However, the ministers did not raise any objection to the tactic of using detachments of various armies along the river to cross the river to carry out disruptive operations against the enemy, because the number of troops used in this way was limited, that is to say, it could reduce the consumption of money and food, and it could also make the enemy mistakenly believe that our army was conducting reconnaissance operations before launching a major war, so that the enemy would not dare to act rashly, but he would have to fortify everywhere, disrupting his deployment to a certain extent, and making it impossible to assemble a large army.

On the other hand, the essence of our army's harassment operations is to destroy the enemy's food and enemy and ship assembly points, and if they are discovered, they will destroy them with a short and powerful attack, so as to thwart the enemy's conspiracy to cross the river. In addition, through constant raids and warfare, they can disturb people's minds, destroy their production facilities, destroy fields and ditches, and weaken their economic base.

This method of warfare was also used in Qiongzhou, and it repeatedly thwarted Ali's attempts to attack Qionggue, so many generals in the army were familiar with this tactic and it was easy to organize and implement. Moreover, the combat locations are all outside the territory, which will have little impact on one's own side, but will create a false impression of launching a counteroffensive against the enemy and achieving victory, which can inspire people and morale.

After some discussion, the ministers had no objection other than asking for a good grasp of the scale and intensity of the battle. However, they questioned Jiang Cheng's Pingxi strategy of 'attacking Xichuan in a hurry and slowing down the attack on Dali', and their reasons for opposing the capture of Dali were similar to Zhao Yu's original idea, that is, they did not want to get involved in the slang Han dispute for the time being, and wasted manpower and force. He also thought that the Yangtze River defense line had begun to take shape, and it was not so urgent to capture Xichuan, and that the current energy should still be focused on recuperation and accumulating money and food, rather than using troops for a 'useless' land.

"If there is no foresight, there must be near-term worries, and I think you Aiqing knows better than me. In the past 100 years, the Duan clan was in power, and it had no ambition for external expansion, and it had reconciled with our dynasty and called Tibet. There is a saying that good neighbors don't need to be wary of, but now Dali has been invaded by Meng Yuan and become a place under his rule, as if it has become a gangrene on my back. Zhao Yu waited for the ministers to express their opinions before speaking.

"Your Majesty, Xiangxi has always been disobedient to the king, and the slang is not stopped, if you want to enter Dali, you must first subdue the slang, and then you will inevitably use the army. However, the mountains there are high and dense, and the miasma is pervasive, and our army has suffered heavy losses every time it advances and suppresses, and the gains really outweigh the losses. Wen Tianxiang sighed lightly and said, "At present, Dali is assassinated by the king of Yunnan in Mengyuan, which has led to civil strife, and all parties are attacking and killing, so why should our dynasty be involved?" ”

"Wen Xiang, even if our dynasty has no intention of seeking Dali for the time being, Xiangxi must be recovered, otherwise once the army moves north and loses its subdues, they will frequently harass the interior, invade the state and plunder the land, forcing us to divide our troops to quell the rebellion!" Zhao Yu said, "It is precisely because of the civil strife in Dali that they are forced to avoid Xiangxi and enter the Han land. And Jiang Zhishuai's strategy can take the opportunity to appease him and make proper arrangements, and he will definitely be used by me in the coming day, and become a barrier for us to prevent Meng Yuan from entering Guangnan. ”

"Cast it with a peach, repay it with a plum. Now that the slang people are in danger, forcing them to move inward, if I treat them well, even if they are cruel and cunning, they will know how to repay the favor. After hearing this, Lu Xiufu nodded and said, "I think that if Jiang Zhishuai thinks, as long as it takes time to appease the slang, it is not impossible to make them return to the king." ”

"Exactly, our dynasty has a precedent of changing the land in Qiongzhou, as long as we follow the policy, we have to do it. If it can be done, I will get a boost! Ying Jieyan also echoed.

"Yes, Meng Yuan was brutal, destroying the village at every turn, and imposing heavy taxes, so that the people's resentment boiled. I thought it was the right time to use it as a precursor to go deep into Xiangxi, entrust the meritorious ones with official positions, and establish a state government to govern them with court officials, and it is not impossible to include them in the territory! Zhao Yu said.

"The minister thinks that he might as well give it a try, and if he succeeds, he will help my court, and defeat will not hurt the country. If it's five or five, why not! Liu Huang also changed his opinion at this time, but from his tone, he didn't seem to have much hope.

"Even so, the minister has no objection!" Wang Yinglin also agreed, and then said, "However, the minister thinks that it is necessary to be cautious to arm the white army and help it return to its hometown." He has lived in Jiangnan for many years, and he knows very well about the military, government and people of our dynasty. ”

"Taizu has long said that the land outside Dali is not owned by my dynasty, so why does Your Majesty insist on this?" Jiang Xuan said at this time, just because this strategy was offered by his brother, it was inconvenient for him to comment more, and he couldn't help but say at this time.

"It's not because of my intentions, it's because of the situation. As long as Meng Yuan is still there, it will be a trouble, and only by driving him away can he keep Jiangnan safe! Zhao Hao said solemnly, saying in his heart that he didn't want to poke the hornet's nest, but every day a group of wasps hovered overhead, and he didn't know when he would swoop down and sting you. With his daily fear, it is better to burn it with a fire, even if it may burn his own corner.

"I think Jiang Zhishuai's strategy is not for the present, but for the long term. It is also the white army that has lived in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time, they have accepted the king, and after returning to Dali, even if they can't think of our dynasty, they will not be our enemies, and this matter is not urgent, and they can slowly figure it out! Lu Xiufu replied at this time.

"It's okay, this matter will be discussed later, but I think the recovery of Xichuan is imminent." Zhao Hao thought about it, he also knew the role of these exiles in the White Army, more like a leading party, counting on their eighteen thousand people to capture Dali, at most they were acting as a servant army. Since we can't reach an agreement on this issue for the time being, let's put aside the controversy and pick up the urgent conversation first!

"Your Majesty, if you take Xichuan, you have to go up the river, several gorges are rapid, dangerous shoals are dense, it is difficult to sail, it is very difficult to mobilize troops, and it is very difficult to transfer baggage, and you need to invest a lot of troops to garrison, I am afraid that you will lose one or the other." Lu Xiufu frowned and said, this is the first time since today's deliberations that he has clearly raised his objections.

"Do you know why it was difficult for Wu to dominate the world when it was sitting in Jiangnan during the Three Kingdoms period, but it was finally destroyed by Jin?" Zhao Yu took a sip of tea, thinking about how to convince everyone, and asked after a while.

"The disaster of Sun and Wu, from the overall situation, is to give up the alliance of Wu and Shu to unite against Cao, and it is difficult to help each other, so that they are broken by the Jin; And the last emperor Sun Hao was cruel and unkind, so that the people's hearts were lost! Jiang Xuan replied.

"No, I thought that the disaster of Sun Wu was as early as the beginning of the founding of Eastern Wu, when Zhou Yu seized Jing and Yi Erzhou and tried to divide the world into two parts, he was doomed to the fate of the country!" Zhao Yu shook his head and said.

"Oh, please explain it to your majesty!" It was the first time for everyone to hear this kind of opinion, and they were all stunned, and Wen Tianxiang said later.

"At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the imperial power declined, and Wei, Shu and Wu competed for the world. Sun Wu sits in the east of the Yangtze River, with the danger of the Yangtze River and the wealth of fish and rice. However, its geopolitical situation is not as wonderful as it seems, and everyone knows that the so-called danger of the Yangtze River is far from being so solid......," Zhao Yu watched everyone talk eloquently, expounding his views.

The previous Qin and Han dynasties all built their capitals in the hinterland, and controlled the frontier with the technique of differentiation and disintegration, and Wei and Shu inherited this characteristic. And Soochow revolves around the deployment of its own national defense. The founding of the Eastern Wu Dynasty was the first attempt at national defense deployment in this part of Jiangdong, but its problems were much more serious than those of the Central Plains Dynasty. This has to start with Longzhong. Zhuge Liang defined Jingzhou as a place of use, and one of its characteristics is that it is to pass through Bashu in the west.

In fact, the natural risk of Yizhou is aimed at the Guanzhong region, Hanzhong, Jiange, and Yinping have become fortresses that hinder the Wei army from entering Shu, but for Jingzhou, the degree of danger is much lower. The battle between Wei and Shu attracted too much attention, making the world mistakenly think that as long as Hanzhong in the north of Yizhou was held, it was equivalent to mastering the gold medal of avoiding death.

In fact, the war of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty Liu Xiu against Gongsun Shu has already revealed an unusual side, Cen Peng and Lai She attacked Yizhou from different routes, the former was from the Yangtze River waterway in the south of Jingzhou, that is, the road that Liu Bei took later to attack the hinterland of Yizhou. The geographical difficulty of entering Yizhou from Jingzhou is much lower than taking the Hanzhong route directly, and conversely, it is equally easy to go east from Yizhou to Jingzhou.

Later, Liu Bei attacked Sun Quan in the east because of Guan Yu's death, and Lu Xun's defense did not show much dangerous deployment, while Liu Bei easily entered the Jingzhou boundary of Eastern Wu, and he didn't even see Lu Xun's navy play a role, but the Wu army finally defeated Liu Bei with the defensive counterattack tactics of fire attack, and this scene was like a repetition of the Battle of Red Cliffs.

This further shows that not only did Cao Cao occupy Jingzhou and share the Yangtze River risk with Eastern Wu, but even if Eastern Wu occupied Jingzhou, if he did not gain control of Yizhou, the Yangtze River natural risk could only be shared with Shu Han. The essence of the Battle of Yiling was that Liu Bei stood in Cao Cao's position back then, and brought a sense of tension to Dongwu along the river to the east. But Liu Bei was not the only one who took advantage of the hidden danger of Jingzhou, more than 80 years later, the Jin army relied on the favorable terrain of Yizhou to launch an attack directly from the upper reaches to Jingzhou, opening the prelude to the war to destroy Wu, and realizing Liu Bei's long-cherished wish.

Therefore, there is only one chance for Eastern Wu to unify the world, that is, Zhou Yu's strategic core of "according to Chu Pass to gradually regulate Bashu", its design does not end in Jingzhou, he persuaded Sun Quan to capture the Jiangling area, cross Jingzhou to take Bashu in the west, annex Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, and then go north to help Ma Chao, after completing all this, Zhou Yu returned to the army and Sun Quan to force Cao Cao in Jingzhou. And Chuguan is in the Jingzhou area. Only after taking control of Bashu, that is, Yizhou, is Jingzhou safe. And Jingzhou is only facing the threat from the north, Zhou Yu can deal with the enemy in the Central Plains with all his strength according to Xiangyang, and realize the plan of half of the world.

Zhou Yu once suggested to Sun Quan that Liu Bei be placed in the Sanwu area, and at the same time disperse the two generals of Guan and Zhang, so that they could fight with the Wu army, and it was absolutely impossible for Liu Guan and Zhang to get together, and Mrs. Sun's marriage to Liu Bei was only part of Zhou Yu's "many beauties to entertain his ambitions". Zhou Yu hoped that Sun Quan's attitude towards Liu Bei would be like Liu Bei's treatment of Liu Zhang, not to engage in flashy alliances, and to directly put him under his command to listen to the command is the right way.

Sun Quan did not listen to Zhou Yu's good words, in addition to his own belief that "Cao Cao is in the north, Fang should be a hero", another important reason is that Liu Bei has occupied part of the Jingzhou area at this time. When Cao Cao was defeated and retreated, Liu Bei and Zhou Yu pursued together, and then each seized territory, and the southern part of Jingzhou was captured by Liu Bei.

Since he couldn't restrain Liu Bei, he simply put it on hold like this first, but Zhou Yu's death at this time allowed Lu Su to take his place. In the strategy that Lu Su designed for Sun Quan before, it was just "to eliminate Huang Zu and attack Liu Biao, but the Yangtze River is extremely strong, and there is a basis", his attitude towards attacking Yizhou is relatively vague, according to Jiangdong across Jingzhou is Lusu's version of Longzhong. When he went to Jingzhou to mourn, he had already expressed that if Jingzhou was willing, he would reconcile with it, and let Jiangdong and Jingzhou ally fight against Cao Cao.

When Cao Cao's threat was still there, and Liu Bei occupied the important place in Jingzhou, Lu Su's strategy once again affected Sun Quan, which later led to Wu Shu's "borrowing Jingzhou", and Lu Su regarded Liu Bei as the previous Liu Biao and implemented his early strategic arrangements. "Borrowing Jingzhou" seriously disrupted the early strategy of Eastern Wu, and Yizhou was no longer possible to capture, because Liu Bei did not allow the Wu army to cross his territory, and Liu Bei had already planned to cross Jingzhou, so he refused to give up this piece of fat to Sun Quan.

"It's a pity that although Zhou Gongjin has a good understanding of the situation, his fate is not good. After the victory of the Battle of Chibi, when Cao's army was defeated and retreated, Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu led the army to march westward, and after forcing Cao Ren away in Jiangling, they immediately planned to enter Yizhou westward, even after Liu Bei attacked and occupied the important land in Jingzhou, he still wanted to cross Liu Bei's sphere of influence to take Yizhou directly, but unfortunately died of illness on the way out of Yizhou, and Eastern Wu could only be entangled in the peace battle with Liu Bei until the final defeat. Zhao Hao sighed and said with emotion.

"Your Majesty's argument is very different from that of his predecessors, and he has benefited the ministers a lot!" Lu Xiufu listened and pondered for a moment, he was convinced of the little emperor's analysis, you must know that when he was in Yashan, he had personally seen the little emperor talk about the Three Kingdoms to the guards, and he said it very clearly from the use of troops to the use of tactics, which shows that his understanding is deep, not a parrot.

"Lu Xiang praised it, I just have some insight into the lessons of my predecessors. Jin destroyed Eastern Wu, and Sui unified Jiangnan, all of which first took Sichuan and Shu, and then went down to Jiangnan. When I crossed to the south, Yue Wumu also made a northern expedition from Xiangyang to the Central Plains with Sichuan and Shu in hand, and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. And Meng Ge personally led the elite troops to attack Sichuan and Shu, not to borrow the experience of the Jin and Sui dynasties, as long as Sichuan is lost, Xiangfan will face the same dilemma as Jingzhou in Eastern Wu. Zhao Yu said humbly

"Well, Your Majesty is reasonable, if Meng Yuan fails to cross the river, he will not repeat the old tricks, and go down the river from Sichuan and Shu, even if he can't reproduce the power of Jin Sui, it will definitely make Jiangnan shake!" Wen Tianxiang said that he somewhat understood the little emperor's strategic intention to support Jiang Cheng's rapid attack on Chongqing......