Chapter 379 Public Opinion
After the hunting, the team returned to Chang'an.

After all, Li Yuan was out hunting with most of the decision-makers in the court. Although there were a constant stream of messengers coming and going in Chang'an, it was not a good idea to leave for too long. After all, the world was not yet settled, and it was not time to enjoy life.

After returning to Chang'an, everyone was busy.

Li Yuan began to summon the kings, generals, and prime ministers to discuss "national policy." It happened that the kings of Qi and Wei were also in Chang'an. The king of Wei was the commander-in-chief of Bingzhou's military. With his influence, there were not many policy decisions that needed his approval.

But it was different for King Qi Li Yuanhui. He was in charge of the entire military power east of Shan County.

Some things cannot be done by simply notifying him after you have made a decision.

It is necessary to communicate with King Qi, who represents the Guandong forces. Some things cannot be done without his approval.

Inside the Taiji Palace, the underground heating was very warm, which made the Tang Dynasty dignitaries in the hall take off their fox furs or cloaks before entering the hall to discuss matters.

Including Emperor Li Yuan, everyone sat on the ground, forming several circles. Closest to him were several kings and prime ministers, and in the outer circle were the generals of the guards and the ministers of various ministries.

In front of them, a huge map of the world was hung on a wooden frame. The Minister of War, Yuwen Chengye, was holding a wooden pole and explaining the current world situation, the distribution of enemy and friendly regions, the composition of troops, and the border situation, just like he was giving a lecture in the classroom.

The ministers listened in silence.

After the situation was introduced, the Ministry of War made the simulation and strategic planning.

Regarding the three major forces of Western Wei, Eastern Wei, and Northern Yan, Li Yuan and his son had originally reached a consensus to take Hebei first, and the two Weis would not be a threat.

The next main attack direction is to take the entire Bingzhou first and eliminate the Northern Yan army in Bingzhou.

But now the situation has suddenly changed. They decided to resist and defend against Northern Yan first, accumulate strength, and take Jingzhou from Western Wei first.

The Western Wei currently occupies Jingnan and Xiangfan, and faces the Tang Dynasty across the Han River. The Jianghan Plain and Dongting Lake Plain under its control are both relatively large grain-producing areas. Therefore, although the Western Wei only occupies half of Jingzhou, it can still support an army of nearly 100,000.

According to intelligence, although Cao Xuan stationed a large number of troops in Jiangling, he placed the center of the entire Western Wei in Xiangyang, showing an attitude of being determined to launch a northern expedition.

They trained troops and cultivated land in the Xiangfan area, and often sent troops north to harass the Xinye area.

The Tang Dynasty's chief governor of Jingzhou was Li Daliang, a man of strategy and ability both in herding people and commanding the army. He came to Xinye's aid several times and defeated the Western Wei army. He was also commended by Li Yuan and was granted the title of Xinye County Master.

Under his rule, Jingzhou of the Tang Dynasty, also known as the Nanyang area, became a relatively peaceful place.

However, although the Western Wei could not shake the Tang Dynasty, it was still a potential threat. With the Western Wei around, the Tang Dynasty had to gather heavy troops in Xinye and Wancheng and be ready to allow the Western Wei to move north at any time.

Although Cao Xuan launched several attacks on Xinye but failed each time, the Tang Dynasty also tried to attack Xiangfan several times but also failed.

This situation has become a stalemate.

The Ministry of War planned to attack the weakest Western Wei in order to ease the pressure in the southern part of Guanzhong and the western part of Jiangzhou.

But the problem is that Xiangfan is not easy to fight.

Since the Spring and Autumn Period, this place has been an important channel connecting the Jianghan Plain and the Nanyang Basin. Several land and water routes intersect here, making it an important hub connecting the north and the south and the east and the west.

In terms of topography, the topography and hydrological conditions around Xiangyang are also very conducive to military defense. It is adjacent to the Han River in the north, and faces Fancheng across the river. The stream is turbulent and difficult to swim across. It is backed by Xian Mountain, surrounded by Tongbai Mountain in the east, Dahong Mountain in the southeast, the remnants of Wudang Mountain in the northwest, and the steep Jing Mountain Range in the southwest. This kind of terrain constitutes a natural barrier on all sides, which is convenient for defense but not conducive to the movement of chariots and cavalry and large armies. It is said that "mountains surround it on all sides, and a river runs through it."

The terrain of Xiangyang also determined that it was difficult to attack. Whether it was the Battle of Xiangfan in the Three Kingdoms period or the manpower and material resources consumed by the later Mongol Yuan Dynasty to attack Xiangyang, it seemed to tell Li Yuanhui that it was not a good idea to attack Xiangyang first.

However, Yuwen Chengye is also a veteran general who is very proficient in the art of war. It's not that he doesn't have any strategic vision at all, right?
What does the Ministry of War mean by this strategy? Is it really to first remove the nail in the southwest, and then go to Hebei to deal with Northern Yan?
From a strategic perspective, difficult to fight does not mean impossible to fight.

Now the three major regimes of Northern Yan, Eastern Wei and Western Wei are all relying on their unique geographical advantages to confront the Tang Dynasty.

So conversely, attacking Hebei and Jiangdong would also involve facing many problems, such as the Taihang Mountains and the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, which were common barriers for both sides. Although the Tang Dynasty had a slight strategic advantage, as the offensive party, the price it had to pay was naturally higher than that of the defending party.

Compared with the other two opponents, the Western Wei was obviously unable to compete with the Northern Yan army in terms of military strength, and was also slightly inferior to the Eastern Wei, so it seemed that there was no problem in picking on the weak.

So after Li Yuanhui listened to the Ministry of War's opinions, he did not immediately stand up to oppose them because he wanted to see the situation.

Moreover, if the main force is to attack the Western Wei, it is impossible to mobilize the Tang army in Luoyang.

The most likely scenario is to mobilize the troops in Guanzhong and the current troops in Jingzhou. However, the biggest problem facing the Tang Dynasty right now is not the military problem, but the food problem.

There is some grain in Guanzhong now, and the output from last year's autumn harvest was also good, but the grain in Guanzhong cannot be moved easily. Firstly, it is used for the Northern Expedition, and secondly, there is a problem of transportation capacity.

The land transportation from Wugu Pass to Nanyang in Guanzhong is difficult due to the mountainous roads and is very costly. To attack a strong city like Xiangyang, the enemy has tens of thousands of troops on the Xiangyang front line. The Tang army needs at least hundreds of thousands or even 200,000 troops.

Of course, the problem of food and fodder can be solved. Jiangzhou and Yangzhou now have grain reserves, and they can also supply the army through the Yangtze River and the Han River.

But Jiangzhou and Yangzhou were Li Yuanhui's territories, so he chose to remain silent.

Yuwen Chengye's strategy did indeed cause widespread controversy.

There are many voices of support and opposition.

For example, Li Huaizhen, Prince of Zhao and one of the Twelve Generals of the Guards, and Gao Zhenghui, General of the Left Guard and Duke of Chenliu, supported the use of military force against Jiangzhou.

Liu Zongxun and Dou Cong, both generals of the Twelve Guards, said that they should first deal with Northern Yan and eliminate this biggest enemy.

The Prime Minister Wen Daya also proposed that the army should not be deployed this year, but should be allowed to rest and recuperate.
Although the level of the meeting was high enough, there were dozens of people in the hall. The factions and forces represented by so many people were different, so naturally their political views would not be uniform.

Although everyone was talking about it, Li Yuan and the King of Qin, the King of Jin, and the King of Qi remained silent, which meant that the discussion was doomed to not produce a conclusion.

But there are always people who are unwilling to be lonely. The people who have the most say have nothing to say, while those who think they have the right to speak speak first.

"I think we should gather the army in Hedong, first take Shangdang, and then divide the troops into three groups, sending 100,000 troops from Jingxing, Fukou, and Henei respectively. We will surely be able to destroy Northern Yan in one battle and achieve an unprecedented feat."

Li Yuanhui couldn't help but look back. Even though he knew who the voice belonged to without looking back, he still looked back.

He wanted to see what kind of wise eyes could produce such clever words.

(End of this chapter)