Chapter 234 Strategy
Wu Jie was not a pretentious person. He joined the army when he was a teenager and served in the Western Army for a full twenty years. Who would be pretentious?
So, just a moment later, Wu Jinqing bowed his head and said he was terrified... He did not kneel again because Emperor Zhao supported him... Then he said he was willing to die for the country and the emperor.
He seized the opportunity without hesitation.
Zhao Jiu also nodded in response, and the position of commander was thus decided.
Of course, it can't be that simple.
That evening, Wu Jie had dinner with the emperor. He wanted to tell the emperor his general opinion on the war situation in order to get his approval in advance. However, he was rejected directly by the emperor, who only said that he was tired after coming from afar and should rest, and then declined.
Therefore, Wu Jie had no choice but to follow the emperor's arrangement and sleep in the side tent of the central army, which was only a few dozen steps away from Emperor Zhao's main tent. However, he tossed and turned and could not fall asleep.
This was understandable, of course. The king had a special liking for him and entrusted him with an important task for the country, which made Wu Jie, who was born in a good family and had worked hard in the army for twenty years, particularly excited. Moreover, the emperor's house was next door, which also made him quite nervous. Not only that, as Wu Jie carefully thought about today's appointment, before he felt sleepy, he was replaced by uneasiness, and then it became more and more difficult to sleep.
Speaking of which, the first thing I think of is of course the war with the Jin people.
Wu Jie had been in Fangzhou for a long time and was a rare talent as a general, so he naturally had his own thoughts in his mind. But it was obvious that this battle was related to the overall situation, the destiny of the country, and even the life and death of the emperor... Wu Jinqing would also read the official reports... so he was naturally uneasy.
Secondly, there is the issue of his own identity. Although the emperor has entrusted him with the overall situation in person, Wu Jinqing still finds it troublesome, because although he has been in the Western Army for more than ten years, a veteran of the Western Army with considerable qualifications, and a dignified general, he recently won a rare victory... This is probably the fundamental reason why he has won the emperor's favor... But no matter what, once he takes over the position of commander-in-chief, he is bound to attract dissatisfaction and jealousy.
Because being a commander means taking responsibility for the lives of 100,000 soldiers. It is not a simple question of who is on top and who is off, nor is it about who has captured more heads or accumulated more merits. These are all quantitative indicators, and the king can do this and that with just a flick of his finger. Instead, except for Han Shizhong, who is capable of suppressing everyone, anyone else who takes the position is bound to cause dissatisfaction among the rest of the people and factions:
If Liu Xi were to take over, with his qualifications and background, the three western Guanxi armies might be convinced, but the Imperial Camp Army, Qu Duan of the three northern routes, and the Wu brothers would definitely not be convinced.
If Wang Yuan took over, not only the six armies in Guanxi, but even the Imperial Camp Army would be dissatisfied, because the Imperial Camp Army knew better than anyone that Wang Yuan had colluded with the traitor Kang Lu in Mingdao Palace in the past, and he was cowardly in the Liu Guangshi incident, which was simply fatal for a military general.
If Wang Yan took the position, this commander of the Eight Character Army had already established his authority early on due to his military exploits in Yanling, but he was quite bookish. Therefore, not only the Western Army would be dissatisfied, but also Wang De and his group in the Imperial Camp would be dissatisfied.
Even if Qu Duan was asked to come up, no one dared to disobey in words... because everyone knew that whoever dared to show disobedience on his face, this guy would really kill that person to establish his authority... But they still disobeyed in their hearts, otherwise he would not have been driven out of northern Shaanxi by Hu Yin, a scholar.
By the same logic, if Wu Jie came to power, the three northern troops that his brothers had managed for more than a year might naturally support him, but why would the Imperial Camp Army and the three western troops submit to him?
Seniority, family background, official position, reputation, these are just superficial issues, the inner problem is actually the problem of factions and mountaintops, which is a traditional bad habit in the army and is something that cannot be avoided. This problem is even more prominent when the armies are hastily merged.
Therefore, no matter what, Wu Jie knew that he was destined to face the difficulties and hypocrisy from other military generals tomorrow.
This also raises two other serious problems... You must know that whether in the army or in the officialdom, if you want to suppress your subordinates, it is nothing more than the two words "name" and "reality". However, the problem now is that it seems difficult for Wu Jie to obtain these two things at the moment.
The emperor had Prime Minister Yuwen Xuzhong guard the dragon flag in the old palace in Chang'an to confuse the public, and then he personally held the flag of the Privy Councilor in the camp. So whose banner should Wu Jie issue orders under? I'm afraid he will probably work with the emperor to borrow Prime Minister Yuwen's banner, and actually use the emperor's name to do things... If the name is not right, the words will not flow. Is he a general or a military officer?
As for the reality, it is even more terrifying. Since the year before last, the three northern routes have been fighting with the Loushi troops and have suffered heavy losses. Now they have to gather soldiers from the border cities to strengthen their forces. In terms of the number of troops, the three northern routes are far inferior to the Imperial Camp Army and the three western routes. What's more, Wu Jie's most core and trusted troops have to stay in Fangzhou due to strategic needs... Then I dare to ask, what can Wu Jie use to suppress these arrogant soldiers and generals?
Isn't it ridiculous for a general who gives orders and commands an army of 100,000 to have no central army of his own?
No, he doesn't even have his own guard!
Everything just depends on the Holy Favor.
However, after thinking about this, Wu Jie felt relieved. After all, being trusted by the government to command an army of 100,000 here was better than sitting and defending the city in Fangzhou… He had lost three battles in one year, but he was even appointed as the governor. Now he could come before the emperor to take on this important task after winning only one game. What else did he care about the title?
Jiedushi? And let the government give him the two Beiwei armies?
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