Things are divided into internal causes and external causes. There is also a distinction between internal affairs and foreign affairs in governing a country. After raising the butcher knife against the court ministers and temporarily stabilizing the internal affairs, we will start to consider the use of external troops. In late March, the spring plowing has not yet begun.
When it was over, Chen Cheng summoned the main officials from the three provinces and six ministries to discuss how to deal with external matters.
The overall goal is very clear, that is, to reunify the entire world, but the specific stage goals may vary.
Chen Cheng first set the tone, "We must deal with the enemies one by one and cannot deal with two enemies at the same time. Now General Zhao Yun is attacking Bingzhou. Before the war in Bingzhou stops, all the resources of the imperial court must be tilted towards General Zhao."
The soldiers and horses near Chang'an should not move lightly to prevent any changes in the battle situation in Bingzhou. However, although they cannot use enough troops for other lines of defense, they must be prepared in advance. As soon as the battle of Isosceles Bingzhou is over,
We can launch an attack in another direction. You are all important officials of the province. Let’s talk about it together. What should be the next target?”
Yang Qiu is the Minister of War and is in charge of all military forces except Yabing. He was the first to say: "After the battle in Bingzhou is completed, the next step is of course to attack Hanzhong and then enter Yizhou!"
Now Chen Cheng occupies two territories, Liangzhou and Guanzhong. After Bingzhou is also defeated, there are only three directions where he can send troops, Hanzhong, Central Plains, and Hebei. Among these three places, the Central Plains is in ruins. Although Huangfu Song
Luoyang was recaptured, but there was no way to support the army there. Whether they wanted to attack Yanzhou or Nanyang, if Luoyang was used as a base, it would take at least two years to provide sufficient supplies.
If you want to use troops from Bingzhou to attack Hebei, you must first get rid of Zhang Yan's Black Mountain Army. Moreover, Yuan Shao has integrated the powerful families in Hebei and has many soldiers and horses under his command. It cannot be defeated in a short time. In the past, Emperor Guangwu was
He took possession of Hebei and then defeated all the heroes in the world.
Now Yuan Shao is regarded by many people as Liu Xiu's second best, and Yuan Shao himself thinks so.
In addition to the Central Plains and Hebei, the only direction where the imperial court can send troops now is Hanzhong. Zhang Lu of Hanzhong and Liu Zhang of Yizhou happened to be at each other's throats. In the eyes of the civil and military ministers under Chen Cheng, this was the best
Opportunities to collect Hanzhong and Yizhou.
After Yang Qiu spoke, everyone else agreed to take Hanzhong first and then consider the situation. Even a wise man like Yan Zhong thought that this strategy was excellent. Only Dong Zhao, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, agreed with everyone.
When I agreed, I expressed different opinions.
Dong Zhaodao: "The terrain in Hanzhong is dangerous. If we don't have enough troops to win, if we have more troops, it will be difficult to sustain food and grass. Although Liu Zhang is currently fighting with Zhang Lu, if our army intends to invade Hanzhong, who knows that Liu Zhang will not turn around and support Zhang Lu?"
? Guangwu said: After winning Long, return to Shu. The truth of lips dying and teeth cold, doesn't Liu Zhang understand?"
Yan Zhong was very dissatisfied with Dong Zhao's words and said: "Although the road in the middle of Shu is difficult, can we just leave it alone because of this? Now that the world is in chaos, if we don't rely on soldiers and horses to defeat them everywhere, how can those rebellious ministers and traitors
How can you still surrender by yourself?"
Dong Zhaodao: "I don't agree with the use of troops against Hanzhong now. What I just said is just one of the reasons."
Chen Cheng smiled and said: "Since it is one, then there must be two. Gongren, please make it clear."
"Yes," Dong Zhao stood up, saluted Chen Cheng, and then said: "Things can be divided into difficulties or difficulties, as well as priorities. Using troops against Hanzhong seems to be the easiest, but it is not the most urgent. Hanzhong Zhang
Lu, the dog-eared guardian of the household. The imperial court has appointed him as the prefect of Hanzhong, and with Liu Zhang on his side, Zhang Lu cannot do any harm to me. As long as Zhang Lu is here, the flanks of Guanzhong and Liangzhou will be protected, and we can
The army will have nothing to worry about."
Yan Zhong frowned and asked: "You are saying that the matter in Hanzhong is not urgent for the time being, so after we capture Bingzhou, should we take advantage of the situation and attack Hebei Yuan Shao?"
Dong Zhao originally joined the army under Yuan Shao's account and was very familiar with the geography, customs and customs of Hebei. If he attacked Hebei, he would be able to make a lot of contributions in the war. But he shook his head and said: "Although Yuan Shao is the fourth generation and the third prince,
But being too resourceful and indecisive is not a true hero. There is no need to rush things in Hebei."
"Liu Biao of Jingzhou is restrained by Yuzhou and Yangzhou. He can also stay back. Then he will send troops to attack Cao Cao?"
Dong Zhao said resolutely: "Exactly! From the perspective of the princes in Guandong, only Cao Mengde is a hero!"
"Hmph, I heard from the Lord that there are only two heroes in the world, Cao Cao and Liu Bei. But Cao Cao is in a place of four wars, what can he do?"
"Otherwise," Dong Zhao said, "Cao Cao implemented an unprecedentedly severe method of destroying land in Yanzhou, sweeping away the powerful and powerful families since Huan Ling, and controlling the land and population of Yanzhou. Just by relying on
With this approach, Cao Cao was able to repeatedly defeat the Yellow Turban and easily defeat Yuan Shu. Now he is still pressing Xuzhou to fight. If there are no restrictions, when Cao Cao captures Xuzhou and spreads his power across the state, he will probably become a strong enemy of his lord.
!”
Chen Cheng implemented many new systems in Liangzhou and Guanzhong, and created many new things. The most important one was to re-measure the land, severely crack down on scholars and powerful people, and provide poverty-stricken people with
Land was distributed free of charge. In the process, several turmoils were triggered. More than two hundred people were killed and thousands of people were exiled before this was implemented.
The commotion caused by this incident was almost the same as the previous beheading of more than a dozen court ministers. So as soon as Dong Zhao said that Cao Cao had implemented the "Earth-breaking Method" in Yanzhou, everyone here understood it. "Qingtian"
After the "land picking", the government's income increased a lot, and its control over the local area became much stronger.
Cao Cao implemented similar policies in Yanzhou as in Xiliang Pass, which speaks volumes.
Yan Zhong was relatively clear about things in Xiliang, Guanzhong, and even around Luoyang, and he also knew a lot about the ministers in the court. However, Cao Cao was just a junior to him, so he didn't know that much. When he was in Huangfu Song,
When he was in the shogunate, Cao Cao was just one of many generals, and he seemed to be nothing special. Now that Dong Zhao raised it so solemnly, Yan Zhong re-examined the information he had read.
He pondered for a while and asked: "Cao Cao is now only dependent on Yuan Shao so that he can quickly control Yanzhou and surrounding areas. Can he really be such a big threat?"
Dong Zhao is fair and fat, but his expression is very serious now, "My subordinates think that the only one who can compete with my lord is Cao Mengde. Yuan Shao, Liu Zhang and others are not worth mentioning!"
Yan Zhong was the Secretary of the Zhongshu Order and also the Secretary of the Secretariat. Dong Zhao, as the Minister of the Ministry of Works, happened to be a subordinate of Yan Zhong's subordinate.
Yan Zhong looked at the main hall and saw the different expressions of everyone. He pondered for a while, turned his head and asked Jia Xu, who had been silent next to him, "Do you think Wen He should take Hanzhong first, or should we take Hanzhong first?"
Capture Yanzhou?"
Jia Xu bowed slightly, then straightened up and said: "Taking Hanzhong has the advantage of taking Hanzhong. If we capture Hanzhong and then capture Shuzhong, we can recreate the situation in the past when Qin destroyed the six kingdoms. Emperor Gaozu also benefited."
After taking over Yanzhou and Guanzhong, they sent troops to eliminate Xiang Yu. However, capturing Yanzhou also has the advantage of capturing Yanzhou, which can cut off the connection between Yuan Shao and Runan in Hebei. From then on, the princes in the four directions can only fight on their own, and the world will not be enough.
Definitely!"
Yan Zhong was a little dissatisfied, "Do you agree to attack Yanzhou first?"
Jia Xu shook his head with a smile and said: "I think that whether we take Hanzhong or attack Yanzhou, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is better to ask the lord to make a decision."
Yan Zhongxin said: After all, Jia Wenhe cannot have the same heart as me, and he is too cunning. I have to handle the future matters by myself!
After hearing what Dong Zhao and Jia Xu said, and seeing that Chen Cheng had not expressed his stance, Yang Qiu and others couldn't help but feel shaken. They all looked at each other, and then said together: "Please make a decision, my lord!"
Decided? Chen Cheng stood up and walked back and forth in the hall, still unable to make up his mind.
Of course he knew what a hero Cao Cao was. He not only had first-class military capabilities, but also had great talents and strategies and the means to win over people's hearts. If Cao Mengde was allowed to develop, it would be very troublesome. That's why he knew that Liu Bei also had
After having ambitions that were beyond the reach of ordinary people, he sent him to Xuzhou just to cause some trouble for Cao Cao.
However, most of the time when fighting a war, it is about fighting for resources and consumption. Now Hanzhong and Yizhou have sufficient manpower and material resources. If they can eat them, the power of the imperial court can overwhelm any prince. Although Hebei has a large population, it is still smaller than
Not as good as the sum of Guanzhong and Yizhou.
By that time, even Cao Mengde should be unable to compete with the general trend of the world, right?
Thinking of this, Chen Cheng was already a little inclined to take Hanzhong first, but he was always unwilling to do so. While he was thinking about it, Liu Qian, who was sitting next to him, said loudly: "What else is there to consider? Of course, we must defeat Cao Cao first.
!”
Princess Wannian heard Chen Cheng talk about some things that happened in history, and she knew that Cao Cao would become Emperor Wu of Wei who dominated the north in the future. Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang? These were just supporting roles.
Chen Cheng stopped, turned around, and asked Liu Qian, "Why?"
Liu Qian replied crisply: "Master, didn't you say that the strong will only punch at the stronger! How can Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang be compared with Cao Cao?"
Chen Cheng was a little dumbfounded. He had said those words, but he mentioned them casually when talking about Hong Kong comics.
"This reason is not enough to convince me. How can we treat national affairs like this?"
Seeing that Chen Cheng still objected, Liu Qian gave another reason, "Hanzhong and Yizhou are full of mountains, and our cavalry cannot take advantage of it. The Central Plains is where iron hoofs run rampant! We defeated Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo before, isn't it?
Is it because our cavalry is more powerful? Although Cao Cao is good at using troops, can he have 40,000 elite cavalry? In the flat terrain, let alone Cao Cao, we are not afraid even if Yuan Shao and Cao Cao come together!"
Yang Qiu and others heard their blood boiling with excitement. They immediately fell to Liu Qian's side and cheered loudly: "The princess is right. On the plains, our Xiliang cavalry is enough to crush all enemies!"
