Three Kingdoms.

  Chapter 2374 Walking in the dark

   Wuchao.

   Cao Jun camp.

  Cao Cao stood on a rock on the hillside far from the camp, looking at his own camp in the distance, the cold wind blew Cao Cao's slightly disheveled hair, and then he went straight into the distance without looking back.

  The cold wind is gone, like a time that will never stay.

  Cao Cao's mind suddenly became a little dazed for some reason.

   Back then...

   At that moment, countless scattered fragments flashed past Cao Cao's eyes, and then these fragments followed the wind and disappeared without a trace...

   Regret, regret, joy, pain.

All kinds of emotions settled down after these fragments, and finally gathered together to outline a human figure. The shape changed a few times, and finally became like Fei Qian, wearing a scribe robe, with a young and full face. With a lively smile, he stood aside.

   In a daze, Cao Cao felt as if he and Fei Qian were standing outside Zhang Miao's camp.

  Cao Cao stretched out his hand, "Ziyuan is willing...together with Cao..."

  The phantom shattered and went away with the wind.

  Cao Cao slowly withdrew his hand, then looked up at the sky.

  The wind rises, the clouds roll and the clouds relax.

  『Father…』

  A voice sounded softly not far away.

  Cao Cao looked back.

  Cao Pi took Cao Zhi and walked over, bowing his head to salute.

  Cao Cao nodded, motioning for the two to come forward.

  『How does Zhi'er feel when he is traveling with the army these few days? Cao Cao asked, "Is it different from the previous idea?" 』

   Cao Zhi said bluntly: "Not good. It's too bad, it's dirty, messy and noisy, and I don't have any snacks...』

  Cao Cao laughed, and then patted Cao Zhi on the head, "It will be fine once you get used to it. 』

  『Father...』 Cao Pi actually didn’t like military life, but in front of Cao Zhi, he still pretended to be quite used to it, saying, 『Why did we come here? 』

  Cao Cao greeted, let the two children sit down on the side of the stone with him, "Well, Pi Er, what do you think we should do here?" 』

  Cao Pi pretended to think for a while, and then threw out the answer he had thought up a long time ago, "Maybe there is a change in Yuzhou?" 』

  Cao Cao said on the surface that he was going to Zhongmu, but in fact he secretly left Jizhou with his troops and arrived at Wuchao.

  Cao Cao smiled, "Although we missed, we are not far away!" Think again…"

  Cao Pi thought very hard, um, maybe he was pretending to think hard.

  Cao Zhi on the side had already begun to give up thinking, his eyes were gurgling to the left and then to the right.

   After a while, Cao Pi cupped his hands and said, "The child can't figure it out, so I ask my father to enlighten me." 』

  Cao Cao looked back at Cao Pi, then at Cao Zhi, "What about you? What did you think of? 』

  Cao Zhi smiled brightly, and said crisply, "I didn't expect that either!" 』

  Cao Pi on the side couldn't help curling his lips.

  『Hahaha...』 Cao Cao laughed, 『Okay, I will tell you as a father...』

  『Come here, just for... the army of Mount Tai...』 Cao Cao slowly put away his smile, and turned his eyes to the direction of Mount Tai, 『You are called an army, but you are actually a thief...Don’t obey the king, don’t respect orders...』

   After learning about what Feiqian Guanzhong Sanfu had done against the big local households, Cao Cao drank a lot that night.

   Alcohol to drink alone.

   Cao Cao wanted to do what Feiqian did a long time ago, but he always hesitated and hesitated. Fei Qian is not the only one who thinks seriously about the current political system of the Han Dynasty.

Many people, including Cao Cao, have already felt deeply about the bad governance of the great man, and even hated it deeply. However, they have not found a more suitable solution until the appearance of Fei Qian, which made Cao Cao in Manchuria. It was a glimmer of light that was seen in the dark man.

  Since the unification of the Qin Dynasty, how to firmly control the local area has become a problem that the central court has tried its best to solve. The Qin Dynasty pioneered the adoption of the system of prefectures and counties, and this system greatly destroyed the original aristocratic system of the six countries, and then the six countries rebelled, and when the second **** Liu Bang came to power in the Han Dynasty, these old nobles of the six countries discovered They got ripped off...

After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty pushed the order of grace, the county-state parallel system really entered the system of counties and counties, and then Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty greatly controlled the Han Dynasty, and used the previous reserves and overdrafted future to defeat the old man. opponents of the Huns, but it is precisely because of this that in various places among the Han, the local big households who have been tortured and suffered because of this war found that they could not continue to fully obey the arrangements of the central court, or what they thought in their hearts The court system of the Han Dynasty was "exploitation and suppression" of big households, so it began to compete with the central court for power.

   stretches to this day.

  『Do you know what this place is called? ’ Cao Cao turned to ask his two sons.

  Cao Zhi responded quickly, rushing to say: "I know!" It's called Wuchao! Because there is Wuchao Ze in the south! 』

  Cao Pi on the side just opened his mouth, and seeing that Cao Zhi had finished speaking without leaving anything to add, he could only smile without embarrassment.

  Cao Cao nodded, "Back then... Weifu and Benchu ​​fought here once... Do you know why Yuan Benchu ​​and Weifu must have a fight in the end? 』

  Cao Zhi immediately shook his head, Cao Pi thought for a while, fell silent for a while, and shook his head too.

"During the time of Guangwu, the emperor rose from the grass, relying on two things..." Cao Cao pointed to the north, then pointed to the south, and said simply, "There is Jizhou in the north, and Yuzhou in the south... At that time, Yuan Benchu ​​was in Jizhou. Father won Yuzhou... so there must be a battle! 』

  Cao Cao looked into the distance, and recalled in his mind the time when Yuan Shao stood on the black stone in the grove and loudly announced his strategy for the world...

  In fact, thinking about it now, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao himself were actually referring to Liu Xiu’s old way.

  At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and various insurgents swarmed up. At this time, Liu Xiu was just one of them, not even the most powerful one. In view of this, Liu Xiu paid special attention to attracting local tyrants to expand his power.

In the more than ten years since Liu Xiu started rebelling to unify the country, four groups of forces have gathered under him. The first group is his relatives, which needless to say; It is the forces wooed by Nanyang and Yingchuan areas, such as Jia Fu, Ma Wu and so on.

   Is this very similar to Cao Cao's current situation?

   On the other side, it was Yuan Shao's choice in history, that is, the power of the Hebei Group is the center, and the power of Jizhou is also the strongest. Liu Xiu married Guo Shengtong, who came from a famous local family, as his queen. Yuan Shao also married people from Jizhou. play a decisive role.

  Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, the strategies of both of them are "old" methods to some extent. Because in front of them, the most recent and the biggest success is Liu Xiu. At that time, both Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were still young, and they hadn't realized that Liu Xiu still had many problems after he finally achieved nationwide unification in the twelfth year of Jianwu. At that time, the ruling power of the Central Court of the Great Han Dynasty was still relatively weak, and it was necessary to rely on local powerful forces to maintain its own rule. In addition, local rebellions broke out from time to time and political turmoil within the Central Court made it impossible for Liu Xiu to Thoroughly eliminate the hidden dangers of local tyranny.

  In the period of Emperor Han Ling, he wanted to check and balance the localities, but it ignited a bigger problem, that is, Emperor Han Ling gave the prefect of the state a lot of power, which intensified the local separatism. Now, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Fei Qian can all be said to be the beneficiaries of the state pastoral governor system. Therefore, when Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, although he realized that there were big problems in this system, the sharp ax It is difficult to cultivate oneself, and it is difficult to correct.

  Strong center, weak place, just like people rely on the brain to direct the body, rather than rely on the lower body to think. Individuals can be emotional, but a nation must be rational and orderly. Only in this way can the whole country be unified and not fall into division. This is also the conclusion that Cao Cao came to after thinking deeply. But Cao Cao never dared to move, or tried, and was beaten back.

  Yuzhou is Cao Cao's basic territory, and he cannot act rashly, so even if Cao Cao has some dissatisfaction with Xun Yu in his heart, he still loves him on the surface.

  The gang in Jizhou are not easy to deal with. Cao Cao almost hit his own instep once he did it.

  Cao Cao thought for a long time, and finally figured out from Fei Qian's strategy that he was too impatient. Fei Qian didn't go to any major Shanxi big family and the biggest tycoon in Guanzhong as soon as he came up, but beat from the corners first, with a bang on the left and a bang on the right...

   Ever since, Cao Cao suddenly realized, and fixed his eyes on the Taishan thief.

  The weight of the Taishan thief seems to be just right.

When Xun Yu was in danger in Xu County, he summoned Zang Ba and the others, but Zang Ba and the others did not arrive in time. On the one hand, it was because the Taishan Bandit Army disrespected orders, but on the other hand On the one hand, it also proves that there is no deep interest relationship between Xun Yu and the Taishan bandits, or between the Yuzhou gang and Zang Ba.

   Similarly, in terms of Jizhou, there is not much friendship with the Taishan bandits.

   This means that when Cao Cao wants to deal with the Taishan bandits, as long as Cao Cao can take them down, people from Yuzhou and Jizhou will not have much opinion. Of course, if the interests of Jizhou and Yuzhou were affected when Cao Cao wanted to deal with the Taishan thieves, such as collecting food and grass many times, recruiting civilian husbands, etc., these people would naturally jump out.

  In addition, Cao Cao personally believes that he does not allow generals with different surnames to command heavy troops...

  This will make Cao Cao sleepless and sleepless.

   In this regard, Cao Cao is different from Fei Qian, and Cao Cao has always believed that sooner or later there will be problems with Fei Qian’s military power system, and even in his heart, he is vaguely looking forward to the arrival of that day...

   Therefore, at the moment, Cao Cao uses Sun Quan's attack, on the one hand, it can consume the strength of Xuzhou and Qingzhou, and on the other hand, it can force these guys to stand in line. Of course, in order to ensure that his strategy can be perfectly implemented, and that Xuzhou is not really occupied by the children of the Sun family, Cao Cao quietly dispatched troops to Wuchao, and he can transfer to Xuzhou at any time.

Cao Cao basically explained a little bit to his two sons, but he didn't make it very clear. He still hopes that his two children can think more and use their brains. Of course, in this, there is also an element of consideration for the two children. Inside.

  Cao Pi and Cao Zhi withdrew.

  『Where Zang Xuangao is...』 Cao Cao was silent for a while, then turned to ask his confidants, "Has the messenger returned yet? Heh... this Zang Xuangao..."

  Cao Cao does not dislike Zang Ba, and even admires Zang Ba to a certain extent, because Zang Ba is loyal and responsible. Even if he knows that his friends are wrong, he is willing to tolerate and share the blame.

   It's just that appreciation is appreciation, and things are things.

  When it’s time to do it, you still have to do it.

   No matter how many friendships, family ties, promises, and covenants there were before, they will all turn into a puff of smoke, disappear and go away with the wind.

right?

  Brother Ben Chu...

  …╭(╯^╰)╮…

  Huaisi area.

  During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Huaisi had twelve princes on Sishang.

   Later generations simply believed that enfeoffment was equivalent to division, and felt that Zhou Gong was short-sighted, but actually underestimated the wisdom of the ancients. The enfeoffment system was the best solution to conflicts under the Zhou Dynasty's productivity, war potential and political system.

  Because King Zhou did not have the ability to rule most of the area east of Chaoge at that time.

At that time, Duke Zhou attacked (stealed) conquered (attacked) Chaoge and killed King Zhou, but it did not mean that he could immediately unify the world. After all, the Xiqi coalition forces at that time only took the capital of Yin and Shang. The main force of the army is still on the Dongyi expedition and may return at any time. If one or two descendants of the Shang Dynasty stand up and raise their arms and shout, I am afraid that history will be rewritten.

   What's more terrible is that those Ronghu in the west are only expressing superficial surrender. If the king of Zhou can't come up with a name...

The genius enfeoffment system of the Western Zhou Dynasty came into being. The enfeoffment in the past was often the recognition of the original local power, while the Duke of Zhou sent the families who were inextricably linked with the royal family to build a country in the local area, which made the two have a natural relationship. And the jurisprudential superior-subordinate relationship, thus ensuring the latter's "loyalty".

  In addition to some familiar Seven Warring States, the area where Zhu Zhi is now stationed is where the twelve princes of Sishang were located.

  Song, Lu, Wei, Zhu, Xue, Li, Teng, Ju, Ren, Tan, Fei, Pi.

Except for the first three who have jumped a little bit in the history of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States, the rest are generally developing slowly. When others have already expanded and accumulated strength, most of these guys are still at the beginning. A city" stage...

   If you move slowly, you will be beaten.

  If you are weak, you will be bullied.

  From ancient times to the present, it has been like this...

  The enfeoffment system of the Zhou Dynasty is no longer suitable for the present, but where will the system of prefectures and counties of the Han Dynasty go?

  Taixing five years, December.

On the upper floor of Shuiguan City in Xiaxiang County, several brazier torches were shaking in the whistling north wind, as if they would be blown out at any moment. The wolf howled, I don't know if it was because of the cold, or because of hunger, or for some other reason.

  Human beings are not the absolute masters of this area in Dahan at present, and there are still many places that have not been developed.

  Above Xiaxiangshui Pass, a few senior Cao soldiers shivered from the cold, and huddled in a sheltered place to report to the regiment to keep warm.

  Xiaxiang is one of the important passes on Surabaya.

  But at the moment, it doesn't appear to be "important" when it's under the appearance.

Surabaya and Huai River are the two most important arteries in this area. All towns, villages, fields, and workshops are concentrated near these two water sources. That is to say, if the two waters are controlled, It is equivalent to controlling everything on both sides.

  Xiaxiang is the gateway to the south of Xiapi. It is not the most important, but it is not the worst either.

Normally speaking, for a pass like Xiaxiang, a barracks should be built on the side wall, garrison troops stationed for a long time, and then piers and beacon towers should be built along the river terrain, and at every interval, additional Deploy some mobile units to provide the necessary support.

  But because of the well-known reasons, the defense system in the Xuzhou area, many piers and towers have been abandoned, and the camps have been abandoned, so there is no defense system at all.

  Zhou Tai lurks in the darkness not far from Xiaxiang Shuiguan.

  Sneak attack plus night attack.

   Just like during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period, the first to use the bear's whip kick can always take advantage of it. The latest tactics will be quickly studied by other people and spread.

  The rise of Hussar General Fei Qian made more people focus on him. Regardless of whether he likes him or hates him, it is inevitable to gather all the previous battle cases of Fei Qian for research.

  The theory of elite soldiers and raid tactics have gradually been accepted and recognized by some people.

   Such a winter night was undoubtedly extremely uncomfortable and tormented for the soldiers of the Sun family who were accustomed to the mild climate in Jiangdong.

   This is also the reason why Zhu Zhi has been making very slow progress for a while. Zhu Zhi made a request to the rear to increase clothing, quilts, felt blankets and other cold-proof materials, but these materials have not been in place, so naturally he did not continue to attack north.

  But Zhou Tai couldn't wait.

Zhou Tai led his private soldiers to sneak under the water pass, and quietly erected several long ladders. The tops of the ladders were wrapped with thick cloth, and there was almost no sound when they leaned against the city wall. Of course, if there were some sounds, It will also be covered by the howling wind.

Hussar General Fei Qian's subordinates still have an easier way to climb the wall, but the problem is that even if they know it, it will take a certain amount of time to train until they are mature enough to be used in actual combat, so Zhou Tai still chooses the more common stupid way. Method.

   Zhou Tai was the first to go.

  He bit the saber in his mouth, and then climbed to the top of the city as lightly as possible.

  Zhou Tai's private guards also followed behind, and amidst the slight creaking of the ladder, they quickly climbed up.

  Zhou Tai poked his head on the wall and looked left and right. There was fire in the city tower, and some torches and braziers on the wall of Shuiguan City were flickering, illuminating some figures at the corner of the city gate...

Zhou Tai turned over the battlements gently, and sneaked along the shadows with his waist down. After several other guards also climbed up the city wall, Zhou Tai waved his hand slightly, and several people rushed towards the few guards at the corner of the water gate at the same time. The famous Cao Jun!

  Hold down the mouth and nose with one hand, and the sword is going to the vital point of Cao Jun!

  Several Cao Jun were alarmed at this time, and most of them were killed before they were fully awake. Only one Cao Jun might not have been stabbed to the vitals by the first knife, and he was alive for a while, struggling desperately on the ground. Zhou Tai's private soldiers wanted to seal Cao Jun's mouth and nose with one hand, and held the knife in the other hand, but they couldn't hold it down for a while, and they were about to let go...

Zhou Tai rushed over and grabbed the Cao Jun's neck like iron tongs. The Cao Jun's eyes bulged and his throat could only make a cooing sound, and he was stabbed again. die.

"transmit signal! Let the ships behind come close immediately! 』

  (end of this chapter)