Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1062 Hidden worries
After listening to Yuan Xi's words, Mi Zhen thought that Lord Dao said he wanted to recuperate, but in fact he didn't want to fight?
Yuan Xi saw her doubts and smiled: "A war is a war, and it is important to control it within the scale."

"Mounting a large army may not necessarily achieve the goal, and a small number of people may not be able to accomplish the task."

"Especially in mountainous areas like Samhan and Baekje, a large army's laborious expedition, especially by land, will drag down the attacking party."

"So the strategy I adopted this time was to fight without fighting. If I can defeat others without fighting, that would naturally be the best."

"For the specific situation, when the military advisor returns to Jicheng and we have discussed it, I will arrange what the caravan will do."

He finally smiled and said: "Our previous layout was not wasted. The caravan may play an unexpected role."

After Mi Zhen left, Yuan Xi thought about it and thought that if he wanted to capture the three Koreas of Baekje at the minimum cost this time, he would not only need Zhuge Liang and others, but also that person.

It just so happens that the geographical location of Baekje has many similarities with Liangzhou. As a poisoner, he should have some ideas, right?
After the news of Yuan Xi becoming king spread throughout the world, all parties thought that a war was about to break out, especially Cao Cao, who was preparing intensively for war.

For a time, Yecheng was in turmoil, and Xiahou Dun urgently mobilized troops to prepare for war. Later, seeing Yuan Xi's army moving frequently on the border, Cao Cao even rushed to Yecheng in person to take charge of the attack to deal with Yuan Xi's possible attacks.

But until the whole summer passed, Yuan Xi's side showed no signs of seizing Jizhou except for a few feint attacks with heavy thunder and rain. Cao Cao finally realized that he was probably being fooled by Yuan Xi!

The reason why Cao Cao misjudged was because of the imbalance in intelligence capabilities between the two sides.

After Cheng Yu's death, Chen Qun temporarily took over the school affairs office. After confronting Yuan Xi's prosecutor's office, Chen Qun suddenly discovered that he was not even slightly behind the other side.

First of all, the number of people is not on the same level. In the whole world, the spies of various identities in the School Affairs Office add up to less than a thousand people, but Chen Qun estimates that the spies in the Procuratorate Office on Yuan Xi's side are at least several times more than his own.

And not only the numbers are different, but also from the detailed level of intelligence collection, to the speed of message transmission, and even the breadth and depth of infiltration methods, the school affairs office is completely suppressed by the prosecutor's office.

In the final analysis, it is the huge difference in investment between the two parties.

Cao Cao couldn't conjure up money out of thin air. The military expenses he spent on conquests, the rewards given to heroes, and the wealth provided to support noble officials were all very large sums. Even if he conquered parts of Jizhou and Jingzhou in the past two years, he still couldn't afford it. It costs so much to live.

So in the end, the funds left for the school office were naturally a little stretched. Due to this restriction, the secret agents were often able to do much less.

In contrast, Yuan Xi's prosecutor's office not only has no shortage of money, but also has much greater power. Therefore, in many cases, they can respond much faster to emergencies. In the past few years, the two sides have fought against each other. The school affairs office on Cao Cao's side was very suppressive.

Some spies from the School Affairs Office even betrayed the School Affairs Office and defected with the information after learning about the other party's treatment.

Now it is even worse for the school affairs office. Some wars have not started yet, so the school affairs office has few secrets to speak of. How can we fight against the other side?
As a result, the intelligence war became one-sided, which was reflected in the war report. Cao Ying was deceived for several months.

Chen Qun, who is in charge of the school affairs office, naturally has a shameless face. He thought this was a great opportunity for him to take the opportunity to go further, but he didn't expect that he would be blamed for it!
After being reprimanded twice by Cao Cao, Chen Qun lost his composure and asked Xun You and others for advice, hoping to find a way to reverse the disadvantageous situation. However, after he learned a little about the other party's operations, he became even less confident.

In the final analysis, intelligence warfare is the result of the joint operation of two aspects: organizational rigor and expenditure. The former is ideological loyalty, which is the so-called pursuit, and the latter is money, which is the so-called livelihood security.

Cao Cao's approach to employing people advocates the emphasis on talent rather than virtue. Most people come here for promotion and wealth. It's okay if the wind is going well, but when there is a headwind, people's hearts will fluctuate and traitors will appear frequently.

In terms of financial security, the difference between the two sides is even greater. Cao Cao's policy is to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. Although Cao Cao advocates simplicity on the surface, he spends a lot of money in private, not to mention his officials and generals, each of whom lives a more luxurious life than the other. .

In addition, Cao Ying's army has been fighting for many years, which has put great pressure on the government's revenue and expenditure. The salaries of middle and lower-level officials, especially the spies of the school affairs office, are not high. Many people live in poverty, and naturally they have little loyalty and motivation.

On the other hand, on Yuan Xi's side, the spies were selected from common people after multiple inspections. At the same time, they had to undergo a period of labor education, and their thoughts and will were much firmer.

In terms of salary and salary, it is even more unmatched by the spies of Cao Jun's School Affairs Office. The expenses of the Procuratorate's Office are backed by Yuan Xi's huge caravans. In recent years, Yuan Xi has occupied almost all the downstream rivers and coastal trade routes. Nine-tenths of the world's waterway trade is under his control. In addition, he deliberately controls the number of troops, so the wealth he saves is much richer than Cao Cao's.

So it wasn't until autumn that Cao Cao woke up. At least Yuan Xi was not going to fight this year. He had been deceived for half a year!
Cao Cao cursed in his heart. If he had known this, he would have solved the problem in Liangzhou and Yizhou first. Why did he wait until now?

When Guan Yu raided Xudu, forcing Cheng Yu and Chen Qun to seize Ma Teng's military power and control the Xiliang cavalry, Cao Ren Yu Jin stopped Guan Yu. However, this was obviously killing the goose that laid the goose to lay the egg. After Cao Cao returned to Xudu, although he knew there would be future troubles, he had to admit that the situation was critical and that Xudu was more important than Ma Teng, so he could only admit it with pinched noses and continue to imprison Ma Teng. , and at the same time be prepared for changes in Xiliang.

The facts turned out to be as Cao Cao expected. After Ma Chao learned that Ma Teng had been captured, he rebelled. However, Cao Cao was prepared and bribed Han Sui. At the same time, he sent troops from Zhong Yao to support him and temporarily suppressed Ma Chao.

Originally, Cao Cao wanted to personally conquer Liangzhou, wipe out Ma Chao in one go, and completely solve the hidden dangers in Liangzhou. However, something went wrong in the information war at this time. He was deceived into Yecheng by the overwhelming false information that Yuan Xi was going to send troops to attack Yecheng, and it was a waste of money. for several months.

In the past few months, Cao Cao felt more and more that his health was not good. He was suffering from headaches that almost caused him to faint from pain. This also made Cao Cao not only more grumpy, but also more greedy for comfort and enjoyment.

Now he was sitting on the newly built high platform in Yecheng, holding Mrs. Liu in his arms, with the whole Yecheng in sight. This made Cao Cao feel so proud that he temporarily forgot about his headache.

He said to Mrs. Liu happily: "Madam, how do you feel about returning to your hometown?"

Mrs. Liu smiled and said, "I am really lucky. This is all due to the majesty of the king."

"Oh?" Cao Cao said with a smile: "Why do I feel that my wife is shaking? Is she afraid of heights or being alone?"

Mrs. Liu hurriedly said: "The king is the person chosen by God. I am in awe. And thinking about seeing the king rule the world in the future, I am trembling with excitement."

Cao Cao laughed and said, "My lady is very clever with her words. No matter it is day or night, she is always useful to Gu Po."

Mrs. Liu apologized with a smile on her face, but she was secretly cursing in her heart. Cao Cao's temper had become increasingly moody recently. He even hacked a concubine to death for no reason in front of Mrs. Liu a few days ago. This almost frightened Mrs. Liu, so she had to be more careful. Ingratiation.

Nowadays, she lives on tenterhooks and misses her days in Yecheng even more. If Yecheng had not been breached, she would not have to live such a precarious life!
Thinking of this, she not only missed the dead Yuan Shang, but also hated Yuan Tan and Yuan Xilai even more. If it weren't for them, how could she have fallen to this point?
Yuan Tan is dead, so that's fine, but every time the Liu family hears news about Yuan Xi, it feels like thousands of poisons are gnawing at their heart. A concubine of the Yuan family has become better and better, and even became the king. Why!
Cao Cao sighed at this time: "What a pity. Gu Zhen was a pioneer of Yuan Benzhu at the beginning, but he repeatedly suspected me, so I was forced to protect myself."

"However, things are unpredictable, and Yuan Benchu ​​passed away before me. It is really disappointing."

Mrs. Liu's face was stiff, and she was not stupid. She could naturally guess the possible cause of Yuan Shao's death, but she certainly did not dare to show it, so she could only laugh and said: "That was his fate, and he was destined not to be the enemy of the king."

Cao Cao picked up the wine and took a sip, sighing: "But his son has become a serious problem for me."

Thinking of this, she smiled and said: "Your Majesty now has the aura of an emperor, and those who oppose him are just clowns."

"In time, it will surely destroy itself, and this world will definitely belong to the king."

Cao Cao laughed loudly, "Although I know you don't mean what you say, I don't hate such words."

"Now in Benchu's home, hugging Benchu's wife, I feel so happy."

"What a pity. It would be better if I had a son like Fierce Tiger. At this point, I envy Ben Chu."

Mrs. Liu secretly gritted her teeth, it was Yuan Xi again, this name was like a ghost lingering in her heart, and it was almost becoming a problem for her.

Moreover, Ms. Liu has also learned to watch people's emotions in recent years. She can feel that Yuan Xi's puppy puts a lot of pressure on Cao Cao, otherwise Cao Cao would not be worried every day.

She smiled and said: "The eldest prince's heir is much better than that fierce tiger. Given time, he will definitely inherit the king's legacy."

This was the wrong thing to say. Cao Cao thought about the heir, which was still undecided, and his face suddenly dropped. He pushed Liu away and walked to the railing of the high platform. He looked at Yecheng at his feet and remained silent.

Over the past few days, he felt more and more powerless. He could see that Yuan Xi wanted to delay time with him, but he really couldn't afford it!
At present, Liu Bei has been driven from the wealthy Jingzhou to Jiaozhou. In fact, he has lost the threat, and Liangzhou will be pacified sooner or later. Sun Quan is a waste in war, and now his real enemy is actually Yuan Xi.

Why don't you just have a decisive battle with Yuan Xi to decide who belongs to the world while your body can still hold on?

(End of this chapter)