Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2659 The Military Genius Lands, Peninsula Strategy

Li Tang warships.

Although Qi Jiguang's navy suffered heavy losses, it nearly wiped out the Li Tang navy as well.

With the support of Qi Jiguang's warships, Han Xin led 100,000 infantry and cavalry in three waves, landing on the mainland of the Tang Dynasty in batches over a month.

After all, once the navy had suffered heavy losses, Li Shimin simply could not rely on land troops alone to stop the Jin army from crossing the land.

When news spread that the Jin dynasty's 100,000-strong infantry and cavalry army had landed in the Tang dynasty, the entire Tang state was thrown into turmoil.

The southern part of the Li Tang dynasty, that is, the southern part of the peninsula, was simply beyond Li Shimin's ability to hold for long.

The predecessor of the Tang Dynasty, Goguryeo, began to rise in the northern part of the peninsula, right next to Youzhou. The Tang Dynasty managed that region the longest and made it the most developed.

In contrast, the south was acquired after they destroyed the Three Han states.

This region was extremely backward to begin with. In recent years, although Li Shimin has made great efforts to develop it and built one county town after another.

However, they are mostly small towns, with countless small towns scattered throughout, and there are actually very few decent large cities or fortified cities.

Building a large city requires a considerable amount of manpower and resources.

In recent years, the Li Tang dynasty has frequently waged large-scale wars, and simply could not mobilize enough manpower and resources for infrastructure construction. They could only try to find a balance between production and military affairs.

However, Li Shimin had no choice but to defend the southern part of the peninsula.

The reason is simple: this area was a major population center and an important grain-producing region for the Li Tang dynasty. Most of the Li Tang's grain was produced in the south.

Due to climate reasons, the conditions for developing agriculture in the northern part of the peninsula are far less favorable than in the south.

The northern part of the peninsula has a relatively cold climate, while the southern part has a warmer climate with more rainfall and a longer frost-free period. It is obvious which region is more favorable for agricultural development.

Therefore, Li Shimin initially planned the southern part of the peninsula as an agricultural production area. Furthermore, over the years, he issued various policies to promote agricultural development in the south.

They even went so far as to relocate large numbers of people to the south and cultivate vast amounts of wasteland.

When the several countries were conquering Japan, Li Shimin seized most of the people from Japan and settled them in the southern part of the peninsula.

Not only the population of Japan, but also a large portion of the population plundered from Qingzhou and Xuzhou of the Han Dynasty were settled here.

Therefore, this area is not only an important grain-producing region, but also a densely populated area.

Such an important place, though difficult to defend, how could we possibly give it up?
If they lose the southern part of the peninsula, even if the northern part has better geographical conditions, they will have no chance of winning this battle.

In a war, no matter how important the terrain is, it is by no means the only factor. Without food supplies, it is absolutely impossible to win.

We can still fight this war even without favorable geographical conditions, but how can we fight this war without food?
Without the southern part of the peninsula, the Li Tang dynasty's ability to wage a protracted war would be directly crippled.

However, this battle was undoubtedly a great test for Li Shimin.

The Tang dynasty only had 200,000 troops nationwide, and they lost 40,000 of them. That means that at most, they now only have 160,000 troops.

But what about the Great Jin? Their combined land and naval forces on the southern front alone are already close to the total military strength of the entire Li Tang dynasty.

However, the Li Tang dynasty could not possibly deploy all its forces on the southern front! The northern front was also an important area for them to defend, and Xue Rengui and Li Mu's 200,000 troops were not to be underestimated.

As for the Jin Dynasty, Qi Jiguang and Han Xin fought very steadily.

Han Xin was very good at fighting with fewer troops than others. People only remember him besieging Xiang Yu with several times the number of troops in the Battle of Gaixia, but they forget that before that, he had always dealt with besieging others with several times the number of troops.

When outnumbered, Han Xin naturally employs a variety of strategies, constantly showcasing his skills.

However, when in a superior position, with more players than the opponent, Han Xin would proceed with extreme caution, combining strategy with composure to prevent his opponent from having any chance to turn the tide.

It can be said that Han Xin is a combination of Chen Qingzhi and Wang Jian. When outnumbered, he is like Chen Qingzhi, but when outnumbered, he can just as easily secure victory as Wang Jian.

Now, for Han Xin, this is exactly the situation where he has the upper hand.

Therefore, he played very steadily.

Coincidentally, both Qi Jiguang, as the commander-in-chief, and Zhang Liang, as the strategist, were equally steady and reliable.

Therefore, Qi Jiguang and Han Xin, one in charge of the navy and the other in charge of the infantry and cavalry, supported each other by land and water, gradually encroaching on the territory of the Li Tang dynasty.

If Li Shimin dared to initiate a decisive battle with them, then they would come. However, Qi Jiguang and Han Xin would not go to the trouble of deliberately revealing any weaknesses just to lure Li Shimin out for a decisive battle.

The tactics of playing with fewer players against more players and playing with more players against fewer players are completely different.

Qi Jiguang, Han Xin, and Zhang Liang's strategy was simple: to conquer the southern part of the peninsula step by step without any surprises, thus forcing Li Shimin to the northern part of the peninsula.

Even if Li Shimin didn't fight them, it wouldn't matter if the other side preserved their troops.

Without the southern part of the peninsula as a grain-producing region, he wouldn't be able to sustain himself for long with only the north.

If Li Shimin hadn't implemented a scorched-earth policy last winter, they might not have adopted this tactic.

However, unfortunately, last winter, the Li Tang dynasty had almost completely relocated the population of the four prefectures of Youzhou to the peninsula, and those people were already in the northern part of the peninsula at that time.

The migration from Youzhou to the northern part of the peninsula alone resulted in the loss of almost half the population. If they were to migrate from the north to the south, how many would be left?

Therefore, Li Shimin could only arrange for them to be stationed in the north.

With such a large increase in population in the northern part of the peninsula, can they be fed without the support of agricultural production areas in the south?
At this point, the more troops Li Shimin preserved by not engaging in a decisive battle with them, the better it would be for Han Xin and his men.

Without the south, how could he possibly support so many soldiers and so many people who had migrated there, relying solely on the north? If he could do that, he would be a god!
The more soldiers you have left, the bigger the problems will be if you don't have enough food.

When it comes to fighting a war, the key is to proceed from reality.

Whether to prioritize annihilating the enemy's manpower or to allow the enemy's manpower to remain intact depends on the actual situation.

Qi Jiguang, Han Xin, and Zhang Liang performed so steadily that they gave Li Shimin no chance whatsoever. Even though Li Shimin was anxious, he dared not rashly launch a major battle.