end song

Chapter 889 Firmness
He said "it's that simple", but the atmosphere in the classroom was stagnant.

Only Li Xia looked very relaxed and calm, and said: "In the past, when we planned a new year, we always had two aspects of 'internal repair' and 'external disturbance', but this year we only mentioned internal repair, because it is said that the Mongolian Khan The disputes are too far apart, we can't control it. If we really can't control it, we might as well make a deduction."

He got up and spread out the map that was on the desk.

The map is very large, and the combined territory of Li Xia and Song in this map is only a small corner.

"First of all, Ari Boke gave up his fief Jilijisi, and he also gave up Hara and Lin. Why? Because he had no food to supply his army with Kublai Khan's continuous battle. Mongols can eat raw meat to march, then It is for plundering, not starvation all the time. Then, Brother Alibu has no ability to govern the place, and even has no territory. There is no place for him, what should he do? Surrender to Kublai Khan?"

"Will it be?" Han Qi'an murmured, "They are already endless rivals fighting for the position of sweat."

"They are brothers, and they are closer to each other than me."

Li Xia responded casually, with some worry in his eyes, and said: "What I'm worried about is that in this way, Kublai Khan can attack us from the Hexi Corridor, and even directly drive Brother Ali to kill us. Because once Ali doesn't Kublai Khan will be able to deal with us with all his strength. We are far from Yuguanmen to Ili, but they are very close from Ili to Yumenguan.”

After lightly tapping on the Yumen Pass with his fingers, another possibility was mentioned.

"What will happen if Alibuge wins? This person can't run business, he can only plunder. Then after he plunders the Ili River Basin, there are two directions, westward, to meet the Jochi family or Hulagu, or to the west." East, loot us."

Most of the people in the hall were civil servants who didn't know anything about military affairs, Yang Qixin saw that everyone was silent, and asked slowly: "Is Your Majesty worrying too much, after all, we are still far away."

Li Xia didn't answer his question.

I have said it many times, far is relative, it is very far for these people, but it is not far at all for the Mongolian army.

"I invite Aluhu or Ali Bak to form an alliance. This 'or' means that only the loser among them will consider forming an alliance with me. If Ali is not defeated, instead of letting him surrender to Kublai Khan, it is better for me to give He continued to hold back Kublai Khan's energy in order to survive; if Alu suddenly loses, at least I can get the news in advance...Of course, this matter is very dangerous, and it can be called seeking skin with a tiger. Liu Taiping wanted to use us to consume Wang Liangchen's strength troops."

Li Xia was still patient with his officials.

He trusted them and had the patience to carefully analyze his plan with them, what was the cause and effect, and what to do.

"So if I get a reply, I plan to go to Yumen Pass in person. I have to go, because it is possible that Brother Aribu has been completely defeated and comes to surrender to me, but it is also possible that he swung his troops eastward and came here. To attack us, only I can grasp this matter..."

"No!"

Before Li Xia finished speaking, many people in the hall saluted and persuaded him.

"Could it be that the king intends to bring only 100 people out of Yumen Pass?!"

"It's not just bringing these 100 people, but these 100 people can exert greater combat power."

"Your Majesty." Wu Pu had no choice but to come out, and solemnly warned: "There are priorities. The Mongolian captives killed each other in the Western Regions. After all, it is the matter of the Mongolian captives. Is it worth the risk for the king? Saving money and food, expanding the army and training troops, Fortification and defense, forging armaments...enhancing the strength of Guanzhong is the right way!"

Li Xia said: "What Mr. Wu said is true. Isn't it just these government affairs that we discuss in this meeting hall every day? Internal repairs and external turmoil, what I said is that I want to see if it can affect the Mongolian Khan battle while doing internal repairs. .”

"I wish to go to Yumen Pass!"

This time it was Dong Wenyong who stood up.

He was straightforward, expressing his attitude with just this sentence.

Li Xia shook her head.

He also said just now that he was worried that Brother Ali would send his troops eastward, so he planned to go in person.

The reason for this situation is that it is too difficult to defend the Hexi Corridor with Li Xia's national power... Too many people have been slaughtered, the defense is too dilapidated, there is not enough money and food, and the situation has not yet fully opened.

Just like the territory of the Han and Tang Dynasties including Hexi, fighting against the Xiongnu and Tubo, although a large amount of military expenditure was spent, most of the time it was affordable.And if Song can occupy Hexi, it will be very difficult to spend a lot of money and food every year to maintain the situation. After all, there is no Yanyun Sixteen States, and there is Liao in the north.

The choice of ordinary people is not to force it. The Hexi Corridor is so long, the land is barren, and there is no population to move there, so just abandon it and guard the Yellow River.

Li Xia knew that someone in the class must think so. This is reality and helplessness.

But he didn't want to give up Hexi.

If you don't have the strength, you have to spend more time.

If there are another 30 troops and [-] shi of military rations to be sent to the Hexi Corridor, just send a large general.But since there wasn't one, Li Xia went there in person, just in case the Mongolian army from the Western Regions really came, and he could show his attitude.

"The King of Qin attaches great importance to the Hexi Corridor, and personally led the army here."

This is what we will tell both the enemy and us at that time, not only to deter the Mongolians, but also to cheer up the soldiers in the Hexi Corridor...

But other people also have other people's considerations.

"What Dong Xianggong said is true, Brother Ali is an incompetent generation, why does the king need to go to Yumen Pass personally?"

"Your Majesty, the son of a daughter of gold does not sit in the hall. Now that the King is in the world, how can he take risks like he did back then? You should be more prudent..."

"The son of a thousand gold?" Li Xia pondered these words, looked at Dong Wenyong, and said, "When Kublai Khan attacked Dali back then, your elder brother and eighth younger brother were by his side. Do you know what kind of situation it is?"

Dong Wenyong was taken aback for a moment, then leaned over and saluted, "Yes."

"Tell everyone."

"Detouring Tubo, wearing silkworms from thousands of miles to Dali, more than [-] people died."

"Specifically."

"Yes, my elder brother said that he followed Kublai Khan through Mantuo City, Maogong, Luding, and crossed the Dadu River. This section of the road is the most dangerous. Below the cliff is the rapids and dangerous shoals. The elite soldiers brought by the elder brother Forty-six people had died by the time of Luding, only two people were left, and the food was exhausted, so they could only eat raw rotten horse meat..."

"Kublai Khan also went there in person?"

"He was carried by Zheng Ding."

Li Xia was silent for a moment, and said, "I don't want me to be more delicate than Kublai Khan in your eyes."

"But Meng Ge himself died!"

Yang Guo didn't speak, looked at Li Yong for a while, and finally stood up.

"Your Majesty, please don't blame the ministers for being naughty. The ministers are also concerned about the safety of the King. It is not the beginning of the establishment of the business. It is really inappropriate for the King to personally train 100 people and want to lead them to Yumen Pass. .”

"Old Yang, I don't train the draft camp because I want to take risks lightly. On the contrary, I do it because I cherish my life. I sweat more in normal times and bleed less in wars, don't I?"

"Your Majesty, please think twice."

Yang Qixin, who was the first to file a complaint, came out and said: "Since all the princes feel that it is inappropriate this time, how about asking the king to be promoted to be a soldier of the front battalion and serve in various armies? Although I am old, I am willing to go to Yumen Pass with Dong Xianggong."

For a moment, Li Xia frowned slightly.

He could hear the meaning behind the phrase "Since everyone feels wrong this time".

Yang Qixin thought that he was wrong this time.

Looking around again, you will find that everyone in the hall is actually not malicious.

They are all for his own good, all for the good of the foundation.

It's just that they felt that Li Xia shouldn't do such a small thing by himself. As the king of Qin, it was more important to "sit in charge", sit there to calm people's hearts, and let his subordinates do it.

The greatest role of the virtuous lord should be to make people feel at ease and ensure the safety and stability under the rule.

It would be better to recruit another Jiangnan lady, which can not only balance the various factions, but also remind Li Xia to pay attention to etiquette, and also calm down, and avoid fighting outside the city, which is dangerous and time-consuming.

……

"I want to be a virtuous master." Li Xia said.

He stood up and glanced at everyone, including Yang Qixin who was participating in this kind of discussion for the first time. These words have frankly revealed his unwillingness to be a vassal of Song Dynasty.

"I am willing to follow your advice, really. I am not rebellious, because I need your help to succeed, but..."

"Your Majesty! I implore you, Your Majesty, to calm down and stop putting yourself in danger again."

In this meeting hall, almost no one interrupted Li Xia's speech like this. As for the words "receive your temper", it even faintly showed a very disapproval attitude towards Li Xia's actions this time.

"But I don't think it's a good lord to listen to your advice on everything. I have made up my mind on this matter, so I don't need to persuade you any more. Please believe me. I have considered not only what you have considered I think the matter in the Western Regions is an opportunity for our national strength to overtake the Mongolian Yuan, and it even concerns our survival. That’s it, let’s rest.”

Everyone looked at Li Xia, speechless for a moment.

It's not that he can't argue with him, but he feels that Li Xia is so calm and honest. He doesn't use rage or majesty, nor does he try to calm them down by winning over one party or defeating them individually.

Li Xia just stated his thoughts openly and honestly, and continued to maintain a firm attitude, that's all.

Then is he still the virtuous lord?

Is the draft camp his personal pastime or a weapon of the country?Is it useless and a waste of energy?
These questions have not been answered for a while.

Disagreements are inevitable, but Li Xia still maintains his confidence and determination...

(End of this chapter)