The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 116: A meal of kindness, a mutual care
Li Yi stood up and refuted Xu Shao's point of view.

"The Art of War says: A country is poorer than its army because it has to travel far away, and traveling far away makes its people poor."

"Now Xuzhou has been fighting continuously and is already exhausted. If we raise a large army to attack Yangzhou again."

"Not to mention the loss of lives, who will pay for the money and food fodder consumed by this army of 10,000 people every day?"

Li Yi paused, then suddenly changed the subject.

"But it's not easy for Mr. Zijiang to come here from afar. I'm afraid it will be difficult to report back if you go back like this."

"So Yi has a win-win plan."

Li Yi told Liu Bei the plan he had discussed with him before.

"Now I have 20,000 soldiers stationed in Guangling, and will use them for farming."

"It just so happens that Guangling and Danyang are separated by a river, echoing each other from afar."

"Sun Ce has only occupied Qu'a and Dantu counties, which are only minor in number and not a threat."

"If they really use troops on the east side, they will dare to invade Wu territory."

"The Guangling soldiers should immediately cross the river to provide assistance and will never sit idly by."

"In this way, wouldn't it be possible to protect Liu Yangzhou's personal safety and solve the problem of Sun Ce?"

Li Yi said this and looked at Chen Deng.

Chen Deng is the prefect of Guangling and will also be responsible for the military farming affairs here.

After Liu Bei and Li Yi returned to Xia Pi, it was definitely Chen Deng who organized the troops to cross the river to support Liu Yao.

Chen Deng immediately stood up and promised solemnly:
"Just as Mr. Ziyu said, if Sun Ce really uses his troops in the east, Guangling will never sit idly by."

"Before that, please allow Xuzhou to rest with the people, recover its vitality, and accumulate food."

Xu Shao sighed when he heard this.

This was the best outcome he could have achieved.

"In this case, Shao thanks Liu Xuzhou on behalf of my master!"

Xu Shao bowed, looking a little helpless.

Later, at Li Yi's suggestion, Xu Shao could temporarily work as an official in Guangling.

It will facilitate communication between the two places in the future. If Guangling really needs to send troops, we can inform you at the first opportunity.

Xu Shao was essentially playing the role of an embassy.

After Yuan's army retreated and the affairs of Guangling were finally resolved, Liu Bei was finally able to lead his army back to Xia Pi.

However, before leaving, he followed Li Yi's previous suggestion and left 20,000 soldiers for Chen Deng and Guangling.

Used for military farming.

Then he wrote a letter to Mi Zhu, asking him to allocate 10 million yuan as funds for military farming.

The army marched northward all the way to Xiaqiu County.

It is now the end of the year, winter has arrived, and the wind is as cold as a knife.

The army temporarily stopped in Xiaqiu County.

It snowed heavily at night.

Li Yi put on a fox fur coat and practiced calligraphy under the lamp.

When he was a senior executive, he actually practiced calligraphy.

But that was just a hobby. Since traveling through time, writing with a brush has become a habit in my daily life.

Li Yi didn't know how many words he had to write every day.

He felt that his handwriting was much more beautiful than before, and became more neat and tidy.

One's handwriting reflects his character, and Li Yi also hopes to write his own handwriting as neatly as possible.

I just want to be an open-minded person and live up to all I have learned in my life.

dong dong dong...

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Sir, are you asleep?"

The voice sounds like Liu Bei.

"Not yet. It's so late. What can I do for you, lord?"

Although Li Yi was asking, he still got up and opened the door.

Whoohoo!
As soon as the door opened, a strong wind blew.

The wind blew the papers in the house.

Liu Bei walked quickly into the room, closed the door, and exhaled a few breaths of cold air.

"…Wow, it's snowing so heavily."

Followed Li Yi into the house.

"During the return trip, there was heavy snow and strong winds."

"Bei is from the north and is used to traveling in the military, so it won't be a big problem."

"I'm afraid the military advisor will be punished."

"It just so happened that the Japanese army hunted a big bear the other day, and I have ordered people to make coats out of the bear skin."

"I just finished it and brought it to you to keep you warm."

Li Yi took the bearskin coat and remembered that the army had encountered a big bear during the march a few days ago.

So everyone added a meal on the spot.

Li Yi remembered that there were four bear paws at that time.

Liu Bei kept one for himself and gave the other three to himself, Zhao Yun, and Tian Yu.

I didn’t expect that Xiongxiong had already made clothes after just a few days.

I have to say, it is indeed very warm.

Li Yi thanked him and invited Liu Bei to stay in the house for a while.

Wait until it's warmer before going back.

"Were you practicing calligraphy just now, sir?"

Liu Bei saw a piece of yellow paper on Li Yi's desk, which read:

——"Establish a mind for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, carry on the lost knowledge of the ancient sages, and bring peace to the world for all eternity."

"it is good!"

After reading it, Liu Bei couldn't help but exclaimed, "Great!"

Li Yi smiled and asked:

"My Lord, are you praising my calligraphy? Or are you praising this sentence?"

"This is well written, and the words are even better!"

Liu Bei exclaimed in admiration:

"The sage said that the three are immortal. Sir, you can write down these words, and I have benefited a lot from them."

"In the future, I will take this as my ambition and work hand in hand with you, sir."

In fact, Li Yi was just practicing calligraphy for fun. He was just planning to write "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital".

Fortunately I didn’t write it, otherwise it would be embarrassing if Lao Liu saw it.

"Since the Lord is not sleeping at this time, I have a few things to discuss with the Lord."

"I wanted to talk about it tomorrow, but now that the lord is here, I'll tell you now."

Liu Bei was startled when he heard this, and smiled:

"What a coincidence. Bei also has something to discuss with you, sir."

what?
So you're not here to deliver clothes?
"I wonder what it is?" Li Yi asked.

"Sir, please speak first."

Row……

Li Yi hesitated for a moment and said:
"Today the world is in turmoil, and heroes are rising up."

"The grass-roots dragons and snakes, small ones occupy counties and villages, big ones cross states and counties."

"During these turbulent times, we must consolidate our roots and establish our foundation."

"The reason why the middle is like this is because of Yi's actions."

"Although Xuzhou's external situation has been settled, internal issues still need to be resolved."

Liu Bei listened carefully and continued to ask what issues should be resolved.

Li Yi was still clear-headed at night, and said in an orderly manner:

"Since the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, the ceremonies have been complicated and wasteful. In the counties and prefectures we passed through, there was a spirit of comparison."

This is Li Yi’s personal experience.

On their way back to Xia Pi, their army passed through many counties and towns along the way.

The local county magistrate and village headmen all rushed forward to welcome Liu Bei.

Moreover, the things used are too extravagant and wasteful.

This is not a good phenomenon.

"If officials are only concerned with currying favor with their superiors, how can they be at ease governing the people and speaking for them?"

"If local officials are like this, what about local officials?"

Liu Bei nodded, stroked his beard, and said thoughtfully:

"I've also noticed this."

"Xuzhou was inherited from Tao Gongzu. When Tao Gong was alive, he was famous for his extravagance. People in Xuzhou, from top to bottom, wanted to emulate him."

"Last year's spending alone resulted in a huge amount of waste."

"Zi Yu raised the issue today. If it is not rectified soon, the phenomenon of civil and military idleness will spread throughout the state sooner or later."

Xuzhou had become extremely wealthy under the reorganization of Tao Qian and Chen Deng.

However, Tao Qian did not use this wealth to support the people. Instead, he purchased a large amount of land, resulting in serious land annexation in Xuzhou.

Just one of his generals, Cao Hong, had assets worth millions.

The former Xia Pi Xiang Zuo Rong was even more terrifying and exaggerated. He directly took away hundreds of millions of money and grain to Yangzhou.

At the same time, Tao Qian vigorously promoted Buddhism in order to suppress the Yellow Turban Army and curb Taiping Taoism.

It must be said that Tao Qian was very successful in suppressing the situation, and there had never been an outbreak of Yellow Turban Rebellion on the scale of that in Qingzhou in Xuzhou.

But the problem is that he is too successful, too successful.
Tao Qian built a large number of Golden Buddha temples in Xuzhou.

The Buddha statue is made of copper, the body is painted with gold, the clothes are sewn with brocade, and a nine-layer copper plate is hung.

This scale of construction has greatly depleted Xuzhou's national strength.

Moreover, when Cao Cao massacred Xuzhou later, he also looted all the golden Buddhas he could.

It's like making wedding clothes for others for nothing.

In addition, Tao Qian also built a large number of multi-story buildings, each of which could accommodate more than 3,000 people.

The purpose was to let them study Buddhist scriptures and to allow people in the area and neighboring counties who worshipped Buddhism to come and listen to the scriptures and receive the teachings.

Others were recruited in this way, and more than 5,000 households came from far and near.

In an agricultural society, an agricultural civilization.

When people do not engage in agricultural production but instead chant Buddhist scriptures, it is a great destruction to productivity.

"What Ziyu said is very appropriate. I will give the order later."

"Extravagance and waste are strictly prohibited in Xuzhou, and seeking personal gain is strictly prohibited!"

After a slight pause, Liu Bei added, "I will discuss this with Mi Zizhong to see if we can draw up a specific charter."

Li Yi then added:

"In addition to fighting corruption, I think the annual Buddha Bathing Ceremony can be cancelled."

The Buddha Bathing Ceremony is actually a legacy of the "previous dynasty".

Tao Qian created it to promote Buddhism.

The general process is to set out a large amount of wine and food and set up banquets along the way.

It stretches for dozens of miles and is used to entertain people passing by along the way.

The money spent on the Buddha Bathing Ceremony alone every year amounts to billions.

The amount of food was even more incalculable. "Not only should the government take the lead in stopping the event, but private Buddha bathing ceremonies should also not be allowed!"

The trend has already been formed, and Li Yi does not recommend to simply kill it right away.

"Since the reign of Emperor Ling, the laws of the country have become increasingly relaxed."

"The powerful and the bad have no scruples, and local officials are partial to each other and bend the law. There is a suspicion that they are in collusion and are in collusion with each other."

Li Yi continued speaking.

"Today, Xuzhou still follows the laws of the time when Tao Gong was alive."

"However, in order to gain the support of local tyrants, Lord Tao often condoned illegal activities."

"Now that the external threat has been eliminated, the law cannot be abolished, and officials must be disciplined."

"I think we should strictly enforce the law and rectify the administration of officials."

"So that the powerful can be restrained and the people can have peace."

Li Yi roughly raised two points to Liu Bei.

First, fight corruption and prohibit extravagance and waste.

The second is to strictly enforce the law and rectify the administration of officials.

In fact, no matter which point it is, it is not an urgent matter.

So Li Yi first helped Liu Bei to subdue the various factions within the country, and then attacked the various princes externally.

All these actions were aimed at consolidating Liu Bei's own rule.

Only when the rule is stable can we consider the following matters.

Liu Bei bowed to Li Yi:
"Teacher, you taught me good advice, and I will take it seriously."

"As for the law, I will also send Kong Beihai, Liu Ziyang, and Wang Shuzhi to discuss it together."

“Try to promulgate new laws and regulations before the beginning of next spring.”

Although Kong Rong was not good at fighting, he was good at handling domestic affairs.

At the same time, Wang Xiu and Liu Ye both have their own unique insights into laws and regulations.

There shouldn't be any big problems letting the three of them work together to formulate new laws.

But Li Yi couldn't help but give two instructions:
“There is nothing wrong with amending the law, but we should not rush into anything.”

"We must not change our orders every day and lose trust with the people."

Li Yi compared the administrative problems in Xuzhou to people and explained it to Liu Bei vividly:

"For example, if a person is seriously ill, he should first drink porridge and then take medicine."

"Wait until the internal organs are in harmony and the body is gradually at peace, then use meat to nourish it and strong medicine to treat it."

"Then the root of the disease will be completely gone, and the person will be able to survive."

"If you don't wait until your qi and blood are calm, and you use strong medicine and heavy flavors, it will be difficult to seek safety!"

Liu Bei understood that Li Yi wanted to suggest to him that rectifying the administration of officials could not be solved overnight, but had to be done step by step.

He was afraid that he would go too far and overturn all the existing laws at once, causing panic among the people of Xuzhou.

"I understand. Please be at ease, sir."

call……

Li Yi let out a breath of cold air after he roughly stated his ideas.

Then he began to ask:
"That's all I have to say."

"My Lord, what do you want to discuss with me?"

Hahaha……

When Liu Bei heard this, he laughed instead.

"Although you are young, you are already over twenty years old."

"But now I am still trying to start a family and career, and I have no offspring to continue the family line."

"I am really worried about you."

Li Yi suddenly realized that it turned out that Lao Liu was here to urge him to get married!
After making the engagement with the Mi family last year, I have been busy dealing with various affairs of all sizes in Xuzhou.

I really can't spare the time to hold a wedding.

After all, the sister of the great Xuzhou Beijia, who came from a prominent family in Donghai, was marrying the military advisor Fangbo, and the matter could not be handled hastily.

There are three kinds of unfilial piety, and no one is the greatest.

Liu Bei didn't want his military advisor to be without descendants.

"Sir, you are a hermit in the mountains, and you are used to living a carefree life."

"Now he is always at my side, always accompanying me in battle."

Liu Bei sighed and said to Li Yi guiltily.

"I remember that when I first started working for Mr. Bei, he only promised to provide me with food."

"However, since following Bei, you have stayed in the camp for a long time and experienced many hardships."

"What we eat is dust from war; what we drink is blood and water."

"…Alas, war hurts both you and others. Once you get involved, it's hard to turn back."

"When the time comes, we will move thousands of miles away and be ready for battle."

“Even when I wake up in the middle of the night, I am accompanied by fierce soldiers and ghosts.”

"I feel really guilty."

Liu Bei had tears in his eyes and felt that he had let Li Yi down.

The longer I spend with him, the more I feel like he is a wanderer who lives by the eaves and beside the clouds.

You shouldn't confine yourself to the camp.

Maybe the end of the world is his destiny.

Li Yi shook his head. "When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact?"

"If it weren't for the Lord's rescue, Yi would have died by the sword long ago."

"Besides, the world is in chaos today, thieves are everywhere, and villains are rising up."

"Who can guarantee that they will be alone and protect themselves in troubled times?"

"Yi voluntarily follows the master, and there is absolutely no reason to regret it."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei was deeply moved.

She stepped forward, held Li Yi's hand tightly, and said with tears in her eyes:

"I know what the military advisor wants, so I want to wait for this matter."

"After returning to Xia Pi, I asked the Mi family to complete the marriage with you, sir."

"Well, it's all my wish."

Since I took you away from your original hometown, I will give you a new home.

Everything Liu Bei did was in the hope of compensating Li Yi as much as possible.

Li Yi smiled and said:

"Since this is the Lord's wish, I will obey your command."

Strange to say,
All Li Yi thought about all day was how to help Liu Bei get Xuzhou under control.

Liu Bei spent all day thinking about how to help Li Yi improve his life.

It's really hilarious.

"... Phew, it's getting dark, I won't disturb you to rest."

Liu Bei stood up and prepared to leave.

He knew that Li Yi liked a quiet sleeping environment, so he did not ask him to "sleep on the same bed with him".

In fact, this was just Li Yi's excuse to reject Liu Bei.

He simply doesn't like sleeping with men.

After all, in this era, people who have a good relationship with each other should "go out in the same carriage, sit on the same mat, and sleep on the same bed."

Li Yi has already taken the first two, so there is no need for him to take the third one.

"Be careful on the main road."

Li Yi did not forget to remind people behind him, although the road section was not far.

But it was snowing heavily and the ground was slippery, so we still had to be careful.

"……call."

As soon as Liu Bei opened the door, he felt a chill in his face.

"This winter is exceptionally cold. If you are seriously ill, I'm afraid you won't be able to survive it."

Liu Bei mentioned this casually in the biting cold wind.

Li Yi laughed behind him:
"Thanks to the Lord's blessing, everyone is still in good health, and this winter will soon be over."

After a pause, Li Yi looked up at the sky again and said to himself:
"…But some people may not have a good time."

……

……

Yanzhou, Dongjun.

The whole city was filled with soldiers wearing red and colorful ribbons, and the morale of the troops was low.

The war with Lu Bu has lasted for a year, but they still have to stay on the front line and cannot go home to visit their wives, children and mothers.

The lower-level soldiers have a hard time, and the higher-level leaders have it even harder.

Inside the government office, there were mourning banners and white mourning clothes everywhere, and everyone was in mourning.

In the main hall.

A coffin was placed in the middle, and on the tablet was written the name of the military advisor and chief priest Xi Zhicai.

Cao Cao held the coffin, heartbroken, tears streaming down his face, crying heart-wrenchingly.

"...Zhicai, Zhicai, after you leave, who will I be able to talk to?"

Cao Cao cried and patted the coffin.

Xi Zhicai was one of the few friends that Cao Cao could talk to.

This year, Cao Cao was under tremendous pressure and finally managed to get through it.

But he didn't expect that his military advisor could not survive the winter.

Xi Zhicai's previous strategy of surrounding Xuzhou with three armies and driving Liu Bei's forces out of Yuzhou was cracked.

Cao Cao did not blame Xi Zhicai verbally, but Xi Zhicai felt very guilty in his heart.

He knew that he was about to die, and he only hoped that he could plan something for Cao Cao before he died.

It's a pity that all the careful planning ended up in vain.

After hearing this, Xi Zhicai's condition worsened and he couldn't even get out of bed.

Cao Cao sent a doctor from his mansion to take care of him personally, but Xi Zhicai still died.

He died of illness at home in the cold winter wind.

"My Lord, the dead cannot be resurrected, please don't cry and hurt yourself."

"My condolences!"

Cao Ren stepped forward to comfort him and forced Cao Cao to kneel down.

The maidservant served Cao Cao a calming soup, and he drank several bowls of it before he calmed down.

"What medicine is used to make this soup?" Cao Cao suddenly asked.

"...Yes, it's Duhuo."

Cao Ren said in a low voice.

Angelica dahurica has the effects of dispelling wind, relieving pain, stopping tranquility and anti-inflammatory.

But when Cao Cao heard this, he became furious and knocked over the medicine with one hand.

"Take it! Take it!"

"Who drinks this medicine?"

……

(End of this chapter)