At the end of the eighteenth year of Jian'an, it snowed heavily in Jizhou.

The snowflakes danced, dyeing the courtyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion in Yecheng into a snow-white color.

After pacifying Jizhou, Cao Cao moved his shogunate to Wei County.

The generals of the Han Dynasty and the three princes and nine kings were all able to open the government and build teeth.

Cao Cao is currently the prime minister, above the three dukes, so he opened his own shogunate in Yecheng.

Chen Du Tianzi court set a team, Cao Cao himself in Yecheng set a team.

However, although the court of the emperor of Chen Du had three princes and nine secretaries, he had no real power.

The governance, official appointments, and army deployments in various parts of the north all came from the Prime Minister's Mansion in Yecheng.

In history, in May of this year, Cao Cao had already ascended to the throne as the Duke of Wei.

Jiajiuxi, built the Wei State, and placed hundreds of officials such as prime ministers, captains, and generals, although they are not the Son of Heaven in name, they actually have the Son of Heaven.

It's just not that way anymore.

Because in history, Cao Cao was in the sixteenth year of Jian'an, that is, in 211 AD, he had already marched into Guanzhong, and the tiger was on the right side of Longyou, and the entire north except for the Western Regions was basically in his hands.

In the south, only Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, Liu Zhang in Yizhou, Liu Bei in Jingnan, Sun Quan in Jiangdong and Shixie in Jiaozhou are still separating.

There was no unification in the south and could not pose a threat to Cao Cao, so he claimed that the Duke of Wei had almost no obstacles.

But now the south belongs to the east and west, although there is still Liu Bei and Sun Quan group each occupy one side, but the strength of Liu Bei's group is far better than in history, plus he has not pacified Guanzhong and Xiliang at this time, so he does not dare to take the position.

At this moment, the prime minister's mansion in Yecheng, the prime minister's chief bookkeeper, Sima Yi, reported to Cao Cao the situation in various places this year.

As a high-ranking talent of the Sima clan forcibly recruited by Cao Cao, Sima Yi gradually gained Cao Cao's recognition for his work of forgetting sleep and food, and was responsible for helping him deal with the governance problems of statistics in the north.

After three years of recuperation, the war in the north has been calmed down, the people's livelihood has been fully developed, and the people's livelihood has gradually recovered.

The most important of these is that the powerful system of the northern family has been seriously damaged.

Although Cao Cao had compromised with the Yingchuan family and the Yanzhou family in the early years, the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Dong Zhuo's Rebellion almost destroyed nearly half of the family.

Yuan Shao eliminated the Jizhou family in Jizhou, Wang Kuang eliminated the Hanoi family in Hanoi, and even the Sima family fled in embarrassment, and Cao Cao also tried to eliminate the Yanzhou family, but was rebelled by the Yanzhou family and Chen Gong and others.

A series of changes have led to the strength of the northern family being much less than before.

In this case, Cao Cao no longer needs to worry about the excessive power of the family, so that he will be more centralized, and he will no longer have to carry out policies against the family like in the south.

The destruction of the family manor system greatly increased the number of cultivated taxpayers, and it is inferred that the total population under Cao Cao was more than 20 million at this time.

Among them, there are also a large number of internal ethnic minorities, such as the Karasuma people, who have more than one million, and the Southern Xiongnu who have a population of hundreds of thousands.

Of course.

Although a large number of families are dilapidated, the most powerful families in the north are still many remaining, and Cao Cao compromised with the Yingchuan family and the Yanzhou family, so there are still a large number of hidden households.

Therefore, at this time, the population under Cao Cao's actual control should be about 10 million.

As for why the population of Cao Wei became smaller and smaller, with a registered population of only 4.43 million, it is estimated that the total population is 13 million, which is inseparable from the development of the power of the family in the later period of Cao Wei.

According to historical records, from the thirteenth year of Jian'an to the first year of the establishment of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Cao Wei group suffered as many as 12 large-scale plague epidemics recorded in historical records alone.

The most serious of them was in the twenty-second year of Jian'an, when the plague ravaged almost the entire Han Dynasty, when there were still five of the seven sons of Jian'an, who were wiped out by the plague. Lu Su died of the plague, Sima Lang also died of the plague, and the people under Cao Wei suffered countless casualties, and even Cao Zhi wrote an article "Speaking of Epidemic Qi".

Although there are no statistics on how many people died from the plague, Cao Zhi's article mentions that "there is zombie pain in every family, and there is crying and mourning in the room." or die with the door closed, or lose the family. It can be seen that this plague will destroy the family at least and wipe out the family at worst.

In the 46-year history from the establishment of Cao Wei to the fall of Cao Wei, years of war and more than a dozen large-scale plague epidemics caused the estimated total population to fall from 20 million to 13 million.

Therefore, we always look at the early period of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty, when large legions often fought more than 100,000, such as the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which was huge and numbered millions.

Both the Battle of Guandu and the Battle of Chibi were armed with more than 200,000 combatants.

As a result, in the middle and late stages of the Three Kingdoms, the number of warring people on both sides dropped to less than 100,000, which was due to the resurgence of the family's power, plague and war, and the population of the Three Kingdoms declined step by step, and the available soldiers were decreasing day by day.

At least for now, because the next dozen plagues have not yet broken out, the current population is still in a relatively good stage, and the population of 65 million at the end of the Han Dynasty is estimated to be more than 40 million at this time.

Cao Cao's rule had the largest population and the fastest recovery of productivity, so according to Sima Yi's report, this year was another bumper harvest, with abundant warehouses and sufficient food and strength in various places.

"Hmm."

After listening to Sima Yi's report, Cao Cao nodded slightly, sat on the main seat and leaned over to look at the young prime minister below.

Thirty-four-year-old Sima Yi sat there on his knees, bent over, his head bowed, not daring to look at him.

After a while, Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "You go out." ”

"Yui."

Sima Yi got up and went out backwards with his head down.

Looking at his departing figure, Cao Cao thought for a while, and then asked Xu Chu to find Xun You, Jiang Ji, Cheng Yu, Chen Qun, Dong Zhao, Liu Ye and others.

Cao Cao's early five strategists, now Jia Xu defected to Liu Bei, although Guo Jia did not go to Liaodong and died, but the foundation is too poor, now he is half a sick seedling, his body is too weak, and he is rarely summoned.

Xun Yu's words, has been staying in Chen Du for Shang Shuling, in history Cao Cao sent troops to Jiangdong, passing through Qian County, let Xun Yu come from Xu Du to work in the army, and took the opportunity to leave him in the army to assassinate.

Now the two sides have not had a conflict because of Wei Gong's affairs, but Xun Yu is not here.

Therefore, at present, Cao Cao's advisers include Xun You, the division of the Chinese army, Hou Chengyu of An Guoting, Jiang Ji, the chief secretary of the prime minister and the West Cao, Sima Yi, the prime minister's chief secretary and the east Cao, Chen Qun, the military minister and the imperial history, Dong Zhao, the Taishou of Wei County, and Liu Ye, the prime minister Cang Cao Peng.

Among them, the prime minister's chief secretary and Dong Cao belonged to Sima Yi, Cao Cao thought that he had "ambitions" and "wolf Gu Eagle Look", he was very taboo in his heart, he didn't want to reuse it, and even killed him because of the dream of three horses in the same groove.

But in the end, because Sima Yi had a good relationship with Cao Pi, he relied on Cao Pi's maintenance and was able to do nothing. Sima Yi also knew Cao Cao's fear, so he was diligent in his duties and forgot to sleep and eat to make Cao Cao feel at ease.

It's just that Cao Cao has some mustard after all, so at present, he is only letting Sima Yi deal with some government affairs reported from various places, and he has not been immediately promoted to the central core.

Soon, Xun You, Cheng Yu, Chen Qun and others arrived at the Prime Minister's Mansion one after another.

After Cao Cao asked everyone to sit down, he looked around the Quartet and said: "Everyone, this year, the country is rich, the grain income has increased again, and the country has millions of soldiers and horses. ”

Everyone looked at each other, Xun Yu Cheng Yu had the highest status, one closed his eyes and recuperated, the old god was there, and he didn't speak. The other looked down and thought, as if thinking of a countermeasure.

Dong Zhao's status is second only to the two, so he took the lead in speaking: "I don't know where the prime minister wants to use troops next year?" ”

Cao Cao looked down at the people below: "Where do you think Gu should use his troops?" ”

"Guanzhong."

"It's just a hit."

"I think I can only close it."

Chen Qun, Jiang Ji, Liu Ye and others replied almost without thinking.

Cao Cao asked: "Why Guanzhong, now Liu Bei is in chaos, cutting off the rich room, and blaming Qian Gu, just like Yuan Shao was exploiting in Jizhou back then, so that there are many wealthy families as a disaster, at this time, if you can cooperate with the outside, you may be able to destroy Jingzhou." ”

Liu Ye hurriedly said: "Prime Minister can't, although Liu Bei exploits the rich, he benefits the people more and wins the hearts of the people." Therefore, there is only a small trouble in the inside, and there is no major chaos, at this time, attacking the south, the north and the south will only damage our strength in vain, it is better to take Guanzhong first, to prevent Liu Bei from getting the horse land, in order to pacify the south. ”

"Yes, although Shao used more resources and food to avoid urgency, he cut off the rich room and collected the blame money. However, the land obtained was distributed to the people, so that the people were rich and strong, and after Shao's death, there were no people in Jizhou who did not mourn. It can be seen that this move will only bring the people's hearts together, but will not cause chaos. ”

Jiang Ji also said: "Liu Bei ordered Shen Chen to guard Nanyang, with more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, it is easy to enter Nanyang, but it is difficult to break through Nanyang." Even if the prime minister marches in person, because our army has traveled a long distance and the enemy is waiting for work, I am afraid that it will be difficult to distinguish the winner from the loser within a few years. ”

"yes."

Chen Qun said: "Since we are also consuming Liu Bei's strength, but Liu Bei's strength will not be much worse than ours, and in the case of vain attrition, it will only cause damage to both sides, making Jiangdong and Xiliangguan princes strong." First weak, then strong, and then step by step to weaken the strong enemy, the way to win. ”

"Hmm."

In the face of the dissuasion of the three of them, Cao Cao just nodded slightly, then looked at Xun You and Cheng Yu, and said, "Gongda, Zhongde, do you think the same way?" ”

"Yes."

Xun You and Cheng Yu just gave up their hands.

Because they all knew that Cao Cao already had the answer in his heart, this inquiry could not be said to be routine, but only to see the level of these new strategists under his hands.

Cao Cao looked at the rest of the crowd again: "Since Liu Bei can't fight, what about Sun Quan?" The road to Shu is difficult, and it is like ascending to the sky from Guanzhong to Hanzhong or Shudi. If Lone extinguishes Jiangdong and attacks Jingzhou at the same time from Jiangdong and Runan, Liu Bei can't take care of both the beginning and the end, destroy Jingzhou, and then take Bashu, can he win the world? ”

Liu Ye continued: "Prime Minister, although Jiangdong is weak, it occupies the great river, and our naval army is not as good as Sun Quan, and it is also difficult to attack Jiangdong. What's more, Liu Bei and Sun Quan are married, if they are forced to unite, this is not a good thing for Cao Gong. ”

"Cao Gong."

Jiang Ji also responded: "I look at Liu Bei's ambition, I am afraid that he intends to unify the south and hold on to our north and south. If you push it too hard, Liu Bei and Sun Quan will inevitably join forces. Only like Cao Gong pacified the Yuan clan back then, did not attack Hebei, and let Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang attack each other, can they reap the benefits of the fisherman. ”

"Then why Guanzhong?"

Cao Cao asked again: "Han Sui sent his children to Yecheng, and Ma Teng's family is also here, thinking that they are willing to submit, why attack them?" ”

Liu Ye said seriously: "It's not an attack, it's just that Liu Bei will inevitably covet Guanzhong Xiliang, the prime minister should let Han Sui, Ma Chao and others return to Shun as soon as possible, only by getting the land of Guanzhong Xiliang and laying heavy troops there can prevent Liu Bei from succeeding, otherwise if he gets the land of Yongliang, there are cavalry in the north and a naval army in the south, it will be a big disaster." ”

"Hmm."

Cao Cao said: "Lone knows, wait and retreat." ”

"I'll retire."

And they arose, and departed.

Cao Cao was still sitting on the seat, and after thinking twice, he left the mansion and went to Guo Jiana to have a look.

Guo Jia has been recuperating for the past two years, but he has not been idle.

Just as Shen Chen sent people to set up shops in Chendu, Yecheng and other places, and installed fine works, Cao Cao also had fine works in Xiangyang, Jiangzhou, and Chengdu.

These people will infiltrate every industry, and then contact some big families, or officials in the two places, to get information.

Although due to the lag of information in ancient times, even if information is obtained, it often takes a long time to send it to their respective centers, and it is too late to act after the upper echelons have made a decision.

But there is still some information that is important.

For example, Liu Bei carried out reforms in Jingzhou and Yizhou, which caused dissatisfaction among many families.

The Neiying sent can connect these families and agree with Cao Cao to launch an uprising and attack at the same time at a certain time to achieve a subversive effect.

And these detailed works are managed by Guo Jia, and there are countless messages delivered to Yecheng every day, which will first converge at the Prime Minister's Mansion, and after Cao Cao has seen it, he will send it to Guo Jia for analysis.

Now that the north is peaceful, the soldiers are strong and the horses are strong, and there are more than 400,000 people under Cao Cao's rule? At this time, it is the time to sweep the world with troops.

It's just that Cao Cao didn't expect Liu Bei to grow up so fast, and when he swept the north, Liu Bei also quickly got Jingzhou, and took advantage of Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang's desire to fight to seize Yizhou.

In this case, he did not dare to use troops against Liu Bei easily, but made other considerations.

However, although the princes of Xiliang Guanzhong sent protons to Chang'an, Ma Teng only left his eldest son Ma Chao in Guanzhong, and he took the whole family to Yecheng.

But Han Sui and Ma Chao were reluctant to submit.

In the past three years, Zhong Miao of Chang'an has repeatedly sent people to persuade them, hoping that they can go to Yecheng, but they are only obedient on the surface, but in fact they are secretly vigilant, that is, they do not hand over their territory and military power, and move to Yecheng as officials.

Cao Cao was so shrewd that he immediately realized that they had no intention of surrendering, so he wanted to sweep away Xiliang Guanzhong and prevent Liu Beibing from leaving Chencang and seeking the land of Guanzhong.

But although he has such an idea, there is a very real problem in front of him.

That is, sending troops to Xiliang Guanzhong, undoubtedly pushing Han Sui and Ma Chao to Liu Bei's side, once they are forced too tightly, the two defect to Liu Bei, which is obviously a big problem for Cao Cao.

Therefore, Cao Cao couldn't make up his mind for a long time, and finally had to ask Guo Jia's opinion.

Guo Jia is now sacrificing wine for the prime minister's military division, and his status is extremely high, only Xun You and Cheng Yu can stand side by side with him, but his health is not good, he recuperates in the mansion, and Cao Cao goes to the mansion in person.

At the end of the year, it was snowing heavily, and it was already evening, and there were no people on the streets.

The carriages and the escorts rumbled down the street, making a clanging sound, and soon arrived at the Commander's Sacrificial Mansion.

Without prior notice, the people in the mansion did not prepare.

Knowing that Cao Cao was there in person, he hurriedly opened the door.

Cao Cao signaled the servants not to report to Guo Jia, and walked all the way to the backyard of the mansion as if he had entered his own house.

The backyard is lined with courtyards, the courtyard is towering, the eaves are arched, and the pavilions are continuous.

Snowflakes stained the roofs white, the artificial lake in the back garden was covered with a thick layer of ice, and the rockery and bamboo forest were also covered in snow.

Only one of the floating lofts in the middle of the artificial lake has no snow on the roof, and it seems to be steaming hot.

Cao Cao walked straight over, and still at the door he smelled the aroma and wine inside.

This was followed by a cough and a warbler's concern.

Of course, Cao Cao knew that Guo Jia had always liked wine, and his poor health also had a lot to do with this.

However, Cao Cao himself was a demon in the color, so he didn't care, and shouted "Fengxiao" at the door. Then push the door and go in.

is different from the imaginary mess, Guo Jia is actually in the office.

His face was pale, and he wore a white brocade robe, a large coat, and a fox fur on the outside.

The room burned with charcoal that was only dedicated to the nobles to ensure the temperature of the room, there were several wine jugs on the table, and there were two concubines sitting on the side.

"Prime Minister."

Seeing Cao Cao coming, Guo Jia hurriedly put down the pen and paper in his hand and wanted to get up.

But I didn't expect that maybe it was because I sat for too long, my legs were weak, and I didn't stand up, or I got up with the help of the concubine next to me.

Cao Cao waved his hand, motioning for him to continue sitting, and then sat down next to him.

"You guys get out."

Guo Jia sat down again, not kneeling, but leaning against the wall behind him, stretching a little to soothe his legs and feet.

The two concubines got up, passed by Cao Cao's side and bowed slightly, and then went out of the lake to build a small house.

"Bonghyo, how is your health?"

Cao Cao took a pot of wine on the table, he is as lustful as Guo Jia and loves to drink, and everyone is similar in personal morality, so naturally he will not blame Guo Jia for this.

Guo Jia also poured himself a glass of wine, and said with a wry smile: "It's still the same, and I often cough every winter." ”

"I heard you coughed and vomited blood a few days ago? Why don't you tell Gu, if it weren't for the fact that the housekeeper in your house was worried about your body and went to the imperial doctor to find medicine for you, Gu wouldn't know about it. ”

Cao Cao frowned.

"Ahem."

Guo Jia coughed twice more and replied, "Jia is a little sick, and he doesn't dare to work as prime minister." ”

"Ugh."

Cao Cao sighed: "Fengxiao, you are the pillar of Lonely, if you fall ill, let Lone be good." ”

"Don't worry, Prime Minister, isn't Jia still there?"

Guo Jia said with a smile: "When the prime minister came to the mansion at this time, he must have encountered something." ”

"yes."

Cao Cao nodded: "Liu Bei is growing stronger and stronger, which makes Gu very sad. wants to send troops to the south, but he is already powerful, and he is afraid that he will not be able to win. ”

"Since we can't win, let's just maintain the status quo."

Guo Jia responded.

Cao Cao grabbed the handle of the wine glass and put it to his mouth, he didn't drink for a long time, his brows deepened, and he shook his head and said, "Who else can Gu beat?" Sun quan? ”

"Sun Quan occupies Jiangdong, we don't have a naval army, I'm afraid we can't win. And if Sun Quan is beaten, the relationship between him and Liu Bei will inevitably be closer, which is to push him to Liu Bei's side. ”

Guo Jia replied.

"Huh."

Cao Cao smiled and said, "Isn't that the same with Han Sui Ma Chao?" I have sent envoys to these two fangs several times to make them submit, but they have refused. Now that I have seized Xiliang Guanzhong and dominated the dominant side, if I attack them, won't I push them to Liu Bei's side? Now it seems that no one can fight, there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, but there is no place for it! ”

This is Cao Cao's current dilemma.

Cao Cao sent people several times to make Han Sui and Ma Chao return to obedience, but the two just didn't come, and repeatedly rejected the suggestions of Zhong Xuan, the captain of Sili, which made Cao Cao helpless.

Many of his advisors had advised him to appease Guanzhong Xiliang before, and also concluded that Liu Bei might attack Han Sui and Ma Chao, because Han Sui and Ma Chao had indeed sent protons to Yecheng, at least on the surface, the intention of submitting to Cao Cao was more obvious.

Therefore, as long as Liu Bei takes the initiative to attack Xiliang Guanzhong and tries to get the horse-producing land, Han Sui and Ma Chao will inevitably choose to come and annex, and he can also justifiably send troops to Xiliang Guanzhong at that time.

As a result, I never expected that Liu Bei would not send troops at all, and even sent people to entrap the two of them, and they exchanged economic and trade trade, and sold Bashu grain, salt, and Shu brocade in the past, and purchased war horses from them, and now they have obtained twenty or thirty thousand horses, and formed a 10,000-strong cavalry in Hanzhong.

Although limited by the small area of cultivated land in the Hanzhong Basin, coupled with the difficulty of the Shu Road and the inconvenience of transporting grain, it is difficult to raise so many war horses, and the formation of 10,000 cavalry is already the limit. But this also means that he hopes that Liu Bei will take the initiative to attack Xiliang Guanzhong, and his plan to reap the benefits of the fisherman has failed, and he has also leveled the enemy, so that Liu Bei has a cavalry.

This made Cao Cao very angry.

At that time, when Xizuo sent the information over, he learned that Han Sui and Ma Chao actually had a good relationship with Liu Bei, and they also traded with each other and provided war horses for Liu Bei, Cao Cao almost lifted the table.

You can fight it, but you can't fight it.

really attacking Sun Quan or Han Sui, Ma Chao and others is to force them to Liu Bei's side.

And if he went to attack Nanyang, Liu Bei was not a vegetarian when he deployed so many soldiers and horses in Nanyang, not to mention that Shen Chen was in charge of Nanyang, which made Cao Cao very jealous.

Therefore, even if Cao Cao is strong and strong, sitting on the entire north, it seems that there is no place to attack, and the soldiers are consumed in vain.

"Bong-hyo."

In the end, Cao Cao drank all the wine in the cup, unconsciously touched the white hair on his sideburns and sighed: "Lonely is close to ear, gray hair, I don't know how long I live, and I don't know when I will be able to calm the world and clear the universe." I'm afraid that I will die alone, and the north will be in chaos again, and I don't know how many people in this world are called emperors and kings, and I am very worried about my lonely heart, and I am very worried about my lonely heart. ”

Guo Jia pondered for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "Prime Minister, Jia has a dangerous plan, if it succeeds, it can purify the Prime Minister's heart, calm the people, eliminate troubles, drive away thieves, eliminate criminals, carry the position, govern the country, and level the world." ”

"Oh?"

Cao Cao suddenly became energetic, waved his hand up and down to Guo Jia and said, "Fengxiao, hurry up!" ”

Guo Jia said in a deep voice: "Attack Han Sui and Ma Chao, unite with Sun Quan, and pacify Jingzhou!" ”