Chapter 512: Borrowing Strength
Although he relied on his own wisdom to leverage the powerful families in the world and solve the difficulties, Sun Quan, who had a population of 800,000, was still far weaker than Liu Fan, who had a population of nearly 2 million.

Sun Quan already had a plan in mind on how to find another way out and overtake others.

The southeastern region is now in the transition stage from a tribal alliance to a centralized state, with primitive tribalism, slavery and feudal sprouts coexisting.

Centralization is relatively backward.

The so-called country is actually more like an alliance of tribes.

Liu Fan didn’t think there was anything wrong with this because he was not good at politics and had the ability to push things forward.

However, Sun Quan lacked a decent army. Apart from the 5,000 soldiers provided by Sun Ce, the quality of the soldiers sponsored by other aristocratic families was not much better than that of bandits.

Therefore, after discovering this, Sun Quan keenly sensed the room for maneuver.

The so-called alliance is actually the most fragile existence, because each tribe is an independent entity with its own different demands and ideas.

This was a big part of the reason why the princes in the Central Plains were repeatedly defeated in their resistance to Tian Ze.

As for these tribes in the southeast, Sun Quan felt that they were not worthy of being called a force. They were completely a group of loose sand. The most important thing was that these people did not have the wisdom and strategy of the princes in the Central Plains. Any village chief could do a better job than them.

It is too easy to calculate against an alliance composed of so many idiots.

Sun Quan has countless ways to kill these people.

But considering the current situation and efficiency issues, Sun Quan directly chose the simplest one.

The sun shines on the newly opened settlement, and the people are busy building houses and cultivating farmland, creating a scene of bustling activity.

Sun Quan, dressed in casual clothes, moved around and observed the progress of population resettlement. Although he had a smile on his face, his eyes revealed a hint of thoughtfulness.

With Tian Ze as an example, the princes of the world have already had new concepts about the methods and standards of governance, and are actively following suit and moving closer to them.

Among them, Sun Quan is a typical example.

He felt most clearly that by following the methods of Da Qi, he could concentrate people’s strength and improve efficiency to the greatest extent, and most importantly, he could achieve centralization very well.

There is basically no situation of “counter-coercion” or “soft resistance” by local forces under the rule.

This is undoubtedly the most attractive thing for Sun Quan.

Wanting to rely on the power of aristocratic families does not mean that you have to compromise with them like the Han people did in the past.

You just need to be a little more relaxed and better than other princes.

The space and scale involved required Sun Quan to constantly explore and experiment.

Fortunately, Sun Ce loved Sun Quan very much. Even when the civil and military officials under his rule were basically unable to move, he still provided Sun Quan with two civil and two military assistants.

The literary masters include the mature and steady Sun Shao and the all-rounder Zhuge Jin.

Sun Shao was the first prime minister of the Wu Kingdom in history, capable of taking charge of the government affairs in the southeast.

Zhuge Jin was not only good at diplomacy, but also knew a little about internal affairs, military affairs, etc. Although he was far less knowledgeable than his brother in these areas, and seemed quite mediocre in the Central Plains where there were many talents, he was a versatile person in the southeast.

The military includes the loyal, brave and kind Chen Wu and the talented commander Lu Meng.

As one of the Twelve Tiger Ministers of Jiangbiao, Chen Wu was invincible.

Lu Meng has even more unlimited potential, and under Zhou Yu’s deliberate training, he has already begun to show his potential.

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had good intentions in selecting these four people.

They knew Sun Quan’s character and ability very well, so they chose two civil officials, one steady and gentle, and the other good at speaking, for fear that Sun Quan would go astray. Chen Wu and Lu Meng took into account Sun Quan’s military “talent” and character. One was responsible for personal protection, and could help Sun Quan escape even if something happened. The other was a talent for commanding troops, and was quite compatible with Sun Quan.

Sun Quan naturally knew what his two brothers were thinking, so he had complete trust in these four people.

Just as Sun Quan was learning from Tian Ze to understand the people’s sentiments, Zhuge Jin hurried over with a hint of excitement on his face.

Coming to Sun Quan’s side, Zhuge Jin bowed slightly and said, “My lord, everything is just as you expected.”

Sun Quan turned around, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes, and asked, “Oh? Tell me in detail.”

“According to the Lord’s instructions, we arranged for the people from each family to be placed in the tribes to subtly sow discord among the tribes. Now, many tribes can no longer hold back and have started fighting. The flames of war have already ignited in many places.”

The aristocratic families were the most intelligent class of this era. When Lu Bu left Tian Ze and marched into Sili, they had already sensed the future trend and began to make plans early.

The development of Yizhou was just the beginning. When the aristocratic families raised this matter, their footsteps had already reached the southeast.

When it comes to infiltration and infighting, they are absolutely professional. They have secretly gained middle and upper-level positions in some tribes, which is enough to leverage a certain amount of power.

Once the snowball started rolling, the rest was a natural progression.

After all, these local tribes are not very knowledgeable and are completely unaware of the dark forces behind this and the possible serious consequences.

Once the seeds of suspicion are planted, everyone will be in a state of panic and suspicion of each other. If the powerful families secretly add fuel to the fire, the conflict will intensify.

“Does anyone want to contact us?” Sun Quan asked.

Zhuge Jin nodded and said, “Two tribes have sent people here to ask you to send troops to help.”

The person who could think of this and make this decision at this time was undoubtedly Sun Quan’s “trustee”.

Sun Quan smiled faintly: “That’s enough, let’s enter.”

If you don’t have much capital, then use the power of others to your advantage.

Unlike Liu Fan’s simple and crude approach, Sun Quan’s approach was softer and more ruthless.

Ignite the war in the southeast, and then make those tribes “beg” for help.

When the tribes they assisted continued to win victories, the remaining tribes would become wary of them and would probably have to join the “help-seeking” team.

Because if they don’t do this, they simply can’t hold on. Even if they realize that this is their own conspiracy, they can only grit their teeth and move on.

After all, once hatred and war are provoked, it is not so easy to quell them.

In order to implement this plan, Sun Quan informed Liu Fan early on.

To the outside world, Sun Quan claimed that he came to deal with Liu Fan, and declared that Liu Fan was a rebel and that he was the representative of the Celestial Empire and came for peace in the southeast.

Among these tribes, many are his vassal “countries”. If they are bullied, he should naturally help them.

It is not for the purpose of seizing territory. We do not want any of our own territory. We only want the population of the defeated tribe. After all, they are all poor people. As the Celestial Empire, we should comfort and take care of them in the spirit of humanitarianism.

The abacus beads almost hit Liu Fan in the face, leaving him confused and calling it a cool move.

However, if someone respects me one inch, I will respect him one yard.

Although the 500,000 people were given by Tian Ze, they ultimately passed through Sun Quan’s hands and he owed him a favor.

Moreover, both sides were under Tian Ze’s command, and Liu Fan could not openly trip up Sun Quan, so he agreed to this matter and turned the direction of attack to the southwest to avoid conflict.

(End of this chapter)