Great Han Empire

Chapter 697
The first month of the second year of Xingping in the Han Dynasty (AD 195).

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Fengxue and Xiaoyu went into labor successively, and each gave birth to a daughter.

General Li Hong was ecstatic.The eldest princess and officials from all the prefectures in Hebei went to Xingyuan to congratulate her.

In the middle of the first month, Lie Kuangfeng arrived at Xingyuan, and Li Hong went out to meet him in person.

"How many gifts did your uncle bring?"

"Boys and girls?" Lie Kuangfeng asked.

"Girl, both are girls." Li Hong laughed cheerfully, "Why, the gifts for boys and girls are different?"

"Same, same." Lie Kuangfeng laughed, but his eyes revealed a look of disappointment, "Master Kobe Xiong of the Central Xianbei and Mijia of the Eastern Xianbei are sending envoys from the desert to congratulate the general on the birth of his son. .”

Li Hong said a few words of thanks, then accompanied Lie Kuangfeng to the military tent, and asked, "Did you come early?"

"I guess Xiaoxue is going to give birth, so I came early." Lie Kuangfeng laughed, "I prepared two generous gifts, which are exactly the same. Now the general won't worry about me favoring one over the other, will he?"

Li Hong patted Li Kuangfeng's shoulder gratefully, "Thank you for being so thoughtful. Xiaoyu has no relatives since she was a child. I'm afraid that after seeing you, she will be emotionally affected by the scene and feel uncomfortable, so..."

"I've thought of it a long time ago." Lie Kuangfeng pointed to the horse team behind him, "This is my gift to the children, and they will definitely be very happy when they see it."

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At the beginning of the new year, the general was blessed with a daughter, and Handan Xingyuan was immersed in joy, but as fast horses came galloping, the general's mood became worse and worse.

At the end of the first month, the new Xuzhou Shepherd Liu Bei sent a letter to tell the truth about the recent situation in Xuzhou, expressing that he absolutely respects the current emperor, obeys all orders of the imperial court, and begs the general to ask for orders for him. He also hoped that the general would send troops to Yanzhou to help him kill Cao Cao and avenge the death of Tao Qian and hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Xuzhou.

At the same time, Liu Yi and Xu Si from Yanzhou Prefecture rushed to Handan for help despite the howling wind and snow.Last month, Cao Cao and Lu Bu each led troops to fight fiercely in Dingtao City, the county seat of Jiyin County.The two sides fought bloody for several days.Unfortunately, Wu Zi, the prefect of Jiyin County, died in battle. Lu Bu's army was disturbed by this, and he retreated to Chengshi City.Liu Yi and Xu Si pleaded bitterly in Xingyuan, hoping that the general would send troops to help.

Li Hong took Tao Qian's suicide note to himself before he died, and was deeply saddened.In the past, Tao Qian took good care of him on the Xiliang battlefield, and he always wanted to repay his kindness, but today Tao Qian has passed away, and he has no chance to repay him.

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Li Hong summoned the officials of the three prefectures to discuss the strategy of sending troops to Yanzhou.

"How is the relief situation for the refugees? So far, has anyone died of freezing or starvation?" Li Hong was most concerned about the refugees, and he hoped that the army could properly resettle the refugees who fled to Hebei before crossing the south.

"All the governments are opening warehouses to release food and do their best to help the refugees, so we haven't received reports of a large number of refugees freezing to death or starving to death." Li Wei said, "After the spring, we plan to recruit millions of refugees, dig ditches, Several rivers such as the Qinghe River, Zhangshui River, Hutuo River, and Lu (gu) River running across Jizhou are interconnected."

"You agreed with Master Ding Li's proposal?" Li Hong asked slightly surprised, "Can Hebei's wealth support it?"

"It is indeed costly to dig a ditch that connects the north and south of Jizhou, but now we have to dig it if we don't." Li Wei smiled wryly.

There are too many refugees in Jizhou, and there is a serious shortage of land, and it is impossible to resettle them to farm.According to the preliminary estimates of the prefectures, there are about 200 million refugees without land to cultivate, and the food relief food consumed by these people is astonishing.In order to alleviate the food crisis in Hebei and raise as much food as possible for relief, there is only one way now, and that is to let the people in the three prefectures of Hebei who should be in corvee work feel at ease to farm the fields, and let them use the surplus food at home to pay for the corvee.All the collected food was used to relieve the refugees, and these refugees served the corvee instead of the people in Hebei.

In this way, the food crisis in Hebei can be effectively alleviated, the people in Hebei can temporarily get rid of the heavy corvee, and the refugees can always have enough food, but because there are too many refugees, the total amount of corvee is too large, whether it is repairing cities or dredging ditches There could not be so many people, so after careful consideration and careful calculation, the Da Sima Mansion decided to make full use of the power of these refugees to excavate in advance the "Zhongxing Canal" that runs through more than a dozen large and small rivers in the north and south of Jizhou.

After listening to Li Wei's explanation, Li Hong immediately asked Xun You and Zhang Fan, "Do the eldest princess and all the elders in the mansion know about this? Do they agree?"

Xun You and Zhang Fan nodded again and again.

"Excavating the Zhongxing Canal will cost a lot. Although the problems of the peasants and corvees have been solved, what about the money problem?" Li Hong looked at Xun You, Li Wei, and Xie Ming and said very seriously, "If you propose to increase taxes, we will Absolutely will not agree."

Li Wei winked at Xun You quietly.Xun You is the head of the eldest princess's residence. He is very old, senior and famous. Li Hong respects him very much. Generally, Li Hong will not get angry when he says something unpleasant, but listen carefully and think over it.Many times now, if Li Wei, Xie Ming, Tang Fang, Song Wen and others who returned to Handan from Bianjun last year encountered difficult things, they would ask Xun You to come forward and explain to the general in detail.

Xun You coughed a few times, and then said in a slow voice: "The general has vigorously promoted the policy of paying equal attention to agriculture, industry and commerce in northern Xinjiang, Jizhou and Youzhou in recent years, encouraging all levels of business to get rich, and the trade of goods and farming has developed rapidly as a result. Come on, there are more merchants and richer merchants, so should the tax be changed too? Merchants are too rich, which is not a good thing for the imperial court. What was the reason why Emperor Xiaowu enforced the order of suing, and the general has forgotten?"

"No, this is absolutely not possible." Li Hong categorically vetoed it, "Although merchants today are rich, they are still far different from merchants in Emperor Xiaowu's time. Dong Zhuo issued a ban on the merchants back then, which dealt a heavy blow to merchants. This matter has only been in the past few years, and we have a calculation in mind to what extent merchants can become rich. The tax system must not be adjusted, so there is no need to discuss this matter again."

Xun You and the officials of the three mansions looked at each other with embarrassment.

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"Then, in order to save money, the general will not send troops to Yanzhou this year." Xun You stroked his long beard and said word by word.

Li Hong was stunned for a moment, then his face darkened, and he said very dissatisfied: "Last year, you strongly urged me to send troops to Yanzhou, but because of the continuous disasters and floods of refugees, the plan to send troops was forced to be cancelled. Now the situation in the Central Plains is very favorable to us, you But he asked me to give up sending troops, why? Let the butchers like Cao Cao not be killed, this kind of rebellion is not eliminated, how will the people in the world scold me?"

Xun You smiled slightly, "General, the situation in the Central Plains seems to be very favorable to us, but the situation in the world is becoming more and more unfavorable to us."

Now Tian Kai in Qingzhou has been appeased, Liu Bei in Xuzhou is willing to submit to the imperial court, and Lu Bu is fighting in Yanzhou. If our [-] army roars down at this moment, the Central Plains can indeed be pacified immediately.

However, what we can see, Yuan Shao will also see.

Last year, Yuan Shao joined hands with Han Sui and Ma Teng of Xiliang, Liu Yan of Yizhou, and some ministers in Chang'an to launch a war against King Qin. Although it ended in failure, Yuan Shao's pursuit of Guanzhong's heart has been exposed without doubt.Whether Yuan Shao is really loyal to the king, we all have a calculation in our hearts.It is true that he is a king, and it is true to usurp the world, but when the situation has developed to this day, when the Central Plains has become a general in the pocket, is Yuan Shao still stubborn, resolutely opposing the current emperor, and wanting to rebuild the imperial line?
We can assume that if the general sent troops to Yanzhou, what would Yuan Shao do?There is no doubt that he will send troops to help Cao Cao.He will unite with Liu Biao of Jingzhou, Han Suimateng of Xiliang, and even Liu Yan of Yizhou to attack Guanzhong and Guanxi in the west to contain Xu Rong's forces.At the same time, he will also join forces with Yuan Shu of Yangzhou to attack Xuzhou and contain Liu Bei's troops.Combined with Yuan Wei of Yuzhou and Cao Cao of Yanzhou to attack Lu Bu back and forth, and then dragged us to the battlefield of Yanzhou.As for Tian Kai in Qingzhou, based on his relationship with Yuan Shao, I guess he will neither send troops to help us nor Yuan Shao, but once Yuan Shao and Cao Cao gain the upper hand, what choice will he make? It can be seen.

Why can Yuan Shao unite so many forces to deal with the general?It's very simple, he only needs to say a word, and as long as he holds high the banner of respecting the current emperor and rejuvenating the country, he will be able to get the support of the people of the world.

If our main army is trapped in the Yanzhou battlefield, and Xu Rong's army is trapped in the Kanxi battlefield, and the two fronts are fighting at the same time, if Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, Yuan Wei, Han Sui, Ma Teng, and Liu Yan send troops to Guanzhong again, how can I ask Li Jue? Can Dong Zhuo's old minions like Guo Si and Guo Si stop it?

Since Li Jue couldn't keep Chang'an, the fate of the emperor can be imagined.Once the emperor dies, Yuan Shao can justifiably rebuild the imperial line and the court, then the general will become a traitor of the great man, and all the people in the world will rise up and attack him.

Yuan Shao established a new monarch and established a new court. Will Liu Bei still follow the orders of the general?Will Tian Kai still obey the general's orders?Will Lu Bu still obey the general's orders?Overnight, the situation in the Central Plains was turned upside down, and the general's advantage was instantly lost.

Today, Yuan Shao has seen the unfavorable situation in the Central Plains, and he will take Guanzhong at all costs, so as to completely reverse the situation in the world.

So, seeing the favorable situation in the Central Plains, what countermeasures will the general take?Is the general going to make full use of the favorable advantages of the Central Plains and turn Hebei and Dahan Sheji into a desperate situation?

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Sweat broke out on Li Hong's forehead.

According to Xun You, a great situation to calm down the world has turned into a road to self-destruction.

Li Hong quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Jifeng, move the brazier farther away, I'm a little hot."

Ji Feng standing behind him gave him a strange look, bent over and picked up the brazier on the other side of the case, and put it in the distance.

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Xun You was silent for a while, and continued: "General, the most urgent task is not to seize the Central Plains, but to go westward to King Qin, occupy Guanzhong, rebuild the majesty of the emperor and the court, and push Yuan Shao and the rebellions from all over the place to the brink."

Once the Son of Heaven is in power, once the court is established, the general will hold high the banner of rebellion and rejuvenation, who is your opponent in the world?Liu Biao, Liu Yan, and Liu Bei will immediately swear allegiance to the death, and Tian Kai and Han Sui will immediately switch to the emperor. How long can the remaining rebels like Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Yuan Wei, and Cao Cao last?

As long as the general occupies Guanzhong, the advantage of the Central Plains will continue to be maintained.As long as the general Qin Wang succeeds, he can immediately lead the army to sweep the world, and the stability of the society will be just around the corner.

Xun You looked at Li Hong, and said softly: "Since the general missed the best opportunity to seize the Central Plains last year, why rush in this short period of time? The important task of the general this year should be to concentrate the main force in northern Xinjiang and march westward to serve the king." In this way, not only can we avoid the two-front war and the extreme shortage of wealth in Hebei, but we can also win Guanzhong, save the emperor, win the hearts of the people, and occupy the absolute advantage of pacifying the country.”

"The situation in the world is changing, and Hebei's strategy must also be constantly changing, so that the general can rejuvenate the country at the least cost."

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Li Hong admired Xun You very much.

"Master Xun, how can I reply to Lu Bu?"

"Our earliest strategy against the Central Plains was to make it chaotic." Xun You laughed, "The more battles fought in the Central Plains, the better, and the more brutal the battles, the better. Therefore, the general can reply to Lord Lu Bu and send him a message immediately." Send money, food and arms, let him continue to persevere."

"In addition, considering the current situation in the Central Plains, the general can recommend Tian Kai and Liu Bei as Qingzhou Mu and Xuzhou Mu, and let them send troops to attack Cao Cao, so as to force Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and Yuan Wei to send troops to help Cao Cao and maintain the Central Plains The chaotic situation, thus effectively restraining Yuan Shao's troops."

Li Hong nodded in agreement, "Lord Xun, the current situation in Guanzhong is very complicated. If we reveal our intentions too early, will Yuan Shao and Li Jue be alerted? Seeing that we are determined to take down Guanzhong, will Yuan Shao shake hands with Li Jue?" Make peace and deal with us together?"

"That's for sure." Xun You said with a smile, "After the Yellow River thaws, the general can ask General Quyi to make a crossing attack posture, and some troops can even cross the river. If we don't act, Yuan Shao will not launch a big battle to seize Guanzhong. As long as Yuan Shao and Li Jue fight, the general will be able to lead the army to serve as king."

Li Hong pondered for a while, and then suddenly asked: "After King Qin succeeds, if the restructuring is..."

"General, you must make up your mind early on this matter." Xun You's expression suddenly became serious, "General, please take a look at the three prefectures of Hebei and the refugees in Hebei. If you don't make up your mind to change the system, how can the big man rejuvenate? How can the refugees survive? "

Xun You stood up slowly, "General, if you want to enter Chang'an, you must be fully prepared, otherwise, you should not enter Chang'an, lest it will harm the community."

Li Hong was secretly horrified.

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(End of this chapter)