People say that only a diligent emperor has the right to say he is tired, but Liu Hong, the emperor, cannot be considered diligent in any aspect.
Why did he feel so tired?
Could it be that he has dealt with women in the harem too many times?
But since he was the leader, Liu Bei couldn't say anything in front of his immediate boss, he could only agree.
"Bei is aware of your Majesty's difficulties, but that's all that can be done at the moment. Bi has no skills, but dealing with the bandits in Bingzhou may be able to relieve your majesty's temporary troubles."
When Liu Hong heard this, his eyes lit up.
"Oh? How?"
"After the imperial court put up a defensive posture, the main force of the bandits retreated, which shows that the leader of the bandits clearly understood the situation."
Liu Bei said slowly: "Since they also know that they cannot really confront the imperial court and are willing to retreat on their own initiative, then perhaps they can take this opportunity to confer officials and titles on the bandit leaders to recruit them, even if it is only symbolic, it can also tie their hands and feet.
Your Majesty, why don't you make Zhang Yan an official and put him in charge of managing the bandits in the Bingzhou Mountains and calming them down. In this way, maybe you can get a period of peace, and the court can take this opportunity to recuperate and reorganize the army. "
"I remember your teacher mentioned this strategy, but many courtiers thought it was ridiculous."
Liu Hong hesitated and said: "The imperial court can't annihilate them, so it gives them officials and titles to make them stable. Doesn't this tell the world that the imperial court is weak? If things go on like this, thieves all over the world will do this, no matter how many officials there are in the imperial court. It can’t be sealed.”
“The lesser of two evils.”
Liu Bei smiled bitterly and said: "There is no best strategy in the world. If your Majesty is not willing to grant an official title, then you can only select elite soldiers and generals to continue the crusade. The most suitable candidate is Captain Lu. If your Majesty is willing to appoint Captain Lu, As a general, I believe Lieutenant Lu can win some victories for His Majesty."
Liu Hong was helpless.
"It is precisely because your teacher has become a Taiwei that I am unwilling to use him to send troops. He is already at the top of the list. If he continues to perform meritorious service and becomes more powerful, won't the Ancient Literature School completely crush the Modern Literature School? ? Now that Yang Ci is dead and Huangfu Song is imprisoned, if Lu Zhi makes another meritorious service, will there be balance in the court?"
Okay, Liu Hong, he actually thought of this.
Liu Bei had previously wondered why Liu Hong didn't send Lu Zhi to play. He had taken this aspect into consideration.
Okay, good, insightful.
But when Zhang Yan and the Southern Xiongnu rebels have threatened Luoyang City, in the face of such a national event, you, the emperor, should have the least need to consider party disputes, right?
Solving the problem is the most important thing, right?
Did you really get the late Ming Dynasty script?
Liu Bei thought about it and felt it was very ridiculous, but he didn't express any opinion.
Anyway, if Liu Hong wants to think this way, it's his business, and he doesn't need to say anything.
"What your Majesty said is reasonable. Then, only the first way can temporarily stabilize the situation in Bingzhou."
Liu Hong hesitated for a moment and then spoke slowly.
"In this matter, Lu Zhi's meaning is slightly different from yours. What Lu Zhi said is that the thieves are not just three people, but also their subordinates. Lu Zhi thinks that they can also be given official titles or titles to their subordinates. However, In specific positions, there can be generals, lieutenant generals, or school lieutenants, in order to sow discord among them and prevent them from working together.
The biggest problem with this type of thieves is that they don’t have a real leader. They are all over the mountain, and everyone has their own power. They are said to be a whole, but in fact they are just a piece of loose sand. Even if this plan does not work for a while, it will not work in the long run. , they will also have internal problems, Xuande, what do you think? "
After Liu Bei heard this, he thought about it for a while and felt that there was something wrong.
"The thieves are not idiots. The imperial court can understand such a thing, and they may not be able to understand it internally. Since they want to be granted an official title, it is best to solve it in one go. If you do anything in this, it will easily anger the thieves and make them angry. It is not beautiful to turn into anger from shame."
Liu Hong was a little curious.
"You don't agree with Lu Zhi's opinion?"
Liu Bei nodded.
"I disagree. What the court needs right now is to recuperate and recuperate, to eliminate the impact of the previous defeat, rather than continue to cause trouble. As long as we buy time, it will be a matter of time to restore the military strength. The teacher wants to pacify the Bingzhou bandits, but there are one or two strategies It is impossible to pacify so many bandits, and this matter needs long-term consideration."
Liu Hong was silent for a while, seemingly in a dilemma.
"Troublesome things always happen one after another! When will the world be peaceful?"
Liu Bei lowered his head.
"My incompetence has put Your Majesty in a difficult situation."
At this time, regardless of whether it is true or not, just admit your mistake. Anyway, when facing the emperor, you will not make a mistake by admitting your mistake.
"This has nothing to do with Xuande. Xuande is not wrong."
Liu Hong shook his head as expected, Shao Qing, and asked again: "By the way, Xuande, there is something I want to ask you. Huangfu Song was defeated in a big way before, killing 50,000 of my athletes, and causing the court to suffer huge losses. At present, ancient Chinese The school of thought demands that Huangfu Song be executed, while the Jinwen school strives to preserve Huangfu Song. What do you think, Huangfu Song, should he be killed or not?"
Liu Bei thought for a while and did not answer Liu Hong's question directly. Instead, he mentioned the matter in Liangzhou.
"Speaking of Huangfu Song, Bei remembered what happened in Liangzhou before. Bei launched the sale of fine salt in Liangzhou, and the effect was very good. The original salt merchants were unable to operate, so they sold their properties to the state capital and withdrew from the business. The salt business.
At present, the state government has basically controlled all the salt-producing lands and salt households in Liangzhou. It can expand production at any time and produce more salt for sale in Sanfu and Sanhe. But interestingly, it can only be found in Anding. From county to county, the Huangfu family was determined not to cooperate with the state government.
At present, no one is buying the bitter salt they produce, but they are clinging to the salt-producing land controlled by the family. Bei sent people to negotiate with them many times. They drove Bei's envoys out and released By the way, no one can touch them. "
After Liu Bei finished speaking, Liu Hong's face turned dark.
Selling salt has been regarded by him as a golden business for him to make money. Such a golden business should be operated by the people he trusts most, and no one should interfere with it.
But what does Huangfu mean?
Don’t you want me to make a lot of money?
Do you want to stop me from making a lot of money?
Liu Hong was angry.
"Huangfu is so bold? He doesn't even give you face?"
Liu Bei nodded.
"That's it. Huangfu Song has climbed to the top of the Jinwen School. The Huangfu family is naturally arrogant. Originally, this was a balancing act for His Majesty. But now he has been defeated and lost his troops. For the Jinwen School, I'm afraid No longer someone they want to support.
Although there were still people who were willing to save him, they were mainly Yang's people. Yang didn't want to watch the things he gave go in vain, so even if his teeth were broken, he had to swallow them in his stomach and not spit them out, so he After running for Huangfu Song, no one in the Modern Literature School cared about Huangfu Song except Yang. "
Liu Hong thought carefully for a while.
"In other words, Huangfu Song is no longer valuable?"
"As His Majesty said, even if Huangfu Song is alive, he cannot continue to play a balancing role, and his defeat has aroused the resentment of many people. For the imperial court, whether Huangfu Song is dead or alive has no bearing on the overall situation. Therefore, everything is left to His Majesty’s judgment.”
Liu Bei didn't say anything, he said what he should say, and then gave the final choice to Liu Hong, and retired with success.
Zhang Rang looked at Liu Bei from the side and rolled his eyes, hearing the meaning of Liu Bei's words, but in the end he didn't say a word.
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PS: I ate some steamed dumplings this morning, the ones stuffed with vermicelli, egg whites and vegetables. The steaming was pretty good and the taste was good, so I’ll add another chapter.
(End of chapter)
