Everyone has fought side by side with His Majesty Li Er for many years, and their friendship is extraordinary, and His Majesty Li Er's personality charm is unparalleled in the world. Even though these arrogant and powerful generals have many plans hidden in their hearts, they are absolutely not loyal to His Majesty Li Er. discount.
Thinking of the hero Li Er, who was a hero in his second life, with great talent and great strategy, but ended up in the land of Liaodong, where the dragon dominated Bintian, and still has not been able to be buried in the mausoleum, and is buried in peace, I feel sad and ashamed in my heart.
Li Ji shook his head and said: "It has been such a long time, so there is no rush. Let's wait until the situation in Chang'an is completely stabilized before sending our troops back to the capital."
Everyone frowned, deeply dissatisfied.
One is dissatisfied with Li Ji's refusal to disclose his plans until now, and the other is a sentence stuck in his throat: It was okay to say that it was the cold winter in the twelfth lunar month, but now the spring rains are coming one after another, and the temperature is rising day by day... Your Majesty Long. Doesn’t your body stink?
Although everyone was silent, Li Ji still clearly felt that the tent was filled with deep resentment. He looked calm and seemed to have everything under control, but he gave a helpless smile in his heart.
I can't help myself...
At this moment, the soldiers outside the door came inside and announced that Linghu Defen was here to pay him a visit.
Cheng Yaojin sneered: "Seeing that their defeat is certain, these guys want to come to us to find a way out. If we had known this, why did they do it in the first place?"
Zhang Liang also sighed: "Times make heroes, but once a general's achievements are eternal, who is willing to become a stepping stone for a hero? Guan Long is on the verge of despair this time. If he fights hard, he will not hesitate to suffer the fate of both jade and stone. He still cannot be underestimated. , I'm afraid half of Chang'an City will be buried with them... The commander-in-chief still needs to be more thoughtful."
He had a deep entanglement with Guan Long, and he didn't want to see Guan Long completely destroyed, but he couldn't plead for Guan Long. After all, Guan Long's defeat was determined at this moment, and the victory of the East Palace was just around the corner. He didn't want to be labeled as a " He was accused of "sympathizing with rebellion" and was suppressed by the prince...
Li Ji said calmly: "I know what's going on, and I also ask you to go back and restrain the army to be careful of any unexpected events."
Understanding that this was an order to expel guests, without explicitly saying "please take shelter for a moment", everyone stood up, saluted and then left.
Only one Zhu Suiliang was left in the house...
When he went out, he saw Linghu Defen, who had white hair and beard, standing at the door with his hands behind his back. Everyone greeted him one by one, and Linghu Defen returned the gift.
After entering the house, Linghu Defen and Li Ji greeted each other again, and then took their seats. The soldiers offered tea. Li Ji smiled and said: "Brother Linghu thought of it, and it is appropriate to take care of him until his old age. It’s really hard to walk around in this rainy weather.”
He raised his hand in greeting and invited Linghu Defen to drink tea.
Linghu Defen picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and said with a wry smile: "The current situation is like this, how can we be alone in it? You must have heard about the current situation in Chang'an, and Fang Jun burned it down with a fire It destroyed the foundation of the Guanlong army and burned the sanity of more than 100,000 soldiers. Once the Guanlong clan loses control of the army, Chang'an will face a military disaster."
People are like iron rice or steel. If you don't eat a meal, you won't be hungry... There is no such saying these days, but everyone understands the truth.
Without food and supplies, what can more than 100,000 mouths eat? For the regular army, serving the country and serving the country as a soldier, making a wife and a son, and other lofty ideals, but for the rabble in the Guanlong army , the only purpose of being a soldier is to eat.
I will listen to whoever feeds me and feeds me.
On the contrary, if I don’t even have a bite to eat, why should I listen to you?
By that time, even the Guanlong Clan will not be able to restrain the more than 100,000 soldiers under their command who are waiting for food. Once they lose control of the army, the Guanlong Clan will naturally be on the verge of collapse, but the surrounding areas of Chang'an will also face a military disaster caused by a rout.
Those soldiers who have no food to eat will ravage the pass like locusts, eating everything that is edible and inedible, and then there will be nothing left to eat, so they will plunder everywhere.
This kind of thing has happened more than once in history. When it reaches its most serious stage, it is definitely possible to feed on human flesh...
Linghu Defen added: "The British Lord is not only the commander-in-chief of an army, but also the prime minister and assistant of the empire. He is responsible for governing the world and benefiting all people. If a tragic military disaster really occurs, how should the British Lord explain to His Majesty? Explain to the world?"
Li Ji said calmly: "Are you threatening me?"
Linghu Defen shook his head and exclaimed: "How dare I? I am just helping the British Duke analyze the current situation. Although I am a member of Guanlong, I cannot escape the blame for this mutiny, but why did I ever want to get to such a point? At the moment, only the British Lord can control the situation and prevent disaster from happening. Therefore, I have something to ask of you."
These words are indeed not a threat, because once the Guanlong army collapses and the routed locusts ravage Guanzhong, even the Guanlong clan will be helpless and unable to do anything.
Li Ji remained silent for a while, without comment, and then asked, "What do you want?"
Linghu Defen said bluntly: "Now that the military rations in Guanzhong have been exhausted, there is no way to sustain it. It is impossible to feed such a large army. We also ask the British to openly open the Tongguan Confinement and allow those powerful and private armies to return to their places of origin. This will minimize the number of troops." Even if the probability of military disaster is still inevitable, the loss can be minimized."
After saying this, he stared at Li Ji's face, trying to see the changes in his expression.
However, he was still disappointed in the end. Li Ji's expression remained unchanged, without any fluctuation at all. He could not detect any emotions such as joy, anger, worry, etc...
Li Ji was silent for a while, then shook his head and said: "So many powerful private armies will lose control once they leave the customs. They will definitely harm the local people on their way back home, and countless people will be tortured. I am the prime minister of the dynasty. , we must not sit back and watch such tragedies happen.”
Just when Linghu Defen looked disappointed, he continued: "It is not impossible to allow these private soldiers to return to their hometowns, but they must be disarmed on the spot, reorganized, and temporarily stationed in various places in Guanzhong. We will keep them under surveillance until the chaos in Chang'an is settled and everything is back on track, and then we can sneak back one by one."
The hope that rose in Linghu Defen's heart was instantly shattered, and he smiled bitterly: "How can this be achieved?"
The reason why they came to beg Li Jifang to tighten the switch is definitely not because the Guanlong clan was worried about the rout of troops in Guanzhong. Even half of Chang'an city was reduced to ruins by them. How could they care about other places in Guanzhong?
I just want to avoid being resented by the world's elite.
The basis of clan politics is that the clan has absolute control over the court, monopolizes politics, and controls the world's voice. The private armies and dead soldiers of each family are the basis for the continued prosperity of the clan. Once these private armies and dead soldiers are gone, what will the nobles do to roam the countryside and fight against the imperial court?
At that time, the life and death of the clan will be in the hands of the imperial court and the king. After being convicted and convicted, the army will attack the country. Which clan can resist?
How can one resist the imperial army based on so-called "prestige" alone?
Once Guan Long is defeated, all the private armies supporting Guan Long will be destroyed. Guan Long will definitely be hated by all the clans in the world - it was Changsun Wuji who forced everyone to send troops into the pass through coercion and inducement. If all the private armies of the family are destroyed, The foundation of the sect is shaken, how can we not hate the Guanlong sect to the core?
By that time, even if Guan Long survives because of the peace talks, he will be the enemy of the whole world...
Li Ji shook his head expressionlessly: "I am responsible for the people of the prefectures and counties outside the Pass. Unless they accept reorganization, it is impossible for these private armies to leave the Pass."
Linghu Defen's expression changed, and he asked tentatively: "Is this the British Lord's original intention?"
If Li Ji had planned to eliminate all the private armies of these clans in Guanzhong from the beginning, it means that the reason why Li Ji delayed returning and stationed at Tongguan instead of entering Guanzhong after his return was because his intention was to target the clans in the world. .
The Guanlong clan is naturally the first to bear the brunt, so Li Ji's tendency and stance are self-evident...
Li Ji smiled, looked at Linghu Defen with a deep look, and said slowly: "Don't think too much, what I'm thinking has nothing to do with Guan Long. You'd better find a way to promote peace talks as soon as possible and eliminate the mutiny. Otherwise, given Fang Jun's brazenness and lack of scruples, and the Crown Prince's increasingly tough attitude, the Guanlong clan will eventually reap the consequences, and will never recover."
Zhu Suiliang, who had been silent all this time, raised his head and glanced at Li Ji. It happened that Li Ji also looked at him. Their eyes met, and Zhu Suiliang lowered his head to drink tea without paying attention.
Somewhat weird...
Linghu Defen had no intention of paying attention to this. He was now impatient and asked: "Guan Long is willing to take any responsibility for what he has done, but as the British official is the head of the prime minister, not only the people outside Guan are protected by you, but also the people outside Guan Long are protected by you. Aren’t those powerful private armies also citizens of the Tang Dynasty? Why should they favor one over the other?”
To this day, Guan Long has planned to accept failure and bear the price, but he absolutely does not want to let the clans outside Guan Long hate him so much that he will be isolated from the clans in the world...