In the main hall of the Tang Palace, the civil and military ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty gathered together. Since the beginning of spring, the frequency of Li Jing ascending to the palace to discuss matters and military affairs has been significantly higher. At this time, Meng Chun was coming to an end, but the Tang officials in the palace all felt chilly and looked solemn.
"Xia Cai was defeated first, and Feishui was defeated again. It took only three months before and after. Our two armies to support Shou were easily defeated by the Han army." Li Jing walked in the palace, holding a stack of defeat reports in his hand.
, shaking from time to time, speaking rapidly and with great anger: "This failure is almost filling up my imperial case!"
"Liu Yanzhen, Chen Jue, Xu Wenzhen, the three of them defeated the army and harmed the country. They are simply unforgivable." He glanced at Feng Yansi and Song Qiqiu and said coldly: "This is the Qiancheng and commander-in-chief of the country that you recommended to me!
This is how they fight against enemies and thieves!"
"Then Chen Jue still has the face to return to the court, and he also delivers a message for the Han Emperor. He humiliates and humiliates me. There is really no connection between him and me!"
"Huangfu Hui, you say that he is mature and prudent, and a famous general in the Central Plains!" Li Jing pointed the finger at Han Xizai and other civil servants from the north: "A 30,000-strong army was actually defeated by the Han general Guo Rong with only 4,000 men. It was inevitable that he would die.
He was actually captured alive by others in front of the battle. I think he is too old to be of much use. He is an incompetent general and has exhausted the entire army!"
"There is also Yao Feng, who was besieged by ten times the army in Shanyang. It was difficult to get down for several days. He made a last-minute decision and was ignorant and incompetent. When the Han army attacked, he did not try to save him. Instead, he led the army to retreat, leaving the soldiers to fight in blood.
All the work was wasted in one night!"
"Are the generals of the Tang Dynasty just to achieve the reputation of being the generals of the Northern Han Dynasty? This is unreasonable!"
Li Jing vented his anger, but he reprimanded the ministers of the two political groups in the Tang Dynasty, causing many people to lower their heads with shame and anger. Literary people pay more attention to their appearance. In addition, there are some who are not satisfied with it.
After all, since Li Jing ruled the country, he has rarely lost his temper and directly rebuked his subordinates. Of course, it is also understandable that the country's situation is unstable.
At this time, Song Qiqiu, the "first adviser", took the lead, stroked his beard and said in a deep voice: "I have already said that to resist the Northern Han Dynasty, to gather heavy troops and defend the city will consume its money and food, weaken its morale, and slow down the plan.
Then, attack later and attack rashly, which will only give the Northern Han Dynasty an opportunity to take advantage of, and advancing in three directions will give them the opportunity to defeat each one!"
After listening to Song Qiqiu's words, Li Jing's face changed slightly, showing a hint of embarrassment. After all, he was the one who took the initiative to attack regardless of the dissuasion. Looking at Song Qiqiu, evil thoughts flashed through Li Jing's mind. For the first time, he felt
, this old minister is so disgusting to him.
Seemingly noticing the emperor's unhappiness, Deputy Privy Councilor Li Zhenggu stood up and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, since the Han army mobilized against the Southern invaders at the end of autumn last year, in the past four months, our dynasty has been destroyed by numerous large and small battles.
More than 200,000 soldiers and civilians were lost, and the number of civilians in Jianghuai and Huaihe suffered from the war was not less than a million. In order to raise support for the army, Jinling's money and hoards were almost exhausted. Frequent conscriptions consumed the people's power, which caused turmoil in people's hearts and caused resentment among the people.
Nowadays, Luzhou, Chuzhou, and Guangzhou have fallen one after another. Shouzhou and Sizhou have no foreign aid, and they may not be able to survive. They are not far away from falling!
At this time, how we respond to the Han army's next attack is the first priority!"
"Did you hear that?" Li Jing's voice was trembling, and his eyes were red: "Once Shou Si falls, the Han army will march south in large numbers and approach the Yangtze River, and the Tang Dynasty will be destroyed!"
As the king of a country, it was really inappropriate for Li Jing to say such words in the Mingtang. However, it was obvious that the pressure of the Han army's incursions was constantly coming, and Li Jing had already lost his position.
"Your Majesty, I would like to ask you to lead your army to the north to resist the Han army and protect our country of the Tang Dynasty. Your father will have no worries!" At this time, King Yan Li Hongji couldn't help but stand up and ask for orders.
Previously, he asked Li Jing for orders in the inner palace, but he refused because he loved his eldest son. This time, he asked Li Jing in front of the palace, which made him hesitate. As far as Li Jing was concerned, he suddenly discovered that the enemy was facing him.
The court ministers have actually fallen into the embarrassment of having no one to help them. He raised these poets and just let them write poems and make articles...
However, before Li Jing could express his position, Feng Yansi stood up and dissuaded him: "Your Majesty, no, the Han army is powerful and brutal. There are so many veterans and generals, and the court has defeated hundreds of thousands of troops. I'm afraid the King of Yan is no match for him."
.Furthermore, King Yan is the eldest son of the royal family, and as a nobleman, it is inconvenient for him to be involved in danger!"
Li Hongji was considered a prince on horseback. He was known for his bravery and his military skills. At this time, seeing the contempt in Feng Yansi's words, he couldn't help but said angrily: "Why does Mr. Feng underestimate me? There are tens of thousands of thieves, so I also use four
Defeat it with a thousand soldiers!"
"How can a Qian thief compare with the Han army?" Feng Yansi shook his head: "Your Highness, you should know that there are few people in the world who can match the strength of the Central Plains army. The imperial court has suffered successive defeats. Isn't that rare enough to wake us up?"
"I see that you are all afraid of being beaten by the Han army. You are afraid of the enemy and afraid of fighting, but I am not afraid. The children of the Jianghuai River are not passionate men. If the enemy is defeated by the enemy, you should rise up and fight." Li Hongji became excited and said,
Then he didn't care much anymore, and said without politeness: "Instead of doing nothing like the princes here, standing up to the enemy's majesty, and fearing the invaders like a tiger!"
"Hongji, don't be presumptuous!" Seeing that what he said was true and all the ministers looked angry, Li Jing calmed down and stretched out his hand.
After some venting, Li Jing regained consciousness and sighed, but her face became increasingly heavy.
"The Han army is so powerful that it is almost impossible to defeat it. Now that things have come to this, how can we resolve the crisis here?" When he arrived, Li Jing had to consult the Manchu minister.
There was silence in the hall for a moment, and no one seemed to have a countermeasure. Pushe Sun Sheng stood up and suggested: "Your Majesty, when it comes to military wars, our dynasty is really no match for the Northern Han Dynasty. Since the war began, our dynasty has suffered heavy losses and the people have been displaced.
, the people are suffering. The imperial court has a heavy financial and tax burden, the army is scarce, the people are exhausted, and it is the farming season. If we continue to fight, we may not be able to continue."
After a pause, Sun Sheng suggested seriously: "In my opinion, there is no better way to send an envoy to the Han Emperor than to ask for peace, stop the war, and then make peace forever."
After Sun Sheng finished speaking, some people immediately expressed their support, and there were quite a few.
"No!" Han Xizai raised his voice and expressed his opposition clearly with a solemn face: "Your Majesty, the Northern Han Dynasty came to devour our country of the Tang Dynasty. They are ambitious and want to eat like gluttons. How much price will they have to pay for peace?
How can he satisfy his greed?"
"What can we do if we continue to fight? The imperial court is no longer able to fight anymore, and half of Huainan has been lost. Do we want to destroy all the foundations of the Tang Dynasty?" Sun Sheng said.
Sun Sheng was also a scholar from the north, but at this moment, he had a conflict with Han Xizai over the issue of peace.
After hearing what he said, Han Xizai said: "In Jiangdong and Jiangxi, our dynasty still has tens of thousands of naval and land forces. If we call for more troops, we can still raise 100,000 troops. There is a natural chasm along the Yangtze River. No matter how strong the Han army is, it will be difficult to cross it.
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As I said in the preface, if we fight the Han army to the end, it will be surrounded by enemies on all sides, so it will not last long. Moreover, the Northern Han Dynasty used hundreds of thousands of divisions to conduct thousands of miles of expeditions. How long can it last for all its waste? If we drag it on, time will change.
There is still a chance for our country to fight back and regain its territory. Once we sue for peace, all the land in Huainan will be lost! Your Majesty, please be careful!"
"We are desperate for military force, we are desperate for military force!" Sun Sheng said excitedly: "The Han army has its back to Hebei in the Central Plains, accumulated food for several years, and fought in Huainan. How can it continue to fight for a long time with only Jiangdong and Jiangxi?
When Han Gong talks about time changes, does he mean Khitan and Hou Shu? Between the Han and Tang Dynasties, the war has been going on for four months, but there has been no action. Is it not ridiculous to rely on this for the country's general strategy? "
The two northern scholars competed against each other, which was a great spectacle for Feng Yansi and others.
But Li Jing was even more hesitant. When it came to negotiating peace, he was indeed tempted. Since taking the throne, he launched several waves of foreign wars. However, he passively responded to the invasion of enemy countries and discovered how rare peace is.
Jinling chants the wind and makes the moon play, that is such a comfortable thing...
He wanted to negotiate for peace, but he was worried about the price Han Xizai said. Yes, if the war has reached this point, what can be done to make the Han Emperor withdraw his troops?
"Your Majesty, you must not listen to Sun Sheng's words that harm the country!" Li Hongji stood up to support Han Xizai.
Seeing this, Li Jing hesitated even more, waved his hand, returned to the court and sat down, almost murmuring: "Let me think about it..."
However, before the court meeting was over, another news of defeat came: "Your Majesty, Jiang's soldiers reported that the Eastern Capital was lost!"
The whole court was shocked. Not to mention Yangzhou's political status, its salt and profit was enough to make people feel heartbroken. Compared with the fall of Chu and He, they were even more shocked. Is the Han army really so unstoppable?
"Who captured Yangzhou? Where are the defenders?" Li Jing asked anxiously, her face turning pale.
"Han general Zhao Kuangyin!"
"Where is Yao Feng's army?"
Li Jing almost roared, but no one could answer his question.
For a long time, Li Jing looked dejected and waved his hand: "Send an envoy to Shouchun to ask the Han Emperor for peace..."