Three Kingdoms: I, Ma Su, just want to die

Chapter 648 Preparing to conquer Wu
"The wealth of Huainan is well-deserved..."

Ma Di systematically looked at the various data on Huainan sent by Deng Ai, and was a little silent for a while.

"Previously, the pseudo-Wei was begging for food with a golden rice bowl. It was really a waste."

"Indeed." Deng Ai nodded in agreement and couldn't help but add.

"I used to think that the Huaihe River and the Huaihe River are such a land of plenty. It would be too wasteful for it to be so abandoned just to guard against enemies."

"It's a pity that I was just a warehouse clerk in the Puppet Wei Dynasty. I was a low-key person, and no one would listen to my suggestions."

"The Pseudo-Wei Dynasty deserves to be destroyed, and talents cannot be reused. And the things above the temple are a bunch of rotten trees. It is simply unreasonable for the country to survive." Ma Su shrugged and said casually.

"So your Majesty, regarding the farming of Huaihe River..." Deng Ai immediately returned to the topic and asked Ma Su cautiously.

"There is no problem. It can basically be put into practice immediately." Ma Di nodded affirmatively. As a professional, Ma Di could tell that Deng Ai's plan was very good.

Facing Ma Su's affirmation, Deng Ai couldn't help but feel secretly happy. But then Ma Su's conversation changed, making him suddenly feel nervous.

"However, there is still a little flaw in it..."

"Please correct me!" Deng Ai quickly said with his hands in hand.

"This deployment is too conservative." Ma Di waved his hand and said slowly.

"Now our Han Dynasty is no longer a small country living in Yizhou, but a big country sitting in the Central Plains. Now we have sufficient manpower and material resources to deploy, and those wealthy families are all extremely obedient."

"With this resource base, we should have more military camps in Lianghuai, right?"

According to Deng Ai's idea, it would take three years for the 50,000 military garrison to be developed externally. It took almost five years for the number of farmers to expand to about 100,000.

As for hoarding enough supplies to defeat Wu, it would take seven years.

Ma Su was not in the mood to wait for seven years in Huainan. If conditions did not allow it, Ma Su would have wanted to kill Sun Quan tomorrow.

Therefore, according to Ma Su's thinking, Deng Ai's plan was still too conservative. It is best to take advantage of the opportunity to gather the Central Plains now, while the manpower and material resources are still somewhat abundant, and expand the scope of border farming as much as possible.

As soon as possible, collect all the materials for defeating Wu, so that Ma Su can show his talents earlier.

Deng Ai could understand Ma Di's thoughts, but he still spoke tactfully.

"Your Majesty, although the land in Lianghuai is fertile and the temperature is mild, it has been abandoned for so many years, and a lot of wasteland needs to be plowed again."

“These are extremely time-consuming and cannot be solved overnight.”

"And the most important thing is that although the land in the Huaihe River is fertile, the water power is actually insufficient. Many places need to dig additional canals, which is extremely time-consuming..."

Deng Ai's words poured cold water on Ma Di.

It’s true that you can be anxious about anything, but you can’t be anxious about farming. Without enough time, the cultivated land will not be fully cultivated, and the food production will naturally not increase.

As for the water canal... Ma Su has a professional mind, but it is also extremely time-consuming.

"So, judging from the current level, how long will it take to resume production in Lianghuai?" Ma Di narrowed his eyes and asked thoughtfully. "I'm afraid it will take three years at the earliest..." Deng Ai said with a wry smile after counting on his fingers several times.

"If supplies are sufficient, production should be able to resume in two years. But if you want to further save supplies for the southern expedition to Soochow, you will have to wait at least another year."

"After all, if the army gathers in Shouchun and then moves south from Hefei, it will be a huge waste of food. Currently, only the west of Jiujiang County can be farmed, so three years is a guarantee..."

"Wait a minute, why can only the west of Jiujiang County be stationed?" Ma Su keenly grasped the key point at this time and asked immediately.

The Lianghuai River Basin covers a very large area, from Runan to Guangling, passing through several counties. But Deng Ai suddenly said that all the land east of Jiujiang was unusable, which made Ma Su a little confused.

"Don't you know, General?" Deng Ai was startled and then explained.

"To the east of Jiujiang County, as soon as it enters Guangling, the water power of the Huaihe River begins to decrease. Moreover, Guangling County is covered with dense swamps, making it difficult to farm in many places."

"Moreover, the roads in this area are rugged and difficult to navigate, and are not suitable for large armies to march at all. Therefore, there is basically no military threat from Soochow there, so there is no need for hard farming..."

After Deng Ai's explanation, Ma Di also had a general understanding of the specific situation of Lianghuai.

Because of the special conditions on the front line of Guangling County, the lower reaches of the Huai River are not suitable for large troop marches at all. Moreover, the natural conditions here will remain the same even in another two thousand years and cannot be improved in a short time.

In the Battle of Huaihai two thousand years later in history, a certain human being named Du was wiped out here...

So for now, Guangling County is destined not to receive military pressure from the south. Therefore, in Deng Ai's opinion, there is no need to waste resources on farming here.

However, after Ma Su carefully studied the map, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Shizai, you will be solely responsible for the farming affairs in Runan, Jiujiang. However... if Guangling County is also included in the farming area, it is best to maintain a military camp of 30,000 people in Guangling!"

Deng Ai was a little surprised by Ma Su's request. However, he still accepted the task out of habit without any hesitation.

However, Deng Ai still planned to figure out what Ma Su had planned. After all, in his opinion, all Ma Su's abnormal behaviors must have deep meaning.

"Guangling County? Could it be that you are thinking..."

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Ma Su was fully responsible for the cultivation of the Huaihe River and the Huaihe River, while Zhuge Liang patrolled the Central Plains. While Ji Han was trying his best to digest the forces of the Central Plains, in Yecheng, Hebei, the Cao Wei court was facing turmoil.

Originally, Cao Wei's court had barely stabilized the situation before the war. All the Central Plains nobles basically gave up on the Central Plains by default and were ready to surrender to Hebei.

The situation is stronger than the people, and they still understand this truth.

However, all this came to nothing with Sima Yi's death in battle. All the people's hearts, which had just been calm, were all panicked again.

Even Cao Shuang, another Tuogu minister, was in a state of confusion at this time!
"Lieutenant Sima died in battle, and the Qinghuai and Qinghuai armies were almost completely destroyed? How can I defend Hebei?" Cao Shuang was stunned after receiving all the battle reports from the front line and summarizing them.

The last time he gathered the total military strength of the country, Cao Wei still had nearly 300,000 soldiers. But after a series of battles, Cao Wei now only had 160,000 soldiers left!
(End of this chapter)