The harvest season in the south is earlier than in the north, the winter wheat in Yanzhou has just begun to be harvested, and the wheat in Pengcheng, Guangling and Xiapi counties in Xuzhou has been basically harvested into the warehouse, so that Tao Ying and the Xuzhou officials and gentry are very happy is that although the wheat in Xuzhou this year is not called ripe, the harvest is still quite good, and the average yield per mu in the three counties has reached four stones and eight buckets per mu, which is only slightly lower than the average yield per mu in Xuzhou in the second year of the first peace. At the same time, the two counties of Langya and Donghai in the north are also good news, and none of the counties have the cheekiness to report a poor harvest to subsidize, and it is estimated that even if the yield per mu is not as good as the three counties in the south, it will definitely not be worse there.

What makes Xuzhou scholars ecstatic is that Xuzhou's soybean and wheat wheel planting experimental field, after planting soybeans and wheat first, each mu of field can be more than four buckets more than in previous years, and those who have used earthworm manure to fertilize the bean wheat wheel farming, it is unbelievable that the yield per mu has increased by nearly nine buckets, and the ordinary field that has not been planted by bean wheat rotation has also increased the yield by more than four buckets after fertilizing with earthworm manure! After the smiling Tao Ying made these tips for increasing production unreserved, the wealthy giants and ordinary people in Xuzhou did not hesitate to follow suit, racing against time to plant soybeans in the wheat field, and each tried his best to dig earthworms and raise earthworms, and did his best to lay a good foundation for his good harvest in the coming year.

After harvesting this year's winter wheat, coupled with the military rations that were saved last year, the grain stocks of the five counties of Xuzhou suddenly created a small new high, and with grain in hand, Deputy Director Tao, who has been on the defensive for two years, has a lurking ambition in the bottom of his heart, and naturally it is like the soybean seedlings in the wheat field, which is difficult to contain and grows wildly. No, just after the harvest and seed rush of wheat and soybeans, Tao Ying ignored Cao Ling's possibility of giving birth at any time, and immediately summoned the two accomplices Chen Deng and Lu Su to discuss with them the next Xuzhou strategy - Xuzhou expansion strategy!

Accompanying Tao Ying for more than half a month to rush to harvest seeds, and basically stayed in the open air, Chen Deng and Lu Su, who were both white-faced with Tao Ying, were obviously tanned a lot, but they were very excited, and just saluted Tao Ying together, Lu Su said with a smile: "Congratulations to the lord, congratulations to the lord, I heard that in just one or two days, Mrs. Cao will be able to give birth to the lord, Su congratulates the lord in advance." ”

"Thank you, thank you." Tao Ying thanked him, smiled and said, "But I don't know if it's a man or a woman, maybe it's a daughter." ”

"It must be a son, it must be." Lu Su, who was poisoned by patriarchal feudal ideology, cheered Tao Ying up, and said: "I heard that Mrs. Cao has found a lot of masters to make fortunes, and they all say that they are sons, and even the true disciples of the famous Xu Shao and Xu Zijiang have seen the photos for Mrs., and they all say that Mrs. Cao is the face of Yizi and must be a son." ”

"Hahahaha, Zijing, why do you even believe the words of that charlatan? The charlatan claimed to be Xu Zijiang's true disciple, but he couldn't produce evidence, and only Ling'er, the stupid girl who wanted to have a son and wanted to go crazy, was willing to believe it. Tao Ying laughed, but Tao Ying didn't want to be too entangled with Lu Su on this issue, so he beckoned Lu Su and Chen Deng to sit down after a few laughs, and then said in a roundabout way: "Zijing, Yuanlong, I invite you here today because I want to discuss something important with you, I don't know if you think that our Xuzhou army has been idle for a little too long?" Isn't it time to make a move? ”

Chen Deng and Lu Su are not stupid people, after listening to Tao Ying's words, they naturally immediately understood Tao Ying's extraneous voice, and after glancing at each other, Chen Deng smiled and said: "What the lord said is very true, since the end of the Zhuyi War, although our Xuzhou army has been strengthening training, but the elite soldiers and strong generals can not be trained just by training, and the army that has not been tested in actual combat can never become a division of a hundred battles." Moreover, the five counties of Xuzhou are not the place to be defended, if the lord wants to prosper the foundation left by the old lord, it is absolutely not possible to rely on the defense alone, only to keep forging ahead, to attack instead of defending, in order to keep Xuzhou safe, so that the five counties of Xuzhou are prosperous and strong. ”

"The lord is right." Lu Su also nodded and said: "The lord is about to marry Yuan Shao's daughter as his wife, Cao Ying is afraid that Yuan Shao will be forced to make peace with our army, and because Li Guo is likely to be the main force moving westward, the crisis on the northern front of our army has been basically resolved, and it is indeed time to change the strategy of Xuzhou and change defense to attack." ”

Speaking of this, Lu Su, the most stable of the three, paused, and reminded uneasily: "However, in Su's opinion, where our army should use its troops, which opponent should be chosen, and how to formulate a strategy to break the enemy, we must think carefully and think twice, and we must not ....... Please forgive the lord for the crime of speaking out, don't be like the old lord, the expansion strategy is a mess, several times out of Xuzhou are indiscriminate, no rules, in vain loss of many soldiers, horses, money and food for nothing, not to mention, but also to Xuzhou has attracted countless monstrous disasters. ”

Lu Su's reminder is of course not nonsense for no reason, before Xuzhou was still Tao Qian in charge, there were also several expansion wars, for example, Chu Ping attacked Yuan Shao in three years, Chu Ping four years with force and political means through Wu County, Huiji and Pei Guo, in the same year also sent troops to rob Taishan Taishou Ying Shao several cities, and even during the Cao Lao Da storming Xuzhou, Tao Qian sent troops to fight Wu County Taishou Xu Gong. It's a pity that the results of the process are the same as described to Lu Su, it is simply a chaotic fight, not only did not grab the enemy's land and city, but also set up countless enemies for Xuzhou, attracting god-like opponents such as Yuan Sangong and Cao Laoda, and brought Xuzhou Xiao Yuan Sangong and Gongsun Zhan, two pig-like teammates, the gains outweigh the losses, and countless soldiers, horses, money and food, in addition to losing Zhao Yu, Zhang Hong, Zhang Zhao and Wang Lang and other internal affairs chiefs, cheapened others in vain.

The cheap father's expansion strategy is indeed stupid, Tao Ying naturally won't blame Lu Su for being disrespectful to his cheap father, not only did he not blame, Tao Ying also nodded in agreement, and sighed: "Although Zijing said that he is disrespectful to his father, and as a son of man, he should not blame his father, but the facts are the facts, and the expansion strategy of his father and his old man is indeed a mess, without any rules." ”

Speaking of this, Tao Ying hatefully gave an example: "For example, in the fourth year of the First Ping, my father used the political means of marrying Li Dao and Guo Yan to replace the Taishou of the four counties of Peiguo, Wujun, Guangling and Huiji with four of his own people in one go, and he should have concentrated his forces in Jiangnan to consolidate the rule of Xinzhan County - but I still don't understand, why did my father provoke the war in Taishan County at that time, and start a war with Taishan Taishou Yingshao, who was supported by Yuan Shao and Cao Ying at the same time? The results of the two-front battle are good, not to mention that all the counties that were defeated by the sudden attack were lost, and the two big counties of Wu County and Huiji were also cheapened by Yuan Shu and Liu Xuan in vain, and the Xuzhou army no longer had half an inch of foothold in the south of the Yangtze River! I don't understand, what was my father thinking at the time? ”

"In the matter of the first three years, Deng is the party." Chen Deng said with a wry smile: "At that time, I also persuaded the old lord to put his strength on consolidating the new territory and establishing a bridgehead for the Xuzhou army in the south of the Yangtze River. It's a pity that the old lord refused to listen, and chose to listen to the advice of Mi Zhu, Cao Bao and Zhao Yu, and sent troops to attack Taishan County, where birds do not lay eggs, and cooperated with Gongsun Zan to attack Yuan Shao in the north and south. In his private opinion, the old lord was carried away by the political victory at that time, overestimated the military strength of Xuzhou, and seriously underestimated the military strength of Yuan Shao and Cao Ying. ”

Deputy Director Tao sighed again, still hating the incompetence of the cheap dad - if Tao Qian could leave Wu Jun and Huiji as an inheritance to Deputy Director Tao, how good would it be? After sighing, Tao Ying shook his head again and said, "Forget it, it's useless to regret the past, it's enough for us to learn some lessons." Zijing, Yuanlong, in your opinion, who should I pick the most sure now? At the same time, it can also avoid repeating the mistake of being able to fight down but not stable? ”

Finally it was Lu Su's turn to strength, Lu Su was about to speak, but Chen Deng, who had never been able to get a chance to show his strength during the Tao Qian period, spoke first and said to Tao Ying: "Lord, in fact, as early as the old lord's period, Deng has already begun to consider this problem, in what direction should we march in Xuzhou in order to expand the land and gain a firm foothold?" Combined with the current situation, Deng has a few humble opinions, which may be for the reference of the lord. ”

"Yuanlong, please speak up." Tao Ying replied happily.

"No." Chen Deng agreed, cleared his throat again, and said loudly: "My lord, the five counties of Xuzhou are the land of four wars, and the border is almost always unsafe, and there are strong enemies around, so it is very difficult to guard. But this kind of terrain also has a huge advantage, that is, after our army fights out, our enemy is also in no danger to defend, and at the same time, there is also an advantage to the enemy around us, that is, we can choose the direction of attack at will, choose the enemy to fight at will, and we can pick and pinch the soft persimmon to avoid the strong and attack the weak. After pondering for a long time, Deng said that our army currently has three choices: lower, middle, and higher. ”

Tao Ying nodded, and asked Chen Deng to analyze it in detail, and Chen Deng replied: "The three choices that Deng thinks are, the next choice is to annex Yuzhou, the middle choice is to cross the river to attack Liu Xuan, and the first choice is to go north to attack Qingzhou. First of all, on the side of Yuzhou, Yuzhou is empty, there is no strong enemy, and the surrounding Cao Ying, Yuan Shu and Liu Biao and other generations also do not pay enough attention to Yuzhou, and the control is far from enough, and it is easy for our army to capture Yuzhou. However, the situation in Yuzhou is complicated, Yuan Shu and Cao Ying have their own interests in Yuzhou, and rashly attacking Yuzhou is likely to lead to a full-scale war with them, and at the same time, Yuzhou is the most poisoned by the Yellow Turban, the population has decreased sharply, and the land is basically abandoned. ”

Tao Ying nodded again, although the Xuzhou army basically controls the northern half of Peiguo County, Yuzhou, but this half of Peiguo County is also the existence of money and grain, if it weren't for the existence of Xiaopei, Zhuyi and Xiaoguan in half of the county, the budget-conscious Tao Ying may have already pinched Peiguo, a money-losing goods. So after nodding, Tao Ying said again, "Yes, Yuzhou is the chicken ribs of our army, the food is tasteless, it is a pity to abandon it, rather than waste money and grain to beat Yuzhou down and continue to supplement the money and grain, it is better to put it for a while, and when our strength is strong enough to have a surplus in the future, it is not too late to take Yuzhou." ”

"The selected ones are Liu Xuan, Xu Gong, Yan Baihu and other Jiangnan princes." Chen Deng said again: "Maybe the lord thinks it's strange, these Jiangnan princes are far weaker than Gongsun Zan and Tian Kai in Qingzhou, why are they not the first choice of our army?" Deng thinks so, the princes of Jiangnan are indeed weak, but they have the Yangtze River to defend, and our naval army in Xuzhou is relatively weak, so it is really not good to rashly launch an offensive to cross the river. ”

"In addition, our army is also not with Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu's surname is arrogant and troublesome, and he has always regarded the land of Jiangdong as his bag, and will never sit idly by and watch our army annex Jiangdong, not only will he definitely participate in the war, but he may also form an alliance with Liu Xuan, Yan Baihu, Xu Gong and other generations to resist our army! What's even more dangerous is that even if our army successfully crosses the river, Yuan Shu's superior naval army only needs to go down the Jiujiang River, and immediately cut our army's Jiangnan Expeditionary Force into two sections, so that our army's head and tail cannot take care of each other! ”

In fact, Tao Ying, who had already regarded the rookies in Jiangnan as lambs to be slaughtered, was a little shocked in his heart, and then remembered that his Jiangnan strategy still had such a huge hidden danger, even if his desperate water war was successful, the Jiangnan Expeditionary Force was lucky to land on the south bank of the Yangtze River, and the upstream Xiao Yuan Sangong could also go down the river at any time to eliminate the weak naval army in Xuzhou and cut off the Xuzhou army!

"Lord, the question is back, since Gongsun Zhan's strength is much stronger than that of the princes of Jiangnan, why is his Qingzhou the best choice for the expansion of our army?" Chen Deng observed his words and knew that his words had moved Tao Ying, so he continued: "Gongsun Zhan's strength is indeed strong, but his main force is now being pressed and beaten by the more powerful Yuan Shao, our army is attacking Qingzhou, there is no need to worry about Gongsun Zhan's main force going south to rescue, just facing the strength of Tian Kai's army." At the same time, as Yuan Shao's son-in-law, the lord will send troops to attack Yuan Shao's sworn enemy, Gongsun Zhan, and you will inevitably get Yuan Shao's full support, and even directly send troops to help from the side, which will also greatly share the positive pressure of our army. ”

"And what about after the defeat of Qingzhou?" Chen Deng analyzed for Tao Ying: "First of all, our army can stand on Qingzhou, Yuan Shao will definitely allow our army to gain a foothold in Qingzhou in order to continue to share the military pressure, and at the same time, the people of Qingzhou are fierce, rich in strong soldiers, and grain production can barely be self-sufficient, which can not only provide our army with an endless supply of soldiers, but also not increase the burden of money and food for our army." Besides....... ”

Speaking of this, Chen Deng lowered his voice, "The main force of our army must pass through Langya when it sends troops to Qingzhou, and the lord can take this opportunity to consolidate his control over Langya County, and push Yin Lichang's not very reliable teams into Qingzhou County, so as to prevent them from sitting in Langya like General Zang Ba back then, to the point that the old lord can't control it." ”

Thinking of Langya's prime minister Xiao Jian's whistleblower documents for three days, Tao Ying inevitably began to be moved, but at this time, Lu Su, a strategic master who could be counted in the Three Kingdoms era, opened his mouth and asked Chen Deng: "Yuanlong, there is a question, what is the name of our military division?" When Cao's soldiers came to the city, Tian Kai Kongrong came to the rescue with all his might, and after rescuing Xuzhou, Tian Kai Kongrong did not ask for any payment, and he withdrew from the land of Xuzhou very happily. ”

"Tian Kai and Kong Rong are indeed kind to Xuzhou." Chen Deng replied calmly: "But Tian Kai is Gongsun Zhan's general, Gongsun Zhan accommodated and connived at Liu Bei's offense in my Xuzhou first, and listened to Liu Bei's instigation, and took advantage of the fire to rob and blackmail my Xuzhou, and after being rejected by the lord, he also blatantly tore up the covenant and cut off the source of Xuzhou war horses, so as to limit the development of my Xuzhou military strength, treachery first, our army used this excuse to start a war against Gongsun Zhan, the reason is sufficient, and the division is famous." ”

"Indeed, this is a good excuse for war." Lu Su nodded, and said: "But Yuanlong don't forget, when Gongsun Zhan decided to break off diplomatic relations with our army, Tian Kai repeatedly dissuaded him, and sent several times to reconcile with the lord, although the reconciliation was not successful, but our Xuzhou has always owed Tian Kai a lot, although it is reasonable to start a war against him, it is unjust, and it is even more detrimental to the name of the lord's benevolence and righteousness. ”

Tao Ying glanced at Lu Su, the military advisor, and hesitated in his heart, although he felt that Qingzhou Tian Kai was indeed the softest persimmon, but he felt that Lu Su was indeed reasonable, Tian Kai did not owe anything to Xuzhou, but Xuzhou owed Tian Kai a lot, and he took Tian Kai in the first battle of his expansion, as if he was a little ungrateful.

"My lord, don't worry." Lu Su saw Tao Ying's hesitation, first comforted Tao Ying, and then turned to Chen Deng and said sincerely: "Yuanlong, I'm not targeting you either, your three choices of lower, middle and upper are clearly organized, and the analysis is also very reasonable, and there is nothing wrong with it—however, you missed a top choice!" ”

"The best choice?" Chen Deng froze, then raised his eyebrows, and asked tentatively: "The best choice that Zijing said is not Yuan Shu?" ”

"It's Yuan Shu!" Lu Su nodded, and said in a deep voice: "Needless to say, the excuse for the lord to start a war against Yuan Shu is needless to say, several times he has violated my Xuzhou border, treacherously swallowed the jade seal of the country, and claimed that Xuzhou Bo despised our army and contempt the two generations of Xuzhou lords, and any excuse can make my army and soldiers indignant at Yuan Shu!" Moreover, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's brothers scolded each other, and the lord was Yuan Shao's son-in-law, so he could find an excuse to be angry for his father-in-law, and he could get Yuan Shao's support for our army's attack on Yuan Shu, and then Yuan Shao could be used to contain Cao Shao, so that our army's northern front would have no worries! ”

"I have also considered suggesting that the lord attack Yuan Shu more than once, but Yuan Shu is too strong." Chen Deng said worriedly: "Although our army and Yuan Shuzhuyi Huaiyin won two battles, they were both defeats, and our army itself paid a lot of price. At the same time, Yuan Shu's Huainan soldiers were well fed, and there were also Liyang's Zhang Xun elite soldiers unscathed, which was enough to deal with our army for a period of time, and our army would not only have to pay a huge price for attacking Yuan Shu, but it was also likely to be long-lasting and urgent. ”

"Among the surrounding princes of our army, except for Yuan Shao and Cao Ying, the strongest is indeed Yuan Shu." Lu Su nodded vigorously, and then smiled again: "However, Yuan Shu is strong and helpless, among his surrounding princes, the strongest Liu Xuan and Liu Biao are not in the same sky as Yuan Shu, seeing our army attacking Yuan Shu, Liu Miao and Liu Biao are too late to be happy, so it is naturally impossible to send troops to help Yuan Shu." And Yuan Shu's surname is arrogant and arrogant, and there is no one in his eyes, and he wants him to bow his head and admit his mistake to Liu Biao and Liu Xuan's generation for help, which is more uncomfortable than killing him, so our army crusades against Yuan Shu, and does not have to worry about the surrounding princes reinforcing him, which can greatly reduce the pressure on our army. ”

"In addition, Yuan Shu also has an Achilles' heel, people's hearts are not attached!" Lu Su said slowly: "Su is a native of Jiujiang, Huainan, and knows better than anyone how much the people of Huainan hate Yuan Shupifu!" The people of Huainan also hated Yuan Shu to the bone, and the people of Yuan Shu fought against Yuan Shu, and the people under the rule of Yuan Shu not only will not help Yuan Shu resist, but will also carry the pot and carry the pulp to welcome the entry of the Lord Righteous Division! At this point, no one can catch up with the other opponents of our army! ”

"Haha." Tao Ying laughed loudly and said with a smile: "Zijing, I've known you for almost two years, it's really the first time I've heard you and me scold in front of me, so that a benevolent elder like Zijing can scold the word puff, it seems that Xiao Yuan Sangong is really not only ordinary and popular in Huainan." ”

Lu Su smiled awkwardly and said, "My lord, forgive me, as a former Yuan Shu's people, Su really hated Yuan Shu's perverse behavior and law and discipline, and couldn't help but scold." However, the lord's attack on Yuan Shu is indeed harmless, how abundant Huainan's money and grain are, the lord you have seen and experienced it with your own eyes, so after capturing Huainan, the lord can first obtain a money and grain land that is no less than the five counties of Xuzhou, and then the lord can control the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in the south of the Yangtze River, stretch the Yangtze River defense line of the princes in the south of the Yangtze River, and greatly increase the chances of our army to capture the south of the Yangtze River. At the same time, our army crusaded against Yuan Shu, and the grain road could also go straight through Peiguo to Jiujiang, and the logistical pressure was small. ”

"Zijing's words are indeed reasonable, and I have repeatedly considered taking Yuan Shupifu to sacrifice the flag first." Tao Ying groaned and said, "But I'm also like Yuan Long, I'm worried that Yuan Shu is too strong, and it's hard to annihilate in a hurry. Besides, Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao are brothers after all, and when Yuan Shu comes to an end, he may not bow to his brother Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shao may not allow me to really kill his half-brother ....... ”

"Lord, do you really want to completely annihilate Yuan Shu?" Lu Su asked very strangely: "Wouldn't it be better to take advantage of the superiority of our army's horse infantry to seize the two counties of Jiujiang and Lujiang, and drive Yuan Shu across the Yangtze River?" With Yuan Shu's temper and virtue, after arriving on the south bank of the Yangtze River, how could he get along with Liu Xuanyan and Baihu's generation, and let them eat each other's dogs. ”

"That's right, what am I doing in a hurry to kill Yuan Shu? Wouldn't it be okay to drive him across the Yangtze River first? A word woke up the person in the dream, and Deputy Director Tao, whose head was drilled into the tip of the horns, slapped his thigh, and all the worries in his chest were swept away.

"No wonder the lord has always said that the strategic vision of the military advisor is far above us, and only now can he understand the lord's vision." Chen Deng sighed, and suggested: "Lord, if you are determined to adopt Mr. Zijing's suggestion, then Deng also has a suggestion, before the lord sends troops, it is better to say hello to Yuan Shao first, and it is best to send troops under the pretext of being angry for Yuan Shao, so that the lord can not only give an explanation to Yuan Shao, but also strive to let Yuan Shao contain Cao Shao for us and prevent accidents." ”

"It's easy to do." Back to the tactical level, Deputy Director Tao, who was full of bad water, didn't even blink his eyelids, and immediately said with a grin: "Zijing, Yuan Long, immediately write two letters for me, one letter to Yuan Shao, and tell Yuan Shao that in view of Yuan Shu's repeated rudeness, I decided to send troops to attack Yuan Shu to vent his anger for his father-in-law, and by the way, snatch back the jade seal that Yuan Shu hid and dedicate it to him." The second letter was to Yuan Shu, telling him that I had become Yuan Shao's son-in-law, and asked Yuan Shu to hand over my heirloom jade seal and dedicate it to Yuan Shao for disposal. ”

"Lord, you don't need a letter to Yuan Shu, right?" Lu Su objected: "Let's not mention that with Yuan Shu's arrogant surname, the person who sent the letter to will definitely lose his life, and Yuan Shu will be prepared." ”

"It has to be written." Tao Ying blinked at the evil mung bean eyes and smiled: "Only if I do this, Yuan Shupifu will think that I beat him at the behest of Yuan Shao, and I hate Yuan Shao and will not immediately bow to Yuan Shao, nor will I casually move the idea of colluding with Cao thief to attack me." ”

Lu Su suddenly realized, and after a few sycophants, he hurriedly picked up his pen with Chen Deng and wrote a letter for Deputy Director Tao, who never wrote a letter by himself. It was also at this time that a maid from the Tao Mansion who had been waiting outside the hall for a long time was allowed by Tao Ying's guards, timidly entered the hall, saluted Tao Ying and said, "Congratulations to the envoy, congratulations to the envoy, the second lady has given birth." ”

"Ling'er has already been born?" Tao Ying was overjoyed, and quickly jumped up and shouted, "Why don't you come to report it immediately?" I saw you were waiting outside the door just now, why did you come in now? Lu Su and Chen Deng, who were next to him, also hurriedly put down the brush and said hello to Tao Ying together.

"It's the second lady's explanation, the second lady has an explanation when she enters the delivery room, if the envoy is deliberating, then the slave and maid are not allowed to disturb, and the second lady can't delay the envoy's political affairs because of her affairs." The maid replied timidly.

"This girl is finally a little sensible." Tao Ying was a little moved, and then couldn't wait to ask, "Boy or girl?" ”

"Congratulations to the envoy, it's a girl."

The maid's answer made Deputy Director Tao, who actually hoped that there would be a successor earlier, a little disappointed, but after the disappointment, Deputy Director Tao, who was a first-time father, was still overjoyed, and while running quickly to the backyard to visit Cao Ling, he couldn't help muttering in his heart: "I just decided to beat Yuan Shu first and gave birth to a daughter, it seems that God is reminding me that I want to take Da Qiao Xiao Qiao Sun Shangxiang back to give birth to a son as soon as possible." ”

(To be continued)