Chapter 194 Cheng Tian asks
Chapter 194 Cheng Tian asks
Xiao Xia currently ranks first in the total score, and he was the first to get the question right. He took a deep breath, stood up and followed the eunuch to the main hall.
Everything had been arranged in the hall, with Emperor Yang Jian sitting on the dragon couch drinking tea, but he was not the main questioner. He was only responsible for listening and making the final judgment.
The main questioner was Prime Minister Gao Jiong, and the others included Prince of Jin Yang Liang, Prime Minister Yang Su, Su Wei and Vice Minister of War Dou Yan.
Xiao Xia was led into the hall. He knelt down and bowed with great respect, "Your Majesty, your humble servant Xiao Xia pays respects to you!"
"Be flat!"
Xiao Xia stood up and bowed to several high-ranking officials. Gao Jiong smiled and said, "General Xiao, please take a seat!"
There was a seat on the left, Xiao Xia sat down, and opposite him was Gao Jiong, who said slowly: "Chang'an is the capital of the Great Sui Dynasty. Its safety is related to the stability of the Great Sui Dynasty. It is the top priority of the Great Sui Dynasty, and the gains and losses of Longyou directly affect the safety of Chang'an.
The key force here is Tuyuhun. Although Tuyuhun now maintains a balance with the Sui Dynasty, this balance is too fragile. In August and September, there were two consecutive incidents in which the Tuyuhun army ambushed the Sui army and stole a large amount of wheat.
The imperial court is considering weakening Tuyuhun and changing the current weak balance to a strong balance. Now the question is, how should we attack Tuyuhun? This is your question. I will give you one stick of incense to tell me what you think. "
Xiao Xia thought about it for half an hour, and he had an outline in his mind. He bowed slightly and said calmly: "Attacking Tuyuhun is nothing more than considering the right time, the right place, and the right people. Regarding the right time, I suggest sending troops in spring. Spring is the season for livestock to give birth, which is extremely important for nomadic peoples. Whether it is the Xiongnu or the Turks, they have never harassed the Central Plains in spring. They always send troops in autumn. If we send troops in spring, the tribes will not be able to move quickly because of the large number of livestock giving birth, which will be beneficial for the Sui army to attack the various tribes of Tuyuhun. So I think sending troops in spring is very beneficial to weakening the strength of Tuyuhun. This is the right time.
The second is geographical advantage. Currently, a large number of Tuyuhun troops are stationed in the Chiling line, and they are eyeing the Hehuang Valley covetously. However, we have three lines to attack Tuyuhun. One line is the western line, which sends troops from the Dadouba Valley in Zhangye County and can directly threaten Fuxi City.
Chiling is the central line. I suggest we focus on defense to contain the main force of Tuyuhun. The other line is the eastern line, which takes the Yellow River into the Jiuqu area. The land there is fertile, the sunshine is long, and the water source is sufficient, which is very suitable for growing wheat. We must take Jiuqu and make it an outpost of the Sui Dynasty, which will greatly reduce the military pressure in the Hetao area.
Once again, for the sake of peace, Tuyuhun has two other enemies besides the Sui Dynasty. One is Tubo, but we don't have to worry about Tubo for the next hundred years. The second is Dangxiang. When I was on a diplomatic mission to Tuyuhun this year, I happened to encounter a war between Dangxiang and Tuyuhun. If we can contact the Dangxiang and persuade them to cooperate with the Sui army, it will play an important role in our victory in the Tuyuhun battle. "
At this point, Xiao Xia quickly glanced at the timer incense. There was still one-third left. He leaned forward and said, "The above is the right time, right place, and right people. This is my humble answer!"
Yang Jian nodded repeatedly. The answer was very good and very pragmatic. In particular, the two suggestions of capturing Jiuqu and contacting the Dangxiang were completely inspired and refreshing. Yang Jian smiled and said, "I have two questions for you, young general. First, if we support the Dangxiang, what if they become too powerful? They will threaten the stability of Xichuan. Answer this question first."
Xiao Xia bowed and said, "Your Majesty, nothing can be all-round. The key is to see whether the benefit is greater than the disadvantage. Supporting the Dangxiang will indeed be detrimental to the stability of Xichuan, but our current target is still Tuyuhun. The current situation is that Tuyuhun is strong and the Dangxiang is weak. If we support the Dangxiang and weaken the Tuyuhun at the same time, a balance of power will be formed between the two tigers, and the Tuyuhun will not have the energy to spy on the Hehuang.
Similarly, the Dangxiang were also hostile to the Tuyuhun, and they could not attack Xichuan. On the other hand, if the Dangxiang dared to threaten Xichuan, our garrison in Jiuqu could directly attack the Dangxiang's lair and force them to retreat by using the strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao. "
Yang Jian nodded and said, "Well said. Balance of power is indeed a good strategy to deal with Dangxiang and Tuyuhun. I have one last question. Why don't we consider Tubo for the next hundred years?"
Xiao Xia remembered it clearly. Tubo began to rise strongly during the Wu Zetian era and began to attack the Tang Dynasty from the east. One important reason for this was that Princess Wencheng brought a lot of advanced technology, which greatly enhanced Tubo's national strength in just a few decades.
Secondly, the climate was warming and the glaciers melted in large quantities, which enabled Tubo to obtain a large amount of arable land. If Princess Wencheng had not married into the Tubo Kingdom, even if Tubo had arable land, it would not have had advanced agricultural technology, and their rise would have been delayed by at least fifty years.
Of course, Xiao Xia couldn't talk about Princess Wencheng now. He pondered for a moment and said, "I am mainly considering climate change. Since the Jin Dynasty, the climate in Longyou has gradually warmed up, which has greatly promoted grain production and enabled the Northern Zhou to rise. The Great Sui relied on Guanlong to gain the world.
Similarly, the rise of Tuyuhun was also due to climate warming, but this climate warming is happening slowly and has just begun. I estimate that the climate of the Tubo Plateau south of Tuyuhun will also gradually warm up, and Tubo will also rise accordingly. This time point is probably around 80 to 90 years to 100 years, so I say that Tubo does not need to be considered within 100 years. "
"climate?"
Yang Jian was surprised. It was the first time he heard of the influence of climate.
Xiao Xia nodded, "Your Majesty, the decline of the Western Han Dynasty and the relocation of the capital to Luoyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty were both due to the cold climate, which led to the decline of agriculture in Longyou and Guanzhong. The cold climate also caused a large number of northern nomadic peoples to move south, resulting in the tragedy of the Five Barbarians' Invasion of the Central Plains. In the past few decades, the climate has gradually warmed up, and the Guanlong forces have been able to rise again, and the world has been unified again."
Gao Jiong nodded and said to Yang Jian, "Your Majesty, General Xiao has a point. As far as I know, every time the northern nomadic peoples invaded the south, it was indeed related to the grassland becoming cold and the sheep being unable to survive the winter." Yang Jian smiled and said, "I have learned a lot today!"
At this time, the sound of chimes rang out, and Xiao Xia's time had come.
Xiao Xia stood up and slowly retreated. Yang Jian pondered for a moment and asked, "Did you write down everything he said?"
Yang Su quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, everything has been recorded!"
Yang Jian nodded, "Next!"
The eunuch shouted at the door: "Next, Pei Xingyan from Hedong will come in and ask questions!"
When Xiao Xia returned to the mansion, the old Taoist priest Yuan Shoucheng asked with a smile, "How did you do in the exam?"
Xiao Xia nodded, "Not a bad answer. I don't know if I can get first place, but I can definitely be in the top three."
Yuan Shoucheng smiled and said, "I read your fortune today and it said that you will have a happy event soon."
Xiao Xia was refreshed and asked quickly, "What else did you calculate?"
"You will be traveling west soon."
Xiao Xia was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "Today's question is about the plan to attack Tuyuhun?"
Yuan Shoucheng smiled slightly and said, "Isn't this a question tailor-made for you?"
Xiao Xia quickly shook his head, "That's not what I meant. Didn't you predict that I might go west? It might be related to Tuyuhun."
Yuan Shoucheng nodded, "The military exam is just the icing on the cake. Being able to go on an expedition with the army is your chance."
Xiao Xia scratched his head and said worriedly, "But the problem is, if I go west, what should I do with the final foundation building?"
Yuan Shoucheng smiled and said, "It's very simple. I heard that the mutton in Longyou is good. I can go to Longyou with you to eat mutton for a few months."
Xiao Xia was overjoyed, "Master, eat lamb and drink wine, I'll take care of it all!"
At this moment, Xiao Xia suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked, "Master, can you tell the emperor whether he will have a great disaster next year?"
Yuan Shoucheng said calmly, "Before he left, I did a divination for him at Laojun Peak in Qingcheng Mountain. He is indeed destined to face a great disaster, but it will not happen next year, but three years from now. The celestial phenomena also indicate that in three years, Mars will enter Ziwei."
"what about me?"
Xiao Xia asked again: "What will happen to me in three years?"
Yuan Shoucheng shook his head, "It doesn't matter whether it's big or small, you are too humble, I really can't predict your fate."
(End of this chapter)