"There are two main issues I want to talk about today. One is that spring plowing is about to begin. The Ministry of Revenue must pay close attention to this matter and not eliminate mistakes. The other is that Gongsun Zan in Youzhou has shown signs of decline. In order to prevent Yuan Shao from dominating the north,
What measures should we take?”
Xu Chao stayed in the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue for many years, and finally moved up one level, and was worshiped as the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, in charge of all government work. His original positions of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Minister of the Ministry of Industry were passed by the late Hanyang Grand Administrator respectively.
Lu Fanghe's former minister Dong Zhao took over.
After Lu Fang came to the central government and became the Minister of Household Affairs, the post of Hanyang Grand Administrator was taken over by Duan Xuan. Duan Xuan was Duan Xi's younger brother and was popular in Liangzhou and Guanzhong. He was asked to serve as the Hanyang Grand Administrator.
It can be regarded as compensation for him being on the bench for these years. After all, he was once a prince. Although he knelt down after only a few days, he can also set an example for other princes, so that when wars happen in the future, those local forces will
The resistance will be reduced.
The matter of spring plowing was just a matter of step. Xiao Gui and Cao followed suit and just copied the homework of the past few years, so the discussion was quickly completed. Then came the highlight of the day.
"Yuan Shao now occupies Jizhou and Qingzhou, and has sufficient troops and supplies. If Zhang Yan and Gongsun Zan hadn't restrained him, I'm afraid he would have become disloyal." Chen Cheng first set the tone and said: "So
We want Gongsun Zan to continue to support him without putting too much burden on the court. Do you have any good ideas?"
Yan Zhong has already resigned from the concurrent post of Shangshu Ling and only retained the official position of Zhongshu Ling. Therefore, he no longer cares about the following trivial matters and only considers issues from the national level. How to deal with Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan, this is what Yan Zhong
It was Zhong's duty. He looked around the hall and said, "Just ask Gongsun Zan to bring something in exchange. Whether it's fur or ginseng, we all want it."
Dong Zhaodao: "Zhongshu Ling doesn't know. Although Youzhou also has fur ginseng and other things, it can't be compared with Pingzhou. Even if you can come up with some, it's just a drop in the bucket."
"Then what else can you get from Youzhou?" Yan Zhong snorted and said, "You can't give them anything for free, right?"
Lu Fang said: "There are many barbarians such as Wuhuan and Xianbei on the edge of Youzhou. Why don't you ask Gongsun Zan to capture some barbarians and sell them? Now an adult slave in Guanzhong can be sold for twenty guan, and a child can be sold for half that. If you capture a barbarian for tens of thousands,
People, the food purchased is enough to feed them for a year."
After hearing this, everyone started chatting in low voices and thought this was a good idea. Both Bingzhou and Guanzhong were both short of manpower, so it would be good to supplement some labor force. After Zhao Yun captured Bingzhou, he quickly stabilized the place and organized recovery at the same time.
In terms of agricultural production, we also learned from Xiliang and opened many coal mines and iron mines.
Bingzhou has a lot of coal resources that can be mined in the open. A small amount is supplied to the local area, and some can be sold to Guanzhong. The people in this era are generally very poor and generally do not spend money randomly. They can live by just picking up some branches.
Naturally, I am reluctant to spend money to buy briquettes.
But as long as it is a large residential area, such as towns and cities, it is not so convenient to cut down trees and pick up branches to burn. In those places, the market for coal is gradually expanding. Compared with charcoal, coal is more convenient
, it is also cheaper, which can be profitable.
However, Xu Chao, the newly appointed minister, had different opinions. He said to Chen Cheng: "It's okay to say that weapons and armor need to be purchased from us. Gongsun Zan's tribe cannot even be self-sufficient in food. How can this be done?"
What is the future? Even if they can catch tens of thousands of Hu people and sell them this year, what about next year? The Hu people are not pigs, dogs, cattle, or sheep, and they can give birth to a litter in one litter.
Besides, transporting grain from Guanzhong will consume more than half of it on the way. Rather than buying grain from us, it would be better to let the people of Youzhou grow more land themselves."
Someone on the side laughed and said: "Shang Shuling is wrong. Only pigs and dogs can give birth to many in one litter, not cattle and sheep."
Xu Chao said: "That's what I mean. Tell me, it's better to send someone over to help Gongsun Zan organize production. If there is enough food and grass, with the fierceness of Youzhou's sudden cavalry, Yuan Shao will not be able to do anything to them for a while.
.”
Chen Cheng sighed: "Gongsun Zan is not a person who can listen to advice. If he had been easy to talk to, he would not be in the current situation."
Xu Chao said: "Then we have to start thinking about how to deal with Yuan Shao after Gongsun Zan's defeat."
Chen Cheng said: "A broken ship has three pounds of nails. After all, Gongsun Zan was once a prince with a hundred thousand soldiers, so he will have no problem surviving this year."
After discussing for a long time, Jia Xu suddenly said: "It is better to let Gongsun Zan return Daijun to the imperial government."
Daijun is adjacent to Yanmen County in Bingzhou. If Daijun can be occupied, it will expand the area controlled by the imperial court dozens of miles eastward. It will be more convenient to intervene in the war between Youzhou and Hebei in the future. However, Daijun has a small population.
, even if it is occupied, it is useless if there is no one to guard such a large area.
Jia Xu smiled and said: "None of us go to Daijun, but Zhang Yan has a lot of people in his hands. Although there are natural dangers in the Taihang Mountains to rely on, how can it compare with the fertile land of Daijun?"
"Zhang Yan?" Chen Cheng thought for a while and asked Yan Zhongdao: "What do Bo Dao think?"
Yan Zhong said: "That's fine. Zhang Yan is good at pacifying the people, but not good at using troops. Gongsun Zan is good at using troops, but not good at pacifying the people. If these two people can be united, they can last a few more days."
Chen Cheng nodded and said: "Then it's settled. Appoint Zhang Yan as the prefect of Daijun. In addition, give Yuan Shao an order to stay in Jizhou and not to continue attacking Youzhou."
"How can Yuan Shao be tied up by an edict?" Yan Zhong said: "It is better to recruit scholars from Hanoi and ask about the geography of mountains and rivers. Lu Bu has a good relationship with Zhang Yang, the prefect of Hanoi. He can be sent to Hanoi to help Zhang Yang lead the army and threaten Hebei's flanks.
, in order to slow down Yuan Shao’s use of troops against Youzhou.”
"But what if Yuan Shao turns around and attacks Hanoi?"
Yan Zhong laughed and said: "If he attacks Hanoi, Xu Rong will naturally lead his troops to resist Yuan Shao."
Chen Cheng pondered for a while and then asked: "What if Zhang Yang turns to Yuan Shao because of this?"
Yan Zhong sneered and said: "That's better, let's take Hanoi and Hedong, and then launch an attack on Jizhou."
Chen Cheng laughed and said: "Bo Dao thinks we can fight Yuan Shao now? If we fight Yuan Shao, Cao Cao from Yuzhou will definitely take the opportunity to go north."
"With Sun Ce and Liu Bei on Cao Cao's side, he may not be able to recapture Yanzhou as he wishes. Hebei has a large population and rich products. One county is as big as the entire Bingzhou. The army can collect food and civilians on the spot." Yan Zhong said with some contempt: "Hebei
Although the soldiers are well-equipped with food and supplies, how can they be a match for the imperial army?"
He and other ministers and officials above had seen the power of cannon volleys, and never believed that there was anyone in the world who could withstand the power of the earth shattering. In fact, he felt that as Chen Cheng's territory expanded, he became more and more powerful.
He has become more conservative and cautious. With such weapons, even though they are only ten, it is enough to form an absolute advantage over Jizhou.
"Yes," Chen Cheng nodded and said, "Then do as Bo Dao said."
He had defeated Yuan Shao's ally in the south, Cao Cao, and now he was almost ready to fight Yuan Shao. Chen Cheng also thought about it for a long time between defeating Yuan Shao first and completely eliminating Cao Cao, but in the end he felt that Yuan Shao should be defeated first. North
Yuan Shao's family is the dominant one. As long as Yuan Shao is defeated, the surrounding Zhang Yan, Zang Ba, Gongsun Zan and others will most likely surrender without a fight.
But if troops are put into Yanzhou and after defeating Cao Cao, Liu Biao, Sun Ce, and maybe even Liu Bei will be around. If the artillery is put into actual combat for the first time, it will definitely have a huge shocking effect. Now that Yuan Shao is the strongest, then
Then he'll do the surgery...and the cannon.
So Chen Cheng, in the name of the emperor, worshiped Zhang Yan as the governor of Daijun, and appointed Lu Bu as the captain of Hanoi, subordinate to Xu Rong. As for Gongsun Zan, in addition to allocating more weapons and food, he also specially wrote
A letter was sent, suggesting that the self-willed General Baima set up farming in Youzhou to solve the problem of insufficient food and fodder.
At the end of the letter, he mentioned by the way that he hoped that General Gongsun could send Tian Yu to Chang'an to coordinate the delivery of materials between the two families. The letter soon reached Gongsun Zan's hands. He was eight feet tall and beautiful.
General Baima, who had a loud voice, said nothing after reading the letter.
The counselor Guan Jing saw him at the edge and asked, "What did the general say in the letter?"
Guan Jing Guan Shiqi is probably the person Gongsun Zan trusts most now. The letter was handed over. After reading it hastily, he said in surprise: "General, are you asking us to exchange Daijun and General Tianyu for those weapons and equipment?"
"Huh, that's probably what I mean." Gongsun Zan's lips twitched into a sneer, "I wanted Zhao Yun before, then Liu Bei, and now I want Tian Yu. Where does Chen Cheng think I am here?"
Zhao Yun and Liu Bei both left under Gongsun Zan. Now one is Bingzhou Mu and the other is Xuzhou Mu, and they are on an equal footing with his old boss. Now, Chen Cheng not only wants people, but also starts to ask for territory.
Guan Jing asked: "Then my lord wants to reject the general?"
Gongsun Zan was silent for a while and said angrily: "Give him! What can a mere Tian Yu do for you? Daijun has a vast territory and sparse population, and is not within our jurisdiction. If Chen Wenzheng wants it, then give it to him!"
"
Guan Jing took the letter and read it for a while, then raised his head and said: "The general suggested that my lord should farm in Youzhou. My subordinates think that this is a good idea. We are now empty because of the lack of food."
Tens of thousands of troops can only sit in the city of sleepiness. If we can solve the food problem, we no longer have to be manipulated by others!"
"Huh, let's do it then!"
For some reason, Gongsun Zan's anger seemed to have increased a lot. He said angrily: "I want to see if Chen Cheng has a state pastor for others!"
Guan Jing suddenly understood that he was angry because of these things.
