Han Shizu

Chapter 437 Rare Hesitation
What the emperor saw was what the officials were looking for, but no one was surprised. After so long, everyone found out that Liu Chengyou's attention and trust in Wei Renpu far surpassed others.Among the civil and military officials, if it is said that the one who has the greatest influence on the emperor is Wei Shangshu, who has not long been a prime minister.

With many eyes on him, Wei Renpu looked calm, stood up and bowed to Liu Chengyou, and then slowly said: "Your Majesty, as Privy Zheng said, attacking Tang or Liao, one is short-term gain, and the other is long-term strategy. The Tang Dynasty was short-term profit, with three years of preparation by the imperial court, coupled with the planning throughout the southern countries, the Tang army changed the enemy, and Huainan could be taken lightly; Since Shi Jin was reversed in one fell swoop, our northern border defense in the Central Plains has been completely subject to the passive situation of the Hu Kou."

Liu Chengyou looked at Wei Renpu, and when he waited for the next sentence, he knew that Wei Renpu was not a person without responsibility, and his words had his own opinions, but it was not the time to get along with each other.

"Of course!" Wei Renpu paused for a moment, as if trying to organize his words, and then continued: "There is one thing that needs to be considered. Since this spring, due to the Khitan movement, all my war preparations have focused on how to resist the Khitan. How to rely on cities and fortresses in the vast area between Yannan and Hebei to fight fiercely with the enemy, confront them, consume them, stay on the defensive, weaken their morale, and counterattack."

"The imperial court did not make any preparations in advance for the troops to enter Youbei, the army came to Tanji, to recover Yanshan, and to break through the city and seize the pass. The Liao army along the border has already taken a defensive position. If they want to conquer, it is not just a matter of sending troops. Move at least two hundred miles, and the pressure on the transportation and consumption of food, fodder and supplies will increase greatly. The battle line will be lengthened. If Hu Qi tries his best to attack our grain roads, he will be able to get twice the result with half the effort. If you use Youzhou as the base, forgive me To put it bluntly, the current situation in Youzhou is not enough to provide a solid foundation for advancing."

"And the lands of Tan and Ji are now heavily defended by the Khitan army. The new lord is leading his troops to the east. According to previous reports, it can be roughly obtained. The Liao army still has no less than [-] people. No matter how brave our soldiers are, Without avoiding life and death, do you have the determination to break through the defenses and seize the city? Even if you can, it is hard to predict how much you will pay!"

"There is another matter. According to the report of the investigation, during the march, a rebellion broke out, and the emperor and empress were killed. And one night, the new lord immediately took action, and all actions were taken. The new emperor of Khitan entered Tanzhou eastward, and I boldly guessed , I am afraid that they want to seize the army in the southern part of the Liao Dynasty to consolidate their status, and this is a good deed to stabilize the situation."

"The new emperor of Khitan, if not for a heroic and decisive lord like Your Majesty, he would have strategically loyal and brave generals to help him. There is chaos in Khitan, but the extent of the chaos is still an unknown mystery. Know yourself but don't know the enemy, one wins and one loses. Under such circumstances, it may be possible for our army to go north to take advantage of it, but it is difficult to do its best, and it is not impossible to incur fierce resistance from them."

"The Northern Expedition at this time is just like Zhao Yanshou, the former king of Yan, who was appointed by His Majesty to make the Northern Expedition to Youzhou. It was a big gamble, and His Majesty won the gamble. Therefore, the pressure on our northern frontier defense has been greatly reduced over the years. If it fails—"

After a pause, Wei Renpu said again: "What I said is the concern of the whole family. If the imperial court can adjust as soon as possible, make preparations, overcome all difficulties, and decide the overall situation of the world in one war, then the Northern Expedition is not impossible. It's just the pros and cons. , His Majesty still needs to think about it!"

After listening to Wei Renpu's analysis, Liu Chengyou was silent for a while, but looked up at Shang Hongqian and other generals who were fighting hard: "Listen to what Wei Xiang said, the Khitan has a heavy army of 200,000, and my [-] army marches thousands of miles north. You can defeat the enemy and win the pass." Confidence?"

Shang Hongqian was not so confident anymore, so he was just talking, and it was not his turn to lead the army to fight.Wang Yin and Du Hanhui stopped talking. They wanted to fight and dared to fight, but it was difficult for them to say that they would win if they fought.

On the other hand, Han Tong's eyes widened, like copper bells, and he said in a clear voice: "I am just a cavalry pawn. I was defeated by Your Majesty. I don't know the general plan of the country. I only know how to repay your kindness by death. Your Majesty's orders are directed by me. Farewell." Without any other words, I will lead the iron cavalry, bathe in blood and kill the enemy, until I die!"

"You are simple and straightforward!" Liu Chengyou pointed at Han Tong and smiled lightly.

Tao Gu wanted to speak again, but Liu Chengyou took a deep breath and made a decision.

The ministers seemed to be listening to the hadith respectfully, but they heard that the emperor held back for a while, and said: "You all step down first, perform your duties, and manage military affairs well. Let me think about the discussion of the Southern Expedition and the Northern Expedition!"

"Yes!"

"Wei Xiang stay!" Not long after leaving the hall, Wang Pu came behind himself and called Wei Renpu to stop.

"Prince!" Wei Renpu saluted modestly.

Together with Wei Renpu, they went to the Political Affairs Hall of the Guangzheng Hall, Wang Pu couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty has always been the master of decision-making. Since I entered the court as an official, I have never seen Your Majesty hesitate so much when making decisions on the fly."

While walking, Wang Pu waved his hands slightly, looking a little excited: "The imperial court sent a large army to the north, originally as a response to the defense, but now the overall situation has changed, and the situation is on me. Go south with the trend, take Huainan lightly, and occupy Jiangbei. Rich land and population. In the land of Huainan alone, there are at least 300,000 households, plus the benefits of fish, salt, and grain, such huge profits are like getting something out of a pocket. Why exhaust the national power and take the risk of competing with the Khitan?"

Quietly listening to Wang Puzhi's words, Wei Renpu also breathed a sigh of relief, turned to the north, and sighed softly: "To attack the barbarians in the north, to recover all the rivers and mountains, but to defeat the enemy thousands of miles away, for your majesty with great ambitions, how difficult it is!" Temptation, with the prince’s knowledge, don’t you know? In the past few years, although His Majesty has been planning to go south from time to time, there may be a day when His Majesty does not go north. The Great Wall of Yanshan fell into the hands of Khitan, and it has always been a thorn in His Majesty’s heart. If not If you pull it out, you will have trouble sleeping and eating."

As he spoke, he glanced at Wang Pu: "If it wasn't for the trouble of Khitan, how could your strategy for the southern expedition be so twists and turns and be constrained by it."

Hearing this, Wang Pu said affirmatively: "Because of this, Khitan's self-disruption is a good opportunity for us to go to court, how can we miss it!"

As he said that, Wang Pu couldn't help feeling a little anxious: "No, I have to go see you again, and try my best not to be influenced by Tao Gu and others. Khitan still has a large number of troops in the south. At this time, the Northern Expedition, fighting with them, the gain outweighs the loss. Anti-aircraft consumption consumes our strength. Even if we regain the pass defense, how much troops, money and food will be spent to defend it, how the Yan army will deal with it has never been thought out."

Even if Wang Pudang turned around, seeing this, Wei Renpu hurriedly pulled him back, shook his head at him, and persuaded: "The ministers have already given advice, and the pros and cons of it, with His Majesty's wisdom, can also be clearly thought out. The strategy of going north, It is indeed possible to succeed, but whether or not the Northern Expedition depends on how determined His Majesty is, and whether he can bear all possible risks and consequences."

"Since ancient times, the death of Wen and the death of Wu have been remonstrated. This decision is related to the fate of the dynasty, the overall situation of the world, and even the rise and fall of the next few decades. It is in your Majesty's mind. For my job, I still have to see His Majesty!" Wang Pu said stubbornly with a serious expression.

But Wei Renpu firmly grasped it, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is the master of general strategy, so you can clearly distinguish priorities and urgencies. Let him think about it!"

"This" and Wei Renpu looked at each other, Wang Pu finally let out a long breath.

Seeing this situation, Wei Renpu whispered again: "Your Majesty is the master of the wise decision. How can you act completely under the influence of the ministers and others. Besides, did the prince not notice why the Longqi army that was drawn out turned back directly to the capital?" ?”

"Hiss—" Wang Pu calmed down, thoughtfully: "What does Prime Minister Wei mean?"

"If there is only hesitation, His Majesty can issue an order, and the army will be stationed on the spot, waiting for the order!"

In fact, Wei Renpu still has one more news that Liu Chengyou has issued an edict to suspend the march of the two armies that have already gone north.

Wang Pu stopped thinking about meeting Liu Chengyou temporarily, bowed to Wei Renpu, turned around and walked quickly towards the government office.Later, looking at Wang Pu's slightly irritable back, Wei Renpu was also a little helpless. The talent of this prince is world-renowned, but it is this character that is too stubborn.That is to say, Wei Renpu has a good temperament and is able to tolerate and make friends with him. Right now, there are too many people who dislike Wang Pu in court.
On Liu Chengyou's side, after the meeting was over, he didn't stay in Chongzheng Hall anymore, it was too boring to stay there.He has always been a decisive person, but on this matter, he has to admit that he hesitated, hesitated, and had difficulty making a decision.

Dangling in the palace, Liu Chengyou came directly to the Kunming Hall where the queen was, and the queen's big talisman was very unexpected, and the little talisman of Concubine Hui was also there, and the two sisters rushed to pick him up.

Two young women, one is dignified and generous, the other is youthful and gorgeous. Unfortunately, the sisters are together, but Liu Chengyou doesn't have the sex interest of being wet at this time.

"Why is Your Majesty here?" Da Fu couldn't help asking when the two sisters ushered Liu Chengyou into the bedroom and ordered the maid to serve melon and fruit refreshments.

Waving his hand, Liu Chengyou said: "I'm tired of dealing with military affairs all day long, I'm tired, I'm tired, I want to sleep!"

This was probably the first time I saw Liu Chengyou's performance like this. The big and small Fu looked at each other, and both were a little surprised.

(End of this chapter)