Chapter 549: The Controversy between Southern Tang

After a moment, Gao Xianzhi was brought in by a eunuch. After Li Heng ascended the throne in Chengdu, Gao Xianzhi was named the deputy marshal of the world's military and horses, the Minister of Shangshu Zuo Pushe, and the title of Duke of Qu, which was actually 500 households. It was very favorable, but Gao Xianzhi knew that Li Heng was just stabilizing himself. As the saying goes, he would fall heavily. Once Li Heng controlled the situation, he would be the first to attack him. Gao Xianzhi thought about it for a long time. Instead of being killed by Li Heng, it would be better to go first. He finally decided to give up on his own initiative.

Gao Xianzhi walked a few steps quickly, knelt down on one knee in front of Li Heng and said, "I am Gao Xianzhi, please see Your Majesty!"

Li Heng piled up a smile on his face and said, "Is there anything wrong with Gao Aiqing looking for me?"

Gao Xianzhi took out a memorial and presented it with both hands and said, "I am not in good health, so I would like to ask Your Majesty for bones."

Begging for Bones means asking for retirement. Li Heng's face changed slightly. He did not answer the memorial and said in a lengthening voice: "Gao Aiqing, what do you mean? Do I have any objection to you?"

"No! No! No!"

Gao Xianzhi was so scared that she knelt down and said repeatedly: "Your Majesty is very favored by me, and I have always remembered it in my heart."

"Then why did you quit?"

"I am indeed in poor health. My daughter has been missing since she left home. I am worried that I have become sick and I am really unable to take on military power anymore. I hope Your Majesty will understand."

Li Heng stared at Gao Xianzhi tightly, his eyes flashing, as if he wanted to see through Gao Xianzhi's heart. At this time, Yu Chaoen scolded Gao Xianzhi and said, "General Gao, this is your fault. The war is not good now. Not only do you not share your worries for Your Majesty, but you also have to bother Your Majesty again. What's your intention?"

"This... Your Majesty, I have no intention."

Gao Xianzhi's back was soaked. He suddenly realized that his resignation was a bit hasty, and Li Heng might not appreciate it. It might cause a battle for military power if it is serious. Sure enough, Li Heng glanced at Yu Chaoen and said to Gao Xianzhi: "I am going to hold a meeting of the Political Affairs Hall to discuss military information. General Gao will also participate!"

After saying that, Li Heng turned around and ignored Gao Xianzhi's resignation. Yu Chaoen winked at Gao Xianzhi and hurried with Li Heng. Gao Xianzhi sighed secretly. This new emperor is not ordinary difficult to serve!

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Li Heng certainly understood Gao Xianzhi's thoughts. He wanted to retreat bravely and give military power to himself, which was exactly in line with Li Heng's expectations. However, Li Heng did not want Gao Xianzhi to withdraw in this way. He hoped that Gao Xianzhi could withdraw step by step according to his own arrangements. Li Heng had a lesson in the past. Gao Xianzhi had given military power once. King Rong Li Wan thought he had controlled the army, but the generals in the army were all Gao Xianzhi's people. At the critical moment, Gao Xianzhi raised his arms and easily took back the military power. Therefore, Gao Xianzhi retreated without losing power. So this time he used the same trick again, Li Heng was very suspicious.

In the Xiaohanyuan Hall of Nanming Palace, Li Heng leaned halfway on the dragon couch. He squinted his eyes and looked at the situation inside the hall. He was the first to come to the hall, sorting out his thoughts and waiting for the arrival of all officials. This is one of Li Heng's characteristics. Generally, the emperor always comes to the last meeting and asks the ministers to wait, but Li Heng likes to arrive first. It's not that he doesn't show off his airs. On the contrary, his airs are bigger than anyone else. His food, daily life, and travel are all the best of the emperor. The reason why Li Heng arrived at the venue early is that he likes to observe ministers. Who comes early, who comes late, and who comes on time. There are articles here, representing the different mentality of the ministers.

For example, now, several people have come to the hall, including Wang Gong, Linghu Fei, Da Xixun, Chen Xilie, etc. Chen Xilie is the first to come here, which shows that he is panic and has a strong sense of crisis.

The delay in coming from Chengdu's old ministers such as Cui Yuan, Yang Shenjin and others shows that they still have doubts about themselves and are unwilling to cooperate in their hearts. As for Gao Xianzhi, he should have come very late, which shows that he already understands the true intention of this meeting.

Li Heng always likes to observe ministers and explore ministers' privacy. When he was in Chang'an, he ordered Li Fuguo to establish the Office of the Censorate. As his spy, after coming to Chengdu, the thirty spys under the Office of the Censor also followed and established a new Office of the Censorate to continue to investigate the Minister's intelligence privacy for Li Heng. It was extremely secretive. So far, no one knew the existence of this emperor's spy agency. Only three people had to, Li Fuguo, Li Heng and Empress Zhang, and even Yu Chaoen did not know.

Today is a military meeting. Basically, officials from third rank or above will come. There are more than 20 people in total, and all members of the Political Affairs Hall are coming. After Li Heng ascended the throne, he did not carry out major personnel reorganizations. Instead, he used the method of expanding the Political Affairs Hall to stuff Wang Gong, Linghu Fei and other confidants into the Political Affairs Hall, and he held high power. Cui Yuan, as a local sergeant, still served as the right prime minister, and Wang Gong replaced Chen Xilie as the left prime minister.

At this time, the court officials arrived one after another, and Gao Xianzhi walked in at the end. He was very low-key and sat in the last seat.

Li Heng looked at him deeply. Today, Gao Xianzhi was the highlight. His eyes fell on Prince Li Shidi. Recently, the reputation of Prince Li Shidi was not very good. A censor impeached him to be a child, which made Li Heng dislike. But at this time, he saw that Li Shidi's waist was straight and his expression was grim, and he had a bit of a general's demeanor. The dislike of him in his heart disappeared without a trace. He liked his son to be like a general, especially now, he needed his son to replace Gao Xianzhi.

As the people arrived, Li Heng gave Li Fuguo a wink, and Li Fuguo immediately said loudly: "The time has come! The meeting has officially begun."

The ministers stood up and bowed to Li Heng, "I will meet your Majesty and wish you a long life!"

"All my beloveds will be given a seat!"

"Your Majesty has an order, and the minister will return to his throne."

All the ministers returned to their posts. At this time, only Wang Gong was left in the hall. He was the chairman of the military meeting tonight. Wang Gong looked around and said loudly: "Today is a special meeting, mainly to discuss the next military combat matters. As we all know, our Tang Dynasty has been in a state of division. The pseudo-Emperor steals Chang'an and the traitors are in power. An Lushan, Hebei has rebelled and the Prince of Xiangyang has established himself. This situation has lasted for nearly two years. Your Majesty has worked hard every day to unify the Tang Dynasty and restore the Central Plains. Now there are 300,000 soldiers in the court, with sufficient food and grass, and all clothes and armor. In the late summer and early autumn, it is time to use troops. Your Majesty is determined to send troops. However, the enemy is surrounded and it is difficult to decide. Today, the ministers are temporarily summoned to discuss where our army should use troops?"

At this time, Chen Xilie, the Minister of Works, stood up first. Chen Xilie can be said to be the only important minister who was demoted after Li Heng ascended the throne. He has always been Li Longji's left prime minister and Minister of War, and the second person in the Southern Tang Dynasty. However, after Li Heng ascended the throne, Wang Gong replaced his position as the left prime minister, and his position in the Political Affairs Hall was ranked last. In other words, if he was promoted to another person, Chen Xilie would be squeezed out of the Political Affairs Hall, which made Chen Xilie feel full of crisis.

Chen Xilie knew that the fundamental reason was that he followed Li Linfu and participated in the persecution of Li Heng, so Li Heng was extremely dissatisfied with him. However, Wang Gong was the chief censor at that time. He targeted the three major cases of Prince Li Heng, Wei Jian, Du Youlin and Wang Zhongsi. Wang Gong was both pioneers and the most vicious attack. Li Heng's father-in-law, the East Palace Youshanzan doctor Du Youlin, died under Wang Gong's stick at that time. So why didn't Li Heng take revenge on Wang Gong but hold a grudge against him?

This made Chen Xilie scared and puzzled. At today's military meeting, Chen Xilie felt that Li Heng felt that he had existed, so he was the first to speak.

Li Heng treats Chen Xilie arrogantly. On the one hand, although Chen Xilie was putting in trouble and underestimating himself behind his back, he was really upset. On the other hand, Li Heng wanted to stuff as many people as possible into the political affairs hall, but powerful local snakes such as Cui Yuan cannot move for the time being, so he attacked people like Chen Xilie who are weak and have little influence. Of course, it would not be killed at once, as it would lead to political instability. So he took step by step, first excluding Chen Xilie to the edge, and then found an opportunity to kill him.

When Li Heng saw Chen Xilie being the first to jump out, he was really annoyed. Today's so-called temporary military meeting was just to seize Gao Xianzhi's power. There was no need to really discuss military and national affairs. The ignorant and boring Chen Xilie, Li Heng was even more dissatisfied with him, but he didn't show any expression on his face and said with a smile: "Please tell me, Shangshu Chen!"

Chen Xilie walked into the middle, bowed to Li Heng, and said to the ministers: "Since Your Majesty has difficulty deciding who to attack, I will say a few words first. The key to attacking who to attack is that we have a chance. Where is our chance? In fact, it is not hindering to march against Chang'an or against Jingxiang. There are only these two options. Let's talk about Jingxiang first. Geshuhan supports Li Mao, which greatly increases Li Mao's power. Moreover, the King of Wu returned in a defeated state, and his morale was low. If we attack Jingxiang, first, our navy is not yet complete, and the Shu people are not good at water battles. Secondly, Li Mao may not really believe in Geshuhan. If we attack them urgently, they will work together and have a strong relationship. On the contrary, we will ignore it. Li Mao and Geshuhan will inevitably have a gap, and then civil strife will occur. That is our opportunity."

"Then what Mr. Chen means is that we should attack Chang'an, right?" Li Heng asked disapprovingly.

Chen Xilie did not feel Li Heng's dissatisfaction, and he still said with interest: "Your Majesty is right. At this time, our opportunity is in Chang'an. Li Qing'an went east to confront An Lushan. Chang'an was empty. This is a good opportunity for God. Your Majesty should immediately send heavy troops to Chang'an. It will inevitably lead to a strong battle and conquer Guanzhong in one fell swoop. At that time, Your Majesty abolished the fake emperor and made great contributions to the world. Li Qing'an had to surrender to Your Majesty, and the world was determined by this."

"All nonsense!"

The Minister of War Linghu Fei stood up. He knew very well the real purpose of Li Heng today. He walked to Chen Xilie and bowed to Li Heng and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to refute the fallacy of Chen Shangshu!"

Li Heng nodded in his heart, worthy of being his chief military advisor, and understood his thoughts very well, so he smiled and said, "Arguing is OK, but don't hurt the minister's kindness!"

"I obey the order!"

Perhaps it was Li Heng's reminder that Linghu Fei's attitude towards Chen Xilie was a little polite, but the tone between his words was still very sharp.

"I would like to ask Chen Shangshu, where did you know that Li Mao did not trust Brother Shuhan? Why did you turn against him based on evidence? How did you know that Chang'an is empty? How did you know that Li Qing'an is not prepared?"

Linghu Fei asked four questions in one breath, which made Chen Xilie speechless. In fact, he was also a conjecture, saying that Geshu Han wanted to seize the position of Li Mao to become independent, and there was no real evidence. As for Chang'an emptiness, everyone in the world thought so, which was just a common sense, but Linghu Fei asked with a firm word, but he couldn't answer it.

After a long time, Chen Xilie flushed and retorted: "Li Qing'an only brought 100,000 troops into Chang'an, and his troops were short. Now his main force is in Henan Road, and Guo Ziyi's main force is in Hedong. How many troops will there be in Chang'an? These things that are well-known in the world, are I wrong? As for Geshu Han, he has always been loyal to the court, but suddenly turned to Jingxiang. He and Li Mao are obviously working temporarily. How could he not turn against each other over time? I am a decades-old minister. Do I not even understand this?"

Chen Xilie was a little out of control. He had a loud voice. He was originally a childish face and had a fairy-like spirit, but now he was like an angry cock. To put it seriously, he was just roaring in the court.

Linghu Fei smiled disdainfully and said, "Since you are ignorant, I will tell you, it is true that Li Qing'an first brought 100,000 people into Guanzhong, but Guanzhong was originally an Anxi army, plus 30,000 people from Tongguan King Sili, and 20,000 people from Li Guangbi to Beijing. Then he actually had 190,000 people, and he sent troops to the Central Plains for 80,000 people, so there were still 110,000 people in Guanzhong, and there were 20,000 people left by Shuofang Army. In addition, I will tell you again that the Tang straight road in Longyou has been basically built, and it only takes two days for 40,000 cavalry in Hexi to go to Guanzhong, and it only takes two days for Shuofang Army to go to Guanzhong. In the relevant Zhonghe Guan Nei Road, 80,000 new recruits have been recruited. You can calculate yourself, how many troops can Guanzhong be summoned in two days?"

Linghu Fei's detailed data caused an uproar in the hall. Chen Xilie was stunned. He was old and could not count how many troops he had?

At this time, Linghu Fei said again: "As for the disagreement between Li Mao and Geshuhan, it is even more nonsense. Geshuhan once betrayed the emperor and was guilty. The late emperor sent him to Lianghu, which was actually a derogatory process. Most of Geshuhan's soldiers were from Longyou. They were from their hometowns and far away from their wives. The morale was very low. In recent years, 80% of them have fled, with only 10,000 cavalry left. However, Geshuhan's military strength has continued to increase, from the initial 50,000 to the current 80,000. Where do you think this army comes from? Let me tell you, this is Li Mao's strategy of moving flowers and connecting trees to Geshuhan secretly transferring the soldiers of Jingxiang to Geshuhan, so his military strength has always been controlled within the scope permitted by the late emperor. In fact, he has already broken through, but the newly recruited troops are placed in Geshuhan. One is to ask Geshuhan for help in training, and the other is to cover up people's eyes. Do you understand now? Geshuhan and Li Mao have long worn a pair of pants."

At this time, Chen Xilie was like a defeated rooster, with an awkward and frustrated expression. Standing in the court, Li Heng said lightly: "Shu Chen is just a civil servant, and he doesn't know much about military and national affairs. It's understandable. Shangshu Chen, you should retreat first!"

Chen Xilie was extremely ashamed. He wanted to show off once, but in the end he became a laughing stock in the court. His position in Li Heng's heart was even lower. Maybe it would become the root cause of his final resignation. He lowered his head, stared at Linghu Fei viciously, and slowly retreated.

Linghu Fei sneered in his heart. Chen Xilie was not familiar with the current affairs and could not understand Li Heng's true intentions. He deserved to be demoted. He took another step forward and said to Li Heng again: "Your Majesty, please give me another word."

"Please say it, my dear!"

Li Heng's voice was very light, and this pleasant tone suddenly made many ministers understand. Could it be that Li Heng had already made arrangements, and only Gao Xianzhi, who was sitting in the last row, smiled bitterly. He knew that Li Heng would be pointing his sword in the end.

At this time, Linghu Fei said slowly: "Actually, the reason why I do not advocate the attack on Chang'an is not just that Chang'an is well prepared and has heavy troops, but that attacking Chang'an is not beneficial to our overall situation. Not to mention that the journey of attacking Chang'an is difficult and not suitable for combat. Even if Chang'an is taken down, what can we do? Can we recover the Central Plains? Can we be connected with Jiangnan? No, not only can, if Li Qing'an dispatches a large army from Anxi to the east, it may be difficult for us to return to Bashu again, and Li Mao

What would he do? He would attack Jiangnan while we were in Chang'an and had no time to look east, and ate the King of Wu in one fell swoop, so that he could occupy half of the Tang Dynasty and have a rich land. At that time, we would regret it if we returned to Bashu again. Therefore, I suggest that we should send troops to Jingxiang. At that time, we would have half of the south of the Yangtze River. We could enter the Central Plains and retreat to Bashu in Lingnan. When Li Qing'an and An Lushan were both defeated, we would reap the benefits of the fisherman."

"Well said!"

Wang Gong stood up and applauded loudly, "Shanghu Linghu is worthy of being called Xiao Zhuge. As expected, his thoughts are clear and reasonable, which makes us suddenly enlightened as if we were clearing the clouds and seeing the sun."

He bowed to Li Heng again and said, "I also ask Your Majesty to send troops to Jingxiang as soon as possible to relieve the dangers in Jiangnan."

"What the two beloved ministers say is exactly what I want, I decided to send troops to Jingxiang!"

Li Heng glanced at him and fell on Gao Xianzhi. He smiled and said, "Gao Aiqing, I want you to be the head coach, may you be competent?"

Li Heng should generally say, 'Gao Aiqing, I decided to let you be the head coach, and I hope you can share my worries!'

This sentence is a normal encouragement, but Li Heng used the method of asking questions, which sounded like no problem for ordinary people. Gao Xianzhi should have answered passionately: "I can do it!"

This was complete, but Gao Xianzhi's heart was like a mirror. He had just asked Li Heng to resign because of his poor health. If he said he could be competent, then he would have been the crime of deceiving the emperor just now.

Gao Xianzhi sighed secretly. He finally understood that Li Heng took great pains to arrange a military and national conference, which was to ask him to resign at the military and national conference, rather than resign privately. In this way, Li Heng's reputation as a love-shen will no longer be impartial. These politicians! They are all so scheming.

Gao Xianzhi had to get up, look listless, and bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I really want to share your worries. However, I have been sick recently. Although I am willing to go through fire and water for Your Majesty, I am afraid that I will not be able to do anything to miss Your Majesty's great cause. I really dare not accept the order!"

Li Heng's face darkened, "Gao Aiqing, you are the only person I trust the most. If you refuse, who will I ask for for you?"

The critical moment finally came. Whether Gao Xianzhi could escape unscathed was here. Although Gao Xianzhi did not want to send his subordinates who had been with him for many years, the situation forced him to have no choice. He had to grit his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I am the deputy marshal of the world's military and horses. I recommend His Highness the Grand Marshal as the chief general of the Eastern Expedition. He is young and promising and has a great reputation. We veterans should also let the young people stand out."

"no!"

Li Heng flatly rejected Gao Xianzhi's recommendation, "How can the army of the court and the foundation of the country be complained about? Although the prince can lead the army, he lacks experience in the battle, so he is not a match for Ge Shuhan, and I cannot agree."

At this time, the prince Li Si stood up, bowed and said loudly: "Father, my son is willing to lead the troops to recover Jingxiang, please forgive me!"

Li Heng still shook his head, "Although the emperor has ambition, he has insufficient experience after all. I really don't worry about you. I will wait for you to exercise more and I will give you another chance to lead the army."

The play has reached this point, and it is almost the final ending. Linghu Fei stood up and left the last piece for Li Heng.

"Your Majesty, I have a suggestion!"

"My dear, please tell me."

Linghu Fei glanced at everyone and smiled slightly and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince can indeed lead troops. At that time, the 200,000 Guanzhong Army was his commander, but Your Majesty was right. After all, the Crown Prince lacks practical experience. It is probably not that easy to fight against Ge Shuhan independently. If the Crown Prince is not given the Crown Prince, he will never be experienced. So I suggest that Your Highness the Crown Prince can be the head coach, General Gao has rich experience, and can be the deputy commander and assist the Crown Prince in leading troops. I think this is the best arrangement for the long-term leadership!

Wang Gong also said: "What Linghu Shangshu said is extremely true, and I support you!"

Li Heng pretended to be pondering for a moment, nodded, and asked Gao Xianzhi, "What do you think Gao Aiqing?"

Gao Xianzhi was discouraged. Li Heng did not allow himself to escape unscathed. His intention was to completely deprive him of military power. Things had reached this point and he could not object to it. His attitude would determine his life and death.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to assist the prince with all my heart!"

"Okay! I will announce that I will appoint the crown prince as the envoy of the East Era, the Grand Marshal of the World, and Gao Xianzhi as the deputy commander, commanding 200,000 troops, and officially sending troops to Jingxiang three days later."

After pausing for a moment, he announced: "I have appointed the Minister of War Linghu Fei as the Supervisor of the Six Routes of Food and Grass, the General Leader's Logistics, and to strictly regulate military discipline. I have appointed the former eunuch Yu Chaoen as the Guanjun Envoy to supervise the military discipline of the three armies."

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Chapter completed!