It was winter in a blink of an eye, and the earth was bleak. Most prefectures and counties in the north had ushered in the first snow this year. Even in Nanyang, Jingzhou, there was a light snow two days ago.

In Xiangyang City, the snow on the ground had long been cleaned up. Only a trace of the snow could be found from the occasionally glimpse of the white on the eaves.

The sunny day after the snow is often the coldest time in winter, especially this sunny day is accompanied by the bitter northwest wind, blowing the always prosperous Xiangyang city, with only a few people on the streets.

A carriage was parked outside the palace gate. This was the palace built by Cao Cao in Xiangyang City for the so-called emperor, Liu Xie. After Cao Cao's defeat, this Emperor Xian of Han, who was even more miserable than in the original history, fell into Sun Ce's control.

Three men wearing fur cloaks walked out of the carriage, one middle-aged and two young men, both of whom were thin and elegant, with sharp eyes. It was Sima Fang who brought Sima Lang and Sima Yi's two sons.

Since the Sima family successfully persuaded many families in Jingzhou to welcome the Sun family to take over, their status under Sun Ce has increased. Now, the voice of the Sun family army is almost second only to Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu.

The three of them walked straight into the palace gate. The guards guarded the gate did not stop them, and there was no interrogation or search. Sima had the honor of riding a horse into the palace and entering the palace with swords and shoes. However, they acted humbly and followed their duties and rules every time they entered the palace, so the guards did not need to search.

Sun Ce was obviously much more domineering than Cao Cao. Although Cao Cao did not take Liu Xie seriously and was in charge of the government affairs alone, at least on the surface, he still abides by etiquette. On weekdays, he still acted as a respectful attitude of respecting the emperor.

Sun Ce moved directly into the palace and put Liu Xie under house arrest in the harem. He was in charge of the court meeting. Except for the imperial title, the others were almost completely the same as the emperor.

The three of them came outside the hall, and many "members" were waiting here. Soon, an eunuch came out and shouted: "Go to court..."

All the ministers entered the hall, with Zhang Zhao as the head of the civil servants, followed by Kuai Liang, the current leader of the Kuai clan of the Jingzhou clan. The military general was headed by the veteran Cheng Pu, followed by Zhou Yu.

However, Sun Ce did not sit on the dragon chaise directly, but placed a smaller chair next to the dragon chaise, sitting on it, looking down at everyone.

"Meet the Grand Sima." Everyone saluted.

Sun Cexu helped him: "You don't have to be too polite to me, today's court meeting, there is only one thing to discuss."

He raised a finger: "It is the strategy of our military aircraft after the beginning of the spring of the next year. If you have any thoughts, you might as well say it bluntly."

Everyone obviously knew this issue a long time ago. Soon, behind Kuai Liang, a man who was somewhat similar to him was about to leave the list, but was pulled by Kuai Liang. He shook his head secretly at him, and the man retreated.

Zhang Zhao was the first to stand up: "The old minister thought that our army has now acquired the new Jingzhou land, and most of the soldiers in Jingzhou were outside Hulao Pass. We surrendered to Liu He. Our army's strength has not grown significantly. Moreover, the people of Jingzhou have already decided that it is not suitable to fight. It is better to rest and rest, recruit soldiers and horses, and stockpile food and grass. After three years, we will be able to reorganize the army for 200,000 to 300,000, and it will not be too late to carry out the Northern Expedition."

Zhang Zhao is just over forty years old, strong in his youth and high reputation, and has a unique status among the civil officials in Jiangdong. As soon as he spoke, many civil officials agreed.

Lu Su, who was in the back, opened his mouth, as if he wanted to speak but stopped. He looked at Zhou Yu and saw that there was a bit of disdain and sarcasm at the corner of his mouth, and he knew it in his heart, so he gave up the idea of ​​coming out to express his support for Zhang Zhao.

At this time, a civil servant refuted: "Zibu's words are very wrong."

Everyone looked in the voice, but it was Chen Qun. He looked at Zhang Zhao with anger, and there was a hint of scolding in his tone.

"Now that Cheng Liang has died in battle, the pseudo-governor of Luoyang has lost a general, and the new demise of Empress Dowager Liu He has been newly mourned a few days ago. When Liu He heard that Liu He was sad and fainted several times, Luoyang has been suspended for more than ten days. Moreover, in the battle of Hulao Pass, although Liu He won, he suffered heavy losses. It was entirely due to Liu Bei's turnaround in the battle, so he was able to win. Otherwise, the number of winners and losses is still unknown."

"Now that Liu He is in grief and anger, the morale of the enemy will definitely be greatly reduced. Although our army was defeated at Hangu Pass, the entire army was infuriated by the death of his old lord, and everyone was angry and fighting spirit. Under such circumstances, if you advance north to attack and cannot capture Luoyang, it will be no difficult to take down Yuzhou, which has not yet stabilized the enemy's foundation. If the enemy slows down, it will be as difficult as climbing to the sky."

Zhang Zhao sneered: "Changwen and Liu He have a grudge for killing his father, hatred for extermination of the clan, and also for ancestral tombs and ancestral halls. They are all in Yuzhou. It is expected that this is what we say."

When Chen Qun heard this, his eyebrows were raised: "Old man, are you slandering Chen for personal gain?"

"How dare you be so rude in the court?" Zhang Hong shouted angrily.

"What Chen Qun said is reasonable, it is clear that you are weak and incompetent, and are afraid of Liu He's power."

For a time, the northern civil officials such as Yan and Yu, who had surrendered under Cao Cao, had a fierce quarrel with the Jiangdong civil officials such as Zhang Zhao.

Sun Ce frowned: "What a noisy thing, can you stop talking?"

Everyone immediately calmed down.

Sun Ce looked at Zhou Yu, and his face softened instantly: "What do you think Gongjin thinks?"

Zhou Yu then took a step forward: "When you return to the lord, everyone has their own reasons. However, the so-called wise people will make mistakes. Although they are full of knowledge and talented as kings and masters, they all ignore a little."

When Sun Ce heard this, he became interested: "Gongjin will tell you in detail."

Zhou Yu said: "Whether you are resting or expeditioning as soon as possible, you are all based in our Jiangdong, and you have never considered the enemy's movements."

He turned around and looked at the many civil and military generals: "Two months ago, the troops led by Zhang Ren were ambushed by Zhang Liao, Zhuge Liang and Du Xian, and the entire army was wiped out. Zhang Song secretly colluded with Liu He and presented Hanzhong with Meng Da. Liu Yan's old man was frightened and died. Ten days ago, Zhang Liao and three others led an army of 150,000 to Jiange. Liu Zhang was secretly weak and incompetent. Under the persuasion of Zhang Song, Fa Zheng, Huang Quan, Li Yan and other ministers, he opened the Chengdu gate and surrendered to Jiange in person. Now the land of Yizhou belongs to Liu He."

Zhou Yu immediately looked back at Sun Ce: "The lord is wise and wise. He must have thought about how he would stop after Liu He seized Yizhou?"

Sun Ce pondered for a moment, then said: "From Yizhou, go down the river, cooperate with the Yuzhou Corps, attacked from both sides, and planned to seize Jingzhou. Then, use Jing and Xuzhou as springboards to capture Yangzhou, and then take Jiaozhou, and then unify the world."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was disgusted. They obviously did not consider that Liu He took the initiative to attack.

As Sun Ce said, with Liu He's current strength, he was afraid that the world of the Han Dynasty would fall completely into his hands as soon as one or two years or as slowly as three or five years.

Zhou Yu's reaction to everyone was obviously expected. He pondered for a moment and continued.

"The lord is clear, that's exactly what Zibu said just now, that to rest and rest, stockpile food, grass and troops is indeed a necessary method. However, if you think about it carefully, how many prefectures and counties occupied by our army are? How many tens of thousands of people are under the rule? And what about the population of Liu He?

Lu Su took the initiative to respond: "Our army governs the two states, and Jiaozhou can barely serve as aid. The population is more than 1.76 million, and about 8 million people. After Liu He now takes over Yizhou, he controls the ten states of the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty, with a population of about 30 million, which is beyond the reach of our army."

"Haha, Zijing really knows it very well." Zhou Yu smiled.

"According to this situation, both the enemy and us will recuperate together. After a few years, you think the gap between each other's strength is becoming increasingly different, or may it be getting closer?"

Zhang Zhao and others were speechless for a moment, looking at each other and didn't know how to respond.

Sun Ce smiled and seemed to be very satisfied with the change in the situation.

"Gongjin doesn't have to keep it a secret. In your opinion, how should our army deploy?"

Zhou Yu immediately bowed and said, "By the opinions of subordinates, the two should be combined to move."

"How can we get a combination method?"

"First, according to the above statement, it is imperative to take the initiative to send troops. In order to capture Yuzhou and lay the foundation for the future attack of Luoyang, Liu He was also exhausted from dealing with our army's offensive and unable to gather the army and go south from Yuzhou to invade Jingzhou. At the same time, he also used the war to clearly distinguish rewards and punishments, so as to gradually gather the morale of our army's newly surrendered soldiers."

"Secondly, our army has entered Jingzhou for many years. The land has been rich. Compared with Jiangdong, which has many hills and mountains, the land in Jingxiang is the best choice for military farming and raising troops. Liu He has advised farming and sedimentary cultivation for many years, and has allocated half of the wastelands that the people have reclaimed forever, and half are temporarily cultivated for them. After the reclaimers die, they will be recovered by the court. Moreover, every three acres of wasteland can be reclaimed by one acre of land. The taxes for one year will be doubled in the next year, and the land that has been abandoned for two years will be recovered by the court. Therefore, in just over ten years, everyone in the northern prefectures and counties have farming and working hard, and every household has surplus grain. The court has hoarded military rations in this way."

"My subordinates think that our army should learn from this strategy and make some adjustments to attract refugees, as well as wild people in the mountains, enter the counties and counties to ascend the throne and households, distribute agricultural tools, and produce more farming and production. At the same time, they recruit craftsmen and continuously build building ships, ships, walkers, and many water battle equipment to prepare for the future fight with Liu He on the river. This is a strategy to play to the strengths and avoid weaknesses."

Sun Ce's eyes lit up when he heard this, and even Zhang Zhao and others could not help but nodded secretly, showing a look of agreement on his face.

"Gongjin is indeed a pillar of the country. With such a good plan, why should he be afraid of Liu He's son?"

Just when everyone thought that today's court meeting was about to end, Sima Yi suddenly stood up.

"Your lord, my subordinates have something to say."

"Second brother, you..." Sima Lang was anxious and was at this critical moment. His second brother went out to join in the fun. He was right, and he was suspected of competing for credit with Zhou Yu. If he said wrong, he would not know that the world was high and the earth was strong, which would damage the prestige of Sima in the heart of the lord.

When he was about to go out to stop him, his father Sima Fang shook his head and said softly: "Don't worry, Zhongda has always been smart and has many opinions."

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were a little surprised by Sima Yi's sudden appearance, but they didn't take it seriously.

Sun Ce asked: "What are the great ideas Zhongda has?"

Sima Yi said: "Zhou Gongjin's plan is indeed extraordinary. His subordinates are young and knowledgeable, so they dare not have any objections. It's just Yi's stupid opinion that our army wants to compete with Liu He. These two strategies alone are not enough to make up for such a huge gap in strength."

"Oh?" Sun Ce was intrigued: "What else can Zhongda do?"

Zhou Yu also looked at him with anticipation.

Sima Yi remained calm and was not surprised by his favor and disgrace: "In addition to the Northern Expedition, our army also needed to fight south."

After a word was spoken, everyone was shocked.

"Nanzheng?" Sun Ce frowned slightly: "Shi Xie has surrendered to Jiaozhou in the south. At this moment, the conquest is suspected of being treasonous?"

Sima Yi said, "No. Lord is righteous and slutty, he is a hero of the world, but Shi Xie is a complete villain. The so-called "fence-behind grass, wind blows on both sides" is such a thief. The lord sent someone to ask him to surrender. Although he agreed on it on the surface, he stationed heavy troops on the border and refused to give up the tributes such as food, iron ore, cloth, coral and other tributes he asked for, without sincerity. Moreover, I also heard from the merchants that Shi Xie recruited troops in recent years and continued to expand his territory south. He built city walls, watchtowers, and outposts, which clearly had the intention of being unjust. Such a bad thief would not collect them at this moment. When his wings were full, he would not lose his tail, which might be a disaster for the court and a disaster for the lord."

Sun Ce showed joy on his face, but the civil officials present could no longer sit still.

"This move must not be done." Lu Su couldn't help it.

"Our army's military strength is not as strong as Liu He. With a weak enemy, we still need to rely on the right time and place. If we divide the troops to fight south again, wouldn't we cut off our own way?"

Zhou Yu, who was standing beside him, also looked at his nose and his heart, and seemed indifferent, but Sima Yi knew very well that Lu Su's words must have secretly obtained Zhou Yu's tacit understanding and permission.

He still replied calmly: "Zijing's words are indeed reasonable, but they are looking at this and losing the other."

"Our army has a natural chasm of the Yangtze River, and the Northern Army is not good at water warfare. Now even if we have obtained Yizhou and occupy the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, many of the soldiers in Yizhou are good at mountain warfare. Therefore, when it comes to the courage of water warfare, our Jiangdong troops are the first. Even if Liu He goes down the river, our army is absolutely sure to defeat him on the surface of the river."

"As for the Gaoshun Corps in the north, Zhou Gongjin personally led the army to block the attack, it will inevitably be difficult to achieve something within a few years. In these few years, our army needs to accumulate strength quickly, otherwise it will be difficult to escape the defeat sooner or later."

Lu Su quickly calmed down and lowered his head to ponder.

However, Zhang Zhao refuted again: "The south is surrounded by mountains, the land is barren, and it is full of troublemakers. What's the benefit even if you attack it?"

Sima Yi unexpectedly glanced at him with a disdainful look, which made Zhang Zhao feel unhappy.

"What Mr. Zibu said is a big mistake. In this mountain, not only is it not barren, but it is treasure everywhere. Once it is taken into account and developed greatly, I dare to assert that by relying on what is produced, I can support no less than 100,000 troops."

When Zhang Zhao heard this, he was about to make a mockery, but Sima Yi continued to speak directly and did not give him a chance to interrupt.

"Since Liu He ascended the throne, he developed business travel, so that the products of the world can be circulated in the north and south. The sea salt produced in Xuzhou will be three times the price when it arrives in Jizhou. The silk produced in Sili area will be five times the price when it arrives in Jingzhou. The benefits are by no means general."

"And in these mountains, fur, animal bones, rhinoceros horns, various ores, spices, and many treasures produced in the South China Sea are all in one go. The several large caravans we met are transported to the Central Plains for sale every year from the materials obtained from Shanyue, Nanban, and Jiaozhou. The benefits they get are no less than billions, and this is just a waste of money."

Everyone present was surprised by these words, and Sun Ce was even more happy.

Sima Yi turned around and bowed to Sun Ce: "If the lord is trusting his subordinates, he will only need 20,000 troops. Within two years, he will scatter the mountains and cross the tribes and completely conquer Jiaozhou. At that time, just by relying on this barren and useless mountain in the eyes of others, his subordinates can provide a large army for the lord and wait for call at any time."

"Okay, Zhongda's eyes are sharp and loyal and brave!"

Sun Ce laughed: "Comeone came and named Sima Yi as the general of the Pingwan General, and rewarded 500 pieces of silk. After the beginning of spring, he led 20,000 troops to fight south!"
Chapter completed!