Chapter 5: The fifteenth section of the first month of the second year of Xingping of the Han Kingdom (195 AD). Fengxue and Xiaoyu gave birth one after another, and each gave birth to a daughter.

General Li Hong was ecstatic. The eldest princess and the officials of Hebei Prefecture came to Xingyuan to congratulate. In the middle of the first month, the cracking wind arrived in Xingyuan, and Li Hong personally went out to greet him.

"How many gifts did your uncle bring?"

"Boys and girls?" Splitting Wind asked.

"Girls, both are girls." Li Hongle smiled happily,

"Why, gifts for boys and girls are different?"

"The same, the same." Cracking Wind laughed, but there was disappointment in his eyes,

"In order to congratulate the general on his noble son, the central Xianbei lord Kirby Xiong and the eastern Xianbei lord Miga are sending envoys from the desert thousands of miles away." Li Hong said a few words of thanks, and then asked while walking towards the military tent with the cracking wind,

"You came early?"

"I estimated that Xiaoxue was about to give birth, so I came early." Tempest laughed,

"I've prepared two generous gifts, which are exactly the same, so the general won't worry about me favoring one over the other, right?" Li Hong gratefully patted the shoulders of the storm,

"Thank you for being so thoughtful. Xiaoyu has no relatives since she was a child, and I am afraid that after she sees you, she will feel uncomfortable, so ......"

"I've thought of it a long time ago." Cracking Tempest pointed at the horse team behind him,

"It's a gift for my children, and they'll be very happy when they see it." At the beginning of the new year, the general was overjoyed, and Handan Xingyuan was immersed in joy.

But as the fast horses galloped in, the general's mood became worse and worse. Under the first month, Liu Bei, the new pastor of Xuzhou, sent a letter to tell the truth about the recent situation in Xuzhou.

He expressed his absolute respect for the son of today, obeyed all the instructions of the imperial court, begged the general to ask for his will, and hoped that the general would send troops to Yanzhou to help him kill Cao Cao and avenge the death of Tao Qian and hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Xuzhou.

At the same time, Liu Yi and Xu Yan from Yanzhou Mansion hurried to Handan to ask for help in the howling wind and snow.

In the first month of this month, Cao Cao and Lü Bu each led their troops and horses to fight fiercely in the county of Jiyin County. The two sides fought bloodily for several days, and Wu Zi, the Taishou of Jiyin County, unfortunately died.

Lü Bu was in turmoil because of this, and retreated to Chengshi City in defeat. Liu Yi and Xu Yan begged bitterly in Xingyuan, hoping that the general could send troops to help.

Li Hong took Tao Qian's suicide note written to him on his deathbed, and was grief-stricken. In the past, Tao Qian took great care of himself on the battlefield of Xiliang, and he always wanted to repay him for this kindness, but now Tao Qian has passed away, and he has no chance to repay him again.

Li Hong convened the officials of the three governments to discuss the strategy of sending troops to Yanzhou.

"What is the situation with the relief of displaced people? So far, can anyone freeze to death and starve to death? Li Hong was most concerned about the displaced people, and he hoped that the army would be able to properly settle the displaced people who had fled to Hebei before crossing the river to the south.

"The governments are opening warehouses to release grain and make every effort to help the displaced people, so we have not yet received a report that a large number of displaced people have frozen to death and starved to death." Li Wei said,

"After the beginning of spring, we plan to requisition millions of displaced people, dig ditches, and connect several rivers that run through Jizhou, including the Qinghe, Zhangshui, Hutuo and Lushui rivers."

"You agreed to Master Ding Li's proposal?" Li Hong asked in a little surprise,

"Can Hebei's financial endowment support it?"

"It is indeed costly to excavate a ditch along with the north and south of Jizhou, but now it has to be dug if you don't dig it." Li Wei smiled bitterly.

There are too many displaced people in Jizhou, and there is a serious shortage of land, so it is impossible to settle them in Tuntian. According to the preliminary estimates of the prefectures, there are about 2 million displaced people who have no land to cultivate, and the amount of relief food consumed by these people is very staggering.

In order to alleviate Hebei's food crisis and raise as much grain as possible for relief, there is only one way to do so, and that is to let the people of the three prefectures of Hebei who should be serving as forced labor cultivate their fields with peace of mind, and let them use the surplus grain at home to pay for forced labor.

All the grain collected was used to provide relief to the displaced people, and these displaced people served as conscripts in place of the people of Hebei.

In this way, Hebei's food crisis can be effectively alleviated, the people of Hebei can temporarily get rid of their heavy forced labor, and the displaced people can always have enough to eat.

However, because there are too many displaced people and the total number of forced laborers is too large, whether it is repairing the city or dredging the ditches, there are not so many people.

Therefore, after careful consideration and careful calculation, Sima Fu decided to make full use of the strength of these displaced people to excavate more than a dozen large and small rivers in the north and south of Jizhou in advance

"Zhongxing Canal". After listening to Li Wei's explanation, Li Hong immediately asked Xun You and Zhang Fan: "Do the eldest princess and all the elders in the mansion know about this?" Do they agree? Xun You and Zhang Fan nodded again and again.

"The excavation of the Zhongxing Canal costs a lot, although the problem of the people and the conscription is solved, but what about the problem of money?" Li Hong looked at Xun You, Li Wei, and Xie Ming, and said very seriously,

"If you propose to increase taxes, I will never agree to it." Li Wei quietly glanced at Xun You.

Xun You is the chief of the eldest princess's mansion, his age, qualifications and fame are very great, Li Hong respects him very much, generally he says something that he doesn't like, Li Hong will not get angry, but listen carefully and think about it repeatedly.

Now many times, Li Wei, Xie Ming, as well as Tang Fang, Song Wen and others, who returned to Handan from the border county last year, if they encounter tricky things, they all let Xun You come forward to talk to the general in detail.

Xun You coughed lightly a few times, and then said in a slow voice: "In recent years, the general has vigorously promoted the policy of attaching equal importance to agriculture and industry in Northern Xinjiang, Jizhou and Youzhou, encouraging all strata to do business and get rich, so the trade of goods and colonization has developed rapidly. If there are more businessmen and richer, should taxes also be changed? The merchant is too rich, which is not a good thing for the imperial court. What was the reason for Emperor Xiaowu's implementation of the edict back then, and did the general forget? ”

"No, it's absolutely not going to work." Li Hong categorically vetoed,

"Although the current merchants are rich, they are still very different from the merchants in the era of Emperor Xiaowu. Dong Zhuo promulgated the decree that year, which dealt a great blow to the merchants. It's only been a few years since this incident, and we all know how rich the businessmen can be. The tax system must not be adjusted, and there is no need to discuss this matter. Xun You and the officials of the three mansions looked at each other with a look of embarrassment.

"Then, in order to save money, the general will not send troops to Yanzhou this year." Xun You stroked his long beard and said word by word.

Li Hong was stunned for a moment, then his face sank, and he said very dissatisfied: "Last year, you strongly asked me to send troops to Yanzhou, but because of the continuous disasters and the tide of displaced people, the plan to send troops was forced to be cancelled. Now the situation in the Central Plains is very favorable to us, but you ask me to give up sending troops, why? If I don't kill a butcher like Cao Cao, and if I don't get rid of this kind of rebellion, how will the people of the world scold me? Xun You smiled slightly,

"General, the situation in the Central Plains seems to be very favorable to us, but the situation in the world is becoming more and more unfavorable for us." Now that Qingzhou Tian Kai has been appeased, Liu Bei of Xuzhou is also willing to submit to the imperial court, Lu Bu is fighting in Yanzhou, if our 70,000 troops roar down at this moment, the Central Plains can indeed be pacified immediately.

However, what we can see, Yuan Shao will also see. Last year, Yuan Shao united with Han Sui and Ma Teng of Xiliang, Liu Yan of Yizhou, and some ministers of Chang'an to launch a battle against King Qin, although it ended in failure, but Yuan Shao's desire to win Guanzhong has been undoubtedly exposed.

Whether Yuan Shao is really the king of diligence or not, we all know in our hearts. He is a false king, and it is true that he usurped the world.

But when the situation has developed to this day, and the Central Plains has become the general's bag, is Yuan Shao still stubborn and resolutely opposes today's son to rebuild the imperial system?

We can assume that if the general sent troops to Yanzhou, what would Yuan Shao do? There was no doubt that he would send troops to help Cao Cao.

He would unite Liu Biao in Jingzhou, Han Sui Ma Teng in Xiliang, and even Liu Yan in Yizhou to attack Guanzhong and Guanxi in the west to contain Xu Rong's forces, and at the same time, he would also unite with Yuan Shu in Yangzhou to attack Xuzhou and contain Liu Bei's forces.

Uniting Yuan Wei of Yuzhou and Cao Cao of Yanzhou to flank Lü Bu before and after, and then dragged us on the battlefield of Yanzhou.

As for Tian Kai in Qingzhou, with his in-laws relationship with Yuan Shao, I estimate that he will neither send troops to help us, nor will he send troops to help Yuan Shao.

But once Yuan Shao and Cao Cao gain the upper hand, it is not clear what choice he will make. Why could Yuan Shao unite so many forces to deal with the general?

It's very simple, he only needs to say a word, as long as he holds high the banner of respecting today's son and Zhongxing Sheji, he can get the support of the people of the world.

If our main army is trapped in the Yanzhou battlefield, and Xu Rong's army is trapped in the Guanxi battlefield, and the two fronts are fighting at the same time, at this time, if Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, Yuan Wei, Han Sui, Ma Teng, and Liu Yan send troops to Guanzhong again, can Li Dao and Guo Yan, Dong Zhuo's old troops, be able to stop it?

Since Li Dao was unable to defend Chang'an, the fate of the Son of Heaven could be imagined. As soon as the Son of Heaven died, Yuan Shao could justifiably rebuild the imperial system and the imperial court, then the general would become a rebel of the Han Dynasty, and the people of the world would rise up and attack him.

Yuan Shao established a new monarch and built a new imperial court, will Liu Bei still follow the general's orders? Will Tian Kai still follow the general's orders?

Will Lu Bu still follow the general's orders? Overnight, the situation in the Central Plains was turned upside down, and the general's advantage was lost in an instant.

Today, Yuan Shao saw the unfavorable situation in the Central Plains, and he would take Guanzhong at all costs, so as to completely reverse the situation in the world.

So, when the general sees the favorable situation in the Central Plains, what countermeasures will he take? Did the general want to make full use of the favorable advantage of the Central Plains, and instead send Hebei and the Han Sheji into a desperate situation?

Sweat broke out on Li Hong's forehead. A good situation of pacifying the world, in Xun You's mouth, turned out to be a road to self-defeat.

Li Hong quietly wiped the sweat on his forehead,

"Saifeng, move the brazier a little farther away, I'm a little hot." The priest standing behind him gave him a strange look, leaned over and picked up the brazier on the side of the table, and placed it in the distance.

Xun You was silent for a moment and continued: "General, the top priority is not to seize the Central Plains, but to advance west to King Qin, occupy Guanzhong, rebuild the prestige of the Son of Heaven and the imperial court, and push Yuan Shao and the rebellions in various places into a desperate situation. "Once the Son of Heaven is in power, once the imperial court is in power, and the general holds high the banner of counterinsurgency and Zhongxing, who is your opponent in the world?

Liu Biao, Liu Yan, Liu Bei and others will immediately swear allegiance, Tian Kai and Han Sui will soon switch to the Son of Heaven, and the remaining rebellions such as Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Yuan Wei, and Cao Cao will last?

As long as the general occupies Guanzhong, the advantage of the Central Plains can be maintained. As long as the general Qinwang succeeds, he can immediately lead the army to sweep the world, and the period of social stability will be just around the corner.

Xun You looked at Li Hong and said softly: "Since the general missed the best opportunity to seize the Central Plains last year, why should he be in a hurry in this short period of time? The general's important task this year should be to concentrate the main force in northern Xinjiang and advance west to the king. In this way, it not only avoided the dilemma of two-front warfare and extremely tight financial resources in Hebei, but also won Guanzhong, saved the Son of Heaven, won the hearts of the people, and occupied the absolute advantage of pacifying Sheji. ”

"The situation in the world is changing, and Hebei's strategy must also be constantly changing, so that the general can rejuvenate Sheji at the lowest cost." Li Hong admired Xun You very much.

"Lord Xun, then how do I reply to Lu Bu?"

"We had a strategy for the Central Plains at the beginning, and that was to make it chaotic." Xun You said with a smile,

"The more battles in the Central Plains are fought, the better, and the more tragic the battles, the better. Therefore, the general can reply to Lord Lu Bu and immediately send him money, food, and ordnance, so that he can continue to persevere. ”

"In addition, considering the current situation in the Central Plains, the general can play the Son of Heaven and recommend Tian Kai and Liu Bei to serve as Qingzhou Mu and Xuzhou Mu, and let the two of them send troops to attack Cao Cao, so as to force Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and Yuan Wei to send troops to help Cao Cao and maintain the melee situation in the Central Plains, so as to effectively contain Yuan Shao's forces." Li Hong nodded in agreement,

"Lord Xun, the current situation in Guanzhong is very complicated, if we expose our intentions too early, will it arouse the vigilance of Yuan Shao and Li Dao? Yuan Shao saw that we were determined to take Guanzhong, would he shake hands with Li Dao and make peace and deal with us together? ”

"That's for sure." Xun You said with a smile,

"After the Yellow River thaws, the general can ask General Koji to make a gesture of crossing the river to attack, and part of the army can even cross the river. If we don't act, Yuan Shao will not launch a big battle to seize Guanzhong. As long as Yuan Shao and Li Dao fight, the general can lead the army to Qin Wang. Li Hong pondered for a while, and suddenly asked: "After King Qin's success, if the restructuring is ......?"

"General, you must make up your mind about this matter as soon as possible." Xun You's expression suddenly became serious,

"General, please take a look at the three states of Hebei, look at the displaced people in Hebei, if you are not determined to reform the system, how can the Han Dynasty prosper? How do displaced people survive? Xun You slowly stood up,

"General, if you want to enter Chang'an, you must be fully prepared, otherwise, you should not enter Chang'an, so as not to cause disaster to Sheji." Li Hong was secretly shocked.

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