The series of actions of the Zhenjiang Army in the Guan area greatly affected the Turks' actions in the Guandong region. Protecting the Great Khan immediately became the number one mission of all the soldiers and horses, especially the Golden Tribe, who were extremely nervous. They immediately stopped their progress and began to turn around and return.
It was not clear to Roniya, Helianxiong and other Turkic generals that doing so would be tantamount to giving up Ashina Zhijin's war spirit plan, but for them, the safety of the empire's leader was more important than conquering the Holy Tang.
As the Turkic army continued to shrink, the Eastern Capital court finally breathed a sigh of relief. Not only has the crisis in Luoyi been lifted, but the state capitals in various places have also temporarily maintained peace. When Bao Yuchun saw that the Turks had retreated, he also issued an order in time, asking all the rebel troops to withdraw and retreat to the front line of Ruzhou and Xuzhou again to consolidate the gains they had made.
At this time, 650,000 troops were assembled in Dongdu. What should be done next suddenly became a hotly debated issue among everyone.
Ma Hongjie, Murong Xue, Chang Tao and other military generals generally believed that since the Zhenjiang Army surrounded the imperial capital and Luonia and the others went to rescue Ashina Zhijin, of course the imperial court would take this opportunity to attack Tongguan and give Li Jiangyao The Western Army provided cooperation.
However, the court ministers headed by Governor Yin Chengyi and Qianniu General Gong Chengze expressed different opinions. They felt that the rebels were entrenched north of the river and in the southern part of the Central Plains, and they were always a huge threat to Luoyi, the eastern capital. If the main force moves to the west to attack Tongguan, if Bao Yuchun suddenly comes and kills again, the situation will be even more passive.
Therefore, Yin Chengyi proposed that at this stage, the rebels should be targeted first, and the lost lands such as Ruzhou, Xuzhou, Chenzhou, Caizhou, and Nanyang should be recovered as soon as possible, and the southern barrier of Luoyi should be preserved.
Li Bing felt a little embarrassed when faced with these two different views.
From his original intention, of course he hoped to drive away the Turks and regain the imperial capital as soon as possible. However, the crisis of two consecutive defeats in the past also made him more and more worried about the safety of the eastern capital.
If Yin Chengyi's misfortune was true and the rebels came back just after the army arrived at Tongguan, then who should be allowed to resist the opponent's attack?
After much thought, Li Bing decided to take a compromise approach.
The army was divided into two, allowing Ma Hongjie's southern army to go to the west, while Murong Xue and others' troops directly under the imperial court stayed in the east capital to deal with Bao Yuchun.
Unexpectedly, however, the idea of dividing the troops was immediately strongly opposed by the military.
It's about to start a decisive battle with the Turks. The generals are not very satisfied with the existing troops. Do you want to divide the troops?
Ma Hongjie bluntly said that dividing the troops was pure nonsense.
I want to take care of both ends, but in the end I can't take care of both ends. To guard Luoyi, only 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers and horses are enough. Not to mention that Bao Yuchun had no intention of storming Dongdu. Even if he did come, the 50,000 defenders would be able to sustain it for several months. After the army has destroyed the Turks, it can immediately return to reinforce Luoyi.
The military generals who dared to sneer at the emperor's wise decision were immediately caught by some courtiers and made a fuss about it. Within three days, Tian Mu, the head of the Nilin Division, made a list of dozens of people and secretly submitted it to Li Bing. A general who made rude remarks about the division of troops in private.
Even Murong Xue's name was prominently listed.
Li Bing was fine at first, but when he looked at the list and carefully read what those people said, he couldn't help but become furious, secretly cursing in his heart that these rude warriors were really abominable.
Wei Zixuan, Gong Chengze and others took advantage of Li Bing's bad mood and secretly whispered in his ear:
Your Majesty, the country has been at war for a long time. The military, relying on its important position, has become more and more arrogant and domineering. Sooner or later, it will cause some trouble. The court should have made plans in advance and tried to deploy and resolve the situation. In addition, the Zhenjiang Army is currently the largest separatist force. Li Jiangyao dares to proclaim himself the Protector and does not take the court seriously at all. It is better to let them fight to the death with the Turks so that they will not become a serious problem in the future.
Li Bing was persuaded by them and couldn't help but feel that it made sense.
In the long run, after driving away the Turks, the Zhenjiang Army may indeed become the next hidden danger. Since Roniya and Helianxiong are fighting back to Guanzhong with great momentum, it is better to let them and the Zhenjiang Army consume each other, while the imperial court sits firmly on the Diaoyutai.
Only by planning in this way can one be considered a wise politician.
After thinking about this, Li Bing issued an edict again: Don't you generals think that the plan to divide the troops is unwise? Well, I have decided not to divide the troops. They will all stay in Luoyi and are not allowed to go anywhere!
As soon as this order came out, all the armies were stunned: Could it be that Li Jiangyao and the others were really allowed to deal with the main Turkic force by themselves?
Murong Xue returned to Luoyi from Longmen Town overnight and asked to enter the palace to meet the saint. Li Bing knew the purpose of Murong Xue's trip. He originally didn't want to see him this late in the evening, but after much hesitation, he finally refused to refute his favorite general and summoned Murong Xue in the imperial study.
After the audience ceremony, Murong Xue got straight to the point and asked about the decree.
"Your Majesty, I'm confused about something. Why did you order the entire army to stand still for the time being? Do you have any new considerations about the war situation?"
Li Bing really wanted to say, why did I give the order? Do I still need to explain it to you? However, when the words came to his lips, he changed his words and said: "This is not a new consideration. Originally, the next military strategy has not been completely determined. My purpose is just to remind all the troops to be calm and not to act rashly. "
Murong Xue had been with Li Bing for many years, so how could she not understand the emperor's temperament? Someone must have been slandering and bewitching him, which led to the change of orders.
Murong Xue took a deep breath, cupped her hands and said, "Your Majesty, according to reports from spies, all Turkic troops are currently rushing towards Tongguan, and the battle in Guanzhong is imminent. We should seize the opportunity now, act in time, and cooperate with the Western Army to attack It’s the battle in the imperial capital.”
Hearing this, Li Bing asked coldly: "Has the Western Army's battle against the Imperial Capital been reported to the imperial court in advance? Has the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office approved it? Why didn't I know that they were going to attack the Imperial Capital?"
Murong Xue was slightly startled: "This... the Zhenjiang Army has always fought independently, and there has never been a precedent of reporting to the Ministry of War before taking action."
"Murong, you have reached the key point." Li Bing snorted dissatisfied: "Do the so-called Zhenjiang Army have the slightest awareness of the Holy Tang Army? They clearly know that I am the emperor, and the imperial court is in the east capital. , but no instructions were asked for any war action, just a notification. What do you think, how should I deal with myself? How should the court deal with it? To put it nicely, Li Jiangyao is fighting alone. To put it badly, he is the Zhenjiang Army. A separatist armed force independent of the imperial court!"
Li Bing paused for a moment and said in a deep voice: "The Zhenjiang Army did not listen to the unified dispatch of the imperial court and suddenly started a war with the Turks without authorization. Instead, it asked the imperial army to run for reinforcements. I'm afraid this is putting the cart before the horse?"
These words left Murong Xue speechless.
What Li Bing said is not completely unreasonable. The Zhenjiang Army was established at the beginning of the Great Rebellion. At that time, the imperial court was too busy taking care of itself, and a subordinate relationship could not be established between the two. Later, Li Bing raised troops in Youzhou, and the imperial court went to Yizhou to avoid trouble. Li Jiangyao was isolated by the Turks in the western frontier for thousands of miles, fighting life and death with the vassal alliance, and no one had time to pay attention to each other.
Today, the emperor is in power and the court has returned to its throne, but Li Jiangyao has also become the uncrowned king of Western Xinjiang. He has hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers and generals under his command. They only obey his orders and have no idea who the Emperor of the Holy Tang Dynasty is.
In this case, Li Bing would naturally feel the same emotion as before: uncomfortable and fearful.
However, Murong Xue was thinking about her good brothers Li Jiangyao and Xu Youchang and refused to give up. He waited for Li Bing to take a sip of tea and put down the teacup before he tried to speak: "Your Majesty, as the old saying goes, the world is as big as the king's land, and on the shore of the land, it's the king's ministers. What Li Jiangyao and the others call them externally , they have always been the soldiers of Shengtang’s territory, which means that in their hearts, they are still soldiers of Shengtang. It’s just that the world is in chaos and they cannot accept the control of the imperial court for the time being. "
Li Bing listened to his sincerity and nodded silently, but did not speak.
Murong Xue continued: "Li Jiangyao launched an attack on the imperial capital. Although he did not get approval from His Majesty and the imperial court in advance, the purpose of his action was to relieve Luoyi from the siege. At that time, the Turks and Bao Yuchun were approaching the eastern capital. The situation is extremely critical."
Murong Xue told the truth, and Li Bing couldn't help but nodded again.
Seeing that the emperor's attitude softened a little, Murong Xue quickly continued: "Your Majesty, the Zhenjiang Army has now surrounded Ashina Zhijin. All the Turks are panicking, otherwise they would not run to Tongguan with all their strength. This is the best strategy for a decisive battle. The opportunity. If we can take advantage of this opportunity to completely defeat the Turks, the world will be settled, not far away!"
Murong Xue spoke impassionedly, but Li Bing remained calm as usual.
These years of ups and downs have made Li Bing become increasingly gloomy. The young prince who was overjoyed at success and easily impulsive has now transformed into a ruler of the dynasty who only cares about practical interests in everything.
Even without Wei Zixuan and others provoking him, Li Bing was secretly thinking about how to deal with those military bosses. The previous decision to divide the troops and order Ma Hongjie's Southern Army to attack Tongguan was exactly his plan. He wanted to consume as much of the Southern Army as possible while consuming the Western Army. However, Ma Hongjie's opposition and Wei Zixuan's advice made him temporarily change his mind.
Therefore, Murong Xue's impassioned speech moved only himself, but was of no use to Li Bing.
In the eyes of this emperor in troubled times, both the Turks and the troops who control the frontier can be classified as enemies. Those who obey me will prosper and those who go against me will perish.
He had thought about it early in the morning and wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers. How could he change his mind just because of Murong Xue's persuasion?
However, this kind of thing can only be thought about but not said, let alone give a bad impression to the important ministers under his command, so Li Bing still responded seriously: "Murong, what you said is very reasonable, and I also agree with it. However, we There are not many armies that we can truly control, and sometimes, as an emperor, I don’t have the say.”
[Author's words: Sometimes I always wonder why our nation can always stand firm despite all the hardships? I think one of the important reasons is that whenever a building is about to collapse, there are always heroes willing to step forward. We are a great country with many true heroes. 】
