Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 897 Xu Shu's Suggestion
After Liu He reunited with Gao Shun, he ordered Gao Shun and Xu Huang to lead the troops to retreat to Chenliu and Shanyang. At the same time, he left Zhu Ye in Chenliu and rushed back to Luoyang overnight with Xu Shu, Zhang He, Cheng Liang, Zhou Cang, Pei Yuanshao and others.

After sending Cheng Liang back to the mansion and inviting Hua Tuo to treat him personally, Liu He ordered people to settle Zhou Cang and others. Without any delay, he immediately took Xu Shu back to the palace.

After Liu He received the letter sent by flying eagle, he ordered You Lang to immediately report it back to Luoyang, so Xun Yu and Qian Li also knew about it.

"Given the current situation, do you have any solutions?"

After Liu He introduced Xun Yu, Qian Li and Xu Shu to each other, he got straight to the point.

Xun Yu was obviously well prepared, and stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, as of today, military reports have been sent back from Liangzhou and Youzhou. The Western Qiang in Liangzhou have rebelled, and among them are seven tribes that have been friendly and trading with the court in recent years, while the rest have always been enemies of the court."

Liu He said with disdain: "The barbarians are just wolves that can never be fed. I conquered them through trade in the past just to temporarily quell the rebellion in Liang Province so that I could free up my energy to stabilize the situation in the Central Plains. But now that the Central Plains is not settled, they are instigated by Cao to rebel. I really did not expect it."

Xun Yu said: "Western Qiang are not to be feared. Budugen's tens of thousands of Xianbei cavalry are still in Liangzhou, and Generals Guan and Zhao are guarding it. The Western Qiang army attacked six of our cities in a row, but we repelled them all. What we really need to worry about is Youzhou."

He walked to one side of the study and pointed at the map on the wall. "To the east and north of Youzhou, in addition to the Wuhuan who were severely damaged, there are also the two countries of Fuyu and Goguryeo, which border our territory. Fuyu is a small and wild country, desolate and undeveloped, with less than one million people, and most of them live in the mountains and jungles. Only Goguryeo, hundreds of years ago, took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains of our Han Dynasty and rose up in Liaodong and attacked from all sides. Now there are more than five million people, with strict city walls and fierce folk customs. They have long been eyeing the Central Plains and are indeed a strong enemy."

As Liu He studied history in his previous life, he was naturally very familiar with Goguryeo.

In my previous life, there was a country on the peninsula in the northeast. It always slandered Goguryeo, saying that it was their ancestor and their history, and boasted about how powerful Goguryeo was. In fact, all of it was nonsense.

Goguryeo was a country composed of Han people and Buyeo people. After the country gradually became stronger, it absorbed some Xianbei, Mohe and other ethnic groups, and became stronger through integration.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the government was in decline and there was unrest in all directions. Later, Wang Mang usurped the throne and Emperor Guangwu restored the Han Dynasty. For hundreds of years, the Central Plains had been unable to take care of the remote areas of Liaodong, which allowed Goguryeo to develop rapidly and once annexed Xuantu, Daifang, Lelang and other counties in Youzhou.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were successive wars in the Central Plains. Goguryeo took the opportunity to attack from all sides and annex many small countries and tribes. Although its capital was once conquered by Cao Wei, one of the Three Kingdoms, it was difficult for Cao Wei to truly rule this place. Therefore, Goguryeo quickly rebuilt its country. Over the next few decades, its national power gradually reached its peak.

This country had always been at war with the Central Plains dynasties, but because it had a geographical advantage and its national strength was not as strong as that of the Han, Sui and Tang dynasties, it had always been difficult to truly destroy. Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty launched three expeditions to Goguryeo, which cost the people a lot of money and labor but gained nothing. It was not until Emperor Taiza and Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, father and son, worked hard for decades and launched repeated expeditions that they were able to completely destroy Goguryeo.

At this time, in the entire East Asian region, although Goguryeo has not yet reached its historical peak strength, it is also the second most powerful country in East Asia after the Han Dynasty. Countries such as Buyeo, the Three Han, and Wa are far from it and cannot be compared with it.

Liu He was filled with anger after the battle in Yuzhou, and had no place to vent it, so naturally he took out his anger on Goguryeo.

"Hmph, a candlelight dares to compete with the bright moon? Tian Yu and Tian Chou are both brave and resourceful. Although their military strength is far inferior, they can't do anything to defend the city."

Xun Yu nodded and said, "Your Majesty is wise, it is true. Fuyu led 50,000 troops and Goguryeo led 200,000 troops, and they were divided into two routes to attack Liaodong. The prefect Tian Yu dug deep trenches, set up arrow towers and sentry posts, and held on for five days. Then, when the enemy's morale was exhausted, General Tian Chou arrived with 20,000 reinforcements. The two generals led their troops to attack the enemy camp at night, defeated the enemy, and forced it to retreat 60 miles to rest." "Good!" Liu He felt that the anger in his chest was mostly gone, and his breathing seemed to be smoother.

"Guorang and Zitai have made great contributions."

"But..." Xun Yu looked embarrassed.

"Although our army won temporarily, it did not cause any damage to the enemy. After several battles, the enemy's casualties totaled only about 20,000. After they rested for a few days, they would surely come back. Moreover, every time the enemy was defeated, they would retreat without any intention of fighting. Most of our troops are infantry, and there are few soldiers, so it is not convenient to pursue them. Otherwise, if the enemy has another ambush and attacks from the rear, the two generals will surely be captured by them."

When Liu He heard this, his smile quickly stopped.

"Well... in that case, how about I send an additional 100,000 troops to Youzhou?"

Xun Yu shook his head and said, "Liaodong has been disturbed by Goguryeo for many years. In recent years, it has been governed by Gongsun Du, and has always been alienated from the court. Given the terrain here, the Goguryeo army is even stronger than our army. Although the two generals are talented, they can only hold on and it is difficult to kill the enemy. In the northern grasslands, there are still Kebi Neng and Wuhuan. If they join forces to attack, it will be hard to defend against."

Liu He understood what he meant and said, "Wen Ruo's intention is not only to send more troops, but also to select another general to go?"

"That is exactly what I meant."

Xun Yu drew a circle around the Youzhou area: "The Youzhou area is mostly plains, and whether it is Buyeo, Goguryeo, Xianbei, or Wuhuan, they are mainly cavalry. In terms of attacking cities and seizing land, they are not as good as our army. They can harass with guerrilla warfare and withdraw their troops to escape, but our army is absolutely not as good as them."

He stood in front of Liu He again, bowed and clasped his hands: "Therefore, I think we should dispatch a cavalry team to Youzhou, so that we can truly deal with the situation in Youzhou."

"Hmm... Wen Ruo's words make sense." Liu He nodded repeatedly. "In the vast grassland, Zilong's Feiyu Cavalry should be put to good use. Immediately issue an order to Zhao Yun to lead his 20,000 Feiyu Cavalry to rush to Liaodong. In addition, transfer 40,000 troops from Jizhou and Bingzhou respectively and give them to Tian Yu and Tian Chou to lead."

"The minister obeys the order."

Xu Shu, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, I have come up with a plan that may be able to quell the rebellion of the Western Qiang and bring peace to Liang Province from now on, so that the Qiang people can be used by the court and never rebel again."

Liu He was very surprised: "Oh? What's Yuanzhi's brilliant plan? Tell us quickly."

(End of this chapter)