Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 111: The Best of the Best (1)

In the hinterland of Guanzhong, there are huge wooden waterwheels all over the banks of the canals. The river flows slowly. Spinning wheel spinning.When passing through a village, Zhao Xingde saw that someone was still trying to make a strange hydraulic wheel shovel, using hydraulic power to dig out the mud at the bottom of the river.

After leaving Xiaoguan, there is the Hexi Corridor, the Qilian Mountains and Altun Mountains in the south, Mazong Mountain, Heli Mountain and Longshou Mountain in the south. Thanks to the wind, a gift from God, the fields are irrigated with melted snow in Qilian Mountains, and windmills can be seen everywhere gradually replacing water wheels. All replaced by wind.

From the north and south sides of the mountain peaks down, the snow-covered snow reflects the golden sun, birds and animals sometimes loom in the green woods, rivers meander down from the mountains, and the lush grasslands are full of cattle and sheep. Occasionally, hundreds of horses gallop out of the gentle valley, and windmills are turning gracefully in the fertile fields, weaving together a colorful picture.

This beauty is like a paradise, which is dizzying, but Zhao Xingde always felt that there was something wrong. After overtaking a group of merchants' carriages, he finally understood that if it was the Song Dynasty, a large number of official tank boats would keep dropping. Loaded with charcoal, grain, silk and other materials, they drove to Bianliang, but on the road from Chang'an to Dunhuang, apart from the caravan's goods, there was no government convoy that transported materials to the capital on a large scale.

Could it be that the capital of the Xia Kingdom can be supported only by the production of the nearby narrow plain?When Zhao Xingde asked this question, he actually got an affirmative answer.

"That's right." Zhang Liangheng said, "there are no more than a hundred members of the royal family and internal officials, no more than two thousand officials in the five mansions, and only a few thousand soldiers from the Longya and Tiger Wing armies who are actually stationed in the Western Capital, so there is no need to follow them. Long-distance food distribution in different places. Most of the other necessary materials are bought at market prices and transported in the same way as the caravans in the past, which saves money instead.” The political center of the Xia Kingdom, the garrison in the western capital of Dunhuang, unexpectedly has only a few thousand soldiers That's all.

Zhao Xingde took a deep breath and asked in a low voice: "Could it be that the imperial court is not afraid of foreign enemies' sneak attacks, or," he hesitated, "is it impossible to put down the chaos caused by the generals outside the capital?"

Zhang Liangheng knew that he had asked this question, and smiled slightly: "Although there are only a few thousand soldiers guarding the western capital, there are still [-] to [-] elite troops stationed in the states around the western capital. To the south, Tubo has become our Great Xia territory. From here to the north, as far as Beihai, they have surrendered to the Anbei Army Division. It is absolutely impossible for foreign enemies to sneak attack the Western Capital."

He looked at the dozens of Anton army commanders in front of him, and said in a deep voice: "The so-called generals leading the army rebelled, it is even more impossible. The soldiers of my Xia country are only loyal to the Five Houses and His Majesty the Emperor. It's just giving orders. If there is really a big villain who cheated the military power and attacked Dunhuang instead." He said in a contemptuous tone, "More than half of the [-] troops will definitely defect, and the remaining half will also plan to take the traitors. The head will be a crime."

Seeing that Zhao Xingde still didn't believe it, Zhang Liangheng said: "In the Western Han Dynasty, Huo Qubing, Wei Qing and other generals attacked the Xiongnu in the north, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops. However, the northern and southern armies of the old guard Chang'an were only tens of thousands of horses, and they were as stable as Mount Tai, and they were not afraid of the rebellion of the frontier troops. Without him, the hearts of the people are in the Han, and the hearts of the army are in the Han. Even if the general commands hundreds of thousands of troops, the emperor will be captured without a fight. Even if Li Guangli heard that his family members were imprisoned and executed in Chang'an on the front line, he just planned to put all his eggs in one basket and kill them. The Xiongnu redeemed their sins with their military merits, and never dared to support their troops to cause "rebellion". Now our Majesty and the five governments are more benevolent, and the accumulated kindness has been accumulated for a hundred years. The position in the hearts of the soldiers and the people is farther than that of the Han Dynasty. How could it be possible to follow the rebel generals? What about "rebellion"? If he is loyal to the country, the sergeant will recognize him as a general. If he rebels, his reputation will be ruined, and everyone wants to kill him quickly."

Zhang Liangheng's tone and demeanor were extremely confident.He was concerned about the face of the people in the Guandong. What he hadn't said was that the court officials of the Xia Kingdom always thought that the Zhao family in Bianliang couldn't do their best to be righteous, so they had to concentrate their troops in Bianliang and guard the generals who left the town like robbers. Isn't he himself a big thief who bullies the weak?

The human heart is a very delicate thing. Those who advocate it cannot dig it out and say it is true, and those who oppose it cannot dig it out and say it is false.Zhang Liangheng said so, Zhao Xingde was also speechless, just looking at the picturesque paradise on both sides of the road, feeling a little dazed.

At this time, in the main hall of the Prime Minister's Mansion in Dunhuang City, the Prime Minister Liu Yizheng was sitting in front of the case, carefully examining the three plans for sending troops to Lu Mei made by the Marching Division of the General's Mansion.

The worst strategy is to send an army of about 2 people, just to help the Lumei Kingdom defend the city, and don't do what it wants.This policy is the most conservative and safest.

The best strategy is to deploy another [-] soldiers from the Fourth Army to enrich the west side. When the Lumei Kingdom, Dashi, and Ross people are exhausted and crumbling, another [-] troops will be raised to capture Lumei City in one fell swoop.The advantage is that the Xia Kingdom not only moved its borders westward, but also gained a long-awaited good port for sailing to the sea. The disadvantage is that from now on, the Xia Kingdom will face direct conflicts with Ross and Dashi. The army may be attacked by Ross and Dashi. Stuck in Lu Mei for a long time.

The best strategy is to attack Ross by crossing the river first before capturing Lumei, attracting Ross's army and attention to the east, trying to defeat Ross, and first 'forcing' Ross to completely withdraw from Lumei Fight for it, and then wait for the opportunity when Lumei City is at stake, and take Lumei in one fell swoop.If you deal with Dashi alone, you still have some confidence.The problem with this plan is that after defeating Ross, the pressure on Lumei City will be reduced, and it will not be so dependent on the ally Xia Guo, and will not be willing to be ruled by the Xia Guo people. The key is timing.

Now Xia Guo and Lumei still maintain a good trade relationship, and the ports and castles Xia Guo built on the east coast of the Black Sea can be used as reinforcement camps.

After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, Liu Yi finally picked up the 'Mao' brush and drew a circle next to the best policy.The Ross people have always wanted to develop eastward, and the horse thieves from Ross have been harassing the settlements on both sides of the rocky mountain in Xia Kingdom. Xia Guo sent envoys to question him, but he evaded and said that those horse thieves were actually escaped rebel nobles, and it happened that Xia's army helped to exterminate them.

Now is the time for a big fight. Let Anbei Army Commander prepare to attack Ross first. What is an excuse? To chase down horse thieves, that is, the "rebellious nobles" in the mouth of King Ross.Liu Yi smiled slightly, and returned this top-secret dossier to Shi Anjie, Sima Shi'anjie, who was waiting here.

For this kind of military and state affairs, the General's Mansion usually communicates with the Prime Minister's Mansion in private. Liu Yi is a figure who goes from general to prime minister, and the generals of all military divisions have to give him some face.

Shi Anjie took the dossier, opened it, saw the circle, showed joy, but called out the previous address in the military mansion: "General," consciously mistaken, and changed his words: " Prime Minister, do you also advocate the best policy?"

Liu Yi nodded with a smile, and said with a smile, "Did you do the deduction of the best strategy?" lack of.

"It's the last general." Shi Anjie suppressed the excitement in his heart and straightened his back.

"Very meticulous, but also very bold." Liu Yi smiled.

"The last general, Prime Minister Xie, praised you very much." Shi Anjie performed the military salute again, turned around and exited neatly.

Compared with the clerks in the prime minister's mansion, this young man seemed more motivated.Liu Yi stared at the closed door and restrained his smile. The reason why he took the best policy was that he did not want to trap the country's army in the stalemate of Lumei City for a long time.Sergeants are the pillars of the society of the Xia Kingdom, and long-term expeditions abroad may lead to unpredictable chaos in the country.This kind of situation is exactly what Xia Guo's military system wants to avoid.The balance between the Liao and Song Dynasties in the east has become more and more fragile, and the Xia army is likely to be forced to leave Hangu Pass eastward.

As a general, Liu Yi only wanted to win a complete victory when facing a war.As the prime minister, Liu Yi will consider ending the war as soon as possible while choosing the war.