The enthusiastic calls for rebellion in the city gradually dissipated, and after the army camp returned to calm, Liu Chengyou gathered the generals in the South Camp and held the first imperial military meeting.
The imperial tent is located in Nanying. It is very spacious and can accommodate a hundred people. The layout is in line with Liu Chengyou's temperament. It is simple and practical, without unnecessary decoration.
Sitting upright, accepting the worship of dozens of generals, and seeing these Yuanchen generals bowing and bowing, no matter how loyal and respectful they are in their hearts, it is always very comfortable. After sweeping around, his eyes glanced at Bai Wenke, Zhao Hui, Zhou Hui and others, and they felt something, and their bodies tensed subconsciously.
There was another person, Huazhou Jiedu Hou Zhang. This man had his head buried, pretending to be an ostrich. When Liu Chengyou's eyes rested on him, he saw that his head was buried even lower.
"My servants were unable to fight well, which caused the expedition to be unfavorable. Please punish your Majesty." The proper attitude was necessary. As the commander-in-chief of the front line, Bai Wenke was the first to go out to plead guilty to Liu Chengyou.
"Bai Gong is exempt from courtesy!" Liu Chengyou was about to coordinate with the armies, and could not do anything to Bai Wenke and other generals, so he comforted him by saying: "Bai Gong is the most important general in the western frontier of the Han Dynasty. He is expected to be outstanding. This time Coordinating the armies, attacking the rebels, and moving forward to rebel against the city, it can be said that hard work is a great achievement!"
After saying that, he glanced at the other generals and encouraged: "Li Niju rebelled, Guanyou was shaken, and the ferocity was rampant, coming out from both sides. Thanks to all the gentlemen, you must hold up your swords, leap on your horses, raise your drums, and lead the crowd to welcome them with enthusiasm. Only by attacking the thieves can the thieves become more powerful!"
It can be seen from Liu Chengyou's attitude that he will not sin in the past and no matter what he thinks in his heart, he will always be grateful for his kindness. Gathering the morale of the troops first, and then stabilizing the generals' morale, was Liu Chengyou's approach when he first arrived. Because Bai Wenke was old, Liu Chengyou specially gave him a seat to discuss the army. This kind act made the atmosphere in the tent calmer.
Afterwards, it was Zhou Hui who pleaded guilty. His matter was much more serious.
"Victory or defeat is a common thing for soldiers!" Liu Chengyou's expression remained calm, as if he was comforting him, but he only paused, his tone suddenly changed, and he scolded him coldly: "But you disrespect the general, don't listen to advice, don't check the enemy's situation, and send troops without authorization. Attacking a fortified city with light troops will result in casualties and casualties among our soldiers, breaking our military discipline and damaging our morale. You are self-willed! You are self-righteous!"
A string of words came out of Liu Chengyou's mouth, each one becoming more severe than the last. When he was agitated, his eyes were almost filled with murderous intent. He turned around and asked Yang Bin: "As a general, if you make your own decisions, act arbitrarily, be disrespectful and neglectful, resulting in the defeat of the army, what should you do?"
Yang Bin, who was in the imperial tent, was slightly surprised when he heard this question. He glanced at Liu Chengyou and said directly without any pretense on his stiff face: "Behead him!"
Zhou Hui was here, and his originally somewhat relaxed mind had already become tense. The word "Dangzhan" came out of Yang Bin's mouth. While cursing secretly in his heart, he felt his head and cheeks heat up. He noticed the emperor's cold and stern expression and fell to his knees. Ask for mercy.
Liu Chengyou, the veteran generals of the Yuan Dynasty, has always been more generous and lenient to these veterans since he succeeded to the throne, which also makes them arrogant and difficult to control. But this time, Zhou Hui finally felt something was wrong.
"Come here! Pull out the camp door--" Liu Chengyou gave a cold greeting, causing the serious atmosphere in the tent to calm down.
"Wait a minute." Seeing that Liu Chengyou looked like he was murderous, Bai Wenke couldn't help but interrupt. He stood up with his old body and said with cupped hands: "Your Majesty, even if General Zhou made mistakes, he was fighting for the country's rebellion. Your Majesty is loyal, but the military situation was not in harmony and the timing was unlucky, which led to the defeat. Please remember your past achievements and give him a lighter sentence."
Bai Wenke spoke for Zhou Hui, which was a bit unexpected, especially Zhou Hui, whose wrinkled and ugly face was inevitably stunned. Liu Chengyou and the old general looked at each other, feeling something strange in their hearts.
Without answering, he looked to Zhao Hui aside: "Mr. Zhao, what do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Hui glanced sideways at Zhou Hui, thought for a moment, raised his hands and said: "When Li Shouzhen marched for the second time, he led his troops to resist, and General Zhou also led his troops to fight against them, and the gains were not small. In consideration of the past achievements, please ask Your Majesty Get a lighter sentence.”
Well, at this time, we are here to help each other.
Faced with the persuasion of Duke Bai and Zhao, Liu Chengyou finally showed a little hesitation on his face. His eyes moved around and he bumped into Feng Dao. The old man immediately took the initiative to speak: "Your Majesty, although there were twists and turns in the process, fortunately it did not lead to any negative consequences. Now the rebels have been restrained in Chou City and are fighting against the trapped beasts. On the occasion of the battle, if you behead This is unlucky for a general. Your Majesty may demote him a little to calm the minds of the people, and also give the Zhou Dynasty an opportunity to denounce his crimes and make meritorious deeds..."
"Had it not been for the persuasion of the princes, I would not have spared him lightly!" Upon seeing this, Liu Chengyou made a move, stared at Zhou Hui and said: "Demoted to the deputy commander of the Xiaodi Army and retained in the army, the Xiaodi Army will be temporarily assigned to the left and right wing commanders. The commanders, Sun Li and Wu Qianyu, will take the lead. After the rebellion is suppressed, we will make other arrangements. Are you convinced?"
Of course he was not convinced, Zhou Hui Yinqing changed a lot, but considering the current situation, how could he dare to refuse to accept it, he said with a stern face, "Thank you for not killing me, Your Majesty."
Liu Chengyou would not care about his thoughts, so he stood up and walked around in front of the imperial tent, and said seriously: "Soldiers are a national matter, a matter of life and death, so we must not be careless. I am not afraid of losing the battle, but unnecessary defeats and injuries to soldiers. I will never allow it. I hope all generals will take this as a warning!"
"Remember your Majesty's teachings!" In the current atmosphere, no matter what Liu Chengyou said, no matter how arrogant or powerful the general was, he had to respond honestly.
"Your Majesty." After a moment of silence, Zhou Hui suddenly took the initiative to speak, as if as a reminder, with murderous intent: "During the previous battle with the enemy, the army commanders He Hui and Fan Aineng fled cowardly, causing our army's position to be in chaos. The losses have intensified. More than ten fleeing generals under the command of He and Fan have all been tied up in the army. Please deal with it, Your Majesty."
Hearing this, a strange look flashed in Liu Chengyou's eyes. He thought about it for a moment and then ordered: "Just hold him in check for now!"
For that generation, Liu Chengyou had already determined the outcome in his heart. However, he planned to deal with it afterwards, just like Zhou Hui's matter, it was not over yet. How could Liu Chengyou let this opportunity pass by so easily?
However, when he first arrived, his abilities were not yet evident, his thieves were not eliminated, and his achievements were not yet accomplished, so he killed and punished the generals on a large scale, which frustrated the morale of the army. In terms of military law, Zhou Hui's crime would never be so easy even if he was spared death. However, in this era, the bad habits of military discipline that have been carried out for decades are like this. If all sentences are based on law, there will probably be few innocent people among the army. This is the result of Liu Zhiyuan and his son successively rectifying military discipline.
The laws of the Han Dynasty were strict, and the punishments were severe. Compared with the previous dynasty, the sergeants were more restrained, but it was still not enough. Due to the strict military laws in the past, resentment has been growing in the army. Liu Chengyou also knew that he could not blindly use force and anger. The rectification of the army still needed to be done slowly and carefully.
As for this personal expedition to quell the rebellion, after the rebels are defeated and the power of victory is gained, we can take the opportunity to further rectify the Forbidden Army. If something goes wrong with the Forbidden Army, to a certain extent, it will also facilitate Liu Chengyou's actions later, and he is not afraid of telling the truth.
After the previous affairs were settled, Fang discussed the troops and discussed how to break the city and defeat the enemy. As for the situation in Hedong City, the government and army have a very clear understanding of the city's defense, military strength, generals, etc., and have carefully inspected it. The strength of the city is right in front of you, but it is often difficult to put it down.
All the generals requested orders one after another, hoping to take advantage of the emperor's first arrival and high morale to attack Pucheng. Liu Chengyou refused, saying that the east city of Hedong is close to the river and the battlements are complete and should not be lowered lightly.
Although Liu Chengyou wanted to destroy Li Shouzhen quickly, that was a strategic matter. In terms of tactics, facing a fortified city, he needed to slow down his efforts. His mind was always clear. It would be inappropriate to order a rush attack when the city was not fully prepared. If the city failed, morale would be damaged, which would be inappropriate.
According to Liu Chengyou's plan, it was necessary to consolidate the siege, trap Li Shouzhen to death, weaken his will, and disrupt his people's hearts. After the follow-up supplies were in place and the heavy siege equipment was fully deployed, he could try to attack again. This process allows the soldiers to become familiar with the battlefield environment.
After he expressed his thoughts to the generals and made them sound reasonable, they all gave up and were ordered to return to their camps and prepare their horses and troops. That night, Liu Chengyou ordered the slaughter of pigs and sheep, and rewarded all the troops, giving gifts in the name of the emperor to win over the troops again.
