Chapter 293 Yun Chang steals home
On May 23, Cao Cao inspected the area around Wankou.

Because of the encounter with a pack of tigers during his last tour, Cao Cao led more than 500 chariots and cavalry this time.

The vehicles are all equipped with crossbows. If a group of tigers dare to come, these crossbows alone will be enough to deal with them.

When he arrived in Luyang, he saw a large number of rice fields in the south and east of the city.

At this moment, the rice fields were green, and just looking at them from afar made him feel longing.

When they got closer, Lu Zhao led more than a hundred military officers and guards to wait on the roadside: "I, Lu Zhao, greet you, sir."

"General Lu, please stand up and speak."

Cao Cao pointed to the endless rice fields and asked: "How much rice and wheat will be planted this year?"

"My Lord, we have more than 23,000 mu of winter wheat, and the yield is 62,000 dan. We have 37,000 mu of rice fields, and the predicted yield is 180,000 dan. Compared to last year, the yield is about 20% lower."

Lu Zhao answered carefully that the surrounding area was really suitable for farming.

Things almost went wrong last year because Liu Bei didn’t have enough troops.

So Xiahou Dun advised him to reduce the scale of planting, but they were all cultivated land, so how much could it be reduced?
Cao Cao felt a little disappointed after listening to this. He thought there would be 70,000 to 80,000 acres of rice fields here, but now there is only half of what he expected.

The cost of transporting grain from Luyang to Nanyang is very low.

He had already made up his mind to grab Liu Bei's neck and beat him to death. If he couldn't kill him, he would break Liu Bei's legs.

Cao Cao thought for a moment and asked, "If we send more troops to garrison, can we cultivate 100,000 acres of paddy fields next year?"

"I will do the math for you."

Lu Zhao squatted on the ground, grabbed a stone and drew and calculated back and forth. Cao Cao was also very patient.

Lu Zhao changed direction and squatted down to calculate again before standing up: "In July, if we can get 5,000 garrison troops, next year we will be able to cultivate 50,000 mu of winter wheat, 30,000 mu of spring wheat, and 90,000 mu of rice between Luyang, Kunyang, Chengfu, and Yangrenju. We can also plant millet and other crops on some sloping land, which can also reach 30,000 to 50,000 mu."

Cao Cao paced back and forth, then looked at the road sign: "At the beginning of July, I will give you 5,000 garrison troops. Next year, not counting millet, sorghum, and beans, I want a total of 200,000 acres of wheat and rice!"

Lu Zhao calculated with a frown that there were now 80,000 mu of rice fields and 50,000 mu of wheat fields, and the surrounding abandoned fields had been dredged and ditches and ponds had been rebuilt.

This autumn, he commanded 2,000 men from his headquarters and 5,000 garrison troops to cultivate the winter wheat fields so that they could be planted in mid-September.

Then this winter, the canals were dredged and ponds were built one after another; when spring came, water was diverted to irrigate the fields, drowning all kinds of weeds in the ground.

After the rice seeds are grown, they can be sown.

While raising seedlings, you can also plant spring wheat, millet, sorghum and soybeans.

Lu Zhao looked embarrassed, but still gritted his teeth and said: "I will fight to the death, but Liu Xuande is preparing for war, and his troops are no less than 20,000. I am worried that Liu Xuande will send troops to sabotage."

"No problem. I will gather the army at Wankou in July."

After Cao Cao finished speaking, he turned around and got on the carriage. Lu Zhao bowed deeply, but he never expected that Cao Cao's chariot covered with a green umbrella would turn a corner and head south.

Anyway, the inspection has been completed, and Cao Cao is short on time, so there is no need for him to go to Luyang City to see anything.

It is also impossible to put the heavy burden of the military settlement on Lu Zhao alone.

If we want to maintain a fierce offensive, we must carry out more military settlement work around Wankou.

As long as we can capture Nanyang, in the interests of the imperial court, the four counties in southern Jing can be conquered.

If Nanyang and the four counties of Jingnan are taken, Liu Qi will be left with only the isolated Nan County, and Huang Zu's Jiangxia County will be surrounded on three sides.

After getting rid of Liu Qi and taking Jingzhou, wouldn't Yizhou be easy to conquer with just a simple order?
Even Sun Quan of Jiangdong would be forced by internal and external situations to at least bring along the civil and military officials of Jiangdong as hostages.

After the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao hesitated twice on whether to attack Hebei first or to take Jingzhou first.

This time he would never hesitate.

If Jingzhou is not eaten or destroyed sooner or later, it will be eaten by black bears.

Just as Cao Cao turned back to Ye County, a messenger from Xudu caught up with the chariot and handed over an urgent letter from military advisor Xun You. Cao Cao opened it and smiled as he looked at the silk book in his hand: "Good, the thief who stole the valley has finally retreated."

At this moment, in the western suburbs of Xudu.

More than a hundred Leopard Riders were marching in formation along the road for training, and the patrolling soldiers did not dare to stop them.

Guan Yu was wearing black leather armor, holding a spear and riding his horse slowly.

The Leopard Cavalry consists of twelve riders in a row, and three rows form a small formation.

Guan Yu personally supervised the training of a small formation, in which the leopard cavalry moved forward and stopped from time to time.

Whenever they stopped, Guan Yu would step forward and give instructions to several of the knights.

If someone made the same mistake repeatedly, Guan Yu would not have such patience and would raise his whip and whip the other person's back.

Anyway, I'm wearing armor, so even if it hurts when I'm whipped by a whip, I won't be hurt.

At most, the force would penetrate through the armor, leaving a clear area of ​​silt.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are now the darlings of Cao Cao. The Leopard Cavalry is a light cavalry, and its tactics are similar to those of the Wuhuan, Xiongnu, and Xianbei cavalry; the Tiger Cavalry is a heavy cavalry, a type of assault cavalry.

In terms of equipment, the armor of the light cavalry such as the Leopard Cavalry is actually similar to that of the Hu cavalry, or even better.

Therefore, the so-called cavalry tactics of the Leopard Cavalry are just one type. The Leopard Cavalry is more suitable for detours, ambushes, and decapitations.

The Tiger Cavalry is somewhat bulky, with both men and horses equipped, and lacks tactical mobility.

In terms of status, the Tiger Cavalry are selected from the hundred generals in the army. Each of them has rich fighting experience, mature combat mentality and better patience.

The Leopard Cavalry are the bravest in the army, and are selected from elite veterans.

After losing dozens of Tiger Cavalry, Cao Cao could not eat for more than ten days; but as for the Leopard Cavalry, as long as there were enough horses and equipment, they could be replenished at any time.

Therefore, Leopard Cavalry is a consumable among Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

Even so, the Leopard Cavalry was not something that the Xudu Suburban Guards could manage.

There were only a hundred or so Leopard Cavalrymen anyway, and the guards of the generals along the way basically left them alone. No one was stupid enough to rush up to check the military books about the training outside the camp.

Cavalry training is definitely more suitable to be conducted outdoors.

It’s no big deal if the other party leaves the camp for training and walks along the official road for a while.
In this way, more than a hundred Leopard Riders gradually marched to the vicinity of a manor.

An officer sent by Zhang Liao pointed to the small manor on the north side of the road and said, "Grand Marshal, this is one of Cao Gong's outer houses. Madam Du and her son are raised there."

The man pointed to a slightly larger manor on the south side of the road and said, "This is Madam Yin's manor. There are many servants and guards there."

After hearing this, Black Bear looked at Guan Yu and said, "General Yunchang, how about we each take one?"

"can."

Guan Yu responded and immediately reined in his horse and headed towards the Du family manor. The Hedong soldiers he recruited followed him on horseback.

But Guan Yu's horse was fast, and just as the armed servants of the Du family manor were about to close the gate, they saw Guan Yu rushing to the door and shouting: "I am Guan Yu from Hedong!"

At this time, he was more or less embarrassed to call himself Marquis of Han Shou Ting.

The servants were so scared that they turned around and ran away. One of them struggled to stand up with weak legs and quickly opened the closed door again.

Upon seeing this, Guan Yu waved his spear and his knights rode into the gate.

The black bear stood where he was and looked up at Mrs. Yin's manor.

More than ten meters in the air, Lu Bu rode his horse freely and soon countless servants in Madam Yin's manor ran out through the gate, vying for the first place.

(End of this chapter)