,,,,,,,,,,,,

Cao's army retreated north to Wancheng, Cao Cao immediately ordered Zhang Liao as the main general, Li Dian as the deputy general, led ten thousand troops to Hefei, captured the important town of Hefei, and named Cao Zhang the second governor of Nanyang, leading 20,000 troops to guard Wancheng, and Xun Yu as the military advisor and assisted Cao Zhang.

Cao Cao himself returned to Yedu under the escort of 15,000 cavalry.

After Cao's army retreated north, the Han army re-occupied the north of Fancheng and seized a large amount of military capital. On the Han River, ferries were busy sailing back and forth, sending a large number of Han army and young and strong civilians through the Han River. The war was over. At this time, the military and civilians had changed from tense combat readiness to post-war recovery, and they wanted to rebuild their homes and restore farming.

Especially now it is May, and it is the season for wheat ears to grout. They must protect the growth of wheat ears by the fields day and night. It is inevitable to reduce yields. What we need to do now is to minimize losses in order to get a little harvest during the summer harvest in June.

After Cao's army retreated north, Liu Jing ordered Jia Xu and Liu Hu to lead 20,000 troops back to Hanzhong first. Because the Jiangdong envoy had arrived, he needed to stay and meet the Jiangdong envoy before returning to Chengdu.

That morning, Liu Jing, accompanied by the guard Cai Yan and the governor, inspected the destroyed cities. Fancheng, Deng County and Xinyezuo County had all been burned by Cao's army, Deng County and Xinye were razed to the ground. Fancheng was slightly better, and a bare city wall was left behind.

The wooden buildings in Fancheng were burned by fire, and there were charred ruins everywhere. The tall city walls still stood, and the inner walls were pitch black with thick smoke. Teams of Cao army prisoners were busy cleaning up the broken bricks and tiles in the city under the custody of Han soldiers.

Liu Jing rode his horse across the main street. The bustling shops and taverns on both sides were now burnt to white ground. Many businessmen who returned home squatted in their burned shops and searched for useful items. Many people stared at the burned shops in a daze.

Walking to the burned Qin family tavern, Liu Jing turned over and dismounted, walked to an old man, squatted down and asked, "Is the master the master here?"

The old man knew Liu Jing and hurriedly pulled his arm to kneel down to salute. Liu Jing helped their father up and smiled and said, "No need to be polite, I'm just asking about the situation."

The old man sighed and said, "The villain is called Qin Xu. The Qin family tavern is the villain's property. It used to be a restaurant on the floor, but now there is nothing."

Speaking of this, the old man couldn't help crying loudly. His son whispered to his father, "The Palace Master is right next to him, why are you crying?"

The old man quickly wiped away his tears and said, "Fortunately, everyone is alive. The villain took out the coffin and rebuilt it, hoping that it will not be burned again in the future."

"Don't worry, I won't be there in the future."

Liu Jing comforted their father a few words, walked back to the street, then turned over and said to Cai Yan: "Calculate the losses of each household, and half of the profits seized this time can be used to compensate the losses."

Cai Yan was overjoyed and quickly gave a deep gift, "Thank you, the governor of the state."

Liu Jing said to Pin again: "Today, the military field harvest will be reduced by half, so there is no need to collect military rations. All the losses for military households should be compensated for the same as those for the private households."

"Weichen is preparing to distribute the seized cattle and horses to the military households as compensation."

Liu Jing nodded, "Okay, you can discuss this with Cai Shou, so you don't have to ask me for instructions."

At this time, a team of prisoners of war walked by with a few burned roof beams. Liu Jing pointed at the prisoners with a horse whip and asked: "How many prisoners of war are there in total?"

"Report to the state governor, there are about 8,55 people."

Liu Jing pondered for a moment and said to Pin: "According to the rules of the Jiangxia army in the past, we will make it clear to them that those who are willing to surrender to the Han army can be converted into formal soldiers and enjoy the same salary. Those who are unwilling to surrender will go to the mine to serve labor and then be sent back to their hometown after the New Year."

"There is no good"

Everyone turned their horses and left the city again. At this time, a guard rode a horse and ran over and said, "The governor of Qibingzhou, Sima military advisor accompanied the envoy of Jiangdong, and has now arrived at the Xiangyang Wharf."

Liu Jing was overjoyed and turned around and smiled at Pin and Cai Yan, "You two continue to patrol, so I'll take the lead."

He hired to salute Cai Yan, "The governor of the state will go back."

Liu Jing whipped a whip of war horses and ran towards the dock under the escort of a famous guard.

There were several large ships of thousands of stone parked on the dock of Xiangyang. It was Sima Yi and his party who returned from Jiangdong. Deputy envoy Liu Min came back early and reported the mission to Liu Jing. Sima Yi left a few days late and accompanied Jiangdong envoy Lu Fan to Xiangyang. Affected by the war in Fancheng, they temporarily stayed in Wuchang and waited until the war gradually came to an end. They rushed to Xiangyang.

On the dock, Sima Yi accompanied Lu Fan and was waiting for Liu Jing. Lu Fan refused to go to the city to rest first, so he must wait for Liu Jing. This time he went on a mission to Jingzhou, Lu Fan was entrusted by Sun Quan and must re-align with the Han army to deal with Cao Cao together.

Sun Quan was originally ambiguous in fighting against Cao Yuan and Jing. It was not until Huang Gai seized Hefei that he aroused his ambitions and finally decided to join forces with Liu Jing to fight Cao and seize benefits from the north.

Moreover, the year has ended since the Jiangdong Army's Western Expedition. As time goes by, the unpleasant past has gradually faded, and now there is an opportunity to re-align, so Lu Fan's mission is particularly important.

At this time, a ferry slowly landed, and Liu Jing walked out of the boat. Sima Yi saw it first, and smiled at Lu Fan and said, "My lord is here."

Only then did Lu Fan see Liu Jing walk down the wharf. He quickly tidied up his clothes, greeted him, and bowed deeply: "Lu Fan from Jiangdong meets the governor of the prefecture."

Because Liu Jing married Sun Shangxiang, he also had a good impression of matchmaker Lu Fan. He replied with a smile: "I haven't seen each other for several years, and Mr. Lu is still as healthy as before."

"Thank you for the praise from the Zhou Mu. I'm fine with Princess Shangxiang."

"She is very good in Chengdu. Speaking of which, I am grateful to Mr. Lu for being a matchmaker, so that I can marry a virtuous wife."

Lu Gong smiled bitterly in his heart. They all knew that Princess Shangxiang had been following Liu Jing and patrolling everywhere. In fact, it was the princess's active nature and had nothing to do with Xian. However, Princess Shangxiang performed well after getting married and respected her husband, which made him, the matchmaker, relieved her.

"Our Jiangdong most hope is that the princess will have an heir as soon as possible. We must ask the provincial governor for this matter."

Liu Jing smiled, "I must work hard"

This made everyone feel something was wrong. Everyone laughed together. Liu Jing invited Lu Fan to get on the carriage and headed towards Xiangyang City together.

In the carriage, Sima Yi found the opportunity and asked in a low voice: "Does the Zhou Mu know about Sun Ben?"

Liu Jing nodded, "He is in Xiangyang now, but I haven't seen him yet. I have to determine the relationship between Jiangdong before I can decide what to deal with him."

Sima Yi was stunned and he hurriedly said, "Don't the Zhou Mu want to use this chess?"

"It's not that I don't want to use him, but this person is useless. I'm worried that using him will cause bad things, which will lead to hostility between Jiangdong and Jingzhou, which will be unfavorable to the overall situation."

Sima Yi smiled and said, "Don't worry about this. This person has deep connections in Jiangdong. Sun Quan did not study his followers in order to stabilize Jiangdong, which left behind future troubles. My dear ministers dare to assert that this person must be the root of the chaos in Jiangdong."

Liu Jing pondered for a moment and said, "Let this be put before I can think about it after I talk to Lu Fan."

The carriage stopped slowly in front of the county yamen. Liu Jing invited Lv Fan into the county yamen and sat in the lobby. Sima Yi, Liu Min and the county magistrate Dong Yun were sitting next to him. Liu Jing sighed, "I feel very uncomfortable when I heard that Gongjin passed away. I also built a temple for him in Chaisang. I don't know what his wife is now and what difficulties are there."

Lu Fan was grateful to Liu Jing for erecting a temple for Zhou Yu, and said, "Gongjin's wife Qiao has always been respected and loved by the people of Jiangdong. Chang Zhou Xun is Wu Gong's future son-in-law. In order to take care of their mother's life, Wu Gong specially assigned 150 hectares of fertile land in the south of Jianye City to their mother. Moreover, Gongjin's salary and fiefs were also paid as usual. There should be no problems in life. Thank you for your concern."

Liu Jing nodded, "Fortunately, I am really relieved to take over as the position of Chief Governor."

Everyone exchanged a few more greetings, and then Lu Fan took out Sun Quan's silk book and presented it to Liu Jing, "This is the hand-written silk book that Mr. Wu gave to the provincial governor. Please check it out."

Liu Jing took the silk book, but did not rush to open it and take a closer look. Instead, he put it aside and smiled at Lu Fan and said, "This time the attack on Hefei, I am very grateful to General Sun for his sincerity, and it also reflects the deep friendship between the two families. I hope that starting from the battle of Hefei, the relationship between the Sun and Liu families will open a new chapter from now on."

"This is the case with my master, so I specially ordered me to go to Jingzhou to discuss the plan of forming an alliance between the two families and resisting Cao Cao together."

Liu Jing nodded and opened Sun Quan's silk book. In the book, Sun Quan formally proposed the plan to form an alliance between the two families. At the end of the silk book, Sun Quan implicitly pointed out the premise of alliance, that is, the two families are equal. Liu Jing understood that the meaning of equality among the two families is to demand the abolition of the previously signed unequal treaties.

Liu Jing did not express his opinion, and smiled at Lu Fan and said, "Mr. Lu, I will have a good rest first. After two days, I will go to Chengdu with me. In Chengdu, we will discuss the alliance in detail. Of course, in principle, I do not oppose alliance, but some details need to be carefully considered."

Lu Fan understood what Liu Jing meant. They needed internal communication and discussion. He smiled and said, "I happened to bring the old lady's letter and prepared to hand it over to Princess Shangxiang. I would like to visit her by the way. I am looking forward to the Chengdu party."
Chapter completed!