Chapter 599: If you don’t think about the future, you will have immediate worries!

Chapter 599: If you don’t think about the future, you will have immediate worries!

In the process of recovering these counties, the Southern Border Army showed outstanding military command ability. He led the army to capture various cities quickly and encountered almost no resistance. The reason for this was not only the strength of his army, but also his proper strategy.

Under Gao Yao's careful planning, most of the enemy troops chose to surrender instead of engaging him head-on. This not only reduced casualties in the war, but also greatly shortened the time to recover lost territory. According to statistics, in this war, Gao Yao's army lost less than 5,000 soldiers, including deaths and injuries, which was rare in such a large-scale war.

Since the recovery process was relatively smooth, the people had a high degree of recognition of Gao Yao's rule. They saw that Gao Yao's army was disciplined and did not commit any crime, and they were full of trust and expectations for him. This high level of public support laid a solid foundation for Gao Yao's post-war rule, enabling him to implement various policies and reforms more smoothly.

Because of this, Gao Yao saved a lot of time and energy in his post-war rule. He did not need to spend too much time on suppressing rebellions or dealing with internal conflicts, but could focus more resources and attention on developing the economy and improving people's livelihood. This also made it possible for him to launch another war in the short term.

This was actually Wu Yan's biggest mistake, and he had not anticipated this at all. However, Gao Yao was not a fool, and he knew that there needed to be a balance between development and stability. But at the same time, he also knew that he could not miss the opportunity.

Today, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan is quietly accumulating wealth, rising quietly, and dominating the counties outside the Great Wall. Gao Yao will never take this lightly. If Yi Xiaochuan is given more opportunities, he will definitely continue to grow and become a powerful opponent.

What worries Gao Yao even more is that if Yi Xiaochuan really colluded with the Xiongnu, it would be an extremely difficult problem. The Xiongnu were famous for their horse archery and had a large number of cavalry, and their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated. Although there were many periods in history when the Xiongnu were successfully fought, in the case of field battles or grassland battles, except for a few extremely special people, in most cases, it was not easy to defeat the Xiongnu on the grassland.

Otherwise, throughout the history of thousands of years, why are there only a few people who can achieve the great feat of Fenglangjuxu, only Huo Qubing, Dou Xian, Li Jing, Lan Yu and Zhu Di? Why is it difficult for others to do it? The reason is that the Xiongnu does have its unique advantages.

Although the Xiongnu were not good at smelting technology, which led to their armor and weapons being at a clear disadvantage compared to those in the Central Plains during the same period, it is undeniable that the Xiongnu were a veritable nation on horseback. Their skills in horseback riding and archery were indeed far superior to those in the Central Plains.

This is undoubtedly the core issue that Gao Yao is most worried about. The Xiongnu themselves may not pose much of a threat, but when the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan unscrupulously cooperates with the Xiongnu and generously teaches them smelting technology and strategies and tactics, the potential threat posed by the Xiongnu will increase exponentially.

The Xiongnu cavalry has always been famous for its excellent mobility and powerful impact. Once they are under the command of Yi Xiaochuan, their combat effectiveness will be unprecedentedly improved. Moreover, in the vast plains, the Xiongnu cavalry can fully exert their advantages of speed and flexibility.

In this case, even if Gao Yao had black gunpowder and certain advantages in equipment, it would be difficult for him to fully play his due role on such a battlefield. After all, on the open plains, the Xiongnu cavalry could quickly outflank and put Gao Yao's army in a passive situation.

Therefore, Gao Yao must seize this rare opportunity and decisively seize several coastal counties. In this way, his troops can be directly pointed at the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan, exerting direct pressure on him. At the same time, establishing a new port in Dongjiao can not only further consolidate his strategic position, but also deter the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan's hinterland, forcing him to focus all his attention on Gao Yao.

In this way, even if the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan and the Xiongnu wanted to cooperate, they had to concentrate their efforts to be careful of Gao Yao. Gao Yao's decision was not agreed by everyone, including Han Xin. Xiao He and Cao Shen were actually in a state of rebuttal.

The reason is very simple. As Li Yi's territory began to increase, the number of princes bordering Gaoyao also began to increase. On the one hand, he had to guard against Wang Ben of Hanzhong, and on the other hand, he had to guard against Wu Rui, the King of Hengshan. Now Gaoyao's advance was like this, which was invisibly equivalent to making himself border with the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan's forces and had to guard against one more force. This was not good for the overall situation.

At this time, the better way should be to choose to take Hanzhong first. This is actually not much different from Wu Yan and Wu Rui's expectations. After all, Hanzhong is the first choice in Guanzhong. You can give priority to taking Hanzhong. In this way, you can attack or defend. You don't have to take Xianyang, and then turn to seize Nanjun. This is the best strategy.

In fact, the strategic deployment is similar. There is nothing much to say about this matter. Taking a step back and taking Nanjun by force is not a bad idea. It is also possible to take down Hengshan King Wu Rui first. The only difference is that the loss is slightly greater. However, Gao Yao chose to take the Linhai County first.

Xiao He did not understand this, but Gao Yao also rarely listened to the advice of his subordinates and insisted on doing so. There was nothing he could do about it. Xiao He and Cao Shen now knew the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan as the King of Han Liu Bang, not the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan. They did not know the other party's methods and bottom line. Some things that were considered absolutely impossible in this era were not impossible for the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan.

Gao Yao knew that the other party would do anything to kill him, and it was very likely that they would cooperate with the Xiongnu. Otherwise, there were so many counties in the world, why would the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan move from Bashu to the Northeast? On the one hand, it was to avoid Gao Yao's edge, and on the other hand, it was to continue to have enough strength to defeat Gao Yao. This was the other party's plan.

This is why they pretended that a large army was ready to attack Wu Rui, in order to attract the attention of the princes to Wu Rui. In fact, they were ambushing troops in the coastal areas, preparing to attack by land and sea at the same time.