On this spring night, on the long bridge, Liu Chengyou's chatterbox opened up completely, as if he wanted to say all at once what he had been holding back since time travel. There is a bit of liveliness in his cold face, and he talks endlessly. Seeing his second son giving advice, Liu Zhiyuan quietly listened.
"In the afternoon, after the meeting, I specially invited General Wang Xiufeng to the courtyard to consult with him about the Central Plains and Khitan affairs. He learned a lot!" When he got excited, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but add small movements with his hands and waved them in the air a few times. Next: "General Wang concluded that the Khitans are not as difficult to deal with as imagined. The Khitans will definitely not be able to defend the Central Plains and will retreat north sooner or later!"
"Tell me about it!" Liu Zhiyuan's face was still full of interest.
Liu Chengyou was obviously interested. He stood up directly, walked a few steps in front of his father and brother, and said, "What my father is most afraid of is the 300,000-strong army of Yelu Deguang and the Khitan. 300,000 people, how big is that?" A powerful force, but if you analyze it carefully, it is not that scary!"
"The Khitan people are said to be three hundred thousand, but how many soldiers are there and how many elites are there? Coming south, before the Battle of Hutuo River, the road was not smooth. They fought all the way. The number of soldiers was reduced and the number was no longer full. The land of Hebei and Zhao is vast, so all When passing through prefectures and counties, troops and horses were also left to control the place. Fortified cities and fortresses were like Zhenzhou, and heavy troops were stationed to protect the retreat."
"After entering Bianliang, they sent troops and horses to plunder everywhere. They also sent troops to Guanzhong and Heyang. Hundreds of thousands of troops were scattered in various states, but they specialized in looting and enjoyed the colorful world of the Central Plains. Their morale must have declined. Depressed.”
"However, these are not the most important. The tyranny of the Khitan people will be repeated by the people of the Central Plains. There is no doubt about it! At this time, Yelu Deguang was sitting on the fire and did not know it. He was thirty Tens of thousands of soldiers are strong, but they don't know that the angry power of the people of the Central Plains is enough to break them into pieces."
"The Jin army was reduced to 100,000 soldiers. They were treated harshly, suspected, and their lives were threatened from time to time. They were angry and had complaints for a long time. Although Du Chongwei and Li Shouzhen suppressed them, their virtues had long been despised. According to General Wang, , I’m so tired of surrendering without a fight and working for the tiger. Those 100,000 soldiers are not only not helping the Khitans to control the Central Plains, but now, they have become a fatal threat to their bedside!”
"The wanton extortion of money caused the remaining ministers of the Jin Dynasty who were originally attached to them to gradually become alienated. Those who submitted to the festival were either killed or humiliated, and the rest were mostly banned from Bianliang and never returned to the town. In Bianjie, the commander-in-chief, People with outstanding qualifications, abilities, and prestige, such as Gao Xingzhou and Fu Yanqing, are deeply jealous of Yelu Deguang. They probably also regret surrendering to the Khitan. If they lose their moral integrity, the place will no longer be stable. ”
"And local Jiedu still has a certain amount of strength in their hands. As long as someone takes the lead in resisting the Khitan, there will definitely be a response."
"When my father launched an army in Hedong, he might only send tens of thousands of troops, but he would be supported by millions of soldiers and civilians in the Central Plains and Hebei."
"And now that the ice and snow have disappeared and the weather has warmed up, it is inevitable that the Khitan soldiers will not be able to adapt to the conditions of the Khitan soldiers who have been on an expedition for thousands of miles. Once the soldiers and people of the Central Plains rise up to fight against each other and attack together, how can Yelu Deguang stay for a long time?"
"..."
After a long discussion, Liu Chengyou was so excited that he felt a little excited. He breathed a long sigh of relief, and after slowly calming down his ups and downs, he sat down next to his father and brother again.
Liu Zhiyuan and Liu Chengxun both looked at Liu Chengyou, who was gradually returning to his autistic state, with complicated expressions. After digesting what Liu Chengyou said, Liu Zhiyuan sighed softly: "Aren't these all what Wang Xiufeng taught you..."
"Son, I'm just lying. If there are any omissions or inappropriate things, please forgive me!" Liu Chengyou lowered his head slightly and made a humble gesture.
After staring at Liu Chengyou for a long time, Liu Zhiyuan suddenly stroked his beard and said with emotion: "I never thought that my son would have such knowledge. I feel so relieved!" While sighing, he couldn't help but glance at the people around him from the corner of his eye. eldest son.
He raised his eyes and looked around, and saw that the Zhongcheng Bridge was even quieter. He put his hands on the ground and was about to get up. At this time, Liu Chengxun immediately came up and helped Liu Zhiyuan up.
"It's getting late, let's all go back home and rest!" he said without saying anything more. Under the protection of the guards, Liu Zhiyuan walked slowly ahead.
Liu Chengyou and Liu Chengxun also walked off the bridge together. Liu Chengyou continued to be autistic, but Liu Chengxun no longer took the initiative to talk to each other as before. When he got into the car, Liu Chengxun couldn't help but look in the direction of his second brother, with a particularly complicated expression...
What Liu Chengxun didn't know was that in the car he was looking at, Liu Chengyou was also looking at his figure through the gap in the car curtain. The difference is that there is no so-called complicated expression on Liu Chengyou's face, just indifference.
...
Since that day's meeting, the undercurrent in Jinyang City called "encouraging advancement" has become more and more turbulent. In this matter, it was rare for Hedong civil and military forces to work together to elevate Liu Zhiyuan to the throne.
But Liu Zhiyuan's attitude was still unpredictable. He neither agreed nor refused, but just kept a cold face and didn't respond. After that, he handed over all the important military and political affairs to his subordinates and stopped taking care of them. He lived in the Peking Palace, accompanied his wife Li Shi, and personally trained Liu Chengxun, the third son of the Liu family.
Liu Zhiyuan was able to sit firmly on the Diaoyutai, but the civil and military officials below did not stop at all and actively gathered together to connect. For a while, Jinyang City seemed to be in chaos.
There are many smart people among the civil and military forces in Hedong, such as Yang Bin, Wang Zhang, Guo Wei and other old people who have been following him for a long time. As the situation develops, they probably guessed Liu Zhiyuan's thoughts of waiting and waiting, unlike the people below who are so reckless. , but tried to comfort him.
Latecomers like Wang Jun, eager to make achievements, found some literati and went to the market to publicly announce what they had seen and heard during their mission, made the Khitan atrocities known to the public, and even vigorously promoted the "Khitan threat theory". ", saying that the Khitan army may send troops to Hedong at any time.
Of course, the most important thing is that the world needs a hero who can exterminate the barbarians, clean up the country, and rebuild the world, and this hero is naturally none other than Liu Gong of Taiyuan!
Wang Jun's approach was very smart. Just as Liu Chengyou said in the conversation that day, General Wang Xiufeng was a smart man. At least, before he became famous and his character flaws were not exposed, Wang Jun was indeed a very smart person. This method of building momentum is very smooth.
Not two days after Wang Jun's envoy to Bian returned, Bai Wenke, the deputy left-behind man from Beijing who also went south to pay homage, also returned. Compared with Wang Jun, he went back and forth much faster, and also looked more embarrassed.
The old general, who was more than seventy years old, still looked very strong. He didn't care about the fatigue of the saddle and horse, and was covered in dust. He went directly to Liu Zhiyuan to report to him about his return as an envoy.
Liu Zhiyuan was secretly listening to Liu Chong, Liu Xin, Shi Hongzhao, Guo Wei and others report on the situation in the army in his study. Brother Liu Chengyou was also there, and he also told about the situation in the Longqi Army.
Liu Zhiyuan helped Bai Wenke sit down and asked, "Mr. Dewen, how was your trip to Bianliang?"
Bai Wenke thanked him first, then shook his head, with some emotion on his old face filled with ravines: "The Khitan government is in turmoil. I'm afraid I can't stay in China for long! I watched the whole ceremony of the Khitan Lord's enthronement ceremony. His face was solemn and there was nothing new about it. The spirit of prosperity towards establishment.”
"It's similar to what Wang Jun got!" Liu Zhiyuan sighed with emotion.
Bai Wenke continued: "When I leave Bian, the Khitan Lord asked me to bring you a message!"
"Then I want to hear it!" Liu Zhiyuan looked very relaxed.
"The Lord Khitan said that your Majesty is neither involved in the Southern Dynasties nor the Northern Dynasties. What are you waiting for and what are your plans?" Bai Wenke said.
"Haha..." Liu Zhiyuan smiled when he heard this and glanced at the officers present: "It seems that the Khitan Lord has little patience with Gu Yu Hedong anymore!"
"Your Majesty, these questions are enough to show his suspicion. Now there is no way to retreat!" It was Guo Wei again, who responded very quickly: "According to Wang Xiufeng and Bai Gong, the Khitans are corrupt and will not be able to maintain China for a long time. Please don’t hesitate any longer!”
Liu Zhiyuan still did not respond.
