The Nameless of the Common Clans

Another year is coming to an end. After Cao Cao welcomed the emperor into Juancheng, he changed the reign to Xingping. Chen Mo had no way to argue with Cao Cao on this point.

The situation in the world was not stable. Guanzhong was not peaceful this year. The Qiang people in Fengyi rebelled and were suppressed by Hua Xiong. Ma Teng and Han Sui's harassment never stopped. The Xiliang army was reorganized, and almost all the soldiers guarding the border were new troops brought by Chen Mo. Although there was no major war this year, Chen Mo suffered a lot of losses.

The severe drought in Guanzhong also made Chen Mo spend almost a year providing disaster relief and comforting the people. He even promised to exempt taxes next year. As a hegemon, Chen Mo valued his promise very much. He said he would not collect taxes. It would be impossible to collect taxes in Guanzhong next year. The taxes in Bingzhou were not enough to feed the entire Guanzhong. The little grain in the treasury had to be taken out next year to maintain the operation of the army and the court.

Even if Chen Mo wants to fight a war next year, he won't be able to do so. He even has to pray that nothing major will happen next year. The foundation of the imperial court was maintained and supplemented during the time of Dong Zhuo, but it was almost defeated by Li Jue and Guo Si. After Chen Mo took over Guanzhong, he had to restore the image of the imperial court in the hearts of the people while developing it. Up to now, the prestige of the imperial court in Guanzhong has been reestablished. Of course, it is mainly Chen Mo's prestige. He has gradually replaced the imperial court in the hearts of the people in Guanzhong.

In terms of military affairs, Chen Mo is not short of troops now. The border troops of Bingzhou, Xu Huang's troops in the Heluo area, Yu Sheng's troops in Jiguan, the surrendered Xiliang troops, and the troops of Hua Xiong, Xu Rong, and Taishi Ci add up to nearly 200,000 people.

Among the princes today, the only ones who can have so many troops are probably Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

However, at least half of them were stationed in the border areas to defend against Ma Teng, Han Sui, Zhang Yang, Cao Cao, and the Qiang people. Even if there was sufficient food and grass now, apart from the garrison troops in various places and the county troops to maintain local order, Chen Mo could really mobilize about 80,000 troops to fight. Of course, the premise was that there was sufficient food and grass. Now Chen Mo's idea was to live in peace for a few years, accumulate food and grass, and sit back and watch the world.

Unfortunately, when Cao Cao's rear was in chaos, Chen Mo had no ability to fight outside, but let Xu Huang take the opportunity to open the gates and absorb some people from Yanzhou and Yuzhou.

Every year at the end of the year, there would be some leisure time, and officials would have holidays. Except for the necessary guards, those who lived outside would be given early leave to return home. Of course, many officials in the court were not from Chen Mo's hometown, but their families were brought to Chang'an for resettlement.

Loyalty exists, but you can't count on it. Family members are safest here. Not only officials, Chen Mo has recently been planning military households to settle the families of the army here. On the one hand, some benefits for military families can be distributed in a centralized manner, and the children of meritorious soldiers can also establish academies here so that they can study nearby. On the other hand, it is also for the purpose of controlling the army.

Even Gao Shun, who is good at training soldiers, cannot guarantee that the soldiers he trains will be loyal, let alone ordinary soldiers. To ensure the combat effectiveness and sense of belonging of the army, this way of managing the families together is the most feasible in Chen Mo's view. At least there is no need to worry about the front army turning against the water. Even if the generals are bribed, the soldiers under his command will not rebel with him, which can minimize the possible losses.

Although it seems a bit unjust and untrustworthy to the soldiers, being kind to them is sometimes unjust to oneself. Now Chen Mo's power is no longer a small power, and it will develop to a larger level in the future. Even now, Chen Mo's territory is thousands of miles away. At this time, it should not be things like gratitude and trust that constrain subordinates, but rules.

Since he is now unable to conquer the outside world, Chen Mo is ready to further plan his forces to form a stronger centripetal force and greater cohesion.

"What are you thinking about, husband?" Cai Yan looked at Chen Mo with some curiosity. She had no strength after the previous lingering, but she couldn't sleep. Seeing Chen Mo staring at the curtain, she asked curiously.

"I think that after giving birth to Jin'er, the wife seems to have not changed. I heard that women's waists will become thicker after giving birth." Chen Mo hugged Cai Yan and smiled. It was a bit boring to talk about national affairs at this time. Cai Yan might not want to listen. There is actually no difference between coaxing women and coaxing men. Just pick up what the other party likes to hear.

Cai Yan's cheeks flushed, and she spat lightly, saying, "My husband is not a decent person."

"This decent behavior is for outsiders to see. If you still have to look serious in bed, it will be boring. Madam, before... woo~"

Before she finished speaking, her mouth was blocked by Cai Yan. Chen Mo looked at his wife's embarrassed and angry look with interest. She was obviously enjoying it during the lovemaking, but she couldn't say it. She was too embarrassed to say it. Women are also very strange.

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about this." Chen Mo grabbed his wife's soft hand, shook his head and smiled, "After the New Year, I will accompany my wife to live with my father-in-law for a few days. My father-in-law is a little obsessed with the matter of compiling the Book of Han, so it's a good time to accompany him to relax."

"Well, thank you, husband." Cai Yan buried her head in Chen Mo's arms, feeling her husband's strong heartbeat.

In the next few days, Chen Mo was not busy, but he did not rest either. Unlike before when he was worried about various political affairs, after the New Year, after Chen Mo stayed in Cai Yong's mansion for a few days, he spent most of his time running between visiting and being visited.

As the actual controller of Guanzhong and Bingzhou, there are actually not many people who need to be visited by Chen Mo. Huangfu Song, Zhao Wen, and Zhong Yao must come in person, but the remaining nine ministers may not all have the qualifications. If he is from Cai Yong's generation or a clan member of the Han Dynasty, Chen Mo will come to the door in person. The rest will be done by sending someone to give a gift or something. Chen Mo doesn't really like the red tape, but at this position, What should be observed must still be observed.

Of course, during this visit, some state affairs were also discussed, but most of them were empty talk, which sounded reasonable but meaningless. Chen Mo was mainly focusing on laying a solid foundation now. Cao Cao's incident reminded Chen Mo that although he was not like Cao Cao He directly killed people like that, but Chen Mo did many things more excessively than Cao Cao. He directly harmed the interests of the scholars and shook the foundation of the scholars. Although the damage was not high for a while, it was continuous damage. Cutting the flesh with a blunt knife is the best. It hurts.

Cao Cao's problem also existed here with Chen Mo. He didn't want to lead his army out on an expedition one day, and then be inexplicably attacked from behind. If Liu Bei hadn't suddenly appeared this time, Cao Cao would have won Xuzhou. In that case, At least Cao Cao had room to advance and retreat, and he would not be as passive as he is now.

Of course, Liu Bei is secondary. The main thing is the rebellion of the Yanzhou family. What Chen Mo is doing now is to lay a solid foundation and consider it from the perspective of the family. If they want to rebel, they will find someone like Liu Bei. , where to start, how to deal with yourself, and make arrangements in advance. Of course, all of this is done secretly and will not be noticed.

Chen Jin has now learned to walk. During the New Year period, Chen Mo spends his free time with his mother in the yard watching his son running around, which is a very happy thing.

Furthermore, Yun Si and Juan'er are pregnant one after another. Chen Mo's three-generation single family seems to be showing signs of branching out in Chen Mo's generation. Chen's mother is happily counting the days on her fingers every day. See when my two grandchildren will be born.

Heizi spends most of his time lying next to Chen Mo. In terms of a dog's lifespan, Heizi is already very old and not as cheerful as Chen Mo was when he was a child. Now that he sees Chen Mo, he just wag his tail. He is obviously closer to Chen Mo. After all, In these years, it has never left Chen's mother's side. On the contrary, Chen Mo is rarely with Heizi.

"Mom, why don't I find another one for you?" On this day, Chen Mo rubbed Heizi's neck and looked at his mother and said.

Chen Mo likes Heizi very much. After all, Heizi was always by his mother's side when Chen Mo was studying. Chen Mo was worried that one day Heizi would be gone and his mother would be sad.

"This Guanzhong thin dog is not bad either." Chen Mo looked at his mother and smiled.

"You wanted to raise Heizi back then, so you got it back from your Uncle Zheng. How many days did you keep him?" Mother Chen glared at Chen Mo, groped for Heizi and said, "This Heisi is different from ordinary dogs. He understands human nature. You In those years, Heizi would do anything I wanted to do for me, just like when you were by my side."

Chen Mo: "..."

This sounds a little awkward.

"Now that Jin'er is at home, Yun Si and Juan'er are also pregnant. Mom has to take care of them, so she doesn't have much energy. However, in such a big yard, there should be several dogs to take care of it, but Mom has If you don’t want to raise any more, just ask the people in the mansion to find a few to raise." Mother Chen looked at Heizi and sighed, "What people fear most in life is losing, but sometimes, this kind of thing is not up to anyone, wait. When you reach your mother's age, you will gradually understand."

"Mom is so young, why do you keep saying this?" Chen Mo quickly changed the subject. He didn't want to say this, and felt inexplicably uncomfortable. Besides, Chen's mother was indeed not old. She had just reached forty. Although she was busy with her life back then, The root cause of the disease has been eliminated, but over the years, I have been enjoying myself a lot, and my body has gradually made up for the loss.

"You are already in your forties, how can you still be young?" Mother Chen said with a smile, "My son must not think about family."

Chen Mo naturally also likes dogs, but he only likes them and cannot understand his mother's feelings. After talking with his mother for a while, Chen Mo stood up and left.

"Husband, don't worry. My mother is very happy now that she has many children and grandchildren. I will talk to some of my sisters about the black child and pick some good dogs for my mother and keep them in the house. It will be lively." Leaving my mother's courtyard, Cai Yan saw Chen Mo frowning and thinking, thinking that he was worried about his mother, so he couldn't help but persuade him.

"It's up to my wife to decide this matter." Chen Mo came back to his senses, nodded and smiled. In fact, he was thinking about the wasteland reclamation in Guanzhong this year...