Chapter 3622
Military and Political Affairs
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Xu Rong is very strong, that much is undeniable.
Whether in external conquests or internal control, he far surpasses Yan Yan.
For Yan Yan, by observing the details, he could deduce a great deal about Xu Rong's abilities and strength.
Just by looking at the position of the battle line, you can tell how formidable Xu Rongqiang is in terms of his ability to fight against foreign enemies.
As for internal discipline, Yan Yan still doesn't know exactly how many soldiers Xu Rong lost.
Based on this alone, Yan Yan knew that Xu Rong's internal control was far superior to theirs.
According to normal battlefield intelligence reconnaissance, the losses under Xu Rong's command were definitely not small, but they were still able to maintain an offensive posture on the front line, and the losses did not seem to be too great.
Yan Yan asked herself honestly about the extent to which she could conceal such losses, losses that had no actual quantity and could even be concealed from her own people. It seemed that she could not do that.
Even when it comes to internal management, Yan Yan is considered an extremely outstanding individual, but compared to this level of control, there is still a considerable gap.
Recognizing this gap allows for a better understanding of the capabilities of both sides.
Based on this, Yan Yan naturally made her own choice, a choice she believed to be the right one.
Choosing to join Zhang Fei in attacking Rajgir and Gaya, and clearing out the Kushan region south of Pataliputra, the mission objective wasn't particularly difficult.
Siege warfare, aside from being a waste of time and energy, is not particularly difficult when one has a numerical advantage.
If all else fails, just as Lu Min suggested, without caring about time, we can simply pile up earth from a distance and force it onto the city walls, turning the siege into a field battle on an upward slope.
If they had more time, they could have built the earthen walls higher than the city walls, changing the strategy from attacking from low to high to attacking from high, thus gaining a geographical advantage and completely eliminating the defenders' defensive advantages.
However, the price to pay for doing so would likely be a very long time.
Zhang Ren himself disliked siege warfare.
Siege warfare not only tests the soldiers, but also the patience and confidence of the generals, which is quite troublesome for the entire Zhang Ren army.
Because this thing doesn't rely on burst damage, it requires patience and sustained output, which isn't something Zhang Ren is good at.
After playing for so long, Zhang Ren also discovered his strengths: pure burst damage.
Of all combat types, only skirmishes and open field battles are the battlefields he excels at.
In this type of battlefield, only Guan Yu's army is more involved in this aspect. Although there is also a Huashi City, this city basically does not require siege tactics.
If we start using engineering methods to deal with Huashi City, it might actually be a good thing.
Huashi City, with its massive military force, was a place where both the Han Empire and the Kushan Empire invested enormous resources; for the Kushan Empire, it was arguably a decisive force.
The existence or non-existence of a city directly determines the life or death of the Kushans, or rather, the Brahmins. Precisely because of this importance, the military forces and Kushan personnel gathered around Pataliputra essentially encompass the vast majority of the Brahmins' current manpower.
This is one of the reasons why the entire Southern Brahmin community had few means to deal with Xu Rong after realizing his threat.
For the first time, the Brahmins, who once had a large population and a powerful army, experienced a shortage of soldiers.
This level of shortage was normal in Rahul's view, considering that there were hundreds of thousands of Brahmin soldiers gathered around Pataliputra.
Add in the corresponding support staff, and it's not an exaggeration to say it costs a million.
Mobilizing such a large number of people would be an extremely heavy burden, even for ordinary people.
Even though many of these people brought their own food to Huashi City, and were backed by the core area of the Brahmins, which could greatly reduce the consumption of food transportation, this was already the limit for the Brahmins.
The Brahmins lost less than 30% of their food production by losing the area east of Pataliputra, but nearly half of their population.
Although the remaining half is the core population of the Brahmins, the reduction in the total number has forced a significant decrease in the human and material resources that the Brahmins can mobilize.
Previously, the area east of Pataliputra, although under Brahman rule for a short period, had a considerable population. Through the intimidation of force and the coercion of faith, it was possible to unleash a large number of people. However, this is no longer possible.
However, it's not all bad; it does have some advantages.
The Kushan people gathered around Pataliputra today are extremely steadfast in their faith. They have long been deeply influenced by Brahmanical thought and agree with the Brahmanical system of thought. They are willing to dedicate their lives to Brahmanism and complete a life of atonement.
The highly accepted mindset led to an exceptionally strong will, and coupled with the fact that the Brahmins were severely weakened and had little power to restrain Rahul, things improved considerably.
The extremely high degree of freedom, almost unrestricted freedom of expression, allows Rahul to realize his own ideas, control the army according to his own will, and make the army into the shape he imagines.
The only drawback is probably the inability to make the northern army the backbone, or to dismantle a few northern legions to strengthen the overall command and combat capabilities of the army.
If we could dismantle a few of the elite northern troops to accomplish this, that would be perfect.
Unfortunately, even though Rahul brought it up, it still couldn't be accomplished.
As Rahul, who already controlled most of the military power in the South, could be said to have absolute control over the military, except for the Southern Navy. Under these circumstances, he still had to draw troops from the North and merge them into the Southern Army.
Regardless of whether the northern army was willing to do such a thing, for Vasudeva I, it also involved huge political risks.
There are contradictions between the North and the South, and the royal family balances these contradictions, seizing power and maintaining checks and balances in the process of achieving this balance, thereby ruling the entire country.
If the North and South could bypass the royal family and communicate directly, would the significance of the royal family's existence be diminished?
Even if Rahul's actions are limited to the military sphere, who can guarantee that such communication and exchange will only exist within the military?
Once contact is established, communication will naturally spread, especially in the extremely dangerous military environment, where it will only bring greater trouble and danger!
So even though he knew that Rahul was right, Vasudeva I still politely refused Rahul, citing the unwillingness of the northern people to participate.
Although the North was indeed unwilling, Vasudeva I made no effort or offer any assistance in this regard, and from the outset, he rejected this possibility. (End of Chapter)