November 198 AD.
Zhang Liao captured Liangzhou and successfully completed his goal of dispatching troops in four months. Of course, the most important reason for this success was that Han Sui died too early.
If Han Sui did not focus on the gains and losses of Jincheng, but instead retreated with his army and stretched Zhang Liao's strategic depth, it would be difficult to capture Xiliang in less than a year and a half. Unfortunately, Han Sui did not have that kind of strategic vision.
After Liu Bei entered Chu, he lost the meaning of attacking Xiangyang.
In the end, Liu Biao lowered his head, paid for the battle, and ceded Caizhou to merge with Nanyang, and then withdrew his troops. However, the battle had a great impact on Liu Biao, and he became seriously ill after the war.
After the Battle of Nanyang ended, Liu Zhang withdrew his troops faster than Zhang Xiu. By the time Yan Xiang found out, Yizhou soldiers and horses were already on their way back.
The war in the Central Plains has also come to an end.
The entire territory of Xuzhou and Qingzhou south of the Yellow River were occupied by Cao Cao. Yuan Shao not only failed to make any achievements when he went south, but also lost many soldiers and horses in the hands of Cao's army, and the two families became enemies.
As the battle came to an end at the end of this year, the six-point situation in the world began to become clear.
Zhang Xiu occupied Yongzhou, Liangzhou, Hexi, Hanzhong, Nanyang and other places. He had a total of 200,000 horses and infantry. He had many soldiers and generals. He was strong and ranked among the top three among the princes in the world.
Yuan Shao occupies Jizhou, Bingzhou, Youzhou, and Qingzhou north of the Yellow River. It can be said that all north of the Yellow River is his territory. He has many counselors and fierce generals, and his strength is among the top three.
Cao Cao occupied Sili, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Xuzhou, and half of Qingzhou. The south of the Yellow River and the north of the Huaihe were all in Cao Cao's hands. He used the emperor to control the princes. He was strong and ranked among the top three.
Among the princes in the world, Zhang Xiu, Yuan Shao, and Cao Cao are the strongest, but their specific rankings are all at odds with each other and cannot be compared.
Sun Ce occupied Yangzhou, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and he was in the east of the Yangtze River, becoming the overlord of the south.
Liu Biao occupied Jingzhou, his navy was strong, and he was entrenched in Chu. His strength should not be underestimated.
Liu Zhang occupied Yizhou, a land of abundance, with abundant food and grass, many soldiers and horses, and was considered to be somewhat powerful.
As winter approaches, the chaotic war finally stops.
Soldiers and horses from all walks of life returned to the camp.
Chang'an City, inside Xuanhou Mansion.
"Tiger cub! Come here!" Zhang Xiu was wearing a black brocade robe, squatting, looking at a cute child four or five steps away with a smile on his face. The child staggered, with a cute smile on his face, showing two baby teeth. , walked over with saliva in his mouth.
The child is Zhang Xiu's six-month-old son.
Under normal circumstances, a six-month-old baby can turn over, stand, or jump while standing upright, but Zhang Xiu's tiger cub can already walk short distances.
Tiger cub is a nickname.
The tiger cub staggered with laughter and was about to fall down when he ran in front of Zhang Xiu. Zhang Xiu quickly hugged the tiger cub and gently lifted him high, making the tiger cub giggle.
"Master Hou, Cai Mao came from Caizhou."
At this time, Zhang Qian came in and reported in a low voice, while smiling gently at the tiger cub.
The end of the year is approaching, and it's time for Cai Mao to come back and report on his work.
Huang Yueying came out, took the tiger cub and said: "Master Hou, if you have something urgent to do, go ahead and come back for dinner later." Although she had given birth, her figure was not out of shape at all and she was recovering very well.
Zhang Xiu smiled: "Okay."
In the lobby, Cai Mao stood by the brazier, waiting quietly.
"Degui is here!" Zhang Xiu walked in, his voice still cheerful. He heard his voice before seeing him.
Cai Mao said with a smile on his face: "Master Hou!"
"Well, how about the food and grass I asked you to prepare?" Cai Hao sat on the couch next to the brazier and asked slowly after gesturing for him to sit down.
"According to the order of the Marquis, one million stones of grain and grass have been stored in batches in Caizhou, Nanyang and Lantian." Cai Mao replied with a smile. He had completed this task brilliantly.
Not only was it completed, but I also made a lot of money for myself. ,
With the widespread use of Yueying paper, demand exceeded supply. Cai Mao expanded the paper mill three times to maintain high sales, and the returns and profits were also very considerable.
Especially the nobles in Jiangdong, Yingchuan, and Yizhou rushed to buy it.
"That's good. With enough food and grass, we can calmly deal with the following problems. The task has been completed very well. From now on, you will arrange the sale of paper and leave it to your Cai family. Starting from tomorrow, you will come Let's do things in Chang'an, now Caizhou is also my territory, Liu Biao doesn't dare to do anything to you."
Cai Mao is a talented person. It is a pity to be a businessman. He should be engaged in politics.
Zhang Xiu plans to govern the world according to the three provinces and six ministries system of later generations. Of course, it is still early, but the preliminary model can be drawn up first.
He was planning to let Cai Mao serve as Minister of Industry.
The main responsibility of the Ministry of Works is to take charge of government orders and other funds. All civil construction and water conservancy projects are managed by the Ministry of Works.
Of course, there is a purpose for making Cai Mao the minister of the Ministry of Industry.
That is Liangzhou's canal drainage.
At the same time, Zhang Xiu is planning to use the power of the victims to dig mountains and dig roads during next year's disaster year. As the saying goes: To get rich, build roads first.
A total of five official roads will be built.
One line from Chang'an to Nanyang, one line from Chang'an to Hanzhong, one line from Chang'an to Shuofang, one line from Chang'an to Jincheng, and one line from Chang'an to Hangu Pass.
If these five roads are opened, they can greatly strengthen the connections between regions, increase trade exchanges, especially the road from Chang'an to Shuofang, and further realize the policy of seeking common ground while reserving differences.
Zhang Xiu told Cai Hao his idea, and Cai Hao was also interested. If the five roads were connected, it would be an indelible political achievement for him in this life. With this political achievement, he would be able to get involved in Zhang Xiu's officialdom in the future. When the situation is booming, there is no need to fight with Kuai Yue.
I agreed immediately.
After discussing the matter, Zhang Xiu was in a good mood and asked him to stay in the house and have lunch together.
…
An abnormal New Year's Eve came to the world quietly. Except for Yizhou and parts of Jiangdong, other places were affected by the New Year's Eve. The most serious ones were the Central Plains, Jizhou and Guanzhong.
Famine is caused by drought.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, when the world was in strife and the fields were barren, there were signs of famine. Fortunately, the wind and rain have been good in recent years. In addition, Cao Cao, Zhang Xiu, Yuan Shao and others all knew the importance of grain and grass, and took the initiative to stop fighting and plant grain during the sowing season. This allowed the continuation of food and grass.
But as the war continued to expand, people were displaced, cultivators moved south, a large amount of land became barren, and famines began.
According to historical records, there should not have been a major famine in 199, but the variable Zhang Xiu accelerated all events. Wars were intensive and frequent, which contributed to the famine.
Usually, droughts usually occur in May, June, and July, and basically end in August, but this year it has not ended. Starting from March 1999, the weather started to get hotter, and the temperature continued to rise, and it became hotter every day. The land was cracked by the violent sun, and the water levels of the Yellow River and the Wei River plummeted.
Only then did everyone realize that famine was coming.
