,,,,,,,,,,,,

Xu Shu hurried into the tent and bowed, "I have something to report to the provincial governor."

Liu Jing glanced at Jia Xu, and Jia Xu understood and smiled at Xu Shu, and walked out of the tent with his hands behind his back. Then Liu Jing waved his hand to Xu Shu and said, "Yuan Zhi, please sit down and say it."

Xu Shu sat down and bowed, "I want to talk to the provincial governor about the prisoners of war."

"The chief minister must be very surprised. He actually has more than 100,000 laborers, which is a huge wealth from heaven."

"no"

Xu Shu shook his head and said, "On the contrary, I feel very distressed because we can't support so many people, and Jiangxia doesn't have so much land for them to cultivate."

Liu Jing couldn't help but feel a little amused. He remembered that the last time Xu Shu complained to him in Wuchang about the serious shortage of manpower, and now he complained about the large number of prisoners of war.

Xu Shu seemed to understand Liu Jing's thoughts and sighed: "I have said that the more labor, the better, but the provincial governor captured 160,000 prisoners of war this time, which is far beyond Jiang Xia's ability to withstand. In fact, we only need 20,000 labor."

After a pause, Xu Shu said again: "In fact, most of these prisoners of war are northern farmers. The provincial governor should consider putting them back. People are grateful. This lays the foundation for us to gain support from the lower class when we enter the Central Plains in the future. I hope the provincial governor can have a longer-term vision."

Liu Jing laughed, "It turns out that Yuan Zhi is also a kind and righteous person."

Xu Shu blushed, "I don't agree with the governor of the state when he released 10,000 prisoners of war in Cao's army. It was because Jiangxia was short of labor at that time, but once and forth. Since Chibi won, we need to make long-term plans and put the prisoners of war back to the north and let them return to their hometowns to reunite with their families. This can not only win the support of the great gentry in the north, but also win the support of the great gentry in the north. This is a long-term deal."

"But I plan to pick out tens of thousands of elite troops from the surrendered stroke to replenish my troops."

"It's okay to have ten thousand people. I think it's better to release the rest of the surrendered soldiers."

Liu Jing walked a few steps behind his back, then turned around and asked, "Why did Yuanzhi say that he could win the support of the Northern Aristocrats?"

Xu Shu hesitated and said, "Before I came, I happened to chat with Sima Yi. When talking about the current situation in various places in the north, he said that most of the northern farmers were dependent on the aristocratic tribes, while the small aristocratic tribes were dependent on the aristocratic tribes. These prisoners of war were actually the foundation of the aristocratic tribes.

Cao Cao used the power of the whole country to fight against the gentry this time, and was widely opposed by the gentry. Kong Rong was killed, which means that Cao Cao killed a ban and did not allow the gentry to oppose the gentry. Although no one dared to object, he was dissatisfied in his heart.

This time, Cao Cao's great defeat will inevitably shake his foundation in the north. The return of the state-master's prisoners will also give the northern aristocrats hope. I believe that the state-master will gain something politically."

Liu Jing nodded and said in a deep voice. He really wanted to have a good talk with Sima Yi.

"I will consider the matter of prisoners of war again, and I will not be in a hurry. In addition, I have another thing I want Yuanzhi to help, which is about seizing Jiangling."

Speaking of this, Liu Jing had a smile on his face, but for some reason, Xu Shu always felt that there was nothing good in this smile.

.........

In the afternoon, Liu Jing summoned generals above the Ya General and more than a dozen officials to discuss plans to attack Jiangling. Although the generals, including Huang Zhong, unanimously requested to march into Jiangling immediately, they were unanimously opposed by officials with Xu Shu.

In the big tent, Xu Shu and Wei Yan competed against each other. Xu Shu said sternly: "General Wei only considers fighting, but does not consider the feelings of the people of Jiangxia. If Jiangxia can still withstand such a large-scale war, I might as well tell General Wei the truth. Ninety-nine grain silos in Wuchang have been empty in one or ten grain silos. The supply of grain in private camps is tight, so I can only provide relief porridge every day. Why am I in a hurry to come to Chibi? It is because Jiangxia can't support it soon."

Liu Jing, who was sitting in the upper position, said silently. He originally wanted to ask Xu Shu to share his worries, but he did not expect that Xu Shu would agree to continue fighting.

Now Liu Jing realizes the seriousness of the problem, mainly because there are many fleeing people. Jiangxia has gathered more than 500,000 people, almost one Jiangxia has come to bear most of the people in Jingzhou.

At the same time, it also has to bear the military rations of 60,000 troops and 100,000 militias. If it weren't for some grain savings in the past and the good harvest this year, Jiangxia would not have won the war at all.

Of course, Liu Jing also knew that there were some loopholes in Xu Shu's words. For example, only 60% of the stocks of one or ten granaries have always been in stock. It was just because Xu Shu wanted to help him that the concept was confused.

Wei Yan's face turned red with anger, and his eyes were filled with anger. He stared at Xu Shu viciously and said, "This time, the Red Cliff victory, we seized 200,000 stones of food. Isn't it enough?"

"But you have also captured more than 100,000 troops, and supporting them also costs a lot of food. Didn't General Wei think about it?" Xu Shu retorted without hesitation.

"this....."

Wei Yan was speechless, and his mind was in a mess. He could not imagine refuting Xu Shu's words for a moment, so he had to stare at Xu Shu fiercely. At this time, Gan Ning was about to get up to answer the conversation, and Huang Zhong next to him pulled him for a moment. Gan Ning was stunned and looked at Huang Zhong in confusion. Huang Zhong winked at him. Although Gan Ning didn't understand, he stopped standing up.

After a moment of silence in the tent, Li Jun stood up and saluted and said, "I want to say something. Although there is insufficient food, there is no way to solve it. We seized a large amount of money and materials, especially more than 100,000 livestock. This is the most precious wealth in the south. We can entrust merchants to go to Qichun County and Jiujiang County to exchange food, so that there will be a guarantee of military rations to continue fighting, Xu Changshi thought."

"But even if you go to Qichun County and Jiujiang County to exchange grain, it will take at least one month, so how can you be so simple?"

"Okay, don't argue anymore."

Seeing that the time was ripe, Liu Jing finally spoke. The big tent suddenly became quiet. Xu Shu bowed and sat down slowly. Liu Jing said to Wei Yan again: "General Wei, please sit down first."

Wei Yan glared at Xu Shu fiercely and had to sit down. Liu Jing slowly said to everyone: "Jiangling must fight, but we must also consider the local ability to bear it. So I decided to adopt General Li's plan and use livestock to exchange food in the neighboring county. Of course, this will take some time. Let's disband the 100,000 militia and go home to save food. The army will rest for half a month."

Speaking of this, Liu Jing asked Xu Shu again, "I can only delay it for half a month at most, can I?"

Xu Shu nodded helplessly, "Okay, just half a month."

"That's what it's decided."

Liu Jing stood up and said to the generals: "Half a month later, the army marched towards Jiangling."

.........

Huang Zhong was responsible for guarding the Chibi Camp. He was ordered to come to Jiangbei to attend the military meeting in the afternoon. He was about to return to his tent, but Gan Ning chased him from behind, "Please stay with the old general."

"Is there anything wrong with General Gan?" Huang Zhong said with a smile.

"It was when the old general was arguing just now, why did the old general stop me?"

"This..." Huang Zhong hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said, "Actually nothing."

Gan Ning saw Huang Zhong's hesitation and said seriously: "Is there anything else that can't I say to me?"

Huang Zhong had no choice but to point to his big account, "Go to the account and talk."

The two of them sat down after entering the tent, and then Huang Zhong said slowly: "There is a word first, and General Gan must not spread what I say now."

"Don't worry, the veteran general, I am a person who understands the truth."

Huang Zhong then asked with a smile: "General Wei was so angry today that he didn't hear the loophole in Xu Shu's words. Did General Gan hear it?"

Gan Ning nodded, "We seized 200,000 stones of grain, and it is impossible to use them all to raise prisoners of war. It would be good to give them 50,000 stones of grain. Why is our people hungry, but prisoners of war can eat enough? So there is something wrong with Xu Changshi's words."

"It's right. Not only is there a loophole in this sentence, but there are loopholes in other words. For example, the government has no food, but the local farmers in Jiangxia have food in their hands. There are many wealthy families and wealthy families in Changsha County. They have a lot of accumulated grain in their hands. Why do you have to go to the neighboring county to exchange grain? Isn't it enough to change grain in your own hands?"

"The old general is right"

Gan Ning sighed, and he realized that there were many loopholes hidden in it. He didn't even hear it, but he was still confused and said, "Since that's the case, why don't the old general let me say it?"

"The problem is here, you can hear it. Could it be that with the cleverness of the state governor, he would not understand?"

Gan Ning was stunned for a while, and then he felt a little moved, "The old general said that postponing the attack on Jiangling is actually what the governor of the state"

"It must be so. He just borrowed Xu Changshi to object."

Although Huang Zhong was a military general, he had been in the Jingzhou officialdom for decades and knew the world better than those of Wei Yan and Gan Ning, who were more familiar with the world. He saw the tacit understanding between Liu Jing and Xu Shu, and realized that he should not speak too much.

"But... why didn't the provincial governor tell everyone clearly?" Gan Ning was still a little puzzled.

Huang Zhong said lightly: "The governor of the state must have had no choice but to have no choice but to let his subordinates know, so he asked Changshi Xu to object."

Speaking of this, Huang Zhong said earnestly: "General Gan, there is one thing you should remember that he is the lord. We should not know much about the lord's mind. For the general, we only need to execute orders and not try to change the lord's decision."

"The old general is right" Gan Ning said with a wry smile.

"I found that we were not doing well in this. The generals wanted to express their ideas in front of the state governor and try to influence the state governor's decision. So, I think the state governor is actually using this matter to remind us that it is time to change."

Gan Ning nodded silently, and he finally understood a little.

In fact, there is another sentence that Huang Zhong did not say, that is Wei Yan. I am afraid that his future days will not be easy, at least they will not be as good as possible. Huang Zhong understood very well, but he could never say this.

...........

In the big tent, Liu Jing stood on the map with his hands behind his back and thought about his next plan. He had already decided on the direction of the future, but he still had to consider the details.

Especially now, he has a lot of things to do, including capturing Jiangling, restoring Xiangyang and Fancheng, and regaining Anlu County. These are all imminent matters.

More importantly, he had to deal with the relationship between Jiangxia and Jingnan. The victory of the Red Cliff Battle also meant that he had broken the previous balance.

Then if a new balance is established, Sun Quan will seize the four counties of Jingnan, but he hopes that Liu Bei can restrain the Jiangdong army for him and enable him to seize Nanyang and Hanzhong with all his heart.

But Liu Jing had to consider the possibility of Liu Bei and Sun Quan's alliance. The relationship here was complicated and it was difficult to make a decision for a while.

However, at this time, Liu Jing was a little worried that Cao Cao would return to the Central Plains and would concentrate on eliminating the revival of the Yuan clan.

The revival of Yuan's family is important to Liu Jing's strategy of expanding the west. He hopes that Yuan can restrain Cao Cao in the Central Plains for him and enable him to expand the west with all his might. For this reason, he needs to help Yuan's family with another help.

Just as he was pondering for a long time, Liu Min appeared at the door and bowed to Liu Jing, "Does the governor of the state look for me?"

Liu Jing quickly smiled and said, "Come in and sit down quickly, I really have something to look for you."

Liu Min came with Xu Shu. He sat down with some restraint. Liu Jing smiled and said, "I heard that you are engaged, congratulations."

Liu Min's fiancée is Jia Xu's youngest daughter Jia Yingxue. When Liu Min and Li Fu went to Yecheng to rescue Jia Xu's family, Jia Xu's mother and wife fell in love with this talented and smart and capable young man, and they were Liu Xian's nephew, and they were also considered a matchmaker, so not long ago, Kuai Liang was a matchmaker and decided on this marriage.

Liu Min's face turned red, "Thank you for the provincial governor"

Liu Jing pondered for a while and said, "I'm looking for you, but there is actually a major task left to you."

Liu Min quickly stood up and bowed, "Please give orders to the provincial governor."

“Don’t be so nervous”
Chapter completed!