In the Chongzheng Hall, the prime ministers were present and the generals gathered together. This was the second imperial meeting recently hosted by Emperor Liu Chengyou himself. Including Li Gu, who had originally planned to leave for Yangzhou to prepare for Pingnan, but because of the turmoil in Beijing, he slowed down his departure and stayed in Kaifeng.
However, during this great debate, Li Gu has not expressed his views and has been watching in silence. The reason is also very simple. The former emperor has put his butt in the affairs of the south. From his personal interests, there is no doubt that he supports Xian Pingnan. However, as a famous minister with an overall view, he cannot completely go against his will. Ignore the threat from the north.
The ministers who held the power of the Han Dynasty were of course divided into two factions.
A group of ministers headed by Fan Zhi and Xue Juzheng strongly suggested defending in the north and attacking in the south, trying their best to restore relations with the Liao Kingdom, and following the established general strategy, after Jiangnan was settled, they would then visit the north. Similar thoughts and remarks originated from the emperor Liu Chengyou.
Of course, under the current situation, the emperor's attitude has become impartial, and no one can guess his true intentions. The reason why ministers such as Fan Zhi resolutely supported the southern advance was that, in their view, the importance of unification lay in resisting foreign aggression, as the saying goes, "To fight against foreign forces, we must first settle the domestic affairs." As long as the south is unified, the imperial court will be free to deal with the northern troubles. By then, China's strong foundation will be enough to control the Liao Dynasty.
It was a group of ministers and generals headed by Privy Councilor Chai Rong who supported the Northern Expedition and solved the Khitan troubles first. More than a month ago, Chai Rong was still discussing Pingnan affairs with the emperor and making temple preparations for it. Why did he suddenly change his tune and end his position directly to clearly state his attitude?
The reason is also the sudden change of the Liao army. Chai Rong was a man with a strong sense of crisis. Before, the Han and Liao were in peace, and the Han and the Liao were able to calmly attack the south. Today, the Liao Kingdom has shown hostility and is even more brazen in launching troops. Its eager gaze has made people like Chai Rong feel the thorn in their backs even more deeply.
The reality is that the power has reached the southern part of the Senan, and the Liao army can use this to invade the southern invaders on a large scale. Even if there are strong soldiers and generals guarding the north, how can it cover everything in the vast Youji Plain? The so-called perfect defense line is relatively of.
If the Liao Kingdom moved south in a large scale, it would be basically impossible to destroy the Han Dynasty. However, when the two countries fought in Youji, they were likely to destroy it and cause serious damage to the local military and civilians. The early Han Dynasty was able to fight against the Liao Kingdom with the determination to destroy Hebei. Can it still bear such losses now?
Even if it can, when the country is strong enough to strike first and gain strategic advantage, why bother to defend passively? Peace in the north depends on fighting for it.
Chai Rong had a similar view to Liu Chengyou, and put forward a sober and realistic goal. The Northern Expedition was not to destroy the Liao Dynasty, but only to seize the danger of Yanshan and completely drive the Liao army out of the pass. After filling up the huge loopholes in the northern defense line, whether it is to continue to fight against the Liao Dynasty or to restart the unification war, the Han Dynasty will be more calm and at ease.
The idea proposed by Chai Rong was not too ambitious, but it was feasible. It also touched the heartstrings of many generals with good military vision, so there was a lot of support.
Of course, for Pingnan, there are not no supporters in the army. After all, compared to the powerful Northern Liao, the several small separatist countries in the south are easier to fight. Destroying the country is also a great achievement, and it is easier to obtain, and it has its wealth and wealth. temptation.
You don't need to think too much about the opinions of the generals and commanders assigned to the south. Most people still don't have a far-sighted and overall perspective. They tend to look at things from their own perspective and express their opinions.
Among the senior generals in Beijing, Zhao Kuangyin expressed his support for the southern expedition in a slightly ambiguous manner. His opinion was to pacify the south on the basis of maintaining the defense in the north and repairing relations as much as possible. Although he has reservations, his tendency is obvious.
There are also a large number of people who remain neutral and keep their eyes and ears on the emperor. They will obey the emperor's final decision.
As for the analysis and comparison of the national strength of the two sides, with the support of the Intelligence Department, the Liao Kingdom can get a glimpse of half of it. As for the situation of the Han Dynasty, the ministers responsible for governing this country also have a clear understanding. All in all, the Han Dynasty is now strong enough to fight the Liao Kingdom, and has the confidence and confidence to win.
The memorials on the imperial court in the Chongzheng Hall have changed again and are arranged neatly. In addition to the recent civil and military memorials in Beijing and the central government on north-south affairs, there is also, as expected, a petition for war from the generals in the north. From King Chenliu to An Shenqi and other military envoys, they all asked for war. Compared with the armies in Tokyo, southwest, and south that made a lot of money under the southern expedition strategy, the soldiers in the north were hungry wolves. Even if the Liao Kingdom in the north is a tough guy, they still dare to speak.
Everyone came together, there was no noise, the atmosphere was serious as usual, and between everyone's eyes, another argument was brewing. As the chamberlain sang, Liu Chengyou strode in, and all the ministers stood up and saluted.
"Everyone is free of charge!" Sitting down, Liu Chengyou looked around and waved his hand neatly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Looking at the ministers, Liu Chengyou took out a secret report and said: "There is news from Youzhou that Zhao Siwan, the first general under the command of King Yan, has betrayed the Liao Kingdom. The Liao army has secretly gathered a large number of troops, hoping to cooperate with him inside and outside to seize Youzhou! "
After his words, all the officials present changed their expressions. After more than ten years, the importance of Youzhou to the Han Dynasty no longer needs to be emphasized. Chai Rong's body tensed up, his face looked anxious, and he asked slightly rudely: "Your Majesty, what is the unknown outcome?"
Facing the concerned eyes of the ministers, Liu Chengyou's answer made them relieved: "King Lai Yan was alert and noticed his conspiracy in advance, and took decisive measures to arrest Zhao Siwan and his rebels, quell the internal troubles and stabilize the morale of the army. Now. Take active precautions to ward off the Liao army!"
"From this point of view, the unusual movement of the Liao army in the direction of Yanmen can be explained. This must be a feint to attract the attention of the court and Youzhou, and to deliver a fatal blow to Youzhou. If it is allowed to happen, If it succeeds, the situation in the north will inevitably deteriorate, and His Majesty's ten-year plan will suffer a major setback! Fortunately, God bless the man, and the Khitan conspiracy did not succeed!" Murong Yanzhao said with emotion.
After Xiang Xun returned to Tokyo due to his contribution to pacifying Shu, he was appointed by Liu Chengyou as the commander of the Ma Bu Army of the Guards and was responsible for the daily management of the Guards Department. This was somewhat unexpected by others. After all, according to the emperor's past behavior of supporting the destruction of the country, even if he continues to be important to him, he will have to be idle for a period of time.
The former Murong Yanzhao returned from pacifying Jinghu and still held the post of palace commander, but was arranged by Liu Chengyou to patrol the border in Hebei for several months. Han Tong was responsible for the daily affairs of the palace commander.
Judging from the appointment of Xiang Xun, the emperor's caliber seems to have increased. Of course, it also means that he is more confident. Moreover, the authority of the current commanders of the imperial army of the two yamen is not as good as it was in the early days of the country. All the subordinate military generals have the power to directly go to heaven to listen and report military affairs.
As for Zhao Kuangyin, he was also transferred to the Guards Department as deputy commander, and the two continued to work together. At this time, Xiang Xun, who was also sitting at the table, spoke: "Liao's plan was defeated, so he raised an army out of fear of its anger and directly sent troops to attack Youzhou. A war may break out, no matter what, the court should be completely alert and ready for war!"
"Otherwise!" At this time, Fan Zhi shook his head: "It is midsummer now, and the weather is unbearably hot. It is not the time for the Liao army to mobilize! I think that since they have failed, King Yan may not dare to take forceful action if he is well prepared. Soldiers. There is news from the former that this time the Liao army's southern invaders are just a partial division, and their territory has not been greatly affected. I think that the Liao Kingdom is not ready for a full-scale war with the Han Dynasty!"
"So, Prime Minister Fan still has illusions about peace between Han and Liao?" After Fan asked, Chai Rong stood up immediately and faced Liu Chengyou with a slightly fierce tone: "The Han Dynasty has no intention of the Northern Expedition, but the Khitan has the intention of plotting against me. This is This time, from the Battle of Yanmen to the Youzhou conspiracy, we can see his heart. If the soldiers did not use their lives and the King of Yan had police to foil his conspiracy, the situation in the northern border of the Han Dynasty would inevitably collapse, putting our dynasty at a strategic disadvantage against the Liao Dynasty.
Facts have proved that the strength of the Han Dynasty has made the Liao Kingdom deeply fearful and uneasy. With this northern invader harboring malicious intentions and watching over us, how can the big man go south with peace of mind, and how can your majesty sleep peacefully?
Since the Liao Kingdom has taken the initiative to start a war, the only way for the Han Dynasty to break the situation is to face it head-on, face the difficulties, and adopt an active attack strategy! "
"I don't agree with the words of Prime Minister Chai!" Chai Rong was a little rude, and Fan Zhi was also a tough-tempered person. He immediately stood up and said: "This time the Liao army was obviously in a hurry and lacked preparation. It was against Youzhou's conspiracy. , further proves this point. Your Majesty, I think that the Northern Liao Dynasty may be afraid of the strength of the Han Dynasty, but this change is probably due to Zhao Siwan. He wants to take advantage of the traitor general to seize Youzhou, which is a risky gamble.
Now that the plan has been defeated, how can we dare to use troops rashly again? Moreover, the defeat of Yanmen was enough to shock them. If the Han Dynasty launched a large-scale northern expedition at this time, the Liao Kingdom would inevitably invade and fight. I hope Your Majesty will think twice! "
"Sooner or later there will be a decisive battle between Han and Liao. Now the Liao has shown its hostility and tore up the peace talks. How can the Han be so embarrassed and bear shame?" Han Tong couldn't help but say.
Fan Zhize said: "Since this is a decisive battle and it is related to the destiny of the country, we should be more cautious. It is better to be later than sooner, and it is better to be slow than hasty!"
"The outcome of the Northern Expedition is unpredictable. If anything goes wrong, not only will it fail to restore Yunshuo's homeland in Guanshan, but it will also affect the Han Dynasty's ability to completely flatten the south and hinder the process of unification! Which is more important, your Majesty, please think carefully and take action!" Fan Zhi solemnly said He said to Liu Chengyou: "I suggest that we send envoys north to communicate with the Lord of Liao, ease relations, eliminate this border conflict and misunderstanding, and continue to buy time for the Han Dynasty to pacify the south!"
"If we don't solve the threat from the north, how can we talk about leveling Jiangnan? Judging from the actions of the Liao Kingdom, they have been deeply wary of the Han Dynasty. Otherwise, why would they launch troops brazenly? How could they sit back and watch the Han Dynasty successfully take over Jiangnan, and face a A more powerful enemy with no worries?"
Chai Rong said: "The Sui Dynasty also split the Turks and controlled the northern troubles before going south. But now the Han Dynasty has lost the dangerous passes in the north and the border defenses are incomplete? If we do not completely consolidate the defenses, our army will have to go south when it goes south. It’s the time of Liaonan bandits!”
Fan Zhi said: "Today, the south of the Yangtze River is divided into four parts. The king's army is occupying Jinghu, controlling Huainan, and controlling seven inches of it. He only needs to send a partial army to defeat him. How can it be like the Sui Dynasty and Chen Dynasty!"
Perhaps seeing that Fan Zhi seemed a little alone, Xue Juzheng, the envoy of the Third Division, also spoke, and his mood seemed calmer, saying: "In recent years, the Han Dynasty has fought many times to destroy the country, and the soldiers are inevitably exhausted, and the national treasury has consumed a lot of money. , I’m afraid it will be difficult to support the Northern Expedition in a short period of time!”
Upon hearing this, Chai Rong immediately said: "The troops mobilized before and after are less than half of the Han army. The armies in the north and the Tokyo Forbidden Army have been trained for many years and are ready for battle. There are hundreds of thousands of them, how can we say that they are exhausted. As for the support of the warehouse, let alone The income of the Han Dynasty, the goods transported from the north of Sichuan and Sichuan, the boats and ships, the profits of hundreds and thousands, the carriages and livestock, the road has been full for several years, has such a huge financial resource been consumed in just a few months?"
As soon as these words came out, Xue Juzheng smiled. It was not easy to make excuses in front of the emperor.
Fan Zhi answered: "The situation in the north is still unclear, and the direction of the Liao Kingdom is also unclear. If we send troops to the DPRK, we will actually force them to fight without giving the Han any room to choose. We must not be careless! "
"..."
Listening to the heated debate among the ministers, Liu Chengyou felt a slight headache. He was silent for a long time without saying anything, and simply stood up and left the case. The emperor left, and the ministers in the palace looked at each other, and all tacitly agreed not to speak any more. After all, it was not a vegetable market, and there was no one to listen. There was no need for them to continue arguing.
Before long, the chamberlain Sun Yanxi came to pass on Liu Chengyou's oral instructions and asked all ministers to temporarily return to their duties and handle government affairs. Obviously, the emperor still has not made a decision. Since Liu Chengyou came to the throne, there have been very few moments of hesitation, and each time, he was faced with a major decision.
In fact, since the conquest of Huaihe River in the fourth year of Emperor Qianyou's reign, there has not been much controversy about the north-south strategy. However, this time Liu Chengyou asked the Han Dynasty Minister Wu Wen to discuss it again, which can also be seen that his thoughts have indeed changed.
