Qi Fang's rhetorical question made Tian Shizhong hesitate.
He knew what the imperial court meant. The imperial court felt that in the face of the threat from the Ming Dynasty, the combat effectiveness in the Jinghu Theater was insufficient, and it felt that few of Zhang Jun's subordinates could fight.
That's why it is necessary to transfer some generals who are good at fighting from the western theater, where there are more generals who can fight, to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the central theater.
This decision was also approved by Zhao Gou at the time, and there was certainly no problem from the court's perspective.
For Tian Shizhong, who is eager to retire, this is exactly what he wants.
But from the perspective of the military and factions, this is breaking the balance of power in the military and impacting the power of Zhang Jun's old department.
As we all know, Zhang Jun has a very close relationship with Zhao Gou and is a close confidant of Zhao Gou.
The banquet that Zhang Jun invited Zhao Gou to had became the most luxurious and famous banquet in Chinese history. The menu is still circulated and is comparable to the Manchu and Han banquet.
In terms of business, out of trust in Zhang Jun, Zhao Gou asked Zhang Jun to do a lot of dirty work. After Zhang Jun retired, he asked his generals to do it. For example, it was Tian Shizhong who poisoned Yue Fei's general Niu Gao. Did it as ordered.
It can also be said that Zhao Gou's trusted forces in the military circle are mainly Zhang Jun's group, including Zhao Gou's most trusted personal guard general Yang Cunzhong, who was also a subordinate of Zhang Jun.
Now Zhao Gou has abdicated, but as the Supreme Emperor, Zhao Gou is still alive. Previously, the imperial court dispatched Wu Gong to serve in the central war zone, mainly to deal with the threat of the Ming Dynasty. But now the two sides have signed a peace treaty, and the crisis has passed.
Under this situation, if Wu Gong continues to be allowed to act recklessly and gradually encroach the Jinghu War Zone into the Wu family's sphere of influence, it will be a huge impact on Zhang Jun's old department and even Zhao Gou himself.
Especially for Zhao Gou, this may not be a good thing.
After all, he is no longer the emperor. Compared with Zhao Xin who just came to power, his attractiveness is obviously less. If he does not trust Zhao Xin wholeheartedly, this situation must not be what he wants to see.
But then again, Wu Gong's rise to power is probably what the current court would like to see.
Especially after Zhang Jun was appointed as the Privy Councilor, the Wu family could be regarded as his old subordinates and would definitely obey his orders.
Even if we don't look at it from this perspective, Zhang Jun's political attitude towards peace is completely different from Zhang Jun's political attitude towards war.
So Tian Shizhong thought about it and felt that according to this person's consistent strong style, supporting the Wu family and suppressing Zhang Jun's faction was almost a certainty, and such an approach would definitely be allowed and supported by the new emperor Zhao Yan.
Is it in my own interest to go against the current emperor for the sake of an abdicated emperor and a past tense?
Tian Shizhong looked at Qi Fang's letter and thought about his own needs and the needs of his children after his retirement in the future. He suddenly felt that he should not go against the general trend.
Although Qi Fang is a colleague, he is not that important compared to future interests.
After weighing the pros and cons, Tian Shizhong made a decision. He decided not to help Qi Fang, but to encourage Wu Gong and send more troops to Wu Gong to make Wu Gong stronger and force Qi Fang to obey Wu Gong's request. .
At the same time, he also wrote a letter to Qi Fang, analyzing the pros and cons for him, hoping that Qi Fang could make the right choice.
Of course, what Qi Fang chooses is not something he can decide. He is not sure whether Qi Fang will follow his advice.
But the most he could do was help Wu Gong so far. After all, he was a little unhappy with Wu Gong's behavior. It was too difficult to expect him to do something wholeheartedly.
One thousand cavalry followed the messenger to Nanchang City, and Tian Shizhong only had 2,000 men left. Of course, this was absolutely enough for him alone - or so he thought.
On August 13, Qi Fang's troops still failed to capture Nanchang City. Their troops suffered heavy losses due to Han Wu's strong resistance at Nanchang City. Their heads were bruised and bloody, and they were ridiculed by Wu Gong.
"Okay, General Qi, two days have come. For forty-eight hours, I have done nothing and just watched you attack Nanchang City. But you have disappointed me so much that you still failed to capture Nanchang City. Now that things have come to this, what else do you have to say?”
Qi Fang blushed, panted heavily, and looked at Wu Gong with annoyance.
"Shameless boy, how dare you insult me!!"
"So what? Soldiers, let your record speak for itself. Where is your record? Show it to me!"
Wu Gong very arrogantly threw down three heads embalmed with lime in front of his relatives.
"These are the heads of the three rebel leaders I killed. Where are yours? Show me your record!"
Qi Fang couldn't help it any longer. His anger broke through his Tianling Cap like spewing lava, and suddenly burst out. He suddenly drew his sword out of its sheath, roared, and was about to duel with Wu Gong.
Not to be outdone, Wu Gong drew his sword out of its sheath, roared angrily, and faced Qi Zhi head-on.
Just when the swords of the two were about to collide, Tian Shizhong's letter and supporting cavalry arrived.
There are two copies of Tian Shizhong's letters, one is for Wu Gong and the other is for Qi Fang.
Wu Gong was overjoyed after reading the letter. It turned out that Tian Shizhong was on his side. Although Qi Fang wrote a letter asking Tian Shizhong to help him because he was also Zhang Jun's old subordinate, Tian Shizhong still supported him. He defeated Wu Gong and allocated one thousand of his own bodyguard cavalry to Wu Gong as support.
Qi Fang read the letter and immediately collapsed to the ground as if he had been struck by thunder.
It turned out that Tian Shizhong was unwilling to support him, but wanted him to see the current situation clearly. Zhang Jun's old army could no longer get the support of the emperor as it did before, because the emperor had changed. If he wanted to protect his own interests, it was best to change the court at the right time. important.
Don't conflict with Wu Gong, try to listen to Wu Gong and please Wu Gong, so as to ensure a good retreat in the future. If Wu Gong is angered, Zhang Jun behind Wu Gong will never give him a good look.
Qi Fang suddenly collapsed.
Thinking that his backer no longer existed, and that everyone in the same faction was thinking about how to choose a retreat, he no longer had the confidence to go against Wu Gong.
He put down the letter and looked up at Wu Gong who looked proud.
Wu Gong was condescending and faced Qi Fang with a victor's expression.
"General Qi, the situation should be clear now, right? You should also know what you should do and what you shouldn't do, right?"
Qi Fang's breathing was trembling.
"Wu Gong, you are amazing, you are really amazing, you leave me with nowhere to go!"
"It was General Qi himself who had no way out. If General Qi knew how to adapt, why would he be like this?"
"You win, you win."
Qi Fang slowly stood up with the support of his subordinates and nodded towards Wu Gong: "You can do whatever you want. From now on, you are the coach!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Wu Gong was so proud that he laughed and said: "Okay, then let's ask General Qi to lead the army back to the military camp to rest for a while. This Nanchang City and the rebels in the city will naturally be eliminated by the Song Dynasty!"
