"Lord, King Zhao! What do you think? How do you feel? Situ Liang said with a smile.

Zhao Xun shrugged his shoulders and said disapprerovingly: "If you have strength, you are not a king or a king, if you have no power, what if you are called the emperor?" The rafters rot first, let's sit and watch the show! ”

King? The king of Shu can be called, but this place in the north is really not good, after all, there are forces from all sides around him, and if it is not good, under the immunity of the court and some temptations, these people will shoot at themselves. Who makes the Xiaoguo army the strongest? Only by cutting off the strongest can others have hope, don't they? Zhao Xun guessed that if he was to be the king now, if he didn't do it well, the court would ignore no one, and directly wipe out the army, and even pardon the crimes of other forces.

Sure enough, after Zhang Yan issued an announcement, the imperial army moved much slower, and the armies from all over the country that were originally going to be mobilized also stayed in place. In particular, the armies of Yuzhou, Yongzhou and other places stopped mobilizing. After all, after Zhang Yan shouted in his voice, all the forces in the north surfaced, allowing everyone to see that there were such large-scale hostile forces north of Luoyang under the instigation of some people. Who dares to move lightly? Who is responsible for the destruction of the country?

Although he knew that it was impossible for all kinds of armies to enter Yongzhou, he could not fail to guard against it. In particular, if the army conquers Shu, then the northern forces will have a chance. Not to mention, even the Xiaoguo Army in Jizhou is enough to give Situ Lei and Murong Cheng a headache. What makes them even more headache is that the slogan of the king of Shu is to enter Luoyang, clear the king's side, and punish the evil spirit! Kill whom? Of course, it is to kill the people who are in control of the situation in Luoyang. If the defense of Yongzhou is weak, who dares to guarantee that the Xiaoguo army will not attack south?

In addition to this one reason, there is another reason. Ningzhou is south of Yizhou and is the rear of Situ Lei's sphere of influence. Now, Situ Lei is busy controlling the prefectures and counties in his sphere of influence, and even the Xiaoguo army that kills his son is thrown aside. Now that there is a problem in the south of Yizhou, Situ Lei is naturally nervous, but Murong Cheng can't wait for chaos in Situ Lei's rear.

Speaking of this sphere of influence, it is still the territory divided by the two people who fought for power and power, and the states they have turned into, and their officials are appointed, and each of them is controlled by two people. These state capitals are all within the sphere of influence of the two, and they are not considered to be the descendants of the two. Now the two of them are busy rectifying the forces in various places, and they are both eager for each other's internal war. It's just that this Zhang Yan directly claimed the king, which made Murong Cheng cooperate with Situ Lei to act, and the main force was still Situ Lei's people.

The few people who were pointed out by Zhang Yan, no one responded, what should they be doing is still doing, and they don't seem to have heard rumors from the outside world. Tang Xian, Li Chi and the army of King Qi are still fighting, but compared to the beginning, this is much smaller, and most of them are small-scale battles. The Xiaoguo army is still annexing and digesting the land of Qingzhou, and the Zhenbei generals in the north of the state are expanding their armies aggressively, and it seems that they have hooked up with the Turks.

A large-scale truce is naturally related to the weather, after all, winter is coming, and it is not the time for a big war. But in any case, the inresponse of the northern forces made Situ Lei careless. He Situ Lei made his fortune by the position of Zuo Xiang, and before he really controlled the western states, if something went wrong in Luoyang, he Situ Lei would be worthless overnight. Of course, if he really controls the eastern states, he can naturally ignore Luoyang. He is different from Murong Cheng, who is the king of Qi and the imperial prince. The power in the court may not be as good as his, but the identity is there, and he can casually call on a large number of people loyal to the royal family. Therefore, he Situ Lei wanted Luoyang to be safe more than Murong Cheng, and he wanted the emperor to be safe.

In any case, the conquest will continue, but it is not known how much less than the army that began to prepare for action. The responsibility of requisitioning the traitor Zhang Yan was handled by Situ Lei, and the troops mainly came from Liangzhou and Yizhou. However, the army that wants to come to Liangzhou will rush to Ningzhou, and I am afraid that it will be after next spring. For example, today, even the common people have nothing to eat, and because of the wars in various places, bandits gathered, the world is deserted, and I don't know how many fields are barren. If you want a real big war, it will be difficult for a while!

Time flies, and it's the end of the year in the blink of an eye. The Xiaoguo Army has been resting for more than three months, and there have been no accidents, and Zhao Xun is now busy with two things, one of which is related to the army.

When the Xiaoguo Army conquered the guards of Langya Mansion in Qingzhou, they surrendered and accepted 13,000 qualified veterans, and after three months of basic training, they officially became Xiaoguo soldiers. In addition, the surrender of Qingzhou also greatly increased the strength of the Xiaoguo army. Today, there are tens of thousands more, and with the addition of the Young Guard, there will be more soldiers and horses in the future. Of course, Zhao Xun did not dislike too many people, but to integrate into the Xiaoguo army system reasonably, and would not lead the strength of the army to be different.

After consulting the views of all parties, the Department of Military Affairs negotiated a rough plan.

"On top of the house, expanding a unit?"

"Yes, my lord, although there are already a lot of 20,000 people in one house, but now every time you fight, you need several teams to participate, and the number of one house is too small. Now, my Xiaoguo army occupies Youzhou, Jizhou, Qingzhou, Beiding Wufu and Beihu Zhubu, not to mention more than 200,000 people now, even if it is doubled, we also raise it. Among them, the cavalry increased by two thousand men each, and one lieutenant five thousand. All four are one, 20,000 people. Situ Liang said in a deep voice.

"It's time for the cavalry to expand, and we're not short of horses now! What is the reorganization plan of the provincial army? Zhao Xun said with a smile.

"On top of the government, there is another unit, and the two houses are one unit. The total number of Xiaoguo troops is ten provinces, and these soldiers and horses are enough for us to conquer the north. Although we can't supply it now, we can't also replenish these ten units and the army of twenty provinces at once. ”

Zhao Xun pondered for a moment and said: "In this way, the top of the house is the guard, one guard and two mansions, divided into two mansions, left and right." Among them, the former guard soldiers of the 10,000 and 3 provinces will be dismantled and supplemented into the tenth and eighth provinces, and the combat effectiveness of these two provinces will be mentioned first. For the rest, the ministries carry out. For the reorganization of the Qingzhou Prefecture Army, we will first select suitable people, and after placing them in the new barracks for three months of training, they will join the Xiaoguo Army and become official non-commissioned officers of our army. It is important to remember that it is better to have a shortage than an abundance, and there must never be a situation of disqualification. ”

The affairs of the army are still easy to handle, as long as the basic principles are set and implemented in accordance with them, and there are no military orders that are easy to negotiate with and that are difficult to definite in the army. But there is another thing that makes Zhao Xun a little difficult to decide. Even, when I first heard about it, I was taken aback.

At the end of the year, officials of the administrative secretary asked Zhao about the construction of the canal in the coming year. When Zhao Xun heard this, he directly thought of Emperor Yang of Sui. Building a canal? That's a long-term effort of the whole country, but it's not something we can do. Zhao Xun also thought that these officials of the administrative secretary didn't know what to do because it was about to be the New Year. Later, after a closer look, I realized that this canal construction was not for Xiaoguojun to learn from Emperor Yang of Sui and dig a canal from the north and south of the road. Instead, the canal that used to run north and south was repaired, but now it is somewhat deserted and even unusable.

It turned out that in the previous dynasty, some emperors saw that it was too difficult to govern the north and it was too difficult to conquer, and there were other reasons for this in addition to the good riding in the north. It's too cold, but this can add clothes to keep you warm. One of the unavoidable problems is that the logistical pressure is too great, that is, you have food and grass, and transportation is also a big problem. For 200,000 troops to conquer the eastern region, 300,000 or 400,000 men are needed. In the previous dynasty, when conquering Goguryeo, because of this, after a small victory, he quickly withdrew from the meeting and did not stay in the north longer. Not because of anything else, but because the logistical pressure is too great to continue. At the same time, the entire north was the enemy of the Central Plains Dynasty, and Goguryeo was only one of the weaker ones.

Subsequently, in order to strengthen the north at the same time, due north, the city was built on a large scale, and the official road was built. The northeast is farther away from Chang'an, and in order to control this place, it has repeatedly repaired Youzhou to connect the Yellow River, Wenshui, Yishui and other rivers, which is Youzhou and Jizhou. Yanzhou and even Yuzhou and other places in the Central Plains, better communication, water transportation is more convenient, fast and trouble-free than land transportation. This is also the reason why the previous dynasty and the beginning of the founding of Dayan have never been defeated in Youzhou. It's just a pity that later the finances were poor, and the river was dredged, blocked by silt, and many places were no longer navigable, becoming a dead road.

In addition to the previous dynasties, the Great Yan Kingdom has also repaired the canal many times, and even after a hundred years of continuous supplementation and expansion, it is connected to the Yangtze River in the south. After checking the map, Zhao Xun found that the canal here is more powerful than the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, another history. You know, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is a major event in the generations, if there is no Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, maybe there will be no Tang Dynasty prosperity, no Ming Dynasty capital and Beijing. Even in the Ming Dynasty, this canal was still the main artery in the north, and once the river was robbed, the whole of Beijing would have no food. Even in the Qing Dynasty, it was also indispensable.

But this thing is very beneficial and useful, but it also costs a lot. I have to say that in the right place, these canals are still functioning, but they are not connected one by one. As for whether it is worth investing in it now, Zhao Xun is a little difficult to decide, although it is just a slow walk, there is no need to invest it all at once, and it is the finished product of repairing the predecessors, but the materials, money and food required are indispensable. But in the same way, if the distance of navigation is getting farther and farther, then the Xiaoguo military territory will be more prosperous, and the circulation of goods will be more convenient. In addition, the mobilization of the army will also be more convenient, and it is no longer difficult to replenish the materials required by the army, and there is no need for a large group of soldiers to escort grain and grass.

A year later, Zhao Xun was not ambiguous, and directly summoned people from the Department of Administration and Military Affairs to discuss and see how to deal with the repair of the canal.

Naturally, the people in the Military Affairs Department readily agreed, for them, military affairs are what they should consider, and the worries about government affairs are what the Government Secretary should consider.

Zhang Yuanjing said directly: "My lord, I think it is feasible, not to mention far away, even the canals in Yangzhou are also connected to some canals in Yuzhou." Regardless of the convenience brought to the merchants, even the army of the King of Qi can also pass through the Guò Canal and run north and south at any time. We need to emulate this! ”

Liu Wenqi also echoed: "I agree with Lord Zhang's intentions, we can completely follow the example of the Yangzhou army, control the canals of Yangzhou and Yuzhou, and then act along the canal, Murong Chengcheng, the king of Qi, is so complete control of Yuzhou and Yangzhou." Some of his Yangzhou naval army can run on inland rivers. In fact, we can also, with the canal as the backbone and the rivers as the support, firmly grasp the two banks, then Youzhou and Jizhou are convenient for freight. In addition, the mobilization of our army is also much easier, as long as the canal in the land of Yanzhou is opened again, and supplies are transported for the army along the canal, at that time, the land of Yanzhou, especially the land on both sides of the canal, will soon fall into the hands of our Xiaoguo army. ”

Zhao Xun smiled bitterly: "The idea is not bad, but the cost of the need is very expensive, we are now busy with the storage of Qingzhou, if there is a financial depletion, once there is something, the consequences will be troublesome." ”

Pei Yi said: "Qingzhou is okay, now the land of Qingzhou has basically completed the general acceptance, although the control is relatively weak, but there will be no major problems." Besides, Qingzhou is a place with many rivers. After our army completes the dredging of the river, it can open the guò river at any time, and the luck of our sergeants will appear in the place needed in Qingzhou. Besides, as long as the river is dredged and the number of merchants increases, the land on both sides of the river will prosper. ”

"In today's chaos, the division of forces, the roads between each other are mostly affected, and the hardships of land transportation, if we can take advantage of the inland waterways, the cost can be greatly reduced, and the efficiency can also be greatly improved. In the past, a load of grain from the south of the Yangtze River was transported to Chang'an by land, and at least two loads of grain needed to be prepared. ”

This is true, in the prosperous Tang Dynasty in history, there was a large-scale famine in Chang'an due to drought, and because of the unfavorable grain road, the price of grain soared. Later, the national capital moved east to Luoyang, which is related to this. When the national capital is moved, the population will also flow with the national capital, which reduces the pressure on Chang'an and reduces the dilemma of food shortage.

Situ Liang also agreed to repair the canal, because there has been no war recently, and all aspects are rectifying and resting, which is really a good time to do this work. The reason for the anger is the advantage of the water army.

Nowadays, the eastern forces, according to the water army, the Xiaoguo army is the most powerful, followed by the Yangzhou water army. Although these sailors are sailing in the East China Sea, it does not mean that they will not sail on the calm rivers. The rest of the forces in the south generally do not have a navy, or the strength of the navy is relatively weak, if they can continue to exert the power of the navy. That's definitely more with less.

In fact, now the naval army of the Xiaoguo Army can only sail back and forth on the eastern sea, and there is really nothing to be done about the inland land. However, in the land of Yangzhou, within the jurisdiction, the river is vertical and horizontal, and the river communicates every county, even every village, except for one part of the Yangzhou navy on the sea, the rest of the navy will fight inland, and they can even reach every county quickly. Because of this, in terms of the total number, the Yangzhou Navy has always been the strongest in the world. On the sea, the Xiaoguo Army is already much stronger than the Yangzhou Army. This is also the reason why the Yangzhou Navy will attack the sea ships, they got the order of Murong Cheng, the king of Qi, to catch up, and even surpass the advantage of the Xiaoguo Army on the sea.

Speaking of Yangzhou Shouting Dao and the water army, Zhao Xun couldn't help but think of the battle between Zhou Yu and Chibi. It can be seen that the benefits of Yangzhou waterways at that time. In this way, he always has to have a battle with the Yangzhou Navy, and the winner is in charge of Yangzhou.

In addition, the political envoy Pei Yi also talked about the situation in Yangzhou, and the Grand Canal in Jiangnan (south of the Yangtze River) was not blocked like the north because of the frequent repairs of southern merchants. The Jiangnan Canal, which communicates Runzhou, Changzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, and basically passes through the middle position, except for a very small part, most of Yangzhou is connected by a dense water network, which can be said to be where the army goes, and the water army can also arrive. Therefore, in Yangzhou, as long as the two banks of the canal are controlled, it is equivalent to the entire Yangzhou. Murong Cheng, the king of Qi, took a fancy to this, so he included the Yangzhou Navy into his lineage, which was the lineage of his lineage, and he was absolutely loyal to Murong Cheng. And because of this, Yangzhou is firmly in the hands of Murong Cheng, and as for Jiangzhou, because of Yangzhou's suppression, he does not dare to make the slightest change.

"Lord, now, in the land of Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and Xuzhou, we will not be able to interfere for a while, so why not take advantage of this to repair and dredge the Northern Canal first. If not for anything else, but for the prosperity of the territory and the prosperity of commerce, it is also worth it. Pei Yi said in a deep voice.

Zhao Xun understood what they meant, this canal is really repaired and dredged, which is definitely a major event for the benefit of the country and the people. Okay, these are all nonsense things, no matter what he benefits, the most important thing now is to bring benefits to the Xiaoguo Army, otherwise, the ghost will do it. Even if you want to do great things that benefit the country and the people, you can't do it until the whole country is reunified, otherwise, there will definitely be no good end.

The plan is right, and now is indeed the time to implement it. But the price to come at is not small. In Zhao Xun's opinion, if it is postponed for another year and a half, it may be better, because at that time, Qingzhou and Shun are stable, and all parties have no burden, and more importantly, the joint caravan that went to sea with the White Feather Merchant should almost come back, and at that time, there should be a lot of gains, and it will also give Zhao Xun a basic understanding of sea trade, whether it is time to increase investment and organization in sea trade.

But they are right, now is not the best time, but we can't wait, who knows if there will be other situations in a year and a half? Besides, from now on, we can still find a job for those homeless people, so that they will not have nothing to do but passively starve and wait.

Their plan can be called the Grand Canal Strategy, which can be used for civilian purposes as well as for military use, and the original intention is naturally to focus on military use, and civilian use is free to do so. Civil affairs naturally have nothing to do with them, they only need to go to collect taxes when the time comes. In terms of military use, generally speaking, it is to take the Xiaoguo Army's inland river army as the guide, control the two banks of the Xuzhou section of the canal in Yanzhou, Yuzhou and even later, and then penetrate inland along the canal.

This plan maximizes the advantages of the Xiaoguo Army's naval army, and uses the river water to give full play to the role of the Xiaoguo Army's naval army, and the canal is not only used to transport goods, but also used to fight wars. As the saying goes, the truth is within range, and wherever the warships of the Xiaoguo Army arrive, the power will inevitably expand. Of course, this is also the goal for the future. But it has to be said that this is a good strategy. You know, using water and boats is much faster, more labor-saving, and more convenient than using feet. Want to rob the grain road? Okay, then you can get into the water first. What's more, it can also take advantage of the people. Compared with river transportation, land transportation in this era is far behind.