Strictly speaking, Chen Mu was actually quite disappointed with Cao Cao's current situation, and even looked down upon him.
Back in Luoyang, when Emperor Xiaokang of the Han Dynasty used Chen Mu's plan to divide the country and started a major court meeting, Cao Cao knelt down and worshiped below. The two looked at each other. Chen Mu once hoped that he would not let him down and not fall into his scheme in advance.
under.
As a result, many years later, Chen Mu followed his big brother Liu Bei to control Qingzhou, and joined forces with Luoyang Youzhou and Yuzhou. He had 200,000 men with armor, eyeing Jizhou with covetous eyes, and had already swallowed up the world.
On the other hand, Cao Cao is not only much weaker than in history, but he has not yet obtained the entire Yanzhou, and is struggling to hold on to half of the Dongjun territory.
Liu Bei and Cao Cao have already swapped roles, and their overall strength and progress are worlds apart.
It can be said that after Chen Mu's many calculations, Cao Cao's strength has been greatly reduced, and he is surrounded by powerful enemies on all sides, making it almost impossible to hope for a comeback.
But the appearance of Guo Jia undoubtedly gave Cao Cao another dawn, and made Chen Mu start to focus on Cao Cao again.
Perhaps after defeating Yuan Shao, with the help of Guo Jia, Cao Cao rose up in the crack between Qingzhou and Jizhou, fought both ways, and became Qingzhou's next enemy. Who can tell?
What's more, Cao Cao is not an ordinary person. He is decisive and courageous, and he also has extraordinary military capabilities. The appearance of Guo Jia is also a dangerous signal.
Because this proves that Cao Cao still has his personal charm to attract talents, and talents will continue to come to him.
Chen Mu's eyes gradually became blurred, and his thoughts began to wander.
In his deep eyes, he seemed to see the future a few years later. After Yuan Shao, Cao Mengde once again became Liu Bei's biggest competitor, competing with Liu Bei for the world of the Central Plains!
"Si Ming, Si Ming?"
Just when the thoughts in Chen Mu's mind were wild and unconstrained, and his thinking was already starting to consider how to kill Cao Cao in advance to prevent this from happening, Hou Xu's voice in his ear recalled him to reality.
Chen Mu woke up with a start, and then felt slightly absent-minded at this moment, secretly wondering what was wrong with him. It was the first time he had thought about a problem so seriously, and he was a little out of his mind.
It seemed that it was because Guo Jia's challenge to him really surprised him and made him feel like he had met an opponent.
"I'm fine."
Chen Mu waved his hand: "I was thinking about some issues just now."
Hou Xu breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Then Cao Cao is asking for such a high price, how should we deal with it?"
correct.
Let’s settle this matter first.
Chen Mu held his chin, stroked his beard and thought.
This letter, on the surface, is a letter of complaint.
In fact, it is a list of requests for supplies, and it is also a challenge from Guo Jia.
If you don't see the meaning behind this letter, then not only will your plan to intercept Zhang He and weaken Jizhou fail, but you will also be underestimated by Guo Jia.
You, Chen Zigui, have the nerve to shamelessly claim to be the world's most resourceful person without even realizing such a simple implication?
It can be said that a simple letter is the threshold for measuring a top wise man.
Seeing the connotation and meaning of the letter is just a step across the threshold.
The really difficult thing is how to break the situation.
That is to say, it is not only necessary to ensure that the strategic mission of intercepting Zhang He and weakening Jizhou is completed, but at the same time, Cao Cao cannot be overfed, and the supplies provided must be controlled within a reasonable range.
Too little, without corresponding benefits, Cao Cao would not agree to send troops, and Guo Jia had to despise Chen Mu for being short-sighted and lacking a long-term vision.
If there were too many, Cao Cao would definitely be happy to send troops to help, and Guo Jia would have to laugh at Chen Mu for being the one who was taken advantage of.
Therefore, this quantity must be controlled well.
Not only can Cao Cao be willing to send troops, which is the psychological bottom line that Cao Cao can accept, but at the same time, Guo Jia must be convinced so that his plan to help Cao Cao develop and grow will fail.
So what is the appropriate degree?
"Mr. Bo Zhu, I need Cao Cao's current detailed information. Can you remember it?"
Chen Mu turned to look at Hou Xu. Cao Cao was the focus of the Military Intelligence Department. He was at the same level as Yuan Shao. They both had files, which collected a lot of information about Cao Cao, such as his current territory, army, population under his command, and who was under his command.
Talent, etc.
The reason why the Military Intelligence Department did not find out that Guo Jia was already in Yanzhou was not because the Military Intelligence Department was incompetent, but because Cao Cao hid Guo Jia so well that outsiders did not know of his existence except for a few close confidants.
Even Chen Mu vaguely guessed that Guo Jia had followed Cao Cao through this letter and his knowledge of history. Otherwise, no matter how smart it was, Guo Jia would not have been counted on by anyone else.
Hou Xu closed his eyes and thought carefully, recalling the information in his mind. After a while, he said: "Sir Ming, please tell me."
Being able to serve as Zhang Jiao's contact person in Luoyang naturally has extraordinary abilities. In terms of strategy, he may not be very strong, but Hou Xu has a photographic memory. Chen Mu pondered: "How many troops does Cao Cao have now?"
, when was the tip-off detected?”
"There are about 16,000 people. This is an indirect report after Tao Qian withdrew from Yanzhou. Before that, he had 20,000 people. He fought with Tao Qian several times and lost many people. This time he was in a stalemate with Lu Bu, and there was no difference between the two sides.
If a war breaks out, it seems that our strength is not damaged."
Hou Xu still closed his eyes, recalling every detail in the intelligence, and truthfully stated Cao Cao's current situation.
"Then it seems that his total military strength does not exceed 20,000."
Chen Mu thought for a moment and then said: "How many cities and people does he have under his rule now?"
"There is half of Dongjun, Jibei Kingdom and Dongping Kingdom. The city includes Dongwuyang, Yangping, Dong'a, Fagan, Leping, Liaocheng, Wuyan, Luxian... a total of two and a half counties, two
Ten cities have a population of about four to five million."
Hou Xu answered without hesitation that Yanzhou, as the hinterland of the Central Plains and a transportation hub connecting the southeast, north and south of the customs, originally had a very developed population and economy. It once had 800,000 households and a population of 4 million. However, it has experienced countless wars over the years, and the population and economy have changed.
The economy has suffered a devastating blow, and the entire population of Yanzhou is now less than two million.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! So although Cao Cao has two and a half counties and twenty cities in his hands, his population is pitifully small, which makes him very weak.
I won’t go into details about the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Just like the Eighteen Routes against Dong, various princes passed by Yanzhou and plundered. Then came the Yellow Turban Army, the Black Mountain Army, countless bandits and bandits, followed by Yuan Shu and Tao Qian’s coalition forces, and finally
It was Lu Bu who came from Wang Fen. There were endless wars and the population dropped sharply.
It used to be that the two counties of Jibei and Dongping together had a population of more than 600,000, but now there are only more than 200,000. Add in half of Dongjun and there are still more than 200,000. Two and a half counties, the total is less than five
One hundred thousand people could barely support his army of 20,000.
"Cao Cao just asked his eldest brother for a batch of supplies last year. At that time, Cao Cao owned the entire Dongjun, and Chenliu, Jiyin, Shanyang and other counties were also surrendered to him. Do you think Cao Cao will be short of food?"
"Probably not."
"Well, how many troops do Zhang Miao of Chenliu County and Wu Zi of Jiyin County have now?"
"When the two rebelled against Cao Cao, they were very powerful. The Yanzhou Siwei investigated and found that including Lu Bu's troops, the three parties combined had about 50,000 or 60,000. Lu Bu led 25,000 infantry, so the two of them had at least 30,000 or 40,000.
.”
"Okay, I almost have an idea."
Chen Mu nodded.
Hou Xu wondered: "What did Siming ask Zhang Miao and Wu Zi for? Now that Yuan Shao has taken office in Jizhou, and they have rebelled against Cao Cao, I am afraid they have no place in Yanzhou."
Zhang Miao was originally a friend of Cao Cao, but when he was fighting against Dong, he had a conflict with Yuan Shao, and then Yuan Shao persuaded Cao Cao to kill Zhang Miao.
Although Cao Cao did not agree at the time, Zhang Miao began to be wary of Cao Cao, fearing that he would change his mind one day.
Later, when Wang Fen summoned him, Zhang Miao immediately rebelled. Perhaps he was afraid of being under Cao Cao. He thought that he and Wang Fen, who were both the eighth chef and had a close friendship, might as well go to Jizhou to join Wang Fen and return to the party headquarters.
idea.
After all, in history, Zhang Miao was originally wary of Cao Cao because of Yuan Shao's affairs. Later, Cao Cao killed Bian Rang, which caused Zhang Miao to become frightened and became the cause of the rebellion, causing him to conspire with Chen Gong to welcome Lu Bu.
At this time, Zhang Miao was also wary of Cao Cao because of Yuan Shao, and he was full of uneasiness. It was just because Cao Cao did not give way and there was no trigger.
But Wang Fen's call provided a trigger.
Because Wang Fen promised that as long as he returned to Jizhou, he would immediately be awarded the high position of Jiuqing.
Two roads.
One way is to continue to be fearful under Cao Cao, fearing that he will be killed one day. The other way is to return to the party's base camp and serve as a high-ranking official in Jizhou.
You can use your toes to figure out how to make a choice.
As a result, Zhang Miao didn't know that at this time, Jizhou's top officials were also in a state of decline. Wang Fen was seriously ill and there was no suitable successor. In the end, Zhang Miao's enemy Yuan Shao could only be appointed to the position, making Zhang Miao suddenly become a stranger inside and outside, and the situation was very embarrassing.
According to Hou Xu's thinking, it won't be long before Zhang Miao will be destroyed by Cao Cao's attack. After all, compared with Cao Cao, Zhang Miao is far behind in terms of ability and military.
Hearing Hou Xu's doubts, Chen Mu just smiled and said, "Mr. Bo Zhu, do you know what you should know first about negotiations?"
Hou Xu thought for a while and tentatively said, "You have to understand what the other party wants."
"good."
Chen Mu nodded: "Cao Cao is very smart. His advisers must have analyzed what I want. So what do I want? To weaken Jizhou and plot Bohai, Qinghe and other places. So what does Cao Cao want?"
"He wants the whole Yanzhou!"
Hou Xu replied without hesitation that Cao Cao has not occupied the entire Yanzhou yet, and Yanzhou must be the first step in his attempt to dominate!
Chen Mu smiled and said: "That's right. Now that you know what he wants, it's easy. Get a pen and paper."
The Siwei in the distance quietly brought pen, ink, paper and inkstone and placed them on the desk.
Everyone looked at him.
Chen Mu picked up his writing brush, dipped some ink in it, thought for a moment, and wrote a letter.
The content of the letter is very simple. It expresses sympathy for Cao Cao and expresses his willingness to provide some food, grass and baggage for assistance.
Hou Xu saw the content of the letter with his own eyes and said in surprise: "Si Ming."
"Um?"
"Eighty thousand stones?"
"Yeah, just 80,000 shi."
"But this..."
Hou Xu hesitated and said: "Eighty thousand dan is only enough to provide food and grass for 20,000 people for two months. Even in wartime, it is only enough for more than a month."
"enough."
Chen Mu smiled, took another piece of paper, and started writing the second letter.
The content of the letter was still undisguised, and Hou Xu could see it clearly from the sidelines, from puzzlement at first, to thoughtfulness later, to finally enlightenment.
When Chen Mu finished writing the letter, Hou Xu's eyes were filled with sincere admiration, and he praised: "Si Ming's ability to penetrate people's hearts is so extraordinary that he looks back as if he were looking back.
.”
"It's not that exaggerated."
Chen Mu smiled and placed the two letters on the table, waiting to dry before sending them out. He said to Hou Xu: "I just know what Cao Mengde wants, what strategies he wants to play, and what he has done."
Just a little countermeasure."
However, Chen Mu spoke calmly, but the admiration in Hou Xu's eyes did not diminish at all. His intelligence was much stronger than the average person, between 70-80, and he could barely keep up with Chen Mu's thoughts.
Moreover, Chen Mu had already read the letter to him, which was equivalent to an open-book examination. Because of this, Hou Xu felt that Si Ming was as wise as the sea.
On the other hand, Taishi Ci looked at them confusedly, as if he was looking at two Riddlers.
He also saw the two envelopes, but he knew all the words on them, and he didn't notice any difference when they were put together. However, the two figures seemed to have completed a conspiracy and had no idea what they were talking about.
This is the gap in intelligence.
...
...
The mighty army began to rush south.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! When Zhang He began to shrink his troops in large quantities, Chen Mu had already guessed that he was preparing to plan a breakout.
So I contacted Cao Cao a long time ago and exchanged letters with Cao Cao before Zhang He left.
Now that Zhang He has started to take action, Chen Mu will naturally start to take action as well.
At this time, Zhang Hejun had already begun to move south from Beiqiu, and Chen Mu's letter was also delivered to Dongwuyang City.
Now that Lu Bu has withdrawn, it stands to reason that Cao Cao should return to Puyang.
But because Chen Mu asked him to intercept Zhang He's army, Cao Cao stood still and waited for what price Chen Mu would give him.
Sometimes, when you have something that others don't have, it's really exciting to wait for a price.
In early December, Cao Cao was sitting under the eaves of the side hall in the backyard of his mansion, with an oven simmering a pot of wine next to him, watching the snowflakes falling while drinking wine.
Guo Jia, Chen Gong, Cheng Yu and Xi Xian were kneeling on the table next to them. Cao Cao put down his wine glass, smashed it in his mouth, and said, "I suddenly want to go fishing."
Cheng Yu smiled and said: "I heard that in the middle of winter, the river in Youzhou will freeze, and people from Liaodong will drill through the ice on the river to fish."
Guo Jia said: "I'm afraid the fish Ming Gong mentioned is not really fishing."
Cao Cao laughed loudly and said: "Those who know me are filial piety."
"Brother, brother."
Outside the courtyard, Cao Ren came in excitedly, holding a letter in his hand. He came to the door of the side hall of the courtyard and said, "A letter from Chen Zigui."
Guo Jia smiled slightly: "Ming Gong, the fish is here."
"Um."
Cao Cao took the letter and frowned when he saw the first one: "This fish is too small. Is this Chen Zigui trying to make fun of me?"
"oh?"
Guo Jia cupped his hands and said, "Can Ming Gong give the letter to Jia?"
Cao Cao gave the letter to Guo Jia.
The content of the letter made Cao Cao very unhappy. He only had 80,000 dan, so how could he send him to be a beggar?
When Cao Cao thought about it, his psychological bottom line was at least 300,000 shi of food and grass, no less than 10,000 weapons and weapons, 50,000 shi of salt, and some cotton clothes.
Without such great benefits, why should he take the risk to help Chen Mu intercept Zhang He's army, which was eager to return home?
After Guo Jia finished reading the first letter, his expression did not change much, because he had already touched another letter below, so he took out the second page of letter paper and looked at it carefully. A smile slowly appeared on his expression, as if he had seen something interesting.
s things.
"Fengxiao, what else is there to see? I think Chen Zigui is just a short-sighted person. I have to let go of this opportunity to weaken Jizhou, so I might as well reject his "good intentions"."
Cao Cao had a teasing expression and asked for eighty thousand stones of food and grass. Isn't this mocking him?
However, after Guo Jia read it, he took the letter and bowed to Cao Cao, smiling and said: "Congratulations to Duke Ming, congratulations to Duke Ming, you are a big fish."
"Eighty thousand dan is considered a big fish?"
Cao Cao was confused. This small amount of food and grass was enough to feed his 20,000 soldiers for two months in normal times. If he had more food during war, it would be used up in more than a month. How could he be considered a big fish?
Guo Jia took out the second letter and handed it over and said: "Ming Gong, Chen Zigui mentioned something in the letter that can help us win Yanzhou."
"oh?"
Cao Cao took the letter, read it carefully for a moment, and fell into deep thought.
That's it, that's it.
I asked why Meng Zhuo and I drifted apart, and in the end we turned against each other.
So this is ah.
Cao Cao was filled with emotions in his heart.
It is rare for a person to have a few close friends in this life.
He once thought that he was the same as Yuan Shao and Zhang Miao.
But in the end, thousands of words turned into endless sobs.
"You all take a look."
After reading the second letter, Cao Cao gave Chen Mu's letter to Cheng Yu, Chen Gongxixian and others.
After reading this, several counselors looked at each other and nodded slightly.
Xi Xian said to Guo Jia: "It seems that Feng Xiao is right. This Chen Zigui is really an amazing genius. This battle should be a draw between you two."
Guo Jia challenged Chen Mu to test this difficult problem, and Chen Mu gave him the perfect answer.
That is to say, the maximum benefit is obtained at the minimum cost.
However, there is one question maker and one solver on both sides. Although the answer is perfect, it should be considered a deadlock until Chen Mu poses the question next time.
Unexpectedly, Guo Jia smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I lost."
"Did you lose?"
"Lost."
"Where did I lose?"
"Look at the end of the letter."
Xi Xian looked to the end of the letter.
I saw a simple greeting at the end.
"I bow down on the ground and bow down at the feet of Brother Mengde again. Please pay respect to Brother Zhicai, Brother Gongtai, Brother Zhongde and that gentleman. I will bow again."
"That gentleman?"
Xi Xian looked at Guo Jia and said in astonishment: "Then Chen Zigui guessed the existence of Feng Xiao?"
A strange light flashed in Guo Jia's eyes: "Yes, he... guessed my existence."