晁错“峭、直、刻、深”，也就是严厉、刚直、苛刻、心狠。但他为国深谋远虑，奋不顾身，有这样的性格也不意外。

Who does he resemble? A bit like Hai Rui, a bit like Xiong Tingbi. Both were disliked by the officials, but it's hard to say about the others.

If it was for his own throne, would he kill him cruelly no matter how loyal or talented he was?

Zhu Youxiao lowered his eyes, analyzed and judged, weighed the pros and cons over and over again, and could not make a decision lightly on such an assumption.

It shouldn't have come to this, right? I'm a man of foresight and steadiness, so how could I have ended up in such a helpless situation? Zhu Youxiao consoled himself and shook off the worry.

"Master Sun." The emperor raised his eyes and smiled, saying to Sun Chengzong, "Let's stop here for today's lecture."

"Your humble servant obeys your order." Although Sun Chengzong had the honor of sitting on a reclining chair, he was very polite to the emperor and did not show any arrogance.

Zhu Youxiao pondered for a moment and then asked, "Regarding the Liaodong war, what is the Ministry of War's analysis and judgment?"

Sun Chengzong thought for a moment, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of War has come to a conclusion based on intelligence from all sides. A major battle is unnecessary. As long as we hold on to the current recovered areas, the Jiannu will surely collapse in two years."

Two years?! Zhu Youxiao remained silent, even though he knew that this might be the safest strategy, which was to drag things out and consume the enemy.

If there hadn't been the catastrophe of the Little Ice Age, I would have won without a fight, relying on the sheer size of the Ming Dynasty to wear down the Jian Nu. But time waits for no one, the sooner we destroy the Jian, the better, the sooner we pacify the Liao, the better!

Although it was the Jiannu who conquered the world and established their rule in the Central Plains in history, the biggest cause of the Ming Empire's defeat was internal. If it were not for the great disaster that caused widespread civil unrest, the Jiannu would never have been able to take advantage of this.

It was time, it was fate! The Ming Dynasty fell due to many internal reasons, not because of the Jiannu.

Judging from this perspective, the great disasters of the Little Ice Age and the factional struggles among officials were more terrifying than the Jiannu regime. How could we deal with them without making every effort to deal with them?

Fortunately, the emperor took decisive action, dealing with a large number of corrupt officials with decisive and ruthless measures. He either deposed or exiled them, thus temporarily suppressing a major internal scourge.

Although it is possible to continue to deal with the Jiannu with blockade and siege, a major disaster will also cause great difficulties to the Jiannu, and they may even be dragged down and killed.

However, Zhu Youxiao weighed the pros and cons. When a major disaster struck, the country had to provide disaster relief to the people, and Liaodong had to support a huge military force. It was too difficult to deal with both.

"Master Sun," the emperor said with a wry smile, "do you also harbor suspicions about the impending catastrophe?"

Sun Chengzong's mention of delay indirectly proved that he had reservations about the great disaster predicted by the emperor and the urgency of pacifying Liao.

"Your Majesty..." Sun Chengzong said hesitantly, "Your Majesty has been very steady until now, but suddenly he seems anxious. I'm afraid the generals at the front will sense this and rush forward, leading to defeat."

I didn't urge him to fight, did I? But since the major counter-offensive has been planned for next winter and spring, as Sun Chengzong said, the generals on the front lines will guess my urgency, right?

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "Master Sun is reminding me of this. Although I haven't said it, I am indeed very anxious to pacify Liao. My actions also make people think so."

After a pause, Zhu Youxiao continued, "I will write a letter to remind them not to be impatient and to wait until the army is assembled before launching a general attack. Don't rush in and underestimate the enemy."

"Your Majesty, your wisdom!" Sun Chengzong bowed and said, "Everyone hopes to pacify Liao as soon as possible, but over the past few years, Your Majesty has devoted all his energy and painstaking efforts, and the soldiers on the front have steadily and steadily reversed the situation. It would be a pity if our haste led to a great defeat."

Zhu Youxiao nodded. At this time, Sun Chengzong tactfully reminded him that it was precisely because the situation could be reversed and it was hard-won that it should be cherished even more.

When you're at a disadvantage, you're cautious; when you're at an advantage, you're conservative. That's just human psychology. It's quite interesting to think about.

After the lecture, Sun Chengzong took his leave and the emperor stood up to see him off. This was already a very, very great honor, and currently only Sun Chengzong, Xu Guangqi, and Li Qiyuan were given this honor in the court.

If we add Mr. Yuan who is currently in Denglai, there will be four of them. Whether in terms of age, qualifications, loyalty or contribution, they all deserve such courtesy from the emperor.

Sitting back on the imperial chair, the emperor lowered his eyes slightly, savoring the lecture. As the saying goes, "Reading is beneficial", Sun Chengzong's lecture on "Chao Cuo" was a great inspiration to Zhu Youxiao.

Among them, the sentence "The most unavoidable trouble in the world is to have peace and tranquility in name but to face unexpected worries in reality" was more agreeable to the emperor than any other emperor's mind.

This was the case with the Ming Empire, which had a vast territory, hundreds of millions of people, and abundant resources. On the surface, it seemed to be peaceful.

But in fact, Zhu Youxiao felt that the past few years were really stressful. He had to guard against natural disasters, defend against foreign invaders, and purge corrupt officials and badmouths within the country.

The situation was similar in history. Who would have thought that the great Celestial Empire would be taken over by the Jiannu?

It is precisely because we cannot think of it that we lack the spirit of unity and dedication.

When the Jiannu were still in a corner of Liaodong, not to mention the Jiangnan region, even the powerful and wealthy people in the north did not take them seriously. They enjoyed themselves as they should, and did not care about the court's lack of money.

When the Jiannu army entered the pass and conquered the north, the landlords, gentry, princes and nobles in the south of the Yangtze River felt that war was still far away. They fought for power and enjoyed themselves, unaware that bloody slaughter was approaching.

That's how it is: everyone feels it's none of their business, that the war is far away, and so they're unwilling to contribute money or manpower. In the end, God will punish you, and the selfish will eventually pay a heavy price for their short-sightedness and greed.

Heaven will repay what is right, Heaven will repay what is right. China has the right to seek justice, and the people will obey. Every man will seek revenge.

Who said this? The emperor suddenly remembered this favorite quote, but he had forgotten which ancient person it was from. Of course, it certainly wasn't him who said it.

After stroking his chin and thinking for a while, the emperor raised his head and saw Xiaohui standing beside him. He wondered if she could do it.

"Xiaohui—" The emperor beckoned, and when Fan Xiaohui came closer to listen, he asked, "Heaven will repay its enemies. China will uphold justice. When the people are obedient, no man will fail to avenge his vengeance. Who said this?"

Fan Xiaohui blinked her eyes and said quickly, "That's what the Emperor just said!"

You are so smart, and you still want to get away with it?

The emperor snorted and said, "Think carefully before answering. If you are wrong, I will punish you."

Ah! Fan Xiaohui pursed her lips, tilted her head, and frowned, as if she was thinking hard.

The emperor casually picked up the memorial on the imperial desk, flipped through it, and waited.

After a long while, the emperor looked up and found that the girl named Xiaohui was still in deep thought.

This guy, if she wants to think about it carefully, won’t it take her several days?

The emperor was about to ask when Wang Tigan came in to report that the former Shaanxi Governor Zuo Guangdou had resigned and returned to Beijing to meet the emperor.

……………………