Bohai County and Pingyuan County have now been taken. Gongsun Kang's territory is almost all connected.

From the five counties of Liaodong in the east, Youzhou in the west, Bohai County in the south of Youzhou, and Qingzhou, Xuzhou and Yangzhou in the south. These are now Gongsun Kang's territories.

People can move freely, and goods can circulate freely. The border line of external defense can also be taken a big step forward. The five counties of Liaodong have now completely become inland.

If Jiangdong is taken, then even Yizhou and Jiaozhou can be connected as one, and it can basically occupy half of China.

The places occupied by Gongsun Kang are all coastal areas. Naval support or personnel transfers can be used at any time. Advance can be attacked, retreat can be defended; It is already invincible.

After occupying Pingyuan County, Gongsun Kang announced that the army would be repaired for a month. Digest and clean up the new territory you got during this time.

Ji Ling's attack on Hejian County was relatively smooth, and he had already attacked the county of Lecheng (now southeast of Xian County, Hebei). These generals always want to let them be in charge of themselves, so Gongsun Kang did not increase his troops and gave Ji Ling time to solve it himself.

It had been two months since Xu Sheng attacked Jinan, and after Yuan Tan committed suicide, Jinan announced its surrender. They are all some less important figures, and Gongsun Kang instructed: It is enough to be placed in accordance with the regulations on prisoners in Liaodong.

Zhang Liao's task has been completed, and after handing in the task, he will leave and return to Beihai, Qingzhou.

Although Gongsun Kang has always wanted to implement the rotation system of the general's station. But now that it is the time of war, it is really inconvenient to carry it out; The main reason is that he can firmly control the officers and soldiers at the grassroots level, so it doesn't really matter which general he is.

Cao Cao learned that Gongsun Kang was in the next county, and sighed for a long time, lamenting that he was born at the wrong time, and he lived in the same era as Gongsun Kang.

Xun Yu, the first strategist under his command, gave him an idea and said: "Gongsun Kang is invincible, we might as well avoid his edge." Don't compete with him for the land of the Central Plains, and use his heart to manage the generation from Chang'an to the Western Regions. ”

Xun Yu is actually euphemistically persuading Cao Cao to close the country.

As long as Cao Cao occupies Chang'an, he will guard Tongguan and Hangu Pass. That was the territory of the old Qin State before.

The land of Guanzhong, fertile for thousands of miles, although it is now all abandoned and overgrown with grass, it is still easy to develop. Whether it is immigration or reclamation, it can solve the problem of lack of food for Cao Jun.

To the west, Liangzhou can be attacked, and local warlords such as Ma Chao and Han Sui are vulnerable.

Taking Liangzhou opened up the golden road to the Western Regions, and it was also the famous Silk Road in later generations.

The more Cao Cao pondered, the more he felt that Xun Yu's idea was good, and he could develop it behind closed doors, and he didn't have to worry about Liaodong invading his territory.

So, Cao Cao lifted his spirits, gathered his men and horses, and began to march in the direction of Chang'an and Liangzhou.

In the eighth year of Jian'an (203), Cao Cao began to use troops against Guanzhong. In March, Cao Cao sent Zhong Xuan, the commander of the school, to lead the general Xiahou Yuan to march into Guanzhong in the name of crusading against Zhang Lu in Hanzhong (Zhinan Zheng, now Hanzhong, Shaanxi).

Guanzhong Ma Teng, Ma Chao, Han Sui, Yang Qiu and other ten were suspicious and fearful, and they all turned against each other for a while. Cao Cao immediately sent the general Cao Ren to attack Guanzhong, and Ma Teng, Ma Chao and others were stationed in Tongguan.

In July, Cao Cao led a large army to conquer Guanzhong, and defeated the Guanzhong coalition army.

In September, Ma and Han again asked for land cession and sent Ren Zi to seek peace, but Cao Cao adopted Xun Yu's suggestion, falsely allowed it, and defeated Han and Ma again. Han Sui and Ma Chao were defeated and left Liangzhou, Yang Qiu fled back to Anding, and Cao Jun beheaded Chengyi and Li Kan and other rebel generals, and Guanzhong was pacified since then.

In October, Cao Cao marched to settle down, and Yang Qiu surrendered. Cao Cao led the army to withdraw, and ordered Xiahou Yuan to continue the westward expedition, and within two years, chase Ma Chao, break Han Sui, destroy Ma Teng, Song Jian, sweep Qiang, Di, Hubu Guanright, and the Liangzhou area was basically pacified.

After pacifying Liangzhou, Cao Cao also took a series of measures to develop the economy, enlighten politics, and consolidate the military. Rise up in the predicament, and once again you can fight against Liaodong.

Politically, Cao Cao advocated punishing Haoqiang.

Cao Cao began to embark on a career in office, and tried to use stricter laws to change the situation of the rampant power at that time. Due to the disaster in the center, Cao was unable to carry out his intentions. It was only after he took power that he had to fully implement the rule of law policy of restraining the powerful and powerful.

He said: "The husband is punished, and the life of the people is also"; "To eradicate the chaos of the government, take punishment first". He used Wang Xiu, Sima Zhi, Yang Pei, Lu Qian, Man Chong, Jia Kui and other local officials to curb the lawless and powerful.

If we compare the governance techniques successively implemented by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in Jizhou, we can see two different situations: "At the end of the Han Dynasty, the government was lenient, and Shao was lenient and wide, so it was not taken." Under Yuan Shao's leniency policy, "the powerful and the powerful were arbitrary, relatives were merged, the people were poor and weak, they rented out their endowments, and showed off their family wealth, which was not enough to meet their orders." In this way, it is natural that "the people will be attached to each other, and the armoured soldiers will be strong." Therefore, although Yuan Shao had a larger land, more soldiers, and more food, he was eventually defeated by Cao. After Cao won Jizhou, he immediately "emphasized the method of annexation of the powerful and strong", so it received the effect of "pleasing the people". Sima Guang's statement that Cao "turned chaos into order" was not unfounded.

In terms of talents, Cao Cao implemented meritocracy.

After the defeat of Jizhou, Cao Cao took some measures to stabilize the interior. In the spring of the seventh year of Jian'an, Cao Cao issued the "Seeking Talent Order", saying: "Today's order has not yet been decided, and this special urgency to seek talent is also ······ The second and third sons are bright and ugly, and I am the only one who moves, and I have to use it. Cao Cao put forward the policy of employing people without sticking to conduct and meritocracy, with the aim of collecting talents to his side as much as possible.

During the Han Dynasty, officials were selected, and the selected people must not only have feudal moral qualities such as benevolence, righteousness, filial piety, etc., but also have noble family backgrounds.

Cao Cao does not pay attention to false reputation in employing people, and he selects officials to "understand the law" and be able to implement the rule of law. Cui Yan and Mao Jue are in charge of the election, "all of them are upright people, although they are famous at the time, and those who do not do it will not be able to enter." To be thrifty, the people of the world are not self-motivated by honesty, although the ministers of noble favors, public opinion does not dare to be excessive." The social climate has improved.

In order to maintain and develop the power, so that more people can serve their own causes, not restricted by the above standards, emphasizing "meritocracy". As long as he has talent, even if he lacks feudal moral character and is from a lower class, he will pay attention to promotion. From 210 to 217, he successively issued three "merit orders" to select and appoint some talented people. Break the concept of the clan, recruit the middle and lower classes of the landlord class, restrain the powerful and strong, and strengthen the centralization of power. The socio-economic development of the areas under his rule has been restored and developed.

Shang Li Method:

Cao Cao's thought was influenced by Confucianism, and its roots belonged to the category of Confucianism, which was to uphold benevolence, righteousness, and courtesy, and tried to use benevolence, morality, and courtesy to teach the people and administration, that is, "governing and ruling etiquette first". On the other hand, Cao Cao's emphasis on law and art, strict punishment and strict law, the history is very clear, which constitutes another important aspect of Cao Cao's thought. This is the "first priority to put the punishment first". Therefore, Cao Cao's thought is a contradictory unity. Cao Cao, who was in troubled times, emphasized criminal law and did not forget the use of etiquette. He has always respected the law with both hands, and has shown a unique ability to deceive in the simultaneous use of etiquette and law.

Mastery of the Art of War:

Cao Cao studied the art of war, had advanced military theories, and was familiar with the works of Sun Wu, Wu Qi and other military strategists of the previous generation. The "Brief Explanation of Sun Tzu" was written by him, which created a precedent for sorting out and commenting on the thirteen articles of "Sun Tzu", and enriched and developed ancient Chinese military theory. He advocated the concept of war of "soldiers acting with righteousness" and emphasized that the division was famous and in line with morality. It is flexible in strategy and tactics, adapts to the situation, wins in any situation, and never tires of deceit.

Economically, Cao Cao also has a number of initiatives:

In 202 AD, in the seventh year of Jian'an, Cao Cao repaired the Suiyang Canal in Junyi (now Kaifeng City), that is, dredged a section of the Bianqu Canal from Junyi to Suiyang (now south of Shangqiu City) to facilitate the transportation of the road.

In addition, he also carried out tuntian; reform of household registration; water conservancy; Advocate honesty, diligence and thrift.

(End of chapter)