Huayu: The director just wants to save money

Chapter 881: Once the knife is drawn, it is difficult to take it back
After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Emperor Liu Hong tried several more times to consolidate power.

But it was of no use in the end, and the country continued to rush towards decline.

The Rebellion of the Ten Eunuchs, the Rebellion of Dong Zhuo, and the eighteen princes’ campaign against Dong.

Zhao Shan appeared in Suanzao County and observed the princes participating in the alliance to see if there were any outstanding people who could rule the world among them.

She had done something similar two hundred years ago.

That time, she chose Liu Xiu.

The latter eventually rebuilt the Han Dynasty.

On the surface, what she did this time seemed to be no different from last time.

Still looking for someone who can pacify the world, still cooperating with him, still being wary and alert to each other.

But in reality, there is a big difference between the two times.

Before Liu Xiu established the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a clear distinction between the forces of immortals and warlords, and there was no basis for mutual cooperation.

But now, the two sides have long been mixed with each other, forming a state where you are in me and I am in you.

Especially among the princes who have come to the alliance meeting, many of them are even representatives of the aristocratic families.

For example, the brothers Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao.

Behind these two people is one of the top families behind the Han Dynasty today, and there are countless families following them.

These families formed a huge network, which lifted these two people up while also binding them deeply.

Of the two, Yuan Shao was relatively wiser, but he was also deeply involved in the struggles among the representatives of different forces under his command.

As for Yuan Shu...

That's a lunatic.

In this situation, Zhao Shan gave up on choosing the two from the very beginning.

After the two Yuans, there were people like Gongsun Zan and Tao Qian, who were either too stubborn and easily defeated, or too defensive, and were equally unworthy of cooperation.

After witnessing the abilities of nearly ten wise rulers during the Qin and Han dynasties, Zhao Shan's vision is extremely high.

Although she herself could not reach the level of those emperors, she could tell at a glance whether a monarch was a wise one.

In his opinion, among the current 18 princes, only Cao Cao stands out.

He is ambitious and strategic, able to put aside his pride and respect others, and has the ability to lead his own troops.

Although they also have investments from aristocratic families, they are not completely under their control like the two Yuan brothers.

Although there is still a clear gap compared with Liu Xiu, he can already be regarded as a wise monarch.

So, Zhao Shan went to meet Cao Cao directly.

Today's Zhao Shan is no longer the Princess of the Qin Dynasty who had just revived and needed to hide her identity and whereabouts. Her behavior and deeds have long been engraved in the history books along with history.

The belief in her is passed down among the people, and rumors about her are spread in the temples.

Destiny!

Many people believe that whoever is chosen by Zhao Shan will be the next ruler of the world.

Such rumors are not groundless.

Every time Zhao Shan appeared in history, the person he chose later became a famous figure in history.

For example, Huo Guang, Emperor Xuan of Han, Emperor Guangwu, Emperor He of Han, Empress Dowager Deng...

However, the historical truth is often that cause and effect are reversed.

If Zhao Shan hadn't found them, they would not have had the destiny.

But it was because their own abilities were outstanding enough and they were willing to bring welfare to the common people, so Zhao Shan chose them.

But legends always take on more and more political meanings as time goes by.

In the feudal era, the imperial rule and the search for legitimacy have been an enduring topic.

Just like Emperor Gaozu slaying the white snake, when Liu Che was born, his mother dreamed of a goddess granting the sun...

Zhao Shan represents the Mandate of Heaven. The rise of this rumor was the result of spontaneous movement among the people and covert promotion by powerful people.

Although some of these people have never actually seen Zhao Shan.

But this did not prevent them from using Zhao Shan's name to increase the authority of their own status——

Anyway, Zhao Shan is a mysterious person who is hard to find. Every time he appears, he is just a fleeting glimpse and disappears again soon after.

Therefore, as long as she is not slandering her and using Zhao Shan's reputation, the latter will not care much.

When Cao Cao met Zhao Shan, he was still in a state of desolation.

The battle between the princes of Guandong and Dong Zhuo was considered a victory as Dong Zhuo escaped.

However, in the second pursuit battle, the princes were defeated by Xu Rong and returned. Cao Cao believed that this was due to the lack of unity among the princes.

How can we restore the Han Dynasty with people like you?!
The failure of the war caused Cao Cao to fall into a brief period of self-doubt.

However, the appearance of Zhao Shan immediately restored his spirits.

He communicated with Zhao Shan once, expressed his ambition to pacify the world, and directly expressed his hope to get Zhao Shan's help.

Zhao Shan did not immediately agree to Cao Cao's request, but told Cao Cao that as long as the latter followed his ambitions, the cooperation between the two parties could continue.

Cao Cao was overjoyed and immediately began to deploy the next plan.

In the battle with Xu Rong, his soldiers suffered heavy losses and now he is in urgent need of finding new troops.

After thinking for a long time, Cao Cao set his sights on the Yellow Turban Army.

After the death of the three Zhang brothers, the Yellow Turban Army did not stop, but instead split into dozens of groups of varying sizes, spread throughout the Han Dynasty.

Cao Cao wanted to control the Yellow Turban Army in the Central Plains, which would not only increase the population under his control, but also achieve cooperation with Zhao Shan:

To bring peace to the people of the world.

So, from the first year to the third year of Chuping (190 AD-193 AD), Cao Cao continued to fight east and west, his territory became larger and larger, and the number of people under his command also increased.

He defeated the Yellow Turban Army in different regions many times, killed their leaders and gathered the remaining troops.

During this period, Zhao Shan also helped him solve many threats and plots from aristocratic families and immortals.

The cooperation between the two sides has gradually become stronger in this process.

It was not until the third year of Chuping that Cao Cao's father Cao Song was killed in Xuzhou. Cao Cao vowed to avenge his father and led an army to attack Xuzhou.

Cao Cao set out with his army.

At the beginning, he did as he said, death was limited to the scope of war.

After each siege, he still controlled his soldiers and prohibited them from harming the people in the city.

But as more and more cities were conquered, the mentality of both Cao Cao and his soldiers changed.

Xuzhou is really too rich.

The large plains in the state ensure that there is sufficient food.

More food means more population.

In troubled times, population is the foundation of everything.

In the second year of Chuping, Cao Cao was busy for nearly a year before he finally gathered the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou and obtained 300,000 Yellow Turban troops and a population of one million.

However, Xuzhou already has a population of more than two million.

In addition, Tao Qian was relatively wise in his early years, so Xuzhou did not suffer too much from the war and thus retained a large amount of wealth.

As Cao Cao watched all this happening in Xuzhou, evil thoughts gradually arose in his heart.

He worried about food for his people every day, and Xuzhou was simply a huge granary.

in case……

Cao Cao's persistence wavered.

Not long after, during a siege, as the city gates had not been lowered for a long time, Cao Cao issued an order that as long as the city gates were broken, they could plunder for three days. Soldiers and bandits were often only a thin line away.

In ancient times, there was a saying that "bandits passing by are like combing hair, and soldiers passing by are like rakes." This means that no matter whether they are bandits or soldiers, they will plunder the people's property and food after passing by, just like a comb combing hair.
Moreover, the comb is denser than a comb, which means that the extent to which the soldiers plundered the people was more terrifying than that of bandits.

After this battle, Cao Cao completely relaxed the restrictions on his soldiers.

At the same time, he also lost contact with Zhao Shan.

But before that, he had prepared himself mentally, so he was still able to control his mentality.

But the meeting that followed immediately made him feel completely devastated.

Chen Gong (Romance version).

Chen Gong came here for only one thing, to persuade Cao Cao not to use force against the people again.

However, the decision to allow his soldiers to plunder is a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, this decision can allow soldiers to fight bravely without regard for their own lives.

On the other hand, it also made the soldiers increasingly difficult to control.

Now, the soldiers under Cao Cao have obtained a large amount of wealth through the war. If they are asked to stop rashly, it will only make them resentful.

Once a knife is drawn, it is difficult to put it back.

If the blade cannot be pointed at the enemy, it will be pointed at oneself.

So, the two of them parted unhappily after arguing.

Cao Cao looked at Chen Gong's departing back with a very complicated look in his eyes.

"Gongtai, Gongtai..."

Seeing this, Da Tiantian leaned over to Zhou Mo's ear and whispered, "I didn't expect that watching Director Jiang and Teacher Ge arguing here didn't feel out of place at all."

“Why is there a drama?”

"Of course it's Zhang Mazi and Shiye. When I first saw these two people filming this scene on the set, I thought they were just going to act out the scenes together, but who knew they would be able to do it in just one afternoon."

"It was actually mixed up. Before filming this scene, Lao Jiang wanted to change the lines to his style, but I stopped him. The two of us actually rehearsed the scene several times in private before the official filming, so we were in such a good state during the official filming."

Da Tiantian was a little surprised.

"You managed to persuade Director Jiang to stay. How did you do that?"

"I just told him that there is only one Let the Bullets Fly and I don't know how to make it and I can't make it."

The corners of Da Tiantian's mouth slowly curled up.

"Your ability to coax people is getting better and better."

"I'm just telling the truth. I never flatter anyone. Just like when I say you're the most beautiful lady I've ever seen in my life, I'm telling the truth."

"Yes, that's the feeling. Say a few more words to make me happy. I'll buy you some gummy bears later."

"..."

In the battle of Xuzhou, Cao Cao gained a large amount of wealth and food.

The price was a complete separation from Chen Gong.

Moreover, Zhao Shan never responded to any of his letters or contacts again.

It is said that Zhao Shan went to Youzhou during this period.

Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu, one civil and one military, were originally the two core figures in charge of Youzhou.

Ideally speaking, with these two people around, the aliens would never be able to move south.

However, Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan had completely different ideas about how to treat foreign races.

Liu Yu believed that when dealing with ethnic minorities, one should mainly adopt a gentle approach, influence them, and let them gradually become the subjects of the Han Dynasty, switching from herding to farming.

In fact, Liu Yu did win over quite a few people from other ethnic groups, and these people were very loyal to him.

Gongsun Zan belongs to the iron-blooded faction, and he has only one word to describe his attitude towards foreign races:

kill.

If they are all killed, naturally no more aliens will move south.

Due to this difference in thinking, the conflict between the two men grew bigger and bigger, and finally broke out completely. Liu Yu led his troops to attack Gongsun Zan, but was easily defeated by Gongsun Zan.

Zhao Shan herself actually prefers Gongsun Zan's ideas, but she also knows that the cost and consumption of war are higher than that of appeasement.

And Liu Yu did make some achievements, so no one paid much attention to him.

But this time, when a war broke out between the two, there would inevitably be "wild immortals" from Youzhou, that is, immortals from other races, causing unrest, so she came to suppress it.

Back to Cao Cao.

He didn't know whether he gained or lost in this battle.

But what is done is done, and regret is the most useless emotion.

Cao Cao quickly calmed down and continued his journey.

Today, the general trend of the world has gradually become clear.

The two Yuans were still the most powerful princes in the world, but the two brothers were not of the same mind and were even quite hostile to each other.

At present, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are in the same camp, with Yuan Shao as the leader.

On Yuan Shu's side, he and Tao Qian were allies.

There will definitely be a war between the two sides in the future.

Before that, he must continue to strengthen himself and prepare for the future war.

It happened that during the time when he was attacking Tao Qian, his hometown was attacked by Lu Bu's slave of three surnames.

Cao Cao led his troops to drive away Lu Bu, and then welcomed the Han Emperor, pacified Zhang Miao, and took in Liu Bei who was defeated by Lu Bu.

During this period, Cao Cao did not stop contacting Zhao Shan.

He wrote a poem called "Song of the Grassland".

The last four lines of the poem are:
The bones are exposed in the wild, and there is no cock crowing for thousands of miles.

One of the hundreds of things left behind by the living people will break people's hearts just thinking about it.

After Cao Cao finished writing this poem, he placed the letter in a specific place, hoping that Zhao Shan would see it.

Zhao Shan did see the poem, but his expression did not change.

The literary style of the poem is indeed very good.

But what's the use?
The people of Xuzhou are already dead.

After reading the poem, Zhao Shan looked into the distance.

After returning from Youzhou this time, she discovered another person worthy of attention.

This man was called Liu Bei, a relative of the Han Dynasty. He had a rather bold and sometimes violent temper.

Previously, this man had participated in the Yellow Turban Rebellion and had appeared when the eighteen princes besieged Dong Zhuo, but he had never been famous.

This time, still during the Battle of Xuzhou, Zhao Shancai noticed this person.

Through Liu Bei's observation, Zhao Shan found that although this person's temper was not particularly good, he was kind to the people.

This person may be someone worth cooperating with.

Time soon came to the second year of Jianping.

This year, Cao Cao completed his complete control over Yanzhou and set his sights on Zhang Xiu, who was stationed in Wancheng.

Faced with Cao Cao's attack, Zhang Xiu quickly chose to surrender.

Cao Cao, however, gradually became complacent with the success of this attack.

(End of this chapter)