Chapter 145: Holes in the Plan (4k5)
"Captain Su, this is my younger brother Yuwen Tai. He heard about Captain Su's visit to the Baidao Fortress Jingguan, so he wanted to toast Captain Su."
Looking at the young Yuwen Tai holding the wine glass, Su Ze also picked up the wine glass. After the two finished drinking, Su Ze also looked at the Yuwen brothers.
However, Su Ze did not have much idea of making friends at this time. He was now a generation lower than the heroes of Wuchuan. According to his position and level, he should be friends with Yuwen Tai's father Yuwen Gong.
But because of the incident of the fire dragon burning the warehouse, Su Ze really had no interest in interacting with people of Wuchuan's generation.
Seeing the young generation of Wuchuan's admiration and fawning on Li Chong and himself, Su Ze couldn't help but think that the so-called Wuchuan being full of dragon energy mentioned by later generations did not mean that these people were born knowing that they would enter the stage of history.
At this time, all the generals in Wuchuan wanted to be noticed by Li Chong so that they could escape from Wuchuan, a hell with no room for advancement, and get an official position within the Luoyang system.
And for a long time after the Rebellion of the Six Garrisons, the so-called heroes of the troubled times were just people struggling to survive.
All we can say is that the outcome of individual struggle still depends on the course of history.
At least for now, the young Yuwen Tai does not have the "ambition to rule the world since childhood" as described in history books. Now he seems to be just a reserved boy following behind his brother.
Su Ze looked at Yuwen Tai, and Yuwen Tai also looked at Su Ze.
Although there are different classes in the Six Garrisons, the worship of the use of force is a common feature of the entire Six Garrisons.
Even someone like Dugu Ruyuan is an excellent archer on the battlefield. They first need military force to win respect in the Six Garrisons.
The reason why Su Ze was able to receive more attention from the six generals than the officers under Li Chong was because of his military exploits in Pingcheng and his reputation in the Baidao fortress.
Yuwen Tai was also very curious about Su Ze.
Unlike his brothers who yearned for the "system" and had an innate awe of the army coming from Luoyang, the young Yuwen Tai, due to his young age, lacked such a filter and was more objective in his evaluation of the Luoyang Imperial Guards.
In Yuwen Tai's opinion, the imperial guards led by Li Chong, even if they were not a "rabble", were definitely not an elite force.
Although their weapons and equipment were better than those of the Six Garrison Army, their military appearance and the quality of their soldiers were not as good as those of the Six Garrison Army.
But Su Ze is an exception.
Su Ze's army stood out among the group of incompetent imperial guards, and Su Ze himself also stood out among the group of imperial guards officers who had only military merits.
Although Yuwen Tai was young, he grew up in a family of generals. He had a natural talent for judging the military, just like drinking water. Naturally, he was full of curiosity about Su Ze, one of the few famous generals in the imperial guards.
The young man's aggressive gaze was also full of temptation. Yuwen Tai was also curious whether Su Ze's military achievements were exaggerated or real.
The Rouran people came and went like the wind. Although Heba Yun won a great victory under the city of Wuchuan, he only captured a few hundred people on the battlefield. Most of his military achievements were made when he was chasing the scattered Rouran people. In fact, it is questionable whether the various tribes killed innocent people to claim credit during the pursuit.
Immediately afterwards, Yuwen Tai began to "consult" Su Ze, asking him about the details of the Battle of Pingcheng.
Su Ze also found it funny. A boy of about twelve or thirteen was asking him about the details of the battlefield with a stern face. Originally, Su Ze was just answering casually, but he was soon surprised by Yuwen Tai's question.
Yuwen Tai's questions became more and more profound, even asking about the details of the battlefield, including the basis for Su Ze's decision-making and the reasons why Su Ze used tactics, and even rose to the level of predicting the enemy on the battlefield.
Because Su Ze used the system as a "plug-in" on the battlefield, Yuwen Tai repeatedly asked Su Ze about many details of the decision-making, which made Su Ze, who was unable to explain, "sweat profusely".
Is this what they call genius?
These Wuchuan heroes do not have much ambition at present, but their abilities have already stood out.
The Yuwen brothers were afraid that Yuwen Tai's aggressive questions would annoy Su Ze, so they quickly said to Yuwen Tai:
"Black Otter, stop asking questions. You're disturbing Captain Su's drinking mood!"
Then he said to Su Ze: "My youngest brother is young, and his family doesn't discipline him strictly. I'm sorry to make Captain Su laugh at me."
Su Ze smiled and said, "I think this boy is very special. He will become a great man in the future!"
After saying this, Su Ze talked to his men behind him again. After a while, Su Suan came over holding a paper military book.
"This military manual is a fragment of a military manual that I asked someone to copy from the Imperial Academy."
Ever since he established a relationship with Cui Guang, Su Ze sent people to the Imperial College to copy various books on paper. This is where he found a fragment of a military book.
Although the author is unknown, the methods of deploying troops and battle formations described in this military book are still very practical, so Su Ze took it with him to study.
The military strategy of Li Tong, the uncle of the emperor, is much more profound than that of this book, but Li Tong's military strategy is the family-inherited military strategy of the Begging Army. Passing it on to Su Ze was already an exception. Su Ze could not pass it on to others without Li Tong's consent.
So Su Ze chose this not-so-expensive military book as a gift to Yuwen Tai.
“This book is for you.”
Seeing the book presented by Su Ze, the Yuwen brothers were very surprised, and Yuwen Tai took the military book from Su Ze in disbelief.
The Yuwen family is a family of heroes and generals, so of course they have their own family tradition of military tactics. However, military tactics are like martial arts secrets, and no one would ever have too many of them.
When Yuwen Tai was ten years old, he had already read through the family's military strategies, but it was basically impossible for him to learn other military strategies in the Six Garrisons.
Being able to obtain Su Ze's military book also showed that Su Ze valued his younger brother. The three Yuwen brothers hurriedly pulled Yuwen Tai to perform the etiquette of a half-division to Su Ze.
On this side, Hou Jing saw that Yuwen Tai was given a military book by Su Ze, and he was so envious that he was drooling.
During these days, he had been serving in the army and fighting, and he clearly felt the gap between himself and Gao Huan and others.
Although Gao Huan was not born in a high-class family, his travels to Luoyang made him more knowledgeable than Hou Jing. When he was in Luoyang, Gao Huan did not just eat, drink and have fun, he also learned a lot of knowledge. Liu Gui discussed the art of war with him, and the young lady from Zhang Lingshi's family even stole the family's heirloom art of war for Gao Huan to learn.
Sima Ziru was not from the lower class either. His family had some inherited knowledge, and he himself was literate, which was why he was hired as a clerk in the town's military office.
Among all the people, Hou Jing had the lowest status. He could not even recognize a few words, let alone read military books. These days, Hou Jing asked Sima Ziru to learn to read every day, and he was very eager to learn military tactics.
Yuwen Tai touched the bamboo paper and asked, "Captain Su, is this paper?"
Su Ze nodded and said, "This is not southern paper. It is bamboo paper invented by one of my retainers. This kind of paper is much cheaper than the paper from the south. Now all official documents in Henan Prefecture are circulated on this kind of paper."
Yuwen Tai touched the rough bamboo paper and immediately exclaimed: "There are such skilled craftsmen in the world. The cheap paper is much more convenient than bamboo slips. This paper is worth thousands of officials!"
Hearing what Yuwen Tai said, his three brothers were shocked. Their younger brother actually spoke so highly of a craftsman. Such remarks would offend the officials.
Su Ze looked at Yuwen Tai with even higher regard. He was worthy of being the founding emperor of the Western Zhou Dynasty, who was at the top of both military and domestic affairs. His political insight was also quite impressive.
Cheap paper can lower the threshold for knowledge dissemination, improve the efficiency of document processing, and thus improve the administrative processing level of the entire society. Many social system reforms, such as the reform of the land system, are based on the improvement of administrative efficiency.
Confucianism advocates the well-field system of ancient sage kings, but is the well-field system because the ancient sage kings and nobles were benevolent to the people? Isn't it because the production level at that time could only use this system, and the officials at that time had low ability to collect taxes, so they could only use this method to collect taxes.
As the empire's administrative technology developed, it was able to extend its tentacles into the countryside, control the conditions of every piece of land in the local area, and thus develop more detailed and fairer taxation methods.
The low-cost bamboo paper not only facilitated the delivery of official documents, but would also become the basis of the new administrative system in the future.
However, even Li Daoyuan only saw that paper facilitated the circulation of official documents, and Cui Guang only saw the role of paper in the dissemination of knowledge, but Yuwen Tai saw the role of paper in the national administrative system.
Su Ze was even more reluctant to let Yuwen Tai go. He said to the Yuwen brothers, "I am familiar with Cui Jijiu of the Imperial College. Are you willing to let Yuwen Tai study in the Luoyang Imperial College?"
The Yuwen brothers looked at each other. They were surprised that Su Ze valued his younger brother, but they also said, "This is related to our future. We still need to discuss this matter with Grandpa."
Su Ze sighed slightly. Today, the Luoyang Imperial College has declined. It is no longer possible to become an official by studying there. Even the school buildings are abandoned. It's not that the Yuwen brothers don't want their younger brother to go to Luoyang, but they don't want to attend an Imperial College with no future.
Or maybe the chips I can offer are too low.
Su Ze sighed and thought that if he were Li Chong, or even Erzhu Rong who could set up a government and give him a position as a clerk in a military office or a local official, the Yuwen brothers would definitely send their younger brother to serve them without hesitation.
However, Su Ze was only a captain of the Yulin Army, and the only position he could be offered was a military post in the Yulin Army, which had no appeal to the Yuwen brothers, who came from a family of powerful generals in the Six Garrisons.
Since I'm going to be an officer anyway, it's definitely better to be one in the family, under my father and brothers.
Seeing that he couldn't fool the Yuwen brothers, Su Ze was not angry. Now that the chaotic times have not yet begun, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.
After this episode with the Yuwen brothers, Su Ze looked at Gao Huan and his group. This was the highlight of his trip.
Su Ze's next plan, originally based on the cards in his hand, Su Ze estimated that the chances of success were only 20 to 30 percent.
Now that he has met Gao Huan and others, if they are willing to participate, Su Ze feels that his chances of winning can be increased to 40% to 50%.
Although this plan still involves huge risks, it will bring huge rewards if successful. Su Ze believes that with Gao Huan's character, he will definitely be willing to participate.
Su Ze picked up the wine and said to Gao Huan with a smile: "Brother Gao, I have an important matter to discuss with you. Come to my tent after the banquet and bring these two brothers with you."
When Gao Huan heard that Su Ze had something to plan with him, his eyes lit up.
After seeing Su Ze at the banquet, Gao Huan immediately decided to hug the thick thighs of this "old friend" tightly. He hurriedly said:
"As for Brother Su's matter, Huan will definitely die for him!"
After the banquet, Su Ze conspired with Gao Huan and others in the tent all night. In the evening of the next day, a small team left Su Ze's camp with the token and galloped towards the west.
Li Chong still did not enter Wuchuan Town. He only sent envoys to the Six Garrisons, asking the Six Garrisons to send troops to wipe out the surrounding Rouran people.
Immediately afterwards, Li Chong asked the Rouran King Anagui to issue an order in the capacity of Rouran Khan, ordering the invading Rouran people to withdraw, and then keep their troops in the military camp.
In addition to training his troops, Su Ze would go to Princess Shouyang's camp every few days to have a secret meeting with the princess. Apart from the fact that they were frantically making babies, Princess Shouyang never mentioned their cooperation again.
-
More than half a month had passed, and Princess Shouyang's luck seemed to have been "sucked" away by Su Ze. Even when he refreshed the store next to her, he didn't get anything good.
Su Ze was lying on the soft couch, holding Princess Shouyang. There was an indelible blush on Princess Shouyang's holy face. She was lying in Su Ze's arms, touching her belly, and leaning against Su Ze's chest, feeling the tranquility between the storm.
"A lot of the Rourans have retreated in recent days. It seems that the general is not planning to deploy troops on a large scale."
Princess Shouyang's body trembled. She was a very perceptive person. With the help of Madam Feng sent by Su Ze, she had also been learning some political tactics these days. She immediately understood Li Chong's idea.
Some changes have quietly taken place in the military camp. One of the changes is that Anagui's status is gradually rising. Li Chong began to take Anagui to meet guests and also handed over a part of the surrendered Rouran tribe to Anagui.
Su Ze sighed. Ever since the fire dragon burned the warehouse in Wuchuan Town, Li Chong had already understood the situation in the northern border. As it was now, it was almost impossible to launch a large-scale war against the Rouran.
The Six Garrisons were simply unable to provide the army with rations, and the court had no plans for a long-distance expedition to the Rouran. Since arriving in Pingcheng, the rations shipped from Bingzhou had become less and less. The court's messengers delivering military orders and King Jiangyang's private envoys were constantly in contact, and Li Chong was under tremendous pressure.
In the current situation, even Li Chong, who once wanted to solve the problem of the northern border by leading troops to an expedition, had to admit that his idea at that time was naive. The problem of the northern border was not something that he, a General of Cavalry, could solve. Even if Emperor Dao Xiaowen were reborn, it was unknown whether he could solve these problems.
Victory might not necessarily solve the problem in the north, so defeat is even more unacceptable.
Li Chong also realized that once the imperial army was defeated in the north, Luoyang's last bit of strategic deterrence would disappear. At that time, if someone in the north raised his arms and called for action, the entire northern states of the Wei Dynasty would have no soldiers capable of fighting.
This change made Li Chong more cautious, and even his attitude towards King Rourou changed.
Princess Shouyang said, "If this continues, the general will send me to the grassland to marry, right?"
Princess Shouyang did not make a fuss. Instead, she climbed on top of Su Ze, straightened his face, and asked with her nose to his eyes, "I won't rush you, but I know you are under a lot of pressure. I can't guess your plan, and I don't intend to ask for details."
Princess Shouyang then leaned over Su Ze and said, "How sure are you of the plan you told me?"
Su Ze said truthfully: "Forty percent sure, fifty percent at most."
Princess Shouyang smiled and said, "I once heard from the old steward in the palace that my father once told the merchants in the palace to say something."
"what?"
"For a business with no capital, if you are 10% sure, it is worth doing; if you are 50% sure, it is worth doing it with all your strength; if you are 90% sure, it is worth doing it at all costs."
"If this doesn't work out, I will commit suicide before the marriage, so as not to implicate you. Remember, whether this thing succeeds or not, Su Lang, you should treat it as a business with no capital investment, so just go for it."
Su Ze looked at Princess Shouyang in surprise, and the other party opened her body and said, "If you are under too much pressure, I will use this body to make you feel more comfortable."
Having said that, Su Ze couldn't hold back any longer, and threw her under him, saying fiercely:
"Your Highness is right. It's already good to have a 40% to 50% chance of success. Even if the plan doesn't work, I still have a backup plan."
"But I have a report to Your Highness that there is still a big loophole in our plan."
Princess Shouyang asked: "What loophole?"
"Your Highness has not yet conceived. Is this a big loophole? Let me fill this loophole as soon as possible!"
"Whoo~"
It will take two more days. Today's chapter is a little longer. I will pay back my debt when I get back.
Oh, there are so many people on May Day. If there are any typos, I will correct them later. I am too sleepy.
(End of this chapter)