"I know I don't understand war, so I think that whether to fight or not should be asked to Han Shizhong!" Zhao Jiu finally said what he really wanted today. "Han Shizhong is a famous general in the world, but the country has fallen to this point. Isn't it because the generals are not asked about war, but the central government officials are thousands of miles away? In my opinion, if four vassal states were set up in Hebei in the early years, why would the Jin people drink from the Yellow River and cause the Jingkang Incident?!"
This topic was extremely sensitive, but Li Gang still responded immediately: "The country is in chaos, Your Majesty can use military men, but you cannot let them take power! Today's words are even more absurd! As for the lesson that the central civil officials are thousands of miles away from the master, I also know it, so I sent Zong Ze and Zhang Suo to lead the army and lead the generals to fight."
Zhao Jiu did not argue with him, but just slightly restrained his expression and said: "But from now on, we should consult the generals on the front line about the war, right?"
The civil officials in the hall were discussing a lot, but the military officers who were accompanying the emperor had no expression on their faces, as if this debate had nothing to do with them. Li Gang also gave in a little, "If you just want to consult, Your Majesty can summon him privately, or you can summon him to the Prime Minister for questioning. But as for the previous discussion about the vassal states and the discussion about the civil and military, Your Majesty, please respect your status and don't say too much. The way of controlling the military with the civil is the foundation of national stability... Once the ban is lifted, the lack of morality of the military officers may make them accomplices to the tiger. By then, the Jin people will not be able to stop them, and it will only ruin the overall situation."
After getting Li Gang's permission, Zhao Jiu naturally stopped saying these emotional words and just nodded.
Now that Emperor Zhao and Li Xianggong had put away their magical powers, the rest of the things went smoothly. Soon, a strategy was agreed upon in the hall, or rather, Li Xianggong's strategy was approved:
First, since Zhang Suo was too late to go to Jingdong and Jingdong, he could only send a message by express horse, asking Zong Ze and Liu Guangshi to carefully arrange the defense of the two places. Since distant water could not quench immediate thirst, he could only give them a last-ditch effort and let them handle it themselves.
Secondly, although the Jin soldiers were six or seven hundred miles away and were targeting Qingzhou, Zibo, Qizhou and other places, the imperial court had the Jin army behind them and bandits in front of them, so they should immediately move to the city to calm people's hearts... Because there had been a small rebellion in Chenzhou in the north, and it was difficult to persuade the imperial court to move north at this time, and there were heavy rebel troops in the southwest, so they immediately decided to settle in Shunchang Prefecture in the south and east (Fuyang in later generations, originally named Yingzhou);
Third, regardless of whether the Jin army was chasing them or not, the Huaixi bandit Ding Jin in front had to be dealt with immediately and quickly... In this regard, the emperor formulated a decisive and bold strategy. On the one hand, he sent local officials to persuade them to surrender, and on the other hand, he appointed the originally designated Liu Zhengyan as the general, leading 3,000 elite soldiers, plus the troops of Miao Fu and Liu Yan, totaling more than 4,000 soldiers and horses, to directly cross the Yingshui River and follow the envoys forward. If surrender failed, he would immediately change to a military strategy.
This is certainly a very bold move, but it does not refer to Ding Jin. Rather, if this happens, there will be a short-term window period here, with only Yang Yizhong leading hundreds of imperial guards to provide direct protection.
However, no one objected, because everyone should forget that today was already the second day of November, and the vanguard of Han Shizhong's troops had definitely entered the Jingdong Road. Even if the emperor took the initiative to move to Shunchang Prefecture (formerly Yingzhou, later Fuyang), he would definitely be able to arrive today or the day after tomorrow to protect the emperor and the civil and military officials.
In other words, even if Liu Zhengyan led his troops away, the imperial court was still under the circular protection of the two most reliable imperial camp troops, just a little further away.
After all, even though Prime Minister Li always says that military officials are immoral, he still trusts Han Shizhong very much... This is nonsense. If Han Shizhong cannot be trusted, who can be trusted in the current situation?
Of course, there is a little trick to this strategy, which Zhao Jiu did not understand and no one else mentioned. That is, since we are going to enter the provincial city, it is not good to bring too many troops in, otherwise there will be chaos. It is best for the civil and military officials to enter the city first, and then Han Shizhong will lead the troops to the city to sanitation.
Now that the matter had been agreed upon, with Li Xianggong's swift and decisive action, it was immediately executed.
Let’s not talk about all the complicated things, as they were none of Emperor Zhao’s business. In the afternoon of that day, Zhao Jiu started to move again. He was used to riding a horse and didn’t care at all.
However, in the evening of that day, only a few hundred guards, a few hundred civil and military officials and their families were left, heading south along the Ying River. They trudged all the way to Shuizibu Town (the northern part of Taihe County in later generations) to temporarily settle down. Just as they were preparing to have dinner, someone suddenly came from the northeast... It was none other than Zhao Ding, one of the two imperial censors who was responsible for meeting and contacting Han Shizhong after the strategy was agreed upon this morning!
As soon as Zhao Dingfu, who was covered in mud and in a state of disgrace, jumped off his horse, he brought a bolt of news to the indifferent Emperor Zhao:
"Your Majesty, Han Shizhong has rebelled!"
Emperor Zhao, who had just picked up a bowl of rice, was stunned and speechless for a long time... Is it okay if Han Shizhong has rebelled?
PS: A 5,000-word chapter is celebrating the emergence of a new group - Shaosong Book Friends Group... Welcome to chat.
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