Chapter 76: Spring ploughing and autumn offensive, provoking a dispute between Cao Cao and Liu Bei!

After obtaining the "Emperor's Longevity Technique", Liu Bian became eager to fight and could not wait to attack Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and other traitors.

Because every time you control a county, you can gain one year of life!
However, during the first month of the lunar year, the whole world was celebrating the New Year. Provoking a war at this time would instead arouse public anger. Moreover, it was not appropriate to send troops in winter, so Liu Bian could only suppress his restless emotions.

As the king of a country, Liu Bian was very busy during the first month of the year. He had to deal with sacrificial ceremonies, military and political affairs, etc.

During this period, Liu Bian successively summoned important officials such as Liu Bei and Cao Cao, as well as princes such as Liu Chong, the King of Chen in Yuzhou.

This is a layout for Jizhou and Nanyang, to encircle and suppress Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu!
The entire court could feel that Liu Bian was about to send troops.

This action has made all the officials guess that there will be a war this year!

It's either the spring offensive or the autumn offensive!

Time flew by in this atmosphere, and in a blink of an eye it was the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

On this day, there was a bustling Lantern Festival in the capital. Although Liu Bian lived deep in the palace, he could still feel the excitement of the Lantern Festival from the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

He could only watch from afar on the city wall. The leader of the Han Dynasty was like a lonely man, and even the idea of ​​making a secret visit was suppressed.

The ministers would advise him by saying “A gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall”!
However, if a large army was mobilized for the tour, it would inevitably disturb the common people and cause waste of time and money, which was not the result Liu Bian wanted to see.

Therefore, during such important festivals, Liu Bian could only look from afar on the city wall, but it was difficult for him to personally experience the hustle and bustle of the world and the blooming flowers.

Even the festivals in the capital were out of reach, so Liu Bian's idea of ​​leading the army in person was simply impossible to realize!

Ever since he drew attribute points, skills, and martial arts secrets, Liu Bian has become a martial arts master, and has gradually begun to have the idea of ​​leading the army himself.

Until this moment, he finally understood why ancient kings were so fond of leading the army to war in person.

This is not only a display of military power, but also a confidence in personal strength!
The result——

Many kings have failed on the battlefield!

However, Liu Bian firmly believed that he would never become a negative example.

Especially during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, when heroes vied for supremacy on this battlefield, if you didn’t personally lead an army to fight, you would always feel that there was some regret in your life!

Isn't the romance of men all about war and battle?!
However, when Liu Bian was discussing something with his subjects, he brought up the matter in a tactful way, which immediately alerted those "shrewd people" and directly blocked this loophole.

But there are countermeasures for every policy!
Liu Bian tried to guess the answer indirectly, and from the accents of Empress Dowager He and the ministers in the court, he got a possible answer:

As long as he has offspring to inherit the throne and the Han Dynasty has a crown prince to protect the country, he can lead the army in person and even go on secret visits.

In the final analysis, it is because Liu Bian has no heir now that everyone in and outside the family is worried, and they protect him by holding him in their hands for fear of dropping him, or holding him in their mouths for fear of him melting!

Liu Bian was somewhat skeptical. Was he the ruler of a country, or a national mascot or a national treasure? !
However, this also made Liu Bian think about choosing a concubine and a queen as soon as possible!
Therefore, after the Lantern Festival, the palace began the selection ceremony.

This matter was personally led by Empress Dowager He, and Liu Bian was just going through the motions. Looking at the flowers blooming in full bloom, he was actually dazzled.

The talent show is like the imperial examination selection.

The imperial examination is to select the elite from among the talents in the world, while the draft is to select the best from among the beauties in the world.

Of course, appearance is only one of the criteria. Other standards such as calligraphy, painting, knowledge, good manners, and virtue are all very strict.

After all, this is the concubine who may become the mother of the country in the future!
at last.

After fierce elimination competition, dozens of outstanding girls from good families stood out.

Such as Cai Yan, the daughter of the great scholar Cai Yong, Cao Qinghe, the daughter of Cao Cao, the governor of Dongjun, Tang Ji, the daughter of Tang Mao, the governor of Kuaiji, and Fu Shou, the daughter of Fu Wan, the prefect of the imperial guards.
Dong Yue, the daughter of Dong Cheng of Xiliang Army, Lü Qiling, the daughter of Lü Bu of Bingzhou Army, Zhen Jiang, the daughter of Zhen Yi, Marquis of Ancheng Township, Mi Zhen, a wealthy family in Xuzhou, and so on.

The concubines are the best among all the women in the world, and these people are the best among the concubines!
Each one has something special in their own way!

Either they are proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and songs. Or they have a family background of learning, either from a scholarly family or an official family. Or they have a wealthy family and hired a famous teacher to learn etiquette since childhood. Or they have a great reputation, etc.

Can't find any problem at all!
Liu Bian was already dazzled by the choice. Now that he had chosen the candidate, could he start the wedding night and continue the family line? !
I can only say that Liu Bian thinks too much!!!
The best of these beauties stood out and got the opportunity to enter the palace.

They also need to undergo physical examinations, learn etiquette in the palace, and become female officials to try management. After all, they will be managing the harem in the future, so these management skills need to be cultivated.

and many more!

There are many tasks and assessments waiting for them!

After all this operation, Liu Bian will have no chance of visiting the emperor for at least three to five months, or even a year or two!

Because although this is Liu Bian’s family affair, it is also a national affair. It concerns the succession to the throne, bloodline, and offspring, so it must be handled with extreme caution!
"..."

Liu Bian felt helpless, he just wanted to lead the army in person, have a few sons to serve as regents, and leave Empress Dowager He and all the officials in the court speechless. Why was it so difficult?
After the selection ceremony, the country began to busy itself with spring farming.

Liu Bian could only temporarily put aside the idea of ​​leading the army in person. During the busy farming season, any war had to be put aside.

Seeds such as sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn will be cultivated and ready to be planted.

……

Jizhou.

The news of the sweet potato, potato and corn harvesting ceremony held in the capital during the first month of the year, as well as the subsequent food feast, naturally spread to Yuan's camp.

The civil and military officials in Yuan’s camp looked at each other in disbelief!

They had always believed that the three auspicious signs - sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn - were fabricated by His Majesty in order to stabilize the people's hearts, but they turned out to be real?!
Yield of 5,000 kilograms per mu, is there really such a crop in the world? !
The civil and military officials in Yuan’s camp could not believe it and could not accept it!
But the news brought back by the spies, as well as the news brought back by the people they sent to investigate afterwards, all told them that this was the truth!
This made them horrified and shocked!
Isn't it true that the fate of the Han Dynasty has not yet reached its end? !
Could it be that Your Majesty is blessed by good fortune and destiny? !
After experiencing the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Dong Zhuo's occupation of the capital, many aristocratic families believed that the Han Dynasty had lost its power and had lost its destiny!

At this time, ambitious people, traitors and rebels established their own local regimes, fought for supremacy and competed for the Central Plains. Anyone could possibly steal the throne and seize the world!
But the emergence of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn told them that the Han Dynasty still had the Mandate of Heaven, and Your Majesty still had the Mandate of Heaven!
Because of this incident, the morale of the soldiers in Yuan’s camp was shaken!

When Yuan Shao saw that the situation was not good, he immediately sent his trusted generals to sneak into Yanzhou and Qingzhou to seize sweet potato, potato and corn seeds.

After getting these three major crops, Yuan Shao immediately summoned his civil and military officials to show them: "This auspicious sign from heaven is for all the people of the world, for the common people. It is not unique to the Han Dynasty, and everyone can get it at their fingertips!"

Yuan Shao's officials and generals looked at the sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn and were stunned. Yuan Shao was talking about "sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn", but the hidden meaning was "the whole world"!
They used a little trick to get the seeds of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn. Doesn't this prove that it was a good omen from heaven and they could steal it? !

Feng Ji immediately agreed and said, "My Lord, what you said is very true. Let's plant sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn immediately. After the harvest, it will undoubtedly prove this point even more!"

"These three auspicious signs are bestowed upon the people of the world by the heavens!" Guo Tu also said, "It must be that the heavens saw the severe drought and could not bear it, so they bestowed blessings upon the world!"

After being comforted by this explanation, everyone in Yuan’s camp accepted this reason.

In fact, they were already in a difficult situation. They had all become traitors who were rebelling against His Majesty, so how could they just get off the carriage and surrender halfway?

At this time, we can only fight to the end!

……

Qingzhou.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei looked at Guo Jia with some confusion.

Zhang Fei couldn't hold his breath and asked anxiously:
"Military Advisor, why did you deliberately leak the seeds of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn? Aren't we aiding the enemy? If Big Brother comes back with his report, he will probably be pissed off by us!"

Guan Yu also sighed and said:

"These three auspicious signs are simply magical tools! Sweet potatoes can even be grown in saline-alkali land, which is unique in the world! Now they have fallen into the hands of Yuan Shao's spies. I say they should be killed with one knife!" In fact, when Yuan Shao's spies infiltrated Qingzhou and tried to seize sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn seeds, they were discovered by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

These three auspicious signs concern the whole world, so they are keeping a close eye on them!

However, Guo Jia ordered them to let the tiger go back to the mountains. Considering that Guo Jia had always been in charge of the strategy and Liu Bei's instructions to obey Guo Jia, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had to deliberately let the tiger go back to the mountains.

Guo Jia looked towards Jizhou with a smile and said:
"Have you seen His Majesty's edict? His Majesty said that there will be no more starving people in the world!

“However, the seeds of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn are in small quantities after all. If you want to promote them all over the world, it will take at least ten or eight years. It is absolutely impossible to do it!
"In this case, why not use Yuan Shao and other noble families to promote and publicize it as soon as possible. Doing so may make them profit, but the real beneficiaries are the common people."

...

"But military advisor, isn't this just helping Yuan Shao become stronger?" Zhang Fei didn't quite understand. "How can you support the enemy by raising a tiger to cause harm?"

...

"Yide, although the yield per mu of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn is amazing, everything is difficult at the beginning. If you want to get the profit, you can invest it in the army. It is impossible to do it without three to five years of cultivation!

"At this time, we have already taken over Jizhou and dealt with Yuan Shao and other traitors. Wouldn't it be better to let Yuan Shao and his men cultivate the seeds for us and we wait for the harvest?"

Guo Jia made this decision because of the total harvest of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn summarized by Xun Yu this year.

One ton of sweet potatoes, one ton of potatoes and one ton of corn seeds, minus the weight of the corn cobs, only weighs five thousand shi.

However, this cannot be used directly or wasted because it needs to be cultivated as seeds.

It is difficult to get any profit without three to five years, or even ten to eight years.

It was for this reason that the imperial court issued an edict to promote it throughout the country as quickly as possible, rather than keeping it secret.

Moreover, even if they kept the seeds secret, traitors like Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu would certainly try every means to infiltrate and try to obtain these seeds.

In this case, we might as well take advantage of the situation and use these people to speed up the process of cultivation and promotion.

If sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn are promoted, it will not only benefit the warlords, but also the common people.

Because the Han Dynasty had a population of only 60 million and had 13 states, sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn could be grown in any desolate wilderness or remote village, and these could save countless lives.

Zhang Fei still didn't quite understand, but Guan Yu seemed to understand it a little.

When Liu Bei returned from the capital after reporting on his work, after hearing what Guo Jia said, he praised him highly without any words of blame.

"Third brother, this is about putting the people first!"

Liu Bei's final decision finally made Zhang Fei stop complaining.

Not only did they pretend to be Yuan Shao's spies and obtain the seeds, they even took the initiative to hand over some seeds to the surrounding counties.

Such as Tao Qian in Xuzhou, etc., speed up the cultivation and promotion.

Moreover, there are so many talented people in the Han Dynasty. Who knows if there are any agricultural talents among them who can learn some farming techniques from them? !

All of this is still unknown!
During the spring ploughing in the whole country, sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn are the top priority. However, because the quantity is too small, wheat, rice and other staple foods are still the main crops.

But after such a large-scale promotion, I believe that in three to five years, the high per-acre yield of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn will explode and sweep the world.

Of course, that was later.

After returning to their jurisdictions from the capital to report on their work, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Liu Dai and other state and county governors were busy with government affairs such as spring plowing, and were also preparing for the autumn offensive!

Even a spring offensive!
Because they all felt His Majesty's desire for war!

Moreover, Yuan Shao controlled Jizhou and Yuan Shu occupied Nanyang. After all, they were right next to my bed and would not allow others to sleep soundly!

They also need to prepare for the expedition!
Before the army moves, food and fodder must be sent first, so food naturally becomes the top priority.

Naturally, this preparation could not be hidden from the spies of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

After receiving intelligence reports one after another, they observed the dynamics in Qingzhou and Yanzhou, and after learning about the changing situation in the court, they guessed that His Majesty had decided to take action against them.

Therefore, the brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu decided to strike first!

In this life, many subtle changes occurred due to the sudden emergence of Han Emperor Liu Bian.

For example, the brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu not only did not become enemies, but instead put aside their prejudices and joined forces to fight the enemy!
Of course, it is unknown what Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu really think. At least on the surface, they are allied against the enemy!
The Yuan family had three dukes in four generations, and their students and former officials were spread all over the country. After the sudden death of Yuan Wei and his legitimate son Yuan Ji, the future of the Yuan family fell on Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, and naturally their connections and power also fell on them.

As the second legitimate son, Yuan Shu obtained the right of succession to the family. Although Yuan Shao was a son born out of wedlock, he also benefited from his family background.

When the brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu join forces, the power they can unite is extremely terrifying!

In the current geopolitical situation, they have made some military moves:

Although Yuan Shu was located in Nanyang and occupied this fertile land, he had Li Siye and Zhang Liao guarding Xuanyuan Pass in the northwest, Liu Biao of Jingzhou eyeing him covetously in the south, and he was surrounded by loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty in Yuzhou, Prince of Chen Liu Chong and other princes in the east.

This geopolitical situation is extremely unfavorable to Yuan Shu!

Therefore, the brothers Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao conspired for a long time and decided to open this breakthrough. Their strategic choice was:

Yuan Shu went north to seize Yanzhou!
In this way, Yuan Shao of Jizhou could support Yuan Shu of Yanzhou and echo each other from afar.

Yuan Shu is in Yanzhou, so he can annex Qingzhou and Xuzhou and then attack Yuzhou. Yuan Shao in Jizhou can provide food and logistics support.

If Yuan Shao of Jizhou wanted to go north to Youzhou and join hands with Gongsun Zan to deal with Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, Yuan Shu could suppress Qing and Yan to prevent Yuan Shao from being attacked from both sides.

If the two brothers join forces, they can control half of the Han Dynasty!

Moreover, Yanzhou is the center of the Han Dynasty and the thoroughfare of the Nine Provinces. Its geographical location and river transportation are very important!
If we can control Yanzhou, it will undoubtedly inflict heavy damage on the capital, and will have a huge impact both militarily and economically!
The reason why the Suanzao coalition forces were stationed in Suanzao, Chenliu, Yanzhou, was because of this reason. In the end, they successfully cut off the capital's commercial transportation, causing a famine in the capital!

Even this strategic route was the military roadmap for Xiang Yu's conquest of Qin, Liu Bang's conquest of Qin, and finally the battle between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang.

All history is contemporary history!
This is naturally not because the brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu want to emulate the Chu-Han Contention, but because of geopolitical reasons. The current geographical situation makes this the best tactic!
After making this strategic arrangement, the brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu have been looking for an excuse to "have a legitimate reason"!

From ancient times to the present, people have always emphasized "legitimate status". Even if it is a fake name, it is still a name!
Even though they were rebelling against the imperial court and the imperial power, the gentry were standing behind them. This was a struggle between the imperial power and the gentry.

The name of the aristocrats such as Yuan Shao was that "Your Majesty has killed too many people, and there are treacherous ministers running rampant around him and causing chaos", and they wanted to "clear the emperor's side and punish the treacherous ministers". This was their "name"!
And this kind of "name" can attract many knowledgeable people to join!

Now that they want to take action against Yanzhou, they also need a reason, a legitimate reason!
At this time, they set their sights on Cao Cao!

Cao Cao has a mixed reputation because he made Cao Zhengchun his adoptive father and connected the dots in the palace for the sake of his daughter Cao Qinghe's lifelong affairs.

In addition, Cao Cao was the descendant of a eunuch, so his reputation was not very good. Moreover, Cao Cao was also the governor of East County of Yanzhou, which was exactly their target.

This is undoubtedly the best candidate!
As for how to start with Cao Cao and gain the righteousness of "having a legitimate reason to act as a warlord", they set their sights on "Cao Song"!
In fact, Yuan Shao had been eyeing Cao Song for a long time. He wanted to kill Cao Song and put the blame on Liu Bei, thereby provoking a dispute between Liu Bei and Cao Cao, thus causing harm to innocent people and affecting the situation in Qingzhou and Yanzhou.

And now, since we have to give Yuan Shu the "pretext" to go north to Yanzhou, this is undoubtedly the perfect opportunity!
If Cao Cao and Liu Bei went to war, causing destruction and loss of life, they would have a legitimate reason and be justified!

Moreover, the war between Liu Bei, the governor of Qingzhou, and Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou East County, would inevitably affect the military defense of Qingzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou and Xuzhou, which would be beneficial to Yuan Shu's march north.

This is a two-birds-with-one-stone strategy!
……

(End of this chapter)