Tibet

The death of the Emperor was undoubtedly the heaviest impact on Li Heng since the Wei Jian case in the fifth year of Tianbao, even more than the death of the prince. The death of his father made him heartbroken and he was immersed in great sorrow for several days. .

But grief was grief, and Li Heng still had to work hard to face the two major problems in front of him. One was the problem of the emperor's younger brother, and the second was the ownership of Bashu.

When dealing with the issue of the crown prince, Li Heng did not hesitate at all. He did not hesitate to issue an order to abolish the crown prince and prepare to re-establish the crown prince. The crown prince was originally a ridiculous decision. The reason why the courtiers tolerated it was because it was a temporary decision. , so when it comes to abolishing the crown prince, the courtier group and the power eunuch group both have a surprisingly tacit understanding and a high degree of cooperation.

The ownership of Bashu also means sending troops to eradicate Li Lin, but this is by no means as simple as sending troops to annihilate a separatist army. Li Lin still has nearly 100,000 troops, and the territory is vast. It cannot be wiped out by sending an army of 20,000 to 30,000 people.

Li Heng knew very well that he would have to send at least 100,000 troops, and prepare food, grass, and military supplies for at least two or three months. But if this happened, would Helong take the opportunity to send troops to annihilate Li Lin and occupy the territory? Bashu.

If Li Ye only sent troops to help annihilate Li Lin and did not occupy Bashu, Li Heng would certainly be willing to do so. Even if Li Ye was given some more powers, such as increasing his title rights and allowing him to be granted the title of Duke, Li Heng would be willing.

But will Li Ye honestly withdraw his troops from Bashu and hand over Bashu to himself?

Li Heng knew very well that Li Ye would never return Bashu to him, so Li Heng wanted to invade Bashu before Li Ye, especially the other six jade seals of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, which must not fall into Li Ye's hands.

At this time, Yu Chaoen suggested: "Your Majesty, we can first send an army to Lizhou to strengthen the defense of various passes in Lizhou. We can even seize Jianmen Pass first and not rush to attack Chengdu until the war preparations are completed. Then attack Li Lin's army across the board, so that we can not only have time to prepare for war, but also prevent Li Ye's army from taking the opportunity to move south."

Li Heng walked a few steps with his hands behind his back: "Although Yu Aiqing's plan is good, it can only solve the problem of Hanzhong Road. What about the Three Gorges Road? Lei Wanchun's army can also invade Bashu from the Three Gorges Road."

Li Fuguo said next to him: "Your Majesty, Lei Wanchun is not strong enough to deal with Li Lin's army!"

Yu Chaoen also said: "Your Majesty can order Liang Chongyi to lead the army south to contain Lei Wanchun. Once Lei Wanchun makes any changes, order Liang Chongyi to capture Xiazhou at all costs, capture Yiling County, and prevent Lei Wanchun's army from entering the Three Gorges road."

Li Heng nodded, "Then who is the better general for me to send?"

Yu Chao'en said: "His Majesty's ministers suggest that King Zhao be the commander-in-chief of the Southern Expedition. Once he kills Li Lin and welcomes back the spirit of the Supreme Emperor, his prestige will surely rise, and your Majesty can naturally make him the crown prince."

Li Fuguo was immediately very dissatisfied. They had not yet formally agreed on who would be the crown prince. How could Yu Chaoen give the opportunity to King Zhao without authorization?

He hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, King Zhao may be lacking in leadership. I suggest that we send Guo Ziyi or Li Guangbi to lead the army to march south."

Li Heng waved his hand, "King Zhao is only the nominal commander. I have decided to appoint Li Guangbi as the deputy commander and Yu Aiqing as the commander-in-chief. I will lead an army of 100,000 people to go south. They will enter Lizhou first. After the food and supplies are ready, the army will officially march south to Bashu. .”

At this moment, a eunuch reported outside the imperial study, "Your Majesty, Deputy Marshal Li has arrived."

"Hurry up and announce his presence!"

Deputy Marshal Li was Li Guangbi. He led his army to annihilate Liu Zhan and wipe out the popular rebellion in Jianghuai and Jiangnan. He just returned to the court to report on his duties, and was summoned by the emperor, who ordered him to visit the palace immediately.

Li Guangbi quickly walked into the imperial study, bowed and saluted, "I am here to see you, Your Majesty!"

"Li Aiqing gets free without any ceremony!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Li Guangbi stood aside and ignored Li Fuguo and Yu Chaoen beside him.

Li Heng said slowly: "I have deposed Li Lin, the crown prince, and declared him guilty. The next step is to send troops to Bashu to eliminate Li Lin's rebels. Does Li Aiqing have any good suggestions?"

Li Guangbi pondered for a while and said: "Your Majesty, troops are valuable and fast. We infer that the King of Qi's army will definitely invade Bashu. Our Majesty rushed to block Lizhou with a large army before he sent troops, and did not give the Helong army a chance to go south. But soon Maybe Li Ye had already sent troops, and he was worried that it would be too late to send troops from Chang'an to Hanzhong, so he suggested that the troops stationed in Hanzhong should immediately gather in Lizhou and increase troops to guard the dangerous passes in Lizhou."

As expected of a famous general, this suggestion was very timely. Li Heng said happily: "That's very good. What next?"

Li Guangbi added: "Your Majesty, you don't have to wait for the food supplies to be ready for war. In fact, it is enough to send 50,000 elite troops to Shu as long as you have one month's supply of military rations."

Yu Chaoen next to him sneered and said: "With an army of fifty thousand, General Li underestimates the enemy too much!"

Li Heng also frowned and said, "Li Lin has at least a hundred thousand troops. How can an army of fifty thousand be enough?"

Li Guangbi smiled and said: "Your Majesty, Li Lin does not have an army of 100,000. He has already wiped out 30,000 troops on the Three Gorges Road. He only has 78,000 or 80,000 people at most. He must leave at least 50,000 to defend Chengdu. Our 50,000 army There is no need to rush to attack Chengdu. Recover Shannan West Road first. I believe that more than a dozen states in Shannan West Road will have food to support us, and officials and people will also support the court. By the time we turn around, we will have more than 50,000 troops and more than one month's food supply. , let’s first clear out the surrounding armies and reorganize the prisoners of war, adding more and more and subtracting others. By the time we reach Chengdu, we will probably have an army of 100,000. Are we still afraid that we can’t destroy Li Lin?”

Li Heng was overjoyed and gave a thumbs up and praised: "This is what a famous general said!"

Li Fuguo and Yu Chaoen looked at each other, both of them felt very uncomfortable. Yu Chaoen said quickly: "Wei Chen still recommends King Zhao as the commander-in-chief and leads the army south."

Li Heng nodded and said to Li Guangbi: "King Zhao is the marshal of the world's soldiers and horses. He should be the commander-in-chief. Ai Qing can be the deputy commander-in-chief. He will lead an army of 50,000 people southward. I will send you a month's worth of food immediately."

"Wei Chen obeys the order, but Wei Chen reminds us that Your Majesty must first issue an order to order the Hanzhong garrison to assemble in Lizhou, otherwise the Helong army will be the first to do so."

"Don't worry, Yu Sima will immediately dispatch troops to Lizhou!"

Li Heng glanced at Yu Chaoen, who nodded. Li Guangbi's suggestion was quite reasonable.

After exiting the royal study, Li Fuguo complained: "We have not made a clear candidate for the crown prince. Why did Mr. Yu say those words?"

Yu Chaoen smiled and said: "Aweng didn't understand my intention. I was actually testing the emperor. How can it be so easy to establish a prince? What are the plans of those civil servants?"

Li Fuguo nodded, "Say hello to me before you talk next time to avoid misunderstanding!"

"I understand the humble position!"

The two of them hurried away separately.

On that day, the Generalissimo's Office issued an order to mobilize the garrison troops from various states in Hanzhong to immediately assemble in Lizhou, under the unified command of Liangzhou's military envoy Wu Changlong.

Li Longji immediately issued an order, naming King Zhao as the Grand Marshal of the Southern Campaign, Li Guangbi as the Deputy Marshal and Troop Envoy, and Yu Chaoen as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. He led an army of 50,000 people and marched towards Lizhou two days later.