Chapter 568: The princes resist Gao, but the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan does not participate!

Chapter 568: The princes resist Gao, but the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan does not participate!

After abandoning Sishui County, they rushed to the northern counties like a raging torrent. In a very short period of time, they swept through a large area of ​​​​territory at an astonishing speed, catching the enemy off guard. Not only that, they also successfully gathered a large number of soldiers, who might have been the enemy's force, but now became part of them.

And the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan has nominally completely incorporated the Liaodong and Liaoxi regions, which is undoubtedly a huge victory. But behind this proud record, there is a very critical problem hidden - serious lack of logistics.

War is not just about force and courage, logistical support is also crucial. Without sufficient food, weapons and other supplies, the army's combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced. And now the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan is facing such a dilemma. After all, war is fought on the strength of the people's livelihood economy. Although the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan's current approach has gained a large amount of territory in a short period of time, it lacks key logistics.

It has become unrealistic to continue to fight to support the war, because although the land they occupied is vast, the resources are limited and cannot meet the growing needs. Therefore, if they want to continue to seize more benefits, they must make a difficult choice: either take action against Wei Bao, the King of Wei, or fight Xiang Yu.

No matter which one you choose, it will not be easy. Neither of these two battles can be ended in a short time, and it will inevitably fall into a protracted war. Moreover, both opponents are very powerful, especially Xiang Yu, who not only has outstanding military talents, but also has counselors like Fan Zeng to assist him.

Even the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan did not dare to underestimate Xiang Yu. He knew the strength of the frontal battlefield, and his troops might not be able to defeat Xiang Yu. Therefore, no matter which opponent he chose, it meant facing an arduous battle, and it was almost impossible to replicate the speed of victory before.

As for Wei Bao, the situation is relatively easier to deal with. However, it is unexpected that Wei Bao won a great victory in the previous battle of Xianyang and gained a lot. Compared with other princes, Wei Bao's family background is extremely strong. This allows him to have enough capital to take a defensive position even when facing a strong enemy. If the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan cannot defeat Wei Bao quickly, then Wei Bao is likely to choose to directly defend the city. In the short term, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan may find it difficult to conquer it.

The biggest drawback of the strategy of fighting to support the war was also exposed at this time. That is, once the war stops, various problems will emerge like a tide. Among them, the problem of money and food is particularly critical, which is directly related to the survival and development of the army. If this problem cannot be solved in time, I am afraid that the hundreds of thousands of troops gathered by the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan may collapse due to the shortage of food and money before they can capture Wei Bao.

Because of this, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan did not participate in the meeting against Gao Yao. Although he knew the purpose of this meeting, he saw too much about the princes' coalition. In countless dynasties, there were many large and small princes' coalitions, but only a few of them could succeed.

Under such circumstances, there was a deep fear among the various forces. Not only did they have to calculate the cost of troops, money and food, but they also had to be cautious and look ahead and behind when attacking, and it was impossible for them to unite. The so-called common hatred of the enemy may sound good, but in fact everyone has their own little calculations in mind.

At first, such a coalition may gain some advantages due to its large number of people. Once it gains certain benefits, the contradictions within the coalition will gradually emerge. The various forces begin to calculate who has gained more benefits, whose soldiers have suffered greater losses, who has won more victories, etc. These calculations often have their own reasons, and no one is willing to give in.

When this happens, the so-called coalition of princes will naturally lose morale. After all, everyone only cares about their own interests, not the interests of the whole. Moreover, it is almost impossible to fight from beginning to end. This is a process that almost all coalitions of princes will inevitably go through.

The reason why the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan was unwilling to participate was actually very simple and clear. If it really came to a life-and-death moment, he could use the power of several families to completely sweep and pacify the southern border in one fell swoop, and defeat Gao Yao by the way, then it would be worth a try. But the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan found through his own calculations that this so-called coalition of princes had no chance of defeating Gao Yao at all, even if he was included, the chances of winning were slim.

Gao Yao's current strength has reached an astonishing level. The mysterious Yi Xiaochuan knows this much better than anyone else. Especially the black gunpowder he has, which is an advanced weapon that has surpassed thousands of years! In this era, this kind of weapon is simply a killer.

Because of this, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan himself began to try to make black powder, but the results were not satisfactory. Although he did know the method and source of materials for making black powder, after all, these were deeply imprinted in his mind and became his memory.

The problem was roughly the same as what Gao Yao was thinking about, that is, the ratio of black gunpowder and the problem of large-scale production. The purification methods in different eras were different, and the effects of the ratios were also completely different. If there was a slight mistake, you would hurt yourself before hurting others.

Another point worth noting is the issue of raw materials. Even if the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan knew how to obtain basic saltpeter and sulfur, it would also take time. In contrast, Gao Yao mobilized a lot of manpower and material resources and made it happen after years of preparation. At this time, Yi Xiaochuan had just started. Even if he had no time to consider the possible impact of the spread of black gunpowder, he had to act according to the actual situation.

In addition, other princes knew very little about Gaoyao's current naval strength. Even Xiang Yu, who had suffered losses before, lacked sufficient understanding of the strength of the navy, and only stayed at the level of being able to launch sneak attacks. However, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan was a time traveler after all, and he had experienced so many reincarnations, so he naturally had a deep understanding of the strength of the navy.

In this era, the strength of the navy lies not only in its combat effectiveness, but also in its marching speed and logistics supply speed. This is an advantage that other armies cannot match, and it is also one of the key factors that enable the navy to play an important role in war. With a long coastline, as long as it meets the landing standards, Gao Yao can land and fight at any point in the coastal area at any time, and the speed is much faster than that of conventional troops.