Yes, the breakthrough Liu Acheng ultimately chose was to hand out wives to these mid-ranking Northern Migrant officers who directly controlled military forces.
After thorough investigation, he judged this the quickest, most effective method... these men wanted wives for far more than mere hormonal needs. These mid-ranking officers also felt lost about their futures, uneasy about traditional clan duties such as carrying on the family line, and fearful of their present circumstances.
Finding them local wives now, giving them a bond with Jingzhou's native powers and Huan Wen's forces, was the right way to make them submit wholeheartedly-or rather, willingly join this game of annexation.
In any advanced strategy game, this would also be the supreme method of so-called diplomatic annexation.
Another core reason was that Wang Qia had brought his family with him, then tucked them away like precious treasures inside Bowang City and detached troops to protect them. Handing out wives would naturally set the beneficiaries against Wang Qia.
Thus, after learning the relevant circumstances that day, Liu Cheng immediately wrote to Huan Huo proposing this idea... naturally, the letter said nothing about setting anyone against Wang Qia. It merely analyzed these men's desire for wives, hoping Huan Huo could make a symbolic response along these lines to the mid-ranking Northern Migrant officers who had lost their families, and specifically mentioned Xue Zhen at the end.
Even if someone intercepted such a letter, there was nothing to fear.
All one could say was, thank goodness it was Huan Huo. This master of northern Jingzhou, with his many concubines and numerous children born to them, understood these Military Commanders exceptionally well. He actually agreed, directly selected a respectable marriage for Xue Zhen, and, following Liu Cheng's list, roughly outlined several suitable possibilities he knew of.
Of course, probably even