Chapter 937: Strategy for the Northern Kushan
Chen Xi was very upset.
And it's because of money.
This is almost impossible for him. He is now a human printing machine. As long as he is willing, he can increase the price of bread to half a million in a minute, and no one will be disturbed by it.
Because as long as he is alive, no matter how big the amount is, the market will not be in chaos.
He can even use this method to reap a wave of foreign wealth.
But he was really starting to worry about money.
When Hua Xiong came back from his inspection trip with a pile of money, he was not upset.
When Han Xin and Huo Qubing came out of Weiyang Palace, one of them asked him for some money, but he didn't feel upset.
Guo Jia told him today that the prices of meat and grain had risen a little, and he became upset.
Cheng Yu, who came to hand over the work, was very surprised. This incident reflected some things, but it was not enough to make the God of Wealth of the Han Dynasty worry about it.
"Zichuan, there's no need to worry so much. The price is just a little higher. It shouldn't be a particularly bad thing."
"You don't understand!" Chen Xi said weakly. The economic base reflects the superstructure. The rising prices of grain and meat were like a strange signal of Mount Tai collapsing to him.
"Do you know why the rate has increased?" Finally someone asked him the question, and he wanted to vent his complaints.
"It's nothing more than someone buying up grain!" Although Cheng Yu didn't know what happened exactly, he still made inferences based on common sense.
"Yes, someone is buying grain!" Chen Xi nodded.
"Kushan? Or Parthia?" Cheng Yu was even more puzzled. He could guess it without any intelligence.
“It’s Kushan!”
Chen Xi sighed. It was easier to talk to smart people.
But this was discovered through his own investigation. Since Cheng Yu could guess it, one can imagine what the current atmosphere within the court is like.
Kushan and Parthia had long been listed as targets of attack, and public opinion was also vaguely guiding the direction of the situation, emphasizing the anti-human aspects between the two empires.
This is also normal operation. Except for fighting the Huns, which does not require a reason, you need a justification for doing anything else.
We can't follow the example of the Chu State and tell others that we are barbarians, right?
That's a bit too cheap. It's better to find an honest excuse to save face.
"?" Cheng Yu was even more confused. Wasn't this confirmed long ago? There was nothing surprising about the Kushans collecting some grain.
"No, you don't understand. Kushan merchants are buying large quantities of grain, which means they are making a profit. But Kushan itself is a major grain-producing country. Under normal circumstances, they don't need to buy so much grain!"
"If they are preparing for war, they should buy other war materials from us instead of food."
Cheng Yu pondered for a moment and suddenly realized.
"You mean there are other forces involved? Great Britain? No... you mean the enemies across the sea?"
"No, I mean...wait, the enemies across the sea?"
Chen Xi originally just wanted to say that the Kushans’ abnormal behavior was most likely a conspiracy, but he had no idea what the conspiracy was, and that was the real reason why he was upset.
Although there will definitely be a battle in the end, it is the job of wise men like them to understand all the movements of the opponent in advance.
Although he is a nobody, he still has to carry the banner of the wise when everyone is doing their own job.
Originally, he just wanted to complain to relax, but after a few words with Cheng Yu, he suddenly opened up a new line of thought.
"The Undead don't need logistical supplies, the Elves have no shortage of food and don't eat meat, so that means the humans and the beastmen..." Chen Xi narrowed his eyes.
They also have some understanding of the situation on the other continent. Over the years, there have been many refugees such as Qu Yi's concubine, who all escaped from the other continent.
They also have a basic understanding of the form of the American continent.
However, as far as they know, the Undead Empire should be the only dominant force in America now, and the other few can only form an alliance to fight against the attack of the Undead.
The Kushan navy was very strong, and it was not impossible for it to establish connections with the Americas and develop trade routes.
"Making a deal with another continent? It does seem like a good idea!" Chen Xi kept the idea in mind and planned to let the navy give it a try when the time comes.
It would indeed be a good thing if trade between the two continents could be opened up.
"Zichuan, I want to go to the Yizhou war zone, what do you think?" Cheng Yu said suddenly.
It was a consensus within the Han Dynasty that the Kushans would launch an attack, so many people actually wanted to go to the front lines, and the fastest way to be granted a title of nobility or prime minister was through war.
A guy like Cheng Yu, who follows orthodox Confucianism, naturally wants to go and fight.
"It's not impossible!" Chen Xi thought for a moment and felt that Cheng Yu's request was good.
Although he used to look down on the Kushan Empire, after the Kushan Empire defeated Brahma and began to rise, Chen Xi no longer regarded the Kushan Empire as a soft persimmon, but regarded it as an opponent in the true sense.
The Kushan Empire itself is one of the places where ancient civilizations developed, and it did produce some talented people. Even if they were not military gods, there were definitely some famous generals. This is the foundation of a country with a large population.
With so many people, all kinds of troubles are likely to occur. It is reasonable that one or two famous generals would emerge from the Kushan Empire.
What was the reason why the Kushans were weak before? It was an institutional problem.
The caste system is a huge pitfall, the kind that you can never get out of once you fall into it. The original Kushans were also trapped to death because of this reason.
But now it is different. There are real gods in this world, and they can be brought down and killed. Brahma is dead, and the survivors have become new gods. The Brahmins have been completely uprooted and have become dogs for the monarch to stabilize the country.
The original divine right of kings became theocracy the moment Brahma died. The formerly trashy Kushan Empire completed the unification in an instant, and it was a highly centralized unification.
To some extent, Vasudeva I is now following the script of Qin Shihuang, sweeping away internal troubles and ruling the country himself, suppressing all opposition forces, and uniting the entire country to prepare to go out and sweep the six kingdoms.
Although the comparison cannot be made completely, the Kushan Empire now has the capital to drag other empires into the quagmire of war.
If he were really given a few years to grow, he might really be able to compete with the Han Dynasty.
However, capital is capital, and the Han Dynasty would naturally not watch it develop, and had long planned to get rid of the Kushans.
As a result, the Parthian Huns suddenly appeared, and in their haste, they could not think of a good way to win both wars, so they could only take it one step at a time.
However, the Han Dynasty is now strong and powerful, with many brave generals emerging, so the possibility of this generation taking it down is still very high.
So I might as well free up some energy for development for a while.
After all, the Kushan mess is still huge. No matter how unify you are, it is easier to defeat the thieves in the mountains than the thieves in their hearts.
Nangui has been poisoned by the Brahmins for more than one generation. It is not easy to eliminate the influence.
At least the possibility is not high for this generation. It will take at least 20 years for the next generation to grow up. They have plenty of time to develop first.
Chen Xi is very confident about this. The development of the Han Dynasty will only get faster and will not stagnate.
However, the Han Dynasty also anticipated that if the Kushans wanted to eliminate their influence, they could only start a war.
Parthia itself was being suppressed by Rome, so the Kushans would not choose Parthia. After all, if Parthia fell, they would have to face the pressure from Rome, which would not be a good thing.
Therefore, taking action against the Han Dynasty became the best option. They had already fought several times anyway, so this time wouldn't be a big deal.
"Anyway, you can go if you want. The Kushan problem is not as serious as you think. Even if it rises, it is just the last glory. It can be basically conquered in about 20 years!"
Chen Xi said with a hint of arrogance.
Originally, he had envisioned it would only take ten years, but after the unification of the Kushan Empire, things became a bit tricky and the time was doubled.
But it's only twenty years, which is still early for young people like them. In twenty years, he will only be in his forties, in the prime of his life.
The Kushans have potential, and are still transforming that potential into military force. It can even be said that their destiny is deepening, but this is their limit.
The Kushans went astray from the very beginning. Vasudeva was not Qin Shihuang. His foundation was too weak and he had no culture of his own .
From the very beginning, the Great Yuezhi was a hodgepodge. They learned the etiquette system of the Han Dynasty, but did not learn it thoroughly. They also learned the brutality and madness of the Xiongnu, but did not learn it thoroughly. Then, they relied on these two half-baked systems to piece together the Great Yuezhi.
Then it came into contact with the Brahmins. It can be said that the Kushan Empire learned from three schools, but was not like any of them.
This resulted in the Kushans themselves being unable to achieve mutual recognition, and the current unification was only on paper; there was no hope for unification within the mainland.
If we have to make a metaphor, it is that after Qin Shi Huang conquered the six kingdoms, he had not yet started to implement the county system, nor had he implemented measures such as standardizing the writing system, the wheel gauge, and the weights and measures.
However, even if it was only a unification on paper, it was still a unification, and this is also the reason why the Kushans began to rise.
Although their foundation was not solid, they managed to reach the standard of a true empire. This was also the ability of the Kushans.
If the situation had continued to develop in this way for a few decades, and another figure like Emperor Gaozu of Han or Emperor Wu of Han emerged, he might have replicated China's rise. Unfortunately, that only exists in fantasy.
"Hahaha, about twenty years, you are really confident!" Cheng Yu sighed and laughed, "Twenty years is a long time, but also very short. Besides, if nothing unexpected happens, I can still live to that day."
"Only at times like this can you realize how young you are!" Cheng Yu was a little dejected. They were born too early. They could only participate in this golden age at the earliest stage, and after that they could only watch.
This is also the reason why he wants to go to the front line. While he is still at his prime, he should do more things so that he will have fewer regrets when he is old.
"By the way, I want to ask, what's going on here!" Cheng Yu raised his head as if he had thought of something. It was not without purpose that he went to the front line. This was an idea he came up with after chatting with Cao Cao.
He found a map and pointed to the northern part of Kushan.
"There is no road. It's easy to get stuck in the desert, Gobi and mountains!" Chen Xi shook his head. Although the world was a little different, that area was probably located near the legendary imperial cemetery.
If a large army were to get stuck in a place like that, it would probably be more trouble than it would be worth.
"How about building a road? You said ten years will pass by at least!" Cheng Yu said silently. This was the inspiration he got from chatting with Cao Cao. The reason why he asked Chen Xi was to know how much money this project would cost.
"It's too long. If the enemy attacks, it will be difficult for us to react!" Chen Xi shook his head. He was not good at military forces, but he still understood the basic principles.
The road is so long that it will become a fixed supply line in the future and will be easily attacked.
If the road wasn't too long, he would still consider it, but it was too long and there was no value in considering it at all.
"Chen Zichuan, you really don't understand military affairs!" Cheng Yu shook his head. He had no hope in Chen Xi's military ideas and decided to just focus on logistics.
"Just tell me, is it difficult to build this road?" Cheng Yu asked directly.
"Not big, or rather, very easy!" Chen Xi shook his head. "If we don't consider external enemies, it's not difficult at all!"
"That's good!" Cheng Yu's eyes lit up. He was worried that Chen Xi would say that the financial situation did not allow it.
They don’t understand economic development now, and Chen Xi is in charge of all this.
So when faced with such a major decision, they habitually asked Chen Xi. In case it affects the economy, they can try another method. There are many methods. There is no need to kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred of their own. That is not cost-effective.
"What do you have in mind?" Chen Xi was very curious.
"Since we are going to deploy people on the battlefield, we might as well deploy them directly on that road. It is simple, convenient and direct." Cheng Yu said with a sneer.
"...Do you mean to force the Kushans to fight us?" Chen Xi fell silent after hearing this.
Cheng Yu’s plan is so grand and it seems to make some sense. Instead of deploying troops everywhere, it is better to deploy them all on the road.
This forced the northern Kushan Empire to attack this road. In this way, the enemy would have no way to avoid it and the two sides would have to fight head-on.
Moreover, once the enemy adopts a defensive tactic, the Han Dynasty will not be affected by logistical supplies because of this road.
But the only question is how much manpower is needed to complete the task.
"A pincer attack from the north and south is more suitable for us!" Cheng Yu sneered, "If you want, I can take over this role and plan this matter from now on!"
Chen Xi pondered for a moment. Pushing Cao Cao to the north and dealing with Parthia and Kushan at the same time was indeed a bit stressful, but sending more people seemed to be able to solve the problem. Cheng Yu's proposal was indeed very tempting.
Although there are still many imperfections, it is already a good plan.
"Besides, building roads is also beneficial to the subsequent rule. It's killing two birds with one stone and a better family. There's no need to rush! " Cheng Yu said indifferently.
This kind of plan itself is to advance future events, which is indeed quite cost-effective for .
