Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 368: Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish

On the eighth day of April, although there was occasional light wind and drizzle in Hedong County, the sky was generally clear.

The bright weather was suitable for attacking the city, but Liu Bei did the opposite and kept his troops in place.

An endless stream of Han army auxiliary soldiers were setting up camp and cooking fifteen miles outside Anyi City.

The auxiliary soldiers and craftsmen of Chaiying cooperated in cutting wood and building heavy siege equipment and simple crossbows. Because there were cavalry and crossbowmen on guard nearby, everyone rolled up their sleeves and got to work without any panic or sense of urgency before the great war.

Even though it was heard that there were no less than 30,000 defenders in Anyi City, it was said that the Xiongnu cavalry and the bandits from Guanzhong and Liangzhou would also come, including the Qiang people with hideous faces and two heads. Many bizarre local rumors were spread by the people of Hedong and then to the Han army.

When the newly recruited soldiers heard the rumor, their faces suddenly changed. The old soldiers who had fought many battles with the King of Han, both combat soldiers and auxiliary soldiers, could not help but make fun of the new recruits when they saw this.

Even if the Qiang people were all ghosts, they could not defeat the Iron Armored Battalion who were covered in heavy armor. Those valiant warriors held long swords and wore evil ghost masks. As long as the enemy came, they would still have to walk on two legs, and no matter how many heads they had on their shoulders, they would be useless.

What's more, when we engage in battle with the enemy, we don't need a bunch of auxiliary soldiers like you who can't even hold swords and guns. If we put you in front of the whole army and they are scared and flee, wouldn't it be a disgrace to our Qingzhou army, which has been victorious in every battle?

Perhaps it was because of the old soldiers' daily ridicule that the new recruits of the Han army quickly dispelled their fears. They gripped their spears tightly, their faces red, and made up their minds to defeat the Qiang people and wash away the shame of being laughed at.

The Qingzhou army is not the only one that can fight the Han soldiers. The people of Nanyang and Yingchuan are also not afraid of the enemy.

The subtle change in morale made Liu Bei, who inspected the camps every day, couldn't help but chuckle.

The commander-in-chief often observes the hunger, fullness, fatigue, rest, strength, weakness, bravery and cowardice of the soldiers in the army, and appeals to their emotions and enforces the law strictly, so that the old soldiers will treat the new soldiers like their brothers, and they will be of one mind and spirit. Although there are millions of soldiers, they can be called as one person.

Especially when matters concerning ghosts and gods were spread into the army, they had to be strictly blocked, but also had to be blocked. The Baibo bandits had been entrenched in Hedong for a long time, and they had fabricated the most rumors about the common people, all of which were bizarre and strange, and they could not be stopped despite repeated bans.

When Liu Bei was resting in Dongyuan County, he had already heard many things, so he forbade the people to spread the news and asked the old soldiers to boost the morale of the new soldiers.

Zhang He saw the King of Han inspecting the military camp again, so he came over, bowed and asked: "Your Majesty, my army has already reached Anyi. When will we prepare to attack the city?"

Liu Bei smiled and explained, "Junyi, some 'guests' have not arrived yet. Why not wait a few more days?"

"The Xiongnu are in Pingyang, while Li Jue and Guo Si are in Guannei. If they are willing to come together, we can save a lot of effort in pursuit."

"The Liangzhou bandits are just a minor problem. The Qiang people who harass Guanzhong, Yongzhou, and Liangzhou counties are the real threat."

"The Han army is not afraid of the enemy's increasing gathering, but they are afraid that they will disperse and withdraw, and then come back again after the main army leaves Guanzhong!"

Liu Bei couldn't help feeling deeply moved.

The Qiang people in these places can be said to have shed the blood of the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is not an exaggeration to call them the graveyard of the empire.

Dealing with the Qiang rebellion that lasted for a hundred years was even more exhausting than Emperor Xiaowu's attack on the Xiongnu.

Now this hot potato is about to fall into his hands.

In fact, many officials in Luoyang, as well as local governors, county governors, and commanders, as well as senior officials in charge of various counties, such as Gongcao and Zhubu, were discussing the expedition to Guanzhong. The reason was that when the army defeated the bandits in Liangzhou in Guanzhong, should they take advantage of the situation and march directly to Yongliangzhou to connect to the Western Regions?
In response to this issue, some sensitive officials, such as Kong Rong, Zhang Miao, Ying Shao, Mi Zhu, Cui Yan and others, immediately wrote to the emperor, advising: "The century-long rebellion of the Qiang and Hu peoples was the root cause of the Han Dynasty's decline. Now that the world is not settled, Your Majesty must not repeat the same mistake and make the Han Dynasty waste its energy on the Qiang people."

"We should gather the people and retreat to Youfufeng and Zuofengyi. We can control the border with the mountains and rivers, and then we can defend the north against the Qiang and Rong. When the world is stable and the people are prosperous, the Han army will march out of Longyou and take Yong and Liang."

However, there were also many officials who expressed objections, including Xun Yu, Xun You, Lu Zhi, Guo Jia, Lu Su, Zhou Yu, Ju Su who was attacking the strongholds of powerful people in Hebei, Guo Tu who was working as a clerk with a cane, and Tian Feng who was in prison. When they heard about this, they all tried their best to ask someone to write a letter to the King of Han, explaining in the letter the importance of not giving up Yong and Liang.

In particular, Tian Feng worriedly advised in his letter: "Even if we give up for a while, the Han army may not be able to take it back after decades.

This is because the people of Yong and Liang are strong and brave, so they are familiar with military affairs, fearless of life and death, and push forward with sharp weapons. There is also a brave spirit of "fathers die in front, and sons fight behind."

"The land is full of mountains and valleys, and is well prepared for war. It likes hunting and is diligent in farming, making it a country that can use military force."

"If we easily cede it and abandon it, the nobles and the common people will certainly harbor resentment. If they set up a separate country, drive the Di, Qiang and Hu people as the vanguard, and fiercely attack Guanzhong, the disaster will be even worse than Dong Zhuo."

"What's more, Longyou is located at a high altitude, overlooking Guanzhong. Once the pass is breached, Chang'an will be defenseless."

"If this happens, the Han Dynasty's ancestral tombs west of Hedong will be lost. How will the Han Dynasty worship its ancestral temples then? I hope Your Majesty will think twice."

Seeing that Tian Yuanhao was not idle in prison, he asked Guo Tu, who had been released from prison, to take the letter out. Guo Gong also gritted his teeth, wrote a letter of advice, and handed it to his relative Guo Jia.

After reading the letters, Guo Jia couldn't help but have a headache and was hesitating whether to pass the two letters to the King of Han.

So he asked Xun You for his opinion, and Xun Gongda said without hesitation: "Tian Yuanhao has an upright character, and the king knows this. He will not blame him. You can present the tribute as much as you can."

As a result, when Liu Bei saw Tian Feng's letter and Guo Tu's cautious advice, he couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.

No wonder Yuan Shao liked to use Guo Gongze. He was not a generally magnanimous person and he really couldn't stand Tian Feng.

Finally, Liu Bei carefully read all the letters submitted by officials in Luoyang, and responded to each person who had different starting points.

He also expressed his point of view, that is, the Han Dynasty must not lose Chang'an and must not lose Guanzhong.

Therefore, if the Han Dynasty wants to ensure the safety of the mausoleums in Guanzhong, it must first control Longxi. To control Longxi, it must first control Hexi. To control Hexi, it must pacify the Western Regions.

If you want to protect Guanzhong, you must first consolidate Longyou. If you want to consolidate Longyou, you must settle Hexi. If you want to settle Hexi, you must set up a Protectorate to guard the Western Regions.

This made the officials of various states and counties give up the proposal to abandon Yong and Liang states.

If the Han army really suffered a setback in Yong and Liang, the discussion about abandoning the border counties would be brought up again.

This incident made Liu Bei feel deeply moved. As the world became bigger, the difficulty of uniting everyone became greater.

(End of this chapter)