Xin Er said: "Qianli, you just said that Jiang Zuo did not allow Huan Jingzhou to 'recover Luoyang', and Yin Yangzhou went north to Xuzhou, Huan Jingzhou will be dissatisfied with this, so it is better to send an envoy to Jingzhou at this time, and then Huan Jingzhou, invite him to capture Qin and Wei, it is expected that Huan Jingzhou will gladly allow it, and it is very likely that he will follow the old practice of 'the above table is to do it' on the day of his attack on Shu, and send troops to cross Huai to the north."

"In this way, Huan Jingzhou attacked Nanyang and Luoyang, and I attacked the fortifications. Pu Maofang besieged Yecheng with heavy troops, Guanzhong was a little empty, and Huan Jingzhou attacked Nanyang and Luoyang, and after disturbing its main force, he thought that I would settle in the west and should be able to take the opportunity to expand the territory again.

"Your proposal, I agree with it, only one, I Dingxi even Wudu, Yinping, Hanzhong, has been divided into Beigong Yue and other troops stationed there, now Shuo Fang is new, but also needs elite garrison, and Zhang Shao can not be transferred back, therefore, I Dingxi currently available troops are not much, second, expeditionary attack, compared to stationed in the mainland, the cost of food and salary is often calculated in times, or even several times, once the war starts, I am afraid that in the logistics supply, there will be some difficulties. You are the chief officer in the military department, and you are very clear about both points.

"You say, if I use the army in the west, how should these two problems be solved?"

Since Tang Ai has made this suggestion? Of course, these two dilemmas have been considered? He shook the feather fan, confident? said: "Although these two problems are not easy to solve? But it's not that it's unsolvable. ”

Xin Er admired Tang Ai's confident demeanor and said with a smile: "I wish Wen Qing a high opinion." ”

Tang Ai said: "Ai will talk about the second problem first. Food? If the country is insufficient, it is advisable to take advantage of the enemy. 'Because of the food of the enemy'? What is the teaching of this art of war? Ming Gong is familiar with the art of war, hasn't he forgotten this strategy? ”

Xin Er said: "If Pu Qin is strong and clear, our army will gain nothing? ”

Tang Ai smiled: "As Ming Gong said, I have to get Shuo Fang in Dingxi?" Now that the army and food are all scarce? Qin Yu must also understand this, so if our army sends troops at this time and crusades against it, it will definitely be taken by surprise! It's already unexpected, how can it 'clear the wall' in advance? ”

Isn't the sheep's fashionable sitting posture as casual as Tang Ai? Quite upright, he knelt on the couch? Take a silk silk to wipe the sweat off your face,—— "shave flour"? This is the fashion of the previous generation into the present, the merry scholars? Sheep fashion without shaving? Bearded? But "Fu Powder" is there, a lot of sweat, the powder is washed away, revealing the skin underneath, but it is also fair, the powder fragrance is combined with the smell of incense on his clothes, it is really fragrant, with his elegant appearance, it is pleasing to the eye.

Embroidered with Moshan fresh water, the yellow silk silk with the pattern of blue birds spreading its wings was soaked with sweat, he wrung it out, folded it squarely, put it beside him, and then took out a silk towel to wipe the sweat as a backup, and then followed Tang Ai's words, Xiang Xin Er added: "At the end of this summer, the wheat harvest season, Guanzhong has been in good weather in the past two years, the harvest is good, and this year's harvest is also very good. Our army was taken by surprise, and when our strong army arrived, it was either robbed of wheat in the wilderness, or harvested in the enemy's city treasury, and calculated according to the harvest of our Longxi County this year, plus the local grain stocks in the three counties of Qinzhou, at least for the grain for tens of thousands of horsemen, which could be solved. ”

In the past two years, Guanzhong has indeed been in good weather, it is really taken care of by God, Pu Mao is different from other Hu monarchs, he attaches great importance to cultivating mulberry, not only lightly dispensing with thin endowment, in recent years, but also because of Meng Lang's advances, one after another, many of the earlier Hu people in their territory such as Di, Qiang, Xiongnu and other Hu people "occupy the land for pasture", "set things right", re-turned into farmland, distributed to the Tang Dynasty and some of the Di people, Qiang people with farming traditions, Pu Qin's treasury is now greatly enriched, especially its Xianyang large grain depot, known as "grain accumulation like a mountain".

Xin Er pondered for a moment, nodded, and said, "What about the problem of insufficient troops?" ”

"Those who make good use of the soldiers will no longer be served, and the food will not be for three years. It is used in the country, because the food is in the enemy, so the army can have enough food. "These are the words of 'Sun Tzu'." Grain is not three loads", this "load" is not the meaning of "year", it is the "load" of load, which means that the grain does not need to be transferred many times. Because, after all, why does it take much more grain to conquer an enemy country than to garrison it? It is because there will be great losses on the way to transportation, and if we can avoid the loss of "multiple transfers" on the road by "relying on the enemy", the pressure on the supply of food and wages will be reduced a lot. If this policy can be successfully implemented, the problem of insufficient food and wages can indeed be solved.

The problem of food and salary can be solved, but how can the problem of troop strength be solved?

You can't "fight the enemy because of the soldiers"!

Tang Ai also had a way, he talked eloquently, and said: "After the battle of Qinzhou, the three counties of Qinzhou and the counties of Shuzhong in Hanzhong at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, in accordance with the order of the Ming Gong, all recruited troops in their localities, and now the number of soldiers and horses in these counties and counties is more than 15,000 people. ”

Xin Er said: "Pu Qin and my Qinzhou border Nan'an, Tianshui, Luoyang three counties, there are more than 20,000 Pu Qin guards. Thousands of miles, don't say that there are only 4,000 soldiers and horses that can be used in Qinzhou and Hanzhong, which is 20,000, which is not enough to attack Nan'an and other counties. ”

Before leading his troops out of the customs and attacking Wei, Pu Mao was worried that Dingxi might take the opportunity to attack Nan'an and other counties, so he specially strengthened the military defense of these three counties. However, the 20,000 garrisons were not all Puqin's "regular army", and about half of them were recruited from the Di and Qiang departments in Nan'an and other counties.

For example, when Zhang Shao and Gou Xiong fought fiercely in Shuofang, the thousands of Tuoba cavalry who quickly assembled on the north bank of the Yellow River in Shuofang, watched the situation, and looked for opportunities for profit, were mainly Daibei Hu Mu, who moved to the north bank of the Yellow River, and the soldiers and horses under the accounts of Pu Qin generals such as Yang Man and Gou Xiong, whose backbone were also warriors of their own clan, so half of the "militia" troops, Although the combat effectiveness is not good enough due to the lack of regular daily drills and the lack of good armaments, it cannot be compared with Pu Qin's elite, but it is not bad.

Especially when there is a city to rely on, they don't need to go out of the city to fight, as long as they rely on the city to defend it, they should not be underestimated. But then again, the so-called "Ten Rules of Encirclement", when the enemy is firmly defensive, the attacking side often needs more troops to be able to have the certainty of victory, but it is precisely because about half of the Puqin guards in the three counties of Nan'an are not their regular army, so Xin Er will say, "Even 20,000 is not enough to attack Nan'an and other counties", if the 20,000 Puqin guards are the regular Puqin troops who are now besieging Ye County, it is not "20,000 is insufficient", and 30,000 or 40,000 may not be enough.

Tang Ai said: "Ming Gong is very true. According to Ai's estimation, if you want to conquer Nan'an and other counties, 4,000 steps will definitely be insufficient, and you will have to have 20,000 steps to ride. ”

"Qinzhou and other places can produce 4,000 soldiers and horses, and there is still a gap of 16,000, how can we solve it?"

Tang Ai stayed down, splashed the water from the wooden bowl on the Yang Chao case, put the bowl on his own case, and went to the Xin Er case, took an inkstone and a paperweight without telling him, and put them on his own case.

He dipped the water in his bowl, drew a line on the desk that went roughly east-west, raised his head, pointed to the line, and said to Xin Er: "This is Weishui." He put the wooden bowl on the north side of "Weishui" and said, "This is Nan'an County." ”

Put the paperweight on the south side of "Weishui", opposite to "Nan'an County", and say, "These are the three counties of Qinzhou such as Longxi."

He put the inkstone on the west side of the "Longxi" and "Nan'an" counties, and said, "These are the eight counties in my southeast." ”

Put your bowl, together with the sachet you picked, on the east side of "Longxi" and "Nan'an" counties, the bowl is on the south bank of "Weishui", more west, and the sachet is on the north bank of "Weishui", more east, and said, "This is Tianshui and Luoyang two counties." ”

Fingers swiped along the "Weishui" to the east, nodded three times in succession, and said, "These are Fufeng, Shiping, and Xianyang Counties. ”

Two black wooden bowls, a gray inkstone, a cyan stone paperweight, a brocade cloth sachet, and a water line vividly show the situation between the enemy and the enemy in Qinzhou and its surroundings on a low case with a black background and red depiction.

Xin Er glanced at it, called the attendant outside the hall, and ordered, "Get the map." ”

Tang Ai was immersed in his own thoughts, but he forgot that there was no map in Xin'er Mansion? Half a day's work was in vain.

Yang Chao heard this, turned his eyes to Tang Ai, and saw that he was stunned for a moment, and he couldn't help but smile.

Soon, the map was picked up and spread out on the ground.

Xin Er took off his clothes, went to the near of the map, smiled and said to Tang Ai: "Qianli, you can say it." ”

Tang Ai was not embarrassed, so he walked to the picture and said, "Borrow the sword of Ming Gong." ”

Xin Er took off the sword placed on the corner of the wall and handed it to him.

Tang Ai caught it, found the location of the three counties of Qinzhou on the map, pointed at it with his sword, and said: "Ming Gong, Shuofang County, Qinzhou echo north and south, and threaten the heart of the middle of the pass.

"Yes, Ai thinks that when the battle between Pu Mao and Murong Xianbei is over, no matter how he wins or loses, sooner or later he will attack Shuofang in the north and Qinzhou in the south.

"And the three counties of Qinzhou are close to Xianyang, along the Weishui to the east, more than 600 miles away, compared to Shuofang County, this state is my own, the threat to Pu Qin is obviously greater, so Ai expected, in Shuofang County, Qinzhou in the two directions of the army, Pu Mao will choose Qinzhou first.

"This means that when the battle of Yexian is over, it won't be long before Qin Yu will attack my Qinzhou again!"

Xin Er agreed with Tang Ai's judgment and said, "Not bad. ”

"Looking at the situation of the battle of Ye County today, Pu Mao's victory is very large. If he really wins, then when he attacks our Qinzhou again, his army has more Hebei food, soldiers and people to help, the army is more prosperous, and with the spirit of a great victory, then the three counties of Qinzhou will be difficult to preserve. ”

Xin Er's face was solemn, and he said: "Qianli, this is also my worry!" ”

If it weren't for this worry, Xin Er would not have just laid down Shuofang, and after two successive wars, Shuofang would discuss with Yang Chao and Tang Ai about using troops again.

Tang Ai said: "If you want to keep Qinzhou and dispel the worries of Ming Gong, there is only one plan for now, that is, 'preemptive strike'." First, to seize the important towns of Jin, for the future battle of Qinzhou, lay a foundation conducive to the attack and defense of our army, and secondly, plunder its people, and enrich the people's strength and military resources in Dingxi. ”

Having said this, he went around again, and said hesitantly: "The truth is true, but why is the force insufficient?" ”

"If you fight the three counties of Nan'an, Luoyang, and Tianshui, you have to ride 20,000 steps, but if you only fight Nan'an County, you don't need so much."

"Only fight Nan'an County?"

"Exactly."

Xin Er looked at the map carefully, repeated Tang Ai's words, and muttered: "Only fight Nan'an County." ”

Tang Ai moved the sword in his hand, pointed to the top of Nan'an County, and said: "Ming Gong, please see, this county of Nan'an, opposite to Longxi County across Weishui, one is in Weibei, one is in Weinan, just like two pincers, just lock the passage along Weishui to the west, if this county is taken by my Dingxi, it can help defend the three counties of Qinzhou is one of them, and cut off Pu Qin's westward advance, and the road to the interior of Dingxi is the second.

Nan'an County and Longxi and other three counties of Qinzhou face each other across the Weishui, and the capture of this county is equivalent to strengthening the defense of the north of Qinzhou and assisting in the defense of Qinzhou, needless to say.

"Cut off Pu Qin's westward advance, and offend my road to the western interior", Tang Ai's sentence needs to be explained.

But he said, could it be that Pu Qin's attack on the interior of Dingxi, that is, the road to Longzhou, was only through Weishui? Defeat Nan'an and "lock the passage to the west along Weishui", will Pu Qin have no way to attack Longzhou? And that's pretty much the case.

This is because the north of Nan'an County is Longshan that stretches for three or four hundred miles, that is, the Chongshan Dangerous Ridge in the western part of Guanzhong that was later named "Liupan Mountain" in the original time and space of Xin'er, and the hinterland of Guanzhong, Longdong, Anding, and Xinping Counties on the north bank of Weishui are all in the east of Longshan, and there is no county and county between Longshan and Longzhou, which means that if Nan'an County is occupied by Dingxi, the road to attack Longzhou along Weizhong is broken, and Pu Qin wants to attack Longzhou from Guanzhong, only to cross Longshan. Not to mention the difficulty of the road in the mountainous march, there will be great difficulties in logistics and supply, and more importantly, even if it crosses the Longshan Mountain, there is still a section of natural danger in front of it, which is the Yellow River.

Therefore, anyone who is a little rational should not choose this path to attack Long.

- Of course, if there is civil strife in Dingxi now, and the bold raid method of "strange soldiers descending from the sky" is adopted, this road is still optional, but Dingxi is now not only free of civil strife, but it is said that the status of Zuo and Ling Hule is good, and it is said that it is the power of Xiner, and it is quite stable, so the possibility of Pu Mao choosing this road to attack Longzhou is very small.

Xin Er nodded and said: "If Nan'an is for me, the strategic environment of Longzhou will indeed be further improved." ”

Tang Ai continued to say and said: "Because at this time, limited to the problem of insufficient troops, Ai thinks that I can take Nan'an in the west first, and as for the two counties of Luoyang and Tianshui, I can slowly plan it." ”

Xin Er thought for a while and asked, "If you only fight Nan'an County, how many soldiers does Qing think is needed?" ”

"Ten thousand people are enough!"

"Who is the best choice?"

"Thousands of miles away, please collect this county bag for Ming Gong."