It was okay for Zhao Buxi not to discuss military issues with civilian officials for a few days, but as time went by, some civilian officials still complained about it.
They said that Zhao Guangyi, Emperor Taizong, had done this before, abandoning the civilian government and only discussing military affairs with the Privy Council, and the result was a disastrous failure.
Facts have proved that even in the military, these civilian officials can still play some role. Failure to discuss with the civilian officials will result in a disastrous defeat, which is very shameless. Does Zhao Buxi want to follow in the footsteps of Emperor Taizong?
But it was useless no matter what they said. Zhao Buxi ignored them at all. Perhaps because he was very sad and sad by these guys messing up the tax issue, he was resentful of them, so he wanted to promote military attaches and suppress civilian officials.
However, he valued the Privy Council and the military ministers so much that the military ministers were quite happy at first.
Military ministers have always had little confidence in front of civil servants, but now that the emperor is close to them, they feel that staying with the emperor every day can improve their status.
And Zhao Buxi also found a good reinforcement for them-the local landlords and wealthy people in Sichuan and Shu.
The rebel army is a peasant uprising army. Since the beginning of the rebellion, they have been sworn enemies of the landlords and wealthy people. After attacking the government, they immediately attacked the landlords and wealthy people. They picked out the local landlords and wealthy people and hung them on southeastern branches or lit sky lanterns to fight. Make it a blast.
Therefore, local landlords and wealthy people were natural allies of the Chengdu court.
After discovering this, Zhao Buji was keenly aware of the value of these landlords and wealthy people to the Chengdu court, so Zhao Buji ordered that landlords and wealthy landlords from various places who were willing to fight against the rebels be given the title of fake commander.
They could recruit their own soldiers, prepare their own weapons and equipment, rise up to resist, and share the worries of the court. They also announced that after the uprising was suppressed, they would ennoble meritorious officials and give them official titles and titles.
Some people say that this is a foolish strategy of strong branches and weak trunks, but Zhao Buxi believes that it is a double-edged sword. If used well, this sword can save the country, so it depends on how well he operates it.
There is no doubt that this move indeed helped the Chengdu court stabilize the situation and relieved the pressure on the military.
After receiving the permission from the court, the landlords and wealthy people no longer held back for fear of being attacked. They immediately unleashed the power they had hidden for many years and launched a desperate fight against the rebels.
This is certainly a good thing for the military.
But soon, they discovered that Zhao Buxi always staying in the Privy Council did not seem to be a very positive thing.
Because Zhao Buxi didn't understand military affairs.
For example, Wu Lin's earliest strategy for dealing with insurrectionary armies in various places was to approach the area first and then move far away, first easy and then difficult, and first be courteous before fighting.
Because Wu Lin felt that there were too many rebels and their branches were too wide. He could only mobilize 50,000 troops and had limited food and wages. In fact, it was very difficult. Therefore, he had to have a very clear plan and follow this plan so that he could move as quickly as possible. Put down the uprising armies everywhere.
Attack those who are close first, and then deal with those who are a little further away. For those who are farthest away, court officials should be sent to recruit them with very favorable terms.
As long as they are willing to accept the recruitment, then accept them, allow them to serve as officials, and then let them lead troops to fight other rebels and serve the court.
To put it bluntly, the rebels were either forced to survive, or they followed the trend of the uprising. What they wanted was food, money, women and status.
Give it to them, give it all to them, as long as they are willing to recruit people, everything is easy to discuss. This decision can turn some of the rebels into the imperial army.
However, Zhao Buxi felt very unhappy when faced with this strategy.
Recruitment?
Are you still recruiting at this time?
They don't know how many officials they have killed. If they are recruited, where will the court's face be? Where is the iron fist deterrence?
"The thieves are just groups of rabble, with a maximum of only more than 100,000 people. The majority are old, weak, sick and disabled. The number of thieves who can fight ranges from hundreds to thousands. The imperial army is well-equipped and has been trained for a long time. Why not Divide your forces and defeat it?
Recruitment is something that only needs to be done as a last resort. It undermines the dignity of the court and easily makes people think that the court cannot quell the rebellion, so it has to recruit them. It will also make people think that as long as they rebel, they can recruit high officials. This kind of How can things be done? "
Wu Lin explained quickly.
"That's not the case. This is just a delaying tactic to make them think about whether to accept recruitment or continue to cause chaos. While making them stop causing chaos, it can also create conflicts within them and make them argue with each other. With a little luck, it can also trigger them of infighting.
In this way, the imperial court can concentrate its forces to eliminate the bandits who are closer. After stabilizing the area around Chengdu, it can divide its forces to attack and eliminate more bandits. By the time the recruited thieves make a decision, the imperial court will already have an absolute advantage. No need to recruit. "
Zhao Buji nodded slowly when he heard this, as if he suddenly understood, but soon frowned again.
"Wouldn't it be discreditable to do this? It is very damaging to the credibility of the court to say that it wants to recruit people but then suddenly changes its tune. Once people think that the court is not true to its words, then the court really wants to do something. , wouldn’t there be no one willing to believe in the imperial court?”
Wu Lin was very depressed.
"Your Majesty, this art of war says that an army never tires of deceit. When marching and fighting, there is no need to talk about credibility, as long as you can win."
"That's not right. People cannot stand without trust, and the court cannot be without trust."
Zhao Buxi frowned and said: "If you don't talk about credibility and play some conspiracy, you can achieve success for a while, but in the long run, it is not worth the gain. Whether it is a person, an official, or a military expedition, if you don't have credibility, what will happen?" Can it succeed?"
Wu Lin almost fainted when her vision went dark.
"Your Majesty, that's not what you said. The art of war says that soldiers are unpredictable, power and water are unpredictable. Intrigue and deception on the battlefield are normal. We are like this, and so are thieves. What's more, we are the king's division, and they are thieves. There is no need to say so much. reason."
Wu Lin tried her best to think of some reasons that could convince Zhao Buxi.
"It is precisely because he is the king's master that he must be upright and control the troops with integrity. The imperial army is stronger than the thieves. In this case, there is no need to engage in these conspiracies and tricks."
Zhao Buxi waved his hand: "Xianggong Wu is good at using troops. Why don't you let me see with my own eyes Xianggong Wu's ability to use troops? Just like Xianggong Wu's grace when he fought against the Jin soldiers, I admire and yearn for it."
Wu Lin told Zhao Buxi that his blood pressure had soared.
"Your Majesty, this..."
"Can't you?"
"No, Your Majesty wants to see it. It is my honor."
Wu Lin took a deep breath, showed the majesty of a general, and began to arrange his troops, assign tasks, and make arrangements for a thorough attack on the major rebel armies in Sichuan and Sichuan.
The first thing to be arranged was the counter-insurgency plan in Jianzhou and Longzhou. Wu Lin believed that we should concentrate our forces to attack the rebels in these closest places and eliminate them all to make Chengdu completely safe. Then based on this, we should go out. soldiers.
However, when Wu Lin arranged for his subordinates to launch military operations, Zhao Buxi could not sit still.
"Ms. Wu, is this inappropriate?"
"ah?"
Wu Lin was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Zhao Buxi: "What does your Majesty mean?"
"There have been thieves in thirteen state capitals in Sichuan and Shu. Now they are only attacking two? What about the remaining eleven? What should we do?"
Zhao Buxi frowned and asked: "Attack two first. What if the attack is not smooth and delays time, so that the rebel armies in other states become bigger? These rebel armies are very arrogant now. Give them a little more time, and they can It is very dangerous to occupy one state or even two states."
Wu Lin blinked, his head filled with questions.
?
What do you mean?
