In the Sui and Tang dynasties, famous officials from well-known families paid attention to "going out as generals and becoming prime ministers". Mounting their horses can kill the enemy, and dismounting their horses can calm the people. They should cultivate both internal and external skills and develop both civil and military skills.
Therefore, even among the civil servants, there was no one who was not familiar with military affairs. This was very different from those later civil servants who "only read the books of sages".
The importance of Hexi, what kind of threat it would pose to Hexi once Tuyuhun rebelled, which would leave the Western Region isolated, and even the crisis faced by Guanzhong... Everyone in the hall knew it clearly. Although Tuyuhun has not rebelled yet, dispatching an army to Hexi to guard it will not only protect the passage from Guanzhong to the Western Regions, but also deter Tuyuhun so that he does not dare to act rashly.
However, the lack of military strength in Guanzhong is an indisputable fact. Is it possible to stick to Hexi and allow the defense of Guanzhong to slacken?
Among the existing armies in Guanzhong, only the left and right garrison troops are fully reorganized.
However, these two military guards stationed at the Xuanwu Gate Suwei Palace are the guarantee of Taiji Palace and must not be easily mobilized.
Xiao Yu pondered: "When Your Majesty went on an expedition, he entrusted His Highness with the power to supervise the country. During the period of His Majesty's expedition, His Highness was the center of the empire. As the center, how could he abandon the East Palace and move to the Xingqing Palace as a director? ? This move may cause turmoil in the government and the public, leading to instability and low morale. Your Highness, please think twice."
The king of a country should be at the center of the empire, facing south and facing north, guarding the dragon's veins with a glorious atmosphere.
Throughout the ages, none of the emperors who did not want to live in the palace, but went to the forbidden gardens and palaces to serve as trustees, did so smoothly. Even if it goes ahead, the turmoil this move will cause to the government cannot be ignored, and it will even make the struggle among the central government more intense, with potentially disastrous consequences.
Of course, the reason why Xiao Yu said this was not just to advise the prince to put the overall situation first. The transfer of the center from the East Palace to the Xingqing Palace means a small-scale change of power. In the past, it was a struggle between the East Palace and the opposition forces. In the future, it may be a struggle within the East Palace family.
Xiao Yu is indeed close to Fang Jun, but they can meet each other. Once the prince moves to Xingqing Palace, he will be surrounded by Fang Jun's faction, because apart from Fang Jun, the prince cannot completely trust anyone.
Once this power structure is formed, even if the prince moves back to the East Palace in the future, it will be difficult to break it easily.
In the face of power, all personal feelings must be put aside, because Xiao Yu not only represents himself, but also seeks the best interests for the Jiangnan gentry group behind him.
Therefore, Li Chengqian's proposal to deploy Zuo Tun Guards to guard Hexi is almost equivalent to preferring internal disputes within the Donggong clan to protect Hexi...
One can imagine how much pressure Li Chengqian felt after making such a decision.
But it also shows that Li Chengqian's ambition is far beyond what his ordinary performance can encompass...
Li Chengqian remained silent, and Fang Jun on the side shook his head and said: "The concerns of Duke Song are indeed true. However, the current situation must frighten Tuyuhun. Otherwise, once Tuyuhun raises his troops to cross the Qilian Mountains, the military strength of the Hexi counties will not be able to hold on. Wait until If Hexi is lost, not only will the Western Region be left alone without money and food support, but even Guanzhong will face Tuyuhun's cavalry. As the so-called lesser of two evils, we can only send an army to Hexi."
How could he not know what Xiao Yu was thinking?
However, the most important thing at the moment is naturally to contain the Tuyuhun. As long as the Tuyuhun can be restricted to the south of the Qilian Mountains and the smooth flow of the Hexi Corridor is ensured, some chaos in Chang'an City can only be tolerated for the time being.
Yu Wenjie, who was promoted to Minister Youcheng by His Majesty Li Er before leaving, said: "The Duke of Yue is far-sighted, and I admire him. However, if the Zuo Tun Guards are transferred to Hexi, it will further lead to a lack of military strength in Guanzhong. The Right Army under Duke Yue Although the garrison guards are brave and good at fighting, they are unable to stand alone. If there is a change in the pass, what troops are there to deal with it? Moreover, Tuyuhun has not rebelled until now. Maybe things have changed. You can wait until Cui Dunli becomes king of Tuyuhun. It’s not too late to make a decision after my dental account comes back.”
Yu Wenjie has a close personal relationship with Fang Jun, but at this moment he represents the position of the Guanlong nobles, and he is already implicitly standing with Xiao Yu...
Fang Jun was unmoved, raised his eyebrows, and said: "It is not an exaggeration to say that what Yu Wen Youcheng said will bring disaster to the country and the people! Everything will be established if he hesitates, and it will be abandoned if he does not hesitate. If you make a decision beforehand, you will not be able to do it, and if you make a decision in advance, you will not be able to do it. If you are trapped, you will not feel guilty if you make decisions before you go, and you will not be poor if you make decisions before you go. Now that Tuyuhun has the intention to rebel, the court has made a decision and responded to it early that morning. How can it wait until he raised a rebel flag and sent troops to attack the prefectures and counties of the Tang Dynasty before thinking about it? How to quell the rebellion? At that time, the tiger will be driven out through the front door and the wolf will come through the back door. The whole court will be in chaos and collapse without a fight!"
Shangshu Youcheng is considered to be the fourth in command of Shangshu Province. His Majesty Li Er serves as the Shangshu Ling himself, followed by Shangshu Zuopushe, and then Shangshu Zuocheng. Now Li Zhi holds this position, but he is sitting in the political hall in front of him. Don't say anything, let Yu Wenjie do it entirely for you.
These words can be said to be unkind. If we look into it more deeply, it means that "His Majesty Li Er does not know people well", which is a humiliation to the entire Shangshu Province.
However, Yu Wenjie was familiar with Fang Jun's character and was not annoyed at all. He just said calmly: "The Duke of Yue has taught you a lesson."
It’s not that he’s not annoyed, but he doesn’t dare to be annoyed!
Who doesn't know that Fang Jun and the Guanlong nobles are in tit-for-tat and are fighting to the death? If he dared to confront Fang Jun, Fang Jun would dare to kick him out of the political hall!
On the other hand, Li Zhi, who was silent, couldn't bear to see it, and said: "Everything should be dealt with early, of course it is right. But you can't deal with it in a haphazard manner, otherwise you will be in chaos before the powerful enemy arrives. Wouldn't it be painful for relatives and happy for enemies? In my opinion, it is better to take a long-term approach."
Yu Wenjie was his, and he had to stand up for him. Even if he was afraid of Fang Jun, he couldn't be a coward.
Otherwise, who would be willing to fight for him in the future?
Fang Jun stared at Li Zhi and asked, "Then in your opinion, how should we respond?"
How did Li Zhi know? He now knows little about government affairs and relies solely on his talent. How can he give advice on such a battle?
He said vaguely: "The troops in Guanzhong are empty, so safety should be the priority. All parties must discuss it before we can come up with an even and stable solution. We must not take risks."
Fang Jun smiled and said: "In other words, His Highness has no suggestions at all?"
Li Zhi's face turned red with anger and he glared at Fang Jun.
Fang Jun smiled and said: "In that case, Your Highness, you should study more. Important matters in the court are not just a matter of peace. If you don't have real ability, then you should talk less and learn more."
Then he ignored Li Zhi, who was so angry that his nose was smoking. He looked around at the crowd and said: "The situation is urgent. Today we must come up with a proper method to deal with the possible rebellion of Tuyuhun. It is better to say less about those ambiguous words. Military and national affairs are important. It’s not a child’s play!”
Everyone glanced at Li Zhi, whose face was red, his ears were red, and his eyes were spitting fire, and they all sighed in their hearts.
His Royal Highness the King of Jin is talented enough, but lacks experience in fighting, so he still needs to practice and practice...
At the same time, everyone also knows that His Highness the Crown Prince has made up his mind. It is okay to refute Zuo Tunwei's expedition to Hexi, but he must come up with a solution instead of procrastinating and causing the situation to deteriorate. When Tuyuhun really rebels, the government and the opposition will be caught off guard. The opportunity is lost.
But what else can be done? At present, the most powerful army in Guanzhong is the left and right garrison. If they don't agree with the left garrison to go to Hexi, then they can only let the right garrison go.
Although everyone was worried that after Zuo Tunwei went to Hexi, the entire Chang'an defense would fall into Fang Jun's hands, but at the same time, they also knew that Chai Zhewei's ability would not be enough to guarantee the safety of Chang'an if there were changes in the pass. Although both of them are military generals, in terms of military talents, Chai Zhewei is not even qualified to carry Fang Jun's shoes...
What's particularly important is that they are afraid that Chang'an's defense will fall into Fang Jun's hands, so they are more careful. But isn't His Highness afraid that Chai Zhewei's command of Chang'an's defense will threaten the crown prince's position?
Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for Fang Jun to go to Hexi.
Obviously only one of Chai Zhewei and Fang Jun could be sent out of Hexi to guard against the possible rebellion of Tuyuhun, but the fact is that neither of them could leave Chang'an.
Things are at a dead end...
At this time, only one party can compromise.
So Li Chengqian looked at Xiao Yu and asked in a deep voice: "Song Guogong, what do you think?"
He didn't ask Xiao Yu if there was anything else he could do, but asked him if he agreed. This was a rare example of Li Chengqian's domineering attitude.
Xiao Yu didn't show it on his face, but he was complaining in his heart: Your Highness the Crown Prince is forcing him to show support...
