Liu Bei's Justified Enfeoffment

Pan Jun felt awkward; Lan Tian had clearly made up his mind. He secretly broke into a cold sweat for Jing Province, knowing that with such a formidable figure at the helm, maintaining the old harmony with Sun Quan was no longer possible.

"General Lan's spirit is truly admirable, and this subordinate is deeply impressed. However, the foundation Jing Province has built over the years will be severely depleted after fighting both Jiangdong and Cao Cao back-to-back. Even if we emerge victorious, our vitality will be greatly damaged. If the chaos continues, this hard-won situation..." Pan Jun hesitated, leaving his words unfinished.

As the Administrator of Jing Province and concurrently the Prefect of Jiangling, Pan Jun was well-versed in the state's finances and grain stores. Tax revenue primarily came from Changsha, and for this Northern Expedition against Xiangfan, Guan Yu had been aggressively recruiting soldiers there. Only the two commanderies under Lan Tian's jurisdiction, Lingling and Guiyang, had any surplus, yet even they had exhausted their resources to support this campaign.

The commanderies in Jiao Province were undergoing sweeping reforms—building cities, promoting education, constructing ships, raising troops, and developing armaments and water conservancy. Every endeavor required substantial funding. Even with Lan Tian's high level of administrative skill, he could currently only ensure Jiao Province remained self-sufficient. Pan Jun worried that if the war dragged on, the finances of the various Jing Province commanderies would fall into deficit.

Lan Tian sensed Pan Jun's hidden concerns and comforted him with a smile: "Chengming, you must broaden your perspective. Once we take Xiangyang and Jiangxia, the entire Han River basin will be integrated with Jing Province. Those fertile lands on the Jianghan Plain can no longer be left fallow. With so much more population and land, are you still worried that Jing Province