Xiao Ruxun smiled coldly.
"It's just that in the eyes of the civil officials, war is a waste of money. That's why when I attacked Japan and brought back 10 million taels of silver, they didn't dare to believe it. They didn't believe that fighting a war could bring them so many benefits. Or rather, they only saw the silver as a benefit and couldn't see the other benefits.
They couldn't see how many attacks from the Northern Barbarians could be avoided after a single counterattack. Take the previous battle in Ningxia for example. I beheaded 3,000 Northern Barbarians in one battle and piled their heads outside the Great Wall. They were so scared that they didn't dare to invade for three whole years. In the past, when did the Northern Barbarians not invade a few times a year?
A successful counterattack could prevent them from invading for three years! Mister Xu, let's say we lose 10 taels of silver every time the Northern Barbarians invade the South. If they invade 10 times a year, that would be 100 taels of silver gone. If we successfully counterattack once, would the amount of silver needed for one counterattack be more than what the Northern Barbarians would lose in 10 invading the South?
Even if it's equal, and each counterattack costs 100 taels of silver, but if we can prevent the Northern Barbarians from invading the South for three years, we'll save 300 taels of silver. If we balance it out, we'll still earn 200 taels of silver. Isn't that right? Do I need to explain the benefits of defending against the enemy outside the country's borders?
At least the people won't be harmed, production won't be hindered, and the houses, cities, and defensive facilities we've built won't be damaged. These are all money! Don't they know that every time the Northern Barbarians invade the South, we not only have to pay for their military expenses, but also have to pay for their losses?
Are these expenses low? These expenses can be used to reorganize the army and train elite soldiers to invade the Great Wall. Why should we worry about the Northern Barbarians? Why does Emperor Wu of Han still want to attack the Xiong Nu with the Great Wall? Why does he want to launch a decisive battle in the Northern Desert at the cost of half of the population?
That's to thoroughly beat the Xiong Nu! So that they won't dare to invade us again, causing damage to the people's houses, cities, and other facilities. These trivial expenses may seem small, but they add up. Over time, it will be far more expensive than a single attack by the army! "
Xu Guangqi had never come into contact with these practical matters, so he had no experience in it. He could only rely on the knowledge in books and hearsay to make a judgment. Naturally, he was unable to draw an accurate conclusion. He was speechless at the expenses that Xiao Ruxun listed out.
"It would be great if the Northern Barbarians didn't go south, but how could the Northern Barbarians not go south? When the weather is cold and there's no food to eat, they will definitely head south to steal our food to eat. If we don't kill them all, we won't be able to stop them.
Blindly defending is meaningless. We must directly destroy their nest, destroy the foundation of their existence, and force them to not dare to continue south. This is the only way! "
Xiao Ruxun unsheathed his sword and placed it on the table: "If you don't want to fight, there's no other way but to fight! Kill all the enemies. When there are no enemies, there will naturally be no war. "
Xu Guangqi gulped. Meeting Xiao Ruxun's murderous gaze, he felt that he couldn't look him in the eye.
"Mr. Xu, you want to save the country, and I also want to save the country, but saving the country is not something that can be simply said. To save the country, you have to do what you preach. As for how to do it, it depends on it."
Xiao Ruxun raised his sword: "Just with this sword. Since ancient times, there has never been a savior who didn't kill. If you don't kill, you won't be able to save the country. When necessary, you must dare to use this sword to kill."
"Kill?"
Xu Guangqi looked at the gleaming sword and shook his head: "Governor, I … I don't want to kill."
Xiao Ruxun was silent for a while, then sheathed his sword.
"You scholars call yourselves the descendants of Sage Confucius. If Sage Confucius knew that you didn't even dare to use a sword to kill, I don't know how angry he would be. Scholars, scholars, you're reading things to death. At this point, how can you save the country without killing?"
Xiao Ruxun left the tent, leaving Xu Guangqi in a daze.
He suddenly felt that his knowledge was not enough, and he didn't know how to use it.
On the 10th of March, the five armies returned to the camp according to the plan. They reported what they knew and the current situation. Xiao Ruxun further confirmed that the Northern Barbarians he was facing were not an army, but a tribe.
The cities and castles north of Summer Rice Village were basically occupied by them, and the news from Chai Guozhu also confirmed this.
The Summer Rice Village and the north of the Weiyuan Guards' front line had basically been occupied by the Northern Invaders who had come south. There were many Northern Invaders hiding in the cities to avoid the bitter cold. Based on this, it could be inferred that more of them were crossing the Great Wall and settling down in Datong, constantly encroaching on the Ming Dynasty's territory to the south. If they were allowed to stay here, it would be difficult to deal with them.
In other words, this was an excellent opportunity, a good opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop.
Before this, Xiao Ruxun wanted to attack Datong and rescue Datong, which had been besieged for two months. According to the scouts' reports, Datong was surrounded by Northern Barbarians, and there were many old, weak, women, and children living under Datong. Tents and wooden houses surrounded the entire city. If he hadn't scratched his tongue earlier, Xiao Ruxun wouldn't have believed that Datong had not fallen under such circumstances.
How much psychological pressure brought about such a feeling of despair? Were Mei Guozhen and Ma Gui still alive?
What kind of persistence did they use to hold on until now?
Xiao Ruxun didn't know, but he didn't want to wait any longer.
Among the hundreds of thousands of Northern Barbarians, Xiao Ruxun estimated that there were at least thirty thousand who could fight. They had used wooden houses and tents to form a large ring around Datong. He didn't know where the people who were fighting were, or where the old, weak, women, and children were.
But according to Xiao Ruxun's guess, the innermost and outermost ring was made up of soldiers, and the middle ring was occupied by the people who lived there. They wanted to use this kind of momentum to force Datong to surrender, and then take over the city without shedding a single drop of blood.
However, none of this was important. As long as Datong had not fallen, it was enough.
"I never expected that Datong has not fallen yet. This gives us a great opportunity. As long as we clean up the circle of Northern Barbarians outside, we can rescue Datong. After that, with Datong as a backing, it won't be difficult to expel the Northern Barbarians. Now, the situation of the Northern Barbarians is like this. Look."
Xiao Ruxun held a military meeting in his own tent, and then he drew a rough map of the situation of Datong City.
Datong City was surrounded in the middle, and on the periphery was a large circle of Northern Barbarians' encampment. It was so tightly surrounded that not even a drop of water could trickle through.
"So it's this kind of encirclement. They're basically forcing Datong to collapse and surrender!"
Li Rusong looked at the situation and blurted out the goal of the Northern Barbarians.
"That's right, this is the goal of the Northern Barbarians. The Northern Barbarians couldn't take down Datong City by force, and they covet Datong's wealth. That's why they're using this method to force Datong City to surrender. Our goal is to eat up this circle of Northern Barbarians, leaving no one alive."
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