The World of Yellow Sky

Chapter 834 Finding Another Path (7K9)

The Han court was full of uproar because of the reform, but the Ming court changed its policy because of financial problems and began to shrink in an all-round way.

The strange peace between the two courts of Han and Ming is still maintained, but both sides are very clear that once the other party regains its strength, it will definitely destroy the other party at all costs.

The king's industry is not partial, and the world must be unified.

There is only one China in the world, and there can only be one China.

The First World War that will determine the orthodoxy of China is brewing.

It's not just that Liu Xie is unwilling to live in a corner, Xu An is also unwilling to let Hanting continue to develop.

There are only two outcomes of reform, one is success and the other is failure.

To be successful is to become stronger, to be rich and powerful, and to rejuvenate the destiny.

If you fail, you will fall into the abyss, step into purgatory, and perish forever.

Without the Eagle Wolf Guard's intelligence network, Xu An didn't know what was going on inside the Han Ting.

But Xu An knew very well that at a critical moment, the enemy should not be given any chance.

As long as the Hanting has a [-]% chance of succeeding in the reform, it should not be given a chance.

Therefore, Xu An ordered a truce from all sides and a comprehensive contraction, and ordered Jia Xu to strike and truce.

Although Wei Ting was destroyed, it left enough food and grass in Jizhou and Qingzhou, enough to support a large-scale southern expedition of the Ming army.

The reform of the Han court has been implemented for a year, and the eagle wolf guard has not been idle during this year, and has been constantly infiltrating the Han court.

Although the strength of the Eagle Wolf Guard in Hanting has not yet returned to its original level, the Eagle Wolf Guard has still made some achievements. After all, the Eagle Wolf Guard is bigger than the Embroidered Emissary.

Moreover, the Eagle Wolf Guard established under the guidance of Xu An adopts scientific methods to train and train new recruits. The average quality of the Eagle Wolf Guard Tiqi has actually far surpassed that of the Embroidered Emissary.

The previous defeat was due to underestimating the enemy, but this time the Eagle Wolf Guards were far more cautious than before, and because of this, the Eagle Wolf Guards' infiltration was limited to the three border states of Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Jingzhou.

Xu An no longer knew nothing about Han Ting like a blind man like the previous year.

The intelligence network of Yuzhou Yingwei has not yet been rebuilt, and there are only two or three single lines left, and there will be a long period of time between each delivery of information.

After all, the center of the Han court is now in Yuzhou, and the Yuzhou Embroidered Clothes Emissary is now standing on the stage again through reforms.

The Embroidered Cloth Messenger's control over Yuzhou was the highest among all the prefectures. Under his supervision, it was actually not easy for the Eagle Guard to deliver one or two pieces of information every few months.

And among the few messages delivered, there are a few particularly important ones.

In the government office of Ye City, Xu Anduan sat in the first seat, frowning, looking at the documents in his hand.

Xu You and Jia Xu were sitting on either side, one on the left and the other on the right, and they were also reviewing the documents carefully.

Zhang Ji, who was wearing a purple eagle suit, stood in the hall and bowed slightly, waiting for Xu An's inquiry.

What Xu An, Jia Xu, and Xu You held in their hands was the news that the Eagle Wolf Guard tried their best to send from Yuzhou. Like the last time, it took several months before it was finally delivered to Jizhou, but this was enough.

"Nine-rank official law?"

Xu An put down the document in his hand, he just glanced at it briefly, and understood the content of the reform.

The Nine-rank Official Personnel Law is actually the Nine-rank Zhongzheng system. The implementation of the Nine-rank Zhongzheng system did solve the problem of lack of standards in the selection of officials under the procuratorate system, and clarified the administration of officials at that time.

On the other hand, it also eased the tension between imperial power and aristocratic families to a certain extent.

It's just that Liu Xie actually used the Ninth Rank Official Law as a bargaining chip in exchange for the support of the aristocratic family.

Liu Xie's move will undoubtedly accelerate the change of the Ninth Grade Zhongzheng System.

The Jiupin Zhongzheng System will gradually complete the transformation into a powerful family, and eventually become an election tool for the powerful and noble families.

The establishment of the clan system will make Jiupin Zhongzheng a political ornament.

Zhongzheng rank is only based on blood lineage, the higher the family rank is, the higher rank is. At this time, it is enough to distinguish between high and low, Zhongzheng rank is just a routine.

As a result, the situation that the upper class has no poor family and the lower class has no noble family; the public has the public, and the Qing family has the noble.

The nine-rank Zhongzheng system did have a positive impact in the early stage, but after the corruption later, it made the aristocratic family aristocratic, political aristocratization, and the channel for the bottom to rise was directly cut in half.

The decline of the Jin Dynasty is precisely because of the corrupt and incompetent Jiupin Zhongzheng system.

"Exchange of interests, political compromise..."

Scanning the documents on the table, Xu An already understood what happened in the Han court.

"Drinking poison to quench thirst?"

Just looking at the strength on paper, the Han army is now stronger.

After Qu Yi's original more than [-] soldiers were streamlined and eliminated, only [-] remained, and the rest of the soldiers were arranged to enter the garrison.

The Qingzhou Han army has more than [-] people, the Yanzhou Han army has more than [-] people, and the Jingzhou Han army has more than [-] people, a total of [-] people.

The [-] army is already a terrifying number. When Sun Jian was there, the Han army was only [-] at its peak. Today's Han army seems to have returned to its former heyday.

However, this is just data on paper.

If the outcome of the war can be determined by the data on paper, then the coaches of the two sides can directly compare the data with the paper, and then decide whether to win or lose.

The data on the paper is ultimately floating on the paper.

Talking about war on paper finally feels shallow, knowing that this matter must be bowed.

Xu An turned around and retrieved the situation map hanging in the hall.

On the banks of the Yellow River, although the Han army failed in the Northern Expedition and began to fully shrink its forces, the Ming army has maintained a considerable force under Xu An's order, and has been guarding against possible raids.

Even though he had the advantage, Xu An still did not relax.

Now the main force of the Ming army has been concentrated in Jizhou, which is Yecheng.

The fourth battalion of military soldiers, the fourth battalion of elite soldiers, and the fallen camp, the yellow angels, a total of [-] infantry, are all in the suburbs of Yecheng and are being treated seriously.

The Xiaoqi Battalion, Xiliang Battalion, Shanggu Battalion, and Bingzhou Battalion, with a total of more than [-] cavalry troops, were also stationed along the north bank of the Yellow River, guarding the Han army on the south bank.

A total of [-] infantry and cavalry are much smaller than the Han army in Yanzhou
The Wuxiang camp had already evacuated from the Western Regions at this time, and had arrived in Chang'an at this time, and was rushing from Chang'an to Yecheng.

The war in the Western Regions was basically over, and three-quarters of the territory of Dawan Kingdom was brought into the sphere of influence of the Protectorate of the Western Regions.

The other quarter was occupied by the Guishuang Empire. With the support of the Guishuang Empire, the prince of Dawan ascended to the throne and re-established the Dawan Kingdom.

Guo Tai abolished the name of the country of Dawan, moved the people of Dawan to the east to the interior of the Western Regions Protectorate, and moved west to the people of the countries of the Western Regions to Dawan.

He also built a city at the bordering main road, named "Anxi", relocated [-] Chinese people, and [-] Beifu troops entered Anxi City as a barrier.

Jia Xu took the first step, and now he has arrived in Yecheng.

The Wuxiang Battalion had a serious reduction in personnel. Nearly a thousand soldiers died due to various reasons, leaving only more than [-] soldiers.

Part of it is due to the war, and the other part is due to natural environmental factors such as water and soil reasons and long journeys.

The Wuxiang Battalion and the Xiaoqi Battalion are the two most elite cavalry battalions in the Ming army. Their weapons are excellent and their armor is tough, which can be compared with an extraordinary army.

Because of the workshop, the steel filling method has begun to be popularized, and the craftsmen who contributed the steel filling method are also awarded the title of "Famous Craftsman" at the fifteenth level.

Because of the craftsman grading system established before, as well as the responsibility and bonus system, the technology of workshops in Ming Dynasty has been continuously improved.

The establishment of patent rights has enabled the exchange of technologies and is no longer closed.

And technology has been improved because of communication, and the establishment of workshop laboratories also made craftsmen begin to have a scientific awareness.

Although the exhaustive method seems stupid to waste time and energy, it is indeed the best way in many cases.

The toughness of the Ming army's armor and the sharpness of the blade have far surpassed this era.

If Ming Ting claims to be second in iron smelting technology, then no one dares to be the first.

The military equipment of the Guishuang Empire lagged behind the Ming army by almost an era, and was beaten by the Wuxiang battalion led by Zhang Liao, and could only rely on the strong city to barely defend.

If it wasn't for Xu An's order, the food and grass reserves of the Western Regions Protectorate were indeed in a hurry, and perhaps Zhang Liao had already entered the Guishuang Empire at this time.

The situation of the Guishuang Empire is not good. In the west, the Guishuang Empire was attacked by the Parthia Empire, and in the south, there were also rebellions in the Guishuang Empire. Now Guishuang itself is a mess.

Guishuang no longer poses any threat to the Protectorate of the Western Regions.

What is worth mentioning is that the north of the original Dawan Kingdom is Kangju Kingdom.

Before the war was over, he presented the letter of credence, expressing his willingness to surrender and accept the command of the Protectorate of the Western Regions.

The lord of the country sent envoys, brought a lot of gold and silver utensils, and presented eighteen Hu Xuannv to Chang'an.

However, there are actually three reasons why Kang Juguo is like this.

One is because Kangju State was originally a vassal state of the Han Dynasty, but because after the demise of the Changshi Mansion in the Western Regions, the re-emergence of the Dawan Kingdom was cut off from the Western Regions.

The second is that they are afraid that the Ming army will break through the Dawan Kingdom and go northward to wipe them out.

The third is because they were threatened from the north and wanted the assistance of the Ming army.

The northern part of Kangju State is the Northern Huns who migrated westward.

In the third year of Yongyuan (91), Geng Kui of the Eastern Han Dynasty attacked Jinwei Mountain (now Altai Mountain) again and defeated the Huns.

Afterwards, most of the Northern Huns moved westward to Wusun State in the Yili River Basin, and after many battles with the Eastern Han Dynasty, they moved to the north of Kangju State in the west.

Xu An felt a little helpless, although he didn't want to continue to expand, but there was no reason to refuse the duck that was sent to his mouth.

However, the army that should be withdrawn still has to withdraw, although the Northern Huns are a hidden danger.

But Xu An remembered that it seemed that the Northern Huns did not stay longer after the defeat, and kept moving westward, so they should not invade Kangju.

It was the Hu Xuannv sent by Kang Juguo that made Xu An a little concerned.

Hu Xuan, a song and dance name from the Western Regions, was introduced to Gongye Mi Chang'an.

Why do you play Qionglin Banquet, smell the orchestra everywhere in the city.

The first thing he thought of was Hu Xuanwu, and then the poems written by Bai Juyi.

Hu Xuannv, Hu Xuannv, her heart responds to strings, her hands respond to drums.

With the sound of stringed drums, both sleeves are raised, and the snow flutters and dances.

Turning left and turning right is tireless, and there is no end to thousands of turns.

Things in the world are incomparable, and the wheels are slow and the wind is slow.

He hasn't seen Hu Xuanwu yet, but he thinks that Hu Xuanwu definitely has something unique.

Instead, we can consider incorporating Hu Xuanwu into the Department of Mission and Education. Putting it on the performance stage may also allow the Department of Mission and Education to obtain a lot of revenue.

With the development of the Ministry of Mission and Education, not only does it not need funds from the Ministry of Accounts, but it can also generate revenue.

In addition to the specially trained novelists and storytellers in the mission department, there are also swordsmen and writers. Most of the actors performing on the stage are dancers raised by aristocratic families.

The dancers raised by the aristocratic families have only practiced dancing since they were young, and they have lived in deep houses for a long time, knowing nothing about the outside world.

In the eyes of the aristocratic family, they are just goods, and they have no means of making a living.

Without shelter, they simply cannot survive.

If they were ignored, then there was no need to liberate them, so Xu An included all of them in the organization of the Mission Department.

Therefore, many dance performances have been added to the program of the Ministry of Mission and Education, not just the form of drama when it was first established.

The public performances are free, but there are also paid performances, and this is one of the main sources of income for the Mission Department.

Because there is no strict taxation, the people have surplus food and money in their hands, and they have surplus money that can be used for their own entertainment.

Hu Xuanwu can be popular in the Tang Dynasty, Xu An thinks that Hu Xuanwu might also be popular in the current Daming this time, and bring a lot of income to the Department of Propaganda and Education.

But these are things for later, let's not mention them for now.

Now on the north bank of the Yellow River in Jizhou, apart from the [-] troops directly under the Central Government, there are only more than [-] Jizhou troops led by Yu Du.

Yu Du was appointed as the governor of Jizhou by Xu An from the position of military equipment in the Taihang Military Region. Because of the capture of Jizhou, the Taihang Military Region was abolished and Yu Du was promoted to governor.

The Taixing Army originally had more than [-] people, but as it took over the entire Jizhou, the direct troops under Yu Du's command also rapidly decreased, and now there are only more than [-] people left.

That is to say, the mobile force that can be mobilized in Xu'an, Jizhou is only [-] people, plus the [-] Wuxiang Battalion Cavalry Army on the road, it is only [-] people.

However, the Yanzhou Han army has a full [-] troops, and this does not include the local village braves. If Yanzhou counts the assisting township warriors, the Han army has at least more than [-] troops.

Not to mention Qingzhou. After the disarmament of Qingzhou, there were only [-] people under Qu Yi's command that could be mobilized, which was far less than the number of Qingzhou's Han army.

After this part was included, Qu Yi still had fifty thousand troops under his command.

Moreover, the military strength of the Ming army is far less than this, and it does not take long for the Youzhou army to go south. Now there are more than [-] Youzhou troops under Xu Rong's command that can be mobilized to help Quyi at any time.

The Han army lost the only formed cavalry army in the Battle of Fanyang, and also lost the power to launch another Northern Expedition.

The Han army not only has a numerical advantage, but also a defensive advantage.

Most importantly, the implementation of the brick wrapping method made the counterweight catapult no longer as invincible as before, and could easily destroy the walls of a city.

Although the counterweight catapults could still break down the brick-clad city walls under repeated bombardments, it was impossible for the Ming army to conquer the city within a few days as before.

In the current situation, Han Ting relied on the Yellow River to build a well-defended Yellow River defense line, in order to rely on the strong city to slow down the advance speed of the Ming army and consume the strength of the Ming army.

Xu An looked at the map in front of him. Judging from the punctuation on the map, attacking Yanzhou rashly is not a good choice.

So how about Jingzhou?

Xu An shifted his gaze to Jingzhou, but then Xu An vetoed his idea.

There are only two ways to attack Jingzhou, one is land and the other is water.

The waterway is impassable, and their navy in Yizhou has only more than [-] warships, and they don't even have enough sailors, and there are many small warships.
The Jingzhou Navy has more than [-] large and small warships, and the combat power of the fleet varies greatly.

What's more, Yiling is extremely dangerous and even more difficult.

For land routes, the only way to send troops is through Shangyong and Wuguan.

In order to imitate the attack on Nanyang County by Shangyong and Wuguan, the Jingzhou Army set up a net in the three border cities of Nanyang County. All this information was detected by the Eagle Wolf Guard.

The three cities in the northwest of Jingzhou think that if any one city is attacked, the other three cities can help, and they occupy the main roads. The terrain is quite dangerous, and the city wall is protected by the method of wrapping bricks. problem.

Yanzhou can't do it, Jingzhou can't do it, then only Qingzhou is left.

Although Qingzhou is also heavily guarded and has a certain geographical advantage, the Ming army can also gain naval benefits if they attack Qingzhou.

Xu An turned around and sat down again, looked at Jia Xu who was sitting on the left, and asked in a deep voice.

"Wenhe."

Although he had a certain idea in mind, he still wanted to ask Jia Xu about strategic issues.

"What do you think?"

Jia Xu pondered for a moment, he had only arrived in Yecheng not long ago, so he didn't know much about the situation in Hanting.

It took him a long time to regain his senses after a long journey. He had just read the materials for a few days, but he only had a rough outline.

But since Xu An asked, he still had to answer.

"In this way, the reform of the Han court has indeed exceeded expectations. Now we have seen certain results. The pressure from our army is too great. To a certain extent, the Han court has been united and the progress of the reform has been promoted. "

"Jingzhou now has a large number of troops and has the advantage of fortifying the city. If our army attacks by force, I'm afraid there will be a lot of losses. It is not suitable for the main attack direction."

"Besides, the Jingzhou navy is the most powerful. The Badong military region only has more than [-] warships. Relying on the Jiangguan, it can only maintain a defensive position, but is it possible to advance? Yiling is difficult to overcome. Not only are there many warships, but also Defensively beneficial."

Jia Xu frowned slightly, and he didn't expect that the Han court would suddenly reform.

Moreover, the reform of the Han court seemed to be extremely smooth, and Jia Xu couldn't believe how smooth it was.

"Yuan Shu is on the front line of Yanzhou, and all the elites of the Han army have gathered in Yanzhou. Our army can cross the river by force. Yanzhou is flat and easy for cavalry to fight. However, I am afraid that the Han army has already prepared enough food and grass in the cities of Yanzhou. Our army wants to Going south, we must destroy the surrounding cities one by one, otherwise there is a danger of cutting off the way back."

"If we want to attack cities and destroy crossings one by one, I'm afraid it will take a lot of time and material resources, and our soldiers will inevitably suffer a lot of casualties."

The Han army in Yanzhou is indeed serious. Yuan Shu may be much worse than Sun Jian in fighting wars, but when it comes to managing the territory and defending the city, the three Sun Jian tied together cannot compare with Yuan Shu.

At the beginning, when Sun Jian invaded Luo, including several Northern Expeditions, Yuan Shu was in charge of food and logistics, and he never made any mistakes or miscalculations.

"I think Minggong's strategy is feasible. Our army has the advantage of the navy, and it's time to take advantage of it. I think that this southern expedition can start with Qingzhou as the main battlefield and open up gaps."

"After occupying Qingzhou, I can rely on the advantage of the navy to divide the waterway and attack Xuzhou at the same time. In this way, I can bypass Yanzhou's Yellow River defense line and go deep into the hinterland of Hanting. As long as I invade Donghai County of Xuzhou, I can directly threaten Yuzhou and Yangzhou. .”

Although Jia Xu didn't know much about naval battles, since Gongsun Du had previously transported soldiers to Donglai County, it could be used as a reference.

Xu An nodded slightly. Jia Xu's presence was indeed better than what he and Xu You discussed.

Although Xu You also knows about military affairs, his strategic vision is still much worse than Jia Xu's.

In terms of internal affairs, Jia Xu is not as good as Xu You. After all, Xu You has spent most of his time managing internal affairs in Taipingdao since he rebelled against the Han court, but Jia Xu is far superior to Xu You in terms of military affairs.

Although Guo Tai was the general protector of the Western Regions, the reason why the battle of the Western Regions could be fought was actually the strategy proposed by Jia Xu.

Naturally, Guo Tai would not hide anything from Xu An, and told Xu An everything about Jia Xu's plan.

The task that Xu An entrusted to Jia Xu at the beginning was to ensure the safety of the Western Regions and ensure the logistics supplies of the Protectorate of the Western Regions.

And Jia Xu's solution to the security of the Western Regions is not to strengthen the military power of the Western Regions, but to directly eliminate the source of the threat...

Xu An's eyes moved away from Jia Xu's body, and looked at Xu You who was beside him.

Although he agrees with Jia Xu's strategy, he also wants to know Xu You's thoughts.

"My next opinion is the same as Wenhe's. We should avoid Yanzhou and Jingzhou, take Qingzhou first, and then take Xuzhou."

"In this way, our army can attack Yuzhou in the west, and attack Yangzhou in the south. With the advantage of the navy, we can completely connect Qing, Xu, Yang, and the three states into a line and encircle the puppet Han."

"Although the Yanzhou Han army has a large number of people, they are nothing more than a group of native chickens and dogs. Field battles are definitely not our army's opponents. However, as Wen He said, the Yanzhou Han army can cause a lot of damage to our army by relying on their numbers and fortified cities. hinder."

"Also, even if our army defeats the Han army in Yanzhou, it will not be able to complete all its achievements in one battle."

Jia Xu's expression moved slightly, and he looked at Xu You.

Xu You walked up to the stage, pointed to the place where the map of Yanzhou was hanging in the hall, then slid down and landed on Yuzhou.

"Since Yanzhou is broken, Yuzhou has no more barriers. Chendu is in the north of Yuzhou. The gate of the capital has been opened. The terrain around Chendu is flat and there is no danger to defend. The Han court will never sit still and will definitely evacuate south."

"And once the Han army retreats to the south and retreats to the Huai River and the Yangtze River, our army will face another problem."

"You mean..."

Jia Xu frowned slightly, walked up to the stage, and continued.

"The southern river network is densely covered, and the terrain is rugged. If the Han army relies on the Huai River and the Yangtze River, and our army lacks inland water divisions, I am afraid that the battle will be dragged into a stalemate."

"Once the main force of the Han army goes south to Yangzhou, even though our army has the advantage of the navy, it still cannot effectively threaten Yangzhou."

"This is indeed a problem."

Xu An frowned. For so long, he stayed in Yecheng not only to govern the affairs of Hebei. He actually put a lot of energy on Han Ting, thinking about how to conquer the south and defeat Han Ting, so as to completely unify China.

In ancient Chinese history, apart from the Ming Dynasty, there was no dynasty that unified the world from south to north, and most of them unified the south from the north.

The north has a developed economy and a dense population. This is a natural advantage, and it also has the advantage of cavalry and holds the initiative. Many reasons have caused this situation.

But it is not easy to unify the world from the north.

In ancient China, there were only a handful of countries that could rule the world.

The reason for this is that the geographical advantage in the south occupies a great advantage.

The Eastern Jin Dynasty, Southern Song Dynasty, and a number of Southern Dynasties relied on the Jianghuai region, and were able to settle down in a corner.

The Huaihe River and the Yangtze River are natural dangers in the true sense.

In the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, there are staggered hills and dense vegetation, stretching for thousands of kilometers, making it impossible to carry out comprehensive defense.

However, it can rely on Xiangyang, Yichang and other important towns along the river to guard, and it only needs to set up heavy troops in the key points of the tributaries, and it can effectively imitate the northern troops going south.

Historically, the combat power of the Southern Song Dynasty was weak, while the Mongolian cavalry had already dominated the world at that time, and it was at its peak, sweeping almost the entire Eurasian continent.

At that time, the Mongols who invaded the south not only had powerful cavalry, but also a large number of elite infantry, and a siege weapon such as counterweight trebuchets, but they were still blocked in Xiangyang City.

Song Meng fought fiercely in Xiangyang, both sides tried their best, but in the end because of the isolation of the city and no support, the defender Lu Wenhuan chose to surrender.

The Battle of Xiangyang lasted nearly six years and ended with the fall of Xiangyang in the Southern Song Dynasty.

The fall of Xiangyang also marked the end of the Southern Song Dynasty. Since then, the Southern Song Dynasty has been in a slump, and the Mongolian army has driven straight in.

Six years later, in the battle of Yashan, the Song army was defeated.

Lu Xiufu was completely desperate. After appeasing the young master, he tied Guoxi to the young master, carried the young master on his back and jumped into the sea to commit suicide. The Southern Song Dynasty perished.

The lower reaches of the Yangtze River have a humid climate, flat terrain and fertile land.

The Yangtze River is indeed a natural moat, but the water flow in the downstream area is slowed down, and the shoals are everywhere, making it easy to cross the river, and there is no danger at all.

Therefore, since ancient times, there has been a saying that if you guard the river, you must guard the Huai River.

Because if you only guard the Yangtze River, you will not have any strategic depth. Once the northern army crosses the river, it will be impossible to organize effective resistance and counterattack.

Nanming and Nantang are the best examples. They did not occupy the Huaihe River area, but only relied on the Yangtze River, and they were easily wiped out.

To guard the river, we must guard the Huai River, and the Huai River can also be connected with the Qinling Mountains to prevent the northern army from going south.

It is precisely because of this favorable location that there was a long period of confrontation between the North and the South in ancient times.

Xu You stepped forward and pointed to the locations of Yutuyang and Jingzhou, and continued to talk.

Although he is not as good as Jia Xu in terms of strategy, he also has his own unique insights in analyzing problems.

"Our infantry is tough and has the advantage of heavy armor training. They are used to fighting in the field, but they mostly fight on the plains."

"Our army has a large number of cavalry and is good at fighting on the plains, but the south has many hills and less flat land, and the river network is densely covered, making it difficult to gallop."

"Even if our army captures Yanzhou, it will gain very little. From Yanzhou to attack Qingzhou, there are only two main routes to attack. The Qingzhou army only needs to set up defenses in two places to stop our army from advancing."

Jia Xu's eyes were bright, and her voice was involuntarily high.

"Occupying the two prefectures of Yan and Henan and forcing the Han court to move south will only damage the prestige of the Han court, and it is difficult to accomplish all of its achievements in one battle."

"The Yanzhou Han army has [-] troops, many of which are reinforcements from Xu, Yang, and Henan. Part of the Xuzhou army went north to help Qingzhou, and a part went west to help Yanzhou. The defense must be empty."

"Yangzhou's defense at the rear is naturally not given priority by the Han court. Even if it is prepared, it is definitely much weaker than the defenses of Yanzhou and Jingzhou."

"Our army took advantage of the situation and went south to Yangzhou. As long as we occupy the river bank, we can cut off the way for the Han court to retreat to the south."

"At that time, the back of the Han court will be cut off. Our army only needs to cross the Yellow River and defeat Yanzhou to rule the world!"

Xu An looked at the map in front of him with his hands behind his back.

He originally planned to use the navy to attack Qingzhou.

It's just that his idea at the time was to attack at the same time from Yanzhou and Qingzhou and advance side by side.

But Jia Xu's arrival this time made him discover the problem.

Attacking Yanzhou first will only make the Han court move south immediately, abandon Yanzhou and the northern part of Yuzhou, and directly retreat to the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River.

The Han court retreated to the Jianghuai River, at the cost of losing the entire territory of Yanzhou and the northern part of Yuzhou, but it was able to regain the strategic initiative
The lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Huai River are connected by two waterways.

They are Zhongdu Waterway and Hefei Waterway respectively.

As long as these two waterways are occupied, the Yangtze River Navy can directly enter the Huaihe River through the two waterways.

The Huaihe River Basin is extremely vast, with its tributaries spread all over, and the water is abundant, and many warships can also sail on it.

With the advantage of the navy, the logistical supply pressure of the Han army is almost negligible.

Most of Yuzhou will be under the vanguard of the Han army, so even if the Ming army occupies Yuzhou, there is no way to develop well.

And the most important thing is that the south at this time is not the southern region that has been developed in later generations.

During the Han Dynasty, the south was only initially developed, and it had not yet become a land of fish and rice for later generations.

At this time, the southern region has just begun to be developed, and many places are still virgin forests, densely covered with rivers and swamps, full of miasma, dangerous roads, and difficult transportation.

The development of Jiangnan is mainly still along the Yangtze River and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Delta, as well as Lingnan and the Pearl River Basin.

However, the inland areas are still not developed and sparsely populated.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were still many Shanyue people in the interior of the southeastern region.

Jia Xu and Xu You are constantly perfecting the plan.

Soon, the prototype of a new southern expedition plan was drawn up.

　It's sixty-two characters short...shouldn't be scolded.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)