From Luoyang to Yanmen County, the entire march took sixteen days.

The speed was not too fast, but it was safe, there were no problems with the march of the army, and everything went according to plan.

The materials consumed are indeed huge, and the daily meals of a team of more than 100,000 people are astronomical.

Not only people eat, but also horses to chew, not only to eat grain, but also beans, firewood and grass.

It can be said that every step is money, and for every meter advanced by the army as a whole, logistics officials can calculate how much it will cost, and then hand over this data to Guo for review and approval.

Of course, Guo also knows how much his army needs to spend from the beginning of the journey to the actual war.

But this is a necessary expense, and it cannot be saved.

Guo Peng handles important government affairs sent by Luoyang in the car every day, and also handles military affairs.

Then he summoned the accompanying Minister of Civil and Military Affairs in the car, gave him an appropriate face-to-face lecture, and issued an order.

While leading the army, while governing the country, this is the first time for him.

In the past, when this was done, the territory was not large, there were not so many things to do, it was quite simple.

After the territory became larger, there was no need to personally lead the troops to the battle.

It was not until this expedition that he felt the difficulties of being both a military commander and a political leader.

It is no wonder that emperors in history have often had a hard time winning wars.

Of course, those who are particularly awesome are a different matter, and their talents themselves are very high.

Guo is naturally this kind of person.

Although the intensity of work increased sharply, he quickly adapted to this high-intensity work mode, leading troops to go out on the expedition while handling government affairs and controlling the country's political situation remotely.

Guo grabbed the key power in his hands and never relaxed in the slightest.

On the way to the car, he also gave some guidance on the development of Jiangnan, the local war in Yizhou, and the situation in the Western Regions, telling them what to do and so on.

Then, it was to guide Yangzhou's action of crossing the strait to find the island of Taiwan.

On the tenth day of June, Guo Peng received a request from Zhang Liao from Yangzhou to Youzhou by sea, and then from Youzhou.

Zhang Liao said that he was ready to go to sea to find the big island of Taiwan, and asked Guo Peng whether he would immediately set off across the strait to find the big island of Taiwan.

Of course, this kind of thing that leaves an excuse for future generations from ancient times must not be slackened.

Moreover, on such a big island, there must be people on it, and it is difficult to say how many there are, but take it first, assign it to the territory, and talk about the rest later.

In short, we must deal with such an excuse [since ancient times], and we must make it clear and clear, and we must not dig a hole for future generations.

Guo Peng ordered Zhang Liao to join forces with Tai Shici to start a sea crossing operation, land on the island of Taiwan, and explore the whole island.

Three days later, on June 13, the main force of the Northern Expeditionary Army arrived at the sortie position in Yanmen County, Bingzhou two days ahead of schedule, and began preparations for the sortie.

He and a group of bureaucrats rushed to Yanmen County to worship the Son of Heaven and receive further instructions from the Son of Heaven.

After Guo Peng made some simple arrangements for their last series of work before the war, he asked the group of officials to go back to their respective duties, and then called Xiahoudun into his special car alone, poured him a glass of juice, and let him relieve the heat.

Xiahoudun hurriedly knelt down to thank him, and was immediately helped up by Guo Peng.

"It's just a glass of juice, don't be so excited, Yuan Rang, you and I are not only monarchs and ministers, but also relatives, there are only you and me in this car, so don't be so rigid about the courtesy of monarchs and ministers."

Xiahou hurriedly said that he didn't dare.

"Your Majesty is your Majesty at all times, and your ministers are ministers at all times, and your ministers dare not trespass."

“……”

Guo Peng was very happy in his heart, but he still had to regret it on his face, sighed slightly, and waved his hand: "Whatever you want." ”

After that, Guo Peng sat down and said slowly: "Yuan Rang, this Northern Expedition, I am bound to win, I will definitely sweep away the Xianbei people, by the way, all the tribes I can see will be swept away, not a single one will be left, the entire prairie, I will empty it, do you think it's okay?" ”

"Although the grassland is large, if Your Majesty is determined, how can it not be? Our Wei army is invincible, and those tribes on the grassland are just people who sell their heads. ”

Xiahoudun replied immediately.

"Since you can, then you also have to think about what to do after the grassland is pacified."

Guo Peng picked up the cup and took a sip of sweet and sour juice: "After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Xuan defeated the Xiongnu in the Northern Expedition one after another, they failed to fully occupy the grassland due to various factors.

I think this kind of behavior is incorrect, the grassland can raise horses, the grassland can also raise cattle, sheep, the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Karasuma, all of them were once strong because of the grassland, which is enough to prove that there is also the possibility of giving birth to a strong country on the grassland.

If the country wants to be strong, it is impossible to live without production, the Xiongnu and Xianbei rely on them for animal husbandry, relying on cattle, sheep and horses to survive, and there are indeed many people who can feed on the grassland, so isn't the grassland a treasure land? ”

Guo Peng's statement made Xiahoudun quite surprised.

"What Your Majesty said is that you want to manage the grassland and raise cattle, sheep and horses after the war?"

"Yes, since it has been defeated, you can't fight in vain, you can't just leave it like that and not intervene, how much will it cost to go on this expedition, Yuan Rang, you should be clear."

Xiahoudun nodded.

"This expedition will cost a lot of money, and it can't be stopped by tens of millions of dollars."

"Yes, the cost is so great, if you can't earn it back from the grassland, isn't it equivalent to fighting in vain? If you don't earn it back, isn't it meaningless to waste national funds? ”

Guo Peng took a deep breath: "Han Wu defeated the Xiongnu and did not enter the grassland, so the Xiongnu failed to clear up, and after Dou Xian's northern expedition to the Northern Xiongnu, he failed to occupy the grassland, so the Xianbei fisherman profited, and it eventually became a big disaster after 30 years."

If I go north to Xianbei and don't occupy the grassland, don't own the grassland, and don't work hard to manage it, then who knows what tribes will appear after Xianbei and grow up again, controlling 300,000, 500,000, and then won't it be a catastrophe for me?

It didn't matter when I was alive, and people with bad intentions didn't dare to act rashly, but once I was gone, it was hard to say what those people with bad intentions would do. ”

Xiahoudun felt that what Guo Peng said made sense.

"Your Majesty's words are indeed very reasonable, the ministers deeply agree, there is no Xianbei, decades later, after the ministers are no longer alive, I don't know if there will be other tribes on the grassland, even more powerful than the Xiongnu and Xianbei."

"Yes, that's what I'm worried about, so no matter what, after this victory, I can't stop here, but go to the grassland."

Guo Peng has been firm in his policy.

Xiahoudun was a little worried.

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, before Your Majesty, there was no precedent for the successful management of the grassland, which is different from the Central Plains, where the soil is fertile, and you can settle it by farming, and when you gradually increase the scale, you can live and rule for a long time.

However, it is difficult to farm on the grassland, it is not convenient to settle, the inhabitants of the Central Plains are not good at grazing, and they have no experience before, so they do not know what the result is, and if they want to operate animal husbandry, they also need two or three hundred thousand people, and how to solve the food rations of these two or three hundred thousand people? ”

The question raised by Xiahoudun was not unconsidered by Guo Peng.

However, the development of any new economic model always requires investment and expenditure, and the reclamation of wasteland also costs money.

Therefore, in Guo Peng's eyes, the expenditure on reclaiming wasteland is not different from the expenditure on opening up the livestock industry.

"Yuan Rang, things can't be thought like this, you have to know that arranging for the people to open up wasteland also requires us to spend money, what is the difference between this cost and trying animal husbandry on the grassland?"