He Chou's age was there, and at the time when he could do whatever he wanted without breaking the rules, he had long lost the trepidation he had when he first came in front of Li Po.
Now he speaks very casually, complains a few words when he is dissatisfied, grins a few times when he is happy, and seems to be happy and angry as he pleases, very comfortable.
But you must know that He Chou was both a noble and a former high official.
Yang Jian was a man of great talent and strategy, but in his later years he was extremely suspicious of his heroes. Most of those famous people who helped Yang Jian create a prosperous world did not die well, but He Chou was still able to survive and was supported by Yang Jian on his deathbed. This cannot be attributed to simple
The word lucky.
In fact, if he had not seen Li Po's temperament accurately, he would never offend his subordinates for trivial matters, and he would not be so comfortable talking to the King of Han.
After talking for some time, seeing that Li Po was not impatient at all, He Chou shook his head and said: "Looking at my memory, my lord summoned me here to discuss something?"
Li Po put away his smile and nodded, "It's hard to say that we will mobilize troops this year. The Ministry of Industry needs to be prepared. And I want to ask, is there any way to make the Yellow River a thoroughfare?"
This is really a big topic. He Chou pondered for a long time, stroking his beard, and fought across the river... No need to ask, he must be attacking Li Tang. Strategically, He Chou was not without ideas.
After hesitating for a long time, he asked a nonsense question as an introduction, "My lord, do you want to go west?"
Seeing Li Po nodding, he continued: "Now that Fengling Ferry is in hand, why doesn't my lord take Luoyang to consolidate his foundation? He is determined to entangle with Li Tang. As the saying goes, when two tigers fight, one of them will be injured, so why don't you let others take advantage of it?"
After the previous battle, Mr. Xiao’s power was quite strong. If he fights again this time, he might become someone else’s wedding dress..."
Li Po raised his brows, not displeased in his heart. The ministers these days are both civilized and military, and none of them should be underestimated, especially veteran ministers like He Chou, who have led many armies in the past. If you don't pay attention to what they say,
It may be an act of self-inflicted humiliation.
It was just that he had made up his mind, and ordinary words could not shake his determination, so he shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "The minister has worried too much. With today's situation, it is not difficult to go to Luoyang. But Dou Jiande sent troops to the north bank of the Yellow River last year and waited and watched for a long time.
, and did not dare to cross the river, Xiao Mian entered Henan a little bit, and then it was enough to stop."
"This is just to prevent the other two families from attacking each other. If I do this, I will definitely have enemies with Xiao Mian and Dou Jiande. If Li Tang takes advantage of the situation and becomes powerful, I will have to worry about not being able to care about each other."
"Furthermore, in the land of the Four Wars in Henan, we can't grow food, and we can't get the convenience of the Eastern Capital. It's useless to order the heroes."
"Looking back at Li and Tang, there are four fortresses in the land, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack. If you look at the world with it, its power is much better than that of others. If you can't control it now, you will be annexed by it later. The only thing you are worried about now is to guard the key passes along the Yellow River.
, so that I can’t make any progress.”
Having said this, Li Po burst into laughter and continued: "If Shangshu can help me cross the natural dangers of the Yellow River and defeat Li Yuan, I will only take charge of it. Shangshu's contribution will be the first among all."
It's not that He Chou has never heard of these strategic topics, it's just that he has been an official in Dongdu for many years and has a profound impression of Luoyang. If you don't go and see it with your own eyes, you want to persuade him to give up Dongdu.
, is simply impossible.
Secondly, other people's opinions are far less convincing than what His Highness the King of Han himself said.
In fact, this was Li Po's own fault. He didn't really discuss strategies with his ministers much. As a result, the soldiers followed the leader of the Han Dynasty, while the civil servants focused on internal affairs.
There are many advantages and many disadvantages. It has become very common for a veteran minister like He Chou to use every opportunity to talk about the overall situation of the world.
Not to mention, if you think about it in the long term, it is difficult to predict what the consequences will be once you encounter a serious setback.
He Chou nodded with difficulty, as if he had been convinced. He knew exactly what he was thinking. His Highness, the King of Han, who was very good at observing words and emotions, also knew that the stubborn old man had different opinions, but he did not speak out to refute him.
Li Po knew clearly, but he would not say anything more, because the strategy He Chou mentioned could not change his mind, and it would be useless to talk more. What he wanted to do was to give full play to the strengths of his ministers, rather than give them one by one.
They explain his intentions.
When people are united, what matters is not that everyone has unanimous ideas, but that what everyone is doing is beneficial to the overall situation, which can be called united efforts.
He Chou finally stopped challenging Li Po's patience and said: "My lord has been to the shore of the Liao River. You should know that the Yellow River is different from the Liao River. The river is too fast. Those who can stand on it are mostly Fuliang..."
Because of his age, He Chou tends to talk a lot, and his pace is also very slow. But when it comes to architectural attainments, let alone the current generation, even if there are people in the past one thousand years combined, there are only a handful of people who can surpass him.
It can be counted that there are still some people among them who are able to barely outperform due to the changes of the times and the advancement of technology.
Therefore, Li Po listened attentively and did not interrupt.
In the study room, only He Chou's voice was heard.
"Therefore, when the former Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was in power, he ordered the Ministry of Industry to build a channel with the intention of connecting the north and the south and connecting the world. It was later completed during the Daye period."
At this point, the person sighed and continued: "It can be seen that it is difficult to build a bridge over the Yellow River... In fact, what is more difficult is the Yangtze River, which stretches for thousands of miles. The water is wide and deep, and it surges forward like the sea.
There is no way to build a bridge over the abyss."
Can you say anything useful? Li Po was stretched for a long time, and finally became impatient. He wanted to pinch the old guy's neck and ask him to get to the point quickly.
He Chou is still taking his time here. Old guys don't care how anxious you are. Unless they think about things well, they can't be like young people who can say whatever they think of when they think about things. Their thinking
In fact, it is intermittent.
"The two rivers of north and south separate the world and make it a thoroughfare. It is difficult to climb to the sky... In fact... in the final analysis, it is just a bridge that is difficult to erect. If one day, something can sink but not float, and is solid but difficult to touch,
And you don’t have to worry about water corrosion, maybe you can give it a try?”
This obviously refers to reinforced concrete, Li Po thought as he blinked his eyes, even if you can imagine it, I still have to have the ability to get it for you.
He Chou may be willing to discuss purely technical issues with Li Po, but the guy in front of him has always been a man-made technology. No matter how good the technology is, it must be used by others. More importantly, it has practical significance, so he will not describe it to He Chou.
, how majestic and spectacular the bridge across the Yangtze River will be in the future.
He just said in a deep voice, "So, we still need to use a rope bridge to cross the river? Alas, I'm afraid there will be heavy casualties by then."
He Chou raised his eyes, glanced at him, and thought to himself, how can there be any good thing in attacking across the river without casualties? Why did you throw such a big problem to me, and Yang Erjiang on the bank of Liaoshui River raised the matter of building a bridge?
The difference is just a matter of words.
In fact, the problem is very simple. The bridge crossing the river must be built more stably, otherwise people who get on the bridge will fall off in a flash, or the bridge will fall apart, which would be a disaster.
In addition, the bridge deck should be made as wide as possible to facilitate the passage of the army, and there should be people guarding the opposite shore. This must be taken into consideration when building the bridge. For example, Yu Wenkai fell into such a pit.
He didn't climb out, and his soul died in Liaodong.
He Chou didn't want to end up like Yu Wenkai, but fortunately he still had more time, which allowed him to think about what to do, especially since His Highness the King of Han in front of him was not Yang Er's fellow, and he looked very tolerant.
Of course, if you let him lose his troops on the bank of the Yellow River because of the bridge incident, and get a bloody blow, then it would be normal to bury him later.
So He Chou closed his eyes and thought hard. He didn't know how to build the bridge. He first wanted to find a scapegoat. Unexpectedly, Yun Dingxing's appearance appeared in the old guy's mind.
Not to mention people who abandon public service for personal reasons. Such skills are essential qualities for officials and nobles. Only with such a heart and such thinking can one go further and more steadily. Generally speaking, one can work with one heart and one mind.
Sooner or later, a public person will be killed by others. This is the iron rule of officialdom.
Li Po really didn't know that the old man was distracted this time. Judging from his troubled appearance, he "expected" it. Before He Chou could speak, he smiled and comforted him: "This matter is not urgent. The minister will go back."
Just think about it carefully, but when the troops move, the Ministry of Industry must be prepared..."
Seeing He Chou bowing his hands and obeying the order, he added, "If you have any good ideas, please report them as soon as possible. There are quite a few people stationed by the river, so let them take action first."
In fact, He Chouzhi had some ideas at this time, but he didn't say anything more, because the army was fighting, and there was no room for negligence. He really had to go back and think about it carefully, and then discuss it with the people from the Ministry of Industry.
It's good to report to Li Po.
The old man was a little regretful when he left. After talking for a long time, he could not show his ability, which made him feel a little uncomfortable. I have to say that the older this man is, the more conceited he is, which is different from the man who was ordered to face danger on the shore of Liao River back then.
That Taifu Qing, General Zuotunwei, and Doctor Yinqing Guanglu are different after all.
Li Po was not disappointed and called He Chou over. One was to build the bridge, and the other was to prepare the Ministry of Works. This year's tough battle, whether it was Tongguan or the big river, had to be prepared by the Ministry of Works.
appears particularly important.
Speaking of which, He Chou has been in Jinyang for more than two years, and his role is obvious. Whether it is the Cangshui City completed this year, the Battle of Puban, or the crossing of the river to attack Fengling Ferry, the craftsmen in the army have played a significant role.
effect.
It can be said that He Chou made up for the shortcomings of the Jin army's inability to attack cities, and gradually allowed the infantry to display its due combat power, which made Li Po very satisfied.
Li Po didn't know whether this deployment of troops was a surprise or not, but he understood that the key to this battle was strategy, as well as the performance of the Ministry of Industry.
And then, naturally it was the turn of the Ministry of Revenue. As the saying goes, before the soldiers and horses are moved, food and grass go first.