Three Kingdoms.

  Chapter 2183 True fragrance is the most important

  Winter is already deep, and heavy snow is falling, covering the inside and outside of Xu County with a piece of silver.

Except for those rich and powerful families, ordinary people can hardly appreciate the snow. Even the most heartless children will feel pain because of the cold in such a snowy day. .

Once it starts to snow, it is almost the most difficult time to endure, especially in the past few years, every winter is cold, everyone hopes that the coming year will be better, but often when winter comes, hope Once again shattered.

  Rural households in many places may not even have basic warm clothes. When winter comes, the whole family can only wrap up in quilts and suffer hard. Every time they get out of bed, it is a torment. Some didn’t even have decent quilts, so they had to use dry grass to keep out the cold, and they didn’t even have a brazier, so they didn’t dare to light it, fearing they would burn it with grass…

  In this way, when winter comes, people who are frozen to death are not so rare. As long as a large area does not freeze to death, basically the government will not deal with it, and naturally there is no such thing as comfort and relief. As for the frail elderly and young children, it is not a strange thing if they cannot survive the cold weather. Anyway, they are all thin and weak, and they will die when they die.

  Of course, no matter how heavy the snow is, there is still no hindrance to the big family. Among the best restaurants in Xu County, the business is still booming. The lights are brightly lit every day, and the aroma of wine and meat can be smelled even two streets away. There are thick brocades hung on the gates and windows, and the best silver charcoal is burned inside. It's expensive, and it's full of regular customers.

  Life is only once, cool is only one word.

  As for the troubles, leave them behind for the time being, just enjoy yourself first!

  Food smells, beauty smells...

   Fragrant!

  But there are still some people who are not addicted to pleasure...

  The General's Mansion.

  Cao Cao held the latest Guanzhong information in his hands, and he didn't know whether it should be joy, fear, or some other emotion.

   Xun Yu and Guo Jia are also there.

  Because the end of the new year is approaching during this period of time, no matter it is local finance or official positions, year-end review and assessment is required.

  『My lord...』 Seeing Cao Cao's expression looked a little strange, Xun Yu couldn't help asking, "But something happened? 』

  Cao Cao nodded and said, "Hussars ride in the Sanfu of Chang'an, strictly arrest the corrupt officials, track down the rich and right...beheaded the rebels, more than 520 people, tired of watching the roadside..."

  『Hmm…』Guo Jia on the side also raised his head and said, 『More than five hundred people? 』

   Xun Yu also looked at Cao Cao.

  More than five hundred people are nothing compared to the hundreds of thousands of people in Chang'an. Just like if Cao Cao said that the manor was not pleasing to the eye and sent soldiers to wipe it out, I'm afraid it would be more than this number.

  Cao Cao sighed, and said: "There are more than five hundred people, all of whom are rich and powerful, sons of country gentry..."

   Xun Yu's eyes widened.

  Guo Jia's mouth twitched uncontrollably, "Sure enough..."

  If more than 500 people are all big family gentry, then it is a value in a completely different sense. Ordinary people are often just a number in the thinking of the ruling class in feudal society, and they are not even willing to make detailed statistics.

What makes these feudal rulers feel heartbroken is always seeing the death of their own people. As for the life and death of ordinary people, they are not very concerned. Percentages that fall on paper.

  『What really? 』Cao Cao turned around and asked Guo Jiadao.

  Guo Jia sighed, and told about the bet he made when he and Fei Qian met Yingchuan for the first time, and then said slowly: "Now...the hussars really made a move..."

  Cao Cao pinched his beard and fell silent.

   Xun Yu frowned, as if he still couldn't believe it, "Is this move by Huqi not afraid of the world's talk?" Even if it is in the name of treason, how can it prevent the world from talking about it? 』

  Cao Cao nodded. To be honest, Cao Cao also wants to engage these big nobles. Yuzhou Yingchuan Xun Yu and others are better, after all, they stand with Cao Cao, but the gang of Jizhou...

   Hum.

Now that there are a lot of wars, the consumption is naturally high, and more food, grass and corvees are needed. Isn't this normal, but the area around Yuzhou is not bad, but Jizhou is full of ghosts, like a dead father Like mother, even more fierce than dead parents.

Every now and then, it means "not sympathizing with the suffering of the people", or saying something like "tyranny is fiercer than a tiger", etc. Cao Cao can't wait to drag these guys in front of him one by one and slap his mouth, so that these guys can understand what is real suffering and what is it. is a real tiger...

  As for why they didn’t do it, it wasn’t because they were worried about getting involved too much.

  But Hussars did just that.

  Cao Cao really didn’t know whether he should shout a hussar bull nose or laugh a hussar checkmate...

   Or, as usual, laugh three times?

  The information was in the hands of Xun Yu and Guo Jia, and after Xun Yu read it, he exchanged a look with Guo Jia, and was discovered by Cao Cao.

Ok? you two...

  『My lord Mingjian, this hussars method...』Xun Yu arched his hands, as if he was quite touched, "It's really impressive..."

"Oh? how do I say this? ’ Cao Cao asked.

Guo Jia pointed to the sentence in the information and said: "In the name of "honest scholars, clean officials"... and "conspiracy" as an excuse, the person who pursued the big family is headed by Webster... Naturally, there are restrictions, if If you don’t expand it but expand it, even if there is shock, there is no fear...』

  Cao Cao groaned, then took the information back and read it again, and then frowned a few times.

  『If…』 Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu, then at Guo Jia, and said, 『How is it? 』

  『Incorrect. Guo Jia shook his head and said, "Nowadays in the Sanfu area of ​​Chang'an, there are soldiers from Longyou in the west, hussars in Wuguan in the south, Taishi in Tongguan in the east, Yinshan in the north and soldiers in the north. Do you want to die? 』

   Xun Yu also nodded.

   Similarly, this is also the reason why the Sanfu gentry in Guanzhong endured the pain even if they felt a little bit of pain in this situation, and could not make a fuss.

  Cao Cao couldn't help sighing slightly when he heard the words. It's not that Cao Cao doesn't understand, but it's just a pity that he can't take advantage of the fire to loot. This hussar, Fei Qian, why can't he be negligent for a while?

  『Dahu...』 Cao Cao pinched his beard and narrowed his eyes, 『Dahu...this action of the hussars...may be a reference...』

  『Duke Ming! Xun Yu opened his eyes wide.

  Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "It's like a hussar, limited to a certain place..."

  Establish a big family, basically you can get local money and food for one year, or even many years, this business seems to be possible...

  『Duke Ming, this move is no different from killing a chicken to get its eggs! Xun Yu cupped his hands and said, "Ming Gong, please think again!" 』

  Cao Cao nodded, and said: "I also know...but this egg...has not fallen into the hands of a certain person, so what's the harm in killing it?" 』Of course you can’t kill your own chickens, you have to protect them and lay eggs, but the question is if the chickens keep going to other places to lay eggs, and then they still have to eat their own food, will they keep it for the New Year?

   Xun Yu turned to look at Guo Jia.

If Guo Jia, who had never been to Sanfu in Guanzhong, might have followed Xun Yu to dissuade Cao Cao, but now Guo Jia has a different idea. Everyone among the thorns is blocked, and there is no way out, but now...

  『Maybe you can wait a little bit…』 Guo Jia cupped his hands and said, 『Duke Ming is not in a hurry…』

  Cao Cao rolled his eyes and nodded, "What Feng Xiao said is also reasonable, let's see how the changes in Guanzhong make a difference..."

  The discussion in Xu County has temporarily come to an end, but the chaos in Jiaozhi has just begun.

  After Shi Xie found out that he could not defeat Liu Bei and the others no matter whether it was a frontal battlefield or a sneak attack from the side, he raised his last trump card and slapped it on the table...

   Peace!

  Shi Xie also showed considerable sincerity in order to negotiate a peace. Of course, Shi Xie also made two-handed preparations. On the one hand, if Liu Bei is willing to negotiate peace, then he can take a breath and recover. However, Liu Bei has come a long way and the supply is not smooth. If it drags on, it is obvious that Shi Xie will recover. get more.

   On the other hand, if Liu Bei does not agree to negotiate a peace, then Shi Xie will take out the benefits that he originally planned to give Liu Bei and sell them to the Nanman people in the Jiaozhi area, and cooperate to launch a fierce attack on Liu Bei...

  『Is Mrs. Liu willing? 』Shi Xie sat in the middle, looking at the map, frowning.

The land of Jiaozhi is mountainous, but there are also flat lands. The most ideal are two large alluvial plains. One is the Pearl River Delta Plain, which includes the location of Guangzhou in later generations. At present, it belongs to Nanhai County and Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam in later generations. The Red River Delta Plain where it is located belongs to Jiaozhi County, so Shi Xie actually controls two centers, but now Shi Xie said that he can give up one, that is, the Pearl River Delta Plain to Liu Bei.

  Shi Fu slowly shook his head. As the envoy to Liu Bei's army to deliver the peace talks documents, although Shi Ying was not subjected to any abuse, he could somehow get a glimpse of Liu Bei and others' handling of this matter.

  Liu Bei is obviously unwilling to negotiate peace.

One is the Pearl River Delta Plain area that Shi Xie and others gave up. Although it can be regarded as a land of plenty of water and grass, the Jiaozhi area controlled by Shi Xie and others is east and west. If Liu Bei accepts it, then even if Liu Bei The next time I want to fight Shixie again, I have to cross the mountains of Cangwu and Hepu counties, which is naturally not so convenient.

On the other hand, although the Pearl River Delta Plain is good, it is also the support point of the South Vietnam strategy that the Sun family has always wanted to obtain. When Liu Bei arrives there, he will inevitably contact Sun Quan's forces. At that time, Shi Xie will have to be used If he makes a move, Sun Quan will be able to kill Liu Bei on his behalf...

   Of course, these ideal things seem difficult to achieve now.

  After all, Liu Bei is not an idiot either, he is what other people say. For Liu Bei, there is no problem in accepting the peace agreement with a smile, and then continuing to attack with troops, and there is no psychological obstacle either.

  『Fourth brother, you went to Liu’s army, how do you see it? ’ Shi Xie asked.

  Shi Xie mainly wanted to know whether Liu Bei had the strength to defeat Jiaozhi.

  Shi Fu somewhat avoided Shi Xie's gaze, but he couldn't dodge it after all, so he could only cup his hands and say, "My lord, although the members of the Liu family don't know the scriptures, their soldiers are very brave, and their generals... are very fierce..."

   To put it simply, Liu Bei is a group of bandits, vicious...

  Shi Xie couldn't help but feel suffocated, then forced a smile, and said: "If Mrs. Liu refuses the peace talks, and sends troops to attack, how long can Yongji Pass be held?" 』

  Shi Fu pondered for a long time, and then said: "The Yongji place is sandwiched between two mountains. If Liu wants to attack, he will only have one chance... After all, the mountain road is steep and transportation is inconvenient.

  Shi Xie broke Shi Feng's book bag and said, "No matter what the art of war is, I just asked, if Liu Shi came to attack, can it be stopped?" How long can you keep it? 』

Shifu coughed, and then said: "Yongji Pass...can be guarded for a few days, and it's hard to say for a while...If we only look at the amount of grain and grass hoarded, our 5,000 soldiers and Guanzhong can eat for a year. Worry-free...」

  Shi Xie's face inevitably became a little ugly.

Those who live to this extent are not fools. Shifu refuses to say anything, but just says that it’s okay to eat. In fact, the meaning in the subtext is that the soldiers at Yongji Pass are compared with the soldiers of Liu Bei and others. that is…

  『Is the hero of Yongjiguan not allowed to be imperial? ’ Shi Xie still couldn’t believe it, “If it can be stopped for half a year, there will be a turning point…”

Since Liu Bei came to the south, Shi Xie began to hoard a large amount of grain and grass, but because he did not expect Liu Bei's offensive to be so strong, he sent out to collect grain and grass, and the people who contacted the Nanman tribes in various places did not come back in time. Although the land of Jiaozhi is extensive, many areas are mountainous and not easy to walk, so Shi Xie will not be able to say that he will immediately gather all his soldiers to fight against Liu Bei.

"If you want to take Yongjiguan as your main goal..." Shifu sighed, and said with his fingers, "It's time to... strengthen the walls and clear the fields... demolish all the surrounding houses, get wood, iron, firewood... repair long arrows, lumber, and rolling stones as soon as possible , kerosene, rejecting horses, deer stockades, hanging spleens, tires, spikes, stakes, etc...』

  Shi Xie frowned and said, "Strengthen the walls and clear the fields? 』

If this is really done, it is equivalent to giving up all the area east of Yongji Pass to Liu Bei. Even if Liu Bei is repelled in the future, Shi Xie will go back to the east of Yongji Pass A rather difficult thing to do.

  『Of course...』 Shi Feng said, 『Relocate all the people and demolish all the houses. If they are not available, they will be set on fire and burned... until the outside of Yongji Pass and within a hundred miles are all in ruins! If we can defend Yongji Pass and defeat Liu's army, it will not be too late to rebuild... If... What's more, if Liu Jun comes to attack, the outside of Yongji Pass is also an enemy, so it's better to go early...」

  『However, is it too early to implement the strategy of fortifying the wall and clearing the wilderness? ’ Shi Xie said with a frown.

  The truth is this, but if it is said that his own side did this, then wouldn't Liu Bei even have to think about peace talks? Seeing that Shi Xie is ready to fortify the wall and clear the country, then the peace talks must be fake. Didn't they immediately attract Liu Bei and others?

   "Peace talks..." Shi Ling looked at Shi Xie, cupped his hands and said, "The people of the Liu family are tigers and wolves. Is there any place for negotiation?" Now that we have no choice but to move our troops to the south, we want to sneak attack on us...My lord, don't hesitate, if you fight to the death, or there is still a chance of life...』

  The room fell into silence.

  Shi Xie sat behind the table, bowing his head in thought.

  A moment later, Shi Xie raised his head and said, "If the walls are fortified and the fields cleared, where will the people go?" 』

  『Building the city, digging trenches...』 Shi Feng said, 『The weather is cold and the ground is hard. If there is not enough manpower, it may be difficult to repair the fortifications...』

  Shi Xie nodded, and then said: "However, if there are too many people... Guanzhong will inevitably consume food and grass..."

   Shi Ling said, "It's all right. Leave it for now to repair the fortifications, and when Liu Jun comes to attack, you can abandon it before the pass! If Liu Jun kills him, he can fight against the enemy, if Liu Jun keeps him, he will consume his food... Isn't Liu Xuande rumored to be benevolent and lenient to the people? 』

  Shi Ying smiled, and then said, "Liu Xuande will probably gather it up...but it's freezing cold, it's inconvenient for us to transfer food and grass, and Liu Xuande is the same!" How much food is there in Liu Jun? Supportable geometry? 』

  Shi Feng said, "If my lord wants to refuse, this is the only strategy... First, it can be fixed at Yongjiguan, second, it can be tired of Liu Xuande, and third, it can ease our difficulties. One action can do it..."

  Shi Xie said: "If... cause public anger..."

  Shi Ying replied: "Then you can tell the big households nearby, and get their help, and you will have no worries." What's wrong with some people's grievances and no one to lead them? 』

Shi Xie thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to agree with Shiying's plan, and began to set up around Yongji Pass, and sent people to notify the big households and tribal villages near Yongji County, asking them to evacuate immediately and quietly, in order to protect his actions. Concealed and smeared, so he said that Shi Xie considered that swords and guns had no eyes, and couldn't bear them to face the disaster of war...

  At the same time, he also said that those who are willing to demolish houses and clear walls will get double rewards. In the future, after Liu Bei and others are defeated, Shi Xie will not only help them rebuild their homes with money, but also give them a certain amount of land as compensation. Of course, anyone who does not obey the order will be regarded as collaborating with the enemy and will be severely punished.

  Shi Xie originally thought that this method might not be very good, if it aroused public outrage, it would be easy to cause accidents, but Shi Ying's words made him put this worry to the back of his mind.

  Shi Feng said, if Yongjiguan is lost, what else will the lord get? Will these people come to protect the lord? Can the lord be able to drive Liu Bei away with the support of the people?

  The people are like cattle and sheep. They may be angry for a while, but they don't have much memory. So even if you humiliate them, scold them, drive them away, and cut them down, as long as they are fed and clothed afterwards, they will forget their previous enmity. Not only that, but they will also follow behind and beg for alms from the lord, praying for more food …

  Public outrage? What is public outrage?

  When will the people remember the past?

  Why compromise other things, in the end, it’s not a choice to eat, it’s really delicious?

  (end of this chapter)