The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 566: Vision
Sima Yi did not hide his ambition towards Zhang Liao.

He came to the Western Regions not to play a supporting role for Yuan Shao and others.

However, as a mature young man, he knew very well that if he wanted to succeed, he must learn to be patient.

Heroes create the times.

But even as powerful as the King of Western Chu was still defeated by the trend of the times.

Tian Ze's success was certainly due to his own strong strength, but forbearance also played a big role.

If Tian Ze had shown his fangs from the beginning, he would have been attacked by everyone.

In human growth, innate qualities are certainly important, but the influence of the acquired environment is equally huge.

Just like genius is made up of 99% perspiration and 1% talent.

That one percent of talent plays an almost decisive role, but without ninety-nine percent of hard work, there is still no way to succeed.

Both are necessary but not sufficient conditions.

Sima Yi's growing environment in this life is very different from his original historical trajectory.

Even if it was Sima Yi in history, if Cao Pi and Cao Rui had not lived too short a lifespan and his own lifespan had not been too long, he might have ended up being a loyal minister.

It was still the times that shaped him and pushed him forward.

The Great Qi of this era was extremely stable. The strength of the powerful families within it was not enough to cause any threat. There were also many capable ministers and generals, so there was no problem of a lack of successors.

Without an environment where disloyalty can grow, there will be no crooked ambitions.

Sima Yi today is still ambitious by nature, but that ambition is only to stand shoulder to shoulder with Zhuge Liang.

As for going a step further, with Tian Ze's prestige and favor, the ideology of Da Qi was deeply rooted from top to bottom.

As long as Tian Ze's descendants don't do too many things that anger God and people, the continuation of two or three hundred years will not be a problem at least.

The foundation of Da Qi is really too solid.

Sima Yi had no possibility at all, so naturally he had no idea at all.

Therefore, Zhang Liao did not think there was anything wrong with Sima Yi's naked ambition.

There are too many people under the command of Da Qi who hold the same idea.

Who doesn’t want to be rewarded with the credit of destroying a country and be granted a title of nobility or prime minister?
In contrast, those who are content with the status quo are more dangerous. Without the motivation to move forward, they will naturally focus on maintaining the present and fighting among themselves.

"Your Majesty has promised Kushan to the noble family. South Asia has been basically pacified now. I'm afraid we won't have a chance to attack Sindhu. What are you going to do?"

Sima Yi said calmly: "There is no need to fight for the territory of our Great Qi. Your Majesty has promised Kushan to the noble families, and Your Majesty has promised Anxi to the four kings. We should obey."

"However, the areas of Khwarazm, Kangju, and Northern Xiongnu are not within the scope of your Majesty's promise."

"And the geography and location of this place are so critical."

Zhang Liao's eyes gleamed when he heard this.

"Zhongda, what an insight!"

As a commander, knowing the terrain is a basic quality.

When it comes to a strategic commander like Zhang Liao, his understanding and mastery of the terrain is even more profound.

After the map of the entire world was spread out, combined with his understanding of Da Qi's water network and railway plans, Zhang Liao had sufficient understanding of Da Qi's future territorial layout and defense characteristics.

The Kushan Empire will not be easy to control for decades, unless there is a qualitative breakthrough in water network and railway technology, or the natural barrier of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is opened up.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Tian Ze had to adopt the feudal system for Kushan and hand it over to the powerful families for management.

However, decades later, the powerful aristocratic families have become deeply rooted in Kushan. Even if the military transportation capacity is sufficient by then, can Kushan be easily brought back under control?

"In the long run, this place of Kushan is a huge hidden danger. Especially from a geographical point of view, the threat to the 'big granary' of Sindhu is too great, and it is almost impossible to defend it."

"Although the Western Regions are adjacent to the Kushan Empire, the borders are also natural barriers, making it difficult to deploy troops. Attacking the Kushan Empire from the positions of Khwarezm and Kangju is the best option."

"Therefore, if we plan to recover Kushan in the future, we must manage Khwarezm and Kangju in advance, just in case."

"Moreover, it can also be used to threaten the resting place."

At this point, Sima Yi looked at the four-nation coalition in front of him with a gloomy gaze: "My kings, you are now indispensable allies. But when your majesty is gone, or after a hundred years, you will definitely be a strong enemy."

"Some things must be prepared early."

Zhang Liao couldn't help but sigh in admiration when he heard this: "Zhongda has a long-term vision, he is really an extraordinary person!"

At this moment, he couldn't help but deeply admire the young scholar in front of him.

He had only considered the terrain of this place and the coordination with the defense line in the Western Regions, but Sima Yi's thinking was deeper and broader than he had imagined.

He knew very well that what Sima Yi said was not groundless worry or fantasy.

Those who do not plan for eternity are not qualified to plan for the present. Many things are just not laid out on the surface, but in fact, preparations have already begun.

There are too many experiences and lessons to learn from China's history.

When Tianze started to divide the land again, it meant that he would have to go through the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period again.

This is an inevitable trend of the times and it is difficult to change it by human will.

The wars in the Spring and Autumn Period seem like child's play today. Everyone was so pedantic and had no idea how to adapt when fighting.

However, after a deep understanding of the productivity situation and background of the Spring and Autumn Period, we will find that the reason for this, in addition to being influenced by Zhou rituals and political and cultural factors, was more of a necessity formed by the times.

Because at that time, there was no shortage of land, but population. Moreover, the productivity level was too low and the economy was too fragile. Once a war broke out, the risk was too great.

The so-called territory was not important to the princes at that time.

If too many people are killed in a war, then victory will be meaningless.

If you really calculate it, you will find that fighting is not as fast as farming. Fighting will only make you poorer.

There is never a shortage of smart people in this world, but whenever the benefits of war outweigh development, there will be people who have evil intentions.

There were certainly reasons why Sun Tzu was able to pioneer his own school, but to a large extent it was also because the population and productivity of various countries at that time had reached a certain level.

Similarly, the current situation in Da Qi must be the same.

Under Tian Ze's leadership, a pattern of seven powers dominating the world outside of Da Qi was bound to take shape.

Due to population and distance issues, there will probably not be any major disputes within a hundred years.

However, when the population increases to a certain level and resources are in short supply, and the income from plundering exceeds development, it will inevitably lead to the emergence of a new "Warring States Period".

As the civil and military officials of the Great Qi, they naturally had to make preparations in advance.

(End of this chapter)