Regarding Liu Chengyou's suggestion of personal expedition, before Liu Zhiyuan could say anything, Yang Bin couldn't help but give advice: "No matter how rampant Du Chongwei is, he is nothing more than a dog that can be captured by a general and his army. The army is fierce and dangerous, so why bother your majesty to go there personally. Your Majesty As the Son of Heaven, you should live in the country, regulate yin and yang, and calm people's hearts. How can you leave lightly?"
Hearing Yang Bin's words, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but feel disgusted. It would be fine if it was a peaceful era. In today's world, the emperor on horseback is not afraid of the danger of war. Liu Zhiyuan entered Kaifeng and had a smooth journey. He did not show his monarch's virtue or power. He personally conquered Du Chongwei, which was an opportunity to show his prestige in the world and deter dissidents.
As for the risk of personal expedition, after all, success or failure is related to the majesty of the emperor. In serious cases, it may even completely affect the fate of the country and the stability of the country. However, with the current strength of the imperial court, it has reached this point. If Du Chongwei cannot be captured, then this big man will not be able to win. The qualifications are now established in the Central Plains.
Of course, Liu Chengyou naturally has his own thoughts. If Liu Zhiyuan went on an expedition in person, he would have to ask him to accompany him. Since the generals were outside, there would be a lot of room for him to move around.
However, Liu Chengyou is obviously wishful thinking. Liu Zhiyuan did not express his views directly, but asked for other people's opinions quietly and in an unpredictable tone.
At this point, everyone including Su Fengji said that the emperor should not leave lightly. Only Guo Wei conservatively expressed his support for Liu Chengyou and suggested sending troops to conquer in advance to see what the outcome would be.
The ensuing discussion simply avoided the topic of "personal expedition". The monarch and his ministers discussed the candidate for the head coach. This one was not suitable and that one was not suitable. The discussion was in full swing. However, in this warm atmosphere, Liu Chengyou only had one feeling that was the most profound: This is not his court!
With a serious smile, he walked into the Privy Council, and Guo Wei followed him: "Your Highness!"
"Mr. Guo." Liu Chengyou nodded towards him and said hello.
As the two people entered, several subordinates couldn't help but look up, and then quickly lowered their heads. In the Privy Council, including Wei Renpu, there are more than a dozen subordinate officials, each working on his or her duties.
If we say that among the government agencies of the Han Dynasty, the most presentable and orderly one is the Privy Council. The three big bosses, from Yang Bin, Guo Wei to Liu Chengyou, were either strong, cautious, or solemn. With these three suppressing them, the people below did not dare to slack off.
Guo Wei was led to his usual office location, and the subordinate officials who were diligent in serving tea were dismissed. Guo Wei asked: "You seem to be in a bad mood?"
Liu Chengyou shook his head: "No way."
"Are you worried about the court's arrangements?"
"It's out of the question."
Seeing Liu Chengyou's performance, Guo Wei said to himself: "Gao Shijun has a great reputation and a grand reputation. He has been in the army for many years. With him leading the army and deploying Yedu, Du Chongwei will definitely not be his opponent. Although Wei Bo's army is strong, he is limited by the lack of commanders. Yes, Du Chongwei has long been unpopular. Using the local government to antagonize the central government has no great righteousness and goes against the aspirations of the people. It is not a good idea to be strong on the outside but on the inside."
"Mr. Guo's words make sense!" Liu Chengyou agreed with Guo Wei's statement, but no matter how plain his expression was, his lack of interest always lingered between his brows.
After much deliberation in the palace discussion just now, a decision was made. If a war broke out, Gao Xingzhou would be the commander-in-chief of the Grand Master of the School, Jian Zhongshu Ling, the Grand Master of Shou, and Ye Du stayed behind to fight against it.
Gao Xingzhou, who wrote the early history of the "Five Dynasties", probably mentioned it. Famous generals, this is another famous general who has been active in the military and political arena since the late Tang Dynasty. He first served in the Jie Yan and later in the Tang and Jin Dynasties. He was good at conquering and fighting, destroying the country and fighting against rebellion, fighting against the rebels, and fighting against the Khitan. During the tired dynasties, In troubled times, every battle creates prestige. In addition, he also has a relatively famous son, Gao Huaide, the "famous general of the Song Dynasty".
In terms of background, qualifications, and reputation, compared with Gao Xingzhou, Liu Zhiyuan is actually much weaker. If Liu Zhiyuan really dares to worship him as the commander-in-chief and lead his troops to rebel, then his ability is not small. Of course, from Liu Chengyou's point of view, it is okay for Gao Xingzhou to be the commander, as his ability and prestige are enough to control the armies.
Among those who surrendered to Fang Zhen, Gao Xingzhou was considered the more submissive one. The most important thing is that Gao Xingzhou is already over sixty years old. At this age, he will basically not have any excessive ambitions. At most, he can plan for future generations and seek shelter.
However, everything is afraid of failure. While planning to use Gao Xingzhou, Liu Zhiyuan also wanted to use Liu Chengyou's uncle, Murong Yanchao, the governor of Zhenning Army, as his deputy, that is, to install a supervisory army.
From Liu Chengyou's heart, he was not very optimistic about this arrangement. He had already seen what kind of virtue his uncle had when they were in Baima. Although they didn't get along with him for a long time, the impression was really not good.
However, Liu Chengyou had no intention of telling Guo Wei these thoughts. Changing the topic in an understatement, Liu Chengyou sighed and said, "It still takes time to test the outcome. However, as agreed today, the Privy Council will be busy again..."
Guo Wei nodded, his eyes wandered for a moment, his body leaned slightly toward Liu Chengyou, and he asked in a deep voice: "Your Highness, the report about Mozhou, um——"
Guo Wei showed a little hesitation. Seeing this, Liu Chengyou said calmly: "What's wrong?"
There was some doubt in Guo Wei's eyes, and he continued to lower his voice: "I just think it's a little strange."
Hearing this, Liu Chengyou turned his head and looked at Guo Wei. The two people looked at each other, and their eyes exchanged in the air...
The efficiency of Hanting's work has obviously improved a lot, maybe because it involves military affairs, or because it handles special matters. Several envoys were sent out from the city of Tokyo, and in the afternoon of that day, the Sandu Army mobilized northward, heading straight towards the Yellow River, and then marched eastward overnight. Subsequently, the Wujie Army was also ordered to prepare for departure. Counting the early arrangements, the imperial court has mobilized more than 60,000 horse infantry troops to target Du Chongwei, the imperial army and the state troops, which can be regarded as paying special attention.
At the same time, a large amount of combat materials were also transported from Tokyo to Yedu, transported by ship, and traveled along the Bianshui River and into the river. In fact, the distance between Tokyo and Yedu is not that far, and it is supported by water transportation. If they cooperate in the battle, not much civilian power is really needed.
The troops and horses used this time, except for the Xingjie Army that was transferred north in advance, the rest were basically reorganized "miscellaneous soldiers" to deal with Du Chongwei. This arrangement of the Han Dynasty, when you think about it more deeply, seems a bit "conspiracy".
Over in Yedu, the imperial envoy handed the "key" letter to Du Chongwei. The result was self-evident. He immediately became anxious and shouted, "The imperial court has bullied me too much." Then he raised his flag and rebelled. Instead of killing the envoy, he allowed him to return to the court and sent a reply to the court, threatening to break into Tokyo sooner or later.
The envoy who was determined to die but survived by chance did not realize that when he read the letter, Du Chongwei's expression changed from shock, ridicule, anger, and determination.
As Tokyo and Yedu completely broke up with each other, the war heroism began to hang over both sides of the Yellow River, and everyone in the world focused on Wei Bo.
Rebellion and counterinsurgency are the main theme of this era and the "correct" way to open the relationship between the central and local governments at the beginning of the founding of the country. If it hadn't been like this, how could the Liu family be able to secure its position in the Central Plains? How much power the Liu Han Dynasty has depends on how the battle to "defeat Du" goes. If it can be extinguished quickly, then everything will be easy, otherwise, some people will suffer a lot.
August is high in autumn. Yellow chrysanthemums are in full bloom on both sides of the Bianhe River. The scent of sweet-scented osmanthus fills the air and penetrates the city walls of Kaifeng, bringing a touch of gentleness to the people of Tokyo.
On the ferry, there were more than ten ships, sailing northward. The flags raised and the imperial guards on board revealed that they were official ships. In addition to food and ordnance, what was loaded on the ship was a batch of newly made military supplies such as quilts, shoes, socks, and rain gear.
Since the beginning of the "War against Du", in addition to the official workshops, various large and small workshops in Tokyo have started working one after another. However, they are under the control and even "order" of the government to rush to produce military supplies and sell them to the government. Moreover, the price is very low and the profit is not much.
It's just that the government is controlling, and even if the enthusiasm is not high, they don't dare to disobey, otherwise, soldiers and government officials will come to the door and forcefully recruit people. Of course, if you cooperate, everything will be fine. You may not make much money, but you will still gain something.
These things were naturally done by Wang Zhang, the third minister. When he first heard about it, Liu Chengyou felt that he was too harsh. However, after a deeper understanding, Liu Chengyou did not express any opinions. Of course, it would not have much effect if he said so. Since there was a war, everything had to be compromised for the war. The court did not temporarily increase taxes, which was already extremely merciful.
It was not easy for Wang Zhang either. He racked his brains in order to support Wei Bo's war effort. Even for various provinces, the treasury is being used up like running water, and a large number of people are really suffering from the war.
On the ferry, several porters who had just unloaded a cargo of goods gathered together to take a short rest. One of them looked at the fleet heading northwest from the shore and commented: "This is already the eleventh batch."
"I heard that the war in Guangjin Mansion is not going well, and the imperial troops have not captured Yedu yet." Another person said in a low voice.
"How the court is doing has nothing to do with us. As long as our wages are not short-changed. I just hope that the price of rice and noodles will not rise again today." A man with a sallow complexion said in a deep voice.
A thin little man opposite shook his head: "With His Highnesses the King of Wei and the King of Zhou here, it shouldn't be like this."
Whenever a war breaks out, it is normal for supplies to be scarce and prices to rise, but there are always those who hoard. During this period, Liu Chengxun's Kaifeng Prefecture and Liu Chengyou's Inspection Department jointly enforced the law to crack down on profiteers and stabilize food prices. Then it was discovered that due to the crackdown on grain merchants, the amount of grain transported into Tokyo from various places dropped sharply, and grain prices were not effectively curbed and remained high.
The government did not have much food. However, water transportation was slow, and the imported rice grain was limited. Moreover, there was a focus on supporting the court and supporting the war. After all, there were only a few for circulation and civilian use.
There is no other choice but to relax the suppression, and just draw a red line on the price, giving those grain brokers and merchants profit margins. After all, no matter how high food prices are, it is always better than going hungry. And this incident also gave Liu Chengyou two reminders, one was to store grain in the official warehouse, and the other was to transport water.
"Can the government be reliable?" One person couldn't help complaining: "His Royal Highness the King of Wei is kind and redresses grievances. That King of Zhou is scary!"
"If you ask me, His Royal Highness King Zhou is quite sensible. The soldiers of the Inspection Department do not dare to be too presumptuous. If they run into the hands of the military leaders of the guards, it will be luck to survive..."
"You don't want your life!" The yellow-faced man yelled nervously as the two chatted more and more, and the other two quickly stopped talking.
In order to ensure the stability of the capital, the imperial court has once again tightened control over Kaifeng during this period. In Kaifeng City, there are three yamen that have the power to enforce public security in the city: Liu Chengxun's Kaifeng Mansion, Liu Chengyou's Inspection Department, and Shi Hongzhao's Bodyguard Department.
The three parties are co-managed, with unclear rights and responsibilities, and the three parties' acting styles are also completely different. Liu Chengxun was virtuous in his government, tolerant and kind, liked to do things personally, and mainly obeyed others. Even if there were those who obeyed the law, he was often praised; Liu Chengyou, as always, obeyed the law during inspections and enforced the law strictly, but was strict and reasonable, and treated everyone equally during inspections. If any of the officials commit adultery, the crime will be increased to a higher level; only Shi Hongzhao's side is distinguished by a ruthless one. Guarding the military officers, they patrol the streets and alleys. If they see anyone who is "different", they will first catch them and inspect them. If he didn't know clearly, he took the guards back to the prison and tortured him. The people in the capital were afraid of him like a vicious tiger.
Because of things like this, Liu Chengxun even had an argument with Shi Hongzhao and was so angry by the martial artist that he almost fell ill again. As for Liu Zhiyuan, even if he heard about it, he just dealt with it and gave Shi Hongzhao a small warning to get him to restrain himself. It is said that Emperor Liu Zhiyuan agreed very much with Shi Hongzhao's idea of "valuing codes in troubled times". As long as there is no chaos in Tokyo, everything will be fine.
"I don't know when these days will end." After a while of silence, one of them lamented.
"Maybe it will be fine once the battle in Yedu is over and there is no war in the court." The speaker's unsteady tone contained hope.
"With this attitude, I don't know how long the fight will last. If the battle in the north goes bad and the court recruits corvees again, who knows, we will be called to the battlefield!"
"I would rather go to the battlefield. If I can join the Forbidden Army, kill a few people, and achieve some military exploits, my life will be easier. If I die, I will avoid living and suffering!" The little man looked to the north, with bitterness in his words.
"Ha!" This remark immediately aroused ridicule. A stout man pointed at the little man and mocked: "Just you? If you go to Yedu, you will probably fill the city with your life!"
"Don't underestimate people!"
"..."
"Hey!" The yellow-faced man sighed again. He had no intention of listening to these people arguing anymore. He looked up at the sky, which was clear. I thought to myself, I have saved some money in the past few days, and will go to the market later to buy some noodles, fish, oil and salt. Today, after all, is the Mid-Autumn Festival, so I can have a good time with my family.
"Get up and work, there's a boat coming!" Before they could rest for long, the steward of their ferry came with several people to urge them, shouting and shouting, and said "kindly" without moving. Give him a kick.
Not far away, a ship with a deep draft slowly docked. It was estimated to be about three hundred stones in weight. It was a big ship on the Bianhe River and came from the southeast.
A group of people immediately rolled up their sleeves, tightened their belts, stepped forward actively, and worked hard for their livelihood.
PS: It will be on the shelves tomorrow. The troublesome thing is that the manuscript is not saved...
