At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Although Guoyuan and Cui Yan dissuaded Guo Peng from "indulging in pleasure" in the above table, this may be their stress response to the disaster of being too strict in the Huanling era. I am worried about this, so I will dissuade you at the right time.

However, although Guo Peng stipulated that one court every five days, it is not true that he only meets his officials once every five days. He holds the morning and evening courts every day, and the state affairs that should be discussed have not been left behind at all, and he is by no means a negligent king .

Of course, it is impossible to discuss government affairs with thousands of officials in the entire Luoyang City. It must only be discussed with the heads of some departments.

Military and state affairs are discussed with these people, the results are made, issued for implementation, and then a summary meeting is held at the court meeting every five days, and trivial matters are resolved by the subordinates themselves. Anyway, they are finally summarized in the Cabinet Audit Department. If something goes wrong, check it out.

Going to court every day, not to mention Guo Peng himself, the first thing he can't stand is the officials.

Some of them live in remote places in Luoyang, and it takes time and effort to go to the palace, and they get up before dawn, and they can't sleep even if the ghosts are asleep, or they will die from overwork in a few days.

In response to the reactions of Jingzhou and Yizhou, Guo Peng also dealt with them in Wuchao.

The official morning court was held in the main hall he built, Fengtian Hall, while the afternoon and evening courts were held in Qinzheng Hall, his personal study.

The Fengtian Hall is a symbolic existence, a symbol of the highest power, and the Qinzheng Hall is the core of the power of the entire Wei Empire.

Guo Peng's personal study is here, as is the workplace of Guo Peng's confidential secretarial department cabinet.

In addition, there are only some important eunuch offices here, and other official offices are outside the palace city and within the imperial city.

It can also be seen from this that Guo Peng attaches great importance to and is close to the cabinet.

Every time Guo Peng handles government affairs, he will ask Cao Cao, the chief assistant of the cabinet, to discuss with other officials, and then make a decision, and then the cabinet will draft an order on his behalf.

With the power of auditing, the importance of the cabinet began to be clearly highlighted. As a result, within a few months, the number of people who went to Cao Cao's mansion to express their friendship increased exponentially.

Cao's mansion was bustling with traffic, and there was an endless stream of people who came to visit and give gifts to try to make friends. Cao Cao told Guo Peng more than once that he dared not even go home.

I was afraid that as soon as I appeared, I would be surrounded to death by those who were eager to ask for help.

Guo Peng laughed, very interested in this.

However, Cao Cao still understood Guo Peng's intention in handing over the cabinet to him.

Because not everyone can control the power of auditing. Cao Cao is Guo Peng's wife and brother, and he is on his own. He can offend some powerful people, so he is not afraid of certain people.

This condition is not available to everyone.

Guo Peng is relatively relieved that this power is in the hands of Cao Cao, because behind Cao Cao is himself, and he is closest to him, so he also takes Cao Cao by his side when dealing with government affairs, showing his trust in Cao Cao and giving him a platform.

This time Liu Zhang proclaimed the emperor and Liu Biao proclaimed the king, and there was a heated discussion in the Palace of Qinzheng. Even the imperial historian Guo Hong and the imperial historian Zhongcheng Qiaorui were called to participate in the political meeting to prevent the officials from discussing too intensely , As a result, the situation of disrespect in front of the hall occurred.

In fact, there is nothing to discuss about the fundamental goal. Everyone is proclaiming the emperor and king and calling on people with lofty ideals from all over the world to crusade against the puppet dynasty of Guo Wei, so what is there to talk about?

Hit him!Kill him!

The question everyone is arguing about is whether to send troops to Jingzhou first, Yizhou first, or both.

The ministers were divided into three factions, arguing fiercely and passionately. If Guo Hong and Qiao Rui hadn't stopped them in time, these people would really have fought.

"At the beginning of the new dynasty, it is time to defeat the enemy in order to spread the prestige of the country. This time is the time when the two sides need to attack the rebellion together! If the rebellion is not wiped out at this time, it will be delayed for a long time. What variables are born!

Your Majesty, I believe that, no matter what, this battle should be fought in two directions, attacking Jingzhou and Yizhou, sweeping away all the enemies in one go, and unifying the world, so as to show that we are orthodox! "

Dong Zhao, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, resolutely took the lead in the battle, not only in the main battle, but also in two ways to pacify the south in one go, without giving anyone any extra illusions.

Dong Zhao was Guo Peng who defeated the captives and then surrendered in the process of pacifying Yuan Shao. After the surrender, he served successively as county magistrates and sheriffs in various places and made good political achievements.

So Guo Peng Liguo inspected his merits before and after, and promoted him to the central government as Minister of the Ministry of War. This position can only be done by people who need overall planning ability and have no friendship with various generals.

Chapter 788 790 seven attack Jingzhou, destroy Liu Biao

Since Dong Zhao took office, he has quickly counted the storage of military materials in the arsenals across the country, and dispatched military planners from the Ministry of War to carry out checks and statistics to draw the most accurate conclusions and fill in the gaps.

If there is a problem, check it out to the end, and you must find out the problem.

Guo Peng admired his way of doing things very much.

Guo Peng was noncommittal about his opinion, but Wang Can, Shangshu of the Ministry of Finance, expressed his opposition.

After the founding of the country, Wang Can was called back from Jiangdong by Guo Peng, and took up the post of Shangshu of the Ministry of Finance, becoming the chief steward of the entire imperial court.

Since his succession, Wang Can has also worked with trepidation and sleepless nights. It took a lot of effort to pull up the team of the Ministry of Finance, which was officially established. As a result, just as it had a certain scale, a big war was imminent.

Wang Can knew very well that the current fiscal revenue and expenditure of the Guowei regime were not enough to support the two armies fighting at the same time, so he strongly opposed Dong Zhao's proposal to start a war on two fronts.

"Although Wei Wei's current fiscal revenue is a lot, although it is enough to spend on military expenses, more money must be spent on construction. Road construction requires money, and city construction requires money. The reconstruction of Kansai has not yet been completed, and Jiangdong will start to rebuild. Everywhere With money, the national treasury spends a lot of money, and it is absolutely impossible to put all the money on war now."

Faced with Wang Can's strong resistance, Dong Zhao was very dissatisfied, and had a heated debate with Wang Can.

The two talked to each other, which by the way led to a quarrel between several servants of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Finance.

They were not out of selfishness. Dong Zhao wanted to end the split situation as soon as possible, and couldn't bear the fact that there were other separatist regimes besides the Wei regime. Wang Can was thinking about the overall situation and worried about the country's financial problems.

A sense of belonging and responsibility motivates them to do so.

Cheng Yu and Tian Feng could not stop the quarrel between the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Finance, and finally Guo Hong came forward to stop their quarrel.

"Disrespect in front of the palace! You and others will be fined for one month!"

Guo Hong sacrificed the big stick of fine salary, which stopped the dispute between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of War.

But the specific debate is far from over.

There are not a few people who support sending troops to pacify Yizhou and Jingzhou in one breath, but there are also many opponents, and the two sides have a [-]-[-] posture.

After some discussion, Guo Peng made a decision.

He considered that many places still need money for construction. Although Guo Wei's current financial income is acceptable, it is not yet time to squander it. Construction is the mainstream, and the most important thing is to feed the people.

So Guo Peng personally vetoed Dong Zhao's two-pronged strategy, thinking that it would cost too much. Once the war is delayed for a long time, if a disaster occurs somewhere in the rear, the court will have no money to relieve the disaster, and Guo Wei will be shaken at that time. foundation of domination.

Guo Wei has not yet gained a firm foothold in the world, and rule is the most important thing.

Then the object of the debate became whether to attack Yizhou or Jingzhou first.

Some people supported the attack on Yizhou, because Liu Zhang proclaimed himself emperor and established the country as Han, and he sang against Guo Peng in an open and honest manner. He wanted to call on people in Wei State who harbored the Han family to rebel, which was even worse.

Some people support the attack on Jingzhou, because the road in Jingzhou is relatively easy to travel and the logistical pressure is small.

The two parties couldn't stop arguing. Seeing that his Qinzheng Hall was about to become a vegetable market again, Guo Pengqing coughed, and Su Yuan, who was waiting beside him, immediately stepped forward. Guo Hong saw it, stood up immediately, and shouted "Quiet" , the court debate quieted down.

Guo Peng saw that the court was quiet, so he stated his views in a leisurely manner.

"Liu Zhang's claim to be emperor is indeed bad in nature, but the road to Shu is difficult. Unlike Jingzhou's Nanyang area, Yingchuan County and Runan County have not had wars for many years. The grain can be used by the army for five years. The people of the two counties have rested and recuperated for many years. Restoration is worthwhile.

And if you want to use force in Yizhou, the people's power in Hanzhong and Shangyong has not fully recovered, and the land of Kansai has not been rebuilt, and the battle in Liangzhou has not yet recovered. There is not much grain storage, and the army will send troops. Unfavorable, so I decided to start this war with the goal of attacking Jingzhou and destroying Liu Biao. "

Guo Peng stood up and decided with one word, so the officials stopped arguing.

After the discussion on this matter was completed, the staff officers stayed behind, the chief assistant of the cabinet stayed, and the rest all left the Hall of Qinzheng and did not participate in the subsequent discussions.

According to the rules set by Guo Peng, all the ministers and ministers have the right and qualification to express their views on major military and state affairs of the country. However, once the matter is confirmed and done, it is up to the emperor and the specific departments to do it. The rest of the officials all leave , do not participate.

The war was discussed with the staff desk, and Shangshutai and Yushitai all left, leaving only the chief assistant of the cabinet to participate in the record, and drafted an order at any time and issued it to the department for implementation.

"We used to be a small group, and the division of responsibilities between each other was not clear. You have me and I have you, but now we have built a new country, and we must follow the rules in everything. Follow the rules. Without rules, there is no circle. , What should be done and what should not be done, in the future everyone must figure it out. 』

This is what Guo Peng said to the veterans who followed him all the way after the founding ceremony, and he got the understanding and support of the veterans.

So the staff officer Ling Xizhong, the staff servant She Guo Jia and a group of young staff officers from the staff desk stayed in the Palace of Qinzheng together, unfolded the map of the Jingxiang area, and began to discuss military plans with Guo Peng, while Cao Cao followed Guo Peng, Responsible for recording key points.

Guo Jia was transferred back from Jiangdong one month after Guo Peng proclaimed himself emperor, and came to Luoyang to work in the new government office. Since then, he has discussed with Xi Zhong the tactics to advance Jingzhou and Yizhou.

For the Jingzhou Raiders, the two suggested a three-way attack.

"The battle in Jingzhou, Nanyang County is the focus. Nanyang County is the gateway to Jingbei, with many household registrations. Liu Biao stationed [-] troops here. The main force of our army is going south. It is inevitable to attack from the direction of Nanyang County. This is one of them.

Second, in the direction of Shangyong County, Zhu Ling, the commander of the garrison army in Shangyong County, can be ordered to lead the troops straight into Xiangyang, cut off the retreat route of Jingzhou soldiers on the Nanyang side, destroy Xiangyang, and assist our main force to capture Nanyang County.

Third, Xu Huang, the commander of the garrison army in Lujiang County, can be ordered to lead troops to attack Jiangxia Huangzu. The troops do not need to be large, and only the navy and cavalry on the Jiangxia side need to be restrained so that they cannot support the other two sides. "

Xi Zhong deduced the situation of this battle on the sand table. No matter what the situation, the Jingbei Liubiao defense line including Nanyang County and Xiangyang City will be quickly destroyed.

Huangzu Jiangxia's troops were unable to support the Nanyang and Xiangyang battles, and Liu Biao would soon be forced to flee to Jingnan if he survived.

"For now, I don't see any possibility of Liu Biao's victory. No matter in terms of military strength, financial resources, grain storage, ordnance storage, etc., Jingzhou is behind me in all aspects, and it cannot be compared with me at all. The current restrictions on our army's progress , precisely ourselves.”

Xi Zhong laughed wryly when he said this: "If Your Majesty can slow down the construction of roads and cities in Kansai or Jiangdong, maybe you can really march in two ways."

"Shooting is fighting, construction is construction, construction is not good, what to fight?"

Guo Peng shook his head and said with a smile: "Soldiers who fight have to eat, wear clothes, and use weapons, which can only be obtained by construction. Zhicai, your thinking is the same as Dong Qing's.

But for now, it is still out of date for the time being, the cost is too high, and the national treasury can't support it. I would rather fight Jingzhou and Yizhou later than let the local refugees starve and freeze for another day. "

"Your Majesty is merciful."

Leading the play are Guo Jia and Cao Cao, a group of officials flattered Guo Peng in a timely manner, making Guo Peng feel comfortable and at ease—because I did.

"Let's not talk about the kind and the unkind. Liu Biao and Liu Zhang must be resolved, but this is about the same as we expected. Liu Biao can't do it when Liu Zhang proclaims himself emperor."

Guo Peng shook his head: "Meng De, tell Zhicai and Fengxiao about our preparations for Jingzhou."

"Yes."

Cao Cao nodded, looked at Xi Zhong and Guo Jia, and said, "Mr. Xi Ling, Guo Pushe, in fact, we have already won this battle before the start of the fight.

Moreover, from Nanyang to Xiangyang, there will be no resistance from Jingzhou soldiers. As soon as our army arrives, Zhang Yun and Cai Mao will definitely surrender. All Liu Biao's military supplies are ours. "

Chapter 789. 790 Baguo is really too difficult

After hearing what Cao Cao said, Xi Zhong and Guo Jia looked at each other with doubts on their faces.

It's not just them, the staff officers on the staff desk who are full of military plans and plan to flex their muscles are also puzzled.

"Your Majesty, Cao Shoufu said..."

"Cai Degui and Meng De are young friends. Back then, after I pacified Hebei, Cai Degui sent someone to talk to Meng De and tried to establish a relationship with me. After that, he repeatedly passed on news from inside Jingzhou to me, and even wooed me. Zhang Yun secretly took refuge with me together, these two people will not resist, once the army arrives, they will definitely sacrifice the city and surrender."

Guo Peng answered the doubts of Xi Zhong and Guo Jia.

"There is such a thing..."

Xi Zhong was a little surprised, but soon felt that it was reasonable.

Guo Jia remembered the Kuai Yue he had seen before, and related to Kuai Yue's attitude. At that time, he just wanted to win Kuai Yue, but he didn't expect that someone was far ahead of everyone.

It seems that Guo Peng infiltrated Jingzhou not just a little bit...

This kind of thing is not amazing, but this is what actually happened.

"In this way, the army from the Central Plains and General Zhu's army can obtain Nanyang County and Xiangyang City without any effort at all. In this way, the army can drive straight in and go south to Jiangling!"

Guo Jia pointed to the army situation on the sand table, and directly replaced the Jingzhou soldiers in Nanyang County and Xiangyang with Wei Jun's war chess, and then the soldiers pointed directly at Jiangling.

"The situation has been finalized. Liu Biao will lose Jingbei within a month. He must flee to Jingnan, but Jingnan has only gone through the flames of war. Liu Biao's foundation is not stable. It is impossible to attack us from Jingnan. He can only continue to attack us." Fleeing everywhere, and even possibly fleeing to...Jiaozhou!"

Guo Jia pointed to Jiaozhou.

Jiaozhou, the southernmost state of the Han Empire, was also the most insignificant existence. In front of the heroes of the Central Plains who were fighting for hegemony, they didn't even deserve their names.

In terms of the population and the number of acres of land reclaimed, it is estimated that it is not even as good as a large county in the Central Plains. The map seems to be a vast area, but in fact the jurisdiction set by the Han government can only control the surrounding areas of the city.

The rest are the domains of some local kings. They are Han lands in name, but they don’t pay a penny of taxes. They are said to be semi-autonomous, but they are actually independent kingdoms. The Han government’s ruling foundation in Jiaozhou is extremely weak.

That is to say, when Qin Shihuangxiong had some power and sent 50 troops to the south to open up the territory, he injected Chinese genes into this land, but throughout the 400 years of the Han Dynasty, he did not continue to promote Kaihua on the basis of Qin Shihuang.

The short-sightedness and greed of the powerful landlord class are fully reflected in this incident.

They know how to seize the land that has been developed, and dismiss the vast undeveloped wasteland as if it doesn't exist.

Therefore, development still depends on the government, not private individuals.

But sometimes the government is unreliable.

The government of the Western Han Dynasty was strong enough, but its energy was concentrated on dealing with the grassland nomads in the north. The government of the Eastern Han Dynasty directly degenerated into a small government, which was not enough to fight wars, let alone develop.

So this matter still fell on Mr. Guo in the end.

While wiping the ass of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he fought bravely with the nobles and tyrants to protect the interests of himself and Li Shu.

While picking up the unfinished business of Qin Shihuang, we will continue to develop and expand the living space of the whole nation.

Guo is really too difficult, too difficult.