Three Kingdoms

"Jiangdong..."

Cao Cao squinted his eyes, uttered two words, and then fell silent.

Like most people in the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao's understanding of Jiangdong was still very shallow. In fact, until the Jin Dynasty was forced to move in, most people in the Han Dynasty did not think that Jiangnan and Jiangdong were so good. After all, Central China and North China were the two river plains. The land was flat, the grain production was good, and transportation was very convenient.

However, the news from the spy sent to Jiangdong showed that Sun Ce's power was so huge that Cao Cao couldn't help but worry. He spanned four counties and encompassed nearly thirty cities. If we simply talk about the number of counties, it even surpassed Cao Cao himself. This It had to make Cao Cao feel a lot of fear.

If Cao Cao attacked Yuan Shu, at the last moment, Sun Ce made a move at the last moment, and then reaped the benefits...

In that case, wouldn't Cao Cao's two years have been in vain?

Cao Cao's original plan was to eat Yuan Shu and then grow up on Yuan Shu's bones, and then he could think of using the emperor to control the princes. If he was not strong enough, what would happen even if there was an emperor? Taking a lesson from the past, Wang Yun and Wang Situ's flying leap was especially visible in front of them.

"This matter is known, you go to rest for now..." Cao Cao waved his hand and asked a black-clothed civil servant to retreat first.

Cao Cao walked around twice with his hands behind his back, and then said in a deep voice: "Come here! Invite the Chinese army to offer wine!" The Chinese army was offering wine, it was Guo Jia.

During this period of time, because Cao Cao felt that his surroundings were very unstable and could not even sleep well, he formed a school affairs team at Guo Jia's suggestion. The so-called school affairs means inspecting school inspection affairs. In fact, there is already a mixture of military affairs and special agents. They are independent from the army, and then responsible to Cao Cao, directly underwriting various affairs, and then they expanded crazily. Now they are extended. Applied to a lot of areas...

Of course, on the surface, Cao Cao said that the military lieutenant colonel was temporarily established to rectify military discipline. If the army wants to be strong, it must declare discipline. In ancient times, there was Sima Rangju, and there was Yafu Xiliu nearby. There is no military discipline. If there is no order, the sergeants will be tyrannical, so school affairs must be established. Moreover, it is the army of the imperial court, and it is even more necessary to correct the names of officials. Robbery, indiscriminate killing, etc. must be prohibited. Only in this way can the world return to its heart and the people eat pots of pulp to welcome this...

Under the majestic words, no one could express any objections, but in fact, Cao Cao still had a Nugget captain behind his back, and even if he saw it, he would treat it as invisible.

In history, when Yuan Shao and Cao Cao later broke up, Chen Lin wrote a memorial, which said: "Also, King Xiao of Liang and Kun, the late emperor's mother, are honored in their tombs; the pines and cypresses in their mulberry trees are still suitable for reverence. And Cao, the commander-in-chief, and the officials came to dig them out in person , broke the coffin with naked corpses, and plundered the gold and treasure... Cao also specially appointed the commander-in-chief of Faqiu and the captain of Mojin. Everywhere he passed through the Tutu, no bones were exposed..."

It is said that Cao Cao relied on stealing graves and digging up graves to collect military supplies. Although it is exaggerated and slanderous, it is also groundless and not without reason. However, Chen Lin was also always laughing and laughing. Nine out of the ten princes at that time had secretly dug graves. Which one, Dong Zhuo or Yuan Shao, had never done this? Cao Cao was by no means the most egregious one. After all, it was a common practice in the Han Dynasty to pay lavish burials, and there were even many families whose families were ruined because of funerals. Therefore, digging graves became a convenient way to make a fortune.

In fact, Cao Cao's army in the early days was no different from ordinary warlords. After all, it had to feed such a large population, and it was not like a streamlined army like General Zhengxi. It was often just a bunch of people with families and families. The data looked good, but it looked good. , in fact the pressure is not small.

However, now that Cao Cao has welcomed the emperor, he will be more restrained and no longer as unscrupulous as before. Therefore, the establishment of a school in the military has gradually been accepted by most people, and as the person in charge of the transfer, it is Guo Jia.

Guo Jia arrived not long after. Cao Cao first asked Guo Jia to sit down. Without much foreshadowing, he directly talked about Jiangdong's affairs and expressed his worries about Sun Ce.

"If the people from Jiangdong are looking for an opportunity to come up..." Cao Cao frowned and said in a deep voice, "Is there any countermeasure to be a filial piety?"

Guo Jia is a smart person. After hearing Cao Cao's words, he knew that Cao Cao already had a plan in mind. He just needed Guo Jia to verify it, or let Guo Jia be the scapegoat.

Otherwise, something like this can be regarded as a military and state matter. Why don't you summon all the ministers to discuss it together, but call Guo Jia alone to answer it?

Therefore, Cao Cao's calling Guo Jia Lai was a hint that Cao Cao did not intend to take the normal route. And this abnormal method is actually very simple...

Guo Jia sighed silently in his heart.

Why Cao Cao sought him out was not because Guo Jia came from a poor family and did not have many connections, just like the emperor of the Han Dynasty who liked to promote some children from poor families to serve as court ministers. If something goes wrong, when these poor children are abandoned, they won't have too many worries because of their family.

"Haha..." Guo Jia said with a smile, "Why worry, my lord? He is light and unprepared, has a quick temper and lacks strategy. He is the brave man of an ordinary man. He will surely die at the hands of villains one day..."

Cao Cao smiled slightly and said, "Really?"

Guo Jia nodded.

Cao Cao also nodded and said with a smile: "Now that I have a filial piety, I have nothing to worry about!"

Guo Jia bowed and said, "It's your duty..."

The two looked at each other and smiled, as if they were kings and ministers.

"That's right!" Cao Cao clapped his hands and said, "I have newly obtained some Pingyang Sanhua wine. It is brewed with peach blossoms in spring, osmanthus in autumn, and plum blossoms in winter. It has the fragrance of the three flowers and absorbs the beauty of the year. It is just the right time to bring it with you as a filial piety. Two altars!”

"In this case, I would be disrespectful!" Guo Jia smiled, accepted Cao Cao's reward, then withdrew and returned home. After a moment of silence, he asked the attendants at home to open the wine jar without adding anything. The dishes are served and drank by oneself.

I don’t know how to feel sad when I’m young, but I feel like I’m a good official, so I want to go upstairs. Going up stairs is indispensable, and I can’t do without silk, satin, and fine wine. I’m surrounded by beautiful scenery. Now I’m going up stairs, and I’m going up stairs again, but I can only see the cool weather. It’s such an autumn...

Autumn, the five elements of Autumn, belongs to gold, which is responsible for fighting and killing. It's really a good autumn, do you mean the scenery of autumn?

Guo Jia smiled, raised the wine cup, extended his hand forward, and said to the void in the air: "I respect you! Drink to win! Drink to win..." After saying that, he drank it and then spit it out. A long whiff of alcohol.

"...What's wrong..." Xun walked in from outside the courtyard and saw Guo Jia sitting at the booth drinking. He frowned slightly and said with some disdain, "...it's still bright and you're drinking now? You're really... …Not even any dishes?”

Xun turned around and said to his men, "Go to the Qianjie Restaurant and ask him to bring some seasonal dishes..." His men responded before turning around and leaving.

"I want to buy roasted leg of lamb!" Guo Jia added from behind, "You don't need anything else, but roasted leg of lamb is a must!"

Xun's attendant stopped and glanced at Xun. Xun waved his hand helplessly and signaled to the attendants to leave it at that. The attendant bent down and went out with his head raised. He didn't know if he could not help but laugh if he raised his head...

Xun took off his clogs and walked into the hall. The wooden boards in front of the hall seemed to be a little loose, and they made a squeaking sound when he stepped on them. Xun paused for a moment, frowned, then turned to look at Guo Jia's butler who was laughing with him in the hall.

"Don't blame him..." Guo Jia shook the wine baron and said, "The money originally used for repairs... well, I used it to drink... Anyway, if it was repaired, it might break again sometime, so it's better not to build……"

Xun: "..."

Xun sat down in front of Guo Jia and was silent for a moment. He waved his hand for everyone to leave, and then whispered: "My lord is looking for you...for...Jiangdong?"

Guo Jia held the wine prince's hand and paused for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"What do you want, my lord?" Xun's eyes flickered for a few times, and then he said, "Could it be..."

Guo Jia didn't say a word, just drank.

"..." Xun frowned deeply and said, "How can it be like this! You must know that you don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you. How can you do such a trivial thing! If it spreads, won't the world laugh at you?"

Guo Jia laughed twice and said vaguely: "Really? My master didn't do anything...how could he be laughed at? Haha..."

Xun shook his head and said: "This is not your fault, how can you accept this crime? In the past, Yuan Jiuji paid for the assassination, which caused the death of Duke Qin... The princes were all frightened, so Liu Jingzhou surrounded and attacked... If others know about it now, I If someone else behaves like this, wouldn't it be worse than Yuan Gongdao? No, if someone finds the master, he must be persuaded not to do this..."

After Xun finished speaking, he was about to stand up, but Guo Jia grabbed his sleeve and almost fell down.

At that time, Yuan Shu may have felt that Cao Cao was too much of a threat, or he wanted to save some trouble. Anyway, he did not use the method of attacking with a large army. Instead, he found some rangers and warriors from Runan and came in disguise to assassinate Cao Cao. As a result, Qin Lang Because this unlucky guy was about the same height and beard as Cao Cao, these Yuan Shu's assassins thought he was Cao Cao and died unexpectedly. Cao Cao was able to escape the disaster.

From then on, basically no matter where Cao Cao went, he would bring a large number of guards with him to prevent unexpected events.

This is what Xun said: Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you. Since Cao Cao hated being assassinated by others, why did he let Guo Jia go to Jiangdong to arrange such a thing?

"Don't be impatient..." Guo Jia signaled, asking Xun to sit down again, then picked up the wine spoon, poured a glass of wine for Xun, and said, "... My lord, this is a helpless move... Listen here Someone said..."

Xun was stunned for a moment, and then seemed to have some realization. He held the table and sat down again. He straightened his robe that was a little skewed by Guo Jia's pull, and nodded, as if to indicate that Guo Jia could talk...

Guo Jia drank another drink and pointed to the wine drinker in front of Xun drunkenly. Xun reluctantly picked up the wine, took a sip, and then looked at Guo Jia.

"##..." Guo Jia muttered something vaguely, and then said, "My lord, if you take this strategy, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages... Wen Ruo just imagine, if Yuan Jiujiu is destroyed, we will continue to send troops Is it better to go south, or..."

Guo Jia raised his eyebrows, then drank another gulp.

When Xun heard this, he couldn't help but fell silent, then sighed slightly, looked at the wine jue in his hand, and drank it all in one gulp.

Except for some people with special hobbies, most people don't like dirty things, but dirty things are definitely inevitable, and there are always people who have to do them.

Due to Yuan Shu's own reasons, Jiangdong Sun Ce rebelled against the revolution after Yuan Shu and pursued his own interests. Although some people think that it is not an act of loyalty, most people will still choose interests in front of him. So for Cao Cao, continuing to attack Jiangdong southward may be considered by many people as a more righteous approach, but the benefits it brings are not many...

First of all, the distance from Yanzhou to Jiangdong is much longer than the distance from Yanzhou to Qingzhou, Yuzhou, or even Xuzhou. The last time Cao Cao went to Xuzhou, Yanzhou rebelled, which must have left a very deep impression on Cao Cao. Even though the Emperor is welcomed now, the Emperor's performance in the court is not entirely reassuring.

At least it can't make Cao Cao feel relieved.

So under such circumstances, how could Cao Cao move his army too far away from Yanzhou to conquer Jiangdong?

And there is Yuan Shao here...

In addition, there are many noble families in Jiangdong. Even if you can conquer them, it will not be possible to win over these people in a day or two. If something changes in Yanzhou at this time, should you save them or not?

Returning to the army is tantamount to giving up the territory that has been conquered again. If you don't return to the army, then wouldn't the rear base area that you have worked so hard to manage in the past few years fall into the hands of others?

Therefore, sending troops to Jiangdong is a thankless task, but it cannot be ignored. Jiangdong Sun Ce's development speed in the past two years is too astonishing. The six counties in Jiangdong have already won most of it. If it continues to develop at this rate, it will become a serious problem sooner or later.

Even if there is no problem now, if in the future when Cao Cao is busy in the north and Sun Ce comes out from the south, the sour taste will...

Although the methods are somewhat inferior, if we can use the least manpower and investment to disrupt Jiangdong, make Jiangdong fall into disputes, have no time to take care of him, or even be unable to recover...

Xun let out a long sigh and remained silent. After Guo Jiayi reminded him, Xun could more or less understand that perhaps this matter could only be handled in this way, which was the most suitable for the current situation.

"...this matter..." Xun shook his head, paused for a moment, shook his head again, and said, "In the end... alas... we have to find the right solution after all... What's more, in addition to Jiangdong, there are also Zhengxi..."

Speaking of this, Xun suddenly seemed to remember something, and suddenly turned his head to look at Guo Jia.

"..." Guo Jia did not speak, but smiled bitterly, turned his head and looked outside the hall, and after a long time, he sighed slowly...