The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 154 Volume City Building
"How about luring the enemy out? As long as we lead the Qiang out of the mountains and onto relatively flat terrain, we can use the cavalry to annihilate them in one fell swoop."

"No, there are so many mountains in Longyou. How many flat lands are there? The Qiang people are not fools. They can't be easily tricked out."

"Then how about a decisive battle in the mountains? Gao Shun's Xianzhen Camp is good at close combat, and they won't necessarily be weaker than the Qiang people in the mountains!"

"A decisive battle in the mountains? The most difficult part of fighting in the mountains is not annihilating the enemy, but logistical supply! The Xianzhen Camp is indeed not weak, but how can they compare to the Qiang people in terms of familiarity with the mountains? As long as the Qiang people lead the Xianzhen Camp in a few detours, they will be trapped in the mountains and die of thirst or starvation!"

"..."

For every strategy Dong Zhuo proposed, he could circumvent it using the Qiang people's tactics.

The so-called Qiang people's tactics of warfare are not something particularly sophisticated. It is only because their habits are different from those of the Han people that they can do some incredible things.

Facing this completely unreasonable opponent, Liu Xie was really upset!
Only now did he understand why the foreign tribes in all directions had become a major threat to the Central Plains Dynasty, and even at one point this confrontation had lasted for thousands of years!

The advantage of habit made this group of Qiang people completely elusive. The tactics and strategies learned from military books in the past were almost completely useless to them.

No wonder countless heroes and heroes in the early Han Dynasty, even people like Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, found it extremely difficult to suppress the Huns, and there were even dangerous situations like the Siege of Baideng Mountain.

Because to the Han people, these foreign races are all like cheats! Traditional tactics have no effect on them at all, and they can only rely on the subsequent exploration of new tactics to control the barbarians.

But how many famous generals like Huo Qubing and Duan Xing are there?
Even if they wrote down their own tactics in military books for future generations to read, it would still be difficult for them to learn them.

Moreover, Liu Xie gradually discovered blind spots during the sand table simulation.

The style of pursuit and destruction like that of Huo Qubing and Duan Xing not only requires high quality of generals, but also higher requirements for the overall national strength!
To advance rapidly, one must have the capital to support it.

Behind Huo Qubing's expedition was the foundation left by two wise emperors, Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing.

Duan Xing’s rule over the Qiang people was recorded as a total of 180 battles, during which he beheaded more than 38,600 enemies and captured more than 427,500 cattle, horses, sheep, mules, donkeys, and camels. However, the history books also recorded another thing:

The total cost is NT$1 billion... (Note )

The current imperial court would have a hard time coming up with even 400 million, let alone 4.4 billion.

Therefore, Liu Xie could not learn the tactic of using barbarians to control barbarians.

Liu Xie hesitated for a moment and decided to ask his opponent for help.

"Master! How can I defeat you?"

In fact, Dong Zhuo did not always use the Qiang tribe's tactics just for resistance.

He is the person who is most familiar with the Qiang people's tactics.

He was able to simulate the Qiang's tactics to defeat the imperial army, and naturally he was constantly deducing in his mind how to make the imperial army defeat the Qiang's tactics.

But even Dong Zhuo could hardly find any way for the imperial army to quell the Qiang threat within three months.

If the country were prosperous now, or if he had more time, Dong Zhuo would have at least ten ways to slowly suppress the Qiang threat.

But in this situation, the imperial court needs to achieve a great victory in a short period of time! A great victory that is enough to intimidate the villains!

This requirement is obviously still somewhat difficult.

"The best strategy is to lure the enemy with the rich Jincheng, let the Qiang people go to Jincheng to plunder, and then trap them in the valley to fight."

"But even so, it can only inflict minor damage to the Qiang people, but not cause a major defeat."

Dong Zhuo signaled Liu Xie to go and look at the terrain around Jincheng.

"If it were an ordinary Han army, they could be annihilated several times, but the Qiang people are good at flying over mountains and ridges, so it is really difficult to control them."

In Jincheng, the river flows from southwest to northeast, across the entire territory, cutting through the mountains, and forming a bead-like valley with alternating canyons and basins.

This is like a string of candied haws.

When facing the Han army, as long as they can block both ends, the inside will become fish on the chopping board, at the mercy of others.

However, the Qiang people were able to fly over mountains and rivers, so simply blocking these two openings was obviously not enough to take them down.

Unless there is a way to block every small valley of this "Sugar Haws", causing the Qiang people to panic and unable to take care of each other, it will be possible to eat it one bite at a time.

But in today's era, where are the means to do that?
Even if Liu Xie invented gunpowder, it would be difficult to block the mountain passes, let alone other things?
Therefore, trapping the Qiang people to death in the divided valleys of Jincheng... is actually not realistic.

Liu Xie was a little annoyed.

You finally decide to fight a battle at all costs, only to find out that you can't win?

And the reason why they can’t win is not because they are not as strong as their opponents, but because their opponents have cheats that can prevent them from being selected...

"Can we, the Han people, just watch the Qiang people cause chaos in Liangzhou and lose an arm, but do nothing about it?"

Liu Xie looked back at Jia Xu and Xun You, hoping they could come up with some good ideas.

However, Jia Xu and Xun You looked at each other and shook their heads.

The Qiang people's talent is really too extraordinary.

If they were brought out to confront the imperial court head-on, not to mention Jia Xu and Xun You, even Lu Bu would have ten thousand ways to defeat them.

However, hiding in the mountains and ignoring the obstacles brought by mountains and gullies was indeed a bit beyond their understanding.

Learn from history.

If we want to quell the Qiang rebellion, the best way is probably to wait until we have pacified the Central Plains in the future, and then use our national strength to crush the Qiang people, rather than fighting an unfair battle.

Seeing that the two of them also remained silent, Liu Xie became even more annoyed!

"It would be nice if the Han people also had some innate skills..."

After making a nonsensical remark, Liu Xie opened the box and started thinking hard to see if he had any inspiration that could lead the army to victory.

……

"His Majesty."

At this moment, a palace servant suddenly came in with a food box in his hand.

"Just now, Master Cai came and said that it was cold now, so he made ginger soup for Your Majesty. Master Cai saw that Your Majesty and the ministers were busy with official business, so he did not come in to disturb them, but went to make a few more bowls to keep you warm."

When I opened the lunch box, there were indeed bowls of steaming ginger soup inside.

There is not only ginger, but also red dates, wolfberries, and some medicinal herbs. It looks quite thoughtful.

The palace maid spoke in a loud voice, and everyone in the military tent obviously heard what he said.

Dong Zhuo took the bowl of ginger soup and couldn't help but tease: "Thanks to your majesty, I can enjoy the ginger soup made by Mr. Cai to keep warm."

"It's a pity that my granddaughter couldn't think of these things, alas..."

The others took the ginger soup and thanked His Majesty one after another...

"Thank me for what? Go and thank Cai when you have time!"

Liu Xie felt a little embarrassed at this moment and quickly changed the subject.

"But the weather this year is really weird! It's still so cold, and there's no sign of warming up at all."

Although summer is almost here, the wind is still howling. (Note 2)

However, Dong Zhuo obviously did not want to "let go" of Liu Xie: "That's why you need ginger soup to keep warm! Mr. Cai is indeed a thoughtful person."

Liu Xie became more speechless.

"Grand Master, wait a minute. I will ask Lord Weiyang to go to the kitchen and make a bowl of ginger soup! Then the Grand Master won't be so sarcastic, right?"

Dong Zhuo drank the bowl of ginger soup in one gulp, and it instantly turned into a warm current flowing from his throat into his limbs, relieving the stiffness caused by the cold.

"belch!"

"Your Majesty, I have no objection to asking Lord Weiyang to make Jiang Tangchen, but would Your Majesty dare to drink a soup that has been boiled in vain?"...

Dong Zhuo stumped Liu Xie with his questions.

As a brave man who dared to swallow saltpeter raw, Liu Xie really didn't dare to drink what Dong Bai had brewed.

If Dong Bai really brought him a bowl of decoction, Liu Xie's first reaction would probably not be to feel caring, but to suspect that Dong Bai was trying to murder her husband...

However, Liu Xie set his sights on Dong Zhuo.

"I will convey the words of the Grand Master to Lord Weiyang verbatim. Lord Weiyang will surely prepare a decoction for the Grand Master to drink. I hope the Grand Master will not refuse!"

Dong Zhuo's face, which had originally been red from the ginger soup, immediately turned pale...

Liu Xie also put his bowl of ginger soup to his mouth and took a sip.

Sweet?

Did you add honey in it?
Although Liu Xie did not recognize the remaining medicinal herbs, this did not prevent him from feeling Cai Yan's intentions.

After drinking a bowl of it, the medicinal effect slowly dissolves in the stomach, and it really makes the body warm.

"It's delicious! Your Majesty, can I have another bowl?"

Of course, the only one who dared to be so presumptuous was Lu Bu.

The ginger soup that Cai Yan sent was obviously not distributed according to the number of people, but a few extra bowls were prepared.

Lu Bu had long been eyeing those bowls of ginger soup that no one drank, and was eager to try.

"..."

After drinking the ginger soup, Liu Xie seemed to feel much better and was no longer as irritable as before.

He waved his hand and said, "If Fengxian wants it, just go get it yourself."

With permission, Lu Bu stepped forward and drank up the remaining bowls of ginger soup as if he was drinking wine.

Perhaps because he was too excited after drinking, his movements were too violent. Lu Bu slammed the bowl of ginger soup onto the table: "Great!"

As the action progressed, some of the remaining ginger soup in the bowl splashed up and fell directly into the sand table.

"Fengxian, be careful!"

When Liu Xie saw Lu Bu splashing ginger soup into the sand table, he immediately stood up and tried to wipe off the water droplets on the sand table.

But this sandbox is made of fine sand. Once the water droplets enter, they disappear immediately. How can they be fished out?

No matter how fast Liu Xie moved, he could only pick up a piece of wet soil.

Seeing this, Lu Bu smiled innocently and wanted to apologize: "Your Majesty..."

"Shh!"

Liu Xie raised his hand to stop Lu Bu who was about to speak, and instead looked carefully at the clod of earth in his hand.

Seeing the emperor like this, the other people behind him also surrounded him.

Generals such as Zhang Liao and Gao Shun were somewhat confused as to why the emperor suddenly started playing in the mud.

Jia Xu and Xun You knew that the emperor could not be so naive, but they didn't know why the emperor was looking at that thing that defied the will of heaven.

But Jia Xu is from Liangzhou after all.

After thinking for a while, he suddenly woke up and looked at the lump of earth in the emperor's hand with some surprise.

Liu Xie held the soil in his hand, and after a moment he finally smiled.

He thought about what the Han people’s innate skills were!

It's not about climbing over mountains or starving in a remote place.

But we can defeat the heaven with human power!
"I have thought of a way to defeat the Qiang people!"

Liu Xie took the ceramic bowl from which he had just drunk ginger soup, put his fingers on the ground, dipped them in some of the remaining juice at the bottom of the bowl, and went straight to the vicinity of the Golden City on the sand table.

"Just now, Grand Master said that there is no way to seal off all the canyons in the Jincheng area?"

Pointing his fingers at a few places, Liu Xie asked Dong Zhuo: "What about now?"

Dong Zhuo looked in the direction Liu Xie was looking and discovered that the terrain had been changed by Liu Xie.

The canyon that was originally passable was soaked by water droplets by Liu Xie and turned into a series of solid walls.

"It's cold today, so we can build a city with mud and sand!" (Note 3)

"The soil in Longdi is soft, and it's cold this year. We can build a wall by mixing sand with river water in just one night!"

"As long as we lure these Qiang people into the Jincheng River Valley and then use mud and sand to build a city, we can completely seal off the Qiang people in each valley and annihilate them one by one!"

"In this case, Grand Master can break it?"

Using mud, river water, and taking advantage of this year's extreme weather, they built a city at the mountain pass overnight to stop the Qiang people!

Such a strategy is either fantastic or nonsense.

Dong Zhuo’s reaction now was just as shocked as Liu Xie when he first heard that the Qiang people could “fly”.

"Your Majesty, this is unlikely, right?"

"Why is it impossible?"

Liu Xie placed the lump of earth in his hand in front of Dong Zhuo.

"The soil and rocks in Longdi are loose, just like mud and sand. Once they come into contact with water, they will take shape in an instant!"

"Plus, it's so cold this year that the formed walls can freeze overnight, like solid ice!"

"All the conditions are in place, so how can we not succeed?"

"If you don't believe me, why don't we go outside the city and try it out to see if we can build a city overnight!"

Dong Zhuo still didn't quite believe in this method of building a city.

Because this matter is really too bizarre!

Build a city with mud and sand, and build it overnight?
Without the help of ghosts and gods, can mortals really do this?

But Dong Zhuo actually had a glimmer of hope.

Because he knew that if this method could really succeed, it would mean that the Qiang people could be locked in the bottom of the Jincheng Valley! An unprecedented victory would be achieved!
It seems that there is still hope of pacifying the Qiang in March!
------

Note 1:

In total, 180 battles were fought, more than 38,600 people were killed, and more than 427,500 cattle, horses, sheep, mules, donkeys, and camels were captured, at a cost of 4.4 billion. - "Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Volume 65"

Note 2:

The next summer, it rained heavily for more than twenty days and twenty nights, leaving no one home, and the wind was as strong as in winter.

——"Book of the Later Han, Volume 72, Biography of Dong Zhuo, Chapter 62"

Note 3:

In September, the army crossed the Wei River. [The Biography of Cao Man says: At that time, whenever the Duke's army crossed the Wei River, they were always rammed by the Chao cavalry, and could not set up camp. The ground was also sandy and could not be used to build fortifications. Lou Zibo said to the Duke: "It is cold today, so we can build a city with sand and fill it with water. It can be completed overnight." The Duke followed his advice and made many silk bags to carry water. At night, the soldiers crossed the river to build the city. By dawn, the city was established.] - Pei Songzhi's Notes on "Records of the Three Kingdoms·Volume 1·Wei Shu 1·The First Chronicle of Emperor Wu"

(End of this chapter)