Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 112: The Best of the Best (2)

If the army is forced to concentrate for a long time, it will put great pressure on logistics transportation, which is common knowledge of experienced generals.For every war, the Marching Division will do everything possible to expand the results of the battle, while the Supply Division will list various reasons for delaying the progress in order to reduce the burden of logistical supplies.The emperor himself was also the titular general, so he would not express his opinions easily. The attitude of the prime minister's mansion became important at this time.

"The domestic order is in good order, and the people's prosperity and peace and contentment are not without price." Liu Yi's light moved out of the window, and a group of wild geese glided lightly across the blue sky, flying towards the south without hesitation.

For a country with an extremely vast territory like the Xia Kingdom, when the scale of the war reached a certain level, logistics became the key factor in determining the outcome.Liu Yi has no doubts that the sergeants can endure hunger and fight for ten and a half months, or even three months a year, but if it takes a few years, they will probably be exhausted and complain.For a long time, Xia Guo had tried to reduce the military supplies that had to be transported by dispersing the garrisons of the legions. Each army division only allocated five legions and [-] sergeants.And it is rare to arrange for two legions to be stationed too close together.In peacetime, each legion will distribute nearly half of its troops to various counties.

Only in this way will the supply of military supplies not put too much pressure on border states and counties.When encountering a surprise attack by a superior enemy force, the Xia army usually takes a defensive position with a small number of sergeants stationed in the area leading a regiment to train troops.After the military government gathers the army, it will launch a short and violent counterattack, and then pursue and enter the enemy's territory to launch retaliation.Another plan is to pre-empt strikes. Before the busy farming season, the military government will concentrate its troops into the territory of the barbarians to prevent the threat of sexual elimination.

"It's a pity that the soldiers are not like birds, they can easily span tens of thousands of miles." Liu Yi stood up, picked up a pencil, and drew on the map of Xia Kingdom's territory behind him.Frowning, he roughly estimated the distance from the warehouse in the river to the east bank of the Black Sea, and then to Lumei City. Maintaining continuous supplies over such a long distance will be an extremely severe test for the Prime Minister's Mansion Road Cao and the Great General's Mansion. "Whether it's the Ross people or the big cannibals, they are burning, killing and looting everywhere. After occupying Lumei City, in order to win people's hearts, they also need to deliver the food needed to relieve the local residents."

"The timing of sending troops to Lumei is very important. If you do it early, the people of Lumei will not accept our occupation before they are in a critical situation. If you do it too late, they will be preempted by the Dashi army. If you want to take Lumei, you will have to pay for it." A heavier price." Liu Yi groaned, took out a file from the pile on the table, opened the file, and found a secret letter that had been sealed with beeswax.The emperor Aliksai of Lumei Kingdom wrote a letter to Emperor Chen Xuan of Xia Kingdom a year ago, requesting Xia Kingdom to provide Lumei with a mercenary army, the number of which was between 800 and 2500. He gave Xia merchants many privileges in trade with the West, and promised Xia merchants to enjoy lower taxes in Lumei.

Lumei Kingdom is the hub and center of trade between the East and the West, but because of the corruption of the military region system, it has fallen into the use of mercenaries to defend the country. In order to raise high military expenses, it has to increase the squeeze on the people, which further leads to the depletion of the country's self-cultivating farmers and soldiers. The vicious circle. "A lesson learned from the past." Liu Yi tapped the secret letter with his fingers, maintaining the stability of the sergeant system, the cornerstone of Xia's long-term stability.

He pondered for a moment, stood up, took the file containing the secret letter, put on his coat and went out.Wang Zhaoqian, the guard captain of the Tiger Wing Army, bowed to salute, and asked, "Where is the prime minister going?"

"Go to Linquan Palace and meet His Majesty."

Liu Yi said while striding towards the door, the carriage of the Prime Minister's Mansion was always parked outside, he got into the carriage and closed the door casually.The groom slapped his whip, and the carriage drove towards Linquan Palace. Behind the carriage, Wang Zhaoqian and ten Tiger Wing Army cavalry guards formed two teams and followed the carriage.

Liu Yi was one of the few important court officials who could directly enter the palace gate without passing through. The emperor Chen Xuan only learned from the sound transmission microphone at the gate that he was coming to see him, so he adjusted his appearance a little.In addition to reviewing the important documents sent by the five governments every day, he also had to read the list on the Nine Dragon Pillar. Although the ministers tried their best to check out the unimportant ones, they still amounted to tens of thousands of words, and Chen Xuan often had to check them randomly. For those announcements that have been checked out, some official documents and announcements have to be personally approved.Back then, Qin Shihuang had to read hundreds of catties of bamboo slips every day. Chen Xuan felt that he was better than that. Fortunately, he had a strong body trained in the army when he was young, otherwise he would really not be able to bear such fatigue.Rao is so, and sometimes I feel my eyes are dim.

"Linquan Palace, Linquan Palace, the founding ancestors used this as the name of the imperial palace, intending to remind future generations not to interfere too much in the administration of the five governments. They live in the ninth five-year period, and their hearts live in Linquan, and they are ruled by arches. But with the wisdom and martial arts of the ancestors, I didn't expect that the officials of the Five Houses would frequently seek the emperor's opinion even when it was extremely unnecessary, and ordinary people often hope that the emperor can stand up and uphold justice."

Chen Xuan rubbed his temples and sighed secretly, "It's no wonder that the emperors of all dynasties were not too old to be seen. They would also arrange for princes to succeed. Although I keep in mind the legacy of my ancestors, I don't 'intervene' much in specific affairs. It's really more tiring than when I was serving in the army in northern Xinjiang. I don't know that the emperor of the Song Dynasty has to take care of everything, so how can he have leisure time to renovate the palace? If it were me, I would definitely prefer one thing more than one thing less. The scenery of Linquan Palace is already pretty good."

Chen Xuan stood up, looked out the window, and relaxed his sore eyes.Outside Linquan Palace is Shouchangze.At this time, hundreds of red-crowned cranes, mandarin ducks, white swans, herons and other rare birds are cruising around.Over the years, more and more migratory birds have stayed in the Hexi Corridor for the winter.There are lush vegetation on the bank of Shouchang Lake, where you can see palaces and pavilions in the distance, and there are rare birds flying and chirping. It is a favorite place for officials and family members in Dunhuang to visit and watch the scenery.

On the other side of Shouchangze, a team of more than [-] riders and a dozen carriages was stopping.The captains and sergeants got off their horses one after another and gave military salutes to the palace.Looking at the small and elegant palace on the other side, Zhao Xingde was surprised and said: "Is the palace so small for the majestic king of a country?"

At the beginning, he heard from Yang Lu and others that there were only more than a hundred people in the royal family and internal officials in Dunhuang, and he didn't feel any difference. First of all, judging from the scale of the palace, the more than a hundred people actually included all the servants and maids. .Not far from the palace is the barracks of the Dragon Tooth Army and the Tiger Wing Army outside Dunhuang City.Chen An, the second emperor of the Xia Kingdom, did not want to interfere too much with the lives of the people in Dunhuang City, so he moved Linquan Palace to the bank of Shouchangze outside the city.There is no palace wall built on the side facing Shouchangze. Soldiers and commoners can clearly see the whole palace through Shouchangze. If you are lucky, you can even see the emperor and empress walking in the imperial garden from a distance.The original Linquan Palace was changed to Huaiyuan Station, which specially received envoys from various countries and businessmen in the past.Under the influence of above and below, if it hadn't been suggested by the Military Intelligence Department at an extraordinary moment, the senior officials of Xia Guo's five mansions would not travel clearly, and they would not have a guard of honor, and would only follow a few Tiger Wing Army guards.

Li Ruoxue looked at the white cranes dancing in the swamp pool, and said with a soft smile: "The emperor of the Xia Kingdom really enjoys the blessings, and he chose such a quiet and elegant residence. Surrounded by layers of high walls, he looks like A lone family who is guarded like a prisoner is much smarter."

"This place doesn't look like an imperial palace, but rather like a secluded villa in a bamboo forest. No wonder it's called Linquan Palace." Zhao Xingde sighed, and he looked at the sergeants of the Anton Army Command who were looking towards Linquan Palace. Showing eager light, I hope to have good luck, just in time to meet the emperor coming out. "No matter how deep the city is, no matter how many guards there are, it can't compare to the loyalty that these soldiers unconsciously show."

Zhao Xingde turned around and said to Zhang Liangheng who was also standing still looking at the emperor's palace: "Brother Zhang, I now understand why Dunhuang is as stable as Mount Tai with only a few thousand guards."