Guo Jia walked into the cabin, Sun Ce was watching the chess, Zhen Mi and Xu Jie were playing chess, and it was already the final stage, and a group of half-grown children were surrounded by him, Sun Quan, Sun Yi and others were all there, and Guo Yi was also there. Seeing Guo Jia come in, they all stood up to salute, and Sun Ce nodded.

Guo Jia signaled them to continue, looked at them, and saw that the situation was very unfavorable to Zhen Mi, and smiled and said, "The little military advisor is good at chess skills."

"It's worthy of being a military advisor, and he is also familiar with the Book of Changes. It's too good to forget it." Zhen Mi straightened her waist and threw the chess piece in her hand on the table, with a crisp sound. She clapped her hands and smiled and said, "Okay, I've admitted defeat, who's not convinced, come on."

"I'll do it." Sun Quan snatched it with a quick glance, almost hitting Zhen Mi, and quickly bowed to apologize. After hesitation, Xu Jie on the opposite side stood up and yawned. "I'm tired too, I want to rest early. Sister-in-law of the Zhen family, I heard that you have some good books there, can you lend me a look?"

Zhen Mi smiled and said, "Okay, you teach me how to calculate chess, I will lend you to see."

"Sure, certain."

The two of them were talking and laughing, and they walked out of the cabin with their hands and left Sun Quan there. Sun Quan was embarrassed, his face turned red and white. Guo Jia saw it and sat down opposite him, picking up the chess piece. "Zhongmou, how about we have a game?"

Sun Quan took the opportunity to step down and said with a smile: "I am not the opponent of Jijiu. Please Jijiu and let the two sons."

Guo Jia agreed readily. The two of them played chess well. Although they played the chess well, they were not as pleasing to the eye. The onlookers dispersed one after another, and only Sun Ce, the Sun Quan brothers and Guo Jia and his son were left in the cabin. Even Sun Yi left, and the cabin became quiet unconsciously.

Sun Quan's chess skills are the best among Sun Ce brothers, but he is still not Guo Jia's opponent. He was determined to lose as soon as he reached the middle game, and his face turned red with anxiety. Guo Jia looked at him leisurely and said lightly: "Zhongmou, do you know why this game was defeated?"

Sun Quan sighed and put the chess piece in his hand back into the chess box. "I dare to ask for advice from the wine."

"I'm eager to win."

Sun Quan blinked, nodded silently, and smiled bitterly: "Jijiu is right. I am a little overestimated and am determined to win Jijiu, but Jijiu caught the flaw."

"Well, although you are a little overestimated, you are lucky to have self-knowledge." Guo Jia put the chess piece back. "You are older and rare, both civil and military, and you will be able to cultivate your talents in the future. You can be in charge of the country inside, and you can expand your territory outside, and compete with the heroes of the world."

Sun Quan raised his head, looked at Guo Jia with some surprise, and then looked back at Sun Ce. Sun Ce nodded. "Zhongmou, it is rare to give you some advice. If you listen carefully, it will be beneficial in the future. You can also assist Aweng well and make achievements in Jiaozhou."

Sun Quan was overjoyed. Guo Jia was Sun Ce’s confidant, and what he said was probably what Sun Ce wanted to say. He quickly bowed and bowed.

"Please give me some advice."

"I have nothing to say, I only give you one sentence: look at the big picture and start from the small picture. I hope you can be calm after you arrive in Jiaozhou and not be anxious. Jiaozhou is full of mountains and is also a place of Baiyue. Some things cannot be too urgent, and it will change if it is urgent. You have read a lot of historical books and should know the story of the Qin army's southern expedition. Learn from history to avoid disasters."

"Thank you for the wine."

"Yeah, go."

"Here." Sun Quan responded, packed the chess pieces and boards on the table, and put the cushions around him neatly, and then said goodbye. Guo Yi also bowed, walked out, and took the hatch door. Sun Ce sat down opposite him, took the teacup, poured a cup of tea and handed it to Guo Jia.

"Did Zhao Wen agree?"

"Not yet, it's just a matter of time, and he has no other choice." Guo Jia took a sip of tea and said, "It seems that the emperor's plan to use troops to Liangzhou is not groundless, and Huang Yi's news is still reliable."

Sun Ce chuckled. "It's good, so it won't be a fight with me."

"What if he succeeds?"

Sun Ce smiled. "You said that if it happens, I have something to say?" He paused and said, "If this makes him turn the tables, I can only say that the fire of the Han Dynasty is not extinguished and he can revive it again."

"General, if we recruit the people to fight with all our might, we will still have a chance."

Sun Ce looked at Guo Jia and laughed silently. He picked up the teapot and added some water to Guo Jia. "Fengxiao, do you think we will fight with the emperor and fight again after we pacify Liangzhou, which one will suffer more casualties?"

Guo Jia picked up the teacup, paused for a moment, and said with a wry smile: "General, I just think that the emperor is so stoic, and the plan must be great. If he succeeds, it will be a fierce battle. The people of Liangzhou are brave but not scheming. Although Han Sui and Ma Teng are a little clever, they may not be Xun Yu and Liu Ye's opponent. Once the emperor unified Liangzhou, they moved to Liangzhou to enrich Guanzhong, and then they will lead their troops out of the pass. This battle..." He took a sip of tea and shook his head. "General, if the emperor can really pacify Liangzhou, the Han Dynasty will have signs of revival. People's hearts are different, and the outcome is unknown."

Sun Ce put down the teacup, held the case in both hands, and pondered for a moment. "Fengxiao, what I am worried about is not the emperor."

Guo Jia raised his head and saw Sun Ce's serious expression, and put down the teacup. "Who is the general worried about?"

"The Hu people on the grassland."

"Hu people?"

Sun Ce nodded and turned to look out the window. Although more than half a month has passed since the heavy snow, there is still some residual snow on the river banks on both sides of the river. The weather this year is much colder than in previous years, and his concerns are getting heavier. Historical books say that this is a small ice age, and he once used this reason to persuade Liu Pi, Gong Du and others to go south to farm. But until now, he truly appreciated the impact of climate change on history. It seems that it is just a snow disaster, but behind it is the key factor affecting history.

Youzhou was in chaos, and the Huns, Wuhuans, and Xianbeis on the grassland would go south under the pressure of the severe cold. If they attack Guanzhong at this time, the emperor would have no choice but to move a large number of Qiang people into Guanzhong. When he defeated Yuan Tan, he would face the Wuhuans and Xianbeis. If he defeated the emperor, he would have to face the Qiang people. These Qianghu were so poor that they had only one life left, barefoot and were not afraid of wearing shoes, and there was no cost to fight. In order to survive, they could be as cruel as wild beasts. Even if he was not sure of winning before laying a solid foundation, he would not have the confidence to win. A hasty battle would only lead to both losses. Once he was frustrated, these grassland nations would pass by like locusts and continue to move south. The tragedy of the Five Barbarians invading China might be staged in advance.

In the era of cold weapons, nomadic peoples had natural advantages. To deal with these people, it was not enough to have only some technical advantages. This advantage must be large enough to restrain the cavalry. The real decline of cavalry was in the era of heat weapons, not the kind of black gunpowder, but the real firearm. Black gunpowder was used in the military field in the Song Dynasty, but the real decline of cavalry was in the 19th century. The Song people who had black gunpowder but lacked war horses were abused by the grassland people until their country was destroyed twice.

What is more important than weapons is thought. If the conservative factors in Confucianism cannot be eliminated, even if he creates hot weapons now, it will be a temporary pleasure and will repeat the same mistakes in the future. His reform has just begun and looks pretty good. If war starts now, all this will inevitably be affected and even make the Legalist thought emerge again. This is also not the result he is willing to see. War is the most suitable soil for the growth of Legalist thought, and Legalists are more cruel than Confucianism, and they have the instinct of self-destruction in their genes. Guo Jia's eagerness to seek war and achieve success is not just because he has been immersed in the thinking inertia brought by the Legalist doctrine since childhood, but he himself does not know it.

"I need time to lay a solid foundation. The emperor is not our only opponent, or even the one that deserves the most attention." Sun Ce withdrew his gaze and said lightly: "Instead of worrying about any accidents, it is better to hurry up and strengthen yourself. If you have to fight, then you must also put the battlefield on the grassland. Since the emperor wants to conquer Liangzhou, why don't I do it? We have this energy, it's better to fight for Liaodong. As long as we can win Youzhou, what can the emperor do to me even if Liangzhou is pacified?"

Seeing that Sun Ce had made up his mind, Guo Jia nodded despite his regret. "It's up to the general."

Three days later, Sun Ce arrived in Taihu Lake and entered Daleishan Camp.

Zhang Hong and Yu Fan also arrived one after another, and Sun Ce summoned them to discuss the current situation.

Zhang Hong clearly expressed his support for Sun Ce's decision. Even if the emperor could pacify Liangzhou, it is not appropriate to go to war with the emperor now. With the current development momentum, it is absolutely beneficial to rest for a few years. Moreover, since the emperor has appointed Sun Ce as a vassal, his status has been determined, and sending troops to attack will lead to the first, and Sun Ce's counterattack will be justified. Moreover, the offensive and defensive momentum will have a very different impact on people's hearts. Most people will not be willing to let the people take the initiative to attack the emperor, but if the emperor takes the initiative to attack, most people will fight back.

Yu Fan also agreed with this statement. Instead of risking the slightest attack on the emperor, it is better to send troops to Youzhou, even if it is better to control Liaodong first. Gongsun Zan and Liu He were all dead, Zhang Ze and Liu Bei confronted Yuan Tan, and no one dared to offend Sun Ce at this time. It was a good opportunity to take Liaodong. After controlling Liaodong, the tension in war horse resources could be greatly alleviated, and even if the emperor attacked, he could fight.

The two chief ministers agreed, and Guo Jia had no objection anymore. The strategic direction was determined, and Sun Ce arranged for Zhang Hong to negotiate with Zhao Wen to finalize the specific details as soon as possible.

Zhang Hong followed his orders happily. He had some friendship with Zhao Wen, and he had a happy relationship before. When Sun Ce determined the bottom line and clarified his attitude, he was the one who was most suitable to negotiate with Zhao Wen. In addition, how to find a suitable reason to make this matter reasonable and prevent the court from being frustrated due to the constraints of the ritual system is also a science, which requires a very profound ritual cultivation, and he also has obvious advantages in this regard.

Sun Ce immediately asked about the results of Zhang Hong's inspection. Zhang Hong briefly explained his itinerary and finally made a suggestion: to set up Moling. He spent more than half a month inspecting several nearby locations suitable for capital construction, including Yangxian and Wuxian. Taking into account the factors of multiple directions, he believed that Moling was the most suitable.

m.
Chapter completed!