As of today, "Official Officials" has been in Zongheng for a full year. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the brothers and sisters who collected, supported and commented on "Official Officials".
"I accept the decree!"
Li Zhuo knelt in front of the incense table and listened to Zhang Ximing read the imperial edict. He stood up with his knees on his knees. After kneeling on the ground for a short time, he seemed to have exhausted all his remaining energy. He stood up, staggered, and almost fell to the cold ground.
On the ground, Geng Quanshan, with sharp eyes and quick hands, stepped forward to help Li Zhuo.
Li Zhuo took the imperial edict, held it in his hand, stood firm, ignored Zhang Ximin, stared at Hao Zongcheng with bloodshot eyes, and said word by word: "Liaoyang must not be attacked! Ji Zhenjun is the leader of the Dai Viet Dynasty.
The last support cannot be taken and taken risks easily. I, Li Zhuo, will not hesitate to lose my reputation. You cannot be the eternal sinner of the imperial court!"
Although Li Zhuo was an exhausted old man at this time, when he spoke like this, his power made Hao Zongcheng unable to look at him.
Hao Zongcheng turned his eyes away and said with a sly smile: "You are the coach. If you say you can't fight, of course you can't fight. It's just that you and I are ministers and share the worries of the court. We have already reached this point. We can't hide in Songshan City.
Don't do anything. What will the Holy One think of you and me, and what will the various guilds in the court think of you and me?"
Among the generals in the tent, only Geng Quanshan and Chen Dingbang were Li Zhuo's confidants. Some of the other generals were watching with cold eyes, some were dismissive, some were staring unconvinced, and some were winking at each other...
Zhang Ximin saw all this in his eyes. Geng Quanshan, Chen Dingbang and others were old generals from Eastern Fujian and were loyal to Li Zhuo. However, the attitudes of most of the other generals in Jizhen were worth pondering.
During the period when Hao Zongcheng was in charge of Jizhen, these generals were corrupt, their military equipment was depleted, and all of them were proficient in lining their own pockets.
After Li Zhuo took charge of Jizhen, he reorganized the entire army, strictly enforced military laws, and severely cracked down on the theft of food and wages.
Although this move gave Li Zhuo a high prestige among ordinary soldiers and significantly improved the combat effectiveness of Jizhen's army, the generals who were lazy, greedy and accustomed to enjoying themselves were full of resentment.
Emperor Chongguan's support for Li Zhuo was limited. The biggest limitation was that if Li Zhuo wanted to adjust the general positions above the battalion general, he had to get the approval of Hao Zongcheng, the military supervisor. This made Li Zhuo reorganize the entire general system.
It simply couldn't go on, and the entire group of generals in Jizhen Army actually revolved around Hao Zongcheng.
"Withdraw troops!" Li Zhuo was mentally exhausted. He was helped by Geng Quanshan and sat on the commander's chair in the middle. He still tried his best to persuade Hao Zongcheng, "Leave 10,000 troops to guard the rear of Songshan Palace, and the other 50,000 troops immediately withdraw to Linyu to take precautions."
The cavalry from the direction of Datong borrowed the road from Jinzhong and then entered Yannan..."
"Although I am not a general, I have been in the army for many years. It is the extremely cold season at this time. Even if the Datong cavalry does not return to Liaoyang to aid, they want to encircle Wei and rescue Zhao, but they still have to have
This ability is enough," Hao Zongcheng said with a smile, "according to the news from Datong, the soldiers outside Datong have been exhausted. It is difficult for them to return to Liaoyang, so what ability can they borrow from Jinzhong to return?
Entering Yannan... Datong, Xuanfu and Jinzhong are not as wealthy as they were in the previous two years. If the captives want to get food by looting, I'm afraid they can't! I know that it will be very difficult if we continue to fight, but the life of the Eastern captives is not
It will be better than us - the Holy Emperor also hopes that Commander-in-Chief you can defeat Liao in one battle and achieve eternal achievements. Today, I will make you the Duke of Yan, conquer Liaoyang, and the title of king with a different surname will be just around the corner. At that time, you will be the only one besides Cao Hongfan.
Second person, why do you refuse to go to the left but not to the right?"
"If there could have been such a situation before the ninth year of Chongguan, or if we could force a fight, there would always be a 30 to 40 percent chance of winning," Li Zhuo advised earnestly, "If we rush into the battle today, there would be no 10 percent chance of winning. 10
It’s a battle to the death, Mr. Hao, do you still want to fight? You’re not afraid of your corpse being buried in this bitter cold place of ice and snow!”
What Li Zhuo said was so terrifying that it sent a chill down Hao Zongcheng's spine and made him feel very unhappy.
"The Holy One has high hopes for you, Commander-in-Chief, please do it well!" Hao Zongcheng said a word and walked out of Li Zhuo's camp. The military meeting broke up unhappy again, Zhang Ximin, Yang Wenchang and others
After chasing him out, all the generals also left one after another.
Li Zhuo sat hunched over in the handsome chair that was too wide, his skinny hands clinging to the armrests and shaking endlessly. This had consumed the last bit of energy in his body, making him look like an old man in his dying years.
Geng Quanshan lowered his voice and said, "Should I lead someone to detain Hao Zongcheng and the others?"
Li Zhuo shook his head feebly. He had never really mastered this Jizhen army. If he could do it, he would never delay it until today. If he could save some vitality for Dai Viet, what would it mean to lose his reputation? At this time, he forced Hao Zongcheng.
If Zhang Ximing and others seize it, the entire Jizhen army will fall apart immediately without the Donghu people coming to fight.
"Li Zhuo has no courage. Your Majesty and all the princes in the imperial court are counting on you, Mr. Hao..." Zhang Ximin said in a suppressed voice.
"Everyone in the capital, young and old, is hoping that you can make this contribution to shame your servants!" Yang Wenchang advised, "Compared with you, that timid kid Li Zhuo, how could he be the first to become a public official?
Hou?"
The candles in the room were burning brightly, making Hao Zongcheng's face look gloomy and uncertain. The secret decree brought by Yang Wenchang lay in his arms.
Although Li Zhuo was an arrogant man, he had his own way of leading troops in battle, and Hao Zongcheng was somewhat self-aware.
Hao Zongcheng thought that he was already the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Even if he successfully defeated Liaoyang, it would be of little significance if he had a reward or no reward. There was no precedent for an internal minister to worship the prime minister in the Dai Viet Dynasty. What if it happened as the old man said?
If you say that Liaoyang is not that easy to chew, if you jump out on your own, you will kick yourself on the iron plate.
As long as possible, Hao Zongcheng still hopes that Li Zhuo will lead the troops to attack Liaoyang. However, this old man has a very hard temper and has no room for accommodation, which makes Hao Zongcheng furious. Now Yang Wenchang has taken charge of the secret orders.
Come here, if you miss the opportunity to fight and let the Donghu troops in Datong come back, Hao Zongcheng will not be able to put all the blame on Li Zhuo.
Hao Zongcheng was hesitant, Zhang Ximing said: "Should we invite generals Cheng and Yuan to come over for discussion?"
The reason why the secret decree was secret was that it could not be revealed to anyone until the last critical moment. But seeing that Li Zhuo was still refusing to send troops, Hao Zongcheng couldn't care too much, so he summoned his cronies and asked him to secretly invite Cheng Tinggui and Yuan Lishan.
Come to his tent to discuss matters.
Cheng Tinggui and Yuan Lishan were both senior military attachés at the rank of Captain of Light Vehicles. One served as the garrison of Jizhou and the other as the garrison of Linyuguan. Among the 60,000 soldiers and horses who marched north to Songshan this time, 60,000 soldiers and horses were under their command in Chengdu. These two
He is also Hao Zongcheng's confidant in Jizhen.
Cheng Tinggui and Yuan Lishan rushed over quickly. Hao Zongcheng was not in a hurry to give them the secret decree, but only asked them about their attitude towards sending troops to attack Liaoyang.
Yuan Lishan was quite hesitant and said: "It has been nearly a month since Songshan City was destroyed. The Donglu troops in the direction of Datong have only shown signs of returning to support today. Maybe it is true as Li Zhuo said, the Donglu are not afraid of me attacking Liaoyang!"
"
"It's two thousand miles to go back to Liaoyang from Datong. At this time, the north is blocked by heavy snow, and the road is much more difficult than from Linyu to Songshan. If we can get back within two months, it is considered fast," Cheng Tinggui said.
My own opinion, "Besides, the captives came back along the way, and there were no supplies along the way. It would be better to capture Datong and force us to return to the army. Li Zhuo was afraid of this and that. Wasn't he just falling into the trap of the Eastern captives? At this moment
Seeing that Datong could not be attacked, the Luqi were determined to return to Liaoyang, which was normal. To attack Liaoyang here, it is better to attack Liaoyang quickly rather than later. Although the northern land was blocked by heavy snow, the Luqi was really determined to rush back.
It won’t take more than two months.”
"Do you think Liaoyang should be attacked?" Hao Zongcheng asked.
"We have reached this point, how can we not fight?" Cheng Tinggui said, "Didn't the Holy One keep urging us to send out troops? The brothers below also worked hard, but Li Zhuo lost a lot of energy!"
"What if the attack on Liaoyang is not successful?" Yuan Lishan said, "Although Songshan was successfully captured, Liaoyang is the capital of the Donglu after all. They will not give up easily?"
"So what if we won't give up easily? If we want to defend, we must have the troops to defend it. If we really have the troops, who will give up the danger of guarding the gate easily?" Cheng Tinggui said, "We should push to the Liaoyang City immediately. Even if we are not in a hurry to attack the city, we will
To besiege it, we can set up a stronghold under Liaoyang City to rest and recuperate. When the Donglu reinforcements return from Datong, we can wait for work and catch him by surprise! If the Donglu troops in Datong are allowed to return to Liaoyang City,
It’s too late to take the medicine you regret!”
Zhang Ximin glanced at Hao Zongcheng and saw that the hesitation on his face became more serious. As long as Yuan Lishan's words "in case it is not good to attack Liaoyang" made him worried, he said: "Even if it is not good to attack Liaoyang, Li
What does Zhuo's delay and the loss of the opportunity have to do with the two generals? Besides, if all the troops and horses on the Linyu front line are mobilized, even if Liaoyang cannot be captured, it will be enough to capture the cities around Liaoyang..."
Hao Zongcheng didn't believe how many troops the Donglu had in Liaoyang. In the battle of Chentangyi, the Donglu invaded the country and fought with only 100,000 cavalry. This time, the Donglu had 100,000 soldiers and horses in Datong, and Songshan City suffered another 56 losses.
There are thousands of soldiers and horses, but there will never be many soldiers and horses guarding Liaoyang.
Hao Zongcheng was not worried that the Donglu who stayed in Liaoyang would still be able to eat them, but he was not confident enough to capture the city of Liaoyang.
Liaoyang City is dangerous and large. If there are 20,000 to 30,000 defenders in the city, Hao Zongcheng is not completely sure that he can capture Liaoyang City with 60,000 troops.
If Liaoyang goes unfavorably, who will take the blame?
This is the fundamental reason why Hao Zongcheng has been unable to make up his mind.
Zhang Ximin's words spoke to his heart: If the attack on Liaoyang is not successful, it is naturally because Li Zhuo delayed and missed the chance of fighting. Besides, if all the soldiers and horses on the Linyu front line are mobilized, even if Liaoyang cannot be captured, a few more can be attacked
A lot of achievements have been achieved in the cities around Liaoyang!
Hao Zongcheng's clenched fists suddenly loosened, and he said to Yuan Lishan and Cheng Tinggui: "Li Zhuo still doesn't rely on sending troops today. You all witnessed it with your own eyes - kneel down, there is an edict from the Holy Spirit here..."
Zhang Ximin smiled inwardly: If Hao Zongcheng successfully captured Liaoyang, Li Zhuo would still have to be blamed for the victory at Songshan; if Hao Zongcheng was frustrated at the gate of Liaoyang and retreated to Linyu in defeat, Li Zhuo would not be able to escape the blame.
!
Not many people could guess that Hao Zongcheng had a secret edict in his hand. Cheng Tinggui and Yuan Lishan were not among them. When Hao Zongcheng said that he still had an edict in his hand, they looked at each other with surprise on their faces.
They were all promoted by Hao Zongcheng. They believed in Hao Zongcheng's words and all knelt down to receive the order...g