Liu Wenzhi did not immediately agree to cooperate with Nanman.
He first settled down in his own private residence. He perfunctorily told the other party that he would think about it for a few days.
The messenger sneered, knowing that Liu Wenji wanted to see the battle report before making a decision. As a southern barbarian, the messenger instinctively looked down on the military strength of the Wei Dynasty. How could the southern barbarians lose to the Wei Dynasty on the battlefield? If this eunuch Liu wants to see it, then let him see it.
In the next few days, the war reports that reached Chang'an were all about the battlefields of the two sides. The Hexi Station was the main force of the Wei Dynasty. They were always on guard against the nomadic peoples of neighboring countries, and their elite troops were always waiting there.
The Nanman did not gain any benefits from the Hexi battlefield in the short term.
For many years, due to the advantages and disadvantages of the terrain, the Hexi battlefield has always been the main battlefield for the Wei Dynasty and the surrounding nomadic peoples. In previous years, when the Wei Dynasty and the Wuman went to war, the battlefield was also in Hexi. This time, although the Wei Dynasty used Yang Sanlang's eyes to see in advance that the situation of the Nanman had changed, the court believed that if the Nanman wanted to attack the Wei Dynasty, the main battlefield would still be Hexi.
Even now, except for Liu Wenji who had guessed it after talking with the envoy from the Southern Barbarians, no one else in the Wei Dynasty realized that this time, the main force of the Southern Barbarians was placed on the Jiannan battlefield.
In total, the Great Wei only has Longyou Road and Jiannan Road adjacent to the Nanman. Longyou Road has an advantageous terrain, while Jiannan has a steep terrain... Who would give up Hexi and bother with Jiannan?
Unless, the purpose of Nanman's battle is to obtain Jiannan.
Jiannan was previously adjacent to Wuman, and Wuman suffered a lot in Jiannan during the war with Wei. After Wuman returned to Nanman, King Ale took a fancy to Jiannan's heartland, knowing that if Jiannan was there, Nanman would have difficulty breaking into the interior of the country and the truly prosperous areas of Wei.
Only by making Jiannan your own...it will be much easier to go to war with Wei in the future.
Of course, Hexi is also important. If we can get Hexi, break through Yumen Pass, go straight down across the vast plain, capture Chang'an, and capture the emperor of Wei alive... the benefits are the same.
King Ale of the Southern Barbarians was very ambitious this time. He mobilized all the troops in the country and claimed that he had an army of 400,000. The troops were divided into two groups. Whichever battlefield made a breakthrough first would be supported first.
The war reports had been circulating among officials in Chang'an for days. With the war now underway, the Ministry of War had become a hot topic. Not only did Prime Minister Liu keep asking about it, but even Liu Wenji asked about the war reports from the Ministry of War three times a day, which put a lot of pressure on the Minister of War.
What makes the pressure even greater is that the battle report results are not good.
King Ale personally took charge and wanted to take Jiannan in one fell swoop. Jiannan border was the first to be affected. In recent days, the battle reports from Jiannan were all defeats, which made Liu Xianggong look gloomy all day. Among the continuous defeats, there were occasionally a few victories, which attracted great attention.
During the court meeting, the eunuchs and scholars stopped arguing and sat down together to discuss the war.
Liu Xianggong looked at the "win" battles in the battle report thoughtfully: "Who led the troops? Promote the victorious generals in these battles, give them official titles and send them to the main battlefield!"
The Minister of War wiped his sweat, feeling very embarrassed: "The victories we have won in these few battles were just luck, they can't be considered normal..."
Liu Xianggong asked: "Who led the troops?"
The Shangshu avoided the question and said, "Although we are at a disadvantage for the time being, our army has sufficient food and grass..."
Liu Xianggong repeated: "Who led the troops?"
Liu Wenji chuckled and said sarcastically, "Minister Luo, the Ministry of War is so incompetent, are they planning to use the lives of soldiers to fill the battlefield? No matter how abundant the food and grass are, they will run out. Besides, the Wei Dynasty doesn't need to spend money on other things. Does the Ministry of Revenue provide everything for the Ministry of War?
"As far as I know, a report came from Hebei two days ago that a land dragon had revived in Hebei, killing many people. The rainy season has arrived, and this year floods in Huainan and Jiangnan have breached the dikes, submerging many houses, and even the local government offices have been washed away by the water.
"Let's not talk about the distant past, let's talk about the recent past. The palaces in the palace are leaking because of their age. The other day, several rooms in Concubine Xian's palace collapsed, crushing several palace maids and eunuchs to death. Even the eldest prince was frightened and was sent to other concubines to be raised. The palace also needs money and needs to be renovated. Today, only a few palace maids were crushed to death. If Concubine Xian is crushed to death one day, or His Majesty is crushed to death... It's hard to say.
"Also, Your Majesty wants to go on a tour outside Chang'an, but the Secretariat has not approved it. Your Majesty has been unhappy these past two days.
"Look, the Ministry of Revenue has to pay for everything. Even if the war is urgent, it doesn't matter if we postpone our work. But no matter how urgent the war is, if we just keep airdropping without seeing any results, it seems meaningless, right?"
The officials from the Ministry of War glared at each other.
Liu Xianggong turned to Liu Wenji and said coldly: "In that case, what advice do you have? Could it be that you have extraordinary talents and unique insights into war?"
Liu Wenji smiled and said, "I dare not. If the war is not going well, the commander will be dismissed. I just think that if the Minister of War is not good enough, it is okay to let someone else take over. Otherwise...if the Great Wei really cannot win the war, it is okay to ask for peace."
For a time, there was an uproar among the scholars and a new round of disputes broke out.
All the ministers began to argue about this matter. In the chaos, only a doctor from the Ministry of Rites, Wei Shu, the seventh son of the Wei family, remained quiet and said nothing.
Wei Shu watched them quarreling very calmly. He looked thoughtfully at the group of scholars led by Liu Xianggong, seeing that the noble families and the poor families had joined forces to attack the eunuchs. He then looked at Liu Wenji, whose words were very harsh and quick.
Wei Shu's eyelashes trembled slightly, he lowered his eyes, and unconsciously stroked the desk: Liu Wenzhi's eyes were filled with anxiety.
What is he anxious about?
What will be too late?
Did Liu Wenji particularly hope that Wei would win this battle?
Wei Shu frowned, thinking that this was not the Liu Wenji he knew. Of course, he and Liu Wenji had only spoken a few times, when he was fourteen or fifteen years old. So much time had passed, and Liu Wenji had changed so much that Wei Shu no longer recognized this person.
But there is someone who knows Liu Wenzhi better than him.
Wei Shu decided to go back and write a letter to Yan Shang, informing him of Liu Wenzhi's abnormality and asking Yan Shang if he could see anything.
-----
The court discussion that day ended with the Minister of War resigning in anger. Liu Wenji pushed Zhao Gong, the leader of the Zhao family with whom he had a very good relationship, to the position of Minister of War without blinking an eye. The scholars had no choice, they couldn't just watch Wei sue for peace.
However, it was the scholars who lost the battle, and the eunuch Liu Wenzhi refused to give in, so someone must be held accountable for this.
After taking a look at Mr. Zhao who only followed Liu Wenji's orders, Mr. Liu was too lazy to take any more looks and walked away in anger.
After leaving the palace, Liu Xianggong calmed down a little and asked a eunuch behind him: "What has your majesty been doing these past two days?"
The eunuch lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty was worried about the war, so he went to the imperial mausoleum to pay homage to the ancestors. After returning, he closed the palace for several days, fasted and prayed for the great Wei."
Prime Minister Liu sneered immediately - Your Majesty, who doesn't even participate in court meetings, said that he was fasting, chanting Buddhist scriptures and praying for the Great Wei, who would believe it?
But Prime Minister Liu waved his hand in annoyance, thinking that as long as the emperor stayed in the palace obediently and didn't make trouble, he could do whatever he wanted.
When Liu Xianggong was leaving the Danchi, he suddenly remembered something. He turned around to ask the Minister of War, but when he looked back, he saw officials in twos and threes, all wearing solemn official uniforms, purple robes and red clothes, with a majestic aura. Liu Xianggong remembered that the Minister of War had just resigned and was no longer among the officials.
Standing on the steps, although the place was full of people, Mr. Liu felt empty for a moment, as if there was no one around him.
An official asked with concern: "What's wrong with you, sir?"
Mr. Liu came back to his senses: "I am old and my mind was wandering."
The official pretended not to notice the momentary fatigue in Mr. Liu's eyes, and only said, "Sir, take care of yourself. We are all counting on you."
Prime Minister Liu nodded, and asked the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War who just happened to come over: "Just now your Shangshu didn't say who was the person who won several victories. Why is he hesitating?"
The Right Assistant Minister carefully looked back at the Golden Palace behind him and whispered, "There is no other reason. It's because that person is guilty of treason. His Majesty is watching, so it's difficult for us to promote him. It's Yang Sanlang, Yang Si."
Prime Minister Liu was silent, and immediately understood the reason - His Majesty was narrow-minded, and was afraid that he would be uncomfortable seeing those who had conspired with the prince to rebel in the past being acquitted.
Mr. Liu sighed and planned to go back and write a letter to Yan Shang, asking Yan Shang to handle the matter of Yang Sanlang.
He staggered down the stairs, his back becoming more and more hunched. Perhaps he was really old, he had been suffering from insomnia and tired recently... He thought that it would be time for him to resign after the war was over. But by then, Yan Suchen would need to be transferred back to Chang'an.
Among his students, Yan Suchen is the one he trusts the most. It's not that the other students' political skills are inferior to Yan Shang, but it's rare that Yan Shang is deeply involved in the political situation, but can keep himself. When the time comes, his students, the Liu family and other noble families will support Yan Shang, and Yan Shang will suppress the eunuchs, and Liu Xianggong will be able to leave with peace of mind.
He is old now and it is time for him to enjoy his retirement.
When he resigned, he left Chang'an to live with his favorite granddaughter and grandson-in-law. Two years ago, his granddaughter gave birth to a great-grandson, whom he had never seen... Thinking of Liu Ruozhu, whom he had taught himself, Mr. Liu's eyes also showed a gentle look.
There are also many concerns.
Because his grandson-in-law is now serving in Hexi, Liu Ruozhu is there with her husband. Now the war in Hexi is intense, and personal letters have to give way to military information... Mr. Liu has not contacted his granddaughter for a long time.
He was worried about them.
But he was the prime minister of the Wei Dynasty. The emperor was incompetent, and the prime minister was in charge of the government - he could not put his personal feelings above state affairs.
Only in the dead of night, I pray that my granddaughter and her family will get through the difficult times safely.
-----
The four counties of Hexi were the four most important checkpoints in Hexi. When the war started, the entire Longyou region entered a period of war. Because Longyou has always been adjacent to foreign countries, military officers have always had a high say. When the southern barbarians attacked Longyou, all the civil service groups in Longyou gave way to the military officers.
Military officers fought in the wars, and civilian officials evacuated the people. After so many years of development in Longyou, this has become a very skilled collaboration between the two sides.
Liu Ruozhu's husband, Lin Dao, was such a civil servant.
When the area under his jurisdiction was swallowed up by the war, he and other officials moved the people to the interior of the country. The people were reluctant to leave their homeland and their homes and food, so the officials had to forcefully drive them away. In Lin Dao, when he and Liu Ruozhu first discovered that something was wrong, they had already asked their mothers and servants to take their young children and flee to the interior of the country.
Liu Ruozhu couldn't leave.
Because compared to ordinary people, she also has to preserve those precious books and cultural relics that she has collected over many years and rescued from various countries.
Those books and manuscripts are treasures left over from thousands of years. If they were engulfed in war, everything would be gone. How could Liu Ruozhu and Lin Dao bear to abandon the books that they had collected and preserved for many years in Hexi?
Therefore, they could only flee with the two carts of books hidden at home. When they met civilians on the way, the couple rescued them. Although they occasionally encountered war and lost some books along the way, it was much better than throwing them away completely.
The landforms in Longyou are varied, with vast deserts and fertile fields.
In the afternoon, Liu Ruozhu and Lin Dao hid behind a sand dune. After eating some dry food, they and the common people took a rest in the leeward place. Lin Dao frowned as he watched the carriages and horses carrying the books.
Liu Ruozhu held his hand, and he looked at his wife. Liu Ruozhu said softly: "Don't worry, my husband. My grandfather is in the court and will definitely not watch Hexi fall into the hands of the southern barbarians. As long as we get to the foot of Qinling Mountains, we will be safe. We will definitely be able to preserve these books."
Lin Dao: "If it's too late, you can protect the books and the people and leave. The southern barbarians also need to talk to the officials in Hexi. I will buy you some time."
Liu Ruozhu was stunned.
She looked at him without blinking, her eyes shining like a starry night with broken stars flowing.
She said, "Are you afraid that Hexi will fall into the hands of the Nanman? No, it won't. The Central Government will not give up Hexi... My grandfather will not give up Hexi."
Lin Dao put his arm around her shoulders and said, "I'm just saying just in case. We're preparing for the worst... Hexi is so important, how could the Central Government let it go? We're just worried about what might happen."
Liu Ruozhu said with tears in her eyes: "There is no such thing as a possibility. Even if there is a possibility, I will not abandon my husband and flee alone. I will be with my husband."
Lin Dao scolded: "Nonsense! You have always been sensible, how come you don't know the seriousness of the matter now? If you and I are together, who will take care of these people, who will take care of the books we have saved with great difficulty and spent so much effort to buy, who will take care of our children? Ruozhu, don't be childish."
Liu Ruozhu turned her head and looked at the undulating sand dunes. Her eyelashes were covered with mist, and she whispered, "Husband, it's not like that. If it's really that bad... I will prepare with you and arrange everything. But I won't leave you alone.
"It's not that I have to do it, but in this world, the only one who will accompany me for the rest of my life is my husband. Human life cannot be reincarnated, and the regret of missed opportunities cannot be compensated. Since we have similar aspirations, we should live and die together."
Lin Dao looked down at her. He laughed for a moment, thinking that the two of them were thinking too much. He held her hand with his backhand and was about to say something when a commoner suddenly shouted, "The enemy is coming, my lord, my lady, the enemy is coming - I saw the flag of the southern barbarians!"
Lin Dao and Liu Ruozhu's faces changed at the same time, and they immediately shouted to everyone, "Hurry, everyone lie down and hide. It's windy and sandy here, and we are not soldiers, so they may not take us seriously. Everyone hide, don't go out!"
Looking at the two large carts of books following them, the couple gritted their teeth and left the books behind - leaving it to fate.
The southern barbarians are illiterate, do not understand the language of the Wei Dynasty, and do not bother to learn it. These books are useless to them, and most of them will not be interested in them, and at most they will discard a few books...
It's already good enough to throw away a few books and save everyone's lives.
-----
The night wind blew through the window, opening a crack. The cool breeze woke up the young man who was working at his desk.
In the dead of night in Lingnan, Yan Shang was suddenly awakened by the wind. When he looked up, he met the eyes of Mu Wanyao, who was standing beside him holding a candle and looking down at him. Yan Shang gathered his shoulders and found that he had an extra coat on his shoulders.
He felt that it was not good for him to work so hard and worry about her, so he looked at her embarrassedly and asked, "What's wrong?"
Mu Wan suppressed her concern for him. Since the war began, Yan Shang couldn't sleep, waiting for news from Chang'an every day. She sometimes hated him, thinking that since he cared so much, he might as well go back to Chang'an directly... It was because Lingnan was too remote and the transmission of news was too slow.
Mu Wanyao said softly: "There's a letter from Chang'an. I brought it to you."
Yan Shang perked up, and the anxiety between his brows relaxed slightly.
The candlestick was put down, and Mu Wanyao sat beside him, holding several letters, which the couple opened together. Some were written by ministers in the court, some were written by Prime Minister Liu, and some were written by Wei Shu.
Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao learned about the current situation from the ministers' letters. They were both in a bad mood. They didn't expect that the wars had been frustrated so many times. After so many years, Wei was still weak in military strength when it faced the Southern Barbarians. Afterwards, the couple read Liu Xianggong's letter, which included a battle report and talked about Yang Sanlang's several victories.
Mu Wanyao said: "Since there are people who can fight, we should support them. What is the Central Government worried about?"
Yan Shang said calmly: "Consider your majesty's mood."
Mu Wan shook his head and sneered.
The two of them looked at Wei Shu's letter again. Mu Wanyao didn't understand anything, but Yan Shang stared at the part where Wei Shu mentioned Liu Wenzhi's abnormal behavior, reading it over and over again.
Mu Wanyao was studying the letter from Prime Minister Liu, thinking that the central government could not control Yang Sanlang, so he wrote to Yan Shang. Could Yan Shang be able to control the decision-making on the Jiannan battlefield?
Yan Shang suddenly said, "I'm afraid Liu Wenji has connections with the Nanman."
The candle flame flickered and Mu Wan raised his face suddenly.
Mu Wanyao: "Your guesses are not acceptable without any evidence."
Yan Shang: "Liu Wenji secretly killed Luo Xiu, who was one of the envoys from Wuman. I found that an official in the court exchanged intelligence about Wei with Luo Xiu, and later found out that the man might be Liu Wenji. But then... I was imprisoned, so I couldn't move forward with this matter. I did remind Liu Wenji to pay attention to it, but if Juyuan's judgment is correct, Liu Wenji is problematic."
Mu Wanyao's eyes suddenly turned cold.
She said: "You were imprisoned... Even if it was because you sought your own death and were young and frivolous, now I think about it, it may not have been because of Liu Wenji's push behind you."
The words are still silent.
After several years, some political factors that had been hidden deep inside and had never been discovered emerged from the abyss, revealing their ugly faces and looking at the two of them mockingly.
And once there are traces, more traces will appear.
Mu Wanyao gritted his teeth and said, "He is such a bastard!"
Yan Shang didn't want to talk about the prison incident. He sighed and said nothing more. However, the two of them became serious. If they found that Liu Wenji had a problem, they would have to adjust their interference in Chang'an...
Mu Wanyao picked up a letter from the table and saw a map on it. It was of Jiannan. The attack routes and troops of Jiannan were clearly marked by Yan Shang. This extremely detailed strategic map was obviously originally intended for Chang'an.
Mu Wanyao laughed at Yan Shang: "It's not appropriate for you, a civilian official, to command others to fight, right?"
Yan Shang pinched his brows and said, "It's not my order. It was included in the letter Sanlang asked Xiaozhou to write to me two days ago. I just copied it for the Central..."
He paused: "But it doesn't work now."
If there are people in the court who are not our own, this plan will harm the Wei Dynasty. Although it is not certain whether Liu Wenji has betrayed the Wei Dynasty... However, it is better to be careful.
Yan Shang unfolded the letter again and began to write some random instructions on the war… It didn’t matter if he gave instructions casually, his main role was to express his stance, to urge Chang’an to fight, and to urge the Ministry of War to advance the war.
Seeing Yan Shang busy again, Mu Wanyao stopped talking. She gently pressed his thin shoulder, stood up, closed the door and went out. Mu Wanyao leaned against the door of the study, listening to the rustling sound of writing in the study. She thought that Yan Shang had participated in the military exercises in Chang'an with Yang Sanlang. Yan Shang could not fight himself, but he might be able to command others to fight.
Fang Tong was holding a lantern and saw that the princess had been standing in the frost for too long. The princess was weak and he was afraid that she would fall ill after standing for too long, so he came up to remind her to go back to her room.
Fang Tong glanced at the young man's figure reflected on the window and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I will keep an eye on Erlang and will not let him stay up all night."
Mu Wan waved her hand, indicating that she was not thinking about that. She said, "Tomorrow I will prescribe some tranquilizers for our Yan Xiaoer so that he can have a good sleep for a day."
Fang Tong was speechless.
Mu Wanyao said thoughtfully: "Fang Tong, tomorrow after our Yan Xiaoer falls asleep, you take your son-in-law's official seal and summon the governor of Guangzhou to come to see me. No... not only Guangzhou, but all the governors of Lingnan, come to see me.
"Tell them that Lingnan is going to start military exercises, beware of external threats."
Fang Tong suddenly became nervous: "What? Will the Nanman attack Lingnan? Do they have so many soldiers?"
Mu Wan curled his lips and said, "They claim to have 400,000 troops, but I estimate that, excluding the old, disabled, sick and weak, the remaining real combat power is only about 300,000. The 300,000 troops are divided into two groups... As long as Wei can hold on, they will be defeated. They have been in war for many years and have been hollowed out, so they are in urgent need of war. But as long as this war lasts long, Wei will be the winner.
"If they don't want to take risks, they shouldn't dare to open another battlefield. Even Meng Zaishi can't afford to disperse the troops like this. I asked Lingnan to conduct military exercises, not because I was afraid that they would invade Lingnan... I was afraid that there were people in the court who were not ours and were unwilling to send troops to Jiannan and Hexi.
"It's better to prepare early."
Fang Tong suddenly said, "Lord Zhao is now the Minister of War, and Concubine Zhao Wuniang and Concubine Zhao Ling are in Jiannan. Doesn't Lord Zhao care about his daughters? Can we win over Lord Zhao?"
Mu Wan shook the light in his eyes and looked at Fang Tong approvingly: "Then let Wu Niang fight for it!"
-----
In the palace in Chang'an, the emperor was dying. Because the country was at war, almost all of his former pleasures had been taken away. He didn't know when this war would end, and he couldn't bear it any more.
Liu Wenzhi came to pay his respects to the emperor and report the battle report, but the emperor pulled him aside and kept complaining about Liu's toughness.
The emperor was dissatisfied: "I am not ignoring the war! I fasted to pray for blessings, and was also taught a lesson by that old man, telling me not to believe in supernatural things. Old man, sooner or later I will control the court and make everyone listen to me!"
Liu Wenzhi glanced at the emperor coldly.
The emperor complained again, saying that the war had drained the national treasury and that his palace was leaking all night and he had no money to repair it.
Liu Wenji looked at him for a long while and thought to himself, they are actually helping such an emperor?
How ironic.
Liu Wenji suddenly said, "Your Majesty, in fact, the envoys from the southern barbarians came to the Wei Dynasty and wanted to negotiate peace with us. I felt that we should not negotiate peace with the envoys at a time of war, so I suppressed the request."
The emperor was stunned. Seeing Liu Wenji about to kneel down and apologize, he quickly said, "I know. You are afraid that Liu Xianggong and his people will say something about you, right? They are unwilling to talk about peace, so you dare not bring it up. You have been wronged!"
The emperor asked, "What are their terms of peace?"
Liu Wenji: "They want Jiannan."
The emperor was stunned. He had never expected the southern barbarians to be so ambitious. He immediately cursed them for being so ambitious and wishful thinking that they dared to take the territory of Wei. Seeing the emperor so excited, Liu Wenji thought he had misjudged the emperor.
Sure enough, after the emperor finished scolding, he said, "Jiannan cannot be given to them."
Liu Wenzhi nodded his head and said yes.
Who would have thought that the emperor would change the subject: "Only a part of Jiannan can be given to them. A place like Yizhou cannot be given to them. Yang is one and Yi is two. A place as rich as Yizhou cannot be given to them. But apart from Yizhou, the rest of Jiannan is mostly poor and barren, so it's okay to give it to them. Anyway, those barbarians in the south don't understand, so it's okay to fool them."
Liu Wenji looked at the emperor.
He initially wanted to support a loser to be the emperor, but today he truly realized that this loser was actually a loser who knew everything but still didn't care. Even he hesitated whether to send Jiannan away, but the emperor just didn't want to give him a rich place.
Such a person is a king.
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