By the time Zhang Fei reacted and informed Tai Shici and Huang Zhong, it was too late. Yanzhou was occupied by them, but Yanzhou was also greatly damaged.

In this era of the small-scale peasant economy, the government disappeared along with many large households, resulting in a shortage of grain and other materials in the market, not to mention the shortage of grain and other materials, and the existence of five baht coins and silk silk as currency also greatly decreased.

Prices in Yanzhou suddenly soared, and the rich and noble people didn't think much of it, but ordinary people were deeply affected. As a result, countless families have gone bankrupt. This whole winter, all Liu Bei's energy was put on rectifying Yanzhou. The army of Zhulu also stopped, unable to move south.

After three years of Yanping, Cao Cao was finally able to free his hands from Yizhou affairs. Whether it was the local faction in Yizhou or the faction in Dongzhou, in front of his superb methods, they all lowered their heads and began to pay allegiance to him.

Yizhou is a rich land, and there are few wars. Compared with the chaos in the Central Plains, those barbarians or heroic rebellions in Yizhou are simply not worth mentioning in Cao Cao's eyes.

After the bloody suppression and cleansing of a group of people, the counties and states of Yizhou all obeyed. In Yizhou, Cao Cao threw off all his burdens and began to implement his new policy.

Measuring the land, checking the population, suppressing the bandits, and arranging the people to enter the households, these are all things that Cao Cao has always wanted to do in Yan and Henan Prefectures, but he can't let go of his hands and feet.

There, the power of the nobles is too strong. Even if he is as strong as Cao Cao, he has encountered very great resistance. There are also many scholars in Yizhou, but the local scholars here do not have the influence of the Central Plains scholars at all. Cao Cao is here, he is simply the prosper of those who follow me, and the king of those who oppose me.

Of course, Cao Cao has always been generous to his followers. Left and right are just cutting other people's flesh to win over their own subordinates, why not?

The loss of Yanzhou, in Cao Cao's view, is an inevitability. When Yuan Shao and Liu Bei competed and had not yet decided the winner, Cao Cao had already thought clearly in his heart.

Whether it is Yuan Shao, the former leading brother, or Liu Bei, a former friend, I am afraid that they are all salivating for Yan and Yu. Although he did not participate in the Northern War, he knew that no matter who won or lost, the next step would definitely be to attack Yanzhou, which was close at hand.

It's not that he hasn't thought about taking chestnuts out of the fire, but this thought flashed in his heart and then disappeared. The strength of the three is really hard to say. No matter how conceited he is, he will not be sure that he will be able to defeat Yuan Shao or Liu Bei. Thinking of fighting with it, it is better to take this opportunity to go south, avoid the chaos of the Central Plains, and choose a soft pinch. So, it kicked off the prelude to his southward attack on Jing and Yizhou.

It can be said that if Jingzhou did not have Sun Jian to intervene, his plan could not be more perfect. can sit on the two states of Yi and Jing, he can attack and retreat. Even if he does nothing, the secession party can make him live in peace for decades. It's a pity that Jingzhou was bitten by Sun Jian, which made Cao Cao very unwilling.

Now Yizhou has settled down, and Hanzhong is firmly held in his hands. Cao Cao believed that even if Liu Bei wanted to cross the Qinling Mountains to attack, he would not be afraid at all. Then, it's time to look to the Central Plains again.

After the fall of Yanzhou, all the ministers of Yanzhou went to Nanjun. Yuzhou is a strategic buffer zone, in principle, the ministers will no longer set foot there, Yuzhou, there will only be troops.

Cheng Yu and others took a boat up the Han River and arrived in Chengdu. Cao Cao had something in his heart, so he summoned his ministers to see him. After the banquet, Cao Cao asked: "Although I have gained Yizhou today, I have lost Yanzhou." In order to make Xuande dominate the north. The situation in the world is clear, what can you teach me? ”

Dong Zhao came out of the queue and said: "My lord, Yizhou is fertile and sparsely populated, and it is not possible to compare with Yanzhou." The lord should be diligent in cultivating virtue and government in order to support the army and the people. Later, Nan and Sun Jian fought against Liu Bei. When there are changes in the world, the troops can be divided into two ways, one out of Guanlong and the other out of Jingzhou, so that the great cause can be accomplished! ”

Once Yanzhou was lost, Dong Zhao and other Yanzhou scholars suffered heavy losses, but in their opinion, Cao Cao may not have no chance. Now Yizhou and half of Jingzhou in his hand are much stronger than Yanzhou. Yanzhou lives in the middle of the world, first by the scourge of the yellow turban, and then in the hands of Cao Cao, there are two strong neighbors on the side, and the night is not peaceful. Today's Yanzhou is no longer as prosperous as it used to be.

Just lost Yanzhou, and lost the opportunity to compete for hegemony in the north. It's still a bit of a shame to think about. Now in Youzhou, Yuzhou and half of Jingzhou, Cao Cao is still strong in his hands. Recuperate for a few years, engage in large-scale development in Yizhou, and when the money and food in hand are sufficient and the soldiers are strong, if the Central Plains changes, they will raise troops out of Guanlong. Take Guan Liang first!

There are profound reasons why the administrative divisions of later generations should assign Hanzhong to Shaanxi. Hanzhong is pinched in the hands of Shaanxi, and Xichuan will not be able to make trouble. If Hanzhong still returns to Shu and wants to divide it, it will be too easy. With the Qinling Mountains, this is an unparalleled geographical advantage.

Cao Cao listened, thoughtfully, and then turned his gaze to the rest of the people. Cheng Yu, Mao Jue, Guo Jia and others spoke one after another, and in their words, they were similar to Dong Zhao. Develop Yizhou, defend Hanzhong, Nanhe and Sun Jian, and keep Yuzhou......

After Cao Cao listened, he stood up. Looking into the distance, outside the hall, there are lush green mountains and a vast field. Cao Cao said: "What Qing and others said is reasonable. However, it is not my intention! ”

Cao Cao didn't say a word, and then retreated into the inner sanctum. Only the ministers were left, looking at each other, somehow?

Cao Cao was in the inner sanctum, walking around without stopping. He was very ambitious in his heart, and he only wanted to help the Han family, but later found that the world was rotten and the Han family was no longer supportable, so he thought about destroying all this with his own hands and building a new world. Who would have thought that Liu Bei suddenly appeared next to him. This made him really depressed in his heart. It's just that after the ambition is stirred up, it grows like a madweed in the heart, and it can never be stopped. It's impossible to go back to the beginning. He could only do everything he could to move on.

In Cao Cao's view, the development of Yizhou is a must. But why Nan and Sun Jian? The world is too small, it is not enough to have a Liu Bei in the north, does there still need a Sun Jian in the south to fight with him?

In Cao Cao's heart, he already has an amazing plan, which is to take advantage of the alliance between Cao and Sun, and the two families are currently on good terms. took the opportunity to attack, and when Liu Bei and Sun Jian were defenseless, they seized Jingzhou in one fell swoop. With Jingzhou in hand, this can truly be attacked, retreated and defended.

If you have the opportunity, you can simply swallow Sun Wentai's territory. Sun Wentai has become a sick tiger. And Sun Ce is just a child, so why is he afraid?

Cao Cao knew that his move of stabbing his ally in the back was a little difficult to accept in the eyes of Cheng Yu and others, so he had to take his time and think about it in the long run.

I'm almost fifty, and I don't have time to wait.