It was still early, and in the Privy Council, the servants were carefully changing the candles and cleaning the halls. The subordinate officials on duty had already been handed over. As the sky grew brighter, the staff of the various rooms also arrived at their posts one after another. Because of the Southern Expedition, the Privy Council was very busy during this period, and there were rumors of military affairs, but it was always in a tense and joyful atmosphere.
Zhao Kuangyin slowly came to the Privy Council. When passing by, he noticed that Li Chuyun was already sitting behind the desk, immersed in processing official documents. Li Chuyun, who was over forty years old, was in the prime of life. During his years as prime minister, he had been conscientious, self-denial and dedicated to public service, and was highly praised by Emperor Liu.
During the years when he was in charge of military affairs, Li Chuyun showed very outstanding ability in doing things, proving to the government and the public that he was capable of being on his own, and did not rely on the emperor's support to rise to power and be above the princes.
During the fifteen years of military and political reform and adjustment, the central power of the Han Dynasty has formed a system that focuses on state affairs, military affairs, and finance, with mutual checks and balances. In terms of military and political power, in addition to the emperor, it is the privy envoys.
Therefore, in terms of authority alone, Li Chuyun was among the most powerful people in the Han Dynasty. However, compared with Yang Bin, Guo Wei, Zhe Congruan, Chai Rong and others since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Li Chuyun is far behind in both merit and prestige.
Just like Red Xiang, the third minister who is now the Prime Minister and in charge of the financial power of the Han Dynasty, he has little qualifications but a high position of power. Lei Xiang was also in his forties, but he was a Jinshi in the early years of Qianyou's reign. However, he had already become the prime minister ahead of most of his fellow students. Even now, many people in the court think that he is not worthy of being a third-ranking scholar because of his "mediocreness". Secretary.
In his early years, Li Chuyun was only promoted by Zhe Congruan and directly entered the Privy Council to serve as a recorder. Although he served as military counselor all year round and discussed current affairs with the emperor, he had never led an army alone to fight a war, nor could he really let those generals An achievement recognized by Qiu Ba.
However, Emperor Liu still reused Red Xiang and Li Chuyun, not only because of their own talents, but more importantly because of the balance of power.
Like Li Chuyun, he knew this in his heart, but it also gave him an opportunity to show his talents. Li Chuyun also deeply felt the kindness of encounter and repaid it with all his heart. This is a man with a strong ambition for fame, and Pingnan is a major undertaking that he has taken the lead in formulating and implementing after he took charge of the Privy Council, so he is particularly worried about this matter.
"Brother Zhengyuan, you are still so diligent!" Zhao Kuangyin stepped forward to bow and greeted him with a smile.
In recent years, Li Chuyun has shown his shrewd and capable side, and at the same time he is often generous in private matters. However, when it comes to handling official affairs, he has always had a tough attitude, frequently behaved arbitrarily, and quarreled with his colleagues, which made him popular in the court. Not too good. Of course, this does not include Zhao Kuangyin.
On Emperor Liu's side, there was nothing Zhao Kuangyin could not tolerate, except for his habit of calling people brothers and sisters, which he didn't like very much. Letting him, a meritorious general, serve as deputy privy envoy was not only to appease the general of the Forbidden Army, but also to check and balance Li Chuyun. The effect was obviously not effective. Therefore, Emperor Liu had already planned to change Zhao Kuangyin's position.
Zhao Kuangyin smiled at each other, and Li Chuyun also returned the salute, saying: "Although the overall situation in the south is stable, the military affairs are particularly complex, so we must not relax. We need to be vigilant to avoid any oversights!"
"What good news is coming?" Zhao Kuangyin asked, noticing that Li Chuyun had not put down the memorial in his hand.
Li Chuyun's thin face also showed a smile, and he replied: "The Liangjiang area has been completely controlled by the army. Liu Guangyi's troops entered Jianzhou, Murong Chengtai successively captured Hui, Mei, and Chaozhou, Cui Yanjin also entered Qinzhou, Jiangnan, The country of Nanyue has been completely destroyed! This time, the initial goal of pacifying Nan has been achieved!"
Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but laugh a few times and said: "How happy! Since mid-September, the imperial edict was issued to Pingnan, and now it is only the beginning of November, and they have already reached Jinling and Panyu. The speed of the advance and the strength of the troops are so great that People are amazed! If the south of the Yangtze River is settled, we will have a drink to wish you a triumphant song!"
Zhao Kuangyin's hearty laughter echoed in the hall, which was very clear in this winter morning. Suddenly, he heard a question: "What kind of good news has aroused Duke Hao's alcohol addiction?"
Before anyone arrived, the voice came first. It was Emperor Liu. After getting up early from Concubine Gao, Emperor Liu went directly to the Privy Council. When he stepped in, Li Chuyun and Zhao Kuangyin hurriedly greeted him: "Welcome to your Majesty!"
"Second Minister, no courtesy!" Liu Chengyou raised his hand to signal, and said with a smile: "It's a coincidence that I came here. According to Yuen Long's words just now, is there another military situation in the south?"
"Return to your majesty! Jiangnan and Lingnan have basically been settled!" Li Chuyun replied, presenting the report in his hand to Liu Chengyou.
"It's much faster than pacifying Shu!" Liu Chengyou couldn't help but smile, looked at Zhao Kuangyin, and then mused: "Judging from the previous situation, it's not surprising, but after the two countries were pacified, the military situation It’s time to put the arrangements on the agenda!”
"Yes!" Li Chuyun responded with cupped hands: "I and others are already discussing it, but the specific arrangements need to be reported one after another from various places before adjustments can be made and implemented!"
"Yes!" Liu Chengyou responded, and the joy on his face gradually faded away, looking like he was worried.
After sitting down and looking at Li and Zhao, Liu Chengyou said: "Both of you are important ministers in charge of military affairs. Although the south has been mostly pacified, there are still some shortcomings in the southeast. So far, including the recruitment and surrender of rebels, there are hundreds of thousands of troops. In the south, should we take advantage of the situation to enter Wuyue and Zhangquan and conquer the southeast in one fell swoop?
I am really determined to accomplish my task in one battle. Zhang and Quan can be defeated by Chen Hongjin. Only Wu and Yue, a country of in-laws and always respectful to the imperial court, sent troops to help in the battle this time. If Ji is eager to capture Wu Yue, he is afraid of the world's criticism! "
After hearing what Emperor Liu said, Li Chuyun said: "Your Majesty, the trend of unification is irreversible. According to the previous plan, after pacifying Jiangnan, we should continue to advance against Wuyue according to the situation. Now everything is going well, there is no solid obstruction, and the army is fully capable of taking over. Go to the southeast and complete the reunification. Why should your majesty hesitate? If you are concerned about criticism, just treat the Qian family and the people of the two Zhejiangs well in the future!"
Li Chuyun, as for Li Chuyun, was very familiar with and confident about the strength of the Han Dynasty, so he directly proposed to continue to pacify the southeast. In comparison, Zhao Kuangyin was more cautious and said: "Your Majesty, three years ago, when the King of Wuyue came to Beijing, he took the initiative to offer land. Although Your Majesty did not accept it, it showed the friendship between the two parties. Now, Jiangnan and Lingnan have been established, leaving only the two Zhejiang provinces. , How could the King of Wuyue not know how to follow the general trend? I think that it is unnecessary to send troops, so we should invite the King of Wuyue to the court again!"
"In this way, is it possible to completely pacify the south before the end of this year?" Emperor Liu asked.
When asked about this, Zhao Kuangyin fell silent and understood what the emperor was thinking.
In Liu Chengyou's original expectation, it would take half a year to pacify Liangjiang and Lingnan, and then he would use a two-pronged political and military offensive to capture Wuyue. What I didn't expect was that Jiangnan and Nanyue had not been fighting for a long time. Not even two months after the troops were sent out, the two countries had been completely pacified, and the progress was surprisingly smooth. Under such circumstances, Liu Chengyou's thoughts changed accordingly. He thought about completely pacifying the south before this year, and then leading a unified China to welcome the new year.
This is a sign of impatience. The land south of the Yangtze River and Lingnan can only be said to be military stability. It is still far from political and people's livelihood stability. If you rush for success in this matter and swallow Wu Yue in one bite, it will be ugly. Secondly, I'm afraid of being overstretched. Emperor Liu's only concern was this, so he did not directly issue an order to march into Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
Of course, ideas are just ideas after all. He inserted his hands into the dragon sleeves. After thinking about it for a while, Liu Chengyou said: "That's it, let's discuss this matter later. In terms of military matters, I first think that suppressing Liangjiang and Lingnan will be the main priority!"
"yes!"
"What's going on with the Liao army?" Liu Chengyou asked again.
"There is no new news yet, but according to the previous report from Duke Chan, the Liao army's western expedition should choose to attack the Gaochang Uighurs from the south of Jinshan Mountain. The journey is long and the message transmission is inconvenient. The specific situation is beyond our control. ....."
