When Ye Zhao saw Guo Jia, it was already mid-July, Zhang Yue didn't come back, Chunmanlou was burned clean by Xun Yu, and then Xun Yu did a big cleaning of Xuchang, many dark rooms were found out, and the dark rooms arranged by the secret guards in Xuchang were almost cleaned up, and Zhang Yue had to rearrange them.

Guo Jia came back under the escort of Gu Cheng, and fought a battle with the pursuing Cao army in the Xingyang area, in Xuchang, as long as there are traces, it is difficult to escape Xun Yu's ears and eyes, Yu Ban sent nearly a thousand soldiers and horses to pursue, and now Cao Cao's main force is stationed in Dongjun, and the troops left in Xuchang have to guard against Xuchang, and a thousand soldiers and horses are already the limit that can be taken out.

As the most elite elite battalion under Ye Zhao, whether it is individual combat power or equipped with weapons, the special operations battalion is enough to surpass the world, although there are many chasing soldiers in Cao's army, but in the face of the attack of the special operations battalion, it is not even half an hour, it was annihilated by the special operations battalion, and the combat power is terrifying, even Guo Jia is amazed.

Ye Zhao and Guo Jia's meeting has a feeling of hating each other, not that Guo Jia is strong, but Guo Jia's concept is very compatible with Ye Zhao in many aspects, not to mention the overall situation, as a top strategist, a good overall view is essential, Guo Jia's forward-looking is the highest among the strategists Ye Zhao has seen, and Guo Jia is also quite sharp in his speculation about people's hearts.

Guo Jia didn't even rest, so he chatted with Ye Zhao until the evening, just like when Ye Zhao licked his face and ate in Xi Zhicai's mansion, Guo Jia decided to have dinner here with Ye Zhao.

Ye Zhao also gave Guo Jia the highest level of courtesy, and all the military officers under Ye Zhao in Chang'an, including Man Chong and Xiahou Lan, who were independent of the official system and directly responsible to Ye Zhao, were all invited to pick up the wind for Guo Jia.

"Fengxiao, you passed my test before, can you be regarded as passing?" Ye Zhao looked at Guo Jia and asked with a smile.

"The lord's words are serious, Jia has already had the heart to vote, and what he said before is just a confirmation, and there is no intention of teaching." Feeling the gazes of everyone around him, Guo Jia's face was red and his heart was not beating.

Ye Zhao nodded and said, "But I still have two questions." ”

"Please speak up, my lord." Guo Jia smiled.

"First question, if I send troops to the Central Plains next year, can I pacify the world?" Ye Zhao looked at Guo Jia and asked with a smile.

Guo Jia nodded and said: "With the current momentum of the lord, the majesty of the soldiers and horses in Guanzhong, and the excellent equipment, if the lord sends troops to the east of Kanto next year, north of the river, there should be no problem, but the ministers do not recommend that the lord send troops so quickly." ”

"Oh?" Ye Zhao looked at Guo Jia with a smile: "Reason." ”

"The lord is very big in a game of chess, and the layout has begun in the Zhongping period, and now, the entire pattern of the world has undergone new changes with the continuous growth of Guanzhong, and the status of scholars is being affected by the most serious impact since Guangwu."

Ye Zhao nodded, this was also the thing he was most proud of over the years, and he had leveraged the status of the family.

Guo Jia said with a smile: "Now if the princes want to fight with the lord, they must follow the lord, so that the conflict with the scholars is inevitable, if the lord sends troops at this time, forced by the pressure of the lord, the princes will re-cooperate with the scholars, even if the lord sweeps the world, the foundation of the scholars is still there, and then govern, it takes a lot of effort, after all, the other side is now the enemy, if the world is dominated, the scholars surrender, then the ministers, although the king wants the ministers to die, the ministers are not loyal to death, but then the world is initially decided, the lord will kill again at that time, and it is inevitable that there will be turmoil again." ”

"But if the lord slows down, about three or five years, the status of the scholars will be completely suppressed by the princes, and then the lord will take over the world, not only will it be much easier, but after the world is swept away, there will be no problem of scholars." Guo Jia smiled: "Of course, this is just the words of the Jia family, and it is not accurate." ”

"This second question." Ye Zhao nodded with satisfaction, looked at Guo Jia and said with a smile: "Although Zhao is a little conceited, but Meng De's ability, Zhao admires it, and is never below me, and now Meng De is in the Central Plains, if you talk about the population, I am afraid that it is still above me, not to mention that Wen Ruo and Feng Xiao are also old friends, why did Feng Xiao vote for me but not for Meng De?" ”

This is also what Ye Zhao is puzzled about, Guo Jia's harvest is too easy, it's not that he is cheap, but with Cao Cao's current momentum, it is indeed higher than Ye Zhao, coercing the Son of Heaven to order the princes, in the name of righteousness, under the jurisdiction of Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, are all places with a peak population, even after these years of war and turmoil, but only in terms of population, just Cao Cao has four states, before the princes discuss Dong, there are definitely 20 million people, even now, after so many wars, according to statistics, there are about 15 million people, If Yuan Shao can be completely taken, the population under Cao Cao's rule will be close to 20 million.

Ye Zhao has governed Shuzhong over the years, subdued the Barbarian Yue, subdued the Qiang, plundered the population outside the Saiwai, and encouraged childbirth, and until now, the total population of Guanzhong is only 14 million.

When Ye Zhao subdued Guanzhong, the entire audience plus Hedong was only in their early two millions, and the Xiliang and Bingzhou that were subdued later added up to less than one million, Ye Zhao tried his best to naturalize, plundered the women and children of the Xiongnu and Xianbei tribes, and even provoked wars outside the Sai, and successively destroyed the Xiongnu and Xianbei tribes, barely enough for 14 million.

In the era of cold weapons, population is the potential for war and the source of wealth, in this regard, Ye Zhao is really not comparable to Cao Cao, if you add Jizhou's resentment, Cao Cao's population is definitely the most of today's princes.

Ye Zhao has made statistics, Jingzhou has stabilized over the years, but after the Yellow Turban and from time to time with Lu Bu or Jiangdong, the population is about four million, Youzhou Liu Bei is even more unbearable, Hu people Koubian, plus the previous battle with Gongsun Zhan, and then with Yuan Shao, the entire Youzhou is not prosperous, after so many wars, it is good to have a population of 300,000, if it is not for the three counties of Hejian, Bohai and Zhongshan, Liu Bei is not even qualified to be taken seriously, as for Jiangdong, the Central Plains war in recent years has moved a lot of people, However, before that, Yan Baihu, Wang Lang, Liu Xuan, Yuan Shu, and Sun Ce attacked each other, and the population was probably about two million.

Therefore, now in the world, in terms of population, the biggest head is Cao Cao, and then Ye Zhao, as for the other princes, the combined population under their rule is not as good as any of them, and among the two, Cao Cao is stronger in terms of population base, and the monarch's ability is not much different, Guo Jia chose Ye Zhao and was so happy, which somewhat surprised Ye Zhao.

"In the past, when the lord and the Duke of Cao had not yet risen, Yuan Shao had the hope of the fourth and third dukes, the prestige of the princes, and the land of Jizhou's rich money and grain. Guo Jia did not answer Ye Zhao directly, but took Yuan Shao to talk about the matter: "But what about now? ”

"But Mende wasn't the original." Ye Zhao said with a smile.

"Cao Gong is indeed the British lord, but as Jia said before, the lord has encompassed the banner of the world in one game, and he has surpassed the princes in strength, whether it is Cao Cao or Liu Bei, every step after that, will be greatly hindered." Guo Jia looked at Ye Zhao and said: "However, the lord is different, although when the lord founded the foundation, it was difficult step by step, but he has used the past ten years to turn things around, but it has caused irreconcilable contradictions among the princes, whether it is Cao Cao, Liu Bei, or Jiangdong Sun Ce, if you want to contend with the lord, there is only one way to go, suppress the scholars with iron and blood, follow the example of the lord to implement the rule of law, and divide the land......"

Guo Jia smiled bitterly and said: "It seems that although Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's identities benefited a lot in the early days, it is precisely because of this identity that they have tied their hands and feet, if there is no lord, the pattern of the world will remain unchanged, and after a hundred and ten years, it will be reunified, and Jia will not be able to reverse this situation, but since the lord has appeared, and has reached this point, Jia just wants to end this troubled world as soon as possible and return the world to peace, and this, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, can not do it." ”

Just like when Guo Jia worked for Yuan Shao before, every decision, there will be at least two directions, two factions are fighting, someone wants to go forward, someone must go back, although Cao Cao's side is not obvious, but as Cao Cao defeats Yuan Shao and occupies Jizhou, there will be such problems.

Although Cao Cao is more decisive and assertive than Yuan Shao, this problem will not go away.

Although there are factional disputes on Ye Zhao's side, on external issues, it is basically Ye Zhao and Xi Zhicai, Li Ru, and Fa Zheng who make a decision, Ye Zhao has absolute control over his own forces, whether it is Liu Bian, or the celebrities who later defected from all over the Kanto, they cannot affect Ye Zhao's decision-making, which is difficult for Cao Cao to do, and he has to rely on the scholar class, which also leads to many times, Cao Cao has to make compromises on some issues.

In fact, to put it bluntly, in Guo Jia's eyes, the difference between Cao Cao and Ye Zhao is not the difference between the two themselves, but the difference between the execution ability and governance of the two forces.

Ye Zhao's new policy has been completed, just like the Qin State after the Shang Dynasty changed the law, and Cao Cao's side is still using the old system, even if there is some innovation, it is also cautious, there is no way to open the way like Ye Zhao's side, the more time continues, the stronger Ye Zhao's side will be, and Cao Cao and the rest of the princes will have a long time, busy with the open and secret struggle between the scholar class.

Although Cao Cao still has the righteousness of the Son of Heaven in his hands, with Guo Jia's understanding of Ye Zhao, Ye Zhao has taken Liu Wei by his side for so many years, it must be not only for the name of King Yong, I am afraid that there are hole cards in his hand, at least in this regard, Ye Zhao will not be weaker than Cao Cao, on the whole, unless Cao Cao can destroy Ye Zhao now, the longer the time, the greater the gap between the two sides, just like Guo Jia said, he hopes that the world can stop the war as soon as possible, and it is not surprising to choose Ye Zhao's side.

"Good!" Ye Zhao smiled and raised the wine and said: "What Feng Xiao said, won my heart, drink this full, don't get drunk tonight!" ”

"It's better to be respectful than to obey!" Guo Jia smiled freely, also raised the wine buds, and smiled at Ye Zhao.