Three Kingdoms

"...Father, it is clear that His Majesty will return to Luo soon..."

Yang Xiu wrote this sentence neatly on the scarf, couldn't help but smile, and shook his head slightly proudly.

When Yang Xiu and his father Yang Biao said goodbye, the father and son sat down and had a good talk. At that time, Yang Xiu deduced that Liu Xie could not stay in Bingbei for a long time, and even deduced that Liu Xie would definitely return after leaving Bingbei. Luoyang. Now, these two inferences have been successfully fulfilled, which naturally makes Yang Xiu feel good and contented.

Except for Liu Bang, the founder of the country, the emperors of the Han Dynasty spent some time in Shu. The other emperors were either in Chang'an or Luoyang, and basically never considered other cities. It's not that these emperors were too lazy to move, but In the Han Dynasty, in this era of extremely poor communications, Chang'an and Luoyang were administrative centers located in the center of the territory, and they indeed played an irreplaceable role.

Unless Liu Xie has given up on the Han Dynasty and is prepared to linger in the fringe areas for the rest of his life, as long as Liu Xie has a little bit of imperial heart, he will definitely find a way to return to the administrative center like Chang'an or Luoyang to become the center of the territory.

As for Chang'an and Luoyang, Liu Xie must be more inclined to Luoyang.

It's not that there are any other special feelings, it's just that Chang'an is like a nightmare to Liu Xie. Dong Zhuo took Liu Xie to Chang'an, and he experienced so many things in Chang'an. He watched Dong Zhuo consecrate the head, but a minister jumped from the city to his death. The extremely difficult life in Chang'an left an endless impression on Liu Xie's heart. The pain, but no joy at all.

Such a city, even though it was the earliest capital of the Han Dynasty, and even though it might be more orderly and complete than Luoyang, which was burned by Dong Zhuo, in Liu Xie's heart, it was like a desperate situation, and he did not want to stay for a moment longer. Yes, so when Zhong Shao wanted to take Liu Xie out of Chang'an, Liu Xie didn't hesitate much.

Liu Xie chose to annex the north at that time, perhaps because of General Zhengxi...

Yang Xiu put the tip of the brush in his mouth, licked it, squinted his eyes, and pondered for a while before continuing to write: "...to conquer the west, we sent 800 cavalry, 1,000 infantry, 3 generals, and guards. Your Majesty returns south... When you reach Luo, you may be your Majesty's Northern Army..."

Yang Xiu couldn't see through General Fei Qian of the Western Expedition. When he could be strong, he acted weak. When he could go further, he retreated.

What on earth is this General Zhengxi thinking?

Yang Xiu frowned tightly.

Can't figure it out.

For example, this time, if General Fei Qian of Zhengxi followed Liu Xie back to Luoyang, at least one general of Wei would be indispensable, and even more was possible. However, Fei Qian and Fei Ziyuan refused.

It can be said that Fei Qian was afraid of competing with the Hongnong Yang family. At the beginning, he had no intention of giving in either in Pingyang or Guanzhong; if he was not afraid, he seemed to have taken the initiative to withdraw from the court battle this time.

Could it be that this general who conquered the West was really just a critic of the Han Dynasty, and he only wanted the stability of the country and the peace of the borders?

But it's not very similar...

Yang Xiu clicked his tongue, and then wanted to write something several times, but after thinking again and again, he finally hung the pen on the pen holder, stood up, and walked around the hall with his hands behind his back.

Now that General Zhengxi has withdrawn from the fight for the center of the court, now it is Yang who has been stabbed to the top.

Although the two thousand soldiers and horses Fei Qian gave to Liu Xie were not many, they were still a medium-sized military force for Luoyang now. What's more, many of these soldiers and horses were veterans who had been in battle. , if His Majesty is willing to use it as a skeleton to build an army of ten thousand people, it is not impossible...

In addition, due to the reason of seeking talents, some of the gentry children who defected to Liu Xie during this period...

Invisibly, Liu Xie transformed from a polished emperor who wanted soldiers but no soldiers, and no one wanted people, to a serious emperor who controlled more or less power.

And he is still an unstable little emperor. One moment he was enthusiastically agreeing with General Zhengxi’s opinion, and the next moment he was riding in the same car with General Zhengxi…

What does this mean?

However, the days are long. It will naturally take a certain amount of time for Liu Xie to grow stronger after returning to Luoyang, so he can slowly find flaws and think of some countermeasures.

Yang Xiu sighed, shook his head, returned to the desk, sat down, and continued to write: "...General Zhengxi, in my opinion, don't worry about it for the time being. There are three reasons for this, including the Northerners. It is sparse, and the land to conquer the west is vast. If there is more than enough to defend, there will not be enough to advance. This is one of the reasons..."

In Yang Xiu's eyes, Fei Qian's current territory was indeed quite large, but it was just like the land in the north, too large to be real. Regardless of whether it is east, west or south, soldiers need to be stationed. If we deal with the enemy soldiers on one side alone, according to the current strength of General Fei Qian of Zhengxi, there may not be a big problem, but what if two sides are attacked at the same time?

Yang Xiu's writing paused, and instead of continuing to write in detail, he began to write the second reason. Because he believed that his father would naturally understand the unfinished meaning that he had not written when he saw this.

"...the expedition up and down the west, the soldiers are elite and armored, and they are unstoppable. However, it consumes a lot of money. If it goes on like this, if there are losses, it will be difficult to recover. This is the second reason..."

That's right, the impression left by Fei Qian's cavalry on Yang Xiu was so strong that he still has lingering fears. But after a period of observation, Yang Xiu also keenly noticed the problem with Fei Qian's current soldier structure, which was that the number was small and it was difficult to replenish. This means that once it reaches the stage of a war of attrition, a model like Feiqian will definitely be defeated and there will be no chance of recovery.

The reason is very simple. Can such equipment and elite soldiers be fully supplemented by adding them at will when the two sides are engaged in a war of attrition?

In other words, if you want to defeat General Fei Qian's army, you just need to drag it into continuous consumption...

"...Thirdly, except for Pingyang in the north, the agriculture and mulberry fields are weak, there is no savings for a long time, people have no permanent residence, and the land has no permanent output. The military strength of this expedition to the west is already at its limit. Therefore, within three years, there is no need to Too worried..."

When Yang Xiu wrote this, he stopped writing and let out a long sigh.

Although it was said that there was no need to worry within three years, Yang Xiu's face was full of worry. It might be as Yang Xiu expected within three years, but what about after three years? If the farming and mulberry farming in Bingbei increases significantly and the population increases steadily, how will the supply of troops after such economic reserves, coupled with the extremely exquisite armor and equipment in Yang Xiu's eyes, be able to compete?

fortunately.

Fortunately, I had this trip to the north.

Yes, Yang Xiu came to Bingbei this time, of course, with the purpose of assassinating Fei, but what he saw and heard did not make Yang Xiu feel much relaxed.

Yang Xiu sighed softly again, shook his head, and finally wrote a few words on the scarf. He raised the scarf and gently blew the writing on it. Then he took the small bamboo tube on the side and folded the scarf. Well, he stuffed it in, sealed it with fire paint, and then summoned a confidant, handed the bamboo tube to him, and ordered him to rush to Hongnong immediately...

…………………………

"Someone wants to kill someone!"

Cao Cao frowned his two thick eyebrows together, as if they were about to connect between his eyebrows, and there was a cold light in his small eyes, shining brightly.

Because of Cao Hong's mistake, all the nobles in Fan County of Dongping were massacred. After the news spread, there was an uproar. All the nobles in Wubao, the surrounding county, immediately took action, evacuated overnight and went to Tao Qian's place. .

Although Tao Qian may not be very good, at least he won't leave the chicken alone, right?

Therefore, where Cao Cao's soldiers were, all the wealthy nobles with money and food ran away with them. In the end, Cao Cao had no choice but to withdraw from Xuzhou and return to Yanzhou while he had some food and grass on hand.

However, when I came back, I still had no less worries...

"Ming Gong, please calm down... I wonder what made Ming Gong so angry?" Xun Yu asked.

Cao Cao snorted and didn't say anything. He just asked his attendant to bring a wooden tablet on the table to Xun Yu.

Xun Yu took it and looked at it, and found that what was written on the wooden slip was about the people of Junyi County giving in. Among them, there are words about giving way, such as the words "after eunuchs", etc., which really made Cao Cao angry.

"...It's really hateful to talk wildly..." After pondering for a moment, Xun Yu said, "...but some common people talk nonsense after drinking, just to have a quick mouth...Ming Gong has always been tolerant, and ignores some deviant remarks. That’s it…”

Xun Yu also heard about this person. Speaking of which, Bian Rang was somewhat of a celebrity. He was good at debating and writing poems, and he was well-known at a young age. At that time, He Jin also recruited Bian Rang many times, and even asked Bian Rang to serve as the prefect of Jiujiang County. However, Bian Rang believed that he was not capable enough, so he resigned and returned to his hometown.

Such a person is somewhat of a well-known person in Yanzhou, and he is naturally under Cao Cao's attention, but he did not expect that such attention would lead to such a result.

"How can you be magnanimous when you humiliate someone and bully someone? How can you ignore it?!" Cao Cao said in a deep voice, "He is so crazy, so self-reliant, and lies so many times. He has endured it again and again, and now we have to let him know what is going on. Disaster comes from your mouth!"

"...Well, Ming Gong, if Zhi is so mad, Xu Tuzhi..." Xun Yu saw that Cao Cao really held a grudge and gave in, so he suggested, "... Why don't you send someone to mess up his reputation first, and then pay for it?" The jailer is fine..."

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head, stared at Xun Yu and said: "He is seeking death in a crazy way. How can I allow him to live for a moment? If the people of Yanzhou all learn from this crazy life, I, the governor of Yanzhou, will not be able to survive for a moment." If you just hang up your hat and leave!"

If you had spoken ill of Cao Cao in normal times, or before this, you would have been somewhat angry, but you wouldn't have cared so much.

However, something is different now. Cao Cao immediately had many associations with Wei Jian's incident, but the problem was that he could not immediately take down Wei Jian or all the suspicious personnel and kill them all with one blow...

On the one hand, after all, he is still not strong enough and cannot rashly show his break with Yuan Shao. After all, if Yuan Shao really turns his back and takes action now, he, a man with three melons and two dates, may not be able to withstand it; on the other hand, Cao Cao I also feel that there are some signs of instability under the current rule, and I want to use such a move to suppress the impetuous emotions of the noble nobles in Yanzhou.

In Cao Cao's heart, he has been stirred up by all kinds of annoying things during this period, which has swallowed up his original reason. At the moment, in Cao Cao's thinking, he just thinks that killing a nobleman who is not in power is not a big deal? What is an aristocratic family? Isn't it just a group of guys gathering together to gossip? What is a wealthy family? Isn't it a family whose ancestors have produced officials worth two thousand dan?

Now since I am the boss of Yanzhou, you guys should listen to me. Let whoever I want to be an official be an official. What's the point?

Believe it or not, I really fell out of favor, preventing you from being an official for several generations, and turning your family from a wealthy family into a poor family?

Believe it or not, I will really take action and not only kill one of you, but even cut off your entire family?

With 300,000 Qingzhou soldiers in hand, I just want to ask, are you afraid?

In Cao Cao's heart, in addition to being angry at this time, his patience with the nobles' lack of cooperation during this period had also reached its limit. Before, his strength was weak, so no matter what dissatisfaction Cao Cao had in his heart, he endured it. As time went by, his anger became more and more intense. In fact, Bian Rang actually said that his crime was not worthy of death. He was just a fuse and turned the original The accumulation just exploded.

Who hasn’t had a few mouthfuls of horse urine?

Who hasn’t patted their chests and bragged without fear of anything?

But if Bian Rang really jumped out and led his soldiers to confront Cao Cao head-on, he probably wouldn't dare. So he is just a talker who just takes advantage of his words, just like a taxi driver in Kyoto in later generations. If he talks so much that you think he has great hands and eyes, and even the national leaders are good friends, then it is simply Losing face to Kanye Kyoto!

Cao Cao may not be clear in his heart, but firstly, he is still angry. Secondly, he feels that the nobles in Yanzhou are just mediocre. Thirdly, in addition to shocking the arrogant nobles in Yanzhou, Cao Cao also wants to take this opportunity. Intimidate the unstable elements in your team and tell them that it will be terrible if I, Old Cao, are angry. You must think clearly when doing things...

"kill!"

Therefore, although Xun Yu tried his best to dissuade him, Cao Cao did not listen at all. He directly ordered people to arrest all Bian Rang's family, and then ransacked their homes and killed them all.

After the head fell to the ground and the news spread, Yanzhou's originally impetuous voice suddenly fell silent. The Taoist looked sideways, and the officials in his team seemed to be conscientious and careful in their work.

Cao Cao felt that the effect was very good, and he was naturally very satisfied. At the same time, he killed some people to vent his anger, and there was a smile on his face. However, this smile did not last long...