Yuan Xi looked innocent, while Guo Jia held up a roll of bamboo slips angrily, trembling with anger.
A scroll of bamboo slips contains nearly a hundred bamboo strips, and on each bamboo strip, there is an extremely troublesome question written on it!
He angrily threw the bamboo slip in front of Yuan Xi: "Can I still owe you this thing?"
"It's your own fault if you don't ask, what does it have to do with me?"
"I haven't been back for more than half a month, so why don't you bring me this? Do you think it's a gift?"
"No one gives gifts like you!"
"What kind of problem is this?"
“Where can I find iron ore in Zhuo County?”
"How to let the Montenegrin army deal with the Southern Huns?"
“Why do some rice plants degenerate into weeds?”
"Do you think I don't know everything?"
Yuan Xi discovered that half of a good-looking face quietly appeared at the door of the back room. This was the concubine Guo Jia had taken in, and she had paid one question a day in exchange for it.
This deal seemed like a good deal at the time, but Guo Jia is probably regretting it now.
Yuan Xi said with a smile: "Isn't this a brainstorming exercise? I want to see what Mr. Wang's opinions are on these matters."
What worries him recently is that just one Zhuo County does not have enough resources.
Take iron ore as an example. There is only a small iron ore in Zhuo County with very little output.
Among the large iron mines, the one closest to Zhuojun is in the Zhongshan Kingdom in Jizhou, near Peiping, and only a hundred miles away from Beixin City.
But it happens to be in Jizhou, where Yuan Shang is now in charge, and is often harassed by Black Mountain bandits, and Yuan Xi does not expect to get any profit from them.
There is a large mine in Yuyang County, Youzhou, but unfortunately there is Guangyang County between it and Zhuo County.
At that time, a major factor restricting the combat effectiveness of the army was the quality of weapons.
At least in the late Spring and Autumn Period, the technology of block iron making and carburizing steel appeared. One of the steel daggers unearthed from a Chu tomb was forged from seven to nine layers of iron, but it was probably quite valuable and was not popularized.
By the early Warring States Period, large quantities of steel long swords had appeared, evolving from the decorative and self-defensive daggers of the Spring and Autumn Period into practical weapons that were equipped in large quantities with the army, and were extremely lethal and offensive.
However, the proportion of iron soldiers during this period was far less than that of bronze soldiers. Although Qin, which finally unified the six kingdoms, had a small number of iron soldiers, bronze soldiers still dominated.
The reason is not only the relative technical troubles, but also the lack of production.
Until the Western Han Dynasty, the development of the iron smelting industry and the advancement of steel forging technology provided sufficient conditions for the development of steel weapons.
The Han court's special weapons manufacturing policy, the establishment of the Chang'an arsenal, and the iron official monopoly system that began with Emperor Wu effectively promoted and guaranteed the development of the steel weapons manufacturing industry.
But even so, by the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were still many bronze swords after the army. Iron was still a relatively valuable resource, especially agricultural tools and household appliances, which were still mostly bronze.
Therefore, finding an iron mine is very important for local development. What Yuan Xi regrets now is that he did not know much about the location of ancient iron mines in his previous life.
He only remembered that he had read the "Book of Mountains and Seas·Zhongshan Jing" before, which recorded that there were dozens of iron mines in the world, and there was a large mine in Xuzhou Liguo.
It is mainly iron, with associated copper, cobalt, gold, silver and other associated ores. It contains rich high-copper magnet ore and high-copper hematite rich ore, and the shallow burial conditions are very suitable for mining and iron-making. This is why Xuzhou is rich.
a factor.
Yuan Xi was very envious, Xuzhou is a good place!
However, Yuan Xi himself is not very envious of Liu Bei in Xuzhou, because there is news from the south that Liu Bei is in a very bad situation now.
Yuan Tan clashed with the Taishan bandits in Qingzhou. The Taishan bandits were blocked from the north, and many of them went south to plunder and entered Xuzhou.
On the Xuzhou side, because Yuan Shu could not open up a situation in Yuzhou, he turned to attack Yangzhou. At the same time, he went north to covet Xuzhou. He heard that he sent several generals and had a conflict with Liu Bei.
What made Yuan Xi even more uneasy was that Cao Cao, who coveted Xuzhou the most, seemed to have no movement.
This must be abnormal. Until a few days ago, spies from Yecheng came to the news that Lu Bu seemed to have joined forces with Yuan Shu!
Yuan Shu and Lu Bu joined forces at this time, which was somewhat beyond Yuan Xi's expectation. According to his thinking, Lu Bu only had the conditions to join forces with Yuan Shu in order to defend against Cao Cao after he stabbed Liu Bei in the back and captured Xuzhou.
At the time before that, Lu Bu was in Chenliu County, Yanzhou. According to what his horseman Hidden Tiger had said, he went west to attack Sili and occupied several cities in Yin, Henan.
This is in line with Yuan Xi's expectation. In the next step, Lu Bu can open up Hanoi County and get close to Shangdang County in Bingzhou.
In this case, Yuan Xi can find a way to use Lu Bu to suppress the Black Mountain Army and the Southern Xiongnu in the three counties of Yanmen Taiyuan Shangdang in Bingzhou, and eventually border Youzhou.
In this way, it will not only block Cao Cao's route to welcome the Han Emperor, but also create a buffer barrier for Youzhou. It is not impossible for Yuan Xi and Lu Bu to join forces to do something.
The idea is good, but there are many problems in operation.
Just like now, Lu Bu's Chen Liu and Yuan Shu's territory are still separated by the Chen country, so why did they unite?
etc!
Yuan Xi suddenly thought of an extremely terrifying fact, and he became increasingly unsure, so he said to Guo Jia: "I don't need to ask these questions for the time being. I only ask one question today."
He told Guo Jia the news of Lu Bu and Yuan Shu's alliance, as well as his conjecture, and finally said: "Your hometown is in Yingchuan, adjacent to Chenliu and Chen State. If something happens, I'm afraid your hometown will be affected.
"
After hearing this, Guo Jia's face changed several times, and he lowered his head in thought.
After a while, he raised his head and said: "The young master's idea is indeed very possible."
"On the surface, Lu Bu is united with Yuan Shu, but privately he is probably in contact with Chen Guo and even Cao Cao!"
Yuan Xi originally had some vague ideas, but Guo Jia reacted quickly and pointed them out so clearly that he couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
If the alliance between Lu Bu and Yuan Shu is inevitable, Yuan Xi can still accept it, but if Cao Cao is involved, the situation will be completely different!
If these parties really join forces, wouldn't this be like shooting themselves in the foot and simply trapping themselves in a cocoon?
But it's really possible when you think about it. Lu Bu and Cao Cao are now restraining each other. If they want to expand in another direction, they will definitely worry about backstabbing from the rear. At this time, peace talks are the best option at the moment.
But in this case, Lu Bu is fine, but Cao Cao's direction is likely to be Liu Bei, and this will be troublesome.
There is another variable in the middle, Chen Guo.
Chen Guojun Liu Chong and Prime Minister Luo Jun were supposed to be assassinated by Zhang Kai sent by Yuan Shu in history, but Zhang Kai was shot to death by Yuan Xi in Feixian County. Naturally, they would not have died in Zhang Kai's assassination, so Yuan Shu
The response will also change at the same time.
Yuan Xi had a headache. The forces of the Three Kingdoms were a mess. It was by no means a simple matter of standing in one line to the end. The only way for the princes to survive was to annex if they were strong and to unite if they were weak. No one was stupid.
He said to Guo Jia: "In your opinion, sir, how can we sow discord between these parties?"
After hearing this, Guo Jia sneered: "You really know how to worry about it. Youzhou is so far away from Yanzhou. What can you do and what benefits can you get?"
Yuan Xi thought to himself that he could not tell Guo Jia that he had made arrangements in advance to prevent Cao Cao from coercing the emperor to order the princes. This matter had not yet been revealed.
He could only say: "I suspect Cao Cao is plotting against Yecheng."
What he said is well founded.
There were two introductions to the Battle of Guandu in later generations. What subverts most people's perceptions is that both events were initiated by Cao Cao.
First, Cao Cao took the lead in occupying Hanoi County and surrounded Jizhou's retreat.
The second was a sneak attack on Yecheng.
"Xiandi Chunqiu": He led the army to build a river, with the pretense of helping Shao, but actually planned to attack Ye, thinking that Zan would help him. Hui Zan was destroyed, Shao also realized it, retreated with his army, and garrisoned in Aocang.
"Zhang Fanzhuan of the Three Kingdoms": At that time, Taizu was about to conquer Jizhou. (Yuan) Shu asked again: "Now Duke Cao wants to use thousands of soldiers to defeat hundreds of thousands of people. He is overestimating his strength! Why do you do this?"
When Yuan Shao attacked Gongsun Zan, Cao Cao wanted to sneak attack Yecheng first, but Yuan Shao discovered it, so Yuan Shao destroyed Gongsun Zan and quickly retreated, forcing Cao Cao to retreat. Then Yuan Shao sent people to question Cao Cao about this matter.
This was the direct cause of the outbreak of the Battle of Guandu the following year.
It can also be highlighted here that Cao Cao will never miss any opportunity and dares to attack even when he is at a disadvantage, instead of just waiting for the opponent to attack.
The so-called war is not launched when one is ready, but launched at the most appropriate time.
In contrast, Yuan Shao, who had an advantage in military strength, was conservative and passive in the Battle of Guandu, so that Cao Cao found a flaw and made great achievements in one fell swoop.
Attack is always the best defense. Only when the enemy is too tired to deal with it will he be unable to take action against you.
Cao Cao is indeed a master. As soon as Yuan Xi left Jizhou, he took advantage of him. Now that he has made friends with Lu Bu and Yuan Shu, relying on Yuan Shao not to fall out with him, he began to plot against Xuzhou.
Xuzhou is indeed a hot potato, and it is not easy for anyone to hold it, but if it is placed in Cao Cao's hands, it will be the worst case scenario.
In this way, Hanoi, Yanzhou, and Xuzhou formed a line, and the south of the Yellow River was occupied by Cao Cao. He could advance, attack, retreat, or defend.
But Yuan Shao is different. His base camp Yecheng is too close to the Yellow River defense line and will be threatened at all times.
If Yuan Shao is defeated, Yuan Xi can only do nothing in Youzhou, and he will still make the same mistakes in history.
That's why he came to Guo Jia eagerly to think of a way to break the situation.
Guo Jia snorted: "I have finished asking questions for today!"
Yuan Xi said with a shy face: "Then let's count it as tomorrow, and the previous problems will be wiped out."
Guo Jia still couldn't help but refuse Yuan Xi, and thought for a long time before saying: "Now that Gongsun Zan is firmly defending Yi Jing, it is impossible to go east to plot Fan Yang and Yu Yang before attacking and destroying him."
"If Yijing is captured in the future, the young master will occupy Yuyang and control the sea route, and from Bohai County in Jizhou to Qingzhou, it will be helpful to Xuzhou, but it is obviously impossible now, and we can only rely on Liu Bei to support it."
"What needs to be guarded against right now is the Black Mountain Army entrenched in Bingzhou."
When Yuan Xi heard this, he wondered: "The Black Mountain Army is hiding in the Taihang Mountains. It's hard to find them, let alone fighting. How can we deal with them?"
There is basis for what he said. During his three years in Beixin City, Yuan Shao personally led the army and spent half of the time fighting the Black Mountain Army, but in the end he could only push it back and could not eliminate it.
Guo Jia said: "It will still fall on Lu Bu to completely eliminate the Black Mountain bandits."