Call of the Heroes of Chaos in Another World

Chapter 2120 Cai Bojie Changes Characters, Su Dingfang's Western Expedition

In the Han Dynasty court today, apart from a very few stubborn old men, the vast majority of officials do not see any problem with the unification of the written language.

The only disagreement is whether to do it now or later.

Doing it now will naturally minimize resistance. After all, even though the Han Dynasty now has four languages.

However, all the major regions of the Great Han Dynasty, except for Shenglan and Xiping, were originally the territory of the Great Cang Dynasty, and the script used was Cang script.

Are these obstacles also obstacles for the Han Dynasty?
Even if these two places become somewhat unstable as a result, will it still affect the overall situation?
However, what Zhuge Liang was truly worried about was the future. After the Han Dynasty expanded beyond Dacang, it would inevitably face even greater resistance during its next expansion.

If we do it later, these problems won't exist.

But if we do it later, how vast will the territory of the Han Dynasty be then? How many written characters will there be then? And what obstacles will there be in doing this then?
Furthermore, if this matter is to be done later, and if we were to attack the Great Wei or the Great Qian in the future, we would not even be able to understand their written language in the occupied territories. In times of war, how would we coordinate resources in various places in a timely manner?

Therefore, whether it's done now or later, there are advantages and disadvantages. And the officials in the imperial court are also concerned with this issue of advantages and disadvantages.

"When writing systems differ, government orders become a jumbled mess! When carts use different tracks, trade routes become dead ends! When standards differ, the market becomes a den of swindlers! When conduct differs, the world becomes a chaotic mess!"

"I lead troops into battle not to simply stitch together a few pieces of land! What I want is a truly unified, cohesive, and smoothly functioning Han Empire! I want every citizen on this vast land to know that they are Han Chinese! To speak the same language, write the same characters, and follow the same laws! This is the foundation for lasting peace!"

“Cai Hanlin!” Wang Yu looked around at the assembled officials, finally fixing his gaze on one person.

“Your subject is here!” Cai Yong immediately replied.

"You are in full charge of standardizing the written language! Summon all scholars from across the land to the capital to jointly create the Great Han script. In the future, I hope that all citizens of my Great Han, regardless of which region they were born into, will be able to write Chinese characters!"

“You can learn the languages ​​of various regions, but you must learn Chinese even more in the future. All official documents submitted to the court should be written in Chinese.”

"Your subject obeys! I will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust!" Cai Yong's voice was filled with excitement and a heavy sense of responsibility.

Wang Yu nodded slightly, turned around, and walked back to the throne, sitting down once more. The beaded curtain fell, obscuring his expression, leaving only a dignified and silent figure.

Guan Zhong and Zhuge Liang already had considerable workloads; there was no need to add new burdens to them.

As for Cai Yong, he might have limited ability to govern local areas, but he was absolutely capable of handling cultural matters.

"Furthermore, Sheng Lan Dao Fang Xuanling reported that starting this year, the Jian and Hao regions have been continuously expanding their armies, and the Great Wu envoy has been staying for an extended period!"

"What do you all think? Should the Jianhao Dynasty continue to exist?"

Previously, the reason for not wanting to hand over power to the Great Wu too early was that the Great Han's national strength was still limited at that time. Therefore, these two of the four minor dynasties were left behind.

But times change.

Even though the Han Dynasty, having conquered Henan, Guangyin, and Qingbei, is still not as powerful as the Great Wu Dynasty, it does not mean it is powerless to fight back, nor does it mean it is unable to contend with them.

The Han Dynasty of today is vastly different from the time when it was conquering the four minor dynasties. The Han Dynasty now possesses sufficient strength to face the Great Wu.

Furthermore, among all the forces in the world, none have only one enemy.

Even though the Great Wu's national strength surpasses that of the Great Han, it's impossible for Great Wu to focus all its efforts on dealing with the Great Han. At least, the old king has a relative by marriage who can share the burden.

In the past year, both the Great Wu Dynasty and the two remaining minor dynasties among the four minor dynasties have been making more and more small moves. Wang Yu is already considering whether to keep these two on the list.
With the internal troubles resolved, the external pressure has obviously decreased significantly, and they have begun to pay more and more attention to their eastern flank.

The Han Dynasty has become so powerful that, as long as the Great Wu can spare the time, it will do everything in its power to prevent the Han Dynasty from becoming even stronger.

In particular, Da Wu's recent focus on the East has increased significantly compared to before.

Not only did they accept the emperor of Xicang, but they also colluded with Zhao Song and Da Yan. Most importantly, according to the message from Zi Nu, the pacification commissioner of the Luo Wang Da Wu branch, Da Wu had also made contact with the Tuoba tribe of Bei Di.

Currently, the Han Dynasty and the Golden Horde have formed an alliance, while the Wu Dynasty has begun to make contact with the Tuoba tribe. Now, the four of them have completely formed a crossroads, mutually restraining each other.

"The land of the former four minor dynasties, though lacking in mineral resources, is surrounded by rivers on three sides and has fertile soil!"

"This place can supply the provisions for at least 500,000 to 600,000 troops on their expedition!"

Zhao Anling was the first to speak, clearly indicating that he was quite interested.

The land of the four minor dynasties may lack other resources, but it is exceptionally suitable for farming. Geographically, this region is almost equivalent to the Hetao region on Earth.

In fact, if only food supplies are considered, each of the four minor dynasties could easily support at least 100,000 troops.

However, they couldn't possibly use all their provisions to feed their army. To ensure their safety, they were forced to export large quantities of grain to the Golden Horde in the north every year.

In other words, they are sandwiched between the two great dynasties of Da Wu and Da Cang. If the Golden Horde were to occupy this area, it would be facing both great dynasties at the same time.

Furthermore, the Tuoba tribe, which is next to the Golden Horde, will not sit idly by and watch the other side occupy such a high-yield grain area.

Therefore, this gave the four minor dynasties a chance to survive in the cracks.

In any case, for the Golden Horde, there was no need to store their own food; having a granary nearby that they could access at any time was sufficient.

Because they had to export a large amount of grain every year, they couldn't use all their grain to support their troops, which limited their total military strength.

At the same time, having food alone is not enough to support an army. This region can only grow crops, but it does not have enough mineral resources, so the soldiers' armor and equipment are also a problem.

Aside from the rebel armies or anti-kings, all factions in Tianqi prioritize the quality of their troops rather than simply pursuing quantity.

Even those rebel armies or anti-kings, once their power is on the right track, their troops will gradually become more organized, just like the Great Yan of Xuanyuan Huang.

In the alternate world of Apocalypse, all the troops of various factions are fully armored; there is no such thing as an unarmored soldier.

Perhaps not all of them are iron armor, but leather armor, paper armor, or lamellar armor will definitely be provided.

In the Han Dynasty, aside from special units like the Water Ghost Corps within the navy that didn't require armor, the majority of its troops were equipped with iron armor, roughly 30%. The remaining soldiers were all fitted with leather armor. Therefore, these very factors limited the four smaller dynasties, preventing them from maximizing their military strength.

The Great Sword and Great Hao have been continuously expanding their forces since the beginning of this year, which is definitely due to the support of Great Wu.

As for this region, although there are some resource limitations, these limitations apply to the four minor dynasties, but not to the Great Han. The regions where the four minor dynasties are located only have grain, while other regions of the Great Han have various resources.

"The Great Wu Navy is weak. If we want to hold the Sword and Hao in our hands!"

"With the Tianhe Navy assisting General Su Dingfang, we can indeed strengthen the national defense of our Great Han!"

Xue Rengui, a military general, spoke up, explaining the importance of these two locations from a military perspective.

Among the seven great dynasties' navies, the Great Wu Dynasty had the weakest navy. It wasn't that they didn't value building up their naval forces, but rather that they simply didn't have the resources to utilize them, and their navy had no role to play in foreign wars.

Therefore, Da Wu established a navy, but not only was the number limited, but Da Wu itself did not attach much importance to it and did not invest much in various aspects, so the quality could not be guaranteed.

As a result, this navy is only good for serving as a transport fleet; its effectiveness in a real war would be questionable.
Given the geographical location of the four minor dynasties, which were surrounded by rivers on three sides, it would have been quite effective to take control of the remaining two dynasties and use the navy for border defense.

At least throughout the year, except for winter, their border defense pressure in the west will be greatly reduced.

"At this time, with the conquest of swords and the conquest of Hao, will the Great Wu intervene?" an official asked worriedly.

Taking over these two territories would indeed bring many benefits. Moreover, these two dynasties were not much stronger than the Han Dynasty. Taking them over would not require much effort, and might not even require a major war.

But would the Great Wu stand idly by and watch these two dynasties perish?
"Of course Da Wu will intervene!"

"But we will absolutely not launch a major offensive!" Guan Zhong said confidently.

"Indeed, the Great Wu has been fighting for many years. If it doesn't recuperate, how long can it hold out?"

"Therefore, localized clashes may occur, but it is absolutely impossible for them to escalate into a full-scale war between the two sides!" Zhuge Liang agreed.

"What about the North?"

"Will the North intervene?" Kuai Tong thought of the Tuoba tribe, which had made contact with Da Wu.

Previously, the Tuoba tribe had been trying to subdue the Zhenbei Army as much as possible, rather than destroying it directly through war and violence. In addition, due to the constraints imposed by the Eastern Golden Horde, they had always adopted a gentle approach of dividing and winning over the enemy.

However, after trying to win over those who could be won over, the Lie Feiyang Group had made it clear that they were determined to fight to the death, and gentle methods were no longer an option.

Therefore, if a war were to break out, the Zhenbei Army would certainly be no match for the Tuoba tribe. This fact alone sealed their fate when one of the three Zhenbei passes fell into the hands of the Tuoba tribe.

Furthermore, the Golden Horde has shifted its attention to the areas originally controlled by the Murong tribe, which has not only alleviated the external pressure on the Great Wu Dynasty, but also the external pressure on the Tuoba tribe.

Therefore, in just a few months, Zhenbei Group has already suffered heavy casualties and may not be able to hold out for more than a few months.

Lie Feiyang is tough enough that even after all this, he still refuses to accept the Han's offer!
The big man didn't kill his father, so why is he being so stubborn?
Oh!
It seems that the big man really did kill his father, so it's alright now!

Fortunately, not everyone under him was so stubborn. Lie Feiyang's unwillingness to accept the Han's offer didn't mean no one else under him was willing!
"As long as Zhongxing Mountain is not lost, the threat posed by the Tuoba tribe will never be comparable to that of the Great Wu!" Huli Guang said.

For the Han Dynasty, the Zhongxing Mountains served as akin to the Zhenbei Army's three passes guarding the north.

If the Zhenbei Army hadn't lost Jubei Pass, one of the three passes of Zhenbei, even if life had been incredibly difficult, they wouldn't have ended up in this state! At least, they could have managed to hold onto their precarious position and protect themselves.

As long as the Three Passes of Zhenbei remain, no matter how strong the Tuoba tribe is, it won't be easy for them to conquer it; they'll have to fight tooth and nail.

This principle also applies to the defense line of the Zhongxing Mountain Range.

Actually, if we're being honest, if the Zhenbei Army hadn't lost the three passes of Zhenbei, after they took Zhongcang, their next target might very well have been the Zhenbei Army.

After all, you have to squeeze all the soft persimmons first before you can squeeze the hard ones.

Unfortunately, without the Three Passes of Zhenbei, what value does the Shanyang Road still have? It is nothing more than a quagmire of war.

Once they get bogged down in this quagmire, they might not even have the strength to deal with the Great Yan and Great Song dynasties.

As for the Han Dynasty, as long as the Zhongxing Mountains are still in their hands, the north cannot tie down much of their troops!
"Then send an order to Su Dingfang! Launch a western expedition to Jian and Hao!"

"All troops and forces under Shenglan Road are at your disposal!"

"In addition, Huli Guang, the Right Commander of the Imperial Guards, will lead 100,000 Imperial Guards into Shenglan Road, temporarily under the command of Su Dingfang!"

Hearing that many court officials supported taking over this area, Wang Yu had clearly made up his mind.

If the goal is to destroy these two small dynasties, then it would naturally be up to Su Dingfang to lead the army, since his own defense zone is right next to these two dynasties.

Not to mention, the effect of his "Destroy a Country" skill is still one turn away from triggering.

If the sole aim is to destroy these two small dynasties, the troops of Shenglan Road, Su Dingfang's border army, and Meng Wu's imperial guards are already sufficient; there is no need to send out a central imperial guard.

However, with absolute strength, the natural course of action would be to mobilize more troops, leaving no possibility for either dynasty to turn the tide, and at the same time, to end the war in the shortest possible time.

Not to mention, during Su Dingfang's campaign to conquer the west, he also faced the possibility of intervention from the Great Wu.

The purpose of transferring Hulü Guang there was less to help Su Dingfang conquer the two small dynasties, and more to help Su Dingfang guard against the possible arrival of the Great Wu.

In fact, for Wang Yu, Su Dingfang's western expedition targeted those two dynasties, but only as secondary objectives. The primary objective was to test the Great Wu.

After all, what does the expansion of the army by these two small dynasties amount to for the Han Dynasty today?
If the Han Dynasty really wanted to conquer them, it could do so at any time, regardless of whether the other side expanded its army or not. The other side's national strength was what it was, and it couldn't expand much further.

The outcome of the probe will determine the next action of the Han people.