Shanhaiguan.
Wu Sangui sighed as he looked at the edict in his hand.
The counselor Fang Guangchen stood nearby and asked, "Why are you worried, Brother Wu?"
Wu Sangui sighed: "I'm afraid that once I leave... I'll never come back!"
"Brother Wu, rest assured," Fang Guangchen consoled him, "We are about to send troops to Liaodong. Your Majesty and the court will never kill a general on the battlefield."
"Then why did Your Majesty ask me to go to the capital to swear an oath? Wouldn't it be the same to swear an oath in Shanhaiguan?" Wu Sangui complained.
Fang Guangchen thought for a long time, then raised his head and said, "I think your majesty has two purposes for this action."
"Oh?" Wu Sangui looked at Fang Guangchen expectantly: "Which two purposes?"
"First, summon the commander before the battle to boost morale and inspire the troops!"
"Second, take this opportunity to give some warnings to prevent some people from working without putting in any effort."
Wu Sangui's face darkened, "This...Brother Fang, don't joke!"
"I'm not kidding. I'm sure His Majesty will punish Brother Wu!" Fang Guangchen said firmly, "Brother Wu must not reveal any flaws at that time, otherwise your future will be in jeopardy!"
"Of course!" Wu Sangui nodded and said worriedly again, "You can fool around with things that save face, but how can you fool around with things that happen on the battlefield?"
"Brother Wu, don't worry!" Fang Guangchen walked up to Wu Sangui and patted him on the shoulder. "The court has mobilized ten generals this time, two more than the eight generals in the Battle of Songjin. In addition, there are two commanders and a governor."
"Although the 160,000 soldiers are elite, they were assembled at short notice and have many internal conflicts. How many of them will obey Wang Yongji's orders?"
"It doesn't matter even if everyone obeys the order!"
"With so many troops, we can't just use Guanning for military use, right?"
"The Guanning Army must fight to the death on the battlefield, otherwise they will leave a handle! The Jiannu are not stupid, they know who is easy to deal with and who is not!"
"Let's give the enemy the chance to choose!"
Wu Sangui blinked his eyes and sighed: "This is the only way."
Dengzhou, Shandong.
After the imperial edict was conveyed, Yuan Shu and Huang Fei took a boat to Tianjin, preparing to disembark at Zhigu and enter Beijing.
After receiving the imperial edict, Gao Jie of Xuzhou realized that he was a reserve army. Although he felt a little aggrieved, he still obediently followed the order and entered Qingzhou Prefecture, where he began to train and farm.
Wuchang Prefecture, Huguang.
Li Dingguo put down the imperial edict and came to the door of Huguang Governor Yuan Jixian.
"Governor, Li Dingguo requests to see you." Yuan Jixian's personal soldier reported.
"Let him in." Yuan Jixian replied.
"yes."
The door opened with a creak, and Li Dingguo nodded to his personal soldiers and walked into the house.
"Sir!" Li Dingguo bowed to Yuan Jixian and said, "Student Li Dingguo has something to report."
"Go ahead!" Yuan Jixian, with white hair, stopped writing and said with a smile, "You have been my disciple for several years. Are you here to say goodbye today?"
"I guess so!" Li Dingguo's eyes moistened as he handed the decree to Yuan Jixian and said, "The imperial court has issued an order to recover Liaodong. While transferring the Nine Frontiers Army to Shanhaiguan, Gao Jie was also transferred to Qingzhou Prefecture in Shandong, and students were transferred to Guide Prefecture in Henan to cultivate land and prepare for war!"
"Students are just reserve troops, not the main force in Ping Liao!"
"The reserve troops are also troops. Pack up and go quickly!" Yuan Jixian picked up the pen and began to write.
"But... the students just want to stay with the teacher and study, and don't want to leave."
"Ridiculous!" Yuan Jixian threw the pen in his hand on the table and said angrily: "A man who does nothing is no different from a rotten tree or a rotten grass."
Li Dingguo disagreed: "Students think that studying can also govern the world! Let's not talk about the distant past, just take Zhang Wenzhong, who lived 70 years ago. Isn't he a model of a scholar ruling the world with his pen?"
Yuan Jixian sneered: "Looking through the history books, how many Zhang Juzhengs are there? The books of saints are for reading, and only for reading! The others are useless!"
These words stunned Li Dingguo.
He stood there thinking for a long time and then asked doubtfully: "Since studying is useless, why do you let students study?"
"Reading is for calming the mind! Only when the mind is calm can one have the opportunity to think!" Yuan Jixian replied, "Think about the causes and consequences, and think about the pros and cons!"
Li Dingguo seemed to understand what this meant and lowered his head and sighed.
After a moment, Li Dingguo raised his head and asked, "I have a question, but I don't know if I should ask it."
"Ask."
"Sir, you have the talent to stabilize the country. Why didn't Your Majesty and the court let you be the governor-general to pacify Liao? Instead, you let the unknown Wang Yongji be the governor-general!"
Yuan Jixian smiled.
The gray beard on his chin trembled and jumped as he laughed, as if he was also amused by the laughter.
Yuan Jixian stroked his beard and asked, "Dingguo, this is your shortcoming! Through this period of observation, I have discovered a few shortcomings in you!"
"What...what shortcomings?" Li Dingguo asked somewhat at a loss.
Yuan Jixian did not answer the question, but continued to ask: "You are twenty-nine this year, right?"
"Yes." Li Dingguo replied.
"Since ancient times, people have stood on their own feet at the age of 30! Only at this age do people begin to mature and become independent! But you are still a little short of maturity!"
"Please give me some advice, sir!" Li Dingguo stood up straight and bowed to Yuan Jixian.
"Your shortcoming is your lack of ability. As long as you correct it, your future will be limitless!" Yuan Jixian stood up and put his hands behind his back like a teacher.
Li Dingguo looked at Yuan Jixian intently, like a student listening to a lecture, afraid of missing any details.
“There are two disadvantages.”
"First, you are narrow-minded and petty! You are intolerant of others, especially those who disagree with you."
Li Dingguo opened his mouth to try to refute, but all his words were glared back at by Yuan Jixian.
He opened his mouth several times, but no sound came out.
"Look..." Yuan Jixian spread his hands and said, "You let me point out your shortcomings, and you still want to refute me. Aren't these shortcomings obvious?"
Li Dingguo stopped resisting and lowered his head to listen carefully.
"Cats are good at catching mice because they are flexible, dogs are good at catching rabbits because they are vigorous, and so are people! You can't expect people who are like cats to catch rabbits using dog methods, because that will not only disgust the cats, but will also harm them."
"The second shortcoming is related to marching and fighting." Yuan Jixian stared at Li Dingguo with a sharp look: "We have deduced several times before. I think the tactics you planned are very good, but the strategy has problems."
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