Next.
Cao Cao began to take over all of Yangzhou. In order to maintain the stability of Yangzhou, he placed some of his trusted aides in charge of the military and political affairs of various places while maintaining the original officials. He firmly controlled the entire Yangzhou.
Other than that.
He also appeased the people, reduced taxes, and encouraged them to reclaim barren fields and work hard to cultivate so that they could have a bumper harvest next year.
The only troublesome thing was the remaining 100,000 surrendered soldiers in Yangzhou.
Most of these surrendered soldiers were strong men forcibly recruited by Yuan Shu from all over the world. They had barely trained for one or two months. They could be used to defend the city, but in the end, they were a group of rabble.
Moreover, the departure of these people also caused a lot of fertile farmland to be abandoned.
Cao Cao had always adhered to the principle of quality over quantity.
He directly dismissed 80,000 soldiers, gave them salaries and seeds, and allowed these 80,000 people to go back to farm.
The remaining 20,000 elite Yangzhou soldiers were left behind. After the recruitment, he left behind 30,000 Cao Cao soldiers from Qingzhou to guard Yangzhou.
Of course.
Cao Cao's conquest of Yangzhou was not smooth sailing.
The army stopped when they reached Hefei.
Because further south was Wang Yang's Chaohu Lake, and there was also a Shishui River that passed through the city. Cao Cao did not have a navy, so he could not cross Chaohu Lake and Shishui River. He could only watch as Sun Ce took advantage of the situation to take Lujiang River.
Regarding this.
Cao Cao was helpless.
Who asked Sun Ce to follow the imperial edict and crusade against Yuan Shu with him?
He had taken the north of Yangzhou, and Sun Ce had taken the south of Yangzhou. They were both famous.
Even if he was dissatisfied, he could not show it. Instead, he smiled and cupped his hands to give Lu Jiang to Sun Ce to appease Sun Ce.
Two months later.
Cao Cao had finally settled the matters in Yangzhou and taken over the area north of Hefei, expanding his territory. At the same time, he had completely gotten rid of the predicament of being besieged by Lu Bu and Yuan Shu.
In the entire north, besides Yuan Shao, there was nothing else that made him worry.
Early September.
Cao Cao left 50,000 soldiers to guard Yangzhou and returned to Xudu with the rest.
Soon after.
Cao Cao followed Su Ran's suggestion and asked the Emperor to report his achievements in this expedition against the traitor Yuan Shu.
Several imperial edicts were soon announced to the world.
Cao Cao himself was in charge of Yangzhou.
Sun Ce was granted the title of former general, leading Jiangdong and Lujiang prefect.
Liu Bei was appointed General of the Left, guarding Xuzhou and guarding Xiaopei.
Even Lu Bu, who had refused to send troops, was rewarded. He was made the general of the rear and the herdsman of Xuzhou.
Once this news was released.
Instantly, Liu Bei, who had been standing still in Xiao Pei, felt his heart ache so much that he could not breathe. He was both angry and furious!
Back then, if he had led his troops to Yangzhou and followed Sun Ce's example, he could have taken advantage of the situation and occupied a territory. He could have left Xiaopei and completely shaken off Lu Bu, seeking to rise up.
Even if they couldn't occupy territory, they could still make contributions and gain fame in front of the vassals and the people. When they returned to Xudu with Cao Cao, they could receive rewards and at least seek an official position.
But now that he had an official position, he couldn't be happy.
Han left general, very famous.
However, this was not a good thing for him.
The name does not match the reality.
He was just a lowly citizen of Xiaopei, how could he be worthy of the position of Left General?
Moreover, he didn't make any great contributions in this battle against Yuan Shu.
The emperor must have lost his mind to reward him with the title of Left General!
Someone must be trying to harm him!
After all, even Lu Bu was only given the post of General.
Although the rank of the Left General was the same as that of the General, there was still a difference in rank.
Didn't this mean that Lu Bu was still beneath him?
That Lu Bu was narrow-minded, so how could he tolerate this?
At that time, he would definitely have a grudge against him. Wouldn't this make his already difficult days even worse by attracting Lu Bu's suspicion?
Liu Bei felt bitter in his heart!
Why was there always someone who wanted to make things difficult for him?
These days were too difficult.
Xiao Pei.
"Congratulations, big brother. From now on, you will be General Han Zuo.”
"We have been running around for many years. Now, big brother finally has an official position. In the future, when word gets out, it will be boundless.”
In the prefect's office.
Zhang Fei stood in the middle of the hall and shouted happily.
Guan Yu frowned slightly.
On the other hand, Liu Bei was completely numb.
Third brother, oh, third brother.
When will you stop backstabbing me when I'm in pain?
"Cough cough!"
Jian Yong who was at the side coughed, attracting everyone's attention.
He knew that there were some things that Liu Bei could not say, so he had to say it.
"Third General, don't be happy too early. It may not be a good thing for the Lord to get the position of Left General.”
"Ah?"
Zhang Fei was dumbfounded and looked at Jian Yong with a puzzled expression." Why is that?”
"Left General, a third-grade official.”Jian Yong looked at Zhang Fei and explained," When Cao Cao attacked Shouchun, the lord was stopped by Lu Bu and was unable to assist Cao Cao.”
"You didn't make any great contributions, but you got such an important position. General, think about it. Is this normal?”
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