Great Wei Overlord

Chapter 968
Chapter 974

"No, no." Xie An shook his head and said, "It's not a wise strategy to cut off foreign aid from Chengdu. Xie Zhenxi should have already thought about it. Even if the authorities are confused for a while, he should have awakened?"

"Anshi doesn't know something." Wang Jian coughed and said, "It is said that it is a good strategy to divide the troops to seize the counties and counties and isolate Chengdu. Unfortunately, because the transportation capacity of the Shu Road is limited, if we divide the troops, we need to lengthen the supply line, and we The army's supply capacity has reached its limit."

Hearing this, Xie An also sighed.Now I have learned that Xie Ai was born under the Guigu sect, which is famous for good tactics, and Xie Ai is also famous for being a Confucian general, there is no way to achieve such a simple strategy, and even if Xie Ai is fascinated by the authorities, Xie Ai has a team With a staff team of nearly a hundred people, there is no reason not to fill this loophole for Xie Ai.

According to the records of the Han Dynasty, on the road of Shu, there are continuous cliffs on the top, meandering streams winding around the mountains;The road in the gentle place is muddy and moss is everywhere; on the mountain road, there are thorns and rocks clogging the road.Traveling to dangerous places is like walking on the tail of a tiger, and it is difficult to move on an empty car and fast horse.Poisonous snakes and beasts appeared from time to time, and frost destroyed crops before autumn came.

During the Cheng Han period, in order to resist the plunder of the Huns and Han, Cheng Han not only did not build the Shu Road, but destroyed a large number of plank roads, and even livestock could not pass through.Therefore, when goods pass through the Shu Road, most of the road sections can only be carried by people.From Ziwu Town, Chang'an County, at the north entrance of Ziwu Road, to Ziwu Town, Xixiang County, at the south entrance, the distance is more than 600 miles, and people with goods on their backs can only walk fifty miles a day.

Zhuge Liang did not dare to challenge the steepness of Meridian Road.During the first Northern Expedition, General Wei Yan put forward the "Ziwu Valley Miracle", that is, he led five thousand troops to take Chang'an through Ziwu Valley, and Zhuge Liang led the army to join him on the Baoxie Road.However, Zhuge Liang was cautious in using troops throughout his life, thinking that the plan was too risky and did not adopt it.

At this time, although the Shu Road had been repaired, some road sections were only two feet wide, barely enough for two carriages to run side by side, but most of the roads were only one foot wide, which could only accommodate bicycles.In order to improve the transportation capacity of the Shu road, businessmen can think of many ways. In order to increase the traffic flow, they spared no effort to repair the emergency section, the purpose is to facilitate the intersection of vehicles.However, although the transportation capacity of the Shu Road has been improved, the luggage that can be transported to Chengdu can barely be maintained, and Xie Ai cannot store materials for dividing troops and occupying the city at all.

Fighting is fighting logistics. Without material support, the army cannot fight at all.In particular, the state of Wei was well-equipped with a lot of firearms, and the supply troops had a large number of mules and horses. These animals and soldiers consumed a lot of supplies every day. Only more than 500 mules and horses needed to eat more than [-] catties of fodder every day.More than [-] catties are only [-] tons. If only two or three heavy freight trucks are needed to complete the transportation of materials in later generations, but in this era, the horse-drawn carriages for transporting forage can only transport more than [-] catties, and the forage trucks alone need more than [-]. vehicles, and this is only a day's consumption.

It can be said that Wei Guo's attack on Chengdu is not because Huan Wen is good at fighting, but because of the limitation of Wei Guo's material transportation capacity.Xie An and Wang Jian didn't discuss the reason, but this matter finally caught Ran Ming's attention.

When Ran Ming learned that Xie Ai couldn't open up the situation in Chengdu because he didn't get enough supplies, he immediately blamed himself.In fact, attacking Bashu does not require too many troops, because too many troops consume too much.In history, there were only more than 2 Jingzhou soldiers brought by Liu Bei into Shu. As for Deng Ai's departure from Yinping, there were actually more than 4 soldiers.When Huan Wen attacked Cheng Han, the total number of water, land and cavalry was [-] horses. As for the later battle of the Song Dynasty to destroy Houshu, the Song Dynasty invested [-] troops (there are also records that [-] soldiers and horses).As for why the Song Dynasty did not destroy Dali, it was actually because Taizu's supplies could not keep up.

The current situation is very unfavorable to Wei Guo. Xie Ai's army can't store food for three days. If he is not careful, he might suffer a defeat.

"Ran Ming, Ran Ming!" Ran Ming asked himself, did he change? "Ran Ming, Ran Ming, there is no rush to fight with troops, especially in such a critical battle, you have to be like a skilled chess player, calculating every step carefully. But you, but this time you sent troops to Bashu to destroy Huan Wen, from the beginning At the beginning, it seemed arrogant and arrogant, and it has violated the taboo of being a general. Because these emotions can affect your judgment on the situation of the battle and the strength of the enemy and ourselves."

Yes, the people of Ran Ming are in a hurry. In history, Fu Jian launched an army of the whole country to attack the state of Jin. As a result, he was defeated in the battle of Feishui, and Di Qin was defeated because he invested too many troops.The large number of people fighting is one aspect, but due to insufficient supplies or improper command, it is easy to cause large-scale chaos.

Ran Ming suddenly recalled that when China was manufacturing intercontinental ballistic missiles in later generations, it was necessary to add enough fuel because of the design strike distance. However, after adding fuel, the missile would become more resistant due to the increase in its own weight, and the range would not increase significantly. , can never achieve the design goal.Later, a designer (I don’t remember the name) did the opposite, not only did not increase the fuel, but reduced the fuel, and succeeded because the missile became lighter.

In the later generations, if every enterprise wants to develop well and quickly, it usually adopts a method, which is to lose the loss-making business department and go into battle lightly, so as to go further.This is also what is commonly referred to in enterprises as reducing staff and increasing efficiency, which means that employees are stimulated to work harder by means of layoffs.

But doing so will result in two extremes, either the company will prosper, or it will fail due to the laxity of people's hearts.In fact, it is also used in the army.

Ran Ming thought of this and had a clear understanding.Immediately, the General Staff ordered the Zhenxi Army to withdraw.Of course, not all the troops were withdrawn at once, but the cavalry units, which were of little use, were withdrawn, but the order was sent to the General Staff but was resisted.

Holding Ran Ming's warrant, Ji Li met Ran Ming in person and remonstrated, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid I can't just order Zhenxi to withdraw the troops so directly?"

"Oh!" Ran Ming said, "What advice does the Great General have?"

"Your Majesty's concern, I take it seriously!" Ji Lu said: "But if you directly order the Zhenxi Army cavalry to retreat, it may affect the morale of the Zhenxi Army. It is possible to lose."

Ran Ming nodded and said: "But the morale of the Zhenxi army is getting lower and lower, and the consumption of supplies is getting bigger and bigger. If you want to use up Huan Wen's food by besieging the city, you can't send back the news carefully. Huan Wen has stored about the entire city's people in Chengdu. One year's worth of food, if used sparingly, will last for a year and a half without any problem. The problem now is that Huan Wen can afford energy consumption, but I can't."

As the chief of staff of the entire army, Ji Wei certainly knew how staggering the consumption of the Zhenxi Army outside Chengdu was.

In ancient times, because the common people ate less oil and water, their appetites were astonishing. Almost every ordinary soldier could eat at least two catties of rice every day. Remember that this is still dry rice, and it is not the amount after steaming.The Zhenxi Army has 34 people, and it needs to consume 70 million catties of grain every day. The 70 million catties of grain are only more than 70% of the transportation volume. [-] million catties.

If you rely solely on the output of farmers, the expenditure of the Zhenxi Army alone can drag down Wei Guo.Fortunately, Ran Ming could rob food from the Indochina Peninsula and Southeast Asia, otherwise Wei would have no food.But whether it is the Indochina Peninsula or the Nanyang Islands, although the land in Nanyang is fertile and the yield is high, the natives of Nanyang and the Indochina Peninsula are too lazy. Even if they use robbing, the amount of food is not too much, and they cannot afford it at all.

"Your Majesty, you can change your name!" Ji Wei said: "Just like Shi Yue, the general who conquered the South, he beheaded soldiers above five ranks and entered Ye to be received by His Majesty. His Majesty can give them more officials and promotions. The number of Western troops on the front line can also improve the morale of the Zhenxi Army."

"Miaomiaomiao!" Ran Ming said: "This plan is very good! In this way, [-]% of the soldiers of the Western Army can be reduced. These soldiers are mainly soldiers who have made meritorious service. I can reward them with money and food, and I can reward them with a month's vacation. Yes. That's right, this month's time does not include travel time, but it starts when they return home after they are received by me from Yecheng."

Half a month later, the commander of the Chinese army in the Western Army camp outside the city of Chengdu.Since surrendering to Wei State, Xie Ai has been very low-key. There are several reasons for this. The first is that he led the Liang army to fight against the Hou Zhao army. However, Ran Min's first defeat was at the hands of Xie Ai, and he died in the hands of Xie Ai. There are not a few generals under him like Ran Min, which caused many generals of the Wei army to have a personal hatred towards Xie Ai.

The second is that although he was not surrounded and annihilated on the battlefield and was forced to surrender, but Zhang Yaoling surrendered and took the initiative to lead his troops to surrender, but he still couldn't get rid of his identity as a surrendered general. In many people's eyes, he was forced to surrender after being defeated by the Wei army Yes, as a surrendered general in the Wei army, he was naturally not seen by many people.

Thirdly, it is because Xie Aiyuan, the great general of Liangguo, who is under one man and over ten thousand people, has won all battles since he came out of the mountain, and has become famous all over the world.

Therefore, Xie Ai was very low-key. He really didn't expect that Ran Min would directly appoint him as General Zhenxi after Wang Zhuo's rebellion.Like many Wei generals, he has little loyalty to the emperor Ran Ming, and his loyalty is only to the interest group Wei.Rather than the individual Ran Ming, Ran Ming is the emperor and he is loyal to Ran Ming. If Ran Ming is not the emperor, he will be loyal to another person.

In fact, to put it bluntly, Xie Ai has a quality similar to that of professional soldiers in later generations.In Wei State, those who blindly loyal to Ran Ming were only generals from the Jiangwu Hall. The other ministers were basically similar to Xie Ai. There were many reasons why they chose to be loyal to Ran Ming. It is the best choice to lead the unification and rise of the Wei State. Some people think that Ran Ming can lead them to gain power and glory, but there is very little personal loyalty mixed in here. If someone who is equally outstanding becomes the leader of the Wei State, they will He will also choose to be loyal to that person.

It's just that now he has received Ran Ming's imperial decree, and he has seen an unusual smell from it.

[-]% of the meritorious soldiers returned to Yecheng to accept Ran Ming's reception and rewards. Normally, Xie Ai should be happy, but Ran Ming didn't send troops to replace them when the [-]% of the meritorious soldiers left the front line, and was immediately weakened by [-]%. military power.However, Xie Ai couldn't make any rebuttals, because refuting Ran Ming was to block the way for soldiers to be promoted. As long as the news spread, Xie Ai would lose all support in the Zhenxi Army. Who would work for him?
"Your Majesty, are you trying to hide everything?"

Xie Ai has strong dissatisfaction with Ran Ming's behavior of cutting power. Of course, power is like an addictive poison. As long as the taste of power is repaid, no one is willing to give up.Xie Ai is also unavoidable. If he wants to cut my military power, isn't it because Chengdu was not conquered in the first battle?Could it be that Xie Ai really couldn't defeat Chengdu in one battle?
Everyone has great potential. When faced with absolute pressure, some people can sometimes successfully stimulate their potential.As the saying goes, if you are poor, you want to change, if you change, you will be successful, and if you are general, you will be able to do it.Xie Ai received the imperial decree from Ran Ming and was under great pressure.

Xie Ai became ruthless and began to launch the most violent attack against Chengdu since the siege. Of course, Xie Ai would not adopt a Soviet-style brutal attack regardless of casualties, but used the resources in his hands to destroy Huanwen's city defenses as much as possible.

However, he must obey Ran Ming's imperial decree.Because at this time, Xie Ai knew very well that no one could go against Ran Ming's will.

In later generations, front-line soldiers will also adopt a rotation system to give certain holidays to relax their minds. In fact, it is to prevent soldiers from developing mental illness due to homesickness or prolonged fierce fighting, and thus generate anti-war sentiments.A large number of transport vehicles returning from the front line are loaded with soldiers returning from the front line.Some of these soldiers were going to Yecheng to attend Ran Ming's audience and be awarded honors because of their military exploits.Some need to return to the rear for treatment or demobilization due to serious injuries or disabilities.

After being reminded by Ji Wei, Ran Ming thought more about it.Ran Ming also wanted to take this opportunity to let these soldiers who were fighting bloody battles on the front line have a look at what a beautiful state of Wei has now been built.This proposal was put forward by the Propaganda Department of the Royal Secret Service chaired by Du Cong. So far, the effect is quite obvious.Because of the continuous expansion and annexation of Wei State, it has accumulated terrifying wealth. The entire northern part of Wei State has completely emerged from the quagmire of war. Most of the counties and counties have been built beautifully due to the devastation of war. Huan makes people feel deeply proud of their country.

Compared with the bloody and cruelty at the front line, the life in the rear of Wei can be described as peaceful and brilliant. Although there are no tall buildings, there are more bricks and tiles than the sum of all dynasties. The real estate development industry has formed The scale of the industry is no longer that the people build their own houses, but real estate developers build everywhere.A large number of real estate developers have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, and the competition among counties and counties is fierce. Countless developers have to set their sights on the countryside.A brand-new house appeared on the land of Wei State, which can almost be described as a clone, all courtyards with blue bricks and red tiles, used to decorate the splendor of the capital of the empire.

What made these soldiers feel that the first thing to change was actually the Shu Road.After nearly a year of intense material transportation, almost all the road surfaces of the Shu Road have undergone strict repairs. There are many kilns.

Unlike brothels, this kind of kiln shop on both sides of the Shu Road is dedicated to the porters, coachmen and grooms who travel on the Shu Road. These are the most common low-class people. They will definitely not flirt with prostitutes like those local tyrants Just spend a lot of money, of course they don't have the time.These kiln shops just tear off the clothes and dry them directly, and of course the prices are very cheap.Thirty yuan a time, [-] yuan for a better-looking one, and the most expensive one is only a hundred yuan, but to buy a Silla woman, it costs as much as [-] yuan, and the lesser only needs [-] or [-] yuan.

If it was the famine years in the past, ordinary people would sell their sons and daughters in order to survive, and these kiln shops would not worry about the supply of goods.It's just that in the state of Wei now, once a famine occurs, although the court of the state of Wei will not distribute relief materials for free, it will provide relief with work.People have a way to survive, who would sell their sons and daughters.Population is a very precious resource in the state of Wei, so don't use the method of robbing people's women by force, otherwise it would be trivial to ransack the family and exterminate the clan.Committed a crime in this area, usually the culprit is Ling Chi.In this way, it deters other people who are obsessed with interests.

Fortunately, businessmen are the most flexible people in this era. Since the Han people in Wei State could not be robbed, they set their sights on Silla and Baekje in the Korean peninsula. A large number of Silla and Baekje women were robbed to Wei State to enrich their lives. Go to major prostitutes to engage in cheap skin and meat business.

The prosperity of the Shu Road, these soldiers have not felt much yet, but after entering Guanzhong, most of the soldiers of the Zhenxi Army are from Guanzhong. When they came to Guanzhong, they found that the biggest change was the road.

Ran Ming proposed to build roads first in order to get rich, which is a holy will and also a political issue.As long as anything involves political heights, it is an issue that everyone attaches importance to.As a result, under the ideological and political influence of the official standard, the road in Guanzhong has been greatly improved.There are currently three types of roads in Wei State, the highest level is the national road, that is, the expressway.The second is the official road, and the third is the rural road.Entering Guanzhong, the officers and men were amazed to see the extremely spacious and almost abnormally flat road, especially the repaired drainage ditches on the left and right sides, and the trees on the roadside.

"Is this Guanzhong? Is this still our home?"

All welfare policies in the State of Wei are tilted towards the national family of soldiers. Soldiers not only have a higher political status, but also have a very high income.Their children, like gentry, have the right to be educated and be officials.Some soldiers were killed or disabled and retired, and their family members will receive up to 20 years of tax subsidies. Therefore, the emerging landlord class in Wei State is all soldiers or military members of Wei State.

(End of this chapter)