Mi Han

Chapter 401
Because of the urgency in his heart, it didn't take long for Cao Zhen to return to Guanzhong.

It's just that after returning to Guanzhong, he didn't rush to Liangzhou immediately, he directly entered Chang'an City.

Chang'an was an ancient capital with the same reputation as Luoyang.

It has an indelible place in the hearts of the people of the world.

If it is said that owning the Chuanguo Yuxi can symbolize that one person is the real dragon emperor, then owning Chang'an and Luoyang at the same time is the best symbol of a dynasty and Zhengshuo in China.

This concept has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of everyone alive.

It is precisely because Chang'an has such important political significance in the current world, so after Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor and established the Guanzhong Dudu District, Chang'an naturally became the governing place of Cao Wei Guanzhong Dudu District.

However, Cao Zhen is not a person who can live at leisure. Although he is the governor of Guanzhong, he seldom lived in Chang'an City in the past.

Therefore, the current chief general of Chang'an City is General Xia Houmao of Anxi.

Cao Zhen went to Chang'an first when he returned to Guanzhong this time, in order to come to find Xia Houmao.

Xiahoumao, whose name is Zilin, is the son of Xiahoudun, the Yuanxun of Cao Wei.

Because his father was Xiahoudun, Xiahoumao's status in Cao Wei was unusual since he was a child.

When Xia Houmao was just an adult, Cao Cao married his most beloved daughter, Princess Qinghe, to him.

After Cao Pi became emperor, because Xia Houmao had a very good relationship with him since childhood, Xiahoumao ushered in a period of rapid development in life.

He first worshiped Shizhong and Shangshu, and soon he was promoted to General Anxi, and finally he was given the power of false festival by Cao Pi, and he was named Liehou.

This series of promotions was completed within half a year after Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor.

Even Cao Zhen couldn't match such a promotion speed.

At the beginning, the governor of Guanzhong was originally the governor of Xia Houmao, and Cao Zhen was only the governor of Liangzhou.

Later, as the Han army gradually became stronger, in order to strengthen the combat readiness in Guanzhong, Cao Pi merged the Liangzhou Dudu District into the Guanzhong Dudu District, and made Cao Zhen the Guanzhong Dudu District.

It can be seen from this that it is not that Cao Pi does not know that his brother-in-law has no military talent.

Of course, Xia Houmao no longer has any military talents. With his background, his status and power in the Guanzhong Governor's District are only under Cao Zhen.

The reason why Cao Zhen came to look for Xiahoumao non-stop was not because of his personal relationship with Xiahoumao. On the contrary, Cao Zhen looked down on Xiahoumao a little.

As a famous general in the world, Cao Zhen, a person like Xia Houmao who has no military talent, even if he is related, cannot enter his eyes.

But after all, they are relatives, so Cao Zhen can't say that he hates Xia Houmao.

Especially Cao Zhen still needs Xia Houmao's help now.

Although Xia Houmao has no talent in military strategy, he has the ability to manage and raise funds.

Cao Zhen came here specially to look for Xia Houmao this time, and what he valued was Xiahoumao's talent.

But when Cao Zhen saw Xia Houmao, the scene in front of him made his eyebrows furrow deeply.

On an attic, Xia Houmao was lying on the jade legs of several concubines with a satisfied face.

Perhaps because of the influence of the fine wine, Xia Houmao was a little distraught at this time.

His hands were moving restlessly around the bodies of the concubines, causing them to laugh shyly.

Xia Houmao's status is not ordinary.

In public, he is the guard of Chang'an, and in private, he is the husband of Princess Qinghe. No matter in public or private, Xia Houmao's current behavior makes Cao Zhen feel displeased.

It's just that Xia Houmao's status is not as good as his, so despite the displeasure in his heart, Cao Zhen suppressed his anger and coughed a few times to remind Xiahoumao of his arrival.

Under Cao Zhen's intentional reminder, Xia Houmao woke up from the state of confusion and love.

After seeing Cao Zhen suddenly appearing in front of him, no matter how much Xia Houmao indulged in leisure and pleasure, he also guessed some clues.

So Xia Houmaoyiyi was reluctant to let the concubines retire first.

After several concubines left, Xia Houmao, who was disheveled, didn't pack up his luggage first. He got up directly from the bed, and then came to Cao Zhen to help him sit down.

But Xia Houmao's kindness was rejected by Cao Zhen with a blunt wave of his hand.

Seeing Cao Zhen like this, Xia Houmao was not angry at all.

He was not too surprised that Cao Zhen would suddenly appear on the attic.

Cao Zhen's character has always been vigorous and resolute, coupled with his status, if he wants to come to see him directly, no one in Chang'an City can stop him.

However, Cao Zhen is not a person who is not ignorant of etiquette, so Xia Houmao knew that Cao Zhen must have something important to come to see him in such a hurry.

Under the inference in his heart, Xia Houmao sat back on the couch by himself, and then asked Cao Zhendao:

"If Zidan wants me to do anything, just speak up."

Because they are both Cao Wei's clan relatives, and their identities are not bad, so when there is no one in private, Xia Houmao and Cao Zhen have always called each other by their names.

Hearing Xia Houmao's inquiry, the displeasure on Cao Zhen's face just dissipated.

Although Xia Houmao doesn't know much about military strategy, his own wisdom is not low, otherwise, in the past days, he would not be able to manage the government affairs in Guanzhong in an orderly manner.

Under Xia Houmao's questioning, Cao Zhen told him what he wanted him to do.

But as soon as Cao Zhen's words fell, Xia Houmao immediately showed embarrassment.

To prepare the armaments and food for the [-] army within three months?
This Cao Zidan really doesn't care about logistics, he doesn't know how difficult it is.

"It's impossible."

Xia Houmao's indifferent reply instantly made Cao Zhen's face even more ugly.

"Does Zilin know the importance of the Southern Expedition?"

Cao Zhen thought that Xia Houmao didn't understand this, so there was an evasion in his words, but he misunderstood Xiahoumao.

Xia Houmao looked at Cao Zhen and replied: "Because I know the importance of the Southern Expedition to our army, I don't want to lie to you.

Once an army of [-] is dispatched, the materials needed will be huge.

Now that winter wheat is being planted in Guanzhong, no matter how good I am at coordinating, I cannot do this within three months. "

Xia Houmao didn't say one more thing, that is, the Southern Expedition to Hanzhong did not fight in the Central Plains. The transportation in the Central Plains is convenient, and the transportation of materials is also very convenient.

However, Hanzhong is full of steep mountain roads. With such geographical conditions, the materials consumed are often a bit more than those in the Central Plains.

Xia Houmao's answer made Cao Zhen fall into silence for a while.

Cao Zhen was a famous general in the world, but Cao Zhen, who was backed by the entire Wei Dynasty, was mainly responsible for marching and fighting in the past, and he really didn't know much about logistics.

There is no way, Cao Wei has too many talents.

Under such circumstances, in the past, there were naturally plenty of people who would take care of the logistical matters for him, and Cao Zhen often only needed to know the general idea.

But even though he didn't know much about logistics, Cao Zhen believed in Xia Houmao's judgment.

Because in this respect, Xia Houmao is the professional.

During the Battle of Hexi, it was Xia Houmao who provided him with a steady stream of weapons, food and grass, so that he could quell the chaos without any worries.

Without knowing Xia Houmao's talent, Cao Zhen would not come to find Xiahoumao today.

Cao Zhen was silent for a while and asked Xia Houmao:

"How long will Zilin take?"

Facing Cao Zhen's inquiry, Xia Houmao gave the answer in his heart.

"At least five months.

Give me five months, and I will be able to prepare part of the supplies for the [-] army to fight.

This part of the supplies is enough for you, Zidan, to fight in advance.

And five months is enough time for the materials transferred by His Majesty from Kanto to reach Guanzhong. "

Hearing the time given by Xia Houmao, Cao Zhen agreed after serious consideration.

"Okay, then I'll give you five months.

I will wait for your good news in Chencang. "

After saying these words, Cao Zhen was about to leave.

But before leaving, Cao Zhen looked at Xia Houmao who had cooperated with him very tacitly in the past, and he couldn't help reminding:

"It's normal to keep a concubine Ji, but Zilin needs to be careful not to spread the news to Princess Qinghe."

After making this reminder, Cao Zhen left the attic.

The reason why Cao Zhen reminded Xia Houmao of this was entirely because of his relationship with Xiahoumao.

After all, even if he looks down on Xia Houmao a little in his heart, relatives are relatives anyway, and he doesn't want Xiahoumao to be reprimanded by Cao Pi for his personal affairs.

But after Xia Houmao heard Cao Zhen's reminder, his face showed a look of indifference.

He only had this hobby in his life, how could he just give it up because his wife was jealous?
Compared to worrying about Princess Qinghe's jealousy, Xia Houmao is now more concerned about how he can prepare the supplies for the [-] troops to go out within five months.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly called for his subordinate officials.

Before the subordinate officials arrived, Xia Houmao was thinking about a series of things he was going to do next in his mind.

It's just that when thinking about those things, a person's name always pops up in his mind from time to time.

Zhuge Liang.

Everyone is good at different aspects, so according to what they are good at, they will have different objects of admiration.

For Xia Houmao, the person he admires most in the world is Zhuge Liang.

In the decisive battle in Hanzhong that year, Zhuge Liang supported Liu Bei with the national power of one state, and beat Cao Cao, who was supported by the national power of nine states, and jumped and cursed. This feat can be said to have blinded the eyes of everyone in the world.

Knowing that Zhuge Liang can milk, I didn't expect to be so milky.

In essence, Cao Cao was not defeated by Liu Bei, but actually lost to the golden pair of Zhuge Liang and Fazheng.

And Zhuge Liang, who has such a feat, how can he not make Xia Houmao feel admirable?
With the national strength of Guanzhong, the advance supplies for an army of [-] were raised within three months, and only Zhuge Liang could do it in this world.

Thinking of this, Xia Houmao suddenly looked forward to the battle of the Southern Expedition in Japan.

If Zidan can win a big victory in the future and thus capture Zhuge Liang, he must write to His Majesty to let him reuse Zhuge Liang.

With Cao Wei's national strength and Zhuge Liang's ability to manage the world, it is difficult for Cao Wei to restore the glory of the former great man?
As the most important city in Guanzhong, Chang'an is bound to gather spies from all sides.

And among the spies from all sides, of course there were those from Liangzhou.

Under Mi Yang's reform measures, the spies in Liangzhou gradually became regularized.

They have a well-known name in Liangzhou—Si Wen Engaged.

When Mi Yang established Siwencao, considering the needs of the war, he divided the organization of Siwencao into two parts.

One part is the Jingan Division in charge of domestic intelligence work, and the other part is the Military Advisory Division in charge of overseas intelligence.

The Si Wen in Chang'an City is subordinate to the Military Counselor.

Because compared with the Jingan Division, the work in charge of the Military Advisory Division has higher requirements for professionalism and loyalty.

So after the members of the Mi clan came to Liangzhou, many members of the Mi clan were arranged by Mi Yang to join the army.

Later, following the flow, many members of the Mi clan took on the burden of lurking in Chang'an and spying on the military situation.

Mi An is one of those Mi clan members.

Mi An is an old man in his fifties, but according to his seniority, he is Mi Yang's elder brother.

A large part of the reason why Mi An was sent to Chang'an highly by Mi Yang was because Mi An was old enough.

Fifty years old means that when Mi An was young, he traveled all over the world with the ancestors of the Mi family to do business.

This is a prerequisite for being a good spy in this world.

Spies without rich experience and knowledge can neither guarantee their own safety nor find any useful military information.

Mi An's time in Chang'an was not long, but it was enough for him to settle down in Chang'an.

Before coming to Chang'an, Mi Yang gave his Mi clan a lot of money in order to ensure the smooth progress of intelligence work.

No matter in any era, money is a good thing that can help people settle down quickly.

It's just that compared to other tribesmen, Mi An uses money in a more special way.

He didn't spread out all his money to expand his connections.

Instead, he used the money Mi Yang gave him to open a medicine shop in Chang'an City.

And his pseudonym Hua An.

The official pharmaceutical industry in the Han Dynasty was underdeveloped, but this underdevelopment created an excellent business opportunity for private operators.

After all, in ancient times, herbs were not worth much in terms of cost, as long as one could hire manpower to go into dangerous forests to pick them.

However, the reason why Mi An chose to open a medicine shop was not for profit.

Mi An's experience and knowledge have been greatly enriched by the business life of traveling all over the world in the early years.

Mi An knew that Mi Yang sent him to Chang'an to spy on the military situation.

Since Mi Yang sent him here for this purpose, all his activities in Chang'an must be based on this foundation.

And Mi An knew that if the Wei army was about to conduct large-scale military activities, there was one necessity they would definitely collect in large quantities, and that was medicinal materials.

Ordinary people would think that in order to detect the enemy's military intelligence, the most important thing is to pay attention to the local food, grass and ordnance, which is actually wrong.

Because food and ordnance are the most important strategic materials, any government will hoard a large amount of them in granaries and arsenals in normal times.

If these two strategic materials are not necessary, the government will generally not collect them from the private sector.

In addition, granaries and arsenals are often heavily guarded, so it is not easy to detect the military situation from the two aspects of food and ordnance.

With the current medical conditions, it is impossible for the doctors in the army to take care of every soldier.

It's just that there must be a lot of wounded soldiers when the war starts, and it's impossible to completely ignore those wounded soldiers.

Therefore, when there are wounded soldiers in the army, the general practice of the army is to distribute the original medicinal materials for wounded soldiers.

Under such circumstances, compared to food and ordnance, medicinal material shops are the only place where civilians can detect major military situations during the preparations for the war.

Mi An's judgment was not wrong, with the help of his herbal medicine shop, he quickly noticed the abnormalities in Chang'an City recently.

This abnormality instantly alerted him.

(End of this chapter)