Chapter 463 Self-righteous
At this time, the entire court was speechless.
As soon as the ministers in the court came to their senses, they began to criticize, "What are those generals doing for a living?"
They were civil officials, so they could be completely clueless about warfare. But what about the military commanders? What about those stationed on the border? Did the Wuhuan and Xianbei revolt suddenly? Didn't these people have any foresight about the war?
Grand Marshal Xiao Qun said, "Now is not the time to assign blame! Your Majesty, we must mobilize troops and food supplies to provide support."
"Yes, Your Majesty..."
At this time, all the ministers in the court put aside their prejudices and chose to unite against foreign enemies. After all, if they could not stop the southward advance of foreign tribes such as the Xianbei and Wuhuan in time, Chang'an would be in danger.
Support is definitely necessary, Song Mo looked at Wu Chunyu, who was in charge of the national treasury.
Wu Chunyu quickly stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, we've received requests for assistance from all four regions. The Northern Territory needs troops, Bingzhou needs soldiers, Youzhou needs money and food, and Pingzhou needs weapons. The imperial treasury can't provide so many things all at once!"
Song Mo: "We'll support as much as the national treasury has now. If it's not enough, we can raise more later!"
Wu Chunyu hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the current treasury supplies are only enough to support two battlefields..."
Upon hearing this, other ministers began to express their opinions or suggestions.
"Support the northern border and Bingzhou first!" The speaker was an old minister whose younger generation in the family was working in the northern border.
Zhang Xian refused to agree and said, "Look at what you said. You don't care about Youzhou and Pingzhou?" Lord Lu's whole family is in Pingzhou.
Another minister said, "Master Zhang, don't be stubborn. Youzhou and Pingzhou are in better condition and can still hold on, but the Northern Border and Bingzhou are starting to lose cities!" We must send some support first!
When mentioning Pingzhou, the ministers immediately thought of the Qin family who were exiled here.
So, someone took the lead and requested, "Your Majesty, please use the Qin family!"
At this time, Song Mo's emotions had calmed down.
Song Mo felt uncomfortable after hearing the ministers' suggestions.
It would be embarrassing for him to pardon the Qin family at this time.
When the other ministers saw that the emperor did not get angry when they heard the proposal to rehabilitate the Qin family and reinstate the Qin family, they started discussing it one by one.
"But, Pingzhou and Pingzhou are currently under attack by the Xianbei army. I wonder if the Qin family is safe?"
"Yes, it's not a good time to summon the Qin family back to Chang'an, right?"
"It would be better to rehabilitate the Qin family right here and let them lead the troops in Pingzhou to fight against the Xianbei."
"That's not appropriate. I think we should transfer the Qin brothers back to the northern border."
"Transferred to the Northern Territory? Does that mean I don't have to worry about Pingzhou anymore?"
"But the Qin family has been guarding the northern border for many years and is clearly very familiar with it. As long as the Qin brothers are transferred to the northern border, the northern border will definitely be stable. If they are placed in Pingzhou, the same may not be true."
"Oh, the Northern Territory is Dali's territory, but Pingzhou is not?"
Zhang Xian did not say anything about this topic because he couldn't tell whether he agreed or opposed it.
But what surprised Zhang Xian was that his arch-enemy Zuo Anmin was so quiet today.
Zuo Anmin didn't act up today? If it were in the past, he would definitely drag down the Qin family.
Zhang Xian had no idea that Zuo Anmin was regretting sending his nephew to Pingzhou. He could have sent anyone, right?
At this moment, he only hoped that his nephew would be smarter and return to Chang'an as soon as possible and not worry about the taxes and grain. After all, even the emperor could not care about these taxes and grain now.
His nephew was a serious person, so it would be best to send him to Pingzhou to supervise taxes and grain.
But now, he was really afraid that his nephew's stubbornness would come out at this moment.
The ministers' noisy chatter gave Song Mo a headache. He cleared his throat and waited until the hall quieted down before saying, "Let me think about this matter again."
Hearing this, some ministers were disappointed. Why was the emperor still unwilling to use the Qin family at this time?
Prince Gong urged again, "Your Majesty, the situation is critical. We should put aside all grudges and prejudices, unite as one, and fight against the foreign invaders."
But he was interrupted by the Grand Marshal Xiao Qun, "Prince Gong is wrong. We in Dali are full of talented people, and the Qin family is not the only one who knows how to fight."
These words touched Song Mo's heart.
"The Qin family is certainly good at fighting, but our dynasty also has many generals who are good at fighting. This time we can transfer generals and troops from the two southwestern armies. We should be able to deal with this crisis."
The Grand Marshal was in charge of the military. He was the one who strongly advised Fu Jiangong and Yan Zheng. His current mentality was the same as the emperor's.
Prince Gong was about to speak again, but Song Mo raised his hand to stop him. "Now, all the ministers, first gather supplies to support Bingzhou and—"
When it came to the next place to support, Song Mo hesitated. Bingzhou had to be supported. If the Xianbei were not stopped from moving southwards here, the further south they went, the heartland of the Central Plains.
"Northern Border." Song Mo finally uttered two words.
All the civil and military officials bowed, "We obey your order."
Song Mo continued to give orders, "Then, pass on my decree, ordering Sun Ming of the Southern Expedition Army and Dong Guowei of the Western Suppression Army to lead their respective armies back to support!"
Song Mo began to draw generals and troops from the Zhengnan Army and Zhenxi Army to reinforce the north.
Pingzhou, Liaoxi County, Bintu County
The manpower and material resources required to transport 1.2 million shi of tax grain were enormous.
Xu Junfan, a clerk in the Ministry of Grain, and his deputy Zuo Yi arrived with a 200-man team, but it was still insufficient. Lü Desheng arranged for Lu Wei to bring his men to help transport the tax grain.
The grain transport team moved slowly, and just as they set out from Changli, passed Yi County, and arrived at Bintu County, they heard that the Xianbei army was attacking Pingzhou. However, the news that the Xianbei and Wuhuan armies were simultaneously attacking the northern border, Bingzhou, and Youzhou had not yet spread among the common people.
Upon hearing the news that Pingzhou, Liaoxi County, and Liaodong County were being attacked, Lu Wei found Xu Junfan and Zuo Yi and advised them, "The Xianbei army is heading south, so why don't we stay here? Staying in Pingzhou, protected by the city, is always safer than being out in the wild."
Lu Wei is a very friendly person. From the previous reception to the interactions during the grain transportation, he has become very familiar with the people in Chang'an.
Xu Junfan looked thoughtful.
Zuo Yi disagreed, "No, we must transport the tax food back to Chang'an as soon as possible!"
Lu Wei tried to persuade him a few times, but to no avail.
Xu Junfan could only say that they needed to discuss it and let Lu Wei leave first.
After Lu Wei left, Xu Junfan asked Zuo Yi, "What Lu Wei said just now was not without reason, but you rejected it so completely. What were you thinking?"
"What Lu Wei said makes sense, but have you ever thought about how long we'll be trapped in Pingzhou? What if Pingzhou runs out of food? Will we need tax grain?"
Xu Junfan: It will definitely be used.
Zuo Yi continued, "Also, I think we should take advantage of the fact that there are people, soldiers, and cities in the north who can hold back the Xianbei army for us. It would be best to leave quickly. As long as we leave Youzhou and enter Jizhou, we won't have anything to fear."
Lu Wei was called over by Xu Junfan, who told him their decision and continued to transport grain back to Chang'an.
Lu Wei looked anxious and helpless. Why wouldn't these people listen to his advice?
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