novelAbuy Chapter 24: Data is Silent, Yet It Can Defeat an Army
Chapter 24: Data is Silent, Yet It Can Defeat an Army
Niu Hong respectfully handed over the scroll of "Agricultural Affairs in Liaodong" with both hands.
Yang Yue stepped forward, took the document, and presented it to the emperor.
Yang Jian unfolded the document, and as soon as his gaze fell upon it, his brow, which had been burning with fighting spirit, suddenly furrowed.
Niu Hong continued speaking without waiting for the emperor to ask any questions.
"I have found that Liaodong is bitterly cold, and the farming season is already short."
"Furthermore, last autumn, the area from western Liaoning to the Yan and Zhao regions suffered widespread frost damage, resulting in a 30% reduction in millet and wheat yields!"
"After last autumn's harvest, the average household in Liaoxi Prefecture had less than five shi of grain stored up."
"General Yuwen, five shi of grain is the life-saving grain for a family of five to get through the winter, not surplus grain."
Yuwen Shu's face froze instantly.
He couldn't care less what Yuwen Shu thought: "Your Majesty, the two characters 'three-tenths' are just two ink dots when written on a memorial."
"But for an ordinary farming family, it would be their lifeline for half a year!"
"Nowadays, many farmers in Liaodong rely on wild vegetables and grass roots to stave off hunger."
"I have also reviewed the border reports sent by the Yingzhou Governor's Office. Why does Goguryeo frequently harass the borders of our Great Sui Dynasty? Is it truly because they have a strong army and ambitious intentions?"
"no."
Niu Hong shook his head, his tone calm, yet every word was piercing.
"The report clearly states that the Goguryeo scouts captured by our army were all emaciated and ragged. Under interrogation, they all claimed that their country was suffering from a severe famine, which is why they took the risk of crossing the border in search of food."
Niu Hong slowly turned around and looked at Yuwen Shu, who had just been full of vigor.
There was a hint of compassion and pity in his eyes.
"General Yuwen, Goguryeo itself is running out of food, so where are you going to 'borrow supplies from the enemy'?"
"If two starving people meet, what chance do they have of getting any food except to fight to the death?"
These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Yuwen Shu's face.
What grand words, what ingenious schemes?
Faced with the cruelest reality that "no one has enough to eat," everything else seems so pale and powerless.
"As for requisitioning grain locally..."
Niu Hong's gaze slowly swept over Yang Su's gloomy face.
"Your Majesty, I still have to say it. If the royal army enters the country and forcibly requisitions the last of their life-saving rations from the already half-starved people..."
He took a deep breath, his voice suddenly rising, carrying an unprecedented sense of uprightness and determination.
"Then, in the eyes of the people of Liaodong, how is this army any different from those Goguryeo barbarian soldiers who invade and plunder?!"
"At that time, without even the Goguryeo people instigating it, the starving and freezing people, in their struggle for survival, will gather in the mountains and forests, and war will break out everywhere!"
"Our soldiers are fighting valiantly on the front lines, yet our heartland is already ravaged! The royal army of our Great Sui Dynasty is doomed to peril, besieged both internally and externally!"
Niu Hong raised his head, and his cloudy old eyes suddenly flashed with a terrifying light, like two unsheathed swords piercing straight at Yuwen Shu.
"General Yuwen, when the time comes, will your 50,000 elite troops first attack the fortified cities of Goguryeo, or will they turn back to suppress the rebellion of our own people in the Sui Dynasty?!"
Niu Hong did not stop; he continued to bow in Yang Jian's direction, his tone growing increasingly heavy.
"If war breaks out, and hundreds of thousands of laborers are forcibly conscripted from Hebei and Shandong, then not only will there be no food at the front lines, but there will also be no one to supply the rear!"
"This year's autumn harvest is over, and next year's spring planting is just around the corner. Hundreds of thousands of able-bodied men have been mobilized, missing the planting season, which will lead to a great famine in Hebei and Shandong next year!"
"At that time, refugees will rise up everywhere, and famine will inevitably lead to internal strife! Who can bear the consequences?!"
"Snapped!"
Yang Jian slammed the memorial in his hand heavily onto the imperial desk.
Yang Su and Yuwen Shu were talking about achievements and hegemony.
Niu Hong, the old minister in charge of selecting officials across the land, was talking about the foundation of the Sui Dynasty: eating!
He used the simplest of principles to point out the most fatal dead end.
A war without sufficient food support is destined to be a disaster from the very beginning.
Yang Yan, standing in the shadows, almost wanted to applaud Niu Hong.
These are the true pillars of the nation!
We don't play power games, we don't incite emotions, we just let the facts speak for themselves.
In this tense atmosphere, Niu Hong slowly walked to the huge map hanging on the side of the hall.
His withered fingers slowly traced the Liao River, the natural barrier on the map.
Finally, it stopped in the vast and desolate region of Liaodong.
His gaze shifted to the throne, and his voice suddenly became sharp.
Inside the main hall, you could hear a pin drop, with only the candlelight crackling erratically.
In the midst of this seemingly suffocating silence, Niu Hong strode toward the enormous map of Liaodong on the side of the hall.
His thin fingers slowly traced the Liao River, representing the natural barrier on the map, and finally stopped on the vast mountains and rivers of Liaodong.
"This old minister still has a question that has been weighing on my mind, and I must speak it out." He turned around to face Yang Jian, and also to Yang Su, who had been silent all along. His voice suddenly became sharp. "I dare to ask Your Majesty's permission to consult the Duke of Yue."
"Speak!" Yang Jian's voice was hoarse with suppressed emotion.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Niu Hong bowed, and when he straightened up again, his usually cloudy old eyes suddenly flashed with a terrifying light, like an ancient sword drawn from its sheath, directly illuminating Yang Su.
"The Duke of Yue has achieved unparalleled feats, pacifying the Chen Kingdom in the south and defeating the Turks in the north. This old minister has always admired him." He first bowed, then his words were sharp as a knife, cutting down, "However, in the campaign to pacify Chen, we relied on the advantage of the naval forces on the Yangtze River, using the natural barrier as a thoroughfare; in the battle to defeat the Turks, we relied on the might of the Central Plains cavalry galloping across the northern plains."
His fingers struck the Liaodong heartland on the map heavily, producing a deep, muffled thud.
"But here, there is neither a great river nor a vast plain! As far as the eye can see, there are only towering mountains, dense forests, and swamps! How much of the chariot formations and archery skills that our Sui Dynasty's troops excel at can survive in such a desolate place?"
He stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Yang Su, and asked slowly and clearly, each word distinct: "I would like to ask the Duke further—do you know if the snow in Changbai Mountain is deep enough to submerge a horse? Do you know how long the Liao River remains frozen in the harsh winter? And do you know how many hours the thin armor worn by the men of Guanzhong and the Central Plains can withstand the biting north wind on the snow-covered plains where breath turns to ice?"
Niu Hong's voice was not loud, but it was incredibly clear due to the extreme silence in the hall. Every word was like an icicle, piercing everyone's hearts.
"In Liaodong, after November, heavy snow will block the mountains and cut off the roads, making it impossible to resist by human effort. At most, the period during which troops can be deployed is only five to nine months, a mere four months!"
His chest heaved, his aged face flushed with a poignant red from rage, finally tearing open the nightmare that everyone avoided talking about: "If the war drags on and cannot be resolved quickly, the army will have nowhere to retreat, and its supply lines will be cut off in the snow! At that time, without a single Goguryeo soldier, the 300,000 soldiers... will freeze, starve, and scatter in the land between the white mountains and the black waters!"
At this point, Niu Hong abruptly turned to Yang Su, bowing deeply with a humble demeanor, yet his words were as sharp as an ultimatum: "Since the Duke of Yue strongly advocates for war next year, this old minister may ask: When will the troops be dispatched? By which route? With how much food and provisions? How will we lure the enemy? And how long will it take to achieve complete victory?"
He raised his head, his gaze burning with a resolute determination, as if he were willing to sacrifice his life: "Without such a perfect plan, to recklessly start a national war would only waste the nation's resources and squander the lives of our soldiers—"
"What should be the punishment?!"
The final question, like a thunderclap, echoed endlessly in the empty Daxing Hall, freezing all the passion and enthusiasm of the moment into a desolate silence.