Lu Su recommended Jiang Ji to succeed Jianghuai as deputy governor, mostly because of his ability.
Regarding the talents who are underestimated due to their reputation in the Three Kingdoms, in addition to Liu Ye, there are also Man Chong and Jiang Ji in the Wei Kingdom.
As a fourth-generation veteran of the Cao family, Man Chong found it difficult to hold power due to his status and long-term presence in the border area. Before his old age, Man Chong either wiped Cao Ren's butt or wiped Cao Xiu's butt. After the generals of the Cao family left one after another, Man Chong, who was entering his twilight years, was reused and took charge of Jiangbei to guard against Soochow.
As for Jiang Ji, because of his outstanding talents and outstanding communication skills, he was transferred to the central government early and held important positions. Even so, Jiang Ji still showed extraordinary military talents in his limited military activities.
However, Jiang Ji's ability lies in his ability. Huo Jun denied that Jiang Ji was appointed deputy governor to avoid suspicion.
Due to years of fighting and the fact that Liu Bei inherited Liu Qi's power, large or small parties were actually formed in the Southern Han Dynasty.
Most of the civil and military members of the Beifu faction headed by Huo Jun served in Jianghuai. Regardless of whether Huo Jun wants it or not, Huo Jun has become their talker.
In order to centralize power without hurting Huo Jun, Liu Bei had to install deputy governors with multiple identities in Jianghuai. If Jiang Ji takes office as deputy governor of Jianghuai, it will be difficult for Liu Bei to centralize power. The core reason is that since Jiang Ji surrendered, he has never served under Liu Bei from beginning to end.
Jiang Ji's rise to power means that Jianghuai has completely become the territory occupied by the Beifu Party, which makes it increasingly difficult for Liu Bei, who already has a weak foundation, to intervene in Jianghuai.
Therefore, after thinking deeply, even if Liu Bei wanted to appoint Jiang Ji as deputy governor, Huo Jun could not express it openly. This is not only self-protection, but also responsibility for Liu Bei.
As expected, Liu Bei didn't say much after Huo Jun denied Jiang Ji's appointment as deputy governor. Instead, stay silent and consider suitable candidates.
Liu Bei paced with his hands behind his hands, and asked, "Zhong Miao has far-reaching wisdom and is capable of recognizing many talents. Is there a suitable candidate for him?"
Jianghuai is the base of the Beifu faction, and Huo Jun's opinions are crucial. As a monarch, Liu Bei must get the support of Huo Jun.
Huo Jun thought for a long time, then raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Bu Junzishan, the governor of Jiaozhou, is broad-minded and thoughtful, and has won the hearts of the people. Since he governed Jiaozhou, all the Han barbarians have been awe-inspiring. He may be appointed as the deputy governor of Jianghuai."
Then, Huo Jun said: "Shang Shu Ling Pang Jun Shi Yuan has military strategy, elegance and brilliance. He is highly regarded for his talent and ability. He may be qualified to serve as the deputy governor of Jianghuai."
After thinking for a moment, Huo Jun recommended again: "Lü Fan, the governor of Wu County, is upright and strict, and outstanding in his military skills. When he was under Sun Ce's tent, he had many military exploits, was both literary and military, and was familiar with the terrain of the Jianghuai River. He served as the deputy governor of the Jianghuai River, or It’s doable.”
Bu Zhi, Pang Tong, and Lu Fan all have different backgrounds, but they are all qualified to serve as deputy governor of Jianghuai.
For example, Bu Zhi, since he succeeded Lu Su as the governor of Jiaozhou, he appeased the Han barbarians, sought Nanhai County, and strengthened the rule of the Southern Han Dynasty in Jiaozhou.
For example, due to the problem of the original local power in Jiaozhou in the early days, Liu Bei only controlled Cangwu County in Jiaozhou. After Ran Bu Zhi took over, he took advantage of the death of Shi Wu, the prefect of Nanhai, and got ahead of Shi Xie to designate Dai Liang as the prefect of Nanhai.
Although the Shi family in Jiaozhou was dissatisfied, they were afraid of Liu Bei's powerful power and the threat posed by Bu Zhi. The Shi family pinched their noses and accepted the decision.
With Bu Zhao's efforts, Liu Bei effectively swallowed Nanhai County without using any weapons. Today, in Jiaozhou, only the four counties of Jiaozhi, Hepu, Yulin, and Jiuzhen are still in the hands of the Shi family and have not been completely controlled by Liu Bei.
After taking over Nanhai County, Bu Zhi moved the prefecture to Panyu (today's Guangzhou) in order to further control Nanhai. Seeing that the old city was in ruins, with Liu Bei's permission, he quickly rebuilt the city and appointed local officials. Then he led his army to pacify the mountain barbarians and conquer the bandits. For several years, Nanhai County was in awe.
Bu Zhi's outstanding performance in Jiaozhou has qualified him to serve as deputy governor. Of course, it's not just that. Bu Zhi's relationship with Liu Bei and Huo Jun, coupled with his status as a Jianghuai person, makes him a suitable candidate for Jianghuai deputy governor.
Although Pang Tong had few troops to lead the battles, he accompanied the army on expeditions all year round. In terms of wisdom and military strategy, there were few people in the Southern Han Dynasty who could match him.
Although he had made mistakes before due to his ignorance of the geography of the Jianghuai River, once he became familiar with the geography of the Jianghuai River, he would be more than qualified for the position of deputy governor. Moreover, Pang Tong and Beifu General had worked together briefly, and they knew each other well, so it was not difficult for them to cooperate.
As for Lu Fan, as a surrendered general of the Sun family, he has worked hard and made outstanding achievements since his return. As a native of Runan, he lived in Jianghuai when he was young. Although not as qualified as Pang Tong and Bu Zhi, it is still better than nothing. After all, there are too few candidates for the Jianghuai Deputy Governor matter.
"Zi Shan, Shi Yuan, Zi Heng?"
Liu Bei paced for a long time and said, "The three people recommended by Zhong Miao each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Let me think about them for a few days."
"promise!"
Stopping, Liu Bei asked: "Zhongmiao, are there any soldiers who are suffering from malaria in the army and have returned to the army?"
Huo Jun thought for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, according to the report yesterday, more than 5,300 people in the camp are suffering from malaria. Although there have been more people in the camp recently, it is expected that in half a month, due to the isolation measures in each camp, there will be more The sick will be few and far between."
Without fighting, the Han army could concentrate on dealing with malaria. After Huo Jun took office, he ordered each battalion not to conceal the patients and asked doctors to go to the camp to thoroughly investigate the specific number of patients.
After two or three days of investigation, the initial number of malaria cases was determined. Later, in order to monitor malaria, each battalion was required to report daily. Any soldiers found to have malaria should move out of the camp to avoid infecting others.
Considering that malaria has an incubation period, the real effect of isolation will not be apparent until after the isolation period. Most of the patients today were infected during the previous war, and now there is a large outbreak.
In the words of later generations, we are currently at the peak of malaria, and due to proper isolation measures, the number of sick people will decline. After this period, we will be able to see the light.
"More than 5,300 people!"
Liu Bei sighed slightly and said: "With the addition of Zijing, Wenxiang and other civil and military officials, the harm of malaria is far greater than that of Cao Cao's tigers and wolves. He did not die from the war, but died from malaria. This may be called God's will!"
As he spoke, Liu Bei felt a little lucky. Fortunately, he had already adopted Huo Jun's advice. Otherwise, when malaria broke out in the army, the army would probably be doomed. Or as Huo Jun said, without Cao Cao raising his troops to march south, the Northern Expedition would directly end in failure.
After saying that, Liu Bei looked at Huo Jun and said: "It's time to work hard on treating malaria. However, you must be careful in everything and don't enter the malaria camp lightly."
"promise!"
——
Because of Huo Jun, the malaria epidemic in Southern Han Dynasty was effectively controlled. However, in the Northern Wei Dynasty, which lacked correct understanding, the number of people suffering from malaria was rising sharply.
On May 20th, while the Southern Han Dynasty was making concerted efforts to isolate, Cao Cao returned to Yecheng from Huaibei after more than ten days of march, along with a large number of Chinese army officers and soldiers who returned home.
When Cao Cao first returned to the palace, he heard bad news from Sima Yi.
In the hall, Cao Cao was approving documents when he saw Sima Yi walking into the hall.
Seeing Cao Cao, Sima Yi looked sad and said: "I am reporting to your Majesty that my brother is suffering from malaria. I am afraid that it will be difficult for you to serve your Majesty in the future!"
"Boda has malaria?"
Cao Cao was surprised, and then sighed sadly, saying regretfully: "Boda is honest and dedicated to the public affairs, and he is very kind to Yanzhou. He used it to treat malaria, but he unexpectedly contracted malaria. It is really his fault!"
While sighing, Cao Cao felt depressed. I originally thought that by leaving Huaibei, the sick soldiers would be unaffected by the plague. Unexpectedly, the plague did not decrease at all, but instead increased.
Chen Lin, Xu Qian and others died in the past, but now Sima Lang is suffering from malaria. According to this trend, I wonder what will happen next?
With tears in his eyes, Sima Yi said: "Brother Gai may have known that he was doomed, so he regretted that he could not report the disease to the king for treatment of malaria, nor could he protect himself. He must be living up to the country's grace."
"well!"
Cao Cao put the pen on the pen holder and sighed: "Boda is a loyal man, his life should be endless!"
"Come here, order the palace doctor to treat Boda personally." Cao Cao ordered.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!" Sima Yi said gratefully.
After Sima Yi retreated, Cao Cao felt uneasy and asked, "How is the malaria situation today?"
Sun Quan hesitated for a moment and said, "Let me tell you, your Majesty, the situation is getting worse. Since your Majesty ordered the withdrawal, the sergeants were afraid that they would be abandoned by your Majesty in Huaibei due to illness, and they often concealed the disease. After they withdrew to Yecheng, their illness worsened and the sergeants were unable to Cover up, there are reports of many casualties of soldiers in the city."
Cao Cao ordered the sergeants with limited mobility to stay in Huaibei, and Sima Lang would deal with them on the spot. However, many sergeants were worried that they would be abandoned in Huaibei. Even if some sergeants fell ill along the way, they did not dare to report it and kept it secret themselves.
Under this operation, although some sick sergeants were detected, some of the sergeants with milder conditions returned home with Cao Cao.
Lacking awareness of the incubation period, the returning troops directly brought malaria to Yecheng. Mosquitoes bite malaria-stricken soldiers, carrying the malaria virus, and then bite other people. Malaria slowly spreads in Yecheng.
Today, due to the incubation period, malaria has not broken out. However, it is foreseeable that without reasonable prevention and control measures, Yecheng will definitely experience a large-scale malaria outbreak in the future.
Cao Cao rubbed his temples, feeling troubled. Even though he is famous, he doesn't know how to deal with malaria now.
After a while, Cao Cao asked: "How about setting up a disease house in the city now? Let those suffering from malaria be placed in the disease house, maybe it will prevent the disease from spreading."
After pondering to no avail, Cao Cao had no choice but to propose isolation measures again.
Liu Ye frowned and said, "Your Majesty, it is good to set up a malaria harem, but I am afraid that no one will want to go to the malaria harem."
"Why?" Cao Cao asked.
"There is no medicine or stone to cure malaria. Now that the patient is in a malaria hut, who will take care of him? Where does the medicine and stone come from?" Liu Ye said.
Cao Cao was silent for a while and asked: "I am afraid that malaria will spread and harm the people of Yecheng. How should we deal with the current situation?"
Liu Ye stroked his beard and said: "Most of the people suffering from malaria today are soldiers accompanying the army. Your Majesty, why not check the soldiers and order the sick to gather in the military camp. Let the doctors give decoctions and try their best to treat them."
"Let's follow what Ziyang said!"
Cao Cao exhaled and said: "Malaria harms people, but I only hope that the epidemic will disappear as soon as possible. You should be more careful and don't contract malaria."
"Your Majesty is benevolent!" Sun Quan, Liu Ye and others responded.
Cao Cao calmed down his boredom, picked up his writing brush, and reviewed the order again.
This order was none other than Sima Yi's previous proposal to Cao Cao to build Wubao.
Cao Cao was unwilling to let Wubao be built in various places in Huaibei. However, on his way back, Cao Cao saw the nobles along the Huaihe River. Many nobles were rebuilding Wubao without waiting for his orders.
Wubao is not a new thing. During the troubled times at the end of the Han Dynasty, many gentry in the Central Plains built Wubao to avoid rogue bandits. However, after Cao Cao unified Henan, the Central Plains fell into peace for a long time and was not disturbed by bandits. The Wubao built before had not been maintained for a long time and many of them were dilapidated.
However, with Liu Bei's Northern Expedition and the war reaching the Huaihe River, the Yuzhou nobles could no longer sit still and began to rebuild Wubao one after another.
Seeing that the situation of building Wubao was out of control, and the Southern Han Dynasty had the naval advantage. After thinking deeply, Cao Cao decided to order the nobles from Runan, Qiao, and Pengcheng counties to temporarily rebuild Wubao.
The three counties of Runan, Qiao, and Pengcheng were located on the north bank of the Huai River. During the Southern Han Dynasty, the three counties were the first to plunder the people by boat. If Wubao was successfully built, it would be difficult for the Southern Han Dynasty to invade and plunder the people.
While reviewing the order again, Cao Cao suddenly remembered the letter Huo Jun had sent from his third trip to Surabaya, and then thought about the uncontrollable malaria.
He has dominated the world for decades and is feared by the world. However, for some reason, the events that have occurred in recent years have become increasingly beyond his control.
Liu Bei is entrenched in the south and it is difficult to control him now!
Huo Jun made trouble in Huainan, and the encirclement and suppression failed!
Malaria is ravaging the military and civilians, and there is nothing we can do!
Under the pressure of the three, Cao Cao felt increasingly tight in his chest.
"Snapped!"
Cao Cao threw the brush on the towel, and the black ink stained the white document.
"If this order fails, let Chen Qun draft it again!"
After saying that, Cao Cao got up from the couch and left the palace without looking back. Sun Quan, Liu Ye, Jia Xu and others were left staring at each other.
Jia Xu was silent and bowed to everyone before leaving.
Sun Quan frowned slightly, feeling the impatience and irritability in Cao Cao.
Liu Ye went to Sun Quan and asked in a low voice: "What's wrong with your Majesty?"
Sun Quan shook his head and said, "The king is agitated, maybe this year is not going well for him!"
As they spoke, Sun and Liu had already left the palace, and there was no one around them.
Liu Ye's eyes flickered and he asked, "What did Zhongmou mean when he asked about the attack on Liaodong?"
Sun Quan looked around and said: "The king is now in the position of being the most powerful minister, and there is only one step left. In the past, Quan persuaded the king to succeed to the throne, and the king mentioned the word 'destiny'. I don't know if he is annoyed by this today, but I am sorry for my stupidity. I don't know. Deep meaning.”
Liu Ye stroked his beard and said: "Liaodong is four thousand miles away, and there are dangers from Liao Ze and the sea. Your Majesty is the most important person in the country. He is getting older this year. How can he easily send troops?"
"If you want to conquer Liaodong, you have to choose your clan members and good generals. However, your Majesty chooses generals to go to war. If it is difficult to conquer Liaodong, are you afraid that your Majesty will not be able to ascend to the throne of emperor?"
It is actually not safe to regard the victory in Liaodong as Cao Cao's meritorious service in proclaiming himself emperor. After all, attacking Liaodong is risky. If the attack fails, wouldn't it mean that he will not be able to claim the title of emperor? Where does this leave Cao Cao's face?
Sun Quan looked thoughtful and said: "What Ziyang said is reasonable. If we want to conquer Liaodong and ascend to the throne, we are afraid of failure."
(End of chapter)
