Ye Feng was naturally unaware of the county magistrate of Ji Wu's thoughts.
He was in a quandary.
Logically speaking, if one wanted to recruit talent, Yingchuan was an area that could not be bypassed.
Whether it was Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, or the Eight Dragons of the Xun family, none of them had truly emerged yet.
Ye Feng was confident.
As long as he personally went there, he was sure to recruit a few, whether they were big cats or small cats.
But deep down, he still didn't want to go!
Why?
The influential families?
Not entirely!
The reason was that most of the strategists in Yingchuan were from influential families, or rather, most strategists in the late Han Dynasty were from influential families.
The reason was quite practical.
For the children of poor families, let alone reading, it was good enough to survive and grow up in the late Han Dynasty.
Strictly speaking, these strategists of the late Han Dynasty were all from influential families.
The only difference was that some families had declined, while others had risen with the tide.
But no matter which it was, they could all be called influential families.
If Ye Feng truly did not cooperate with influential families at all, then he could not even have Chen Gong.
Because the Chen family could be considered a prominent clan.
So,
Ye Feng's dilemma was not about whether they were from influential families or not, but about forming factions.
He certainly did not want his subordinates to end up in a situation like Yuan Shao's in history.
The Yingchuan faction and the Jizhou faction fighting to the death, to the point where Yuan Shao didn't know whose advice to listen to.
After all,
The suggestions they put forward were generally acceptable.
But in terms of specific benefits, they would definitely lean towards their own people.
And Yuan Shao?
In order to achieve some kind of so-called balance, he would adopt one suggestion from here and one from there.
And in the end?
He created a monstrosity!
Everyone says Yuan Shao in history was easily swayed, but was that really the case?
Some advice you believe to be correct, but who knows until the battle results are out?
Or,
How could Yuan Shao have imagined that his subordinates were full of spies?
Those influential families, in a flattering way, were hedging their bets, but in a less flattering way, they were double agents.
Do you really think there are so many coincidences?
That was just influential families weighing the pros and cons and choosing the most suitable warlord.
What does most suitable mean?
It meant someone who was completely dependent on them, someone who would die without them.
Otherwise, how could they expand their family's influence?
It was like how some people in later generations watching the Three Kingdoms would inevitably ask a question in their minds.
If Zhuge Liang was so brilliant, why didn't he help Old Cao complete unification faster?
Was it really because Liu Bei was of Han imperial blood?
Not necessarily!
If he were truly loyal to the Han Dynasty, he should have found a way to help the young emperor escape hardship, rather than supporting Liu Bei, who had no connection to him.
To put it bluntly!
The fundamental reason he didn't go to Old Cao's side was that Old Cao's side was already full.
In other words, he was not indispensable.
Whether Zhuge Liang stayed or left, Old Cao's side would continue to operate normally.
It might even operate faster than before!
This was the same reason Guo Jia didn't go to Yuan Shao, but instead turned to Old Cao.
Did he really see that Yuan Shao was not fit to be emperor?
Ridiculous!
If they were to compare political strategies, Old Cao might not even be Yuan Shao's match.
The reason for leaving,
Was because Guo Jia clearly realized that even if Yuan Shao succeeded, he would have no place among the founding heroes.
And why were they (the strategists) so fond of Old Cao?
Because Old Cao lacked connections!
Or rather,
Compared to people with aristocratic backgrounds like Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, Old Cao's starting point was much lower.
Whether it was the Cao family or the Xiahou family, they could at most be arrogant in their hometown.
Away from their hometown?
They were no match for anyone!
Didn't you see that when Old Cao, with a few thousand young men recruited by his family, confidently pursued Dong Zhuo, he was beaten so badly by Xu Rong that he was almost whipped like a dog?
Perhaps in a one-on-one fight, a few people from the Xiahou family and the Cao family might be quite strong.
But in a war in the cold weapon era, who would give you so many opportunities for one-on-one duels?
Don't be brainwashed by television dramas!
It was the same as when Ye Feng first met the three brothers Liu, Guan, and Zhang.
He had originally thought they would come to fight him, Ye Feng, in a grand display of strength.
The result?
The three brothers saw how strong he was and directly brought their men to attack him together.
Simply unsportsmanlike!
If his army hadn't arrived in time, even a peerless warrior like Ba Wang would have died from exhaustion.
Therefore,
The reason Old Cao received so much help from strategists and generals was not that he possessed the aura of an emperor, but that he was sufficiently weak in the eyes of those influential families.
It was the same as the fate of Sun Jian, the "Tiger of Jiangdong," and Sun Ce, the "Young Hegemon," who died prematurely.
Oh?
After a battle, no other important figures died, yet these father and son were eliminated?
And these father and son were both meritorious officials who laid the foundation for the Sun family and expanded their territory.
Do you believe it was a coincidence?
If the Sun family of Jiangdong hadn't lost these two father and son, would they have been confined to that small corner of Jiangdong?
But influential families didn't care about these things!
You were clearly about to become uncontrollable and were even planning to deal with us.
If not you, then who?
As for the Sun family?
Even if they knew the truth, there was nothing they could do at this point.
Could they really fight until both sides were destroyed?
After all,
Although the influential families acted ruthlessly, they didn't completely cut off all ties, did they?
Jiangdong was still in the hands of the Sun family!
Therefore,
Sun Jian, the "Tiger of Jiangdong," and Sun Ce, the "Young Hegemon," made an early exit for inexplicably reasons.
This was the way influential families operated.
They could support you during your low points, even help you reach high positions.
But you couldn't come back to settle scores with us!
We worked so hard, spending money and resources, to support you. What was it all for?
Was it not for this very outcome?
But you, on the other hand,
You reaped all the benefits, and then turned around to find us too powerful to control?
No one would be happy about that!
In this regard, Old Cao did a good job. He didn't settle scores with the influential families until he became king and hegemon.
Because, like the former Han court, he believed in the joint rule of the emperor and the scholar-officials.
That was why his Cao family was eventually replaced by the Sima family.
*Cough cough*!
I don't know if Old Cao would immediately take up his sword and butcher those influential families if he knew what happened in later generations.
Of course!
Ye Feng, who had been thinking so much, was still in a dilemma.
What he worried about was that the Yingchuan faction would unite and form an antagonistic relationship with the other strategists under him.
But the Yingchuan faction was truly tempting!
Whether it was the "Ghostly Talent" Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao, or the tragically short-lived Xi Zhicai.
The two of them could be said to have laid a solid foundation for Old Cao...
Huh?!
Thinking of Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia, who also died young, Ye Feng couldn't help but gasp.
He seemed to have discovered a blind spot?
The Xi family?
Not well-known!
They were either from declining families or from small families, otherwise they wouldn't have been the first to defect to Old Cao.
The Guo family?
Not well-known either!
From the fact that some people classified Guo Jia as a commoner, it could be seen that he was definitely not from a prominent family.
Then...
Recalling the family backgrounds of Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai, Ye Feng's eyes widened.
Was there really no connection between them?
Both of them died when Old Cao was becoming more powerful, which seemed abnormal.
Either,
Old Cao felt he was powerful enough and started a purge of his strategists.
Or,
Those influential families felt they were powerful enough and eliminated them to take their place.
It was a pity,
That the newly appointed strategists couldn't shoulder the responsibility, leading to Old Cao's repeated failures.
But from either perspective, Old Cao should have been aware of this problem.
Otherwise,
He wouldn't have been crying and reminiscing about Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai when he was in dire straits.
"No way!"
The more he thought about it, the more troubled Ye Feng became. He decisively made up his mind.
Even for the sake of his own strategists' safety, he couldn't touch the Yingchuan faction.
Too terrifying!
He couldn't possibly send people to guard his strategists all the time, could he?
What if they seized an opportunity to strike? Even if they got their revenge in the end, what would be the use?
With this thought,
Ye Feng, who had already made up his mind, suddenly stopped hesitating.
Strategists were still needed!
But he would try to recruit civilian strategists like Chen Gong and absolutely not touch the Yingchuan faction.
Besides,
With the summon cards from the system, the strategists he summoned wouldn't be any worse than those from Yingchuan, would they?
What's more,
What he needed more now was talent for governing the country, not military strategists.
Why?
Because in the face of absolute strength, any scheme or stratagem was just empty talk.
As for Old Cao's defeat at Red Cliffs?
To be honest!
Even now, Ye Feng felt that this part was somewhat exaggerated, because it was simply unrealistic!
Hundreds of thousands of troops!
Even if all the wooden ships were connected, what kind of wood used for shipbuilding was so easily ignited?
Not to mention they were floating on the water.
Unless you doused every ship with kerosene before setting fire, it wouldn't be enough.
Even then, it wasn't guaranteed that they would all catch fire.
Come on!
If you were to transport hundreds of thousands of troops by ship, do you know how many large ships would be needed?
Fire ships couldn't be too many. Even if they really caught fire, they would only burn the front part.
During that time,
Even if they used their teeth to bite and their hands to pry, the soldiers behind them could break the chains!
After all, the chains were made of iron, but the ships were made of wood!
"Sigh~!"
Rubbing his slightly aching head, Ye Feng felt that he couldn't continue thinking.
Anyway, he understood one thing!
Romance was just a novel. You could read it, but you absolutely shouldn't try to imitate it!
Otherwise, you'd be fooled into becoming a fool!
"My lord~!"
Just as Ye Feng was withdrawing his thoughts, a Jin Yi Wei suddenly rushed over.
"Hmm?"
Looking at the Jin Yi Wei with a somewhat displeased expression, Ye Feng asked curiously:
"Didn't you say last time that you found Dian Wei? Could it be that fellow ran away again?"
"Not at all!"
The Jin Yi Wei scout shook his head, his face showing a bit of shame as he knelt on one knee.
"Reporting to my lord, last time we were only concerned with Dian Wei, and rushed to report as soon as we received the news."
"However..."
"According to the latest news I've received, there are quite a few rumors about us within Ji Wu county."
"Rumors?"
Ye Feng smiled indifferently upon hearing this, and waved his hand:
"A few rumors are not worth mentioning. I believe those officials will help this governor handle them!"
"By the way?"
"What are they mainly spreading? Are they also saying that this governor is a rebel?"
"This..."
The Jin Yi Wei scout trembled upon hearing this, and his face instantly turned pale.
This was exactly what he feared!
He had been struggling with how to answer if his lord asked.
He hadn't expected...
"Hmm?"
Ye Feng sensed that something was wrong, and narrowed his eyes, his tone slightly stern:
"What exactly did they say? Repeat it to this governor word for word!"
"Yes, yes..."
After glancing at Ye Feng's expression, the Jin Yi Wei scout cautiously said:
"They said you are a lecherous devil..."
"Hmm?"
"They also said you like, really like married women... and directly killed their husbands!"
"Hmm?!"
"They, they also said you, they also said you have an ugly appearance and want to eat raw meat every day..."
"Enough!"
Before the Jin Yi Wei scout could finish speaking, Ye Feng, his face ashen, ordered:
"All troops!"
"Ride at full speed to Ji Wu county. I want to see who is tired of living!"
"Set off!"