Facing those familiar and eager eyes, Xun Yu knew that if he didn't give an explanation today, Cao Cao would not be satisfied. In fact, the three obstacles listed by Xun Yu just now are not unique to Cai Qi, Cao Wei also has similar problems, and may even be more serious than Cai Qi in some aspects. Therefore, Xun Yu himself did not approve of Wei implementing the New Deal with the same fanfare as Qi did. However, Cao Cao and Cai Ji both admired the Shen Han technique of the Legalists, and both took it as their responsibility to attack and suppress the local tyrants. In addition, compared to Cai Ji, Cao Cao was never soft on those scholars who endangered his rule, even if the other party was Xun Yu, who had been following him for many years.

Fortunately, Xun Yu already had a draft in mind about how to deal with Cao Cao. And seeing that he confidently bowed his hand and said, "The king is clear, and the ministers think that the matter of opening a military government between Juntian and the people should be gradual and not in a hurry. ”

"Oh? How to go step by step? Cao Cao quietly stared at Xun Yu and asked.

"Degree the fields and expand the army." Xun Yu said without thinking. As a representative of the Ruying family, Xun Yu proposed to strengthen Tuntian, undoubtedly showing loyalty to Cao Cao. Will he be hostile to the family? The answer is: no. Because Xun Yu proposed to strengthen the "military tun". The military camp is to plough and defend with the army, and to feed the peasants by war. The military households of Juntun were originally the population directly controlled by the Wei army, and strengthening Juntun would naturally not harm the fundamental interests of the family. Therefore, Xun Yu's move not only met Cao Cao's needs to strengthen the army, but also greatly reduced the contradiction between Cao Cao and the family.

At this moment, Cao Cao, who listened to Xun Yu's words, bowed his head and was silent, making people unable to see joy and anger for a while. Until half an hour has passed. He just opened his mouth and asked, "Expand the army?" Where? ”

"The Land of Three Auxiliaries." Xun Yu replied firmly. Sanfu refers to the surrounding areas of Chang'an, Jingzhaoyin, Zuofengyi, Youfufeng, and the western part of Hongnong-gun, which was originally an important place in Gyeonggi in the Western Han Dynasty. It is true that Emperor Guangwu moved the capital from Chang'an to Luoyang. But Chang'an is still one of the largest cities in the Eastern Han Dynasty and the starting point of the Silk Road. However, since Dong Zhuo coerced the Han Emperor to return to Chang'an, he was tyrannical and indiscriminately killed innocents in all parts of Gyeonggi. When Dong Zhuo was ambushed, Jia Xu instigated his remnants to besiege Chang'an. As a result, wars broke out in the land of Sanfu, starvation was everywhere, and the former anointed land became a purgatory on earth in a blink of an eye. Under the dual threat of natural disasters and military disasters. The clansmen, nobles, and tycoons who lived in Sanfu fled with the Son of Heaven, leaving large areas of borderless land to be nationalized and redistributed.

Sure enough, when Cao Cao heard the word "three auxiliaries", he immediately became interested. I saw him get up and walk to the wall with a huge map on it. Stretching out his hand and stroking the location of Chang'an on the map, he couldn't help but chant with emotion, "The western capital of the Han Dynasty lies in Yongzhou." It is called Chang'an. Left according to the resistance of Hangu Erkun. The table is the danger of the right boundary of the mountain in the south of Taihua, and the river of Honghe Jing Wei. The Kuma of the crowds, surging to the west. The hair of Huashi is above Kyushu; The obstacle of defense is the boundary between heaven and earth. It is the reason why the horizontal is Liuhe, and the three become emperors. Zhou is longxing, and Qin is looking at the tiger. When the Han Dynasty was ordered to capitalize on it, he realized the essence of Dongjing. The Spirit of the River Diagram ......"

What Cao Cao is singing at this moment is Ban Gu's "Western Capital Fu", which depicts the magnificence and grandeur of the western capital of Chang'an. Especially when Cao Cao chanted. "The opening of the nine cities, the goods are separated. No one can take care of it, and the car must not spin. Khotan city overflows, and there are hundreds of houses on the side. The red dust is four, and the smoke and clouds are connected. So he is rich and rich, and the entertainment is boundless. All women are very different. The traveler intends to be a prince, and the column is extravagant to Ji Jiang. The heroic act of the country song, the hero of the ranger. The original taste of the festival, the name of Yachun Mausoleum. Even the multitude, the galloping in it. If you look at its four suburbs and float near the county, then look at Duba in the south and look at the five tombs in the north. The name is to Guo, and the Yi is inherited from each other. The handsome domain, the crown of the crown. The crown is like a cloud, with seven phases and five males. With the heroes of the state and county, the goods of the five capitals. Three selections and seven relocations, filled with Lingyi. Cover with strong trunks and weak branches, and look at all the nations on the top. Xun Yu seemed to see the prosperous scene of the Han Dynasty in the past.

Suddenly, a sense of mission to maintain the great unification and recreate the Chinese Empire arose spontaneously in Xun Yu's heart. So the next moment, I saw him suddenly get up, walked to Cao Cao's side and pointed out the rivers and mountains, "Liuhou Zeng Yan, Fu Guanzhong, Zuo Cuihan, right Longshu, fertile thousands of miles, there is Bashu in the south, Hu Yuan's benefits in the north, blocking three sides, only one side of the east to control the princes, the princes are stable, the river and Weicao save the world, and the west is given to the Beijing division; The princes have changed, and they go down the river, which is enough to entrust and lose. If the king is a soldier and three auxiliaries, within three years, he can reappear in a thousand miles of Jincheng and get 100,000 soldiers. At that time, the Great Wei Xiongshi pointed at Hanzhong, and Zhang Lu would look forward to the wind. In Hanzhong, the door of Xishu is opened, Liu Zhang is a guinea dog, and it is easy for the king to take Shu! ”

Xun Yu's words can be regarded as scratching the itch in Cao Cao's heart. It must be known that to the east of Cao Wei is the powerful Cai Qi, and to the south is the Yangtze River lying between Cao Wei and Eastern Wu. Therefore, with Cao Cao's current strength, the most desirable way out is to go west to attack the populous and resource-rich Hanzhong and Xishu regions.

However, Hanzhong and Xishu, which seem to be fish belly, are not swallowed. Because in its north, there are still warlords and Huqiang tribes entrenched in Liangzhou. In particular, Ma Chao, who is known as "Jin Ma Chao", has always been ambitious, and he once took advantage of Cao Cao's trapped Yang to send troops to besiege Liangzhou Prefecture and Jicheng on the grounds of knocking on the pass and seeking seals. On the other hand, after more than a year of recuperation, Cao Cao's side has stabilized the situation in Wei, but it can still only be on the defensive in foreign military affairs. According to Xun Yu's prediction, it will take at least two or three years for the military cantonment in the Sanfu area to form a combat force that can attack. In the past two or three years, how to ensure that the Liangzhou warlords led by Ma Chao no longer invade Guanzhong, and even get involved in Hanzhong before him, has become a problem that Cao Cao urgently needs to consider.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao couldn't help but tapped his right hand on the location of Liangzhou on the map and asked Xun Yu, "Ma Chao's ambition as a wolf, if he gets in the way, how can he be born?" ”

Xun Yu had expected Cao Cao to ask this question, and immediately replied, "Don't worry, your lord, Ma Chao is cruel and scheming, and the people of Liangzhou regard him as a thief." Captain Zhong and Wei Yuanjun have contacted Lianglong, Haoqiang, and Hu to fight against this fang. ”

Cao Cao listened to Xun Yu's words, and a relieved and satisfied smile appeared on his face. You must know that Cao Cao has not fully recovered his vitality militarily at present, and he has lost the banner of the Son of Han Dynasty politically. As a result, he can no longer raise tens of thousands of troops to fight against the "traitors" as he did in previous years. However, Cao Cao occupied the hinterland of the essence of Chinese civilization, which allowed Cao Wei to form an invisible attraction to the surrounding areas culturally and ideologically. Although the literati, doctors, and clan forces in these areas were inspired by the culture of the Central Plains, they were able to get close to the Cao Wei regime. However, it was enough to give Cao Cao an advantage over Ma Chao, Han Sui, Zhang Lu and other local separatist forces in Taoism, so that Xun Yu, Zhong Xuan and others could use the so-called "soft power" and "smart power" in later generations to balance their opponents. Because of this, Xun Yu has always been careful to maintain the relationship between Cao Cao and Rulin. After all, in the case of hard power has not yet been restored. If Cao Cao fights with Confucianism again, then Cao Wei will lose even his only soft power.

However, just when Xun Yu suggested that Cao Cao expand the stall of the military camp in the Sanfu area, Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang, who were regarded by Cao Cao as fish belly, were fighting for life and death for Dongchuan. And the cause of this war has to start from 10 years ago. In the first year of Xingping, Liu Yan, who was the pastor of Yizhou at the time, died of back sores, and his son Liu Zhang was elected as the pastor of Yizhou. In the accounts of later generations, Liu Zhang mostly showed people as cowardly, incompetent, and even benevolent as a woman. But in fact, the second lord killed his father's mistress soon after succeeding to Yizhou Pastor, and this mistress who can make ghosts and have a young appearance is Zhang Lu's mother. About why Liu Zhang killed Zhang's mother. There are various theories. The only thing that is certain is that Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu have become mortal enemies. Liu Zhang wanted to regain from Zhang Lu the Hanzhong and Eastern Sichuan that his father had entrusted to Zhang. Zhang Lu was bent on invading western Sichuan and becoming the king of Shu. The two sides have been fighting back and forth for ten years.

It is worth mentioning that neither Zhang Lu nor Liu Zhang participated in the sealing ceremony held in Xiangyang more than a year ago. Zhang Lu, who started with the Five Bucket Rice Sect, naturally didn't take Liu Xie seriously. It is said that someone once dug up a jade seal underground in Hanzhong. So there were people who wanted to respect Zhang Lu as the king of Hanning. Only Gongcao Yanpu advised Zhang Lu, "The people of Hanchuan have more than 100,000 household registrations, a lot of wealth and fertile land. The terrain is precarious on all sides; You can help the Son of Heaven. Then become the likes of Duke Qi Huan, Duke Wen of Jin, and at worst, people like Dou Rong, who can be rich and noble. Now the government office is set up, and the power is enough to decide affairs, and there is no need to be the king. I hope you will not be king for the time being, and you will not invite trouble first. After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Lu listened to Yan Pu's advice, but at the same time, he really regarded himself as the Emperor of Hanzhong. Ignore Han Tianzi anymore.

Liu Zhang said that he was in Chengdu and missed the ceremony due to news blockage, but in fact, he also had a heart of self-reliance. is unwilling to deal with Liu Xie, who is in a corner of peace. It's just that as the war in eastern Sichuan intensified, Liu Zhang, who gradually felt that he couldn't support it, sent Zhang Song, an envoy, to Xiangyang at the beginning of the second year of Yankang, to pay tribute to the emperor of the Han Dynasty, intending to use the power of the Han family to deal with his old enemy Zhang Lu.

Zhang Song, the word Qiao, is a native of Chengdu, Shu County. At that time, he was a driver in Yizhou, and he was extraordinary and knowledgeable. Unfortunately, due to his unattractive appearance and short stature, Zhang Song was often discriminated against, resulting in his perverse personality and dissolute behavior. However, this time in Jingnagong, Zhang Song was not despised as he was in the past because of his height and appearance defects. On the contrary, Kong Rong, who was in charge of reception, was courteous to him. This moved Zhang Song a lot, and within a few days, the two formed a friendship.

On this day, Kong Rong held a banquet in the mansion to entertain Zhang Song. After the five flavors of the dish and the three rounds of wine, Kong Rong picked up the wine cup and saluted Zhang Song, "Congratulations to Ziqiao, the Son of Heaven is about to issue a decree to canonize Liu Zhijun as the Duke of Shu." ”

Hearing that Liu Zhang was about to become the fifth prince to receive a feud after Cao Cao, Cai Ji, Liu Bei, and Sun Ce, Zhang Song's face did not show joy at completing his mission. In the final analysis, in terms of intelligence and temperament, Liu Zhang is not Zhang Lu's enemy. If it weren't for the huge foundation left by his father Liu Yan, Liu Zhang would have been defeated by Zhang Lu. On the other hand, Zhang Lu's morale is now high, how could he withdraw his troops lightly because of a holy decree of the Son of Heaven. Thinking of this, Zhang Song couldn't help shaking the wine cup in his hand, and sighed abruptly, "It's a pity that only in the name of the Duke of Shu, it may be difficult to stop Zhang Lu Bingfeng." ”

It is true that Zhang Song broke through Liu Xie's embarrassment that he could not make Wang Ji out of the decree, and he did not give face to the small court of Xiangyang, but Kong Rong did not jump up and accuse the other party of being disrespectful. On the contrary, he also echoed Zhang Song's words, "The Han family is declining, the Son of Heaven is covered with dust, and Ziqiao wants to solve the predicament of Dongchuan, and he must ask for another master." ”

Zhang Song heard the words in Kong Rong's words, and hurriedly put down the wine cup in his hand, and respectfully surrendered his hand to ask for advice, "Please also ask Shaofu for guidance." ”

Kong Rong was waiting for Zhang Song's words, but he waved his hand humbly, "Don't dare to give advice." According to the old man's opinion, your lord and Jing Gong are both relatives of the Han clan, why didn't Zi Qiao turn to Jing Gong for help? ”

"Jing Gong?" After hearing what Kong Rong said, Zhang Song was slightly stunned at first, and then lowered his head and fell into deep thought. In Zhang Song's opinion, although Liu Bei can be regarded as a hegemon, Liu Bei, who is only half a state land, is still a little weaker than Cao Cao, Cai Ji, and Sun Ce. On the contrary, Cao Cao, the Duke of Wei, was not only strong, but also able to besiege Wei and save Zhao by attacking Hanzhong to relieve the trap of Dongchuan. So the next moment, I heard Zhang Song blurt out and ask, "Why not Duke Wei?" ”

Of course, Kong Rong will not speak for Cao Cao, not only because he looks down on the Cao family who started by eunuchs in his bones, but more importantly, once Liu Zhang asks Cao Cao for help to make Cao Junshi famous and win Hanzhong, it will undoubtedly put huge pressure on the Han family that has just gained a foothold in Xiangyang. Neither Kong Rong nor Liu Xie wanted to see Cao Cao grow stronger. As for whether Zhang Song would lure the wolf into the room after asking Liu Bei for help, it was not a question that Kong Rong needed to consider. Even in Kong Rong's opinion, the stronger Liu Bei's strength, the more he can contain Cao Cao in the north for the Han family.

So at this time, Kong Rong hurriedly revealed Cao Cao's old bottom in front of Zhang Song, "Ziqiao doesn't know. Since the two successive defeats of Chibi and Dangyang, Wei Gong has already suffered a great injury, how can he help your lord get out of trouble. On the other hand, Jing Gong is a man of elegance and trustworthiness, and his majestic posture is outstanding. His account under Guan and Zhang are the enemies of 10,000 people. Your lord has been canonized by the Son of Heaven, if Zhang Lu continues to perversely, the soldiers invade the Shu realm, according to the urgency of Jing Gong, justice and righteousness, will help your lord. ”

After Zhang Song left Sichuan, he also heard people talk about the Battle of Chibi and the Siege of Dangyang. It's just that out of inertial thinking, he still subconsciously regards Cao Cao as the current hero who coerced the Son of Heaven to order the world in his early years. It wasn't until after listening to Kong Rong's introduction at this moment, combined with what he had seen and heard before, that Zhang Songfang had a thought and began to re-examine the general trend of the world. (To be continued......)