Chapter 165: Western Attack on Sili Where did Tian Ze get so much money and grain, and how much money and grain did he have? This problem was not only difficult for Cao Cao, but also for all the princes in the world. In the past year alone, the amount of grain distributed by Tian Ze every month was at least tens of millions of dan, not to mention the copper coins. All the princes in the world wanted to dig up Tian Ze's bottom to see where this guy's money and food came from. Could it be that they fell from the sky? "We have infiltrated some people into Youzhou and the Northeast Plain and learned some of the situation. But Liaodong is guarded too tightly, and we have never been able to infiltrate." Xi Zhicai sighed. "Have you figured out anything?" Cao Cao asked. "No, they are all those on the surface. Although Youzhou is richer than we imagined, it is still within our acceptable range." "The development of the Northeast Plain is extremely difficult. Even if millions of people are involved, it will take three to five years to barely make something of it and achieve a balance between income and expenditure." "Tian Ze's money and grain mainly come from Liaodong, but no one knows what the situation in Liaodong is like. All roads in and out are blocked by official checkpoints, and the inspections are strict, so nothing can get in." Xi Zhicai sighed. "The person in charge of intelligence work under Tian Ze is called Jia Xu. He is a sinister and unpredictable person. Zhong is no match for him." Afterwards, Xi Zhicai glanced at Mao Jie and Jia Kui who had just come over to join him, and couldn't help asking, "Xiaoxian, Liang Dao, what do you think?"
Mao Jie heard this and said calmly: "Why should we care so much about Tian Chengshou? What does his strength have to do with us? In the current situation, what we should do most is to strengthen ourselves." "We are short of food now, and Tian Ze wants people. If we trade one person, we can get food for five people to survive for a year. If we don't trade, six people may starve to death together. The choice is obvious." "Since you have the ambition to conquer the world, why not put up with the short-term disadvantages and plan for the long term?" Xi Zhicai sighed, "I'm afraid that if this is opened, the princes of the Central Plains will compete to trade with Tian Chengshou. By then, we will fight each other endlessly, and Tian Chengshou will be able to sit back and reap the benefits." "If this happens, wouldn't it be like the Warring States period? For example, as some scholars said, the six kingdoms were destroyed because they bribed Qin!" Mao Jie sneered and said, "What a mediocre person's view. The six kingdoms were destroyed because Qin was strong and the six kingdoms were weak. How much does it have to do with bribing Qin?" "The so-called lands that were bribed by Qin were all conquered by Qin. If they were not handed over, I'm afraid our country would have perished long ago. Choose the lesser of two evils. Isn't this such a simple truth that you don't understand?" "If you don't want to be destroyed, then you should strengthen yourself as quickly as possible, instead of putting yourself in trouble for the sake of so-called 'not helping the enemy'." "Yuan Shu and Liu Bei both have food. Even if it's not much, they can still hold out for one or two major battles. What about us? If we don't have food, we can only wait to die, or we will eat our own children or humans, which will only cause greater losses." Mao Jie's gifted "ice heart" enables him to remain calm and simply weigh the pros and cons to seek the greatest benefit. Naturally, he can easily see what Cao Cao's best choice is. Although in many cases, you need a certain amount of luck and wait for your opponent to make a mistake in order to win, but never count on your opponent making a mistake to win, everything ultimately depends on your own strength. "My Lord, you don't have enough reserves to last a year, and the people don't have a stable mind. This situation cannot last long. While all parties are afraid to attack us, we should vigorously develop agriculture and accumulate military supplies. This is what we should do." "During this period, the lord can occupy Henei County and Henan Yin to the west and wait for the right time. Whether Yuan Shao goes south, the emperor returns east, Tao Qian gives up Xuzhou, or Liu Bei attacks any place, the lord can follow the trend." Upon hearing this, Cao Cao nodded slightly. The situation in the Central Plains is now too sensitive. Yuan Shao, Tao Qian and Liu Bei around him are not suitable for attacking, and Yuan Shu and Liu Biao who are farther away are out of reach. He needs an opportunity, an opportunity for others to take action. With a golden horn, silver edge and a grass belly, he was based in Yanzhou, with insufficient weapons, money and food. Surrounded by wolves, he could only do this. During this period, what he should do most is to try his best to develop and stabilize his rule. "Will taking over Henei and Henan Yin lead to siege by other princes?" Cao Cao worriedly asked. The political situation in Sili was too complicated. A rash attack might lead to a melee and encirclement among multiple forces, and the attackers would face enormous military pressure and political risks. Otherwise, Cao Cao would have taken action long ago. Mao Jie shook his head and said, "The situation is no longer the same as before. Although taking these two counties will attract the attention of the princes, it will not cause a siege." Xi Zhicai added on behalf of Mao Jie, "Although the Central Plains is balanced, in reality, our strength is relatively weak compared to Liu Bei, so we can take these two counties."
Being weak can sometimes be an advantage, especially when all parties are relatively balanced. If Yuan Shu attacked these two counties, he would certainly be besieged by righteousness. Not to mention taking these two counties, he would probably lose Nanyang and Runan because his power was too strong. "Now that Li Jue and Guo Si have just taken over Chang'an, there is already enough money and grain accumulated in Chang'an for them to squander for decades. They don't care about these two counties at all, and they won't fight us to the death over them." Jia Kui, who had not spoken before, said. "Besides, occupying these two counties will not put much pressure on garrison. In the west, we only need to arrange a small number of troops to garrison the dangerous passes such as Hangu Pass to block the Xiliang troops. The south is already half of Yingchuan County that we occupy. As for the north..." "Tian Chengshou will not attack us. If Yuan Benchu wants to attack us, he has to consider the threat from Tian Chengshou and the natural barrier of the Yellow River. In comparison, the possibility of attacking Yanjin or Baimadu in Dongjun is greater." Mao Jie said. Jia Kui's natural talent of "knowing the land" allows him to understand the geographical advantages. He can not only assist in reclaiming wasteland and building canals, but also be good at building defense lines with the help of mountains, rivers and passes. Cao Cao is now surrounded by enemies and needs this kind of talent the most. Under Jia Kui's comprehensive fine-tuning, although only some garrison defense locations were changed, some forts were built, and several waterways were changed, which did not take much effort, the effect was extremely significant. After some adjustments, Cao Cao's garrison strength was reduced by 30%, but according to Xi Zhicai's estimation, the strength of the defense line actually increased a lot, and the strategic depth and defense layout became more reasonable. After several people's careful analysis, Cao Cao was overjoyed. "In this way, we can get at least 200,000 more people. If we give half of them to Tianze, the food and grass we get in exchange will be enough to barely support our needs this year. Even if Liu Bei or Yuan Shao attack, we will have enough strength to deal with them." Cao Cao said after calculation. Although he had to give a small half of the benefits to Tian Ze, after all, he could get two counties and more than 100,000 people for free, so Cao Cao could still accept it. As for the Western Liang Army in Henan Yin's territory and Zhang Yang in Henei, they were not a concern at all in Cao Cao's eyes. As long as Li Jue and Guo Si do not take action, those roving soldiers who only know how to levy heavy taxes and levies will not be able to achieve anything. As for Zhang Yang, he is an incompetent and overly nice guy, who only has a great reputation. He poses almost no threat. If he is hit a few times, he will probably surrender. "Once we take over Sili, you can wait to receive Tao Qian's inheritance," said Mao Jie. Cao Cao asked hesitantly, "Is it true that Tao Qian will not survive these two years?" "Of course." Mao Jie said with certainty: "Tao Qian is now acting in a disorderly manner, is close to villains, and has a bad relationship with the government. This is a sign that he will not live long. Many good people in Xuzhou have been suppressed and killed by him. If he did not have the elite soldiers of Danyang in his hands, I am afraid he would have been killed suddenly." "And Yuan Shao will not give up Xuzhou. When Yuan Shao attacks again, that will be the time for you to take over Xuzhou." Upon hearing this, Cao Cao nodded slightly. Xi Zhicai looked at Mao Jie's confident expression, hesitated for a moment, but finally chose to believe him. Gently touching the area of his heart, Xi Zhicai thought to himself, "I'm afraid my life span is not going to last long. I can't squander it as recklessly as before. I have to be frugal and at least hold on until my lord unifies the Central Plains." Xi Zhicai has a strong talent, but the price is very high, and it consumes his lifespan. If there were no great leader in the Central Plains, he might not care about the loss of his life for the sake of Cao Cao's great cause. But now with Yuan Shao lurking by his side and Liu Bei occupying Yuzhou, he dared not act recklessly and could only cover for Cao Cao at the critical moment. (End of this chapter)