In the minds of all Qi people in the world, Heluo is more than just a city.

As the former capital of the Great Qi, that period of history lasted for more than 140 years, so long that the world has long recognized that the Qi Dynasty is the co-master of the world, and the Emperor Li is the son of the Mandate of Heaven of this vast continent.

Perhaps the first emperor of the Qi Dynasty eighteen years ago also thought the same, so when there was a foreign invasion outside, and there were ministers inside, he finally chose to attack Yang Guangyuan.

At that time, he was not worried about the serious consequences of Yang Guangyuan's death, because in his opinion, the Qi State was still the most powerful dynasty in the world, and Heluo stood tall on the earth without any danger.

The final result was a few slaps in the face of the first emperor of the Qi Dynasty.

After the fall of Heluo City, there was only one thought in the hearts of Qi people who learned the news, and that was that the sky had fallen.

In the next ten years, whether it was the generals of the border army who supported the Northern Expedition or the Jiangnan clan who opposed the Northern Expedition, they did not dare to have any doubts about the words "return to the old capital" at least on the surface.

It's just that although the vision is good, it is extremely difficult to realize.

Lu Shen was not surprised that Xiao Wangzhi could see his thoughts, in fact, when he said that plan yesterday, Su Yunqing should have also noticed it.

He walked to the side of the map, looked at Ruyin City, the capital of Dongyang Road, marked on it, and then moved his eyes to Heluo in the northwest, and muttered: "Uncle Xiao, I don't think the imperial court will go bankrupt to support the Northern Expedition, after this battle, I don't know what year and month it will be next time." ”

This is a very real problem.

In the eyes of the vast number of clans and Hanmen on the south bank of the Hengjiang River, it is needless to say that the Northern Expedition failed, and even if it succeeded, it would be difficult to bring them enough benefits.

The military merits on the battlefield belong to the soldiers of the border army, whether it is to add officials to knighthood or receive rewards, this has nothing to do with the dignitaries in the court.

The glory of recovering the homeland naturally belongs to everyone, but the real beneficiary is Li Duan, the son of heaven, if he can really complete the great cause of cleaning up the old mountains and rivers from the south to the north, presumably the future history books will leave an evaluation of turning the tide and supporting the society.

If he can completely get rid of the alien races of the Jing Dynasty and regain the glory of the Great Qi, maybe Li Duan can still get the title of the first emperor of the ages, and at the end he will be the lord of Zhongxing.

However, for the Jiangnan clan who contributed money and efforts to the Northern Expedition, they only had a false name at most, but not many people were willing to exchange real gold and platinum for this reputation belonging to the collective.

What's more, if the Northern Expedition is really successful, the political center of Daqi will inevitably move north, and Heluo City will be the real capital, how will Yongjia's status be maintained at that time?

The reason why the concept of dividing the river and ruling the country, the northerners returning to the north, and the southerners returning to the south is so popular is that the interests of all parties are entangled.

The reason why the northern expedition could be carried out smoothly this time was due to the fact that the Jiangnan clan lacked a clear understanding of the cost of the Northern Expedition, and because of the suppression of righteousness, they were not able to strongly oppose the first Northern Expedition, plus Li Duan, Xue Nanting and others had made sufficient preparations.

However, having the first time does not mean that there is a second time, the key is that after a big war, the pressure on the treasury of the Qi Dynasty has skyrocketed.

The preparation of food, grass, ordnance, and armor before the war, and the rewards and pensions after the war, each cost a huge amount of money, not including the daily expenses of more than 200,000 border troops.

In the final analysis, fighting a war is a competition for national strength, whether it is Xiao Wangzhi or Lu Shen, they may be able to win one or two battles with their personal ability, but if they want to fight for a long time, they must be inseparable from the support of the rear.

Xiao Wangzhi has long been accustomed to Lu Shen's far-reaching vision of the overall situation, and has never regarded him as a young and immature hairy boy.

It's just the idea......

He stood beside Lu Shen and looked at the map hanging on the wall, and said slowly: "It is wonderful to finish the battle in one battle, but this is not in line with the established strategy of our army. ”

Lu Shen said unhurriedly: "Please give Uncle Xiao advice." ”

"Your fears are justified, I don't deny that those lords of the family in the south will drag the Northern Expedition back, and they will definitely do so. Based on His Majesty's steadfastness as always, for more than ten years, can I think that the imperial court can still provide some support to the border army in the future? Although it may not be as exhaustive as this time, at least it will not change from something to nothing? ”

"Yes, the imperial court will not suddenly go crazy and completely abandon the border army."

"So have you ever considered a question, in the future, there will be more than one place in Huaizhou to support the border army?"

Xiao Wangzhi turned his head to look at Lu Shen and asked calmly.

Lu Shen froze slightly, and the words "Dongyang Road" naturally appeared in his mind.

"But ......"

He wanted to say something and stopped, apparently with deeper considerations.

Xiao Wangzhi's attitude is still gentle, but he is also very firm: "The Northern Expedition is not just to win on the battlefield, to recover these territories must be guarded with heart. That is to say, after recovering the entire territory of Dongyang Road, the defense line of our Huaizhou Army will move north, and it is impossible to directly recruit another 100,000 troops to guard Dongyang Road. With the support of the people of Huaizhou and Dongyang Road, the Huaizhou army's dependence on the imperial court will be reduced. ”

Lu was silent.

Xiao Wangzhi raised his hand and pressed it on the map, continuing north from Dongyang Road, where is the boundary of Baotai Mountain, he said warmly: "Huaizhou, Dongyang Road and Baotai Mountain are connected, and our trade routes with the north are all over the place, and the Pseudo-Yan and Jing Dynasty can't stop it at all. Even if the north and the south are in opposition, the people can still continue to communicate with each other, and this territory will not become a pool of stagnant water in the future, and rich businessmen like your Lu family will have a lot to do. ”

This involves the category of people's livelihood economy, although Lu Shen and Xiao Wangzhi are not experts in this field, but he admits that the other party's words are very reasonable.

During the period when the war stopped, Huaizhou and Dongyang Road had a certain amount of hematopoietic capacity and would not be completely subject to the Jiangnan Imperial Court.

"Uncle Xiao is far-sighted, and I can't do it."

Lu Shen knew that Xiao Wangzhi's style of using troops was extremely steady, even though he had followed his advice several times before, it did not exceed the overall strategic framework of the Huaizhou Army, and Xiao Wangzhi did not invest all his troops, and always left reserve forces to prevent the situation from deteriorating.

Xiao Wangzhi smiled and said, "I understand Ling's thoughts. A Dongyang Road can not completely strengthen the confidence of the south, if our army can recover Heluo, at least the resistance to continue the northern expedition will be greatly reduced, and it can play a role in the hearts of the people in the north, more and more people will make the choice of Zhai Lin Wang, right? ”

Lu Shen had some words in his heart that he couldn't say clearly.

In his previous life, he had browsed the auspicious light and feathers in the long river of history, and knew very well how difficult it was for a peaceful Jiangnan regime to make a comeback, and there would be countless constraints and delays in the process of the Northern Expedition.

With the smooth implementation of the Northern Expedition and the continuous growth of the border army, there will be more and more resistance in the center of the imperial court, and Li Duan may not be able to stick to his original determination at that time.

All in all, people change.

Lu Shen didn't know if there would be such a good opportunity in the future, he could only use this as his last chance to operate.

As soon as he thought of this, he said earnestly: "Uncle Xiao, to be honest, I don't trust those people in the south. As you said, after recovering Dongyang Road, we can operate with our hearts, but the question is who will run it at that time? It is impossible for Huaizhou to directly incorporate Dongyang Road into its territory, and it is necessary to set up another state here. The new Assassin and the Grand Governor, the officials from top to bottom, must have been appointed directly by the imperial court, can those people take the same position as you? ”

Seeing that Xiao Wangzhi was silent, Lu Shen simply picked out his words: "Recovering Dongyang Road is a great achievement, Uncle Xiao's reputation will go to a higher level, is the center relieved that you will continue to lead the troops?" Will it transfer you back? Whether you are appointed as a privy deputy or a general, at least it will keep you away from the Huaizhou army. ”

Xiao Wangzhi said slowly: "So you don't want the fire of the Northern Expedition to be extinguished, you have to tie everyone to this chariot and continue to move forward." ”

At this point in the conversation, the differences between the two have become very obvious.

Xiao Wangzhi's idea is to fight steadily and steadily, under the premise of occupying the current advantage, first recover the entire Dongyang Road, and then digest the territory that has been occupied and then slowly plot it.

Lu Shen hoped to make some risky attempts, and opened up a second battlefield while continuing to attack Ruyin City, aiming directly at Heluo City.

There is no right or wrong in this, both of them have their own reasons for insisting, it is just a collision between different ways of thinking.

In fact, this is also the first contradiction between him and Xiao Wangzhi in the process of getting along after Lu Shen joined the Huaizhou Army.

Facing the middle-aged man with a solemn expression beside him, Lu Shen nodded and said: "Yes, there is no need to elaborate on the many benefits of recovering Heluo, I think Uncle Xiao must know it well, and the most important thing is that the symbolism of this old capital is too big, so big that it can easily suppress the opposition of those people in the south." ”

Xiao Wangzhi slowly walked to the side of the seat, picked up the teacup and drank half a bowl of tea, then walked to the sand table in the center of the room, and said calmly: "But you need to consider two very practical problems. ”

"First, the strength of our Huaizhou army can only maintain the current front, and the imperial court will not send the various armies of the Southern Ya to support at this time - even if Your Majesty can make up his mind despite the public opinion, the time will be delayed for a long time, and we can't wait for that time. The Jingzhou Governor's Mansion needs to deal with the pseudo-Yanmoyang Road and Jiangbei Road alone, and Li Dudu has already sent the Feiyu Battalion over, and he can't empty his family and lead to an empty army. ”

"Second, Heluo is not a small city, let alone a stronghold on the way of our army, do you know how difficult it is to seek Heluo? Admittedly, you must have considered this issue, and I believe in your ability to strategize, but the primary goal of our army is still to conquer Ruyin and recover the entire territory of Dongyang Road. ”

"Based on the above two considerations, Lu Shen, I really can't agree with you this time-"

Xiao Wangzhi said calmly and sincerely, but before the last few words came out, the voice of marching Sima Huang Xianfeng suddenly sounded outside the door.

"Governor of the Metropolitan Governor, Captain Li of the Flying Feather Battalion asks to see you!"

Xiao Wangzhi and Lu Shen glanced at each other, then pressed down on the previous words, and said, "Please let her in." ”

(End of chapter)