Chapter 362

"Oh?"

Xun You and the others' eyes lit up immediately.

"Good idea!"

Guo Jia nodded and said: "Indeed! This is a very clever and very smart approach in a situation where we are short of manpower and talent cultivation cannot keep up!"

"Anyway, we are strong in troops and horses, with countless fierce generals. We can secretly send some out, cooperate with the secret guards, and control these territories;"

"Temporarily not arranging for civil officials to go and govern and reform. When we have enough talent and they are well-trained in the future, it will be much easier to take over!"

"In this way, we can actually avoid the problem of our development and expansion speed being dragged down due to a lack of talent."

"It can also avoid the vigilance of the feudal lords of the world and prevent them from uniting against us;"

"There are many benefits, so I strongly agree!"

This was a good method that achieved multiple goals at once.

Of course, other feudal lords might not dare to use this method.

Because people are ambitious.

When a person controls a huge army and holds powerful rights, it is easy to be blinded by power and develop ambitions that shouldn't exist.

But this problem did not exist on Su Xuan's side.

With spiritual contracts, plus Su Xuan's strength and the effectiveness of ideological education, such a problem could not occur.

"Exactly!"

Xun You also smiled and nodded: "Guo Fengxiao is very right! With spiritual contracts, the lord does not need to worry that the people sent out will become unfaithful because the troops and power in their hands are too great, so this method of acting as an agent to control the territory is feasible!"

"Of course, it can only be used as a means to control Guanzhong, Hanzhong, Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and other places;"

"Using this method on territories controlled by other feudal lords is not so effective!"

"After all, other feudal lords are not fools! If a famous feudal lord were suddenly overturned by a small character who popped up out of nowhere and had his territory annexed, it would look abnormal no matter how you look at it! They would definitely get to the bottom of it!"

"By then, it is very likely to be exposed!"

"But the places I mentioned above do not have truly powerful feudal lords in control, and they are located on the border, so they don't have this problem. So, I agree!"

"However, the action in Guanzhong must be fast! Just in time, since outsiders don't know that General Xu Rong has defected to the lord, we can completely let General Xu Rong act as the overt controller of Guanzhong to control Guanzhong. What do you all think?"

Having our own people control Guanzhong earlier can also allow Guanzhong to stabilize sooner, resulting in fewer deaths and preserving a bit more vitality.

Laying a solid foundation for restoring prosperity in the future.

"Good idea!"

Tian Feng nodded affirmatively: "Xu Rong can go to Guanzhong! For other places, let the secret guard commanders of each place go, or let them push out some figures from local forces to be the overt ones!"

"As long as these people are controlled in secret, it will be fine!"

"Agreed!"

The others also nodded in agreement and further discussed and perfected the plan.

Su Xuan nodded with satisfaction: "Haha! Good! Then let's do it according to what you discussed! I will leave this matter to you, Gongda, to sit in Xiangyang and coordinate!"

"You will designate the persons in charge for each place. Do you have any problems?"

Xun You shook his head and happily accepted the order: "This subordinate accepts the order; I will definitely handle this matter well!"

"Hmm!"

Su Xuan nodded with satisfaction: "I am at ease with you handling things!"

A few days later, the news that the Military Sima family in Wenxian was wiped out by the White Wave bandits quickly spread throughout the world.

For a time, countless feudal lords and noble clans were in an uproar.

"Hiss! These White Wave bandits are so ferocious! They actually did such a big thing! This Military Sima family is really unlucky! How did they get targeted?"

"What else could it be for? It must be because they were too rich, right? What are the White Wave bandits? Rebels! What they set their sights on must be the Military Sima family's wealth!"

"I heard that this Military Sima family has been passed down for hundreds or thousands of years and has never declined. Who knows how much wealth they have accumulated over so many years?"

"That's true! So, this story tells us that one should not reveal one's wealth! Be a person! Be low-key! Otherwise, you will only end up like the Military Sima family!"

"Why do I feel like there is something wrong here? The timing the White Wave bandits chose is too good, isn't it? Just in time for the Military Sima family's annual sacrifice, they wiped out the whole clan! No matter how you look at it, this matter is not that simple; it doesn't look like an accident, but rather like they offended someone and were silenced!"

"Tsk tsk! Your imagination is really rich! It would be a waste of talent if you didn't write storybooks! Schemed against and wiped out? Where do so many conspiracy theories come from? This is clearly just an accident. If you want to call it a conspiracy, it can only be the White Wave bandits' conspiracy! Who told this Military Sima family to be so rich? The key is that their own strength is far from strong enough in this chaotic world! This is the sin!"

"Indeed! Why can this Military Sima family be passed down for thousands of years without failing? While we, descendants from humble backgrounds, have no way to advance? It's because there are too many such noble clans! I think! This Military Sima family just did too many bad things and got retribution; they deserved it!"

"Agreed! Perhaps, without these great noble clans occupying the latrine and not doing anything, we humble descendants would have a chance to climb up! There would be a chance to become a noble clan!"

"Hehe! Aren't you just trying to replace them? What qualifications do you have to judge those noble clans?"

"Did the noble clans eat your family's rice? Why are you so hostile toward the noble clans? A bunch of lowly people, it's really turning the world upside down! You deserve not to be reused and recognized!"

"Investigate! Must investigate clearly whose handiwork this is. I don't believe this matter is really that simple! There must be a mastermind behind the scenes! Perhaps it's the handiwork of some feudal lord!"

"That's not necessarily true! The Military Sima family has existed for so many years and has offended quite a few people. Perhaps some enemy took advantage of the chaotic world and the Military Sima family's lack of troops to take action! The White Wave bandits might just have been used as a tool!"

"That's true! I think this is closer to the truth!"

"Alas! It seems that in the future, I must let my relatives and friends be more vigilant to avoid similar things happening to us! Living in a chaotic world, one must prioritize the safety of one's own family!"

"......"

Countless discussions, everyone had something to say.

Noble clans, powerful families, humble families, feudal lords... etc., the reactions of all classes to the Military Sima family being wiped out were naturally different.

But the noble clans, powerful families, and even the feudal lord class paid attention and became vigilant, and one after another began to strengthen their own safety and protection.

For a time, the cost of assassination methods became higher.

In Runan,

Cao Cao had just taken Runan City, and Lord Yuan Shu had finally committed suicide.

"Alas! Was the Military Sima family actually wiped out just like that? What a pity!"

Cao Cao shook his head and sighed: "I heard that the Military Sima family had the Eight Dats, among whom Military Sima Lang and Military Sima Yi both had great talent!"

"I originally wanted to find an opportunity to recruit these two, but now it seems there is no chance!"

"Fortunately, I have already taken Yuzhou. The next step is to take Xuzhou and occupy the three provinces;"

"In this way, after recuperating for a year or a year and a half, I might have the strength to fight Lord Yuan Shao of Jizhou, take Jizhou and even Youzhou, Qingzhou, and other places, and become the largest feudal lord in the north!"

"Only then, if I face Su Boyuan again, I might have a glimmer of a chance of winning. Yuanchang, what do you think?"

He was still lacking top-tier strategists under his command!

Relying solely on Xun Yu was still not enough.

Zhong Yao was okay, but his strength was actually in government affairs; in terms of planning and strategy, he was more than a grade lower than Xun Yu.

He couldn't compare to Guo Jia, Xun You, Cheng Yu, and others under Su Xuan.

Headache!

Why did he feel like all the good talent ran to Su Xuan's side?

He felt like he had been living in Su Xuan's shadow all along.

"My lord is wise!"

Zhong Yao didn't know that Cao Cao was arranging him like this in his heart. Hearing Cao Cao's question, he immediately flattered: "Within 1-2 years, Su Xuan's possibility of expansion is not great. These two years are indeed our best opportunity for expansion!"

"As long as we seize this rare opportunity to complete the expansion and occupy the provinces of the Central Plains, then even if Su Xuan's troops are strong, facing an army of one million, I'm afraid he will only face defeat and death!"

"The top priority is that we should first reorganize Yuzhou, let the hearts of the people of Yuzhou be attached, and restore stability and production as soon as possible!"

"Hmm!"

Cao Cao nodded affirmatively: "Well said! This aspect will be left to you, Yuanchang! I intend to appoint you, Yuanchang, as the Inspector of Yuzhou to manage the government affairs of Yuzhou. Do you have the confidence to fulfill my requirements?"

"How could this subordinate dare not accept the order!"

Zhong Yao was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed to accept the order.

This was a good thing!

Controlling a province.

Although it was only the power in terms of government affairs, it could be considered a promotion.

As long as he completed it well, his status under Cao Cao would rise with the tide.

The future was promising.

"Hmm..."

Cao Cao nodded with satisfaction and was about to say something.

"REPORT!!!!!"

At this time, a messenger ran in hurriedly, panting, and reported to Cao Cao: "Reporting to the lord! Urgent news from Yanzhou! Lu Bu, together with Chen Gong, launched a surprise attack on Chenliu 2 days ago. With the support of local noble clans and officials such as Zhang Miao, they easily took the entire territory of Chenliu, most of Yingchuan, and Dingtao and Liang Kingdom have all fallen and fallen into Lu Bu's hands;"

"Lord Xun Yu, together with General Xiahou Dun and others, are retreating steadily and have to retreat to Dong Commandery;"

"Lord Xun Yu urgently ordered this subordinate to inform the lord to lead the army back to Yanzhou with all speed, it brooks no delay!"

After speaking, the messenger held a letter and fainted directly to the ground.

Cao Cao's brain felt like it had exploded, leaving a blank space.