Although Ye Feng and the others' plan was good, it couldn't keep up with the changes.
First, it was because Dian Wei was injured, and Ye Feng did not want a crippled Dian Wei.
So,
The group was forced to stop in Jiwu County, allowing the military doctor to give Dian Wei initial treatment.
It could only be said that a fierce general was indeed a fierce general!
Although there were no internal cultivation methods or techniques in this world, their physiques were already extraordinary.
In just two or three days, Dian Wei's arms could already move.
And during this period,
Those aristocratic scions who spread rumors were all sent to mine by Ye Feng.
The conditions he gave to the patriarchs of the aristocratic families were very simple.
Either let them honestly mine for a year,
Or wait for the army to trample on your ancestral graves!
Choose yourself?
Facing Ye Feng's cold and merciless expression, which aristocratic family patriarch dared to choose otherwise?
Besides!
Isn't it just mining for a year?
It's not like anyone will die!
If it doesn't work, they can find a few people to take their place after Ye Feng leaves.
However,
Just as this thought arose in their minds, they saw Ye Feng say with a half-smile:
"A friendly reminder, this Prefect will leave people to supervise!"
"If you want to slack off..."
"Heh!"
After leaving this meaningful chuckle, Ye Feng no longer bothered with them.
He believed that,
With this threat, as long as the families didn't want to die, they wouldn't dare to have any ulterior motives.
Even if they knew that Ye Feng would not arrange for anyone to stay, they wouldn't dare to gamble.
Because they couldn't afford to lose!
If Ye Feng lost,
At most, their family disciple would be free from labor.
But what if Ye Feng won?
Would the entire family, old and young, be buried with that unfilial son?
Don't joke!
Let alone just the legitimate son of a family patriarch, even the family patriarch wouldn't be spared.
They could just elect a new one!
Want them to be buried?
Dream on!
They didn't even need Ye Feng to send people to supervise; those who were afraid of being implicated had already started supervising themselves.
Regarding this,
Although it was beyond Ye Feng's expectations, it also made him relaxed.
The Brocade-Clad Guards were not cheap!
It would indeed be a waste to spend a few of them here for these good-for-nothings.
Thus,
After dawdling in Chenliu for five days, Ye Feng and the others finally decided to set off.
His long halberd was already somewhat impatient.
As long as he could kill a few river pirates, he could verify whether his guess was correct.
Unfortunately,
The day before they decided to set off, a fast horse galloped into Jiwu County.
"What did you say?"
Hearing the news from his subordinate Brocade-Clad Guard, Ye Feng became somewhat dazed.
"Emperor Ling, Emperor Ling is asking me for help?"
"Cough cough..."
Yu Huatian, who had personally rushed to deliver the message, nodded with a strange expression:
"My Lord, it's like this. That guy is out of options now."
"What does that have to do with me?"
Ye Feng sneered at this, shaking his head speechlessly:
"Is this matter worth you running a trip here? Just refuse it directly!"
"This..."
Yu Huatian hesitated for a moment and said sheepishly:
"My Lord, your subordinate just thinks you might be interested in the conditions he offered."
"Oh?"
Seeing Yu Huatian's earnest appearance, Ye Feng became somewhat interested.
"Seeing that the Great Han is about to be destroyed, what conditions do they still have to offer?"
"Enfeoffment as King!"
"Pfft... cough cough~!"
As Yu Huatian finished speaking, Ye Feng choked on his own saliva.
Enfeoffment as King?
Didn't the Han imperial court have the ancestral teaching that surnames other than Liu were not allowed to be enfeoffed as kings?
Oh...
That's right!
Seeing that the Great Han dynasty was about to be destroyed, why bother with ancestral teachings?
You have to admit!
If it were other conditions, Ye Feng might not be interested.
For example, giving him a few prefectures would only make Ye Feng spit on them.
If he wanted them, wouldn't he take them himself?
But being enfeoffed as King...
It was indeed quite tempting!
Not for other reasons,
If he wasn't the Prefect of Youzhou, he wouldn't be able to move freely within the Great Han, let alone travel without fighting his way through.
No way!
It was fine for a prefect to lead troops into the city; speaking broadly, it was just borrowing a path.
Violation?
The one who violated was the prefect who led the troops into the city, what did it have to do with him who was forced to borrow a path?
If it were a time of peace, he might even be able to file a report and impeach you.
But to let a rebel lead troops into the city?
No need to explain!
No matter what reason you have, this position is definitely not yours to keep.
Even in a chaotic world, it's the same!
Even more so!
Because in chaotic times, the struggle for these positions was almost a bloody hand-to-hand combat.
Not to mention you have such a big excuse, even without it, they would want to get rid of you.
And if there was a big title?
Just like those historical figures!
Even knowing that Cao Cao held the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords, the imperial edicts still had some effect.
Even strong figures like Sun Jian and Liu Bei had to accept the enfeoffment of the Han imperial court.
How to put it?
It was probably like being unable to make you bad, but being able to make you better.
In other words, it was icing on the cake!
Without the recognition of the Han imperial court, Liu Bei was just a straw sandal seller!
So,
Sometimes the imperial court's name was not important, but sometimes it was very important.
This was also one of the purposes of Ye Feng sending Yu Huatian to the capital.
He originally wanted to sneak the young emperor out during the chaos in Luoyang, and then give those feudal lords a little surprise.
But now...
"Guards!"
Ye Feng beckoned to a personal guard at his side and ordered with a solemn expression:
"Summon Chen Gong and Pan Zhi to me, and say that I have something important to discuss with them!"
"Yes!"
The personal guard agreed, turned, and ran out to pass on the order.
After signaling Yu Huatian to rest, Ye Feng went to the reception hall inside the mansion first, and asked the servants to prepare some tea.
What?
You say this is the county magistrate's mansion in Jiwu County?
Do you ask if he dares to take it?
It was out of respect for him that I could stay here. Believe it or not, if I didn't stay, he would be anxious.
Unfortunately,
What Ye Feng didn't know was,
The county magistrate of Jiwu and the patriarchs of the aristocratic families were already preparing to celebrate.
"Finally leaving!"
"Yes!"
"If that Ye Feng doesn't leave soon, I'm afraid I'll leave first."
Stroking his goatee, the county magistrate of Jiwu said with a bitter expression:
"The longer he stays here, the more uneasy I am."
"For fear that some blind fool will provoke him, and thus implicate all of us!"
"It's good now!"
"As long as we wait until the afternoon to..."
"Report!"
Just as the county magistrate of Jiwu was envisioning the future, a servant ran in hastily.
"My Lord, My Lord, this is bad, Prefect Ye and his party are suddenly not leaving!"
County Magistrate of Jiwu: "???"
Patriarchs of aristocratic families: "!!!"
...
In the county magistrate's mansion of Jiwu,
In the reception hall,
Ye Feng, who had arrived first, did not wait long before Chen Gong and Pan Zhi rushed in.
"My Lord~!" x2
"Hmm~!"
With matters weighing on his mind, Ye Feng was not polite and waved his hand, signaling them to sit.
"Gongtai, Yuanmao, I've called you here because I want to hear your thoughts on something."
With that, Ye Feng explained his thoughts and plans, as well as Emperor Ling's plea for help.
Finally,
Ye Feng picked up his teacup and took a sip of water to moisten his throat, then asked:
"After you have all thought about it carefully, which plan is more in line with our interests?"
"Mmm..."
As Ye Feng's words fell, Chen Gong and Pan Zhi fell into deep thought.
A moment later,
Chen Gong, who was the first to raise his head, asked Ye Feng without answering:
"My Lord, may I ask if the occupation of the Great Han in your plan refers to territory or more people?"
"Hmm?"
Ye Feng raised his eyebrows slightly, stroked his chin thoughtfully, but said without hesitation:
"Of course it's people!"
"There is too much land in this era, and there is no use for so much land."
"And only with enough people can we occupy a wider area!"
"Is that so?"
Hearing Ye Feng say this, Chen Gong smiled and nodded with relief,
"My Lord, if it's for the people, then your subordinate still suggests that you agree!"
"Reason?"
"War results in death!"
Speaking of this, Chen Gong's expression became serious, and he said word by word:
"My Lord, the arrival of the era of feudal lords rising together, although more in line with our interests, is not in line with the interests of most of the people."
"Because they don't like war!"
"And those feudal lords, for territory and profit, will definitely push the people to wage war."
"At this time, mandatory conscription and grain requisition will inevitably occur!"
"Once this happens..."
Chen Gong paused here, sighing with a tone full of helplessness,
"Once this happens, the entire Great Han will fall into chaos."
"The people do not trust officials, do not trust soldiers, do not trust bandits, or rather, most of them will become bandits."
"At this time, it is not as simple as saying it to make these people who have seen blood reform."
"..."
As Chen Gong's words fell, Ye Feng also fell into thought.
That's right!
He had always considered whether the era of feudal lords rising together was beneficial to his development.
But the facts proved that,
During the period from the late Han Dynasty to the early Three Kingdoms, the population of the Great Han decreased by more than 90%!
That's right!
In just a few decades, the registered population of the Great Han decreased by more than 90%.
From fifty million households at the beginning of the late Han Dynasty, it dropped to only a few million households in the end.
In the early Three Kingdoms period, Old Cao could still recruit 700,000 to 800,000 troops for the Battle of Chibi.
In the later period?
A battle involving more than a thousand people could be called a large-scale conflict.
It can be said that,
In this late Han and Three Kingdoms period, which was full of heroes and iron blood, tens of millions of common people lost their lives.
Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Jian... etc.!
These executioners, known as feudal lords, were stained with the blood of the common people of the Great Han.
Did he also have to be like them?
To quickly unify the Great Han and watch the era of feudal lords rising together come?