My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 463: Shocking Cao Cao for a Whole Year
Zhang He and Xue Ti experienced Zhuge Jin's entire propaganda offensive in Hejian County and were so intimidated that they were unable to react for a long time.

Su Puyan was killed in a battle, Gongsun Du's army of 60,000 was annihilated, and he himself was frightened to death. Zhao Yun has returned to Ji County to take charge...

There might still be some remnants of the Gongsun clan in Liaodong that have not been completely wiped out, and perhaps they could indeed slightly tie down some of Liu Bei's troops in suppressing the rebellion.

But if you, Zhang He, have the guts to launch an attack on the Youzhou counties controlled by Liu Bei's army at this critical juncture and think that this is an opportunity to take advantage of the "lack of military forces", then go ahead!
Zhang He was not a fool, so he certainly did not dare to act rashly again, as he felt that the window of opportunity for the northern border to be empty had passed.

Xue Ti had no choice but to keep his tail between his legs and hurried back to Xu Du to report the bad news to Cao Cao.

What's more, Xue Ti was more cautious than those generals. Before he left, he specially collected very solid and comprehensive evidence, which was equivalent to helping Zhuge Jin invisibly.

Xue Ti helped Zhuge Jin collect the hard evidence for the things he wanted Cao Cao to believe, and put them on Cao Cao's desk one by one. It can only be said that the villain was too cooperative.

……

Just five or six days later, it was a day in the late first lunar month.

Xue Ti, who was rushing back on horseback, sent all the information he had collected, along with a secret report representing his own analysis and conclusions, to Xu Du.

Early that morning, Cao Cao was discussing last year's financial accounting with Erxun and some other officials in charge of internal affairs of the civilian households, and checking and appraising the results of the rest and recovery and production restoration in various states last year.

Yuan Shang died at the end of October the year before last. For the entire year of last year, both Jizhou and Bingzhou enjoyed complete peace. Cao Cao did not levy taxes, and even exempted the local people from paying taxes and grain for one year as a post-war recovery privilege.

On the Henan battlefield, the war in Yanzhou and Yuzhou dragged on until the end of the year, but except for the newly established Qiao County, the other counties did not delay spring ploughing. Cao Cao also slightly reduced the local taxes and grain, allowing the people to recover a little so that they could be better exploited in the future.

Reducing the taxes and levies of the people would of course lead to a decrease in the court's revenue in the past year. However, Cao Cao's complete tax exemption only applies to Jizhou. In addition, there was no war last year, so there was no need to consume extra military rations. The troops could cultivate land on the spot and grow their own food, so the finances were barely maintained.

As the wheel of history turned and entered the tenth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao planned to make some moves this year. That's why he grabbed Xun Yu, Xun You, Sima Lang, Mao Jie and others at the beginning of the year to check the accounts and see how the income and expenditure were balanced this year and how much money was spent.

"Jizhou did not collect any money and grain last year, and Yuzhou's revenue was reduced by nearly half. Only Yanzhou collected taxes in full, and Sili also gradually recovered. Now Liang and Qiao's grain reserves have not increased but decreased, so we can only continue to take a defensive stance and wait until Jizhou's grain reserves are sufficient to feed back, and then compete with Liu Bei.

Even if we need to deploy troops this year, we should focus on other directions, unless Liu Bei reveals a flaw himself and gives us an opportunity to take advantage of it."

After Cao Cao finished reading the accounts, he expressed his feelings to Xun Yu, Sima Lang, and Mao Jie. Xun You, who was on the side, was more adept at making military plans, so he could not get a word in on these topics.

Xun Yu also agreed with Cao Cao's opinion and echoed, "I also think so. If we can continue to let the people farm and restore grain reserves in the next one or two years, it will be beneficial to the court.

But if it takes three to five years, it's hard to say. I heard that Zhuge Liang planted a new kind of rice in Wu last year. Although Liu Bei tried to cover it up, we still got some news through merchants. It is said that this thing can make Jiangdong grow two crops of rice every year like the rice-wheat rotation in Huainan.

If the Zhuge brothers really had such a miraculous skill, Liu Bei, with 30% of the people's power to cultivate the land, might be able to fight against the remaining 70% of the world. Moreover, the 70% was not entirely in the hands of the court.

It is estimated that it would take Liu Bei at least five years, or even longer, to spread the new rice. The imperial court could not give Liu Bei five years. They could only rest for a while, then live within their means, gradually erode other princes, cut off Liu Bei's wings, and finally fight Liu Bei before the five-year deadline.

Even if we cannot destroy Liu Bei in one battle, we must gradually seize the states and counties. In this way, even if Liu Bei cultivates the south better, he will not be able to withstand the weakening caused by the continuous loss of states and counties. "

Cao Cao nodded, and re-sorted out the possible development directions for this year. He turned to Sima Lang and Mao Jie and asked, "How is the situation in Guanzhong? Has Zhong Yuanchang reorganized the other troops except Ma Teng?"

Sima Lang immediately took out the memorial that Zhong Yao had just sent at the end of the year, which described how Zhong Yao had integrated the loose bandits in Guanzhong over the past year, and then personally relayed it:

"Reporting to the Minister of Works, according to the report of the Inspector of the Capital, since the death of Yuan Shang in October last year, the generals in Guanzhong have become more submissive to the court. In addition to the Houxuan and Chengyin divisions that had been reorganized by the court before, the Likan, Liangxing, and Chengyi divisions accepted reorganization last winter and were willing to accept the court's dispatch of officials to govern the local area and supervise the money and grain.

These three generals were entrenched in the vicinity of Mei County, located in the heart of Youfufeng. Previously, all the generals in Guanzhong only respected the court in name, but actually raised their own military supplies and did not pay any money or grain to the court.

According to the statistics of the Inspector of the Imperial Capital, apart from Han Sui, there are only three gangs in Guanzhong who still refuse to be restrained by the officials sent by the imperial court. They are Ma Wan of Chencang, Yang Qiu of Jieting, and Liu Xiongming of Baoxiang.

Ma Wan and Yang Qiu were originally generals from Xiliang. They occupied several counties and relied on Longshan Mountain to establish their own independence. To the west of Longshan Mountain, Han Sui's forces were still entrenched in Jincheng, Tianshui and other places.

Ma Wan and Yang Qiu were located on the edge of the area controlled by Han Sui and the imperial court. Whichever side pressed them harder, they would move closer to the other side. The Inspector of the Imperial Capital did not dare to force them, but took it slow, trying to influence them with kindness and generosity.

As for Liu Xiongming, he was even worse. He was originally just a hunter in the Qinling Mountains. In the years after Li Jue and Guo Si died, there was no government control in the Lantian County area of the Qinling Mountains, and no princes wanted such a ruined place. So they let the hunters in the mountains govern themselves. Later, he contacted Zhang Lu through the Baoxiadao Road, and got Zhang Lu's support, and provided him with food to survive..."

Sima Lang was halfway through his introduction when Cao Cao felt that he was being too long-winded and there was no need to explain it so clearly, so he raised his hand to stop him and asked directly: "These common people in most counties are nothing. If I want to eliminate them, it will only take a moment - but if I really want to eliminate them, will I immediately go to war with Han Sui or Zhang Lu?"

After hearing this question, several counselors looked at each other, nodded silently, and gave a positive answer: "It is indeed as the Minister of Works said, these little thieves are nothing. The key is to be prepared for a full-scale war with Han Sui and Zhang Lu behind them."

These three little thieves were just buffer zones between Cao Cao's directly governed territories and Han Sui and Zhang Lu.

Cao Cao stroked his beard, as if he was making the final decision.

At this moment, a servant outside the door hurriedly led Xue Ti to the corridor.

Xue Ti stood by the door, not daring to show his whole body. But Cao Cao didn't like to sit still when discussing matters with his subordinates, so he paced back and forth in the hall. When Cao Cao turned around, he caught a glimpse of Xue Ti, and was slightly startled. Then he remembered what Xue Ti was doing, so he asked casually:

"Zixiao? You're back so soon. How's the situation in Hebei? Is Zhang Junyi keeping an eye on Zhao Yun?"

Xue Ti then hurriedly bowed his hands to apologize, walked into the hall, and bowed to the two Xuns and others beside him, as if to express his apology for interrupting everyone's meeting. Then he briefly told Cao Cao about the situation in Hebei. "What? Zhao Yun's bravery is so great? He destroyed Su Puyan's army in ten days and killed Su Puyan in battle? He defeated Gongsun Du in a month, wiped out 100,000 people, and Gongsun Du died of fright?"

"How is this possible? How is this possible? How many soldiers did Zhao Yun bring?"

Cao Cao fell into a state of numbness and couldn't come back to his senses for a long time.

The attention of Xun Yu, Xun You, Sima Lang and Mao Jie was instantly drawn back to the issue of Hebei from their calculations of how much money and grain would be left over this year and which small warlord would be suitable to fight and expand territory.

Gongsun Du was destroyed so quickly that other minor problems were insignificant in comparison.

Xue Ti also reported the number of troops Zhao Yun brought according to Zhuge Jin's propaganda and the actual investigation and review by Cao's spies.

When Cao Cao heard that Zhao Yun had only brought a few thousand cavalry and Zhou Yu's troops, which only existed on paper, to destroy Gongsun Du's army of 100,000, he was completely unbelievable.

How could he know that this number of 100,000 was inflated by layers of exaggeration, and that Gongsun Du only had 60,000 people at the beginning.

Cao Cao also had no way of knowing that Zhou Yu actually participated in the battle, but just didn't use it at the beginning. It was even more impossible for him to know that Zhao Yun's cavalry was equipped with double-sided stirrups for the first time, which greatly improved the cavalry's combat effectiveness. The actual combat effectiveness of 7,000 to 8,000 cavalry could exceed that of tens of thousands of cavalry in the past.

Cao Cao was unable to see through these layers of fog, so he could only believe in Zhuge Jin's deification.

"Is Zhao Yun's bravery even better than Lu Bu's? Only Yunchang can be compared to him? How did Liu Bei get so many brave generals?

During the Battle of Fuli last year, Zi Lian was besieged by Zhao Yun for several months. As he watched the surrounding counties being eaten away, I still felt that Zi Lian fought too badly, and had been defeated in several battles in a row.

Now it seems that it was not easy for Zi Lian to lose only a little to Zhao Yun last year, and not lose more. Alas..."

Cao Cao can be considered an open-minded person. Regardless of his morals, his psychological quality is definitely strong.

But even such an open-minded person as Cao Cao sighed and muttered for so long, which shows how heavy the psychological blow was.

Finally, as he became more and more depressed, Xun Yu finally spoke to comfort him: "My Lord, please do not give up. It is a thing of the past. You might as well think about how to deal with it. Now that Gongsun Du is dead, it is meaningless to let Zhang He continue to prepare for the attack on Youzhou..."

Xun You also nodded in agreement: "That's true. Even if the Gongsun family still has some remaining troops resisting, once Gongsun Du dies, those remaining resistance won't be able to tie down too many of Liu Bei's troops.

Zhao Yun himself returned to Ji County to take charge, and Youzhou would certainly be stable. Moreover, they were returning from a great victory, and their morale was high. If our army attacked after the enemy's great victory, Zhuge Jin's cunning would certainly take the opportunity to undermine our army's morale.

At that time, Zhuge Jin would do everything he could to tell our soldiers that our army had not yet set out, but had already fallen into his trap of confusing the enemy, and that the delay had delayed the battle and missed the chance to attack from both sides. In this way, there would be no need to fight, and our soldiers would surely be frustrated.

Zhuge Jin could also boost their morale by telling his soldiers that they had successfully seized an opportunity to concentrate their forces and defeat the enemy one by one. Without fighting, the morale of Zhuge Jin and Zhao Yun's soldiers would be high.

This kind of impact will probably take at least a year to be delayed, and time will allow people to slowly forget it. Otherwise, this battle won’t be fought at all.”

The key to fighting a war is morale. Make one side believe that they have created a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fight, and make the other side believe that they have been deceived and missed the opportunity. This in itself is a difference of at least several percentage points in fighting spirit.

The difference in strength between the two sides is not that big. If one side drops by 30% before the fight, the other side will automatically increase by 30%, then there is no need to fight.

Cao Cao was of course an expert, and he could only slap his thigh in regret: "Why didn't I confirm earlier that Zhao Yun would go to fight Gongsun Du! Zhuge Jin really acted unexpectedly. Everyone in the world knew that it was not suitable to deploy troops in the northern border during the dead of winter, but he chose to attack Su Puyan and Gongsun Du in the dead of winter.

Moreover, Zhao Yun was so resolute and brave that he could realize Zhuge Jin's plans. If one of them was missing, the situation in the northern border would not be what it is today!"

The more Cao Cao spoke, the more regretful he felt. In the end, his thighs hurt from slapping so much that they were probably all red, and his palms were swollen. Cao Cao felt the pain and stopped in frustration.

"Ugh!!!"

Xun You saw this and had to think of another way to divert Cao Cao's attention and make him feel better: "The past cannot be changed, but the future can still be pursued. Although things have come to this, I don't think Liu Bei will make any other moves within a few months. They still have to focus on clearing out the remnants of Gongsun Du.

For now, the imperial court should seize the opportunity, quickly select a target, and send troops from Guanzhong. When Liu Bei expands his territory, the imperial court will also expand its territory, so as not to be chased by Liu Bei. "

After hearing this, Cao Cao finally put all his regret into "turning grief and anger into strength". Originally, he was still hesitant about whether to attack Han Sui or Zhang Lu, thinking it was a bit risky.

Now, he had no hesitation at all. Playing it safe was bound to lead to failure, so he had to take a gamble.

Cao Cao: "I have made up my mind. While Liu Bei still needs several months to eliminate the remnants of Gongsun Du, the court should hurry up and attack Han Sui and take Chencang after the spring. However, Longxi is poor and not worth managing. After taking Chencang, the court army should take advantage of the melting snow in Qinling Mountains to cross Chencang Road and approach Hanzhong!
Yizhou is rich, and the imperial court must ensure that it can eventually seize Yizhou, so that Liu Bei can fully maintain the upstream benefits and obtain money and food - do you have any objections?"

Originally, some people wanted to object to this matter, but since Xue Ti brought back such bad news, no one dared to object.

Cao Cao wanted to play it safe, but Liu Bei would not let him do that slowly, so he had to speed up.

Cao Cao looked around the room and saw that no one objected, so he formally made the decision: "Since this is the case, the officials should prepare immediately. We must attack Chencang in February. After we break through, the snow in the Qinling Mountains will have melted. We should take advantage of Zhang Lu's unpreparedness and immediately cross the Qinling Mountains! We must destroy Zhang Lu at all costs!"

(End of this chapter)