The first year of Xingping, AD 194, the first day of the first lunar month.
Since Sima Qian of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established the Taichu Calendar, the Spring Festival has also been officially implemented among the people. Especially during the Western Han Dynasty, when the economy was prosperous, people had the opportunity to recuperate and began to put more effort into the Spring Festival.
Chengdu is extremely lively today. Every household is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations to welcome the new year.
Liu Zhang summoned his ministers at the Prefecture Mufu to prepare for a brief meeting and then go together to worship their ancestors.
"Everyone, this is my second year in Chengdu. Since Bajun was pacified two years ago, the entire Yizhou has been prosperous. After this year's development, Chengdu's treasury is full and the people live and work in peace and contentment. These are all inseparable.
Thanks to all of you!”
Since all the generals had been sent out, there were only civil servants in the room, which made the atmosphere softer.
"This is my lord's great blessing!"
The civil servants did not dare to take credit and pushed the credit to Liu Zhang one after another.
"Hahaha, you don't have to be like this. Without you, we wouldn't be where we are today!"
It is said that the Yizhou family is xenophobic, but after being together for so long, Liu Zhang really didn’t think there was anything wrong with them.
Perhaps it was the arrangements made by Jia Xu and others, or perhaps the Yizhou family had high hopes for Liu Zhang, which made Liu Zhang more trustful in the talents of Yizhou.
"Everyone, the Southern Expeditionary Army is overwhelming. It has now completely conquered the two counties of Zangda and Yuexi. The vassal states of Shu County and Qianwei have also been completely surrendered. I believe it won't be long before the Southern Expeditionary Army will find the right opportunity to go south and completely connect Yizhou.
In one piece!"
Although there was no decisive progress in Lu Su's strategy, overall the southern expedition was progressing smoothly. With the bravery of Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren, all the other four counties except Yizhou County and Yongchang County surrendered.
"Congratulations, lord!"
The civil servants were also happy from the bottom of their hearts. They all knew Liu Zhang's ambition and were waiting for that day to come.
"Wenhe, how is the situation in Bajun?"
At the end of each year, each county would report on its situation, and these documents would be sent to Jia Xu.
"My lord, after a year of hard work, Governor Xun You has completely wiped out all the thieves in Bajun. Afterwards, he built water conservancy projects and developed villages. Bajun has achieved a bumper harvest this year! According to Governor Xunyou's letter, the treasury has a surplus of 400,000 shi of grain!
"
"As expected of Gongda, I will have nothing to worry about if I leave Bajun to him!"
Liu Zhang nodded with satisfaction and couldn't help but praise Xun You repeatedly in his heart.
Four hundred thousand stones of grain and grass may not seem like much, but in the year when Ba County was pacified, all the millions of stones of grain and grass in Jiangzhou were used to provide relief to various counties!
In just one year, Bajun not only did not need to allocate grain from Chengdu, but also had a surplus of grain in stock!
All of this is Xun You’s contribution!
"My lord, Jinfan General Gan Ning has also received news. After half a year of training, the Jinfan Army has now initially formed combat effectiveness. However, there are currently no shipbuilding talents, so the Jinfan Army has no warships..."
"Hmm...cough cough cough..."
Liu Zhang coughed a few times to cover up the embarrassment on his face.
He had known about this situation for a long time, and Gan Ning had written more than once to complain that the Jinfan Army was still using bamboo rafts.
But Liu Zhang had no choice. Shipbuilding required technical talents. Liu Zhang didn't know how to build ships, and he couldn't conjure them out of thin air, so he kept using words to prevaricate.
"Wen He, we will discuss the details of the battlefield later! How much food and grass are there in each county's treasury now? Can it support the army's expedition?"
This time Jia Xu was not embarrassed and gave Liu Zhang a positive answer very happily.
"My lord, there is a severe drought in the world this year, but Yizhou has abundant water systems and good weather! Except for Jianwei County, every county has a good harvest! In just one county of Shu, there is a surplus of millions of stones!"
Hearing the conversation between Liu Zhang and Jia Xu, other officials had puzzled looks in their eyes.
Aren’t all the soldiers and horses sent out? Where is the army that can fight?
Do we have to send out the last trapped camp in Chengdu?
If he really did that, all the ministers could only admire Liu Zhang's courage for actually daring to set up an empty city in Chengdu!
Liu Zhang didn't know what the officials were thinking, so he didn't care at the moment and turned his head directly to Liu Ye.
"Zi Yang, it seems that you are worrying too much..."
Half a year has passed since Liu Zhang openly sent all his troops to march south, and there is still harmony inside and outside Yizhou.
None of the crises mentioned by Liu Ye have come, not even the slightest sign.
Of course, Liu Zhang was just teasing at this moment. After all, he didn't want Liu Ye to be right in everything.
If everything inside and outside Yizhou is still stable, Liu Ye can just take precautions.
"My lord, Liu Yu was killed by Gongsun Zan. I'm afraid the land in Hebei will be owned by Yuan Shao."
Half a year later, Liu Ye still didn't feel at ease. Especially after hearing the news of Liu Yu's death, he felt the crisis coming frequently.
Although he had prepared for all possible crises, Liu Ye still felt uneasy, wondering where there was an oversight.
"Zi Yang, everyone in the world knows that killing Liu Yu will lose the hearts of Youzhou. Only Gongsun Zan doesn't know, and he deserves to be exterminated."
Liu Zhang hated Yuan Shao from the bottom of his heart, but there was no way he could do it, Gongsun Zan couldn't live up to his expectations!
Liu Zhang, who was familiar with history, had no ability to change the outcome of Hebei's ownership.
However, Gongsun Zan's army was strong and he could hold on for at least a few more years.
Today was the first day of junior high school. Liu Zhang didn't want to ruin his good mood because of the incident in Hebei, so he changed the subject immediately.
"Everyone, since Emperor Wu, there has been a tradition of worshiping ancestors on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Although the world is in chaos, the tradition cannot be lost! Later, I would like to ask you to worship your ancestors with me, pray for their blessings, wipe out the rebels as soon as possible, and restore the Han Dynasty!
"
"As you command!"
Liu Zhang was not the heir to the throne, so he could not worship his ancestors in the ancestral temple. However, as a member of the Han clan, it was absolutely in line with etiquette to worship ancestors.
Offering sacrifices to ancestors can not only set an example for the ministers, but also serve as a perfect interpretation of the ambitions in the heart.
Just as he was about to give the order to go forward together, the soldiers outside the door suddenly walked in.
"My lord, Hanzhong, Jiangzhou, Zhu Ti is reporting urgently!"
"What did you say?"
Liu Zhang looked at the soldier suspiciously, suspecting that he had heard wrongly.
"My lord, we have to rush to three places and eight hundred miles. The soldiers have been running for a day and a night, and are asking to see the lord outside the door!"
The soldier sounded anxious and quickly reported again, briefly explaining the urgency of the matter.
"Quick pass!"
Liu Zhang's heart thumped, and he couldn't help but look at Liu Ye, whom he had teased before, and became anxious in his heart.
Could it be that Liu Yeyan was really fooled?
At this time, Liu Ye didn't notice Liu Zhang looking at him at all, but seemed to suddenly realize it.