At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

He kills everyone, guilty or innocent.

but……

I have no other better way.

Can I have other better way?

This is not a dinner treat, this is a decisive battle of fate.

535 Chapter 530 five don't blame me

When Liu Bang first established the Han Dynasty, the world collapsed and was miserable, and it was no better than it is now.

But there is no powerful and monopolized academics, so he can build a Western Han Empire with a powerful government.

His descendant Liu Che was able to mobilize the power of the whole country to launch a miraculous counterattack against the Xiongnu, completely defeating the peak Xiongnu who controlled 40 strings.

The strength of the Western Han government's control over the localities during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty can be seen.

But Liu Xiu can't do it. The Eastern Han Dynasty he established was built on the basis of a large number of powerful gentry. From the beginning of its establishment, it has never achieved a big government.

Neither can I.

If I inherit Liu Xiu's career, what I will get is a replica of the Western Jin Dynasty, a 60-year-old man from the beginning of its establishment.

I want to make this land less powerful and noble families, and I want to use war to weaken their strength as much as possible and improve my success rate.

I don't want Li Shu to continue to live worse than a dog. I want them to be literate, understand the truth, have enough food, wear warm clothes, have a future, and have a way to rise.

I don't want blood and origin to determine everything, and I don't want the ghosts of nobles to return to the world.

So I must get rid of these middlemen who make the difference and keep them firmly in my hands.

I can't let them continue to be middlemen, making money at both ends, and the country and Li Shu will suffer in the end.

I can't, I have no other way except this one.

Imperial examinations, printing, popularization of education, these things are all correct, but if these middlemen are not subdued, they will not allow me to do so.

Because I am going upstream, I am digging out their lifeblood, and I am trying to prevent them from being superior.

They will fight me desperately, they will try their best to hinder me, and use various methods to fight me decisively, regardless of their lives and the fate of the nation.

Have you seen that such people are widely around me, and they are my humerus ministers.

They have the wisdom in their heads that I need.

I can't do without their support, I have to have their support, without them, I can't stand here.

So I can only do it secretly.

Since it was a black hand, accidental injury and bloodshed were unavoidable.

Don't blame me, I don't want the tragedy to happen again, I don't want the tragedy of dressing up and going south again.

Don't blame me, I just want to make life better for the survivors.

do not blame me.

Guo Peng lowered his head and closed his eyes.

After a while, he raised his head again, got on his horse, rode forward, and entered the scorched Hongnong City.

The scene in Hongnong City was not much worse than that of Luoyang where he entered with Sun Jian back then.

The officials and generals who followed Guo Peng into Hongnong City all sighed.

"Another city has been turned into scorched earth. How far will these Liangzhou people want to destroy the Han Dynasty before they give up!"

Zhang Zhao's face turned red with anger.

"The life is in charcoal, the life is in charcoal..."

Xun You sighed again and again.

"How much money will it cost to rebuild Hongnong..."

Wang Can couldn't help but sigh.

As Guo Peng walked forward, he listened to the sighs of the civil and military people around him.

Why is he unwilling to sigh?

But what is the point of sighing?

From Hongnong to Chang'an, there is still a long distance. During this period of time, the Wei army crazily occupied more than 300 miles, and had exhausted the vigor of the previous army.

Next, we have to stay for a while to let the army recover, and let the logistics troops have time to breathe.

The main force of the frontline operations was not tired. According to Guo Peng's order, they marched side by side along the north and south banks of the Yellow River. They did not encounter any resistance and advanced very smoothly.

But the logistics troops are very tired. In order to supply the army with food, they must go faster and farther than the army, and consume more energy.

Many civilian husbands and auxiliary soldiers were exhausted and had to be sent back to the rear to rest, and then the rear came up again, and many mules and horses were even exhausted to death.

So after arriving in Hongnong, Guo Peng ordered the whole army to rest and reorganize, not to move forward for the time being.

To the west of Luoyang, the waterways are turbulent, and there are many places where undercurrents are surging. It is quite inconvenient to use the waterways to transport grain. By land transport.

The land of Kansai is not as easy to navigate as the large number of official roads repaired by Guo Peng in the Central Plains and Hebei. Not only are the roads difficult, but there are also many traps.

Since the dispatch of troops, more than 100 people have fallen into the trap, and more than 30 people have died.

This is also the reason why Guo Peng chose to temporarily stop marching after arriving in Hongnong.

It is necessary to give the army some time to rest and prepare for the next marching route, eliminate possible traps, and repair roads more.

The three armies have not moved, food and grass go first, and the pressure on the logistics troops is too great. Guo Peng can feel it himself, and he can't ignore the life and death of the logistics troops.

So in Hongnong, Guo Peng also asked the logistics troops to use the rotation method to let the logistics troops have a rest, so as not to cause a large number of non-combat attrition of the logistics troops, which would be very bad.

After Hongnong was occupied, Guo Peng held a military meeting. Everyone planned the consumption in the early stage and estimated the consumption in the later period to see if there were any serious problems that had been overlooked.

Guo Peng focused on giving these data to Lu Su, wanting to exercise Lu Su's ability and discover Lu Su's talent.

In this expedition, in addition to bringing Xun You, Guo Peng also brought Lu Su with him to train and study with him. In addition, Zhang Zhao was also brought along to handle affairs with the army. Strength working condition.

As representatives of Xuzhou people, these two people were entrusted with important tasks by Guo Peng, expressing Guo Peng's attitude of fully accepting Xuzhou scholars to join the ruling core.

Therefore, both Zhang Zhao and Lu Su attached great importance to this military operation, seeing it as a battle for whether they and the Xuzhou people could gain a firm foothold under Guo Peng's command.

Zhang Zhao dealt with military affairs day and night, while Lu Su followed Guo Peng to serve as his military counselor, and asked Xun You for advice on military issues.

Because he was optimistic about Lu Su's vision, Guo Peng summoned Lu Su alone after nightfall and asked Lu Su's views on this war.

Before the expedition, many people raised objections. Lu Dai and Yan Yan, both Xuzhou scholars, raised objections, and Guo Peng wanted to know how Lu Su viewed the war.

Lu Su believes that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Although the land of Kansai has been dilapidated, but the land and terrain are still there, the geographical advantage will not disappear.

Qin and Han both developed and expanded based on the land of Kansai, and then unified the whole country. For Qin and Han, the land of Kansai was like a place to make a fortune, and it was an indispensable part.

Although Guo Peng started from Kanto, he has no feeling for the land of Kansai, but the shape of the land of Kansai and its importance to the whole country are self-evident.

"Kanxi was dilapidated for a while, the land was still there, and the advantages were still there. As long as it can be rebuilt, it will definitely become the granary of the world. It has the land of Kansai. It is all based in the north and the tiger sees the world. For Wei Gong's great cause, the land of Kansai It's really important, and so is Liangzhou."

Lu Su said so.

Chapter 536

Having said that, Lu Su also knew how expensive it would be to rebuild Kansai.

But after seeing the annual tax quota and expenditure quota of Guo Peng Group, he suddenly felt that he couldn't understand the group.

Is this number... Really correct?

Such a terrifying figure...is it really the fiscal revenue of a local power?

What did Guo Peng bring to this land?

Is he an exacting man?

Lu Su felt that it was definitely not.

Because on the road from Xuzhou to Yecheng, all you can see along the way are people living and working in peace and contentment, villages and county towns with a large population, and business travelers flocking to and from various places.

Orderly, no looting, no disputes.

Officials in official clothes can be seen observing the harvest of grain in the fields.

And the faces of those farmers plowing the fields can even see smiles.

This is not a rule that can be exercised by a person who extorts money, nor is it an ecology that can emerge under a regime that extorts money.

Does Guo Peng know magic?

Can you make money out of thin air?

The answer is of course no, Guo Peng does not know magic, nor can he make money out of thin air.

He just has fewer middlemen than others, and there are no middlemen to make the difference, so he is so confident.

Lu Su didn't understand this. He even felt that if Guo Peng had been born decades earlier, he might have been able to save the future of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

With the current financial strength of the Guo Peng Group, it is not difficult at all to attack Chang'an.

It is not impossible to even invade Liangzhou.

Although it may be a bit painful to do so, because Kansai is too dilapidated and the supply route is too far away.

If grain can be collected directly from the vicinity of Chang'an, it will be no problem to win Liangzhou.

Over the past few days, what he saw with his own eyes allowed Lu Su to confirm Guo Peng's horror, and made Lu Su believe that Guo Peng was a worthy target.

The teacher said that now that the Han Dynasty collapsed, the young Lu Su quickly understood the reality, and he had decided to bet all his treasures on Guo Peng. No matter what Guo Peng would do in the future, Lu Su would not object.

Sometimes, it takes guts to do something and to make a breakthrough.

For those who are not brave enough, how can they talk about being rich?

As for Lu Su's answer, Guo Peng nodded in satisfaction.

"Many people only see the dilapidation of Kansai, the unlimited expenditure of money and food, but they don't see the importance of occupying the land of Kansai. It is a problem that many people will have, but I will not have it, son Hi, I'm glad to see you didn't either."

Lu Su looked very happy.

In fact, no matter whether those people support and approve, it is meaningless to Guo Peng. Guo Peng, who created the entire group, has the prestige and action to enforce everything.

This matter, he must promote, must be carried out, and it must be carried out in the shortest possible time.

He is 32 years old.

If the great cause of reunification cannot be completed as soon as possible, then the next series of reforms will be impossible to talk about.

The world is very unfriendly to people, and there are not many people who are energetic and live long.

As strong as Emperor Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he could not escape the cycle of fate.

Mr. Guo does not pursue longevity, but he hopes that his career can live forever.

He needs time, a lot of time.

Prior to this, Guo Peng was on his way to march, and Cai Mao was writing urgent letters.

After writing the letter, he stuffed the bamboo slip letter into the cloth belt and handed it to a soldier, who asked the soldier to send the letter to Nanyang as soon as possible, hand it over to Zhang Yun, and let Zhang Yun send it to In Guo Peng's hand.

The content of the letter is very simple, that is, Liu Biao wants to reach a strategic alliance with Liu Zhang and Sun Ce.

And Liu Biao has successfully concluded a strategic alliance with Sun Ce, has stopped fighting, and has begun to prepare for the threat of Guo Peng.

This is not a good thing for Guo Peng. Cai Mao, who is always relying on Guo Peng, decides to convey the news to Guo Peng again, so that he can take precautions in advance.

In this situation where Liu Biao has not yet reached a consensus with Liu Zhang.

Since the previous correspondence with Cao Cao, Cai Mao has been secretly keeping in touch with Cao Cao, conveying his admiration to Guo Peng, expressing his inner yearning, hoping to stand in line ahead of time.