On the 2nd of September, in the palace of the capital.
Just as the Great Xia army was attacking from all directions, Ouyang Shuo received a memorial from Li Jing.
Li Jing did not blame the governors in the memorial. He only pointed out objectively that with the current logistical support capabilities, the army could not be completely unrestrained.
If the war was delayed, the logistics would be forced, and it would only form a vicious cycle.
In response to this situation, Ouyang Shuo specially summoned Ceng Guofan, who was in charge of local government affairs, and Du Ruhui, who was in charge of logistics, to discuss a solution together.
"Both of you, how should we solve the logistical problems?"
Ouyang Shuo asked directly with a gloomy expression. The war in Tubo was a war that the empire could not afford to lose. He could not bear to see any officials feigning compliance and hindering the war.
Seeing this, Ceng Guofan was the first to step forward. He braced himself and said, "This humble subject will urge the eleven provincial governors to treat this matter as their top priority. At the same time, I suggest that we gather a batch of laborers and ox carts from the neighboring provinces to transport rations to the frontline. "
Ouyang Shuo's expression softened a little. "Thank you for your hard work."
Sometimes, Ouyang Shuo could understand the difficulties of his officials. The empire had expanded to this point and had 31 provinces, a capital governor's office, and five Zhili prefectures. It was extremely difficult to manage such a large empire.
With a large territory, the entanglement of interests would naturally be complicated.
The imperial court had its strategies, and the local provinces had their own difficulties. For example, the transportation of rations to the frontline involved 11 provinces and was bound to be affected. It was understandable for the governors to feel a little unbalanced.
After all, the imperial court's annual assessment targets could not be relaxed.
Of course, understanding was one thing. Ouyang Shuo would never allow any governor to discount the tasks given by the imperial court because of a little difficulty. This was a matter of principle.
Ouyang Shuo had to make a clear stand on this point.
After Ceng Guofan expressed his stance, it was Du Ruhui's turn. She said, "I suggest that the Soaring Eagle Army, the Flying Bear Army, the Dragon Stallion Army, and if necessary, the Hedong Army and Hanoi Army should allocate a portion of their troops to help transport rations."
"This is a good idea!"
Ouyang Shuo nodded approvingly. The Great Xia army had a complete system. Not only did they have engineers, but they also had soldiers transporting rations. The efficiency of transporting rations was more efficient than laborers.
It was also a reasonable use of resources.
After squeezing the two ministers dry, Ouyang Shuo then said, "This Emperor often says that crisis is an opportunity, and this time is no exception. Sichuan, Tubo, and even Yunnan, the mountains are high and dangerous, the roads are difficult, it is very unfavorable for the imperial court to govern. This is especially true for Tubo. If there is no smooth official road connecting it to the center of the Empire, even if it is conquered in the future, it will only be half an enclave, drifting away from the Empire's system and full of hidden dangers. "
"If that's the case, why don't we take advantage of this war and make use of the existing labor and resources to build an official road connecting Sichuan and Tubo, completely opening up Tubo's external channels."
Hearing this, the two ministers' eyes lit up.
Ceng Guofan even suggested, "We can work on two tracks at the same time. One from Chengdu in the Shu Province to Luojie City, and the other from Xingqing Prefecture in the West Sea Province to Luojie City."
"Sure!"
Ouyang Shuo nodded approvingly.
Historically, because of the high and dangerous mountains on the border of Tubo, it was very difficult to trade with the Central Plains. In modern society, the situation was completely reversed when the Sichuan-Tibet and Qingzang lines were built.
What Great Xia needed to do now was to duplicate these two legendary official roads.
In view of the fact that the Empire's westward expansion was not limited to Tubo, there was also the Persian Empire to the west. The significance of building these two official roads was even more extraordinary. It would definitely become a main road connecting the imperial court to West Asia.
"After you come down, the cabinet will take the lead and the Construction Department will hire the best designers and survey engineers to determine the route of the two official roads. Once the plan is finalized, immediately start construction," Ouyang Shuo instructed.
"Your humble servant understands!"
In fact, with the Sichuan-Tibet and Qingzang lines in the real world as a reference, and the Construction Department did not lack first-class engineers hired from the players, it wasn't difficult to determine the road construction plan.
The difficult part was the construction. To build these two official roads under such harsh conditions, it was unknown how many soldiers and laborers would be buried in the road construction forever.
However, no matter how difficult it was, this matter had to be carried out.
…
Back to the battlefield.
At about 11 am on the 2nd of September, Wang Ben led 70,000 mighty soldiers of the Great Qin Dynasty. They traveled day and night and arrived at their destination — the outskirts of Amdo City.
The vanguard troops arrived early in the morning.
Along the way, Wang Ben's troops even fought with the enemy troops wandering at the border twice. One could imagine the result. The army of the Ashoka Dynasty, who did not know the strength of the enemy, was utterly defeated by the Qin army and fled pathetically.
If it wasn't for the fact that they were in a hurry to attack the city, Wang Ben would not have let them go so easily.
"Pass down my order. The entire army will rest for three hours and have a full meal. We will attack the city at 2 pm sharp." Wang Ben was very decisive. The moment he dismounted, he gave the order to the entire army.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Following the order, the soldiers unloaded the tents from the backs of the horses. Under the command of the general, they set up temporary tents at the designated locations according to certain rules.
The supply soldiers and cooks skillfully set up cooking utensils and used mud and stones to build temporary stoves. They took out all kinds of vegetables and processed meat from their luggage and began to cook.
In less than an hour, white tents were set up one after another.
Although there were only 70,000 soldiers, the tents that were spread out were continuous and took up a large area. They were so densely packed that one could not see the end of them. Under the contrast of the blue sky and white clouds, it was a beautiful sight.
As the smoke curled up from the chimneys, the aroma of food wafted through the camp, whetting the appetite of the soldiers.
After eating the hot food, the well-trained soldiers of the Qin army, with the exception of those who were responsible for patrolling the perimeter, seized the time to enter the tents to rest and conserve their energy for the battle in the afternoon.
Every extra ounce of stamina meant a higher chance of survival on the battlefield.
Soon, the bustling camp returned to silence. Only the sound of snoring could be heard. In the army, the soldiers had long learned to sleep the moment they fell to the ground. They did not want to waste a single second.
… …
Not far from the camp, the 40,000-strong army of the Ashoka Dynasty was already waiting at the top of Amdo City.
The news of the battle between their vanguard troops and the enemy had already reached Amdo City and shocked the entire city. The current army of the Ashoka Dynasty did not dare to underestimate the enemy troops outside the city.
Their earlier arrogance had also been quietly restrained.
Of course, they were not afraid. Firstly, the battle yesterday was a small scale battle and could not prove much. Secondly, they were defending the city and had the geographical advantage. Naturally, they had nothing to fear.
The morale of both sides was maintained very well.
… …
At half past one in the afternoon, a horn sounded in the camp of the Qin army. This was the wake-up call.
In the spacious and sparsely populated Tibetan Plateau, the sound of the horn sounded especially distant and had a different feel to it. Accompanied by the distant sound of the horn, the quiet Qin army camp came to life in an instant.
Half an hour later, the entire army was assembled.
Their efficiency and discipline were impressive. Wang Jian and the rest of the Qin generals had trained the army quite a bit since they appeared in the wilderness. Although they did not have any actual combat experience, they were not to be underestimated.
It was believed that those who survived the battle with Tubo would be the best of the best.
Jia Xu's strategy was indeed brilliant. While draining the strength of the Ashoka Dynasty, Great Xia could also achieve the goal of training their soldiers and pick out the real elites from the two million surrendered soldiers.
"Attack!"
Wang Ben rode on a black warhorse and pointed his sword forward.
"Kill!"
10,000 vanguard troops carried siege ladders and surged towards the city walls like a tide.
In the Tibetan Plateau, due to the environment, the city walls were usually made of a simple mixture of stones and mud. They were not strong and could not be built too high. The city walls of Luoge City were only six meters tall.
If that was the case in Luoge City, it was even more so in the small Amdo City, which was only four meters tall.
Furthermore, the smelting, construction, and forging techniques of the Tubo Dynasty were lagging behind the dynasties of the Central Plains. The defense system of the cities was generally weak.
Unfortunately, the Tubo Dynasty's territory was vast and sparsely populated, so it was difficult to build a city. Except for a few cities, there were no more than thirty cities in its territory. As such, the Ashoka Dynasty had no choice but to station 40,000 soldiers in a small city that was no different from a village in the Central Plains.
The moment Wang Ben saw Amdo City, he felt reassured. If everything went smoothly, they would be able to stay in Amdo City at night and not have to suffer the cold in the suburbs.
Last night, they finally experienced the cold nights of the Tibetan Plateau.
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