The joy of victory was completely soaked by this bucket of cold water. Sima Fan, Jia You, Xiao Yu and others were silent, frowned and began to think hard. They all realized that this considerable victory was not the end of the war. On the contrary, it was just a small and inconspicuous wave in the torrent that swept across the country. Annihilation of a broken army of Jiehu does not mean that they won the war, and the real big problem is still behind.

It is easy to conquer Xiangcheng County, but it is difficult to defend it.

This time Sima Fan personally took the town to suppress almost all the soldiers available to the Jin army in Nanyang. In addition, the strong support of the powerful forces of Yingchuan and Xiangcheng counties, and Shi Le was beaten too badly in the battle against Yingyang. With psychological shadows, he dared not let go and attack the city. He was lucky to save the city without losing it. He would not have such good luck next time. They could not let 20,000 or 30,000 people in Xiangcheng County for a long time. Even if they were willing, Xiangcheng County might not be able to raise so many long-term out-of-production troops. Moreover, this is so close to Xuchang, if the Jiehu cavalry attacked, they would arrive in a flash and settle here. They would have to stay tight every day, and if they relax a little, they might die. They could still hold on for a day or two. If they were like this every day, everyone would have to go crazy!

Jia You said: "How about you spend a sum of money to rebuild the large and small cities in Xiangcheng County and build the city walls more solid, such as adding a layer of brick to the city walls. The Hu people have poor siege ability. As long as we build the city firm enough, it is impossible for them to win a city in a short time."

Beigong Jing shook her head: "The effect is limited."

Jia You asked: "Why?"

Beigong Jing said: "First, it is very expensive to add a thick layer of bricks to the walls of each city. Now we are very poor. If we want to strengthen all the cities in Xiangcheng County, we are afraid that we will not be able to bear the financial resources. Secondly, even if we strengthen the city, it will only make the military and civilians in the city last longer. If our main force cannot defeat the Hu cavalry, which is far more than ours, and quickly reinforce, it is only a matter of time before the city is broken."

Li Lie said: "Besides, the Hu cavalry is as fast as the wind and arrives in a flash. Even if our army can organize defenses in time, the people scattered in the villages outside the city will not have time to retreat into the city, and they will eventually die tragically under the Hu butcher's butcher's knife... According to this kind of tossing method, there will be no living people in the villages around the city in less than a few rounds. How can an isolated city be guarded?" He grew up on the prairie and could not understand the terrible mobility of the light cavalry on the grassland and the fierce bloodthirsty from the bones. The questions raised are directly at the core.

Sima Fan sighed: "Yes, even if the city is reinforced, it can only protect the people in the city. Those who work outside the city cannot protect... Otherwise, we will mobilize all manpower to build a wall, from Yangzhuo to Wuyang, and isolate our controlled area from the Hu people's controlled area?"

Li Rui was stunned: "You want to build the Great Wall on the plain?"

Sima Fan said: "This is the best way. This wall doesn't need to be too high, it's enough to have six or seven feet; it doesn't need to use a lot of bricks and stones, and rammed earth is just enough. Each county mobilizes civilians to build a section of their own and finally complete the docking. I believe that with such a wall, the difficulty of the Hu cavalry entering will be greatly increased."

Beigong Jing frowned, thinking that doing so would be too exhausting and hurting money, but there seemed to be no better way. A rammed earth structure on the plain could naturally not withstand the Hu cavalry, and the role he could play was only sluggish and early warning. The Hu cavalry could of course open a hole on the Great Wall and then swarm in, but it would take time to dismantle this hole. When they demolished the wall, the outpost behind the Great Wall would ignite beacons and warn the towns and villages behind them, and the soldiers and civilians of Xiangcheng would evacuate the people, assemble the army, and prepare for the battle. Sima Fan's plan was feasible, but the manpower and material resources required to build a Great Wall that stretched hundreds of miles was really amazing. Now, people's livelihood in Nanyang and Xiangcheng were withered, so how could they have the ability to support such a large project!

She said: "This method is feasible, but now Nanyang and Xiangcheng are in decline, so I'm afraid I don't have the ability to undertake such a huge civil engineering project!"

Sima Fan said: "You have to do it even if you can't afford it. This Great Wall is related to everyone's life and death. I believe everyone will do their best to complete it."

Everyone had no better way, and they all said that this plan was feasible and worth trying.

However, Li Rui went to object: "It's better not to do this."

Sima Fan asked: "Why?"

Li Rui asked replies without answering: "Why did the Jin Dynasty have tens of thousands of people and countless wealth, but was beaten to the destruction of the country by a group of poor and poor macaques?"

Sima Fan didn't say anything.

He can't answer this question.

Li Rui hit the nail on the head: "Because since Emperor Guangwu of Han, the Hu people have not been able to pose a real threat to the Central Plains in nearly three hundred years. Over time, everyone relaxed and thought that the Hu people were not worth worrying about, and they were all addicted to enjoyment. When the Hu people showed their sharp fangs, everyone realized that their muscles had already relaxed, they could no longer pull out their hard bows, and could not ride a flaming horse. They were defeated under the attack of the Hu people!"

Everyone could not help but feel ashamed when they recalled the extravagant and enjoyment of the upper class of the Western Jin Dynasty before the Eight Kings Rebellion and were proud of showing off their wealth.

Li Rui said word by word: "Human nature is to be lazy and hate labor and like to enjoy pleasure, which is difficult to change. If we build such a Great Wall and isolate the Hu people from the Great Wall, everyone will lose their sense of crisis and think that the Hu people will no longer threaten themselves! With the long-term atmosphere of our Jin Dynasty, once the Hu people no longer pose a threat, guess what the rich people will do? Under their leadership, what will happen to the people of Xiangcheng and Nanyang?"

Beigong Jing felt thoughtful.

She has been in Luoyang for almost three years, and has really learned too much about the nobles, princes and clans who are drunk and dreamy and extravagant in Luoyang City. The Hu people were wandering around outside Luoyang City. They hid in the city and sang every night, either drunk and dreamy or talked about metaphysics. Anyway, don’t expect them to do serious things! This trend has long spread to every corner of the empire, corroding everyone’s thoughts. This time, the powerful tyrants of Yingchuan, Xiangcheng, Chenjun, and Nanyang were able to work together to help the Jin army resist Jiehu, but because the fierce Jiehu made them feel dangerous and realized that if they don’t fight hard, they will die. Once this threat is eliminated, they will immediately resurface and even become more severe. No one can do it!

This kind of greed for pleasure and the idea of ​​drinking and getting drunk today is more dangerous than having no city walls.

She asked Li Rui: "What are your countermeasures?"

Li Rui said: "My countermeasure is not to build the Great Wall, to enshrine all the people as military, to give them weapons, to teach them the skills of killing enemies, to let them serve as farmers in peacetime and soldiers in wartime, and to take up weapons to protect their homes!"

Beigong Jing said: "Even if they have learned the ability to kill enemies, on this vast plain, infantry always suffers a lot against cavalry. Even if the well-trained imperial guards face only one-third of their own Hu cavalry, there is a danger of being wiped out, let alone a group of peasants? When the Hu cavalry attacks, they don't even have time to assemble or retreat into the city!"

Li Rui said: "If you don't have time to retreat into the city, don't retreat. Just turn the entire village or town into a fortress!"

Sima Fan raised his eyebrows: "What do you mean, Guangxiubao?"

Li Rui said: "Building a dock is so expensive, and it is not like this if you have money. I mean, every village uses rammed earth and wooden stakes to build a wall, and at the same time dig trenches to protect the village."

Sima Fan said: "Such fortifications are too simple and cannot withstand the attacks of the Hu people!"

Li Rui said: "There is no need to resist it, and there is no expectation that it can resist it. Its greatest purpose is to provide a shelter for the people scattered on the vast plains and provide facilities for those militia units to resist enemy attacks. If the people want to save their lives, they have to dig tunnels."

Beigong Jing thought: "Dig a tunnel? How to dig it?"

Li Rui said: "Have you seen the earth kiln? Every household should have it. Just use these earth kilns as the starting point to continue digging underground, digging the tunnel to every corner of the village, connecting every household, and storing more dry food, water, firewood inside. When the Hu people come, the militia is responsible for defending the enemy. The old, weak, women and children are trapped in the tunnel to hide. The militia can fight if they can fight, but they can't. When the old, weak, women and children enter the tunnel, they hide in the tunnel themselves! Aren't the Hu cavalry very awesome? They are capable of sucking into the tunnel! When they enter the tunnel, let alone the militia, a little girl can kill them!"

He pinched his chin and added: "It is best to hide all the food, clothing and other essential daily necessities in the tunnel. If possible, it would be better to dig a well or two in the tunnel. In this way, everyone would not have to worry about food and drink in the tunnel. Even if the Hu people occupied the village, they would not be able to grab anything. We should spend as long as they like to occupy it. During the day, everyone hides in the tunnel, and at night, militia crawl out to find opportunities to fuck them, kill a few, and then continue to retract back into the tunnel to see whoever consumes whom!"

Sima Fan only felt that this plan was really too much for his appetite, so he smiled: "Okay, this method is good! Hu cavalry generally doesn't bring much supplies, and they can grab it wherever they go. It's okay to be able to fight and decide quickly. If they fall into confrontation and consume, they will definitely not be able to withdrew! If they can't grab the food, they can only retreat, otherwise they will only starve to death. This authenticity is easier to use than a solid city wall!"

Beigong Jing also said: "It is indeed feasible, it is worth trying!"
Chapter completed!