In order to avoid Cao Jun's spies and possible troubles, Ma Chao and his party took a long detour, directly avoiding Cao Jun's sphere of influence, and spent a lot of energy and time to reach the border of Qingzhou.
Entering Shu from Xichuan. The prosperity of Shu is true, but it is still the same as in the past. The local families are powerful and the government is superior. Although the life of the people at the bottom is much better than that of the people in Xiliang, they can only barely make ends meet.
The familiar Han pattern here was still there. Even though the language was very different from Xiliang, it still made Ma Chao feel extremely friendly. If he didn't want to expose his traces, he would have wanted to have a good and intimate relationship with the current Lord of Shu.
Then he went down the river, first to Jingzhou, and then rushed to the Central Plains through Jingzhou, and then to Qingzhou from the Central Plains. The journey was almost millions of miles and took more than half a year.
This is because all of them are warriors above the rank of elite and have fast feet. At the same time, their horses are also good horses that can travel hundreds of thousands of miles a day. Otherwise, it would be difficult to reach the destination so quickly.
However, what he saw and heard on the way made Ma Chao not happy at all.
The situation in Jingzhou was pretty good. What Liu Biao practiced here was still the Han method, which was quite familiar to Ma Chao. There was no adaptation problem at all. It was just that the different accents naturally caused regional exclusion.
Of course, as the Jizhou army pressed forward step by step, there was inevitably tension within Jingzhou, especially in the area close to Nanyang, where the military camps were even more tense.
Fortunately, although the Jingzhou Army was heavily guarded, it did not dare to take the initiative to sever contact with the opposite Jizhou Army territory. Not only was there no problem with personnel exchanges, but caravans also came and went quite frequently, and there was even a bustling commercial scene. Under the heavy tension
It's a strange sight to see such a situation in the atmosphere.
Although Ma Chao and his entourage were eye-catching, they entered the Nanyang territory controlled by the Jizhou Army without any hindrance.
Ordinarily, based on his understanding of the Central Plains aristocratic family, the Yuan Shao tribe in Jizhou, who were representatives of the aristocratic family, did not have very good military discipline. When they saw the good horses that he and his party were riding, they would have to scrape off at least a layer of skin before they could escape.
Even because of greed, some unspeakable things may happen. Ma Chao and his subordinates are ready to go on a killing spree. The power of the peerless general in small-scale battles is enough to be called unscrupulous and invincible.
You must know that Ma Chao and his subordinates have a good horse, which is considered a top-quality horse even among the Xiliang cavalry. If placed in the Central Plains, it is not an exaggeration to call it a BMW, and its value can reach thousands of gold.
It is said that wealth and silk are attractive to people. When they passed by Shu and Jingzhou, they often sent away those who were not discerning.
What I didn't expect was that when they entered the territory of the Jizhou Army, their horses did attract the attention of the checkpoint officers, and even showed an undisguised greedy look. However, in the end they did not take action, and they just charged the normal customs clearance fee.
It's really strange. Do Yuan Shao's soldiers still have such good character?
However, once they entered the Jizhou Army territory, the style here suddenly changed, becoming strange and even disgusting to Ma Chao and others.
Talisman carts and all kinds of rune instruments can be seen everywhere in the city, which makes Ma Chao feel bad for wandering around.
Although the area controlled by the Jizhou Army had prosperous commerce and people's lives were prosperous, there was an endless flow of people and carriages on the official roads, and the city's commerce was prosperous and the people all had rosy complexions and strong bodies, showing a prosperous atmosphere, Ma Chao was not in a happy mood.
Because the Jizhou Army's territory also relied on talisman carts and other weird rune equipment to develop, and he was not blind, how could he not see it?
The successive battles in Xiliang caused him to instinctively develop a rebellious and repulsive mentality towards the forces that rely on runic tools to develop and grow, but he did not show it.
What he never expected was how could Yuan Shao, the representative of a dignified family, get involved with the Qingzhou Yellow Turban like Cao Cao and be so shameless?
With something hidden in his mind, he had no intention of observing the prosperous scene in the Jizhou Army territory, or even paying attention to the different scenes of breeding here.
It's just that he had doubts in his heart. Didn't he hear that Yuan Shao's Jizhou army was fighting with Youzhou Gongsun Zan before? Why is it now targeting the hinterland of the Central Plains?
Although he was not in a good mood, every time Ma Chao visited a city, he would stay for a few days to inquire about the situation, so as not to be too ignorant and attract ridicule and suspicion, which would be very detrimental to the purpose of his trip.
The most popular information is the gossip about the disputes between Yuan Shao's sons.
In other words, the current situation in this world at the end of the Han Dynasty changed drastically due to the chaos of the Yellow Turban Leaders.
Yuan Shao of Jizhou, who should have unified the four northern states long ago, but later lost his pants in the Battle of Guandu, is not only still alive and well, but the development of the Jizhou Group is also very rapid with the help of a large number of runic tools.
Even though Cao Cao is now occupying Guanzhong and moving to Xiliang, and his power has skyrocketed for a while, he is still far inferior to Yuan Shao's group in Jizhou.
After all, the people's livelihood in Guanzhong and Xiliang is in decline. Although the rune tools provided by the Yellow Turban collar can greatly increase productivity, the time is too short and the development speed is limited by the distance.
The hinterland of the Central Plains occupied by Yuan Shao was not only maturely developed but also fertile, with a large population and a large number of rune tools provided by the Yellow Turban Collar. The productivity exploded early, otherwise it would not have been possible to reach the edge of Jingzhou in one go.
At present, Yuan Shao owns Jizhou, Yuzhou and Bingzhou in one fell swoop, as well as Nanyang County, which was famous as the richest county in the world during the Han Dynasty. His strength is quite strong, and it is not an exaggeration to call him the first prince in the North.
It's a pity that Yuan Shao simply can't arouse the arrogance of being the world's great and being the only one in the world.
Not to mention the unique existence of the Yellow Turban Leader, which can easily destroy the entire Jizhou Group, and the Youzhou Gongsun Zan who has made a big enemy.
The current Youzhou is extraordinary. As a large area of territory outside the Great Wall was captured by Gongsun Zan, and he still established a firm foothold outside the Great Wall, the resources on the grassland continued to feed Youzhou, making Youzhou see a great development.
The strength of the army is also unprecedentedly strong, exerting strong pressure on the Jizhou Group.
According to the old habits in the past, if the Jizhou Group wants to deal with the powerful Youzhou Army, in addition to its own armed attack, the most important thing is to contact the aliens outside the Great Wall to attack. In this way, it will be difficult for Youzhou to change its hands.
But now this method is no longer effective. The foreigners outside the Great Wall to the north of Youzhou were killed in fear. They were either completely destroyed or fled far away. The Jizhou Group now doesn't know where the Youzhou Army has expanded, and how could it be possible?
Contact a powerful alien ally?
There is also the Liu Bei Group in Xuzhou. Although their strength cannot be judged by Yuan Shao, they are all vassal forces supported by the Yellow Turban Leader. No matter how bad their strength is, they will not be far behind.
There is also Cao Cao who is sweeping Guanzhong and Xiliang. It can be said that the territory controlled by Yuan Shao is completely defended by several powerful princes. How can he arouse the pride of being alone?
Yuan Shao, who was not confused, was still very capable, otherwise Cao Cao would not have followed him as a follower.
It's just that it's hard for an upright official to deal with household matters. Yuan Shao'er has a soft heart, and he doesn't treat his adult sons on an equal footing. Doesn't this lead to conflicts in private?
Fortunately, Yuan Shang, Lao Yuan's favorite youngest son, was sent to the Yellow Turban to study and serve as a hostage, otherwise the Yuan family members would have made public riots.
But even so, the private confrontation between Yuan's disciples was also talked about by the people under the rule of the Jizhou Group, and then entered Ma Chao's ears.
He was very dissatisfied with this. The Fufeng Ma family would never have such a situation. He, Ma Chao, was not only the legitimate son of the Ma family, but also a veritable warrior. Which of his peers in the family would dare to compete with him?
In his opinion, the reason why Yuan Shao's disciples fought fiercely was because they did not have the ability to stand out.
I don’t know how Yuan Shao, a representative of an aristocratic family, and the leader of the vassal alliance at that time, could have such miserable descendants. He is really looked down upon.
Whenever he heard that the common people in teahouses and restaurants were gossiping about the deeds of Yuan's disciples, Ma Chao had the urge to look up to the sky and laugh.
Tiger father and dog son, this is clearly the tiger father and dog son!
If Yuan Shao has no successor, the Jizhou Group's development momentum will stop here. Unless there is strong external intervention, the powerful Jizhou Group may fall apart after Yuan Shao leaves.
Apart from listening to the gossips of the Yuan clan, Ma Chao was most interested in strange things such as the fu car that he hated and loved at the same time.
In the area controlled by the Jizhou Group, he learned that those weird gadgets were called rune tools, which were created and spread by the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Leader.
In addition to all kinds of gossip, the most talked-about topic among the people in the towns passing by was these rune tools.
After listening more, Ma Chao understood the importance of these rune tools. It can be said that whether it is Cao Cao who occupied Guanzhong and swept through Xiliang, or Yuan Shao's Jizhou Group, the main reason for its current prosperity is because of
On these runes that he couldn't understand.
According to his understanding, with the use of rune tools, the grain output in the fields would be higher, and this alone would be enough to enable the rapid rise of the powers of Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and other princes.
It's just that he can't figure out why after using the rune tools, the fields will be more productive, and various food supplies and living supplies will be produced in large quantities?
I just heard from the people under the rule of the Jizhou Group that the rune tools owned by the Jizhou Group are all old-fashioned rune tools from the Yellow Turban collar. They heard that the new type of rune tools are more effective and more convenient to use. They really hope that the top management can learn from the Yellow Turban collar.
Get there to buy in bulk.
At the same time, according to the people under the rule of the Jizhou Group, their development model here is very different from that of the Qingzhou Yellow Turban collar. The people are actually more willing to accept the development model of the Yellow Turban collar, but it is a pity that the top management of the Jizhou Group does not know how to do it.
promise!
After hearing this, Ma Chao became even more curious about the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Leader.