Chapter 282 Mutual constraints
After the first meeting since the establishment of the shogunate was barely concluded, Kong Rong and others put the gold coins back and each thought about the long-term significance of this batch of gold coins.

The black bear left here and came to a ravine about ten miles to the east.

The ravine road runs parallel to the river, and on both sides of the ravine are tall, dense primitive pine forests.

After walking seven or eight miles into the valley, you will see a wide circular valley after turning a corner.

On the sunny slope to the north of the valley are the ruins of the palace of the Former Han Dynasty.

The ground had already been strictly leveled and compacted. After being abandoned for so many years and washed away by rain, only a few weeds grew.

The weeds in the rammed earth area have been harvested, and there are no large trees or shrubs growing there.

When the black bear arrived, he saw the chief priest Guo Tai directing people to cut down pine trees.

Rows of pine trees with trimmed side branches lay on the slope waiting to dry in the shade. About three hundred bald, shirtless Qingzhou soldiers were working in the forest.

Looking at the southern slope of Yinshan Mountain, Zhen Mi’s temporary camp is here, set up next to the mountain stream.

The low bushes on the south slope had been cleared, and when the black bear came, it heard intensive dog barking in the pine forest on the south slope.

When we got closer, we found that the thin pine trees in the pine forest had also been cleared away, and a wooden fence had been built outside the pine forest to separate the military dogs in the forest and prevent them from going deep into the camp.

The area near the mountain stream in the camp was dug manually, and ponds and dams were built with logs, earth and stones to collect water.

A lake of water was formed with a diameter of more than 100 steps. No one knew how deep it was, but more than 700 geese of all sizes were playing in it.

Some geese gathered in groups on the shore, taking a rest in the sun. The nearby grass had already been eaten up by the geese, as if it had been mowed by a lawn mower.

On the exposed grass are pieces of goose droppings, each the size of a thumb and green in color.

A spacious canopy was built near the weir using logs, and a windbreak wall was also built using logs.

Zhen Mi brought these geese with her when she moved. In order to help the goose flock grow in the future, Black Bear discovered that there were some mean puppies mixed in with the geese.

Only the molted goslings are willing to play with these puppies of similar size, while the other large geese with white feathers are extremely ferocious.

As long as the puppy comes close, if he is in a good mood he will just peck it as a show of courage, but if he is in a bad mood he will flap his wings and chase and bite it.

Fortunately, these puppies do not eat grass, so there is no competition for food with the geese.

When Zhen Mi came to greet Black Bear, and saw him stop halfway to observe the geese, she felt more and more that she had made the right choice.

She wore a bamboo hat with two layers of white gauze on her head, and came to the black bear and bowed, "My dear, how are you?"

"What's up with the military dogs in the woods?"

"My dear, this place is sparsely populated, and there are many weasels, foxes and the like in the mountains and fields."

Zhen Mi pointed to the distant hilltop and said, "Guo Jijiu has recruited hunters from the surrounding areas to hunt wild animals in the deep forest. I am worried that the geese will be damaged, so I have fenced off this place and will arrange female soldiers to patrol at night."

He then pointed to some simple wooden houses in the distance of the valley and introduced them as the sentry posts of the female soldiers from the outer perimeter.

When it gets light, the geese will go out in groups to forage for food. These sentries are set up at the forks in the road and are responsible for driving the geese back.

The outer forests have not been developed, and the grass in the valley is enough for the geese to find food, so there is no need to let them venture deep into the forests.

The black bear stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the hillsides around him. He was not very satisfied with the valley, as it was still a little too small.

But it doesn’t matter. It is inconvenient for Zhen Mi to bring these geese with her when migrating; if she is alone, these geese can move quickly.

Looking at these flocks of geese, I tried to sense all of them and found that except for the two that Gan Ning had, the rest were all here.

He frowned and said, "It's a pity that there are no good duck breeds."

Jingzhou has no shortage of ducks. The purchasing plan has been sent to Sima Zhi, and the ducks will be delivered to Guanzhong soon.

Seeing Zhen Mi's puzzled expression, Black Bear explained, "Shangdang Cui Yan mentioned in his letter that there is a severe outbreak of spring locusts in Hebei this year. If we can't control it, autumn locusts will appear again, and it's possible that they will spread to Taiyuan and Hedong. By then, Guanzhong will be hard to escape."

It is not a secret knowledge that ducks can eat insects and kill locusts.

Zhen Mi looked at the more than 700 geese of all sizes in the water. There were only four at this time last year.

It takes five points of white mana to ripen an egg-laying goose or duck. Theoretically speaking, more than a hundred points of white mana can cultivate three drakes and seventeen female ducks.

Assuming an average of ten duck eggs a day, three hundred ducklings can be obtained in a month.

By autumn, it is the normal egg-laying season for the ducks and most of the ducklings are of appropriate age.

After a winter of reserve, the ducks will hatch in the spring of next year and the size of the flock will increase dramatically.

Before going out on a campaign, if he could not get the good breed of ducks from Jingzhou, he would use the ducks from Guanzhong for breeding.

Putting this matter aside, the black bear looked around the valley.

I couldn't help but wonder, what would the situation be like now if I had abandoned the fleet and lived in seclusion in the mountains with Zhen Mi?
Perhaps the materials for black magic are difficult to gather.

It is difficult to improve your life by relying solely on puppet Taoist soldiers.

So this path is the right one for now. At least I live a happy life, while people like Cao Cao don’t live very happily. That’s enough.

In the small hall of Zhen Mi's wooden building, not long after Black Bear sat down, the chief priest Guo Tai arrived quickly.

Guo Tai simply washed his hands and face under the wooden shed outside the hall before entering the hall wearing straw sandals.

It was during the period of land reclamation, and the living conditions were not suitable for taking off shoes and walking in socks only.

"Meet Commander Qu."

"Sit close and drink with me."

Black Bear was pounding mint water, and he casually summoned a bunch of green mint, threw it into the wooden mortar, and then pounded and ground it with the wooden pestle. The rich smell of mint filled the hall, and almost instantly, Guo Tai was refreshed.

Next to the table was a jar of newly brought cold spring water. Black Bear poured the mint juice in the wooden mortar into the ceramic jar, and then scooped water to clean the wooden mortar.

After stirring it all together, they each poured a bowl of cold mint water.

The black bear pushed the other person's bowl over, then picked up his own bowl and took a sip. He closed his eyes, and immediately the taste was like brushing his teeth.

Guo Tai had drunk the mint water, and now he held up the wooden bowl with both hands and took small sips of it. Not only did he feel refreshed and his mind was clear, but his physical strength also quickly recovered.

He drank it in small sips, then lifted up the empty bowl with both hands and Black Bear filled it for him again.

Only then did Guo Tai put down the wooden bowl and asked, "How long can General Qu stay this time?"

"I am not sure as well."

Black Bear tasted the mint water and said, "We have to wait for Gan Ning. Gan Ning is ready to be eaten by the enemy. As long as Chen Zhen returns safely, Gan Ning will send troops to attack Dagu Pass. As long as Xiahou Dun dares to increase his troops, the navy can bypass Xiaopingjin Pass and Mengjin."

Guo Tai pondered: "General Qu, does Gan Ning think that Xiaopingjin and Mengjin will have food and fodder stored?"

"He didn't elaborate, and I didn't ask. How to fight this battle is his business."

Black Bear drank up the remaining mint water in the bowl, and poured himself another bowl. At this time, he controlled Yuan Shu to come in, carry out the pottery jar, and distribute it to the people around him for drinking.

Guo Tai could not help but turn his head to look at the gradually disappearing pottery jar. He also knew that there was no essential difference between drinking one bowl or two bowls of such a divine product.

He pondered Gan Ning's way of starting a war and analyzed, "I think it is easy for Gan Ning to start a war but difficult to end it. He has the advantage of the navy, so he may want to launch a surprise attack on Xingyang and Ao Cang."

Ao Cang was a large granary during the Qin and Han Dynasties, but it declined due to the drying up of the canal and the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty.

But no matter how it changes, Xingyang's military status will not decline significantly, so there must be a lot of food stored here.

Seeing that Black Bear did not look disgusted, Guo Tai said, "I think it is not advisable to fight Gan Ning here. Just slightly weaken Xiahou Dun's forces. This way, Cao's army will not deploy heavy troops along the Yellow River. When Liu Bei invades the Central Plains, he can easily capture most of the Qingzhou troops."

Guo Tai has been busy recently trying to turn the other Qingzhou soldiers against their will.

However, there was not enough grain stored in Guanzhong, and the Qingzhou soldiers and their families had to withdraw to Guanzhong, so the transportation volume was too large.

Black Bear listened expressionlessly, pondering the difficulty, and finally shook his head: "Not suitable this year."

Guo Tai hesitated to speak, but finally bowed and said, "Yes."

Seeing his expression, Black Bear explained: "Liu Bei will not make any great progress this year. It's not because he is incompetent, but because Cao Cao is too cruel."

The so-called Liu alliance is very fragile in the eyes of Black Bear.

There was no shortage of pragmatists under Cao Cao's command, and most of their loyalty to the Han Dynasty was superficial.

How could Cao Cao dare to employ officials from royal families on such a large scale without taking precautions?

It is possible that Yuzhou Governor Liu Zhang and his brother Liu Xun might be used by Cao Cao to plot against Liu Bei.

There is also Liu Fu, the governor of Yangzhou. Huainan is developing very fast. If we want to maintain Huainan's current rapid development, we must not develop armed forces.

Developing armed forces would occupy human and material resources. The people around the Huai River and Yangtze River regions had already been tossed around by Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, and Sun Ce and became frightened birds.

Therefore, the troops under Liu Fu's command were all recruited from vagrants, bandits, and powerful families, and were reorganized one after another. Their number was very small.

Only when facing external invasion can the people of Huainan burst out with a strong will to resist; at other times, the people of Huainan do not want to get involved in any major events.

Liu Zhang lived under Cao Cao's nose, with Xiahou Yuan on his left, Man Chong on his right, General Cao Ding above him, and Cao Hong below him.

Liu Zhang cannot be relied upon, and Liu Fu cannot be relied upon.

We can't count on the servants and scholars of Yang Biao and Geng Ji.

As long as Cao Cao acts quickly enough, the brothers Liu Zhang and Liu Xun will basically be sacrificed before the war begins.

Black Bear pondered and continued, "We cannot join forces with the majority of the Qingzhou troops for the time being. If we join forces with them, all parties in the world will surely form an alliance to attack us, and changes will also occur internally."

Is Cao Cao's lifeblood the Qiaopei folks? Or the Ruying scholars? Or the Taishan garrison commanders headed by Zang Ba?
Neither. The Qingzhou soldiers who were solely subservient to Cao Cao were Cao Cao's lifeline.

Without this armed force that dared to smash, loot, burn and destroy everything, Cao Cao would not have been able to control the situation.

Now that the hope of entering Hebei is slim, this Qingzhou army becomes more and more important to Cao Cao.

If Cao Cao swallowed up Hebei and obtained hundreds of thousands of soldiers to be reorganized, then the Qingzhou soldiers would become a reserve force after the army was reorganized and diluted.

At that time, the Qingzhou soldiers would have to act with caution.

Unlike now, the handwritten copy of "Taiping Shidao Jing" has flowed into the eastern part of Yanzhou and spread rapidly among the various military units in Qingzhou.

As for Cao Cao, he could only pretend not to know.

He doesn't dare to investigate. If he dares to take action, Black Bear will also take action and will not allow him to break up and disintegrate the Qingzhou soldiers.

Even if Black Bear did not take action here, it would be difficult for Cao Cao to quickly defeat the Qingzhou soldiers who had rebelled collectively.

The Qingzhou soldiers rebelled collectively, and the staggered labor system lost its greatest bargaining chip for suppression. All parts of Cao's army were about to rebel. Where would they find the strength to suppress the Qingzhou soldiers?

The Qingzhou soldiers also have allies. There are many powerful people and former members of the Yellow Turban Army in various parts of Qingzhou. As long as the Qingzhou soldiers rebel collectively, there will be too many forces everywhere to respond.

Black Bear looked at Guo Tai who was thinking silently: "Cao Cao and Liu Bei are both heroes of the time, they won't easily put everything on the line. What I lack is time, you stabilize the Qingzhou troops. Within three years, I will welcome them into Guanzhong. During this period, there will be no major war in the Central Plains."

"Yes, I will obey your command."

Guo Tai bowed solemnly, for he was afraid that wars would break out one after another in the Central Plains, and Cao Cao would kill with a borrowed knife and wipe out the backbone and vitality of the Qingzhou soldiers.

If you think about it carefully, you will understand that as long as Liu Qi tightens the loophole, how can Liu Bei have the strength to launch a large-scale battle alone?
(End of this chapter)