On December 16th, the first year of Yonghan in the Han Dynasty, there were only fourteen days left before the Chinese New Year, but there was no trace of the New Year in Xiapi County.
There were many people on the street. Travelers from the north and south, or villagers outside the city, entered the city one after another, either to buy things they needed, or to rest, eat and live, and prepare to go to the next place.
The roads paved with bluestones have been treaded extremely smooth, and carriages roll by. Some streets are not paved with flagstones, but with rammed earth structures, kicking up a burst of dust.
South Street is the most prosperous commercial street. There are hundreds of shops on the street less than 100 feet long. The hanging signboards are lined up in rows. When the wind blows and shakes gently, the bells above will make a tinkling sound to attract merchants from the north and south. .
But in addition to the local people who come to the city and the merchants traveling from other places, a large proportion of the people here are soldiers of Lu Bu's army wearing black armor and holding spears.
They lined up in a long line and patrolled every move on the street. Their stern eyes glanced around, and their uniform steps made a clattering sound on the loess streets, as if to remind passers-by that it was war time.
One of Cao Cao's spies looked at the street through the window of the private room on the second floor of the restaurant. After counting the soldiers coming and going today, he wrote what he saw on paper produced in Qingzhou, and then carefully dried it. of ink, rolled it up and put it into a bamboo tube the size of a knuckle that I carried with me.
The number of these soldiers, their garrison locations, and daily patrol movements will be recorded one by one, and then sent to the Guo Jia table in Jiyin.
The Jian Cao Division is an organization established by Cao Cao after learning from Qingzhou's Military Intelligence Division. Within Cao Jun, these intelligence personnel are called Jian Cao Li, and they directly belong to Cao Cao's chief adviser Guo Jia. The scale is certainly not comparable to the Military Intelligence Division that has been developed for more than ten years, but There has also been some success.
Huaibei has always been the target of Cao Cao's covetousness. The places where Cao Cao has the most officials are naturally the important cities in Xiapi and Guangling counties. Compared to Lu Bu, who doesn't pay attention to intelligence at all, Cao Cao can gain countless gains from these places every day. Important information is collected into his mind and then arrangements are made based on this information.
Although this is an era with underdeveloped communications, in any era, information such as the military garrison, the distribution of granaries, and the various defensive equipment reserves on the city tower are extremely important information, even if it is not needed now. , it may play a vital role in the future.
Therefore, no matter how big or small, Guo Jia will sort it into categories and collect the information one by one.
Today, the official named Zhou Huai discovered a strange thing. Although there was martial law in Xiapi City in the past, there were not as many as today.
Especially under the South Gate, which the local people call the "White Gate Tower", there are hundreds of carts of grain and grass transported from the largest military granary in the city, which can supply Tens of thousands of troops ate it for half a month.
The sudden appearance of Lu Bu's army and the food and grass being transported, and all the unexplainable phenomena, made this well-trained spy of Cao's army keenly aware of something unusual, and he already had a trace of suspicion in his heart.
Army gathering...grain transportation...
Before the three armies move, food and grass go first. This is a truth that many people understand.
So at this moment, with the sudden movement of Lu Bu's army, there is naturally only one possibility - a war.
After thinking about this, Zhou Huai immediately stood up and took the intelligence collected today down the stairs to Si Cao's secret stronghold in the city.
A few days later, Jiyin County and Dingtao County.
Since yesterday, Guo Jia has not left Jiancaosi's headquarters.
It was Xi Zhicai's job to appease the localities and handle official documents from various places. Guo Jia never interfered with internal affairs and was too lazy to do so.
Compared to managing the people's livelihood in the counties and counties of Yanzhou and this year's spring plowing issues, Guo Jia prefers to find clues from the disorganized intelligence sent by officials from various places to judge some of the enemy's intentions.
If this job were in later generations, it could be called a big data analyst.
And not everyone is qualified for this job. During World War II, there was a top spy who judged the mobilization of British troops through the increase and decrease in the number of trains in travel magazines, and inferred the movement of British troops based on advertisements in newspapers for factories to purchase raw materials.
Arms manufacturing capabilities, and even using photos of British military fortifications in newspapers to infer British air bases, the accuracy is very high.
So it’s not that you can’t find traces of the enemy’s actions in the smallest details, it’s just that you need a pair of eyes to discover them.
Guo Jia not only has such a pair of eyes, but also a smart head.
Yesterday, the official in Guangling sent a piece of information. It said that starting from the beginning of this month, Lu Bu's army mobilized grain and grass very frequently in Gaoyou, Guangling, Sheyang, Hailing and other places. Many granaries were emptied, and a large amount of grain was evacuated.
When it was transported outside the city, the spies did not dare to follow it too far. They only knew that it seemed to be heading north, and maybe they were transferred to Xiapi.
After receiving this information, Guo Jia realized the problem. Because it is difficult to unify the storage and harvesting time, it is common for grain and grass to be mobilized between cities, but at the same time and in the same place, a large amount of grain and grass is gathered together.
No matter how you look at Beijing Transportation, you can see problems.
So Guo Jia has been waiting for the latest batch of information in the Cao Department today. After Zhou Huai's information was delivered to his desk, he took the information to the front hall with a very solemn face. At this time, Cao Cao was watching
An official document sent by Chen Liu.
Seeing Guo Jia coming over, Cao Cao put down the official document in his hand, rubbed his sore eyes, tightened the fur wrapped around his body, and then said softly: "Fengxiao, what happened?"
It was December at this time, and the cold wind was still blowing wildly outside the house. Guo Jia was neither sad nor happy, and said calmly: "Ming Gong, Lu Bu is going to send troops."
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Cao Cao frowned. He was not afraid that Lu Bu would fight with him. After all, they had expected this battle. Even if Lu Bu didn't take action, he would go out in person next spring. They just didn't expect the enemy to come so quickly.
Guo Jia said: "It should be next month that Lu Bu has begun to mobilize food and grass to the front line. The three armies have not moved, and food and grass will go first. If nothing else happens, I am afraid his army is also gathering towards Xiapi."
"Um......."
Cao Cao stood up, put his hands behind his back and stepped on the wooden floor of the hall, making a creaking sound. He walked slowly to the center of the hall, took a few steps, and then nodded and said: "At this time, we still have to send someone to inform Sun Ce, Lu Bu
If he moves, Yuan Shu may not be willing to be lonely."
"I'll send someone out shortly."
Guo Jia chuckled and said: "Now that Sun Wentai is leading the army to the north, Sun Ce takes Shen County to fight against Yuan Shu. He attacks several times and defeats Yuan's army. He has gained quite a reputation."
Cao Cao also laughed, shook his head and said: "Sun Wentai has given birth to a good son. If my son has the courage of this son, there is no need to worry about Lu Bu and Yuan Shu not being destroyed, and his great achievements will not be accomplished. If you have a son, you should be like Sun Bofu!"
Guo Jia whispered: "Ming Gong, I am a little worried. If Lu Bu is killed, will he become an obstacle to our army's march south to the east of the Huainan River?"
Cao Cao hesitated and said: "After all, Sun Bofu is only the son of Sun Wentai. Without Sun Wentai's order, he should not act rashly. I think that even if he wanted to kill Jiangdong, he would not dare to take the risk of becoming hostile to our army.
yes."
"Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of what happens."
Guo Jia reminded.
Cao Cao thought about it, and according to his original plan, he planned to take advantage of Sun Ce's recklessness and join forces to defeat Lu Bu and Yuan Shu in one fell swoop.
Since Sun Jian had already led his army to the north, even if Sun Ce defeated Yuan Shu, he probably wouldn't know what to do next. He would just go back to his Yuzhou, and he could easily occupy places like Huaibei and Huainan, and control his territory once again.
expand.
After a year or two of recuperation and strength began to grow, it was basically the time when one of Liu Bei and Yuan Shao pacified the north.
At that time, no matter which one, Liu Bei or Yuan Shao, becomes the new northern overlord, he will have reason to no longer obey them.
Because according to the deduction of the counselors, if Yuan Shao succeeds, he will definitely become king and emperor. If Liu Bei succeeds, he will definitely usurp the Han Dynasty after the death of Liu Yu.
At that time, he could immediately stand up and accuse the two of them of being traitors, and then openly and openly become enemies of them in the name of reviving the Han Dynasty.
As for the Sun family, they can become the target of winning over.
After all, Sun Jian is a stubborn person who is devoted to the Han Dynasty. Once Yuan Shao or Liu Bei usurp the throne, Sun Jian will most likely choose to join forces with him, and he can continue to use the Sun family.
But Sun Ce was indeed an accident. Although Cao Cao didn't know that Sun Ce had a good brother, Zhou Yu, and another strategist, Lu Su, the three young talents had gathered together and began to plan a strategy to divide the world into two, preparing to plot against him.
.But he knew that Sun Ce was very reckless.
If a fight breaks out, Sun Ce is afraid that he will be unstoppable and fight all the way to Jiangdong. By then, Jiangdong has been occupied by others. If he sends troops again, there will be no legitimate reason. Secondly, it is not appropriate to enmity with the Sun family. It may not be a good idea to start a war directly.
Good thing.
After thinking about it, Cao Cao said to Guo Jia: "Fengxiao's words are reasonable. I wonder what Fengxiao's plan is to prevent Sun Bofu from interfering in the affairs of Huainan in our district?"
Guo Jia pondered: "There are two strategies."
"Which two?"
"Sun Ce only listens to Sun Jian, and Sun Jian only listens to the court. If the court can mobilize Sun Jian and let Sun Jian send a letter to transfer Sun Ce to Jizhou, then great things can be accomplished."
"Let the court mobilize Sun Jian?"
Cao Cao unconsciously touched his beard and frowned even more tightly. This matter was not easy to handle.
If the emperor is in his hands, there will definitely be nothing to say.
But Liu Yu was in Luoyang and was not under the control of anyone. It would be as difficult as ascending to heaven to ask the emperor to give orders.
Unless the war in Jizhou is very serious, but the two sides are still facing off now, and the Luoyang army surrounded Anyang a few days ago, it shows that the war should not be that serious.
Guo Jia nodded and said: "Yes, after defeating Yuan Shu, we will find a way to ask the court to mobilize Sun Jian, so that we can transfer Sun Ce away."
"Where's the second plan?"
Cao Cao had no idea how to mobilize the imperial court, so he could only ask for the second strategy.
Guo Jia's eyebrows showed a hint of murderous intent, and he said calmly: "I heard that Sun Ce is light and unprepared, and often hunts alone outside the city. It can be seen that even though he has millions of people, he is no different from walking alone in the Central Plains. If an assassin ambush
Come on, one person is the enemy of the ear..."
Assassination?
Cao Cao was slightly surprised. He didn't expect Guo Jia's method to be so simple and crude.
But if you think about it carefully, this is indeed a solution to the problem.
But........
"This is a last resort."
Cao Cao pondered for a moment, shook his head and said: "According to our vision, in the future we will gain Yanzhou, Xuzhou and Yangzhou, and unite with the Sun family to fight against Yuan Shao or Liu Bei. If this method is used and the incident is not kept secret, Sun Jian will definitely
If you seek my life, the gains outweigh the losses."
The strategy that Zhou Yu and Lu Su thought of to divide the world was to send troops to attack Yuan Shu, occupy Yangzhou, and then form an alliance with Cao Cao, allowing Cao Cao to serve as a shield for the northern attack, while they themselves went south to capture Jingzhou, and finally fought a decisive battle with the northern overlord.
The strategy proposed by Cao Cao's advisers was to defeat Lu Bu first, and then wait until the battle between Sun Ce and Yuan Shu, then immediately go south to occupy Yangzhou, and then form an alliance with the Sun family to achieve hegemony.
Although it looks complicated, the purpose of both parties is actually the same.
Because Yuzhou, Yanzhou, Xuzhou and Yangzhou were originally connected together, their scope was later Henan Province, Anhui Province, Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province and Jiangxi Province.
The main goals of Cao Cao and Sun Ce were actually the three provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, that is, to the south of Xuzhou and to the north of Yangzhou.
Because apart from Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces, which have a large number of mountainous areas, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces all have vast plain areas. There is no problem of underdeveloped transportation and small arable land, which cannot support so many people.
Since ancient times, the North China Plain and the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain have been the most important population gathering places. Now the North China Plain in the north is the object of competition between Yuan Shao and Liu Bei. If the southern princes unify the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, they will then seize the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain.
If it falls, then it will have the ability to compete with the north.
Therefore, Cao Cao very much hoped to achieve this.
But there is a prerequisite that the Northern War will give him enough time.
If Xuzhou and Yangzhou are captured before the decisive battle between Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, then it is not impossible to fall out with the Sun family.
But if it were after that, Cao Cao would have to consider the issue of alliance with the Sun family. Because he probably had just won these territories at that time, and before he had time to digest it, he would have to face a giant from the north. No one could
Affordable.
Therefore, just as Zhou Yu and Lu Su were planning the theory of dividing the world into two, they did not dare to regard Cao Cao as their enemy.
At least before Cao Cao unified Huainan, he did not dare to offend the Sun family to death. He was afraid that Sun Jian, whose strength should not be underestimated, would fight with him, and the new overlord in the north would sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, waiting for both tigers to be injured.
, dispatching troops in one fell swoop to wipe them out at the same time.
Guo Jia naturally understood Cao Cao's worries, so he nodded seriously and said: "Indeed, our strength is still very weak now. If there is an internal conflict with the Sun family, we may not even be able to get the land of Huainan."
"Let's think about this again."
Cao Cao shook his head.
Guo Jia pondered for a moment, his frown suddenly relaxed, and he said with a smile: "Ming Gong, I have a way. If the war on the front line becomes tense, and then Ming Gong writes to the court, Ming Gong will deal with the rebellion in the south, maybe the court
I will really ask Sun Jian to transfer Sun Ce to the north."
"oh?"
Cao Cao was overjoyed and said, "What's the plan?"
Guo Jia looked to the north with deep eyes and said softly: "Did Duke Ming forget that Yuan Shao also has a partial army that is currently attacking Lu County and Fei County in Jibei?"
"That army?"
Cao Cao pondered: "In my opinion, this is probably a trap set by the Qingzhou Army."
"But what if someone helps them provide them with the Qingzhou Army's ambush point?"
Guo Jia continued: "Lu County and Fei County were originally our county towns. Bao Shao should know the Qi Great Wall there very well."
"You mean?"
Cao Cao's eyes were slightly horrified, he didn't expect that Guo Jia actually planned to trick Qingzhou.
A slight smile appeared in Guo Jia's eyes, and he nodded and said: "Yes, Chen Zigui is full of clever tricks, and it's his turn to have a headache."
Say it.
He looked towards the north, still maintaining a Hexi smile.
In those deep eyes.
It seems to be hiding something different.
The son returns to his elder brother.
I couldn't beat you before.
I don’t know my plan now, can you possibly figure it out?