Chapter 461: The Enemy of My Enemy
Chang'an
As soon as Prince Gong returned to Chang'an, he reported his trip to the emperor.
When Zuo Anmin heard Prince Gong’s report, his first thought was that it was like throwing a meat bun at a dog.
"Your Majesty, this is inappropriate, absolutely inappropriate. A minister should share your sovereign's worries. How can Lord Lu ask for a reward?"
Before Prince Gong could say anything, Zhang Xian spoke first, "Your Majesty, Lord Zuo is wrong. Ministers should be rewarded for good work and punished for bad work. Only by clearly distinguishing between rewards and punishments can there be order, and we can better help Your Majesty."
Prince Gong was flattered to be protected by Zhang Xian.
Before Prince Gong could say anything, Zuo Anmin added, "Zhang Xian, Lü Desheng is just trying to gain credit. This has nothing to do with the Emperor's clear rules of reward and punishment."
"Zuo Anmin, what do you mean? Are you questioning me?" Prince Gong came to his senses at this time and was unhappy. It was true that he was a good man, but he believed that he had done his best in this matter and had made a contribution.
How could Zuo Anmin deny his own efforts with just one sentence?
Prince Gong had no idea that Zuo Anmin was so anxious. He was the core of the Xie Group and knew that their old rivals were plotting rebellion. Wouldn't giving them iron ore make them even more powerful?
Zhang Xian smiled secretly and shouted in his heart that if Zuo Anmin said a few more words, Prince Gong would be offended to death.
If Zhang Xian had been to later generations, he would have known a word: Zuo Anmin's behavior was a classic example of fighting against his opponent.
As expected, his wish came true when he heard Zuo Anmin say, "Execute first and report later, isn't that inappropriate for Prince Gong to do things this way?"
Prince Gong was furious. What did Zuo Anmin mean? Did he want him to break his promise? If he couldn't convince the Emperor to allocate the iron ore to Youzhou, what face would he have left?
"That's because you haven't seen how good the harvest is in Pingzhou. If the harvest is affected due to a lack of farm tools, can you afford it?"
"Besides, sharpening a knife doesn't hinder chopping wood. These farm tools aren't useless after just one use. With these tools, I believe Pingzhou's harvest will improve. This will increase taxes, which will benefit both the country and the people. I think it's worth it."
This time, Lu Desheng agreed to pay more taxes. Prince Gong thought that if there was one, there would be two, which was a good idea.
After criticizing Zuo Anmin, Prince Gong turned to Song Mo and cried out for justice, "Your Majesty, I am dedicated to the public good and have absolutely no selfish motives!"
Zhang Xian chimed in, "Yes, Your Majesty, even if Prince Gong made some mistakes in this matter, he was only trying to complete the task Your Majesty assigned him."
Prince Gong nodded in his heart, and Zhang Xianzhi knew him.
Zuo Anmin was so blocked that he didn't want to talk. He really wanted to ask Prince Gong, "Are you a fool? You just believe everything Lü Desheng says."
"This is just one time, and it won't happen again." Song Mo said calmly. Prince Gong had done nothing but hard work on this trip. He knew how difficult Lü Desheng was, and Prince Gong probably acted on his own initiative in order to get Lü Desheng to agree to his terms.
Zuo Anmin also knew that at this point, the iron ore had already fallen into Lü Desheng's hands. It would be pointless for him to stop the court from allocating the iron ore to Youzhou. If he really messed up the matter, the Youzhou governor would only hate him.
Zuo Anmin gritted his teeth and suggested, "Your Majesty, Lü Desheng is untrustworthy. Although he has agreed to pay more grain taxes, I think you should send someone to Pingzhou to supervise this matter."
"You can do whatever you want!" Prince Gong felt that Lu Desheng would not lie to him.
Song Mo also did not trust Lu Desheng, and finally agreed to Zuo Anmin's request and arranged for the imperial envoy to go to Pingzhou.
Xie Zhan hadn't told Zuo Anmin about his previous plan to transport one million taels of silver. Firstly, secrecy is key to success, and disclosure can lead to failure; the more people who know, the worse it is. Secondly, if the plan succeeded, Zuo Anmin would naturally know what to do.
Later, the plan did not work, so Xie Zhan did not mention it to him.
Zuo Anmin didn't know what Pingzhou was planning, but he took this step subconsciously. If the situation hadn't been wrong, he would have been right on guard.
The emperor wanted to take a break, so he waved the three men away.
As soon as the three of them left, they saw the Grand Marshal Xiao Qun hurriedly going to see the emperor.
Song Mo was in a bad mood because he was interrupted even when he was resting. "Master Xiao, what's the matter?"
"Your Majesty, we have received secret reports from the border towns that the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and the southern barbarians have all been making unusual movements."
"What? Is the news true?"
“It remains to be verified.”
"Then go check it out!"
"Your Majesty, I believe we should strengthen the defenses at the border checkpoints and strategic locations."
“…”
Xianbei Royal Court
Tuoba Lian, who always had a short patience, couldn't help but speak, "Father Khan, it's been four or five days since the autumn harvest in Pingzhou ended. Shouldn't our Xianbei army take action?" The grain that had been airing for three, four, or five days, even if it wasn't completely dry, wouldn't be moldy, so we could grab it and bring it back. At worst, we could just grab it and dry it out again.
"Why rush? Once Pingzhou starts sending tax grain to Chang'an, we'll take action."
As soon as Tuoba Khan finished speaking, all the Xianbei generals present laughed.
They had all heard about Pingzhou's bumper harvest, and they had also heard that the Emperor of Dali had asked Pingzhou to pay more grain taxes, which meant Pingzhou must have had a rare bumper harvest. Wasn't this a good deal for them?
Although the Xianbei people migrated all year round, they often heard about the conscription and training of soldiers in Pingzhou in the past two years.
After careful consideration, Tuoba Khan decided to rob the tax grain first. If Pingzhou's army was truly well-trained, the war between the two sides might turn into a protracted war. Robbing the grain first would allow them to fight to support the war.
If Pingzhou's military strength remained the same as before, they could rob the tax grain.
"Father Khan, my previous request..."
"Okay."
Tuoba Lian was overjoyed when he heard this. He was captured in Liaodong County last year. This time he actively fought for it and wanted to lead his army to attack Pingzhou to avenge his previous humiliation!
But his father Khan had always ignored his request to fight, and now his father Khan finally gave in.
Tuoba Lian swore that he would lead the cavalry to flatten Pingzhou!
Tuoba Khan: "Generals, listen to my orders!"
"Khan, please give the order!"
"Tuoba Xun, Helan Yan, listen to my orders. Lead your army and attack Houcheng, Liaodong Commandery, Pingzhou."
"Your Majesty, I obey your orders!"
"Yuchi Rui, Tuoba Lian, lead the second army and attack Longcheng in Liaoxi County, Pingzhou. We must capture Longcheng!"
"I obey your orders!"
Tuoba Lian was not very happy about this. This order clearly made Yuchi Rui the main commander and him the deputy commander. Why could his elder brother Tuoba Xun become the main commander of the army?
Tuoba Khan didn't care whether he was happy or not and continued to call on his generals, "Tuoba Jin and Hexi Ming, lead three armies to attack Youbeiping County in Youzhou. Make sure to penetrate Youbeiping County and intercept the grain transport team from Pingzhou to Chang'an."
"Your Majesty, I obey your orders!"
"Dugu Zhong and Tuoba Yu lead the fourth army to advance towards Yanmen in Bingzhou!"
"Your humble servant obeys your orders."
"All four armies are on standby, ready to attack at any moment!"
"yes!"
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