In less than half an hour, Dou Ying, Tian Wei and other important ministers arrived here, when they saw the vivid sand table, they were also surprised, and when Li You explained to them the purpose of the sand table, they immediately realized how important this was to the army of the Han Dynasty, Dou Ying immediately played, "Your Majesty, please close this place!" Except for the important ministers and generals of the imperial court who have obtained permission, the rest of those who dare to enter will be beheaded! ”

"Wei Qing! I'll leave this place to you in the future! Don't be negligent! Liu Che also reacted and handed over the matter to his most trusted brother-in-law Wei Qing!

"Command!" Wei Qing was overjoyed when he heard this, this is not only Liu Che's trust in him, with the position of taking care of the sand table, he can spend a lot of time studying the terrain in the Hexi area, and when he studies it thoroughly, when he officially goes west next year, he will definitely be able to get a chance to fight with the army! This is definitely good news for him, who is unwilling to just play a close minister.

"Prime Minister Dou and Captain Tian, if you have time, you can also come here to discuss the Western Expedition!" Although they were now only living at home as liehous, Liu Che still used to call them prime ministers and lieutenants.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! The ministers will live up to His Majesty's trust! "These two old foxes in the officialdom are much calmer than Wei Qing, Liu Che is handing over the strategic work of the Western Expedition to them, presumably after this victory, there will be nothing to stop them from returning to the court! We can even bring the great victory over the Huns to force the Empress Dowager Dou to let His Majesty take charge of the government as soon as possible!

Before the battle began, the two old foxes pondered a deeper political struggle! And Liu Che on the side is not without this kind of thought, Empress Dowager Dou always uses her youth as an excuse to stop the pro-government, and now if she can defeat the Huns, then she will no longer be able to find an excuse, right?

Then his gaze swept over Li Guang, Cheng Buzhi, Gongsun Ao and other generals in turn, and the hearts of those people in his eyes were all beating faster, they all knew that this was a good opportunity to make contributions! "Li Guang, Cheng doesn't know, Gongsun Aoer and others can also enter to watch the sand table on weekdays! Study the Western Crusade! Half a month later, I want you to come up with a strategy for the westward expedition! ”

"Your Ministers obey!" All the generals knelt down in unison to thank them, they knew that if nothing else, next year's Western Expedition Lord General would be elected among them!

"I will also be here in the next few days to wait for your great arrival, if you have any questions, I will do my best to answer!" Li You also stood up and said.

"Well, Zhang Aiqing is familiar with the geography of Hexi and the affairs of the Xiongnu, so you have to ask him for more advice!" Liu Che nodded with satisfaction, this was something he had thought of a long time ago.

The generals naturally thanked again, and then decided to study the sand table! After a while, Wei Qing first asked, "Dare to ask Doctor Zhang, why are the tents in the territory of the Xiongnu of different sizes?" How much is there or how little is it? ”

"General Wei is really like a torch!" Li You praised first, and then explained, "General, look, there are three specifications of this tent, the smallest one represents five hundred people, the slightly larger one represents one thousand people, and the largest one represents two thousand people!" As long as the general knows this, he can see at a glance how many Huns there are here! ”

"It's the same with the big Han soldiers, the different sizes of the big Han soldiers represent different numbers!" Li You picked up the model of the soldier placed on the sand table again and explained, "In addition, the mountains and rivers on the sand table are also made according to the real size and other proportions!" One inch on the sand table is about one mile on the ground! Now you know better! ”

"Dr. Zhang is really thoughtful!" Liu Che picked up the ruler placed next to the sand table, "In this way, wouldn't you be able to use a ruler to measure the distance between the two places?" ”

"Your Majesty is wise! It is true that the approximate distance can be obtained by measuring on the sand table, but the area covered by this sand table is too large, and some small mountains and rivers have not been marked! It is not enough to determine the exact date of the march on this basis! Li You continued, "Therefore, the minister also ordered people to make some small local sand tables, some of which are limited to the west of the river!" There is only one in the territory of King Hutu! On these sand tables, it may take five inches to equal one mile on the ground, so that the generals will be much more precise in formulating strategies! On top of that, I've got plenty of maps! Generals take them with you when they march! ”

"In this way, you can use this big sand table to develop a strategy! And to develop specific tactics, you can refer to those more elaborate small sand tables! Take the map with you when you go on the expedition! Dou Ying and Tian Wei couldn't help but praise Li You's meticulousness.

In the next few days, these important ministers and famous generals with Liu Che's permission soaked in this sand table room all day and night, and under Li You's reminder, they also learned to use the sand table and the soldier's model to simulate the battle!

Li Guang, Wei Qing, Cheng Buzhi and Gongsun Ao took turns to play the Xiongnu and Han soldiers, and launched a fierce fight on the sand table! These generals also exhibited different fighting styles.

Li Guang's march was like a wild one, repeatedly marching from routes unexpected by the enemy, and repeatedly defeated Wei Qing and Gongsun Ao, who were not yet inexperienced; But these methods of his will not work when they encounter the steady and steady Cheng Buzhi! Cheng is not cautious in the use of troops, although he may lose the opportunity to win a big victory because he is not decisive enough, but if others want to win from him, it is a fantasy.

This is also inseparable from the personalities of the two of them! Li Guang's talent is unparalleled in the world, he is conceited, and he likes to use risks when using soldiers! If he leads the troops, he will either win or lose, and he may get lost in vain!

However, Cheng Buzhi was very strict in governing the army, and he trained the troops according to the strictest discipline, divided them into units, and had a hierarchical command system with clear responsibilities. When the troops go out into battle, they are always on alert without disarming their armor and without unloading their horses. No one wants to get any benefits from him, but it's not easy for him to win.

In other words, Li Guang is a genius general, relying on his own talent to fight; And Cheng Buzhi is a mortal-type general, he does not have the spiritual spark necessary to become a famous general as Napoleon said, but he will never suffer defeat on the battlefield.

The same is true of historical facts, Li Guang has lost the opportunity to be a marquis many times because of undeserved mistakes! Although Cheng Buzhi did not encounter a defeat in the battle with the Huns, he did not make a great contribution! Both of them are forbidden to be crowned for life!

Wei Qing and Gongsun Ao were defeated repeatedly at the beginning, but their ability to learn and grow is very fast, and they can win and lose with Li Guang in a few days. This made Dou Ying, Tian Wei and other old ministers very happy, it seems that after the first battle in Hexi, several outstanding young generals will emerge in my Han Dynasty!