Chapter 706

But in the pre-Qin era.

Most people's views, including many thinkers among the Hundred Schools of Thought, believed that the enfeoffment system was a matter of course.

Xiang Yu was one of them.

Although he was very powerful, he was not as powerful as Ying Zheng and the Qin State.

At most, he could only be considered the "leading brother" of the various regions in the Central Plains.

And under his command.

Besides Liu Bang.

There were dozens or hundreds of feudal lords, large and small, flying the banners of the remnants of the Six States.

At this time, if Xiang Yu had forcibly killed Liu Bang at the Hongmen Banquet, the consequences would be imaginable in their severity.

Of course, it is not to say that Xiang Yu not killing Liu Bang was a good thing.

Standing from a God's-eye view.

One would indeed feel how good it would have been if Xiang Yu had finished off Liu Bang directly back then.

But Xiang Yu himself did not have a God's-eye view.

He didn't know that Liu Bang would bring him such a great threat later.

Nor did he know that Liu Bang was actually more cunning than he imagined.

Many factors added together led to Xiang Yu's subsequent tragedy.

But when it comes to the fundamental reason why Liu Bang was able to defeat Xiang Yu, besides heavily using Han Xin, Peng Yue, Ying Bu, and others.

More importantly.

Liu Bang united all the remnants of the Six States, which was equivalent to launching another anti-Qin struggle against Xiang Yu.

That is to say, from Liu Bang's perspective.

This time, he became the "leading brother" of the remnants of the Six States.

And Xiang Yu sat in the position of the Qin State.

Then why was Liu Bang able to unite the remnants of the Six States?

Behind this, naturally, was the exchange of interests.

The more successful group of the remnants of the Six States later became the aristocratic families of the Han dynasties.

Of course, this was only an important component of the aristocratic families.

Besides the remnants of the Six States, the descendants of many founding heroes under Liu Bang also became aristocratic families.

The most powerful thing about aristocratic families was not their appeal or political energy.

But their foundation that was deeply rooted in people's hearts!

There is a saying that goes well.

Imperial power does not reach the countryside.

During the feudal dynasty period, the furthest distance imperial power could reach was perhaps the county-level administrative unit.

And below the county-level administrative unit, it was the one-man show of the local gentry.

Then who did the local gentry rely on?

Naturally, the aristocratic masters!

Perhaps, if you grab a random commoner and ask them.

They don't know who the current emperor is.

Nor do they know who the county magistrate is.

But they definitely know which family is the most powerful in the county!

This is the most terrifying part of aristocratic families!

In the hearts of the common people who had long been oppressed in feudal dynasties, especially those deeply harmed by aristocratic families, in their subconscious, they had long regarded aristocratic families as the upper class that should naturally be above them.

As the saying goes.

If you want to defeat the enemy, you first need to not be afraid.

The common people's fear of aristocratic families had long reached the point of being deeply rooted in their hearts.

Under such circumstances, how could they possibly rise up to resist the aristocratic families?

And this was exactly where Sima Fang's confidence lay.

Fear is contagious.

In his eyes, the common people were still dogs that could be summoned or dismissed at will.

Don't look at how powerful Gu Yi is now.

But the influence of aristocratic families, for hundreds of years, how could it be eliminated so easily?

After listening to what his father said.

Sima Yi walked out with a look of doubt.

Actually, he really wanted to remind Sima Fang of one thing.

Within Gu Yi's territory, those aristocratic families that did not cooperate actively and resisted him had now basically been wiped out completely.

Even if a small portion remained, they were keeping their tails tucked between their legs.

Although it was said that the appeal of aristocratic families was indeed unparalleled.

But that also required someone to lead it!

Damn it, there were no aristocratic families left in Gu Yi's territory.

How could they still force those commoners to join the camp of the aristocratic families?

But... due to inertia of thinking and his past trust in his father Sima Fang's divine calculations, Sima Yi ultimately did not voice the doubts in his heart.

Soon.

Half a month passed quietly.

During this half month, Cao Cao stepped up the pace of training soldiers.

Although holding the Buddha's feet temporarily could indeed play a certain role.

But more importantly, when holding the Buddha's feet, you have to hold the right one!

Most of the soldiers under Cao Cao, besides those old veterans, were basically able-bodied men recruited through forced conscription.

Although these men were issued new weapons.

This group of men was simply unwilling to accept training properly.

Under such circumstances, how could they really be trained into an elite army?

Moreover, the number of usable people under Cao Cao now was truly extremely scarce.

That group of clan generals in the Cao camp had already become prisoners.

The remaining ones like Li Dian, Man Chong, and others had also surrendered one after another.

Yue Jin had long since died in previous wars.

Looking at the usable people in the camp, there was only Zhu Ling left.

And Zhu Ling was the assistant sent by Yuan Shao to Cao Cao's camp back then.

In original history.

When Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou, Yuan Shao handed 4,000 troops to Zhu Ling, letting him support Cao Cao.

But this person Zhu Ling had his own ideas.

Originally, his status in Yuan Shao's camp was actually quite high.

It could be said to be second only to Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Chunyu Qiong.

Even vaguely above Zhang He, Gao Lan, and others.

But this guy Zhu Ling felt in his heart that there was no great future in following Yuan Shao.

So, he decided to take a different path.

When Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou, his strength was not yet as strong as Yuan Shao's.

After the Battle of Xuzhou, the loss of troops was extremely severe.

The self-clever Zhu Ling decided to take the 4,000 troops and stay in Cao Cao's camp permanently, instead of returning to Yuan Shao.

He believed that his act of sending charcoal in snowy weather would definitely move Cao Cao.

Thereby making Cao Cao trust and heavily use him.

But the reality was seriously inconsistent with his imagination.