Ever since Cao Cao started his army, what he lacked most was money and food. Without the help of Wei Zi, he would not have been able to survive today. In desperation, Cao Cao even secretly sent troops to pretend to be thieves and robbed the tombs of princes in Qing and Yanzhou.
Take the gold and treasure to pay for the army. Suddenly hearing these remarks, Cao Cao couldn't help but look up and saw that the person speaking was Xun Yu's nephew Xun You. Both of these uncles and nephews were good at strategy, and Cao Cao relied on him as his right-hand man. Listen
After hearing Xun You's words, Cao Cao wondered: "Gongda, if you don't cultivate farming, where will the military resources come from?"
Xun You smiled and said: "It is certainly necessary to develop farming, but the water from afar cannot quench the thirst near you. Now there is a big piece of fat meat delivered to my lord's mouth. Why don't you take a bite?"
Chen Qun, who was standing aside, immediately understood, raised his hands and said, "Could it be that Jingzhou is what Gongda is talking about?"
Xun Yu repeatedly clapped his hands and said: "That's right! Liu Xin went to Sanguan to supervise the war, which proved that the war there was not going well. And Dong Zhuo sent Zhang Ji out of Wuguan. Jingzhou's troops and horses will definitely go to fight against the enemy. Xiangyang will definitely be empty, but the lord can
Send a general to lead the fine cavalry and march directly to Xiangyang."
Xun You further said: "Xiangyang is the richest in the world. If we can attack it, the money and food in the city are piled up like mountains. Even if we can't hold it, the money and food can meet the military needs for five or six years. Moreover, the three hospitals in Xiangyang are famous all over the world, and Xiangzhi
, White porcelain is a specialty there, and it is a God-given opportunity to get it at this time."
Cao Cao's vision is still relatively long-term. He has always focused on developing production and restoring the economy. However, compared with Liu Xin and Ma Yun, he lacks thousands of years of experience. In addition, he has only occupied Qing and Yanzhou for a short time, and is not as good as Liu Xin.
Xin has been operating in Jingzhou for many years and has a deep foundation, so he is always short of money and food.
After listening to the suggestions of Xun You and others, Cao Cao couldn't help but be fascinated. Xiangyang is a treasure land. Not only is there sufficient money and food in the treasury, but also there are many wealthy households. At that time, he will find any excuse to rob hundreds of thousands of houses, not to mention five.
Years of military supplies are enough for ten or twenty years. In addition to these, Liu Xin's three wives, Ma Yun, Bian Yu, and Cai Yan have also been his favorites for a long time. If Xiangyang can be captured, wouldn't they all
Fall into your own pocket?
Cao Cao made a quick decision, stood up and said to everyone: "Okay! I will follow your words and send troops to attack Xiangyang."
Xun Yu stood up and said, "My lord, my subordinates have another plan that will make it difficult for Liu Xin to take care of him! Since Wang Yun has sent a letter to escort the emperor to Luoyang, lord, why don't you ask for some imperial edicts from the emperor?"
Cao Cao asked in confusion: "Oh, what does Wen Ruo mean?"
Xun Yu continued: "My lord, my plan is to obey the emperor's order to disobey the ministers, and to mobilize all the princes in the world to plot against Liu Xin! You can send an edict to Yuan Shu, asking him to send troops to Jiangxia. An edict to Yan Baihu of Yuzhang,
Doesn't he claim to be the King of Eastern Wu? Then make him a Marquis of Wu and order him to send troops to attack Changsha. In this way, Liu Xin and Dong Zhuo are in a stalemate in Sanguan and Wuguan, and they are attacked by me from three sides. Why worry?
Is he undefeated?”
Cao Cao laughed loudly and said: "Mr. Wen Ruo really has a clever plan. If Liu Xin can be defeated, I will be the first to take credit!"
Xun You cupped his hands and said: "My lord, wait a minute, we need to send another edict to Yuan Shao in Hebei, granting him the position of general and ordering him to send troops to conquer Gongsun Zan. In this way, Yuan Shao will be famous and will definitely use all his strength to deal with Gongsun Zan.
, and we don’t have to worry about Yuan Shao stabbing us in the back, so we don’t have to worry about being attacked from both sides.”
Cao Cao looked at these capable ministers who tried their best to advise him, and then at the generals who were gearing up. It was with the help of these people that he could rise to dominate the two states in just a few years.
When the princes of the party saw them, Cao Cao became more confident in taking Xiangyang and said with enthusiasm: "Okay, with your help, there's no need to worry about the big thing not happening!"
However, once the big strategy is finalized, there are still many details to be dealt with before it is actually implemented. Liu Xie is not yet under Cao Cao's control, and asking him to issue an edict still needs to go through Wang Yun's hands. It will inevitably take a lot of talking to dissuade Wang.
Yun and others have doubts. It will take some time for these edicts to be transferred to the hands of the princes, and the princes must communicate with each other to choose the best time to send troops. As for how to re-divide interests after Liu Xin is eliminated, now
It's not time to discuss yet, but Cao Cao must first come up with an intentional plan in order to better convince the princes to stand in the same camp as him.
In the past few days, Xiangyang has been more lively than usual, because in a few days, the first imperial examination determined by Liu Xin will begin. This date has been set for a long time, and the reason why it was chosen to be held in summer is because of the hot weather at this time.
, people's clothes are also relatively thin, and it is not easy to carry them away. The imperial examination has not been affected in any way by the ongoing war against Dong. Scholars from Jing and Yi have gathered in Xiangyang, and there are many who rely on their talents.
People were rushing in from other places after getting the news. Of course, Liu Xin deliberately spread the news through newspapers. His goal of recruiting talents was not limited to Jing and Yi, but to the whole world.
As the Minister of Rites and the President of Xiangyang Academy, and Liu Xin’s father-in-law, with multiple titles such as a great writer, a great scholar, and a great calligrapher, Cai Yong became the well-deserved first examiner. He was exiled twice.
In the end, Cai Yong, who was left with no family, never thought that he would be as prosperous as he is today. All this was because he finally chose to stand with Liu Xin. Thinking of his suspicion of Liu Xin in the past, Cai Yong couldn't help but feel guilty.
, and put all their thoughts on this imperial examination, determined to make this examination the most important event in history.
For this imperial examination, Cai Yong mobilized officials from the Ministry of Rites and gentlemen from the academy to prepare for more than a year. He also built a special building for this purpose. Ma Yun named it "Gongyuan".
Cai Yong wrote the plaque in his own hand. All candidates will eat, drink, and sleep in the Gongyuan during the three-day examination. They are not allowed to leave the Gongyuan before handing in their papers.
Different from the imperial examination system of later dynasties, this time the imperial examination is divided into three subjects: civil arts, martial arts, and engineering. The civil and military subjects are easier to understand, but the candidates for the engineering examination are all kinds of people. As long as those with skills go through the county and county levels
Anyone can participate in the selection process. Among the people who can finally come to Gongyuan to take the engineering examination, there are people who do everything. There are traditional craftsmen such as carpenters, plasterers, blacksmiths, and stonemasons. There are also people who can grow flowers, domesticate animals, and even be good at it.
Those who fished, weaved, and farmed were all selected and sent to Xiangyang. Many of these people had not even read a book and did not know how to read. Cai Yong also specially arranged for some scribes to read their dictation
Make some records.
While Xiangyang City was busy preparing for the imperial examination, Lu Bu led the cavalry team of 13,000 people and quietly passed through the gap between Zhao Yun and Zhang He's defense areas. In the era of cold weapons, it was impossible to divide the troops into
If several teams are deployed to defend, it is easy for the enemy to seize the opportunity and eat them one by one. Therefore, the gap between the defense zones is not the fault of Zhao Yun and Zhang He.
Lu Bu always chose to act when there were few people along the way, and set up camp in remote places when there were many people. However, he has now penetrated deep into the hinterland of Jingzhou. Facing the highly developed economy and society in the Jingxiang area, it is almost impossible to completely cover up people's eyes.
An impossible mission. Lu Bu also thought of a countermeasure. He was under the banner of Xu Huang, the First Army Corps. When someone asked about it on the way, he claimed that he was transferred back to Xiangyang from the Sanguan front line to rest.
Although Lu Bu tried every means to avoid marching in crowded places, it didn't take long for these Xiliang troops who pretended to be Xu Huang's army to be exposed. The reason why they were exposed was not because these Xiliang troops regarded looting and oppressing the people as their daily routine.
The soldiers did something illegal that attracted the attention of the local people, but it was for another reason. Lu Bu also knew that Liu Xin's army was strictly disciplined, so he wanted to pretend to be Liu Xin's army, so naturally he also had to behave friendly to the people.
Some. Therefore, before setting off, Lu Bu repeatedly stated the discipline and not to harass the people along the way. Moreover, these soldiers also understood that Xiangyang was extremely wealthy. As long as they captured Xiangyang and grabbed a little bit, it would be enough for them to spend half their lives. Who would care about the journey halfway?
What a small possession.
But Lu Bu did not expect that in Jingzhou, the relationship between the army and the people was so harmonious that he could not understand it. In other places, it would be a blessing if the army did not cause trouble for the people, but in Jingzhou, the people saw their army but
They would all take the initiative to greet the soldiers. Since Lu Bu was flying the banner of Xu Huang, people often sent eggs, cold water and other items to express their condolences to the soldiers along the way. This made the soldiers of the Xiliang Army at a loss and inevitably made mistakes in their responses.
.In addition, these people did not speak with many accents, and the weapons used by the young general with a scar on his face were very rare. Moreover, Liu Xin's army rarely saw such large groups of cavalry running. These phenomena quickly
This aroused the suspicion of the local people, and they quickly reported it to the government. Lu Bu was completely unaware of all this, and still thought he had a plan, hiding it from everyone's eyes and ears, and marched towards Xiangyang with great pride.
An army of unknown origin has quietly sneaked into Jingzhou, and its target is Xiangyang. This news is absolutely shocking. No official who heard the report dared to neglect it. This information was placed in front of Jushu that night. As a phantom secret agent
The supreme commander of the army, before him was not only the intelligence sent by the local government, but also the clues discovered by the secret spies. All the evidence pointed to the bad intentions of Lu Bu's army.
When Jushu heard the news, he did not dare to delay at all. He sent someone to inform Dianwei, and Xu Chu stepped up his guard. He rushed to the Prefectural Mufu Mansion overnight to report to Ma Yun.
After listening to Jushou's report, Ma Yun immediately concluded: "These cavalry are Dong Zhuo's troops, and they are led by Lu Bu!"
According to eyewitness descriptions, Ma Yun was certain that the young general was using Fang Tian Hua Ji. In Ma Yun's impression, apart from Lu Bu, no one else used Fang Tian Hua Ji as a weapon in the early Three Kingdoms.
No other reason was needed, but based on this alone, Ma Yun was sure that this person must be Lu Bu.
Jushu was originally very calm, but when he heard that it was Lü Bu who was coming, he couldn't help being shocked, and said in a hurry: "Please tell Madam Ma that Lü Bu is coming with great force. The troops in Xiangyang City are weak and it is difficult to fight against the enemy. Please lead Madam Ma to move the family to the mountains in the southwest."