Chapter 648: Preparing for the Attack on Wu

Chapter 648: Preparing for the Attack on Wu

"The richness of Huainan is well-deserved..."

Ma Su looked through the various data systems of Huainan sent by Deng Ai, and was silent for a while.

"Before, the pseudo-Wei was begging with a golden bowl, which was a waste."

"Indeed." Deng Ai nodded in agreement, and couldn't help but add.

"I used to think that the two Huai regions were such a land of fish and rice. It was a waste to abandon them just because of guarding against the enemy."

"It's a pity that I was just a warehouse clerk in the pseudo-Wei, and my words were not taken seriously. No one would listen to my suggestions."

"It's right that the pseudo-Wei was destroyed, and talents were not reused. And the people in the temple were all rotten wood. It would be unjust if the country didn't perish." Ma Su shrugged and said nonchalantly.

"So, sir, about the farming in the two Huai regions..." Deng Ai immediately got back to the point and asked Ma Su carefully.

"No problem, it can be put into practice immediately." Ma Su nodded affirmatively. As a professional, Ma Su could see that Deng Ai's plan was very good.

Faced with Ma Su's affirmation, Deng Ai couldn't help but feel secretly happy. But then Ma Su changed the subject, which made him suddenly feel nervous.

"However, there is still a little flaw in it..."

"Please correct it, sir!" Deng Ai hurriedly bowed.

"This deployment is too conservative." Ma Su waved his hand and said slowly.

"Now our Han Dynasty is no longer a small country living in Yizhou, but a big country sitting in the Central Plains. Now we have sufficient manpower and material resources to allocate, and those nobles are all extremely obedient."

"With this resource as a foundation, there should be more military settlements in Lianghuai, right?"

According to Deng Ai's idea, it would take three years for 50,000 military settlements to expand to the outside world. It would take about five years for the number of settlements to expand to about 100,000.

As for stockpiling enough materials for the attack on Wu, it would take seven years.

Ma Su was in no mood to wait in Huainan for seven years. If conditions did not allow it, Ma Su would have wanted to kill Sun Quan tomorrow.

So according to Ma Su's idea, Deng Ai's plan was still too conservative. It would be better to expand the border farming area as much as possible while the Central Plains is being annexed and the manpower and material resources are still somewhat abundant.

Gathering the materials for the attack on Wu as early as possible, Ma Su can also show his skills earlier.

Deng Ai could understand Ma Su's idea, but he still spoke tactfully.

"Envoy, although the land in Huainan is fertile and the temperature is mild, it has been abandoned for so many years, and many wastelands have to be re-cultivated."

"These are extremely time-consuming and cannot be solved overnight."

"And the most important thing is that although the land in Huainan is fertile, the water power is actually insufficient. Many places need to dig additional canals, which are extremely time-consuming..."

Deng Ai's words were like pouring cold water on Ma Su.

Indeed, everything can be rushed, but farming is really not something that can be rushed. Without enough time, the arable land cannot be cultivated, and the grain output will naturally not increase.

As for the canals... Ma Su has professional thinking, but it is also extremely time-consuming.

"So, according to the current level, how long will it take to restore the production of Lianghuai?" Ma Su narrowed his eyes and asked after pondering for a while.

"It may take three years at the earliest..." Deng Ai counted on his fingers several times and said with a wry smile.

"If there are sufficient materials, production should be restored in two years. But if you want to further save materials for the southern expedition to Dongwu, you have to wait at least another year."

"After all, if the army gathers in Shouchun and then goes south from Hefei, it will be extremely expensive. At present, only the west of Jiujiang County can be cultivated, so three years is the minimum..."

"Wait, why can only the west of Jiujiang County be cultivated?" Ma Su grasped the key point at this time and asked immediately.

The area of ​​the Lianghuai River Basin is very large, from Runan to Guangling, and it has passed through several counties. But Deng Ai suddenly said that all the land east of Jiujiang could not be used, which made Ma Su a little confused.

"Don't you know, General?" Deng Ai was startled, and then he explained.

"Jiujiang County is to the east, and once it enters Guangling, the water power of the Huai River begins to decline. Moreover, Guangling County is full of swamps, and it is difficult to cultivate in many places."

"And this area of ​​roads is rugged and difficult to travel, which is not suitable for the army to march. So there is basically no military threat from Dongwu there, so there is no need to cultivate hard..."

After Deng Ai's explanation, Ma Su also roughly understood the specific situation of Lianghuai.

Because of the special situation of Guangling County, the lower reaches of the Huai River are not suitable for large troops to march. And the natural conditions here will be the same even after another two thousand years, and it is impossible to improve in a short time.

In the Huaihai Campaign two thousand years later in history, a certain scum of the world named Du was annihilated here...

So for now, Guangling County is destined not to receive military pressure from the south. So in Deng Ai's view, there is no need to waste resources to cultivate here.

However, after Ma Su studied the map carefully, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Shi Zai, you will be fully responsible for the farming affairs in Jiujiang and Runan. However... include Guangling County in the farming scope, and it would be best to maintain 30,000 military settlements in Guangling!"

Ma Su's request surprised Deng Ai a little. However, he still took the task habitually without any hesitation.

However, Deng Ai still wanted to figure out what Ma Su was planning. After all, in his opinion, all of Ma Su's abnormal behavior must have a deep meaning.

"Guangling County? Could it be that the envoy wants to..."

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Ma Su was fully responsible for the farming in Lianghuai, and Zhuge Liang was patrolling the Central Plains. While the entire Ji Han was trying his best to digest the Central Plains forces, in Yecheng, Hebei, the court of Cao Wei was facing turmoil.

Originally, the court of Cao Wei had barely stabilized the situation before the war. All the Central Plains gentry basically acquiesced to giving up the Central Plains and preparing to retreat to Hebei.

The situation is stronger than people, and they still understand this truth.

However, all this became a bubble with the death of Sima Yi in battle. All the people who had just settled down were all panicked again.

Even Cao Shuang, another minister entrusted with the care of the orphans, was in a state of panic at this time!

"General Sima died in battle, and the Qing and Huai armies were almost wiped out? How can I defend Hebei!" Cao Shuang was stunned after receiving all the battle reports from the front and summarizing them.

The last time he summarized the total military strength of the country, Cao Wei still had nearly 300,000 troops. As a result, after a series of battles, Cao Wei now has only 160,000 troops left!