Chapter 5 Promise (Part 1) Goguryeo surrendered. Li Xu was shocked when he first heard the news. Immediately, he felt a deep regret in his heart. He finally lost the chance to go to Liaodong to avenge his companions.
His Majesty the Emperor forgot the promise he made before he came to Qijun last year. This time he did not send him to serve in the Liaoning expedition. But as soon as he thought about it, Xuzi's mentality became calm again. Life in Qijun is not bad, and the enemies here are far worse.
The barbarians hired by Goguryeo with huge sums of money were ferocious. The more important point is that commanding the county soldiers to fight can easily gain the respect of the people. Unlike the war in Goguryeo, the people were very enthusiastic about the battle to exterminate the bandits. Every time the army returned in triumph, the villagers and villagers were all excited.
Welcome inside and outside the city gate
That kind of heartfelt cheering is very useful, and it can even temporarily forget the dream of becoming a marquis and becoming a general. Xuzi smiled and listened to the old eunuch Pei Caozhi continue to explain the official report of Pingliao.
It took more than four months, and the army to conquer Liao was finally assembled last month. His Majesty the Emperor personally went on stage to worship heaven, vowing not to break Goguryeo and never return to the army. At the same time, the Sui Dynasty navy, led by General Laihuer, set sail to sea, risking
The Goguryeo people's initial resistance was still fierce, but the navy that came to protect the general repeatedly defeated the stubborn enemy, fought steadily, and finally approached Pyongyang a few days ago.
The King of Goguryeo was afraid of the military power of the Sui Dynasty, so he bound the traitor Hu Si Zheng and sent him to Liaodong. He sent an envoy to ask for His Majesty's surrender. After discussing with all the officials, he agreed.
"Sir, are you saying that General Laihu'er has just approached Pyongyang and Hu Sizheng has been sent to Liaodong?" Although he knew that it was not polite to do so, Xuzi still had to interrupt the old governor's story midway to mention that he participated in the two Liaodong campaigns.
With the experience gained from the battle, he could instinctively feel that this victory came unexpectedly.
"Yes, so the thief is frightened." Pei Caozhi, still immersed in excitement, replied casually.
"Goguryeo is very mountainous, and Liaodong is nearly a thousand miles away from Pyongyang!" Li Xu said, shaking his head slightly. First of all, the time calculation is wrong. It takes at least half a month to travel from Liaodong to Pyongyang. If the envoys travel back and forth for a month,
, General Laihuer has launched an offensive against Pyongyang City
But these tricks that can be seen at a glance should be noticed by the civil and military personnel accompanying the emperor. Unlike the previous two years, everyone has no idea about Liaodong and the terrain. After experiencing the defeat of the first expedition against Liao, the military generals learned
Lesson learned, the map of Liaodong in hand is relatively precise. Any general who can stand up and calculate the distance can also deduce that Hu Sizheng is definitely not from Pyongyang.
"Perhaps Gao Yuan Clown knew that he was unreasonable this time and imprisoned Hu Si Zheng in Liaodong City beforehand!" After hearing Li Xu's words, Pei Caozhi was stunned and forced to explain.
The victory in Pingliao was the good news he had been waiting for for a long time. It meant that the local people could recuperate and thrive, and it also meant that he would no longer have to worry about the swarming bandits next spring. Therefore, the old prefect would rather believe in the honesty of the Goguryeo people at this moment.
Willing to carefully examine the flaws
'Master Pei is just a civil servant after all!' After seeing the old eunuch's persistence, Xu Zi secretly thought in his mind. He looked at Zhang Xutuo, hoping to get support from him, but Master Tongshou turned his head away with a smile and refused to turn his head away.
Eye contact with him
'It turns out that Master Tongshou also understands this truth, but why didn't he say it?' Xuzi hesitated a little, not knowing whether he should be stubborn. Time has gradually smoothed his edges. While he learned to be diplomatic, he also lost his temper.
The courage to tell the truth
"Officials from all over the country are sending congratulations to His Majesty. Lord Zhang and I thought about it. You are the only one who has received the most grace from the Holy Spirit here. So, I would like to hear your suggestions on what kind of congratulatory gift to send!" Pei Caozhi
Seeing that Li Xu stopped interrupting him, he thought he had been convinced and slowly got to the point.
"If Goguryeo can really be pacified, it will be your Majesty's most anticipated gift." Xuzi thought about it and tried to speak tactfully. He did not believe the promise of the Goguryeo royal family. The two Liaodong battles gave him the impression that Goguryeo was the one who acted rogue and lied.
The specialty of the peninsula nation, from the repeated surrender of Liaodong City in the past to the 300,000 troops led by Yu Wenshu and Yu Zhongwen who were followed and killed, the behavior of the Goguryeo people has fully witnessed their credibility.
Those people in the scam, including His Majesty the Emperor himself, don’t know what they think. They have been fooled many times and still don’t know how to guard against it!
"Back then, Marquis Zhuge Wu captured and manipulated the Southern Barbarian king seven times. Your Majesty has already invaded Liaodong three times. I think the King of Goguryeo has realized the power of Sui Dynasty this time and knows how to change his mind!" Pei Caozhi, the old governor, was a little impatient. As an old man in officialdom,
He easily followed Li Xu's words and figured out what the other party really meant.
The young man was still full of energy. For the sake of caring, the elder decided not to see Xuzi like him. He sorted out his interrupted thoughts and was about to emphasize the importance of preparing gifts when he heard a sigh in front of him.
"If Gao Yuan is willing to keep his word, I will naturally forgive him..." Li Xu sighed and shook his head, not fully expressing what he meant. At this time, it was too late for him to say anything. Since the news of the class teacher had reached Qi County,
The army thousands of miles away must have turned back long ago
"I just said this to the prefect, but since the beginning of spring, bandits have broken out all over the country. I guess the ministers in the court do not want Wang Shi to stay in Liaodong for a long time, so as not to cause unexpected disasters!" Zhang Xutuo saw that Xu Zi was still a little confused, and
He slowly added to the side that he was also a military commander. Asahi's point of view was very clear to him. From the perspective of a military commander, either he didn't fight, or if he had to fight, he should completely defeat his opponent to avoid future troubles. Instead of retreating in the middle of the battle like this,
Will encourage the enemy's arrogance
But the Sui Dynasty could no longer bear the trouble. According to rumors, this year, Qi County used refugees as soldiers to serve as soldiers on the front lines. Some strong local officials even openly boycotted the third Liao expedition until May.
The number of soldiers and horses assembled at Huaiyuan Town was less than half of the previous two times, and a large number of low-level officers used various excuses to evade military service. Of course, Zhang Xutuo could not take the initiative to communicate with his colleagues about these rumors, but he believed that this was because the court had to agree with Goguryeo.
The real reason for asking for surrender. As for the troops coming to Pyongyang to protect the children, it was unexpected by the court officials. Therefore, the court agreed to the surrender conditions of the Goguryeo people without contacting the navy at all. Otherwise, the navy would never have been able to conquer Pyongyang.
She, the strange thing that Hu Sizheng has been sent to Liaodong
"Only by moving troops from Liaodong, the imperial court will have enough power to deal with the bandits from all over the country. After all, we can no longer let them make more trouble!" Pei Caozhi saw that Zhang Xutuo echoed his opinion, and he was very happy to add that as local officials, they
We are more concerned about the people's livelihood in this region, rather than a few wild lands thousands of miles away.
"I didn't think it through well! Thank you two adults for your advice!" Li Xu suddenly woke up and thanked him again. At this moment, the expression on his face was very humble, but there was a turmoil in his heart.
He did not have many sources of information, and he did not have access to the official secrets that Pei Caozhi and Zhang Xutuo had heard. But with several years of experience in different military departments, he saw the problem far better than Pei and Zhang at this time.
Over the past three years, every time the imperial court withdrew its troops from Liaodong, the local chaos became aggravated. First, ordinary people rose up, and then some down-and-out aristocratic families such as Li Mi and Yang Xuangan tried to take advantage of the fire. If the conquest of Liao was successful, the arrogance of the bandits everywhere would be
It will inevitably suffer heavy losses. If the third expedition to Liao still fails, and the prestige of the imperial court continues to suffer, I am afraid that the rebellion will be far more than just the people from the first two times.
Xuzi, who has grown up, knows that his rebellious opinions can only be kept in his heart. Unless His Majesty the Emperor asks him personally, he can't tell anyone. Therefore, he can only go with the flow and follow the words of his two superiors and say something against his will.
It is his best way to protect himself. Otherwise, apart from having a quick mouthful, not only will it not have any effect, but it will inadvertently create a bunch of enemies for himself.
"It's easy to say, it's easy to say. It's very important for General Li Lang not to congratulate him politely. General Li Lang has to help me carefully advise him!" Pei Caozhi was in a very good mood and had no intention of caring about Li Xu's reckless words just now.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, I think what he hopes for most is for the world to be peaceful and for the people to live and work in peace and contentment!" Xuzi described Yang Guang as the ideal emperor in his mind, but he himself did not believe this sentence. The impression that Yang Guang always had
Different faces appeared, the affectionate and righteous Majesty who caressed the body of the wheat iron staff by the Liao River, the His Majesty who pointed at Liaodong in the Huaiyuan Army, and the His Majesty who blamed others after the failure of the Liao campaign, and then desperately started another war.
It is the same person. Xuzi has never seen such a weird temperament, wisdom and stupidity, generosity and meanness, persistence and fickleness. Almost all different personalities are combined in His Majesty the Emperor. Sometimes, he looks like an eternal wise king, but
Most of the time, he's just a willful child
"That's natural. Your Majesty has vast territory, and he doesn't lack a little courtesy from us ministers. But the expedition against Liao is a big deal after all. On this great day when the whole world is celebrating, we, the Qijun, are the only ones who are lagging behind. It seems too conspicuous!" The old eunuch said!
Pei Caozhi was very good at talking. After a few words, he pointed out the reasons for preparing congratulatory gifts and congratulations.
This is a major event involving the future of colleagues in a county, so no one can be arrogant. In fact, the so-called officials, whether they are fatuous or incorruptible, don’t all depend on the court? The king of Chu has such a slim waist, so many palace officials starve to death.
The old eunuch who had been working for half his life didn't pay attention to other things, but he knew all about being an official.
"I think His Majesty has just returned in triumph. He will definitely need a lot of money to motivate the soldiers." Xu Zi looked at Pei Caozhi, who was full of enthusiasm, and then at Zhang Xutuo, who was smiling and silent. He sighed deeply in his heart.
, His Majesty’s favorite thing is probably military exploits, but at the moment he is definitely still immersed in the joy of conquering Goguryeo. These meager achievements of the county soldiers in suppressing bandits may not be able to impress him. As for the third place, Xuzi knows
, but has never been willing to face the answer: Yang Guang's hobby is so far from the good emperor in his mind that every time he mentions it, he can't help but feel depressed.
"If we pick out a few valuable pieces from the loot from the last bandit campaign and present them to His Majesty, I estimate that His Majesty will be very happy!" Xuzi lowered his head and added in a very low voice.
This is the truest side of His Majesty the Emperor that he knows. He doesn't like it, but he can't deny it.
