Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2628 Utilizing the Military Genius, Northern Defense

Lian Po, Pei Xingjian, Guo Ziyi, and many other generals were among the most capable and skilled in battle.

It can be said that their most capable generals were directly transferred away.

Of course, they had no objection to this. Pei Xingjian and Guo Ziyi were both military generals of a province, and with the war in the north already over, it was indeed not appropriate for them to stay in the north any longer.

However, Lian Po was also transferred back, which made Xue Rengui and Li Mu very upset.

Even with Lian Po's abilities, neither of them would dare to claim they could completely overpower him. If they were to go to war against the Tang Dynasty, this would be a great asset.

Neither Li Mu nor Xue Rengui underestimated the Li Tang dynasty.

Li Shimin, the ruler of the Tang Dynasty, was renowned throughout the land for his bravery and skill in battle. Although there were many famous generals in Youzhou, none of them were able to gain much advantage over Li Shimin.

This one managed to wrest almost half of Youzhou from Qin Zheng's hands.

The troops of the Li Tang dynasty were all elite soldiers and strong generals.

"Aren't there still a group of surrendered generals from the north?"

"Han Xin of Youzhou, you two generals must have already experienced his prowess firsthand!"

"Moreover, this person has extensive experience fighting against Li Tang, and can certainly become a sharp weapon for my Great Jin to deal with Li Tang."

Just then, Zhang Liang walked in. He had overheard Li Mu and Xue Rengui's conversation, so as he entered, he immediately addressed the two of them.

"Han Xin was indeed a master of military strategy; I am no match for him!" Xue Rengui said, thinking of Han Xin.

Although he eventually forced Han Xin to surrender, it was only achieved when the Jin army had already gained the upper hand and the Youzhou army had no chance of turning the tide.

Moreover, how many people did Xue Rengui use to deal with Han Xin's two thousand soldiers? The number of troops used to surround and intercept them was dozens of times that of the enemy.

If it were anyone else, would Xue Rengui have needed to go to such great lengths?

Moreover, this was all done with Zhang Liang's assistance. After all, many of the strategies employed before and after the encirclement and pursuit were devised by Zhang Liang.

After the topic of Han Xin came up, Li Mu had nothing more to say.

After all, Han Xin was already a renowned general. This time, standing on his shoulders once again proved his strength.

Even with a numerical advantage, the fight had deteriorated to this extent; what could Li Mu possibly say?

"His Majesty has summoned back Lian Po and other generals. Could it be that he wants us to give these surrendered generals important positions?" At this moment, Xue Rengui suddenly remembered something and asked.

"nature!"

"Everyone should not forget Han Xin's age. With his abilities, as long as he is given the opportunity, he will surely have his day in the future in our Great Jin."

When the topic of age came up, Zhang Liang paused for a moment.

It was probably precisely because of his age that the emperor valued him so highly among the surrendered generals or prisoners from the north.

A large number of generals were specially recalled, giving him ample opportunity to rise to prominence.

Age can sometimes be a huge advantage.

Indeed, it was because of Han Xin's age. Although there were other figures like Cui Hao and Xu Xiao among the northern prisoners, in Li Xiang's mind, their combined value couldn't compare to Han Xin's. Xu Xiao, in particular, was practically worthless.

After all, he was an active figure during the reign of Emperor Ling, and he is now in his seventies!
Even if he were given a chance, before he could even make a name for himself in the Jin army, his time would likely come.

Let alone in ancient times, even in the future, seventy years old would be considered very old.

Compared to Xu Xiao, Han Xin, who was in his prime at this time, was clearly more appealing.

Moreover, Han Xin was already a famous general known throughout the land, having made a name for himself and once held a high position in Youzhou.

Placing him in the military would at least give him a very high starting point. As long as he isn't directly promoted to the top ranks of the military, even if he's given a slightly higher position, the other Jin army generals won't complain too much.

However, if it's someone like Xu Xiao, who is practically unknown, then he really has to start from the bottom and work his way up step by step.

Therefore, the Jin Dynasty had no intention of promoting Xu Xiao.

Moreover, besides Han Xin and Xu Xiao, the captured northern generals this time also included an important figure, Wang Zhi. In terms of cost-effectiveness in all aspects, Wang Zhi was far superior to Xu Xiao.

Even if he wasn't in his prime like Han Xin, he wasn't as old and worn out as Xu Xiao.

However, Wang Zhi's attitude was much more resolute in all aspects.

After all, if he were to be demoted again, he would truly be considered a traitor to three masters.

"Generals, instead of worrying about these surrendered generals, you should think about how to solve the problem of food and supplies for these 500,000 troops!" Zhang Liang said with a headache.

Zhang Liang wasn't asking what these 500,000 soldiers would eat now!
Instead, they would wait until next year, and if they really had to fight against the Tang Dynasty, how would they arrange their supplies?

It sounds like this is something for next year, but winter is just around the corner, so there are only a few months left.

The situation in these three northern provinces is as follows: Ji Province, which was originally the richest, is now the worst-governed, and it is impossible to provide them with food and supplies next year.

Even if we plant normally next year, the harvest of grain and fodder will not be possible until after the autumn harvest next year.

As for You and Qing, after this battle, they also had very little food reserves left.

If they were to actually attack the Li Tang dynasty, they would still need to gather provisions from Siyong and the Central Plains. The scale of provisions for hundreds of thousands of people is unimaginable. They would need to set up at least several cities in the rear for the transfer of provisions.

The question is where to design the locations for the grain and fodder transfer points so that the army can quickly mobilize them during its advance.

Furthermore, Qin Zheng had been operating in Youzhou for many years. Even if he were to perish now, not all of his followers would be gone. There would always be a few rats hiding in the gutter.

Could the existence of these people pose a hidden danger?

This is also a problem.

At the same time, they also had to consider the Manchus in the north.

After all, the Tang Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty had cooperated for many years. If they were to wage war against the Tang Dynasty next year, would the Qing Dynasty intervene?
How to establish sufficient defenses against the Manchus in advance is also something that needs to be addressed in the next few months.

After all, the defense of Youzhou is only slightly better than that of Liangzhou in the past, unlike the He and Bing regions which have natural barriers to defend.

Moreover, the terrain of Youzhou is wide from east to west and narrow from north to south, which are all factors that are unfavorable for defense.

A few months sounds like a long time, but in reality, it's quite stressful.