The heavy rain was pouring, and the world was covered with whiteness. Li Li stood under the eaves, looking at the "water curtain" under the eaves, and sighed:

If a fleet sailing on the sea encounters a storm, it will basically be a life-threatening death.

Therefore, the Qingzhou army crossed the sea and went directly to Youzhou Tieque Pass. The risk of this operation is not small. It is precisely because of this that large-scale military operations across the sea have never occurred for hundreds of years.

But there was "a long time ago".

About 600 years ago, Emperor Wu of Han sent troops to attack Wei's North Korea, and then General Yang Pu set out from Qi and led a large army across the Bohai Sea.

Just as the tactic of crossing the sea attack, Yang Pu was successful, but he fought with Xun Yu, another general who attacked by land, and internal strife, which led to the final failure.

More than 600 years ago, there was a large-scale attack across the sea, but as the Central Plains were divided, everyone's attention was focused on land, so who would still pay attention to coastal defense?

He turned around and walked into the hall, and his sons were studying the defense line of the Yanshan Great Wall in front of the map.

Because the sky was dark, candles were lit in the hall, and Li Li analyzed the situation of the Yanshan Mountains in the northern border of Youzhou.

Speaking of the Great Wall, the Great Wall in modern people’s minds are mostly the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty, or the Great Wall of the Qin and Han Dynasties.

However, there was actually a dynasty that once built the Great Wall on a large scale, that is, the Qi State of Gao Family.

Li Li explained: "In the first establishment of Qi State, during the Tianbao period, the Qi Lord Gao Yang personally conquered the northern land several times, attacked the border areas of Shanhu and Khitan and other tribes, and built the Great Wall, starting from the east of the coast of the East China Sea and ending in the west of Yanmen Pass to defend against the Turks."

"Hu Luxian, who was killed by the official army, was in charge of the construction of a Great Wall of more than 2,000 miles while serving as the governor of Youzhou, strengthened the defense line in the northern border of Youzhou, and blocked the invasion of more than 100,000 Turkic troops."

"At the same time, military farming is carried out in Youzhou area to increase grain production in order to feed local garrisons and reduce the burden of grain imports from other places."

"There is no doubt that as a border general, Hu Luxian's performance is qualified. Then, if our army replaces it, we must assume the responsibilities that Hu Luxian had previously assumed."

"That is to resist the Turkic invasion of Youzhou area."

Li Li pointed at the outer edge of the Yanshan Mountains with his hands: "However, simple defense is not effective, so there must be a solid military stronghold on the outer edge of the Great Wall defense line to share the pressure on the enemy's defense line of the Thousand Miles."

"If the opponent wants to break through the Great Wall defense line, he must unplug these strongholds outside the defense line. In this way, the garrisons on the inside of the defense line will have enough time to prepare for the war."

"In the eastern section, such a stronghold was Yingzhou Huanglong in the western Liaoning region, which was called Liucheng in the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Yingzhou must be captured. The official army in the northern expedition to Youzhou must take advantage of the victory to capture Yingzhou."

Li Li said this and looked at his son: "The location of Yingzhou is very remote, eastward. Just in terms of location, it seems that it cannot form an effective barrier to the middle of the Yanshan Great Wall defense line, but it is still very important. Do you know why?"

Li Shi replied: "Because it is the western Liaoning area, the western Liaoning area and its west grassland, there are a large number of tribes of Khitan, Muhe and Kumoxi. At that time, it was also the activity area of ​​the Xianbei tribes."

"The Central Plains court must have a point of effort here and exert influence on the tribes."

"At least we must stabilize them, divide them, and prevent them from having a chance to form a unified large tribe, or avoid a heroic lord in one of the tribes."

"For example, during the Later Han Dynasty, Tan Shihuai unified the Xianbei tribes, posing a huge threat to the northeastern border. Later, the Tadun Shanyu, who gathered the forces of the Wuhuan tribes, threatened the Hebei region."

"That Tieque Pass looks like a useless, but it was actually established to prevent the invasion of the Dongyi in western Liaoning, and it is not an useless."

Li Li was very satisfied with his son's answer, and he often talked to his son about the situation around the Central Plains.

Seeing that the two sons had nothing to add, he said: "Actually, there is another point, that is, to offset the influence of the Turks on those tribes as much as possible. The northern part of Yanshan Mountain is a vast grassland, but for the entire grassland, this is the grassland to the east."

"The Turks are now the overlords on the grassland. If they want to attack the Central Plains, they can attack Guanzhong in the west, and the central part can attack Gong, Shuo and the east, to attack Youzhou."

"If they want to attack Youzhou, they will inevitably take over the Khitan tribes in the eastern part of the grassland and western Liaoning, and go south as accomplices."

"Then, as long as the Central Plains court has a stronghold in western Liaoning, can win over various tribes and do not cooperate with the Turks in committing crimes, the other party will be constrained if it wants to attack the Yanshan Great Wall."

"So, we cannot blindly defend the Great Wall defense line. We must take the initiative to set up several strongholds outside the defense line to stir up the grassland situation, so that the Turks cannot gather their forces to invade the south in a short time."

Li Yang thought for a while and asked, "But the living customs of those grassland tribes are completely different from those of the Central Plains. For them, Turks, who are also grassland tribes, are more likely to become their own people."

Li Li asked: "What you want to talk about is a fence-bearing grass, right? Those small tribes with a scattered sand, facing the threat of the Turks, even if they are facing the Central Plains court, they have to be hawks and dogs for the Turks..."

"Even, they can take advantage of both sides, pay tribute to the Central Plains, and pay tribute to the Turks."

"On weekdays, they are friends with the Central Plains court and trade with border prefectures and counties. If the Turkic army is approaching, they will become accomplices of the Turks and turn into robbers who burn, kill, loot and loot."

This is true, Li Shi, Li Yang nodded and said yes.

Li Li also said: "This is the survival rule of the world where the strong prey on the weak. We cannot not interact with those small tribes just because they are fence-bearing. On the contrary, we must find ways to win over each other."

"The place in western Liaoning will inevitably breed a large number of nomadic tribes. If the Central Plains court does not fight for it, the overlords on the grassland will naturally occupy it."

"It is very costly to maintain a stronghold outside the Great Wall defense line, but it is nothing compared to the huge national defense costs caused by year-on-year guard against Turkic invasion."

"What's more, there are ways to maintain Yingzhou's stronghold at a low cost now." Li Li said this and pointed to the Bohai Bay area on the map.

Then go east, along the "coastal area", pass the mountain corners east of Laizhou, and turn south.

Go south, cross the estuary of the Yangtze River, and arrive at the Kuaiji area of ​​Sanwu.

"In spring and summer, supplies from the Sanwu area are loaded with Shanghai ships, along the coastline, head north, bypass the corner of Chengshan, and head to western Liaoning. If the journey goes smoothly, it will not take too long."

"In this way, a large amount of grain and output from Qinglai, Lianghuai and even Jiangnan can be easily transported to western Liaoning or Youzhou, while the fur and other specialties purchased by Yingzhou in western Liaoning can be transported to Jiangnan at extremely low transportation costs."

"Look further, in the south, Guangzhou Panyu, and Jiaozhou Longbing can also achieve low-cost material circulation in Jiangnan through sea routes."

"A large sea ship carries tens of thousands of hu of cargo. As long as it can arrive at the destination safely unload, the cost and consumption incurred during transportation will be much lower than that in land transportation."

"You know, long-distance transportation by land is very expensive. A journey of a thousand miles, ten hu of grain when you set out, usually only one to two hu are left when you arrive at the destination."

"The less food was eaten by the young and strong people who transported the food."

"But there is no problem with sea transportation. The movement of the ship depends on the wind. If the wind is good, you can travel a hundred miles in one day and night."

"This is the advantage of sea freight. Compared with the land transport of bulk goods, the cost is extremely low. Of course, sea freight is limited by seasonal wind direction, and there are many storms along the coast in summer and autumn, which is also one of the risks."

The shipping plan described by Li Li opened his eyes to the two princes: If this coastal route really matures, the large-scale circulation of materials from north to south will not be a dream.

Or, the imperial court wanted to run Yingzhou, an isolated Liaoxi stronghold, and by sea, it could maintain more garrisons at a lower cost.

Larger border trade was used to win over the people of the surrounding Khitan, Kumoxi and Mohe tribes, and ensure that the Turks' "management" of the eastern grassland and western Liaoning became difficult.

As long as the Yingzhou stronghold is firmly nailed to western Liaoning, the "pressure" on the Yanshan Great Wall defense line will be reduced, so that the Youzhou area will be stable and the northern border of Hebei will be safe, so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment.

Li Shi looked at the map and saw a place: "Father, Liao... Where is Liaodong? What about the former land of Liaodong County? What should I do?"

"There has been occupied by Goguryeo." Li Li looked at the familiar name and said slowly, "If the Central Plains are still in war, I'm afraid Goguryeo will still be involved in western Liaoning."

"How can this be done! Liaodong County is the old place in the Han Dynasty, and it is still during the Three Kingdoms period. Why did they occupy it?" Li Shi was excited, and Li Li looked at his son:

"Yes, regaining Liaodong is something that the Central Plains dynasty must do, but not now."

"The most important thing is to end the chaotic times that have been around for nearly three hundred years and to rest and recuperate the people of the world. As long as the Central Plains are not in chaos and the country is prosperous and the people are safe, then the territory that the surrounding neighbors take advantage of the situation will be spit out sooner or later."

Li Li knew the deeds of Yang Guang, the super prodigal son of Emperor Yang of Sui, so he understood the principle of eating rice at a bite.

It is already very good for his generation to end the troubled times and allow the people of the Central Plains to live and work in peace and contentment. The future will be solved by the next generation.

If you are very happy with achievements, do not care about the people's strength and carry out various "super projects", and still conquered everywhere, the consequences will probably end the chaotic times of the Southern and Northern Dynasties like the Sui Dynasty, but will soon be defeated.

However, he could not tell his sons this lesson, so he could only find a way to tempt it carefully.

The Central Plains have been divided for nearly three hundred years and have finally been unified. It takes time to heal the trauma and time to integrate the differences in culture and customs between different places.

Just like in the early Han Dynasty, after the rule of Wen and Jing, the country had the confidence to expand externally. Before that, if we did not pay attention to people's livelihood and eliminate hidden dangers, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Li Li thought of a good example:

"Don't forget that unification does not mean resting on your mind. Jin State ended the troubled times of the Three Kingdoms, but what began later was a bigger troubled times."
Chapter completed!