Back to the Warring States Period as Zhao Kuo

After listening to Zhao Kuo's words, Xu Li and other important officials of the Han Dynasty also fell into deep thought.

After a while, Guo Zong said, "If only [-] soldiers and horses are dispatched, basically it will not constitute any financial pressure."

Don't listen to what Xu Li said just now, you feel that the treasury of the Great Han Kingdom is very empty now, on the contrary, the current treasury of the Great Han Kingdom is very abundant.

The huge amount of wealth brought about by the elimination of the other seven countries has been hoarded in the national treasury, and it has not been spent in half yet. Adding in the wealth from the conquest of the Western Regions, it is even more innumerable.

These are just the wealth obtained from the war, and considering the commercial tax, agricultural tax, horse tax and many other incomes in the Han Kingdom, it can be said that the treasury of the Han Kingdom is in a state of extremely high income.

It's just that wars are indeed very expensive. The 30 troops in the southwest and southeast are already spending money like water. If the third battlefield is really opened up, the income of the treasury of the Han Kingdom will change from surplus to surplus. This is why Xu Li objected.

Xu Li is a person who is used to living a hard life. If the current income is lower than the expenditure, he really has no idea.

But now, after hearing Guo Zong's statement that such a situation would not happen, Xu Li immediately felt relieved, and said, "If it doesn't cause a fiscal deficit, the veteran will firmly support the war."

Pang Nuan coughed and said, "The old minister has no objection."

Li Mu said excitedly: "Your Majesty, I am willing to go out as the main general!"

The three prime ministers have already formed a unified opinion, and it is naturally impossible for the other ministers below to say anything more.

Zhao Kuo smiled and said, "Very well, now let's study where to fight.

Xiang Yan, tell me. "

In a meeting like this, the Chief of the Staff, Sima Shang, was usually the one who came up to provide military advice. However, Sima Shang was still fighting in Lingnan, so this task fell on the Chief of Staff Xiang Yan who was in the imperial capital.

Xiang Yan stood up and came to the map that had been hung up a long time ago. She picked up the long baton familiar with the way, and began to point and talk at the same time.

"According to the analysis of the General Staff, since this campaign is mainly based on the strength of small groups of troops, it is obviously a completely unfeasible option to carry out a second conquest of the Seleucid Empire on a large scale in the West.

Looking at the north, the desert in the north has now been completely conquered by our Han Dynasty, and there is no war in the north.

For the northeast direction, Jizi Korea has not yet perished, and the Korean Peninsula has not been completely conquered, so it can be listed as an option.

In the south, both Lingnan and Southwest are fighting, so it is naturally impossible to continue to open up battlefields.

There are many Qiang tribes in the plateau in the west. They are barbaric by nature and often harass the Longxi and Guanzhong counties of our Han Dynasty. They are also an option that can be considered.

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, only the plateau in the west and Jizi Korea in the northeast are two more suitable targets. "

After listening to Xiang Yan's words, all the important officials of the Han Dynasty present were lost in thought.

After a while, Prime Minister Xu Li said, "Then, which target does the staff think is more suitable?"

Xiang Yan said: "Returning to Prime Minister Xu, this actually depends on our Majesty's intentions this time.

His Majesty is going to dispatch [-] Musketeers. If he wants to test the combat effectiveness of these Musketeers, then the plateau in the west is undoubtedly a very suitable battlefield.

In Northeast Jizi Korea, there are mountains and rivers, the roads are dangerous and difficult, and there are many city walls. Although it can be overcome by Musketeers, it is not a suitable battlefield.

In addition, in the future, after the opening of the trade route with the Western Seleucid Empire, a large number of our caravans will go to the Western Regions through the Hexi Corridor on the north side of Qilian Mountains, and a large number of Qiang people in the western plateau are on the south side of Qilian Mountains. There is no guarantee that there will be no threat to this business path.

Judging from this, it is a better choice to attack the many Qiang tribes on the western plateau, both in terms of military and commercial interests of the Han Kingdom. "

After Xiang Yan finished speaking, Zhao Kuo nodded secretly.

It seems that this Xiang Yan is indeed enlightened.

Wars, in many cases, are actually not just wars. It is a combination of many complicated factors, the most important of which is political factors.

To put it bluntly, if a high-level country wants to go to war, it must be after judgment that it will bring enough benefits to the country before going to war.

Now Xiang Yan can jump out of pure military interests and use the comprehensive interests of the country to judge the goals of the war. This is the best proof of his growth.

After listening to Xiang Yan's words, Xu Li also nodded slightly, and said: "So, launching a war on the western plateau is indeed a good choice.

But the western plateau is so big, it is impossible for us to want to conquer the western plateau with [-] troops, right? "

Xiang Yan nodded and said: "That's true, so this time we plan to conquer only this part of the place."

As he said that, Xiang Yan drew a relatively flat oval shape on the map with his baton.

Chapter 1156

The ellipse drawn by Xiang Yan looks small, but it actually covers a large area.

Including the Qinghai Lake and the Qaidam Basin of later generations, all are included in this ellipse.

In other words, the part painted by Xiang Yan is basically equivalent to the northern half of Qinghai Province in China in later generations.

Xiang Yan said: "Since this part of the area is dominated by the lake called Xihai, we call this area the Xihai Basin.

This time, our battle plan for 2 Musketeers is mainly to conquer the West Sea Basin area.

As long as this area can be conquered, it will be regarded as a successful mission. "

After hearing Xiang Yan's words, the Zhao Guozhong ministers present fell into thinking again.

This time it was Li Mu who spoke: "How many enemies are there in this West Sea region?"

For Li Mu, of course, he was more concerned about these purely military issues. After all, Li Mu felt that this time he was likely to be the chief general of the 2 troops.

Li Mu's question was immediately answered by Xiang Yan: "The exact number of people may only be obtained after we conquer the West Sea area.

But judging from our current intelligence, there are at least millions of Qiang people in the entire Xihai area. According to the habit of the Qiang people, all the people are soldiers, and there will be at least 30 to [-] fighting strength. "

The figure of 30 million obviously still surprised the Zhao Guo ministers present.

Pang Nuan couldn't help but said: "There are so many Qiang soldiers and horses, we only sent 2 people, isn't it a bit too little?"

Xiang Yan smiled and explained: "Although the Qiang people are all soldiers, they lack armor and weapons, and they don't have any daily military training at all, so their 30 to 30 people are actually only It’s just 2 to [-] civilians wielding wooden sticks and pitchforks, and [-] soldiers and horses are more than enough to fight against such people.”

Xiang Yan's explanation finally dispelled the worries of many people present. After all, it is true that the important officials of the Han Dynasty present did not mean that everyone led troops to fight, and they all had a deep understanding of these military knowledge. of.

After listening to Xiang Yan's explanation, finally no one continued to raise doubts, so Li Mu took the initiative to speak.

"Your Majesty probably hasn't decided who will be the commander-in-chief this time. My minister Li Mu is willing to lead the expedition to the West Sea."

For Li Mu, he belongs to the kind of person who feels uncomfortable all day without fighting. Now that he has such an opportunity to go out, Li Mu is of course unwilling to let it go.

After hearing Li Mu's words, Zhao Kuo couldn't help but smile.

"Actually, I have already thought about the candidate for this expedition in my heart."

Upon hearing this, Li Mu's expression immediately became excited, and his face was also full of anticipation.

Zhao Kuo's eyes did fall on Li Mu's face first, and he said slowly: "Lieutenant Li Mu is now the number one general under my command, if he only leads 2 soldiers and horses to go out, it would be a bit overkill."

After hearing Zhao Kuo's words, the smile on Li Mu's face froze immediately.

The meaning of this sentence is actually quite obvious, that is, Zhao Kuo does not intend to let Li Mu be the chief general this time, the reason has already been said just now, 2 soldiers and horses are really overkill.

Li Mu couldn't help but asked again: "Your Majesty, I can do it, 2 troops is not a problem for me."

Li Mu really wanted to lead troops, he really didn't mind whether he brought 2 or 20 troops, all he wanted was to fight.

Zhao Kuo sighed and was about to speak when Xu Li who was beside him spoke first.

"Captain Li Mu, you have to consider your current status.

Today, you are the most powerful general in our Great Han Kingdom, and also the highest-ranking minister in the Han Kingdom's military.

If even you can only lead 2 soldiers and horses to fight, then how should the generals who are under you in official positions deal with themselves?

So, it's better not to compete with those young people for the position of leader this time, and give the young people some chances. "

After listening to Xu Li's words, Li Mu was also speechless.

Indeed, after all, Li Mu is the out-and-out number one figure in the Han Kingdom's military. If even this number one man can only bring 2 troops to fight, then the entire military system will be messed up.

After thinking about the reasons inside, Li Mu could only sigh in frustration, and said, "I understand, if this is the case, then let other people lead the 2 troops."

For Li Mu, fighting without a battle is definitely a very, very unhappy thing.

Looking at Li Mu's appearance, Zhao Kuo couldn't help but feel a little funny, so he said to Li Mu: "If you really want to fight so much, isn't the round of battle in the southwest direction still going on now?

You can use my name to go to the southwest to see how the battle is going there, and make a comprehensive assessment of the battle there. "

For Zhao Kuo, the round of battle in the southwest has been going on for two or three years, and the war there has never stopped. A personal inspection on the spot can reassure Zhao Kuo.

As soon as Li Mu heard what Zhao Kuo said, he immediately became happy again, and hurriedly said with a smile: "Thank you, Your Majesty, I must check carefully when I go to the southwest this time. Just take it down and deal with it severely!"

Looking at Li Mu who became cocky again, Zhao Kuo couldn't help laughing and shaking his head.

This guy is really an out-and-out warrior.

Even if Li Mu's problem has been resolved here, Zhao Kuo will announce that a new general has been appointed.

Zhao Kuo said directly: "I have already thought about it. This time, the chief of staff of the 2 Musketeers will be the chief of staff of our Han Dynasty, Xiang Yan. As for the deputy general, General Wang Jian will be the general."

This time Zhao Kuo intends to use Xiang Yan and Wang Jian as partners to lead [-] Musketeers.

As the chief of staff, Xiang Yan is also a relatively high-ranking figure among the military generals, but he is not very high.

In this way, Xiang Yan can just match the position of the commander of the Musketeers. After all, the Musketeers are now equivalent to the Chi You Army, and they belong to the most elite field troops in the Han Kingdom. , which is quite reasonable.

As for the appointment of Deputy General Wang Jian, of course it is Zhao Kuo's personal preference.

Zhao Kuo still admires Wang Jian very much. What he has to do now is to give him a stage as soon as possible to show his full ability. The Han Kingdom expanded its territory.

After hearing Zhao Kuo's appointment, everyone didn't have any other opinions. At most, they just sighed in their hearts. This Qin man, Wang Jian, is indeed Jane in the heart of the emperor. He can be so valued by His Majesty. Within a short period of time, he can serve as the lieutenant general of an army again.

At this point, the meeting was basically coming to an end, but what the people present did not expect was that Zhao Kuo actually dropped another blockbuster.

I saw Zhao Kuo said again: "Although it is said that I will not personally conquer this time, but since musketeers are the future combat method of our Han Dynasty, I think we still need a relatively heavyweight figure to act Overseer is better.

So I decided to let the prince Zhao Qian be the supervisor of the army, and go to the Xihai area with 2 musketeers to conquer. "

After hearing Zhao Kuo's words, everyone present was shocked.

This time it was the deputy prime minister Pang Nuan's turn to speak first: "Your Majesty, you must know that the prince is only a child in his teens this year. Isn't it too early for him to join the army at this time?"

After Pang Nuan finished speaking, several other courtiers of the Han Dynasty also spoke one after another, expressing their agreement with Pang Nuan's words.

"Yes, Your Majesty.

The old minister thinks that we should wait until the prince is a few years older before we consider letting him join the army as a military supervisor. "

"The old minister feels that His Majesty's intentions are very good, but this time is still too early."

"After all, the prince is still too young. If he goes to the western plateau, if he doesn't adapt physically, it will be difficult, Your Majesty."

All in all, everyone's opinions were surprisingly unified this time, that is, they opposed Zhao Kuo's sending Prince Zhao Qian to fight in the western plateau.

Faced with these objections, Zhao Kuo's expression was quite calm, because these objections had already been expected by Zhao Kuo.

Zhao Kuo raised his hands to signal everyone to be quiet, and then everyone immediately quieted down.

Only at this time did Zhao Kuo continue to speak: "Of course I understand everyone's worries about love very well.

But here I also want to say something to all my lovers, as the saying goes, if the prince cannot understand the cruelty of war now, then he will lose his awe of war, and he will not know the meaning of fighting a war What is the price behind it.

One thing I often say is that wars can of course be fought, but you cannot exhaust the power of the entire country because of wars.

Perhaps we can tell the prince this truth, but, after all, he has not experienced it personally, he knows this truth, and may not do it in the future.

So of course we have to let the prince go to the army to see the cruelty of war and how much consumption there is behind it when the prince is still a teenager. Only in this way can he have a deep understanding of this thing in the future Only when you have experienced it will you not become a militaristic tyrant.

From another point of view, our Great Han Kingdom started with wars. If the prince wants to inherit the throne in the future, he must have the support of the army.

If he has never had any contact with the generals of these armies, or the soldiers at the bottom of the army, then how could he possibly get the support of the army?

Some things can only be done after reaching adulthood, but like the things I just said, although he is not yet an adult, even though he is only a teenager in his teens, he can already do it.

So the truth is that the decision will not be changed, and I hope that as a lover, you can understand me. After all, our original intentions are the same, that is, to cultivate a wise and powerful second-generation emperor for the future of the Han Dynasty, His Majesty, isn't it? "

After listening to Zhao Kuo's words, all Zhao Guo's important officials fell into silence.

After a while, Xu Li sighed helplessly, and said, "It's not impossible if the crown prince must go, but I hope His Majesty can promise one thing to the old minister, that is, the crown prince will absolutely not be able to participate in any in a battle."

From Xu Li's point of view, he was actually still unwilling to let Zhao Qian be involved in a war like this. After all, as the prince, Zhao Qian was the future of the entire Han Kingdom.

But the problem is that Zhao Kuo's attitude is also very firm now, so Xu Li, as a courtier, of course cannot say that he has always been against His Majesty Zhao Kuo, the emperor.

So in the end it was the courtiers like Xu Li who made concessions, which is not surprising.

After hearing Xu Li's words, Zhao Kuo laughed immediately, and said to Xu Li: "Prime Minister Xu, don't worry, Zhao Qian is still a young man after all, and physically speaking, he is indeed still young. He is completely incapable of such a responsibility, so it is naturally impossible for him to play.

And this time, just in case, I will also send my adopted son Zhao Zheng to accompany the prince. Zhao Zheng is still older than Zhao Qian, and things will be more secure with him. "

Hearing this, they have already considered the matter to this point, so Xu Li and the others naturally have no choice but to say anything more, they can only say that the matter should be done according to what His Majesty said.

On the other hand, Li Mu kept rolling his eyeballs back and forth, and occasionally smiled a little at the corner of his mouth, but he didn't know what he was thinking.

You must know that Li Mu is the teacher in charge of teaching Zhao Qian's military strategy, and the relationship between him and Zhao Qian is actually the best, because Li Mu has a straightforward personality, unlike other teachers who are old and old-fashioned boring.