Chapter 140 Strategic Core The opening of the Jixia Academy is already on the agenda, but it still requires a lot of preparation. The spies that Jia Xu has spread across the world will also need a certain amount of time to prepare, to ensure that the news can spread quickly throughout the world without being blocked by the aristocratic families. At the same time, Tian Ze was also making the final finishing touches and arrangements. Stopping the war with Yuan Shao was only a temporary measure, and Tian Ze did not believe that Yuan Shao would really abide by the so-called two-year armistice agreement. As long as the situation was right, Yuan Shao would have plenty of reasons to tear up the agreement and head north to Jizhou. The opening of the Jixia Academy is just one step in Tian Ze’s big move, and there are many more cards to be revealed. By then, I'm afraid that the noble families in the world will be in turmoil, and it is not impossible that the princes will come to ask for Tian again. Therefore, Tian Ze must ensure a relatively safe external environment. When Yuan Shao sent troops to Qingzhou and the princes of the Central Plains fought among themselves, no prince would have the energy to deal with him. Without the leadership of the princes, the noble families would eventually become a pile of loose sand. This is why a truce with Yuan Shao is necessary. Of course, Tian Ze could guess Yuan Shao's thoughts and Ju Su's plans, and he had already thought of a way to deal with them. Stopping the war does not mean that Tian Ze will sit and wait for death, being trapped and dying in Youzhou. You know, the navy under his command is not comparable to Yuan Shao's, and the territory near Qingzhou Donglai has been controlled by him. It is easy for Tian Ze to get rid of the blockade.
Moreover, in the short term, Tian Ze must devote most of his energy to internal development. He does not want to hurt each other with Yuan Shao or be distracted by the many princes. In comparison, Tian Ze would rather watch Yuan Shao and the princes of the Central Plains fight each other, and he only needs to maintain a certain balance. Since Yuan Shao was powerful, he could send more troops to the border to force Yuan Shao to fight back. Otherwise, if Yuan Shao made a further move, he would also follow suit and move towards Jizhou to ensure the balance of the situation. It was basically impossible for the princes in the Central Plains to become powerful. It was not that Tian Ze underestimated them, but that Tian Ze believed in Yuan Shao's ability. Now the situation is in his hands, he can keep it stable, but Yuan Shao's ambition forces him to act according to the script arranged by Tian Ze. Tian Ze just wants to be a referee to maintain the balance. …… In the secret hall of the governor's mansion in Jixian County, Dian Wei was guarding outside, while Tian Ze, Jia Xu, Chen Gong, Tian Feng, Guo Jia, Xun You, Cheng Yu and Dong Zhao were discussing the overall strategy for the future. The plan to take over Jizhou ultimately failed, which also meant that Cheng Yu's strategy of taking advantage of the chaos to unify the north and then sweeping across the world was basically bankrupt. But this was also within everyone's expectations, because the hidden dangers of doing so were too great, and the officials and military forces under his rule simply could not keep up in a short period of time. Unlike other princes whose strategies were oriented towards territory and military force, Tian Ze's strategy was fundamentally oriented towards population. "My lord, after the signing of the treaty, according to our speculation, Yuan Shao will most likely march into Qingzhou, then head south to the Central Plains or west to Bingzhou to accumulate strength and expand his power before launching a full-scale war with us." Tian Feng first reported Yuan Shao's current movements. After all, Yuan Shao was the current enemy, and the offensive and defensive relationship with Yuan Shao determined Tian Ze's next strategic layout. Tian Ze nodded: "How is our deployment and Taihang Mountain plan going?" "Yun Chang has led 30,000 elite troops to garrison in the Boling, Hejian, and Bohai areas in the north of Jizhou to prevent harassment and sneak attacks from Yuan Shao. He is also gradually sending those who are willing to migrate to Youzhou." Cheng Yu pointed to the Taihang Mountains on the map that ran through the northwest of Jizhou and Taiyuan County of Bingzhou, and continued, "Gongming led 20,000 troops to garrison in Changshan County and Zhongshan County, and cooperated with Yunchang to jointly guard the southern defense line of Youzhou." "Relying on the natural barrier of Taihang Mountain, Gongming is building the Wubao Pass in the mountains to prepare for long-term defense." Chen Gong's finger traced down the entire Taihang Mountains. "Xuan Gaozheng's 20,000 elite troops are moving south along the Taihang Mountains and stationed in the area of Taiyuan County in Bingzhou. They will rely on the Taihang Mountains to unite with Gongming to cut off the connection between Jizhou and Bingzhou, ensuring that Yuan Shao is unable to advance westward." Guan Yu, Xu Huang, and Zang Ba were all capable generals. Guan Yu and Xu Huang had a very good relationship and cooperated well, so there was no problem in helping to defend the southern border of Youzhou. “There are about hundreds of thousands of Baibo bandits in the Taihang Mountains in Taiyuan County. Although only some of them are young and strong, their strength should not be underestimated. It will probably take at least a year to capture them.” Zang Ba has a quick mind, acts boldly and unconventionally, and was born a bandit leader. He is good at mountain warfare and suppressing bandits, and is most suitable for being stationed in Taihang Mountains.
"In Qingzhou Donglai County, Lord Yi has led 20,000 troops to build a defense line relying on the mountains. There is no problem in blocking Yuan Shao's attack. After all, the terrain and conditions there are special. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is also tasteless. It does not pose any threat to Yuan Shao. It is just a stepping stone for the navy to move south." Yuan Shao's determination to obtain Qingzhou was almost obvious. Therefore, during the negotiations, Guo Jia and others deliberately asked for Bohai County. After testing Yuan Shao's intentions, they forced Ju Su to give in and give up the entire Changshan County. And the occupation of Changshan County is exactly what Tian Ze wants most. With the Taihang Mountains as the base, on the one hand, it can block the connection between Jizhou and Bingzhou, forcing Yuan Shao to go south to the Central Plains. On the other hand, it can also be used to connect with the Central Plains Sili and Yanzhou and other regions. In this way, with one sea and two roads, Yuan Shao's so-called blockade became empty talk. Tian Ze knew the situation in Bingzhou, so he would not send troops to occupy it in the short term, but that did not mean he could not rob people. He welcomed all the Southern Xiongnu and civilians who came, dispersed them and sent them to the Northeast Plain, where they could be settled at will. As long as he occupied the Taihang Mountains, he could attack or defend, and have absolute strategic initiative. "As for the sea route, using Donglai County as a springboard, we can reach out to Xuzhou, Yangzhou, and even Jiaozhou and Jingzhou. We are also in contact with Tao Qian and others, trying to cooperate and attract refugees." "As for the land route, the Sili is vacant now. As long as the Taihang Mountains are opened up, we can connect Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and Bingzhou to attract refugees." "Moreover, Bingzhou is blockaded and Qingzhou has a sparse population, so Yuan Shao will definitely choose to go south to the Central Plains. The Central Plains is raging with war, and we can also profit from it and conduct population trade with the princes of the Central Plains." Chen Gong said with a gleam in his eyes. Although Tian Ze is not good at military strategy, he has a lot of experience. Based on the idea of making the best of what is not, he tells the story of many wars in later generations after slightly modifying them in combination with this era, including the stories of World War I and World War II. Among them, Chen Gong was most interested in the strategy of the Chou State, which completely opened up a new idea for him. Why do we have to fight and kill each other? Isn't it better to develop and do business peacefully and be a winner behind the scenes? The Central Plains is in chaos, but they are far away in Youzhou and have no conflict with Cao Cao, Tao Qian and other Central Plains princes in the short term. Why not cooperate? According to Tian Ze's prediction, the world will suffer from successive years of famine, and the various princes will continue to fight against each other. There will definitely be a shortage of food in the Central Plains, and there will definitely be business in selling food in exchange for people. If it really doesn't work, we can provide some armor and weapons from junk places. At most, we can dig out some defective products from the warehouse, and the princes of the Central Plains will definitely be attracted. After the strategy of quick victory was rejected, it would take at least ten years, or even longer, to unify the world. In such a long battle line, the gains and losses of a city or a piece of land are meaningless. In the end, it must be the population. How to win more people is the key, no matter how big the territory is, it is meaningless. Tian Ze's strategic direction was different from that of other princes. It was formulated with population as the core from the beginning, rather than territory, cities, soldiers, horses, money and food. Because Tian Ze started too early and had a solid foundation, he had no pressure to survive and did not need to fight against time to support his war. He was completely on the path of dignified and kingly conduct. In times of chaos, various princes basically practiced both the ways of kingship and hegemony, but most of them tended to be hegemonic, which could enable them to grow rapidly. However, the disadvantages of hegemony were very obvious, and it caused too much damage to the foundation. Just like Cao Cao in the original historical trajectory, he unified the Central Plains quickly like a snake swallowing an elephant, but ended up completely destroying the Central Plains. He occupied the once most prosperous Central Plains, but his strength was not even half of Yuan Shao who occupied Hebei. However, Tian Ze, who was determined to follow the kingly way, was more inclined towards construction. According to the plan of Chen Gong and others, he could completely strengthen himself and weaken the enemy without bloodshed by dragging the war situation in various places. The speed of development is no less than that of Domination, and may even be faster, and there will not be too many hidden dangers. (End of this chapter)