Chapter 883

Pondering for a while, Wang Yan smiled and poured tea for Jia Xu, who was sitting opposite: "What does Wenhe think I should do?"

Jia Xu nodded, politely acted in a fake manner, turned the teacup, and felt the scalding heat on his fingertips. He said: "Now Yuan Shao is defeated and dead, and Cao Cao occupies Henan. He fears my power, so he will definitely abandon Henan and move south of the Yangtze River. Liu Bei, Liu Biao, and Yuan Shu in the south of the Yangtze River will inevitably unite to resist Cao. Cao will move south of the Yangtze River and will definitely drive the people of Henan.

The General has long said that people and land are the foundation of wealth and strength. We must not let Cao Cao drive the people of Henan south, leaving Henan empty, which is not my wish. Therefore, take advantage of Cao Cao's rectification of Henan to advance troops and force him to move south to fight earlier, so as not to drag the people of Henan."

The war between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao was for the resources of Henan. It was necessary for them to decide the winner.

If Yuan Shao wanted to run and wanted to take a detour south of the Yangtze River, Cao Cao would not let him pass. There were indeed other roads, such as crossing the river from Jingzhou, but those who could pass would only be Yuan Shao and his civil and military officials, at most two or three thousand troops.

And if Cao Cao wanted to run, Yuan Shao would fiercely attack, and Yuan Shu and Liu Biao would also fiercely resist. Even if he successfully crossed the river, his vitality would be greatly damaged, and he might not be able to beat Liu Bei.

Of course, it is still the same sentence. If there was no winner this year, they would have to find a way to cross the river, because Wang Yan had planted land for several more years, Liangzhou, the grasslands, and Bingzhou were stable, production and construction had been carried out in an orderly manner, they had passed the most difficult stage a few years ago, and there was a large accumulation of grain and other materials. It would be unreasonable not to fight.

What Jia Xu said was very realistic. Old Cao wanted to drag the people and various resources of Henan south, and they could not agree; it was that simple.

Wang Yan nodded and instructed: "Send letters to Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, and Zhao Yun, ordering the three generals to lead their troops to Chang'an and advance to Hangu Pass. Order Huang Zhong, Zhou Cang, Taishi Ci, Zhang He, and Gao Lan to lead their troops across the river to take Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and Yanzhou. Officials must be well prepared, stabilize the local people, and organize production and construction. Military supplies must be sufficient, and Wenhe must do a good job of overall planning."

"Yes, Grand General."

Responding, Jia Xu drank the tea in the cup in one gulp and turned to leave to do things.

Wang Yan drank tea by himself, read books, and occasionally glanced out the window; it was a good snowy scene in midwinter. The snow in Zhending was naturally not as thick as in Liaodong, not as flying like goose feathers, but Liaodong did not have the Taihang Mountains covered in white gauze; it was always two feelings.

In the past few years, the Northeast, Youzhou, Jizhou, and the eastern grasslands had been developing steadily and upward, with various indicators continuously growing, and the people's lives were more prosperous and flourishing. This stemmed from the scientific thinking he, Grand General Wang, passed down, policy encouragement, continuous development of infrastructure construction, improvement of logistics turnover, and acceleration of trade communication, all of which complemented each other.

In the past time, besides the largest Zhen family, there were many first-generation wealthy people under his rule. They seized opportunities, had more adventurous spirits, and had the courage to face risks. Therefore, a batch of merchants emerged, doing various product processing work, or distribution work, and among them, there was no lack of big merchants. These were all figures who knew how to grasp the rules.

However, the obsession with land could not be changed. They always thought of ways to get more land.

They didn't dare to seize other people's land by force, because those families all had armor and weapons, and often had three or four men in the family, plus years of militia training, they could form a small battle formation by themselves.

Not to mention that almost every household had someone in the army, or was a veteran. The active-duty people might be officers, and the veterans who returned home were also police officers. Furthermore, although the people in a village had many grudges, they were also united, and they couldn't be provoked at all.

Furthermore, the land belonged to the Grand General and was not allowed to be bought or sold privately. The supervision of land was extremely strict. Once discovered, it was a life-threatening labor, the kind that would peel a layer of skin even if they didn't die. Added to this, the common people were fierce. Once there was chaos, it would inevitably reach the Grand General's desk, and they had even less courage to anger Grand General Wang.

But they didn't dare to do this or that, yet they dared to collude with local officials to illegally cultivate large areas of land that Grand General Wang had reserved for future population distribution. It was these merchants who planted it first, waiting to talk about it when it was distributed in the future.

Of course, this kind of thing could not be tolerated. It was not to say that they planted vacant land and didn't bully other common people, and finally harvested a lot of grain, so they had merit and could be indulged.

Because now human resources were not abundant, and the land Wang Yan distributed to the common people was also quite saturated. Not to mention there were various public constructions and factory production, which really involved men, women, old, and young. In such a situation, these merchants had already made a lot of money and had effectively become people above others, yet they still dared to snatch human resources and stare at those few acres of land?

If human resources were extremely abundant, it would be fine; they could be appropriately slowed down, or they could kill a batch to enrich the treasury when they were short of money. But now, they must not be ignored. Not to mention that it involved collusion between officials and businessmen. They had only lived a good life for a few years, and now it wasn't even called a good life, yet they started to rush to cause trouble. They were tired of living, and this must be satisfied.

Wang Yan himself talked about faith and ideals, and would try his best to persuade others, but he would not forcibly require it, because he had always known that requirements were useless. There were always many people who shouted slogans loudly, but there were just as many who said one thing and did another. Any corrupt official from two thousand years later could be pulled out, and their theoretical foundation was quite sufficient, and they could talk in sets, but it didn't delay them from enjoying themselves.

What could restrain them and make them remember their mission was only fear.

So they were not living very well now...

And Liangzhou and the western grasslands had completed preliminary transformation. Liangzhou was poor, and after distributing the land suitable for planting, there was also the land in the Hexi Corridor, so they carried out a large-scale migration of the excess barbarians. Some were sent to the grasslands, and some were sent to the Northeast. Both places were very large, and they were far from saturated, lacking people very much. At the same time, they had to migrate Han people from other places to integrate.

As for not adapting to survival, they could always adapt. Barbarians who didn't know how to farm would always learn to farm, and Han people who didn't know how to herd would always have a day when they learned to herd.

Other public constructions had also been invested one after another, and cotton in the Hexi Corridor had begun to be produced and supplied on a large scale. At the same time, Han Sui in the Western Regions also planted cotton in Gumo, transported it to Liangzhou, traded some needed materials, and at the same time played smart, taking advantage of Grand General Wang's inability to reach far, began to integrate the power of the Western Regions, and at the same time had already begun to move west to explore Kushan. On the whole, the situation in the Northwest was excellent.

The time occupied by Bingzhou was longer than that of Liangzhou and the western grasslands, and the overall construction and development were naturally better. However, Bingzhou had the Baibo Army, which, like the Heishan Army, entrenched in the mountains. Previously, the power had not expanded there, and the Baibo Army was very sensible, not daring to move north to harass, and had been causing trouble for the Guanzhong warlords, so they didn't pay much attention to it.

After taking down Liangzhou and the western grasslands and thoroughly stabilizing the north, the existence of the Baibo Army looked very unpleasant. It was impossible to allow such a military armed force to be active under his rule. Moreover, their lives were actually not good. They just snatched things from the Guanzhong common people to save their lives.

So Wang Yan had previously sent Zhao Yun, Zhang He, Gao Lan, and other generals who were sent to Liangzhou to handle the Baibo Army by the way. The great army searched the mountains, publicized the policies, and fought one or two battles to show their strength, and basically solved it.

Those who resisted were never the small fry below, but the high-level personnel above, because they were truly dead. If Wang Yan didn't have this policy and didn't kill them, they wouldn't even need to send troops to attack; they would have surrendered themselves.

The same reason applied to other warlords. Wang Yan didn't kill them, and many people wouldn't resist, but would directly fall to Wang Yan's side, even actively welcoming the great army, providing grain and fodder for the great army, and sending family children to be Wang Yan's subordinates. They would be extremely enthusiastic. When they sold out those supported by them now, they wouldn't be soft at all.

It was because to this day, Grand General Wang's ability to govern the world had already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. In fact, even though Wang Yan had not unified the country, as far as the internal situation was concerned, it was already a prosperous age that had never been seen before. The social environment was relaxed, material conditions were continuously improving, culture and spirit were continuously improving, and there was even entertainment for the common people. The great army was invincible. If this didn't count as a prosperous age, then what did the Reign of Wen and Jing, which was praised by people in the past, count as?

It was a pity that Grand General Wang was determined to kill them, without any room for relaxation...

In summary, the overall situation under Wang Yan's rule was very healthy. In fact, ever since he established a firm foothold in Liaodong, the situation under his rule had always been very healthy, and that was also the only chance for the Han Dynasty to destroy him.

Wang Yan's gaze looked to the south; the world was already in his hands...

With Grand General Wang's order, the army began to mobilize. Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, and Zhao Yun, who had crossed the Yellow River, joined forces, cleared the area near Chang'an, and took Chang'an.

At this time, there was actually no one in Chang'an. Previously, the Guandong warlords defected to Yuan Shao, and later they fought with Cao Cao. Ma Teng, who was stationed in Mei County, was also transferred over. At that time, Wang Yan had already taken Liangzhou, and Ma Teng was also afraid of Wang Yan, so he took advantage of the situation to drag a portion of the common people to Luoyang. Other powerful families and wealthy households had left early, either running to Luoyang to join Yuan Shao or running to Hanzhong to join Zhang Lu.

In fact, the common people were the same, and they had been running away one after another over the years. The Guanzhong region, which used to have the heaviest authority of the Han Dynasty, had almost become a human ghost domain, and Chang'an had long been abandoned.

So the actions of Lu Bu and others went very smoothly. They did not encounter any resistance, killed a bunch of lawbreakers, stabilized the order in Guanzhong, left Zhang Liao to do the initial land distribution work, and waited for the subsequent suppression army and civil officials to arrive. Lu Bu and Zhao Yun directly led the troops and pushed to Hangu Pass.

This was the only way to Luoyang, and there was no way to bypass it. Previously, Liao Hua and Zhao Yun bypassed the Taihang Mountains in Hebei, but now they were going to fight in Henan. The areas along the river in Luoyang and other places were the focus of Cao Cao's defense, and the cost of crossing the river was too high.

And attacking the pass by force would cause huge casualties, almost filling it with human lives, which did not conform to Grand General Wang's military spirit. So the real intention of Lu Bu and others pushing to Hangu was to intimidate Cao Cao, drive old Cao to cross the river and get out as soon as possible, and let out Henan early.

On the other side, the five generals Huang Zhong, Zhou Cang, Taishi Ci, Zhang He, and Gao Lan crossed the river in Qingzhou and quickly moved south, blocking various places. The purpose was also to force old Cao, and at the same time, not give old Cao a chance to migrate the common people.

Old Cao's situation now was definitely better than when he was fighting Yuan Shao, but it was not much better.

Luoyang, Prime Minister's Mansion. This was the large mansion that old Cao's family originally had here. Old Cao tidied up Liu Xie and that group of courtiers and self-proclaimed Prime Minister, so this naturally became the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Learning the news that Wang Yan sent troops to cross the river to attack, old Cao gathered his civil and military officials to study how to deal with it.

"Now Wang Yan is sending troops to cross the river, and it is midwinter. How should I deal with it? You must have good strategies, speak freely."

Old Cao wore a crown and a crane cloak, sat high on the top, held a wine cup, and asked for strategies from the sages.

Xun Yu was mature and prudent, and first began to analyze: "Wang Yan has always had strategies, and his power is great. Now that he is sending troops to cross the river, it must be to drive us south of the Yangtze River, so that we cannot restore our vitality and accumulate grain and fodder. He values people's livelihood the most, and even more so, he will not let us drive the people of Henan south, so he can manage the land of Henan.

Wang Yan's soldiers are strong and his horses are sturdy. Planning the world slowly is just to restore vitality for the newly acquired land and people. Therefore, we will eventually move south, and it is better to go early. If not, I am afraid Wang Yan will really fight us, which will be very unfavorable to us."

"To be timid before fighting is not the way."

Because of Wang Yan's intrusion, Lu Bu defected early, so there was no Battle of Xuzhou. Therefore, Xiahou Dun did not chase Gao Shun and was shot in the eye by Cao Xing, and then very fiercely pulled out the arrow with the eyeball, and with the reason of "father's essence and mother's blood cannot be abandoned," he ate the eyeball. Now his eyes are normal, and he is not wearing an eye patch.

He said: "Lord, no matter what, we must send troops to block the enemy's ravages. Why not fight a battle? If we fight and win, why move south of the Yangtze River? If we don't win, it's not too late to move south of the Yangtze River."

Xun You arched his hands: "Yuanrang's words are reasonable. We must send troops to block. However, if we cannot defeat Wang Yan's army, what if his intention is not to drive us south of the Yangtze River, but to destroy us in Henan? Yuan Shao's past events are the lesson of the past. The great army was in front to resist Wang Yan, Yuan Shao fled south in a panic, 400,000 troops collapsed, and no more than 100,000 followed him across the river, mostly powerful families, wealthy households, and common people, and the great army was completely destroyed.

And there are pontoon bridges on the river, which can allow people and horses to pass quickly, but there are only boats to cross the river, which takes a lot of time and will inevitably be taken advantage of by Wang Yan. The army and people moving south may not be stronger than Yuan Shao moving to Henan. There are also three allies, Liu Bei, Liu Biao, and Yuan Shu, in the south of the Yangtze River, attacking our ferry, and they haven't stopped until now. With insufficient troops, we will definitely die.

Not to mention that Wang Yan has hundreds of thousands of great troops. Now the army crossing the river is only 70,000, and not to mention that the enemy's combat power and military equipment are better than ours, how can we attack Hebei if we can fight? Wang Yan has strategies and is an unparalleled fierce general who is braver than Lu Bu. What if he personally comes to the battlefield?

Therefore, I also think that moving south of the Yangtze River is an inevitable move. Lord, don't be confused by Luoyang, and you should act quickly."

The saying of this uncle and nephew was widely recognized. Although the generals could not avoid shouting, there were also Yuan Shao's old subordinates who appeared to speak, "In the past, Yan Liang, Chunyu Qiong, etc., were all the same as you," and Wen Chou, who surrendered, hid in the corner, looking at his nose and heart...

The effect was definitely there. After all, they fought Yuan Shao for three years. But if the time when Yuan Shao's army shrank in the city in winter was removed, Wang Yan only took three months to defeat Yuan Shao.

The pride and complacency of having just defeated Yuan Shao were somewhat not worth mentioning.

Without exception, after a fierce debate of buzzing, a consensus was finally reached: run quickly.

Old Cao didn't speak. Of course, he was also somewhat proud, but Wang Yan was too terrifying. His subordinates said one thing after another, which dispelled his idea of seeking death by hanging himself in front of the King of Hell.

After accepting Yuan Shao's old subordinates, old Cao naturally knew many things he didn't know before. For example, Wang Yan's original intention was because he saw Yuan Shao snatching Yanzhou again, so he planned to send troops to force Yuan Shao south, and didn't want to fight a big battle. It was because Yuan Shao was relatively arrogant at that time, and the main-war faction was shouting fiercely, which finally made Yuan Shao exhaust his elite troops and really fight Wang Yan, finally running to Henan in a mess and being defeated by his old Cao.

Successful people are naturally good at learning and progressing, so old Cao also learned from Yuan Shao's experience and lessons. It was just that his strength had truly grown, and he had defeated his old brother Yuan Shao, who was the most powerful in the past. Sometimes it was inevitable that he would ignore others and be confident, which was also human nature.

But the place where old Cao exceeded ordinary people was that he could control and suppress the urgent desire to test his strength. It was also really because Wang Yan was too strong. If he really went all out to fight like Yuan Shao, if he failed, as Xun You said, the number of people he could take away would definitely not be many. Even if he reached the south of the Yangtze River, he couldn't beat Liu Bei, Liu Biao, and Yuan Shu, and it would be a matter of time before he died.

Surrender was the same. Anyway, if he were in his shoes, he wouldn't be at ease. The necessity of Yuan Shao's suicide was also the necessity of his old Cao.

"You all want to move south. This strategy is the most stable. Wang Yan's power is great. If we don't gather the strength of the south of the Yangtze River, we cannot resist. Just do it. Le Jin, Yu Jin, Xu Huang, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Chun..."

Old Cao began to arrange troops and arrange the retreat.

In fact, their actions had always been going on, but the speed was relatively slow, because they still wanted to plant land for another year in their hearts, accumulate more grain and fodder, and restore their combat power well.

It mainly lay in the fact that they thought Wang Yan would slowly manage Qingzhou, and they also had time to slowly arrange it. However, they didn't expect that this time Wang Yan would directly want Henan.

However, although the decision to move south of the Yangtze River quickly was made, old Cao was still somewhat unconvinced. After thinking about it, he still felt that he had to test Wang Yan's army's combat power. After all, they hadn't fought before. If they didn't fight, they couldn't sleep well.

It was indeed too shameful for their side's momentum. If they should compete, they must compete...