Overlord!

The expression on Sun Ce's eyebrows made Zhang Zhao very surprised, as if Yuan and Cao were not fighting in the north, it was an unusual thing.

Zhang Zhaonai asked: "The general seems to be quite surprised by this?"

Sun Ce was naturally surprised!Such a huge battle of Guandu should have been a decisive battle long ago!The result is just gone, who can't be surprised?
So Sun Ce asked directly: "Are you not shocked? Yuan and Cao have not had any trouble yet. Is it unusual?"

Zhang Zhao immediately replied: "This is inevitable, why are you shocked?"

Sun Ce's eyes widened in an instant, and he stared at Zhang Zhao with a sharp gaze, asking: "Is it inevitable? Why do you say this?"

Zhang Zhao said: "Sun Tzu said in the Art of War that all warriors win with the right combination and the most surprising. The right will fight the enemy, and the strange will attack him unprepared. A general is the best general in the world. He is good at using his troops and can change like a god. I will not be needed for this. Too much to say. The general thinks that if Yuan Shaoru fought with Cao Cao before, we are still on the campaign in Jingzhou, maybe we will attack Cao Cao with surprise troops?"

Sun Ce asked in disbelief: "What do you mean, Yuan Shao is waiting for me in Jiangdong?"

Could it be that he changed the time when the Battle of Guandu took place?
Zhang Zhao asserted: "Yuan Shaoshi is a hero! He is brave and brave, and he is a hero in the world. How can he do something unwise? He made an appointment with us to fight against Cao Cao's traitors, and he will definitely wait for us to stabilize Jiangdong. Then we will send troops together, Before he defeats Cao Cao with regular troops, we will wait for him to cover up Cao Cao with surprise troops. How can the fight for supremacy in the world be rushed in a matter of ten months?"

Sun Ce took a deep breath. If this is the case, Yuan Shao really has the courage to swallow up the world!

His plan used the world as the battle situation, the rivers as the battle line, the entire four states of Hebei as the regular troops, and the troops came before Cao Cao, and the entire Huainan territory as the surprise troops behind the enemy.

The nine states in the world are the chessboard, the princes from all directions are the generals, and all the people in the world are the sons!
Is he trying to defeat Tian Banzi?
They all say that Yuan Shao is a fool, but so far, Sun Ce has not seen any sign of the faintness of this No. [-] prince in the world.

On the contrary, he restrained his troops, waited for the situation to be favorable, and restrained his ambitions in order to ensure victory in the battle.

All Sun Ce saw was the image of the wise and mighty Yuan Shao!
Anyone who thinks he is stupid and can be bullied is truly arrogant and should die.How about trying to raise an army with Yuan Shao in Hebei?I am afraid that no one can stop Yuan Shao from sweeping Hebei.

However, Sun Ce was a little surprised by the current situation and asked, "Yuan Shao actually pays so much attention to me, Jiangdong?"

In the eyes of today's people, does the land of Jiangdong have such a high status?
I'm afraid in the eyes of normal people, Jiangdong should be barbaric, barren, backward and weak, right?

Yuan Shao had four states in Hebei, Cao Cao had three states in the Central Plains, and Sun Ce had only one state in Yangzhou for a long time. Even if he captured Jingxiang, it would still be half of Jingxiang. Nanyang, which accounts for one-third of Jingzhou's population, is in Cao Cao's hands. That's close to 300 million people.

A barren and barren Yangzhou, plus half of Jingzhou whose hearts are not attached to it and still need to recuperate, will this strength be valued so much by Yuan Shao?
Although the actual situation may not be what Hebei thought, in the eyes of ordinary people, Sun Ce should be a border prince occupying one and a half states.

You should also know from Yuan Shao's arrangements that his expectation for Jiang Dong is to act as a surprise force and slightly restrain Cao Cao's energy.

The decisive victory in the Central Plains still depends on him defeating the main force of Cao's army with legitimate enemies, thus sweeping the world and unifying the north.

But Zhang Zhao shook his head, analyzed the situation solemnly, and said: "Although it is due to me Jiangdong, I think it is just a superficial reason. The fundamental reason is that neither Yuan and Cao have any idea of ​​victory."

Sun Ce perked up and asked with concern: "Both Yuan and Cao are not determined to win?"

Sun Ce seemed to have grasped the root of the problem, quickly discarding the inherent impression in his head, and directly shattered the historical situation of the Battle of Guandu that broke out this year.

Zhang Zhao analyzed: "Yuan Shao has been attacking Gongsun for many years, and his troops have been out for many years. It was not until March this year that Hebei was first leveled. The people are exhausted, the warehouses are empty, and the Yin people are taxed and served. This is a deep worry for the country."

"And Cao Cao is dominating the Central Plains. He has been training troops for two years in the valley. He can be said to have elite soldiers and generals. There are hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the four states. Cao Cao is also good at using his troops, and his changes are unpredictable, which should not be taken lightly."

"Yuan Shao initially leveled the four prefectures of Heshuo and attacked the Central Plains where Cao Cao had been recuperating for a long time, but he did not see any victory."

Sun Ce immediately nodded in approval. This analysis was indeed insightful.

With the rise of Jiangdong, the direction of history has been changed beyond recognition!
The most important thing is that Cao Cao did not spend a lot of energy to defeat Zhang Xiu and Lu Bu.

Without the tragic defeat of Wancheng, there is no need to move to Jingzhou, Huainan, and Xuzhou.

Cao Cao achieved territorial stability early in the Central Plains and recuperated.

If he hadn't killed so brutally in Yanzhou and Xuzhou, the two states were reduced to a deserted land. Dong Zhuo sent Li Jue and Jia Xu to slaughter Yuzhou again, and Yingchuan was reduced to ruins.

So Cao Cao is now the most powerful prince in the world, why is he forced to recuperate in the Central Plains and attract refugees?

He should take the initiative to attack Yuan Shao now!

Zhang Zhao said that Cao Cao had a hundred thousand soldiers, so he might have been overestimated.

But the land spans four states and embraces Nanyang, Runan, and Yingchuan, the three most fertile hinterlands of the Central Plains. As long as he can cultivate and live in peace, resettle the people, and resume production, the land of these four states can provide him with [-] or [-] people. The crowd is absolutely out of the question.

And as far as Jiang Dong knew, Cao Cao had been recruiting troops, restricting powerful people, and hunting down hidden people since he defeated Liu Bei.

In addition to recruiting troops and horses, what Cao Cao did was quite like the founding of a unified dynasty. He settled the people internally, restrained the powerful, checked hidden households, distributed land, organized farming, and built water conservancy projects.

Pay tribute to the emperor, make good friends with scholars, pay tribute to the court, and do business with all directions.The emperor once sold him two thousand Guanzhong war horses in exchange for hundreds of thousands of grains produced in the Yingchuan area.Both sides get what they need, and the relationship is extremely close.

He also bought a large amount of silk, silk and brocade from Jiangdong, which greatly reduced the hunger and cold among the people, and the number of people dying from cold and sui is decreasing day by day.

This led to the fact that although Cao Cao no longer had the central name of holding the emperor to command the princes, in terms of strength, he was definitely one of the top princes in the world, and his strength may be especially higher than Liu Bei, who owned the two states of Jing and Yi in history.

Yuan Shao had just defeated Hebei, and if he wanted to defeat Cao Cao, who had been recuperating for a long time, he might not be able to win in a single battle.

After all, in history, the Battle of Guandu was indeed too anxious.In March, Gongsun Zan was defeated and the army returned from Youzhou.At the beginning of Xia, one hundred thousand elite troops were sent to the south to cross the Yellow River.

That's why Tian Feng and Ju Shou fiercely opposed the immediate invasion of the army. They suggested that Yuan Shao seize the stronghold of mountains and rivers, support the people of the four states, recruit heroes externally, cultivate agricultural warfare internally, and then streamline his elite troops to disturb Cao Cao.

Yuan Shao was eager to send troops because the Central Plains was too dilapidated.Cao Cao fought everywhere and killed brutally, making the Central Plains almost white and even weaker than Hebei.

Under the current situation, Cao Cao is powerful, and his power is several times stronger than that of Liu Biao who owned Jingxiang in his heyday.

Yuan Shao naturally did not want to send troops easily, he must win first and then fight.If we now explain the strategy of winning the temple and determine success or failure in one battle, if we fail to achieve our goals, it will be too late to regret it.As a prince, Sun Ce could understand Yuan Shao's plan.

Even if he wanted to launch the Northern Expedition, he would not send troops immediately.Putting aside the fact that Jing and Xiang’s people are not attached to him, can we defeat Cao Cao with the people from Jiangdong and a massive [-]-strong army in the Northern Expedition?
Now Zhou Yu is infected with the plague, Zhuge Liang will not be crowned until next year, and Lu Xun will have to wait a few more years before he can be used. Now the only talents he can use are Lu Meng, Zhang Liao, Taishi Ci, and others. Zhang Fei, Gan Ning, Huang Zhong, Although Zhou Tai and other powerful generals are brave and good at fighting, they may not be able to assume important tasks in the three armies.

If Cao Cao were to confront Cao Cao at this time, the Jiangbei Expedition would have no chance of complete victory.

Once the Northern Expedition is defeated, with losses of tens of thousands or even tens of thousands, just like the defeat of Yiling, Jiangdong's ambition to sweep the world will probably be aborted.

So Sun Ce asked: "How about Yuan Benchu ​​now in Hebei?"

Zhang Zhao replied: "Yuan Benchu ​​was tolerant of the people and won their support. He respected righteousness and benevolence, valued loyalty and loved the virtuous. He did not abuse the people and did not harm himself. Therefore, he won the victory with his troops and obeyed wherever he commanded. The land of the four states is now at peace. The army marches in accordance with the rules, the king is brave and brave, listens to the advice in a proper way, and no one refuses to brush it off. Therefore, the heroes of Sigai thrive and dominate, and they can expand the territory thousands of miles in one day!"

"He cared for and controlled the soldiers, recruited virtuous people, soared the eagle over the river, attracted the Wuhuan's brave riders, drove the brave men from the Yi River, crossed the Yanqi, imprisoned the Zhao and Wei, and facilitated the communication between the Rong and Yi, and the people of the Rong and Di, across the north of the river. , combining the land of the four states, recruiting heroic talents, and supporting millions of people, it can be said that the momentum is growing and the military power is extremely powerful."

Sun Ce sighed: "There are also capable advisers in Hebei!"

Yuan Shao was by no means a mediocre leader, otherwise he would not have been able to quickly wipe out Hebei, and defeat Cao Cao, who was known to be good at using troops and without any tricks.In the Battle of Guandu, if it hadn't been for the two rebels Xu You and Zhang He, the outcome would still have been decided!
The key is that his advisers are not mediocre, and Yuan Shao is not unable to accept advice.

On the contrary, Yuan Shao obviously adopted Ju Shou's "Yezhong Dui" completely, and from the current point of view, he is moving forward according to this strategy!
Now he not only dominates Hebei and recruits talented people, but also cultivates and fights internally and cares for Rongdi externally. Even celebrities like Yan Rou have joined his camp with Wuhuan and Xianbei cavalry.

Cao Cao got two thousand war horses from the emperor and thought he would be prosperous for a while.

But the Wuhuan Tuqi and Xianbei Tuqi that Yuan Shao obtained from Youzhou included no less than [-] people and horses!
The famous three counties of Wuhuan, Hu Qi and Yue Qi, the two commanders of the five schools of the Northern Army, were formed from this.

At the beginning, Emperor Guangwu relied on Youzhou's sudden cavalry to conquer the world. Now Yuan Shao's Youzhou sudden cavalry is also quite large.

Maybe the only thing missing is what Yuan Tan once concluded, that the armor is not good.

Yuan Shao already had tens of thousands of cavalry under his command, plus these tens of thousands of Rong and Di cavalry. If the twenty thousand cavalry were all equipped with sophisticated armor, Cao Cao would probably be extremely uncomfortable.

Sun Ce had doubts about whether Cao Cao could win the Battle of Guandu.

Of course, Cao Cao was also extremely glorious and powerful at this time.

He had been accumulating valleys to train his troops and recuperate for two or three years. Although he attacked Xuzhou and Jingzhou in the process, he defeated his opponents with overwhelming force and did not lose his military supplies.

Now he has up to [-] men under his command, and no less than [-] to [-] cavalry. He has sufficient food and grass, and has been prepared for war for a long time. It can be said that he is impeccable.

Unless there is a large-scale rebellion within him, it will be extremely difficult to defeat Cao Cao militarily.

Sun Ce looked at Zhang Zhao and asked, "Chang Shi thinks Yuan Shao will continue to reorganize the army in Hebei and stabilize the situation?"

Zhang Zhao nodded heavily and said: "Since Yuan Shao has not issued a proclamation, he will definitely not rashly raise an army again within this year. He will definitely contact us, and then he will serve the emperor and punish his subordinates."

Sun Ce immediately said: "If this is the case, we should recuperate in time and order the generals to reorganize their troops and accumulate grain to train troops."

Jiangdong is definitely willing to drag out the decisive battle against the Central Plains.

Not only because of Jingxiang’s initial decision, but more importantly because Jiangdong has institutional advantages!

The advantages of the system are enough to reverse the trend of the entire world in just a few decades!

As long as Jiangdong is given time to develop, relying on the non-establishment of land system and the conversion of millet to rice, Jiangdong's agricultural output will exceed that of the north.

After all, this system will greatly liberate productivity and promote Jiangdong's economic development.The Central Plains has been engaged in military production such as farming, which has caused farmers to flee continuously. Every year, tens of thousands of people take refuge in the south.

This has caused the population in the south to continue to increase.

Although Yangzhou is only one state, its population has almost recovered to 400 million people, which is enough to equal the two or three states under Cao Cao's rule.

Although he was also fighting against a country with one state, the situation faced by Sun Ce was completely different from that of Sun Quan.

More importantly, the industry and commerce in Jiangnan was developed. As Sun Ce fully promoted mulberry planting and weaving, the silk fabrics in Jiangnan flourished for a while.

Cheng brocade was all the rage in Luoyang, Xudu and Yecheng.

As Sun Ce and Cao Cao agreed to end the war and trade, Jiangdong's caravans passed through Yuzhou and Sili.

Not only did Cao Cao obtain two thousand war horses from the emperor, Sun Ce also used silk fabrics to purchase thousands of war horses in Guanzhong.

And with Jingxiang being pacified, in the future the caravans can go upstream to Wuguan and directly communicate with Guanzhong.

Jiangdong will be able to purchase war horses directly from Guanzhong, and the military will further prosper.

Different from the lack of people's livelihood in Cao Cao's influence, Jiangdong really has a steady stream of commodity output, which can continuously harvest the wealth of Cao Cao and the princes in Guanzhong.

In just one year of trade, Jiangdong harvested more than 4000 kilograms of gold from Cao Cao.Two or three percent of the gold that Cao Cao found by digging and robbing tombs flowed into Jiangdong.

After all, it is impossible for Cao Cao to only benefit from trade.The number of people under his command who died of freezing was reduced, and the price was that the wealth of the four states of Yan, Henan, Xu, and Jing flowed to Jiangdong.

He dragged the people to military and civilian villages, dooming the people to famine and not having enough for people's livelihood.There was not even enough manpower to weave, so he was forced to use cloth as currency.

And the more he trades, the more he can't do without Jiangdong's cloth and silk.

Jiangdong can use industrial output to harvest their agricultural wealth. Doesn't this make Jiangdong richer and the Central Plains poorer? (End of chapter)