hsntnovel Chapter 2254 Preparing to Go to the Border
Chapter 2254 Preparing to Go to the Border
Through Zhou Daowu's explanation, Li Shen finally understood what Xue Rengui meant.
It is similar to the saying of "fighting to support war", and also points out the main reason why war leads to the decline of a country.
Wasn't the previous dynasty just like that, engaging in excessive military spending?
Sun Tzu's Art of War also proposed a method, which is to take the enemy's resources to feed oneself. Even if the war is unfavorable, a large amount of the enemy's supplies can be consumed.
According to Li Shen's understanding, to put it bluntly, it means putting the battlefield in another country and fighting as you please, even if it ends in a complete disaster.
Even if we lose in the end, we can just retreat and there will be no loss on our side.
It turns out that our ancestors mastered this rogue fighting style thousands of years ago.
"Your Majesty, I think that perhaps soon the front will return to escort a shipment of grain and fodder."
Wang Xuance suddenly spoke.
"Oh? Why is that?" Li Shen was a little curious, and the three of them looked at Wang Xuance.
"Your Majesty, the two countries we are attacking this time are both small nations with limited resources. I don't think they will receive much supplies.
If we continue westward, we will only attack small areas.
"The Great Tang's Western Expedition Army, along with the civilians subjected to forced labor, number tens of thousands. I'm afraid these small nations will find it difficult to withstand it."
Wang Xuance began to explain to the three people.
Li Shen nodded after hearing this.
“You are right, your analysis makes sense. I have forgotten about those corvée labors.
As you said, supplies are indeed needed.
Although these small nations are located along the trade routes and are relatively wealthy, if they choose to fortify their defenses and clear the countryside, our Tang army will be in great trouble."
The most important problem is still the food problem. At present, only the Tang Dynasty has just solved the food problem a few years ago.
The food problem in other places has never been solved. Even larger countries like Tubo and India cannot solve it, let alone these small countries.
Even in the Tang Dynasty, not every place had sufficient food. The court needed to transfer food from wealthy areas to poor areas, such as the mountainous area of Shu.
It seems that the front line does need to come back and deliver a batch of food and fodder.
"I still want to go to the border. Things here must be arranged as soon as possible." Li Shen glanced at the street outside.
"Your Highness, there's no need for us to go to the border. It's not safe there. It's better for us to stay in Xizhou and wait for news from the front."
This was Wang Xuance's second attempt to dissuade him.
The closer you get to the border, the more chaotic and unsafe it becomes.
"Oh, my waist hurts from standing. Let's go inside and talk." Li Shen first patted his waist, then jumped off the chair.
Bring everyone to the study.
After ordering someone to serve tea, Li Shen said:
"I have long decided to go to the border. Since His Majesty has asked me to come here, I will conduct a thorough inspection.
Xizhou is in such chaos, the border situation may not be much better.
This is a good opportunity to clean up the bureaucracy.
And it was also to lure out the rebels wearing border army equipment."
"But Your Highness, this is probably not appropriate." As soon as Li Shen finished speaking, Wang Xuance denied it.
"Why is it inappropriate?" Li Shen immediately questioned.
I haven't even started yet and it's already been rejected.
“Your Highness, what I said is inappropriate. I mean that Your Highness wants to go to the border army to clean up the bureaucracy.
The border troops were under the jurisdiction of Zhechoufu and were directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court.
Even the Protectorate was only a cooperative relationship.
Your Highness is the acting governor of Xizhou Prefecture. The case in Xizhou Prefecture is understandable, but the matter of the border troops may be..."
Wang Xuance stopped talking at this point, but his meaning was very clear: you have no control over the border troops, it has nothing to do with you.
Li Shen frowned after hearing this. He did not doubt what Wang Xuance said. Wang Xuance understood the laws of the Tang Dynasty better than himself.
He frowned because his plan didn't seem to work. He was planning to use the same trick again and make another fortune from the border troops.
Now it looks like that plan is going to fail.
After thinking for a long time, Li Shen said:
"Then I will also go to the border to investigate the matter thoroughly and report to the court upon my return.
Besides, what if we could lure that group out?"
Seeing that Prince Ji was so determined, Wang Xuance had no choice but to say nothing more.
Li Shen saw that the three had no objections, so he clapped his hands:
"Okay, now that we have reached a consensus, let's talk about what's next.
Don't stop the fight to eliminate the rebels. We have only destroyed one gathering place, so there will inevitably be some that slip through the net.
In order to ensure that I have no worries after I leave, we must intensify the encirclement and suppression of the rebels.
Xuan Ce, please inform the officials of Xizhou Prefecture about this matter."
"Yes! I obey your command." Wang Xuance stood up and saluted.
"Rengui, order the guard battalion to check their equipment, rest well, and be ready to leave with me at any time.
We need to bring all our secret weapons this time, just in case." Li Shen looked at Xue Rengui again.
"Yes, I obey your command." Xue Rengui also stood up.
Li Shen's gaze fell on Zhou Daowu:
"Daowu, you must first take care of the wounded and distribute the pensions to the fallen soldiers.
Leave some people behind to take care of them, and the rest will go to the border with me."
"Yes, I will obey your command." Zhou Daowu stood up and saluted.
"Okay, then let's each do our own job." Finally, Li Shen waved his hand, and the three of them went about their own business.
Only Li Shen was left sitting there in a daze.
"Your Highness, the supplies that were brought back have been counted, but..." At this time, Shi Tou walked in from outside with an account book in his hand.
"Just what?" Li Shen said in a deep voice.
"It's just that the warehouse here is full. I have already occupied all the empty rooms that are not occupied, and there are still many left."
Stone replied.
"Can't let it go?" Li Shen was not excited when he heard the news, but became worried instead.
"How about buying a few more houses?" Li Shen asked.
"Your Highness, our mansion is already very big, there is no need to buy more." Shitou reminded.
This place is basically occupied by him, and the people living next door will not sell their houses.
"How was the harvest this time?" Li Shenxian asked about the harvest.
"Your Highness, I made a rough estimate and it's about a hundred thousand strings of cash."
"Only tens of thousands of strings of cash?" Li Shen was somewhat disappointed when he heard Shi Tou's words.
He thought he had caught a big fish this time, but he didn't expect it to be so poor.
"So, distribute the food to the people who are doing the corvée work. As for the supplies we seized this time, we will keep half of them, and you can have people load the rest onto the wagons.
I will tell the Xizhou Prefecture to escort these items back to Chang'an City. These items originally belonged to the imperial court."
All spoils must be attributed, which was actually the case in ancient times. Li Shen kept half of it, and 30% was prepared as a collective reward for everyone, which was what Li Shen promised.
The remaining 20% belonged to Li Shen himself, and he was still a general after all.
Li Shen decided to give the final 50% to the imperial court, completing the division of the spoils.
(Just finished writing, I have to go to get an IV drip. Please urge me to update.)