Chapter 137 High-spirited

In fact, when Zhao Yu first came to this era, his first choice was Cao Mengde, and it was not because he liked him without reason.

In the original history, although Cao Wei did not exist for a long time, it left many valuable assets for future generations.

In history that has not changed, when Cao Mengde was in charge of the Central Plains and the Northern Lands, he made great achievements in water conservancy projects alone. He built a waterway from the Yellow River directly to Youzhou, which was the prototype of the northern section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. And the abandoned Langtang Canal, also known as Honggou, and the Jianghuai canal were rebuilt. Honggou is an extremely important waterway in the Central Plains, while Cangou is the prototype of the southern section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

It is said that Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty built the canal for thousands of years, but who knew that the prototype of this canal had already been formed during the Cao Wei Dynasty? !

What great contribution did the construction of these canals and water conservancy canals bring to this nation? !

In comparison, whether it is Liu Bei of Shu Han or Sun Quan of Jiangdong, what have they done? What have you left for future generations?

This is why before the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms distorted and confused people's ideas, the dynasties after Cao Wei generally regarded Cao Wei as orthodox.

There is no other, because Cao Mengde plans for eternity. And the other two, hehe...

Take Shu Han as an example. When Liu Bei entered Shu, the population in Shu was not low. Although the war was raging, after the establishment of the Shu Han Dynasty, the Shu Kingdom often took the initiative to launch the Northern Expedition, and the war rarely affected the Shu land. However, with a figure like Zhuge Liang, why did the population of the Shu Han Dynasty decrease significantly in the later period? This cannot be explained by just saying "war".

The war did not affect the Shu Han itself, and the number of soldiers killed by the Shu Han in repeated wars is well documented. Taking into account the population's birth growth, the total population of the Shu Han has decreased significantly. You must know that in the chaos of the late Han Dynasty, the territory of Cao Wei was most seriously affected. Whether it was the Yellow Turban Rebellion that affected hundreds or tens of millions of people, or the countless wars between various princes during the subsequent struggle for the Central Plains - the Central Plains Cai is the area that suffers the most.

And Jiangdong is exactly the same as Shuhan.

However, when the three families returned to Jin, most of the population was concentrated in the Central Plains. Shu Han and Soochow were in dire straits.

They have not considered people's livelihood at all. Zhuge Liang, who was praised as a god, still persevered in the Northern Expedition when the Shu Han continued to decline. This shows that he is not a man who plans for the future.

With one sentence of "helping the Han Dynasty", Shu Han, a wealthy place that was not affected by the Yellow Turban Rebellion, was transformed into that. Zhuge Liang's reputation as a virtuous man was not worthy of his name.

Of course, this is Zhao Yu's family opinion, and he thinks so.

Therefore, as soon as he arrived at this era, he tended to favor Cao Mengde instead of Liu Bei, who was known for his 'benevolence and righteousness'.

And now, what Cao Mengde did did not disappoint Zhao Yu.

Even when fighting foreign countries, Cao Mengde did not forget to do what he should do for the people on this land. This is really not easy.

Now that Cao Mengde has defeated Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan will not be his opponent. There is no opponent in the entire Central Plains and the northern land, and it can be said that his wings are full. After the entire territory of Jizhou, Youzhou and Qingzhou, which were newly under the rule, settled down, it would take at least five years, and the other princes would be meat on the chopping board, ready to be slaughtered.

"It doesn't take five years, three years is enough."

Cao Mengde said energetically: "I only need three years to completely stabilize the three northern states. In addition, I will defeat the Xiongnu in the next three years. I will defeat Xianbei in the north and redefine Bingzhou. In this way, You, Ji, Bing, Qing, and Yan , Yu, Xu, and Sili are all connected together. Half of the country is in my hands."

He looked at Zhao Yu and said: "Liangzhou can't escape either. Ma Teng and Han Sui are just local chickens and dogs. I have Lu Bu and Sun Ce. It only takes one or two years to eliminate the troubles in Liangzhou and suppress the Qiang chaos."

Zhao Yu couldn't help but feel happy for him: "This leaves only Jingzhou, Yangzhou, Yizhou and Jiaozhou."

After a pause, Zhao Yu said: "As for Zhang Lu in Hanzhong..."

Cao Mengde said: "Zhang Lu has a small ear. What's more, if we want to take Hanzhong, we can do it without bloodshed."

"oh?"

When Zhao Yu heard this, he couldn't help but think of the Hujia Village outside Baoxie Road when he went to Hanzhong.

But I heard Cao Mengde say: "Zhang Lu established himself in Hanzhong with the Five Dou Rice Dao. The Five Dou Rice Dao belongs to the Huanglao Taoist sect. I came back from the north yesterday. Wen Ruo said that there was an envoy from Hanzhong who wanted to see me, and he was trying to find out more about Mr. in a roundabout way. In my opinion, only If Mr. Xiu just says a word, Zhang Lu still won’t surrender Hanzhong?”

After Zhao Yu heard this, he secretly said that he didn't expect it.

"Yes, Zhang Lu is also a Taoist."

Zhao Yu laughed: "I was negligent and didn't think of it. By the way, I remember that Zuo Ci once told me about Zhang Lu."

"What do you mean, sir?" Cao Mengde was looking forward to it.

Hanzhong is really difficult to fight due to its terrain. If we can fight without bloodshed, it will be in line with Cao Mengde's wishes.

Anyway, if there is a chance, Cao Mengde will not use it to save face. So since Zhang Lu is a Taoist priest, how can he worship the immortal Zhao Yu in person without giving in? !

Zhao Yu said: "It's feasible."

He said: "However, Hanzhong is not the Hanzhong of Zhang Lu's family. Even if he is willing to surrender, will the civil and military personnel under his command be willing to surrender? If something goes wrong, leading to chaos in Hanzhong and destroying people's livelihood, I am afraid that is not what you want to see. of."

Cao Mengde nodded: "Sir, what you said is true. Wen Ruo and I have also considered it. There are aristocratic families in Hanzhong who have secretly contacted me for a long time, but there are also stubborn ones. If Zhang Lu is willing to surrender, but these people are unwilling to surrender, Hanzhong will There is going to be chaos. What Gongda and the others mean is to fight first, break the backs of these people and then surrender, so that hidden dangers can be avoided to the greatest extent."

Zhao Yu nodded slightly: "These are mature and prudent words. Let's do this. I'll ask Master Zixu to go there in person. He is originally the leader of the Taoist school in Sichuan and is close to Zhang Lu. With Master Zixu coming forward, I'm not afraid that Zhang Lu won't give up. Right. Let Zhang Lu stabilize Hanzhong first, and then let the stubborn men under his command lead the troops to fight. You only need to hold them back, and Zhang Lu will be able to let go, and you will be able to achieve your wish."

Cao Mengde smiled cheerfully: "I sent out troops in two directions, one from Guanzhong, and passed Baoxie Road to look directly at Nanzheng. All the way from Nanyang, I attacked the east side of Hanzhong..."

When the two were having a pleasant conversation, Guan Hai flew over to report: "My boss, Mr. Cao, Mr. Wen Ruo is here."

Zhao Yu and Cao Mengde were slightly startled, and Zhao Yu said: "Go and ask Wen Ruo to come over."

Guan Hai responded, turned around and ran away.

Zhao Yu said to Cao Mengde, "If Wen Ruo comes in person, is there something wrong?"

Cao Mengde thought about it for a while, and there was a hint of understanding in his expression: "Maybe there are changes in the north."

After a while, Xun Yu walked over quickly: "My lord, Mr. Zhao!"

"Wen Ruo doesn't have to be polite." Cao Mengde said quickly: "But there are changes in the north?"