Cao Cao's soldiers have been withdrawing to Guanzhong for some time. Under Cao Cao's arrangement, the soldiers of the three armies were stationed at various fortresses in Guanzhong.
According to Cao Cao's request, the generals of various departments of Cao's army stabilized the people's hearts in the counties around Chang'an and recruited troops.
There are more than ten princes in Guanzhong. Originally, with the communication and comfort of Luoyang Zhongyao, they had taken refuge with Cao Cao, but that was after Cao Cao was established to control the Central Plains.
But now that Cao Cao has lost the Central Plains, he instead led his elite troops to Guanzhong and took control of the two capitals. To a certain extent, it was infringing on the self-interest of the princes in Guanzhong, so they were now wary of Cao Cao.
However, although Cao Cao lost the Central Plains, he still had his main force and 100,000 elite soldiers and generals under his command. The sum total of the men and horses of the Guanzhong princes was only this number. Therefore, even if they were dissatisfied with Cao Cao's garrison in Guanzhong and called themselves bosses, they still
There is nothing I can do but silently accept this fact.
Guanzhong is named Guanzhong because it is located within the Four Passes, with 800 miles of Qinchuan as the southern barrier. It also has a warm temperate continental monsoon climate. The temperature rises quickly in spring and is relatively high; in summer, it rains and heats at the same time.
There is sufficient water and heat. The Guanzhong Plain is formed by alluvial flow and loess accumulation. The terrain is flat and the soil is fertile, so it is very recuperative.
For this reason, the capitals of the Han Dynasty have always been located inside and outside Guanzhong.
Although Cao Cao lost the Central Plains, he could still slowly regain his strength by relying on the land in Guanzhong and compete with the pottery merchants.
Even if the overall strength is not as good as that of the pottery merchant, he can still settle down and become the king on his own.
But this approach depends on who is doing it.
If it had been anyone else, he might have been able to bear it, but as far as Cao Cao was concerned, it was not his character to live like this.
He must still want to seek development.
But if Cao Cao wants to develop, he first needs customer service for two major factors.
The first is the problem of the morale of his 100,000 soldiers.
Most of the soldiers under Cao Cao are Central Plains soldiers. Many of their hometowns are in the counties of Yuzhou and Yanzhou, and their families are also there. Now they follow Cao Cao to other places. The soldiers all miss their hometown and relatives. Therefore,
In terms of overall morale, it has been unable to improve.
The second point is the issue of troop sources.
Since the beginning of Emperor Xiaoling, Guanzhong has been in a period of turmoil, especially after Dong Zhuo came to power. Therefore, there was a massive exodus of the population. It was almost half less than before the Yellow Turban Uprising, and many of these people were still there.
There are more than ten princes in Guanzhong under the rule, so it will not be easy for Cao Cao to recruit new troops.
The governance of Guanzhong requires people, but if you want to fight against the pottery merchants, you will need more people.
Regarding the issue of troop sources, Cao Cao now felt very troubled, but he had no way to solve it.
This problem weighed on his mind like a mountain, causing him to get angry again and again. Every time he got angry, he immediately got a headache. He was on time and on time, without any deviation.
On this day, Cao Cao's head hurt so bad that he struggled for most of the night before falling asleep.
The next day, after Cao Cao's headache subsided, he immediately sent someone to find Jia Xu.
During the Battle of the Central Plains, Jia Xu stayed in Chang'an, and together with Zhong Yao of Luoyang, he was responsible for some matters to appease the princes in Guanzhong. However, after Cao Cao returned to Chang'an, Jia Xu handed over all the matters in his hands.
Sitting beside Cao Cao's bed, Jia Xu raised his hands to Cao Cao and said, "Sikong."
Cao Cao reached out and took off the scarf from his forehead, and said with a wry smile: "This trend has really happened more and more frequently recently."
Jia Xu said: "Sikong, take care of yourself. The soldiers of the three armies have just set foot in Guanzhong, and there are many things that cannot be separated from Sikong's judgment."
Cao Cao raised his hand and rubbed his temples, and then said after a long while: "Wen He, you were born in Liangzhou, and you also traveled to Guanzhong back then. Now we don't have enough troops, but there are not enough people in Guanzhong, so it is difficult to expand our troops. Ma Teng, Han Sui and the like
My troops and horses may not be able to be completely driven by me, so what should I do?"
Jia Xu raised his head and glanced at Cao Cao.
According to his conscience, he is almost sixty years old and really doesn't want to continue struggling. Jia Xu has no great ideals in his life. He just wants to find a place to spend his old age in peace and stability.
He doesn't want to be rich or famous. The most he wants is to meet people who are as resourceful as himself, and he will be happy to see them. He can hide behind others and compete with the enemy for wisdom. This is the greatest thing for him.
fun of.
Originally, he saw that Cao Cao was a good protector and the one with the greatest potential for development among the princes, so he came to serve under Cao Cao.
But it turns out that even old poisoners sometimes make mistakes.
Today, the general trend of the world belongs to Tao.
Jia Xu was very helpless when he was facing old age and still couldn't stop.
But after all, after getting along for many years, it is not the same thing to ask Jia Xu to abandon Cao Cao and go to other princes. After all, everyone has a face.
Moreover, in today's world, apart from Cao Cao, only pottery merchants are suitable for him to defect to.
But changing one's family and court is a very important matter, and it's not that easy.
Besides, it would be very hesitant to accept a direct rebel without any reason. Jia Xu could not say whether Tao Shang would sincerely accept him.
If the pottery merchant felt that his character was not good enough and then dealt with him after killing Cao Cao, Jia Xu would be completely out of luck for the rest of his life.
Therefore, Jia Xu is also thinking about the second half of his life.
"Sikong, if we want to recruit direct troops right now, I'm afraid it won't be enough, but we can unite our alliances to increase our strength, and then formulate a development strategy."
When Cao Cao heard this, he asked curiously: "Who are your allies?"
Jia Xu thought for a while: "The first is the Qiang people, and the second is the people of Bazhou in Hanzhong."
Cao Cao frowned and said, "Why contact these people? How can their soldiers and horses resist the pottery merchants?"
Jia Xu said calmly: "We are not asking them to assist our army against Tao's army. The urgent situation now is that Hebei and the Central Plains are probably out of reach. There are many princes in Guanzhong, which is quite constraining. Zhang Lu in Hanzhong was defeated by me in the previous campaign."
The army has been defeated once, but it has not yet recovered its strength, so we might as well seize Hanzhong as planned."
"Capture Hanzhong?"
Jia Xu nodded and said: "In the land of Sili, a large number of people have emigrated in recent years. Some of them are going to the Central Plains, some are going to Jingzhou through Wuguan, and the largest part is going to Hanzhong, plus Zhang Lu
The Five Pecks of Rice religion is widely used for charity, and the land of Hanzhong can be said to be rich in population at present. If we can get it, it can alleviate the current difficulties."
When Cao Cao heard this, he suddenly slapped his forehead and nodded: "Wen He's words are very true. If we can capture Hanzhong, we will definitely solve the current crisis."
Jia Xu felt relieved when he saw Cao Cao's interest in Hanzhong.
He encouraged Cao Cao to attack Hanzhong, not mainly to help Cao Cao solve the population problem, but to solve his own life problems for the rest of his life.