If Hangu Pass still plays a role, then the geographical advantage of Hongnong County will be very obvious.
However, both Hangu Pass in the Qin Dynasty and Hangu Pass in the Han Dynasty have lost the geographical advantage of natural danger.
Even if the troops were stationed at Hangu Pass, the Kwantung Army could easily bypass it.
The establishment of Hongnong County was mainly to make up for the loss of use of Hangu Pass.
However, compared with the city and the pass, the strategic value of the two is completely different.
The previous Hangu Pass could cut off the road between Guandong and Guanzhong, and could stop the millions of troops from Guandong, making them sigh at the pass.
However, Hongnong County cannot do this. As long as the city is surrounded, the Kwantung army can still continue to advance westward.
Therefore, Liu Zhang's future territorial boundary will definitely stop at Tongguan.
In this way, only a small number of troops are needed to perfectly ensure the security of Guanzhong.
In a certain sense, it can speed up the recovery in Guanzhong.
Compared with Liu Zhang who was indifferent to Hongnong County, Xun You showed that he regarded it as a treasure.
"Master, isn't it always a headache that there is no population in Guanzhong?"
"Cao Cao gave Hongnong County to the lord, wouldn't the population increase?"
Liu Zhang nodded with some understanding. It turned out that this was what Xun You was referring to.
"Gongda, there aren't many people in Hongnong County itself, right?"
Liu Zhang remembered very clearly that at its peak, the population of Hongnong County did not exceed 200,000.
Even if some of the population flowed into Hongnong County before, I'm afraid there won't be much left.
After all, Luoyang in Yin, Henan is the destination for these people who fled to Hongnong County.
Xun You was not swayed by Liu Zhang's doubts. He was still in a state of surprise.
"My lord, although Hongnong County is small, it is still a piece of meat!"
"And don't forget, my lord, there is a big piece of fat in the north of Hongnong County!"
That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that!
Liu Zhang exclaimed and suddenly realized what he was doing.
I finally understood why Xun You was so surprised.
Hongnong County is adjacent to Hedong County, with only the Yellow River separating them.
The entire northern and eastern parts of Hadong County are surrounded by mountains, and roads are almost cut off.
Therefore, although it is connected to Bingzhou, the road is not smooth.
The origin of the name Hedong County also comes from the east of the Yellow River.
The entire Hedong County is adjacent to Hongnong County in the south and Zuofengyi in the east, but they are both divided by the Yellow River.
It is also because of the Yellow River that Hedong County became an independent plain.
Although the northeastern part of Hedong County is blocked by mountains, the southwest part is only protected by the Yellow River. After crossing the Yellow River, there is an endless plain!
At present, Liu Zhang does not lack territory, and the Guanzhong Plain is countless times larger than Hedong.
But Guanzhong lacks population, and Hedong County can just make up for it!
There are 20 counties in Hedong County, with a population of nearly 600,000!
Liu Zhang was pleasantly surprised, but also a little worried.
"Back then, the Baibo Army claimed to have 100,000 troops, but I don't know what the situation in Hedong is now..."
Hedong County was once affected by the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and the White Wave Army formed by the remnants of the Yellow Turbans was active in Hedong.
Although the White Wave Army has been destroyed now, it took eight years from their formation to their demise.
If a bandit organization exists for eight years, it will definitely cause a lot of trouble.
It would be meaningless if Hedong County had as few people as Guanzhong.
Xun You was in high spirits and not worried about what Liu Zhang said.
"My lord, please rest assured. After Bai Bo was destroyed, Cao Cao deliberately released Qing Zhuang back to his hometown in order to rely on Hedong to contain Bingzhou."
"Today's Hedong County is definitely not as good as before, but with the exiled people in Guanzhong, there should be hundreds of thousands of people!"
Liu Zhang nodded, he naturally hoped so.
The greater the population of Hedong County, the more conducive it is to the development of Guanzhong.
"I didn't expect Cao Cao to be so generous and directly gave us two counties!"
Xun You disagreed and had no intention of thanking Cao Cao.
"My lord, by exchanging two counties for three states, Cao Cao got a big advantage!"
"Especially Hedong County. Cao Cao gave it to us, which is equivalent to allowing us to contain Yuan's army in Bingzhou from the flanks."
How can there be any good things like pie in the sky in this world?
All gifts have a very obvious purpose.
If Liu Zhang is like this, Cao Cao will definitely be like this.
"Hmph, thief Cao has a beautiful idea!"
Liu Zhang snorted coldly, how could he let Cao Cao do what he wanted.
"We moved all the people from Hedong County and Hongnong County to Guanzhong!"
"This will not only reassure Yuan Shao to fight with Cao Cao, but also reassure Cao Cao that we will not take the opportunity to make a sneak attack."
In the battle between the Central Plains and Hebei, Liu Zhang was destined to be powerless.
Rather than being used by others, it is better to use all conditions to allow Cao Cao and Yuan Shao to fight with peace of mind.
Liu Zhang didn't believe it. Yuan Shao relied on Bingzhou, Youzhou, and half of Jizhou, and he couldn't cause any trouble to Cao Cao without having any worries.
If both sides suffer losses, it will be the best outcome for Liu Zhang.
"My lord's brilliant plan!"
Deng Zhi's eyes were filled with surprise, and he greatly praised Liu Zhang's strategy.
Occupying Hedong County and Hongnong County will not only lengthen one's defense line, but will also be feared by Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.
Now that he has decided to give up these two counties, all the initiative has been taken back into his own hands.
As soon as he finished speaking, Deng Zhi seemed to have thought of something, and the smile on his face gradually turned into sadness.
"My lord, it may not be easy to move the population of Hedong County..."
Although the people of Hedong County live in the plains, they are still very different from other counties.
Here is the Yellow River and high mountains, so access is not very convenient.
If the population is forcibly relocated, it will not only cause public dissatisfaction, but also cause innocent casualties.
"Hahaha...!"
Unexpectedly, after Deng Zhi expressed his worries, Liu Zhang actually laughed.
"Lord, this...?"
Deng Zhi touched his ears in embarrassment. The burst of laughter made him confused.
"Haha, Bo Miao doesn't know something! It might be difficult for other counties, but Hedong County...hehehe!"
Liu Zhang looked confident, as if this matter was easy for him.
Deng Zhi didn't know why and turned to look at Xun You.
He wanted to see what Xun You thought of Liu Zhang's confidence.
The result made Deng Zhi even more shocked!
I saw Xun You nodding to Liu Zhang, the corners of his mouth raised, showing uncontrollable joy.
"What my lord said is absolutely true!"
"Looks like we need our old friend to appear again!"
"Old friend?"
Deng Zhi murmured to himself and suddenly understood something.
It seems that all Liu Zhang’s confidence in Hedong County comes from the ‘old friend’ Xun You calls him!