Wei Renpu put down his bowl and chopsticks and said: "In military matters, think about defeat before thinking about victory. In this situation between life and death, the most important thing is to leave no room. The current situation is very good, and I think it can't be ruined."
The situation in Dazhou is very good now.
But in a good situation, it relies on the weak foundation for support.
The turmoil caused by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in the late Tang Dynasty was too harmful to the Central Plains region.
In terms of territory, the Zhou Dynasty occupied the Central Plains, and its territory was indeed the widest.
However, various places have experienced wars for a long time, the economy is in decline, and people's livelihood is exhausted.
In these years, Guo Rong mobilized troops one after another, first fighting the Northern Han Dynasty and the Khitan in a decisive battle at Gaoping, then taking the four states of Shu to force Meng Shu to surrender, and then non-stop fighting the Southern Tang Dynasty in the Jianghuai River.
The absence of problems does not mean that there are no problems, but victory covers up all problems.
Once you suffer a big defeat, all kinds of potential problems will pop up all at once.
As Guo Rong's most trusted adviser, Wang Pu was in Bianjing during Guo Rong's personal expedition, and he knew the potential crisis of the Great Zhou Dynasty all too well.
We can understand the meaning of Wei Renpu's six words "Before thinking about victory, think about defeat first".
Logically speaking, the current Da Zhou does need some time to recuperate.
It is not a short-term recovery, but a long-term recuperation, the kind of three to five years.
As long as there is five years of recovery, the current situation of the Zhou Dynasty is fully capable of raising an army of 200,000, not to mention the current 30,000 cavalry, not to mention 50,000 or 80,000.
This is really not a boast.
Some people have always complained that the Song Dynasty had no land to raise horses or cavalry.
But in fact, the capital of the Song Dynasty was second only to the Sui Dynasty.
The Song Dynasty did not lack horses, but it lacked good horse administration and people on horseback.
During Taizong's Northern Expedition, there were 170,000 horses.
The generals of the Song Dynasty even considered the Khitan's fine horses to be of high quality.
Not only did the Song army have horses, they were also very picky, and they didn't even look down on the Khitan's horses...
Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty once had a conversation with court officials and said: "Nowadays, generals like to use cavalry, and victory is based on having more cavalry; moreover, there are many cavalry all over the valleys, but their use is limited. If you advance with a wall, there will be a small disadvantage, so nothing can be done.
Stopping is not the so-called master of moderation."
Even the emperor of the Song Dynasty said bluntly: What we lack is not horses, but the people riding on them.
Therefore, there is no theory that if there is no land to raise horses, horse politics cannot be carried out.
The horse administration in the later Zhou and early Song dynasties was still very clever, but later it was discovered that raising horses was too expensive, and the return on such a large investment was not obvious, so I abandoned it.
Luo Youdu sighed: "How can I not know that Wei Xianggong has plans for the country when he is old? It has only been three to five years, and there have been too many changes. I am afraid that the time will not be with me!"
Now he has two major concerns in his heart.
The first, and most critical, is Guo Rong’s lifespan.
Guo Rong was thirty-six years old. He was full of energy and in his prime. He could draw a bow and run a horse. Luo Youdu didn't see anything wrong with him at all.
Luo Youdu couldn't guess whether he would die of illness in two years.
If Guo Rong lives longer because of his appearance, then all problems will not be a problem.
No one dares to rebel under Guo Rong's rule. This is no different than seeking death.
But once things were irreversible, it was impossible for Guo Zongxun to control the civil and military forces of the entire dynasty.
The national strength will inevitably be greatly affected, and many surrounding separatist forces will also have other ideas.
At this point, we are one step away from splitting and fighting among ourselves.
Dazhou's strength will inevitably be greatly affected. At this point, why should you take Youzhou again?
The second is that he is not sure whether the Khitan emperor can survive for more than ten years.
Historically, Yelujing was a tough man. Faced with all kinds of rebellions, he could not be hurt at all. Instead, he suppressed all the opponents with great force.
In the end, it was because he wanted to die. After being drunk, he asked for food. The attendant did not hear it, so he started to kill. Unwilling to sit still and wait for death, the waiter, Hurenhua, and the chef Xingu, together with six close followers, killed him.
It’s similar to Zhang Fei’s death.
Logically speaking, Luo Youdu has always been active south of the Yellow River and has never been to the north of the Yellow River, so he has little influence on Yanyun land.
But the facts show otherwise.
Due to the addition of Luo Youdu in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the momentum was far greater than in previous lives.
Comparing the wise ministers of the Great Zhou Dynasty with the wise ministers of the Khitan and Liao Kingdoms, they are very different.
The most panicked people now are those Han officials who have completely regarded themselves as Liao people, especially the most representative Han family.
These people know better than anyone what the consequences will be once the Central Plains dynasty truly rises.
They cannot sit still and wait for death.
It was because of these two worries that Luo Youdu was so radical.
No matter what happens in the future, let’s capture Youzhou first.
Even if various changes do occur at that time, with the Yanshan Defense Line in hand, the Song Dynasty will not fall into a situation where there is no danger to defend.
Of course, Guo Rong's life and death cannot be said.
Therefore, Luo Youdu can only magnify the internal situation of Khitan now.
"If you don't take advantage of the Khitan's internal turmoil to attack, it will be even harder to deal with them when their internal conflicts are resolved. Unlike our Central Plains, which is suffering from war, their turmoil is limited to the struggle for royal power and position, and does not shake the foundation, so it is easy to recover
vitality."
Wang Pu glanced left and right, shook his head and said with a smile: "I finally understand. You two have seen the problem thoroughly. You are here to discuss it. You are obviously making a choice."
He pondered for a moment and said: "How about this, the two husbands each make concessions. If you can't let go of the horse administration, you can build the foundation first and cultivate excellent horse breeds. As for the breeding, you can delay it for a while. The money saved can be used to purchase war horses and expand.
Cavalry. The Privy Council may allocate some money and silk from other places for the purpose of purchasing horses."
Luo Youdu took the first step and said, "This method is the best of both worlds."
His main purpose is to obtain more funds to purchase war horses.
It's not impossible to kill the goose to retrieve the eggs, but people in this era don't know Guo Rong's situation. The current situation of Khitan alone is not enough for Zhou to make a desperate move.
Being able to obtain as much funds as possible to purchase horses is already a perfect result.
The three of them made a final summary, and then handed over the Great Zhou Dynasty Policy drawn up by the Privy Council to the court, and followed the procedures to wait for the approval of Emperor Guo Rong.
The Privy Council is in charge of military and state affairs, so the memorial went through special channels and was delivered to Guo Rong's court that afternoon.
It is an unspoken rule for any emperor to give priority to the Council and the Privy Council's memorials. Guo Rong almost immediately picked up the results of the Privy Council's discussion on Ma Zheng.
The memorial details the ways in which the Privy Council reformed the Ma Zheng of the Great Zhou dynasty.
Looking at the novel way of purchasing war horses, the Emperor of Zhou couldn't help laughing and said to himself: "Only Luo Youdu can think of this method."
He read it several times and felt itchy.
It is not without reason that Guo Rong likes Luo Youdu.
The biggest problem with Guo Rong's character is his impatience, he likes to take risks and dares to take risks.
Historically, he only reigned for six years and fought four wars.
Once passive, three times active.
However, the passive defense in the Battle of Gaoping turned him into an active war to destroy the country.
There was not one battle in the four battles that Guo Rong did not decide on his own against all opinions.
The battle of Gaoping was hindered by Feng Dao. The battle of conquering Shu was hindered by Fan Zhi and Wang Pu. The battle of Huainan was because Shouzhou could not be captured for a long time, and most of the courtiers were trying to persuade Guo Rong to withdraw his troops.
As for the final Northern Expedition to Youyan, that's even more so.
Previously, civil servants were opposed, but this time they became military officers who opposed Guo Rong's attack on Youzhou.
It is recorded in the book that "the emperor and the generals discussed attacking Youzhou, but all the generals thought it was not possible, but the emperor did not listen."
There are obviously many generals who are unwilling to attack Youzhou. I wonder if they are creating a shadow under Shouzhou City.
After all, Luo Youdu fought for a year in the offensive and defensive battle of Shouzhou. Without Luo Youdu, Zhou Bing fought for a year and a half, and almost gave Liu Renzhan, Zhu Yuan and Lin Renzhao a comeback.
Guo Rong's impatience caused great headaches for the civil servants and generals of Zhou Dynasty.
Looking at Luo Youdu who seemed to be more anxious than himself, Guo Rong sighed: "The one who knows me is Luo Youdu!"
Without much thought, Guo Rong marked the memorial with a tick, and then ordered someone to call Luo Youdu to the imperial court for comfort.
"Young Du, don't be anxious. Although I can hold my breath, my heart is just like yours. I wish I could lead my army northward to regain our Chinese territory and shock our prestige. I want Master Feng to know that I am not incomparable to Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. I have never been incompetent."
Make a big mountain.”
Luo Youdu laughed dumbly. Feng Daodu has been dead for several years, so what?
How much resentment there is!
When Feng Dao persuaded Guo Rong not to let him go on a personal expedition, Guo Rong compared himself to Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and the mountains. He said that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty had also personally conducted an expedition, and said that the rabble of Northern Han Dynasty would be like a mountain crushing eggs if they encountered my master.
Feng Dao responded directly: Your Majesty is not Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and Your Majesty is not a mountain.
Guo Rongqing stroked his beard and said: "Ma Zheng must not be left behind. I will find a way to allocate some money and silk from other places to buy war horses to enrich the cavalry establishment."
Luo Youdu was overjoyed to see this, and said: "Your Majesty is wise."
Luo Youdu thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty's Northern Expedition is of vital importance, but people's livelihood cannot be ignored. We must not sacrifice people's livelihood for the sake of military equipment..."
Guo Rongdao: "Sir, don't worry. I will keep the many lessons learned in history in mind and will definitely not repeat the same mistakes."
Luo Youdu felt relieved and bowed: "I am worried too much."
Guo Rong looked at Luo Youdu in front of him and suddenly thought of something, and said: "As a military envoy now, why don't you recruit tooth soldiers and protect them all? On the battlefield, what can you do without loyal tooth soldiers by your side?"
Luo Youdu hesitated slightly and bowed: "I have low martial arts skills. Let Zhang Qiong and others do the charging. There is no need for tooth soldiers to accompany you... and I always thought that tooth soldiers were a bad habit of the previous dynasty and not worthy of praise. Just a few
Just protect and keep safe."
Guo Rong's expression was slightly complicated. If all the military officials in the dynasty had this intention, why would he have trouble sleeping and eating?
Guo Rong looked at Luo Youdu, and the more he looked at it, the happier he became, and said: "The Privy Council must not relax in its affairs, and the same goes for the Imperial Camp Division. This time I purchased military horses, and I gave priority to making up the amount for the Imperial Division. This move will not be given to Ambassador Li.
Prime Minister and Zhang Du inspected and complained. During the Northern Expedition, if you behave well, you can silence them."