"The subordinates think that the cooperation between the lord and Yuan Shao will benefit both sides, and the fight will be defeated!" Xun said while peeking at Cao Cao's reaction, seeing that his face was expressionless, he continued, "These days, my subordinates have gone to Xiangyang, Jiangxia and Yingchuan, and noticed a situation that many places have set up new recruitment offices. ”

Cao Cao nodded and encouraged: "Well, keep talking!" ”

Xun continued: "This says one thing. After Liu Xin defeated Dong Zhuo, he must also be seriously injured! If the lord can take this opportunity to join forces with Yuan Shao, he will definitely be able to break Liu Xin and be ashamed. ”

Cao Cao glanced at Xun, the number one strategist under him, and muttered, "Wen Ruo is not worried that Cao will not be able to defeat Yuan Shao within two years. ”

Xun shook his head and said, "Definitely." On the contrary, the subordinates were very confident that the lord would defeat Yuan Shao within two years. It's just that what will happen in two years, has the lord thought about it? ”

Cao Cao himself is also good at scheming, and after thinking about it for a while, he quickly understood what Xun meant, and couldn't help but say: "What Wen Ruo said is not unreasonable, I'm afraid that Yuan Shao will not agree to cooperate with Cao." ”

Xun arched his hand and said: "Lord Qi, my subordinates are willing to go to Yecheng to persuade Yuan Shao." His subordinates believe that he still understands the truth of cold lips and teeth. ”

Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Yuan Shao is narrow-minded, if you abandoned him back then, he wouldn't believe you." However, this matter is still worth a try, and it is only the candidate for the envoy Yuan Shao......"

Just as he was hesitating, a soldier came to report, Liu Ye asked to see him, Cao Cao was overjoyed and said: "There is a candidate!" ”

While speaking, Liu Ye had already hurriedly ran in and said excitedly: "Congratulations to the lord, the thunderbolt has been trial-produced!" ”

Cao Cao asked in surprise, "Ziyang, what kind of thunderbolt are you talking about?" ”

Liu Ye took a breath and said, "Do you remember that when Liu Xin conquered Yique Pass, he used a siege equipment that could throw boulders?" ”

Cao Cao also remembered it and said: "Yes, there was news from Tanma at that time, and Cao Mou also asked everyone, but no one knew what it was, could it be the thunderbolt you were talking about?" ”

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Liu Xin attaches great importance to this thing, and his subordinates can't get the pattern by sending people to inquire in many ways, so his subordinates don't know what he calls this thing." However, the subordinates consulted a large number of ancient books, and really found out something, just tried to cast twice in the suburbs, and the effect was good, but every time the operation would make a deafening loud noise, so he named it Thunderbolt. ”

In fact, the trebuchet that Liu Ye tried to produce was not exactly the same as that used in Liu Xinjun. The trebuchet he invented required hundreds of people to operate at the same time, and Liu Xinjun used it much more elaborate than him, only twelve people could easily operate it, and the range and accuracy were much higher than the trebuchet made by Liu Ye. However, for Cao Cao, being able to make such a sharp siege machine is indeed a big progress.

"Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt!" Cao Cao read it silently twice, he was in a good mood, and he exclaimed, "Okay, this name is good!" Ziyang, you have made a great contribution this time. Cao has another thing I want to ask you to work on. ”

Liu Ye bowed down and said, "Please command, my subordinates must do their best!" ”

Cao Cao said with a smile: "Ziyang, Cao Mou discussed with Wen Ruo just now, so I still don't see Yuan Shao's sword soldiers as much as possible." Yuan Shao set up another Liu Biao, and his ambitions were obvious, but he still respected the Han clan on the surface, and he could only ask you to come forward, and maybe he would be able to listen to what he said. ”

Liu Ye is also a smart person, nodded and said: "My subordinates understand, the lord wants to concentrate his strength and deal with Liu Xin first." ”

Cao Cao glanced at Xun and laughed: "Those who know me, Zi Yangye!" ”

Sure enough, as Cao Cao expected, in order to show his respect for the Han family, Yuan Shao learned that Liu Ye was coming, and personally went out of Yecheng ten miles away to greet him, and also took Liu Ye's hand and returned with him, which seemed intimate.

In the car, when Liu Ye explained his intentions, Yuan Shao's face sank unconsciously, and he sneered: "Cao Apu has a good idea." If Liu Xin is broken, will Yu Yuan have any benefit? At that time, whether it is Jingzhou, Sili or Yuzhou, it is not all in his Cao Cao's pocket, how can Yuan take a fraction of it, and this matter will not be mentioned! ”

Liu Ye arched his hand and said: "I don't know what conditions I want, Yuan Gongfang is willing to cooperate with my father-in-law to fight against Liu Xin." ”

Yuan Shao said without thinking: "If you want me to cooperate with Apu, you go back and tell him, let him send the puppet emperor Liu Xie to Yecheng, and the two families will serve Liu Jingsheng as the master!" ”

Liu Ye couldn't help but sigh when he heard that Yuan Shao proposed this condition, knowing that the matter of the two families forming an alliance to resist Liu Xin could not be discussed after all. In fact, it's no wonder that Yuan Shao, his territory is far from Liu Xin, and Liu Xin can't threaten him for the time being. Therefore, Yuan Shao did not pay attention to how strong Liu Xin's strength was, he wishfully believed that with his strength, he could eat Cao Cao first, and then gather the troops of the six states, take the power of the new victory, and then take Liu Xin, why do you need to do more?

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month has passed, and it has entered the winter, and the Mi Zhu family has also settled down in Xiangyang and gradually adapted to life here. Although Liu Xin did not assign him a specific position, he was paid a monthly salary according to the standard of the county guard.

The recruitment of troops in various localities is progressing smoothly, and the personnel of the seven major army corps have been replenished one after another. Mi Fang also joined the Han army and was arranged to temporarily serve as a captain in the Second Army, which is already Liu Xin's special care.

The transformation of the local army is also being carried out gradually. In some of the counties closest to the front line, the local army has been completely reorganized in accordance with the requirements of the regular corps, and the equipment has all been replaced in place. As for some counties and counties in the interior, the reorganization of the local army will lag behind a little, but according to Liu Xin's order, it will also be completed within the year.

In two days, it will be the day that Liu Xin personally selected to hold the wedding for Guo Jia, Tang Xian, Zhang Liao, and Mi Zhen. However, the things at the wedding were handled by others, and Liu Xin didn't have to bother with anything, but the civil and military generals from all over the country returned to Xiangyang one after another in order to participate in the wedding of the two of them, Liu Xin just took this opportunity to meet them one by one and learn about the situation in various places, and Liu Xin was most concerned about the reconstruction of Guanzhong.

Xiang Lang unfolded a huge map in front of Liu Xin and said, "My lord, please see, this is the planning map of Chang'an City, and after it is completed, the scale will be twice that of Luoyang and four times that of Xiangyang." ”

Liu Xin stared at the map, looked at it carefully for a long time, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "Yes, it seems that Juda has spent a lot of thought on this matter." ”

Hearing Liu Xin's praise, Xiang Lang hurriedly said: "The lord praises it, these are all subordinates. ”

Xiang Lang was originally just a small scribe, but because he was appreciated by Liu Xin, he has now become a scholar of the Ministry of Industry. Although the Ministry of Industry Shangshu is Liu Xin's new official position, he is in charge of the whole world's projects, and he is also the head of the research institute. However, Xiang Lang knew that it was really hard-won for him to be where he was today, and he did not dare to be complacent because of his high position, on the contrary, he acted more cautiously than before.

Liu Xin knew who he was, smiled, and continued to ask, "How is the whole project progressing?" ”

Xiang Lang had already prepared, and said: "Chang'an City has been abandoned for many years, and although Dong Zhuo has done some repairs, it is not systematic. Fortunately, the land around Chang'an City is owned by Dong Zhuo's henchmen, and it doesn't take much effort to expropriate it. Nowadays, the construction of Miyagi and Inner City has been started one after another. It was just the first snow of the winter that had just fallen, and the roads were blocked, making it difficult to transport bricks and stones. ”

Liu Xin said: "Repair the city before building the road, the road is the key. Not only the roads in Guanzhong, but also the roads in Xiliang should also be vigorously renovated. ”

Xiang Lang arched his hand and said: "The subordinates understand, please rest assured, after the subordinates return to Guanzhong, they will organize the manpower to concentrate on repairing the road first." ”

Liu Xin waved his hand and said, "Don't worry." The winter in the north is very cold, and now the quality of road construction is not guaranteed, now you can prepare enough materials, wait until next spring, the climate will be warmer, and it is not too late to repair it. Remember, all roads, especially those in Xiliang, must be built to a high standard to ensure that they are unimpeded whether it is sunny, rainy, windy or snowy! ”

Xiang Lang said in surprise: "The lord ordered the rebuilding of Chang'an City, obviously to make Guanzhong the center of the world. But Xiliang is located on the border, as long as the road is passable, why spend so much effort? ”

Liu Xin stood up, pointed to the map of the territory of the Han Dynasty behind him, and said, "Juda, come and see." Liangzhou is the only way to the Western Regions, and Liu has ordered to rebuild the Western Regions Protectorate. Liu consulted some past classics, and my Han Dynasty set up the capital protectorate in the Western Regions, which did not levy taxes on local grain, and all supplies were allocated by the imperial court. If the roads are not smooth, the transportation of money and grain will be twice as effective with half the effort, and the loss on the road alone will be an alarming figure. ”

Seeing Xiang Lang nodding frequently, Liu Xin continued: "These roads are not only to ensure that the imperial court can smoothly transport money and grain to the Western Regions, but also to become an important commercial road in the future. ”

Due to the influence of Liu Hong, people at that time did not discriminate against business, Xiang Lang also opened a few shops in his own home, after listening to Liu Xin's words, he has roughly understood, but he is still a little puzzled, and said: "Dare to ask the lord, these goods you said, Xiang paper, white porcelain are official franchises, has always been in short supply, and the amount of tea is very small, only silk can be sold in large quantities to the West, is it worth it?" ”

Liu Xin shook his head and said, "Juda, you also know that today's Han Dynasty is in turmoil, and the people who can afford these things are limited after all. There is no need to worry about the production of these goods, the key is to find ways to expand the market. ”

Liu Xin comes from later generations, he knows the importance of international trade, these goods are sold abroad, often can earn several times or even dozens of times the profit, not to mention that now he is still exclusive, Xiliang and under his rule, of course, to restart the "Silk Road", and to ensure the absolute smooth flow of the Silk Road.

As he was talking, there was a sudden noise outside the door, and a woman's voice shouted, "Let me in!" I want to see Liu Xin! ”