In the strategic plan agreed by Sun Ce, Guo Jia and Zhang Hong, Yuzhou is the frontier buffer zone, Jingzhou is the base area, and Yangzhou is the rear area.

At present, Yangzhou is only a half-land with overgrown weeds, with a total population of more than 4 million, 40% in Yuzhou, and 20% in Wujun. The Kuaiji he was going to have only about 500,000 people, which is similar to the Lu State he just gave to Tao Qian. The mountains and hills are crisscrossing, and the transportation is inconvenient. The indigenous people who claim to be Baiyue are distributed among the mountains, and it is difficult to collect taxes, but it is easy to evade taxes. The local aristocratic families do not take the imperial court seriously, and they run into the mountains with disagreement. The bravest even close the door to be emperors.

From Sun Ce crossing the river to Sun Wu’s destruction, the Sun family and the natives of Jiangdong fought for nearly a century but failed to achieve the final victory, which is closely related to the special geography here. It is unlikely to solve the problem by relying solely on forceful expeditions. Relying on local families also requires decentralization of power. Give power will only allow them to continue to grow and then ask for more rights. Once this vicious cycle begins, it will be difficult to brake.

In the later period, in order to curb the expansion of the Jiangdong family, Sun Quan formed a two-denomination competition for the throne, forcing Lu Xun to death, but in the end it was useless.

In view of this, Sun Ce planned to keep the bottom line from the beginning and could not rely entirely on the Jiangdong Family. Introducing the powerful Jingzhou can not only use their financial and material resources to quickly solve the situation, but also create a competitor for the Jiangdong Family. Only when he can gain a foothold without relying on the support of the Jiangdong Family, he is qualified to negotiate conditions with the Jiangdong Family.

Cai Mao was greedy for money, but he didn't have much political ambitions, and his previous cooperation was quite pleasant. When Runan built workshops one after another, Cai Mao's development was limited, so he gave him a chance to develop in Yangzhou, so he naturally would not refuse.

Sun Ce talked about the general direction with Cai Mao and suggested that Cai Mao find some partners. The Cai family has strength, but compared to what he wants to do, the Cai family's financial resources are far from enough. After all, Xiangyang's industry needs to continue, and he can't take all his funds.

Cai Mao understood it.

Sun Ce communicated with Liu Pi again. Liu Pi was stationed in the south of Xiangyang and everything went well. This autumn, he had the first harvest. He was not only self-sufficient, but also provided some military rations for Sun Fu, which also helped Zhou Yu to conquer Nanjun. After being a refugee for several years, he was able to settle down again. Liu Pi was very content and was very grateful to Sun Ce, but he still felt a little regretful.

So far, the Yellow Turbans in Runan have been basically digested by Sun Ce and are divided into farms. Because of his doubts about Sun Ce, Liu Pi only brought 3,000 people, and was the weakest among the Yellow Turbans in each division. After getting up early and rushing to the evening party, he watched Wu Ba, Gong Du and other former colleagues be valued by Sun Ce and took charge of the country, Liu Pi was inevitably a little disappointed.

Sun Ce comforted him with kind words and asked him to wait with peace of mind. Runan and Nanyang were limited, and most of the old Yellow Turban subordinates would go south one after another. Liu Pi had bad achievements some time ago, and Zhou Yu was very satisfied with him. He would definitely bring him with him when crossing the river to fight, and there were many opportunities to make contributions.

Liu Pi was very happy and grateful.

——

Xie Kuan stood in front of Xie Guanglong, looked up and down, and before he could speak, tears burst out.

Xie Guanglong was a little helpless and rubbed his hands repeatedly. "Look at you, such a big man, why do you cry as if you were a child? Don't cry, don't cry, I didn't bully you today."

Xie Kuan burst into tears and said with tears in his eyes: "You said that you ran away from home after a few quarrels with your uncle. I have been away from home for ten years and haven't even heard of it. My uncle said that you are dead and wanted me to inherit my family business and forced me to practice martial arts and archery. These were originally the responsibilities you should bear, but now they fell on my shoulders. I have been guilty for you for ten years. They say that elder brother is like father, do you have brothers like you?"

Xie Guanglong hesitated for a moment, finally opened his arms, hugged Xie Kuan's shoulders, and shook them hard. "Don't say that, you are doing well now. You can be a shooting sergeant in General Sun's personal guard camp, and you are still a military marquis. In a few years, you may be a captain, a lieutenant, or something, much better than my brother. The Xie family in Xi County has you as the head of the family, which is very good."

Xie Kuan shook his head and sighed. "There are many people who are good at shooting under the general. I have limited talent. It is the end of my life that I can be the commander. But I am lucky. If General Sun had not been to Xixian County and his uncle recommended me to be a guard, I would not have the chance to learn shooting from a master of shooting skills like King Chen."

Xie Guanglong was surprised. "King Chen Liu Chong?"

"Yes, he accepted General Sun's recruitment and taught the Sun family's children to learn archery. The shooting soldiers in the army also learned about him for a while, and their progress was obvious. Experts are experts. Not only are they good at shooting skills, but they also have unique visions. They can see our disadvantages at a glance, and they can cure diseases like famous doctors."

Xie Guanglong looked at Xie Kuan and nodded repeatedly. He had been with Liu Pi in Runan for many years, so he naturally knew the reputation of King Chen and Liu Chong. But he never thought that he could ask King Chen for advice on shooting skills. One was the Yellow Turban Thief and the other was the king. Their status was very different and they were not from the same world at all. His younger brother Xie Kuan was just as talented, and it was really a rare luck to get the guidance of King Chen.

"Zhongguang, look, this is your luck. I have been in Runan for so many years and have not had the chance to ask King Chen for advice, but you have such a chance. This is your luck and no one can take it away. Cherish it, the Xie family in Xixian will rely on you in the future."

Xie Kuan frowned. "You still refuse to go back?"

Xie Guanglong came out for a while and shook his head. "I'm used to it. I don't like staying in one place for too long."

"Then have you started a family? I took a leave and went to your house to have a look."

Xie Guanglong turned his head, looked at Xie Kuan for a moment, sighed, and said nothing, but patted Xie Kuan on the shoulder. Xie Kuan saw it in his eyes, and knew that Xie Guanglong had accomplished nothing over the years, and felt ashamed and did not ask any questions. He was silent for a moment, gritted his teeth, quickly walked to Sun Ce, bowed and bowed.

"General, please be brave and ask for something."

Sun Ce looked at Xie Guanglong in the distance and was a little clear-headed. Liu Pi didn't know the inside story, but just looked at Xie Kuan curiously, thinking that Sun Ce was really generous to his subordinates, and an ordinary military marquis dared to make a request directly.

"What's the matter?" Sun Ce said while winking at Xie Kuan and signaling him to ask for Liu Pi. Xie Guanglong is Liu Pi's personal guard general, not an ordinary guard. He cannot transfer him away casually. Liu Pi must agree. Xie Kuan understood and quickly bowed to Liu Pi and told the Xie family about it. Only then did Liu Pi realize that, Liu Pi looked at Xie Kuan and nodded repeatedly.

"No wonder I think you look a little like you. It turns out that you are brothers. Since that's the case, how can I let you brothers separate? Let him follow General Sun." Liu Pi saluted Sun Ce again. "General, Xie Guanglong has outstanding martial arts skills. It's a pity to be with me. Let him follow General."

Sun Ce nodded and agreed.
Chapter completed!