The tree is quiet and the wind does not stop

At noon, Xiang Zhuang entered the boundary of Shanyin County under the escort of five hundred personal cavalry. The new Kuaiji County Governor Wu Qi and the county magistrate Ji Xin led the crowd to go north for 80 miles to greet him. Ji Xin was Ji Bu's younger brother and a long-time general of the Chu army. He could barely be regarded as Xiang Zhuang's direct subordinate, so Xiang Zhuang was appointed as the important position of Kuaiji County Governor.

In order to gain the support of the ancient Chu clan, the Jiangbei clan and the Jiangdong clan, Xiang Zhuang had to compromise politically and gave up the positions of the three county magistrates and most of the county magistrates and county magistrates. However, the positions of the county magistrates and county magistrates were basically controlled by Xiang Zhuang's direct troops.

The county magistrate is in charge of the garrison of a county, but Xiang Zhuang is worried about putting military power to others.

At this point, the aristocratic races, gentry and clans did not insist too much, because they also knew very well that Xiangzhuang, as the king of the Great Chu State, would never allow local military power to fall into the hands of others. The only thing their aristocratic races, gentry and clans could fight for was the governing power of the local counties and counties.

Today, Jiangdong seems calm, but in fact there are many kinds of problems.

However, after experiencing many things, Xiang Zhuang has fully matured politically, so he has not lost his direction in the face of the complex political situation.

Xiang Zhuang knew very well that there were only two urgent tasks in front of him, one government affairs and one military affairs. Government affairs were to register the number of households in the three counties of Jiangdong, conduct a systematic investigation of the national strength and manpower of Chu, and military affairs were to comprehensively reorganize Xiang Tuo, Xiang Guan’s remnants, the garrisons of each county, and clan armed forces.

Xiangzhuang came to Shanyin this time to fully reorganize the clan armed forces of Shanyin's fifteen counties.

For Da Chu, these clan armed forces are definitely a big hidden danger. At present, these clan armed forces surrendered to Xiang Zhuang because they have no leader. But once external forces intervene, will they still be as honest as they are now? That is an unknown number, so these hidden dangers must be solved as soon as possible.

Otherwise, when external forces intervene in large numbers, these clan armed forces will likely cause trouble. At that time, the Chu army will be trapped inside and outside and be attacked from both sides, and the situation will be quite passive.

After recounting the ceremony, Xiang Zhuang invited Ji Xin to his carriage. Xiang Zhuang's favor made Ji Xin a little flattered. It should be noted that Xiang Zhuang is no longer the general of the Western Chu State, but the king of the Great Chu State. Wu Qi, who accompanied Ji Xin, was also quite jealous of the favor he received.

"Ji Xin, you have been in office for more than half a month. What do you think?"

Under the eyes of Xiang Zhuanghu, Ji Xin was afraid to look at him. Now Xiang Zhuang is powerful and powerful. Except for Gao Chu, Xiao Kai and other few trusted generals, others dare not even breathe in front of him. Ji Xin is Ji Bu's younger brother, and he is already the direct subordinate of Xiang Zhuang, but he is still trembling in front of Xiang Zhuang, as if walking on thin ice.

"The king, Kuaiji County has 15 counties including Shanyin, Zhuji, Juzhang, and Yin County. Each county has clan armed forces. The small clan armed forces only have hundreds of people, while the large clan armed forces have hundreds or even thousands of people. Moreover, many clans are in-laws and relatives, and their relationships are complicated and very complicated. If one moves, it will move the whole body and it is difficult to deal with it." Speaking of serious matters, Ji Xin immediately became calm and no longer as restrained as before.

Xiang Zhuang nodded gently. This situation was long as he expected. If the clan armed forces in Kuaiji County were easy to clean up, he would not have to go there personally. Just send a general to take charge of the overall situation. Xiang Zhuang said again: "You think there are always many clan armed forces in Kuaiji County, and how many people are there in total?"

Ji Xin said: "Since taking office, I have traveled all over the northern six counties of Kuaiji County. The clan armed forces in these six counties are 160 large and small, all of which are about 20,000. As for the nine counties in the south, due to the high mountains and far roads, I have not had time to conduct an undercover investigation, but I have heard such a statement."

Xiang Zhuang mocked the beard with a curled beard and said, "What's the point?"

Ji Xin said, "I also heard from you, I don't know whether it is true or not. When I was secretly visiting a small county named Shan, I heard such a saying in the local area that although the population of Nanjiu County is small, the number of clan armed forces is far greater than that of the northern six counties, and the combat effectiveness is much stronger. It is said that Nanjiu County is no longer under the rule of Chu."

Xiang Zhuang nodded silently. He knew that although Ji Xin said it very tactfully, what he said was true.

Historically, neither the Great Qin Empire nor the Great Han Empire had real rule over Zhejiang and Fujian. The empire's tentacles only extended to densely populated plains, with vast hills and mountainous areas relied on by clan armed forces of all sizes, which were like independent kingdoms.

There is actually another saying about these clan armed forces, that is, Shanyue

Shanyue was actually a group that merged with local indigenous peoples who fled from the Central Plains. Throughout the Qin and Han dynasties, Shanyue was always outside the rule of the Central Plains Empire. For these barbarian natives who lacked education and were brave and good at fighting, the rulers of the Qin and Han Empire have always focused on appeasement and rarely provoked them.

It was not until the Three Kingdoms that Shanyue was finally destroyed by Sun Wu.

After being separated from Wujun, there were fifteen counties under the jurisdiction of Kuaiji County, and the six northern counties were located in the Ningshao Plain.

The scope of Nanjiu County is much larger, roughly the areas in western Zhejiang, southern Zhejiang, northwestern Fujian, and southeastern Jiangxi, which are the places where the Red Army fought guerrillas. The mountains are high and dense forests and the terrain is dangerous. With the productivity of the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Central Plains Empire was indeed unable to truly rule these wild places.

As for Sun Wu, the reason why he pacified Shanyue at all costs was to plunder Shanyue's strong men. Because during the Three Kingdoms period, the population of the Central Plains dropped sharply, and the total population of Jiangdong was even less than one million. As a last resort, Sun Quan made up his mind to take action against Shanyue and eventually won the battle of conquest.

Therefore, the main body of the Kuaiji clan armed forces is actually Shanyue. If Xiangzhuang wants to truly pacify Shanyue, it is as difficult as climbing to the sky. At least it is impossible. Fortunately, Xiangzhuang is not that greedy. His target is only the six northern counties, the Ningshao Plain is rich and the population is dense. Xiangzhuang must ensure the governance of this fertile land. As for the nine southern counties, it is still mainly about appeasement.

Xiangzhuang waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry about the clan armed forces in the nine counties in the south. The most urgent task is to solve the clan armed forces in the six counties in the north, including Qiantang, Shanyin, Yuyao, Zhuji, Juzhang, Yinxian, and other six counties, especially the Lu clan in Qiantang, which are still jumping up and down, and are in secret activities. They must be eradicated as soon as possible."

Ji Xin said: "The Lu clan is the largest clan in Qiantang. It originally had thousands of strong men, but after Xiang Guan was destroyed, a large number of strong men were lost. Now there are about a thousand strong men, and they are stationed in more than a dozen forts respectively. However, the Lu clan and the Zhang family and the Yan family are in-laws, and have a very close relationship."

Xiang Zhuang waved his hand and said in an unquestionable tone: "The clan armed forces in Kuaiji must be reorganized. If all clans of the surname refuse to accept it, they will be destroyed if they don't say anything."

In Jiangdong, the political compromise has been achieved, and everything that should be won over has been won over, and what should be isolated has been isolated. Next, it is time to destroy the forces that should be destroyed. However, the trees are quiet and the wind is not stopped. Xiang Zhuang did not know that a large net aimed at killing the Great Chu is taking shape quickly.

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Pengcheng, Huainan Palace.

Kuai Che made the e-guard straight, and then walked into Ai Pavilion slowly. He bowed deeply to Yingbu who was sitting on the desk, and then said, "The king saw the summoning late at night, I wonder what it was for?"

Ying Bu did not answer, but handed the book in his hand to Kuai Che.

After taking the book, Kuai Che read the ten lines at a glance, his face changed slightly, and he said, "The King of Han ordered all the princes in the world to attack Jiangdong. Whoever went to Jiangdong first was the King of Chu?"

Ying Bu nodded and asked, "Prime Minister, what do you think about this?"

"King, Liu Bang is driving a group of wolves to swallow a tiger," Kuai Che said without hesitation, "Zhou Yin, Jin Xi, Li Zuoche and others are just like that, Si Luoyao, Si Wuzhu is even more transforming into foreign barbarians, not enough to plan major events. If the king raises an army, he will definitely become Xiang Zhuang's primary target of attack. King, what is the way to cause trouble?"

Ying Bu picked up a bamboo slip from the desk and said, "Then look at this again."

Kuai Che took the bamboo slips from Ying Bu with some suspicion, but after reading them, his face changed drastically and said in a lost voice: "What, King Wu Rui of Hengshan has agreed to send troops? General Mei Jing has already assembled a 50,000 army in Lujiang?"

The weight of King Wu Rui of Hengshan was completely different from that of Zhou Yin, Si Wuzhu and others. Mei Jing was even a famous general in the world. If Hengshan Army had been involved, he might have a chance to destroy Chu.

Even if the Chu State cannot be destroyed, it is entirely possible to severely damage the Chu army.

After all, Xiang Zhuang has just inherited the throne of King Chu, and the situation in Jiangdong is far from pacified. Once external forces intervene, internal rebellious forces will inevitably arise and be attacked from both sides. Even if Xiang Zhuang has the ability to go against the will of heaven, he is afraid he can't stand it. This situation is different from the battle in the Dabie Mountains.

In the Battle of Dabie Mountains, Xiangzhuang did not have any burden, and the Chu army did not need to guard the city. However, in this battle to destroy the country, Xiangzhuang had more burdens and had cities that must be defended. In this way, the strategic and tactical restrictions would be greatly restricted. So can Xiangzhuang be as brave and unstoppable as in the Battle of Dabie Mountains?

Seeing Kuai Che silent for a long time, Ying Bu asked in a faint voice: "What about the Prime Minister?"

Kuai Che took a deep breath and said solemnly: "King, if the Hengshan Army can really participate in the war, there is great potential for this battle, and the King may as well participate in it, but..." After saying this, Kuai Che said again, "It is not advisable for our Huainan Army to participate in the war too early. You must wait until Mei Qi sends troops before you can intervene in the war."

"This is natural." Ying preached, "As for King Hengshan, I will not deceive me."
Chapter completed!