Before Guo Tu finished speaking, he felt something was wrong.

To attribute the victory or defeat to God's will, it is a suspicion of shirking responsibility, which is essentially a sign of weakness. If you comfort yourself after the war, it is understandable. Just thinking about it before the war can only explain one problem: they have no confidence to defeat Sun Ce with their strength.

Guo Tu turned around quietly and glanced at Ju Su and He Yong. Seeing that they were not surprised, he breathed a sigh of relief. How could the situation worsen in just a few years? Since Yuan Shao was defeated by Guandu, they have been in a slump. Regardless of whether their strength has recovered or not, how many victories have been achieved, the thought of playing against Sun Ce was reduced.

Will it be related to Yuan Tan's experience of being captured? Guo Tu thought secretly. After Rencheng was defeated and captured, Yuan Tan was captured in Pingyu for more than half a year. When he returned to Jizhou, he became more calm and lost a little bit of the aura that young people should have. As the saying goes, the three armies can seize the commander, but ordinary men cannot seize the aspirations. Now, ordinary men seize the aspirations, and the three armies can seize the commander, and they are afraid before the battle.

With the sound of footsteps outside the tent, Yuan Tan stepped in, his momentum shattered the fire plate in the center of the tent, and then burst out again, making a slight sound. Guo Tu cheered up and looked at Yuan Tan in surprise. Yuan Tan took off his cloak, threw it to Ju Su, lit his arms, took off his helmet, and blew away the floating snow on it.

"Mr. Guo, has Sun Ce returned to Jiangdong?"

"Yes."

"Can you know the reason?"

"It's not known yet." Guo Tu thought about it and added. "But such a big thing should be able to figure it out soon."

Yuan Tan took a seat after the Central Committee's case and turned his eyes to Ju Su. "Duke, Sun Ce did not come to Qingxu. Can you think that Qingxu's war will be responsible for Xu Kun and Shen You?"

Ju Su turned around and bowed. "From the previous battle between Jingzhou and Hongnong, this possibility is very high. Xu Kun is Sun Ce's in-laws and Shen You are the rookie in Jiangdong. It is reasonable for Sun Ce to balance the factions and let them fight independently to make contributions. The Wu Navy is strong. If reinforcements are made by sea, it will not exceed one month, even in winter. If we cannot succeed in one blow, once the stalemate is in place, Sun Ce may lead his troops to reinforce at any time."

Yuan Tan nodded. "Then please plan carefully and strive to severely damage Xu Kun and Shen You in a battle, and quickly take Qingzhou."

"Here." Ju Su bowed and accepted the order.

"Sacrificial wine, you have to send more people to figure out why Sun Ce suddenly trained. Don't be stingy with money. If you can't win this battle, you may not have much money to spend in the future."

Guo Tu frowned. "Why do you have to do this? Winning and defeat are common in military affairs..."

"Otherwise." Yuan Tan shook his head. "Next year is the end of the first five-year plan. If the King of Wu can successfully achieve the goal set at the beginning, not only will he be full of wings, but his morale will be greatly boosted, we will never have a chance to reverse it. Only by defeating his plan and hitting the people of the Central Plains' confidence in them may be a glimmer of opportunities."

Guo Tu and Ju Su looked at each other and suddenly realized. They knew that Sun Ce had a five-year plan, which was implemented from the first year of Jian'an. It is said that by the end of Jian'an, a series of goals would be achieved. When they first heard about these goals, almost everyone felt that it was unrealistic and was suspected of being too ambitious. However, in recent years, the development of the states under Sun Ce's rule has indeed been unexpectedly rapid, and those goals seemed to be possible.

Next year is the fifth year. If the result of the year-end plan comes out, they will achieve their goal that seemed unattainable at the time, and all doubts will turn into confidence, and being too ambitious will naturally become far-sighted. Of course, the bigger problem is that Sun Ce's strength will be so strong that it will be useless to attack from three sides, and no one can defeat him again.

From this perspective, Sun Ce's team has a reasonable explanation. He will base himself on defense, maintain the current front line, and minimize consumption as much as possible to ensure that the five-year plan can be completed smoothly, and then take the initiative to attack after accumulating enough strength. The offensive and defensive momentum is different, and its strength is three times. If you go deep into the enemy's territory, the consumption brought by long-distance transportation will be even more amazing. As far as economics are concerned, defense is of course the best choice.

After Sun Ce was a businessman, he attached importance to industry and commerce after taking office. It was not uncommon to make such a decision. However, they did not expect that Sun Ce would have thought badly for this reason and turned a blind eye to the facts that were in front of him. Instead, Yuan Tan knew Sun Ce more and grasped the key points at once.

Even now, they find it incredible. Is Sun Ce doing this to express his reputation that must be fulfilled or to reduce the benefits of consumption? The two are inseparable, but there is always one of them. If it is the former, it means that Sun Ce is greatly influenced by the hostile side of Sun Ce, which may cause his five-year plan to die. If it is the latter, it means that the money and food in Jiangdong may no longer be able to support the situation of fighting on three sides.

Ju Su had an idea. The first thing he wanted to do was to criticize the military was that Sun Ce's flaw was their opportunity. In the first place, he responded to the siege of the court, which was to make Sun Ce stand in a difficult position. However, he did not expect that Sun Ce was so strong that he could attack two groups of people in the face of Yizhou with a favorable geographical advantage, which made Cao Cao feel embarrassed and Yizhou might change hands. However, he was not strong enough to sweep the world. After the court took the initiative to send troops to Hedong, Sun Ce had to shift his focus to Sili. Although the court's plan had some deviations, it finally achieved the predetermined goal.

"Guo Jijiu, it seems that you need to focus on inquiries about the land rent in the provinces under Sun Ce's rule."

Guo Tu stroked his beard and nodded. "But I still find it strange. Is the five-year plan more important than pacifying the world? As far as I have learned so far, except for Jingzhou, there is no sign of increasing land rent in other states. If we implement a wartime mechanism and collect the surplus grain from the people, Sun Ce should be able to afford the 200,000 army to fight for three to five years. It is a good thing to do kingly and protect the people, but you can dominate first, then pacify the world before pacifying the world, reduce taxes, and rest with the people. Isn't it better to confront the people? The longer the stalemate, the more consumed?"

Ju Su pondered for a moment, his eyes flashed slightly, and he wanted to speak but stopped. Guo Tu saw it clearly and couldn't help but say, "Don't worry, when you live and die, you should give up your past grudges and help the king and marquis. Just say whatever you have."

Ju Su was a little embarrassed and bowed to salute. "Salute is just a big opinion, and it may not be taken seriously."

"It's okay to talk about it."

"I think that the kingly way and domineering may not be the focus of Sun Ce's attention. What he is concerned about is the transformation of scholarly style, that is, whether scholars can become scholars in his mouth. Kings, priests, and He Gong, do you still remember the definition of scholars in the "Shi Lun"? The scholars mentioned by Sun Ce not only include scholars, warriors, but also include medical practitioners, craftsmen and other craftsmen. It is undeniable that since these people were included in the scholars, their income and status have improved, their role has become increasingly greater in recent years. Sun Ce's strength has grown so rapidly that these craftsmen are indispensable. Due to the trend, more scholars in the Central Plains are engaged in these skills. No matter whether they are farmed, fewer people are sticking to the teachings of saints who are not weapons. If one day, the main factor that determines the victory or defeat of the battlefield is no longer the number of troops, or even the bravery of the soldiers, but the skill level of the craftsmen hidden behind the battlefield, what will it be?"

Ju Shu coughed. "If one day these labourers design chariots faster than war horses, what if?"

Guo Tu's expression changed a few times, and then he smiled and said, "A chariot faster than a war horse? How is this possible? Gongyu, you are thinking too much."

"I'm just thinking about it." Ju Su laughed, but his eyes showed a little fascination. "But who dares to say that there may not be any? If there is really a day when human wisdom can surpass brute force, why should I be afraid of the barbarians who come and go on the grassland like the wind?"

Guo Tu didn't say anything and didn't agree.

Yuan Tan twisted his fingers and thoughtful. After a moment, he chuckled. "Young man is right. No matter how strong the manpower is, no matter how fast the horse is, no matter how fast the horse is, no matter how long it is, no matter how long the horse is, no matter how long it is, the physical strength is limited after all, but wisdom may be infinite. We are all savages who only know how to use brute force, and are not worthy of being his opponent, but only for his whetstone."

Guo Tu coughed: "Why should you be so depressed? The king's way is a mixed use, and wisdom and force should not be neglected. If the king's way is considered to be desirable, it will not be too late to defeat him in the future. When the two armies fight, life and death should still be the priority. Only the winner has the opportunity to practice the way in his heart. The loser cannot even save his life, so how can he do it?"

Yuan Tan nodded without comment.

Seeing that Yuan Tan was depressed and Ju Su was not in his mind, Guo Tu raised his voice and reminded them to give up the idea of ​​improving others' ambitions and destroying his own majesty, and bring the topic back to the current situation. No matter why Sun Ce was in charge, it was a fact that he was attacked from three sides. After Sun Ce left Jingzhou, Zhou Yu and Huang Zhong might slow down the pace of the offensive, and Lu Su would also control the front line in Hongnong area, confronting Jia Xu, Dong Yue and the emperor in Guanzhong. The court and Cao Cao would not have a chance to launch a counterattack. The battlefield that could open up the situation was Qingzhou, and only Qingzhou achieved the goal of restraining Sun Ce's main force. Only Yizhou and Guanzhong could launch a counterattack and form an encirclement of Sun Ce.

How to conquer Qingzhou has become the top priority of the entire situation.

Considering that Sun Ce could go north to reinforce at any time when Sun Ce returned to Jiangdong, Guo Tu suggested urging Liu Bei to send cavalry reinforcements. Qingxu's terrain is suitable for cavalry to rush to siege the city with infantry, invade deep invasion with cavalry, cut off reinforcements and cut off food channels. This is the safest tactic. Considering the relationship between Liu Bei and Sun Ce, it is unlikely that Zhang Fei, his general Guan Yu and Zhang Fei will lead the troops to fight. It is best to ask Liu Bei himself to fight and be the deputy. If Liu Bei refuses, then retreat to the second best and order Qian Zhao to command the Han and Hu cavalry in Youzhou to assist. This is safer for both sides and will not be suspicious of each other.

Ju Su expressed his agreement and added another one: the situation is critical, and we cannot look back and try our best to recruit all the troops in Jizhou to form an advantage of more than five troops, and strive to achieve success in one battle.

Yuan Tan was pleased to obey the order, and ordered people to inform Tian Feng, asking him to negotiate with the Jizhou family to recruit soldiers and grain. [m], while asking He Yong to go to Yanzhou, meet Cao Ang, Chen Gong and others, and welcome the imperial envoy Han Bin to discuss the plan together.
Chapter completed!