Lu Su was very busy, but he was by no means the busiest among those who aspired to be politicians in this era. Compared to Lu Su, who had a big tree behind him to enjoy the shade, Xu You's struggle was much more arduous and outstanding.
For almost the whole of last year, he was running around, helping Liu Bei build a large army from scratch. It was not just Yuan Shao's old troops that made up Liu Bei's army, but also many local forces and even the Yellow Turbans.
Xu You assisted Zhang Rao in Qingzhou. On the surface, he was very involved in the affairs of the country, but privately he secretly linked up with many heavyweight leaders. After Zhang Rao's defeat, these people fled in all directions. Some lingered in Yanzhou, and some did not.
A few people fled to Yuzhou, some established themselves on the mountain top, and some directly joined the Yellow Turbans in Yuzhou.
Thanks to Xu You's efforts and mediation, these people joined Liu Bei's camp one after another, and also led many local Yellow Turbans in Yuzhou to join, which greatly strengthened Liu Bei's strength.
It is precisely because of Xu You's hard work that Liu Bei would rather make his two sworn brothers dissatisfied, but still treat him with utmost courtesy.
But Xu You was not satisfied with this. No matter how courteous Liu Bei was, it could not compare with his glory in Jizhou, let alone revenge against Wang Yu. He knew very well that Liu Bei's strength seemed to have some momentum, but it was not.
He did not have the conditions to compete head-on with the Qingzhou Army. Once Wang Yu seriously faced the enemy, it would soon disappear.
Xu You went through all kinds of hardships to escape from the pile of dead people, and he still had to endure the slander of Chun Yuqiong, an incompetent and loud-mouthed guy, for many years, just to survive?
He has greater ideals, Liu Bei is just his stepping stone!
He worked hard to realize his ideal of overthrowing Wang Yu, just as he planned to abolish Li Li. Only by accomplishing such a major event could he show his ambition.
Therefore, after leaving Qiao County, he went straight to Sili and found his first target in Xin'an.
"Mengde, you have to think clearly. If you want to defeat Qingzhou, now is the best time!"
While Xu You was persuading, he sneered again and again: "Suppress the powerful and equalize the rich and the poor? Qingzhou's new policy will definitely not last long! However, it is very deceptive to ignorant people and traffickers. In the short term, it will be very effective.
If we give him three to five years to develop steadily, I'm afraid no one will be able to resist him."
In the eyes of people at the time, there were many similarities or even similarities between the Qingzhou New Deal and Wang Mang's reform proposals.
Among the biggest measures of Wang Mang's New Deal were: restoring the well-field system, making all land public, and then evenly distributing the land according to the population of the people's families, which was similar to Qingzhou's Farming Order; he also established the Wujunsi City Envoy,
The department in charge of assessing prices, regulating the market, handling credit loans, and collecting taxes looks similar to the Department of Commerce in Qingzhou.
In addition, the Qingzhou New Deal can be found in the prohibition of the slave trade, the construction of schools in various places, the reform of the currency system, and even the construction of low-rent housing in Chang'an City.
What is particularly surprising is that Wang Yu and Wang Mang also showed amazing consistency in their attitudes towards foreign races. Both of them hated foreign races so much.
Wang Yu slaughtered all 20,000 barbarians in Gaotang, and his murderous intent was soaring. Wang Mang not only renamed the Xiongnu chanyu to surrender to the slaves, but out of unknown resentment, he even ordered that Goguryeo be renamed Xiagouli, and a few more
The king of the national government was reduced to a marquis, which shows his hatred for foreigners.
Some people in later generations said that Wang Mang was a failed time traveler, but in the eyes of people of this era, Wang Yu was Wang Mang's successor, especially since both of them were named Wang.
This naturally became the reason for the enemy to attack Wang Yu. Xu You knew that many great scholars who were hostile to Qingzhou were reading the classics very hard recently, trying to connect the Taishan Wang family with Wang Mang, and then justifiably deduct them.
The hat after Rebellious Minister is given to Wang Yu.
The reason why the world has not yet formed a situation of joint discussion in Wang Mang's era is mainly because Qingzhou's strategic deployment is appropriate and there are no internal dissent, leaving no gap for external enemies to take advantage of. In addition, Wang Yu's oath not to proclaim himself emperor also played a considerable role.
People at that time hated Wang Mang and denounced him from the perspective of usurpation, but they often kept secret about his reforms.
The poor effect of Wang Mang's new law is not determined by his intention, but the problems arise from its implementation. If we really want to hold a comprehensive debate, the opposition may not necessarily have the upper hand.
It has been two years since the Qingzhou New Deal was fully implemented. Not only is there no chaos like the Wang Mang era, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that the entire Qingzhou is showing a prosperous scene.
This situation surprised many knowledgeable people and gradually changed their minds. A wave of condemnation all over the world could not be formed at all. Some people even began to think that if Wang Mang was so selfless and could not tamper with things, the Han Dynasty would have eliminated him long ago.
Why wouldn't all these shortcomings end up like they are today?
Some people are thinking, and some are panicking. Xu You is one of them. Now, he is trying to use this as a breakthrough to arouse Cao Cao's resonance and achieve the purpose of this mission.
"Ziyuan, do you really think that Qingzhou's New Deal is better than the old one?" He only achieved half of his goal. Although Cao Cao did not avoid the topic, he also did not put on a posture of indignation, but put on a calm posture.
, we need to discuss this issue in depth.
"Oh, Mengde!" Xu You stumbled and sighed: "Where is the question of which one is better? No matter how bad the old system is, it has passed the test of four hundred years. This weight alone is not his king.
If you just think about it, you can win. The first thing in governance is stability. Even Wang Mang had a short-lived prosperity at the beginning of the implementation of the New Deal, didn't he?"
"In this case, why rush to attack him now? Wouldn't it be better to wait until he reveals his shortcomings and be defeated without a fight?" Cao Cao asked calmly with a hint of amusement.
"Eh... what should I say..." The emperor was not in a hurry, he was in a hurry to kill the eunuch. The more leisurely Cao Cao acted, the more anxious Xu You became. But after all, he was not an ordinary person. He quickly woke up, raised his head suddenly, and looked straight at
He glared at Cao Cao, gritted his teeth and said, "You Cao Amo, are you teasing me on purpose?"
"Haha, where did Ziyuan come from?"
Cao Cao stroked his palms and smiled and said: "You are now Liu Bei's counselor, but Cao Cao knows that Xuande has entered Xuzhou in a dangerous way. Things are not harmonious, and now it has become a trapped situation. Now that Wang Yu is personally in charge of Tancheng, Xuande may have died.
Is it difficult to sleep at night? Ziyuan came to me at this time, who knows that I am not asking me to take chestnuts from Xuande's fire and solve his urgent need? "
"Cao Mengde is indeed a hero." Being provoked by Cao Cao, the madness in Xu You's bones suddenly burst out. He did not explain, but with a sneer on his face, he directly exposed Cao Cao's intentions: "You are marching westward in a big way, and the world only thinks
You want to be the King of Qin and use the Emperor to control the princes and occupy the rightful position, but you can hide it from the people of the world, how can you hide it from me?"
He looked at Cao Cao and said word by word: "You don't want to defeat Dong Zhuo head-on. In fact, it is impossible for you to do it. Even if you can do it, a miserable victory will make you completely withdraw from the pursuit of the title...
Knowing this, you still insist on marching westward. All you want is to wait for Dong Zhuo to become weak, and then you will effortlessly seize control of Sili and recruit rebels. Am I wrong?"
"Turned into armpits and elbows?" The surprised look on Cao Cao's face didn't seem fake at all, but what he said was far from what Xu You expected: "Did Ziyuan mean that after Chang'an is empty, there will be loyal people?"
Are you plotting against the Dong thief?"
He rubbed his hands and sighed: "It would be great if this is really possible, but there is also a wise counselor beside Thief Dong, who did not leave such a loophole. Alas, what a pity, what a pity."
"Humph," Xu You looked at him and just sneered endlessly. His appearance was already a bit sinister, and he put on this look at night. He looked very frightened. After a while, the city was extremely shocked.
The deep Cao Cao felt a little creepy.
Cao Cao's face tightened and his voice turned cold: "Ziyuan, what do you mean? Are you trying to amuse me?"
"To amuse you? How dare I? You are Cao Cao, the hero of the party!" Xu You stretched out his voice with sarcasm. Cao Cao felt an evil fire rushing upwards. Just as he was getting angry, Xu You's
The next sentence was like ice water, extinguishing all his anger.
"Strike from the east and attack from the west, attack from both sides, take them by surprise, and attack them unprepared... Haha, what a good strategy, so powerful!"
Cao Cao finally changed his temper, and there was a strong ferocity in his voice: "Ziyuan, what did you say? Make it clear!"
"Isn't it clear enough?" This time it was Xu You's turn to be pretentious. He looked sideways at Cao Cao until the latter gradually became frustrated, and then he spoke leisurely.
"Ma Teng sent an envoy to Luoyang to propose marriage, which was hidden from the eyes and ears of the whole world. Who would have thought that this was your Cao Mengde's plan to conceal the truth? Marriage? Maybe? Although you don't have a daughter, I heard that Ma Teng is
Yes, although a few years older... Haha, for the thousands of miles of fertile land in Guanzhong and the hundreds of thousands of strong soldiers in Xiliang, there is nothing to worry about a few small details, right?"
The biggest secret in his heart, which can even be said to be a major matter that affects his future and life, was revealed by Xu You. You can imagine the shock in Cao Cao's heart.
He took a deep breath, his face was filled with shock, and he looked at Xu You quietly, as if he was speculating on the other party's intentions, whether he was lying or deceiving, or whether he had some real evidence.
"You don't have to look at me like this. I have no evidence. However, based on this guess, whether you take it to Gaotang, Chang'an, or Xiangyang, you will definitely be treated politely, right? I don't need to deceive you, I just want to confirm.
"
"So what if it's confirmed?" Cao Cao had countless thoughts in his mind, among which killing and silencing was undoubtedly the most frequent one. However, he was too familiar with Xu You, and he didn't believe that the other party just did it like this without leaving any behind-the-scenes information.
To come to the door and break the news and take action rashly may not be a good thing.
"Mengde, whether you believe it or not, you don't have any malicious intentions here, let alone deceive you or coerce you for Liu Xuande's sake."
Xu You sat down and said solemnly: "Although your plan is secret, Wang Yu has long regarded you as the biggest obstacle to the fight for the world, and I am not in his eyes. At present, the Hongnong war is in a stalemate, but you don't have any clever skills to break the situation. With him,
With your resourcefulness, it can take as long as two months or as little as half a month, and you will soon notice the problem, and then..."
Cao Cao was silent, the Hongnong battle situation was very confusing, but it was for ordinary people. It was impossible to hide it from an elite like Wang Yu. Contacting Ma Teng was a clever idea proposed by Guo Jia, but the inconvenience was
The difficulty is insurmountable. Cao Cao now has no idea about the movements of his allies. He doesn't know how many troops Ma Teng has gathered, how many allies he has drawn, and whether Dong Zhuo has noticed it...
Therefore, although Guo Jiadong set the timetable and emphasized that the battle must be resolved quickly, the war is still likely to last for several months.
If the only opponent was Dong Zhuo, this would be enough, but if the opponent was Wang Yu... Xu You could guess that even if Wang Yu was distracted by other things, he would probably notice it soon.
It is a thing of the past that Qingzhou is beyond the reach of Guanzhong. With the opening of the Yellow River trade route, Qingzhou's merchant ships are like crucian carp crossing the river. If all the merchant ships are connected together, maybe they can sail between Mengjin and Gaotang.
Build a bridge between them!
Before Wang Yu, few people had thought that after receiving support, business could show such a terrifying momentum.
That’s right, it’s scary!
Cao Cao had no doubt that once the two sides went to war, Wang Yu could launch a large-scale offensive against Luoyang even without passing through Hanoi. At the same time, he could use elite troops to cross Luoyang and invade Hedong and Hongnong. Even if he drove straight into Guanzhong,
It's not something impossible to happen!
As we all know, the merchants of Qingzhou and the army are tied together. If someone bullies the merchants of Qingzhou, the army of Qingzhou will come forward to support them; conversely, if the army is in need, the merchants will also be obliged to do so.
The tens of millions of Qingzhou fleets are both a blessing and a nightmare. At least Cao Cao can't think of a particularly effective way to restrain the opponent now. Blocking the Yellow River waterway can be considered, but in that case, his own losses will be equally huge and still very serious.
It may provoke Wang Yu and Dong Zhuo to join forces.
After a long while, Cao Cao spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and low: "So, Ziyuan, what do you mean..."
"I'm here to help you!"
Xu You softly uttered four words: "I will mobilize all my forces to help you contain Qingzhou. You take the opportunity to capture Guanzhong and establish a rivalry with them! If you have time, you can also capture Guanzhong and join the siege of Qingzhou...
"
At this point, he suddenly laughed confidently: "Originally, if you join, the chance of winning will be greater, but it is not a bad idea to deal with Dong Zhuo first, and then take action when Qingzhou is unprepared. Anyway, this time, Wang
Xiao'er Yu is destined to be very anxious and embarrassed."
He looked directly at Cao Cao, trying to judge the other person's thoughts from the slightest expression: "I don't ask for too much, I just ask that after the work is completed, when the merits are rewarded, Ming Gong will not forget Xu You... his status...
, you can’t be defeated by the one who offered this plan, right?”
He was undoubtedly referring to Guo Jia.
Without hesitation, Cao Cao raised his right hand and said with a smile: "A gentleman makes a promise..."
"Hurry up and whip your horse!" Xu You waved his hand and struck his palm, then laughed and walked away. His thin and rugged figure quickly disappeared into the vast night, blending into the darkness again.