Chapter 449 Cao Cao's Thoughts
Construction is always much more difficult than destruction.
It is not difficult for Tian Ze to seize the world, but the difficulty lies in how to seize the world without losing too much vitality of the Han Dynasty as much as possible, and how to seize the world while ensuring his own stability.
The former destined Tian Ze to compromise with the princes of the Central Plains in many aspects.
The latter means that Tianze’s expansion speed cannot be too fast.
Governing the world is an extremely complicated matter. It is not enough to have good policies and good management, because the officials under your command are not robots. They all have their own ideas and pursuits.
No matter how good a policy is, it may be distorted when it is implemented and become an evil policy that harms the people.
The reason why Tian Ze's rule was relatively clean along the way was, on the one hand, because Tian Ze did everything himself, building up the business bit by bit from small to large.
The initial foundation was good, and they had absolute voice and authority, and the internal party struggles were not fierce.
But as time goes by, people change.
After experiencing many harsh blows from reality and various temptations, some of the once passionate scholars will inevitably sink.
Especially after Tian Ze took over Hebei, Sili and other places.
Places like Bingzhou and Youzhou are both cold and bitter. Most of the officials there have no background and the atmosphere is relatively pure.
But it is different in the Central Plains areas like Hebei and Sili.
Even after repeated purges, there were still some remnants of powerful families who slowly began to corrupt local officials.
No one would complain about having too much money.
Even though the price of grain was completely brought down by Tian Ze and land was basically no longer a factor restricting the people, there were still countless people who wanted to occupy these resources.
After all, people’s concepts cannot be changed so easily, and when industry and commerce have not prospered to a certain extent, agriculture will still be the most important pillar industry.
There have been many wars in Jizhou in recent years, and local officials have become increasingly bold.
After all, war profits are undoubtedly the easiest to make. Just taking the simplest food as an example, a little bit of it can bring huge profits.
Even though most of the grain in Tianze was mobilized from Youzhou, it did not affect the local officials in Jizhou from levying miscellaneous taxes and forcibly collecting grain and fodder.
As for the reason, it is to support the war at the front.
After all, Tian Ze is not a god and cannot control everyone's thoughts.
After all, the means of information communication in this era were too primitive, and even if the officials below wanted to conceal something, it would be difficult for Tian Ze to discover it.
Just think about the Song Dynasty and Ming Dynasty in later generations and you will know how angry Jiajing’s cry was, how helpless Chongzhen was, and how bad the situation was under him.
"But this is indeed a good thing for us." Cao Cao sighed.
"Tan Ze is busy rectifying internal problems, which will inevitably divert a lot of attention, and our danger will be less."
"To some extent, Tian Chengshou also regards us as a whetstone," said Mao Jie.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Tian Ze's rule has always been clean and honest, and such large-scale corruption has rarely occurred. Why did it break out this time?" Mao Jie asked.
Cao Cao hesitated for a moment, then said unwillingly: "Because the overall situation of the world has basically been determined."
Although he was reluctant to admit it, as long as nothing unexpected happened to Tian Ze himself, it would be very difficult for Da Qi to lose given its current situation.
Even if these princes in the Central Plains could hold on, it would still be difficult for them to counterattack.
"When the world is at peace, it is inevitable that internal contradictions will become prominent."
Mao Jie nodded slightly.
If there is no external trouble, there must be internal trouble. The aggressive nature of people means that conflicts will not disappear but will only transform.
"And we are Tianze's knife."
"We are still here, so Tian Ze still has time to slowly clean up the internal affairs." Mao Jie said. "So, Tian Ze should thank us." Cao Cao laughed at himself, his tone full of helplessness and unwillingness.
"Is it impossible to carry out such reforms under our rule?" Cao Cao said in a deep voice.
The more he interacted with Tian Ze, the more clearly he could feel the gap between the two sides, which was like a chasm.
In terms of internal affairs capabilities, mobilization and organization, and control over public opinion, they are so far apart and are not on the same level at all.
Apart from anything else, the grain output of Jizhou under Tian Ze's rule alone was more than that of the four states of both him and Yuan Shao combined.
Moreover, many hidden advantages are even more difficult to achieve.
He and Yuan Shao and others wanted to emulate Tian Ze's approach, but in the end it was difficult to do so.
"Yes, but not now. The time is not right." Mao Jie said.
Tianze was planted from scratch and grew into a towering tree. However, such opportunities are rare, and only Tianze seized this opportunity.
The trees planted by him and others grew crooked from the beginning. If he wanted to start over, he had to cut the trees down.
Cao Cao naturally understood what Mao Jie meant.
The so-called opportunity is nothing more than waiting until the situation in the Central Plains is stabilized, or after they end up like Lu Bu and Gongsun Zan.
Judging from the current situation, the latter is more likely.
"Do you think Tian Ze will attack Yanzhou?" Cao Cao asked, changing the subject.
These things cannot be pondered over too long. The more he ponders, the more desperate he will become. By then, he might not even have the courage to fight Tian Ze.
"Probably not." Mao Jie said.
"If I were Tian Ze, I would definitely attack Yuan Shao's Qingzhou first. After all, Qingzhou is now surrounded on three sides, and it will be easy to defend after it is captured."
"That's what I thought." Cao Cao nodded slightly.
It is easy to capture a place like Yanzhou, which is surrounded by wars on all sides, but difficult to defend it.
Even if Tianze was conquered, he would not be able to run the business peacefully. Given his personality, he would not choose to do so.
"If Tian Ze attacks Qingzhou, what should we do?"
When Mao Jie heard what Cao Cao said, his expression suddenly froze.
"What does the lord mean?"
Cao Cao looked puzzled and asked, "Do you think the Central Plains can be defended?"
"It's difficult." Mao Jie said bluntly.
The terrain of the Central Plains is too flat, which is undoubtedly a huge advantage for Tianze's side with a large number of cavalry.
The strategic initiative was firmly in Tian Ze's hands, and they could only be the passive party. If this continued, omissions would inevitably occur, and it would be almost only a matter of time before they lost.
"If we can't defend the Central Plains, what should we do?" asked Cao Cao.
Mao Jie was speechless for a moment. This question was like a heavy mountain pressing on his heart.
Cao Cao smiled bitterly and said, "I can only think of two ways to retreat: Jingzhou, Nanyang, and the Huai River."
By now, Cao Cao had been traumatized by Tian Ze, and had developed the habit of worrying about defeat before thinking about victory.
"I will help Tian Ze attack Yuan Shao, but I won't help him with all my strength," said Cao Cao.
Although these two sentences seemed to have no connection, Mao Jie understood Cao Cao's thoughts.
"But doing so would be tantamount to handing over the Central Plains to others."
"The Central Plains today is a deadly place." Cao Cao sighed.
(End of this chapter)
