Cao Ying is very unhappy now, quite unhappy.

After the victory of the crusade against Yuan Shu, Cao Ying wanted to take this opportunity to replenish his strength. Even if you can't include Huainan in your own territory, you have to make a lot of money, at least those money, food and sergeants can't be let go in vain. But what he didn't expect was that as soon as he got Yuan Shu done, Xun Yu, who stayed in Xuchang, sent news that Dong Cheng's gang was preparing to carry out a coup d'état while he was away. This made me burn my ass and had to return to the army, except for money and food, the source of soldiers was not replenished at all.

Now, Yuan Lao Er is gone, but Yuan Lao Boss in Hebei is eyeing him. According to the sentinel report, Yuan Shao's army began to assemble at Guandu on the Yellow River, and the number of people increased to more than 100,000. Although Yuan Shao has had a good relationship with him since he was a child, Cao Ying knows that he is by no means here to catch up with the past.

As for his own condition, it was even more bitter tears. Xuzhou, which had been coveted for a long time, failed to fight, and fought with Liu Bei several times without any benefits, and now Yuzhou is occupied by Liu Bei again. At present, he occupies Yongzhou, Yanzhou and Sizhou, and has an army of nearly 300,000. It sounds ruthless, but the food problem is also a headache. Moreover, Yuan Shao is known as having an army of 700,000, and Jizhou is a large producer, so he is really far behind him in terms of family background.

In short, Cao Ying is not enough food to eat now, and there are not enough people who want to fight, but there is a big guy on the other side of the Yellow River who is eyeing him. This situation is very passive, if Zhao Feng learned that he could toss Cao Ying so miserably, it is estimated that he would not believe it himself. But this is the case, the current Yuan Shao is almost the same as in history, but Cao Ying is less than the Cao Ying in history, Xuzhou and Huainan, and half of Yuzhou. And even if it is the Cao Ying in history, it is obviously difficult to face Yuan Shao, let alone this now?

All the strategists were speechless, and after a long time, Xun Yu, who was the first on the right, opened his mouth and said: "Lord, Yu has been thinking for a long time, and finally has a little shallow opinion, and I hope that the lord will decide." ”

"Wen Ruo, please speak!" Cao Ying hurriedly motioned to Xun Yu to speak. Although Guo Jia and Jia Xu are slightly better than Xun Yu in terms of strategy, Xun Yu's ability to take charge of the whole situation and the vision of the overall situation are beyond the reach of Guo Jia and the others. This is also why Cao Ying called him Wang Zuozhicai, what kind of Wang Zuozhicai is only fighting?

Xun Yu nodded, and said, "Everyone, our army is often short of food. On the other hand, Liu Bei in Xuzhou has never had such a situation. Yu thought it was because Xuzhou was rich at first, but after Guan Yu occupied Yuzhou, there was no shortage of food, and Yu thought it was because of Tuntian. But now our army is also practicing tuntian, but there is still a shortage of food, which is a bit puzzling. ”

"Why is that?" Not only Cao Ying, but the rest of the civil officials also looked at Xun Yu with some expectation, after all, this grain is the foundation of a person's life!

"Yu ordered someone to find some old farmers from Xuzhou this year to inquire carefully, only to find that under Liu Bei's rule, whether it is Xuzhou or Yuzhou, the cultivation method is very different from ours. They practiced intensive farming, and the yield was several times higher than before! Xun Yu sighed. How many times? "Cao Ying was really shocked at this moment, and there was several times more food at once, what kind of concept is this?

"Can it really be improved several times?" Cao Ying was also a little incredulous. "That's true." Xun Yu sighed, and said again: "This method was promoted by Liu Bei's subordinate Zhao Feng when he was the plain phase, and now Xuzhou and Yuzhou are all growing grain by this method." ”

"Zhao Feng?" Hearing this name again, Cao Ying was also a little surprised. In recent years, he has had several troubles because of this person, which also made him gradually pay attention to Zhao Feng.

"Wen Ruo, next year, my three states will also start to implement this method of deep cultivation!" Vigorous and resolute is Cao Ying's consistent style, and this kind of thing cannot be delayed, Xun Yu repeatedly promised. Cao Ying knew that as long as the grain output could be doubled under his rule, the problem of eating would be absolutely solved in the future, and now there was still one problem left to deal with Yuan Shao in Hebei.

"Lord!" Xun Yu hesitated a little this time, and after seeing Cao Ying's expectant eyes, he gritted his teeth and said: "Yu thinks that if you want to fight against Yuan Shao at this time, it is best to form an alliance with Liu Bei and fight against Yuan Shao!" ”

"An alliance with Liu Bei?" Cao Ying was also frightened by this proposal, and the rest of the strategists such as Cheng Yu and others were also stunned, and some even wondered if Xun Yu was crazy.

"Wen Ruo, then Liu Bei and I have fought a few times, the hatred is as deep as the sea, how can we form an alliance with him?" Cheng Yu was the first to express his opposition clearly, but Guo Jia and Jia Xu frowned deeply and pursed their lips.

"Lord, this is also a last resort!" Although Xun Yu's tone was a little bitter, he was still very resolute: "Although the lord also has an army of 300,000 under his command, the chances of winning a war with Yuan Shao now are slim. The only way to do this is to unite with Liu Bei and deal with Yuan Shao together, so that there is a chance of victory. Moreover, if Liu Bei suddenly attacks our Yanzhou while we are confronting Yuan Shao, we will be defeated by the enemy on both sides. Don't forget, Taishan County is in Liu Bei's hands right now! ”

"This?" Cao Ying was also dumbfounded when he heard this, and it took him a long time before he looked up at everyone, and said a little tiredly: "If you want to form an alliance with Liu Bei, what should you do?" ”

"My lord, I am willing to be the envoy and go to Xuzhou to discuss the alliance. Today, Yuan Shao's army is 700,000, of which Qingzhou has 150,000 troops led by Zhang Jaw and Gao Ran. If Liu Bei can be persuaded to go north to Qingzhou, then the pressure on us will be greatly reduced. Xun Yu was also obligated at this time, and took the initiative to ask for help.

"But I don't know, how does Wen Ruo want to persuade Liu Bei to march?" Cao Ying asked with some hesitation. There is nothing so cheap in this world, if Liu Bei wants to send troops, Cao Ying must have some capital. However, Cao Ying's capital is also limited now, and he can't afford too much blood!

"Liu Bei has always lived in the Han Dynasty, and the lord can ask His Majesty to confirm this name for him. In addition, more knighthoods, that's it! Xun Yu was a little uncertain. Cao Ying knew that this was the only thing he could take, and now he could only hope that Liu Bei would see the situation clearly and agree to form an alliance.

A few days later, Shangshu ordered Xun Yu to come to Xuzhou and read out the latest decree of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty. "Taiwei Liu Bei, loyal to the king, today I checked the genealogy, and knew that he was a descendant of the Han family, and he was my uncle, and he was specially named the Marquis of Qi, and he was in charge of the military affairs of Xu and Henan!" Xun Yu's high-pitched voice sounded in the hall of Xuzhou Mansion, and Liu Bei led everyone to thank him without mentioning it. At this point, everyone called Liu Bei Uncle Liu.

That night, Liu Bei quietly ordered Zhao Feng, Chen Deng and others to be urgently summoned to the Xuzhou Mansion. "Cao Ying wants to form an alliance with me!" Liu Bei was a little incredulous, and then took out Cao Ying's handwritten letter and showed it to everyone. Zhao Feng read it, there were not too many other words in the letter, to the effect that now Yuan Shao is aggressive, I can't bear it alone, it's best for everyone to resist it together. Otherwise, if Yuan Shao collapses, everyone will not have a good time.

It seems that Lao Cao was miserable by himself! Zhao Feng could only sigh like this. No matter how difficult Lao Cao was in history, he had never formed an alliance with anyone, and now he has come to this point, which he really didn't expect. But now the situation is indeed like this, even if Liu Bei and Cao Ying form an alliance, the territory occupied by the allies is only about the same as that of Lao Cao in history. Considering that the two sides could not cooperate seamlessly, and could even be said to be in the same bed, the pressure on the Allies was actually very high.

"Lord, let's promise Cao Ying first." At this time, Lu Su spoke first. Zhao Feng was not surprised by this, after all, Lu Su has always advocated even the weak against the strong. Liu Bei looked at Zhao Feng again when he heard this, but saw that he was also nodding.

"Cao Ying is tyrannical and domineering, oppressing the Son of Heaven, how can I form an alliance with him?" Liu Bei frowned. "Lord!" Zhao Feng still took on the task of persuading Liu Bei: "Although Cao Ying is a national thief, he is also a meritorious minister. It is difficult to explain the merits and demerits in one word. The big enemy at the moment is Yuan Shao, and the rest will wait for the things in front of me to pass! Besides, the Son of Heaven is still in the hands of Cao Ying, even if we have the heart to reorganize the dynasty, we can't send troops to Xuchang now! ”

"That's it!" Liu Bei sighed, and acquiesced in the alliance with Cao Ying. As for the specific details of the next, it will be up to Lu Su and Xun Yu to discuss. Zhao Feng wanted to take the opportunity to knock Cao Ying again, but he opened the map and looked at it, and the current territory bordering Liu Bei and Cao Ying is really limited, and it is basically limited to the Yanzhou area. As for Yongzhou and Sizhou, even if Cao Ying was willing to let Liu Bei's people go there, Zhao Feng didn't want to go to the place where Xuzhou was far away. "Jingzhou, Jingzhou!" Looking at Jingzhou, which was stuck between Yuzhou and Yongzhou, Zhao Feng really wanted Liu Biao to die immediately, so that he could seize Jingzhou.

The negotiations between Lu Su and Xun Yu did not last long, after all, everyone is busy now. In the end, there was only one agreement, even if Cao Ying started a war with Yuan Shao, the Xuzhou army would go north to attack Qingzhou to respond to Cao Ying. As for anything else, I can't talk about it for the time being.

"Lord, Mr. Hua Tuo from Xuzhou College has a letter!" On the afternoon of the day when the alliance was agreed, Liu Bei received an urgent letter from Hua Tuo, and when he opened it, his face changed greatly.

"Lord, what's the matter?" Zhao Feng saw that Liu Bei's face was not quite right, and hurriedly asked.

"Mr. Hua said that this spring in Hebei Zhuzhou was flooded with heavy rain, but now it is sunny for a month, I am afraid that there will be a plague!" Liu Bei was a little shocked and said, and everyone around him did not change color when they heard this. Whether it is Cao Ying or Yuan Shao, in the face of this kind of disaster, their strength seems very small.

Zhao Feng knew that in ancient times, this kind of plague was often very terrifying. Historically, Asia and Europe have been hit by this plague, and sometimes as many as 70% of the population in a city has been killed by the plague. During the Three Kingdoms period, the population declined sharply, and several large-scale plagues were also important reasons.

But Zhao Feng also knew that if he could take some measures within his ability, he could still control the plague within a certain range. In order to prevent trouble, Zhao Feng didn't care about shocking the world, and took the initiative to come out at the moment: "Lord, Feng has a few ways to alleviate the plague." ”

As soon as the words fell, all the eyes in the hall converged on Zhao Feng's body.

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