More than ten years ago, the decline in national strength due to the three conquests of Goguryeo and the turbulent war in the late Sui Dynasty caused the Turkic forces to expand.
As a result, Turkic invasions to the south gradually became normal. Every year, Turkic tribesmen entered the Great Wall from the north to burn, kill, and loot. However, compared to the internal strife among the princes, the Turks often only fought in small quantities.
This time Jieli Khan Ashina Qiuluo led more than 30,000 cavalry to the south, which was a rare act of generosity. After the two southern expeditions of Shibi Khan, Ashina Qiuluo was the first Turkic Turk to lead a large army to wander south.
Khan, I don’t know if he came to avenge his father.
It really fits the saying, like father, like son.
They all come with great energy and return with low energy.
After such a contest, Li Po thought that if he could do it a few more times and consume more food and grass, the Turks would be able to return without success. It wouldn't take more than two or three times, and I'm afraid no one in the entire Turks would be interested in going south anymore.
The leader's prestige on the grasslands and in the Turkic Royal Court will be greatly harmed. They will not only lose food and grass, but may also trigger political turmoil in the Turkic Royal Court.
"Yu Chi Gong, Li Nian, and Xue Wanche used their troops well and subdued the enemy's troops without fighting. They have merit. As for how much merit will be recorded, you can go back and discuss it."
Qu Tutong agreed, and Li Poze continued: "You previously discussed setting up Zhechong Prefectures at key points to take charge of the troops in various places. I think it is feasible. The Ministry of War will create a list, recruit, and train, and then the generals of the various guards will
Recruiting, leading the battle, and being reasonable and orderly can be sent to the Central Committee for discussion."
Qu Tutong nodded repeatedly, feeling slightly excited. This was one of the rare major events he had encountered since he became Minister of War. It would be crucial to the reform and implementation of the military system in the future.
It is much more important than the previous ones about changing the name of Yingyang Mansion to Hussar Mansion, or the dispute between the Hussar General and the Chariot General.
Once Zhechong Mansion was established, Qu Tutong believed that it would make the government military system more concrete. In the past, the management was too loose, and when the government soldiers were recruited, they often failed to arrive, and it was extremely inconvenient for local officials to hold them accountable.
Some people even colluded with the local government, destroyed the roster of government soldiers, deliberately hid fugitives, and other evil deeds. Therefore, having an office like Zhechong Mansion responsible for managing government soldiers will, to a large extent, prevent local governments from arbitrarily
acts of military interference.
In fact, the idea of establishing Zhechong Mansion was not the product of his impulse, but the idea came to him when the emperor was touring the world when he was the governor-general of the bodyguard.
At that time, we saw that there were many flaws in the government military system. Some local officials even ignored the court orders and recruited government soldiers to serve as laborers. Some even put the land tax exemptions and exemptions given by the court to the government soldiers into their own pockets.
All these things made him feel quite angry, so he came up with this idea.
Both Yang Guang and Li Yuan had written about this before when they were in power, but there was no response. Yang Guang was anxious to make great achievements, and naturally he was not very concerned about consolidating the military power of the Wei government.
Li Yuan was even weaker. He felt that it was very thankless to do such a thing before the world was settled, so he naturally had no interest in it.
Only Li Po saw it and felt that it was very similar to the later military region system. After careful consideration of the pros and cons, he felt that at least under the current circumstances, it would make the military system easier to operate and implement.
As for whether yamen like Zhechong Mansion will gradually fall into decay, there is no need to ask. Throughout the ages, no government yamen at home and abroad can escape this disaster, let alone a small Zhechong Mansion?
But Li Po also had his own ideas. Once the Zhechong Mansion was established, the soldiers from various places would have a clear destination, and the Wei Mansion would recruit soldiers to join the war much faster than before.
And since he started the army, he has never enjoyed such benefits, because life is difficult, and every time he recruits soldiers, it will cause substantial damage to the local area.
In other words, to be honest, the foundation is too weak to unleash the power of the military system.
In fact, the Fubing system and the Okura system were the two magic weapons of the former Sui Dynasty. They played a decisive role in unifying the world, eradicating rebellion, resisting foreign enemies and other wars.
Ironically, this also became an important reason why the war in the late Sui Dynasty was so huge. In Li Po's view, the establishment of Zhe Chong Mansion was actually similar, and it might become the source of trouble in the future.
Since we have foreseen it, we need to make up for it. How to make up for it? According to Li Po's usual thinking, there are always more solutions than problems, and in this matter, publicity and education are the first choice.
"The Ministry of War has indeed gained a man, and what you have proposed is exactly what I need... The war has been turbulent for many years, the soldiers of the army have been scattered, and the various guards have nothing to show for themselves. The embarrassing situation is really difficult to describe.
Nowadays, Zhechong Prefecture is established to control the soldiers of the government and prevent them from falling into banditry and being the accomplices of tigers. However, the lessons learned from the Sui and Yin Dynasties are not far away. Once an emergency comes, the soldiers of the government do not want to devote themselves to serving the country. Instead, they devote themselves to banditry and do things that add fuel to the fire.
.
If a Zhechong Mansion is set up and the soldiers are gathered properly, if another uprising occurs, it will become a prairie fire. Isn't it difficult to control it?"
It is difficult for Qu Tutong to question such a question between the emperor and his ministers. It’s just that he is older and his thinking is not as sharp as before. He thought for a long time and then said: "The Supreme Being is far-sighted and far-sighted, which is worse than many of the ministers. It’s just that I thought that the army has been in power for many years." , the former Sui emperor relied on him to unify all the countries.
Yang Guang was dishonest, abused the power of the people, and weakened laws and disciplines, which caused today's disaster. It was not the fault of the soldiers.
The minister proposes to set up Zhechong Mansion, with the intention of withdrawing the military power from the Wei Mansion, and then gathering the military power of the Wei Mansion in the hands of the Supreme Lord, and then go on a campaign. With one heart and one mind, like an arm and a finger, we can win three points before fighting.
Furthermore, with the supreme wisdom, why worry about the government soldiers causing harm to the place?"
Qu Tutong is still Qu Tutong, and others will most likely not speak like this and blame Yang Guang for all the crimes to excuse the Fu Bing family.
In fact, what he said is quite good. The wars in the late Sui Dynasty were not caused by the Fubing System and the Okura System. If Yang Guang could be his emperor properly, why would the world be like this?
So, the most special thing about the late Sui Dynasty is that it should not have been so chaotic, but in the end it became such a mess... Yang Guang sinned so much that he could never atone for his sins even if he died.
Li Po didn't like the rebels, but he agreed with what Qu Tutong said because he also hated Yang Guang.
"What you said makes sense..." Li Po thought for a moment and swallowed back some of the words he was about to say, "Then let's leave this important matter to my subordinates. Zhongshu and Shangshu will discuss it together, and we have a plan.
Send it to me again."
In fact, after passing the level of Li Po, the matter will most likely be done, and the rest of the discussion will be about the details, not whether to establish a Zhechong Mansion.
Of course, if there are important ministers like Xiao Yu and Wen Yanbo who strongly oppose it, then the matter will still have twists and turns, and it may be necessary to have a debate in front of the emperor. The person who is sharp-tongued and can get the support of the supreme will win in the end.
After preliminary discussions on the establishment of Zhechong Mansion, there were also some other military matters.
Since the Liang Kingdom was destroyed, Qinzhou did not need to be heavily guarded, so Yu Wenwo, the general of You Yiwei, had joined forces with Zhang Lun, the general of Zuo Yiwei, and was preparing to use troops against Hanzhong.
By the way, it should be mentioned that Li Jing had already arrived in front of the army at this time, but unfortunately he did not catch up with the recapture of Jinzhou, which was the battle of Xicheng County in the former Sui Dynasty.
In fact, it was not a war. Seeing the soldiers approaching the city, they repeatedly hoped for reinforcements but they did not arrive. Liu Yuanjin, the governor of Jinzhou in the pseudo-Tang Dynasty, led the officials of the county to surrender and offer their safety.
Since then, the gate of Shuzhong has been opened. Yuwen Huo has been waiting in Ankang to come to Zhang Lun's army, and then he discusses with Zhang Lun and Li Jing about dividing his troops into Shu.
Li Jing had a say in the war in Shu because he had led an army to fight in Shu and was quite familiar with the terrain in Shu and the conditions of various ethnic groups.
Yuwen Huo and Zhang Lun also respected him very much, because Li Jing was the emperor's father-in-law, and he was sent to serve in the army. He must have wanted his father-in-law to take some military merits back. If he didn't have any of these, Zhang Lun and Yuwen Huo didn't need them either.
What kind of general is he?
As for whether Li Jing had real talent or knowledge, neither of them cared much about it. Anyway, Li Jing had no actual military power. He only held the title of General Zuo Houwei. Well, he was still the Minister of War in Central Shu.
It sounds scary, but in fact, it can't scare Zhang Lun and Yuwen Huo, Shuzhongxingtai? Just your brother, your name is not as useful as the name of General Zuo Houwei.
The two of them had the same ambition and wanted to enshrine Li Jing as a Buddha. They would just add Medicine Master Li's name to the discussion later.
Li Jing also had "self-awareness". Before he came to the army, he did not come to compete with the two generals, but to display his talents, and he could not be worshiped as a Buddha.
He also had Li Daliang and others around him to give him ideas, which could barely make up for his shortcomings of not being an official.
And when he discussed with Zhang Lun and Yu Wenhuo about entering Shu to fight, that was his strength. Of course, he couldn't point fingers unscrupulously in front of two generals who had experienced hundreds of battles.
In fact, he just told Zhang Lun and Yuwen Huo a few difficulties about entering Shu.
One, the two generals are serious northerners, and they have never been to the south to lead troops in battles. So you need to pay more attention to the weather in Shu. People say that the weather in Shu is like spring all year round. In fact, it is not the case. In winter,
The cold weather in Shu is the biggest enemy of the soldiers in the north.
Therefore, before entering Shu, you must be prepared to prevent the cold, such as asking the soldiers to keep warm, bringing more herbs and doctors, and maintaining bows and arrows and other wooden ordnance, etc.
Maybe a guide can explain these things to you clearly, but it is not something that a guide can do as detailed and organized as Li Jing said.
Secondly, the roads in central Sichuan are rugged and difficult to travel, and there are high mountains and dense forests everywhere, so marching is also a big problem, especially the transportation of grain, grass and baggage. You must move forward with the army, otherwise what will happen if you fall behind.
The third is that there were many foreign races living in the mountains, forests and grasslands in Shu. People at that time were collectively called barbarians. They were full of hostility to outsiders. What are outsiders? Whether they are Han people, Xianbei people, Huns, etc., they are all