My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 254 Your Majesty, please look carefully!
The breath of winter in November arrives quietly with the first snow that comes and goes quickly, leaving only a thin layer of silver crystals on the ground.

In the main hall of Xuanshi in Weiyang Palace, Liu Rong stood with his hands behind his back between the imperial couch and the imperial desk, looking out of the hall door, where the stone bricks had been "cleaned" with the footprints of ministers and officials.

——It’s snowing in Chang’an.

It will only get colder in the North.

Especially in the north, it can only be colder than Chang'an.

In previous years, at this point in time, the Chang'an court would at most pay attention to the winter training in local counties.

That is to say, in recent years, there has been an increase in the replanting of winter wheat, which requires symbolic attention from the court.

But this winter, the court was unusually busy.

The reason is nothing more than the war in the north...

"Start your Majesty."

"On the 29th day of the 10th month in the first year of your majesty's reign, the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu, Luandi Yizhixie, led three cavalrymen of the Right Wise King's own tribe, totaling 24,000 cavalrymen, and joined forces with the Nanzhelan, Baiyang, Loufan and other tribes, totaling 48,000 cavalrymen - a total of 72,000 elite cavalrymen, to Chaona Pass!"

"——In the first battle, the Loufan tribe's archers controlled the enemy's bows and arrows, while the Zhelan tribe's vanguard climbed the city walls and used their swords to attack;"

"Beidi County Governor Cheng Buzhi led 10,000 soldiers to meet the enemy and barely repelled the barbarians who attacked the border."

"But the barbarians are coming with great force and their troops are at their peak!"

"It's very dangerous!"

On the tenth day of the eleventh month of winter, there is a regular court session.

The court meeting had just begun when Prime Minister Liu She's report filled the entire Xuanshi Hall with a heavy feeling.

The person who was born right after Liu She was Shaofu Shi Fen.

"Your Majesty."

"The 30,000 winter clothes and thick mattresses allocated by the Ministry of Finance have been transported to Xiaoguan and handed over to General Li Ji."

"According to the report from Li's cavalry, this batch of winter clothes and thick mattresses will be transported to Chaona Pass by the 10,000 reinforcements dispatched by the cavalry army."

After Shi Fen, no one else stood up in the hall. There was only a burst of noisy whispering and conversation, which made people feel inexplicably irritated.

On the imperial couch, Liu Rong stood still as a mountain, just glancing indifferently across the hall, as if waiting for the next person to stand up.

The Right Wise King's main force consists of three 10,000 cavalrymen, each with 8,000 soldiers.

There are eight tribes in the south of Mu, each with a full complement of 6,000 cavalry.

Just with these, the number of Hun troops invading the north this time has reached 72,000!

Combined with the current season, it is almost certain that Shan Yu Ting will hibernate in Hetao, so it is not difficult to judge that the attack by Right Wise King Yizhixie must be backed by Shan Yu Ting!
Unlike the Chanyu Ting headquarters, which boasted "10,000 cavalrymen", the Right Wise King headquarters and the Munan tribes could only command 8,000 or 6,000 soldiers respectively;

——The Chanyu Ting headquarters has 80,000 cavalrymen directly under its command, which means a total of 80,000 troops!

In addition, when Chanyu Tingnan returned to Hetao for the winter, he would definitely bring a considerable number of Munan tribes with him. Although they were all non-affiliated tribes with only 6,000 soldiers per 10,000 cavalry, they basically had 20,000 cavalry per tribe, totaling 12,000 soldiers.

The dozen or so tribes together have more than 100,000 troops.

All in all, the number of troops that the Huns can deploy into battle in a short period of time will reach nearly 300,000!

These 300,000 troops are far from the 300,000 rebel main forces that King Liu Bi of Wu and King Liu Wu of Chu gathered by mobilizing all the people of Wu and Chu three years ago.

——Each of these 300,000 people is the head or patriarch of a small tribe based on the family unit on the grassland!
On weekdays, these 300,000 people did not engage in production, leaving the production activities such as raising livestock, refining cheese, and nitrifying furs to the elders, daughters, and slaves in the tribe.

He only needs to lead the male offspring, whether out hunting or sparring, to hone their combat skills.

Then he would eat and drink his fill, beat his wife and daughter, ride horses, shoot arrows, and sleep with his beloved...

According to the standards of the Han Dynasty: the identity and status of these 300,000 Xiongnu cavalry on the grassland are equivalent to those of good families of the Han Dynasty.

Three hundred thousand good family boys who are well fed, warmly clothed, and have not been engaged in production since childhood, but have been honing their fighting skills since birth!
The court in Chang'an could not fail to understand what this concept was.

It was no wonder that during today's court meeting, Cheng Buzhi was merely defeated in the first battle against the enemy - and even had a little difficulty in repelling the enemy, which had already caused an inexplicable anxiety inside and outside the court.

"Cheng Buzhi's troops are stationed at Chaonasai, guarding the country's borders."

"Although the first battle was not a victory, we did repel the fierce attack of 70,000 Hu cavalrymen from the Right Xian King's army."

"--Even if it's a bit difficult, it's not to the point where we're in imminent danger, right?"

"Besides, Li Ji's 10,000 reinforcements should be arriving soon, right?"

After seeing Liu She and Shi Fen, no one else stood up. Liu Rong had an idea and immediately decided to add fuel to the fire.

It was just as Liu Rong expected: as soon as these words came out, several figures rushed out of the class and fell to their knees.

"His Majesty!"

"There are less than 10,000 soldiers defending the fort!"

"Among them, there are only 4,000 regular soldiers. The rest are new soldiers who were temporarily recruited by Chengbei but have never fought in battle!"

"——With so many people, it's probably not an exaggeration to call them a mob!"

"There are only 10,000 people in the frontier, but outside the frontier are 70,000 elite cavalrymen from the Right Wise King's army!"

"How can it not be called 'precarious' when it comes to Chaona Pass?"

As soon as one person finished speaking, another person immediately followed up: "Your Majesty, think about it."

"——In the fourteenth year of Emperor Taizong's reign, Sun Mao, the commander of the Northern Land Army, led 5,000 soldiers and only defended Chaona Pass for three to five days. In the end, the entire army was wiped out and no one survived."

"Now, Cheng Beidi has only 4,000 regular soldiers under his command, which is 1,000 less than what Sun Maosun Duwei had back then..."

As he spoke, the man who had spoken raised his hand tremblingly, wiped his eyes with his sleeves, and began to sob.

But no one knew whether he was crying for Sun Mao and the heroes under his command who sacrificed their lives for their country, or for the unfavorable situation in the battle at the border wall.

Liu Rong did not rush to speak, but instead glanced at everyone in the hall again, wanting to see if anyone else would stand up.

After waiting for a long time, Liu Rong still didn't see anyone else. He sighed with a hint of regret.

Then, he slowly stood up from the imperial couch and looked indifferently towards the center of the hall, where several figures were kneeling on the ground.

"If I remember correctly, Dian Shuguo was originally from Yiqu, right?"

"——During the reign of Emperor Taizong, he surrendered to our Han family, and he was also a Yiqu noble?"

Liu Rong spoke slowly, and a figure among the kneeling crowd stepped forward and bowed to Liu Rong again.

Liu Rong did not stop there, but recalled: "Gongsun Hunxie was a native of Yiqiu in the north, and a noble of the Hunxie tribe of the Xiongnu."

"In the ninth year of Emperor Taizong's reign, he was suppressed by his clan elders, so he led his tribe to submit to the Han Dynasty. Emperor Taizong gave him the surname Gongsun and named his tribe Hunxie."

"He was the Prince's attendant. After Emperor Taizong's death, Emperor Xiaojing appointed him as the Minister of State, under the Minister of Guests, with a rank of 2,000 stones;" "--In the fourth year of Emperor Xiaojing's reign, he followed the Grand Commandant Zhou Yafu to suppress the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu, and was awarded the title of Marquis of Pingqu, with a fief of 3,220 households."

"Last spring, the officials proposed to appoint him as the governor of Longyou County, but the regent prince rejected it, so he remained as the governor of a vassal state..."

As he spoke, Liu Rong looked at Gongsun Hunxie with a dark gaze, and said with disappointment: "Do you know why I, as the Crown Prince Regent, rejected your proposal to be the governor of Longyou County?"

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Hunxie lowered his head with guilt even though he didn't know how he had offended Liu Rong.

After a long silence, he whispered, "It's because I, Gongsun He, was your Majesty's prince's attendant at that time."

"Your Majesty is worried that if I am transferred away from the capital, I will become unruly and disgraceful, which will ruin my family and my future..."

Liu Rong then sat back on the imperial couch, shaking his head and sighing, looking at Gongsun Hunxie with disappointment.

"You still know that your son was my former prince's attendant..."

After saying that, Liu Rong grabbed a scroll of bamboo slips in front of him and immediately started reading through them as if no one was around.

But it was a tough situation for everyone in the hall. They were completely confused by the scene before them and looked around for clues, but they couldn't figure it out.

——What’s going on?
Didn’t Gongsun Hunxie tell you the actual battle situation at the border wall?
How did it get to the point of whether or not you are doing the right thing for Liu Rong?

There is also Gongsun Hunxie's son Gongsun He, who also made great contributions to the pacification of Wu and Chu. He was once the prince's attendant of Liu Rong, and now he has been promoted to the rank of Tiger Guard Commander!

Even though that Tiger Guard Captain was still just a few thousand untrained child soldiers, they were still Liu Rong's real personal troops!
Even for the sake of his own personal army commander, Gongsun He, Liu Rong should not have expressed his disappointment with Gongsun Hunxie so obviously in front of all the ministers in the court, right?
Just when everyone was puzzled, Liu Rong on the imperial couch finally put down the bamboo slips in his hand and turned his gaze to the second person who stood up and reported to Liu Rong that "the border wall is in danger".

"My guest~"

"Hey;"

"Diankeshuya, what's going on?"

"First, it was a vassal state under the jurisdiction of Dian Ke - a Yiqu people;"

"Is this another real Han Chinese, one of the Nine Ministers of the court?"

After saying these words intriguingly and glancing lightly at Gongsun Hunxie who was already kneeling on the ground and kowtowing, Liu Rong once again looked at the figure who seemed to be righteous but in fact had mixed feelings.

"Tell me about it~"

"According to Dian Ke's opinion, the court is now in a precarious situation. What should I do?"

Liu Rong's question was full of sarcasm, but Dianke Wang Hui looked righteous, as if his next words would be the only bright future for the Han family!
Liu Rong heard that the Han family could still survive;
However, if Liu Rong does not listen, the Han Dynasty will surely be overthrown and the country will no longer be a country.

"Your Majesty!"

"——In my opinion, Li Ji, the Marquis of Quzhou, is lacking in moral character and is unworthy of the responsibility of being a General of Chariots and Cavalry!"

Wow! ! !
As soon as Wang Hui said this, everyone in the hall was in an uproar!

——Change generals before the battle!
No matter which dynasty or generation, this is a taboo!

Especially after the Battle of Changping between Qin and Zhao a hundred years ago, when Zhao State set an extreme negative example by exchanging Zhao Kuo for Lian Po, this iron rule has become a principle engraved deep in the soul of every "military expert".

Changing generals in the middle of a battle is tantamount to seeking self-destruction!

No matter how unfavorable the war situation is, you must never change your generals in the middle of a battle!
Because Zhao Kuo, who was good at talking about military affairs on paper, was by no means the lower limit of changing generals before a battle, but the upper limit!

In medium to large-scale battles involving large military groups and large clusters, the main general who was temporarily replaced could only be worse than Zhao Kuo, and could never do better than Zhao Kuo!
And today, Wang Hui, as one of the Nine Ministers, told Liu Rongjin that "Li Ji is not fit to be the General of Chariots and Cavalry", and it was obvious that he was proposing a replacement!

Especially the basis for Wang Hui's argument made everyone in the hall smell a strong smell of conspiracy...

"During the reign of Emperor Taizong, Zhang Cang, Marquis of Beiping, was dismissed from his position as prime minister. Everyone in and outside the court thought that Li Ji, a founding hero, could be prime minister!"

"But at that time, Emperor Taizong said: If Li Ji, who sells out his friends for fame, becomes prime minister, I am afraid that everyone in the world will follow his example, and the morals of the world will go downhill, and the country will no longer be a country."

"——Li Ji's reputation of selling out his friends for fame and fortune made even a saintly ruler like Emperor Taizong not dare to appoint him as prime minister;"

"Your Majesty, what virtue and ability do you have to appoint a man that even Emperor Taizong did not dare to employ as the commander-in-chief of the army and the general of chariots and cavalry of our Han family?"

The fierce words left everyone in the hall dumbfounded, and they were all confused again.

——What does Wang Hui want to do?
Haven't you heard that Dian Ke Wang Hui had a grudge against Quzhou Hou Li Ji?

But on the imperial couch, Liu Rong still looked calm and composed. He was not angry about Wang Hui's implicit suggestion of "changing generals", nor was he ashamed by Wang Hui's evaluation that he was "not as good as Emperor Taizong".

He sat calmly on the imperial couch, picked up the bamboo slips in front of him again, and while reading them, he said casually, "What the guest said may not be without reason."

"But I don't know who in my Han family can replace Qu Zhouhou as the commander of the army and the general of chariots and cavalry?"

When Liu Rong said the above sentence, everyone in the hall was shocked!
Prime Minister Liu She, Imperial Censor Cen Mai and others immediately made plans to advise Liu Rong, and were determined to stop Liu Rong from changing commanders at the critical moment!
After Liu Rong asked the following question, everyone felt relieved.

——From the looks of it, Liu Rong was obviously trying to trick Wang Hui.

Combined with Liu Rong's usual image, it is highly likely that he wants to find out Wang Hui's background first and then take action.

It’s a pity that Wang Hui didn’t realize this at the moment.

Seeing that Liu Rong had walked into his language trap so smoothly, and even agreed with him that "what he said makes sense", Wang Hui immediately felt relieved and felt that most of the mission was accomplished.

When Liu Rong asked about the replacement again, although Wang Hui was not prepared, he quickly came up with a candidate.

"I think that the former general and the crown prince's tutor, Weiqi Marquis Dou Ying, can replace Quzhou Marquis."

This sentence is the most peaceful and calm statement Wang Hui made today.

After Wang Hui said this, the huge Xuanshi Hall fell into a very long silence.

Dou Ying, Marquis of Weiqi?
Doesn't that mean he has contracted a strange disease causing hand tremors and can no longer lead troops?
Did Wang Hui have his forehead hit by the door, so he replaced Li Ji on the grounds of "lack of moral character", but replaced him with Dou Ying who couldn't even ride a horse?

Most people who think of this level are small shrimps with a salary of around 1,000 koku, and they only see the surface level.
As for the deeper level...

"Wang Hui!"

"How dare you bully me like this?!"

The long silence was broken by an extremely shrill roar from Gongsun Hunxie. Everyone in the hall immediately focused their attention and looked towards the center of the hall, where Gongsun Hunxie was pointing angrily at Wang Hui.

However, Gongsun Hunxie kept on talking foul language, which made Wang Hui's face turn red and his neck became thick. Before Wang Hui could open his mouth to fight back, Gongsun Hunxie turned around again and knelt down and kowtowed to Liu Rong.

"His Majesty!"

"My lord, I am guilty!"

"——I should not have been deceived by Wang Hui!"

"But I have no idea about Wang Hui's petty schemes, and I have never been involved in them!"

"Your Majesty is very clear-sighted. I beg Your Majesty to look into this matter carefully!!!"

(End of this chapter)