At the beginning, I gave up my military power with a cup of wine, and I ascended the throne

Chapter 248 Teamwork
"Good analysis."

Xiao Han tapped the tabletop with his knuckles in a very rhythmic manner, his eyes thoughtfully asking, "Go on."

"This expedition to attack Northern Wei has four advantages."

Xie Peiyao thought about the words in her mind, and then said leisurely: "First, the Northern Wei army is tied up in Jubei City by Chen Qingzhao, and the two states are empty. If Brother Xiao sends troops, the Western Liang cavalry can roam across Juzizhou and Hexizhou, capture cities and territories, and be invincible."

"If Brother Xiao has the courage, he can even cooperate with Jizhou's 300,000-man army to keep all of the Northern Wei's hundreds of thousands of cavalry in Jubei City in one fell swoop."

"Secondly, right now is a matter of life and death for Jizhou. Everyone is in danger. If Brother Xiao puts aside past grudges and sends troops to attack Northern Wei, it would be a timely help. The soldiers and civilians of Jizhou and Bingzhou will surely be grateful to Brother Xiao."

"If the prince takes the throne in the future, it will be much easier for Brother Xiao to take Jizhou."

"Third, as far as I know, the emperor has issued an edict urging Brother Xiao to send troops, and it will be delivered to the Marquis' Mansion soon."

"If we dispatch troops according to the imperial edict, Brother Xiao will be more loyal in the eyes of the emperor, and the court will be less critical of him in the future."

"Fourthly, the war between Jizhou and Northern Wei lasted for several months, and everyone in the world knew about it. During this period, Xiliang remained silent and watched from the sidelines, which inevitably made people in the world feel chilled."

As the saying goes, brothers fight against humiliation outside the wall. The dispute between Xiliang and Jizhou was said to be a fight between Xiliang and Jizhou. "

"To put it simply, it is a private matter between a family and a dispute between generals. At this time, Brother Xiao's former general is facing a strong enemy, but his generals are standing by and watching. This will not only chill the hearts of the soldiers and civilians of Jizhou, but also chill the hearts of knowledgeable people in the world."

"Please understand Brother Xiao."

Xie Peiyao bowed slightly.

"in this case."

Xiao Han said: "If I don't send troops, I will be disloyal, unfilial, unkind and unjust."

"Yes."

Xie Peiyao nodded: "I said this only to explain the pros and cons. As for how to choose, it depends on Brother Xiao himself."

"Are you finished?"

He frowned.

"It's over." Xie Peiyao replied.

"Since you've given it so much thought."

Xiao Han said, "In a few days, the imperial court will send people to escort two million shi of grain to Jizhou, passing through Qingzhou. Do you think I should let them pass?"

"If Brother Xiao is willing to send troops, you don't have to do anything. I am willing to take charge and send one million grains of food to Xiliang as military supplies."

Xie Peiyao's eyes were burning.

"Are you interested in staying in Xiliang and being my staff member?"

The corner of his mouth raised: "It's boring to be a death soldier for Xie Xuanli and to assist a useless person. It's not interesting to plan for a state, but it's not interesting to plan for a country or the world."

Xie Peiyao's eyes narrowed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and shook her head: "I'm sorry, I can't obey your order."

"Go down."

"I'll give you an answer tomorrow."

He waved.

"Thank you, Brother Xiao."

Xie Peiyao bowed and left the side hall.

"Qingyao, send someone to the provincial government office and ask Yuan Shao to come see me."

"it is good."

At dusk, the sun was setting in the west, and a cool breeze was blowing, causing ripples on the Guanyu Lake. Most of his staff had gathered.

Pan Yuanshao, Xiahou Qing, Guo Tu, and the chief clerks of several other departments were all present.

Xiao Han repeated Xie Peiyao's words verbatim.

"Everyone can express their opinions. Speak out whatever you think."

He picked up the teacup and took a sip of hot tea to moisten his throat. "As the saying goes, three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang, not to mention that each of you is extremely intelligent."

"Ma'am, you go first."

Look at Ning Xi.

"I agree with what Xie Peiyao said. In the short term, sending troops will not be conducive to suppressing Jizhou, but in the long run, it will be of great benefit to the Marquis in the future to take Ji and Bingzhou."

During the meeting, she did not address her husband as Lord, but rather as Lord Marquis. "I agree."

Miaoyu nodded.

"Mr. Guo, please tell me about it."

Xiao Han looked at Guo Tu.

"Send troops."

Guo Tu stroked his beard and nodded: "This second daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei is quite insightful. If possible, we should keep her here. Even if she cannot be used by the Marquis, we cannot send her back to Jizhou."

"I agree with sending troops."

Xiahou Qing said: "When we discussed before, we mostly focused on military tactics, calculating the gains and losses of cities and the casualties of soldiers, but did not take into account the people's hearts."

"I agree with sending troops."

Pan Yuanshao nodded.

"I agree with sending troops."

Many staff members expressed their opinions one after another.

"Everyone agrees to send troops."

Xiao Han said: "Then the next thing to discuss is how many troops to send out and how to fight. Should we just fool around or completely cripple Helian Bobo?"

"The troops of the six guards of Xia Pi and the three guards of Shatuo cannot be mobilized."

Guo Tu said: "Infantry is fine, but we must not delay the spring ploughing."

"That's what I thought too."

He nodded: "Mr. Guo, how many troops do you think we should send?"

"fifty thousand."

Guo Tu thought for a moment and said: "We can't let the Northern Wei Dynasty suffer a serious loss, so our troops will go out directly from Shuoyin, penetrate the army on the east wing of Helian Bobo, make his defense line collapse, and make a gesture to encircle and resist the North City. Then Helian Bobo will definitely withdraw his troops."

"My Lord, I think we can send out troops later."

Xiahou Qing said: "The imperial court has just sent a million dan of grain to Jizhou. When this batch of grain is almost consumed, we will send troops again."

“That’s a good suggestion.”

He grinned.

"Mr. Guo, Mr. Xiahou, you two and the people from the Military Affairs Department should hurry up these few days and calculate how much of the 1 million dan of grain and fodder will be enough for the 400,000-man army."

"We will dispatch troops at the right time."

"no problem."

Guo Tu was calm and composed, "I will make sure not to leave a single grain of food for Xie Xuanli."

"Mr. Guo is indeed worthy of being the poison master appointed by the Marquis himself."

Xiahou Qing said: "It's a very careful plan."

The room was full of staff and clerks, all of them chatting and laughing. This was the advantage of following a wise leader. There was no need to rack one's brains to figure out the leader's intentions. One could just say whatever was on his mind.

With everyone working together, we quickly settled the matter.

"Yuan Shao, just follow what Mr. Guo said and prepare food and fodder for 50,000 soldiers and horses."

On the first seat, Xiao Han said, "Tomorrow I will take Hu Luxu to Qingzhou to escort the grain and grass back."

"Yuan Shao, Xiliang, Xia Pi and Shang Dang should pay more attention to the spring ploughing, especially Shang Dang. The farming tools can be moved farther away."

He said, "Last year, we were at a standoff with the Northern Wei in Jizhou for more than half a year, and our family assets were almost exhausted."

"Now we have five more counties in Youzhou. If the grain harvest is poor this year, it may not be easy to go to the Central Plains to purchase grain after autumn and winter."

This worry was not groundless. As Xiao Han swallowed up most of Youzhou in one breath, the emperor in the court did not say anything.

But deep down, he was probably already planning to suppress Xiao Han, the Marquis of Xiliang, and Xiliang Province.

The days of collecting grain and pig iron on a large scale in the Central Plains are probably gone forever. In the future, the eight counties of Xiliang will mostly have to be self-sufficient.

Fortunately, there is the Demonic Sect route, which allows us to take some shady paths.

(End of this chapter)