In the Privy Council.
This period of time has been very busy, and the heads of all the staff are tense. The war in Yedu is not going well, and they are the busiest. Dealing with urgent matters, adjusting military defenses, moving ordnance, rationing auxiliaries... basically all centered around the battle against Du.
Liu Chengyou sat behind the desk, frowning slightly, resting his chin on his crossed fingers, staring at a piece of map paper on the desk in trance. The drawing is a defensive map of the Han army on the front line. It is very detailed. The offensive and defensive situation of Yedu is clearly visible. It also has explanations of troop strength, terrain, ditches, ponds, and forts.
From what Liu Chengyou saw, an aura of "security" came to his face. After several attempts to attack failed, Gao Xingzhou began "engineering" work under the city of Yedu, building strongholds aggressively, as if he was determined to fight to the end and trap Du Chongwei to death.
The posture of the Han army obviously frightened Du Chongwei. Although he could not see the situation clearly, he knew by feel that the actions of the Han army were a great threat to him. He couldn't help but send troops out of the city, hoping to destroy the strongholds and interrupt the Han army's rhythm of building strongholds, but was severely beaten by Gao Xingzhou's troops who were well prepared. After several exchanges, more than 3,000 soldiers were lost, and several losses were suffered. Du Chongwei also learned the lesson and huddled in the city, not daring to leave lightly.
By the time outside the city of Yedu, the strongholds were linked together, and the dogs and their tusks were moving straight towards the city, the rebels were unable to move and were completely suppressed. Afterwards, Gao Xingzhou, in the name of deploying the camp capital, appealed to the states and counties of Weibo. As expected, all the states and counties surrendered, declared a clear break with Du Chongwei, expressed his surrender to the court, and even took the initiative to provide military supplies and young men. In order to relieve the shortage of the Han army.
In the Weibo area, the capital is in Yedu, but without the support of other states and counties, no matter how many soldiers and sufficient food there are in Yedu, it will still be a trapped beast. Moreover, this trapped beast's claws, which were not sharp in the first place, have been smoothed away.
From Liu Chengyou's point of view, Gao Xingzhou had done well enough, even with Murong Yanchao holding him back. It's just that Liu Chengyou can understand and support it to a certain extent. After all, the city of Yedu is strong and cannot be conquered, so he should first establish a foothold under the city and slowly plan for it.
However, the court continued to criticize his style of play. People like Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao and others did not agree with his strategy. In their opinion, Du Chongwei, who was at the end of his rope, should have defeated the city in one battle and returned the favor after completing the victory.
But Gao Xingzhou was procrastinating. To put it nicely, he would be cautious and steady. If it sounds ugly, it means that the bandits are self-respecting and have ulterior motives. That's right, someone has already been whispering in Liu Zhiyuan's ears.
In the final analysis, it is still a matter of trust. If the old general from Hedong is replaced to lead the army, even if there is criticism, it will not be like this. Liu Chengyou was horrified by the prevailing atmosphere in the imperial court. It has always been a taboo for the general to command a large number of troops outside and for the imperial court to be suspicious of those behind him.
Liu Chengyou couldn't sit still, so he stood up and angrily scolded the slanderous ministers in the court, attacking whoever spoke, including Su Fengji, who had been trying to befriend and support him before. In order to endorse Gao Xingzhou's platform, Liu Chengyou had a face-to-face argument with a court official for the first time.
Of course, Liu Chengyou was not fighting alone. Wang Zhang, Guo Wei, Wang Jun and others firmly supported his opinions. When it comes to discussing matters, Wang Zhang and Yang Bin are basically on the same page on weekdays, but this time, they have different opinions.
In private, Liu Chengyou also persuaded Liu Zhiyuan very solemnly. He didn't need to talk too much about the truth. Telling similar stories about previous history was enough to wake Liu Zhiyuan up.
Of course, we can learn from history and learn about the ups and downs. But knowing is one thing, being able to do it is another. Otherwise, since ancient times, similar incidents of kings and generals being suspicious and destroying the Great Wall would never happen again.
It has been discussed for so long before. Now that you have used them, they are still working hard for you on the front line. How can you be so suspicious behind the scenes? Liu Zhiyuan was indeed not a fool, and he still had a bit of "ganghu habits" that he had worked hard from the lower ranks. He was educated by his son. Even though he couldn't lose face, he still issued an edict, prohibiting courtiers from making suspicious remarks again. Violators will be severely punished. at.
Liu Chengyou also saw that if there were no wise men among the Han officials in the Manchu Dynasty, it was obviously not true, but there were probably not many of these people who truly thought wholeheartedly about the country. Including Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao, their desires may be different, but they all have something in common, which is to help themselves. The righteousness between the emperor and his ministers is the true portrayal of the relationship between the emperor and his ministers in this era, because there is no telling who will be replaced on the throne of the emperor.
Gao Xingzhou was lucky enough to have Liu Chengyou arguing for him in court. This time, he acted purely out of justice, without any selfish motives. However, the responsibility he showed this time, after word spread, made him win a lot of hearts and minds as a general.
Under Liu Chengyou's strong intervention, the evil trend called "suspiciousness" in the DPRK was curbed. However, the war situation in Yedu is still a difficult problem before the court, which must be solved. You can't, just keep surrounding them like that.
The imperial court also had its own difficulties. Wang Zhangli and the Third Division had originally spent half a year raising supplies to quell the rebellion. However, the actual consumption is often much higher than you expected, especially for something as uncontrollable as war.
Who could have expected that the war against rebellion would be such a protracted one. The "tortoise shells" built by Gao Xingzhou outside Yedu City consumed far more manpower and material resources than those ignorant courtiers imagined. . In this way, the Han army was able to successfully confine the war to the corner of Yedu and mobilize a large number of resources from the town of Weibo nearby. Otherwise, the hole would be even bigger.
In the final analysis, as the money reserves were gradually depleted and the war was not progressing smoothly, the court was less confident in countering the rebellion. Wang Zhang is already preparing to raise taxes on merchants and workers in Tokyo, and has the intention of "raising donations" from courtiers and generals. On the other side of Liyang Ferry, a special person organized a large number of people to salvage the ships that sank when the Khitan crossed north, regardless of whether they were reliable or not.
Of course, it is already late autumn, and the autumn harvest work in various states and counties has already begun to harvest autumn grain. However, from harvesting to tax payment and storage, this also requires a time process, which is not enough to quench the thirst. Therefore, just yesterday, the imperial court ordered that the Han soldiers in Yedu should first take Wei Bo's grain nearby and use it, and then compensate the people after the war.
The order was given easily, but when it was actually implemented, it would be another "disaster" for the people of Weibo. This was a move that deeply lost the support of the people. However, there is no other way but to continue the war. As for the people's hearts, we can only slowly deal with it in the future. If something goes wrong in counterinsurgency, it won't be the people's support that can make up for the loss.
"Your Highness, there is an urgent report from Yedu!" While thinking, Wei Renpu hurried in and presented Liu Chengyou with a military report.
Watch for signs and hurry up.
Taking a breath and taking it, Liu Chengyou asked directly without looking at it: "Failed to break the city?"
Wei Renpu nodded with a serious expression: "Yes!"
On the first day of September, Yedu had been besieged for more than a month. Under pressure from all aspects, Liu Zhiyuan finally couldn't bear it anymore. He issued a golden order and ordered Gao Xingzhou to attack the city. After all, the initiative is completely in your hands. Putting it off is not the answer. You have to give it a try. No, the result is here.
"Fortunately, the situation is not too bad. Everything is still under the control of our army!" Liu Chengyou breathed a sigh of relief after reading almost word for word.
The military reports from Yedu were almost one per day. In addition to the military intelligence report, this one was also regarded as Gao Xingzhou's confession. He ordered an attack on the city, and the soldiers rushed to the city. They fought hard and attacked Yedu for several days, but failed to get down to the city. More than five thousand soldiers were killed before and after, and twice as many were injured. They asked the court to punish them. However, this time, Gao Xingzhou made a more certain promise. If he was given another month, Ye Du would be broken.
"However, it is not easy to explain between His Majesty and the princes in the court." Wei Renpu sighed. He had personally experienced the previous turmoil.
In front of Wei Renpu, Liu Chengyou basically said: "The war has reached this point, it is difficult to serve Gao Linggong. He can maintain the situation in Yedu, Gao Linggong has made great contributions. In the final analysis, it is still the imperial court. It’s a matter of employing men and dispatching generals!”
Wei Renpu just listened to these words and did not dare to discuss them arbitrarily. Liu Chengyou was clearly alluding to the emperor's appointment of Murong Yanchao.
"Are Privy Minister Yang and Privy Guo not back yet?" Liu Chengyou asked.
Yang Bin and Guo Wei, one went to the imperial court to discuss politics, and the other went to inspect the armor and the imperial army. On the Privy Council side, Liu Chengyou is on duty.
"No."
"Let's go to Chui Gong Hall now!" Liu Chengyou picked up the military report and went quickly and resolutely.
Liu Chengyou was also very familiar with Chui Gong Hall, so he went in directly without any notification. In the meantime, Liu Chengxun did not go to Kaifeng Mansion to sit in court, but was with Yang Bin and other ministers, while Liu Zhiyuan was angry.
A little surprised, have you received the news that the city has failed?
"What's wrong?" Liu Chengyou asked quietly.
Liu Chengxun also briefly explained to him in a low voice.
"Isn't that reasonable? Is this high-profile guy threatening me?" Liu Zhiyuan suddenly shouted violently.
The matter is really not that complicated, but after hearing about Du Chongwei's rebellion, the Han court's encirclement and suppression campaign was unsuccessful, and the Nanping King Gao Congjiao could no longer sit still. An envoy was sent to Tokyo to bring a letter to Liu Zhiyuan, requesting the imperial court to cede Yingzhou and Fuzhou, which bordered Jingnan, to him, otherwise... I didn't say it clearly, but that's what it meant. How could Liu Zhiyuan not be angry?
Liu Chengyou sighed silently in his heart, this is the adverse impact of being unable to fight for a long time. Gao Laizi's side was impatient and danced happily, but if Yedu's side delayed a little longer, I'm afraid more ghosts and monsters would come out and dance.
"What are you muttering about? What's the decency of whispering in the palace!" Liu Zhiyuan turned to point the finger at Liu Chengyou, glared at him and asked, "Is there anything to report?"
"Battle report from Yedu." Liu Chengyou lowered his head slightly, holding the official document in his hands that might make Liu Zhiyuan even more angry.
However, what was a bit unexpected for Liu Chengyou was that after reading it, Liu Zhiyuan did not get angry, but just fell silent, but his expression was obviously not very good-looking.
Soon, all the courtiers present learned about the failure of breaking the city, and there was silence.
"Has An Shenqi arrived in Renxiangzhou?" Liu Zhiyuan asked suddenly.
Not daring to be negligent, Yang Bin immediately replied: "Your Majesty, Mr. An has been in town for more than a month."
After thinking about it, Liu Zhiyuan waved his hand, and the emperor's sleeves were raised, and he ordered coldly: "Gao Laizi, ignore him and drive his envoys out of Tokyo. Send an edict to An Shenqi, Jing Jing As long as the army in the south sticks to their duties, that's all. If there is any abnormal movement, fight them back!"
Seeing Liu Zhiyuan's tough attitude, Yang Fan opened his mouth and wanted to persuade him. However, looking at Liu Zhiyuan's autistic face that looked like Liu Chengyou's before, he honestly closed his mouth and responded respectfully: " yes."
After being shut up for a while, a wave of exhaustion appeared on his face. Looking around, Liu Zhiyuan's voice sounded particularly calm: "It's not easy to defeat the city. If the battle in Yedu is like this, what can we do?"
In the palace, most of them were civil servants. They looked at each other for a few times, but no one dared to put forward opinions rashly.
In fact, at this point, there aren’t many options.
It is impossible to withdraw from the siege. Not to mention the early victory results, the court has invested so much manpower and material resources that it cannot be wasted. The most important thing is that if Du Chongwei was allowed to survive after paying such a high price, how could the Han Dynasty be so majestic, and what else could it do to intimidate the Jiedu and other separatist regimes in the world.
Therefore, we must fight to the death and capture Du Chongwei at all costs.
"How about waiting for another month?" Li Hui, the envoy of Xuanhui South Academy, came out and asked cautiously.
Liu Zhiyuan only gave him a look, and he bowed his head and retreated.
It can be seen from Liu Zhiyuan's attitude that he obviously doesn't have much patience anymore.
Seeing this, Liu Chengyou stepped out of the queue at the right time and made a standard salute: "According to what I have observed, the situation in Yedu is stagnant. Du Chongwei is at the end of his strength and is not afraid. Anyone who cannot be defeated by our army will have difficulty in boosting morale. I think that if Your Majesty can personally visit the front line and come as the Supreme Emperor, his morale will surely rise and he will be able to defeat the thieves with one blow!"
Although Liu Chengyou's words were a bit exaggerated, his suggestions were clear.
Liu Zhiyuan looked at him and felt mixed emotions. Although this son was young, he had really experienced it. His calm and calm demeanor as a general actually put him in comparison to his imperial father.
The thought of Liu Chengyou's proposal during the palace meeting that day came to mind. He was still so sure, but he didn't listen, which led to the current situation.
Without thinking for a long time, Liu Zhiyuan stood up and stopped asking any more questions. His expression was extremely firm: "I propose that you choose a day to conquer in person!"
