Great Han Empire

Chapter 309 The rain is coming
"The most attractive thing to them is the lush grassland in Bianjun." Liu Yu said, "The desert is extremely barren, and it often suffers from drought and snowstorms. Once there is a famine, the Xianbei people's livestock will die in large numbers. People's survival will be seriously threatened, and often this kind of year is also the craziest time for the Xianbei invasion."

"Due to the small population of Border County and the strong counterattack of the Frontier Army, the Xianbei people often retreat in a hurry after plundering, unable to go deep into densely populated and wealthy places, so they very much want to invade Border County, so that once their survival is threatened, they will go It can quickly invade the hinterland of our great Han country."

"Whether it is Tan Shihuai or Murong Feng, they have long coveted our Great Han Border County, but due to the vast border of our Great Han Kingdom and the strength of the country, they have not been able to succeed for more than ten years."

Liu Yu glanced at the emperor, shook his head and sighed: "Since the first year of Zhongping, when the Yellow Turban Ant Rebellion began, the power of the Han Kingdom has declined day by day, and the Xianbei people have started to invade frequently again, and the scale is getting bigger every time. The Xianbei people invaded the previous year. There were only 4 to 6 people in Youzhou, but this year the Xianbei invaded Xiliang with a scale of [-] to [-], and almost the entire army of Xianbei was mobilized, which shows their determination."

"But the Xianbei people were defeated, and those who were beaten by us fled in embarrassment." The emperor smiled, "This is the first time since the Sunset Plains War that we hit the Xianbei people hard. After this battle, the Xianbei people were greatly injured. There is no turning back in ten years. If they want to invade on a large scale, they have to wait until ten years later."

He looked at Lu Zhi and Liu Yu, and said: "The border of northern Xinjiang will be stable for a long time. Although the lovers are very worried about the Xianbei people, I think you are worrying too much. Now the facts are here, the Xianbei people are in Bozhou After Luogu’s disastrous defeat, nearly one hundred thousand troops were lost, their king Helian was also killed, and the strength of Danhanshan royal court was also greatly weakened, what strength do they have to invade the big man?”

"Murong Feng?" The Son of Heaven sneered suddenly, "He has great abilities, but he has no soldiers. What will he use to plot against the border county? What will he use to support the rebels?"

"So don't think about it too much. It's better to solve the problem of reinforcements first. It's best to send troops to the north this month. The sooner the better."

===

Seeing that the emperor didn't understand what they meant, Huangfusong and Lu Zhi became more worried.

There are some things they don't want to say clearly, be careful to annoy the emperor.Now the emperor is in a fit of anger, just now the chief minister Wang Han was sent to Beisi prison by the emperor after he contradicted him a few words, so the two dare not speak directly.They took a look at General He Jin.

The staff of the General’s Mansion are the mainstays of the Han Kingdom. Of course they know what the current border situation is like, but He Jin pretended not to see what he had in mind, and looked down at the map.

Since Situ Xuxiang and Sikong Dinggong are in charge of civil affairs and water and soil affairs, they don't have a detailed understanding of the rebellion that just happened in Youzhou, so one of them stands there thinking hard, and the other is still looking at the documents sent by Youzhou. paperwork.

Taiwei Cui Lie is not familiar with military affairs and has not been granted military affairs authority. Like the two adults Situ Sikong, he is not very clear about what happened in Youzhou.Now standing behind the Son of Heaven, what he was thinking about was not about Youzhou, but how to get Wang Han out of Beisi Prison.He no longer wants military power.There were many wars in Youzhou and Bingzhou. At this time, taking over the military affairs is not asking for trouble. If there is any disturbance, he will be convicted and dismissed immediately.Now even if the emperor returns the military power to him, he will not want it.He had already thought of several excuses, but he was determined not to let the emperor and the people at Shangshutai make trouble.If you lose the battle, it is your emperor's own responsibility, and it has nothing to do with me, the Taiwei.

The two looked at Liu Yu again.Liu Yu understood what they meant, thought for a long time, and asked: "Lord Huangfu, Lord Lu, are you really unable to solve the matter of reinforcements?"

Huangfusong nodded and said, "Two months, at least two months. Lord Liu, think about it, it will take time for His Majesty's imperial edict to reach the counties of Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and Yanzhou, and it will take time for the counties to gather troops and horses to raise food and grass." It takes time to load the luggage, and it takes time to recruit civilians. When these problems are resolved, it has been almost a month. Then it will take another ten or 20 days for the soldiers to travel long distances to Youzhou. In less than two months, these troops will not be able to reach Youzhou at all. State."

"Two months later, the situation may become more serious." Liu Yu said eagerly, "The Northern Army can cross the Yellow River and directly threaten the Yellow Turban Army in Montenegro and Shangdang, and General Li's army currently has 7 people, so it is absolutely possible. Divide it into two, let Zhonglang take Xian Yufu to bring 2 people back to Youzhou to suppress the rebellion, why can't you consider it?"

"The northern army can't move, and I don't want to talk about the reason." Lu Zhi said firmly, "As for General Li's 7 people, it is not credible. I suspect that he is falsely reporting the number of people in order to get more military pay. His soldiers' pay He has never been inferior to the soldiers of the Northern Army, and the number of cavalry is too large, so the military salary given to him by the imperial court must not be enough. To fill this loophole, he only reported the number of people falsely."

"5? Where did he get [-] soldiers? He lost more than [-] people in the Battle of Boluogu. Even if he used Xianbei captives to supplement them, how long would it take for these Xianbei captives to tame? To listen to his command? Knowing that these Xianbei captives do not belong to the Qiang people, nor do they belong to the Karasuma people, nor do they belong to the Xianbei people. They are Xianbei people in the desert, and they are all a bunch of savages. Can you expect them to serve the Han Dynasty like Fengyun cavalry? ?”

Liu Yu's expression was gloomy, and his thin face looked distressed.

"The people in Youzhou are really miserable."

"Lord Liu, if the suffering of the people in Youzhou can be solved, then the continuous disasters in our Great Han Kingdom will also be solved." Lu Zhi said with a pun.

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Liu Yu hesitated for a long time, then suddenly knelt down in front of the emperor, and said firmly, "Your Majesty, I want to go to Youzhou."

The emperor was stunned, and smiled: "Aiqing, get up, get up, I won't allow you to leave Luoyang."

"Your Majesty, I'm going to Youzhou. Before I leave, I have something to say."

"Aiqing can speak up when she has something to say. Whether to go to Youzhou or not is another matter. Aiqing gets up first."

Liu Yu got up, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, although we won the battle of Western Frontiers, we were the ones who really lost."

The emperor's face immediately sank.

"Your Majesty, the three frontier states of Xiliang, Bingzhou, and Youzhou are now raging with war. They all seem to be rebellious, but in fact these rebellions have a lot to do with the invasion of the Xianbei people."

"As early as last winter, the Xianbei people sent troops to the border, but they did not launch an attack for a long time. Why didn't the Xianbei people start attacking in winter, but they had to wait until March this spring?" Liu Yu looked at the emperor and said slowly, "Now It seems that Murong Feng manipulated this matter behind the scenes, both He Lian and us have been fooled by Murong Feng."

"What does the Xianbei's attack in March have to do with Murong Feng? What does it have to do with the Bianjun rebellion?" The emperor asked strangely, "Does Aiqing want to say that the Youzhou rebellion was instigated by Murong Feng?"

"Although we don't know if he ordered it, he must have participated in Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun's rebellion." Liu Yu said with certainty, "Why did the Xianbei people wait until March to start the attack? It was nothing more than waiting for the remnants of the Yellow Turbans to do a good job." Preparations for rebellion."

"The direct reason why the Xianbei's offensive has not started is because Murong Feng, who acted as a decoy, has never launched an attack on Youzhou. Only when he attacked first, could it be possible to induce us to transfer General Li's army to northern Xinjiang After Murong Feng led his troops to invade Youzhou, the offensive of the Xianbei began in full swing, but why did Murong Feng choose to attack Youzhou in February? I think that at that time, Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun had already made all preparations for the rebellion.”

"The Xianbei people's all-out attack, the ant thief leader Zhang Yan attacked Taiyuan, the Black Mountain ant thief Yang Feng attacked Shangdang, and Bai Rao Yudu attacked Hanoi in Jizhou. All these wars were to effectively contain our troops and help Zhang Ju Zhang The pure and smooth rebellion will give them enough time to claim the emperor and build a country."

"The ant thieves have learned the lessons from the failures of the previous rebellions, and even proclaimed the emperor and established a country. They probably thought that they would get more support. In short, the rebellion of the yellow turban ant thieves is better than before. From the current point of view, It will take a long time to destroy Pingding, because we have neither enough money nor enough troops." Liu Yu sighed, "Your Majesty, for this Western Xinjiang War, we have spent all the money in the treasury. Money, lost tens of thousands of troops, we are no longer able to go out to fight against the rebellion, and at present we are unable to sustain the expenditure of maintaining General Li's army."

"Your Majesty, if the matter of countering the rebellion is delayed from this year to next year, just imagine, my Han Kingdom..."

"Don't talk about Aiqing, I understand what you mean." The emperor interrupted Liu Yu with a wave of his hand, and said angrily, "The rebellious ant thief and the Xianbei people colluded with each other and messed up my man. They should be cut to pieces."

"What is Murong Feng's purpose in helping Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun rebel? It is nothing more than the hope that we and the rebels will fight each other, and the country will be discolored, and the poor and the people will be weak. In the end, the Xianbei people will profit from it, and they can occupy the frontier effortlessly and easily." County, seize our land and kill our people." Liu Yu said painfully, "Your Majesty, we won the battle of Western Frontier, but in fact, we lost."

The emperor smiled dejectedly, looked up and was speechless.

===

"Master Liu, we wiped out nearly one hundred thousand troops of the Xianbei people in the battle of Western Borders. This is a fact." Xiao Huangmen Jianshuo hesitated for a moment, and asked in a low voice, "Even if it is difficult for us to recover in a short period of time after we put down the rebellion, But do they still have the strength to invade?"

"Lord Jian, He Lian was also fooled by Murong Feng, but he was miserable. After the defeat, he failed to escape back to Danhan Mountain and was killed by two of our border residents." Liu Yu explained, "The Battle of Western Frontiers It seems that although the Xianbei people have suffered huge losses, but after careful analysis, we can easily find that this post-war result is exactly what Murong Feng needs."

"Of the 10 Xianbei people who died, the [-] troops of Danhanshan Royal Court were completely wiped out. How much strength is left in Danhanshan? How much weight does the words of the Xianbei king have? Isn't this exactly Murongfeng, Tuobafeng and others? Is the result that the four Xianbei masters need? Only when Danhanshan loses its strength, their power will grow. Now that He Lian is dead, the new king is weak, and the four Xianbei masters can do whatever they want, which is just right for them wishes."

"The Wild Wind Tribe and Wild Wolf Tribe in the Western Xianbei lost about 3 people. The Western Xianbei has always been the largest force on the grasslands. The loss of 3 people this time is only good for Murong Feng. Don't think that the Western Xianbei lost 3 people. It has fallen, and it is still the most extensive and powerful force in the Xianbei Kingdom."

"The Tuoba tribe in Xianbei in the north has lost about 2 people. Tuobafeng's strength has increased dramatically in the past two years. I heard that he is very ambitious and wants to dominate the prairie. He is deeply tabooed by other tribes in Xianbei, so the greater his loss , the happier Murong Feng is, but the loss of 2 people is still tolerable for Tuoba Feng, the strength in his hands is still very strong, no worse than Murong Feng."

"There are still more than 1 people from the Tujia ethnic group of the Xiongnu and the Eastern Qiang. These more than 1 people died. There is no loss for Xianbei, but it is of no benefit to us. The Eastern Qiang Anyway, we haven’t stopped harassing Xiliang, so we can ignore it, but we can’t ignore the consequences of the 7 dead soldiers of Tu various ethnic groups and Mu Gaiting, the king of Jiuyuan Banner. Among the Southern Huns, Tu various ethnic groups It is a large clan, with about 1 to [-] people. Their leader, the Tiger King, has always had a bad relationship with Da Shanyu Qiangqu, and has repeatedly conspired to rebel. This time we killed [-] of them, and also slaughtered Tiger King’s son Brother, you don’t even need to ask what the consequences will be. So we have repeatedly warned Zhang Nan, the Hun Zhonglang, to be careful, in case the Tu clans rebel and cause trouble.”

"Think about it, everyone. Has Master Xianbei Murongfeng lost strength in the central region? No. Has Lord Mimi lost strength in the eastern Xianbei? Not at all. Although the western and northern Xianbei have suffered losses, they still have enough strength to invade Border Commandery. Therefore, His Majesty said that the border can be kept safe for ten years after the Battle of Western Frontier, and I think..."

Liu Yu didn't continue, everyone understood what that meant.

=====

With his hands behind his back and his head bowed, the Son of Heaven walked back and forth in the Shang's study.

"Is Murong Feng so powerful? He has arranged things for a few years now?"

"Your Majesty, anyone who has been in the northern border knows his name. The main culprit in the defeat of the army in the setting sun was Murong Feng, who gave advice. The main reason for the defeat of the Xianbei people in the western border It's just that Murong Feng was slow and failed to induce us to recruit General Li's army to the Youzhou battlefield. I think that Murong Feng has fought for decades, and it is impossible for him to make such a stupid mistake. He did it clearly. It is deliberately framing Helian and other Xianbei tribes, and its purpose is to attack Danhanshan and other forces, and prepare for their own dominance of the grasslands and occupation of our frontier states and counties."

"For his own purpose, he ruined the lives of more than 8 soldiers of the Xianbei Kingdom. This person is too terrible." The emperor glanced at the ministers and asked, "Do you think Master Liu's words are credible?"

"Master Liu hates Murong Feng too much, so he described the facts after the war as Murong Feng's conspiracy." Huangfusong laughed, "Actually, I think that Murong Feng's whole plan is basically the same as what Master Liu said. , but the fiasco in Xijiang was definitely not what he expected. In Murongfeng's view, even if the Xianbei cannot defeat us, it is more than enough to retreat calmly, but he, like us, did not expect General Li to win in one battle."

The emperor nodded, looked at Liu Yu and asked: "Aiqing said so much, what do you want to tell me? Even though Murongfeng's thoughts are exactly the same as what Aiqing said, in the end we still need to try our best to put down the rebels, go Recruit troops to guard the border, otherwise, what can we do if we know?"

At this time, the ministers in the Shangshu room understood what Liu Yu said so much and what was the ultimate purpose of going around such a big circle. Everyone looked at Liu Yu carefully.

Liu Yu bowed and said: "Your Majesty, what do you need to put down the rebel army? What do you need to recruit troops to form an army? Your Majesty, this world belongs to His Majesty, this country belongs to His Majesty's country, and the wealth of this world is also His Majesty's wealth..."

"shut up……"

The emperor immediately understood what Liu Yu meant. He stared at his small eyes, pointed at the ministers angrily and said, "You guys keep your eyes on my Wanjintang all day long. Has the safety of the Great Han State endangered the country of the Great Han State?"

"Scaremongering, what do you want to do? Do you want to gnaw all my bones off?"

"Your Majesty..." Seeing the emperor's fury, all the officials were astonished and fell to their knees.

"Your Majesty, in Yongchu Middle School, the Qiangs rebelled. It lasted 14 years and cost 240 billion yuan in military resources. The Qiang rebellion and the robbery of Sanfu cost another 60 billion yuan to quell the rebellion; from the first year of Zhongping to the present, a total of 130 billion yuan was spent to quell the invasion of the Hu tribe and the rebellion of the ant thief in Xiliang." Liu Yu bowed repeatedly, He said loudly, "Your Majesty, the country of Han is able to maintain the peace of the year, and it is all spent on money. If there is no money, how can we protect the country and society of Your Majesty?"

"I have no money."

"Your Majesty..." Liu Yu burst into tears, "At this moment when the country is in crisis, why is Your Majesty still so stingy with money?"

"I said, I have no money. You say I have money, then tell me, how much money do I have? Do you have evidence?" The emperor was furious, pointing at Liu Yu and shouted.

"In recent years, in order to raise military funds, Your Majesty has repeatedly reduced the salaries of bureaucrats below the ministers, asked for half-rents from princes, and sold various civil and military officials such as ministers, Guanneihou, Huben, Yulin, Tiqi campers, and five doctors. A total of 260 80 million yuan, while the Dasinong Mansion only received 180 billion yuan, and the remaining [-] billion yuan went to Wanjintang.”

"For the sake of the future generations of our Great Han Kingdom, I implore Your Majesty to use the money from Wanjintang to supplement military resources."

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(End of this chapter)