Sima Yi's Three Kingdoms Collection Collection

Chapter 109 Ming Xiu Plank Road, Dark Chen Cang (5)
"Oh? What kind of strange dream did Doctor Jia have?" Cao Cao was startled for a moment when he first heard what he said. Listen."

"Then... the prime minister, please forgive me for bothering you. Last night, in my dream, I saw a majestic and resplendent palace. Fascinated, tsk-tsk admiration..." Jia Xu's face straightened, but he said in a serious manner, "Subordinates walked up slowly, looked at it carefully, but gradually realized that this treasure hall is a bit faint. There are some strange things about it. There are several bronze horse wind chimes hanging from the corner of the west eaves of the top of the hall, swaying and jingling by the wind; The monkey wind chimes are heavy and crumbling; the most imperfect part is that the largest beam in the middle of the roof of the hall has lost a lot of gold paint, and it seems that some moths have gotten in. Your Excellency, in your opinion, my subordinates How should this strange dream be interpreted?"

"Hahaha... Doctor Jia, there is a saying: 'Think about it every day, dream at night.' This is probably because you are too persistent in wanting to live in a new house! That's why you dream of this palace Yes." Cao Cao pondered for a while, then suddenly realized something, rolled his eyes, but there was no strange expression on his face, and said with a smile, "Well, if you assist the truth to obtain the whole Nanzheng Sheng, I will reward you with the most luxurious and magnificent palace in the entire capital city except the imperial palace, according to the appearance of the palace you saw in your dream. Everyone can testify that the truth will never break its word."

Seeing Cao Cao laughing and talking, Jia Xu secretly winked at himself, and suddenly realized that he had fully understood the meaning of what he said, so he twitched a lock of beard under his chin, nodded and smiled, and replied, "Your Excellency has said what you said." , it’s hard to catch up with four horses. This subordinate is here today to thank the Prime Minister in advance!”

When everyone in the hall heard this, they all burst into laughter.With a slight smile on Sima Yi's face, he turned his head and said softly to Yang Xiu who was sitting beside him: "Mr. Magnificent palaces and mansions!" But he thought to himself, "Bronze horse wind chimes", "Bronze monkey wind chimes" and "Bronze beams with moths" are all his ingenious metaphors to remonstrate Cao Cao!This Jia Xu is so tactful in his words and deeds that no one can catch him.

Yang Xiu frowned disapprovingly, and replied softly: "This Dr. Jia likes to play tricks and gossip, and Yang doesn't appreciate his style."

When Sima Yi heard what he said, he couldn't help but glanced at him secretly: You Yang Xiu, although you have outstanding talents and good writing skills, how can you be so shallow when you open your mouth?Alas, another Kong Rong-like nerd and moralist...

Over there, on the surface, Cao Cao was laughing to himself along with the crowd, but his heart was bright.Jia Xu painstakingly made up this "strange dream" in order to secretly warn him - the so-called "magnificent palace" refers to his Cao family's great cause; , Han Sui and others are sitting on [-] cavalry, staring at them, and they will invade from the east at any time; the big "bronze monkey and wind chime" refers to the Yangzhou area in the east, where Sun Quan, Zhou Yu and others sneaked into ambush and cruised in the Jianghuai River. , to hide unexpected changes; the "beams are mothed" in the middle of the hall refers to his confidants - Xu Du, Yang Biao, Fu Wan, Ma Teng, Zhao Yan and other dissidents colluded secretly, and they would take the opportunity to attack at any time .These three hidden dangers were the most troublesome problems when I went south to Jingzhou.

For these three hidden dangers, Cao Cao has racked his brains and tried his best to come up with many countermeasures, but none of them can completely solve the problem fundamentally.He also knows that after he killed Kong Rong a month ago, his previous strategy of "holding the emperor to command the princes, and borrowing the emperor to win the hearts of the princes" has been completely "bankrupt", and he can no longer have the same possession as he did during the Battle of Guandu. Political advantage over adversaries.That is to say, from now on, he can only rely on his own strength to face these opponents head-on, and this kind of vicious war of attrition of "killing one thousand enemies and harming oneself by eight hundred" is the most clumsy, and it is also the most clumsy of his own "predecessors". Outnumbered" is unbearable.Therefore, for these three hidden dangers, he can only try to avoid their intensive outbreak and cause a chain effect, and it is really difficult to completely eradicate them.

First of all, it is the issue of Jiangdong Sun Quan, which worries Cao Cao the most.Before going south to Jingzhou, he also knew that it would be the best policy to temporarily stabilize Sun Quan with some gentle means.In fact, there were not no contacts leading to Sun Quan. Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong, Sun Shao, Qin Song, the chief civil servants in Sun Quan's shogunate, had always had close friendships with Xun Yu, Wang Lang and others.However, under the current situation, will Xun Yu and Wang Lang still make a bridge between themselves and Sun Quan's faction?When this idea was put on the table, even Cao Cao doubted its feasibility.Therefore, for the Jiangdong Sun Quan faction, he can only adopt the strategy of "ignoring it and adapting to the situation".

The second is the problem of hidden enemies in Xudu.To deal with loyal officials of the Han Dynasty such as Yang Biao, Fu Wan, and Ma Teng, Cao Cao had to contain Yang Biao, the leader among them, first—and hold Yang Biao's only son, Yang Xiu, by his side as a hostage.The Yang family in Guanzhong is a distinguished family of Confucian scholars with four generations and three lords. Only Yang Xiu is the son of Yang Biao when he was old, and he is the heir. He is the only seedling of Yang Biao's two generations.Yang Biao should have taken this into consideration, and might not dare to make an overly violent breakup.

As for Wei Wei Ma Teng, Cao Cao could have forced him to go south to Jingzhou together.However, in this way, the conflicts between himself and Kansai Ma Chao, Han Sui, etc. will be quickly intensified, and a big melee may break out immediately.If so, how can I spare myself to take Jingzhou in one fell swoop?After I have been entangled with Ma Chao and Han Sui in Kansai for a month or two, I am afraid that Jingzhou will be taken by Liu Bei and the magpie's nest will be occupied by Liu Bei.The consequences would be even more serious.So Cao Cao knew that leaving Ma Teng in Xudu was a big hidden danger, but he had no choice but to let him go.As long as Xiliang Mashi doesn't jump out to beat me on the way to Jingzhou in the south, I can use the fastest speed to seize Jingzhou in one fell swoop, and then divide my troops to defend in the west after I have a firm foothold.At that time, I can take care of everything and sit back and relax.

Use Chu to control Chu, and Chu people rule Chu

While Cao Cao was thinking so turbulently in his mind, he maintained a composure on his face that people would never wear off.He gradually put away his thoughts, and slowly glanced away at the officials in the hall.

In the end, his gaze suddenly brightened, and he fixed on the face of Sima Yi who was sitting at the end of the long seat on the left side.This Sima Zhongda, the "Southern Expedition Encouraging Army Poetry Collection" a few days ago was still doing well, and it also caused some influence inside and outside Xudu.According to his elder brother Sima Lang, this time he actually volunteered to sign up for the Southern Expedition, asking for meritorious deeds to serve the country.Well, ambitious.The official in my prime minister's mansion should learn to be a generalist in civil and military affairs who can "infiltrate secrets and release codes in Fangzhou"!But I don't know if he is superior in the art of war and strategy, let's wait for the truth to ask him.

Cao Cao stroked the drooping beard on his chest, stared at Sima Yi from afar, and asked slowly, "Sima Zhongda, what advice do you have for this southern expedition to Jingzhou? Don't be restrained, speak boldly."

When Sima Yi heard Cao Cao suddenly call him by name, he was startled secretly, and immediately realized that this was the best opportunity for him to show his talent and get close to Cao Cao, and he really couldn't let it go easily.He hastily sorted out his thoughts in his mind, and then he straightened his face, and replied respectfully: "I am very apprehensive and grateful for being asked by the Prime Minister. With a little superficial experience in county and county affairs, I boldly offer a stupid strategy, and I beg the Prime Minister not to laugh at you."

"Talk." Cao Cao stared at him, his eyes were as bright as lightning.

"This subordinate is taking the liberty to say it here. This time the southern expedition to Jingzhou, with the magnificence and martial arts of the prime minister, he must be able to win in one battle. However, after occupying Jingzhou, we must consider how to use it. The capital of the eight prefectures of Jingzhou is to enter Jiangdong." Sima Yi looked respectful, but the words in his mouth were like a sharp sword drawn out of its sheath, threatening every inch, "So, my subordinates boldly suggest that after the prime minister takes Jingzhou, immediately To implement the strategy of "Using Chu to control Chu and Chu people to govern Chu", one is to accommodate the strengths of Jingchu scholars and people for my own use, and the other is to establish a Jingzhou pastoral mansion that has a harmonious relationship with the local scholars and common people in time to eliminate hidden dangers in the future .”

As soon as he said this, Jia Xu, who was sitting on Cao Cao's right hand, shuddered suddenly, his sleepy expression disappeared, and he looked at Sima Yi in surprise.

"Use Chu to control Chu, and Chu people to rule Chu?" Cao Cao repeated in a murmur, his eyes suddenly brightened, "Sima Zhongda, please explain in detail."

Sima Yi still looked extremely humble, and said politely: "The king's strategy is to make the best use of all people and places that are not easy to find, so there is the magic of 'entering the other side's land, using the other side's people, and making the other side's merits'." Reason. The capital of Jingzhou should not be underestimated. If it can be used properly, it can expand Bashu in the west and go to Wuyue in the east. The great cause can be achieved in one fell swoop. However, if you want to make the most of Jingzhou, you must "use Chu to control Chu, and Chu people to rule Chu". , for three reasons.

"First, the imperial court lacks sailors, so they have to conquer Jiangdong with the Jingzhou navy. Your Excellency, please forgive my subordinates for speaking bluntly. In the wind and waves of the Yangtze River, it is really difficult to control a boat for actual combat. How can you fight against the Jiangdong navy in a hurry? And among the 10 people in Jingzhou, there are actually [-] soldiers who are in the navy. They practice water warfare all year round. Galloping on the big river is not comparable to the generals in the northern part of the Central Plains. Therefore, if the prime minister wants to take Jiangdong, he must first accept these Jingzhou navy troops. They are all local children of Jingxiang, and their generals and captains are all from local famous families of various surnames. If the prime minister can't be properly cared for and used only on his talents, I'm afraid he won't get their sincere support; if they don't sincerely serve, how can the prime minister be so powerful in Jiangdong?"

Cao Cao nodded deeply, and when Sima Yi stopped talking, he impatiently said, "Then, what about the second one?"

Sima Yi said again: "Secondly, there is an old saying: 'Every land has its people, and all the people have their hopes. Those who employ people are looking for people who are suddenly happy, and those who are a little old and hopeful are looking for the return of the people. It’s also difficult.” Jingchu was originally a place where famous people gathered, and Cai Mao, Han Song, Kuaiyue, Wang Can, etc. were of course the ones who were accepted by the prime minister. , lest they instigate civil unrest out of resentment or fear of reprisal.

(End of this chapter)