Chapter 180 Meng De, I'm sorry for you (2)

By making a nest directly next to the fish's nest, it will naturally attract countless big fish.

The order to recruit talents was just a piece of paper, and Wang Jing could issue it right away. But thinking back to what Guo Jia had just said, he immediately realized something was wrong: "Fengxiao, if I want to recruit talents from Yingchuan, do I have to occupy Yuzhou?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Jia only replied with four words: "It's hard to leave my hometown."

Wang Jing immediately understood what Guo Jia meant, and at the same time he was thinking about something.

The Han nationality is a typical farming nation, so the core of their culture contains a deep sense of homesickness. They believe in returning to one's roots and naturally cannot bear to leave their hometown.

Xun Yu came from a noble family, while Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia were scholars from poor families, but they all came from Yingchuan, so naturally they hoped to defend their hometown.

In history, Xun Yu and Guo Jia abandoned Yuan Shao and joined Cao Cao, which may have been due to this consideration.

At present, the Xun family of Yingchuan is one of the backbone forces of the new party. Xi Zhicai is optimistic about the future of the Northern Army, and Guo Jia also has a deep friendship with Wang Jing. The three of them are willing to serve Wang Jing, but what about other talents in Yingchuan?
It was precisely because he was born in Yingchuan that Guo Jia understood how many talented people there were in Yingchuan. If these talents could not be used by Wang Jing, they would inevitably be obtained by other princes and become an obstacle to Wang Jing's future domination of the world.

Yuzhou has been a place of outstanding people since ancient times, and has produced many top-notch civil officials and strategists. Historically, it was after Cao Cao conquered Yuzhou and established his capital in Xuchang that he gained a powerful team of strategists at the beginning of his career.

Guo Jia, Xun Yu, Xun You and Xi Zhicai were all top strategists who could provide advice on military strategy and manage internal affairs and logistics, providing strong and continuous momentum for the Cao Wei regime to dominate the world.

Now with the official joining of Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai, Wang Jing can finally form a small think tank again to help him find deficiencies and offer advice.

After all, Jia Xu had to deal with internal affairs, and Li Ru had to be in charge of the secret guards. They were the knife used by Wang Jing to do the dirty work. Therefore, the top strategist around Wang Jing was often only Xun You, which was a bit insufficient.

Now that Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai have joined, we no longer have to worry about being short of staff when we need them.

As Wang Jing's counselor, Guo Jia dared to speak his mind. He suggested to Wang Jing in a very formal tone: "My lord, given the current situation in the Central Plains, our army does not need to take all of Yuzhou. We only need to take over northern Henan first."

"Why not just take over the entire Yuzhou?"

Wang Jing was curious, he thought Guo Jia wanted to talk about the strategy to seize the entire Yuzhou.

It was obvious that Guo Jia had done his homework before coming to Luoyang and collected intelligence and information about various princes. Guo Jia said, "What the lord needs is only talents. At present, taking Yingchuan alone is enough to solve the problem of lack of talents. You can take Runan and Nanyang counties slowly."

"Strategically, taking all of Yuzhou is definitely not the best idea. Cao Cao currently occupies southern Henan, with Yuan Shu in Nanyang to the west and Liu Biao in Xiangyang to the south. Although they are not strong enemies, they are not a problem that can be solved in one or two years. If our army takes all of Yuzhou, then Cao Cao's problem will become our lord's problem."

Wang Jing certainly didn't want to take the blame for Cao Cao. What's more, Cao Cao was no ordinary man and was very good at leading troops in battles. If he went to war with him now, his own troops would inevitably suffer heavy losses.

Guo Jia pointed at the map and analyzed the situation for Wang Jing: "Cao Cao's current strategy must be to attack the north first and then the south. Zhang Miao of Chenliu and Liu Dai of Puyang are easier prey to deal with than Yuan Shu and Liu Biao. In my opinion, Cao Cao is probably secretly planning to annex Yanzhou and Yuzhou. If he can really accomplish this within one or two years, his strength will surely expand rapidly to the point where he can threaten our army in Luoyang."

I have to say that Guo Jia's analysis is very accurate.

In history, Cao Cao did take advantage of the infighting between the two Yuans and adopted the strategy of making friends with distant states and attacking nearby states. He formed an alliance with Yuan Shao, who was far away in Jizhou, Hebei, and then obtained financial and material support to attack Yuan Shu.

Before attacking Yuan Shu, Cao Cao relied on Chen Gong's strategy to seize Yanzhou and Yuzhou without bloodshed, and even subdued the million-strong Yellow Turban Army that rebelled in Yanzhou. He easily obtained 100,000 Qingzhou militiamen and trained 100,000 Qingzhou soldiers, laying a solid foundation for Cao Wei's hegemony.

Even though he was later betrayed by Chen Gong, Cao Cao managed to survive despite being defeated. This shows that he was extremely resilient, like an indestructible cockroach.

It can be said that in the entire Henan area, all the princes are trash, and only Cao Cao is the one that Wang Jing needs to worry about.

Guo Jia's method of dealing with Cao Cao was also very simple: "My lord, Liu Dai is incompetent, and the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Yanzhou is imminent. Our army should be ready to go at any time. We must take Chenliu in one fell swoop and control the entire northern Henan. We will suppress Cao Cao's living space in the southern part of Yuzhou, leaving him as a guard dog to suppress Yuan Shu and Liu Biao."

Xi Zhicai also echoed, "Feng Xiao is right. Cao Cao is a tyrant and will never admit defeat easily, let alone be inferior to others. Our army has taken over northern Henan, showing its strong strength, but without forcing too much. At that time, he will definitely weigh the pros and cons and choose a weaker opponent as prey to guard the gate for our army."

"A guard dog?"

Wang Jing chuckled and said jokingly, "I wonder what Brother Meng De would think if he heard you two evaluate him like this."

Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai chuckled when they heard this, but they disagreed in their hearts.

However, Wang Jing was secretly sighing in his heart: Meng De, Meng De, I'm sorry, brother. Your genius Guo Jia and military advisor Xi Zhicai are now my people, and they are determined to deal with you. I can't stop them.

Xuchang, the prefectural government.

Ah autumn~
Cao Cao sneezed several times in a row and his nose turned red.

Chen Gong couldn't help but ask with concern: "Meng De, what happened to you? Did you catch a cold?"

Cao Cao clutched his bearskin coat tightly and shook his head: "Gongtai, I'm not in the way, but I don't know why, but I always feel a chill down my spine."

Chen Gong was speechless when he heard this: "If you are cold, just put on more clothes, don't try to be brave."

Cao Cao himself was even more speechless: "Look, I'm wrapped up like a dumpling, isn't my clothing enough?"

Looking at the falling snow outside the window, Cao Cao suddenly felt a chill running up from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, making him shiver. "It's strange. Although the weather is a bit cold, my body is always in good shape. And this chill doesn't come from the outside, but from the inside."

"Could it be that someone wants to mess with me?"

Chen Gong rolled his eyes: "Meng De, you are good in everything except that you are too suspicious."

"is it?"

Cao Cao frowned, feeling a sense of inexplicable uneasiness in his heart, and it took him a long time to calm down.

Chen Gong didn't care about that. He pulled Cao Cao aside and started to discuss the next strategic arrangement: "Wang Yuanxu has already seen through our plan, so many of the next strategies will have to be launched in advance."

Seeing that they were talking about serious business, Cao Cao put aside the messy thoughts in his mind and began to seriously discuss the many details of the plan's implementation.

"Gongtai, is your plan really foolproof?"

Cao Cao never believed that there was any foolproof strategy, because many times, the outcome of a war could very likely be changed by a small detail, and it was full of uncertainties from beginning to end.

But temple planning is still very important, so he and Chen Gong will continue to polish and perfect the entire plan, trying to keep all accidents under control.

Chen Gong was much more confident than Cao Cao: "Don't worry, everything has been arranged. Liu Dai is a useless man, arrogant and conceited. As long as we use words to secretly guide him to make a wrong judgment, he will definitely take the initiative to go out of the city to fight, and once he goes out, he will definitely not come back."

"Meng De, once Liu Dai dies, Yanzhou will be in our hands. With Meng Zhuo's help, it will be a piece of cake for us to dominate Yuzhou. Do you still have any doubts?"

Chen Gong looked towards Cao Cao with his eyes full of confidence, and he was calm and composed, as if everything was under his control.

"Plans are plans, but we are afraid that things may not go as smoothly as we imagined."

Cao Cao pinched his chin, still a little worried.

The person who made him so uneasy was naturally Wang Jing: "Gongtai, are you really sure that Wang Jing will not interfere?"

"Of course I can be sure."

Chen Gong was not in a good mood when Wang Jing was mentioned. The contempt in Wang Jing's eyes when he looked at him in Luoyang was still deeply imprinted in Chen Gong's mind today, and he could not forget it. His fingers tightened subconsciously, and his expression showed anger: "Wang Jing's target is Jizhou. This is a strategy he has formulated long ago, and strategy cannot be easily changed."

Although Cao Cao had left Luoyang, he was still able to gather some intelligence, so he believed Chen Gong's judgment: "I hope so. Now the only way to have a chance to compete with Wang Jing is to take over Yanzhou and Yuzhou and devote all our strength to the two states."

Cao Cao was very unwilling to accept the two consecutive defeats at the hands of Wang Jing, so this time, he really wanted to win back a game. He, Cao Mengde, was definitely not a loser!
In the early spring of the second year of Chuping, the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which was originally scheduled to break out a year later, gradually spread like wildfire under the instigation of Chen Gong, a man with ulterior motives.

Looking at the map, Yanzhou, located south of the Yellow River in the heart of the Central Plains, although it has a large population and fertile land, was not an advantageous place in the chaos of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

After all, in terms of terrain, this place is a smooth road with no natural barriers to be abandoned. On the contrary, it is a place surrounded by enemies on all sides. No matter which of the princes in the east, west, south or north becomes powerful, they will definitely covet Yanzhou, not to mention that Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and Tao Qian at this time are not easy to deal with.

Therefore, Wang Jing did not initially plan to seize Yuzhou and Yanzhou because of this consideration.

The strategy Guo Jia formulated for Wang Jing was only to take over half of Yuzhou, but he had no idea about Yanzhou, which was close at hand. It was not that Yanzhou was not attractive, but that it was too costly to defend this place.

The reason why the cost is so high is not just an external issue. The internal forces of Yanzhou are also complicated and confusing.

Even though Liu Dai was the governor of Yanzhou at that time, he was a complete waste and had no ability to control the entire Yanzhou. Even his decrees were just a piece of waste paper once they left Puyang, and no one took him seriously.

It was precisely because of Liu Dai's incompetence that the Black Mountain Army and a part of the Southern Xiongnu forces that were defeated by Wang Jing and continued to flee appeared within the jurisdiction of Yanzhou.

With Chen Gong silently pushing the issue behind the scenes, a million Yellow Turban Army from Qingzhou soon gathered on the eastern border. In order to survive, they had been eyeing Puyang covetously, ready to rush into Yanzhou at any time and start a raging war.

Cao Cao was stationed in Xuchang and constantly sent spies to Yanzhou to collect intelligence, hoping to take control of the situation in his own hands.

In fact, Cao Cao himself understood that after the rise of many heroes, years of war were inevitable. Given the situation of Yanzhou as a war-torn area, it was definitely not an ideal base for starting. It could be used to expand power, but it would be difficult to conquer the world with it as a foundation.

But Cao Cao didn't have many choices. Having territory was always better than having no territory. Now he could only bite the bullet and charge forward.

"My lord, the military advisor is back."

"Please come quickly!"

When Cao Cao heard that Chen Gong had returned, he immediately sent someone to invite him to his study to discuss strategy.

Chen Gong had just returned from Yanzhou. He was exhausted from the journey and had no time to change his clothes when he was pulled away by Cao Cao to ask for advice.

In the study, Cao Cao looked anxious: "Gongtai, what's the situation?"

"I have secretly sent people to reveal the news that Yanzhou's defenses are weak, and persuaded the three leaders of the Black Mountain Army, Yu Du, Bai Rao, and Sui Gu, to launch an attack."

"The Black Mountain Army is very powerful. I heard there are millions of them. If we really let them occupy Yanzhou, we will be in trouble."

Cao Cao frowned when he heard this, and then expressed his concerns.

However, Chen Gong was confident: "Meng De, don't worry too much. The Black Mountain Army entrenched in Yanzhou is just a branch of the Black Mountain Army. The main activity area of ​​the Black Mountain Army is Zhongshan, Changshan, Zhaojun, Shangdang, Henei and other places at the junction of Jizhou and Bingzhou. It belongs to the Taihang Mountains. We are not dealing with the main force of the Black Mountain Army, so it is not difficult to win."

Cao Cao was overjoyed when he heard this, and then asked, "I heard that there is a group of Southern Xiongnu in Yanzhou?"

Chen Gong even laughed: "They are just a bunch of stray dogs defeated by Wang Yuanxu. All Meng De needs is a word to send people to persuade them to surrender."

"Is this true?"

At the moment Cao Cao was eager to expand his military strength, not to mention that most of the Huns were cavalrymen with superb riding skills, which were exactly the talents he urgently needed.

…………

Chaoge West Mountain, Tiger Ridge.

Among the majestic mountains, there is a large and heavily guarded mountain stronghold.

And this is the base camp of the Black Mountain Army led by General Yu Du.

In front of the meeting hall, Yu Du sat on the first seat, while Bai Rao and Sui Gu sat on the second and third seats respectively. They were all burly and strong, wearing iron armor, exuding a barbaric and ferocious aura.

Their strong muscles and blood surging like the Yangtze River are enough to prove that their martial arts skills should not be underestimated.

Now that troubled times have arrived and the prelude to a great struggle in the world has been raised, heroes have emerged from all over the Central Plains, and even those who come from humble origins now have the opportunity to rise to prominence.

Yu Du, Bai Rao and Sui Gu gathered together, their eyes burning with blazing flames.

This fire is called ambition.

Yu Du looked at Bai Rao and Sui Gu, and grinned fiercely: "It seems that you all have received the news."

Sui Gu, who had a scar on his left eye and was known for his bad temper, laughed angrily upon hearing this: "Of course, Yanzhou's military strength is empty, and Liu Dai is incompetent. Who wouldn't be greedy for this piece of fat meat?"

Although Bai Rao didn't say anything, it could be seen from his eyes that he and Sui Gu had the same idea.

Although the three were all members of the Black Mountain Yellow Turban Army and all respected Zhang Yan as their leader, they were from different factions and often fought among themselves over money, food, and women.

Therefore, as soon as I heard that there was an opportunity in Yanzhou, I immediately came here to get a piece of the pie.

But Yu Du had the strongest military force among the three and had the advantage of geographical location, so they had to accept Yu Du's invitation and come to discuss important matters.

The Yellow Turban Army under Yu Du is currently stationed in the area of ​​the western mountains of Chaoge, from Qingyan Mountain on the north bank of Cangshui in the south to Qingyanjue on the south bank of Qishui in the north, with its headquarters stationed in Luchang Mountain in the central part.

The Tiger Ridge where the camp is located is extremely strategic and easy to defend but difficult to attack.

A year ago, Yu Du built a village on the top of the mountain with the help of a group of skilled craftsmen he had captured. From then on, "Laohu Ridge" was renamed "Laohu Village", also known as "Yu Du Village".

Relying on simple, crude and easy-to-understand slogans such as "resist the government soldiers, fight the rich and help the poor, protect the peasants", Yu Du successfully gathered a large number of refugees, and his power quickly expanded to 50,000 to 60,000 people, with a huge momentum.

Even Han Fu, the governor of Jizhou who was in Yecheng, was helpless against Yu Du and could only allow him to run rampant across the Yellow River and wreak havoc in local counties.

Although Yu Du was born in the Yellow Turban Army, he was quite knowledgeable in military tactics and had a very shrewd mind. Therefore, even though he received the news from Yanzhou, he had doubts in his heart: "I already know your intentions. It is not impossible to take over Yanzhou as a territory, but if our forces are divided, they will be weak. We can only succeed if we work together."

Sui Gu was a pure reckless man. He pounded the table with his fists and laughed loudly, "Old evil man, if you're scared, just hide in your tortoise shell and don't come out. It's just that there's one less person to share the food with. I can eat a big portion."

Yu Du's men were all furious, some even drew their swords and said, "Sui Gu, you are so arrogant, do you want to start a war?"

"Let's start the war. Am I afraid of you?"

Sui Gu's men were not willing to be outdone. They didn't care whether this was the base camp of Yu Du's army or not. They all shouted that they wanted to fight and kill.

"Every time we meet, we always argue. It's so annoying. If you want to discuss cooperation, just talk properly. What are you doing now? Are you competing to see who has the loudest voice?"

Seeing that another fight was about to break out, Bai Rao could only stand out with a gloomy face to stop Yu Du and Sui Gu: "The battle hasn't even started yet, and we've already started fighting among ourselves. How can we conquer Yanzhou like this?"

Yu Du and Sui Gu didn't really want to fight. The reason they acted so ferociously was simply to gain some advantage at the negotiation table through intimidation.

The rebel army, to put it bluntly, is a den of bandits. How can they be friendly during negotiations?
Quarreling and even fighting are the norm.

(End of this chapter)