Some time passed in the blink of an eye. Since Ma Chao and Fazheng led the Western Expeditionary Army to leave, Guanzhong has fallen into complete peace.
Except for the Chinese Army, the Northern Army, and the Imperial Guard, which were recruiting more troops, there was no movement of any troops.
If it weren't for the continuous migrant population in Hongnong County, it would seem to be back in the heyday of the Han Dynasty.
It is a pity that the world has not yet been reunited, and wars are still breaking out frequently in Hebei, the Central Plains, and near the Yangtze River.
In particular, Hebei was the most tense. Since the New Year, Cao Jun's elites have continuously crossed the Yellow River and set foot on Hebei.
Now the number of Cao's troops north of the Yellow River has exceeded 200,000, and the mobilization has not yet ended.
Compared with the Battle of Guandu and the Battle of Cangting, Cao Cao's weak military strength is long gone.
More than 400,000 people on both sides, Yuan and Cao, were staring at each other's movements, and the war over the ownership of Hebei was about to break out.
The situation in the direction of Jingzhou is far less calm than it was a year ago, especially since Liu Bei, who has taken the title of governor of Nanjun, and the clan headed by Cai Mao in the Prefectural Mufu have moved more frequently.
Zhuge Liang has personally taken charge of Jiangling and seems to have considerable ambitions.
In Jiangdong, Sun Quan, who had just won the championship, showed his unrivaled courage.
When Sun Ce just passed away, the entire Jiangdong was in a state of turmoil, and one careless move could tear it apart.
In this situation, Sun Quan served Zhang Zhao like a teacher and relied on Zhou Yu like an elder brother.
Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu were greatly moved, and both believed that Sun Quan was not a mediocre person and could achieve great things.
With the help of the leader of civil servants and the leader of military generals, Sun Quan quickly stabilized the forces loyal to the Sun family.
And with the help of a group of civil and military officials, they solved the disasters caused by Sun Ce's death to Jiangdong one by one.
As the Sun clan was wiped out one after another, Li Shu died in Lujiang, and after several large-scale defeats of the Yue rebel army, the entire Jiangdong rebellion was basically put down.
During the stage of suppressing the rebellion, Sun Quan successively harvested more than 50,000 surrendered troops, and his troops rapidly expanded.
Sun Quan connected the Jiangdong families internally, and recruited talents and famous people externally. Many of Jiangdong's talents became followers.
This young man, who was only twenty years old, relied on his father and brother's inheritance to successfully enter the world and become a prince.
In the Weiyang Palace, Liu Zhang heard about the situation of the princes in various places.
"So, Sun Quan has already secured control of the six counties in Jiangdong?"
After hearing what happened in Jiangdong, Liu Zhang felt surprised.
The time it took for Sun Quan to put down the rebellion was somewhat beyond his judgment.
Jia Xu nodded slightly, his tone very sure.
"Yes, Sun Quan not only captured all six counties, but also claimed to have 100,000 men in armor. Now he is as powerful as the Yangtze River!"
There was no shock on Jia Xu's face, as if he had expected this result.
"Qin Gong, Sun Quan is not an ordinary person. He is deeply supported by Jiangdong's family. I am afraid he will be a strong enemy of ours in the future."
The corners of Liu Zhang's mouth turned up, with a sneer on his face.
"A boy with blue eyes and a rat with purple beard! This Sun Quan is completely different from his father and brother."
"Although Sun Jian and Sun Ce were a little reckless, they were heroes for a lifetime."
"Sun Quan is far behind. At such a young age, he only knows how to carry out sneak attacks and has no martial ethics at all!"
Jia Xu was a little shocked. He didn't expect Sun Quan's reputation in Liu Zhang's heart to be so bad.
"Qin Gong has learned from this that Sun Quan's behavior is completely different from that of Sun Ce."
Not only is it different, it’s simply despicable!
Liu Zhang cursed secretly in his heart. Sun Quan was pretending well at the moment and didn't show it at all.
What sounds good is called opportunism, trying to get the best of both worlds, but what sounds bad is called being a loser!
You can change the direction just by blowing on it!
"I heard that Sun Quan has a sister who is good..."
Jia Xu and Xun You looked at each other at the same time, with strange looks in their eyes.
Unexpectedly, Liu Zhang, who had always put his great cause first, now also had the idea of a woman!
But this is also a good thing. Jia Xu and Xun You often worry about Liu Zhang's harem affairs.
"Qin Gong is now the king of the country, and it is really time to enrich the harem!"
"However, the old minister suggested that we should choose the daughter of a big family, especially the Guanzhong family."
"As for the Jiangdong Sun family, please Qin Gong be more careful."
Unless Liu Zhang becomes the emperor, the higher your status, the more you must pay attention to the status of the woman around you.
Now in the harem, apart from Cai Yan, who is purely emotional, Liu Yun and Wu Ran are more or less background characters.
Liu Zhang chuckled and waved his hand. He just suddenly thought of mentioning it casually and had no other meaning.
Filling the harem was not just something that Jia Xu and Xun You paid much attention to. Even Liu Yun, Cai Yan and others often mentioned it to Liu Zhang.
Recently, both Liu Yun and Cai Yan have been thinking about finding some children of the Guanzhong family for Liu Zhang, hoping to help Liu Zhang further stabilize Guanzhong through marriage.
Liu Zhang naturally did not refuse and allowed them to look for him.
Women in ancient times were so kind. Not only did they not stop them, they even took the initiative to recruit them into their families!
Liu Zhang was too busy with the war to care about women.
Now that I finally have some free time, I naturally want to start enjoying the results of thirty years of hard work!
But this matter is not urgent. Liu Zhang's family has a lovely wife, who is far from being so eager for this matter.
The changing situation in the world is still his top concern.
"Wen He, let's talk about this later!"
"What's going on in Hebei? Is there a fight?"
Although the war between Hebei and Yuan Cao was of little benefit to Liu Zhang, once a battle broke out, it would not be able to stop for a while.
Only when a fierce battle breaks out in Hebei can Guanzhong truly sit back and relax.
In short, before the Northern Army, the Chinese Army and the Imperial Guard were formed, Liu Zhang did not want any war to spread to Guanzhong, even near Guanzhong!
Regarding Liu Zhang's expectation, Jia Xu could only shake his head helplessly.
"Duke Qin, at present Yuan Shao and Cao Cao seem to be trying their best to restrain themselves. The specific reasons are still unknown."
Jia Xu and Xun You discussed this issue and the conclusion was there, but there was no concrete evidence.
Both of them believed that Yuan Shao exercised great restraint because he had experienced two major defeats in a row and did not dare to initiate a war easily.
As for the reason why Cao Cao did not take action, the two thought it was relatively simple. The Central Plains was still sending military power to Hebei.
Two hundred thousand soldiers and horses are far from Cao Cao's limit.
In this battle, Cao Cao should have the ambition to take over Hebei in one go.
Jia Xu and Xun You didn't know, but Liu Zhang seemed to know.
"Haha, it seems that Yuan Benchu is not stupid enough to know what trade-offs are!"
"But to Yuan Shao, it really doesn't matter what Yuan Xi is like..."
Liu Zhang had a sinister smile on his face and whispered to himself, making Jia Xu and Jia Xu extremely confused.
"Mr. Qin, what's wrong with Yuan Shao?"
"Nothing, there should be news soon!"
Liu Zhang was not stupid enough to tell him now, otherwise, what would Jia Xu and Xun You think of him if they knew that he coveted his daughter-in-law?
What's more, it's still unclear whether Yuan Shao can agree to it. If everyone knows about it and it doesn't happen in the end, wouldn't it be ridiculous?
Just at this moment, a soldier walked in from outside the palace, bringing a surprise to Liu Zhang.
"Informing the Duke of Qin, Guo Tu, the envoy from the Hebei General's Office, has arrived at the east gate of Chang'an."
