Updated: 2012-09-27

"Lord, King Zhao! How about it? What do you think?" Situ Liang said with a smile.

Zhao Xun shrugged and said disapprovingly: "If you have strength, you are either kings or kings. If you don't have power, you can just become emperor? The rafters that come out will rot first. Let's sit and watch the show!"

To be king? The King of Shu can be called, but this place in the north is really not good. After all, there are forces around him. If the court exempts the crime and some temptation, these people will attack him. Who makes the Xiaoguo Army the strongest? Only by cutting off the strongest can other people have hope, right? Zhao Xun speculated that if he is king now, he will not care about the court and directly eliminate the army, and even pardon all the guilt of other forces.

Sure enough, after Zhang Yan issued the announcement, the imperial army was much slower, and the troops that were originally planned to mobilize were stationed in place. The troops in Yuzhou, Yongzhou and other places were all stopped mobilizing. After all, after Zhang Yan shouted, all the forces in the north of the north of Luoyang were all surfaced, so that everyone could see that with the tampering of some people, there was such a large-scale hostile force north of Luoyang. Who dared to act lightly? Who can bear the responsibility and the country was destroyed?

Although we know that it is impossible for various armies to enter Yongzhou, we must be careful. Especially if the army conquers Shu Kingdom, the northern forces will have a chance. Not to mention the distance, even the Xiaoguo army in Jizhou will be enough to make Situ Lei and Murong Cheng have a headache. What makes them even more trouble is that the slogan of the Shu King is to enter Luoyang, clear the king's side, and kill the evil spirits! Who should I kill? Of course, they are to kill those who control the situation in Luoyang. If the defense in Yongzhou is weak, who can guarantee that the Xiaoguo army will not go south to attack?

In addition to this reason, there is another reason. Ningzhou is in the south of Yizhou, behind Situ Lei's sphere of influence. Now, Situ Lei is busy controlling the prefectures and counties in his sphere of influence, and even throwing the Xiaoguo army, who is killing sons, aside. Now there is a problem in the south of Yizhou, Situ Lei is naturally nervous, but Murong Cheng wants Situ Lei to be in chaos behind.

Speaking of this sphere of influence, it is still the territory that the two of them compete for power and power, and the officials appointed by the states they formed, and each of them has two controls. These states and prefectures are all the spheres of influence, not the direct forces of the two. Now the two are busy rectifying the forces in various places, and they are eager to fight within the other side. However, Zhang Yan directly became king, which made Murong Cheng cooperate with Situ Lei for action, and the main force is still Situ Lei's people.

No one responded to the few people pointed out by Zhang Yan. What should he do? He didn't seem to hear rumors from the outside world. Tang Xian, Li Chi and the army of King Qi were still fighting endlessly, but, at the beginning, this was much smaller, and most of them were small-scale battles. The Xiaoguo Army was still annexing and digesting Qingzhou. General Zhenbei in the north of Bingzhou expanded his army, and seemed to have been hooked up with the Turks.

The large-scale ceasefire is naturally related to the weather. After all, winter is coming, and it is not the time for a big war. But no matter what, the failure of the northern forces made Situ Lei careless. Situ Lei made his fortune by the position of left prime minister. Before he really controlled the western prefectures, if something went wrong in Luoyang, Situ Lei would be worthless overnight. Of course, if he really controlled the eastern prefectures, he could naturally ignore Luoyang. He is different from Murong Cheng, who is the King of Qi and the royal relative. He may not be as powerful as him in the court, but his identity is there, and he can easily call on a large number of people loyal to the royal family. Therefore, Situ Lei hopes that Luoyang is safe and that the emperor is safe than Murong Cheng.

In any case, the conquest must continue, but I don’t know how much less the army was compared to the army that began to prepare for the operation. Situ Lei was responsible for the conquest of the rebel Zhang Yan, and the troops mainly came from Liangzhou and Yizhou. However, if the army from Liangzhou arrived in Ningzhou, it would be necessary to say that it would be after next spring next year. The troops had not moved the food and grass. As today, even the people had no food to eat. Because of wars everywhere, bandits gathered together, and the world was deserted, and I don’t know how many fields were deserted. If a real war was in a while, it would be difficult!

Time flies very quickly, and it is the end of the year in the blink of an eye. The Xiaoguo Army has been resting for more than three consecutive months, and no accidents have happened. Zhao Xun is busy with two things now, one of which is related to the army.

When the Xiaoguo Army was conquering the guards of Langya Prefecture in Qingzhou, it surrendered and accepted 13,000 qualified veterans. After three months of basic training, it officially became the soldiers of the Xiaoguo Army. In addition, Qingzhou's surrender also greatly increased the strength of the Xiaoguo Army. Now, tens of thousands of people have been added, and the young guards will have more soldiers in the future. Of course, Zhao Xun did not dislike too many people, but instead incorporated into the Xiaoguo Army system to a reasonable degree, which would not lead to the differences in strength of the army.

After asking for opinions from all parties, the Military Affairs Department discussed a general plan.

"Above the mansion, is expanding a unit?"

"Yes, lord, although there are already a large number of 20,000 people in one mansion, now every battle requires several teams to participate, and the number of one mansion is too small. Now, our Xiaoguo army occupies Youzhou, Jizhou, Qingzhou, Beiding five mansions and Beihu tribes. Not to mention that there are more than 200,000 people now, even if we double, we can raise them. Among them, the cavalry has increased by 12,000 people, and one lieutenant is 5,000. Four are one, 20,000 people." Situ Liang said in a deep voice.

"It's time to expand the cavalry, we are not short of war horses now! What is the reorganization plan for the troops of each prefecture?" Zhao Xun said with a smile.

"Above the mansion, there is another unit, two mansions are one unit. The Xiaoguo Army has a total of ten mansions, and it is calculated in ten units. These troops are enough for us to fight the north. Although it is not available yet, we cannot fill in these ten units and the army of twenty mansions at once."

Zhao Xun pondered for a moment and said, "Let's do this, the guards are above the palace, one guard and two guards, divided into two left and right prefectures. Among them, the three thousand former guard soldiers will be dismantled and supplemented to the tenth and eighth prefectures. The rest will be raised. For the reorganization of the Qingzhou Prefecture Army, we will now select suitable people, and after placing them in the new recruit camp for three months, we will join the Xiaoguo Army and become formal soldiers of our army. Remember, it is better to have nothing than to be too bad, and we must never fail."

The military affairs are still easy to deal with. As long as the basic policies are set and implemented accordingly, there is no bargaining or difficult to clarify military orders in the military. But another thing made it difficult for Zhao Xun to decide. Even when he first heard about it, he was shocked.

Officials from the Government Affairs Department asked Zhao at the end of the year to build the canal next year. When Zhao Xun heard this, he thought of Emperor Yang of Sui. Build a canal? That was done by the whole country for a long time, not something we can do. Zhao Xun thought that these officials in the Government Affairs Department didn’t know what they should do because the Chinese New Year was coming. Later, after a closer look, he realized that the construction of the canal was not to ask Xiaoguojun to learn from Emperor Yang of Sui and dig up the canal from north to south to north to south. Instead, repairing the canal that was once open to north but now was a bit abandoned and even impossible to use.

It turned out that in the previous dynasty, the emperor saw that the governance of the north was too difficult and the expedition was too difficult. In addition to the cavalry in the north, there were other reasons. The world was too cold, but this could increase clothes to keep the cold. There was an inevitable problem, that is, the logistics pressure was too great, and if you had food and grass, transportation was also a big problem. Two hundred thousand troops were required to conquer the eastern part of the army, 300,000 and 400,000 civilians. In the previous dynasty, when conquering Goguryeo, because of this, after a small victory, they quickly withdrew and did not stay in the north. It was not because of anything else, but because of the logistical pressure that was too great to be sustained. At the same time, the entire north was the enemy of the Central Plains dynasty, and Goguryeo was just a weak one.

Subsequently, in order to strengthen the north, the north was repaired and built city and official roads. The northeast was further away from Chang'an. In order to control this place, the rivers such as Youzhou were repaired many times, connecting the Yellow River, Wenshui, and Yishui. It was a place in the Central Plains such as Youzhou and Jizhou, Yanzhou and even Yuzhou. It was better to communicate, and water transportation was more convenient, faster and easier than land transportation. This was also the reason why the previous dynasty and Dayan had never been defeated in Youzhou at the beginning of the founding of the country. Unfortunately, the financial situation was not good, and the rivers were dredged and silt blocked, and many places were no longer open to navigation, becoming a dead path.

In addition to the previous dynasty, the Dayan Kingdom also repaired the canal many times, and even continued to replenish and expand over a hundred years, connecting the Yangtze River to the south. After checking the map, Zhao Xun found that the canal here is more powerful than the other historical Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. You must know that the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has been a major event that has been for generations. If there was no Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, there might not be the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty, nor the founding of the Ming Dynasty and Beijing. Even during the Ming Dynasty, the canal was still a major artery in the north. Once the river channel was robbed, the entire Beijing would have no food. Even in the Qing Dynasty, it would have made great contributions.

But this thing is very beneficial and useful, but it also requires considerable effort. It has to be said that in very good places, these canals are still playing a role, but they are just sections and not connected together. As for whether it is worth investing in it now, Zhao Xun is a little difficult to decide. Although he is just walking slowly and there is no need to invest it all at once, and it is a finished product of repairing his predecessors, the materials and money and grain required are definitely indispensable. But in the same way, if the distance of navigation is getting farther and farther, the Xiaoguo Army will be more prosperous and the circulation of goods will be more convenient. In addition, it will be more convenient to mobilize the army. Replenish the materials required by the army is no longer difficult, and there is no need for large brigades to carry food and grass.

After the New Year, Zhao Xun was not vague and directly summoned people from the Government Affairs Department and the Military Affairs Department to discuss and see how to deal with the repair of the canal.

The people in the Military Affairs Department naturally agree happily that for them, military affairs are what they should consider, while the concerns in government affairs are what the Government Affairs Department should consider.

Zhang Yuanjing said directly: "Lord, I think it is feasible. Not to mention the distance, even the canals in Yangzhou are connected to some canals in Yuzhou. No matter what convenience it brings to merchants, even the army of King Qi can pass through the canal and run north and south at any time. We need to follow this point!"

Liu Wenqi also echoed: "I agree with Lord Zhang's meaning. We can completely imitate the Yangzhou army, control the canals of Yangzhou and Yuzhou, and then operate along the canal. King Murong Cheng of Qi completed control of Yuzhou and Yangzhou in this way. Some of his Yangzhou navy can operate in inland rivers. In fact, we can also use the canal as the backbone and each river as the support to firmly grasp the two sides of the straits, and then the freight transport of Youzhou and Jizhou is convenient. In addition, our army is also very convenient to mobilize. As long as we open up the canal in Yanzhou and transport supplies along the canal to the army, then, the land of Yanzhou, especially the land on both sides of the canal, will soon fall into the hands of our Xiaoguo Army."

Zhao Xun smiled bitterly and said, "The idea is good, but the cost is high. We are busy collecting Qingzhou. If there is financial exhaustion, once something happens, the consequences will be troublesome."

Pei Yi said: "It's okay to have Qingzhou. Now the land of Qingzhou has basically completed the general acceptance. Although the control is relatively weak, there will be no major problems. Besides, there are many rivers in Qingzhou. After our army has completed the dredging of the river, it can pass through the river at any time. The fortune of our soldiers will appear in the places needed by Qingzhou. Besides, as long as the river is dredged and the number of merchants traveling, the land on both sides of the river will prosper."

"In this case, if there are chaos and forces, the roads between each other are mostly affected. If the land transportation is difficult, if you can borrow the benefits of inland waterways, the cost can be greatly reduced and the efficiency can be greatly improved. In the past, a load of grain in Jiangnan was transported to Chang'an on the land, at least two loads of grain were required to prepare. If water transportation was used, 90% of the load of grain could reach Chang'an."

This is true. In the prosperous Tang Dynasty in history, there was a large-scale famine in Chang'an due to drought, and due to unfavorable food channels, the price of grain soared. Later, the capital moved eastward to Luoyang, which was related to this. When the capital moved, the population would also move with the capital, which reduced the pressure on Chang'an and reduced the dilemma of food shortage.

Situ Liang also agreed to repair the canal because there was no war recently and all parties were rectifying and resting, which was a good time to do this work. The reason for the anger was the benefit of the navy.

Nowadays, according to the navy, the Xiaoguo Army is the most powerful, followed by the Yangzhou Navy. Although these navy troops are sailing in the East China Sea, it does not mean that they will not sail on the calm river. The other forces in the south generally do not have naval troops, or the navy's strength is relatively weak. If the power of the navy can be continued to be exerted, it will definitely be twice the result with half the effort.

In fact, the navy of the Xiaoguo Army can only sail back and forth on the eastern sea surface, and there is no way to do anything about the inland land. However, in Yangzhou, within the jurisdiction, the rivers and rivers communicate with each county, and even every village. Except for one part of the sea, the other navy troops will fight inland, and they can even arrive in every county quickly. Because of this, in total, the Yangzhou Navy has always been the strongest navy in the world. On the sea surface, the Xiaoguo Army Navy is far stronger than the Yangzhou Navy. This is also why the Yangzhou Navy attacked the sea ships. They received the order of King Murong Cheng of Qi and must catch up, or even surpass the advantage of the Xiaoguo Army Navy on the sea surface.

Speaking of Yangzhou's Hedao and the Water Army, Zhao Xun couldn't help but think of the battle between Zhou Yu and Chibi. It can be seen that the benefits of the waterways in Yangzhou were at that time. In this way, he always had to fight the Yangzhou Navy, and the winner would take charge of Yangzhou.

In addition, the government affairs envoy Pei Yi also talked about the situation in Yangzhou. The Grand Canal in Jiangnan (south of the Yangtze River) was not blocked like the north because of the frequent repairs of southern merchants. The Jiangnan Canal communicated with Runzhou, Changzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, and basically passed through the middle position. Except for a very small part, most of Yangzhou was connected by dense water networks. It can be said that wherever the army went, the navy could also arrive. Therefore, in Yangzhou, as long as the two sides of the canal were controlled, it was equivalent to controlling the entire Yangzhou. King Murong Cheng of Qi took this eye on this and included the Yangzhou navy as the direct line, which was the direct line among his own direct line, and was definitely loyal to Murong Cheng. Because of this, Yangzhou was steadily in Murong Cheng's hands. As for Jiangzhou, because of Yangzhou, he did not dare to make any abnormal movements.

"Lord, nowadays, Yanzhou, Yuzhou and Xuzhou, we will not be able to intervene for a while. Why not take this opportunity to repair and dredge the northern canal first? Nothing else, it is worth it for the prosperity of the territory and the prosperity of trade." Pei Yi said in a deep voice.

Zhao Xun understood what they meant. The real repair and dredging of the canal is definitely a major event that benefits the country and the people. Well, these are nonsense things. No matter what he benefits, the most important thing now is to bring benefits to the Xiaoguo Army. Otherwise, the genius will do it. Even if you want to do major events that benefit the country and the people, you have to wait until the whole country is unified, otherwise, there will be no good ending.

The plan is correct, now is indeed the time to implement it. But the cost required is really not small. In Zhao Xun's opinion, it might be better if it slows down for another year or two, because at that time, Qingzhou and the smooth and stable, there was no burden on all parties. More importantly, the joint caravan that went overseas with Baiyu Business is almost back. By then, there should be a lot of gains, which also gave Zhao Xun a basic understanding of sea trade, whether to increase investment and organization in sea trade.

But what they said was right. The time is indeed not the best, but we can't wait any longer. Who knows if other situations will happen in a year or two? Besides, from now on, we can find a job for those refugees to do so, so that they will not have nothing to do and can only wait passively when hungry.

Their plan can be called the Grand Canal strategy. It can be used for civilian purposes and military purposes. The original intention is naturally military-centered, and civilian services are free. Civil purposes naturally have nothing to do with them. They only need to collect taxes at that time. In terms of military purposes, in general, it is to take the inland waters of the Xiaoguo Army as the leader to control the two sides of the canal in Yanzhou, Yuzhou and even the later Xuzhou section, and then penetrate into the inland along the canal.
Chapter completed!