"The siege equipment can be made in a hurry, it's not a problem! Half a month is fine! Don't hide it, sir, the ladders and catapults used in the siege have already ordered the craftsmen to make them. Li Chang said.

"Equipment is only one aspect! There is also a very important issue that the general cannot ignore! Qin Huaishan pointed outside and said to everyone: "Our soldiers have always been mainly engaged in plain warfare, horse warfare and cavalry shooting are indeed powerful, but the drill of attacking the city is still quite rusty, and the siege equipment and the courage to be fearless of life and death are probably not enough to deal with such a war!" On the other hand, on the Xiangguo side, most of Shi Jian's subordinates are assembled by defenders from all over the country, and they are by no means our opponents in the field, but when it comes to defending the city and resisting the enemy, they are more experienced than us! It shouldn't be a wise move to attack the strengths of others with your own shortcomings, right? ”

Qin Huaishan's words were like a touch of ice water, poured on everyone's heads, and for a while, everyone fell into controversy and contradictions.

Ran Min hesitated a little and asked Wang Shicheng: "Third uncle, what do you think?" ”

Wang Shicheng said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Mr. Qin's analysis is very reasonable. Attacking cities and pulling out fortresses is indeed not what our army is good at, and it is necessary to move north, but at least it is not the time yet! Although we have an advantage now, our advantage is weak, so we must not act rashly! ”

Huang Lao stood up again and said, "Your Majesty, the old minister also has some shallow views and wants to talk about them. ”

"Huang Lao, just say it!"

"Although the old minister doesn't know how to fight, but the old minister thinks that if he can stop fighting now, he won't fight for the time being! Unless the soldiers are in the city! Many people have just been attached, and the people's hearts are undecided, so it is better to seize the opportunity and recuperate! It is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge for ten years, and if His Majesty wants to achieve immortal deeds, he must not rush for quick success. Although the territory of the Great Wei is stable now, it is still only a small land compared to the entire Central Plains, so what is more important than expelling the Hu people at the moment is to expand the territory. To the north, it is occupied by the Hu people, and there are heavy troops, so it is better to develop in the land of Guanzhong. If the general trend is today, the heroes rise together, just like the trend of the Seven Kingdoms in the past. The land of Heishui is the land of Longxing in Daqin, according to Hanguguan in the east, Bashu in the south, adjacent to Chudi, rich in people, with soldiers, grain and grass, and can seek the world by occupying it! Your Majesty, please think again! ”

Qin Huaishan said: "Qin II died, how can you talk about Longxing? Therefore, although Shu occupies one of the three parts of the world, Zhuge Kongming has been out of Qishan all his life, and he has not been able to recover the Central Plains. The old minister thinks that the Central Plains is orthodox! Anyang Neihuang is also the place where His Majesty's ancestors started trouble, and now His Majesty should be based on this and plot the world! ”

"Mr. Qin is indeed reasonable, but now the Great Wei is surrounded by enemies, the situation is grim, there are no natural dangers to defend in the east, west, north and south, and it is not easy to recuperate. The Di people now occupy Guanzhong, but their strength is slightly inferior, we go west, there will be an opportunity to take advantage of, this time is not seeking, but when? ”

Ran Min pondered for a while and said, "Guanzhong is indeed a good place, but none of us are from here, so we are not familiar with the place. If the soldiers leave, the prefectures and counties we occupy will definitely be annexed by the Hu people, so what will happen to these people? Sheep in the mouth of the tiger again? Second, if we want to capture Guanzhong, it is by no means something that can be achieved in the morning and overnight, the use of troops is huge, the consumption of grain and grass is also huge, and we also need to deal with the invasion that the Hu people on the back may launch at any time! Rather than going through such a lot of trouble and taking all kinds of risks, it is better to be more direct. ”

"The people are relocating to their land, Huang Lao, this is an expedition of laborers, and it is really not a cost-effective deal!" Qin Huaishan said again.

Everyone is basically unanimous, except for Huang Lao, no one agrees with the proposal to take Guanzhong first, and then plan the world. But in fact, Huang Lao's suggestion is a wise move. Although the Central Plains is outstanding, but the land occupied by the Great Wei today has no danger to defend, and it is a dilemma, but it is a pity that Ran Min and Qin Huaishan and others do not look so long-term.

As Ran Min and others expected, in the case of losing the help of the Huns, Shi Jian's soldiers and horses did not immediately go south, and for a while, in Ran Wei's court, there was the same voice: "Shi Jian is cowardly." ”

Under such circumstances, the sound of sending troops to the north sounded again, and the leaders were naturally led by Li Chang and others, and some people who did not originally support the Northern Expedition seemed to have changed their position for a while. In this case, Qin Huaishan and Wang Shicheng always believed that the Northern Expedition should be postponed, and rest and recuperation were the first priority. In fact, for the Northern Expedition, many people are completely out of hatred for the Hu people, but the situation that Ran Wei needs to face is something that many people lack to consider.

As the call for the Northern Expedition became louder and louder, Ran Min's mind was more or less affected, but under the domination of reason, he always suppressed the opinions of this main battle faction until more than ten days later, a news came from Xiangguo.

"Your Majesty, the Xianbei people have retreated!"

"The Xianbei people withdrew to Liaodong, which means that Shi Jian has become a lonely person, and it is really the one who has attained the Tao with much help, and the one who has lost the Tao with little help!"

Li Chang said: "Your Majesty, in this way, there will be no threat to the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses in Shijian!" In this way, there should be no problem with the Northern Expedition, right? ”

"What do you think?" Ran Min asked.

Huang Lao didn't speak, Qin Huaishan didn't speak, and Wang Shicheng hesitated.

"Hit! Take back Xiangguo, in the near future, Youzhou, Jizhou, and Yanzhou can all be conquered, and Xiangguo is the lifeblood of Youzhou and Jizhou! Your Majesty, now that Xiangguo is isolated and helpless, if you don't stand at this time, when will you wait? Vice Admiral Gou said.

Li Chang's generals are basically all the main stations, and among Wang Shicheng's generals, there are also many main battles. Ran Min was a little moved, and seeing that Qin Huaishan, Wang Shicheng, and Huang Lao didn't speak, he asked, "What do the three of you think?" ”

"Your Majesty, the old minister still disapproves of the Northern Expedition!" Huang Lao said: "As for the reason, the old minister still said it before. ”

"What do you think, sir?" Ran Min asked.

Qin Huaishan thought for a while and said, "If the Xianbei people have withdrawn to Liaodong and Xiangguo has no help, maybe they can go on a northern expedition!" ”

Wang Shicheng was a little surprised by Qin Huaishan's attitude, and asked, "Sir, why do you agree with the Northern Expedition again?" ”

"General, the old man knows your worries, the Northern Expedition is imperative, as long as the time is ripe! So what the old man said just now is that when it is determined that Xiangguo has no help, the Northern Expedition can be considered! ”

Wang Shicheng said to Ran Min: "Your Majesty, the minister does not agree to the Northern Expedition!" ”

"The third! Why can't you see the situation so clearly? Shi Jian is afraid, and Xianbei people are also afraid! Now that we have enough food and grass, why don't we do it? ”

"Let me ask you, are you ready for the siege?" Wang Shicheng asked rhetorically.

"It's going to be fine in five days!" Li Chang replied.

"How are the siege tactics of the soldiers drilled?"

Li Chang patted his chest and replied: "Practice day and night, and don't slack off for a moment!" Now all of them are alive and can fight! ”

Wang Shicheng glanced at Li Chang and said, "Even so, I still don't agree with the Northern Expedition!" What Mr. Qin just said only said that it can be considered, not fully agreed, which shows that Mr. and I have the same ideas, and now the Northern Expedition must be inappropriate! ”

Li Chang was a little dissatisfied, and asked rhetorically: "Why is it wrong?" The soldiers are now in high spirits, and you can't see it! Why is it suddenly a mother-in-law! ”

Li Chang naturally couldn't understand Wang Shicheng's position at this time, he said that a person who is happy to take revenge has revenge and revenge, and this kind of temperament is very appealing in the current hostile situation between the Han and the Hu people. The Han people have suffered for a long time from the Hu people, and this long-standing resistance and hatred has long turned into murderous intent, wanting to kill all the Hu people in the world.

However, hatred is bound to make people make mistakes in judgment, and Wang Shicheng realized this, and his opposition to the Northern Expedition was not cowardly, but a conclusion that was reached after careful consideration.