"Liu Aiqing, don't you have anything to say to me?"
After Liu Zhang paid homage, he kept kneeling on the ground and waited for a long time. When he didn't get up, Liu Hong's question came.
what you want to say? I don't know what to say!
Liu Zhang couldn't help complaining in his heart and saluted Liu Hong again.
“Your Majesty, I have so much to say, but I don’t know where to start!”
"Oh? Do you want me to remind you?"
Liu Zhang had been kneeling for too long and was already sweating profusely from exhaustion. Coupled with Liu Hong's confusing attitude, he was even more flustered.
Tick tock, tick tock. .
The sweat actually condensed into water droplets and dripped to the ground.
"You should get up first."
Liu Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stood up to thank him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After wiping the sweat from his forehead, Liu Zhang finally saw Liu Hong's face clearly.
It was very plain, neither happy nor sad, and Liu Zhang couldn't tell what kind of emotion Liu Hong was feeling.
"Liu Aiqing, I heard that Zhang Wen was severely punished by you and almost killed him?"
Liu Zhang's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately thought of Zhang Wen complaining to Liu Hong!
"Your Majesty, I am not an arrogant and domineering person, but Zhang Wen really bullied others too much! I risked my life to save him, but he only wanted to harm me!"
"Because of my resentment and jealousy towards me, I actually ruined my chance to defeat the Xiliang rebels!"
"The ten thousand elite soldiers under my command did not die in the battle with the enemy. Instead, they all died at the hands of Zhang Wen! I can't swallow this breath!"
After saying that, Liu Zhang knelt down again, leaned over and knocked his head to the ground.
"I know that I am guilty. No matter what punishment your Majesty imposes, I will not complain!"
Liu Zhang originally thought that Liu Hong would be on his side and forgive him immediately, but unexpectedly Liu Hong fell into silence again.
After a long time, Liu Hong sighed softly.
"You should get up first. I already know what happened. Zhang Wen didn't hide anything, and he can't hide it from me."
Liu Zhang slowly stood up, his doubts deepening. what is it today? Liu Hong is too abnormal.
"Your Majesty, this matter..."
"Okay, let's not mention this for now."
Just as Liu Zhang was about to explain, Liu Hong unexpectedly interrupted him and asked him what he thought of the Western Expedition.
"What do you think of Zhang Wen's expedition to Liangzhou?"
"this..."
Liu Zhang did not directly express his thoughts. Liu Hong was so abnormal today that he was also a little at a loss.
"You can just say it, but be realistic!"
Liu Zhang thought for a while, then nodded slightly.
"Your Majesty, Zhang Wen will definitely be defeated."
"Oh? Are you so sure?"
What Liu Zhang didn't expect was that when Liu Hong heard Liu Zhang say that Zhang Wen would be defeated, his expression became obviously much more relaxed.
"Your Majesty, it's not that I'm looking down on him. Zhang Wen doesn't know how to fight and doesn't have any military ambitions in his heart! Not only is he short-sighted and willful, but he's also ambitious and many of his ideas are simply unrealistic! He will definitely be destroyed by Bian Zhang and others! "
Liu Hong nodded, a smile gradually appeared on his face.
"After Zhang Wen's defeat, will Bian Zhang and others attack Sanfu again?"
"Won't."
Liu Zhang answered Liu Hong very definitely, whether based on historical experience or understanding of the situation, Liu Zhang was very sure.
"At least not within one to two years. Bianzhang Beigong Boyu was defeated by me several times this time. Only one or two of the hundred thousand soldiers and horses were left, and his vitality was greatly lost! Even if Zhang Wen is defeated this time, They can only run rampant in Liangzhou and are absolutely unable to invade Sanfu."
"Then if it were you, how would you put down the rebellion in Liangzhou?"
Liu Zhang frowned deeply. Liu Hong was so unusual today. How could he usually care about this?
"Your Majesty, the Liangzhou rebellion is actually a Qiang rebellion. If we don't invest a lot of troops, it will definitely be difficult to solve in a short time."
Liu Hongming looked disappointed, obviously he was not satisfied with Liu Zhang's answer.
"Then we can only sit back and watch Liangzhou continue to be in chaos?"
"Your Majesty, now that Bianzhang Beigong Boyu and others have been defeated, Zhang Wen will definitely share the same hatred with the enemy after chasing him to Liangzhou. It is really difficult to win when the right time, place and people are not taken advantage of!"
Liu Hong also understood this truth. Liangzhou had been rebelled by the Qiang people for a long time and had not been pacified for hundreds of years.
"This Liangzhou is also my Han Dynasty's land, we cannot let these Qiang people wreak havoc!"
Liu Zhang couldn't help but glance at Liu Hong, he didn't expect him to say such a thing! Before, Liu Zhang thought Liu Hong knew how to make money!
"Your Majesty, if you are anxious, you will be gentle; if you are slow, you will leave! The matter in Liangzhou cannot be solved overnight."
"If you are anxious, you will be gentle, if you are slow, you will be separated?"
Liu Hong didn't understand what Liu Zhang meant and asked Liu Zhang to explain in detail.
"Most of the rebel soldiers in Xiliang are Qiang Hu Yicong and Qiang young men. They seem to obey Bian Zhang and Beigong Boyu, but in fact they are mainly their own generals and tribes. Now Zhang Wen leads an army of 70,000 people. If victory suddenly comes to Liangzhou, they will definitely unite to fight against our army in order to avoid being wiped out by our army."
"But if our army does not attack Liangzhou, but instead takes a posture to guard against their invasion, the Xiliang generals will think that our Han Dynasty is not powerful enough to enter Liangzhou to attack them!"
"Before the Battle of Meiyang, the Xiliang rebels may not have had such a problem. But after their defeat this time, they suffered close to 80,000 casualties! This will inevitably cause an imbalance between large and small forces. Since there is an imbalance, status and Power will be redistributed. Those who were originally powerful will not be willing to have less power because of heavy casualties. Or those who were originally small in power will have a surge in power because of the weakening of other forces!"
"Under such circumstances, if there is no threat from outside forces, they will start a dispute among themselves, and in the end they will inevitably fight. This is the principle of peace when there is urgency, and separation when there is slowness."
"Your Majesty can retrieve Zhang Wen. Firstly, he can stop the loss in time. Secondly, he can sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight."
This last sentence of persuasion was carefully considered by Liu Zhang. After careful consideration, Liu Zhang decided to give Liu Hong a correct suggestion.
But what shocked Liu Zhang was that Liu Hong rejected the plan to retrieve Zhang Wen.
"No need, let him go."
Liu Zhang began to murmur in his heart again. Could it be that Liu Hong didn't agree with his statement? Trust Zhang Wen more?
"Your Majesty is so optimistic about Zhang Wen and thinks he can defeat the Xiliang generals?"
Unexpectedly, Liu Hong actually laughed, shaking his head while laughing.
"If you don't tell me, he will definitely be defeated?"
"Yes, and Zhang Wen just killed more than 30,000 Qiang people, and he deliberately let out the news! He will definitely have a hard time when he gets to Liangzhou. If he can come back alive, his fate will be high!"
Why was Liu Zhang so sure that Zhang Wen would never end well? Just because he had killed so many Qiang people and spread the news himself!
What happened when Huangfu Songkeng killed the Yellow Turban and surrendered his pawns? At that time, the main force of the Yellow Turbans was wiped out, and Zhang Jiao and the three brothers were all killed!
And what about Zhang Wen? He also has to face millions of Qiang people! He slaughtered like this and publicized it so much that the Qiang people hated him to the core! How can we let Zhang Wen off easily?
Liu Hong didn't care at all what Liu Zhang said, and he didn't even care about the life or death of the Western Expedition army!
"It doesn't matter, you don't have to worry about Zhang Wen. But this time, although you have made great contributions, you have also committed a big crime. I will let your merits and demerits be balanced!"
"Okay, you've been running around for so long, you should go back and rest early."
