Chapter 126 Tian Ze's Road
Standing on the pass, I saw Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Jian leading their troops to Luoyang, and I felt extremely complicated.
Who would have thought that the three people who really wanted to discuss war with Dong happened to be the founders of the three forces that originally survived to the end of this chaotic world according to the original historical trajectory.
How ironic!
To some extent, it is also the truth of nature.
"My lord, what do you think of these three people?" Guo Jia asked drunkenly, leaning on the city wall and drinking.
After following Tian Ze, Guo Jia's dissolute character was somewhat restrained, but his nature remained unchanged.
Especially after he gained spiritual energy, he could drink and have fun without restraint, and even his physical strength increased a lot. Guo Jia became addicted to wine, but fortunately his lustful habit was restrained a little.
After all, all the musicians under Tian Ze's rule were regular people, and the laws improved by Man Chong became much stricter. Given Guo Jia's previous style, he might be thrown into jail.
"They are all outstanding people! I'm afraid they will become our enemies in the future." Tian Ze said with a complicated expression.
"Jia also thinks so. If they can all die in..." Before Guo Jia could finish his words, Xun You interrupted him immediately.
"Be filial and careful with your words." Xun You knew Guo Jia's talent, and he was even more aware of the horrible side effects.
"Fengxiao, you are really not afraid of death by doing this!" Tian Ze also covered Guo Jia's mouth when Xun You interrupted.
After these words were spoken, if Guo Jia accidentally activated his talent again, Tian Ze couldn't be sure whether the three people would live or not, but Guo Jia would definitely die.
Seeing the actions of the two, Guo Jia smiled awkwardly and pointed at Tian Ze's hand covering his mouth.
After Tian Ze let go, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, my lord, Jia Ke won't be so short-sighted."
Seeing that there was no one around and that Dian Wei and other personal guards were there to protect him, Guo Jia continued in a low voice: "After all, the lord's greatest enemy is not these three people, but Yuan Shao."
"If they weren't there, it would be hard to say whether it would be a benefit or a disadvantage for the lord. It's better to deal with a group of wolf cubs than to face a fierce tiger head on."
Tian Ze nodded in agreement.
The path he chose was destined to be one of steady and cautious progress. He could not, like other princes, wage war to support war, or even try to swallow an elephant with a snake.
Therefore, he would rather the world be more lively and have more heroes than let one or two of them dominate the world.
"Recently, there have been more and more disputes among the various princes. Even Han Fu has begun to cut off Yuan Shao's food supplies. I'm afraid that the alliance to fight against Dong Zhuo will soon be disbanded." Xun You said.
"Can we give Han Fu a helping hand? Or take the opportunity to kill Yuan Shao?" Tian Ze suddenly asked.
"Not likely." Xun You shook his head.
"The Yuan family is too powerful to be easily suppressed by us."
"Let's put it another way. How could it be such a coincidence that the Baibo bandits and the Southern Xiongnu appeared in Hedong at this time, and even defeated Niu Fu, who was under Dong Zhuo's command."
"Yellow Turban bandits." Tian Ze murmured.
What a familiar title.
However, now Zhang Niu has stood by Tian Ze's side, and all the Yellow Turbans who were willing to follow him have already surrendered.
The Yellow Turban bandits that are still active in the world are not real Yellow Turbans. Most of them are pure bandits, or the white gloves of aristocratic families.
Thinking of this, Tian Ze suddenly realized that Yuan Shu in later generations seemed to be a bandit leader.
The remaining Yellow Turbans in Runan and Yingchuan, the Jiangnan clan bandits, the Jianghuai water bandits, as well as the Baibo bandits and the Southern Xiongnu, all seemed to have defected to Yuan Shu.
It's terrifying to think about it! The fact that the two Yuans were able to dominate the north and south respectively is probably not just a coincidence.
If Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu had not fallen out and united, there would have been no place for other princes in this world.
"My lord, it is best for us to do nothing now, especially not to touch Yuan Shao or get involved in Jizhou too early." Guo Jia said.
The intelligence under Tian Ze's command was under the management of Jia Xu, but would also be shared with him and Xun You.
Xun You was more concerned with intelligence related to the noble families, which was his specialty. However, what he was most concerned about was the relationship and situation between the various princes.
"Why?" Tian Ze asked.
"Because Yuan Shao wants us to take action." Guo Jia's eyes flashed with a gleam of light: "He wants to take charge of Jizhou legitimately."
When he learned what kind of person Han Fu was, he understood the calculations of Li Ru and Yuan Shao.
However, Han Fu was too timid and indecisive. Guo Jia estimated that if they took the initiative to appease him, it would most likely be over-interpreted by him.
But even if they did nothing, Han Fu would probably give Jizhou to Yuan Shao. It was only a matter of time.
After all, most of the people inside and outside are Yuan Shao's men, and the Southern Xiongnu and Baibo bandits are not far from Jizhou.
But delaying a little is better than delaying a little.
Upon hearing this, Tian Ze immediately thought of how Yuan Shao obtained Jizhou in the original historical trajectory, and nodded thoughtfully.
But he still said with some reluctance: "But now is the best time. If we don't take advantage of the opportunity to sweep Hebei, I'm afraid it will give Yuan Shao an opportunity. Once he gains a foothold, it will be difficult in the future."
"My lord, we cannot take action before Yuan Shao makes a move, because that would play right into Yuan Shao's hands. But after Yuan Shao makes a move, we can head south as quickly as possible," said Guo Jia.
"Just..." "Just what?" Tian Ze couldn't help but ask when he saw Guo Jia looking a little hesitant.
"But even if we go south to Jizhou this time, the results we can achieve will probably be limited." Guo Jia said with some concern.
"Wen Yuan and his men are still in the northeastern plains. The situation in the eastern Xianbei has not been resolved, and the Great Xianbei Mountain has not yet been completely controlled by us. It will be difficult for the army to turn around for the time being."
"Youzhou has just been settled. Although it has been almost completely digested in a year, it will take some time to completely stabilize it, and it will also require a certain amount of troops to maintain order."
"The refugees from the Central Plains have just arrived, and the resettlement of them will require a great deal of energy."
"After the Southern Xiongnu in Bingzhou rebelled, they invaded Youzhou many times. Moreover, the Southern Xiongnu and the Baibo Army took the initiative to threaten Dong Zhuo's retreat this time. I'm afraid they have an unusual relationship with the Yuan family. They are likely to threaten Youzhou from Bingzhou."
"The western and northern parts of Youzhou are adjacent to the Western Xianbei and the Central Xianbei. Our conquest of the Northeast Plain has already caused resistance and fear among the Xianbei tribes. I'm afraid that if Yuan Shao stirs things up, it will most likely threaten Youzhou."
"Although Yuan Shao is weak now, the Jizhou noble families are deeply rooted. The many armies stationed on the northern border of Jizhou are their work."
"What we did before has completely cut off the support of the aristocratic families. Once we go south, these forces will be quickly integrated by Yuan Shao."
"Yuan Shao is also quite powerful. He is also on good terms with Zhang Yang of Shangdang, Zhang Miao of Chenliu, Bao Xin of Jibei and others. Although the two Yuans are secretly at odds with each other, they have not torn their faces apart openly."
"If the lord really has the intention to swallow up Hebei, the various princes would probably not want to see another Dong Zhuo. Especially the aristocratic families under their rule, they will definitely suggest that they unite and eliminate the lord first."
Listening to Guo Jia's analysis, Tian Ze's expression became uglier with every word he said.
Now he thinks that his strength far exceeds that of other heroes, but he never expected that he also faces many limitations.
Where there is gain there is loss.
The strength of his own power, the depth of his roots, and the large population were largely due to the fact that he had wiped out the powerful families and was now in complete control of the people under his rule without any hindrance.
The power in your hands is extremely solid and stable. You don't have to worry about fires in the backyard or internal strife. You can integrate all resources, gather all your strength, and focus on conquering the world without any worries.
However, because of this, Tian Ze cut himself off from the noble families of the world, and ended up being feared by everyone and an enemy of the whole world.
If you don't have a sense of justice and declare war on Jizhou without declaring war, you will probably be coerced by the powerful families and the princes from all over the country to immediately label you as a traitor.
Even Yuan Shao would probably be happy to have another princes ask for land.
Just to defend against the Eastern Xianbei, Western Xianbei, Southern Xiongnu, and Baibo bandits mentioned by Guo Jia, Tian Ze roughly calculated that it would probably take tens of thousands of troops.
Excluding Zhang Liao's army in the northeastern plains and the troops left behind in various states, Tian Ze could only mobilize tens of thousands of troops. Whether he could defeat Yuan Shao was really unknown.
"Then what should we do?" Tian Ze sighed.
A drink, a peck, all have a certain number.
He once thought that if he did not join the princes in attacking Dong Zhuo, he would have two choices.
One is to develop peacefully. But that is the worst option. His discussion with the director will not have much impact on the development of his administration. Instead, it is better for him to come.
The second is to seize Hebei. But this brings up another question: what should we do with Dong Zhuo?
If he took action first, would the Guandong lords still be able to concentrate on fighting Dong Zhuo with him as a troublemaker? Would Dong Zhuo still fail?
By then, I'm afraid Dong Zhuo will become more powerful.
With the fertile land of Guanzhong, Xiliang, Bingzhou, the powerful central army and the righteous emperor, Dong Zhuo at that time would be no less powerful than him in an all-out war, and the north would quickly become a situation of two divided worlds.
Dong Zhuo, who occupied the powerful Qin, was much more difficult to deal with than the loosely-knit princes of Guandong.
What did Tazawa get? Chaos under his rule, a shaken foundation, the inability to expand outward in the short term, and a long-term confrontation between the north and the south.
If he took action after Dong Zhuo's defeat, the princes in Guandong would probably turn their guns around and attack him immediately.
The more I calculated this business, the more losses I made.
Therefore, participating in the campaign against Dong Zhuo was Tian Ze’s inevitable choice.
After participating in the campaign against Dong Zhuo, he was still unable to break the situation in a short period of time.
Unless he surrenders to the powerful families or gives up the Northeast Plain.
He could not accept either of these two things.
"We can seize some of Jizhou's land and population under the pretext of banditry to gain geographical advantages. But if we want to go to war with Yuan Shao, we may have to wait another year or two."
"After the northeastern plain is completely pacified, the defense line of the Great Xianbei Mountain is stabilized, the refugees under our rule are settled, and our foundation in Youzhou is completely consolidated, then we will wait for an opportunity to move south," Guo Jia suggested.
As for Tazawa's future path, he already knew it after learning about the big moves under his rule.
It can surely conquer the world, but it will inevitably take a lot of time.
Because Tian Ze wants too much, a quick decision is not only risky, but also fails to achieve Tian Ze's goals, and may take more time and energy to make up for it in the future.
A broken and chaotic world is not what Tian Ze wants.
It took five years to quickly bring peace to the country, but hidden dangers continued to appear in various places, officials were unable to manage, and rebellions broke out one after another under his rule... It took another 20 to 30 years to resolve these hidden dangers.
It would be better to spend twenty years slowly conquering the world, taking one step at a time.
Because they firmly believe that Tian Ze will definitely unify the world, this is the general trend.
(End of this chapter)
