My lord is right." Guo Jia nodded: "It's clear what Yuan Benzhu's intentions are, so what are the pros and cons for my lord?"
What are the pros and cons for me?
Wang Zheng thought for a moment and then laughed, "I am naturally happy to see this happen. I would even raise my hands to welcome it." Then he suddenly realized, "I understand what you mean."
Lu Su had previously analyzed the current situation in the world. For the current king's government, the best thing is to be in the east of the Yangtze River. When the heroes in the north have not yet decided the winner, he will take the opportunity to eliminate Huang Zu, attack Liu Biao, and try his best to occupy the south of the Yangtze River.
All places.
To put it bluntly, it is just to let others do the snipe and clam fight, fight to the death, and let him grow steadily and be the fisherman who is ready to take advantage.
But the problem is that Wang Zheng is not the only one who wants to watch the fire from the other side and make a fortune silently.
Cao Cao thought so too.
This is also the reason why when he saw that Yuan Shao was dissatisfied, he took the initiative to give up the "General" given by Emperor Xian to Yuan Shao and took charge of Sikong himself. Soon after, Emperor Xian would officially appoint Yuan Shao to oversee Ji, Qing, You, and the four provinces.
It can be regarded as official recognition of the other party's rule over these four states.
Now that they have the trump card of Emperor Zhengshuo, why does Cao Cao keep giving in when facing Yuan Shao?
On the one hand, the strength is currently not as good as the latter, and the chance of winning head-on is very slim. In this case, I have to swallow my anger. To put it mildly, it means to endure the humiliation and bear the burden.
On the other hand, of course, Wang Zheng has been making troubles in the south in the past few years, which can be said to be prosperous. Cao Cao naturally does not want the fight between himself and Yuan Shao to escalate, causing both sides to suffer losses. Wouldn't this be an advantage to his son?
In the original history, on the one hand, it was Cao Cao's tolerance and on the other hand, Gongsun Zan's unexpected firmness, which always held back Yuan Shao from going south. This gave him a certain amount of time to develop his power. In the third year of Jian'an and the fourth year of Jian'an,
, and did several major events, such as capturing Lu Bu and conquering Xuzhou, recovering Zang Ba and sending him to Qingzhou, attacking Nanyang three times and four times, and finally conquering Zhang Xiu before the Battle of Guandu.
The capture of Xuzhou increased Cao Cao's power. Zhang Xiu led Nanyang Jujun to surrender, which solved his worries. Sending Zang Ba to Qingzhou was a check on Yuan Tan. It can be said that it was in these few years that
Cao Cao has been working hard to narrow the strength gap with Yuan Shao and make full preparations for the upcoming battle to determine the ownership of the North.
But now everything has changed.
Compared with the original history, Gongsun Zan's defeat was a full two years earlier. As for Xuzhou, it fell into the hands of Wang Zheng. The strength gap between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao is naturally greater now than during the Battle of Guandu!
The current situation is that Wang Zheng wants Yuan Shao to fight Cao Cao, and Cao Cao wants Yuan Shao to fight Wang Zheng. As for Yuan Shao, naturally both of them want to deal with it, but it is still a matter of deliberation who will suffer his iron fist of justice first.
But what if Yuan Shao becomes emperor?
For Wang Zheng, this actually doesn't matter. His current strategic policy is still to try to unify Yangzhou first and then move south to Jingzhou, but this is not the case for Cao Cao.
Once Yuan Shao proclaims himself emperor, he will no longer be able to ignore it, let alone continue to sit idly by!
Because there are no two days in the sky and no two masters in the country!
Once a second "Emperor" appears, the legitimacy and legitimacy of the Han Dynasty will be reduced with each passing day. Similarly, the value of serving the emperor in Cao Cao's hands will also continue to be lost. Once the moral high ground is lost,
Without the legitimacy it should have had, there would be no capital to compete with Yuan Shao.
After some reminders from Guo Jia, Wang Zheng finally realized what he was doing. He gave up the jade seal passed down from the imperial family. On the surface, it was to favor Yuan Shao, but in fact it was to intensify the conflict between Yuan and Cao.
"If Yuan Shao gets the jade seal but doesn't proclaim himself emperor immediately, then won't I lose my wife?" Halfway through, he realized that the allusion had not yet appeared, so he quickly changed his words: "Stealing the chicken will lose the rice?" The latter
Maybe it didn't appear, but it was easier to understand. It was expected that Guo Jia and others would understand the meaning as soon as they heard it.
"Stealing the chicken will end up losing the rice."
Guo Jia smiled slightly, "Although these words are simple, they are very reasonable. It can be said to be a shot in the arm."
There is blood, but my lord does not need to worry about it. As long as the jade seal falls into Yuan Shao's hands, he will not proclaim himself emperor for the time being. In order to maintain the integrity of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao will definitely take action."
Seeing that Wang Zheng didn't react for a moment, Guo Jia explained: "My lord, please don't forget that this jade seal originally belonged to the Liu family. When it was in Yuan Shu's hands, the imperial court never asked for it. Firstly, there was turmoil in the pass and there was no time to take care of it. Secondly,
He also knew that Yuan Shu was very ambitious and that even asking for it would be useless, so he gave up.
"Now it is different. The emperor and the imperial court have moved to Xu County in recent years. It is much more stable than before. At this time, both Emperor Xian and Cao Cao are eager to increase the legitimacy of their orthodoxy. If they learn about the death of the jade seal at this time,
What will you do if you fall into Yuan Shao's hands?"
Guo Jiadao said: "When Lu Bu first came to Xuzhou, Cao Cao sent his envoy Dong Zhao to grant his lord the position of Xuzhou Mu, and secretly wrote it in a book, instructing him to kill Lu Bu. If I expected it to be true, it must have been Xun Wenruo's plan, and Xuzhou was to be killed.
It is used as bait to provoke two tigers to compete for food. As the saying goes, it is disrespectful to come and not return. The lord should return the favor and give Yuan Shao the imperial seal, and then publicize it."
"Let everyone know about this!"
Zhang Zhao said: "In this case, in order to maintain the integrity of the imperial court, Cao Cao must ask Yuan Shao for the jade seal, and Yuan Benchu will definitely not be willing to do so. He will not proclaim himself emperor for the time being. If he refuses to return the jade seal to the court,
It is also true that he is arrogant and gives others a handle!"
"This is a conspiracy!"
After thinking silently for a moment, Wang Zheng nodded slowly and said: "In this way, the conflict between the two parties will not only further intensify, but will also surface. Even if they do not engage in fighting for the time being, they will definitely be suspicious of each other and take precautions. In the short term, we will not
We need to consider the threat of the Jizhou Army going south."
"That's right." Guo Jia looked at Wang Zheng with a smile, cupped his hands and said, "That's why I suggested that the Lord agree to Yuan Fang's request."
"If you say "Feng Xiao", I have no reason not to accept it." Wang Zheng had never attached too much importance to the imperial seal. The reason why he was unwilling before was simply because he was dissatisfied with Yuan Fang's domineering attitude. But now it is different: "
It’s just that I had previously made an excuse that the jade seal was still in the hands of the Sun family, but now.”
"This is easy to handle." Guo Jia said with a smile: "Then my lord will tell Mr. Yuan that he will attack Wu County in the near future, and then he will hand over the jade seal."
"certainly."
Having said this, Guo Jia paused and said, "Just like what Mr. Mi said just now, the jade seal passed down to the country is so precious, and there is no reason to give it away for nothing."
Wang Zheng was startled when he heard this, and when he saw Guo Jia's eyes flashing with wisdom, he suddenly came to his senses and nodded repeatedly: "Not bad, not bad."
"As it should be!"
Three days later, Wang Zheng summoned Yuan Fang again and took the initiative to tell him the results of his discussions with the ministers.
Of course, the rhetoric has changed a bit.
"Mr. Yuan is an important minister of the emperor and a famous family for many generations. As the saying goes, destiny is impermanent and only the virtuous will live in it. If you are lucky enough to find a sacred artifact like the national jade seal, you should enshrine it in front of Yuan Gong's case."
After finishing the scene, he went straight to the point: "In the past few days, I have thought clearly. Although our army has just experienced a big battle and all three armies are exhausted, in order to avoid long nights and dreams, we should conquer Wu County as soon as possible so that we can find more jade seals.
The certainty of it.”
In fact, neither Yuan Fang nor the people of Jizhou care whether or not Wang Zheng attacks Wu County, because they have no direct interest relationship with them.
But since the other party insists that the imperial seal is still in the hands of the Sun family of Wujun, the "Wujun" in his mouth naturally means something else.
Although Yuan Fang was young, the city was very deep. He knew the elegant meaning of the song when he heard it. At this time, he heard some of the meaning, and immediately asked with a smile: "Then Zhou Mu has made a plan?"
"If you want to conquer Wu Commandery, you must first capture Danyang. Danyang has many fortified cities and many Shanyue forces. If you want to conquer it smoothly and smoothly, a rough calculation will require at least 20,000 to 30,000 troops and horses."
Wang Zheng said seriously: "Based on the fact that our existing army in Shouchun is only 50,000, it is obvious that these more than 50,000 people cannot be sent out, and at least 30,000 must be left to guard the place. Based on this calculation, my Shouchun
The actual usable army is actually not
With more than 20,000 troops, I am afraid it will be difficult to defeat Jiangyou with these troops, so I have an idea."
When Yuan Fang heard this, he actually wanted to retort: When Sun Ce conquered all four counties, and his father Yu Yin's power was so great, didn't you, Wang Yukou, just bring 20,000 horses to confront him head-on?
Why is Shanyue now saying that 20,000 troops are not enough?
Of course, after all, these can only be complained secretly, but he asked cooperatively: "What do you think?"
Wang Zheng glanced at Yuan Fang and said with a smile: "Young master came all the way from Jizhou. I wonder if you passed by Qingzhou and entered Linzi on the way?"
"Uh." Yuan Fang didn't know why Wang Zheng suddenly changed his subject. He was silent for a moment and then nodded.
"I once had the opportunity to see the military appearance of Yuan Jishi (Yuan Tan was designated as the Qingzhou governor at this time). All his troops were young, and their soldiers were elite. They can be said to be brave and good at fighting."
Wang Zheng said with a smile: "If we can get help from Governor Yuan, I will be more certain to conquer Jiangyou earlier. We don't need too many men and horses, five thousand is enough."
Yuan Fang knew that Wang Zhenghui had made conditions, but he never expected that Wang Zhenghui would take the initiative to propose "borrowing troops". He couldn't help but be a little surprised. After all, not long ago, the other party relied on the "false way to destroy Guo" to seize Jiangdong, five thousand
People and horses are said to be too many but not too much, and too little is not too much.
He coughed dryly and asked in a deep voice: "What does Zhou Mu mean? That means that as long as the second brother can send troops to help you conquer the four counties in Jiangdong, the imperial seal will be entrusted to the general?"
Wang Zheng smiled, nodded and said: "If Governor Yuan can dispatch five thousand tigers and soldiers, it will be as long as half a month or as short as ten days. Then the two parties can coordinate to fight. At that time, it is the end of the year and the dead of winter, although it is unfavorable to fight.
, but it is also difficult to escape. The defenders of Danyang and Wu Commandery probably would never have thought that they would mobilize their troops at this time. If they were caught by surprise, they would be able to achieve great success in one fell swoop."
"If we wait until next year, we can only do it after spring plowing. At that time, the enemy will be on guard. Maybe the Sun family will choose to flee after the defeat in Danyang, like that."
Yuan Fang frowned, picked up the tea cup, and took a sip. Does this mean that if Yuan Tan didn't borrow troops, Wang Zheng couldn't guarantee that he would be able to "find" the imperial seal?
After thinking for a while, he suddenly asked: "If the army goes out to Linzi, how to calculate the military pay, food, baggage, etc.?"
Now that he was asked such practical questions, he was initially tempted. Wang Zheng was overjoyed and immediately patted his chest and promised: "Since it is a friendly force helping, of course I, Yangzhou, should be responsible."
"What if there is any damage?"
Wang Zheng was unwilling to take up this topic. If he had to be responsible for any damage, what kind of exchange would it be? He just laughed and said: "The Jizhou Army is the strongest army in the world, and my subordinates are also fierce. Let's work together to defeat the enemy."
If we fight against a group of mountain barbarians, we can say that we have a sure chance of victory. Even if we suffer some losses, I'm sure it won't be too big."
After saying that, he called his personal guards, took out a stack of writings and handed them to Yuan Fang, saying, "Don't worry, sir, we will win this battle. This is a battle plan that was just drawn up by the Bafu under my general in charge of military affairs last night. Please take a look at it, sir."
, you should feel relieved."
Yuan Fang started to look at it and saw that it was written in great detail, which unit, whose camp was the vanguard, which unit, whose camp was the two wings, which unit, whose camp was the rear formation, which unit, which camp was the main force, etc.
, all are very clear and detailed, including main attack, side response, route exploration, and even the supply of food, grass and baggage, cutting off the enemy's retreat, etc., all have been taken into consideration.
After some calculations, as Wang Zheng said, this strategic plan requires at least 20,000 to 30,000 troops. If the plan is implemented, Wu County may be conquered within one or two months.
At this time, Wang Zheng stood up and walked to his side, giving instructions and explaining. What he said was that if the army and horses were really insufficient, how many people could be reduced here, how many people could be reduced here, etc., but even if these less important tasks were eliminated,
Even if the place is streamlined, at least 24,000 to 5,000 people will be needed to barely have enough space.
Yuan Fang was not completely ignorant of military matters. After watching carefully for a moment, he realized that what Wang Zheng said was reasonable, and he couldn't help but make calculations in his mind.
Plans are always just plans. He naturally knew this. Since Wang Zheng asked Yuan Tan to send troops, what tough battles would be needed in the next battle?
These must be made by the Jizhou Army as the main force.
But even so, after careful calculation, it is not unacceptable. To put it bluntly, if Yuan Fang agrees, it means that he has to be mentally prepared for the loss of all five thousand troops. And the essence of this transaction is actually
He also used "five thousand Jizhou troops" to exchange for the national jade seal.
So is this a cost-effective business or a loss-making business?
Yuan Fang pondered for a long time, and finally made a decision. He looked up at Wang Zheng and asked, "In that case, I wonder what Zhou Mu's plan is? Should the second brother send someone to talk to him, or should he go down there for a while?"
Hearing this, Wang Zheng immediately felt certain that Yuan Fang had agreed to the deal, and that the other party could also make the decision.
Otherwise, Wang Zheng should be asked to wait for a few days to give him time to seek Yuan Shao's opinion.