Cao Hong knew that although his father ordered Ji Yan Erzhou to hoard grain in Qi County could not be hidden, but how to fight, where to fight, and what scale even he, the prince, did not know, how did Xu Yan know?

So Cao Hong asked, "Mr. Xu, how do you know the scale of the use of troops against the Southern Dynasty this time?" ”

At this time, it was late autumn, and it was gradually getting cooler. But Xu Yan still held the feather fan, a celebrity style, smiled faintly, waved the feather fan lightly, and said: "Sun Tzu said: Where the method of war, galloping thousands of cars, leather cars thousands of times, with 100,000 armor, thousands of miles of food, then the internal and external expenses, the use of guests, the material of glue paint, the dedication of the armor, the daily cost of thousands of gold, and then 100,000 teachers will be lifted." Last year, the Huai River was plagued, the victims of the Southern Dynasty poured into the north of the river, there was a shortage of food, and now Yan saw thousands of miles on the water on the shore of Luoshui, and the grain ships were connected end to end, and there was an endless stream; Today, the prince ordered Ji Yan Erzhou to send grain to Qi County to hoard, and now the grain from this Gyeonggi land is being shipped to the east. How can this battle be small? ”

Cao Hong couldn't help but secretly admire, Liu Yiqing of Liu Song said in "The World Speaks New Words": "The leopard in the tube can be seen." Presumably, it is a person like Mr. Xu. So Cao Hong was curious again: "What is the result of this battle, please predict it!"

I saw that Xu Yan heard Cao Hong's question, just smiled and kept silent.

Seeing this, Han Shineng thought for a while and said with a smile: "Hong'er, if you ask Mr. Xu about this matter as a prince, Mr. Xu may not be able to talk about it in detail." ”

Cao Hong listened to his grandfather, and he knew the meaning, he was a prince of Wei, if it was a good word, everyone would carry a sedan chair, then it would be fine. But if Xu Yan is not very optimistic in analyzing this battle, then this cannot be said nonsense. The so-called shallow and deep, Xu Yan must be measured when speaking in front of him.

Han Shineng smiled at this time: "However, the old man has an idea, he has been thinking about it for a long time, and he just said it today." Although Hong'er is a prince, she has been well-behaved and sensible since she was a child, and she is very smart. As for Mr. Xu, he is not an outsider. I want Hong'er to worship Mr. Xu as a teacher, and ask Mr. Xu to accept this apprentice. ”

Since Cao Hong heard Han Concubine talk about Xu Yan's past, he felt that Xu Yan was a strange man who valued love and righteousness, and after a few contacts, he felt that Xu Yan was gentle and elegant and resourceful, so he stood up and grabbed a few steps, knelt in front of Xu Yan and said: "If Mr. doesn't think Cao Hong is dull, please accept me as a disciple!" After saying that, it was a heavy knock.

Xu Yan listened, waved his hand again and again, and said: "I can't do it, Yan is a fugitive from the Qin State, and the rivers and lakes are wasted, how can he teach His Royal Highness the prince." ”

Cao Hong saw that Xu Yan refused, and hurriedly said: "Sir, although Cao Hong is the prince, but he has been taught by his mother since he was a child, and he does not dare to have the slightest arrogance and domineering. ”

Xu Yan got up and wanted to help Cao Hong up, but Cao Hong just couldn't afford it, Xu Yan looked at this fourth highness so closely for the first time, only to see that he was heroic and tall, with sword eyebrows and starry eyes, and his eyebrows were slightly similar to the deceased Han Xiaomei, and he couldn't help but be stunned and looked at Xu Yan fixedly.

Seeing this, Han Shi was busy coughing and said, "Although Mr. Xu is a celestial person. But Hong'er is also your junior, please accept this disciple sire. ”

Xu Yan came to his senses at this time, and said with a wry smile: "That's it, I fled from the enemy country, since His Royal Highness doesn't dislike me for being contemptible, I will do my best." ”

When Cao Hong heard the agreement, he happily knocked again: "Master Xie, please call me Hong'er in the future, you don't need to call me Your Highness." ”

Xu Yan laughed and said, "Okay, well, since Hong'er said so, I will accept you as a disciple for the teacher." ”

"You just asked me what I think of this battle." Everyone laughed, and Xu Yan said with a serious expression: "To be honest, I'm not optimistic that Dawei will win this battle. ”

Cao Hong was taken aback and said: "Master, Shen Liangyu broke the king and monk to be quiet in Hailing, surrounded Shen Pu in Huaiyin, the Southern Dynasty has almost no danger to defend in the north of the Jiangbei, there are no soldiers available, my Great Wei soldiers are pointing directly at the entrance of Beijing, and they will be able to cross the river and come to the stone city in a few days, why does Master say that my Great Wei can't win?" ”

Xu Yan shook the fan unhurriedly, and said with a slight smile: "Hong'er, I expect that this battle will not be good for Great Wei, according to the three." ”

"Do you know about your father's proposal to set up six towns?" Xu Yan asked Cao Hongdao.

Cao Hong said: "I know, Master Cui went to patrol the north on behalf of the border, and I heard that it was for this matter. ”

Han Shineng interjected at this time: "Cui Huan has returned, presumably the matter of the Six Towns will soon be officially issued by His Majesty." ”

Xu Yan thought for a while, and then said to the two: "The establishment of the six towns is a measure of last resort by His Majesty to alleviate the contradictions between the Huns and the Han people. The contradiction between the Han and the Xiongnu has a long history. Now the Huns have moved to Daibei, on the surface, it not only maintains the advantages of the Huns' cavalry and shooting, but also avoids the contradictions between the Han and the Huns. But there are three drawbacks to this strategy. ”

Xu Yan raised a finger and said: "Since the six towns are towns, as the name suggests, they are military towns, and they are all fierce soldiers who eat food as soldiers. ”

"Second, Daibei is not suitable for farming, and the Huns are not good at spring sowing and autumn harvests, and if they want to be in the army, they must move the Han people to the six towns, but there are only so many people, so that there are fewer tenants of those Han families. Moreover, moving the Han people to the six towns of Juntun and turning the grassland into arable land is not a year or two of hard work, and it is not urgent, and the grain and grass are not enough to be transferred from the Central Plains. On the surface, it seems to separate the Han people from the Chinese people, but in fact, this contradiction is even greater. ”

"Third, the big war is imminent, the first battle is successful, and the waves are naturally calm, but what if it is defeated? What if it lasts? There are no soldiers in the Central Plains, and when the time comes, the soldiers of the six towns will ......"

Cao Hong and Han Shineng were both terrified when they heard it.

Xu Yan took a sip of water, and then said: "I expect that this battle will be unfavorable, and the matter of the Six Towns is also for internal trouble. ”

"Second, I know Wang Seng Jing, the general Yong, the soldiers who brought to rescue Huaiyin Shen Pu are only the soldiers of the state capital, and the main force of the Southern Dynasty The Beifu army is in Runan to confront the Qin State, and the victory is not enough. But Shen Puqi, a famous general of the Southern Dynasty, is especially good at defending the city. This time Shen Liangyu returned to Beijing, only sent Xu Xianzhong to besiege Shen Pu, it seems that something is wrong, Xu Xianzhong I also know something, and the Southern Dynasty fought a hundred and twenty battles in Xuzhou, worship more and win less, Shen Liangyu did not ask his fierce general Niu Cunjie to surround Huaiyin, but asked Xu Xianzhong to stay, I really don't understand this matter. The soldiers are most afraid of this kind of incomprehensible and incomprehensible eccentricity. ”

Han Shineng also nodded and said: "This is also where the old man has always been puzzled, and besides, this time the matter of Long Chiyi is full of traces of conspiracy." This may indeed affect the future battle to the south. ”

Xu Yan bowed his head slightly, and said to Cao Hong: "As for the third, it is that the Han soldiers are too weak. In the past, every time the army was used, His Majesty issued an edict to recruit the brave and strong of the state capital and the family troops, these people were farmers who had just put down their hoes, how much combat power do you want them to have, hehe......"

Cao Hong was unconvinced: "Master, you forgot that there are still the four armies in Beijing. ”

Xu Yan saw that Cao Hong was not convinced, and he was not angry, so he laughed and said: "Compared with the Han and the Huns, the Huns have practiced riding and archery since they were children, and they are even more fierce and abnormal when they grow up, and they are skilled in bows and horses. The Han people can't compare with cavalry and archery, so they set up troops, set up ranks, and are vertically and horizontally, and use the trained skilled soldiers to fight more with less, and to outnumber. The Fourth Army in Beijing has not been formed for a long time, the formation is not customized, and it is okay to deal with ......the Southern Dynasties.

Cao Hong naturally knew what the master meant, the four armies were created in a hurry, the combat power was insufficient, and the battle with the Southern Dynasties, the victory or defeat was still five or five, and when he encountered the Hun soldiers of the six towns or the iron cavalry of the Qin State, he could only be beaten. At that time, the Xiongnu troops withdrew to Daibei, and the army attacking the Southern Dynasty must be dominated by the soldiers of the four armies and the local state capital.

Seeing this, Xu Yan smiled slightly: "Hong'er, don't worry, this is just my speculation, soldiers are impermanent, and any detail may change the direction of the entire war." You don't have to rush too much, either. ”

Cao Hong said to Xu Yan: "Master, isn't there a solution?" ”

Xu Yan sighed and said: "Yes, strike the army and truce, rest with the people, sort out the government, and fight for the world again." ”

Cao Hong and Han Shineng were silent when they heard it, when today's Zi Cao Jue is a person with a very good idea, as long as he recognizes the right things, he will definitely stick to it, such as the Six Towns, such as the upcoming southern expedition.

Han Shi could see that everyone was preoccupied, so he reluctantly smiled and said: "Today is the big day of Hong'er's apprenticeship, I will ask my subordinates to put on a banquet, and we will go together." ”

Cao Hong also cleaned up his mood at this time and said, "Grandpa, I have to rush back to the palace." What Master taught today, Hong'er benefited a lot. I really hope that I can talk with Master at night in the future. Speaking of this, Cao Hong suddenly thought of today's incident in Shuntianfu, so he told Han Shineng that he wanted to transfer Liu Shaoqi and Li Zhen.

Han Shineng frowned after hearing this and said, "It's easy to talk about the head-catching thing, just ask your uncle to take care of it." It's just that this Li Zhen is a person from Yulindu, and Yulindu is His Majesty's pro-army, and he is doing some selfish things, I'm afraid ......"

At this time, Xu Yan suddenly said: "This Shuntianfu, hook up and down, it is just right for the fat man to go, Hong'er, you might as well go to Yue Le, I think he has a way." ”

Leaving the Han Mansion, Cao Hong took advantage of the fact that the palace door was not locked, rushed into the palace, and returned to Shuyi Pavilion.

Seeing that Han Concubine had no other problems except for a small wound at the corner of her mouth, Cao Hong was happy in his heart: "Auntie, I'm back." ”

When Concubine Han saw that it was Cao Hong who came back, she ordered someone to bring the food and asked, "How is it that I went out of the palace to watch politics for the first time today!" ”

Cao Hong told Han Concubine about what he saw and heard in Shuntian Mansion today and what he had learned from his apprentice, and Han Concubine was overjoyed when he heard it: "Mr. Xu is wise and talented, with a dashing demeanor, it is really your blessing to have such a master, congratulations to ...... people."

"Why are you so happy to celebrate?" At this time, Cao Jue led Yue Le and other palace people to handle political affairs in the imperial study and walked in.