Chengdu Qin Mi is extremely thoughtful in the face of strange visitors, as a figure of high status among Guo Jiazhi's subordinate officials, he is not arrogant and domineering, and he shows a gentleman's demeanor everywhere when dealing with people.

This visitor named Yonghong had a somewhat kitsch posture, nodding in front of Qin Mi, and even Qin Mi poured him a cup of tea, he looked flattered.

The identity of the other party, Qin Mi already understood, is a powerful wealthy family in the south of Yizhou, although Guo Jia is the pastor of Yizhou, but he does not really rule the entire Yizhou, such as Jianning County, Yongchang County, Yunnan County in the south, etc., have not fallen into Guo Jia's control.

The wider the territory, the stronger the strength.

Han Gaozu Liu Bang from Hanzhong and Xiang Yu to fight for the world, and finally won, which is very rare and convincing reasons, is Liu Bang's basic strength, Hanzhong in the Qin and Han dynasties, is still an underdeveloped wilderness, the north is prosperous and the south is declining economic, demographic, political and other situations, is at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty began to reverse, four hundred years later Hanzhong is still not as good as Hebei, four hundred years ago even Hanzhong is in a backward state, more south of the region can reach what extent?

There are two reasons why Guo Jia did not go south to include that piece of land in the territory of influence when Yizhou did not reach the stage of development, one is that the natural environment of southern Yizhou itself, and the benefits of input and output are not enough to make Guo Jia greedy. The second is that the southern tribes of Yizhou are mixed, difficult to control, the way the Han people rule, sometimes inadvertently provoke other tribes, there are also local tyrants, there are also bandits who occupy the mountains as kings, Guo Jia has developed rapidly in recent years, his eyes have always been on the Central Plains, he has no extra energy to conquer the south, it is one thing to fight down the territory, and it is another thing to stabilize the internal affairs to recuperate, the first five years, Guo Jia is recuperating and recuperating, and in the next few years, he will fight Guanzhong, block Yuan Cao, Guo Jia can not even squeeze out the time to manage Guanzhong well, If he wants to catch up with the battle of Guandu, how can he make an extraneous branch and move his army south?

However, Guo Jia didn't go to fight, but someone from the south came to Chengdu.

"Lord Qin, I came to Chengdu on behalf of the seven southern counties, hoping to join Guo Yuanjun's command, but I am not familiar with this person, for fear that I don't understand the rules, I heard that Lord Qin is a humble gentleman, so I came to visit rashly, and I hope Lord Qin will not blame me for being abrupt."

Yonghong sighed in a low voice, unable to even straighten his waist in front of Qin Mi.

This kind of performance is easy to despise, but Qin Mi's heart is like stopping water, and Yonghong's vision is impartial.

Qin Mi fell silent, and only after a while did he ask, "It's been nearly ten years since my lord brought up Yizhou, why are you only here to take refuge now?" ”

Yonghong showed embarrassment, faintly dodged Qin Mi's gaze and said in a low voice: "Alas, this, this was not Guo Yuanjun in Yizhou back then, that, killed a lot of people, people who fled from the north to the south said that Guo Yuanjun was a tyrant who killed people without blinking, a few years ago, the people in the south were very afraid of Guo Yuanjun, but well, it has been seen for a long time, Guo Yuanjun has worked hard in the north, loves the people like a son, and the people under his rule have plenty of food and clothing, and I have been looking forward to the people in the south for a long time, so I was sent to surrender to Guo Yuanjun. ”

Qin Mi nodded with satisfaction.

That's right.

What the people's livelihood is under Guo Jia's rule is obvious to all, and this cannot be told by people with bad intentions.

"My lord will be very comforted when he learns of it. But at this moment my lord is not in the city, when I will discuss it with my colleagues, this matter is a happy event, the seven southern counties are under the jurisdiction of my lord, it is a blessing for the people, within three days, I will give you a definite answer. ”

Qin Mi didn't think much about it, whether it was the Han people in the south or the barbarians, it was a good thing that he was willing to take the initiative to ask for naturalization.

From a far-reaching point of view, Qin Mi can understand Yonghong, Guo Jia is strong, and it is indispensable to subdue the seven southern counties in the future, being conquered and taking the initiative to surrender, the meaning is different, and the treatment he gets is naturally different.

In the early morning of the next day, Qin Mi came to Yizhou Mansion to work, Zhen Yan, Zhen Yao, Peng Yi, Zhang Song, Huang Quan and others were all present, Qin Mi informed everyone about Yonghong's representation of the seven southern counties of Chengcheng, and everyone discussed how to deal with it.

This matter is beneficial to Guo Jia, and from any point of view, it seems that Guo Jia has no reason to refuse.

In the end, the officials of Yizhou Prefecture came to a conclusion, that is, they promised Yonghong that as for how to govern the south in the future, and the appointment and dismissal of officials, they would wait for Guo Jia to return to Chengdu to make arrangements.

They must now give Yonghong an answer, although Guo Jia is not there, but this is not a reason, if it is delayed, it will make Yonghong wonder in his heart: he came wholeheartedly to surrender, but Chengdu did not give an answer, is there another plan?

Because of this, the officials of the Yizhou government immediately made a decision, first accepting the other party in name, and then talking about the detailed plan.

With a satisfactory answer, Yonghong set out on the road back to the south.

Just three days after he left Chengdu, a carriage drove into Chengdu, stopped in front of Yizhou Mansion, and a middle-aged man got off the carriage, looking at the plaque of Yizhou Mansion, full of emotion.

"For more than two years, I've been thinking about this place."

A young man jumped out of the carriage and said to the middle-aged man: "Father is dedicated to the public, if the lord knows, hehe, he will definitely reward his father again." ”

Standing outside Yizhou Mansion is none other than Xi Zhicai, who has been absent from Chengdu for a long time.

Now he is full of ruddy, good complexion, not the slightest sickness can not be seen, more than two years of recuperation, so that not only the body and bones healed, but also strong body, mental outlook refreshed.

Xi Zhicai smiled and scolded the drama for a few words, and then asked his son to go home first, he entered Chengdu, and came to Yizhou Mansion as soon as possible, and he had to go to work if he didn't enter the house.

When Xi Zhicai appeared in the meeting hall of Yizhou Mansion, the people present were dumbfounded, and after reacting, they swarmed up and surrounded Xi Zhicai, and the smiling crowd continued to greet each other, and at the same time looked up and down Xi Zhicai's complexion and face, and nodded frequently.

"Everyone, everyone, let's be busy with official business."

Xi Zhicai arched his hand to the people around him, for fear that they would continue to watch him as if he were a treasure.

"Zhicai returned to Chengdu, does the lord know?"

Qin Mi asked teasingly.

Xi Zhicai smiled bitterly, in fact, whether he could return to Chengdu or not was not what Guo Jia said, but Zuo Ci, Zuo Ci thought that he was in good health, so he naturally let him leave the Heavenly Master Palace.

After laughing at jokes, Qin Mi then recounted some official affairs in Yizhou to Xi Zhicai.

Xi Zhicai wanted to start his business again, first of all, to understand the political affairs of the past two years, he listened to Qin Mi's narration very quietly, and did not frown until he heard that Guo Jiatun's army was preparing for the Eastern Expedition.

"The lord also underestimates Yuan Shao too much, right?"

Xi Zhicai learned that Guo Jia was only ready to invest 120,000 troops to attack the Central Plains, and this little bit of soldiers and horses had little effect except for picking up cheap profits and reaping profits.

If Yuan Shao exterminated Cao Ying in one go, would Guo Jia's 120,000 soldiers and horses still dare to bring about their own destruction?

Qin Mi said helplessly: "This matter is discussed by the lord and the public, perhaps the lord is expected to defeat Yuan Shao, and the current situation in Guandu may not be able to swallow the Central Plains in one go." ”

After Xi Zhicai briefly understood the situation in Guandu, he sighed: "I really don't know what Yuan Benchu was thinking, can't Xuzhou fight?" Isn't it okay to divide the two wings to outflank Cao Ying? Even if he divides 100,000 soldiers and horses, how can Cao Ying still have a chance to confront him in Guandu? With 700,000 soldiers and horses in hand, the battle can be fought like this, Yuan Shao is ashamed of his ancestors in the fourth world and the third duke. ”

Qin Mi chuckled and said: "Maybe Yuan Shao was scared by the lord, and he didn't dare to divide his troops easily, otherwise he would be broken one by one, and his military advantage would become smaller and smaller, if he was really on par with Cao Ying, he would probably withdraw his troops." ”

Xi Zhicai shook his head and did not say anything more.

Yuan Shao looks monstrous, in fact, he has been bitten by a snake for ten years and is afraid of the well rope, five points are sure that he will not fight, and seven points will not fight him, only when he is very sure in his hand can he dare to fight.

But obviously has a huge advantage, the fight started in February, and after nearly half a year, Yuan Shao only crossed the Yellow River and never took a step forward, this situation made Xi Zhicai feel ridiculous, if you fight like this, let alone support 700,000 soldiers, it is to give Yuan Shao 1 million soldiers and horses, what is there to fear?

Qin Mi then informed Xi Zhicai of the fact that Yonghong represented the seven southern counties of Chengcheng.

was sighing about Yuan Shao's drama and suddenly frowned.

Seeing his expression, Qin Mi asked rhetorically, "Is there something wrong?" ”

Xi Zhicai shook his head and said: "There is no problem with your reply to Yonghong, it should indeed reassure him as soon as possible, if it is delayed, after three or five days, Yonghong may be suspicious in his heart, and it will be self-defeating." However, I only have some ominous premonitions in my heart, the timing of Yonghong's coming to vote on behalf of the south is too coincidental, coinciding with the lord going north, and coinciding with the fierce battle of Yuan Cao. ”

Hearing Xi Zhicai say this, the people around him came over again, and Peng Yi asked curiously, "What does Brother Zhicai mean by this?" What about coincidences? Could it be that Yonghong has another plan? ”

Xi Zhicai asked in a deep voice: "How many soldiers and horses are left in Yizhou?" ”

Zhen Yan immediately replied: "There are 140,000 in the Guan, the Lord has taken away 120,000 in the Eastern Expedition, and 20,000 in the Guanzhong to beware of Han Sui." There are 160,000 in Yizhou, 20,000 in Chengdu, 40,000 under General Zhang in Jiangyang, and 100,000 sailors led by General Gan and General Zhou in Hanzhong and Badong. ”

Xi Zhicai asked again: "If there is an enemy in Yizhou, how many soldiers and horses can be mobilized?" ”

Everyone looked at each other, what enemies did Yizhou have? Liu Biao in the east only dared to defend and did not dare to attack.

Zhang Song looked at Xi Zhicai in disbelief and said, "Could it be that the seven southern counties will rebel and attack Chengdu?" ”

Xi Zhicai said in a solemn voice: "I'm just assuming that if the south invades, although Yizhou looks like there are 160,000 soldiers and horses, the 20,000 guards in Chengdu can't be mobilized, and the 100,000 sailors are deterring Liu Biao, and the only thing that can be mobilized is General Zhang's 40,000 soldiers and horses." ”

Everyone was surprised, and Zhen Yao smiled a little optimistically: "If the seven southern counties want to fight, why bother to pretend to surrender?" However, it is necessary to guard against people, so it is better to send someone to the south to inquire about the news. ”

Xi Zhicai nodded, and everyone seconded it.

(To be continued)