Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 460 Combine Vertical and Horizontal ([-])

Guanzhong this year is destined to usher in a bloody severe winter.

After Bai Mo lifted Lu Tai's military power with a thunderbolt, and killed Lu Wan with Zhou Guanfu, as soon as he returned to Xianyang, he teamed up with Chen Ping to launch a large-scale power reshuffle. The veterans who were loyal to Liu Bang but relied on their seniority were purged. At the same time, young handsome men headed by brothers Zhou Guanfu and uncle Sunying ascended to the center of power one after another.

Through a large-scale power reshuffle, Bai Mo's power has been consolidated unprecedentedly.

Winter is coming to spring, everything is recovering, and it's time to set the tone for the whole year.

At the Tianchao Meeting, Bai Mo came out to play and said: "My lord, in the first battle last year, although the state of Chu suffered heavy losses, it did not touch the foundation of the country. However, the foundation of our country has already been damaged. Once the state of Chu launches a large army to attack again, It is really hard to resist, and I think that the most urgent thing is to unite Han, Zhao, Qi and other countries to jointly resist the strong Chu."

In the battle of Mianshui last year, although the Chu army suffered heavy casualties, the Han army was almost wiped out!

Except for Lu Tai and Zhou Guanfu who took 50 cavalry thousands of miles away and returned to Guanzhong, the remaining 5 troops only fled back to less than [-]. The rest were either killed in battle, captured, or disappeared into the mountains.

Before the Great War, Guanzhong and Sanchuan County had a population of more than 50 million people, and more than a million strong men. Now they have lost [-] troops, and more than half of the strong men in the country have been lost. The source of troops is almost exhausted. His armaments cannot be made up in a short period of time, so Bai Mo has the theory of resisting Chu.

The so-called Lian Heng against Chu means to unite Han, Han, Zhao, and Qi from west to east to fight against the powerful Chu state in the south. Unite together to fight against the powerful Qin State in the west. The situation is similar, but one is Lianheng and the other is Hezong.

As soon as Bai Mo's voice fell, Lu Tai retorted: "Han Wang Han Xin is capricious, Zhao Wang Zhang Ao is weak and incompetent, expecting them to fight against the strong Chu together is nothing more than daydream." After saying this, Lu Tai said to Liu Heng, "I think it should be Abandoning Jiuyuan and shrinking our forces to guard the Great Wall, otherwise, it is not enough to protect ourselves."

Although Lu Tai has been emptied out now, many people agree with his views.

Based on the current situation of the Han Dynasty, it is indeed a bit tasteless to guard Jiuyuan County. Instead of stationing [-] troops in Jiuyuan to resist the threat of the Huns, it is better to shrink the troops to the inner Great Wall. In this way, only a small number of troops are needed. It can resist the Huns' raids, and the extra troops can be used to strengthen the defenses of Hanzhong, Sanchuan and Tongguan.

However, Bai Mo ignored Lu Tai, and asked Liu Heng directly, "Please ask your majesty to judge."

Liu Heng said without hesitation: "I believe in Xiangfu, and I will do what Xiangfu says."

Bai Mo smiled wryly and shook his head, then said earnestly, "Your Majesty, Jiuyuan cannot be lost. Once Jiuyuan is lost, our army will lose the biggest source of military horses. What's more serious is that the Xiongnu can cross the river from Hetao to the west. Threatening Hexi directly, at that time the Xiutu, Hunxie, and Yuezhi tribes may turn to the Xiongnu one after another, and our Great Han Kingdom will be surrounded by enemies!"

Lu Tai's face changed in horror when he heard the words, he really never thought about the chain reaction that would be caused by abandoning Jiuyuan.

However, Lu Tai knew better that Bai Mo was not alarmist. If Hetao fell, the Han army would lose its largest source of troops and horses. Under the continuous oppression of the Huns, the Hexi tribes will one day defect to the Huns.

On that day, Guanzhong will be surrounded by enemies, and the situation will be difficult.

Liu Heng hurriedly said: "What Xiangfu said is very true, but I don't know who to send as an envoy to Han, Zhao, and Qi?"

Bai Mo nodded lightly, and said again: "My lord, this time is a matter of great importance. It is not an exaggeration to say that only success is allowed and failure is not allowed. Therefore, I decided to go through it myself."

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Half a month later, Hanwang Palace in Anyi.

Han Wang Han Xin's expression was uncertain, and he asked Zhao Ji, "Military Master, what do you think?"

Just half an hour ago, Han Wang Han Xin had just received the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty Bai Mo, and Han Wang Han Xin did not immediately agree to Bai Mo's proposal of Lian Heng against Chu.

Because according to Bai Mo's proposal, countries are not just as simple as forming an alliance.

Once joining the alliance, South Korea has to accept the leadership of Han, the leader of the alliance. When Chu launches an attack on a country in the alliance, the entire South Korean army has to accept the dispatch of Han. Moreover, this is not just talk or paper. It's so simple to draw a bet, Han Wang Han Xin had to hand over half of the soldier talisman, this is no joke.

Zhao Jidao: "Your Majesty, do we have any other choice now?"

Han Wang Hanxin was silent when he heard the words. Last year, Chu fought on two fronts, the east against Qi, and the west against Han. In the end, they won both battles. Although the Chu army suffered heavy casualties due to the plague in the end, it did not harm the country. It is no exaggeration to say that the national strength of the Chu State has far surpassed that of other countries. If they fight alone, no country can be the opponent of Chu State.

Therefore, all countries must unite, and it cannot be the unrestricted union of the past. All countries must truly form an alliance, just like Bai Mo proposed. Once a certain country is in danger, the armies of all countries must be placed under a unified command Under the circumstances, only in this way can it be possible to block Chu's soldiers.

Zhao Ji sighed and said, "If we don't unite, sooner or later all countries will be defeated by Chu State one by one."

"Forget it." Han Wang Han Xin finally made up his mind and said, "Then join the Lianheng Alliance."

Zhao thought for a while, then suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I have another proposal, why not appoint Bai Mo as the Prime Minister of Dahan?"

"What are you talking about, appointing Bai Mo as the prime minister of Han?" King Han Han Xin was taken aback when he heard the words, and then fell into deep thought. After thinking about it carefully, it is not unacceptable to appoint Bai Mo as the prime minister. It can express his determination to join the alliance. Second, with the help of Bai Mo's talents, he can implement reforms in South Korea and make South Korea stronger.

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As a time traveler, Xiang Zhuang has never been a diligent person. Most of the political affairs are handed over to Ling Yinxiang, and most of the military affairs are entrusted to the general to complete the book. He hides whenever he can, not to mention the historical Ming Taizu, Sui Compared with the workaholics like Emperor Yangdi, even compared with the Shiquan old man in the puppet Qing Dynasty, I am afraid that they are not as good in terms of diligence.

However, in the past few months, Xiang Zhuang got up early and worked late every day, reviewing the memorials until his hand softened.

What is the matter of land reclamation in Dang County, what is the dispute between the national examiners in Sishui County and Donghai County, what is the matter of population migration in Nanyang County, what is the matter of buying grain in Bashu, etc., etc., etc., there is no trivial matter, which makes Xiang Zhuang dizzy , but he had to work hard to deal with it carefully. There was no other way. Chu State was in a critical period right now, so he couldn't be careless.

That night, Xiang Zhuang once again summoned Ling Yin Xiangta and General Bi Shu to discuss military and political affairs.

Xiang He held the population yellow book and said to Xiang Zhuang: "My lord, the latest population figures have been calculated. Da Chu ruled seventeen counties, with a total of more than 360 million registered households and a population of more than 970 million. However, Ding has less than 200 million, especially Chen, Dang and other counties that were incorporated into Dachu last year, many registered households have only orphans and widowed mothers, and life is very embarrassing.”

Xiang Zhuang was silent when he heard the words, the original population of Chu State was about 800 million, the extra population of nearly 200 million naturally belonged to the population of Liang State and Huainan, but the counties of Liang State had suffered from wars for a long time, and the counties of Huainan were also occupied by Yingbu. The disaster is almost over, so although the population of Chu has increased a lot, the number of strong men has hardly increased.

Xiang Zhuang then asked, "How long will it take for this situation to change?"

The population structure of Liangdi and Huainan counties is seriously unbalanced, which means that for a long time, these counties will become the burden of Chu State. One soldier, and he had to transport food in turn to help him, and he had to dispatch government soldiers from Jiangdong, Jingxiang, and Bashu counties to garrison.

Xiang Tadao: "I'm afraid it will be difficult to change in three to five years, but it may change in ten years."

"Ten years?!" Xiang Zhuang frowned, and said in a deep voice, "Ten years is too long, too long!"

Xiang He smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, if Liangdi and Huainan can improve within ten years, it will be good."

In Xiang's view, ten years is really an optimistic estimate. When the rich Bashu and Jingxiang were annexed earlier, it took a full three years to successfully integrate the six counties of Bashu and Jingxiang. Under the rule of Chu, Liangdi and Huainan counties were much more dilapidated than the six counties of Bashu and Jingxiang. It is a blessing to be able to improve in ten years.

Xiang Zhuang waved his hand and said, "Up to three years, Liangdi and Huainan must get on the right track."

Xiang Zhuang is only in his early 50s this year, and he will only be [-] years old in ten years. He can be said to be at the peak of his spring and autumn. The reason why he is unwilling to wait another ten years is because the Xiongnu kidnapped a large number of craftsmen from Yan, Zhao, and Han. It was the tens of thousands of blacksmiths that made Xiang Zhuang's heart full of vigilance. In another ten years, how could he know how powerful the Xiongnu would be?
Therefore, Xiangzhuang must get Liangdi and Huainan on the right track within three years, and then within two years, send out the Northern Expedition to destroy Qi, Zhao, and Yan, and then concentrate on going north to deal with the Xiongnu. Craftsmen, but within five years, the situation should still be controllable. Even if the Huns are strong, they will not be much stronger.

Therefore, Xiang Zhuang can only give three years at most to digest and absorb Liangdi and Huainan.

"What, three years?!" Xiang He lost his voice, "How is this possible? This is completely impossible!"

"Using conventional means, it is of course impossible to get Liangdi and Huainan on the right track within three years, but what if extraordinary means are used?" Xiang Zhuang tapped his fingers on the table subconsciously, thoughtfully, "For example..."

Before he finished speaking, Qu Bucai hurried in, bowed and said: "My lord, there are pigeons sending letters to Anyi!"

After finishing speaking, Qu Bucai handed a roll of secret letter to Xiang Zhuang, Xiang Zhuang unfolded the small scroll and read it hastily, his face sank immediately, and the hearts of Xiang He and Bi Shu beside him also sank, and something happened again up!

(End of this chapter)