Knowing that Zeng Yu was determined, Cui Yuan did not keep them, and personally sent them out of the county government after some advice.

Soon after, a group of people appeared on the official road, according to Zeng Yu's plan, they started from Chiping, successively passed through Gaotang, Pingyuan, Qixian, Wuqiao and other county towns in Jizhou Pingyuan County, and then arrived at Jing County in Bohai County.

As the seat of Pingyuan County, Pingyuan County is about 90 kilometers away from Chishan. Zeng Yu and they rode on horseback, because they didn't have to hurry, so the speed was not fast, the distance they walked was less than 30 kilometers in a day, and they knew that at noon on the fourth day, they came to Pingyuan County.

According to Zeng Yu's understanding, Pingyuan County is not big, and now it lacks the necessary defense, and there are only 2,000 defenders in the city, but Zeng Yu and they are not here to attack, but to supply and cultivate here.

When they entered Pingyuan County, they found that Pingyuan County did not seem to be more prosperous than Chiping County, on the contrary, because of the large population, it seemed very chaotic. If this is in the later generations, it is normal, but in ancient times, everyone had a corresponding household registration, and they could only engage in related things, and the chaos would be the failure of government management, which can only show one point, and the county guard here was either negligent in his duties or insufficient in ability.

After Zeng Yu understood for a while, he didn't say anything, just took a few people to have a good meal, and then found a good inn to rest for one night. Before Zeng Yu stopped, there was a knock on Guo Jia's door outside, Zeng Yu opened the door and let him in, and asked Guo Jia, "Why did Feng Xiao come here at this time?" ”

"Jia can't sleep, knowing that the lord must not be asleep at this time, so I came to talk to the lord." Guo Jia said.

"Since we're here, let's just play a game, and the last time we played against each other was in Anping County." Zeng Yu took out the chessboard and said to Guo Jia.

"Exactly, it would be better if there was wine." Guo Jia came to sit cross-legged opposite Zeng Yu and said.

"Yang Meng, you go and ask the shopkeeper for a pot of wine and a stack of peanuts to deliver, and you see if the other people need anything, and help them order some." Zeng Yu said to Yang Meng, a personal soldier who was waiting next to him.

Zeng Yu turned his head to look at Guo Jia and continued, "That's good, this time I'm in charge of the sunspot. ”

"The lord ordered wine and peanuts, and Jia can only accompany him." Guo Jia said with a wry smile.

It turns out that the two of them used to play against each other often, and their chess skills were equal, but their styles were different. Although Zeng Yu prefers head-on confrontation, he is also good at hiding strange tricks, so the victory or defeat of the two is often five-five, and it is difficult to say who is higher than whom.

At this time, it is often the person who takes the lead in the black that is more likely to have an advantage, so Zeng Yu and Guo Jia sometimes argue for a long time over who will be in charge of the black before the game, and the two sides will give full play to their eloquence.

Zeng Yu picked up a sunspot and put it in Tian Yuan's position, and said to Guo Jia, "Fengxiao, how do you think I monopolize the Central Plains with this move?" ”

Generally speaking, few people will be so down-and-out at the beginning, but Guo Jia knows that a real master can ignore the natural disadvantage of Luozi Tianyuan, and Zeng Yu is obviously such a person, hearing Zeng Yu's question, Guo Jia said, "'Shen Sheng dies inside, and heavy ears are outside', of course I choose to stay away from the center." ”

After speaking, Guo Jia cleaned his hands and then picked up a white child and put it in the lower left corner, facing Zeng Yu from afar. It happened that there was a knock on the door at this time, it should be the shopkeeper who sent wine and food, and Yang Meng, who was guarding outside, asked Zeng Yu for instructions, and the wine and food were sent in.

Signaling that he didn't need to wait in person, Zeng Yu asked Yang Meng to go out to rest, while Guo Jia picked up the wine jug and poured a glass for the two of them, and shouted at the same time, "It's a bit of a loss, this wine is not for me alone, but I gave up the lead." ”

"Haha, why is Fengxiao so serious." Zeng Yu said with a smile.

"No, it's a game. As the name suggests, of course, it is necessary to fight for every inch of land and not give up an inch, so as to win a victory or defeat and a result. Guo Jia took a sip of wine and said.

Zeng Yu pinched a peanut and threw it into his mouth, and retorted, "You said that when you play chess, you don't count as the first." ”

After the official confrontation began, Zeng Yu concentrated on the chess game, and this kind of chess confrontation with the opponent made both sides have to devote all their spirit. In addition to pinching the chess pieces and thinking, the rest of the two people's actions are to habitually pick up the wine glass and take a sip or pinch the peanuts and chew them.

After playing for almost an hour, the chess game ended with Guo Jia losing a son. The two stretched at the same time, Guo Jia shook the wine jug and said, "Why is the wine gone so quickly." ”

Zeng Yu also looked at the stack of peanuts next to him, there were no more left, he recalled, he didn't have a clue, he thought it was too involved and didn't pay attention just now. He said to Fengxiao, "Fengxiao, in your opinion, if Youzhou and Jizhou can only choose one, then where should you choose?" ”

"Youzhou and Jizhou? Jizhou is a natural granary, and the population is large, and there is a big river in the south as the boundary, and Youzhou is located in a remote area, the weather is cold, and it borders Wuhuan, Xianbei, Goguryeo, etc., if you choose to occupy here, you are afraid that it will be difficult to expand outward. In the eyes of people at the time, Youzhou was far inferior to Jizhou in terms of strategic location.

"If I tell you that north of Youzhou, where Wuhuan and Xianbei live, there are five million hectares of arable land, do you think Jizhou is important or Youzhou is important?" Zeng Yu threw earth-shattering words to Guo Jia, regardless of Guo Jia's reaction when he heard it.

"Really?"

You must know that the reason why the Guanzhong area is called the land of Longxing, in addition to the geographical location that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, is more because of the 200,000 hectares of river beach area and 5 million hectares of cultivated land, according to the calculation of 100 acres of one man with five families, this land is enough to feed more than 20 million people.

"It should be true, I've looked for people to find out, and it's all fertile ground. However, the land is still in the hands of Wuhuan and Xianbei, and they don't know that even if we grab it, it will need to be cultivated before it can be cultivated. Zeng Yu is talking about the Northeast Plain, which was called by later generations, and it is also the largest plain in China, and the black soil is indeed very fertile, once developed, it will definitely become the most important grain producing area in China.

As for the land area, he believed that it was only big and not small, and once they mastered this place, they could completely pull their background to the same level as the so-called wealthy families, or even surpass them. At this time, the family, their heritage is talent, because of the monopoly of knowledge, most of the talents come from the family, so this is the biggest foundation of the family, but Zeng Yu has already made a plan. The second of the family's heritage is land and grain, through continuous annexation, they have mastered a large amount of land, so as to hoard food, a large family can fully support a large army of food consumption for a year or even several years; The third essence is connections, but when disaster comes, they fly separately, as long as Zeng Yu's strength is enough, there will naturally be other people who take refuge.

"Lord, how do you know this?" Guo Jia asked curiously.

"I saw this in an ancient book, and after I arrived in Anping County, I asked someone to inquire about it, and I also sent someone to see it, and there will be no mistake. Now we have to think about how to take this place. Of course, Zeng Yu couldn't say that he was the common sense in his dream memory, so he found an excuse and answered casually.

"If Jizhou can be taken down, then Youzhou will definitely not be a problem. Lord, is there anyone else who knows about this land? Guo Jia's first thought was not how to get it, but how many people knew about it.

"I think there shouldn't be a third person other than you and me." Zeng Yu said.

"Will the book you said be seen by others?" Guo Jia is still a little worried.

"No, I'll burn the book after I finish it, and I'll tell you one by now." Zeng Yu replied affirmatively.

"That's good!" Guo Jia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now we need to think about how to get this piece of land, and I tell you that I also want you to help think of a way to get it as soon as possible, and we can reclaim it one day earlier."

"We have to get Youzhou first, and then we can snatch the land from Wuhuan and Xianbei. We have to plan this carefully, first of all, we can't let people find out, otherwise we may not be able to keep it. Secondly, we also need the population and warm clothing, etc., the north is cold and freezing, and the cold must be in place. Guo Jia said.

"Well, you're right, I'm telling you right now that I need you to make a plan. Reclamation is a long-term process that may take at least four or five years to complete, and it is all ready, whether it is the population or the tools or the food seeds. You have the right time now, so let's plan well, and we can discuss things together. These are Zeng Yu's words.

"Well, lord, do you still have contact with Zhang Rang?" Guo Jia asked suddenly.

"You mean the old eunuch?" Zeng Yu asked.

Seeing Guo Jia nodded, Zeng Yu said, "There is still a connection, after I controlled Anping County before, I was afraid that someone would come to pick peaches, so I specially asked people to contact them, and I also sent several boxes of jewelry." ”

"Then it's no problem, the lord still contacts Zhang on time this year, so that once the Yellow Turban Road gets into trouble, let's operate and get one or two counties in Youzhou into our hands, and then it will be much simpler." Guo Jia said.

"I think the same way, but I don't know which county is better to go to if I go to Youzhou, and in addition, Anping County is something I have worked hard to develop, and I don't want to give it up." This is where Zeng Yu is entangled.

"That's a problem, wait until I think about it." When Guo Jia heard this, he didn't know what to do, so he said to Zeng Yu.

"Hey, if it really doesn't work, I can only separate first, let Yachuan take a few people to take charge of Anping County, and the others will go to Youzhou with me." This was the only method Zeng Yu had thought of before.