Chapter 122: Establishing a navy and recruiting Lu Su In late August of the second year of Jian'an, after conquering the entire territory of Pei State, Liu Bei once again conquered the entire territory of Jiujiang. It only took half a year for the government to expand from owning a small county to owning more than 20 counties. However, the increase in territory was not where Liu Bei's strength expanded the most. The biggest increase in its strength lies in its military strength. In February, Liu Bei had less than 10,000 soldiers. After capturing Pei State, Liu Bei's army expanded to 30,000. The Battle of Shouchun expanded Liu Bei's total military force to nearly 50,000. With Qin Yi's surrender, Liu Bei once again gained access to all the troops under Yuan Shu and Zheng Bao, totaling nearly 65,000 people. Therefore, when Liu Bei heard that Qin Yi had voluntarily surrendered, his first feeling was surprise, and then he was ecstatic!

With Liu Ye's joining, he not only gained many counties in the south, but also gained more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, and a large amount of money and supplies. So when Liu Bei got the news, he ran to Qin Zhen's camp without even having time to put on his shoes, took Qin Zhen's hand and said: "The Liu Ziyang you recommended can really defeat tens of thousands of soldiers!" "Now that we have taken over all of Jiujiang without having to sacrifice a single soldier, this is truly a matter of great joy!" Qin Zhen was woken up by Lao Liu while he was sleeping. It was so terrifying. After hearing Liu Bei's joy, he couldn't help but complain that Old Liu was really afraid of being poor. He's so happy with just this little bit of troops, money and food! You should know that when Cao Cao was in Yanzhou, he subdued more than one million Yellow Turban troops! Among them, the number of young and strong people eligible to join the army exceeded 300,000! Where can these more than 10,000 soldiers and horses go? However, although he was secretly dissatisfied in his heart, he could also understand Liu Bei's feelings. After living in poverty for most of his life, Lao Liu could not help but be happy that he had finally regained his place among the princes. But he doesn't have many hobbies, he just likes to pour some cold water on others when they are feeling down. Seeing that Old Liu was so happy, he said to Liu Bei: "Although Qin Yi and others have surrendered, you should not be happy about this!" "The drought is so severe right now, and refugees are everywhere. Although our army has enough food and fodder to feed the soldiers, it is difficult to rescue the people!" "Our army needs to go and accept Qin Yi's surrender as soon as possible, arrange for garrison here, and return to Shouchun as soon as possible." "After Xincai falls, we will take the money and food and govern the country. We must not let the people think that our army is doing nothing and lose the support of the people here!" When Liu Bei heard this, his smile faded. He was only thinking about being happy, and didn't consider that more soldiers and horses would mean more expenses! With more than 60,000 soldiers and horses, if there is enough food, they will consume more than 1,000 dan of grain a day, which means more than 30,000 dan a month. There is a severe drought in Huainan now, and they have not had any supplies for nearly a year. Just to support the army, four or five hundred thousand shi of grain are needed a year.

Add to that the cost of refugees, and the bill will be huge! Having soldiers is a good thing, but if you lose the support of the people in order to maintain the soldiers, that would be a bad thing. So Lao Liu stopped smiling and nodded quickly: "Military Advisor is right. We really cannot afford to slack off here." "Since Qin Yi has surrendered, I will mobilize troops to accept his surrender and then arrange everything." Having said that, he went back to the tent to dress and wash up. Qin Zhen knew that he couldn't sleep anymore, so he just got up, dressed and washed. After the two of them finished their work, it was already dawn, and Liu Bei led his troops towards Hefei again. After marching for more than a day, they finally arrived in Hefei and joined forces with Liu Ye and others. After meeting Liu Ye and Zhao Yun, Liu Bei praised them repeatedly. But after hearing the details of how they killed Zheng Bao, he felt scared again. Fortunately, Qin Zhen suggested that Zhao Yun follow them. Otherwise, his eldest nephew Liu Ye would be in danger. However, the task had already been accomplished, so he would not say anything to spoil the mood. He just praised the two men for their contributions, directly appointed Zhao Yun as the Sima of a separate department, and let Liu Ye temporarily serve as a military officer. As for the subsequent arrangements, we will have to discuss it after returning to Shouchun. Zhao Yun and Liu Ye were naturally very happy to be promoted because of their merits. Later, Liu Ye introduced Qin Yi to Liu Bei. After meeting Qin Yi, Liu Bei naturally used his succubus powers again, holding Qin Yi's hand and talking for a long time. After hearing Qin Yi's concerns, Liu Bei promised to solve Qin Yi's family problems. In Liu Bei's original words: "I am originally from the north and have no roots here. My current status is entirely due to the trust of the generals." "Now that the general has trusted me, how can I not treat him with sincerity? General, rest assured, no matter what, our army will take back the general's family and live up to the general's trust." Qin Yi was deeply moved by Liu Bei's kind treatment. He was originally a minor general under Yuan Shu, and was only assigned to guard a special position like Hefei because of Ji Ling's transfer. Seeing that Liu Bei agreed so solemnly, he naturally had no grudges in his heart and simply summoned all his subordinates to meet Liu Bei one by one, which was regarded as a formal transfer of military power. However, Liu Bei stated that none of Qin Yi's former subordinates would be transferred, and he still ordered Qin Yi to garrison Hefei and govern the five southern counties. This decision was made after consultation between Liu Bei and Qin Zhen. Now that they have taken Hefei and other places, they have to consider the issue of garrison. Similarly, when Qin Yi led his troops to surrender, the issue of Qin Yi's resettlement must also be considered. Combining the two ideas, Qin Zhen suggested to Lao Liu that Qin Yi should continue to stay here. Firstly, their troops have not yet been fully trained. If Qin Yi is transferred north, the surrendered soldiers from Shouchun will have to be transferred south, which is not a good thing! Secondly, Qin Yi had surrendered as many as 9,000 soldiers and horses. Breaking them up would cause Qin Yi to panic. Letting Qin Yi stay here would help calm him down. Third, Qin Yi himself had no good feelings towards Liu Xun, so by garrisoning here, they could guard against Liu Xun's attack. Similarly, if they captured Xincai, they would be able to control Qin Yi's family and would not be afraid of Qin Yi going south to join Sun Ce.

In general, we should stabilize Qin Yi first and then consider the issue of transfer later! Qin Yi didn't know what Liu Bei was thinking. He only thought that Liu Bei was a wise ruler. He had already prepared himself to have his military power taken away from him, but he didn't expect that Liu Bei actually trusted him so much! He immediately expressed to Liu Bei his excitement that a soldier would die for his friend, and promised to stay here and not let Sun Ce and Liu Xun occupy even a little bit. After dealing with Qin Yi, it was time to deal with Zheng Bao's troops. These troops were more difficult to deal with than Qin Yi, because Zheng Bao's troops were bandits, mostly local civilians, and could not be taken to Shouchun, nor could they be left alone. Regarding this issue, Liu Ye asked for permission to train troops here with Zhao Yun, and after unifying the bandits' troops, they would head north. However, as soon as the proposal came out, it was rejected by Qin Zhen. It’s not that this suggestion is bad, but it’s a bit of a waste of talent! Both Liu Ye and Zhao Yun are capable men, and it would be a waste for them to command a group of bandits here. Qin Zhen then gave Liu Bei some advice: "Now that our army has occupied Huainan, we will surely march south to Jiangdong sooner or later!" "The bandits under Zheng Bao's command live in water forts all year round. They are all familiar with water and can be trained as naval forces." "Why not let them continue to live in Chaohu Lake and select a general who is good at training soldiers to train sailors with our army for future use!" When it comes to the navy, Liu Bei gets a headache and says: "Although I know the importance of sailors, I don't have such a great general under my command!" It should be noted that most of the generals under his command are northern generals, and even if they want to train a navy, no one knows how to do it. Listening to Liu Bei's words, Qin Zhen was thinking silently. At the moment, they do not have a naval commander under their command, and they cannot ask Guan Yu to start training from scratch. Most of the naval generals he knew were under Sun Ce's command, and there was no one available! Gan Ning has now arrived in Jingzhou, but distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. After thinking for a while, he looked at Liu Ye and said: "Zi Yang lives in Huainan, does he have any recommendations for such talents?" When Liu Ye heard this, he thought for a moment and then smiled at the two of them: "There really is such a person. His name is Lu Su, and his courtesy name is Zijing. He is Ye's good friend." "He is good at riding and shooting, and has strange plans. He is a good planner. He can lead the navy!" "Last year he was appointed as the governor of East City. Because he disliked Yuan Shu, he fled south to Juchao and is now living in seclusion." "If uncle is willing, I can write a letter and invite him to come and see me!" When Liu Bei heard about this extraordinary person, he was delighted and said: "Since you have such talent, you should come and see him!" When Qin Zhen heard this, he secretly thought that the butterfly effect he brought about was affecting more and more places. In fact, logically speaking, Lu Su should have already had one foot on Sun Ce's boat by this time. Because at this point in time, Lu Su and Zhou Yu were flirting with each other, and a year later, they would both join Sun Ce's army. However, because Zhou Yu returned early, the two of them did not have a year to spend together.

It also indirectly led to Lu Su not yet joining Sun Ce's army. But when he saw Liu Ye was about to write a letter to recruit Lu Su, he shook his head and said: "Since Lu Zijing is so talented, can we just call him here?" "You must know that in today's world, not only do rulers choose their subjects, but subjects also choose their rulers." "If Lu Su is talented, our army should not neglect him." "You must know that Juchao is still under the rule of Liu Xun. If Zijing joins our army and his family is captured by them, wouldn't that be harmful?" "Since he is Zi Yang's friend, you should personally accept him. If he is really interested, let him take his family and go north. This will also satisfy our army's intentions." After all, reality is not a game. When recruiting talents, one has to consider their family background. Liu Ye knew Lu Su, and Zhou Yu also knew Lu Su. Letting Lu Su move north in advance can prevent Zhou Yu from plotting against him in the future! Of course Liu Ye had no idea what Qin Zhen was thinking. He just thought that Qin Zhen was worried about Lu Su and wanted to use his family as hostage. He couldn't help but think that this military advisor was too cautious. But on second thought, it was indeed not safe for Lu Su's family to remain under Liu Xun's command. If he wants to move, he should go and invite him personally. After thinking for a moment, he nodded to Qin Zhen and said: "Military Advisor is absolutely right. Zi Jing is so talented that he deserves to be invited personally!" "But considering the current situation, the round trip may take too much time and delay our army's opportunity to march north!" "It's alright, the navy issue can be put on hold for now!" Qin Zhen directly suggested to Liu Bei: "You can order Chen Shuzhi to train his troops here, and let Zilong lead Chen Dao's troops. Go north today and wait for Lu Zijing to come. Go to Shouchun first. If he is interested in training the navy, then order him to go south to replace Shuzhi." After hearing this, Liu Bei also felt that there was no rush. Talking about the generals under his command, it seemed that only Chen Dao was capable of taking on this task. It just so happened that Zhao Yun was promoted and had no subordinates under his command, so it was quite appropriate to let him take over from Chen Dao. After thinking about it for a while, Liu Bei nodded in agreement, but regarding Liu Ye's invitation to Lu Su, he also instructed: "Zi Yang, be careful when you go to Juchao. If Zi Jing is willing to go north, please go north." "If he doesn't want to, don't force him. I just hope Zi Yang returns safely!" Liu Ye felt warmed at his heart after hearing his instruction, and he immediately told Liu Bei not to worry and that he would definitely invite Lu Su. As a result, Liu Bei planned the defense of the southern part of Huainan, ordered Qin Yi to stay in Hefei, and transferred his subordinate Chen Zhang to lead 3,000 troops to station in Liyang. He also ordered Chen Dao to stay in Chaohu and train Zheng Bao's troops on the spot. After arranging everything, Liu Ye went to Chaohu, and Liu Bei led his troops towards Shouchun. As a result, when they were halfway there, they received the good news from Zhang Fei.

It is said that Guan Yu has captured Ruyin and is marching towards Xincai. Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard the news, and Qin Zhen smiled and said: "General Guan has already taken Ruyin, and he will definitely take Xincai. Now that we have returned to the army, we can go straight to support them!" Upon hearing this, Liu Bei gladly agreed and then turned his troops around and headed northwest. (End of this chapter)