Chapter 1319

Li Ru stroked his chin beard while waiting for the soldiers to bring the map.

Before long, two soldiers brought the map frame, which had been prepared long ago and hung on a rack, into the main military tent.

Duan Yu knew at a glance that this was what Li Ru had prepared beforehand.

A long time had passed since Li Ru captured Chang'an, and it was impossible that nothing had been done in Chang'an during this time.

Now it seems that Li Ru should have made some arrangements.

The map is composed of five parts spliced together.

It includes the Western Regions, Liangzhou, the Sili Colonel's Department, Bingzhou, and the Hanzhong area of Yizhou.

Li Ru stood up, adjusted the map frame to a suitable position, and then stood on the side and said: "My lord, please look."

"This is the territory currently under your command, my lord, as well as the adjacent locations."

"The territory you currently own, my lord, includes the Western Regions, Liangzhou, and half of the Sili Colonel's Department, among which the adjacent areas include Bingzhou and Hanzhong of Yizhou."

Duan Yu nodded slowly while listening.

"Your subordinate believes that the direction of your future military advance, my lord, should be supplemented by Luoyang, with the north and south sides as the main focus."

Li Ru pointed to the locations of Bingzhou and Hanzhong and said: "Bingzhou is the place where you started your career, my lord, and it is adjacent to the Mobei grasslands in the back. If you can take Bingzhou, my lord, it will connect with the Southern Xiongnu and become one piece. In the future, you can advance into Jizhou and Youzhou from Bingzhou."

"The Xiongnu have strong soldiers. With the relationship between you, my lord, and the Southern Xiongnu, you can naturally make up for the problem of insufficient troops under your command and form a powerful cavalry to attack Bingzhou from both the north and south directions."

"Although Hangu Pass is conducive to defense, it is also a shackle. If Luoyang gathers a large army outside Hangu Pass, it will be equally difficult for you to get out of Hangu Pass, not to mention that Luoyang is also blocked by eight passes."

Emperor Guangwu established the capital in Luoyang at that time, not only because he valued the fact that Luoyang's water system could reach all directions, but mainly because Luoyang had eight passes to defend.

Taking Luoyang is only the first step.

If you want to take Luoyang, you also have to face the problem of holding it.

Those people in Luoyangcheng are not dead; the city is dead, but the people are alive.

Just like Dong Zhuo occupied Luoyang, because the eighteen princes gathered to crusade against him, he would also flee after being unable to hold Luoyang.

If Duan Yu captures Luoyang, but the people in Luoyang run away, then what he has to face next is defending Luoyang.

At that time, the eight passes that reach in all directions in Luoyang would obviously not be as good as the current Hangu Pass.

Duan Yu understood some of the general meaning Li Ru wanted to express.

First stabilize the foundation, and then seek things later.

"You just captured the Western Regions this year, my lord, and there are still many unstable factors there."

Li Ru said slowly: "The Northern Xiongnu still remain, and the Wusun have fled to the north of the Tianshan Mountains. These will all pose a threat to the future Western Regions, so we must divide our troops to defend."

"Liangzhou is short of troops, which is a difficult problem, so you must expand your troops, my lord. In addition to recruiting troops in Liangzhou, you must expand your territory and population."

"A million refugees from Liangzhou moved into Liangzhou last year. Although the population has increased, if you really want to convert them all into soldiers, it will take at least another year."

"And even if you use the method of recruiting one out of ten, Liangzhou's troops will only be 160,000."

Recruiting one out of ten is already the limit.

With a population of 1.6 million, excluding the old, young, women, and children, Liangzhou has 500,000 young and strong men.

Drawing nearly 200,000 from the 500,000 young and strong population.

There are still more than 300,000 left.

This is just military strength.

This doesn't even count the corvée labor.

Fighting a war is not just about troops; there must also be corvée labor to transport grain, weapons, and supplies.

To maintain the transport of grain and supplies for 160,000 troops, at least the same number of corvée laborers are needed.

That is to say, if you want to launch a war with the method of recruiting one out of ten, you have to draw 300,000 young and strong men from Liangzhou.

In the vast Liangzhou, leaving only 200,000 young and strong men is simply unrealistic.

Who will farm the land?

Rely on the old, weak, women, and children?

And who will guard the Western Regions? There are also the Qiang people in Liangzhou who need to be guarded against.

I am afraid that before the war even starts, Liangzhou will collapse first.

This is also one of the reasons why the Dong Zhuo group was bound to fail in history.

Liangzhou's war potential is too low. If there is no territory in other provinces and commanderies of the world, relying only on one Liangzhou, it is impossible to contend with the whole world.

"I understand what Mr. Wenyou means, my lord," Duan Yu said slowly.

Li Ru smiled with great relief.

Duan Yu's current achievements and previous experiences have not made him arrogant and conceited, which is exactly the quality a superior needs.

If you force an attack on Luoyang with Liangzhou's current situation, your foundation is very likely to be hollowed out in the future.

Dominating the world is not a matter of one day or one night, but a long and arduous process of taking one step at a time.

The Great Han seems to be precarious, but most of the world's territory is in the hands of the Liu family clan.

In the glorious four-hundred-year Great Han, there are still many loyal ministers and good generals loyal to the Han.

The Han is not the Great Qin. When Gao Zu conquered the Great Qin, it was the will of the people, and it was the joint attack of the nobles of the six nations of the world after they ignited the restoration of their countries in the old places.

What Duan Yu has to do now is to challenge the four-hundred-year foundation of the Han with his own strength.

Conquering the world and governing the world must be carried out simultaneously.

Otherwise, it is very likely that the city you just captured will change hands the next moment.