ushernet Chapter 128 It’s natural
Chapter 128 It’s natural
"Does Zhicai mean to have Gongsun Zan restrain Yuan Shao?" Chen Er asked rhetorically.
Xi Zhicai nodded in agreement.
Guo Jia stood up and said, "Luoyang is the capital of the empire, and it is only natural for His Majesty to return to the capital. Yuan Shao cannot stop him. However, this will inevitably make Hulao Pass a place that both sides must fight for. If Gongsun Zan does not control Hulao Pass, then it is meaningless for him to occupy Luoyang. Although Yuan Shao cannot stay in Luoyang, he can completely control Hulao Pass and restrain Gongsun Zan."
"That's not important. Gongsun Zan and we both understand that Luoyang is now a dispensable place. The capital region is sparsely populated and has little value. If it weren't for the fact that it's the imperial city, Yuan Shao probably wouldn't even bother with it. So, having Gongsun Zan declare that Luoyang is the capital is just to put pressure on Yuan Shao, preventing him from fully pursuing Xuzhou. In this way, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao's ally, will definitely occupy the main position. And given Yuan Shu's personality, he will definitely feel that Yuan Shao's forces are insufficient and occupy most of Xuzhou. Yuan Shao will only be able to obtain a small portion of the territory that his army can occupy, and will not be able to obtain the cities they agreed upon." Xi Zhicai stood up and returned to Guo Jia's question. He said, "Although we don't know the specifics of how the two Yuans discussed it, I am certain that the area Yuan Shao wants is definitely the Rencheng, Changlu, and Jiqiu line. Because our autonomous region maintains a relatively friendly relationship with Xuzhou, our army doesn't have many troops stationed in Lu and Dongwan. I suggest that we should reinforce these areas as soon as possible."
"Reinforcing our troops is a certainty, and we might even have to join the war at the appropriate time," Chen Er said. "Xuzhou is only holding on because of Tao Qian, and it's hard to say how long he can hold out. I have no confidence in the fighting strength of the Xuzhou army. During the campaign against Dong Zhuo, the Xuzhou army performed poorly. Although Yuan Shu's army is still organized in the old way and its weapons have not been innovated, Yuan Shu's army has undergone a lot of actual combat training. Coupled with Yuan Shao's new army, I predict that Xuzhou will be completely defeated in less than a month."
"I think so too," Xun Yu said, standing up. "Based on the current situation, the only possible reinforcements from Xuzhou are us. I believe that the Xuzhou envoy will arrive in Yuyang within ten days."
"My lord, I have a suggestion, but I don't know if it's appropriate?" Xun You suddenly stood up and said.
"What does Gongda have to say?" Chen Er asked softly.
"My lord, I think the capital of the autonomous region should be moved to Ji Province?" Xun You's words startled everyone present! Why did this matter have to be brought up out of nowhere?
"Why is that?" Chen Er actually intended to make Yuyang the capital in the future. After all, Yuyang has good feng shui. Whether it was based on his experience in his previous life or what some so-called feng shui masters in this world said, Yuyang's feng shui was excellent. Therefore, Chen Er never considered moving the capital (that's right, moving the capital, the royal capital, of course, this cannot be said now).
“My lord, my fellow colleagues, I know that Yuyang is a place of great fortune, but at this stage, Yuyang is too far from the front line. Many times, the intelligence from the south is outdated by the time it reaches Yuyang. That’s why I have this idea,” Xun You said. “Moreover, I have also said that it is only the autonomous region’s capital that is being moved to Jizhou.”
Xun You's words carried a deeper meaning, and everyone present understood the implication: the administrative center of the autonomous region. Chen Er fell silent upon hearing Xun You's suggestion. Indeed, had his previous thoughts been somewhat wishful thinking? Yuyang was indeed quite far from the front lines. He hadn't thought much of it before, but once a large-scale war broke out in the south, the distance would become a major problem. Moreover, having the administrative center in Yuyang would limit the deployment of the autonomous region's troops. Chen Er thought for a moment and then said to everyone, "Gongda's suggestion makes some sense, but moving the administrative center is no small matter. We need to do a good job of preparation beforehand. At the same time, we also need to explain the reasons for this relocation to the powerful families who support us and gain their support. And to be honest, moving to Jizhou wouldn't be without its advantages; at least it could quickly boost the development of Jizhou."
"It'll be fine once the road is finished." Chen Er suddenly slapped his forehead. How could he have forgotten that?! Damn it, why didn't he think of that before!
Seeing the puzzled looks on the faces of the crowd below, Chen Er said, "I suddenly remembered something, so I got a little excited." After speaking, Chen Er used simple words to explain the use of carrier pigeons to everyone. Upon hearing this, the crowd realized that pigeons had such a use. Although they had heard before that pigeons could fly back on their own and that some high-ranking officials in the empire kept pigeons for fun, they really didn't know much about the use of carrier pigeons.
Upon hearing about the benefits of carrier pigeons, Li Zhong quickly stood up and said to Chen Er, "My lord, I request permission to begin training carrier pigeons as soon as possible."
Chen Er immediately nodded and said to Li Zhong, "Yes, this matter needs to be done quickly. If we have carrier pigeons, things will be much simpler, and the relocation of the capital will become irrelevant. As long as we can obtain important information and transmit military orders in a timely manner, it doesn't matter where the capital or the royal residence is."
“That’s right!” Xun You nodded in agreement. In his view, now that the difficulty of transmitting information had been resolved, it didn’t matter where the administrative center was located. As for military intelligence, the difference of two or three hours was even less important. After all, the General Staff only needed to handle strategic orders or send reinforcements, not tactical commands.
“Li Zhong, this matter will be handled by your intelligence department, and the government should also work on it simultaneously. Both civilian and military forces need these carrier pigeons,” Chen Er said.
"My lord, won't this reveal the secret of the carrier pigeons?" Guo Jia asked worriedly.
Cao shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter. Even if other forces have mastered the secret of carrier pigeons, it doesn't matter. At worst, everyone will be on the same starting line again. Besides, this kind of thing can't be kept secret just because you want to. Instead of that, we should invest more resources to promote the use of carrier pigeons as soon as possible and seize the initiative."
"I'll wait to understand."
"Alright, have the Eighth Army of the Third Legion immediately head to Lu State in Qingzhou to strengthen our army's power in Qingzhou," Chen Er said to the crowd.
Chen Er stood up to leave, but then remembered something, stopped, turned to Xun Yu, and said, "If a messenger from Xuzhou sends a request for help, Wenruo will represent me in the negotiations. My bottom line is Rencheng."