After the water battle on the Yangtze River ended, Tao Shang captured the defeated soldiers of Yuan's army and prepared to return to Ruxuwu. However, at this time, soldiers from the school affairs office came to report that Yuan Shu had already fled back to the camp.
, not even bothering to gather the defeated troops under his command, they set up camp and evacuated in a panic towards the west.
Tao Shang understood the reason for Yuan Shu's withdrawal, and the failure of the water battle was only a superficial phenomenon.
The important thing is that Liu Biao must have sent an army to conquer Nanyang County. The foundation of Yuan Shu's fortune was taken away by Liu Biao. Now let alone plotting Yangzhou, it is still open to question whether the grain road to Jiangnan can be kept open.
.
But judging from Liu Biao's prudent style of doing things, if he doesn't take action, once he takes action, he will be sure of success. Even if Yuan Shu goes back this time, he probably has little hope of retaking Nanyang County.
The largest county in the Eastern Han Dynasty, with a population of more than two million, was finally taken away from Yuan Shu's hands by others.
The pottery merchant didn't know whether he should write a letter to express his condolences to Yuan Shu.
Ideas are ideas, but since the enemy has escaped, we naturally cannot sit back and watch, at least we cannot let Yuan Shu run so comfortably.
The pottery merchant sent Xu Chu and Xu Huang each to lead an army to attack Yuan Shu, then gathered his troops and returned to Jinling City.
Although Yuan Shu was defeated in this battle, the Jinling Army also suffered a lot of damage and needed a good rest.
However, after this battle, the Jinling Army gained rare war experience in both land and water battles. The soldiers' combat capabilities began to mature, and their combat effectiveness reached a new level.
After returning to Jinling City, the pottery merchant summoned the water pirate leaders who had made great contributions in this war.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, governors and governors in many places greatly expanded their military strength. However, due to their low official positions and status, even if they opened a government, they could not set up more official positions and positions in the government.
However, the late Han Dynasty was different from other periods. Due to the needs of the war, it was necessary to continuously expand the strength of the personnel under his command. In order to give these additional personnel corresponding official positions, there were many prefects in the local county agencies in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.
He established his own miscellaneous captains or miscellaneous generals.
Today, the pottery merchant gave each of these water thieves the title of miscellaneous captain.
The pottery merchant solemnly held a commendation meeting for the leaders of the water thieves.
At the meeting, Tao Shang gave the leaders of the water thieves a random ban. Except for Zhou Tai, who was appointed as the captain of Pinglu, Gan Ning was appointed as the captain of Zhechong, and Jiang Qin was appointed as the captain of the west. What else was left?
The leader of the village, the leader of Guanzhai, and the leader of Wangzhai were all appointed as Fengye Xiaowei, Zhengyi Xiaowei, Deputy Military Xiaowei, Koujiao Xiaowei, Zhongyi Xiaowei, Xielu Xiaowei, and so on.
All.
After the official appointments are completed, the most important next step is for them to lead their own troops and go to the counties to station themselves independently.
This was what the pottery merchant had promised them in advance before the war, and Tao Ying had no intention of breaking the contract.
When the leaders of the water thieves heard that the pottery merchant had really begun to fulfill his promise, they couldn't help but be overjoyed and their noses were full of joy.
Only Gan Ning, Zhou Tai, and Jiang Qin did not want to go to the county to become independent. The three of them expressed their willingness to join the army of Danyang County with their soldiers and accept the deployment and appointment of Shangguan.
Tao Shang expressed great appreciation for the open-mindedness of Gan Ning, Zhou Tai, and Jiang Qin. They were indeed different from ordinary water pirate leaders. They were good generals who were truly worthy of trust and reuse.
As for the remaining water pirate leaders...hehehe.
The pottery merchant took out a map and pointed out to the other water thieves the counties where they needed to be stationed. Most of the stations were concentrated in Anxian, Dantu, Qu'a, Piling, Wucheng, Fuchun, etc.
Near the county seat.
The bandit leaders couldn't help but be overjoyed when they saw this. They all nodded and bowed to the pottery merchant, expressing gratitude and shouting long live the Pirate King.
The person who accompanied the pottery merchants to divide and govern the land for these bandits was Chen Deng.
When Chen Yuanlong saw the area assigned by the pottery merchants to the bandit leaders, his heart moved slightly and he couldn't help but sigh secretly.
None of the counties where the pottery merchants stationed troops for these water bandit leaders were within the territory of Danyang County!
These county towns are all under the jurisdiction of Wu County, a neighboring county of Danyang County!
What kind of situation is this?
After the water thieves retreated gratefully, Chen Deng hurriedly consulted the pottery merchant.
"Mr. Tao Fu, none of the counties you pointed out to those water thieves are under the jurisdiction of our Danyang County. They are all subordinate counties of Wu County. If you do this, why will the prefect of Wu County Sheng Xian not give up? Besides, you are only Danyang County.
The prefect, in terms of official position, is only on the same level as Shengxian... If you act like this, if Shengxian goes to the court and spreads the word, it will be detrimental to the reputation of the prince."
The pottery merchant smiled slightly, tapped the table with his hand, and said: "Originally, what Tao did was a transgression, but after the Ruxuwu and Yangtze River water battles, Tao joined forces with Liu Biao to defeat Yuan Shu.
Wan Zhizhong has already stood out among all the county guards in the world, and has gained some prestige... Yangzhou Governor Chen Wen was killed by Yuan Shu. Now the position of Yangzhou Governor is vacant, and Tao's defeat of Yuan Shu is equivalent to
I avenged Chen Wen, the governor of Yangzhou. To put it more arrogantly, based on my achievements in defeating Yuan Shu this time, I can be called the number one county in Yangzhou in Danyang, Lujiang, Kuaiji, Wujun, Yuzhang and other places.
With my current military achievements and prestige, I can replace the temporarily vacant Yangzhou governor and deploy people to various counties. Even if the county guards are not convinced, they will never dare to disobey in the slightest... After all, the strength is in front of me.
Which of them can compare with Yuan Shu in strength? Who dares to make a difference?"
Chen Deng is a smart man, and the pottery merchant talked about it for this reason. How could he not understand the pottery merchant's thoughts at this moment?
Yuan Shu killed Chen Wen, leaving a vacancy for the governor of Yangzhou. Now is a period of power vacuum and a period of independent administration. The pottery merchants took advantage of this period to reap benefits in Yangzhou, which was considered the right time.
This young man wanted to take advantage of this great victory over Yuan Shu to spread his hand from Danyang County to the surrounding areas.
His desire was greater than before.
Like Yuan Shu now... he also wants to control Yangzhou.
But what was even more clever than Yuan Shu was that Yuan Shu controlled Yangzhou by force, while Tao Shang wanted to do it justifiably.
A gentleman's behavior is indeed completely different from that of a violent person.
Among the counties in Yangzhou, although Zhuge Xuan, the prefect of Yuzhang, is close to Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu was defeated this time and his power shrank. Zhuge Xuan is not a fool. He will probably be careful to draw a clear line with Yuan Shu in the future. His nephew Zhuge Liang is now with Tao
Shang is the master and apprentice in name only.
Whether it was because of the political trend in Yangzhou or because of his relatives, even if he did not support what the pottery merchants did in Yangzhou, Zhuge Xuan certainly would not and would not dare to object;
As for Wang Lang, the prefect of Kuaiji, he was originally a nobleman who came out of Xuzhou. In name, he and Xuzhou Tao Qian had broken bones and connected tendons. At least the pottery merchant was not too excessive. Wang Lang must have turned a blind eye.
.
Lujiang County and Jiujiang County are still in Yuan Shu's hands for the time being, so let's not care about them.
Then only Wu Jun is the unknown.
From this point of view, Tao Shang first used the water bandit leaders as a test and sent them to the county seat of Wu County to station independently. On the surface, he was indulging the bandit investors, but in fact, he was attacking Shengxian's layout.
This is a good move.
The pottery merchant's idea was indeed what Chen Deng thought, but he actually had other ideas when he sent the water thieves to the county town under Wu County.
Since ancient times, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have been an indispensable overall and economic and cultural belt in the south. Jiangsu and Zhejiang cover an area of more than 200,000 square kilometers, and they are both typical plain river network areas. There are also river beach wetlands.
Tens of thousands of rivers of different sizes crisscross the area, which can be described as a natural chasm.
Taking full control of Jiangsu and Zhejiang means controlling the entire waterway of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
In this era, the areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces were basically included in the two counties of Danyang County and Wu County. Danyang County included most of Jiangsu Province in later generations, and was now firmly in the hands of the pottery merchants.
It is actually Wu County in Zhejiang Province, so the pottery merchants will not let it go.
As long as they capture the areas belonging to Wu County and Danyang County, plus Xuzhou, Tao's power will at least not be as powerful as that of Yuan Shao, who will later unify the four states of Hebei Province, but at least it can be attacked and defended, and it cannot be easily bullied.
Now is a good opportunity.
However, Chen Deng raised a concern about the pottery merchants.
"If the name is not correct, the words will not be correct."
Chen Deng said to Tao Shang: "Chen Wen, the governor of Yangzhou, has died. There is no governor in Yangzhou. Although the governor can take advantage of this period to perform military affairs in Yangzhou, you should not forget that there is a vacancy for the governor of Yangzhou."
, will not always be missing, sooner or later the imperial court will appoint someone to take over Yangzhou...just like Liu Biaodan rode into Jingzhou."
The potter was not in a hurry, he just showed an enigmatic smile.
Even someone as smart as Chen Deng couldn't help but be confused by his expression.
Why is this expression so unflattering?... It's like he has the ability to predict the future. It's so pretentious!
Chen Deng guessed correctly, the pottery merchant was a prophet who wanted to show off.
Because he knew who the person who succeeded Chen Wen as the governor of Yangzhou was.
The time traveler is invincible in this aspect.
…
…
Donghai County, Huaipu County.
Huaipu County is the former residence of Chen Deng's family, and the Chen family in Huaipu is the first noble family in Xuzhou.
But when it comes to honor, it is not the Chen family. This is because there is another respected family in Huaipu County. Although its influence among the gentry is not as great as the Chen family, when it comes to the respect of the family, it is far away in Huaipu.
Above the Chen family.
But this family is not a noble family. This family has a more resounding name than a noble family.
Clan of the Han Dynasty!
Liu Yao lived in Huaipu County. His ancestors were King Hui of Qi Liu Fei and Marquis of Mouping Liu Chu. His elder brother was Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou who had just been killed by the Qingzhou Yellow Turban some time ago.
In fact, Liu Yao had already served as an official. In the early years, he was recruited as a vassal by the Sikong Mansion and was removed from the post of censor. However, the structure in the capital was too complicated, and his brother Liu Dai was an anti-Dong Zhuo prince.
First, for the sake of his own life, Liu Yao did not go to the capital to take up his post.
From this point of view, Liu Yao's approach is still very correct.
Otherwise, his fate is likely to be as miserable as Er Yuan's uncle Yuan Wei, who was chopped into pieces by Dong Zhuo and fed to dogs.
I thought that in this world of great strife, I would never have any chance to make a comeback. In recent years, Liu Yao's mentality has become very peaceful, calm and calm, and he has seen through the world of mortals.
But it was obvious that the imperial court had not forgotten him, a member of the Han clan.
After Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, died in the line of duty because of his crusade against the Yellow Turbans, the imperial edict came to Huaipu, ordering Liu Yao to be the governor of Yangzhou.
Even though Liu Dai was once an anti-Dong Zhuo prince, his death was due to the conquest of the Qingzhou Yellow Turban bandits. Although he belonged to the hostile camp, Dong Zhuo still had to do some things on the scene.
It is not a trivial matter for a member of the Han Dynasty to die in the line of duty. Even if Dong Zhuo wanted to stop the world's scholars from talking, he also wanted to stabilize the power of the Liu family in the world, or to a certain extent, he wanted to give the emperor Liu Xie a little favor.
, even if the old thief was unwilling, he still made Liu Yao the second great official in the feudal frontier after Liu Dai among the descendants of King Hui Liu Fei.
After the edict reached Liu Yao's hands, the heart of the Han clan clan member who had seen through the world suddenly became lively again.
Let us live a leisurely life with the company of the world of mortals.
The job of a feudal official was obviously more attractive to Liu Yao than working in the capital.