Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 517 But Incompetent

Kong Ming stood up and looked carefully at the map behind him.

The slender fingers slowly moved up from the east of Luoyang, and finally pointed at Youzhou:

"The Liao cavalry's long drive points to the capital of the Song Dynasty, and it can arrive in the morning and in the evening."

"Without Youzhou, Song Zuo will be in trouble."

When talking about this matter, Zhang Fei and Ma Chao both became serious.

"We took Youzhou three ways and tried to achieve great things with cleverness, but we failed."

Zhang Fei also walked over, made two gestures on the map with his palms, and finally made a shallow stroke on the Taihang Mountains and said:

"Shanxi's soldiers are not something to be afraid of. Whether they win or lose, die or live, it will not harm the situation in Hebei."

"On the contrary, Hebei is a place where cavalry can move freely.

The attitude of the Northern Song Dynasty court towards the Khitan changed from war to peace, all due to Zhao Pu's efforts.

In the past, when he was impatient in military affairs, he could say that "it took two or three years of hard work to build a camp step by step." It can be seen that at this time, the third brother is increasingly far away from the drunken Zhang Fei who was said by later generations to be a whipper. How could Liu Bei not be happy?

In fact, looking at the history books now, half of the negative comments about Zhao Pu are concentrated on this "three-time visit to the prime minister".

But why does this method of making soldiers shout loudly on the mountain to make soldiers suspicious look so familiar?

But a large number of the main combatants promoted by Zhao Er in order to create his image as a wise and powerful warrior are still in the court. What should we do? Let Zhao Pu come.

Moreover, at Li Yaoshi's age, it is not suitable to stay in the Western Region for a long time. In theory, Hou Junji is the most suitable candidate to be the future general guardian of the four towns of Anxi, but it is a pity...

After all, everyone could see the importance His Majesty once attached to the old man of Prince Qin's palace.

The literati and righteous men of the Southern Song Dynasty wanted to criticize Zhao Pu's eloquent strategy, but they were selectively blind to Zhao Er, who fundamentally led to the defeat of Gaolianghe and the failure of Yongxi's Northern Expedition.

How come you can’t even discipline your son well?

"To seize the opportunity and try to be a suspicious enemy is to take advantage of others. It is better to place an army at the Taihang Pass and make loud noises to think that the enemy is a suspicious enemy, and then the whole army will go out with all its strength."

Not to be outdone, Ma Chao also simply measured the Yongliang area he was most familiar with on the map, so as to get an idea of ​​the size of Hebei, and then started from the angle he was most familiar with:
"The Song Dynasty was able to push forward with horses and infantry to Youzhou, which shows its suddenness."

"Maybe it doesn't need to be so troublesome."

"Put all your efforts into Youzhou. As long as the city is destroyed, Hebei will be conquered."

If there was no such thing, the Western Region should have been the place where Duke Lu could show off his talents.

Zhang Fei was silent. Although this was the case, he always felt that it might not be that simple.

In the Ganlu Palace, Wei Yu's incident of causing violence to the prince when he was admonishing him made the ministers involuntarily think of the current prince, well... and the Duke of Lu whom they had not seen for a long time.

For this reason, after the Jingkang Disgrace, literati in the Southern Song Dynasty criticized Zhao Pu a lot. They believed that Zhao Pu's third visit to the prime minister was a strategic mistake of the Song Dynasty. Zhao Pu should also bear three-thirds of the credit for the shame of the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty.

This is not surprising. After all, the person in charge of Yongxi's Northern Expedition was Cao Bin, who did not even hold the post of Privy Councilor. How could he be the wise and powerful Taizong?

Zhang Fei's words did not surprise Kong Ming, who smiled and waved his feather fan and nodded in recognition.

As for Li Chengqian, he is only twelve years old now, and the former ministers of the Qin Palace have watched the prince grow up, so it is difficult for him to have any harsh words.

"If there is no suspicion, just connect the inside and outside, and Youzhou City can be conquered in one go."

Zhang Fei didn't care so much and asked Ma Chao directly:
"What if Youzhou can't defeat it?"

Ma Chao has been called a bastard since he was a child. Now that he has led the army, no one dares to mention these two words in front of him, but there is no doubt that he also knows something about the unity of Han'er:
"A heavy army is besieging the city. If the Khitans are suspicious of Han'er in the city, the defenders will be stretched thin."

But in my heart, I also felt a certain amount of resentment toward Zhao Er:

"Or, if we can garrison a large number of troops and form a fortified city, keep watch and help each other to make the Liao cavalry unstoppable, and devote two or three years of hard work to build a camp step by step, then Youzhou can be leveled as far as Hebei."

[Zhao Pu’s comeback is just as we said before, he came out to block Zhao Er’s gun.

The ministers did not dare to say anything, but Empress Changsun had no such scruples. With a hint of worry in her eyes, she looked at her husband and said softly:
"How about your Majesty taking the time to instruct Cheng Qian in martial arts in the next two days?"

It can only be said that Zhao Pu was indeed unlucky in some respects. Zhao Da, who they had planned strategies with, passed away mysteriously, and Zhao Er was a man with high ambitions and low power, who completely ruined his family's fortune.

As mentioned before, Zhao Er never plays with small ones in his life, and he only plays with big ones.

Moreover, the unified strategy that Zhao Pu gave to Zhao Dading in the early days was to go first from the south to the north, first from the easy and then from the difficult, rather than saying that we would shrink from pacifying the south.

Ma Chao's simple and crude style of play that made full use of huge troops also made Kong Ming nod frequently.

These were more of the angry words of the Southern Song Dynasty when they saw the national humiliation. After all, under the circumstances of internal and external difficulties, no matter who Zhao Er put in his position, he had to make a strategy of recuperating and temporarily stopping the war.

After a while, he lowered his head and thought for a while before continuing:

……

In just two battles, the Battle of Gaoliang River and Yongxi's Northern Expedition, the Song Dynasty successfully lost all its wealth. At this time, the Song Dynasty was unable to fight anymore.

After Zhao Pu became Prime Minister, those who took the lead in the Song Dynasty, such as Zhao Changyan, deputy envoy to the Privy Council, Chen Xiangyu and Dong Yan, who were known as "Chen Sangen" and "Dong Banye", were either demoted or released.

"How is that possible?" Ma Chaoda shook his head:
"Youzhou has been a Han nation since ancient times. Why should you work for the Khitan people?"

"Or, if you spend all your wealth and wealth into the pass to seek good horses and build fine cavalry, and use the cavalry on foot to coordinate with the fortified city as bait, and destroy the fine cavalry of Liao, then the offensive and defensive momentum will be different."

What else could Li Shimin say? He could only nod in agreement immediately.

Everyone had vague guesses about Hou Junji's whereabouts, so there was also a lot of sadness.

Liu Bei was particularly gratified. He watched his third brother conquer Hanzhong from Pang Tong and pacify Yongliang, and a few months ago he suppressed the rebellion alone.

In addition, apart from the main strategy, Zhao Pu has indeed promoted many young talents in the five years since he became prime minister for the third time.

Lu Mengzheng, Zhang Qixian, Kou Zhun, Feng Zheng, Wang Jiying and other well-respected prime ministers and assistants were all recommended and promoted by Zhao Pu. In the early Song Dynasty, Wang Yucheng, a well-known hard-core civil servant, also received Zhao Pu's courtesy.

Therefore, it can be said that Zhao Pu did indeed do a lot of practical things for the Northern Song Dynasty, and he could be regarded as an official in any case.

As for Zhao Er? When he was brought to the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong criticized him for being "ashamed of virtue", which simply meant that he was not morally good.

Our teacher once commented that he was "unscrupulous and eager to get on stage" and emphatically commented that he was "incompetent".

It does not confirm or deny the authenticity of the sound of the candle shadow ax and the alliance of the golden chamber, but focuses more on Zhao Er's eagerness to seize the throne.

However, in comparison, Zhao Er himself is quite open-minded. For example, Zeng Rui commented on Erfeng:
"... Seeing what Taizong did, he was just trying to build up a false reputation. Every time he does something, he must make a big splash... Isn't this natural!"

In the "Records of Taizong", he did not lag behind others in the slightest. When talking to his ministers, he believed that his merits were greater than that of the Qin Emperor, his talents exceeded those of the Han Dynasty, his virtues surpassed those of the Tang Dynasty, and his mental health was outstanding. In addition, in terms of evaluation of Erfeng, Zhao Er and his sixth descendant Sun Wanyangou have a lot in common:

"Taizong of the Tang Dynasty... can be called a wise king. However, he exaggerated to gain a good reputation. Although he listened to advice and accepted advice, he was not as sincere as Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty."]

〖Liu Bei: Emperor Shizong was a man of great talent. He fought against barbarians and dissipated people externally, cultivated laws internally, and practiced benevolence and righteousness in order to win over those who refused. His merits and deeds were so abundant that they could not be fully publicized. Although he was suspected of resorting to militarism, he also regretted his edicts. What talents do you have?
Zhang Fei: Taizu can sit on a horse and defeat the enemy, but who are you who dare to move your upper and lower lips?
Ma Chao: If you confront me in battle, I will kill you.

Li Shimin: Bah!
Pei Xingjian: Damn me too!
Yuchi Gong: Ma Mengqi, can the horse in Ruliang Prefecture go faster than the sorghum donkey cart? 〗

Zhao Guangyi was completely wilted at this time, and he lowered his eyes and did not dare to read the words written by those ancestors.

Especially that of Tang Taizong was a simple word, but the disdain was conveyed clearly.

Although Emperor Zhaolie's words were complicated, his merits and demerits were all the same, which was enough to make him dare not say more.

Zhang Fei's scolding was straightforward, but if you think about it carefully, he might actually be an ancestor. After all, he came from Zhuojun together, so in a sense he was from the same hometown.

Ma Chao's words frightened him even more, and Yuchi Gongxiang's mocking words also made him unable to laugh.

If nothing had happened today, he would have been very interested in watching those names that were only seen in the annals of history laughing and cursing.

But now that all the laughter and curses were directed at him, it made him feel uncontrollable pain in his heart.

At this time, the palace was a little quieter, allowing Zhao Kuangyin to clearly hear the cry behind him:

"I am ashamed."

Zhao Kuangyin sighed and did not turn around to comfort him. He just thought about it and said slowly:

"After all, you are doing things for the Song Dynasty, and future generations will not taint your name."

Then he said excitedly:

"But now, the imperial army has not been depleted, so we should use the food and wealth from the south of the Yangtze River to support the Northern Han Dynasty."

"Go slowly, restore Yanyun to Youzhou, and unite China."

Zhao Kuangyin raised his head and looked at the light screen, with undisguised desire in his eyes. As an emperor, who wouldn't want to create a unified foundation for future generations to remember?

And he is different from his younger brother who can only play tricks with words. He still remembers that the "first south then north" formulated by Zhao Pu as mentioned by Guang Mu was what Xue Ye and Zhao Pu discussed ten years ago.

And this younger brother... Looking at the sluggish Zhao Guangyi, and thinking about the imperial army that was wasted by him, Zhao Kuangyin is still a little angry:

"If you really have the virtues of Emperor Qin, Han, Wu, Tang, and Taizong, what can't I do with you?"

Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyi suddenly raised his head, and then he met his brother's eyes that were completely devoid of warmth:
"What the world says is true in one word, and you are incompetent."

Zhao Guangyi had already suffered from being scolded by Zhao Guangyi before, but when he heard his brother say that he was incompetent, his blood immediately rushed to his forehead. He wanted to make his brother understand what it meant to be angry, and he was also bloody!

Dragging his broken leg, Zhao Kuangyi roared and rushed towards his brother, hitting his brother's black face with a solid punch.

However, unlike the scene that Zhao Kuangyi expected of his brother falling on his back, suffering severe injuries and shattered teeth, the official Zhao Song who was sitting there remained motionless, with no expression on his face that was pressed against his fist.

Then he watched helplessly as his brother raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, swung his elbow back, and then the fist came towards him like thunder.

Zhao Guangyi felt as if he was spinning around in the air, and his body fell to the ground again as if it was no longer his own. There was a buzzing in his ears, and sweet and fishy blood rushed out from his mouth and nose again.

Then in a daze, I heard my brother's voice as if coming from the clouds:
"My steps are weak, my punches are weak, and I can't even hit people, but I want to lead a military expedition myself?"

After a pause, he could vaguely feel his brother changing direction and asking:
"The King of Jin is causing trouble and intending to assassinate you. Can you see clearly?"

As a result, Zhao Guangyi's head, which had just been filled with hot blood, suddenly felt like ice water showering on his head, and his limbs began to tremble slightly.

Then he couldn't hold it any longer and fainted.

Neither Zhao Kuangyin nor Zhao Pu took King Jin seriously as he lay motionless on the ground.

Zhao Pu even took a pen and paper from the chamberlain and wrote down the names he just heard one by one.

Although these people may not be easy to find, and they may be young in age, they are still good talents who want to take charge of the battle. Even if they cannot be used, they can keep the list in hand so that if they really encounter them, they will not be in a bad mood and miss out on good talents.

And in the final analysis, we already made it clear ten years ago when we decided to prioritize the south and the north. This is a strategy of putting the easy things first and then the hard ones.

Zhao Pu and Zhao Kuangyin both knew the sharpness of the Khitan cavalry and the high city of Taiyuan.

Even if there is an opportunity to change course now, it must be done with extreme caution.

……

In the Manna Hall, Li Shimin spat in the air, and Li Shimin no longer took it to heart.

To be honest, if the heroes of later generations were like Zhu Baba, he would be happy to accept the comments, and then correct his words and deeds based on what they said.

Or even more special, such as the founder of the country in later generations, he would only admit it with a smile. After all, his achievements could be called extraordinary.

But this is Zhao Er and Wanyan Gou? Shaking his head in his heart, he didn't even think about it at all.

Moreover, Li Shimin had a vague guess in his heart that if Zhao Er really resurrected Yan Yun and occupied the Western Region, he might be able to do more than himself.

But then I felt that I was worrying too much and was still trying to figure out what Yanyun was. Don't let Zhao Da beat him to death yet.

However, although Li Shimin no longer cared about it, Yuchi Gong's eldest son, Sun Wuji, and other relatives and ministers were quite unhappy. One by one, they listed the ways in which Zhao Er was not a human son, which instantly made the palace lively.

Even Queen Changsun’s words were spicy:
"He who knows others is wise, and he who knows himself is wise. He who neither knows others nor himself knows is stupid."

But then she thought that this was the emperor of Song Dynasty, and Empress Changsun couldn't help but sigh.

In the end, Li Shimin pressed the matter down with a smile:
"I am indeed not as sincere as Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, so I should take this as an example to encourage myself."

In this regard, no one in the Manlu Hall had any opinions, and everyone praised him for his kindness.

……

When Ma Chao saw someone calling out his cousin in Tang Dynasty, he was surprised but also regretful:
"If I can compete with the Tang Dynasty's famous generals to discuss military matters, drink wine and practice martial arts, it will be a pleasure in life."

Zhang Fei nodded quickly and said:
"What Meng Qi said is exactly what I want."

The eldest brother had previously said that he just wanted to join in the fun and beat Emperor Song. How could that be possible? I, Lao Zhang, also have pursuits.

However, when Zhang Fei said this, both Pang Tong and Jian Yong looked expectant.

If possible, let alone the miraculous future generations, it would be an unimaginable blessing for them to meet and drink with the kings and ministers of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

Otherwise, will there be opportunities to communicate more through text in the future?
(End of this chapter)