A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"Natural disasters and man-made calamities."

Cao Cao answered succinctly that he had been living in seclusion at home for many years, studying and reflecting as much as he did.

We need to consider why the people of the Han Dynasty lived such difficult lives and what caused it.

Ultimately, he concluded that natural disasters and man-made calamities were the root causes of disasters.

"Drought, floods, locust plagues, earthquakes."

"Heaven and earth are merciless; every disaster can cause the death and ruin of a large number of people, leaving them to live in misery."

"At the same time, there is exploitation by powerful families and nobles, who, like greedy hunting dogs, constantly allocate resources to their own pockets, never tiring."

"The world's resources are ultimately limited. If they get more, the common people will get less."

"Not to mention that because they have knowledge and power, they can easily plunder the people's resources and put them into their own pockets."

"Ordinary people are naturally no match for them and can only suffer exploitation by them, hoping that these gentlemen will have some mercy and leave them some food to survive."

"It's also because the Han Dynasty had a huge population, with a total population of 2 million."

"This is only what's on record; if you add in the unrecorded cases, the number is unknown."

"During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the entire Central Plains had a population of only 2,000 million. The people had not yet had a few years of peace when they encountered the chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty, and the population decreased sharply again."

"When the Han Dynasty was founded, its population was only 1,200 million."

Even though the territory of the Han Dynasty has expanded several times over, there are still not that many crops suitable for cultivation.

"Since the first King Chungmu began researching improved varieties, grain production has more than doubled compared to that time."

"But ultimately, it was impossible to support such a large population, so with the help of the Duke of Yan, Wang Mang and his princes launched a new enfeoffment system, which relocated a large number of people to other areas and expanded Chinese civilization."

"However, the population of the Han Dynasty's homeland continued to grow, and with too many people and too little land, there was nothing that could be done."

Zhang Jiao hadn't expected that this young man could think so deeply, even considering the relationship between population and land. What a terrifying talent!

You should know that he only understood this principle after being enlightened by that Daoist brother from the Wei family.

This phenomenon, which was named the dynastic cycle by some Daoist, reveals the process of a dynasty from its founding to its prosperity and eventual demise.

No dynasty can avoid this cycle.

Because of the existence of the Wei family, the Han Dynasty developed at an extremely rapid pace, and its population grew at an equally rapid rate.

This also led to the Han Dynasty reaching that critical point more quickly. However, the Wei family and Wang Mang jointly promoted the enfeoffment system, shifting the conflict abroad and using the vast lands abroad to support the population, which greatly extended the lifespan of the Han Dynasty.

However, after more than 100 years of development, it has reached this critical point again. Coupled with natural disasters and man-made calamities, the Han Dynasty was already on the verge of collapse.

In addition, those powerful families have been leeching off the Han Dynasty. The stronger the Han Dynasty became, the stronger they became, and the more they exploited the people, making their lives even more miserable.

Zhang Jiao postponed his trip abroad, and Cao Cao also halted his journey to Chang'an to report back to Cao Cao.

The two began to talk in this desolate place, discussing everything from people's livelihood to national affairs, and then to military strategy and tactics.

The two hit it off quite well, and Cao Cao was also impressed by Zhang Jiao's profound knowledge.

If he had previously admired Zhang Jiao's actions and virtues, he was now completely captivated by Zhang Jiao's profound knowledge and deep thought.

After learning that Zhang Jiao had once encountered a hermit whose thoughts were even more profound than his own, Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh, "Heroes of the world are as numerous as carp crossing a river; there are always people more capable than you, and heavens beyond heavens."

"Would you be willing to join the Way of Peace?"

Zhang Jiao extended the invitation with great hope.

Cao Cao hesitated. Although he greatly admired Zhang Jiao, that admiration was only for Zhang Jiao.

His affinity for the Way of Peace stemmed solely from his slight fondness for Zhang Jiao.

Moreover, he was prepared to enter politics and change the country from the top down by seizing power.

Since the Han Dynasty now has almost no external enemies and the surrounding foreign tribes have been wiped out, Cao Cao in this life has no desire to become the General Who Conquers the West.

Cao Cao, who did not aspire to be the General Who Conquers the West, was not a good King of Wei.

His current idol is Wang Mang, who held a high position, presided over reforms, and had a great impact on the entire Han Dynasty and later generations. After achieving his goals, he retired gracefully and was almost a perfect person.

He was also prepared to follow this path, to write a magnificent chapter in the history of Cao Cao in this era.

"Feel sorry."

Cao Cao refused.

No need to apologize.

A warm smile appeared on Zhang Jiao's face, but Cao Cao could see that there was only regret in Zhang Jiao's eyes.

This is the only person, besides his close friends, who genuinely acknowledges him.

If he hadn't already planned his life, he would have wanted to join the Way of Peace simply because of this recognition.

"Everyone has their own path to walk, and the Taiping Road is indeed not suitable for you."

"I only hope that even when you're over fifty, you can still keep your original aspirations. Only by staying true to your original aspirations can you achieve your goals."

"I also hope that we will never become enemies in the future," Zhang Jiao sighed in his heart.

Then he took out his newly compiled Taiping Qingling Book from his sleeve and handed it to Cao Cao.

"I have nothing of value, but this is my latest compilation, the Taiping Qingling Book, which contains many of my thoughts. If you have the time, you may take a look."

Cao Cao extended both hands to accept the book, a priceless classic personally compiled by Zhang Jiao.

This also signifies Zhang Jiao's recognition of him, which Cao Cao greatly cherishes.

Even his former best friend Yuan Shao actually looked down on him from the bottom of his heart.

Cao Cao couldn't help but recall his unpleasant parting with Yuan Shao not long ago.

You're so great, so aloof.

Do you know how much I was bullied in Chang'an?

Because he was dark-skinned and short, and his grandfather was a eunuch!

His grandfather was disabled!

His grandfather was a cripple!

He's the grandson of a eunuch!

Yuan Shao, you are truly remarkable!

Everyone loves you!

He is determined to reach the top step by step, step by step, step by step.

He wants to be Cao Jugao!

His father Cao Song's (Cao Jugao's) vision was to be realized by him, Cao Cao!

After bidding farewell to Cao Cao, Zhang Jiao encountered Liu Bei, who was traveling around, before leaving the pass.

He was seven feet five inches tall, with ears that reached his shoulders, hands that reached past his knees, eyes that could see his own ears, a face like jade, and lips like painted rouge.

In this era, it is believed that those with unusual appearances must possess extraordinary abilities and will achieve great things.

Having recently encountered an outstanding young man like Cao Cao, Zhang Jiao's encounter with Liu Bei piqued his interest, and he began to chat with Liu Bei.

After chatting for a while, Zhang Jiao discovered that Liu Bei was also a person who cared about the country and its people, and that he was also born into the royal family. He was the Prince of Zhongshan, who was the first to be enfeoffed in a state, and was a branch of the bloodline that remained in the Han Dynasty.

However, this bloodline is not very valuable. Prince Jing of Zhongshan already had many children. After going out to establish his fiefdom, he saw many beautiful women from foreign lands. With no one to discipline him, he became even more unruly.

The imperial court even encouraged him to have more children so that he could better assimilate the local barbarians.

Many of his descendants also inherited his behavior, resulting in the fact that even the Prince of Zhongshan's lineage has reached a point where they themselves don't know how many people there are.

In the end, apart from the few direct descendants, the others were not even recorded in the genealogy of the Han Dynasty imperial family.

The fact that the head of the imperial clan of an entire empire could make such a decision speaks volumes about the sheer number of descendants of Prince Jing of Zhongshan; one person alone could rival an entire empire.