Cao Cao Was Dead!
Wang Yue hadn't expected Zhao Yun to be so forthright, laying his cards on the table right away. He stopped pretending, too, and said, "My wife's Bandit Eradication Captain's Department recently recruited a large number of bandits.
I was wondering how to train them, but now that we have so many veterans, you've solved a huge problem for me!"
Zhao Yun hadn't expected Wang Yue to understand Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei's intentions so quickly. It made him admire the man who had turned Jingzhou around even more.
He entrusted the cavalry training to Zhao Yun, then gave Guan Yinping two thousand elite infantry and had her train the twenty thousand foot soldiers.
Wang Yue, of course, took the nearly one hundred thousand elderly, weak, women, and children to farm the land. Thanks to Lu Meng, he no longer had to worry about provisions, but he couldn't simply live off his stores forever.
The Jiangxia Plain had yet to fully form. It was covered in swamps and bogs, with abundant water that flooded every summer, making it unsuitable for farming.
Fortunately, the Bandit Eradication Captain's Department already had experience. Besides, they had all been bandits, and they had been at odds with the local great families. Now, they naturally banded together, and their enthusiasm was infectious.
The original residents of the Bandit Eradication Captain's Department eagerly helped the newcomers, showing them how to farm and fish. Jiangxia, too, began to flourish.
While Wang Yue was busy with farming and Guan Yinping was training the troops, Liu Bei's envoy arrived in Jiangdong.
When they had no enemy to face, the people of Jiangdong argued among themselves. When an enemy appeared—especially Liu Bei—they united against it.
Fortunately, after Liu Bei's envoy arrived in Jingzhou, Ma Liang escorted him