After drinking and talking about heroes, Cao Cao began to live in seclusion. He stopped going out for a few days and either stayed at Cao Song's place or visited Xi Zhicai every day. He was not too high-profile.
In fact, he also had some acquaintances in the military and political affairs of Qingzhou, such as Ding Chong from Pei State and Wang Jun from Runan, both of whom were his companions when he was a boy, and are currently serving in Qingzhou.
However, these people invited Cao Cao to attend some gatherings, but Cao Cao declined them all because he was afraid that Chen Mu would set him up again and lead him into trouble.
Once bitten by a snake, you will be afraid of well ropes for ten years.
As the old saying goes, people should correct their attitude, find their own position, and understand that the world does not revolve around you alone, so that you can find your correct position in the world.
Cao Cao knew very well how delicate his current situation was. After losing most of Yanzhou, the main areas where grain production and population were concentrated were lost, and the situation was very bad.
Therefore, to survive in the cracks, he must walk on thin ice and be cautious.
The only thing he can hope for now is to get Champa Rice from Liu Bei as soon as possible. As long as Champa Rice takes root in Huainan and has food and soldiers, at least he will not be as embarrassed as he is now.
Everything will be better.
The days passed day by day. In the evening of this day, the weather was dry and clear. It was already Cao Cao's twelfth day in Qingzhou.
Good news finally came to Liu Bei. Six hundred thousand kilograms of rice seeds had been packed, which required nearly a thousand carriages. In addition to the six hundred thousand kilograms of rice seeds, there were also some supplies and baggage.
Of course, these supplies and equipment are not for Cao Cao.
Cao Cao only brought dozens of people with him, and he certainly couldn't drive all the vehicles back, so Liu Bei sent thousands of charioteers and a thousand soldiers to escort them along the way. These supplies were for the soldiers and charioteers to use on the road.
After the rice seeds were installed, Liu Bei happily invited Cao Cao to come and watch.
Cao Cao was led outside the large warehouse built next to the Zi River in the north of Linzi City. He saw horse-drawn carriages being transported out of the granary, slowly entering the official road outside, and heading southwest along the cement road.
, stretching for more than ten miles, with no end in sight.
In fact, in ancient times, granaries like this were classified as military secrets and would not be shown to outsiders. But now that Linzi City's city walls have been demolished and the warehouses are not built in the city, it is no longer important whether the location of the granaries is visible to others.
According to Chen Mu, if one day the enemy is able to attack Linzi City, then it will be meaningless whether or not there is a city wall, because in addition to proving that the situation is over, it also proves his incompetence.
What else but stupidity and incompetence can make the enemy attack all the way to his hometown?
It had rained a few days ago, and the ground near the granary was muddy and wet. Only the cement-paved ground was smooth and hard. Cao Cao looked at the ground in a daze. If such materials were used to build a city, I'm afraid no one would be able to break in.
"Ming Gong, Chen Zigui's second plan is here."
Guo Jia used the sword he carried with him to poke open a bag of rice seeds, and a handful of golden ears of wheat came out of the sack.
It looks very ordinary, but when you pinch a few grains at random, you will find that the rice inside is already moldy.
Cao Cao showed a serious look.
Rice seeds are actually the rice we eat, and rice is the fruit produced by rice.
Under normal circumstances, rice seeds can germinate. After germination with warm water, rice seedlings can be formed, and then the rice plants can be planted in the field. This is what we commonly call transplanting.
But before cultivating seedlings, you have to go through several processes, including sun-drying, germination, seedling raising, and finally sowing. Without any of these steps, it cannot become a seed.
Compared with later generations of hybrid rice, the yield of Champa rice is actually pitifully low. The yield per mu is four to five stone, which is almost more than 200 kilograms. Compared with the modern hybrid rice with a yield of more than 1,000 kilograms per mu, it pales into insignificance.
.
So thanking Mr. Yuan is not without purpose. Even though the hybrid rice we eat today was not developed by Mr. Yuan, Mr. Yuan was the only person who successfully developed hybrid rice when the research by Americans and Japanese failed one after another. Later, hybrid rice
Rice was also developed on his basis.
Just like Einstein's mass-energy equation is the theoretical basis of the atomic bomb, it is true that the atomic bomb was not created by Einstein.
However, compared to other millet and wheat crops with a three-stone-per-acre yield, Champa rice is already very impressive at this time, especially since it has a short growth cycle and can be harvested twice in one season, so the increase in yield is not as much as one-third to two-thirds.
Simple, but it increased production by one and a half times, directly doubling grain output.
Therefore, Cao Cao now attaches great importance to Champa rice. When he saw this situation, he immediately broke several bags of rice seeds and took out the seeds inside to check. He saw that although the seeds did not have much mold, they had a lot of mycelium. Obviously,
It will no longer be possible to germinate into rice plants.
"Xuande, what is this?"
Cao Cao took the moldy seeds and went to Liu Bei to ask about the situation.
At this time, Liu Bei and Chen Mu were helping Cao Cao count the vehicles leaving the warehouse. He was very good to Cao Cao. When he saw this situation, he smiled and said: "It is normal for grain to be moldy occasionally when it is stored in the warehouse. Meng
Brother De, don’t worry about it.”
However, Cao Cao mused: "It's okay if it's one bag or two bags. What I'm afraid of is that all the grains will become moldy and cannot be planted."
"oh?"
When Liu Bei saw this situation, he ordered: "Come here, take one or two bags from each car and check them."
"only!"
Soldiers immediately went to check.
Guo Jia, who had been paying attention to Chen Mu's expression, keenly noticed that although Chen Mu kept smiling, his eyelids still couldn't help but twitch slightly when Liu Bei gave the order.
At that moment, Guo Jia knew something in his mind. There was no need to guess. Most of the rice seeds must have become moldy, and the culprit must be Chen Mu.
It has been more than half a month since he first asked Liu Bei for rice seeds. If Chen Mu wanted to do something mischievous, he would definitely have enough time to do it. Thinking with his toes, if all the rice seeds were moldy, this matter would have nothing to do with Chen Mu.
There is absolutely no way it can be divorced.
After a while, the soldiers who went to inspect came back and reported to Liu Bei: "Ming Gong, most of the rice seeds are moldy."
"Forehead......"
Liu Bei, who for a moment thought he could help Cao Cao without much effort, was stunned and looked quite embarrassed.
Several people stared at each other but said nothing.
After a while, Chen Mucai said: "It rained continuously a few days ago and the warehouse was damp. It seems that the warehouse was not managed well, which caused the rice seeds to become moldy. Come and find the warehouse official."
The warehouse manager in charge of the warehouse came in a hurry. When he saw this situation, he immediately raised his hands and saluted: "Ming Gong, the Prime Minister of the country."
"Why is this rice seed moldy?"
Chen Mu asked pretending to be puzzled.
The warehouse manager glanced at Chen Mu instinctively, but he knew how to answer, so he said: "Prime Minister, the weather has been humid recently, so it has become moldy."
"But what's the reason for your neglect of management?"
Chen Mu asked again.
Ling Cheng saw Liu Bei's stern look and said bravely: "This is the crime of a villain."
"Drag him down and imprison him. He will be punished on another day for the crime of losing food."
Chen Mu waved his hand and asked someone to arrest Ling Cheng.
Although Ling Cheng knew it was an act, he still shouted hoarsely: "Prime Minister, please spare my life. Prime Minister, please spare your life."
"Fourth brother..."
Liu Bei wanted to say something.
He felt that although Ling Cheng had neglected his duties, he would not be punished until death.
But Chen Mu handed over to him and said: "Brother, Linzi Granary stores a large amount of materials to be sent to the front line. I have been managing this matter, but there have been such big mistakes. This is my dereliction of duty. Please step down."
crime."
"Forehead......"
Liu Bei was gagged, and he didn't know what to say. He could only wave his hands and said: "The fourth brother is sitting firmly in the back, raising food and grass for me. How can I blame the fourth brother?"
"Thank you, brother."
After Chen Mu stood up, he said to Cao Cao: "Brother Meng De, this was my negligence. Fortunately, there was a lot of old grain left last year, which can be used as grain seeds. I will even out some and give Brother Meng De an explanation."
Cao Cao and Guo Jia looked at each other, nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble you, dear brother."
"Brother, please send Meng De Fengxiao and the others back first. I will handle this matter. I promise to collect 600,000 kilograms of rice seeds and hand them over to Meng De within two days."
Chen Mu said to Liu Bei again.
Liu Bei nodded and left with Cao Cao, Guo Jia and the others.
After they left, Chen Mu's original guilty expression changed instantly, revealing a slight smile.
He knew that Cao Cao and Guo Jia would not easily believe that he was deliberately drunk at the time, and would definitely doubt whether there was a conspiracy.
Therefore, we must deliberately pretend that we don’t want to give them rice seeds in order to promote Champa rice.
Although the yields of Champa rice, corn, sweet potatoes and potatoes are not high now, that is compared to later generations.
For the same 7.8 billion acres of land, the productivity of future generations can guarantee a yield of over a thousand kilograms per mu, and enough food for 1.4 billion people can be exported.
In ancient times, a yield of 100-200 kilograms per mu was common, and a yield of 300 kilograms was considered high. A family of five had to cultivate more than twenty acres to maintain the family's livelihood.
Therefore, it is imperative to promote more high-yielding crops.
The original idea was to help Big Brother dominate the world, then promote Champa rice in the south, and then introduce corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes and other crops to increase production.
But now with Cao Cao's help, vigorously promoting it in the Huainan area, not only can he get the best of both worlds, but it can also allow him to calm down for a while, so why not?
Some people may think that if you help Cao Cao obtain higher-yielding crops, isn't that supporting the enemy?
But what we have to consider is that promoting a brand new crop is not a simple matter, and there will be a lot of troubles in the process.
For at least two years, Cao Cao will definitely be focused on this matter and will not think about anything else.
While all the princes in the south are too busy to take care of themselves, as long as Yuan Shao's problem is solved as soon as possible, then the south will not form a unified force, and it will be easier to regain Jiangdong and control most of the world in the future.
By that time, Champa Rice had also taken root in the south, which firstly slowed down Cao Cao's development, and secondly made the south more chaotic, saving Chen Mu a lot of trouble.
This is to look at the problem from a global perspective.
If we analyze it more intuitively, we should be able to see that Chen Mu, the mastermind behind the scenes, has actually been playing a balancing strategy.
When Sun Jian and Cao Cao were young, they supported them vigorously, provided them with supplies, helped them develop, and then arranged opponents for them so that they would not become strong or defeated.
When one day, like Cao Cao, he suddenly gains power and is able to control the entire Yanzhou and half of Xuzhou, with a population of more than three million, he will have to suppress it and lure Lu Bu into Yanzhou to drive away the wolves and the tigers.
It can be said that even though Cao Cao was victorious in every battle against Tao Qian, including being attacked by surprise against Lu Bu, the head-on confrontation was not in vain.
But from an overall strategic perspective, he is always passive and has never had a good opportunity to rise.
So whether it is giving Cao Cao supplies or giving him rice to occupy the city, everything is actually under Chen Mu's control. He can neither become stronger nor decline. By controlling this variable in this way, then Cao Cao
There will never be a chance to rise.
This is what a great strategist can do.
"Prime Minister."
The warehouse manager Lingcheng who had just been taken away appeared behind him.
Chen Mu said softly: "Haiqu County still lacks a county magistrate, so go and take up the post immediately."
"only!"
The prime minister was overjoyed.
Managing the warehouse is just a small official.
Even in Taicang, Luoyang, the order of Taicang is 600 shi, and the order of Taicang is 300 shi.
He is the magistrate of the local warehouse in Qingzhou. Naturally, he cannot be compared with Taicang. He is only a hundred dan, and his level is similar to that of the township, which is the official position of the township chief.
Haiqu County is a small county with ten thousand households. The county magistrate is called the county magistrate, which costs 400 shi, and the county magistrate is 200 shi. His rank is still not high, but his power has increased dramatically, and there will be opportunities for promotion in the future. Maybe
Will be transferred to other places to serve as county magistrate.
Therefore, for the warehouse manager Lingcheng, this matter was a piece of cake in the sky. How could he not be happy?
After the warehouse manager left with great gratitude, Chen Mu ordered the warehouse guards to unload a few bags of rice from the outside of the carriage and throw away the moldy ones. He left more than 90% of the rice sacks and put some more, which was almost the same.
The task is completed.
Letting all 600,000 kilograms of rice seeds become moldy is a stupid act that kills the enemy by a hair and costs 600,000 to oneself. How could Chen Mu do it?
So except for a few bags on the outside, most of the rice seeds are good.
This is a psychological suggestion.
Since they have all been tied up, it would be troublesome to unload them. Therefore, even if Guo Jia and the others check, they will definitely only check the peripheral sacks. It is impossible to open all the sacks and look at them.
And if the sacks outside are full of moldy rice, do you still need to go to the trouble of opening all the sacks and inspecting them?
Normal people would take it for granted that all the rice seeds on the carriage were moldy and spoiled.
In this way, Chen Mu could change things without having to waste another 600,000 kilograms of rice seeds and reload the goods.
It can be said that Chen Mu also took great pains to deceive Cao Cao and let him help promote Champa rice in the south.
It's full of tricks here.
Waiting for the time for the guards to change the rice seeds, Chen Mu slowly walked to the roadside with his hands behind his back, looking at the vast waves of the Zi River in the distance, slightly lost in thought.
Now that the problem in the south has been solved, the development of Qingzhou is also in full swing.
Next, it is time to solve Yuan Shao's problem.
If what he expected was correct, it was time for Yuan Benzhu to make a wrong move.