The Han Dynasty had a vast territory, but although it occupied a very large area, it did not mean that these places were generally prosperous.

In this era, the most prosperous areas were naturally in the Central Plains and Hebei. These two areas were the core areas of the Han Dynasty's economy, people's livelihood, etc. It can even be said that these two areas were the core of the Han Dynasty.

In comparison, the south does not receive so much attention - just look at the division of states and counties in the Han Dynasty and you will know that a place as big as the north is divided into more than ten states, while an equally large place in the south is divided into only three or four states.

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Among them, Jiaozhou, Yangzhou and other areas under their jurisdiction are almost equivalent to two or three northern states. If you take a quick look, you would think that working in these two places would be awesome, but in reality? Those two places were very important to the people of the Han Dynasty.

It is said that it is no different from the bitter cold land outside the Great Wall, they are both barren lands.

Coupled with the continuous high mountains and hills there, and the local indigenous people living in the mountains, the imperial court's control over the south was very weak. Even many areas controlled by the Han Dynasty did not obey the Han Dynasty at all.

Aboriginal settlement by dynastic decree.

At the same time, the population in the south is much smaller than that in the north. Except for the areas along the Yangtze River, there are very few people in the high mountains in the south - despite the size of the area, most of it is actually wasteland.

Cao Cao looked at this map and found that there were still large tracts of land in the southwest. Although he didn't know what the situation was like in the areas further south under the jurisdiction of the Nanman, he felt that the southwest was already rough enough. Wouldn't it be even worse if it went south?

Bad? Compared with the places controlled by the Han Dynasty, although there are many problems that are difficult to deal with, if you really make up your mind to move some refugees there and then develop them vigorously, it is more cost-effective than attacking the southwest.

"Is it possible that His Majesty asked me to govern the south?"

His expression changed for a while, but he soon felt that this idea was too unreliable. After much deliberation, the most likely option was to let himself lead troops to conquer more lands.

Seeing Cao Cao standing there silently for a long time, Liu Xuan knew that he himself couldn't understand, so he pointed to the northeast of the Han Dynasty: "Mengde, why bother just looking over there? There is also a lot of land and foreign races waiting for you here."

To conquer."

Why is General Zhengxi valued so much by Cao Cao? In addition to everyone knowing that there is a large and vast land to the west of the Han Dynasty, it is because the Xiongnu and other foreign tribes who are enemies of the Han are concentrated here. General Zhengxi has been fighting for many years

To prevent the Huns from invading, they naturally have extremely high power and status.

But Liu Xuan reminded Cao Cao... There are foreign races not only in the northwest, but also in the northeast. For example, Wuwan (or Wuhuan) is not much friendlier than the Xiongnu. Gongsun Zan and Wuhuan were in Youzhou.

There were conflicts during the war, and I don’t know how many battles were fought between them.

At the same time, Liu Xuan learned that things were not peaceful in the east of Youzhou. That place was currently the territory of the Goguryeo Dynasty of the Gao family. Liu Xuan had no idea about this dynasty, but he still valued that land.

There are large tracts of land in the north of Youzhou, which people currently think of as a land of barren mountains and rivers, but Liu Xuan knows that the place is actually suitable for people to live, and as long as there are suitable grains, the Northeast will also be a high-yield area of ​​grains.

(Or should we say that as long as there are suitable grain species, any area can become a grain base?).

More importantly, if you capture the Northeast, you can overlook the Korean Peninsula when you go south, and then look at the Japanese islands across the sea. If you go north, you will see the larger and broader Siberian region. At the same time, the Northeast region is not like the grasslands in the north of Bingzhou.

It's easy to lose your way if you rush into a large grassland.

If you rely on the Northeast region and slowly move up, there will be no danger of losing your way. At the same time, the Northeast region is on the seaside and has the foundation to build a city, which provides logistical support. Unlike on the grassland, you need to find cities if you want to build them.

Suitable locations, and these suitable locations may not necessarily be connected in a straight line.

It can be said that Liu Xuan regarded the Northeast as a stepping stone, so he wanted to incorporate that land into his own territory no matter what.

"This place will become the land of the Han Dynasty within twenty years!"

Liu Xuan's circle not only enclosed the Northeast region, but also directly included the Korean Peninsula. Cao Cao looked at it and his ambition burst out: "I will certainly live up to your Majesty's expectations. Within twenty years, I will definitely be called Your Majesty."

Riding your horse and bending your bow in this land!"

What he meant was that Liu Xuan could walk his horse and hunt as he pleased there. This was not just as simple as bringing that area under the control of the Han Dynasty. Cao Cao's words were tantamount to making a promise that within twenty years not only would this area be under his control,

Once the area is conquered, it will be managed in an orderly manner - in a place where the emperor can walk his horse and hunt at will, the minimum safety needs to be guaranteed, right? If it is an important border town, it is absolutely impossible to do those things.

Hearing the subtext in Cao Cao's words, Liu Xuan laughed loudly: "Well, seeing that Meng De has such ambition, I am looking forward to that day."

Throwing away the long stick in his hand, he waved to Cao Bao. The young eunuch immediately bent down to roll up the map, then carried it away and went to put the map away.

However, Cao Cao still looked at the map intently. When Liu Xuan saw it, he asked Cao Cao to sit down and said: "When I leave later, I will ask Cao Bao to give Meng De a smaller map."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Cao Cao was naturally very happy after hearing this. He looked at the world map, and many thoughts suddenly came to his mind, but he had no idea for a while. Unexpectedly, the emperor agreed to give him a map, so he was naturally very happy and prepared to take it back and take a good look at it.

Look, and study it again.

Seeing Cao Cao's happy face, Liu Xuan knew that Cao Cao had finally eliminated all the dissatisfaction in his heart. Then he talked about cultivation matters again, and even asked casually: "Meng De has been practicing for so long.

What tricks have you learned?"

Cao Cao has been following him for the longest time and has been practicing for the longest time. Moreover, Cao Cao's talent is not bad. After practicing for so long, he should have understood the tricks by now. However, Cao Cao has been training his troops and horses, so he has never shown them.

This time when he was talking to Cao Cao alone, Liu Xuan became curious and asked.

"I learned the Divine Sword and Divine Sword Flash!"

When the Divine Sword is used, a long sword condensed with true energy will appear, then it will fly high into the sky and stab down vertically. While stabbing, it will also bring out a small shower of sword rain. The quantity and duration of this 'sword rain' will depend on the number and duration of the 'sword rain'.

It is related to the user's cultivation level. The Divine Sword Flash adds two more identical attacks to the Divine Sword.

"Oh? Two moves?"

Liu Xuan didn't expect Cao Cao to understand the two moves at once, but Divine Sword and Divine Sword Flash are both skills of the same routine, at most one is low-level and one is intermediate, so it is not surprising that Cao Cao understood it.

"In addition, I also learned a domineering move."

This really surprised Liu Xuan. He originally thought that after he took away Cao Cao's Dragon Qi, Cao Cao would not be able to understand the domineering move, because the domineering move requires someone who has been in power for a long time, and the long-term condescension will slowly affect him.

Only one's own true essence can be comprehended. It does not mean that you can use it just because you know the operating theory of this move.

To put it bluntly, it requires a specific amount of true energy, and those with dragon energy naturally have no problem, but Cao Cao...

Liu Xuan could only sigh with emotion: "Sure enough, some people are so domineering because of their innate skills that others cannot envy..."

If you speculate like this, then Liu Bei is more likely to realize domineering than Cao Cao. After all, Cao Cao was intercepted by Liu Xuan before he could get his part of the dragon energy, and Liu Bei allowed it to exist in his body for quite some time, while also

It almost warmed and grew stronger.

"Excalibur!"

Liu Xuan suddenly remembered something and asked Cao Cao: "I heard that Meng De has a sword that he never leaves his hand. Did he bring it with him?"

Cao Cao didn't understand why the topic suddenly jumped to his own sword? But he still answered immediately: "I brought it with me, but..."

Liu Xuan nodded. He naturally understood what was going on - he had to hand in his sword when he went to court and return it to him when he left - he called Zhang Liao in with a loud voice, and after giving instructions for a while, Zhang Liao went on his own.

Get Cao Cao's sword.

"I didn't gain much from slaying Li Jue this time, but I got a few demon swords. Meng De must also know about it."

Of course Cao Cao knew. Just seeing Lu Bu smiling and touching his Fangtian Painted Halberd all day long, Cao Cao even got goosebumps. But he was also a little envious in his heart. He now understood why Lu Bu cared so much about the Fangtian Painted Halberd.

Now - since he realized domineering, he felt that his sword was no longer so handy.

"Heard a little bit!"

He raised his eyes to look at the emperor and thought to himself: "Could it be that the emperor wants to help him solve the weapons problem?"

Just as he was thinking about it, Zhang Liao came in with Cao Cao's sword. He handed it to the emperor respectfully and then stepped aside. Just as he was about to walk away, he saw Liu Xuandao: "Wen Yuan doesn't have to go away, just take a look.

You have to learn this trick too!"

While speaking, he waved his hand and a large group of fragments was suspended in mid-air, floating around Cao Cao.

"choose one!"

Cao Cao didn't know what it meant, so he heard the emperor's words. He turned around and saw that the large fragments looked the same. However, Cao Cao vaguely felt that this selection was very important, so he chose one of them based on his feeling.

Inconspicuous little pieces.

After selecting the fragments, Liu Xuan moved the pile of fragments in front of Zhang Liao and asked him to choose one. After Zhang Liao finished choosing, he put the fragments away again.

"I just happened to teach you two a set of techniques today. With this technique in the future, you will no longer have to worry about weapons. However, Meng De often leads the army, so I will temper this sword for you.

Got it!"

Pulling out the long sword smoothly, he felt a flash of light before his eyes, and the whole room was filled with chills. Liu Xuan took a closer look, and saw the word "Yitian" written on the blade.

"This is the Heavenly Sword!"

Then he took the fragment in Cao Cao's hand and slapped it on the sword blade. The blade of the long sword rippled like water, and the fragment immediately sank into it and disappeared without a trace.

c
Chapter completed!