Chapter 42 A big brother once, a big brother for life
"Is this plan a plan to cut off salt?"
Chen Mu asked thoughtfully.
Tian Feng was so surprised that he opened his eyes wide and said, "Did Zigui guess it?"
Chen Mu smiled bitterly and said: "Jizhou relies on Qingzhou for all its salt needs. This is the best conspiracy. How can I not ignore it?"
Tian Feng is not good at intrigues, but likes to use scheming.
Historically, he and Jushu advised Yuan Shao to welcome the emperor, advised Yuan Shao to attack Xudu when Cao Cao was weak, and took advantage of Cao Cao's campaign to conquer Xuzhou, etc. These were all fair and upright strategies.
It was Guo Jia who was facing Tian Feng at that time. Cao Cao was campaigning in Xuzhou and was worried that Yuan Shao would attack. Guo Jia advised: "Shao is late and suspicious, so he will not come quickly. Prepare for a new attack, and the public is not attached to it, so we must attack quickly."
Defeat. This opportunity for survival cannot be lost."
So Cao Cao decided to take the risk and attack Liu Bei. At this time, Tian Feng immediately persuaded Yuan Shao to take the opportunity to go south and capture Xudu. However, Yuan Shao refused to adopt Tian Feng's strategy because his son was sick, which resulted in Cao Cao stabilizing his rear.
It can be said that the battle between Tian Feng and Guo Jia was not due to poor strategy, but due to the control of people's hearts. Guo Jia accurately understood Yuan Shao's psychology, while Tian Feng was too upright, which ultimately harmed himself.
However, this does not mean that Tian Feng cannot control people's hearts well, but it is a problem with his own personality.
Including the Battle of Guandu, where Yuan Shao was defeated, some people felt that Tian Feng had anticipated this outcome and must be reused.
As a result, Tian Feng said: "If the army is advantageous, I will defeat him. If the army is defeated, I will die." This shows that he still understands Yuan Shao's nature very well.
Then why must he be stubborn and seek death?
This is the character of the scholars of the Han Dynasty.
Tian Feng knew that Yuan Shao had character flaws and would not adopt his own strategy, but he still said it.
Knowing that Yuan Shao was defeated and he would be executed, he still remonstrated with the offender.
Knowing clearly that something cannot be done but doing it anyway is an act of iron-clad determination!
The same goes for Zhuge Liang. He knew that the Wei state was powerful and the Northern Expedition would be defeated, but he still wanted to help the Han Dynasty and left Qishan.
Therefore, it cannot be said that Tian Feng is intellectually inferior to Guo Jia, it is just that his personality is too straightforward and he does not understand, or is unwilling to use a more tactful way.
It was not difficult for Chen Mu to guess Tian Feng's plan. Historically, there was no shortage of salt in Jizhou, and Yuan Shao occupied the Bohai Sea. He could learn from Qi's method of boiling sea salt to maintain it.
But now the coastline is divided up by Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan, and there is no place for him to cook.
The Guanzhong Salt Pond does produce salt, but it is controlled by the Xiliang warlords in Guanzhong. Moreover, the price of salt in Qingzhou is low and the price of salt in Guanzhong is high. The people of Jizhou have long been accustomed to Qingzhou sea salt.
Once Qingzhou adopts the policy of cutting off salt, even if Yuan Shao transports salt from Guanzhong, the price will inevitably be high. The people are used to low-priced salt. If the price of salt rises sharply, there will definitely be complaints and civil strife.
At this time, taking advantage of the civil strife in Jizhou, the Qingzhou Army and the Youzhou Army launch a full-scale attack, and the outcome can be decided in one battle!
This is why Tian Feng was planning to summon all the major families in Pingyuan Kingdom.
Because they, as local snakes, control the intermediate transportation links of salt, if you want to implement this strategy, you must communicate with them first. Otherwise, it will be very embarrassing if the enemy has not yet started civil strife and you yourself are in chaos.
When Tian Feng heard that Chen Mu had guessed his plan, he admired Chen Zigui for being a resourceful man. He asked with some expectation: "What do you think of this plan?"
Chen Mu thought for a moment and said, "Brother Yuan Hao is planning to force Yuan Shao to come to a decisive battle."
"good."
Now that he had been seen through, Tian Feng did not hide anything and admitted openly: "Yuan Shao seemed to be powerful, but starting from Wang Fen, he fought with Ming Gong and Gongsun Shijun for years. Over the past few years, the people of Jizhou were in decline, and the military was in decline.
The horse is tired and it would be a good time to cut him off."
"It's a pity that Ming Gong and Gongsun Shijun also fought in Guanzhong for two years. Their soldiers and horses were also exhausted. After the Battle of Geting, they had to enter the defensive stage to recuperate for the time being and wait for the future.
.”
"But not only are we recuperating, Yuan Shao has also been recuperating for two years. Jizhou already has more land than us, with countless arable lands and extremely prosperous Dingkou. If it continues, it will cause serious trouble."
Although Yuan Shao only took control of Jizhou in September 193, the first year of Xingwu, Wang Fen had already fought with Liu Bei several times before him.
The timeline is also very simple. In 190, the eighteen princes attacked Dong, and then Hulao was imprisoned under the fierce attack of catapults. Dong Zhuo only lasted for half a year before withdrawing into Chang'an. In 191, Liu Bei led Cao Cao, Gongsun Zan, Sun Jian, and Bao Xin.
, entered Guanzhong, and then the death of Dong Zhuo in 192.
But before Dong Zhuo's death, Wang Fen established a pseudo-emperor of Jizhou without permission, which led to a conflict between him and the Luoyang court. Then he cut off the Kwantung Army's food and grass, and Chen Mu immediately instigated Liu Bei to attack. By then, the two sides had already turned against each other.
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After the death of Dong Zhuo and the death of the emperor, the imperial court, which had been living in Chang'an, returned to Luoyang. After the ministers welcomed Prince Gong of the East China Sea, Liu Yu, the elder of the clan, became the emperor, and the army returned to the army to formally attack Wang Fen.
This was already in 192, and then Wang Fen died of illness in 193. This process lasted from 192 to 193, and the two sides had been fighting for two full years.
Yuan Shao succeeded Jizhou Mu, and also inherited the hostility with the Luoyang court. At that time, for him, faced with the attacks of Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan and Luoyang, he was under great pressure from three sides. He once considered deposing the Jizhou puppet emperor and enthroning him.
Luoyang is orthodox to ease conflicts.
But at that time, the party members had great power in Jizhou. In order to stabilize the party members, Yuan Shao could not do that. He could only cut off the military power of the party members step by step. After he completely controlled the troops, he commanded the Battle of Geting.
, drove Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei out of Wei County.
However, what many people don't know is that at that time, not only Yuan Shao was in a weak state due to internal power overlapping, but Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan were also in a similar state. Their elite soldiers and horses had been fighting in Guanzhong for years. The morale of the soldiers was low, their war weariness was high, and they were in urgent need of recuperation.
It is difficult to conduct a large-scale decisive battle again.
Therefore, under such circumstances, both sides needed to recuperate, so it lasted from 193 to 194. After the Battle of Geting, the three-year war between Qingzhou, Youzhou and Jizhou barely came to an end, and the three parties entered the Changchun War.
The confrontation lasted for two years.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! During the confrontation stage, not only Qingzhou was developing, but Jizhou was also developing. With the advantages of large population and large cultivated land area, Yuan Shao has been able to catch his breath in the past two years.
After taking a breath, and occasionally exploiting the rich clans, the army gradually became more rationed, and its strength gradually increased.
Although in terms of soldier quality, Jizhou's soldiers are generally worse than Liu Bei and Cao Cao's elite soldiers, and in terms of top generals, they are also very lacking in standards that can support their appearance.
But who allowed Jizhou’s size to be placed here?
As a large state occupying half of the North China Plain, its vast cultivated land area and population are its greatest advantages.
Qingzhou has opened up wasteland for many years, and now it has less than 40 million acres of farmland. However, Jizhou itself has nearly 100 million acres. Although it cannot be compared with the nearly 300 million acres of cultivated land in Hebei in later generations, it was already the largest granary in the world during the Han Dynasty.
Everyone says that the one who wins the hearts of the people will win the world, but in ancient feudal society, the one who wins the food will win the world.
Mr. Yuan once said that a grain of grain can save a country or bring it down. This was the truest portrayal of that era.
Therefore, when it comes to dealing with the Jizhou issue, Tian Feng Jushou and even Xun Yu and Chen Mu all believed that it was better to deal with it sooner rather than later. The longer the delay, the more disadvantageous it would be for Qingzhou.
"Um."
Hearing Tian Feng's words, Chen Mu nodded in agreement: "In the past two years, except for the occasional war between Xuzhou and Yanzhou, everyone has been trying their best to develop in order to become stronger. However, Jizhou's strength is there, and we really cannot take it lightly."
Tian Feng sighed: "This is the Jizhou that was weakened by your design, Zigui. If Yuan Shao can capture the Bohai Sea and stop worrying about salt, his strength will probably be far greater than this."
"certainly."
Chen Mu smiled. In the battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao fought 120,000 against 30,000, and there were a large number of reserves in the rear. The total force exceeded 200,000. Even if he lost the war, if Yuan Shao hadn't been ill, there would have been no more battles later.
The strength to defeat Cao Cao.
Moreover, even if Yuan Shao died, he would leave a huge legacy. If Yuan Tan, Yuan Shang and others had not separated their families and had conflicts, it would have been at least seven or eight years before Cao Cao wanted to pacify Hebei.
"That's why I came up with this strategy to force Yuan Shao to fight a decisive battle as soon as possible."
Tian Feng said: "Wouldn't it be great if our army takes advantage of the territory and gives the invading enemy a head-on blow? When their troops collapse, we can then launch a massive attack to seize Jizhou?"
"That's a good idea."
Chen Mu sighed and shook his head: "It's a pity that it can't be used."
Tian Feng suddenly frowned: "Why can't it be used?"
"Brother will not allow it!"
"With this great undertaking of the country, the country, and the country, how can Ming Gong be so benevolent to women!"
"This is not the benevolence of women, but the benevolence of the ages!"
Chen Mu defended, and then added: "Besides, it is too difficult to implement this strategy perfectly. Once Qingzhou is embargoed, illicit salt will continue, and the people in Jizhou will suffer in the end!"
"snort!"
Tian Feng said dissatisfied: "How can you know this plan if you don't try it? I am about to report it to Duke Ming. My loyal minister's words are from the bottom of my heart. How can Duke Ming chill my heart?"
Chen Mu smiled bitterly and said: "Yuan Hao, you are too stubborn and too stubborn. There are some things that you cannot do."
"Zigui..."
Tian Feng was about to continue saying something. At this moment, an attendant suddenly came in from the door.
The attendant of the Prime Minister's Office reported: "Master Fu, Zhou Mu has returned to Pingyuan."
Yixian County is not far from Pingyuan County, less than 20 kilometers in total, and can be walked back and forth in half a day. Therefore, Liu Bei often returns to Pingyuan County to transport grain and equipment in person, or occasionally sits in town to visit the people.
When he heard that Liu Bei was back, Tian Feng stood up and said with great joy: "Ming Gong is back, he will accept my words, I will go to greet him right now!"
After that, he ignored Chen Mu and ran out in a hurry.
Seeing his back excitedly going to confront Liu Bei, Yan Zhong asked speechlessly: "Has he always been so brave? If he were under Dong Zhuo, this kind of person would have been killed long ago."
"Tian Yuanhao..."
Chen Mu could only shake his head with a wry smile, not knowing how to evaluate it.
Tian Feng's emotional intelligence is still low.
After Liu Bei refused to accept his words in Guanzhong last time and was imprisoned by Liu Bei once, Liu Bei reflected on himself and apologized to Tian Feng. From then on, he almost obeyed his words. This gave Tian Feng the illusion that Liu Bei's plan was his.
Will definitely listen.
But if it is a completely correct strategy, there will definitely be no problem for Liu Bei to adopt it. But there are some strategies, even if they are in the right direction, once they touch Liu Bei's bottom line, he will not obey them.
Just like Zhuge Liang urged Liu Bei not to attack Wu, Liu Bei was determined to avenge Guan Yu and went his own way.
Over the years, even though Chen Mu had stepped on Liu Bei's bottom line many times, he only dared to do it secretly and quietly, never telling Liu Bei. He knew very well that Liu Bei talked about brotherhood and would rather use the strength of the country to avenge his brothers, but he also believed in benevolence and righteousness.
I'd like to put him in a dilemma.
Tian Feng's actions will step on this red line.
It is true that the strategy of cutting off salt is indeed a very brilliant conspiracy against Jizhou.
Food is important, and so is salt.
People also said that if there is a lack of salt in the army and soldiers do not eat salt for a long time, they will become weak and their combat effectiveness will be reduced.
Therefore, salt is very important to Yuan Shao, especially the 200,000 troops under his command.
However, Jizhou relies on the salt from Qingzhou. As long as Qingzhou cuts off the supply of salt, Jizhou will immediately fall into a situation of lack of salt.
It's okay if the time is short, but if the time is long, Yuan Shao will definitely not be able to withstand it after three to five months and can only order a strong attack.
So this plan is implemented well and is indeed perfect.
But just like in history, Tian Feng initially persuaded Yuan Shao to attack Xudu, but Yuan Shao refused. When Cao Cao defeated Liu Bei and Liu Bei defected to Yuan Shao, Tian Feng advised Yuan Shao to use the strategy of weakening the enemy.
The strategy of weakening the enemy has extremely high requirements on soldiers and generals, and requires generals with excellent command skills to complete it, otherwise it will become a fueling tactic.
So Yuan Shao did not adopt this strategy, probably because he was worried that there were no generals in the army who were of this level.
The same is true now. The plan to cut off salt does not require outstanding generals, but it tests whether Qingzhou can perfectly break the salt industry chain sold to Jizhou.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! If there is an embargo here in Qingzhou, the price of salt in Jizhou will inevitably rise sharply. This is an economic problem, and it is also a problem of market rules.
As a result, people from border families will inevitably sell illegal salt to Jizhou when they see the profit. When illegal salt becomes rampant, it will put great pressure on Qingzhou's border defense and increase civil strife.
In addition, there is a more important issue, that is, salt is a necessity of life, but the price of salt has skyrocketed, and it is the people of Jizhou who will suffer in the end.
When the time comes, the people of Jizhou will be in decline and their lives will be difficult and difficult, which is definitely not what Liu Bei wants to see.
Therefore, Tian Fengxian's strategy seems to be quite good, but firstly it is difficult to implement, and secondly it will lead to the decline of the people of Jizhou. No matter what aspect is considered, it can only be regarded as a theoretical clever plan, not practical.
strategy.
Emotional intelligence is low.
Chen Mu slowly stood up and said to Yan Zhong and Xu Rong: "Let's go, let's go out too. It's time for you to meet my elder brother."
Yan Zhong touched his graying hair and shook his head bitterly: "I wish I could be a few years younger."
If he were a few years younger, he would be able to display his ambitions under Liu Bei for a few more years.
Xu Rong was slightly nervous.
After all, he is the notorious Dong Zhuo's general. If he is recognized, I wonder if Chen Mu can keep him...
For a moment, both of them were worried about gains and losses, but they still held their chests high and walked out slowly.
Outside the courtyard, a tall man entered the mansion surrounded by people.
Chen Mu walked in the front.
Under the sun, he smiled happily, bent slightly and cupped his hands, looked at the man with surprise on his face, and said softly: "Brother."