Chapter 46 The Prince Consorts Up and Down Strategies
Li Jilong's chatterbox seemed to have opened up in this relaxed conversation. Seeing Emperor Liu's lively conversation, he also took the initiative to speak: "Nowadays, the entire Northern Xinjiang border army and the garrison are focusing on suppressing internal security. Therefore, The monitoring of the Yinshan Eyeliner tribe and the Mobei Khitan's defense have also weakened.
For now, there is nothing going on in the middle of the desert and in the northern part of the desert, and the Khitan dare not rush southward to find peace for a while. However, the land is not peaceful now, and it is unknown when it will be stable.
Once the northern rebels move south and invade the border, it will definitely pose a serious threat to the northern border of the Han Dynasty. Especially given the current situation in the northern border, once the internal and external collusion responds, it is likely to lead to a disaster..."
After hearing what he said, Emperor Liu frowned slightly and looked at Li Jilong sideways: "I seem to have heard similar words before. Some officials in the court wrote this to warn me.
On the surface, they hope that the imperial court will be wary of those leaders and chiefs who have been deprived of tribal power and property, to prevent them from colluding with Mobei, betraying the imperial court, and destroying the stability of northern Xinjiang out of resentment and complaints.
But in fact, they were still hesitant or even opposed to the imperial court's policy of reducing barbarians. In their view, maintaining the past status quo, Northern Xinjiang had been stable for more than ten years, prosperous, and those tribes also respectfully submitted.
If the imperial court implements this policy, it will destroy the stability of northern Xinjiang, cause dissatisfaction, and stimulate conflicts, which is the way to cause chaos. Is this what you mean too?"
Emperor Liu said these words in a friendly manner, but his tone gave people an obvious sense of strangeness. After hearing this, Li Jilong shook his head decisively and simply, saying: "In my opinion, if the northern captives go south, if Those leaders and chiefs still control the clan's military and property, so if they collude with the Mobei Khitan and rebel against the imperial court, wouldn't the damage they cause to northern Xinjiang and the imperial court be even more serious?"
"Haha..." After hearing what Li Jilong said, Emperor Liu's expression did not change, but it gave the two sons-in-law in front of him a sense of relaxation: "Your consideration is correct and very insightful!"
Li Jilong lowered his head slightly, seeming a little embarrassed. Although he couldn't admit it, he was indeed catering to Emperor Liu to a large extent.
"As you said, the defense in northern Xinjiang is currently facing certain troubles. Now that it has been raised, do you have any thoughts on how to solve it?" Emperor Liu continued to ask.
Without thinking, Li Jilong cupped his hands and said, "I have two strategies!"
Meeting Emperor Liu's slightly expectant gaze, Li Jilong said: "The best strategy is to take the initiative, send troops northward, and advance into Mobei. Instead of waiting for the barbarians to go south one day, why not burn the war to Mobei and completely defeat the Mobei Khitan? Then the threats to Monan, Shanyang and the entire northern territory will be completely eliminated!"
Emperor Liu drank a small drink and couldn't help but choked after hearing this plan. Looking at Li Jilong who looked serious, he said: "Don't you know the strategic national policy of the Han Dynasty in recent years? Expedition to the Khitan in the north and deep into Mobei. To put it lightly, Do you know how much it will cost the court if we really want to go there? Putting aside my attitude, if I report it to the court, the ministers in the political hall will not agree!"
"Not to mention other people, Liu Yang is also supervising the country's governance. Ask him if he agrees with this proposal?"
Seeing Emperor Liu looking at him, Liu Yang remained calm and thought for a while before replying calmly: "Tyranny also proposed strategies based on what dad asked. He is the general who leads the army. From a military perspective, this is indeed a way to take the initiative."
, the way to eliminate the trouble from the north!"
Liu Yang's words left a circle and explained to Li Jilong, but his attitude was obviously not approved. At least for now, he would not approve of using troops against Mobei.
In the Northeast region, the matter has not yet been settled, so how can there be another war in Mobei? For a long time to come, the Han Dynasty will still focus on internal governance to achieve peace, stabilize its rule, and naturalize the barbarians. The ultimate goal of the policy is also
For this reason, even if some seemingly unnecessary hidden dangers and troubles are caused in the process.
Of course, Li Jilong was a smart man, and he heard what Liu Yang was saying, but he said calmly: "I naturally have some understanding of the imperial government, but I don't think that using force to avoid war does not mean that I am afraid of war.
Being timid does not mean that the court has to tie its own hands and feet. Otherwise, why would the court send a large number of troops out of Huanglong Mansion and go deep into the mountains and forests of Northeast China this year?
Furthermore, even if we attack Mobei from the north, it may not require the strength of the whole country. With the current strength of the Khitan, it is not enough for the court to attack with all its strength. It just changes the cost from guarding the border to attacking. The specific method of attack can also be flexible and effective.
Law......"
"It seems that you still can't sit still and want to make contributions!" After listening to Li Jilong's words, Emperor Liu was not annoyed, but said with a smile.
It was revealed directly that Emperor Liu did not express his position, but not expressing his position is the clearest statement.
"Tell me about your next move!" Emperor Liu signaled.
In this regard, Li Jilong's answer was even simpler and more direct: "Nothing else, just send more garrison soldiers to strengthen the strength of the border defense forces in northern Xinjiang!"
Listening to his words, Emperor Liu's brows were twitching, and there seemed to be an indescribable emotion surging in his heart. After pouring Li Jilong a glass of wine, Emperor Liu said: "Tyranny, do you know that nowadays, Xiqi Feng
Prefecture, reaching Yinshan Mountain in the north and Yanshan Mountain in the east, how many troops are there in the imperial court's garrison?"
Li Jilong was stunned for a moment and said: "I don't know the specific number, but it is probably between seventy and eighty thousand!"
"Almost!" Emperor Liu nodded and continued to ask: "Then do you know how many garrison troops there are in the entire north? How many garrison troops are there in the entire north and south of the Han Dynasty?"
"Nearly four hundred thousand!" Emperor Liu said directly without waiting for an answer, and continued to ask in a somewhat oppressive tone: "Do you know how much the imperial court spends each year to support so many border troops?"
At this time, Li Jilong naturally realized what Emperor Liu meant, but he still had to answer his father-in-law's question, and he shook his head in embarrassment: "I don't know!"
"I don't know either!" Emperor Liu followed up and said forcefully: "But I know that it changes every year and increases every year. Every year, the people in charge of the money bag of the Financial Secretary complain to the court and to me.
Call it difficult!"
"Under such circumstances, I have suppressed the proposal to reduce the border troops. You rashly proposed to increase the garrison without waiting for feedback. I can tell you directly that the ministers in the DPRK and China, especially the ministers of the Financial Secretary,
They can jump!"
In fact, Emperor Liu is now paying more and more attention to the issue of military expenditures for border defense. If it were before, he might have felt that he was a civil servant in the court who wanted to suppress the generals, the strength of the army, and the nobles by reducing armaments.
But Emperor Liu has always attached great importance to the military and the army. How could he tolerate the interference of civil servants in the court? However, after so many years, the Secretary of Finance's screams became louder and louder, which finally attracted Emperor Liu.
After a detailed understanding of my thoughts, I have to admit that the issue of border defense is indeed very expensive.
Not to mention the huge number of garrison soldiers, in order to provide support, the annual wages, clothing, shoes and socks, grain, ordnance, livestock and other military supplies, plus the transportation losses, are an extremely huge expenditure.
Emperor Liu also treated the army very favorably, especially the frontier soldiers who endured the most hardships and faced the most difficult environment. At least in terms of treatment, there was absolutely no shortage.
This is just the border army. For national defense construction and border security, no matter how high the cost, the imperial court has been gritting its teeth and persisting in the past. However, as time went by, even Emperor Liu gradually felt the intrusion from all sides.
Under the pressure, it seems that I have seen the day coming. When the imperial court cannot support such a huge defense system and cannot withstand the heavy financial pressure, it will mean collapse...
In fact, Emperor Liu had already considered making adjustments. He had previously asked the Political Affairs Hall, the Privy Council, and the Financial Secretary to jointly discuss the matter, but the discussion failed to produce a result.
It is not easy to make rectifications. If you act rashly, it is really easy to cause problems. The Finance Secretary's proposals, either to reduce the number of troops or to cut benefits, were directly vetoed by Emperor Liu. This is a recipe for disaster.
Therefore, when he heard Li Jilong's proposal to continue to increase the garrison strength in Northern Xinjiang, it hit Emperor Liu's nerves and pointed to his recent worries, so his reaction was inevitably a little bigger.
On the other hand, this consideration is not only due to the financial burden. There is also a question: if the border army is too large, will it lead to a situation where the outside is heavy but the inside is weak, and the branches are strong and the trunk is weak?
This should be strictly prohibited and strictly vigilant!
Even though Emperor Liu has been constantly emphasizing the supremacy of imperial power, promoting centralization of power, and ensuring control over the army, as time goes by and the situation develops and changes, a worrying situation will inevitably form.
After all, there are lessons learned from the past.
However, in order to maintain such a vast territory of the Han Dynasty, to maintain the rule of the imperial court, and to ensure the security of the country, it had to deploy troops and strengthen defenses. Such difficulties were unavoidable for the Han Empire.
As a military general and a member of the frontier army, Li Jilong naturally would not think so much and could not understand the court's pain points. But Liu Yang was very clear about it, so when he saw his doubts, he simply explained the relationship between the court and the central government.
The controversy over the border garrison is explained below.
As a result, Li Jilong suddenly realized that his suggestions were in contradiction with the imperial court...