Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2570 Build High Walls, Store Up Grain, and Expand the Army

What Jian Yong, Feng Hou, and the others meant was that at this point, they were basically unable to win.

They did indeed inflict heavy damage on Guo Ziyi, but the deaths and injuries they inflicted earlier were not fabricated in order to frame him.

At this time, apart from the Qingzhou navy, Liu Bei could only muster a maximum of 40,000 troops by piecing together the scattered forces from various regions.

If Zhao Defang had not surrendered to Xue Rengui, and if they only had to face Lian Po in the north, they might still have had a chance to hold out to the death.

If they put up a stubborn resistance in each city, it might not be impossible to hold out.

However, Zhao Defang had already surrendered, and with the Jin army now attacking from the north and Xue Rengui's west, they would be able to commit two to three hundred thousand troops, and they would be coming from more than one direction.

How can they defend their remaining 40,000 troops?

Therefore, Jian Yong, Feng Hou, and others meant that Liu Bei should leave directly.

The Qingzhou navy—this was the last escape route they left for Liu Bei.

With the Qingzhou navy present, they could offer Liu Bei a glimmer of hope, especially given that Qi Jiguang's main naval force was in the Bohai Sea at that time.

"I am the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty!"

Liu Bei looked around at everyone and said decisively.

Yes, he was the Emperor of the Han Dynasty!
The Southern Chu and Zhu Yuanzhang's followers could flee overseas, but he could not.

Even if the Han Dynasty is about to end, it should be brought to a true close by him, not left to linger on like a stray dog.

Not to mention, even if he were willing to flee overseas like the Southern Chu or the remnants of Zhu Yuanzhang's faction, they would have nowhere to go.

........................

The Tang dynasty was located right next to the north, so news of the wars in Ji and Qing provinces reached the Tang court very quickly.

Even if these three northern families joined forces, they would not be a match for the Great Jin. Li Shimin had long anticipated this and never thought that these three families could win.

After all, the national strength of each country is not on the same level.

Even at their peak, the three northern states could not compare to the current Jin Dynasty in terms of national strength, not to mention that Youzhou and Jizhou are now in a state of near collapse, and Liu Bei's side, even if not in a state of near collapse, is not at its peak either.

However, even though he had anticipated the outcome of the battle, the speed at which these three forces retreated still exceeded his expectations.

In just a few months, one of them was destroyed, and the remaining two are also on the verge of extinction.

Le Yi was an old friend of the Li Tang dynasty. Many of the famous generals in the Li Tang dynasty had a deep impression of him. However, even if he risked his life, in Li Shimin's eyes, he could only delay Qi Jiguang by a month at most.

A month later, Qi Jiguang would be able to mobilize enough grain and supplies from the rear, and at that time, he would have enough confidence to continue his advance.

Unless Han Xin could severely damage Li Mu within a month, but Li Shimin did not believe that Han Xin could do so.

If Li Mu had launched a relentless attack, Li Shimin might have had some confidence in Han Xin, but since Han Xin had switched to a defensive posture, the chances of victory were practically nonexistent.

Ugh!
Even Li Shimin is now deeply worried about this.

If these three northern families were gone, the last Tang dynasty would officially border the Jin dynasty.

Now that four counties in Youzhou have fallen into the hands of the Li Tang, the Jin army will likely not let it go easily. At that point, it will be the Li Tang that will bear the brunt of the Jin army's pressure.

Therefore, they must start preparing as soon as possible.

The marriage alliances with the three people on the grasslands have been largely finalized, and the next step is to proceed with the specific implementation.

Besides forming a strategic alliance with these three families on the grasslands, Li Shimin's next decision was to build high walls, stockpile grain, and greatly expand his army.

"Build high walls" means building high walls in the literal sense. Once the Li Tang dynasty faces the pressure of the Jin army, it will naturally be on the defensive.

This was already determined by the national strength of both sides.

The Tang Dynasty, with its many mountain towns, naturally possessed a geographical advantage.

Emperor Yang of Sui in history suffered greatly from this.

However, the four prefectures of Youzhou, compared to the Li Tang homeland, did not have these defensive advantages.

Therefore, Li Shimin naturally needed to make preparations early.

Infrastructure construction is the top priority in Li Tang's three-year plan.

In the future battle against the Jin army, given the strength of the enemy's nation, they will inevitably need to significantly expand their army.

Therefore, in the next few years, Li Shimin would inevitably have to organize a portion of the people to conduct military training during their spare time from farming.

When that time comes, they can be quickly assembled into an army when needed, and they will also have a certain combat capability.

At that time, if a major battle were to break out with the Jin army and a large-scale military expansion were initiated, it would inevitably affect local production.

Furthermore, the Li Tang region is predominantly mountainous, which is naturally unsuitable for developing agriculture.

Therefore, it's always a good idea to stockpile a large amount of food and fodder in advance.

In particular, while the four prefectures of Youzhou were still in their hands, they should prepare provisions as quickly as possible.

After all, if the four prefectures of Youzhou could not be defended once war broke out with the Jin army, the Li Tang dynasty would have no choice but to defend its homeland and use its geographical advantages to resist the Jin army layer by layer.

The subsequent large-scale military expansion does not refer to temporary expansion in the event of a future major war, but rather to the current large-scale military expansion.

The next phase of Li Shimin's large-scale military expansion was not about increasing the number of infantry and cavalry, but rather about preparing for a large-scale development of naval power.

Li Shimin saw this battle clearly: although they lost overall due to their national strength, one extremely important aspect of this loss was their lack of naval power.

The lack of naval power prevented Qinghan from competing with Qi Jiguang for control of the Yellow River. Even though Sima Cuo risked his life, he could not change the outcome of the complete annihilation of the Youzhou navy, nor could he change the fact that Qi Jiguang easily landed in Youzhou.

If Qinghan could control the Yellow River and the Bohai Sea, even with these three powers, the final outcome would still be a defeat. However, the Jin army would suffer heavy losses in the process of winning this battle.

If that's the case, the battle in the North would be no less difficult than the battle in the South.

But precisely because they couldn't control the Yellow River or the Bohai Sea, the war in the north was not only comparable to the war in the south, but also comparable in simplicity to the war in the Central Plains.

Furthermore, the Li Tang territory also had a large coastal area, so Li Shimin had to arm a sufficiently powerful naval force.