"In this discussion of the Northern Expedition, Liang wants to send troops out of Luoyang, take Hedong, Yingchuan, Yanzhou and other places, and attack the Central Plains. Ministers and generals, do you think it is possible?!"
Ten days later, at the Prime Minister's Mansion in Chang'an, Zhuge Liang summoned the governors and generals from various states to discuss the major events of the Northern Expedition.
Zhang Xi breathed a sigh of relief. This dead fish head finally started to do serious things, and he didn't have to be dragged around by this guy to discuss things.
What kind of national foundation is that troublesome thing? Can it be more important than the Northern Expedition? !
Moreover, this time in the Prime Minister's Mansion in Chang'an, there were a very large number of Ji Han ministers participating in the Northern Expedition.
Even Ma Zhong, the newly established governor of Yunzhou, was ordered to rush from Nanzhong to Chang'an to participate in this military meeting. This shows that Zhuge Liang may be making big moves in this Northern Expedition.
But, after listening to Zhuge Liang's opening remarks, the people who came to the meeting were somewhat stunned. The strategic goals proposed by Zhuge Liang were a bit too simple.
If it was just to pacify Heluo and capture Yanzhou, was it necessary to call so many people over for a meeting? !
With Heluo County soldiers and the Northern Han Army as the main force, supplemented by county soldiers from Nanyang, Xiangyang and other places, and Guanzhong, Heluo, and Jingzhou supplying grain, grass, and weapons, isn't it possible to win? !
Is it worth calling Ma Zhong, who is far away in Nanzhong, and Xu Miao, who has lived in Xiliang for a long time, to Chang'an for a meeting? !
Forget about Ma Zhong, he is only in his early forties, he is a military commander, and he is still in the prime of life. But Xu Miao is not only a civil servant, but he is already over sixty. After going back and forth like this, he is not afraid of an accident? !
Not to mention the governors and generals guarding the other prefectures, even Zhang Xi couldn't understand why Zhuge Liang was making such a fuss.
After that, it was naturally time for someone to ask questions and for Zhuge Liang to answer them.
In fact, this matter, if you really want to talk about it, is simple - Cao Wei sent more troops to Yanzhou and Heluo areas.
Since Cao Rui adopted Sun Zi's suggestion and established the "criminal money" system five years ago, in a short period of time, the national treasury was full, with enough money and food to recruit soldiers and rest and renovate armaments.
Almost immediately, Cao Rui began to recruit farmers from the Hebei region as soldiers. He selected a military force of 80,000 soldiers and had been training carefully for three years.
At the beginning of this year, Cao Rui sent this army of 80,000 troops to Hedong County, Hanoi County, and Yanzhou, under Sima Yi's personal command.
In the past five years, the main strategic focus of the Han Dynasty was the Southern Expedition. In the battle with Sun Quan in Jingnan, nearly 200,000 troops were mobilized. Therefore, the military investment in the Heluo area was not Very big.
Cao Wei also seized this opportunity, expanded military training in the Heluo area, and restored the original scale of county troops.
Today, Hedong, Hanoi, Yingchuan, and Yanzhou have a total of 200,000 Wei troops hoarded.
In Luoyang, no matter how carefully Zhuge Liang managed it in the past five years, the total military strength was only 70,000.
Such a comparison of military strength means that if the Han Dynasty does not launch the Northern Expedition first, I am afraid that Cao Wei will have to launch a second counterattack against Luoyang.
If the Han Dynasty wants to seize the opportunity to launch the Northern Expedition, facing the enemy's 200,000 troops, it must have at least 300,000 troops, and preferably 400,000 troops, otherwise it will not be able to suppress the Wei army in all directions.
Once an army of 400,000 is needed, it can be said to be the strength of the whole country. Without recruiting local governors to coordinate, how could the Han Dynasty have mobilized so many people? !
Even so, the big man still couldn't get these 400,000 troops.
It's not that the current Han Dynasty doesn't have an army of 400,000.
Yes, there is, but it is basically the entire wealth of the big man.
Once it is taken out, if something goes wrong, the man's vitality will be seriously damaged, and even Chang'an may not be protected.
Moreover, if there are only two powers in the world, Han and Wei, then it is not impossible to fight and decide the world in one battle. But the problem is that there is still a Sun Wu in the world who is eyeing them.
Apart from anything else, at least in Jingzhou, none of the county soldiers from Jiangling and Jingnan can be deployed. Xiangyang also needs to leave at least half of its troops for defense. Otherwise, with Soochow's virtue, he will never mind being there. When the stalemate between Han and Wei was at its peak, someone would stab you in the back.
Therefore, as soon as he heard that Zhuge Liang was going to mobilize so many troops for the Northern Expedition, the new Shangshu Ling Li Yan immediately stood up and expressed his opposition.
"It is not easy to recruit an army of 400,000 people. Moreover, soldiers from the south are moving north and soldiers from the north are moving south. The soil and water conditions are not suitable for them, and there is a risk of disease."
"The food and grass needed are not a small amount on a daily basis. To supply a large army for the expedition, even if we use the strength of the whole country, it may not be able to last for a long time."
"Jiangdong's son is capricious. Even if the national traitors are in the north, they must be on guard in the east. If all the troops are mobilized to go north, Soochow will definitely invade the territory."
"The Wei army is powerful at the moment. Although it can be worried, it is not terrible. Instead of waiting for it to attack and dampen its energy, we will attack later and sweep the world. I think this is a strategy of waiting for work with ease."
"These are the four strict considerations. I hope the Prime Minister will think more about them."
Of course, Zhang Xi has always disliked Li Yan and felt that Li Yan was too selfish. Now that he has become a minister and has real power, Zhang Xi has always been uneasy.
But on this matter, Zhang Xi had to admit that Li Yan was right.
It would be too risky for an army of 400,000 to attack Yanzhou with all their might.
After winning, it goes without saying that Cao Wei's strength was exhausted, and only the land of Hebei was left. He also lost his troops and generals, and only the Yellow River's natural barrier acted as a barrier.
Once the Han Dynasty completed crossing the river, he ordered a general to send a partial army of 100,000 people, which would be enough to conquer the northern land and pacify Hebei.
But if defeated, Heluo will definitely be lost, Chang'an will be threatened, and even Jingzhou may not be protected.
After all, there is a wolf waiting for meat in the east.
It is really possible to fight back to ten years ago.
According to Li Yan's strategy, he first waited for Cao Wei to be unable to resist and took the initiative to attack, and defeated Cao Wei's plan to counterattack Luoyang, and then regrouped his forces to counterattack. I am afraid that 200,000 people would be enough to occupy Yanzhou.
Don't be hasty when fighting a battle. It's not impossible to take it step by step.
Zhuge Liang seemed to be asked by Li Yan. He nodded and said, "Zheng Fang's concerns are reasonable. It's just..."
Well, Zhuge Liang is still Zhuge Liang after all, and he must have something to say later.
"Cao Wei gathered troops in Heluo this time. Although they seemed to have many troops, they were actually dispersed. More than 200,000 soldiers were stationed in Hedong, Hanoi, Yanzhou and other places. They were separated by the Yellow River and there was no Luoyang in the middle to communicate with each other. , this is a taboo for military strategists."
"In addition, Cao Wei is eager to counterattack and regain Luoyang. Cao Rui mobilizes a large number of troops to go south, which will inevitably leave Hebei empty. If he can win this battle, he can cross Hebei in one battle. Even if he cannot capture Ye City, he can still gain a foothold in Hebei. This opportunity is once in a blue moon. You can’t be too bright and careless.”
"Liang has been in Luoyang for several years. Every time he communicates with the Heluo family, the people of the family have suffered greatly from Cao Wei. He is willing to eat pots of milk to welcome the king, but the king is still difficult to come. If you miss this opportunity, the world will become worse and worse. Disappointed, I am afraid it will take decades to pacify Hebei."
"Therefore, Liang believes that although there is danger, it is not impossible to fight. Good opportunities are rare. As long as all the kings work together and the soldiers use their lives, victory will surely come."
Although this is correct, the problem is, at least Zhang Xi's side cannot pass.
What Li Yan said are all our own problems, such as soldiers being acclimatized to the climate, logistical pressure on food and grass, etc. These are all very practical problems.
Zhuge Liang's answer now simply avoids his actual problems, and instead explains to everyone how good the opportunity is to send troops to the Northern Expedition. This makes Zhang Xi feel like a boss in the future.
But the problem is, no matter how good the pie painting is, everything will be empty until your own problems are solved.
Zhuge Liang is not the kind of person who only sees the benefits and cannot see the shortcomings, right? !
Therefore, Zhang Xi wanted to stand up and warn Zhuge Liang. Back then, Cao Cao only saw the opportunity to unify the world, but did not see his own problems. In the end, he was burned by Zhou Yu until he cried like a chicken.
We can't repeat Cao Cao's mistakes.
But just when Zhang Xi wanted to stand up and object, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
Let’s not talk about whether Zhuge Liang is the kind of person who only looks at the people in front of him and not at his feet. Even if he is, then are Pang Tong and Xu Shu also such people? !
If Zhuge Liang really made such a decision, I'm afraid they wouldn't need to stand up to oppose it. They would all express their dissatisfaction to Zhuge Liang in advance, right? !
Taking a sneak peek, Zhang Xi discovered that Pang Tong and Xu Shu were looking at their noses with their eyes and their hearts with their noses, sitting with expressionless faces, motionless.
Even Li Yan. Zhang Xi looks at this Li Yan now, why does he feel that something is wrong? !
Isn't it a coincidence that this kid Li Yan came forward at the right time? !
Just after Zhuge Liang said that he was going to attack Yanzhou in the north, Li Yan immediately jumped out and said that it was difficult to mobilize soldiers and that there was a big problem in the supply of food and grass. It was better to defend instead of attack. Is Li Yan really that stupid? !
Although this old boy has always been very selfish, he has no problem with his ability at all, and his vision is not much worse than Fazheng. Now that this old boy also has real power, there should be no need to fight for power with Zhuge Liang, right? !
So, by jumping out to oppose in such a hurry, is it to show his sense of existence, or does he have ulterior motives? !
Something's wrong, let's take a look first before talking about it
(End of chapter)
