At night, the banquet in the Hou Mansion had already begun, and all Jiangdong civil and military officials, including Sun Quan, were also present.
But when they arrived, Liu Cong was still immersed in his desk, handling official duties, and he didn't even take off his armor!
Under the guidance of the etiquette officer, everyone sat consciously in their seats and did not dare to make a sound.
"There are only 400,000 households in Jiangdong?"
"There are not many horses, only nearly 5,000. However, the size of the navy and warships is not small."
"There are nearly 70,000 captives in Wu County, plus the nearly 10,000 captives brought back by Shi Yuan from Kuaiji. These can all be used as new forces to join our army."
"The barbarians in Shanyue still need to be cleared away, and the potential of the entire Jiangdong has yet to be developed."
Liu Cong kept mumbling without caring about the people present.
"Madam has arrived!"
It wasn't until Wu Guotai was helped in by the maid that Liu Cong raised his head, then quickly stood up, walked to Sun Quan's side in a few steps, pulled him up, and said, "Second uncle, let's go and ask for Mrs. Wu!"
"Ah? Nuo." Sun Quan was pulled by Liu Cong, and only two words came out of his mouth after he reacted.
"Meet my mother/mother-in-law."
Looking at his son and son-in-law in front of him, Wu Guotai was completely relieved. Sun Jing was right, Liu Cong was indeed broad-minded!
Wu Guotai smiled softly and said, "No need to be too polite."
Sun Quan and Liu Cong stepped forward and supported Wu Guotai from left to right. When Liu Cong's cold armor touched Wu Guotai, he said, "Mother-in-law makes atonement. I just entered the city today. My son-in-law is busy with official duties. I haven't had time to take off my armor yet.
You are so rude to your mother-in-law."
Wu Guotai chuckled and said, "Xiye, if I leave this Jiangdong to you, I, an old woman, can rest assured. The burden on Zhongmou has also been lifted, and he can accompany me well."
"That's what mother said." Sun Quan on the side spoke in agreement while still quietly observing Liu Cong's expression.
Liu Cong smiled and consoled him, "Don't worry, the Liu and Sun families will live in harmony and prosper."
These words were to tell Wu Guotai again that as long as Liu Cong was around, the Sun family would not decline.
Wu Guotai's seat was next to Liu Cong. After helping Wu Guotai sit down, Liu Cong returned to his seat again. After looking around at everyone, he said, "I am busy with official duties and have not taken off my armor. In order not to waste your time, I will not take off my armor."
Let’s go change clothes, let’s start the banquet directly!”
"No, no, no, we all admire the Marquis of Chu for his diligence and wholeheartedness for the people of Jiangdong."
"It's true, it's true. I've heard for a long time that the Marquis of Chu loves his people like his own son. When I see him today, he really does. It really makes us ashamed."
There is no shortage of helpers anywhere, and as soon as Liu Cong finished speaking, someone started speaking out to build momentum for him!
The two people who spoke at the beginning were Yu Fan, a member of the Zhang family in Wu County who advocated gentleness!
The power of the aristocratic families in Jiangdong is more powerful than that of Jingchu. Almost all the government affairs that Liu Cong studied all day today can be related to the power of the aristocratic families.
Jiangdong’s aristocratic family has penetrated into all walks of life in Jiangdong!
The most representative ones are the four surnames of Wu County: Lu, Zhu, Zhang, and Gu!
The head of the Lu family, Lu Ji, was Lu Kang's biological son. He was knowledgeable and well versed in yin and yang astronomy.
Lu Xun, Lu Mao (Lu Xun's younger brother), Lu Kang, Lu Kai (Lu Xun's nephew), Lu Yin...
These celebrities and talents, whether born or not, are all members of the Lu family!
The Lu family, despite being a family that was attacked by Sun Ce, is definitely the largest family in Jiangdong!
There are two more in the Zhu family!
Let’s talk about the Danyang Zhu family first, the head of the family Zhu Zhi, the representative figures Zhu Ran, Zhu Ji, Zhu Cai, etc.
The Zhu family of Wu County, the head of the family Zhu Huan, the representative figures Zhu Ju, Zhu Yi, Zhu Xuan...
The head of the Zhang family is Zhang Wen who just spoke, but he is not the only one of the Zhang family. There is also another Zhang family, and the family advocates Bu.
Gu Yong, the head of the Gu family, was a famous prime minister of Wu State in history!
These are only the four surnames in Wu County!
There are also the Yu family, the Luo family, the He family, the whole family, the Zhongli family, the Liu family, the Ji family, the Yin family, the Ding family, my family...
According to Jin Yiwei's investigation, the strength of these aristocratic families and the four surnames in Wu County has long surpassed that of the Cai family in Jingchu!
There are many other families that are comparable to the Cai family. Most of these families were developed two years before Sun Ce died and after Sun Quan succeeded to the throne.
This doesn’t even count the barbarians from across the mountains!
Seeing so many powerful families, Liu Cong was also very worried. Even with his usual iron-blooded style, he did not dare to mess around at this time when Jiangdong had just been pacified.
"I have just arrived in Wu County today. I am not very skilled in the field of government affairs. I will arrange your specific official positions in a few days."
Looking at the many people praising him, Liu Cong didn't have a smile on his face, and he was scolding his mother in his heart. The most difficult ones were these smiling tigers.
"Mother-in-law has a good saying. The Gu and Sun families are one family. You will be under Gu's tent in the future. I hope you can be effective!"
After Liu Cong finished speaking, Wu Guotai said with a smile, "What are you waiting for? Why don't you meet your new lord soon?"
"I will pay my respects to my lord!"
As soon as Wu Guotai finished speaking, some people wanted to please Liu Cong and immediately came out to kowtow to Liu Cong.
The military generals in Jiangdong, led by Zhou Yu, Lu Meng and others, also kowtowed to Liu Cong. Military generals are that simple, they accept the master as soon as they accept it, and there is not so much procrastination.
However, some civil servants, with displeasure on their faces, sat in their seats and did not go out to bow to Liu Cong.
It's not that these people are really loyal to the Sun family. These people are sitting there without looking at Sun Quan. They just want to wait for the price!
Test Liu Cong's thoughts and see how to seek benefits for his family in the future. At the same time, he will earn a reputation for himself!
To put it bluntly, she wants to be a bitch but also wants to build a chastity memorial!
"Everyone who is still sitting here, are you no longer willing to serve Gu?" Liu Cong took a sip of wine and glanced at the people sitting lightly.
However, even though Liu Cong asked, no one answered. Liu Cong put away his smile and said coldly, "Since you are not willing to work for me, there is no need to attend tonight's banquet. Please leave on your own!"
"Gu is a person who never likes to force others to make things difficult for him! No matter how you decide today, Gu will not interfere, but in the future, under Gu's rule, it is best to stay on your own terms!"
After Liu Cong finished speaking, no one moved or paid attention to him. They still sat there with their eyes closed.
Zhou Yu, who was kneeling on the ground, glanced at him from the corner of his eye and sneered, "You idiots, do you think Liu Cong is as easy to deal with as Sun Quan? You still want to coerce him?"
"Haha, good, good!"
Liu Cong sneered and stood up. The armor on his body made some noise as he moved. In the entire banquet hall, the only sound was Liu Cong's armor.
After standing up, Liu Cong picked up the wine cup and said, "Everyone sitting here, who is willing to drink with Gu, go and get your own wine cup now, bow down and drink! If you don't want to, Gu, don't force it!"
"Go get the wine cup quickly!"
"Get out of the way!"
After a chaotic period, most of the people got their wine cups and knelt on the ground again, waiting for Liu Cong to give orders!
Even among those who were sitting just now, several took advantage of the chaos to kneel out!