Chapter 268 Two scholars have a grand plan

Qingzhou. Beihai. Duchang.

The third day of the first lunar month in the sixth year of Zhongping (189 AD).

In the study room of Duchang Lingfu, a newly purchased three-burner stove is burning brightly, making the room warm as spring.

Around the stove, Tao Ying, Chen Deng and Xi Zhicai warmed wine and made tea.

"Yuanlong, when you arrive in the plains, you can ignore political affairs, but you must pay attention to military affairs, and you must not relax your guard against Zhang He!"

Bu Zhao, Lu Dai has led his troops south to Chang'an. Wang Xiu took advantage of the opportunity of Sun Shao leading troops to Donglai to join forces and go to Xiami to take over the county. Chen Deng will also return to Jinan. Taking advantage of the farewell trip, Tao Ying once again warned

Ichiban.

"Zhang He is able to recognize variables and is good at setting up positions. He knows that the battle situation and terrain are all in the best plan. Regardless of strategy, martial arts, discipline, and integrity, he is no enemy. Yuan Long constantly urged and warned the two of them not to be careless!"

Yimu is a large county in Ganling, and Tao Ying occupied it in order to defend Qingzhou. Since Han Fu sent Zhang He to Ganling, Tao Ying had to be careful. Zhang He, who had a great military record, was not comparable to Han Fu.
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"My Lord, if this combination is so great, why was he ambushed by Chen Jiao in Corpse Village and escaped alone?"

Tao Ying pushed Zhang He up twice and three times, which made Chen Deng a little puzzled and wondered whether Tao Ying had overestimated Zhang He's ability.

Xi Zhicai had never heard Zhang He's name before leaving Yingchuan and didn't know much about him. However, the importance Tao Ying showed to Zhang He made Xi Zhicai interested in Zhang He and looked at Tao with curiosity.

Yes, wait for his explanation.

"Zhang He is a good general in the world who can stand alone. When the Yellow Turban broke out, he followed Han Fu to fight everywhere, but it was a pity that he followed the wrong person!"

Of course, Zhang He's lack of prominence after the war was also related to his origin. Liu Bei made up an identity for himself as a descendant of the Han Dynasty, but he also did not gain much benefit.

"The defeat of Zixiang was probably not caused by Zhang He, but by the headstrong general Liu Pan!"

As a "prophet", Tao Ying knew Zhang He's life well and could explain it easily without any delay.

"That's it!"

Chen Deng did not doubt Tao Ying's ability to recognize people at all, and was convinced. At this time, seeing Tao Ying's serious face and firm words, he once again raised Zhang He's risk factor to a higher level.

"Lord, when will you go to Xiapi?"

After finishing talking about Zhang He, Xi Zhicai finally couldn't help but tactfully mentioned Tao Ying's plan to send troops to Xuzhou.

"My lord, Beihai and Donglai have not yet unified their political orders, and Qingzhou is not stable. If we rush south to Xuzhou, it may be detrimental to our lord!"

Seeing Xi Zhicai brought up the topic he was worried about, and Chen Deng took the opportunity to persuade Tao Ying not to blindly send troops.

"Yuanlong, Zhicai, don't worry, my father's body can still hold on, I'm not in a hurry to visit him yet!"

Glancing at Chen Deng and the worried look Xi Zhicai cast, Tao Ying knew what they were worried about.

At present, Tao Yinglai is "acting wildly" in Qingzhou, and the imperial court that has not yet freed up its hands can just hold back.

Once Tao Ying openly sent troops to Xuzhou to capture the city, the situation was completely at odds. Both sides had no room for relaxation and could only meet in advance.

If Emperor Ling calls on the soldiers of the world to attack Tao Ying with justice, and a fire breaks out in Qingzhou's backyard, Tao Ying, who is attacked from both sides, will end early, and the people who follow Tao Ying's "rebellion" will be miserable.

"When the bandits in Beihai and Donglai are cleared, I will go to Xiapi!"

While appeasing Xi Zhicai and Chen Deng, Tao Ying, who looked coldly, also gave his timetable for sending troops to Xuzhou.

"It works!"

Chen Deng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and did not try to persuade Tao Ying this time. After all, this day would come sooner or later, and it would be easier to start early.

"My lord, are you going to Xuzhou simply to support Tao Shijun, or are you trying to capture Xuzhou and make Qingxu become one?"

Xi Zhicai looked at Tao Ying seriously. He wanted to know Tao Ying's true intention of sending troops to Xuzhou.

"Zhicai, Yuanlong all knows my ambition. Now the Han Dynasty has exhausted its strength and is unable to recover. In less than half a year, the emperor will die and the world will be in chaos. It will be another situation where the heroes are divided. For the sake of the people of the world,

I will seek to conquer the world, wipe out the separatist heroes, and create a bright and prosperous world for the Han people!"

Xi Zhicai's question was still a bit euphemistic and implicit. After all, it involved Tao Qian, but Tao Ying had to make his attitude clear. When he went to Xuzhou, he was definitely not trying to grab an independent kingdom for Tao Qian to retire in.

"My lord's ambition is to be ashamed of himself!"

Xi Zhicai's question was also what Chen Deng was concerned about. When he heard Tao Ying's answer, he was the first to express his admiration with sincerity.

"My lord is wise!"

Following Chen Deng's compliment, Xi Zhicai immediately advised Tao Ying to change his strategic direction.

"As my lord said, the eunuchs are causing trouble in the country, selling off their positions and titles, the imperial court has collapsed, chaos has begun in the world, and the Han Dynasty has exhausted its strength. Since my lord wants the world, he should first take Jizhou, and then seek Xu and Yan!

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Looking at Tao Ying, Xi Zhicai's deep eyes flashed with a ray of light.

"Zhicai, tell me in detail!"

Looking at Chen Deng, Tao Ying slowly sat upright and stared thoughtfully at Xi Zhicai, who was full of interest. This was the strategic choice issue that had troubled him for a long time.

"Jizhou is the 'most important capital of the world', and nothing in the world is greater than Hebei. If Hebei is at peace, then hegemony will be achieved!"

Tao Ying asked for advice humbly, and did not hide his talent, but spoke loudly without thinking.

"The land of Hebei is rich in products and has a large population, and the lord has a certain base of people in the three counties of Jizhou. Ji and Qing are connected, so we can first seek the foundation of the world for the lord!"

In Xi Zhicai's view, the main economic and cultural center of the Han Dynasty was the upper and lower basins of the Yellow River. If he wanted to dominate the world, Tao Ying should capture Jizhou as soon as possible.

"In the past, Emperor Guangwu broke away from Emperor Gengshi and established himself in Hebei. He first took Hebei and Hanoi as the base, then took Henan and Luoyang as his capital. Then he sent four generals to pacify the four directions and unify the world!"

Seeing that Tao Ying was a little moved, Xi Zhicai brought up the incident of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu to persuade him.

"It's not just Liu Xiu. The Yuan and Qing dynasties also took control of the Central Plains from outside the Great Wall and unified the world based on Hebei!"

As a "prophet", it's not that Tao Ying has never considered taking Jizhou first. The key is that the pressure to take Jizhou is a bit high.

"Zhicai, Jizhou is the place where the Four Wars were fought. If we don't take Youzhou from the north and merge with it from the west, the pressure to defend Jizhou will be too great."

Tao Ying also wanted to use the Yellow River as the central axis and expand to the north, but he had too many concerns, which was why he gave up the two counties of Hejian and Ganling.

In addition to geographical factors, Jizhou's surname and powerful people are not friendly to Tao Ying. The Wuhuan, Xianbei, Xiongnu and other foreign tribes in Youzhou and Bingzhou are also restless and will never coexist peacefully with Tao Ying.

If Jizhou is captured without further unifying Youzhou and merging the states, Jizhou will not be stable. Instead, it will be exploited by other forces. At critical times, it will become an unstable factor that hinders Taoying's struggle for hegemony.

"My lord is concerned that Jizhou is too vast and is surrounded by You, Bing, Si, and Yanzhou. The defense in all directions involves too many troops."

Chen Deng knew very well what Tao Ying was worried about. He understood Tao Ying, who was surrounded by enemies everywhere, better than Xi Zhicai.

"Even if we take advantage of the situation to take Youzhou to the north and Bingzhou to the west, these two states are bordered by barbarians and have a sparse population, making it difficult to achieve anything. It seems not to be fundamental!"

Compared with Youzhou and Bingzhou, which are waiting for food, Chen Deng is more optimistic about the prosperous southeastern regions such as Xuzhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou.

"My lord is not worried about military strength, right?"

Xi Zhicai glanced at Chen Deng, then stared at Tao Ying with a burning gaze, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Besides, there is no danger to defend Qingzhou. Even if the lord takes Xuzhou, he cannot defend Qingzhou. He must capture Yanzhou and Yuzhou. If he wants to defend Yanzhou and Yuzhou, he must take Hanoi to the west and Jing and Yang to the south. This way

You can take advantage of half of it!"

In Xi Zhicai's view, as long as Tao Ying does not intend to give up Qingzhou, it is much easier to take Hebei than to take the southeast.

"Oh, I know I can't hide it from Zhicai, Yuanlong!"

Tao Ying raised his eyebrows and looked back and forth between Chen Deng and Xi Zhicai. Fang smiled bitterly and shook his head, expressing his concerns.

"Regardless of factors such as military strength and food and grass, if we want to take Hebei, we must deal with four people."

"Han Fu is the herdsman of Jizhou, Liu Yu is the herdsman of Youzhou, Gongsun Zan seizes the right Beiping, and Zhang Yan is entrenched in the Black Mountain area."

As Tao Ying stated, he slowly picked up the steaming warm wine and poured a cup into each of the three glasses. Then he picked up the wine glass in front of him and moved it to his nose to smell it.<

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"In addition, we must guard against Bingzhou Mu Dingyuan and Quanzhou Commander Liu Bei."

Ding Yuan is not terrible. What Tao Ying is worried about is Lu Bu, Ding Yuan's subordinate, who is not successful enough and is full of destructive power.

The same goes for Liu Bei. Although Guan and Zhang have high strength, they are not as scary as Liu Bei, who is insidious and cunning. Liu Bei is best at taking advantage of loopholes, making it difficult for people to guard against them.

Tao Ying's idea of ​​not attacking Jizhou was to wait for changes to occur, turn Ding Yuan and Lu Bu against each other, and ask Liu Bei to take a detour to Luoyang to look for opportunities. In this way, Youzhou's resistance to annexing the state would be much smaller.

"My lord, you are worrying too much!"

Xi Zhi then picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp. While looking at the wine glass with unfinished thoughts, he confidently gave Tao Ying pointers.

"Han Fu is naturally timid and mediocre, so there is nothing to worry about!"

"Although Zhang Yan is tough and tough, he is also a thief, and he will not dare to die. He can be bribed with advantage, or he can be destroyed with strong troops!"

"As long as the lord has troops stationed in Fanyang and Quanzhou, he can stop Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan from going south to Jizhou!"

Fanyang belongs to Zhuo County of Youzhou, and Quanzhou belongs to Yuyang County. They are both bordering Jizhou, but they are the only way to go south to Jizhou.

"In this way, there is no need to rush to capture Youzhou, and the northern part of Jizhou can be temporarily protected!"

Inspired by Xi Zhicai, Chen Deng opened up his mind.

"It's not difficult to defend the annexed state. As long as we defend Baiji Valley, Shangai, and the three counties of Weiguo, the western part of Jizhou will be safe!"
To be continued...