Northern expedition.

This incident is a mountain that has always pressed on Liu Chan's heart after the Battle of Jingzhou.

If it is said that the defeat of the Battle of Jingzhou in history, and the subsequent Yiling fire, it was a blow caused by a series of small probability events superimposed.

You can also change certain key points to finally pry the momentum and reverse the outcome.

Then the Northern Expedition to Cao Wei was completely a collision of strengths, and it was almost impossible to take advantage of the weak enemy to be strong.

The opponent Lao Liu faced was much more difficult to deal with than the enemy of his ancestor Liu Bang.

Of course, this does not mean that Cao Pi can kill Xiang Yu alone, but that Cao Wei is a complete political entity compared to Xiang Yu's group.

Xiang Yu's control over the guys he divided was not strong, and the strength of each country could not be condensed into a fist at all.

With this difference alone, the situation of their father and son is much more difficult than that of their ancestors.

What's more, although Cao Wei at this time also had a lot of internal problems, they hadn't broken out after all.

Even the Jiupin Zhongzheng system, which was beneficial to the family, was influenced by Cao Cao's meritocracy during his lifetime at this stage, and the Wei State still attached the most importance to talent when selecting officials.

The power is completely controlled by the big clans, so that "there is no poor family in the upper grades, and there is no scholar clan in the lower grades", resulting in the rampant mediocrity, and it is already a matter of the later promotion of talented people.

The problem that Liu Chan is facing now is that if he wants to wait for Cao Wei's real chaos and then go on a northern expedition, such as the Gaopingling Revolution when Sima Yi seizes power, he will have to wait for nearly 30 years......

In the past 30 years, no matter how much we have popularized education, reformed the rule of officials, recruited talents, increased productivity, and even developed firearms...... But territory and population are always hard wounds.

Unless you can bring something like a machine gun to the battlefield in 30 years, even if you build some rudimentary guns, you still can't make up for the huge gap in resources.

And 30 years of peaceful development environment handed over to Cao Wei is enough for him to develop into a behemoth beyond his reach......

Liu Chan agreed with Lao Liu's point of view that the Northern Expedition must be done as soon as possible.

This year, with the vigor brought by several victories, the benefits of the armor soldiers, and the adverse effects caused by Cao Pi's usurpation of the Han Dynasty, if we can achieve important results in one fell swoop, then there will be a fulcrum for a turnaround.

The so-called major results, the most ideal result in Liu Chan's heart, of course, is to follow the example of Gaozu, go out of Hanzhong and take Guanzhong in one fell swoop, and then set foot in the Central Plains......

The high degree of development of the land in Guanzhong, the huge political significance, and the economic accessibility in all directions, are also of great benefit to improving morale and rallying people's hearts.

But if you think about it, Cao Wei's Wenchen generals are not idiots, and the defense of the Guanzhong region will naturally be the top priority.

What's more, the difficulty of beating the customs, Ma Qian of Taishi Company has already said: "Being brought by mountains and rivers, the four plugs are solid, and there is an emergency, and millions of people can stand up." ”

Although this statement is exaggerated, whether it can defeat millions of people must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, but the degree of difficulty can also be seen from this evaluation.

Guanzhong Guanzhong, among the four passes, Dongtong Pass, Xisan Pass, Nanwu Pass, North Xiao Pass...... The four Xiongguan plus the natural barriers of mountains and rivers are almost an impossible task if you want to fight hard without any special advantages.

Compared with Guanzhong, there are two more possibilities, one is Nanyang and the other is Yongliang.

Nanyang not only has a large population and produces a lot of grain, but according to Pu Yuan, it was also the largest iron-smelting center in the country at this time.

His original trip to visit the famous craftsman was the most rewarding in Nanyang.

Its scale is far from comparable to that of Linqiong.

One of the lines in Longzhong, the so-called dispatch of troops to Wanluo, Wan refers to Wancheng in Nanyang.

When the time comes, with its own advanced smelting technology, farming methods, and economic policies, it will be able to amplify the role of Nanyang several times!

The population can also be replenished, further reducing the disadvantage.

Geographically, it will also pose a huge threat to the capital of Cao Wei.

However, if you want to win Nanyang, you must take Xiangfan, and you must prevent Sun Quan, the sixth old, from jumping back again.

Moreover, Nanyang is also one of the locations of Cao Wei's heavy defense, and the difficulty is not low.

The highest success rate is actually the completion of the military and the completion of the broken dragon.

Cao Wei's attention and defense strength in the western region were naturally much worse than those in Guanzhong and Nanyang.

Because the Yongliang land is sparsely populated and the grain production is scarce, it is really not a good place.

But Yongliang also has the benefits of Yongliang, in addition to providing a route choice for attacking the Central Plains, the most important thing is that Yongliang has good horses!

Until powerful firearms appeared, the best way to deal with cavalry was always to defeat magic with magic.

Liu Chan's experience is that unless it is in a special terrain that is unfavorable to the cavalry, do not be superstitious about any spear formation to defeat the cavalry, it is a last resort, and it is just the last stubbornness of the infantry in the face of the cavalry.

If the spear array could really achieve the effect of "restraint" on the cavalry, he Liu Chan would have died several times in Jingzhou and Shangyong.

Therefore, good horses are especially important in this era, and the more good horses, the stronger the military.

Although the land in Yongliang is barren, Jingzhou is not lost now, and Ji Han, who has two grain producing areas and has improved his farming skills, will not be as short of grain as he was originally.

Of course, if you take Yongliang, the consumption along the way is still too huge.

Either you don't fight Yongliang, if you want to fight, you must win it at once.

Of these three offensive lines, Guanzhong is destined to be a line that can only be used as a feint.

Even if Sima Yi, Liu Ye and others knew that he was a feint, they would never dare to be careless, this was a conspiracy, and it was impossible for Cao Wei to think about it.

As for Nanyang and Yongliang, which side is the main direction of attack...... It will be decided to see the situation at that time.

"Prince...... Prince? ”

"Huh?" Liu Chan looked back to his senses and saw that Qian Duo was wearing a new-style squirt armor and holding a strangely shaped long-handled knife in his hand, looking at him worriedly.

"What's wrong?"

Qian Duo scratched his head and smiled: "The prince's expression is serious and silent, I don't know if there is anything wrong with us......"

Liu Chan has been conquering for a long time, and his majesty has become more and more important, especially the extreme worship of the Red Star Army, so that his every move will greatly affect everyone.

Liu Chan looked around, and sure enough, when he saw the new equipment, everyone who was happy to see the hunt had stopped and looked at him silently.

He thought about it, it would be better to take this opportunity to make them realize what the opponent they were about to face.

"Li Er, the whole army is assembled."

"Yes!"

Soon, the Red Star Army was assembled, the speed was fast, the military appearance was strict, and the military discipline was strict, which can be called the most under Lao Liu.

"You have been fighting with the lonely, and it has been four years now."

Li Er's expression warmed, and he thought of his first meeting with the crown prince, at that time, he was still a homeless man with only one breath left.

If anyone had told him that one day he would be able to become a general, he would have thought that man was crazy.

"In the past, the enemies we faced were all rabble."

As soon as this remark came out, the audience was in an uproar.

Fortunately, these are all their own people from the Red Star Army, and if others hear it, I'm afraid the reaction will be even more intense.

Liu Chan looked around, although the faces of the soldiers were full of surprise and unconvinced arrogance, but still no one made a sound or moved, and he nodded with satisfaction.

"Maybe some of you are not convinced, and you also think that you have never seen any soldiers in the south and the north.

"But unfortunately, we haven't faced any strong enemies, and we haven't encountered a real desperate situation.

"The bandits and grass bandits, the Eastern Wu Army, the thousands of Wei troops trapped in the mountains, and the barbarians who can't even wear their clothes...... Do you really think these people can be called elite? ”

Liu Chan had a trace of disdain on his face, and his words were ruthless, although they were deliberately exaggerated, but everyone heard it at this time.

Let the prince say this...... It seems that they really haven't encountered any elite armies.

Everyone gradually put away the arrogance on their faces, and they became equally serious.

Victory will bring high morale, but it will also breed pride.

"After several battles, the stone monument standing alone at the gate of the camp is only engraved with the names of less than a hundred people, which is an honor that you should be proud of.

"But if you follow the Northern Expedition, the name on the stele may increase tenfold or hundredfold...... No one even made it back alive. ”

Everyone finally changed their previous state of being too relaxed, and the soldiers in Liu Chan's eyes once again showed their determination to fight to the death before the battle of Jingzhou.

Pre-war mobilization is used to boost morale, and it is necessary to exaggerate the enemy's weaknesses as much as possible and magnify one's own advantages, so as to improve one's own morale.

Liu Chan's wave of operations can be called an epic reverse mobilization, if it is an ordinary army, I am afraid that this time the will to be half extinguished, and the only thing left in my mind is how to slip away when the time comes......

It's just that...... Just like Uncle Wang and treating people, the same disease should also be treated differently according to the different patients.

At this time, the soldiers of the Red Star Army listened to Liu Chan's reverse mobilization, but they were not discouraged.

On the contrary, he restrained the arrogance that had gradually been revealed recently, and "refined" it with the fire in his heart into a burning battle intent.

Li Er said calmly: "What the crown prince and the king's royal banner refers to is where our soldiers are going, even if they die, they will not give up. ”

"What the king Qi points to, the soldiers are frightening, and they will not give up!"

Liu Chan looked at Li Er with a subtle expression, and said in his heart, your name is really not in vain...... Why do you say such a middle two thing without changing your face every time?

But no matter what, the effect was achieved.

"Until then, don't engrave your name for the sake of it, you have to hurry up and adapt to the new equipment and new tactics!"

"Yes!"

Qian Duo only remembered the question he was going to ask at this time, and he raised the Mo knife in his hand again: "By the way, prince, dare to ask...... What is this knife for? ”

"That's a good question." Liu Chan smiled mysteriously.

This is also the helpless struggle of the infantry in the face of cavalry...... It's just that it comes from the struggle of 500 years later.

For the cavalry at this time, the struggle may have been a little greater......

(End of chapter)