Three Kingdoms

Fei Qian was making a splash in Chang'an, and Cao Cao wasn't just sitting around.

When the old year is about to pass and the new year is about to arrive, the so-called New Year greetings are second to nothing, and more importantly, they are fully integrated to bring together the originally scattered and opposing areas into a "working together" force.

For this reason, Xun Yu had been on duty at the Shangshutai for nearly a month without taking a break.

Among ancient people, bathing was a big deal, and the government even made special provisions to give officials time to go home and bathe.

It's a pity that Xun Yu didn't have time, he only had less than ten months left. It's not that Xun Yu was seriously ill or that he was about to die from some hidden disease, but that Empress Cao had less than ten months left before giving birth to a child. After thinking over and over again, Xun Yu had already made the worst plan. Now he had to race against time...

The cavalry general Fei Qian was like a tiger on the side. Although he was just lying down lazily, his power still made Xun Yu breathless. In order to integrate Jizhou, Yuzhou, Yanzhou and other places faster and better, Xun Yu had no other choice but to take risks.

If it was a child, everything would be fine, but if it was a woman, Xun Yu would have to bear the consequences. Resigning or something has almost become inevitable. If at that time, Cao Cao can more or less consolidate his power, then he still has a chance to come back to power, and everything can be done. If Cao Cao cannot make Jizhou and Yuzhou into a monolith within ten months, what can he do even on the stage? ?

What Xun Yu was most worried about was that the integration of Jizhou and Yuzhou was too slow. If the integration is too slow, then Cao Cao will definitely not be able to fully control the court, and if he cannot fully control the court, there will inevitably be opposing voices, and this opposing voice is destined to make Cao Cao unable to compete with Fei Qian with all his strength, and in the end The result must be failure.

There are advantages to having a large population. A large population base can support more soldiers, more taxes, etc. But also, a large population? Things are complicated, and all kinds of interests are involved, and there are no ordinary people. It doesn't matter if it shows up, but when something is exposed, it often makes people crazy.

Is it like a few hundred pieces of money for conquering the West? Maybe it is not a big deal for a noble family member alone, or it is not a matter at all? But once it becomes a family? Hundreds of them If the thousands of tribesmen are counted together, the number will immediately become much larger, and not everyone can give up easily. If several families are connected together? Then the number will rise again!

The work of Shangshutai is not only the people's livelihood and government affairs, but also the coordination work of the rear area of ​​​​the war. Almost every day is full. If Xun Yu himself is not good at internal affairs, if it were replaced by others, he may not be able to persist, and No problems yet.

You must know that there were originally six people in charge of the Chancery desk in the court, and they took turns? But now basically all the big and small matters are handled by Xun Yu? You can imagine how heavy the burden is.

However, Cao Cao is about to leave the army, which means that Xun Yu can breathe a sigh of relief.

It's just an extra breath of relief.

On the Jiangdong battlefield, Sun Quan was still unwilling to retreat. From time to time, he sent soldiers to test? Or he wanted to find a breakthrough, or he was trying to train his troops, or both, leading to small-scale battles. It happened from time to time, but overall Cao Jun still had more victories than defeats, and controlled the north bank of the river.

At the same time, Cao Chun led two thousand cavalry from Jingzhou to Jiangxia and went straight to Youzhou, traveling more than a thousand miles. On the one hand, he gathered and organized the remaining Wuhuan people in Tadun into tribes, and on the other hand, he also filled up Yuan Xi's army. The vacancy somewhat restricted Fei Qian's northern legion, Zhao Yun.

However, at this moment, Cao Cao suddenly received an urgent message...

Cao Cao asked Dong Zhao to read.

Dong Zhao was originally promoted as Xiaolian when he was young, and later served as a member of the army under Yuan Shao. There are also some meritorious deeds, but everyone knows about Yuan Shao. Once he listened to slander, he was very dissatisfied with Dong Zhao and held him accountable, causing Dong Zhao to have no choice but to leave Yuan Shao.

Therefore, Cao Cao currently appoints Dong Zhao. In fact, everyone who understands the thoughts and intentions behind it understands it, or does he not understand? Well, there is a pile of mud over there...

On the one hand, Cao Cao asked Dong Zhao to read the military information to show his trust in Dong Zhao. Another more important factor was that Cao Cao had some presbyopia.

At Cao Cao's age, he is currently running towards the five rings, uh, five cards...

Although Cao Cao was unwilling to admit it, very reluctant to admit it, it was true that his physical functions began to decline, regardless of his personal will. In order to facilitate the transmission of military information, it is impossible to fill a basket with large characters. Naturally, it must be written in as many small letters as possible. It is indeed extremely painful for people with presbyopia to identify the small characters on the fine silk.

Dong Zhao unfolded the information, read it up and down quickly, and couldn't help but take a breath.

Cao Cao's eyes couldn't help but darken a little when he looked at Dong Zhao.

Dong Zhao has always attached great importance to personal manners, such as "Taishan collapses but his appearance remains unchanged". Ever since he served as a military advisor in the army, he has been calm and composed, even when receiving an emergency military situation, he is calm, but now, Dong Zhao's expression was a little solemn, even a little surprised, and even the hand holding the information seemed to be shaking...

Cao Cao closed his eyes and did not rush to ask. When subordinates are anxious, the leader must calm down. Otherwise, if everyone is in chaos, what else will they do?

After a few breaths, Dong Zhao calmed down and slowly read out the military information. The main thing was that Fei Qian marched into the Western Regions with his troops, fought with all the countries in the Western Regions, defeated the Western Allied Forces in one fell swoop, and successfully erected the banner of the Han Dynasty at the head of the sea again, and then About to enter the last and largest city of the Kushan people in the Western Region...

Dong Zhao was reciting while Cao Cao listened with his eyes closed. After listening, Cao Cao slowly opened his eyes, stroked his beard, and whispered after a while: "I never thought that the traitor Hu in the Western Regions would be defeated so quickly..."

Although there is a long distance between Cao Cao and the Western Regions, and only one piece of information cannot fully outline the outline of the battle in the Western Regions, Cao Cao was indeed very surprised that Fei Qian launched the battle in the Western Regions so quickly and determined the victory. accident.

You know, the Han and Xiqiang have been fighting for thirty or forty years before they even arrived in the Western Regions...

And now...

Cao Cao shook his head, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Although Cao Cao was also a Han, and he hoped in his heart that Fei Qian would win in the end and recreate the majesty of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions, what Cao Cao did not expect was that Fei Qian could do it so fast!

Cao Cao originally thought that the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions, even if they were small countries, each country had thousands or hundreds of soldiers, and then added together, there would be about 40,000 to 50,000 troops, and then Fei Qian would have to pass through the Hexi Corridor. An expedition to the Western Regions would require at least 100,000 to 200,000 troops. At the same time, Fei Qian would also have to take care of Xianbei in the north and Jiaozhi in the south. How many soldiers would be stationed in these places?

Calculated in this way, Fei Qian marches into the Western Regions. Even with Lu Bu as the vanguard, he is afraid that he will not be able to win quickly. It is just the beginning. He may fall into the same mistakes as Emperor Heng of Han and Emperor Ling of Han. He will be defeated by the Western Regions. This big quagmire makes it difficult to move forward.

Who would have expected that according to what was said in the military information - in fact, the specific situation is not very clear, it is just a rough idea - that the Western Regions could not stop Lu Bu's troops, and even Fei Qian defeated the Western Regions Allied Forces without even moving. Prepare to attack the Kushan people's strongholds in the Western Regions...

"How is the loss of the hussar?" ” Cao Cao asked.

Dong Zhao read it again, shook his head slowly, and said: "It's not clear in the letter... It must be quite big..."

Cao Cao hummed, frowned and said: "The barbarians in the Western Regions are like this..." Cao Cao originally wanted to say "useless", but after all, Fei Qian conquered the Western Regions, which was also a happy event from the standpoint of the Han people, so he was very happy. He swallowed these two words and replaced them with "Unexpectedly, the front of the cavalry is so sharp..."

Dong Zhao had calmed down by now. After thinking for a while, he comforted Cao Cao and said: "Guishang in the Western Region has not been completely defeated. There are still chariots in Shule and other countries, and they are not clear about it. The hussar has newly conquered the Western Region, and it is not stable." , it is common sense that there will be recurrences in the future... Ming Gong is not worried about this. Although the hussar has won the first victory, he has no time to pay attention to it..."

After all, this type of information is transmitted covertly, so it is impossible to write it down clearly in detail, let alone specify some times. Therefore, Cao Cao and Dong Zhao wanted to straighten out the relationship and even the specific time of the conquest. , is not that easy.

Cao Cao only knew that Fei Qian probably used the troops and horses of Longyou, plus part of Hanzhong and Guanzhong, mainly more than 10,000 cavalry. More detailed matters, such as the number of infantry for logistical support and the number of laborers, are not clear. It is even more unclear how the battle was fought and what tactics were used.

Putting himself in his shoes, Cao Cao could roughly guess that Lu Bu's personal bravery, coupled with the brave cavalry of the Hussar, probably taught the unprepared Western Hu people a good lesson, and they were caught off guard. It is indeed very possible to defeat the barbarian front in the Western Regions in one fell swoop and achieve victory.

As for Cao Cao's emotion towards Hussar, he was quite sincere. When Cao Cao came into contact with Fei Qian, he felt that Fei Qian was not simple. Later, he discovered that Fei Qian had a unique strategic vision and pointed out Dong Zhuo's plan to move the capital. However, God's will...

Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh slightly in his heart.

At that time, Cao Cao consciously could raise his troops to chase Dong Zhuo. Even if he could not win a big victory, he could still get some merits, and then it would not be too late to recruit Fei Qian. What he didn't expect was that he was ambushed by Dong Zhuo, and the Jujube Allied Forces again They all had their own agendas, so they were delayed, and in the end they passed each other, one heading east and the other heading west.

To this day, Cao Cao still occasionally dreams at night. He and Fei Qian made an appointment to meet and talk outside the Jujube Camp. He wanted to talk to Fei Qian about something. However, when he was about to go outside the camp, he was not disturbed by this Zhang. Miao La was hugged by Liu Dai. When he got out, he couldn't find Fei Qian. He wanted to shout but couldn't. He wanted to look for it but didn't know where to look. Then he suddenly woke up...

Cao Cao came back to his senses and heard Dong Zhao say from the side: "...for the current plan, it should be Jingzhou...not to mention that if Qiaoqi takes this as a credit, please grant him the title again..."

Cao Cao's eyes narrowed.

This time, Cao Cao used troops against Jiangxia. On the one hand, Cao Cao wanted to divert internal economic pressure and obtain more resources to fill the emptiness of his own property. On the other hand, he also felt that under such huge pressure from Fei Qian, he had a relatively friendly ally. It is always better to have one more enemy, so Cao Cao suppressed some of his dissatisfaction with Liu Biao and sent troops to fight against Jiangdong.

Although it is said that this time there is no loss, or some profit, but in fact the profit is not much. At most, it temporarily alleviates the current difficult situation, so that Cao Cao will not have to chew the soil again, or use the rat meat reserves again. That's all...

There is still a long way to go before eating meat and drinking wine. Cao Cao has even issued an order strictly prohibiting wine-making, because wine-making will cause a large loss of food. After all, the locust plague has just passed. Who can ensure that there will not be another locust plague next year?

However, Cao Cao's prohibition on alcohol did not receive support from the gentry family, and even caused a considerable degree of dissatisfaction.

The New Year is coming, and it is natural to use wine and meat to worship ancestors. How can it be done without wine? Besides, everyone has worked so hard to support you, Boss Cao, okay? At the end of the year, you can’t even let people drink. Is this really justified? Do you want people to live?

In the end, Cao Cao had no choice but to compromise and ordered a change from a comprehensive ban on alcohol to a strict ban on the sale of alcohol. It is okay for those who brew and drink their own wine, but not if they sell it. This is an agreement with the nobles. Anyway, among the wealthy noble families, they naturally have their own winemakers, so they also drink some wine, but they can’t sell it. As for wine, proper storage will increase the quality of the wine, so I won’t sell it if I don’t allow it to be sold for the time being. Not a big problem.

As for whether ordinary people drink alcohol and whether it will affect their family sacrifices, haha, who cares?

The nobles accepted it, but Cao Cao was still unhappy.

Cao Cao said that this was definitely not because of his petulant mentality of retribution, but because Cao Cao felt that this was a provocation to his authority...

These guys are against Prohibition now, who knows what they will be against in the future? That day, the opposition came to Cao Cao's own head, saying that Cao Cao's head was in the wrong place and he wanted to find a new place.

The reason why Cao Cao does not treat these nobles forcefully now, and is patient and conceding, does not mean that Cao Cao is willing to accept such patience and conceding!

Therefore, Cao Cao agreed to Xun Yu's plan.

Internally, it is to strengthen the joint organization of the nobles in various states, using the "examination" system as the starting point, while externally, it is to strengthen Cao Cao's authority, using Queen Cao as an opportunity.

Sometimes, the only difference between enemies and allies is interest.

Contrary to what most people guessed, the next position Cao Cao planned was not to be the abbot of the country, but to be the "general"...

If you want to be the head of the country, you will be able to take the position when Cao Cao sends his daughter to the palace. Why wait until now? Although this move made the two women lose their happiness, Cao Cao believed that it was necessary. The men of the Xiahou family of the Cao family fought hard on the battlefield and worked hard in the officialdom. So, do the women of the Xiahou family of the Cao family only know how to eat and drink without giving or sacrificing anything?

So Cao Cao didn't regret it, uh, or rather, he couldn't regret it. At least when Cao Cao thought of Mrs. Ding and his daughter, he had to repeat in his heart again that he would not regret it.

Now, Queen Cao has paved a road for Cao Cao, a road that can be sealed on Fei Qian's head, the road of the general.

The highest level of a foreign relative in the Han Dynasty was that of a general.

Although most of the generals in the Han Dynasty ended up with some problems, it usually happened after the death of the general. And if Cao Cao couldn't take care of it right now, then what's the point of talking and thinking about the problems after death? ?

The road to becoming a great general lies ahead, but it is still difficult to walk up it.

Just like how to advance.

He Jin is also a general, but after He Jin became a general, not everyone thought that He Jin was a "general". Before He Jin became the general, he first favored his younger sister and became a doctor. He served as the general of Huben and the prefect of Yingchuan. Later, he moved to the position of minister, general and master craftsman, and Henan Yin. He did not have many military exploits. Therefore, during the Yellow Turban Uprising, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty worshiped him as the general and commanded the capital. However, in fact, He Jin did not have high prestige in the army and did not receive much support from the nobles.

Although it is said that after He Jin took office, he wanted to increase his prestige. He taught martial arts in the capital and established a camp. He appointed eight captains in Xiyuan. He followed Yuan Shao's advice and recruited wise and resourceful people. He borrowed money from his uncle Yuan internally and secured the power to assist the government externally. He monopolized the court. Zhongdaquan, all kinds of things, all look beautiful, but in fact they are empty. In the end, with a slight push from a few eunuchs, the frame they built collapsed to the ground.

This was a bloody lesson learned just a few steps away. Cao Cao didn’t want to be like He Jin, who had his head chopped off and thrown out from behind the palace wall...

Therefore, Cao Cao grasped military power very tightly.

But having military power alone is not enough, at least not yet, to allow Cao Cao to stand up from the position of Sikong and then sit firmly in the position of general.

You also need to have enough military merit...

Especially compared to this damn guy Fei Qian.

Originally, if Yuan Tan was still alive, then Jizhou could probably be regarded as an important part of Cao Cao's military achievements, suppressing the gentry in Jizhou and Yuzhou and having nothing to say. However, Yuan Tan died, and Jizhou was almost disturbed by Fei Qian. It is not perfect, it can be said that it has loopholes and flaws.

Jiangxia is not necessarily a military success that can be widely publicized.

After all, this damn hussar general was too good at opening up and expanding the territory in terms of military achievements. He was so good that other people at the same time felt that duck pears were indeed much larger than ordinary pears...

Therefore, Cao Cao could only retreat and settle for the next best thing. Since he could no longer play tricks on military achievements, he could only seek progress in his connections, and Liu Biao was Cao Cao's goal.

Cao Cao hoped to use this opportunity of assistance to get Liu Biao to support him and take the initiative to recommend Cao Cao as a general instead of Cao Cao just saying that he would be a general. As a result, Liu Biao did not say he agreed or disagreed, he just expressed his opinion. I am not in good health. I will talk about this matter after I recover...

In a sense, Cao Cao and Liu Biao were allies before, but this does not mean that Cao Cao and Liu Biao will be good friends for life. When differences arise, especially major differences, even father, son, wife and children will kill each other. , let alone just gay friends?

"Jingzhou..." Cao Cao pondered, his eyes slightly cold.