Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 640: Wenhe Zhuxin
Jinan, Lishan Spring Pool.

Jia Xu held a bowl of pastry, tasted it with a wooden spoon, and took a sip of wine from Zhangye from time to time.

The pastries and wine were all sent by Zhang Xiu.

Not only Jia Xu received it, but Cao Cao also received it, and the marriage between the two families did not break down.

There were two kinds of pastries given to Jia Xu. One was made with traditional ingredients; the new pastry used sesame oil, sesame seeds, and maltose. Although there was also honey, more maltose was used and the taste was sweeter.

This new pastry contained enough sugar, so it was still intact when it was transported to Qi State, with only a few layers of the surface crust broken.

Every year Zhang Xiu would send people to deliver some local specialties, and Jia Xu's old friend Duan Wei would also send people to deliver some.

Jia Xu also gave gifts in return. For example, this time, he gave Duan Wei two carts of dried salted fish and ginseng; and he gave Zhang Xiu a boatload of dried salted fish.

It was inconvenient for Cao Cao to deliver the goods, so Jia Xu handled it.

Just as Jia Xu was enjoying his spring afternoon tea, Cao Zhang led his riders from the depths of Mount Lishan and had a good hunt.

Cao Zhang didn't care whether the hunting season was right or not. He left his attendants behind and rode alone to the spring pond, dismounted, and hurried to see Jia Xu under the umbrella: "Military Advisor?"

"Your Highness."

Jia Xu stood up to greet him. Cao Zhang quickly stepped forward to support Jia Xu and took him to sit under the umbrella. Cao Zhang then took off his deerskin gloves and said, "Military Advisor, there is a happy event. Can you guess it?"

Seeing Cao Zhang's happy face, Jia Xu frowned slightly and asked, "Could it be that the king is going to have a grandson?"

"No."

Cao Zhang lowered his voice and said, "The Huainan peach branch I brought this spring has been grafted and blossomed, and has produced a green peach. It is indeed an overseas exotic species given by the Grand Marshal. It will mature in May, but it is still not as good as Shouchun peaches. Shouchun peaches blossom in winter and can be picked in April."

The peach pit originally given to Liu Fu was planted in Hefei. After he became emperor, Liu Fu went to Jiangdong and picked a branch.

The peach trees were also moved to Bagua Mountain outside Shouchun City. In recent years, branches were picked and grafted onto other peach trees, producing a good harvest.

These peaches have a sweet taste and stay fresh as long as they are not picked.

Jia Xu just smiled and didn't care much about this strange thing.

Then he asked, "Your Highness, do you know what is going on in Liaodong?"

"I'm not sure. This is not something that can be done easily."

Cao Zhang restrained his expression, looked at the clear spring pool, then looked at the wine and tea sets on the table, and poured himself some tea: "It depends on Changba."

It was obviously not an easy task for us to reach a tacit understanding with Liu Bei to attack Dongyi and the Three Han.

Although Liu Bei did not have a navy, Jingzhou had already provided personnel and craftsmen. With the rich timber resources in Liaodong, he would have a navy for coastal patrols in as little as three years, and would also be able to participate in naval battles on the Liaohe River.

In three years, with Liu Bei's war efficiency after gaining a foothold, he was able to swallow up some of the Dongyi and intimidate the vast majority of the Dongyi tribes.

That is to say, three years later, Liu Bei had Dongyi servants available for mobilization, and could transport food and fodder by sea to start the conquest of the Three Han from Lelang County.

During these three years, the Qi army crossed the sea to conquer the Three Hans, but obviously was unable to establish any solid strongholds.

If we can’t stop Liu Bei’s stronghold… then there’s no point in existing.

The longer the time drags on, the smaller the advantage of Qi’s navy will be.

Unless Liu Bei's Liaodong navy was severely damaged or completely wiped out in one battle, but this is a low-probability event.

There are also typhoons. If luck is bad, the Qi navy is also at risk of accidental destruction.

Therefore, the sooner an agreement is reached, the better it will be for everyone.

But Liu Bei's condition was Changba, and he wanted the Qi navy to transport Changba's troops to Liaodong.

Changba is happy about it, and so are some of Changba's followers...but once this happens, things may get out of control.

The people of Xuzhou had long been frightened by the war, and once sea transportation began, the outflow of population would be unstoppable.

If you block it, the agreement with Liu Bei will be void. Human resources are the most valuable.

Therefore, it is necessary to convince Changba, let Changba reject Liu Bei's proposal, and let Liu Bei change the conditions.

After all, there are naval forces from the southeastern court at the Langya seaport, and if they can make money, these people are willing to sail the Liaodong route.

If a stable trade relationship is established with Liaodong, it will affect Qi's monopoly on maritime trade revenue.

In fact, if there was no war, the profits from Liaodong's maritime trade would be very considerable for Qi.

As a result, the imperial navy stationed in Langya was no longer satisfied with being middlemen and wanted to advance into Jiaozhou and sail to the South China Sea.

There was originally a fixed waterway between Jiaozhou and Kuaiji, and there were many merchants and travelers from overseas countries.

As Jia Xu listened to Cao Zhang's description of the current predicament, he understood the disadvantages his side was facing in Liaodong.

The project of drilling through the Dizhu has already started in Guanzhong. Once the Dizhu is drilled through, there will be no more obstacles in Guanxi and Guandong.

Therefore, before the Dizhu was dug through, Qi had to establish a stable forward base in the Three Han regions.

Cao Ren was in charge of these matters. In fact, Jia Xu was never responsible for any specific matters. He just held the title of military advisor and did the work of an advisor to Cao Cao and his son.

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They even had little contact on a daily basis. If Cao Cao and his son didn't come to ask, Jia Xu wouldn't take the initiative to come and give advice.

Now that all parties have no intention of fighting a decisive battle with each other, Jia Xu's military value has declined and he has become free.

But it was still shelved for fear that it would be taken away by Guanzhong.

Jia Xu never used a knife to kill people. The older he got and the less physical strength he had, the more powerful his killing power became.

Cao Cao was worried that this guy had some hidden tricks up his sleeve, so after establishing his country, he supported him in the beautiful Lixia.

Listening to Cao Zhang's description of the difficulties, Jia Xu also knew what Cao Cao was worried about.

It was not that they were afraid that Changba and the people of Xuzhou would flow into Liaodong, but once the population migration became a trend, the unscrupulous imperial navy would intervene, which would allow them to establish a stable relationship with Liu Bei and become an uncontrollable variable for Qi.

Jia Xu thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, you may advise the king to send Liu Asheng back to Liaodong. As for Changba... take advantage of his unpreparedness and send a strong force to attack and defeat him, then ask Liu Xuande to redeem him, and this will prevent the Xu people from going out to sea."

Liu Bei's eldest son, Liu Asheng, has always been a trump card.

Liu Bei's side also knew that this son was still alive, but basically treated him as dead.

Considering Liu Bei's current age, the bitter cold in Liaodong, and his young son, if Liu Asheng is sent there, it would be normal for strange things to happen in the future.

Cao Zhang was also aware of the hardships Liu Asheng had endured over the years. Even if he was sent back to Liaodong, the deep resentment he had accumulated would not be easily dissipated.

After considering for a moment, Cao Zhang said, "We should not delay. The sea will be calm in the autumn, which is a good time for the army to cross the sea and attack the Three Kingdoms of Korea. I will persuade my father to send A Sheng back to Liaodong. But regarding the attack on Changba, who do you think is the best person?"

"General Miaocai's attack is swift, and General Wenqian is brave and fierce. If we combine the strengths of these two generals, we can defeat Changba."

Jia Xu pondered for a moment, then added: "We still need to be vigilant against Zang Ba. We can ask General Wen Ze to lead the troops to station at Mount Tai."

Cao Zhang also thought this arrangement was reasonable, and asked curiously, "Military Advisor, who is the Grand Marshal?"

"Da Sima..."

Jia Xu gently shook the wine glass and turned to look at Lishan: "As far as I know, the Grand Marshal is calm and resolute, and acts according to his heart. He is a true ruler."

Seeing that he was still unsatisfied, Cao Zhang listened quietly.

Jia Xu added: "After taking Guanzhong, he conquered the various Hu tribes in all directions, pacified several states in the west, and gained power throughout the country, with achievements comparable to those of Emperor Wu. He governed the people, judged the talents of the people, and did not allow the true and the false to be mixed up. He was pragmatic and pragmatic, and when he led the army and made decisions on major issues, all the counselors and generals were impressed by his general strategy."

"Although his achievements surpassed those of his subordinates, he tolerated frank words and never punished anyone in Guanzhong for speaking out. He accepted over 5,000 letters from officials and common people in a month. Although the writings were crude, he read them thoroughly without getting tired of them. In my opinion, he was a wise, benevolent, martial, virtuous and diligent ruler."

After saying this in one breath, Jia Xu looked at Cao Zhang sternly and said, "Your Highness, among all the heroes of the world, no one can match you."

Cao Zhang understood and decided that if there was a war with Guanzhong in the future, he should find a solution himself and not bother Jia Xu.

(End of this chapter)