Cao Zhang and Mrs. Bian came to Sikong Mansion. Mrs. Bian went directly to the back house and asked Cao Zhang to go to the study to meet Cao Cao.
Cao Zhang came outside the study and asked his servants to inform Cao Cao. After a while, he got a reply that he was allowed to enter.
Cao Zhang walked into the study slowly and saw Cao Cao sitting in front of his desk with several memorials in front of him, his brows furrowed.
"Father, what troubles are you encountering again? Could it be that there is a problem with the business of the three stores?" Cao Zhang asked with concern.
Cao Cao raised his head and waved his hand: "No, the business of the store is pretty good, and the income is also considerable. Moreover, the three weapons you developed are now being produced. Although the first batch will not be produced in large quantities, it is going well. In progress.”
"In that case, why is father still frowning?" Cao Zhang asked in confusion.
"It's a food problem. There has been a lot of rain in the Central Plains this year, and many places have suffered floods, so the harvest must be short. Now we have money, but no place to collect food. That's why I'm worried." Cao Cao told Cao Zhang about his worries The place.
After hearing Cao Cao's words, Cao Zhang suddenly realized that the food problem was indeed something he had not thought about before, and he only thought about how to make money.
The harvest in the Central Plains is poor now, and the Yongliang area has just recovered from the war. It does not have much food reserves and it is difficult to transfer them to the Central Plains. Now it has become a dilemma of having money but no place to buy food.
Cao Zhang couldn't think of a solution to this problem for a while.
Seeing that Cao Zhang was also deep in thought, Cao Cao quickly waved his hand and said, "Okay, I've been thinking about it for a long time, but I haven't come up with a solution. How can you come up with it all at once? Tell me, why did you come to me?"
Cao Zhang hurriedly said: "Reply to my father, Zhong Quan has returned from Chang'an, but he did not find the collaboration letter written to Li Jue. In other words, all the evidence in our hands can only prove that the collaborator is Dong Cheng , has nothing to do with Brother Zihuan, so I came to you today in the hope of releasing him."
Cao Cao was slightly startled when he heard Cao Zhang's words: "You said you want to release Zi Huan?"
"Yes, there is no evidence to prove that he collaborates with the enemy. Maybe he really has good intentions and wants to express concern for me. How could I not recognize the good people's hearts and repay kindness with hatred, but keep him locked up?!" Cao Zhang answered seriously With Cao Cao.
Cao Cao stared at Cao Zhang with a scrutinizing gaze, obviously he did not expect that Cao Zhang would let Cao Pi off so easily.
"Has your mother gone to see you? Did she intercede with you?" Cao Cao was silent for a moment and then asked directly. He wanted to know whether Cao Zhang was influenced by Mrs. Bian to make this decision.
"My mother did find me, and her words of warning made me completely wake up. No matter when it comes, brother Zihuan and I are brothers from the same mother. How can we turn against each other just because of unfounded speculations? These are not relatives. Haters are quick to let outsiders see our Cao family’s jokes?!”
"My mother's words made me repent and realize that I can't continue to make mistakes. It just so happened that Zhong Quan didn't find any evidence, so I thought we should not delay and release brother Zihuan quickly. To avoid misunderstanding by outsiders, our brothers are here for the so-called The fight between the princes, framed each other, turned against each other!" Cao Zhang explained to Cao Cao the reason why he released Cao Pi.
"You don't have to say these things to outsiders in front of me. I want to hear your true thoughts!" Cao Cao waved his hand and asked Cao Zhang directly.
Cao Zhang was not polite and responded directly: "My real thought is that the business that should be done has been done. I don't want to lose all the good reputation I have worked hard to accumulate in the past six months because of this matter!"
"I don't want to disrupt the newly stabilized situation because of the rumors about the brother's feud. So I thought about it again and decided to release brother Zihuan."
"I want to compete for the throne, but I want to win glory and beauty, not rely on such little tricks! I believe that my father also hopes that the heir he chooses in the future will be a man with a brain, a big heart, and who knows how to take care of everything. Someone who cares about the big picture!”
Cao Zhang no longer chose to hide his true thoughts, and bravely expressed his thoughts in front of Cao Cao.
"Well said!" Cao Cao looked at Cao Zhang and exclaimed, then stood up.
"My son, Cao Cao, cannot be a good-for-nothing or a coward, and cannot rely solely on playing tricks and tricks to make a living! He must have the ability to govern a country and stabilize the country, and he must have the courage to swallow up mountains and rivers and tolerate all things! Therefore, if you want to be my heir, you must You have to fight based on your ability, and as you said, you have to fight in an honest and fair way, and win brilliantly! Only those who can win everything with their true ability can be qualified to be my successor, Cao Cao!" Cao Cao was influenced by Cao Zhang's arrogance. , and also loudly expressed his criteria for choosing the crown prince.
The father and son looked at each other and couldn't help laughing. At this moment, what they were thinking in their hearts completely coincided with each other.
Cao Cao laughed a few times and regained his composure. He looked at Cao Zhang and said, "Then let Zi Huan be released as you said. However, although the death penalty can be avoided, he still has the responsibility for poor supervision after all. Give him some punishment. It also tells him that this matter can't just be forgotten, he must learn a lesson!"
"Back to father, I have thought of a way to punish him, please give me your instructions." Cao Zhang immediately replied.
"It seems that you have been prepared for a long time. Okay, tell me, how do you plan to punish Zi Huan?" Cao Cao asked.
"When I returned from the expedition to Chang'an, I saw that Luoyang was completely deserted. After all, this is a century-old capital, and it is protected by eight passes. And Xudu is located in the Central Plains, and both Jizhou and Jingzhou can directly threaten it."
"So my son boldly suggested to my father that we could send brother Zihuan to Luoyang to supervise the reconstruction work of Luoyang. In this way, when Luoyang returns to its former glory, we can also move the emperor back, which will not only satisfy the emperor's wish, but also Make our base camp stronger and stronger, so that we can compete with Yuan Shao and Lu Bu with peace of mind!" Cao Zhang told Cao Cao his thoughts.
He had seen the devastation of Luoyang and had long planned to rebuild it, but after all, this was a time-consuming and laborious task, and he had never thought of how to carry it out.
Now it is time to deal with Cao Pi. Let him be a supervisor and stay away from Xudu to prevent him from continuing to engage in conspiracy. This is an excellent arrangement that kills two birds with one stone.
"Zihuan supervises the work and rebuilds Luoyang..." Cao Cao muttered quietly, recalling Cao Zhang's arrangements.
Cao Cao was so shrewd that he immediately understood Cao Zhang's intention.
Rebuilding Luoyang cannot be completed overnight, it will take at least a year.
During this period, Cao Pi will be far away from Xudu and away from the center of power politics. Cao Zhang can also use this time to carry out more actions to better establish prestige and consolidate his reputation and status.
He was about to start a war with Lu Bu and Yuan Shao, so letting Cao Pi leave temporarily to rebuild Luoyang would allow the three sons to temporarily stop their fight for the throne, and also allow him to concentrate and face the battle with peace of mind.
Cao Pi's reconstruction of Luoyang was also a great achievement for the Han Dynasty, and his status as the eldest son was still there. A year later, he still had the opportunity to continue to fight for the crown prince, and he also echoed Cao Zhang's statement that the fight was fair and just.
All things considered, this plan has many benefits and is indeed the best arrangement currently.
"Okay, as you said, arrange for Zihuan to lead people to rebuild Luoyang." Cao Cao made the decision, and then he said with a little regret, "Zihuan has made arrangements, and Shi A will be a scapegoat for him. Right. Doesn’t he want to kill himself to become a benevolent person? Then let’s help him and send him on his way!”
Cao Zhang nodded: "Yes!"
"I'll leave this matter to you. You go and inform Zihuan, and also tell him that it was your tolerance that released him, so that he can do what he wants in the future!" Cao Cao still gave Cao Zhang the power to handle this matter.
Cao Zhang naturally understood Cao Cao's intention, which was to establish his prestige and at the same time sell himself to Cao Pi.
After all, the two of them are still brothers, and the superficial peace and intimacy must still be maintained.
Cao Zhang immediately raised his hand and saluted: "Yes, I will make arrangements right away! I suddenly thought of a way. Brother Zihuan can go to Luoyang here and help his father solve the problem of military rations!"
Cao Cao's eyes immediately lit up: "What can we do?"
"Promote farming in Sizhou vigorously!" Cao Zhang said his plan.
After Cao Cao moved his capital to Xudu, he carried out a large number of farming operations. The historical Cao Wei regime also vigorously promoted the system of farming and maintained government expenditures for decades.
The proposal of farming is equivalent to nationalizing the original ownerless land, recovering a large amount of ownerless land, organizing the refugees to plant crops to increase food production, using the output to maintain military supplies, and the surplus food to fill the national treasury and government expenditures.
Cao Zhang also suddenly had an idea and thought of this method.
When Cao Cao heard that Cao Zhang proposed the method of farming, his originally excited expression dimmed again.
"Ziwen, although your idea is good, it may not be that easy to develop farming around Luoyang." Cao Cao shook his head gently.
"There are a lot of wastelands in Luoyang, and after the war, there were a lot of refugees. Why is it not easy to start farming? We can proactively provide the refugees with farm tools, seeds, and land. Are they still unwilling to accept it?" Cao Zhang expressed his thoughts to Cao Cao.
"Of course your methods can attract refugees to join the farming, but I think the most fundamental issue is the tax rate. When I farm around Xudu, I work with the farmers on a 50-50 tax rate, and then a tax rate of 30 to 1."
"After calculating this way, farmers can still have a certain surplus of grain after deducting the share and taxes, so they are willing to accept it. But the situation in Sizhou is different. After the war, the land is barren and the income will be much less. If this distribution method is still followed, The food that the refugees can leave behind is simply not enough to make ends meet, so I said it is difficult to carry out farming." Cao Cao explained to Cao Zhang the reason why it was difficult to carry out farming in Sizhou.
"Father, can you appropriately reduce the taxes of some people?" Cao Zhang asked Cao Cao.
"Ziwen, this is where I'm in trouble. This ratio is already the maximum limit I can bear. After all, daily government expenses and our army require huge financial resources. This tax rate has been used since the previous dynasty. It's really It's hard to change." Cao Cao responded helplessly.
Cao Zhang understood that what Cao Cao said was true. Changing the tax rate at will is not a trivial matter. If it affects the whole body, it will have an impact on all the jurisdictions of Cao Cao. This cannot be attempted easily.
"What's more, it's already summer. Even if we start farming, we won't have a harvest until next year. This is something the refugees may not be interested in." Cao Cao asked his second question.
"If my father is worried about this problem, I have a solution: we might as well promote Barnyard Valley on a large scale." Cao Zhang put forward his suggestion to Cao Cao.
"Barnyard Valley?" Cao Cao frowned slightly.
"Yes, it is Barnyard Valley. It is not afraid of droughts and floods. It has strong adaptability to growth. It can also form ears and mature in three or four months." Cao Zhang introduced Barnyard Valley to Cao Cao.
"But the taste of this barnyard grain is really bad!" Cao Cao shook his head gently.
"That's better than eating nothing! Although the ears of barnyard millet are relatively small, the yield is extremely high. The yield of general grain crops is about seven dendrobiums per mu, and the actual harvest of grain is about four. But barnyard millet can harvest two dendrobes per acre. More than ten husks of dendrobium, even if the harvest is slightly worse, it can still reach about 15 husks of dendrobium.”
"If we follow this harvest standard, we can definitely alleviate our army's food problem this winter. We can also stabilize the refugees first and start farming. Just wait until next spring and then re-sow rice!" Cao Zhang explained to Cao Cao in detail The benefits of growing barnyard grass.
Cao Cao nodded repeatedly after hearing this. Cao Zhang's suggestion can indeed greatly alleviate the shortage of military rations caused by this year's poor harvest.
"Okay, Ziwen, your proposal is indeed good. Then leave this matter to Zihuan and let him rebuild Luoyang and start farming." Cao Cao agreed to Cao Zhang's proposal.
"Yes!" Cao Zhang agreed.
"By the way, what are you going to do about Dong Cheng? Now that all the evidence points to him, we can't just let it go, right?" Cao Cao then mentioned the issue about Dong Cheng to Cao Zhang.
"Of course we can't let it go like this! But my father feels that arresting him now will only shock the government and the public and stimulate conflicts between father and the emperor, but there will be no real benefits, right?! In my opinion, it would be better to send the letter directly Give it to Dong Cheng!" Before meeting Cao Cao, Cao Zhang had already thought of a way to deal with Dong Cheng and said it directly.
Cao Cao immediately understood Cao Zhang's intention and nodded with a smile: "Knocking on the mountain will sway the tiger. It just so happens that rebuilding Luoyang and developing farmland will cost a lot of money, so let Dong Cheng spend some money!"
"My father is wise, and this is exactly what I want from you!" Cao Zhang said with some flattery.
"I'll leave this matter to you. I believe you will get the best result!" Cao Cao smiled and assigned the task to Cao Zhang.
"Your Majesty, I accept your order! My Majesty, please retire!" Cao Zhang bowed respectfully to Cao Cao and then exited his study.
…
