Xudu, the residence of the Sima family.
In the main hall, Sima Yi was carefully calculating the account books, recording all the sales accounts on Cao's official paper and "Thousand Character Classic".
The recent sales work has been very successful, the sales volume is getting bigger and bigger, and the profits are also substantial. Sima Yi also tries his best to record every account clearly.
Urgent footsteps came from outside the hall. It was Sima Lang returning from outside. He rushed into the hall excitedly, with an unconcealable smile on his face, and greeted Sima Yi loudly: "Zhongda!"
Sima Yi didn't look up when he heard his greeting. He just responded lightly: "Brother, you've got the battle report back. Did Master Ziwen defeat Li Jue?"
Sima Lang didn't expect that Sima Yi guessed it right at once. He shook his head with some disappointment and helplessness, and responded: "Zhongda, you are always so disappointing. I originally wanted to tell you the good news, but you said it right away. Like this It’s really boring.”
Sima Yi quickly raised his head and smiled at Sima Lang: "I'm sorry, brother, I was focused on settling accounts and ignored your feelings. If you say it again, I will pretend that I didn't think of anything just now and cooperate with you well. How about having fun together?"
"Okay, who wants you to cooperate like this to make me happy? You treat me like a three-year-old child to coax me." Sima Lang scolded helplessly, but still did not eliminate his excitement and continued, "Zhongda, even if you have I guessed it, so I have to say it again.”
"I just got news from Sikong Mansion. A few days ago, Master Ziwen used a trick to lure Li Jue and others out of the city, and then set up an ambush to severely damage the enemy. Now Li Jue and others only have about 20,000 troops left and can only defend Chang'an. Master Ziwen has personally gone to recruit Ma Teng, Han Sui and others, and is preparing to unite with the princes of Guanxi to besiege Chang'an." Sima Lang conveyed the battle report he had just received to Sima Yi.
After hearing this, Sima Yi nodded with joy, and then asked: "Brother, you just said that this news happened a few days ago, right?"
"That's natural. Even if it is delivered by fast horse, it will take several days to pass from Chang'an to Xudu!" Sima Lang responded.
"According to this, the war in Chang'an should have been completed now. Master Ziwen has won a complete victory and wiped out Li Jue. The army should be on the way back to Xudu." Sima Yi said very confidently.
"Ah? How can you be so sure?" Sima Lang asked in disbelief.
Sima Yi said with a smile: "If we leave today and work hard, we can return to Xudu before the hundred-day deadline. Master Ziwen will definitely not let his military order expire."
"What I'm saying is that you are so confident that Master Ziwen will be able to conquer Chang'an in such a few days?" Although Sima Lang also admired Cao Zhang very much, he still had certain doubts about the results Sima Yi said. doubt.
"Brother, that's your lord. Don't you know whether he has this ability? Well, I've just finished settling my accounts. I'll go to the paper mill and tell the news that Master Ziwen is coming back soon. A Zhao, let her be happy too." Sima Yi said as he stood up, straightened his clothes and walked out.
He walked to the door and suddenly remembered something. He turned around and said to Sima Lang: "By the way, brother, did you write to Mr. Ziwen before and mentioned A Zhao's condition?"
"Yes, I have already reported to him in the previous letter." Sima Lang replied.
"Then please brother, please write another letter to Mr. Ziwen and ask him to think carefully about how to cure A Zhao's illness after returning to Xudu!" After Sima Yi finished speaking, he strode out.
Sima Lang didn't understand what Sima Yi meant at first and was slightly stunned. Then he thought about it for a while and finally realized it.
Cao Zhang's medicine made Guo Zhao suffer from plague symptoms, and he was able to get past Cao Pi's marriage proposal.
But after Cao Zhang comes back, it is necessary for Guo Zhao to return to normal so that the two can interact normally.
However, the plague is close to an incurable disease in this era, and the possibility of getting better on its own is extremely small.
Moreover, during this period of time, in order to prevent Cao Pi from being harassed, Guo Zhao remained a neighbor, claiming that his condition was very serious, and it was even more impossible for him to recover in a short time. How to solve this problem really requires Cao Zhang to think hard. Think about it.
After Sima Lang figured it out, he quickly walked to the desk, picked up a pen and paper and started writing...
Guo Zhao lives alone in the Sima Paper Mill outside Xudu City.
Because she was infected with the "plague", a room was specially arranged in a remote corner of the paper mill for her to live in isolation.
The doors and windows of the room were closed, and Guo Zhao was not allowed to go out. Only people came to bring her water and food at regular intervals every day.
The light in the room was very dim, because Guo Zhao had to appear seriously ill in front of outsiders, so naturally he couldn't light a lamp or move around the room.
Although the ointment given by Cao Zhang was effective, he insisted on applying it for so many days and was almost used up. In order to hide his eyes from others, Guo Zhao simply covered his entire face with a veil, revealing only a pair of eyes, nostrils, and mouth, and used a scarf to cover his neck. Wrapped up, his arms were also wrapped in white cloth, wrapping himself up like a "mummy".
At this time, she was holding a small knife in her hand, sitting on the edge of the bed, and was gently scratching on the bed frame of the wooden bed. Many small tracks had been densely scratched on the bed frame. Guo Zhao was whispering while scratching. Counting on the ground: "Ninety-two days..."
Guo Zhao put down his knife and muttered in a low voice: "There are only eight days left until the hundred-day deadline. Can Mr. Wen defeat Li Jue and come back on time..."
Just as Guo Zhao was thinking, there were suddenly urgent footsteps coming from outside the house, heading straight for his room.
Guo Zhao heard the noise, quickly put away the knife, quickly lay down on the bed, continued to pretend to be sick, and moaned softly.
The footsteps stopped outside the door, and then there was a knock on the door with a rhythm code, and Sima Yi's voice sounded softly: "A Zhao, it's me, Sima Yi, there is no one outside."
When Guo Zhao heard Sima Yi's voice, he stood up, walked quickly to the door, and responded in a low voice: "Second brother, you are here. Is there any news about Mr. Ziwen?"
"Yes, I just received the battle report. A few days ago, Master Ziwen defeated Li Jue and killed tens of thousands of enemy troops. I guess he will wipe out Li Jue soon and come back victorious." Sima Yi whispered to Guo Zhao Delivering the message.
"Great, I knew Mr. Ziwen would definitely win!" Guo Zhao exclaimed excitedly.
Sima Yi was startled and quickly reminded Guo Zhao through the door: "Keep your voice down, don't let others hear."
Guo Zhao reacted and quickly covered his mouth with his hand, not daring to make any more noise.
Sima Yi looked around to make sure there was no one there, and then continued to whisper to the room: "A Zhao, listen to me, I'm here to tell you that you must be careful in the past few days to prevent this from happening. There are too many noises, and don’t reveal any flaws.”
"I'm afraid that before Mr. Ziwen comes back, Mr. Zihuan and the others will be unwilling to give in and come to trouble you again. Do you hear me?" Sima Yi whispered to Guo Zhao.
"I know, second brother, I will be very careful and no one will find out." Guo Zhao promised in a low voice.
"Okay, I'll go then, take care of yourself." After Sima Yi said the last sentence, he carefully looked around to make sure there was no one, and then left quickly.
Guo Zhao calmed down after listening to the sound of Sima Yi's footsteps disappearing, and slowly walked back to the bed and sat down.
She stretched out her hand and gently touched every mark on the bed frame, and murmured in a low voice: "Mr. Ziwen, you are finally coming back soon. Do you know how much A Zhao misses you..."
Guo Zhao felt sad for a while, and two lines of tears flowed from her eyes, soaking the veil wrapped around her face...
…
On the official road from Chang'an to Luoyang, Cao Zhang's army was lining up to return to Xudu.
In a carriage in the middle of the team, a loud sneeze suddenly came out, "A sneeze!"
Cao Zhang, who was sitting in the car, touched his nose gently, raised his head and muttered with great fascination: "Who misses me so much? Is it Juan'er or A Zhao?"
Xia Houjuan and Guo Zhao appeared in front of Cao Zhang's eyes. Thinking of them, a slight smile appeared on his lips.
There were three gentle knocks outside the car window. It was Li Jin who was guarding outside the car. Hearing Cao Zhang's sneezing, he asked with concern.
"I'm fine, Ji Ji, don't worry!" Cao Zhang responded quickly and loudly, and put his thoughts back again, looking at a stack of handwritten drafts placed in the carriage in front of him.
Although Cao Zhang won a complete victory in the battle with Li Jue, he also discovered many very real problems.
So on the way back to Xudu, he did not choose to ride a horse, but got into a carriage, just so that he could think about some problems relatively quietly and write down them at any time.
The first thing Cao Zhang thought of was to increase the production of cavalry saddles and horseshoes.
The success of Xu Huang's raid and his rapid attack to Tianshui were all due to the improvement of horse equipment.
Now that Ma Chao has joined and tens of thousands of former Xiliang army prisoners have been recruited, he can form a more powerful cavalry.
The battle against Li Jue was more of a siege, and the cavalry did not play much of a role. But in the future, when facing enemies such as Zhang Xiu, Lu Bu, and even Yuan Shao, the role of the cavalry is still very important.
In addition to the cavalry, there is another unit that needs to be further strengthened, and that is your own personal guard.
Cao Cao had the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, and Liu Bei in history also had the White Guards and the Wudang Feijun in the later period; Sun Quan also had the Wunan Army, and Yuan Shao had the Euphorbia Soldiers. If he wanted to fight on the battlefield in the future, he would also need an elite ace force. Just fine.
Since you are the ace, you must have the best equipment and weapons.
Cao Zhang has decided that after returning to Xudu, he will try to improve the smelting technology based on his own memory to create sharper swords and lighter and stronger armor to equip his personal guards.
He has even thought of a resounding name for his personal guard - Fearless Army, which means fearless and invincible!
In addition to these troops, Cao Zhang also noticed a big problem, which was the siege warfare adopted when attacking Chang'an. Although this time they also prepared a series of catapults, rams, and ballistae vehicles that were very popular in this era. It is a commonly used siege weapon, but it is obviously very ineffective and plays a very low role in siege warfare.
In the future, he will fight in all directions and face more cities with iron walls.
Those cities were not like ancient capitals like Chang'an and Luoyang, which had a complete drainage system and could achieve water escape. At that time, it would obviously be very difficult to attack with the same siege equipment as now.
Therefore, developing some new and more powerful long-range siege weapons is something Cao Zhang has to think about.
Moreover, as a former forensic doctor, Cao Zhang also discovered that the low level of medical care in this era and the inconvenience of carrying medicine with the army resulted in many wounded soldiers being unable to receive treatment and eventually dying.
Developing some medicines that are easy to carry, can heal wounds, stop bleeding, and treat wind and cold can ensure that the troops can recover in time and have combat capabilities throughout the year.
These various problems need to be solved, but if they are to be realized, a large amount of financial support is indispensable.
This is definitely not something that can only be met by brewing distilled liquor and selling Cao Gong Paper and the Thousand Character Classic. More projects that can create wealth are also needed.
Cao Zhang's mind kept spinning, and he recorded some of the ideas that came to his mind from time to time, hoping that he could finally filter out practical methods...
