A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1101 Prime Minister's Western Expedition
In the Tai Chi Hall.

Wu Huaiyu's words shocked everyone. Even Li Jing, who was walking up to the hall on crutches, admired the student's courage to say, "How could he become so radical and bold after not seeing each other for more than two years?"

Even if you want to compete for the commander-in-chief seal, you can't take risks.

Even Li Jing would not dare to lead a 7,000-mile expedition with 8,000 cavalry to destroy Gaochang, let alone defeat Dulu Khan, the overlord of the Western Regions who had 200,000 string-controllers.

Have you been depressed for more than two years?
And on the other side,
Hou Junji, a student who was not recognized by Li Jing, also looked at Wu Huaiyu with suspicion. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Wu Huaiyu was dishonest.

This was just to steal his handsome seal, and he deliberately made such shocking remarks.

It is impossible for eight thousand riders to destroy the Western Region.

Hou Junji thought it was impossible to do it, not even Wu Huaiyu, not even Li Jing.

He must have wanted to grab the commander-in-chief first, and when he became the commander-in-chief of the Western Expedition, he would then find reasons to increase troops or something. At that time, it was impossible for the emperor to change commanders before the battle.

That must be it, the more he thought about it, the more he felt it was so.

If he dares to sign, then he is seeking his own death. If he cannot capture Yugushe and cannot destroy Gaochang Kingdom, how can he save his life?
The emperor sat on the imperial couch and did not make a sound.

I just returned from Annan just after the year.
After working as the Protector in Annan for two years, Zhang Liang actually did some practical things and achieved some political achievements. Not only did he do well in maritime trade, but he also supported Cheng Chumo, the governor of Huanzhou, to send troops to cross the Wushi Mountains and conquer the Changshan Mountains. Take the barbarian tribes in the Tong River Basin to the southwest,
In order to open up territory for the Tang Dynasty, Tangzhou was newly established, Sunset and Wenyang counties were established, and the troops reached the Mekong River.

"With eight thousand cavalry, even Duke Wei would not dare to brag like this to Haikou and say that he could capture Yugushe and destroy Gaochang, right?"

His eyes swept back and forth between the two ministers.

Wu Huaiyu sat on his knees in the hall,

It’s just that I’m still so restless.

In terms of bravery, Hou Junji, who cannot shoot arrows, is better than Wu Huaiyu, but in terms of military strategy, Wu Huaiyu is obviously better at it.

"The important affairs of the country are between sacrifice and military affairs. The war is fierce and dangerous, how can we underestimate the enemy?"

Hou Junji loudly asked Wu Huaiyu, "Does the Duke of Song treat war as a child's play, or does he treat the country as a child's play? Did he take the generals of the Tang Dynasty into his eyes and take them into his heart?"
Do you really think that a general who has achieved great success will not take the lives of the soldiers or the country seriously for the sake of his own fame? "

Hou Junji stood in the palace, as thick as an iron tower, with a voice as loud as a bell, and he launched a barrage of attacks directly at Wu Huaiyu.

With this in mind,
Hou Junji finally couldn't help but stood up.

Hou Junji was still there and asked Wu Huaiyu, "Eight thousand cavalry captured Yugushe and destroyed Gaochang. If you dare to boast about such a seaport, then how dare you issue a military order on this golden palace!"

He didn't dare to sign, so what he just said was a slap in the face.

"Song Guogong is so loud!"

This Wu Huaiyu, I haven’t seen him for more than two years, is really upset.

But with only eight thousand cavalry, he dared to say that he would go on an expedition to the Western Turks. Even Hou Huo Qubing, the champion of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, did not dare to say that.

Hou Junji finally caught the opportunity, so how could he give up easily? If Wu Huaiyu dared to brag, he would push him against the wall and prevent him from getting off the stage.

He turned his head and looked at Lao Hou. He hadn't seen this guy for more than two years. He was even thicker. His waistline had also grown a bit, and his beard and beard were trimmed very delicately.

There was also a purple-robed prime minister in the palace who looked at the man with a complicated expression. He was Zhang Liang.

"Mr. Hou, please sit down and talk. What are you doing standing so high? Do you want to condescendingly suppress me?"
What makes sense is not the height of your voice, nor your height. Please sit down and speak. "

Wu Huaiyu was unhurried and did not take his attack seriously at all.

To the south, Tanglin, Anyuan, and Luofu were recovered, and Tanglin Prefecture and Luofu Prefecture were reestablished.

The water and land transportation channels between Annan and southern central Guizhou are also becoming smoother. These are all attributed to Zhang Liang.
At the end of last year, he went to Beijing to attend court and never went back. Later that year, the emperor appointed him as the imperial censor, with the title of pre-political official, and he entered the political affairs hall and became the prime minister again.

However, Zhang Liang, who was once again in the political affairs hall, still controlled the important yamen of Yushitai, which could be regarded as a turnaround. However, after he returned to the court this time, although Hou Junji came to woo him again, he always kept his distance.

The last time he was demoted was related to Hou Junji and King Wei. Now he doesn't want to have anything to do with them.

Hou Junji kept telling him that it was Wu Huaiyu who demoted him to Annan, which was also true. However, Zhang Liang had a grudge against Wu Huaiyu, but he neither dared nor wanted to become his enemy.

Wu Huaiyu had already raised his hand last time, and he bowed his head to Wu Huaiyu, so there was no need to fight again.

After more than two years, the two met again in the same palace.

He is still so sharp.

"Do you dare to issue a military order, or are you just boasting about Haikou?" Hou Junji asked aggressively.

Wu Huaiyu ignored him.
Instead, he faced the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, my plan has stated that if you let me lead the troops, the eight thousand fine cavalry will be the first wave of forwards and the tip of the sword. There will still be some troops in the follow-up.

In addition to these eight thousand cavalry, I also need to be able to select some generals who can cooperate tacitly. Otherwise, if I ask Mr. Hou to be my deputy, with his current attitude, I am afraid that if he really follows me on an expedition, not only will he not be able to help, but he will also be ridiculous. hind legs. "

Hou Junji was extremely angry.

His eyes widened, "Wu Huaiyu, don't talk nonsense. I think you are making fun of military and national affairs. You are not qualified to lead troops in the Western Expedition."

"The truth cannot allow you to act so wantonly!"

"When His Majesty asked you to learn the art of war from Duke Wei, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You should study it hard instead of bullying your master and destroying your ancestors after just learning a little bit. Otherwise, I wouldn't have explained so much in detail just now. , but you didn’t understand anything, you just roared here.”

"Ask your Majesty, ask Wei Gong, or ask the generals like Qi Guogong and Lu Guogong. Is the military plan I just talked about just exaggerating about Haikou?"

Wu Huaiyu snorted and added, "If you can't do it yourself, don't think that everyone else can't do it. You can't even shoot an arrow well. In this life, on the battlefield, you are just a strong general holding a spear and charging. When it comes to strategies and tactics, Just stop participating.
You are now the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and participating in the government affairs. Just do a good job in the personnel affairs of your Ministry of Civil Affairs. Military affairs are not your strong point, so why bother yourself? "

Lao Hou hates people mentioning that he can't shoot arrows. He is really bad at this thing. He has been practicing for decades, but when he draws his bow on a horse, he has no idea where the arrow will go.
Since his status has been exalted, no one dares to talk about this anymore.
Unexpectedly, Wu Huaiyu exposed his scars.

"I just want to ask you if you dare to issue a military order?" Hou Junji asked angrily.

"So what if you dare, so what if you don't dare?" Wu Huaiyu asked.

Cheng Yaojin interjected at this time, "If Huaiyu is willing to lead eight thousand warriors and ride thousands of miles westward, I am willing to go with you, Old Cheng."

Qiu Xinggong and Fan Xing said almost at the same time, "I am willing to go too."

These two men, Qiu Xinggong, had succeeded Xue Wanjun as the general of Zuotunwei three years ago, while Fan Xing had just entered the court and succeeded She'er as the general of Youyulin three years ago.

The two of them also have identities, their daughters are married to Wu Huaiyu, so it is natural for them to stand up and support Wu Huaiyu at this time.

The emperor looked at the scene in front of him and said,

Let Wu Huaiyu come today. In fact, the emperor already had a choice in his mind.

When choosing between Hou Junji and Wu Huaiyu to lead the Western Expedition, the emperor still preferred Wu Huaiyu.

Not only his past performance, but also his military strategy this time were more in line with the emperor's expectations.

"Since the Prime Minister is so confident, I will support you."

"Your Majesty, you must not do this!" Hou Junji became anxious.

On the other side, another voice also came, "I object."

The voice of opposition came from Wei Zheng,

Wei Zheng not only opposed Wu Huaiyu's command of the Western Expedition, but also opposed Wanli of the Tang Dynasty to attack the Western Turks and conquer the Gaochang Kingdom. In his view,

To the west of Yumen Pass, the hundreds of miles of desert are the best natural national boundaries.
In the Western Region, it's good to be a vassal. Even if you want to set up a valley and refuse to pay tribute, it's not a big deal. Then support Yehu Khan Bobu to fight with him, or let Xue Yantuo fight with him.
In short, Datang can mediate diplomatically, but there is no need to roll up its sleeves and end the situation personally.

Winning or losing is not worthwhile in Wei Zheng's opinion.

Wei Zheng did not approve of the emperor's ambition to expand into the Western Regions.
But now Wu Huaiyu is even more adventurous, daring to expedition to the Western Regions with eight thousand cavalry. Although he has a great record, Wei Zheng also feels that it is too mysterious.

This is just like gambling, and in his opinion, there is a high probability of losing.

Wei Zheng's words are very unpleasant.

He accused Emperor Li Shimin of being overjoyed in his achievements, and even said that he was militaristic, which made him look more and more like Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty. He also said that Wu Huaiyu was now blindly catering to the emperor and risking war as a child's play.

They simply criticized both the monarch and his ministers as useless.
It is simply a pair of a foolish king and a sycophant.

Li Shimin's face darkened,

Not too happy.

But still enduring it.

Wu Huaiyu didn't care, and he didn't argue with Wei Zheng. They were just professionals, and there was no need to argue with them.

The ministers in the palace also began to stand in line at this time.

Fang Xuanling supported the emperor as always, Gao Shilian also supported his nephew and son-in-law, Ma Zhou supported sending troops, but Xiao Yu opposed it.

Zhang Liang supported sending troops.

Hou Junji certainly supported sending troops, but he opposed Wu Huaiyu taking command.

They argued and argued for quite a while.

The emperor coughed several times,

The palace finally became quiet.

The emperor glanced at the ministers and spoke slowly, "Zhongshu ordered Ma Zhou to draft the imperial edict, and Sikong Wuhuaiyu was given the title of Pingzhangshi under Zhongshu Menxia, ​​and entered the Political Affairs Hall as Prime Minister, leading the Minister of War."

Pay homage to Wu Huaiyu, the general manager of the river march, and sign on for the Western Expedition! "

The emperor transferred 8,000 elite cavalry from the Fourth Army in Beiya to Wu Huaiyu to lead the western expedition. At the same time, the emperor transferred another 8,000 cavalry from Longyou, Qinghai, Shuofang, and Hexi to join the western expedition at Yumen Pass. "

Wu Huaiyu asked for eight thousand, and the emperor gave him sixteen thousand.

At the same time, he ordered DTZ Youxian Wang Sheer, as well as Qibi Heli from the Qibi tribe, Xifeng Bulai from Dangxiang, Li Zhonglie from Tuyuhun, etc., to select their own Fan cavalry for the expedition.

He also sent an order to Xue Yantuo, Xi Tujue, Yanqi, Yiwu and others, asking them to send troops.

"Cheng Yaojin is the deputy general manager, Su Dingfang is the pioneer, Qiu Xinggong, Fan Xing, Niu Jinda, Liu Lancheng, and Guo Xiaoke are each the general manager, all under the control of Wu Huaiyu..."

No matter how Wei Zheng, Xiao Yu, Hou Junji and others opposed it, there were more supporters after all, so the emperor took advantage of the situation and worshiped Wu Huaiyu as his commander, and appointed the Western expedition team that Wu Huaiyu had planned before.

The dust settles,

Not only did Wu Huaiyu seize the Western Expedition Commander Seal that had definitely belonged to Hou Junji as he wished, the emperor even restored him the title of prime minister under Tong Zhongshu's family Ping Zhangshi.

With the dignity of prime minister, he took command of the Western Expedition.

(End of this chapter)