The world of counterfeit magistrates competes in the world

Chapter 253 Formulation of the Northern Expedition Strategy
At the court meeting for several consecutive days, the ministers had a fierce confrontation over the candidates for the commander of the Northern Expedition.The prime minister's party headed by Cao Ji strived to appoint Cao Ziyan as the coach of the Northern Expedition, while the royalist party headed by Zhao Ming and Tang Tianhao insisted on appointing a prestigious and prudent general as the coach. In their list, Leizhou Defense Envoy Feng Chongyi, Dingxi Army Murong Jing was within their consideration.

However, the prime minister's party refuted this one by one. Leizhou is the western barrier against Tianyun Kingdom. Feng Chongyi has guarded Leizhou for many years and cannot be dispatched at will.Otherwise, once Tianyun Kingdom learns that Feng Chongyi has been transferred from Leizhou, it is very likely that they will attack again.The Dingxi Army has just recovered Shazhou, and its strength has been greatly damaged.What's more, the Murong family has guarded Shazhou for generations, listening to the tune but not the announcement, just like the king of Shazhou.Even if the imperial court makes an order, I am afraid that Murong Jing will not leave his lair easily. If so, what face will the imperial court have?

Just when everyone was trying their best to fight for power, Tang Tianhao stood up and said: "Your Majesty, my lords. I have a military strategy, which may solve the current deadlock. I hope the emperor and your lords can think about it."

"Oh? What clever plan does the Protector of the Country have? Tell me quickly?" Gao Yu was shocked when he heard the words, and said joyfully.

Cao Ji's face darkened, he looked at Tang Tianhao vigilantly, and forced a smile, "What's the old general's trick, let's hear it."

"Your Majesty, my lords. In the past few days, this old man has been reading the information of the Northern Qunni. Unexpectedly, after seeing this, the old man broke into a cold sweat. We completely underestimated the strength of the Northern Qunni. "Tang Tianhao stood in the middle, looking around at the crowd, with an unusually dignified expression," According to the information collected by the old man, among the rebels in the north, several forces have grown in strength."

"For example, Qi Rui, the former guard of Qianren Pass in Yanzhou, originally had tens of thousands of elite soldiers under his command. Now that he has occupied more than half of Yanzhou, his strength has greatly increased. His strength is no less than one hundred thousand. It can be said that he is It is the most powerful force among the rebels in the north." Tang Tianhao showed a trace of fear in his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Yang Mingyuan of Mingzhou started his business by resisting the Golden Werewolf, and has the most prestigious reputation in Mingzhou. He is extremely brave and well-versed in military strategy. Now he occupies several counties in the central part of Mingzhou, and has as many as [-] to [-] soldiers under his command, which is the strongest in Mingzhou."

Hearing this, everyone's expressions turned solemn, and they all nodded in agreement with Tang Tianhao's statement.

Tang Tianhao didn't care about everyone's reactions, but his face became more and more serious, "Then there is the land of Anzhou, and now it is a battle between the two powers. The south of it is controlled by the Li family, a wealthy family who previously relied on the Golden Werewolves. There are already hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, but most of them are mobs, so there is nothing to fear. The only thing to worry about is that there are thousands of cavalry under him.

"Hmph, the Li family in Anzhou, who took refuge in the Golden Werewolf and slaughtered my people in the Central Plains, is especially hateful." Zhao Ming snorted coldly, with an angry look on his face, "This time the Northern Expedition must uproot the Li family and kill them all. Only then can we comfort the souls of the people in Anzhou who were massacred in heaven.”

"What Mr. Zhao said is very true. This old man also hates people who defect to the enemy and traitor the country the most, especially the Golden Werewolf." Tang Tianhao's eyes flashed with murderous intent, his face was dark, and he took a breath before continuing, "The last is that It is said that the owner of the Hengshan faction is the number one scholar in our dynasty. From a mere county, he has become one of the major forces in the northern border. But there are no less than [-] soldiers and horses, and the most shocking thing is that all of them are cavalry. If you give him a little more time, I am afraid that this son will be able to lead [-] cavalry southward like the golden werewolf. At that time, the northern border of the empire will probably be lost. Therefore, the old man thinks that this son is the biggest enemy of our dynasty, and he must be eliminated as soon as possible, otherwise he will become a plague."

"Old General Tang said well, and his analysis is very thorough." Cao Ji stood up and said sincerely, "I don't know how Old General Tang thinks, how can we wipe out so many powerful enemies in this Northern Expedition?"

"Master Cao is right, how should we defeat these powerful enemies?" Tang Tianhao smiled and said confidently, "Your Majesty, my lords, after much deliberation, I feel that we can only rely on force to pacify the north. It doesn't make sense. If we insist on exterminating the rebels, the rebels will be forced to unite. At that time, what we will face will not be an enemy with tens of thousands of troops, but an army of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands. If The imperial court has only tens of thousands of soldiers, if the loss is too great in the north, then what do we have to deter the states and counties of the empire?"

When everyone heard the words, they couldn't help but nodded in agreement.Gao Yu's face also changed slightly, and he asked quickly: "Then, according to the intention of Duke Hu, what should the court do?"

"Your Majesty, this veteran feels that this Northern Expedition should be carried out in two ways. On the one hand, we should use gentle methods to appease the forces that do not threaten the imperial court. On the other hand, we should use all our strength to deal with the other forces. In this way, the rebels in the north will be divided. Disintegrated, there is no longer the ability to fight against the imperial court. When the imperial court's strength is restored, whether to suppress or appease, it is all on the emperor's mind."

"Okay, Lord Protector's plan is very clever, dear friends, what do you think?" Gao Yu repeatedly applauded, full of admiration.

All the ministers looked at each other, not knowing how to make a decision, they all looked at Cao Ji from the corner of their eyes, wanting to see his attitude.

Cao Ji's face was calm, and when he saw the emperor's question, he strode forward and said with a smile: "Old General Tang's plan is brilliant, and the old minister thinks it is feasible."

After receiving Prime Minister Cao's reminder, all the ministers came out one after another and agreed with Tang Tianhao's strategy.This made Gao Yu angry and annoyed. Seeing Cao Ji agreeing so easily, he felt a little worried. Did he fall into the trap of Cao thief again?But the thought of the northern group occupying the northern border against them is like being stabbed by needles, which makes people terrified.With the enemy at hand, it is better to pacify the north first, and then fight for power with the Cao bandits. "Since this is the case, the strategy of the Northern Expedition will be carried out according to what the Protector of the Kingdom said. How do you think the strategy of differentiation should be adopted?"

With Tang Tianhao's strategy of division, all the ministers are veterans in the officialdom, and they are proficient in this kind of political tricks, so they started to speak enthusiastically and freely.In the end, a consensus was reached that the rebels in the north would be divided into two parts. Among them, Qi Rui of Yanzhou could be wooed, temporarily appointed as Yanzhou Jiedushi, and fully responsible for the military and political power in the area under his control.Secondly, Zhao'an Mingzhou other forces except Yang Mingyuan gave him a position of power and made him seek refuge in the imperial court.Then they dispatched heavy troops to deal with Yang Mingyuan in Mingzhou and the Li family forces and Hengshan forces in Anzhou.

For this Northern Expedition, Cao Ziyan will lead an army of [-] troops to Anzhou to wipe out the forces of the Li Family and Hengshan in one fell swoop. At that time, the imperial court will order the Dingxi Army to gather troops and threaten the rear flanks of the two forces, making them unable to fully deal with the imperial court. crusade against the army.I believe that as long as Murong Jing is not asked to send troops, the Dingxi Army is still willing to obey the imperial court's orders.

As for the land of Mingzhou, Hou Mingfeng, the beloved general of Old General Tang, will serve as the deputy commander, leading [-] soldiers and horses to conquer Yang Mingyuan.As long as the forces in various parts of Mingzhou are successfully recruited, he can be completely surrounded.At that time, the [-] imperial court soldiers and horses, together with Zhao'an soldiers and horses, will have enough strength to suppress Yang Mingyuan. Even if it cannot be wiped out for a while, but only when Anzhou is completely pacified, the two armies will be able to join forces and quell the rest of Mingzhou in one fell swoop. .

After such a distribution, the two factions finally agreed reluctantly.

Next, the imperial court immediately began to reorganize its armaments and recruit new soldiers to prepare for the Northern Expedition after the autumn harvest.And the secret spies of the major forces hiding in the capital quickly got the news that the imperial court was about to make a northern expedition. Fast horses hurried northward, and the war was coming!
(End of this chapter)