Chapter 384: Additional Update for the Alliance Leader and Daohezhen (asking for monthly votes)
“Tap, tap, tap.”
Luo Jing walked step by step in the palace, and beside him was Jia Yi. The two came together. Jia Yi suddenly coughed twice, and Luo Jing asked: "Prime Minister, has your health been poor recently?"
Jia Yi said in a somewhat unclear voice: "When people get older, they are prone to illness. I am afraid that my health is not suitable for serving as prime minister anymore.
But now that His Majesty is about to fight a great battle with the Xiongnu, Yi cannot retreat yet and must persevere. When the battle is over, I will ask His Majesty for my remains."
Hearing this, Luo Jing frowned slightly with some worry and looked up at the blue sky. Luo Ling is the most skilled in military strategy among all the living people in the world, especially in large-scale army battles. The Battle of Handan that destroyed the main force of the Qin Dynasty was the masterpiece of him and Xiang Yu.
When Luo Jing went back to Zhaocheng to worship his ancestors, he asked Luo Ling about his opinion on the war between the Han Dynasty and the Huns. Luo Ling thought that now was not the right time because Liu Che did not have his own team, and the current team was left by Emperor Xiaowen.
This group of people are indeed quite capable, but they are all relatively old. For example, Jia Yi was a person recommended during the Luoxin period. He has been working hard and is almost at the point of exhaustion.
A large-scale battle can last from a few months to several years, and these elderly people may not be able to survive it.
War is never just a battle of strength, but also a physical contest. In Go, there is a tactic called "outlasting old men and old ladies". Once, a second-dan player skillfully used this tactic to defeat an elderly ninth-dan player, who was once the world's number one female player.
The same is true in war. If the commander of one side dies halfway through the battle, that would be a big problem.
If it was simply because the prime minister was old, the problem would not be too big, after all, the prime minister was in charge of the rear, but the gap in the army was more serious.
From the founding of the Han Dynasty, the first generals were the invincible Han Xin and Han Wumu. In the hearts of the Han people, they were invincible commanders who were better than Lu, Sun, and Wu. That era was the strongest among the princes, but no one dared to act rashly.
After Han Xin, there were a large number of meritorious officials, as well as Luo Xin, the regent who was in charge of both military and political affairs. Soon after Emperor Xiaowen took power, Zhou Yafu became the general, and it has been more than 20 years until now.
Then there was no one.
Once Zhou Yafu retired, the huge Han court didn't even know who to appoint as the general, because there had not been a major war for many years. This is the current situation of the Han court.
Liu Che planned to take advantage of the war with the Huns to let Zhou Yafu train a group of people to forge a magic sword for the Han Dynasty that could protect the country.
This is another strategic goal besides defeating the Huns, and an even more important strategic goal.
As Luo Jing and Jia Yi arrived at Changle Palace, the palace door slowly closed, leaving only the light coming through the windows of the hall, illuminating everything inside the room.
Zhou Yafu is a general and currently the number one person in the Han military. He is in an absolutely high position and has great power, but he is still not qualified to wear armor in front of the emperor, so he wears loose court robes. He has white hair on his temples and head, but it is combed neatly and meticulously. His style has always been like this. He is very strict with himself, and his style of managing the army is almost the same.
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty."
After paying their respects, Luo Jing and Jia Yi sat in their seats.
Liu Che directly gave each of the four people a copy of the transcribed battle report. After such a long time, he naturally suppressed his anger, but the coldness in his words still did not dissipate, "Shame! This is not only a shame for me, but also a shame for the entire Han Dynasty!
Not to mention a one-to-one casualty ratio, even a two-to-one casualty ratio would be acceptable to me, but a five-to-one ratio would make me too ashamed to even face my ancestors and gods."
Liu Che said this with gnashing teeth, and several people in the hall expressed their understanding. After all, the casualties ratio of five to one was indeed outrageous.
The Huns were indeed strong, but not to this extent. If they were, the Han Dynasty would have been destroyed long ago.
In Ji Zhao's world, there is a saying that goes "One Han can defeat five Hu". Because this saying is widely circulated, and because Wei and Huo are so powerful, there seems to have always been an illusion that the Huns are weak and the Han army can beat them.
But in fact, this is a complete misunderstanding. If it was really possible to defeat the Huns easily, would several generations of monarchs starting from Liu Bang have been so stupid as to give money and women to the Huns for decades?
If it were really possible to defeat the Huns easily, could it be that Luo Ling disliked the fact that his family background was too strong, so he went to the grassland specifically to consume it?
In fact, the casualties of the Han army have always been relatively heavy. The reason why Wei Huo had such high prestige during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han was because these two people were able to defeat the Huns while keeping the casualty ratio at one to one, and even less in the later period.
Although there were tens of thousands of casualties in each expedition, the Han Dynasty's large population could withstand the attack, while the Huns' small population could not. In the end, the Han Dynasty was still able to send troops, but the Huns had already been extremely impoverished.
A tragic victory!
If Wei Huo had not died in the later period, and if Li Guangli, a bad chess player, had not been encountered and the Huns had not been pursued relentlessly, the war would have ended completely in the era of Emperor Wu of Han!
Liu Che cursed fiercely, as if he was still not satisfied, and seemed to want to express his importance and emotions to everyone, "In the past, Qin General Meng Tian was able to repel the Huns for more than 700 miles. My Han general and prime minister, Huaiyin Marquis Han Wumu, led the Han imperial army to defeat the Huns. It seems that the Huns are not invincible.
Now our great Han army has many generals and soldiers,
The grain in the granary could not be eaten up, the coins in the treasury had even piled up into a mountain, and the arsenal of every county was filled with armor and bows and crossbows.
Look at the Huns who led beasts to eat people. They wore rusty iron armor that seemed to be torn by a poke. Their swords were covered with rust, and would be chipped when they collided with the Han people's swords. They also used arrows made of bones, and the power of their bows and crossbows was so strong that they couldn't even penetrate paper.
Could it be that the Han people would lose to such an enemy?"
“…”
Liu Che's words silenced Zhou Yafu. He was the general, and it was he who would be responsible for leading the troops to battle in the future. Now that the emperor had belittled the fighting effectiveness of the Huns so much, his military merits and achievements would be discounted in the future.
Liu Che may have said this about the Huns in the past, but it is really not the case now, otherwise why would the casualties between the Han army and the Huns be so great? The only advantage the Han army has now is probably bows and crossbows, in which the Central Plains has always been invincible.
Zhou Yafu was silent, but Liu Che did not let him be silent. He asked directly: "Han Wumuhou is a general, and Zhou Qing is also a general. The late emperor appointed you and praised you for your military command like a famous general in ancient times. I believe you can defeat the Xiongnu."
When facing the emperor, any general can only say yes, because the purpose of setting up generals is to win!
Especially now that the Han court has made so many preparations for the war, especially in terms of national strength, it has reached an almost insurmountable peak. It can be said that everything is ready, only the east wind is missing.
If you can't win in this situation, then what is the point of the generals? Who won't lose?
Zhou Yafu kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, the late emperor knew that I have always been cautious and respectful, so he gave me the position of general. I will do my best to serve Your Majesty and repay the grace of the late emperor and Your Majesty. The Xiongnu are rampant and have insulted the king. This is a shame for me. Only blood and victory can defend the glory of the Han Dynasty. As long as Your Majesty prepares the army and hands it over to me, I will definitely bring victory back."
"good!"
Liu Che applauded Zhou Yafu who responded decisively, and then asked Jia Yi: "Prime Minister, have all the materials needed for the war been prepared?"
Jia Yi said immediately, "Your Majesty, from Chang'an to Yanshan, Yanmen and other counties, military granaries have been built in various places. The 100,000-man army can draw grain along the way, which can ensure that there is no shortage of food for three years. After three years, they can also collect and purchase grain from the people. The general can fight as much as he wants. The money and cloth in the treasury are enough for the rewards and pensions needed by the army. In a short period of time, the war will never affect the country. If we can quickly win the war within a year, or at the latest within two years to defeat the Xiongnu, cut off their tentacles, and sweep across the part close to the Central Plains, I can guarantee that the interior of the Han Dynasty will not be greatly affected."
Jia Yi's words can be said to be completely Versailles. From them, we can see how strong the foundation of the Han Dynasty is now. The impact of war on the people's livelihood is unimaginable, but now Jia Yi clearly said that even if the war lasts for two years, the Han court can still hold on. This means that the Han Dynasty still has infinite potential to be tapped.
Liu Che felt somewhat happy when he heard this, and all the anger he had felt about the battle report was released. What he wanted were ministers like Jia Yi and Zhou Yafu. He was not afraid of generals asking him for money, food, and soldiers, but he was afraid that they did not even have the courage to ask. The same was true for the prime minister. As a prime minister, his job was to solve problems, not to talk about this difficulty and that difficulty every day.
"Since both of you are ready, then we should act without further delay. I plan to appoint the general as the commander-in-chief and command the central army at the same time, and then divide the troops into five groups to wipe out the Xiongnu on the grasslands south of the desert. If we can capture the grasslands south of the desert, the Han Dynasty will not only gain a fertile horse farm, but also be able to reverse the strategic disadvantage against the Xiongnu."
Liu Che pointed at the geomancy map with some interest and explained his strategic planning and strategic goals to everyone, mainly Zhou Yafu. Although he was not the commander-in-chief, he was very clear about the goals of every war and would never start a war on a whim.
Zhou Yafu took the imperial edict directly back to the General's Mansion and issued a conscription order to the entire Guanzhong. Luo Jing did not stay in Chang'an, but went directly to Zhaocheng. Luo Jing had to ask Luo Ling about the sudden action of the Han Emperor before he could feel at ease.
(End of this chapter)
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