In Sikong Mansion, there was a pile of bamboo slips placed on Cao Cao's desk.
Cao Cao picked up a volume casually, but did not read it. A disdainful sneer appeared on his face, and then he looked at Cao Ang, "Have you read all of these?"
"I have read them all. They are congratulatory messages from major aristocratic families, congratulating my father on the great victory in Guandu. In addition to those from the Yingchuan family, there are also those from the Yang family in Hongnong, the Sima family in Hanoi, and the prominent families in Jingzhou."
Cao Cao frowned and asked, "Are there any from the Kuai family?"
"have."
Cao Ang hurried forward to search and found the congratulatory papers sent by the Kuai family and presented them to Cao Cao. "In addition to these congratulatory papers, they also sent a lot of money and food in the name of paying tribute to the emperor."
"Kuai Yue is still as clear as ever." Cao Cao didn't read the content. He just glanced at the payment and put it away.
Kuai Yue and he knew each other, and he had a good impression of Kuai Yue.
Before Dong Zhuo came to Beijing, Kuai Yue worked under He Jin as Dong Cao, so everyone was considered a colleague.
The two brothers Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao saw that the Shichangshi was disrupting the government and suggested that He Jin summon Dong Zhuo to the capital to serve the king. This marked the beginning of the struggle for hegemony among the princes in the late Han Dynasty.
At that time, Cao Cao saw the problem. First, Dong Zhuo must not enter the capital, otherwise he would invite wolves into the house; second, it is not that complicated to deal with the ten permanent servants. He rushed in with an ambush and killed them, and then beat them to the ground. .
Kuai Yue was one of the few people who supported Cao Cao's views. He also urged He Jin to take a preemptive strike and kill the eunuch directly. However, He Jin refused to listen. Kuai Yue saw that he would bring disaster on himself, so he used Ru Yang's order to He fled Gyeonggi Province.
Judging from this matter, Kuai Yue is a very smart and forward-looking person.
"Does Zixiu understand what these congratulatory messages mean?"
Cao Cao looked at Cao Ang, who nodded and said: "On the eve of the Central Plains War, these people were protecting themselves wisely, like the Yang family in Hongnong and the Sima family in Hanoi. They even searched for food to borrow.
After their father's victory over Yuan Shao, the situation in the Central Plains changed drastically, so they began to flatter their father again.
As for the Cai family and the Kuai family, they control more than half of the military and political affairs in Jingzhou and are the least willing to start a war in Jingzhou. They are worried that their father will become the overlord of the Central Plains after Yuan Shao, so of course they want to please him. "
Hearing this, Cao Cao nodded with satisfaction, not bad, not bad, he is getting better and better.
While they were chatting, Guo Jia walked in.
"Sikong, the matter is done."
"sit."
Cao Cao made a gesture of invitation and asked with a smile: "In your opinion, will the Sima family be willing to bite the hook for Zhang Wang?"
Guo Jiagan laughed twice, raised the gourd of wine at his waist and took a big sip, "Sikong has always been flawless in his work. Didn't he promote Sima Lang to Sikong's subordinate? He also sent people to recruit Sima Yi, plus Zhang Wang made such an appearance , Sima Jiangong doesn't know what this means, I guess he will definitely contribute."
Hearing this, Cao Cao laughed loudly, "I can't hide it from you. I didn't intend to leave a way out for the Sima family when I did this. It's necessary to beat and beat. Furthermore, I heard that his son Sima Yi, although he is young, has outstanding talents and learning." , can be used for great purposes, and conquered it, both for beating and for employing people."
"Sikong Gaoming." The purpose of his mission was to capture Hanoi. He wanted to see if Lin Mo's clever tricks were really so powerful that he could save Zhang Yang in this situation.
Cao Cao tried his best to promote this matter. In addition to plotting to seize Hanoi, the biggest consideration was that even if the plan failed, he would not be blamed on himself, so the Cao-Lu alliance still existed.
"Does Zixiu know how to reply to Jingzhou?" Seeing that the matter had been finalized, he turned to Cao Ang.
"The child understands that he should first issue an edict to praise their loyalty in the name of the emperor, and then secretly trust the two families in the name of his father to promise the future." Cao Ang said eloquently.
"Go." Yes, he indeed knows how to deal with these aristocratic families.
Cao Ang cupped his hands and turned around to leave.
"Is Sikong planning to attack Jingzhou first? Then Guanzhong." After Cao Ang left, Guo Jiacai asked uneasily.
Cao Cao sighed, "Zhong Yao has already gone to Chang'an. If Hanoi can be stabilized, I still plan to restore the Kanto region first, and then take over Kansai when the time is right.
After all, if we take over the entire Guanzhong in one go, it will probably take several years to completely conquer it. "
"So, what is Sikong's idea?" Guo Jia seemed to realize that his general strategy had been adjusted by Cao Cao, and couldn't help but put down the wine gourd in his hand and looked at Cao Cao.
"First, stably develop Guandong and restore half of it's reputation as a granary; then wait for an opportunity to capture Jingzhou. After Jingzhou is obtained, I can use Guandong as the foundation to send troops to Bingzhou."
Cao Cao stroked his short beard, glanced at Guo Jia, pursed his lips and said: "After these two places are obtained, it will be Guanxi's turn."
Guo Jia rolled his eyes and did not delve further. In short, the general plan will still be implemented, but the order has been changed.
Guanzhong, during the Qin Dynasty and even the Western Han Dynasty, was the largest granary in the world.
After Dong Zhuo's disaster, Guanzhong was in decline. Although there were many ministries, it was not difficult to take it back. The real difficulty was to restore him to a point where he could be used as a backup to supply food and grass.
Now there are curved shaft plows and keel waterwheels, which theoretically can get twice the result with half the effort, but the lack of population is too difficult to make up for.
Cao Cao discussed this with Xun Yu for several days, and it was just a way to relocate people from the Central Plains area. The problem was that the Central Plains had been war-torn for many years, and there were already ten houses and nine empty houses. If it hadn't been for the millions of Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, it would still have not been relieved. This is the tone.
Therefore, the unanimous conclusion is that Kanto can only be restored first, and then Kansai.
There doesn't seem to be much difference here, but if you look at it from a strategic perspective, there is a huge difference.
In the Battle of Tongguan, Cao Cao was killed by Ma Chao and had to cut off his beard and abandon his robe. What was the essential reason? Because Guanxi was not in Cao Cao's hands, he wanted to use troops against Hanzhong, but was trapped by the Qinling Mountains and had to transfer from Guanxi to Sichuan.
The problem is that the various ministries in Guanzhong believed that this was a false attack on Guo, and they were afraid that Cao Cao would suddenly attack them, so they started the Tongguan War.
Guo Jia's strategic vision is still extremely unique. He has already seen the importance of Kansai's geographical location at this stage.
However, from the perspective of fundamental development, it cannot be said that Cao Cao's choice was wrong, it is just that they have different perspectives.
In the end, Guo Jia just said in a deep voice: "Sikong, it doesn't matter in sequence, but in the corner of Guanxi, blocking Xiliang and strangling Hanzhong, it must be in our hands in the end."
In Guo Jia's blueprint, the most perfect development for Cao Cao is to annex all the way to the southwest, avoid a head-on confrontation with Lu Bu, and finally crush him with absolute strength.
Cao Cao also understood this truth, so the first thing he looked at was Jing Xiang, the richest man, "Although Liu Biao is the one who looks after the house and protects the courtyard, Jingzhou has hundreds of thousands of troops, both land and water. Do you have a good plan?" "
"Jingzhou has many soldiers and horses, but most of them are in the hands of the Cai and Kuai families, especially the Cai family. Cai Mao leads half of Jing Xiang's soldiers and horses, and he wholeheartedly supports Liu Cong, the son of the Cai family.
I believe that as long as Xu Yi Cai Mao agrees with Liu Cong to take over the post of governor of Jingzhou, there will be civil strife in Jingzhou. If Sikong then suppresses the territory with a large army, Jingzhou and Xiang can be pacified. "
Cao Cao moved his butt and said with a smile: "Isn't this my strategy?"
Guo Jia nodded and said: "Exactly, I think this is the only way to open up Jingxiang's defense, so there is no need for Sikong to worry too much."
The feasibility of using aristocratic families to break the foundation of the princes in Jingxiang is still very high.
Cao Cao nodded and said nothing more. He asked Guo Jia for advice, just hoping to get Jingzhou as soon as possible.
The heart of the world, a land of plenty and plenty of land, with enough space to support 300,000 troops, was so important to Cao Cao at this stage.
There are rumors in the market that Lin Mo knows the Six Ding Liujia demon technique. This rumor first originated from a heavy rain borrowed from the Lujiang River, which flooded Liu Xun's 20,000-strong army, so this myth spread in the military camp.
In addition, later on, he won every battle, so the public opinion became more and more popular, and some people began to spread rumors that he could drive away ghosts and gods.
Zhuge Liang originally scoffed at such nonsense, but he has been feeling deeply uneasy recently.
Because the other side of the Kuai family told him that the swordsmen holding green blades hanging outside the thatched cottage in Wollongong were assassins from Xuzhou, and their target was Zhuge Wolong.
At first, he thought that Lu Bu was afraid that his talents and connections would provide too much help to his mortal enemy Liu Bei, but the result of the Kuai family's investigation was that these assassins arrived earlier than Liu Bei.
In other words, they arrived before Liu Bei visited the thatched cottage.
This seems ridiculous. You must know that at that time, he had never thought about going out to help Liu Bei, and he didn't even know that Liu Bei had come to Jingzhou.
It can't be that he, Lin Mo, can really predict the future, right?
This matter became a mystery in his mind.
If he could, he would even want to go to Xuzhou and ask Lu Bu and Lin Mo, what kind of hatred and grudges are there, are you going to kill me?
But he was worried that this matter might have nothing to do with Liu Bei, but that some members of the Zhuge family who were still in Langya had offended Lu Bu and implicated themselves for this.
This possibility is extremely low, after all, he has left Xuzhou long ago, but it is easier to accept than saying that Lin Mo can predict the future.
But no matter what, it was Lu Bu who threatened him now. As the saying goes, it is easy to hide from open guns and hard to defend against hidden arrows, but his thatched cottage cannot prevent the assassinations of other princes.
In this case, it seems that I can only stay with Liu Bei to ensure safety.
Of course, this is not the main consideration. With his talent, reputation and connections, he can still find a place even if he goes to Xuchang. However, Zhuge Liang believes that there is probably no other person in the world who can show such patience to visit the thatched cottage.
No.
It was Seven Visits to the Thatched Cottage. Today, it was Liu Bei who brought Guan Yu and Zhang Fei into Wollongong for the seventh time.
Zhuge Liang was very touched by Liu Bei's tenacity and persistence, and this incident will surely become a good story through the ages.
Of course, there is another reason, which has a lot to do with Zhuge Liang's own character.
Whether he is willing to admit it or not, he is a person with strong opinions. Liu Bei has worked tirelessly to visit the thatched cottage seven times. He believes that in the future, his opinions and strategies will be absolutely implemented.
This point cannot be achieved whether in Jingzhou or Xuchang, but this is a crucial point.
"Xinye Liu Bei, meet Mr. Wolong" is not bad. He is young but has an air of immortality. He has a somewhat isolated and refined air about him, and he looks like a master from this world.
When Liu Bei met Zhuge Liang, he felt like he was in another world.
No one knows how much thought and time he spent in guarding Zhuge Liang over the past year.
Not to mention anything else, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei alone were already tired of setting foot in the land of Longzhong, but he had always taken the trouble to appease them, as well as himself.
Because he always believed that Zhuge Liang was the person he was looking for, and he was the unparalleled talent who could compete with Lin Mo.
Fortunately, Huang Tian paid off his hard work, and today he finally met the person he had been thinking about day and night. Before they even had a conversation, the appearance alone made nine points in Liu Bei's heart.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei looked at Zhuge Liang in front of him. He was only a young man in his twenties. Apart from being good-looking, it was hard to imagine that such a guy could have any amazing skills that would make his elder brother travel to Wollongong seven times.
If it weren't for the fact that he had a network of connections behind him that could actually help Liu Bei, Zhang Fei's temperament would have given him a few tricky questions. It would be great if he could answer them perfectly, but if he couldn't, he would be humiliated.
"Ashamed, ashamed. I heard from my book boy that the emperor's uncle has visited us for the seventh time. The people in the mountains and plains are really flattered. He even invited the three of them into the inner room for tea." Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan and made an invitation gesture with a smile.
"Brother, let's talk. My third brother and I will wait outside." Guan Yu glanced at Zhuge Liang, feeling a little embarrassed about visiting him seven times.
Zhang Fei didn't even bother to answer, and turned around and went out after Guan Yu.
Liu Bei, who finally met Zhuge Liang after seven trips back and forth, had no other thoughts. He only wanted to listen to the strategy of saving the country. He ignored his second and third brothers and followed Zhuge Liang into the inner room.
"Since the time of Dong Zhuo, all the heroes have risen together, and the world has been in great chaos. The political order has always been ruined, and rituals and music have collapsed. As a descendant of the empress of the Han Dynasty, I am unable to save the emperor from the wolf's den, and I am unable to calm the people in the smoke of the wolf. Every day I break my heart and intestines.
I would like to visit the thatched cottage and ask you, sir, to teach me a good strategy. "
Zhuge Liang was still making tea, and Liu Bei, who was sitting across from him, was already eager to express his ambition.
"After the Great War in the Central Plains, the situation in the world changed drastically. Although Yuan Shao dominated the four states of the Northern Kingdom, his internal power was divided, and his heirs usurped the throne. Sooner or later, he would destroy himself. I predict that within a few years, the Northern Kingdom will be plunged into the flames of war, and the four states will be divided. The land is determined to be divided between Cao and Lu. At that time, there will be a gap between the two, and war will break out in the Central Plains again.
This battle will also determine who will be the overlord of the Central Plains after Yuan Shao.
If the emperor wants to save the world from collapse, he should take Jingxiang to stand on his own, then avoid the Central Plains, send his army westward, and attack Yizhou.
The Sichuan area is difficult and dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. In ancient times, Sichuan and Shu were called the land of abundance. Emperor Gaozu used this as the basis for his army.
At this point, after the emperor's uncle merged the land of the two states, the world has occupied half of it. It is time to repair the military and politics internally and cooperate with Sun Ce externally. When the world changes, he can lead his army out of Qinchuan, capture the Central Plains, and accomplish great things! "
Zhuge Liang in history had already divided the world into three parts before leaving Longzhong.
After all the high-level discussion in front of me, it can be said that the world is divided into four parts.
However, none of this is important. What is important is that in the blueprint drawn by Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei is one of the quarters of the world, and he controls half of the world.
Not to mention how difficult it is to actually operate these things, Zhuge Liang pointed out a bright road for himself when he was at the end of his road, and he was very excited in his heart.
Because he thought of one person, or two people, Lu Bu and Lin Mo.
Although Lu Bu's situation was better than his own back then, with the help of Lin Mo, he became the prince who now controls the affairs of the Central Plains.
There was a voice in his heart telling Liu Bei that the Zhuge Liang in front of him was his Lin Mo.
Can't miss him anymore.
At this time, Liu Bei still had thousands of questions in his mind. For example, who would win from Cao Lu in the end? How should he capture Jingxiang and how should he go to Xichuan?
But these doubts will all be clarified. The most important thing at the moment is to invite Zhuge Liang to come out.
Liu Bei put down his tea cup, stood up slowly, walked aside, and knelt down with a bang. With tears in his eyes, he choked and said, "Liu Bei, please sir, come out and help me."
Zhuge Liang quickly got up and tried to help Liu Bei, but he couldn't help him.
Seeing that he still had no words, Liu Bei directly kowtowed to him in the greatest way, "Liu Bei, please come out of the mountain! From now on, I will be your teacher for the rest of your life and listen to your teachings day and night."
Apart from Liu Bei, there is probably no other person in the world who can achieve such a gesture.
Having shown sincerity to the thatched cottage seven times before, and now performing this great gift again, Zhuge Liang no longer had any hesitation in his heart. He knelt down with a bang, returned the gift, and said in a deep voice: "Liang, I am willing to do the hard work of the dog and horse!"
The sound fell, and thunder fell from the sky. There was a faint sound like the roar of a dragon. The wind was strong on the hills, and the wind and clouds suddenly changed.
Under the forest of Longzhong Mountain, Sima Hui, who was making tea outdoors with Huang Chengyan, looked up at the sky and saw clouds and rain in the sky. He couldn't help but slowly stood up and murmured: "The wind is going to blow. Let's see how your virtuous son-in-law can cause this shocking change." Bar."
(End of chapter)
