"At this time, what kind of ghost is Taimiao?" Chen Dujing was greatly dissatisfied and said: "Brother Zhu, in your opinion, does the Northern Expedition have any chance of winning?" ”

"Yes, yes." Chen Duzhu said: "My brother didn't see the truth about the Northland, but my brother did." The armor is dazzling, and the soldiers are magnificent, and you can only find similar situations in the book. The younger brother saw the dispatch of the army in Gyeonggi, and dispatched more than 30,000 people at a time, the forbidden army of more than a dozen armies, and there were hundreds of flags. ”

"The army is strong and strong, and the morale is also strong." Chen Duzhu took a sip of tea, and continued: "Since the commander is the privy deputy envoy Li Guorui, the general is the Taiwei Yue Zhi, etc., and the striker has a fierce general like Li Youde, and the general of this dynasty is either the commander or the transfer envoy, and the strength of the whole country wants to beat Donghu back, not only the morale is very strong, but the court officials also hope to defeat Donghu through this battle and give the court a breather, so the morale is also very high." Everyone feels that it is not a matter to be beaten passively all the time, and the people also have the same opinion, the Donghu people will come if they want to come, and they will leave if they want to go, we can only defend everywhere, thousands of miles, they collude with the Beiyu, do you know when they came in, where did they come in? ”

"Is this battle going to Yingzhou?"

"That's impossible." Lin Yangxian shook his head and said: "The court said that it was going to fight until Yingzhou, but in fact, everyone knew that it was impossible. Nearly 900 miles from Guanmen to the old city of Yingzhou, there are enemy borders along the way, how is this possible? Everyone said that every time the Donghu people came in, our war was unfavorable, mainly because the troops were scattered and controlled by the Hu cavalry. In fact, it is not necessarily the case, after Chengzong, several times of tens of thousands of people in large battles, the forbidden army is not in a good position, only Yue Zhi and Li Youde won this one, or because Li Youde is good at using cavalry, foot and cavalry combined, the enemy cavalry is reversed, and then crossbowmen and enemy archers are used to shoot, forcing the enemy to fight, and the battlefield is also unfavorable to the cavalry. In fact, if there is no such location, I am afraid that the victory or defeat is still unpredictable. ”

Chen Dujing nodded very calmly, obviously agreeing with Lin Yangxian's words and opinions.

Looking at Chen Zhengzhi again, he also bowed his head slightly, Chen Dujing knew that his son often discussed the war in the north with Xu Zixian, and the views of both sides gradually became the same.

The Wei army was unfavorable, mainly because the cavalry was getting fewer and fewer, and there was no way to counter and contain the enemy cavalry.

Even if there are tens of thousands of infantry, all wearing heavy armor and strong crossbows, the enemy cavalry does not engage you head-on, and constantly pins down, pulls, harasses, runs out of food, or flanks on both flanks.

The forbidden army had no way to deal with this method of warfare, and tens of thousands of armored infantry were helpless against cavalry.

The Great Wei Forbidden Army is extremely well equipped, the heaviest iron armor is 70 catties, from the scarb to the iron mask, to the iron gloves, iron armor, heart guard, belly guard, arm guard, stun, shin guard, iron mesh boots, a full set of more than 70 catties, which needs the strongest and most powerful man in the army to bear.

There were tens of thousands of such iron men and more than twenty armies, and if they were to charge together, those iron-clad beasts with only their eyes would crush all the enemies they faced, and any resistance would be meaningless until they were long-lasting.

But without the effective containment of cavalry, who would have a head-on battle with such ironclad heavy infantry?

Pulling, roundabouts, wrappings, dragging, a day's worth of water in the bodies of these iron men will be drained, and they will run out of physical strength, watching the enemy riders tear apart the crossbowmen on both wings, and then crush all resistance on the battlefield.

It is impossible for the 300,000 forbidden army to destroy and surround the main force of the 200,000-strong Donghu cavalry, although many of the 200,000 Donghu cavalry are horse infantry.

Immediately galloping and slashing is not as easy as imagined, many people have good riding skills, but they just don't grasp the distance well, a sharpshooter who can shoot arrows on the flat ground in ten shots, can shoot six out of ten on the horse, even if it is the elite of the archers.

Unfortunately, many people do not meet this standard.

The forbidden army was facing east, and if it was surrounded by hundreds of thousands of nomadic Hotan chasseurs, it would be a rather dangerous situation.

Even if this time the Great Wei concentrated more than 20,000 cavalry to protect the flanks, cover the grain routes of the large army, and guard against light cavalry attacks, there was no way to solve the risk of a large force of cavalry being divided and encircled.

The shorter the front, the less risky, and the longer the front, the greater the risk.

If the Wei army penetrated deep into Liaodong and crossed the Hunhe River into Yingzhou, that is, the Liaoyang area of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the risk would increase exponentially, and no one could afford such a big risk.

The real intention of the Wei army was to restore Jinzhou, the protectorate of Andong.

Those present are all the elites of the Great Wei, and they don't need to look at the map to know the importance of Jinzhou.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, it was known as Jinzhou and belonged to the Andong Protectorate, but the Tang Dynasty mismanaged and lost Yingzhou when it was after the martial arts, and later failed to firmly rule in Yingzhou after several restorations.

The Yingzhou region, that is, the Liaoyang and Shenyang regions, as well as dozens of prefectures and counties in the Heilongjiang region, most of them were founded during the founding of the Bohai State and the Khitan people, including post stations, state capitals and counties, and the Liao people have always extended their ruling areas to the bitter cold land of the outer northeast region, and its national strength far exceeds that of the Bohai State, all the way to the northern outlet of the sea and Sakhalin Island, all of which have been passed by the Liao people.

The Tang Dynasty's Andong Protectorate fell after the middle period, and the Liao people had been in business for a hundred years, and it was at that time that Jinzhou developed, and by the time of the rise of the Mongols, Jinzhou was already a strategic place to control the western Liaoning corridor.

From the map, you can see that there are obvious boundaries between Liaozhong, Liaodong, Liaoxi, and the north, and the core areas of the Khitan and Jurchen are within the Liaohe River Basin, and further north is the Songhua River, Nenjiang River, and Heilongjiang River Basin, which was once well developed, but was later destroyed by the Mongols and has not recovered for a long time.

The north of Jinzhou is a vast grassland and dense forest, the continuous mountains will divide the Liaozhong Plain and the north, after the Mongols withdrew from Liaodong, this place gradually regained its vitality, but the grassland still has the tribes of the northern captives, and the two sides gradually from antagonism to alliance and cooperation, but it is not solid.

If Jinzhou is occupied, a defensive position is taken in the north, the corridor area near the Liaohai Sea is controlled by Jinzhou, and then castles are built along the Xiaoling River, and a large area after it will be controlled by the Great Wei.

Then if the Donghu people want to attack the Great Wei, they have to take a detour from the north for two or three thousand miles, and the logistics supply is too difficult for the Donghu people.

After decades of war with the Great Wei, the Donghu people are no longer a group of barbarian collection, they also have a large area of farming, iron mining area, salt mine, cotton production area, they use all their national strength in farming warfare, their fierce security restraint is quite efficient, can mobilize all the forces, almost all iron products in addition to agricultural tools are weapons, outside the city of Yingzhou, the shop to build armor weapons stretches for dozens of miles, they continue to produce weapons, make bows and arrows, and at the same time trade all the harvest with the Mongols, used to trade war horses.

They formed an army of about 200,000 people, with quite good archers, horse cavalry and horse infantry, well-organized, and the army was brave and good at fighting, so they were also highly dependent on logistics, if they were attacked by the Great Wei to Jinzhou, they would have to make a detour of thousands of miles, and it would become extremely difficult to attack the Great Wei again.

The Great Wei Forbidden Army is not a Ming army in another time and space, the Wei army is stronger than the Ming army, the equipment is stronger than the Ming army, the military order system is stronger than the Ming army, and the central control is stronger than the Ming army.

The national strength of the Great Wei Dynasty also far exceeded that of the late Ming Dynasty, at least the finances of the Great Wei Dynasty had not yet gone bankrupt, the economic control was quite successful, and the use of national strength was much stronger than that of the Ming Dynasty.

If the Donghu people made a detour of thousands of miles to attack the northern defense line of the Great Wei, their logistics would collapse before they arrived, even if they barely managed to reach the border defense area of the Great Wei, they would definitely be discovered by the border army of the Great Wei during the long journey, and they could be prepared, and the assembled Wei army would not be inferior to the confrontation with the Northern Donghu head-on, especially in the defense of the border line, and would not give these barbarians the slightest chance.

"This is the key to the Northern Expedition......" Chen Dujing glanced at his son again, and saw that Chen Zhengzhi was listening to his words intently, and felt relieved in his heart.

He nodded and praised: "Han Xianggong is still Lao Cheng Mouguo, and Liu Zhiyuan's Northern Expedition plan is completely crazy." ”

"So Liu Zhiyuan, the officials and gentry of the Beijing division have nothing to say." Chen Duzhu said with a smile: "The public opinion of the Beijing division is completely one-sided, especially after the leakage of the Northern Expedition plan. ”

Lin Yang put down the teacup first, and smiled at Chen Dujing: "The third son-in-law of my brother is still the foundation of benevolence, I heard that the Son of Heaven sent Liu Zhiyuan's family to the Eastern Domain, and I also heard that they were not killed, let alone abused, and the Marquis of Nan'an ordered them to work on the island and fend for themselves, which is also quite a good result." ”

The Great Wei Dynasty sent prisoners to Qiongzhou and the Eastern Domain at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and later the prisoners regarded the Eastern Domain as a fearful way, and refused to go without fear of self-harm and suicide.

If according to the usual rules, the Son of Heaven should send Liu Zhiyuan's family to Qiongya, instead of sending it to the Eastern Domain, the meaning is really obvious.

"It's good that I didn't do it according to the Son of Heaven." Chen Dujing said coldly: "Spread the word, the wicked man did it wisely, and the bad reputation was that he took his body and did such a dirty thing for the Son of Heaven, why bother?" Besides, what is the attitude of the Son of Heaven towards the Nan'an Hou Mansion, and what more needs to be said? It's also really naïve. ”

After Chen Dujing finished speaking, he realized that his attitude and evaluation of the Son of Heaven had become lower and lower, and he had almost reached the bottom.

"This is probably the case in both the capital of Beijing and the north." Chen Duzhu said: "All the manpower, material and financial resources are used in the Northern Expedition, the government is urging the people to make a living, prices are soaring, my brother from Linqing to Chuzhou, the price of grain alone has risen more than ten times, and now the price of grain in the north, fine grain to four runs through one stone, coarse grain, originally no one wants to eat, now it is also two thousand Wen a stone. ”

"If this continues, I'm afraid that the people's change will not be far away." Chen Dujing looked sad and said: "This is the autumn of critical survival. ”

Lin Yangxian nodded in agreement and said, "Although Wuhou's words have been separated by thousands of years, the truth is correct. It's just that today there is no close to the small group, and there is no deliberate close to the villain, far gentlemen, in the palace, there is some estrangement, but the palace should suppress the two governments a little, so that the prime minister and the privy authority are not made, this is also the ancestral family law, and it has been the case for more than 200 years. However, it is the autumn of survival that is really heavenly. ”

"Three hundred years of chaos in one cycle." Chen Duzhu said: "When Taizu founded the country, he once sighed, hoping that Dawei could escape the catastrophe of three hundred years, but now it seems that it still can't. ”

"Xia Shang is too ethereal, two weeks combined, but it is far more than three hundred years."

This is also the feudal system that the Confucianism said is beneficial to the country, but from the Han Dynasty to the Western Jin Dynasty, there is no accident in the separation. If the kings have soldiers and wealth, they will definitely peep into the throne, but I think that the clan system of this dynasty is excellent, which can be described as the best way. The clan can not become a useless gentleman in Beijing, and collude with the courtiers to plot misdeeds, but also can do some practical things in the local area. In case there is a change in the Jingshi, then the local clan can choose relatives and appoint virtuous people, and they can continue the lineage, which is really the best way. Speaking of which, it is not suitable for the inside, but it is suitable for the outside, expanding the territory and maintaining vitality, this is the best way. ”

"Let's not talk about that." Chen Dujing smiled and said, "It's time to talk about distribution." ”

"Let's get more flat-bottomed sand boats and pretend to be water carriers." Chen Duzhu said with a smile: "Coastal north, Mingzhou, Jiangling, Guangling, Pingjiang, and then Shashi are all large-scale distribution points. In Fujian, Nan'anhou is handed over to us for distribution, which is easier to do, and I will call some Junhou of the commercial house to come over, and we will sell it directly in the store. The big merchants take the goods from us, and the small and medium-sized merchants take the goods from the hands of the great princes. ”

"Mingda means that the shipment should be fast, and there was a lot of money invested in the Eastern Domain," Chen Dujing said, "so you have to get it back as soon as possible." ”

"Little things, little things." Chen Duzhu said: "I will first meet people to negotiate things, and then go to the Eastern Domain once, look at the salt pond, and determine how to get the goods and distribute them, which is the best." ”

"It's going to be hard work."

"It's all for our Hou Mansion, and it's also for yourself." Chen Duzhu said: "I vaguely feel that the world is going to change greatly, but what kind of shape it will become, what the trend is, I really don't understand it now." ”

"Wei Jiuzhen, Xu Yanda, they have all met with me before, and everyone is chatting like this, and they all feel that the future of Dawei is worrying. But what it will be, no one can say. ”

Lin Yangxian said: "Now everyone has a faint opinion, if the Northern Expedition cannot be won, the Great Wei will be like the early Sui Dynasty, and if there are many elites of the forbidden army in Liaodong, the world will be in chaos." Then the thieves will plague the Central Plains, Shandong, the north and the south will be isolated, and the Donghu will go south, which will be much more dangerous than the Turks back then. Jiangbei will be occupied by Donghu, and the thieves will go to Jinghu and Zhejiang, and even our Fujian. Now Fujian is Lin Douyao and King Zhao are in charge......"

Everyone snorted coldly, obviously not very optimistic about the abilities of these two.

Lin Yangxian continued: "Lin Douyao is actually capable, but he is old, and he wants to enter the two mansions, and he can't see the evolution of the general trend. Now it is still desperately in the supply center, not to retain a little more vitality for Fujian...... In fact, I know that Guangzhou has already responded to the story of the center. ”

"Guangnan East Road appeased Chang Ming, intercepted and transferred wealth, and deduced that there were pirates who invaded the territory." Chen Dujing said: "He already has obvious different aspirations, once the north and the south are separated, it is likely to be a matter of one or two years, and then he will be self-reliant." If Great Wei loses its center, he can establish a country on his own, which is also an obvious thing. ”

Chen Zhengzhi was shocked to realize why his father wanted to listen by himself today.

Today's matter is not a simple matter of salt distribution, but a conversation between my father and his most trusted confidant about the future of Great Wei and Fujian Road.

Actually, it's not very far, maybe it's a year or two.

Fujian Road not only wants to protect itself, but also to strive for more in the chaotic capital and quickly clarify the troubled times, which is what these people in front of them want to do.

In other words, they represent not only the Changwen Marquis Mansion, but what most of the civil officials and gentry want.

Since the center is not good and cannot control the metropolitan surface, of course, it is best to quickly push a person who can reverse the metropolitan surface, young, strong and powerful, prestigious, and powerful.

Chen Zhengzhi faintly felt that there was an undercurrent surging under the surface of the water.

The new era seems to be about to break the ice at any time, ready to move, Chen Zhengzhi is a little excited, and he has a feeling that he can't wait.

But he still took a deep breath and a smile appeared on his face.

It's just a conversation, and the core content is still the distribution of Eastern Domain salt, which is the most important thing.

Money and harvest are always the most important thing.