The emperor looked at the situation below and chuckled.
The court was in turmoil, and these old fellows all had their own ulterior motives.
"My esteemed ministers, the current situation is chaotic. Lord Shangguan in the south is trying to stabilize the situation, while the Heaven and Earth Society in the north is plotting a rebellion."
"I wonder which of my esteemed ministers has a good strategy to defeat the enemy."
The emperor looked at his ministers below and began to ask for their advice.
"In my opinion, the south has been basically stabilized, and the focus should be on the north."
"The Heaven and Earth Society has only recently rebelled and its power is not great, but if we let it continue to develop and spread like wildfire, it will only become more difficult."
"They should be nipped in the bud."
An official stood up and began to speak at length.
This official was considered one of the emperor's confidants and firmly supported him.
He was the Minister of Works, one of the Six Ministries.
This man is no ordinary person either. Ever since he brought back the war chariots captured from the south, he has been having the craftsmen in charge of the workshops study and modify them.
"Nonsense."
"What is the Heaven and Earth Society? Even if they rebelled, so what? How long will it take them to occupy Yanzhou?"
"They are nothing but bandits."
"But what is the situation in the south now? How many cities have we already lost? Are we just going to let them fight their way all the way to the capital before it counts?"
"At that time, who will resist the enemy?"
An old man with a serious expression stood up to refute.
This man is a veteran official, but he holds a nominal position. He has a high status, but he no longer has much real power.
To put it bluntly, he was the emperor's brother-in-law. Although his daughter was not the empress, she held a high position in the harem.
The family wielded considerable power, with sons and nephews holding official positions in various regions, giving them significant influence in the imperial court.
In fact, the emperor knew very well that although this old fellow was not a rebel, he had done countless things such as forming cliques, engaging in corruption and accepting bribes.
They have intentions that are detrimental to themselves.
However, what they are saying right now is not inherently wrong, and even the emperor cannot refute it.
Everyone knows that the most important thing right now is the war in the south, but none of them, as ministers, can come up with a clear answer on how to fight and how to recover lost territory.
There are not many troops that can be mobilized around Beijing right now.
There were only three armies at most.
Of course, the Imperial Guards definitely don't count.
There are still 6,000 people in the camp west of the capital. These people are basically the old subordinates of the Han family, and the Shangguan family's army also has several thousand people.
These were the elite troops in the capital; apart from the main army guarding the city, they were the most powerful.
Regardless of who sends them out, if they have the resources, they can recruit soldiers along the way and soon form an army of tens of thousands.
In reality, the emperor still preferred to send someone from the Shangguan family. Shangguan Wujiu had a son who was already thirty years old and had considerable prestige in the army.
As for Han Qinghu, he was willing to stay in the capital because Han Qinghu's loyalty was beyond question.
"General, what do you think should be done?"
The emperor asked about Han Qinghu.
Han Qinghu glanced at the ministers who were discussing matters here with great displeasure.
"This old minister believes that Lord Shangguan can hold off the Wu-Yue coalition, there is no doubt about that."
"I also know that His Majesty wants the young marquis to assist as well. This old minister believes it is feasible. With the young marquis's support, we will surely win this battle."
"As for the Heaven and Earth Society, I believe we should first have Qian Mu, the garrison commander of Dasanguan, stop his operations on the border of Youzhou, or even move into Tianyong City."
"At the same time, we will have the garrison commander of Chahe Pass in Liaodong join forces with the Liaozhou border to form a pincer attack on Yanzhou."
"Neither of them needs to go into battle. They can keep an eye on Yanzhou and defend against the Northern Barbarians in the north. However, the Northern Barbarians are in internal strife and do not have the ability to attack our dynasty for the time being."
"In this way, we can first focus all our efforts on dealing with the war situation in the south, and in one fell swoop, directly annihilate the Wu-Yue allied forces and force the Wu-Yue countries to submit."
"Then we'll have time to deal with the Heaven and Earth Society."
"At that time, the Heaven and Earth Society will be lambs to the slaughter, and our Great Li Dynasty will be revived. Your Majesty will also be a revivalist who will be remembered in history as well as the founding emperor."
Han Qinghu was also aware of the situation. Although Qian Mu had a considerable number of troops and was quite capable, he was an opportunist. At most, he could be used to intimidate Yanzhou.
Adjusting the fit with Huili was also a way to counterbalance Qian Mu.
If Qian Mu were to go, with his large army, he could completely quell the Heaven and Earth Society rebellion in Yanzhou.
But no matter who it was, whether it was the emperor or Han Qinghu, they didn't want Qian Mu to gain power.
Therefore, this opportunity to make a contribution should not be given to Qian Mu.
It's fine to give it to anyone from the Shangguan family, but not to Qian Mu.
The emperor nodded slightly.
"The old general is right."
"But does the old general know that there is a Tiger Roar Army in Youzhou now?"
Han Qinghu frowned slightly.
"Old Chen has heard about it."
"Could it be that His Majesty trusts this Tiger Roar Army's general more than Qian Mu?"
It's not really a belief.
The emperor gave a wry smile.
Let's just try anything, even if it's a hopeless situation.
In the current situation, if the Shangguan family were to become too powerful, then someone would be needed to check and balance them.
Liu Feng's temper was just right.
Moreover, now that Liu Feng has military industry, even if he cannot enter the court to check the Shangguan family, he can still check and balance each other with Qian Mu.
Just then, a young eunuch came in to report.
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