The fact was just as Cao Ang expected.
Before the army arrived in Chengyang County, they encountered Xiahou Dun, who was leading two thousand troops and escorting countless carts of food.
Both sides meet.
The crisis was resolved immediately.
Not only did the Cao family's regular army increase in number, they were able to control the prisoners more effectively.
At the same time these grains arrived.
It also ensures that no one will starve to death along the way.
The tens of thousands of surrendered troops accompanying the army, after seeing the carts of food, their eyes lit up, and they became more honest and determined to follow General Cao.
After all, after the surrender.
For so many days in a row, they were able to eat hot food every day. Even if they were not full, it was much better than the hard days of running around with the Yellow Turban Army and not having the next meal.
Of course, this is not without its thorns.
The thugs and thugs who just wanted to gather a group of people, seize food by force, and then escape, all became fertilizer for the flowers and trees along the way.
It has made great contributions to the green plant industry in Yanzhou.
But after the vast majority of people firmly believed that they would continue to work with the Cao family, and after seeing the grain truck, they felt motivated.
Mental numbness is relieved.
The marching speed of the army finally increased, and the refugees no longer moved away bit by bit.
Plus Cao Ang these days.
Every day when he has nothing to do, he will bring a group of people and wander around in the team.
Pointing to the grain carts filled with grain.
All kinds of paintings.
“When you arrive at your destination, you won’t have to worry about food and drink.”
"Follow me, you will get a wife and have children in one year, buy land in three years, and your family will be prosperous in ten years!"
"There are so many fields in Yanzhou that no one is cultivating them. This general plans to allocate fields to those who perform well."
Words like this.
Cao Ang could change his words every day and say ten sentences without repeating the same thing.
Under such spiritual inspiration.
Can the army still move like flying?
The second half of the journey, which originally took more than ten days, was reduced by more than half.
On the sixth day, we arrived in Dingtao County.
…………
Jiyin County Taishou Mansion.
Cao Ang leaned on the soft cushions with all his hands and feet, and collapsed there without any image. He was not at all as elegant as he had shown when he entered the city before.
"Squeak~"
There was the sound of the door being pushed open.
Cao Cao stepped in.
When he saw his son looking like this, he quickly closed the door and then laughed out loud.
He was used to seeing Cao Ang's maturity far beyond that of ordinary people. He always had pearls of wisdom in his grasp and had everything in mind, as if nothing could be kept in his mind.
Hence the current scene.
It really made him laugh a little.
"My son, could it be that you are a little tired from going to the city for the rites and music that your father arranged for you earlier?"
When Cao Ang led his army to Dingtao County.
Cao Cao directly led the crowd to greet him outside the city, and arranged many rituals and music along the way, and even people lined the streets to welcome him.
However, it is not clear whether these common people voluntarily ate pots of milk to welcome the king's master, or whether they were ordered by the government and forced to come.
In short, Cao Ang received a warm welcome.
Lao Cao gave him a very high honor.
…
And after hearing what his father said.
Cao Ang turned over on the spot, still lying on the ground, but facing Cao Cao instead.
The whole person said lazily.
"Father, my son led thousands of people and fought fiercely with tens of thousands of enemy troops for many days. The string in his mind was always tense. He was so nervous that he didn't dare to slack off at all. Not to mention how uncomfortable it was. .”
"It's just that in front of the generals of the three armed forces, as the commander of the army, I must maintain my dignity, so I dare not reveal the slightest clue."
"Only in your little cabin, when father and son are here, can I relax a little and lie down comfortably here."
The words just fell.
The smile on Cao Cao's face faded instantly.
It gets a little more complicated.
The uncontrollable expression in his eyes showed his distress for Cao Ang and his concern for his son as a father.
yes!
No matter how mature and calm Zixiu behaves on weekdays, he is still a young man after all.
This time, I led my troops to the front line. Facing an enemy with more than ten times our own strength, I kept thinking about strategies day and night, and was under tremendous pressure all the time.
Carrying the heavy responsibility of strengthening the Cao family's foundation on his shoulders, he gritted his teeth and did not dare to show any flaws.
This burden is really too much!
Cao Cao felt a lot of emotions for a while.
He couldn't help but take a few steps forward, sat down next to Cao Ang, and then patted Cao Ang's shoulder with his hand.
"Ang'er, thank you for your hard work!"
…
After a moment of silence in the room.
Cao Ang finally recovered from his slack posture, turned over, and sat cross-legged next to Cao Cao.
Then he pointed outside.
"Father, have you properly arranged the Yellow Turban soldiers who surrendered to our army?"
Heard talking about business.
Cao Cao's expression suddenly became solemn and he nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry, my son, this matter happens to be what my father is good at. Tens of thousands of people have been placed in multiple places at the moment. We only need to wait for the next few days to properly deal with them one by one."
Speaking of which.
Cao Cao turned around and asked.
"Ang'er, do you have any plans for these young men who have been escorted back?"
Such a large team is involved.
How to arrange it must be discussed with several counselors, but Cao Cao still wants to hear Cao Ang's opinion as a reference.
And Cao Ang heard this.
He took a blank bamboo slip from the table beside him and spread it out in front of him.
While holding a brush, he wrote on it.
While describing it to Cao Cao.
…
"Father, according to the child's idea, this group of people should be divided into three parts."
"Those who are the strongest, strongest, and have spent the longest time in the army, we will directly integrate them into our own army."
"This group of people should not be too large. The number should be controlled within 10,000. After all, there are only about this number of people who meet the requirements. If there are more, we cannot afford to support them."
Cao Cao nodded slightly.
There is no doubt about it.
In troubled times, the military is the priority.
After obtaining a viable force, the best parts of it must be selected first to supplement the force and expand the Cao family's combat power.
I just heard Cao Ang say that the control is within ten thousand.
Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh.
The Cao family is still too poor!
They don't even dare to expand the army for fear of causing logistical and financial collapse. After all, when the war drums sound, ten thousand taels of gold can feed 10,000 troops and 10,000 refugees, which are completely different concepts.
It would be great if they were as rich as the two brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. They could recruit 20,000 to 30,000 troops, that would be no problem.
And after writing this down.
Cao Ang started another line.
Keep writing.
"The second step is to select those who are slightly weaker than those who join the army and are more docile and obedient, and arrange them to work in several mines."
"Haier discovered several mines in Shanfu County and other places, containing iron ore and charcoal. Now is the time when manpower is needed, but there are not a large number of troops stationed there, so we must choose honest and obedient people to go there."
Mines are important.
Especially iron ore, its role is great, Cao Cao also knows it well.
Therefore this arrangement is essential.
…
"After selecting these two groups of people, what do you plan to do with the remaining people? Are you going to disperse them to various counties and let them serve as the population of Yanzhou, or do you have other plans?"
Picked out the elite.
The rest are ordinary young adults.
In the past history, many leaders of forces chose to let go of prisoners of this kind. As long as you no longer cause trouble and do not run out of my territory, then it is up to you to do whatever you want. Anyway, it is the territory that I rule. s population.
But Cao Ang didn't intend to do this.
He put down the brush.
Then he turned around and said to Cao Cao with a smile on his face: "It would be a pity to let them go like this. No matter what, we have to let them work for us for a few years."
"Besides, they are just a group of refugees now. They have no surplus food. Even if they are released to various counties, I am afraid they will not be able to feed themselves. In the end, they will cause a lot of trouble for the counties we govern."
"So from the kid's point of view, rather than letting things go, it's better to use work as a relief."
“What is relief-for-work?”
Cao Cao was a little confused.
He doesn't quite understand this slightly professional term, although he understands what disaster relief means.
And faced with his father's doubts.
Cao Ang found another map from the table.
Dingtao County map.
Then he drew a circle on the place marked with farmland and said with a smile.
"The so-called work-for-relief means that the refugees will work for us, and we will provide some food to temporarily support them. When the situation in Yanzhou improves, we will release them to become ordinary people."
"And this work can be building city walls, paving roads, or even raising horses for us."
"But what our Cao family needs most right now is food, so you can completely plan a large piece of land and use it as military field for the army."
"Then recruit these people into the army in the name of the army. They don't need to go to the battlefield. They just need to clear fields and cultivate them for the army."
"In this way, we can not only increase our food reserves, but also properly accommodate these people, so that these precious young people are not wasted."
…
Cao Cao blinked.
First I looked at the map.
Then he raised his head and looked at Cao Ang.
Then he couldn't help but make a gesture of praise and expressed his sincere admiration.
"high!"
"My son is really tall!"
Cao Cao was completely convinced now.
He understands the military garrison system.
That is, the army goes to the battlefield during war, but when there is no war, they act as farmers and work and cultivate, thus obtaining large amounts of food reserves.
And Cao Ang's current method.
It means replacing the army with refugees.
The price to pay for the latter is quite small.
As long as they ensure their rations, draw them some cakes, and promise to work for the army for a few years, they will be given a piece of their own land.
Presumably these refugees, who have experienced displacement and are accustomed to living a precarious life, will be very happy to become a member of the military.
certainly.
Before the first wave of food is produced, the rations for these refugees in the early stage need to be allocated by the government.
This is also a very large expense.
The Cao family can't bear it yet.
But Cao Cao was not worried.
After the chaos in Yanzhou was resolved, he squeezed out Liu Dai and became the shepherd of Yanzhou.
It is completely possible to mobilize the power of a state, and feeding these tens of thousands of people will not be a problem at all.
The more Cao Cao thought about it, the more he felt that this plan was feasible.
He even stood up and walked around.
While clapping his hands, he muttered: "Not only that, if we need to expand our army in the future, we can even choose from these people nearby, without having to recruit them in a time-consuming and laborious manner."
"This plan is brilliant!"
Cao Cao drew inferences from one example.
I came up with another usage of this group of people.
That is to be a reserve soldier.
Think about this.
Cao Cao hurriedly took the bamboo slip from the table, and then wrote down the third item on the side.
After this.
Only then did he feel safe.
…
The next half hour.
The father and son discussed several matters in secret.
Including Cao Cao, after realizing the huge role of cavalry, decided to continue to expand the scale of cavalry.
He planned to let Cao Chun work hard to continue buying war horses and training cavalry, and strive to turn the cavalry into a trump card in the hands of the Cao family.
For this reason, Cao Cao even decided to tilt military expenditures towards the cavalry battalion to express his importance.
In addition, he paid close attention to the battlefield in Shouzhang County and always paid attention to Liu Dai's movements.
Prepare the army for war.
Let the troops under your command continue to maintain a semi-combatant state.
Once they get the news that Liu Dai was defeated by the Yellow Turban Army, the Cao family and his son will have to prepare to mobilize troops and go straight to Changyi County to clean up the mess.
These things have almost been discussed.
Cao Angcai said goodbye to his father and left.
…
It's just that after he left the prefect's mansion.
Did not go home immediately.
Instead, someone was sent to find Xu Jing.
Since Yanzhou is currently undecided, it is not suitable to do anything famous like the Lunar New Year Commentary.
Therefore, Cao Ang's plan of "evaluating yourself" has not actually been launched yet.
As the core figure of this plan, Xu Jing is naturally semi-idle.
On weekdays, I just help out and handle some official affairs in the county. When I have nothing to do, I just stay at home and rest, and my life is quite comfortable.
About a quarter of an hour later.
There was a sound of footsteps.
Xu Jing appeared in front of Cao Ang.
"General, you have come to me, but what are your important orders?"
Cao Ang smiled at Xu Jing.
Then he fumbled for a piece of cloth from his arms and handed it to Xu Jing's hand solemnly.
"Wenxiu, I need you to find someone for me. He should be in the Pingyuan County area at the moment. Here is all kinds of information about him."
"You look for him according to the characteristics I wrote for you. When you get to the place, ask around. It shouldn't be difficult to find this person."
…
Xu Jing was stunned at first.
But he reacted quickly.
I didn’t ask any nonsense questions.
He just unfolded the cloth and read the text on it with a flicker of his eyes.
Then he smiled a little.
"General, the characteristics written on you are too obvious. As long as there is such a person there, I will definitely find him for you!"
Cao Ang nodded.
He handed Xu Jing another warrant.
"It's not safe on the way to Pingyuan County. Take this talisman and go to Huben Camp to mobilize 200 people to go with you."
"Firstly, to protect your safety. Secondly, if this person refuses to come with you, you can force him to be kidnapped!"
This guy is related to Cao Ang's next plan, so he must be solved no matter what.
Even if he is tied up with five flowers, he must see this person appear in front of him.
After Xu Jing received the command talisman.
I also felt that Cao Ang attached great importance to this matter.
He immediately cupped his hands and clasped his fists.
He responded in a deep voice: "General, don't worry, my subordinates will definitely live up to their trust!"
…
One last thing has been arranged.
Cao Ang was finally relieved.
After returning to his mansion.
I planned to have a good sleep.
But just as he walked around the front yard and opened the door across the yard, he suddenly heard a pleasant sound of a piano, and as he kept walking, the sound became clearer.
Ding-ding-dong-dong, like the sound of a clear spring.
Cao Ang didn't understand the level of technology.
He could only say that the sound sounded nice.
As for how good it sounds and what level it belongs to, Cao Ang has no idea.
But whether he understood it or not, it did not prevent Cao Ang from becoming curious and walking towards the direction where the sound of the piano came from.
And as the distance keeps getting closer.
The sound became clearer and clearer.
The sound of the piano seemed even more beautiful.
This should be played by Cai Zhaoji, right?
Cao Ang secretly guessed in his heart.
After all, Diao Chan has never shown any skills in playing the piano except for singing and dancing since she started playing.
Not to mention Dong Bai.
Cao Ang seriously doubted that this little girl had no talent for art and that she had seven orifices and six orifices.
Then rule it out.
Only Cai Yan is left, a top-notch talented woman who has been recorded in history books as being proficient in music and has even left famous works.
Such speculation together.
Cao Ang's interest became more and more intense.
Even his steps were a little faster.
…
Cai Yan is indeed in a good mood today.
In fact, strictly speaking, she has been in a good mood since she followed Cao Ang to Dingtao County.
No one bothers her on weekdays.
Just do her own thing, read when she wants, play the piano when she wants, write when she wants, it's all up to her.
Such a lifestyle.
For a girl like Cai Zhaoji who likes to be quiet and not active, she prefers to delve into her own hobbies and immerse herself in the world of literature, music, etc., rather than going out and being greeted.
It couldn't be more perfect!
Although she didn't have many friends at home, at most she got to know Dong Bai a little bit on the way from Luoyang to Dingtao County.
Besides that, there was Diao Chan, who would ask her if she had any needs for food and clothing, so we had several more interactions with her.
But Zhao Ji felt that was enough.
The friendship between gentlemen is as light as water.
Even if we are good friends, we still have to maintain a certain distance.
…
As for Cao Ang, who brought him into this lifestyle, Cai Yan was full of gratitude.
You could even say I’m grateful.
If Cao Zixiu hadn't tried his best to dissuade him from going to Hedong and brought her here with many words, how could he have such a pleasant life today?
Maybe she would have to live in the Hedong Wei family as a busy bride living in the world. It would be terrible to think about such a life.
Not to mention that Cao Ang once told her.
Wei Zhongdao, whom he had never met and only heard his name, was already terminally ill.
She thought that if she got married, her husband would pass away within a year or two, leaving her alone with negative emotions and busy with various chores.
Just a little shuddering.
And that’s why I’m particularly happy today.
It is precisely because of Cao Ang.
Cao Cao filled the streets of the city, announcing that Cao Ang had returned victorious. Even though Cai Yan was in his boudoir, he heard a few words.
After hearing that Cao Ang returned victorious.
And did not suffer any damage.
Miss Zhaoji, who felt that she was deeply favored by him, was naturally in a happy mood, so she played an impromptu song.
Just while she was playing.
While thoughts were swirling.
A dark figure suddenly appeared on the edge of the window opposite the piano table, which shocked Cai Yan.
The hands that plucked the strings couldn't help but become confused for a moment, and the wrong note appeared the next second.
"Buzz!"
After a trembling sound.
Cai Yan pressed the strings with both hands and stopped playing.
Then she saw clearly that the so-called black shadow was Cao Ang whom she was talking about just now.
…
Monthly ticket recommendation ticket
(End of chapter)
