"Your Majesty intends to send troops to Dali?" Li Gu looked up at Liu Chengyou with a calm expression, but he didn't seem to believe it.
Liu Chengyou replied: "Opening up new territories and expanding the territory will bring about unparalleled achievements, which may be expected! I am very pleased that the general is enterprising! What do you think of Li Qing?"
After hearing the question, Li Gu thought about it for a while and responded slowly: "In the past expedition to Huainan, Your Majesty trained the land and water troops and horses, forged fine weapons, accumulated three years of food, and then launched the army. He collected Jinghu and laid out the plan for several years. Two hundred thousand shi of grain were stationed. As for the army that defeated Sichuan and Shu, it only took half a year, but Shu and Han fought for ten years in the Spring and Autumn Period, and sometimes they made early deployments, and mobilized hundreds of thousands of people..."
"It seems that Li Qing has objections?" Liu Chengyou said with a smile.
Li Gu clasped his hands and said, "As Sun Tzu said," the one with more temples will win, and the one with fewer temples will not win. If we just rely on the general's words and rush to raise the army, we will miss the mark and achieve nothing!
Furthermore, if you don’t know the enemy but know yourself, you will win and you will lose. In the southwest region, there are high mountains and dense forests, different roads, and complicated barbarian sentiments. If you rush to raise troops, you may not get the benefits, but you will get the disadvantages.
Under the new rule of Sichuan and Sichuan, the southwest Daozhou should give priority to supporting the people and returning them to governance, and it is not advisable to make major moves. The enemy's situation is unclear and the rear is not safe, so it is not appropriate to engage in a large-scale war.
Dali belongs to the hometown of Nanzhao. It has been 20 years since the founding of the country. The public was mobilized to fight against it and the troops were exhausted on expeditions. The future was uncertain. Regarding Tianbao, Yin Jian is not far away. I hope Your Majesty will think twice! "
What Li Gu said was an old man's plan for the country, and he expressed his own opinions directly. He had no intention of catering to Liu Chengyou's ideas. Of course, he also knew that although the emperor had a strong desire for success, he was not yet overjoyed at it. He could distinguish the pros and cons and listen to what others said, so he boldly expressed his feelings.
Of course, Liu Chengyou has always admired Li Gu's character and talents, and has always been gentle and soft-spoken. Listen to their opinions, always with a warm smile on your face, and nod to express respect and recognition.
Then he looked at Chai Rong: "What do you think?"
Chai Rong said directly without thinking: "If you don't take the rich and blessed land in the southeast, why would your Majesty be interested in Yunling?"
Chai Rong's attitude was also directly stated: "In today's general trend, the country's focus is to unify the country first, with no other direction, and other political affairs are secondary. Furthermore, Your Majesty has the ambition to help the world and regain the old land. Saibei and Hexi are both areas for use, so why distract yourself from other directions.
After wiping out the world, the powerful enemy is in the north, so it is not appropriate to look south! Things are divided into priorities, and how to weigh them? With your Majesty's wisdom, you can take whatever you want! "
Hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou was not surprised. He just looked at Chai Rong and said with emotion: "The two ministers have the same opinion. They all agree on this. I don't need to ask other people for their opinions!"
Facing Liu Chengyou's gaze, Chai Rong paused for a moment and then said: "Dali is small and remote, with a vast territory and few people. It has been self-reliant and has not known the power of the Central Plains for a long time. Your Majesty has the ambition to do it. It is not impossible. You can only slow down the plan." .
As Li Xianggong said, more temple calculations are needed. Dali's national strength, military equipment, tribes, cities, roads, etc. need to be fully understood and properly prepared. In particular, an army must be trained that is familiar with the geography and climate of the southwest and is good at fighting in the mountains and forests.
When the time comes, send one division and brigade to annihilate them. The effect will be twice the result with half the effort, and there will be no danger to others! "
It can be heard that Chai Rong is not that interested in Dali, and he doesn't think highly of it. At the same time, opinions on the next move of the Han Dynasty were also expressed very clearly.
"I do have an intention to conquer Dali. This is called winning Shu and hoping for Yunnan!" Liu Chengyou said with a very calm look: "But the second minister does have a reason. I will not fight an unprepared battle, I can only fight a little." Suppress Wang Quanbin’s ambition to make great achievements and wait for the future!”
"Your Majesty is wise!" The two of them were not too surprised by the emperor's reaction and responded with their hands in hand.
After thinking for a while, Liu Chengyou said: "However, delaying the plan does not mean that there is no plan. I will leave it to Wang Quanbin to prepare for Dali. What do you two think?"
"I think it's okay!" Li Gu nodded.
Chai Rong thought for a while and said: "Old General Wang can't suppress his ambition now. He urgently needs to rebuild his achievements and restore his reputation. If he uses it to prepare for the conquest in southern Sichuan, he will definitely do his best and not dare to neglect. With his prestige, he can also suppress it. In Shuzhong, scare Xiaoxiao and ensure the security and stability of Jiannan!"
"Then let Wang Quanbin be the deputy commander of Jiannan Road!" Liu Chengyou waved his hand and said calmly.
"So I'm not afraid that Wang Quanbin won't do his best!" Li Gu stroked his beard and chuckled.
A pair of old eyes flashed with the light of wisdom, and he said: "There was an obstacle from Shu, so since the founding of Dali, it has never communicated with China. Now that Sichuan and Shu have been established, the two sides are bordering each other, and the road has been opened, the big man should strengthen contact with it." !”
"What you said is true!" Liu Chengyou immediately understood and said, "It should be so. On this National Day, the Duan family also sent envoys to congratulate and offer gifts. This courtesy is exchanged, and the court should respond. But the Ministry of Rites can arrange for people to go to the southwest Take a trip to spread the prestige of my country, the Han Dynasty!"
"I will explain it to the Wude Department, and Chai Qing will arrange the Military Intelligence Department!" Liu Chengyou said to Chai Rong.
Chai Rong understood and handed over his hands: "Yes!"
The First Director temporarily put aside the discussion, looked at Li and Chai, and asked in a deep voice: "Second Minister, do you think that now is the opportunity to bring peace to the Tang Dynasty?"
It can be seen from the emperor's solemn and solemn expression that this is the real purpose of calling them here. Compared with the poor mountains and rivers of Dali, it is obviously the Jiangnan area where the country is rich and the people are densely populated. He is more tempted.
Regarding the emperor's question, the two of them were obviously more cautious and thought more deeply. This time it was Chai Rong who spoke first, saying: "Your Majesty, I think the Southern Tang Dynasty is not difficult to win. Since the Huainan War, the Han Dynasty has become stronger and the Tang Dynasty has become weaker. Our army will attack it like Mount Tai, crushing the dead and destroying it. It can't be stopped.
The territory south of the Yangtze River is small. Except for the Yangtze River shared by the two countries, there is almost no danger to defend and it is surrounded by enemies on all sides. According to the investigation, there are still tens of thousands of troops in Jiangnan. The only ones who are capable of fighting are Liu Renzun of Ezhou and Lin Renzhao of Runzhou, with about 30,000 troops. The rest are not Taoists.
However, Liu Rengan is old, and our army can cut off the Yangtze River at any time and annihilate him alone. Although Lin Renzhao was brave and enterprising, he was still a surrendered general of the Fujian state. The former was supported by Li Hongji and Han Xizai, so he was highly used. Now that Li Hongji has been deposed and Han Xizai is gone, Lin Renzhao has also been greatly affected and has less use of his force.
Our army is not the same. We have strong soldiers and horses. Let alone the imperial troops of the two yamen for the time being. Our navy has made great progress and can be put to great use. The water network in the south of the Yangtze River is unlikely to be blocked. If a big man raises an army, he will definitely succeed. However, I suggest that you wait for a while, wait for Shuzhong to be completely stable, and all the aftermath matters have been implemented, so that the court, soldiers, and people can take a breather before turning your strategy to Jiangbiao! "
In fact, with the current strength of the Han Dynasty, it can be done even if it sends troops immediately. The main forces used to quell Shu were the military and civilian forces in the southwest. In the Central Plains and Huaihe River, the court still had enough reserve forces to use. Although the court's financial and material resources were consumed a lot, they were supplemented by the gains from Shu, so there was still room for improvement.
However, before and after the peace of Shu, coupled with the chaos in Shu, the Han Dynasty was tired in all aspects. Sichuan and Shu need to recuperate, and the aftermath involves Guanzhong and the entire middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. When half of the country needs to recuperate, the Han Dynasty can still recruit troops, civilians, and financial resources to carry out a war to destroy the country, and the probability of success is very high, but then the country will be too exhausted and the pressure will be greater. big.
After the destruction of Shu, reunification was imminent, and the achievements that established his historical status were right in front of him. Even though Liu Chengyou was as deep as the sea, he still couldn't help but be anxious.
Therefore, he agreed with Chai Rong's words, but he always had a sense of urgency in his heart and wanted to get it done overnight.
Liu Chengyou's eyes wandered for a few times before he said, "In Chai Qing's opinion, sending troops can lead to success?"
The emperor's attitude made Chai Rong frown slightly and nodded, but he still suggested seriously: "I believe that success is inevitable, but you should not rush it. If you slow down a little and be well prepared, you can still do it with ease!"
"What do Li Qing think?" Liu Chengyou looked at Li Gu again.
The dialogue between Liu Chengyou and Chai Rongjun and his ministers was all heard. Li Gu had obviously thought about it clearly and replied to Liu Chengyou affirmatively: "Your Majesty, judging from the comparison of the national strength of the two countries, raising troops to attack the Tang Dynasty is actually using yi." If you weigh the baht, you will definitely succeed!"
