diskusbooks Chapter 425: Deep Love and Loyalty.
Chapter 425: Deep Love and Loyalty.
Ye Kun cupped his hands and said:
"Sister-in-law, please don't call me lord, just call me brother. I am very pleased that Lin'er has grown up, but I can't let him join the army now. War is dangerous and Lin'er is only a teenager with no battlefield experience. If something goes wrong, how can I face the spirit of Brother Jifu in heaven?"
Shangguan Lin said: "Uncle, I have also learned both civil and military tactics, I am not afraid of fighting."
"If you want to fight, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
Ye Kun called Shangguan Lin to sit down next to him:
"Lin'er, a real man must be able to farm, build houses, fish, kill pigs, fight wars, govern the country, write poems, live a good life, and raise children...
Fighting is not everything in life."
Shangguan Lin was stunned: "So what does uncle mean, what should Lin'er do?"
Ye Kun smiled and said, "Listen to my arrangements. In the next year, you will go to the countryside to farm and learn the whole process of spring planting and autumn harvest. During the slack season, you can work as a blacksmith, carpenter, butcher pigs, and build houses...
One year later, come to me again and I will take you to war. After the war is over, you can become a county magistrate and learn how to manage a small place.
In this way, when you are eighteen years old, you can become a real governor, a qualified frontier official. "
Jingzhou has eight counties and a population of two million.
The governor's ability to govern is particularly important.
If Shangguan Lin wants to become a real prefect, he still needs a long time of training.
"Uncle, I just want to follow you to fight. It doesn't matter whether I become a prefect or not..." Shangguan Lin was a little disappointed, with tears in his eyes.
"Good boy, your uncle is doing this for your own good."
Ye Kun patted Shangguan Lin on the shoulder and said, "Follow my advice. After a year, you will have a better understanding of the world and yourself."
Madam Shangguan smiled and said, "Lin'er, why don't you thank your uncle? Your uncle wants you to take on important responsibilities in the future."
Ye Kun smiled and nodded.
Shangguan Lin was happy now, kowtowed to Ye Kun to thank him, and asked, "Uncle, where should I go to farm?"
"You are the governor of Jingzhou. You can choose any of the eight counties in Jingzhou."
Ye Kun smiled and said, "However, you have to farm well. You must do what you can do yourself, so that you can reap the rewards."
Shangguan Lin nodded and accepted the order.
Ye Kun also called Jiang Yourong, Xie Baochan, Liu Yuejuan and others to arrange a banquet to entertain Mrs. Shangguan and respected her as his sister-in-law.
Two days later, Ye Kun and his wife personally escorted Mrs. Shangguan out of the city to show that they had not forgotten the sworn brotherhood between themselves and Shangguan Jifu.
The officials in Xiangyang and the ministers from the nine ministries all felt that Ye Kun was a man of deep affection and loyalty, and praised him highly.
After seeing off Shangguan Lin and his mother, Jiang Yourong said with a smile, "My husband, do you really intend to let Lin'er farm for a year and work as a carpenter and blacksmith?"
"I am training him to understand the sufferings of the people, master basic knowledge, and broaden his horizons. Otherwise, how can he take on important responsibilities in the future?"
"After that, how high of an official position can Lin'er achieve?"
"As long as he is capable, I can let him be the Prime Minister of the Ninth Ministry. But that day is still a long way off. Let's see how he performs in the next few years."
Ye Kun was very calm.
The next day, after the meeting of the Ministry of War, Ye Kun convened a meeting of nine ministries.
Ye Kun said: "Our army has been assembled and food and grass have been prepared. I have decided to march before the autumn harvest, attack Xiahou Chang with all my strength, and unify China."
Wu Qiong was very surprised: "My king, you promised me that you would march in the autumn. If we march now, it will be difficult to get food and fodder for later."
"There's no food or fodder in the enemy-occupied area?"
Ye Kun chuckled, "I have already ordered all the troops to bring sickles and farm tools to help Xiahou Chang harvest rice and soybeans. It will be a fatal blow to Xiahou Chang if we collect their food before he can harvest!"
It is common for military strategists to send troops before the harvest season.
As the battle went on, the crops in the enemy-occupied areas matured, so we no longer had to carry rations, which saved us a lot of trouble.
Wu Qiong pondered and said, "But if the civilians in the rear want to transport food and grass to the front line, it will definitely delay the autumn harvest and planting..."
"The Ministry of War has already made detailed calculations and deployments. We will bring a batch of dry food with us to reduce the pressure of transporting food and grass in the rear. Even if it affects the autumn harvest and autumn planting, it will not be too big."
Ye Kun took out a document from the Ministry of War and circulated it among everyone.
Wu Qiong saw the specific deployment and nodded in agreement: "In this case, I agree to send troops and step up follow-up support."
The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel have all expressed their support and are ready to be ready at any time.
Ye Kun immediately issued a military order and sent a letter by carrier pigeon.
Sang Buyi, Guan Yong, Zhao Biao, and He Zhongshu led an army of 100,000 to attack Chang'an. Gongsun Shangfei led 10,000 Qiang soldiers as the vanguard of the siege after the bombardment.
Zhuge Feng, Huangfu Lin and Song Poliu led a navy of 100,000 to attack Donghai County of Xuzhou and approached Xuzhou.
Jiang Laowu led 30,000 naval forces to capture Ruxukou and advance towards Hefei.
Ye Kun led a main force of 150,000 troops, with Qin Erwu and Xue Changfeng as the vanguard and Wang Meng as the central army, to attack Luoyang. Among them, 20,000 barbarians served as the vanguard of the siege.
All other legions have entered combat status and are ready to provide support at any time.
Yu Guinong was still a little worried and said, "Xiahou Chang has a million troops, and we have less than 400,000. Can we be sure of success?"
"This time I'm 100% sure!"
Ye Kun encouraged everyone: "Xiahou Chang's jurisdiction only has a population of 10 million. Now there are a million troops and a million logistics support. The people are already overwhelmed. Once the fighting starts, most of their troops will scatter like birds and beasts."
A population of tens of millions and an army of millions, this is a suicidal operation!
In ancient times, productivity was low, and a population of 10 million could only support 300,000 troops at most. This ratio could ensure the combat effectiveness of the army.
Once this ratio is exceeded, the combat effectiveness of the troops will be disastrous.
Production in the rear will also be seriously affected, thus affecting the logistics support and food supply of the troops.
In order to establish his own rule, Xiahou Chang forcibly recruited a million troops, which was courting death.
Ye Kun's side, with a population of 12 million, only dares to maintain 400,000 troops. If there are more, there will be complaints from the people.
At the end of July, the flames of war once again spread across China.
Ye Kun attacked Luoyang first, and the next day, Sang Buyi sent troops to attack Chang'an.
Xiahou Chang had also made arrangements and immediately went into battle.
However, Xiahou Chang did not dare to fight a field battle and could only defend the city, using the city to resist and consume Ye Kun's guns and artillery.
Ye Kun divided his troops into seven groups, using guns and cannons to clear the way and launching saturation attacks at any time.
All the passes along the way were first bombarded by artillery and then burned with gasoline, and they were completely unable to withstand the attack.
Three days later, Ye Kun's troops arrived at the city of Luoyang.
I haven’t finished eating the dry food I brought with me.
Xiahou Chang personally took charge of Luoyang and sent an envoy to question Ye Kun: "You and I have already divided the river and governed each other, and we will not invade each other. Why are you provoking a war?"
Ye Kun said: "The kingdom cannot be partial, loyalty and treachery cannot coexist. In the land of China, there is either you or me. Either you die or I die."
The messenger returned dejectedly.