Chapter 218 Cao Cao: What is it like to have three advisers at the same time [Subscribe]

The deep sky is filled with stars.

After seeing Cao Cao off, Wen Ji returned to her room and took off her hairpin. Her long hair fell down like a waterfall, shining as satin.

Wen Ji yawned and patted her rosy lips with her little hands.

He sat on the couch with his body turned to one side, his legs forming rounded lines.

She pulled her feet out of the embroidered shoes. Her feet were fair and delicate, and her jade-like toenails were painted with pink flower liquid.

Then she heard a slight sound from the window and a person climbed in through the window.

He is very agile and seems to often climb through windows.

Wen Ji and the figure climbing through the window had been together for almost three years. She recognized who it was at a glance and opened her mouth slightly.

Cao Cao was calm and composed. He first asked, "Where is the map I asked you to prepare?" and pretended to be the one doing the business.

Wen Ji was a woman of great talent. One of her specialties was her outstanding memory, which was almost photographic.

Cao Cao gave her a very important task.

It is to redraw a map of Guandu, Wuchao, and even both sides of the Yellow River, including Dongyu, Baima, Yanjin, Liyang, and other counties that may be involved in the war.

Cao Cao had been ordering similar war preparations for some time.

Wen Ji compiled a large number of existing old maps.

Before that, he had accompanied Cao Cao to visit both sides of the Yellow River and drew a new detailed map.

I was also planning to give it to Cao Cao in the next few days.

When Cao Cao asked, Wen Ji pulled out a leather scroll from the side of the couch.

She placed the map on the couch so that she could add to it at any time.

When Wen Ji got down from the couch, Cao Cao had already sat down on the low mat beside the couch and unfolded the map.

There are writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone on the table.

Cao Cao took the initiative to mark Liyang, Baima, Yanjin and other places on the map.

"It will be used at tomorrow's pre-war meeting."

As time goes by, more and more words appear on the paper.

Cao Cao originally came to verify the physique of a real dragon, but when he saw how meticulously and accurately Wen Ji drew the map, he made a few marks and became serious about it himself, gradually delving deeper into the strategic deductions on the map.

According to the map, he listed the strengths and weaknesses of the two armies, the supply of supplies and other information, and used the tactics of military strategy to rehearse the outcome of the battle.

He was writing, and Wen Ji sat beside him, watching intently.

It took a full half hour before Cao Cao put down his pen and ink and brought Wen Ji to his side.

"Is this an offensive or defensive route?"

Wen Ji spoke in a gentle voice, stretched out her flawless white hand, and pointed at a long line on the map.

"Neither. That is the route of the Jizhou Army."

Wen Ji said, "Can we predict the enemy's marching route before the battle? What if we are wrong?"

“Predicting the enemy’s situation is a compulsory course for commanders.

Whoever can see through the other party's mind can attack the enemy's weakness and surprise him. The enemy does not know me, but I know the enemy, so I will win every battle." Cao Cao explained.

Wen Ji is a female academic who has a strong desire to learn about areas she is not familiar with.

The two talked for a while about the marching knowledge on the map.

"What about this line?" Wen Ji pointed to another line and turned to ask Cao Cao.

When she turned around, the face behind her was approaching.

Then... Wen Ji felt a little dizzy. When she regained consciousness, she found that she had been moved from behind the low mat back to the couch.

"Too fast..." Wen Ji said vaguely.

"Three years, that's pretty fast."

[You activated the True Dragon Treasure, and charged up your strength]

……

An hour later, Wen Ji wanted to sleep and ignored Cao Cao no matter what he said.

The next day, Wen Ji asked for leave and did not go to the study.

In the afternoon, Diao Chan, dressed in a red dress, came to see her, followed by the chubby Yin.

"Wenji, the governor said you are not feeling well and need to take a day off. Are you sick?"

Wen Ji covered her blushing face with the quilt, her hair scattered on the side of the pillow, still looking a little sleepy: "Nothing, I'm just tired and can't walk, I just need to rest for a while."

Diao Chan wondered, "You were fine yesterday, are you really okay?"

Wen Ji cleverly changed the subject and asked instead, "The governor can't leave without someone. Is it okay for you to leave?"

"It's OK. Jia Wenhe, Guo Fengxiao, and Xun Sima are all here. The governor is discussing with them the military operations against Jizhou."

"No record is allowed for this meeting, and I just happened to be free."

Diao Chan said, "I'll go find Doctor Hua and ask him to come and take a look?"

Yin tilted his tiger head to the side and immediately raised his front paws, indicating that he would go find Doctor Hua by himself and Diao Chan was not needed.

Before Wen Ji could stop him, Yin had already run out happily.

……

Official study.

Cao Cao, Xun Yu, Jia Xu and Guo Jia gathered together.

At that time, Xun You, Cheng Yu and Xi Zhicai were running around outside.

Cao Cao and others were summarizing information from various parties.

"The area adjacent to Jingzhou and Yuzhou has been increasing its military strength recently."

Jia Xu said: "If we go to war with Jizhou, Jingzhou may also join the war and attack Yanzhou."

“In Jizhou, it is estimated that Yuan Shao will mobilize more than 150,000 infantry and around 20,000 elite cavalry.

The number of auxiliary soldiers and civilians mobilized shall be no less than 150,000 to ensure the smooth flow of war materials.

"We also learned another piece of news. At the beginning of the war, Yuan Shao appointed Chunyu Qiong and Guo Tu to supervise the same army."

Ju Su was previously the military supervisor of all the troops in Jizhou, in charge of both internal and external affairs and overseeing all matters, which was probably equivalent to the Chief of Staff in later generations.

But this time, Yuan Shao assembled a large army and prepared to go to war. He thought that Ju Su should not be the only one in charge of the army, so he appointed Chunyu Qiong, one of the eight commanders of Xiyuan and his old subordinate, as the supervisor of another army.

There was also Guo Tu, who was given a similar position.

This divided Ju Su's powers into three parts, weakening his authority to supervise the entire army.

Yuan Shao's subordinates are currently divided into three factions.

There were the Jizhou local faction headed by Ju Su, the fellow party faction from Yuan Shao's hometown headed by Guo Tu, and the old friends faction headed by Chunyu Qiong.

There is actually nothing wrong with doing this, as it prevents one person from holding too much power.

But the decentralization before the war caused unrest among the people.

The most direct consequence was serious dissatisfaction among the local faction in Jizhou.

They felt that they were being treated coldly and poorly after following Yuan Shao.

You must know that Yuan Shao made great efforts to drive away Jizhou Mu Han Fu, Ju Su and other local celebrities in Jizhou.

And Yuan Shao also promised to treat them well.

But now it is obviously inconsistent with the original promise.

Jia Xu's unique ability to see into human nature immediately saw an opportunity: "There are three factions in Jizhou that can be used."

Cao Cao nodded, and a thought flashed through his mind: one is missing.

He originally wanted to mention a few directions for Jizhou next, and what Jia Xu said was one of them.

Since he said it first, Cao Cao had one less direction to mention when he wanted to talk about the enemy.

Xun Yu has the best overall view and is very good at coordination.

Looking at the battle situation from his perspective, he gave another suggestion:
"When Jizhou conquered Youzhou, it consumed a lot of resources. If they attack Yanzhou again, they will have to rely on the grain reserves from the autumn harvest.

Although Jizhou has a good harvest this year, its grain supply is still a shortcoming. It is not rich, so we can attack its weakness. "

Xun Yu's intention was to focus on food supplies when there was a chance and continue to magnify his weaknesses.

"good."

Cao Cao praised him and muttered to himself: One more missing.

Xun Yu also took the initiative to say that he wanted to attack Jizhou's grain supply.

Guo Jia had unique insights into military affairs and building momentum, and was good at using strange strategies. He also offered advice:
"The biggest weakness of the Jizhou Army is their source of troops. We can take the city first and boost morale with the victory of the first battle."

During the Han Dynasty, a conscription system was implemented in which all citizens were soldiers.

The system requires all men of military age across the country to set aside a fixed amount of time each year to perform military service.

In addition, outstanding talents were selected from all over the country and sent to the royal capital to take turns serving as the royal guards.

This formed a complete military system including local reserve forces, border troops and imperial guards.

But by the end of the Han Dynasty, the country was in chaos and the military service system had long since collapsed.

Young and middle-aged men from all over the country who did not die in the war either became bandits or were conscripted by local tyrants and princes.

Some people, out of desperation, took the initiative to join the local gentry and became followers of the big families.

The advantage is that you and your family can be protected.

The downside is that they will lose their freedom and work for the nobles for generations, farming when there is no war and going to the front line when there is war.

As time goes by, this problem accumulates and becomes more serious, and class differentiation leads to turmoil and resistance.

This also led to the fact that not only was Yuan Shao himself from an aristocratic family, but most of the cadres under him and those who came to join him were also scions of prominent families.

They all came with their own interests and private soldiers, and gathered together to form a complete Jizhou military system.

Yuan Shao had previously noticed the difference between Jizhou and Yanzhou, and envied Cao Cao's troops who could attack wherever they pointed.

There was a serious problem with the mixed troops of various aristocratic families under his command, which was that they were not absolutely loyal to Yuan Shao.

In times of crisis, the object of their loyalty was the noble clan to which they belonged.

Yuan Shao lacked truly unified command over the entire army.

Therefore, he had to adjust and weaken Ju Su before the battle, for fear of being sidelined.

Guo Jia's proposal was aimed at this point and also magnified Jizhou's weaknesses.

Once faced with adversity and low morale, Yuan Shao will face big problems internally.

"I suggest sending troops and attacking Liyang first." Guo Jia said.

Cao Cao thought to himself, one more person is missing.

He has already launched military operations against Liyang.

But before it was made public, Guo Jia spoke up again.

I have top-notch wise men like Xun Yu, Jia Xu, and Guo Jia under my command. They are good in everything, but sometimes I don't feel a sense of accomplishment.

"Does the governor have anything else to add?"

Xun Yu, Jia Xu, and Guo Jia looked at Cao Cao together.

Cao Cao spread his hands and said, "You have already spoken, what else can I add? The three of you are responsible for your own parts, and the meeting is adjourned."

The three of them agreed in unison, stood up and walked out.

Xun Yu walked the fastest. He had a lot of things to do and was in a hurry to deal with them.

Jia Xu usually walks last. He is used to standing behind others and is not used to leaving his back to others.

But this time, Guo Jia seemed to have something to say to Cao Cao, so he was not in a hurry to leave.

Jia Xu went out first.

When he reached the door, Guo Jia stood up and took a step forward, flicked his fingers and threw a little smoke-like powder on Jia Xu.

Only Cao Cao, who stayed in the house, saw his little action.

But he pretended not to see it.

"Has the manifesto written by Cai Bojie been sent out?"

"It has been sent. I guess Jizhou has received the message by now."

Jia Xu replied, quickened his pace as he went out, turned a corner, and disappeared.

Cao Cao curled his lips: These two people are just idle, so they are teasing each other to see who can win.

He changed his mind and thought: the troops sent out to fight should have arrived at the combat position.

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(End of this chapter)