The Xu family in Yuzhou was in chaos, and Liu Qi quickly thought of another person.

That person is Li Tong, the powerful man from Huainan!

According to the personalities of Yuan Shu and Sun Jian, and of course Cao Cao, if they want to dominate Huairu, Li Tong must also be an important figure to win over.

However, judging from the current situation, although Li Tong did not accept the recruitment of Cao Cao, Sun Jian and Yuan Shu, he never expressed his stance towards Liu Qi.

Through getting to know Li Tong over the years, Liu Qi knew that Li Tong's power in Huairu has grown even more now than it did back then.

In addition to Langling County, Li Tong defeated the Yellow Turban Commander Wu Ba last year and captured all his troops. Now he is one of the top local tycoons in Huairu, and his power is so great that he can directly catch up with the prefect-level figures.

Moreover, the number of warships in his hands is increasing day by day. Many rivers in Huairuxi have become his own property. Outsiders... even the local pastoral guards have to go through him if they want to cross the rivers under his jurisdiction.

's instruction.

Xu Chu and Li Tong are both powerful, but there is still a gap in power. Xu Chu is the kind of person who does his best to protect his family.

But Liu Qi could sense Li Tong's ambitions, including his means of expanding his power. His ambitions should not be that simple.

Based on the history, Li Tong went to defect to Cao Cao in the first year when he welcomed the emperor, and we can get a clue.

Xu Chu might write to him because he was worried about his family, but Li Tong would definitely not.

After Xu Dan left, Liu Qi called Jia Xu to discuss the matter with him.

Jia Xu had seen too many people like Li Tong, so he immediately expressed his views to Liu Qi.

"According to the officials, judging from the current situation in the north, it will undoubtedly be more and more difficult for the princes to subdue the local tyrants headed by Li Tong and others... If Jia is Li Tong, under Cao Cao

, among Sun Jian, Yuan Shu and Junhou, he should be the last one to choose Junhou."

Liu Qi was very surprised when he heard this: "Why?"

Jia Xu stroked his beard and chuckled: "Have you forgotten that in the past two years, powerful people have repeatedly rebelled in Yizhou and Jingzhou counties? Although the scale is small, it has never stopped. This is why

What is it?"

Liu Qi naturally knew the reason for this.

"Because the people are spread across the land..."

Before he finished speaking, Liu Qi fell silent.

"Yes, although the apportionment method has not yet been fully implemented, there is no doubt that incorporating the head tax into the local tax will first infringe on the powerful interests of the land owners..."

Jia Xu smiled and said: "Xu Chu is an exception, because his two younger brothers were originally under the lord's command. He knew in his heart that even if the lord's policies infringed on his family's interests, as long as the monarch gained power,

People from their lineage will hold high positions in the future, and even lead a party. Calculated in this way, the loss is worth it... But Li Tong is different. When the princes enter Yuzhou, the Qi people in the head of Guizhou without fields and food will get

The biggest benefit, but the losses to the local powerful will increase. Therefore, every time the monarch goes north and attacks a county or state, the resistance from the local powerful will be very strong. Even if they know that the monarch is powerful, they will not attack easily.

Submit yourself to the king."

Liu Qi was silent for a moment and said: "So, my implementation of the policy of sharing the land with the family... is wrong?"

Jia Xu shook his head and said: "From the perspective of a monarch, it's true... If you want to implement this policy, you have to have the right time, and Zhenxi Rice spreads widely in our south, which greatly increases grain production and there is no shortage of soldiers.

Food can make the monarch independent from relying on the supply of local powerful people. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! If it is not implemented, it may be difficult for the monarch to wait for such an opportunity in the future. "

"Yes, only by implementing this policy can I be completely independent and get rid of the control of the powerful... However, it will indeed increase the difficulty for me to invade the north in the future."

Jia Xu smiled and said: "The difficulty has increased, but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The longer the Jingyi policy is implemented, the richer the monarchs will be, the more people there will be, and the more people will move from the north to the south."

, the longer the time, the more beneficial it is to us, and the less resistance the northern powers will have to the monarchs moving northward. In the long run, it is still good...but for now..."

"It's just that at present, it would be very difficult for me to recruit Li Tong."

Jia Xu nodded and said, "That's exactly it."

Liu Qi raised his hand to Jia Xu and said: "Mr. Wenhe, I would like to ask you, when I go north in the future, how should I deal with those local powerful people who are stubbornly resisting?"

Jia Xu smiled softly and said: "The monarch actually knows it in his heart, so why bother to ask the officials? Now the monarch has adopted the policy to make himself strong. The people live in peace and have food, the population grows, and the military and government are centralized. This is the way to sweep the world.

Sometimes, but there are those who don’t obey..."

Jia Xu gently made a cutting gesture with his hand.

Liu Qi raised his eyebrows slightly, then smiled.

"Wen He's words are very popular with me. This is also the most direct and easiest way."

Jia Xu stroked his beard and said: "In the past, the reason why the powerful were able to gather people to resist was because they controlled the lifeblood of ordinary people...food! They had food, and the ordinary people in Qizhou had to help them in order to survive.

, but the prince spread the rice to control the west, and there was no shortage of grain. As long as Yangzhou was captured in the future, and the rice to control the west spread throughout the south, the southern border would be the granary of the world, enough to supply the entire Han Dynasty. The prince would use food to go to the north.

The local tyrants compete for the hearts of the people and the sources of troops... Even if the tyrants are not convinced, what is the use?"

Liu Qi picked up the glass of water and drank it slowly... His mind was rapidly thinking about the pros and cons.

Not long after, I saw him put down his glass of water and said, "Even so, I think I still have to send someone to pay a visit to Li Tong."

Jia Xu was a little confused at first, but soon figured it out.

"Yes, Junhou is right. Cao Cao sent people to recruit Li Tong, Sun Jian and Yuan Shu also sent people to recruit Li Tong, but Junhou, as the lord of Jingzhou, has been silent. I'm afraid it will inevitably lead to the loss of Li Tong.

Li Tong is suspicious...sending someone to discuss with Li Tong is still necessary."

Liu Qi smiled and said: "Of course."

Jia Xu made a recommendation: "The last official recommended Liu Ziyang to go."

…

After the New Year, Shan Jing once again came to Xiangyang on behalf of Gongsun Zan and expressed his willingness to cooperate with Liu Qi.

After Sun Jian goes north, Gongsun Zan's troops will immediately enter Danyang County from Guangling, and then go straight to Jingzhou to join forces.

Although Shan Jing expressed his sincerity to Liu Qi, Liu Qi still smelled clues through his performance.

He could feel that Gongsun Zan's goal was to seize Danyang County, and then use Sun Jian's retreat, intending to take Yangzhou on his own!

So much the better.

Liu Qi immediately expressed his willingness to cooperate and support Gongsun Zan, and would immediately send someone to inform Gongsun Zan as soon as there was news from Sun Jian.
Chapter completed!