Chapter 619: The mysterious Yi Xiaochuan has few choices!

Chapter 619: The mysterious Yi Xiaochuan has few choices!

"Don't be offended, Prime Minister. I have absolutely no intention of disrespecting you. I am just stating an objective fact. Back then, Prime Minister, you were the governor of Nanhai County, a high position with great power, but there were only a few people willing to follow you, even less than a hundred. This is certainly related to the remote location of Nanhai County and the inconvenient transportation, but it also reflects from one side that you did have some shortcomings in controlling people's hearts at that time."

Then, Xiao He changed the subject and continued, "However, look at Liu Bang again. He was able to easily lead nearly 20,000 young and strong men to Jibei. You know, this is not as simple as going to Jibei to take up his post, but to attack Jibei! Under the difficult conditions of lack of food and supplies, he was not only able to successfully organize such a large team, but also completely conquered Jibei in less than two months. This fully shows that Liu Bang has extraordinary ability and means to control people's hearts."

At this time, Xiao He did not have any scruples or avoidances. In front of Gao Yao, he praised Liu Bang generously. Unlike other monarchs, Gao Yao was not the kind of person who liked to hear flattery. He paid more attention to the strength and ability of his opponents, and had no interest in those empty praises and compliments. This is also the reason why Xiao He spoke frankly.

"And this is only one aspect. After Liu Bang occupied Jibei, the first thing he did was to secretly deal with a large number of nobles from the six countries. These nobles, either because they had been enemies with Liu Bang or because they held huge wealth, became thorns in Liu Bang's eyes and flesh. Therefore, Liu Bang eradicated them without hesitation, which not only eliminated potential threats, but also brought a lot of benefits. Of course, in name it was still to suppress bandits."

"For Liu Bang, using gold and silver treasures was undoubtedly a very good idea. He used his wealth to win over local tyrants and make them willingly serve him; on the other hand, he used the gold and silver to forcibly purchase a large amount of food and war horses, and quickly expanded his military strength. Where did this huge amount of money come from? I have never figured out this question."

After hearing Xiao He's story, Gao Yao immediately gave an explanation: "Dig up the graves!"

This answer shocked Xiao He. He had never expected that Liu Bang would acquire wealth through such immoral means.

"This is too..." Xiao He widened his eyes, seeming to find this behavior unbelievable.

However, Gao Yao said indifferently: "Nothing is surprising. This kind of thing does sound immoral, but it is actually a solution. Moreover, the other party will not do this kind of thing openly. After all, digging up someone's ancestral grave is an extremely shameful thing. Once discovered, it will inevitably cause an uproar. Therefore, Liu Bang can only act secretly and take these riches for himself."

"I have to say, this is something I had never expected. Liu Bang used this method so skillfully to win over local tyrants and suppress the nobles of the six countries. Not only that, he also won over the people and gave them better treatment. From a long-term perspective, Liu Bang's behavior is simply drinking poison to quench thirst, because although doing so can quickly gather the hearts of the people in the short term, recruit a large number of soldiers and horses, and develop his own power, in the long run, it will inevitably cause a series of serious problems."

"But from a short-term perspective, we have to admire Liu Bang's move. In this way, he successfully united the people in a short period of time, and at the same time was able to recruit troops on a large scale and quickly expand his strength."

"Next, Liu Bang took advantage of the situation and directed his troops directly to the entire Northeast region. In the process, he made full use of the strategy of fighting to support the war and continued to occupy more territory. Moreover, his reward system in the army was more generous, which undoubtedly further stimulated the fighting spirit of the soldiers."

"As time went by, or once the war machine began to stop functioning, problems would gradually surface. After all, this development model that relied too much on war and plunder was unsustainable. However, Liu Bang cleverly took advantage of the special status of Liaodong. On the one hand, he demanded that the other party provide supplies, and on the other hand, he used powerful military force to deter, making Liaodong a logistics support base for him to a certain extent."

"In just a few years, they were able to quickly gather an army of over 100,000 and ensure adequate logistical supplies. This is definitely not an easy task. This kind of governing ability cannot be replaced by simple military talent. This is why I say that the other party's governing ability is probably extremely rare in the entire world."

Xiao He spoke endlessly about his evaluation of Liu Bang. Gao Yao, who was standing by, was enlightened after hearing these words. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly that he had always looked at the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan from the perspective of a time traveler, and there were indeed some problems.

He had only been paying attention to Yi Xiaochuan's military strength and strategy, but completely ignored the fact that this man was also very capable in governing. But thinking about it carefully, this made sense. According to the previous logical speculation, if I was right, a person who had lived for thousands of years, even if he just watched and did nothing, would probably have already known these things by heart. Therefore, it should be normal for him to have the ability to control people's hearts and stabilize the situation.

"What do you think about Han Xin's march?"

Gao Yao looked at the other party seriously and brought the topic back to business. After all, this was the crux of the matter and what he was most worried about - would the other party suddenly launch an attack on Han Xin?

Gao Yao stared at him, waiting for his answer. Xiao He pondered for a moment and then said slowly, "In my opinion, Prime Minister, you don't have to worry too much about Liu Bang attacking you at this time. Judging from the current situation, what Liu Bang hopes for is to give up the Liaodong Peninsula as much as possible."

"Give up Liaodong?"

Gao Yao was a little surprised when he heard this. He widened his eyes, as if he was very surprised by this statement. "Why is this?" He really couldn't understand why the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan didn't take the opportunity to attack him, but instead gave up his territory. In his opinion, this was simply unbelievable and completely inconsistent with common sense.

"That's right, Prime Minister. We now have an absolute dominant position in the navy. We can't catch up with them temporarily. We can't deal with them by any means. So Liu Bang's best choice now is not to attack, but to shift the focus so that he has a chance to fight with our army."