Chương 412: Jingzhou is stabilized, Zhang Liao returns to his post.

November of the first year of the Chuping era.

The weather in Luoyang was getting colder, and the wind carried a chill, causing the sycamore leaves along the street to fall with a rustling sound.

But inside the Prince of Yan's mansion, the charcoal fire was burning brightly, making it warm and cozy, just like springtime.

Zhang Liao led his troops back to Luoyang.

Ten thousand elite soldiers, gleaming in armor and impeccably dressed, filed into Luoyang through the south gate.

The people lined the streets to welcome them, and they discussed among themselves:

"General Zhang is back! Is Jingzhou safe now?"

"Of course! How could the people sent by the Prince of Yan be wrong?"

Zhang Liao, mounted on his horse, looked calm and nodded slightly to the people.

The personal guards following behind carried a large flag embroidered with the character "Zhang," which fluttered in the wind.

......

Upon arriving at the Prince of Yan's residence, Zhang Liao first went to see Liu Ce.

Liu Ce reclined on a cushioned recliner, a book in his hand, with freshly cut fruit and hot tea on a small table beside him.

Those days were incredibly leisurely and carefree.

Ever since Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xun Yu and others came to Luoyang, life has been completely different.

Government affairs? Fang Xuanling managed them perfectly. The correspondence between various prefectures and counties, the evaluation of officials, the allocation of resources for people's livelihood... every rule and regulation was clear and precise, down to the last decimal point.

People's livelihood? Du Ruhui kept a close eye on it, making perfect arrangements for where granaries needed replenishing, where irrigation canals needed repairing, where schools needed building, and so on.

Logistics and provisions? Xun Yu was in charge, managing the distribution of provisions, replenishment of weapons, and maintenance of warhorses for each army in an orderly manner.

Liu Ce was completely freed.

Now, apart from major military decisions that require his approval, everything else is handled perfectly by these key figures and their subordinates.

Besides drinking tea and taking walks every day, he spends his time chatting with the ladies in the backyard and playing with the children.

"Wen Yuan's back? Have a seat." Liu Ce saw Zhang Liao enter, tossed his book aside, and gestured for him to sit down.

"How's things going in Jingzhou?"

Zhang Liao clasped his hands and said, "Reporting to my lord, Jingzhou has been completely stabilized. Officials in all counties and prefectures have taken their positions, the people are living in peace and contentment, and there is no trouble whatsoever."

"Great! Excellent!" Liu Ce nodded with a smile.

"Wen Yuan, you've worked hard. You did a great job."

Zhang Liao humbly replied, "It was all thanks to the lord's strategic planning; I was merely running errands."

Liu Ce waved his hand: "Don't give me that. You did a good job running errands, so I'll reward you. I'll have Steward Wang send some nice things to your residence later."

Zhang Liao quickly expressed his gratitude.

...

That day, in the backyard of the Prince of Yan's residence.

Liu Ce was reclining on a chair.

"Sigh, Xuanling and Keming are too capable." Liu Ce took a bite of the sweet fruit and couldn't help but complain to Lu Bing, who had just come in, "It's made me, the lord, feel like a hands-off manager now, not getting to do any work at all."

Lu Bing suppressed a laugh and bowed, saying, "My lord, isn't this a good thing? You're in charge of the central government, and your subordinates have taken care of things, so you can finally rest. It's much better than before when you were fighting wars and governing, working yourself to the bone like a donkey."

"That's true..." Liu Ce took another bite, "but people feel restless when they're idle. Don't you think that's bad?"

Lu Bing suppressed a laugh and didn't dare to reply. He thought to himself: "Many people would envy your life."

Lu Bing quickly shook his head and said, "My lord is destined to be busy; he can't stay idle. But you really can't be idle today. Everyone in the council hall is here, just waiting for you to go."

"Oh? Everyone's here?"

Liu Ce slowly sat up from the recliner, stretched, and cracked his knuckles.

"Alright, let's go take a look. It's just about the remaining three states. We've discussed it twice before, but not everyone was there, so it wasn't finalized. Today, everyone's here, so let's make a decision right away."

He straightened his casual clothes, put his hands behind his back, and followed Lu Bing slowly toward the council hall.

...

The council chamber was already packed with people.

On the civil officials' side: Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, Xu Shu... a large group of them sat there.

On the military side: Li Jing, Xu Da, Xue Rengui, Su Lie, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, Lü Bu, Qin Qiong, Yuchi Gong, Cheng Yaojin, Yuwen Chengdu, Huang Zhong... a dark mass of them stood in a row.

Everyone was absolutely present.

Upon seeing Liu Ce enter, everyone stood up and bowed in unison: "Greetings, my lord!"

"Please sit down, don't stand on ceremony." Liu Ce waved his hand, walked to the head seat, and got straight to the point, "I called you all here today for no other reason than that our Great Han Empire only has three peripheral provinces—Yizhou, Yangzhou, and Jiaozhou—that haven't been brought under control yet. We've discussed it a few times before, but since not everyone was present, nothing was finalized. Now that everyone's here, let's all discuss how we should take over these three provinces?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the generals perked up instantly.

Zhang Fei was the first to jump up again, saying, "Brother! Is there even a question? Let's attack! I, Old Zhang, will be the vanguard, and I guarantee we'll take Yangzhou in three months!"

Cheng Yaojin chimed in, "That's right! My lord, I, old Cheng, am also willing to go! Yangzhou is incredibly wealthy; if we take it, we'll be rich!"

......

Liu Ce ignored them and looked at Li Jing.

Li Jing stood up, walked to the wall, pointed to the map, and explained it clearly to everyone:

"Please be patient, everyone. Let me explain the situation in these three states."

He first pointed to the location of Yizhou: "Let's talk about Yizhou first. Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou, is a member of our Han imperial family, just like Liu Yu, the previous governor of Jingzhou. He occupies Yizhou and relies on the natural barrier of the Shu Road to act as a local tyrant. He doesn't have many troops and has never made enemies with us. Now that Liu Yu has submitted to our lord and is enjoying wealth and honor, Liu Yan must have his own thoughts."

He paused, then continued, "In my opinion, there's no need to rush to attack Yizhou. We should send someone to deliver a letter, explaining the pros and cons to him and persuading him to submit. There's a high probability we can take it without bloodshed. Even if he doesn't appreciate our offer, no matter how treacherous the Shu roads are, we have a strong and well-equipped army now. If we really have to fight, it won't take much effort."

Everyone nodded in agreement, agreeing that what he said made sense.

After all, they are all from the Liu family. Liu Yu is a perfect example. It would be foolish to give up wealth and honor and insist on fighting.

Next, it was Guo Jia's turn. He waved his feather fan, smiled, and spoke of Yangzhou:

"Let's talk about Yangzhou. This is different from Yizhou. Chen Wen, the governor of Yangzhou, comes from a prominent family in Runan. He and the Yuan family of Runan are from the same county and are very close.

"We raided the Yuan family's ancestral home in Runan and imprisoned the brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu in Gongdelin. This feud is long over. Even if we send people to persuade them to surrender, they will not submit and will resist us to the end. There's nothing more to say about this place; we can only fight them head-on. There's no other way."

"That's right!" Zhang Liao stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "My lord, this humble general is willing to lead the troops to attack Yangzhou! Jingzhou is already secured. This humble general will lead the troops from Jingzhou, sail down the river, and attacking Yangzhou will be a smooth and easy task. I guarantee that we will take the entire Yangzhou within two months!"