupying the entire territory south of the Yangtze River can we ensure that even if Yuan Shu is attacked and destroyed by Cao Cao, Yuan Yao will still have the capital to protect himself and fight!
Of course, Yuan Yao also knew that separatist rule in Jiangnan was a choice that was too self-preserving but not aggressive enough.
But looking at the world, I only have one option: going south.
Up to now, Yuan Yao has occupied Jiangxi and even has a small foothold in Jiangdong.
But if we want to take over Jiangnan, we have to deal with the obstacle of Sun Ce!
It's just that most of Yuan Yao's generals still have no intention of being enemies with Sun Ce.
For example, Gan Ning and others only regarded Sun Ce as a general appointed by Yuan Shu who could take back military power at any time.
Therefore, the first topic everyone started talking about was that Jiangdong had been pacified now, and only Yan Baihu and his like were not of concern.
Then they discussed when Yuan Yao would send his troops north and lead them to attack Cao Cao and pacify the Central Plains!
Yuan Yao just smiled and said nothing. After they had finished talking, he looked at Huang Zhong with a smile.
"Old Huang, tell everyone what the current situation is in Kuaiji County."
Although Huang Zhong is upright, he understands what Yuan Yao means.
A month ago, he didn't think there was anything wrong with Sun Ce. But after experiencing this trip to Kuaiji County, he finally understood what Yuan Yao was doing now.
"Ahem~"
Huang Zhong looked solemn and coughed twice first.
Everyone immediately fell silent.
Even Gan Ning, who was the loudest, closed his mouth and listened.
This is not only because Huang Zhong's military rank is the highest Zhonglang general below Yuan Yao, but also because Huang Zhong has always been trusted and respected by Yuan Yao.
Just the word "Lao Huang" is a kind of affectionate name that no one would dare to think of.
Huang Zhong sat upright and began to narrate the story in a serious manner.
"This general, I was ordered to send troops this time. First, together with the Fuyue captain Zulang, we destroyed the Shanyue clan bandits entrenched in She County, and beheaded the enemy chief Jiao Ji and others."
Everyone nodded. Jiao Ji's head was now hanging on the gate of Wanling City, and everyone had seen it.
"After leaving Fuyue School Lieutenant Zulang's headquarters to control Fushe County, I followed the orders of the Grand Governor to cross Jianshui and go directly over the mountains and ridges to Taimo County, Kuaiji County."
At this time, Huang Zhong's lieutenant had already taken the map and acted as a human map stand to hang up the map.
Everyone also easily found the location of Taimo County.
It is located at the junction of the three counties of Kuaiji, Poyang and Danyang. It is a battleground for military strategists. It is no wonder that Yuan Yao sent Huang Zhong to occupy it.
"This county is a dangerous county in Kuaiji County, and there are many Shanyue tribes. However, within the county, people from Shanyue are rarely in trouble."
"The peace and prosperity of this county depends entirely on the county magistrate He Qi."
Huang Zhong paused and raised his hand towards Yuan Yao: "The Governor has a keen eye for people. Before I set off, he ordered me to recruit this person as the Western Commander of Kuaiji."
"This man is really capable. More than a thousand Taimo County soldiers have been trained by him to be quite effective in combat. In the county, he punished evil and supported good, and won the hearts of the people!"
"After being granted the talisman, this man neither asked for food nor for soldiers. Within ten days, he raised two thousand people from Taimo."
"In accordance with the order of the Grand Governor, I will allocate a thousand soldiers to him and prepare to return to Danyang."
"But just before I returned to the army, Sun Ce also sent an envoy to Taimo to recruit this person."
"He Qi then escorted the envoy and sent him to the general for disposal."
"I learned from the envoy that Sun Ce not only sent people to surrender the counties in Kuaiji, but also appointed himself the prefect of Kuaiji!"
At this point, everyone's reactions changed.
Appointed himself as the prefect of Kuaiji?
Although the phenomenon of self-appointment as an official is common in today's world, some people live up to their reputation, and some people deceive themselves.
Big bosses like Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Liu Bei, the current Jizhou Mu, Yanzhou Mu and Xuzhou Mu are actually self-proclaimed.
But people only proclaimed themselves after occupying the state and county where they were located. For the emperor and the imperial court, they were powerless to change the fact of local separatism, and could only choose to turn a blind eye to these princes who took charge of their own prefectures.
Often neither envoys are sent to posthumously consecrate the emperor, nor new governors or governors are sent to take office.
In fact, even if the imperial court officially appointed a new governor, Zhou Mu, who would dare to take office?
Therefore, although the official titles of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were not officially appointed by the imperial court, they were widely recognized by the world.
In today's world, there is also a clear distinction between state pastors and state governors. The official title is the pastor of a certain state, and they are often princes with real power.
For example, Liu Biao, the Mu of Jingzhou, who was officially appointed by the imperial court, Yuan Shao, the Mu of Jizhou, Cao Cao, the Mu of Yanzhou, and Liu Bei, the Mu of Xuzhou, who were self-appointed by the imperial court, were all powerful princes who ruled at least one state.
And because some princes were so powerful that they even connected counties across states, the official titles of "provincial governor" and "prefecture governor" were no longer as noble as they were during the Ling Emperor's period. Many "provincial governors" and county "prefects" were appointed by local princes on their own initiative.
For example, Hui Qu, governor of Yangzhou, and Chen Ji, governor of Jiujiang, appointed by Yuan Shu; and Tian Kai, governor of Qingzhou appointed by Gongsun Zan, were all subordinates of local princes.
But this does not mean that anyone can be promoted or promoted as a governor or a prefect!
The late Han Dynasty was still an era where identity and background were important!
For example, Liu Bei, whose origin is unknown, has a shallow foundation, and lacks reputation, is not as widely recognized by the world as the Xuzhou Shepherd, Yuan Shao, and Yanzhou Shepherd.
Not only did no princes from all sides regard him as his equal, even some counties below Xuzhou, such as Langya Prime Minister Xiao Jian and others, did not regard Liu Bei as a state pastor.
Liu Bei was still commended by Tao Qian, the former Xuzhou Mu, before his death, and he was in such a situation.
How virtuous and capable are you, Sun Ce, that you dare to appoint yourself as the prefect of Kuaiji County?
If everyone could be a county guard, the whole world would be in chaos!
Yes, this is the reaction of the generals after hearing what Huang Zhong said.
Gan Ning was the first to lose his composure and said, "It's so ridiculous. Who does Sun Ce think he is?"
"How can the head of a county be appointed by himself?"
"I can also say that I am the governor of Danyang, but who knows who I am?"
On the other side, Tai Shici's face turned green.
Gan Ning also saw it and said hurriedly: "Hey, brother Taishi, I didn't mean you..."
When he said this, everyone turned to look at Tai Shi Ci.
Taishi Ci's face was as dark as coal.
But I was thinking in my heart, when I appointed myself as the governor of Danyang, all the surrounding forces such as Zu Lang, Sun Ce and Yuan Shu were so dismissive of me, right?
Yuan Yao waved his hand: "Zhu Zhi, the commander-in-chief of Wu County, expelled Xu Gong. My father even asked him to act as the prefect of Wu County."
"Sun Ce made great contributions to my father's efforts to pacify Jiangdong. For a mere prefect of Kuaiji, my father will definitely reward him."
There is no problem in saying these words, but the order in which they are said is very problematic.
If Yuan Yao had said this in front of Huang Zhong, no one would have thought there was anything wrong with Sun Ce appointing himself as the prefect of Kuaiji.
After all, Sun Ce is indeed a meritorious minister, and it is only normal to arrange for a prefect to reward him based on his merits.
But Yuan Yao said these words just now, but it gave everyone the feeling that Sun Ce would kill first and then show off, and he was eager to show his merit.
"Old Huang, keep talking."
Huang Zhong hesitated for a moment, not sure whether to continue.
Because he had already sent someone to tell Yuan Yao in advance about what he just said.
But he didn't have time to tell Yuan Yao what happened next.
"Anything else, but it doesn't matter!"
Yuan Yao urged.
Huang Zhong had no choice but to say: "According to what the envoy said, Sun Ce not only appointed himself the governor of Kuaiji, but also granted official positions privately..."
"What kind of private appointment law?"
Gan Ning was still asking.
"After Sun Ce appointed himself as the prefect of Kuaiji, he changed the captaincy of the eastern and western divisions of Kuaiji to the captaincy of the northern and southern divisions."
"He also appointed his general Rui Liang to succeed the former eastern captain Quan Rou as the northern captain of Kuaiji; and used the official title of southern captain of Kuaiji to lure Han Yan, the chief of Yongning, to surrender..."
At this time, everyone looked at Yuan Yao again.
Sun Ce's method of recruiting surrender was exactly the same as Yuan Yao's!
How is this going?
Have the two of you discussed it?
"Change the East and West Commandant Department to the North and South Commandant Department..." Taishi Ci murmured to himself, with a flash of light in his eyes: "Could it be that Sun Ce changed the East and West Commandant Department to the Western Commandant Department after you, General Huang, granted He Qi the Western Commandant Department? Captains of the North and South?"
Huang Zhong thought for a while, nodded and said: "The messenger did come more than ten days after I arrived in Taimo."
"In terms of time, it is indeed possible that Sun Ce sent the envoy after he knew that the Grand Governor had appointed He Qi as the Western Captain."
"That's right!" Taishi Ci slammed his hand, "Then Sun Ce must be using this method to invalidate the appointment of the Governor to He Qi as a piece of paper!"
"That's right, with Sun Ce's change, there will be no east and west captains, only the north and south captains he appointed!"
Others also reacted.
According to the Han system, a county can have up to two captains, either the northern and southern captains, or the east and west captains. Only Yin in Henan, where the capital Luoyang is located, will have the four northern, east, and south captains at the same time.
For example, Cao Cao served as the northern captain of Luoyang.
"May I ask General Huang, what official position did the envoy use to lure He Qi?"
Taishi Ci asked again.
"Chief of Kuaiji County."
"Haha, he wants to use his position as a county magistrate above the captain to win over He Qi. What a good plan!"
Taishi Ci sneered again and again.
Everyone reacted at this time.
With Yuan Yao's previous psychological foreshadowing, everyone had a negative impression of Sun Ce's act of appointing himself as county governor and privately conferring official positions.
At this time, under the guidance of Tai Shici, everyone thought of the worst possibility!
"Does this person want to be independent?"
Gan Ning was still the boldest and said what everyone dared to think but dared not say.
Yuan Yao was secretly happy in his heart, but he pretended to be tolerant and generous on his face.
Taishi Ci, who was nostalgic and resentful towards Sun Ce, would be the one to show off, so the effect would be better if he played the red face again!
"Sun Ce and his son are deeply favored by my father, how could they do such an evil thing?"
"Don't think too much, maybe Sun Ce didn't do this intentionally, it was just a coincidence."
"Report~"
The sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the entrance of the school ground, and then a knight dismounted and knelt in front of Yuan Yao.
"The Commander-in-Chief of Danyang, Liang Xi, has received urgent news!"
Yuan Yao took the bamboo slip from the man and took a brief look at it, but he was overjoyed.
When I was really sleepy, someone brought me a pillow.
This secret report comes at just the right time!
