In ancient times, wars were fought under limited conditions and without high technology, so the only options were various conspiracies and tricks from the Thirty-Six Stratagems.
The Dingyuan Army of the former Prince Qing's Palace was said to have 300,000 troops.
But Lin Xiaoman estimated that there were not that many. The old emperor regarded the dog man as a thorn in his side and would not help him to raise an army. Chuzhou alone could not support so many soldiers. Beiqing now had four states. According to the population ratio, it could only have a total of 300,000 troops, which was already the maximum.
Under the current conditions, who has more soldiers is one of the important factors that determine the winner of the war.
Beiqing’s 300,000-strong army had to be dispersed in the surrounding counties and towns, and the troops had to be dispersed to defend the city.
Although the defenders have advantages, the pressure is definitely great. Once the city is surrounded and there is no food, they will be completely doomed.
The Northern Expedition Army has the entire southern part of Dagan as its supply, so food is not a problem and they can hold the siege for more than a year.
Lin Xiaoman seriously suspected that the bastard was about to lose the battle and had resorted to luring the tiger away from the mountain. Attacking Xinzhou was probably just a feint.
Without aerial footage, who knows how many troops he dispatched to attack Xinzhou? Perhaps it was only a few thousand cavalry, lightly armed!
They were all cavalry, which could explain why they were able to reach Xinzhou in such a short time.
As for capturing a county town, there could be at most a few thousand defenders in the county town, and a martial arts master could kill a large number of them. As the son of heaven, that bastard Su Beici must be a martial arts master.
Of course, this is just Lin Xiaoman’s guess. Only the person involved knows the details, and there is no drone that can fly over and take pictures.
Yang Hanmo's intelligence system is rather low-quality, and the news is so rough and slow. Of course, Lin Xiaoman thinks that it is very impressive that his adopted brother can develop such an intelligence system that covers the entire territory of Dagan.
Apart from the chaos in the north, there was another big news: the old emperor and the great Khan on the grassland reached a temporary truce agreement.
The two countries will hold friendly negotiations in January next year.
Although the Great Chanyu did not withdraw his troops, he did not continue the attack either. He retreated to the captured city. The war in the west finally stopped temporarily.
Winter is not conducive to marching and fighting. It is said that the Northern Expedition Army that had originally entered Beiqing also rested there. Xinzhou also stopped fighting. Anyway, because winter has come, the fighting has been temporarily stopped.
Of course, this is Yang Hanmo's information. No one knows whether the war has stopped or not.
And what about next year?
Lin Xiaoman felt that the key still depended on whether Dagan and the Great Khan of the Hu people tribe could reach an agreement. Once the two sides negotiated, the old emperor would definitely concentrate his troops to attack Beiqing.
However, we shouldn't have to cede territory or pay compensation in exchange for peace, right?
Will there be an increase in taxes if I lose money?
Well, there's no point in thinking too much, it's none of their business.
In winter, everything is silent and the earth seems to be hibernating, but in Tongzhou, the workshops in every village are bustling with work.
Lin Xiaoman was also busy, leading a group of craftsmen to make glass and colored glaze.
Just like in TV dramas, the windows of the buildings in Daqing are all covered with paper. When the temperature is low in winter, the doors and windows are closed, and it is very dark.
Therefore, when glass was born, it was a groundbreaking masterpiece.
While making glass, Lin Xiaoman looked up at the sky silently. She didn't feel any danger and her intuition didn't detect anything unusual. So, making glass was probably within the scope allowed by heaven.
After December, in January, the snow began to melt and the official road gradually became unobstructed again. Lin Xiaoman made a plan.
Improve the intelligence system!
Intelligence is very important.
When it comes to intelligence, there are only two options: one is teahouses and restaurants, and the other is brothels.
As a woman, Lin Xiaoman doesn't like brothels.
So, she decided to open teahouses and restaurants, and open stores all over Dagan. Although glass was produced, it was unique after all. Dagan currently did not have any glass products. The poor and ordinary people used wood and pottery, while the rich and powerful used porcelain, silver, gold and jade.
At present, Tongzhou is basically completely closed with only entry and no exit, and news cannot be transmitted out. Youzhou and Huaizhou are also semi-closed.
Tongzhou was bustling with reform and development, while Youzhou and Huaizhou were more secretive and cautious. These three states hadn't been noticed. However, if they were to sell glass in other states, they would surely be investigated. If the source was traced back to Yang Hanmo, their shabby development would be bankrupt.
Therefore, domestic demand should be met first, and glass should be supplied to Tongzhou first, then Youzhou and Huaizhou, and finally export should be considered.
As for teahouses, restaurants and wineries, Lin Xiaoman has already built them, but the output of various types of liquor is not that large, and transportation is a problem. It is better to use local materials and purchase raw materials locally. As for how to attract business?
What a wonderful story!
Many of the big restaurants have storytellers. As long as the story is interesting and unique, and the food and drinks are not too bad, customers will become repeat customers even if it's not just for the story.
When there are a lot of people around, they can chat in their spare time after dinner, and that becomes a channel for information!
When thinking of the story, Lin Xiaoman thought of printing books and promoting compulsory education!
Just do it, the paper has already been made by ourselves, and as for printing, come on, movable type printing!
Da Gan is still using woodblock printing, and Lin Xiaoman has started making molds for movable type printing.
After examining the national conditions, it was found that the tastes of the people in Dagan have not yet developed towards martial arts novels, but they are more inclined towards the style of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Lin Xiaoman happily memorized "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". She didn't need to copy it herself. She dictated it and the historian recorded it. The historian wrote much faster than her.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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