Chapter 158 Liu Biao's Fury In Jingzhou, Liu looked at his civil and military officials with a grim expression. In just three months, the bandit problem in the Yangtze River has intensified after a brief respite, and has now spread to the entire Jingzhou. He is not the Liu Yan who let things go, nor is he the pedantic and incompetent Liu Yao. Liu Biao once commanded five battalions of the Northern Army, so Dong Zhuo was wary of him, so he gave him the title of Governor of Jingzhou and took the opportunity to transfer him out of Luoyang. At that time, being the Governor of Jingzhou was not an easy job. The predecessor had just been killed by Sun Jian. Not only was Jingzhou in internal strife, but it was also seen as a piece of cake by Yuan Shu and Sun Jian. Dong Zhuo was simply pushing himself into the fire by sending Liu Biao over. If Sun Jian and others killed Liu Biao, they would inevitably be labeled as those who murdered the Han royal family. The consequences would probably be no better than those of Gongsun Zan, and would inevitably alienate the scholars. If Liu Biao could stabilize the situation, he could just contain Yuan Shu and Sun Jian. As a result, Dong Zhuo did not expect that, unlike the other governors he sent out, Liu Biao, one of the "Eight Ji", actually had real abilities. Liu Biao, who arrived in Jingzhou alone on horseback without any military escort, relied on a document from the court and completed the three tasks of subduing the powerful, eliminating the clan rebels, and killing Sun Jian in just one year, thus completely pacifying Jingzhou. Moreover, Liu Biao was not only good at diplomacy, but also had the ability to govern the country. He quickly integrated the local powerful families and turned Jingzhou into a paradise.
When Dong Zhuo learned about the situation in Jingzhou, he was stunned. How cruel! Liu Biao actually killed Sun Jian and actually took control of Jingzhou! But Liu Biao also had his own problem, that was, he was old. Throughout history, countless heroes have been defeated by time, including the Qin Emperor and Han Wudi. Liu Biao, who was already in his fifties, had no intention of competing for hegemony over the world. Instead, he focused on managing Jingzhou. He maintained the idea of making friends with all the princes and not offending them. He placed many bets, watched the internal strife in the Central Plains, and never got involved. So he responded loudly to Yuan Shao but did not move at all, and at the same time he paid tribute to the court controlled by Dong Zhuo. Almost all the princes in the world became his allies. However, if anyone dared to take over Jingzhou, he would still fight to the death, such as Yuan Shu who occupied Nanyang. And now, there is one more person, Tian Ze. Today, the bandit problem in Jingzhou has become extremely rampant, and even poses a certain threat to his rule. This month, he ordered a campaign to suppress bandits. As a result, the reported results were impressive and officials from all over the country applauded. However, when he actually sent people to investigate, he found that it was not the case at all and the situation below was rotten to the core. Liu Biao was also feeling very bitter. Although Jingzhou was said to have an army of hundreds of thousands, how many of them were actually under his control? It sounds good to say that he rode alone to Jingzhou, but in fact he had no people, no soldiers, no money or food, and was a commander without any troops. It was only by political means that he won the support of the powerful families in Jingzhou and established his position by taking advantage of the general trend. "Degui, I ordered you to wipe out the bandits on the Yangtze River. How is the progress?" Liu Biao first asked Cai Mao. This is my own brother-in-law, but I didn’t expect him to be so disobedient, which makes me even more angry. Cai Mao could see that his brother-in-law was angry. After thinking for a while, he said in a deep voice. "Thanks to the wise command of the lord, I led 50,000 naval forces and killed thousands of bandits on the Yangtze River. The bandits in various places were defeated. The results of the battle were quite fruitful. The people in various places praised the lord's kindness." "However, there are still many pirates who are as timid as mice despite having few soldiers. After seeing the might of our Jingzhou navy, they dared not show up and hid secretly, making it impossible for me to complete my mission. I beg you to forgive me, lord." Having said that, Cai Mao secretly took a look and saw that Liu Biao's face looked a little better, so he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Liu Biao was not a mediocre person. He could not hide the situation in Jingzhou. If he just showed off his achievements, he would definitely be hated and blamed by Liu Biao in the end. It is better to be safe. First show your loyalty, then show your achievements, and then admit your mistakes. No one can find fault with you.
Then Cai Mao changed the subject and said with a hint of regret: "This group of pirates is so difficult to deal with, it must be Gan Xingba who is behind this. If I had known this, I should not have let them enter Jingzhou, I should have wiped them out directly." Upon hearing this, Liu Biao immediately looked at Kuai Yue. Before Cai Mao finished speaking, Kuai Yue's expression changed slightly and he felt secretly resentful. It was he who first proposed to allow Gan Ning to enter the Yangtze River, and it was also he who suggested letting Gan Ning clear out the pirates, because he thought that with his talent, it would be easy to capture Gan Ning. At that time, many clan bandits in Jingzhou were able to be fooled by him, and Gan Xingba, a reckless warrior, could be easily sent to Yuan Shu to die. However, in order not to offend Tian Ze and to squeeze out Gan Ning's value, he was not too eager to do it. As a result, they did not expect that Gan Ning, a warrior, would have such a scheme. When they realized it, he had already patted his butt and went back to Yangzhou, refusing to come out no matter what. This caught him at once. Seeing this, Kuai Liang, who was standing by, couldn't help but sigh inwardly. His younger brother was talented, but he was too radical, too cunning, and too cruel. Although his cunning ways could lead to quick victory, there were ultimately too many hidden dangers. If he encountered a strong enemy, he would easily be outwitted. This time is a profound lesson. "My lord, although these water bandits are difficult to deal with, they are just a minor problem," said Kuai Liang. "It has spread throughout Jingzhou, and it's still just a minor disease?" Liu Biao said angrily. Kuai Liang was not panicked at all, and said calmly: "My lord, these pirates are so rampant only because Gan Ning is inducing them with money and food from behind." "However, as far as I know, the amount of money and food that Gan Ning gave was not small. How much money and food can he have? How long can he sustain? How much can they transport after plundering so many people?" "I think it won't take long before it collapses on its own without our intervention." Kuai Liang once estimated that based on the number of refugees Gan Ning recruited and the exchange price, not only would it be impossible for Gan Ning to support himself as a local vassal, but even the Eastern Han Dynasty in its heyday would not be able to sustain itself. The money and grain that was spent every month was in the tens of millions. Tianze was only a local lord. Even if he became richer after operating in Liaodong for a few years, how rich could he be? At most, he could sustain himself for half a year. By then, although they would have lost some people, they would have gained a large amount of money and food. It is still unclear who would gain and who would lose. Liu Biao listened to the words and took a moment to assess them. His expression softened. "Zirou is right." Kuai Yue, who was standing by, saw that Liu Biao was comforted by his brother. Feeling ashamed, he stepped forward again to offer advice. "My lord, I think this may not be a bad thing." "Jingzhou is located in the north of Hanmian, with the South China Sea as its benefit, and is connected to Wuhui in the east and Bashu in the west. We are not short of population, and we can also attract population from other states." "Nowadays, the Central Plains is in turmoil and Guanxi is in ruins. Many people are moving south. We can use this opportunity to gather the people and trade with Gan Xingba in exchange for a large amount of money and food." "In this way, Gan Xingba will not be able to take in so many people, and the bandit problem in Jingzhou will be eliminated in no time. We can calmly suppress the bandits, earn a large amount of money and food, and train an elite division." "By then, it won't be difficult to attack the surrounding areas or capture people." Are they short of people in Jingzhou? Not at all. In the past two years, there have been more than one million refugees fleeing from the north. If they were to attract more people, they would surely attract even more. Nowadays, the world is in chaos, there are people everywhere, and all the princes are short of money and food. Since Tian Ze wanted to be the scapegoat, they would let him be. They could make a lot of money and food by just selling the food as a middleman, so why not?
Hearing what Kuai Yue said, Liu Biao nodded in agreement. What made him angry was not the loss of population, but the banditry in Jingzhou. Jingzhou has so many people, so the loss of those people is nothing. In recent years, due to the wars in the north, a large number of refugees have poured in, which has not only put great pressure on Jingzhou's resources and management, but also bred a large number of bandits. Although he has the ability to govern, the pressure of refugees cannot be easily resolved. The arrival of refugees is a good thing in the long run, but it is a trouble in the present. Especially when the number increases suddenly, it is easy to cause unrest. "However, those water bandits must also be eliminated." Kuai Yue said. "My lord, why don't you send a few small elite naval forces to clean up the bandits? In addition, you can also offer a reward for the bandits to induce internal fighting among them." It is not good for the noble families if the pirates become too powerful. Besides, these people have been fattened up by Gan Ning and can be slaughtered. Liu Biao smiled with satisfaction after hearing this: "Good!" Kuai Liang felt somewhat uneasy in his heart. He felt that his judgment should not be wrong, but the instinct brought by his talent always made him feel that he seemed to have thought about something wrong. (End of this chapter)