In reality, this was precisely the case. Yuan Shao had initiated and participated in the Praises Assembly numbering in the hundreds of thousands, but after the defeat in the Battle of Guandu, there were less than a hundred thousand survivors left.
This was only the loss of military strength on paper. Apart from the loss of military strength, the Liegeman population and various production targets under Yuan Shao's jurisdiction had also suffered tremendous losses.
Even though it was the bitter winter season and agricultural production was basically at a standstill, handicrafts and commerce were still going on normally. After the troops crossed the border and occupied the southern part of Ji Province, the normal lives of the Liegeman had already been destroyed, to say nothing of production and the like.
In reality, the most serious situation was still the Liegeman in the southern part of Ji Province who had been displaced from their homes. They had practically lost all of their means of livelihood. Even though Yuan Shao wasn't so foolish as to turn a blind eye to the Liegeman like his brother Yuan Shu, the large number of refugees still created a tremendous burden for the entire Ji Province.
If Ji Province's situation was already like this, then Cao Cao's situation in Si Province didn't even need to be mentioned.
Right now, Cao Cao still hadn't exposed himself, but it was very likely that he had already returned to Luoyang Imperial City. This was because all signs indicated that the entire Si Li Province was still under Cao Cao's control. The mobilization of military forces and the like had become orderly.
This was especially true after the fall of Mountain Pass and Mountain Pass. Cao Cao should have already understood the situation. All of Cao Cao's troops in Si Li Province had been transferred to a few cities around Luoyang Imperial City, their military forces shrinking.
Originally, Yang Rui only wanted to open up the Hulao Pass – Mountain Pass line to establish a foundation for trade and the exchange of various goods. He didn't have any plans to continue expanding in Si Li Province. However, after Cao Cao withdrew his military forces, Yang Rui also took over Yangwu County Town and Yuanwu County Town.
Compared to Mountain Pass, Yangwu County Town was in the southeast and Yuanwu County Town was in the northwest. Together, they formed a triangle and weren't too far from each other. Yang Rui didn't mind stationing some troops in Yangwu and Yuanwu Counties.
Under such circumstances, the Hulao Pass – Mountain Pass line was firmly under Yang Rui's control. Compared to when Cao Cao first took over Hulao Pass, there had already been an earth-shattering change.
And the time that this change had occurred was only a few game years. It could be considered as proof of Yang Rui's gradual rise.
After Yang Rui took over Yangwu County Town and Yuanwu County Town, he didn't immediately stop attacking Cao Cao. However, he mainly focused on cavalry raids and didn't continue attacking cities.
The purpose of this was very simple. On one hand, Yang Rui needed to continue exerting pressure on Cao Cao and weaken Cao Cao's strength as much as possible. He also needed to show the existence of his faction to the Liegeman in Si Li Province. On the other hand, Yang Rui also needed to earn plot points in preparation for exchanging them for actual rewards.
This stage spanned a very long time, almost lasting for most of the winter in the 200th year of the game era. Including the Ji Province and Si Li Province, they had always been in turmoil. The Battle of Guandu branch storyline had also not been deemed to have ended by the system.
During this time, Yang Rui didn't need to personally participate in everything. He only needed to make some overall arrangements. This also freed up some time to deal with the various matters within his jurisdiction.
In the middle of winter, even within Yang Rui's Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and Yanzhou areas, production was basically in a state of stagnation. The so-called matters within his jurisdiction were mainly the production of a few workshops, which mainly included the production of ships, vehicles, mechanical items, and other equipment, as well as the production of traditional crafts such as wine.
Take the production of ships as an example. A series of shipyards in the north were already in a frozen state. However, this did not affect the processing of parts in the shipyards. Only the assembly process was left. When the ice melted in spring, the construction of various types of ships would be rapid.
In comparison, the shipyards in the south of Xuzhou were operating normally. They produced various types of warships and transport ships, which were continuously used in battle and transport.
Overall, although it was the harsh winter season that occurred once in a hundred years, Yang Rui's shipbuilding industry did not fall behind by much. In particular, the preparation of parts in most shipyards could already be expected to be completed in the spring of next year.
As for traditional crafts such as wine making, there was no need to talk about them in detail. Originally, they were less affected by the season. Coupled with the promotion of workshop production, all kinds of raw materials and production conditions were incomparably abundant. Naturally, there was an endless supply of products.
It was worth mentioning here that after Yang Rui observed the trade with the Nihon civilization, he seemed to have noticed some problems and deliberately increased the trade of wine.
The actual situation was that Yang Rui suddenly thought of the influence of wine culture. The wine culture in the Great Han region had a long history. In fact, it was not worse than tea and sword in terms of cultural transmission. As a remedial measure, Yang Rui did not hesitate to increase the export of wine in this area.
In the trade with the Nihon civilization, the sales of wine increased more and more. Even though Yang Rui raised the price of wine to three times the price of the same wine in the three civilizations, the sales still continued to increase.
Returning to the topic of winter production, Yang Rui's territory did not only include Qingzhou, Yanzhou, and Xuzhou. At the same time, it also included the newly discovered Yizhou and the Shrimp Barbarian Land that Yang Rui had already occupied.
Under the cold winter season, the wood production of the Shrimp Barbarian Island did not decrease by much. It was still methodically harvesting. On the other hand, the temperature in Yizhou was much higher. Many things that could not be done in the north were still being carried out, basically maintaining a state of full production.
Apart from taking care of various matters, Yang Rui also tried his best to spend time with his family. Among them, Zhang Ning and Han Dai's two children were the people that Yang Rui took care of the most. At the same time, he also took care of Huang Wudie, who had suffered some superficial injuries in the Battle of Guandu. He also took the opportunity to visit his adopted wife.
In truth, Yang Rui did not have much free time. Although the war did not require Yang Rui to spend too much energy, Yang Rui still had to consider how to deal with some regions, such as Hanoi Prefecture and Yuzhou.
The original people of Hanoi Prefecture, Chen Gong and the others, had already escaped to who knows where. Their general direction was towards Bingzhou in the northwest, which was the hometown of Lu Bu and the others.
As for the already flattened Hanoi Prefecture, Yang Rui was prepared to keep it for his own use. However, how to occupy it and who to send to build it and garrison it was still not a small problem.
At the same time, there was also the original Yuan Shu territory that was in a state of disorder. Ever since the Excellent Alliance, the Yuzhou army had already gathered together, but right now, it was still in a state of disorder.
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