"After I got the news, I wrote a letter to the commander-in-chief!" Gao Shi smiled slightly, showing his well-maintained white teeth, "I remember that I once suggested in the letter that the commander-in-chief should not rush to show his kindness to Yang Xiang.
His favor can be repaid at any time, and the initiative lies with the commander-in-chief. But if there is a conflict with the Anxi Army, he must always be wary of Feng Changqing's revenge! Comparing the two, it is better to let the baggage team pass by in a daze! It may be
The commander-in-chief was so busy with official duties that he didn’t even notice the reminder from his subordinates.”
"Is there such a thing?" Ge Shuhan was stunned again. He was vaguely aware of the letter. But this letter was sent in a pile of official documents.
, there were no special marks on the cover, how could he have the energy to read it carefully? What's more, he always thought that Gao Shi was too bookish to make any long-term plans. So he just glanced at it briefly and read it.
The letter was thrown into the trash pile.
Now, when the other party mentioned it to his face, Ge Shuhan's face suddenly became hot. He turned his head to avoid Gao Shi's gaze and said in a low voice, "Oh! Why don't you remind me more! I have to deal with so many official duties every day.
, how can I have time to read every letter carefully? I guess the military enlistment below was classified into the wrong category, so it didn’t attract my attention at all. Alas! These lazy guys have missed my business. Sooner or later I have to find it.
It’s a chance to straighten them out. But it’s too late to say this now. I’ve offended Feng Changqing, and Yang Guozhong didn’t fare well either! Alas! Why am I so unlucky?!”
After the words fell, the soldiers who joined the army all grinned bitterly. When brother Shu Han insisted on repaying Yang Guozhong's kindness, who among them had the courage to cause trouble for him? That is, Gao Shi, a sharp-edged official who had made a living in local officialdom.
Only then did he come up with this method that fulfilled his duty of reminder without making Ge Shuhan angry. I don’t necessarily expect it to have any effect, I just want to feel at ease afterwards.
"Actually, if the commander wants to make amends, it's not that difficult!" Before everyone could put away their smiles, Gao Shi cupped his hands again and made an astonishing statement.
"Repair, am I afraid of them?" Ge Shuhan sneered and curled his lips, his face full of indifference. "The number of people I have offended is huge, and I am not afraid of one or two more. However, you can do it."
Let's talk about it. If it's just a little effort, I wouldn't mind selling him Yang Guozhong and Feng Laizi a little face!"
"You want to lose face!" All the generals muttered in their hearts, but all their eyes turned to Gao Shi to see how he could make up for the leakage caused by Ge Shuhan.
"Of course it's not a question of who is afraid of whom!" Gao Shi smiled and nodded gently to everyone, "As long as our Hexi Army works together, no one can do anything to the commander! My subordinates just want to solve some minor troubles for the commander.
There is an old saying in the Central Plains that it is better to eliminate thieves in one fell swoop than to guard against them for a thousand days. Commander, please think about how Yang Guozhong will react if the news that Wang Xiaowei and others are not dead reaches his ears?!"
"That guy! He will definitely scold me for not caring enough to do things for him! Then he will immediately try to make trouble for our Hexi Army!" Ge Shuhan saw Yang Guozhong's temper and temperament very clearly. He smiled bitterly and shook his head slightly.
He has neither the talent nor the character of a prime minister. This was the unanimous opinion of everyone about Yang Guozhong when Gao Shi first pointed out the country with Li Bai, Cen Shen and others. He smiled and said to Ge Shuhan very sincerely: "
Yang Guozhong has just ascended the throne, and his foundation is not yet stable. It is unlikely that he will fall out with the commander-in-chief immediately. But in the future, when he has established a firm foothold in the court, he may inevitably turn over old scores. Therefore, it is better for the commander-in-chief to give him a generous gift now.
, so that he will no longer be upset about the fact that our department failed to do what he wanted!"
"What kind of gift?" Ge Shuhan frowned and asked, "Is Yang Guozhong still short of money now?"
If someone else had been the prime minister, Gao Shi would not have dared to jump to conclusions. But as for the thoughts of a market gangster like Yang Guozhong, he could guess with his eyes closed, "This person likes luxury by nature and needs money.
A lot. But just giving gold, silver, jade and silk can't show the friendship between the Marshal and Prime Minister Yang! Besides, he has just replaced Li Linfu. What he needs most is not money, but to be able to show that he is better than his predecessor.
Excellent political achievements!"
"Political achievements?" Ge Shuhan's eyebrows knitted tighter, and the wrinkles on his forehead caused by excessive drinking were clearly visible, "I am a military general, how can I give him political achievements for nothing?"
"How can we expand our territory without the prime minister's strategizing skills?" Gao Shi smiled slyly and responded in a low voice, "In the last few years of Prime Minister Li's rule, his mentality has been very lazy. Allocate funds to various areas in the border towns.
The supplies of food and grass were repeatedly deducted. In the border towns, no one except the commander could make any dazzling achievements. Especially in the Battle of Hengluos in the tenth year of Tianbao, due to the betrayal of Ge Luolu's troops in front of the battle line,
General Gao Xianzhi advanced and retreated. All his supplies of food, grass and baggage were lost to the enemy. In the end, less than a thousand of the 24,000 soldiers made it out of the siege safely! This battle was a rare shame and humiliation since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Everyone in the government and the public heard about it.
It was a pity. Although Li Xiang tried to cover up the situation afterwards, it was difficult to stop the world from talking about it, and it also left a poisonous thorn in His Majesty's heart. As far as the subordinates know, this was the reason why Gao Xianzhi later returned to the capital to recuperate and sent troops to Anxi.
One of the reasons why they were handed over to Feng Changqing for custody!"
Even if Gao Shi didn't need to say these words, Ge Shuhan knew it very well. Since His Majesty the Emperor came to the throne, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty have conquered east and west, with almost no disadvantages. However, the disastrous defeat in the battle of Henglus made the imperial court lose face. If
If we carefully investigate the responsibility, the leading commander Gao Xianzhi certainly deserves to be dismissed from office. As the prime minister, Li Linfu is probably not exempt from the blame. After all, since this person took charge of the power of the DPRK, the amount of food and salary allocated to the military has been reduced again and again.
Now that Yang Guozhong has finally succeeded in replacing Li Linfu as prime minister, after taking office, the easiest way to prove that he is more capable than his predecessor is to expand the territory. If someone can deliver one or two decent results in time, I am afraid that in Yang Guozhong's eyes,
This will be like providing help in times of need. Not only can the previous rifts, no matter how big, be wiped out, in the future, when Yang Guozhong secures his position as prime minister, he will also be introduced to this person as his right-hand man.
Thinking of this section, Ge Shuhan couldn't help stroking his palms vigorously, "You are such a high-ranking official. You are indeed an old man in the officialdom. You have understood all the ways of the world! I will do as you say. When the spring comes next year, we will immediately
Brothers, pull them out and give Yang Guozhong a generous gift!"
"The handsome man is wise!" "The handsome man is mighty!" "Fight, fight, if we don't fight, I will have fat on my crotch!" Huoba Quyen, Abu Si, Zuo Che, Hun Weiming and other brothers Shu Han
The confidants and generals shouted in unison. There was always no battle, and they were itching all over from idleness. They wished they could find a soft persimmon to knead.
"But where should we start?" Ge Shuhan waved his hand and stopped everyone's commotion, "Dafu, go on, where should we start?"
"Of course, whichever is the most convenient, where to start!" Gao Shi had already prepared the answer, nodded, and responded unhurriedly. "According to the information that my subordinates found out when they were in Yangguan City, Tubo Zampu is seriously ill.
The prime minister and the prince seem to be at odds with each other. At this time, if the commander-in-chief doesn't take the opportunity to kill them, how long will it take?"
"Well! It is indeed an opportunity!" Ge Shuhan nodded and pondered, but his voice was not very firm. A few days after replacing Wang Zhongsi in charge of the Hexi army, in order to prove his talents, he led the army to fight a tough battle with the Tubo people.
Although they succeeded in capturing several strategic strongholds in the Qinghai Lake and Dafeichuan areas, due to the influence of many unfavorable factors such as weather and terrain, the losses of the soldiers under their command were indeed heavy.
The sequelae of this battle have not been completely eliminated. When the Central Plains literati mentioned it, they all laughed at his brother Shu Han for being so happy that he used the blood of his brothers in exchange for a royal purple robe to wear. Zhang Shouyu, one of the most powerful generals in the Anxi Army
and Gao Xiuyan also left for excuses one after another. One went back to his hometown to retire, and never listened to the sound of the golden drum. The other simply went to join Ge Shuhan's old enemy, Fan Yang, Pinglu, and An Lu, the governor of the three towns in Hedong.
Mountain.
"This is a plan to kill two birds with one stone!" Gao Shi secretly glanced at Ge Shuhan's face and continued to carefully plan for him, "After the spring begins, we will take advantage of the civil strife in Tubo to go south. As long as we gain something, we can make Commander Yang feel grateful."
The reason why Feng Changqing was eager to ask for ordnance supplies from the court was probably because he was preparing to send troops to the west to wash away the shame of the Anxi Army's defeat at Hengluos. Once he restarted the war with the cannibals, what he was most worried about was that the Tubo people would attack him from behind.
A sharp blow. And if our Hexi soldiers and horses contain all the main Tibetan forces on the front line of Jishi Mountain, Feng Changqing will surely not forget the commander-in-chief's virtue of helping him. Although he is a maverick, national affairs and private hatred are not so important.
I can definitely tell which one is heavier!"
"Wonderful!" Before Brother Shuhan could fully understand Gao Shi's suggestion, Zhongwu General Lu Jiong had already started laughing and stroking his hands. "No matter how deep the background of Wang is, he is just a captain at this moment. What he can do in the army is
The effect is limited. If our Hexi Army takes the lead to solve Anxi Army’s worries before he goes west, I’m sorry that Feng Changqing will have no shame in arguing with the commander-in-chief!”
"Well -, get me a map! Brother Dafu, just mark your idea on it!" Ge Shuhan pondered for a moment, then suddenly stamped his foot and shouted an order.
In just that short moment, his mind had already turned hundreds of times. His intuition told him that Gao Shi's suggestion was definitely not just to reduce trouble for the Hexi Army. There might be other motives behind it.
However, the huge benefits presented by this strategy made him unable to refuse. As Zhongwu General Lu Jiong said, with this favor, Feng Changqing could not say anything to seek justice for Wang Xun. More importantly,
The most important thing is that, both for Ge Shuhan himself and Yang Guozhong, who had just become prime minister, this was a timely achievement that was enough to make them join hands again and put aside their past feud.
