"My lord, this time we are not taking Pengcheng by force and making friends with the Chen family. In fact, we are retreating in order to advance," Zhang Han sat on one side of the carriage with a serious face and said calmly.
"Chen Deng's father, Chen Gui, had a very high status in Xuzhou and had an old relationship with Yuan Shu. An ancestor in his family once reached the position of Three Dukes and was from a famous family. And this Chen Yuanlong was a great talent in internal affairs. He was good at farming and managing people's livelihood. His ability was no less than that of the people in Yanzhou. Xian."
"The most important thing is that Tao Qian is old and dim and no longer has any ambitions. His current situation should be to preserve and retreat. The main purpose of protecting Xuzhou is to spread the name of benevolence. He will come to capture Xuzhou later. If he captures Xuzhou now, When we go to Xuzhou, I am afraid that within half a year, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu will attack from the north and south to contain the lord's power."
"Therefore, my lord should now accumulate food, slow down his claim to power, and focus on consolidating the military and political affairs within the territory."
Zhang Han has made a certain judgment on the current situation. The commandments implemented by Cao Cao have a great benefit. In addition to letting the Cao family spread a clean and frugal family tradition, it can also save money.
If the Cao family members jointly spent money to buy real estate and acquire slave registrations, a dozen high-status clan members, plus dozens of relatives who were related by relatives, would eat up an incredible amount of money.
Now that the money cannot be swallowed, the spiritual construction in the early stage of starting a business is very "healthy". Zhang Han feels that it would be a pity that such a healthy foundation should not be used to introspect and cultivate virtue to gain reputation.
Cao Cao's brows were still furrowed, and after thinking for a long time, he said: "Bo Chang, it's just you and me, so your advice should be pragmatic, not pragmatic."
"What are you not good at learning? If you're a bachelor, you can just talk about it in detail."
After Cao Cao finished speaking, he stared at him with disdain. No matter what the occasion, it would be a shame to learn the manners and language of these people.
Of the two people sitting in this car, are any of them a noble? Are we worthy?
"Tsk," Zhang Han looked at Cao Cao in embarrassment for a moment and exclaimed: "Tao Qian has lost so much manpower and financial resources, so he will not give up and start a rebellion. After we return to Yanzhou, we should immediately inform the counties The county shows its merits and makes officials and people feel at ease.”
"Then give the money to the army for pensions, and let the clan members take out all the money, and implement the character and style of General Yuan Rang. He is strict and honest, and there is no internal chaos, so he will not be afraid of rumors and chaos."
"Well, if you do this, Zi Lian and Zi Xiao will definitely be dissatisfied. I will explain it to them." Cao Cao nodded, still closing his eyes and concentrating. "In terms of military strategy, do you have any other suggestions?"
"The internal governance will wait for the results of this year's fielding, which can be refined year by year; the military strategy will focus on preparing military resources and wait for the invasion..."
Cao Cao's eyes suddenly opened and he looked at Zhang Han: "Who will attack?"
"Yuan Shu, Yuan Gongdao."
After saying this, Cao Cao really became interested. The corners of his mouth raised slightly, and his eyes looked straight ahead. "You're right. Yuan Gongliu is not going well in Nanyang and is already in decline. Liu Biao is deeply favored by the nobles in Jingzhou. I I dare to say that Yuan Shu will not be able to occupy Yuzhou for a long time."
"If he wants to find another way out, where else can he go? There is Liu Biao in the south and Yanzhou in the north. Although I don't want to say this, I guess it is more likely that he will enter Yanzhou."
When Cao Cao said this, he sighed deeply.
He knew the Yuan brothers quite well. If Yuan Shao had been a great strategist from his youth to his middle age, and he had become famous in adversity, then Yuan Shu was a bit more arrogant.
But both brothers are quite resourceful.
If we put ourselves in his shoes at this time, Yuan Shu wants to take Yanzhou. This year is the perfect time. If he delays for a few more years, once the chaos in Yanzhou is settled, he will have no chance.
"Indeed, it's Yanzhou." Zhang Han nodded in agreement.
And I also slightly admire Cao Cao's vision. He had early insight into the so-called alliance between Yuan Shu and Tao Qian, and knew that the two were in the same spirit and would not give up.
Zhang Han was different. He had the answer, so he could conclude that Yuan Shu would go north to attack Yanzhou.
"Therefore, this battle will be my most important battle. Whether I can gain a firm foothold depends on whether I can stand firm against Yuan Shu." Cao Cao felt that the prospects were not very good. Since entering Yanzhou, or rather since After Liu Dai's death, Yanzhou no longer had a nominal leader, and all his subordinate prefects could compete for this position.
From then on, almost every battle was thrilling and required hard work. If you were not careful, you would be kicked out of the Yanzhou stage.
Even now in Yanzhou, celebrities led by Bian Rang are still criticizing Cao Cao's shameless behavior of claiming to be the shepherd of Yanzhou, calling on people with lofty ideals not to surrender, and even inciting some officials to dismiss from office to no avail.
Once the war is over, these headaches will come flooding back.
After returning, we must consider both internal and external worries.
What Cao Cao said seemed like a conclusion and self-thinking, so Zhang Han quietly thought about his own problems. When he returned to Yanzhou to discuss his merits, his abilities would be greatly improved. If he got With the growth of intelligence, in the future, thinking can be faster and more comprehensive, and can keep up with these heroes of the world.
As for now, Zhang Han still needs to think about it for a long time. The reason why he is able to stand out is because he has the answers in his hands and also has various abilities that are constantly growing.
The carriage and horses became quiet. After an unknown amount of time, Cao Cao spoke again: "Bo Chang, do you really have no other strategies to offer?"
Zhang Han was interrupted from his thoughts and looked at Cao Cao blankly: "Should I have it?"
What's the meaning? We've been making trouble for a long time. Didn't you ask me to come here to find someone to chat with?
"Do you remember, when I asked you to rescue Yuncheng, you rode away alone, how brave you were when you jumped on your horse and raised your hooves?" Cao Cao laughed sinisterly.
Zhang Han's face froze and he smiled and said, "Stirrups?"
"Yes, it's the stirrups."
Cao Cao finally nodded.
He went around for a long time, starting from asking Zhang Han to abandon the complicated etiquette of scholars' advice, starting to build a closer relationship, then almost revealing his true feelings, and finally talking about the difficulty of facing Yuan Shu's powerful enemy.
Now the map is not long enough and the dagger appears.
He had long noticed that the stirrups on both sides of the belly of Zhang Han's horse were much stronger than those used by ordinary people. Nowadays, in general cavalry battles, single stirrups are used to mount the horse, or cloth stirrups are used to hold the horse in place. In case of emergency in battle, , relying on the cavalry's legs to be clamped together.
If this armament can be improved, perhaps the hip pain that the cavalry has suffered for thousands of years can be solved.
"This set of armaments of yours can make the cavalry more powerful and flexible on horseback. Now I have received 500 war horses as compensation from Tao Qian. Including the captured horses from previous battles, the total is more than 1,300."
"After I return, I will select elite men among the Qingzhou soldiers, select cavalry, and train with the disciples of my clan to train an elite cavalry for their debut."
Cao Cao's eyes became slightly expectant and his words were sonorous and powerful.
He originally wanted to be elite, but thinking about Zhang Han's superb equestrian skills and technical equipment, it might be possible to take this "elite" to another level.
"This time, I ask Bo Chang to help me. I need a cavalry army to defend the territory I have gained so far. By next year, I will be able to establish a firm foothold and no longer be hindered by others. If Yuan Shu comes to invade, I must fight. Back off.”
During the Battle of Xuzhou, he took the military rations donated by Tao Qian and did not share them with relatives and friends. Instead, he paid heavy pensions to the army officers and soldiers. In addition to rewarding the troops, most of them were used for the livelihood of the people and encouraged farming and childbirth within the territory.
Is it benevolence and righteousness to do this? No, he's just a little better than most princes, but that's enough to make people's hearts tilt.
Cao Cao now deeply understood Zhang Han's words, benevolence and righteousness in troubled times actually don't require much capital, just a little bit and a lot of painstaking efforts.
But the benefits are huge. It's so big that Cao Cao now recruits elite men in the name of protecting the territory and the country, but he can get countless people to follow him in the countryside.
For example, the soldiers of Qingzhou can be described as being dead-set and only obeying Cao Cao's orders.
It is not difficult to have a fine knight.
"Okay." Zhang Han thought for a while, nodded and said: "But there is room for improvement on this thing. I will discuss it with the lord in detail when I get back."
…
Three days after returning to Yanzhou.
Cao Cao finished his rest and started new actions. The autumn harvest was still more than two months away. He distributed the money donated by Xuzhou and suppressed the desire of his clan members to divide the money and divide the land.
He repeatedly told the story of the difficulties in the early days of starting a business through nine meetings and accounts. He also wore patched clothes and invested all his family's money in rewarding the army.
In the last meeting, he also sold his favorite Dawan horse, Jueying, to a local horse dealer. Of course, the horse dealer quickly returned it before night and did not ask for the money back.
After discussing the merits, the discordant voices in the tent were cleared away, everyone's thoughts were unified, and they waited for the autumn harvest. Then they used the money and assets they had accumulated to prepare for the drastic selection of elite soldiers and the construction of elite cavalry.
When this elite cavalry came along, they had several secret discussions with Zhang Han. Under his suggestion, they used light cavalry and heavy cavalry to save money and at the same time cooperate in tactical training. They named it one tiger and one leopard. complement each other.
However, when this day was agreed upon, Zhang Han was absent and did not come to the meeting.
"Where's the Bo Chang people?"
Cao Cao was suddenly confused. Didn't he discuss it with me with great interest a few days ago? Why did he not even attend the meeting after recording his merits? You're not sick, are you?
Dian Wei, who was outside, straightened his back, clasped his fists with both hands, moved his lips, and said, "Sir, he said... his clothes are dark."
