Chapter nine hundred and sixty seventh tempt the loyal traitor
The next day, morning.
The focus of the discussion in the court today was the matter of Wei Xiao's surrender to Gongsun Shu.
The generals headed by Wu Han, Geng Yan, Gai Yan and others came out one after another and asked for their tassels to go out to fight. The military generals were in full swing and their fighting spirit was high, but on the other hand, the civil servants were quiet.
In the hearts of military generals, the value of their existence is to fight on the battlefield and have battles to fight. For military generals, this is a good thing.
Civil servants think exactly the opposite. To fight a war, you have to spend money. You have to spend money to buy food, buy arms and supplies, spend money to recruit soldiers and horses, and when the war starts, you have to spend money to pay for the casualties.
In short, after the first war was fought, there was money from beginning to end, but the court does not have much savings now.
What's more, the Western Expeditionary Army was already burning money in the battle in Daijun, and now they have to fight against Kaixiao, which requires a huge amount of money and food. It's hard to say whether the imperial court can afford it!
Fu Zhan stepped out of the queue, raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, it has not yet been decided whether Kuai Xiao has taken refuge with Gongsun Shu!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Han said dissatisfiedly: "Situ doesn't know yet? News has been sent back from Chengdu and Gongsun Shu has posted an announcement. Is this still false?"
Fu Zhan said seriously: "Who can guarantee that this is not a trick used by Gongsun Shu?"
Wu Han waved his hand and said: "There is no smoke without fire! If Wei Xiao had not taken refuge with Gongsun Shu, no matter how thick-skinned Gongsun Shu was, he would not have dared to post such an announcement!"
Fu Zhan handed over to Liu Xiu and said: "Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. I think we should wait until the matter is verified clearly before making a decision. We must not rush to send troops!"
Song Hong came out and said: "Your Majesty, what Situ said is absolutely true! At present, the Western Expeditionary Army's northward campaign has consumed a lot of money and food from the imperial court. It is difficult to maintain the campaign against Liangzhou with the money and food left in the treasury.
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Wu Han asked loudly: "Is it possible that the imperial court just sat back and ignored Kui Xiao's rebellion?"
Song Hong said seriously: "If there is evidence and it is confirmed that Wei Xiao has rebelled, I will squeeze out enough money and food from the treasury to attack the rebels even if I sell iron. But as Situ said, this is just news from Chengdu, and Liangzhou
No corresponding news was sent back.”
Wu Han frowned and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Fu Zhan, Song Hong and others still had a glimmer of hope for Kai Xiao. Unless it was said that Kai Xiao was not plotting rebellion, this incident was just Gongsun Shu's plan, which was extremely pedantic.
Seeing that the ministers were all silent, Liu Xiu turned to Deng Yu and asked, "Does Zhonghua have any good ideas?"
Deng Yu pondered for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, I think we can wait a little longer. The use of troops against Kaixiao is indeed of great importance, and it is indeed necessary to investigate the situation in Liangzhou first."
Liu Xiu always attached great importance to Deng Yu's opinions. Deng Yu's opinions were always very representative and could represent the opinions of a considerable number of ministers.
Now even Deng Yu is opposed to the immediate use of troops against Kaixiao. It seems that there is great resistance to the rush to use troops.
Attacking Weixiao is not a trivial matter, it may even be related to our own life and death, especially when the war in the north has not subsided and our own side has to fight on two fronts, which requires everyone in the court to unite and twist into a rope.
If the opinions within the court cannot be unified, this battle will not be fought at all.
Liu Xiu pondered for a while, nodded, and said to Wu Han: "Da Sima, investigate the situation in Liangzhou as soon as possible. I want to know whether Wei Xiao has taken refuge with Gongsun Shu, and I also need to know the deployment situation of Liangzhou and the deployment of personnel.
, the situation of soldiers and horses, the situation of grain and grass supplies, etc."
Wu Han cupped his hands and said: "I obey the order!"
Although this court meeting did not determine the use of troops against Kaixiao, it was basically a preparatory meeting before the war. Liu Xiu transferred the main force of the Eastern Expeditionary Army stationed in the Guandong region back to Luoyang, leaving only about 20,000 Eastern Expeditionary Army troops stationed there.
Qingzhou.
Not long ago, news came from Nanjun that Tian Rong and Ren Man once again led the Shu army to invade Nanjun.
This time the Shu army dispatched 150,000 troops. In addition, Tian Rong took the money Gongsun Shu gave him and summoned his old troops in Nan County. They all added up to about 50,000 troops. Together with the Shu army's strength, they totaled 20
Ten thousand.
Tian Rong and Ren Man led this 200,000-strong army, with great morale, and marched eastward, with the intention of capturing the entire Jingzhou in one fell swoop.
Cen Peng, who was stationed in Nanjun, led the Southern Expeditionary Army to defend Jinxiang. Facing the onslaught of the Shu army, the battle was very difficult.
Nanjun's urgent battle reports were sent back to Luoyang one after another. In the court hall that day, Liu Xiu piled Nanjun's battle reports on the table. It was a thick pile.
He looked around at the ministers below and asked: "The Shu army is launching a large-scale attack on Nanjun. Do you have any good strategies?"
If the Western Expeditionary Army was still stationed in Chang'an, the Shu Army would not dare to mobilize so many troops to attack Nanjun. But the problem is that now the Western Expeditionary Army is not in Chang'an, but fighting in Daijun, so Chengdu has no worries.
Dare to attack Nanjun in a large scale.
Fu Zhan raised the wat board and said: "Your Majesty, Nanjun is the gateway to Jingzhou. It is very important and must not be lost. Moreover, the battle of Nanjun is also related to the life and death of one hundred thousand soldiers of the Southern Expedition. I think,
The imperial court should immediately send troops for reinforcements."
Song Hongda nodded and said: "Although Tian Rong was defeated, Tian Rong's prestige in Nanjun still exists. Many people in Nanjun still support Tian Rong from the bottom of their hearts. At present, Tian Rong's old troops in Nanjun have reached 50,000.
If time passes, Tian Rong will collect more soldiers and horses in Nanjun, which will be very detrimental to our army!"
The military commanders and ministers present all nodded in rare agreement to express their agreement with what Fu Zhan and Song Hong said.
Gai Yan came out of the queue, raised his hands to Liu Xiu and said: "Your Majesty, I think that the general who conquers the south is alone. Facing a strong enemy, I am afraid that he will be unable to support him alone. The imperial court should send troops to rescue him as soon as possible!"
"Wei Chen seconded the proposal!" "Wei Chen seconded the proposal!" The civil and military ministers came out one after another, bowed their hands and saluted, all expressing their approval to send troops to rescue Nanjun.
Liu Xiu was sitting on the throne, but he never expressed his position. Based on the current situation, the imperial court should indeed send troops to rescue Nanjun. But, is Nanjun really unable to survive? Does the imperial court really need rescue?
This is the question Liu Xiu is considering now. He turned his eyes, looked at Song Hong, and said: "A few days ago, Sikong also said that the treasury was empty of money and food, but now Sikong believes that the imperial court should send troops and horses to assist Nanjun."
Song Hong said sternly: "The court cannot afford to fight unnecessary wars, but for wars that must be fought, humble ministers must dig up money and food even if they have to dig three feet into the ground, so that the soldiers in the army can continue to fight the war!"
"
After hearing Song Hong's words, the generals on the opposite side looked sideways. Even Wu Han nodded secretly in his heart. Although he and Song Hong always had different political opinions, he had to take Song Hong's character seriously.
admire.
Liu Xiu nodded, smiled at Song Hong, and praised: "Sikong said that well!" He looked around at everyone present and said, "Does the imperial court have to send troops to rescue Nanjun?"
Everyone was stunned, what did your majesty mean by this? If the imperial court did not send troops to rescue Nanjun, then who else would send troops to rescue Nanjun?
Seeing everyone looking at each other in disbelief, Liu Xiu smiled and asked, "Can't General Xizhou do that?"
Wei Xiao? Everyone looked surprised.
Liu Xiu said with a smile: "General Xizhou sends troops from Tianshui and can directly attack Shu. When Liangzhou soldiers and horses enter Shu, Gongsun Shu must withdraw his troops to rescue. In this way, the crisis in Nanjun will be solved."
?"
Wu Han blinked and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Wei Xiao has rebelled and has taken refuge with Gongsun Shu. What has King Shuoning done to Gongsun Shu? How could he still listen to your Majesty's orders and send troops to attack Shu?"
"
Liu Xiu was startled and asked with a puzzled face: "Has Wei Xiao rebelled? Many ministers have told me categorically that Wei Xiao has not rebelled yet, and the matter has not been finalized yet!"
"This..." Wu Han didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He turned to look at the civil servants and raised his head and said, "Situ, Sikong, please tell me whether His Majesty's strategy of letting Wei Xiao send troops to attack Shu is feasible or not?"
This is really using one's own spear to attack one's own shield!
Most of the civil servants believed that Kai Xiao did not rebel, and they also hoped from the bottom of their hearts that Kai Xiao would not rebel. Now the time has come to use Wei Xiao, and they can immediately verify their inferences.
But what if their inference is wrong and Wei Xiao has indeed rebelled and secretly defected to Gongsun Shu, refusing to send troops to Shu, which delayed the rescue of Nanjun and led to the complete defeat of the Southern Expeditionary Army led by Cen Peng. Who is responsible for this?
Can you afford it?
After listening to what Liu Xiu and Wu Han said, beads of sweat broke out on the foreheads of the civil servants and ministers, and their expressions changed. Liu Xiu happily looked at the civil servants on his right, then at the generals on his left, and said in a brisk tone: "So.
, to rescue Nanjun, there is no need for the imperial court to send reinforcements, and there is no need to waste money and food from the national treasury. All I need to do is give an order to General Xizhou and let General Xizhou send troops to attack Shu. What do you guys think?"
There was silence in the hall, and you could hear a needle drop. Nanjun was related to the life and death of a hundred thousand soldiers, to the gains and losses of the entire Jingzhou, and even to Yangzhou and Jiaozhou. Such a big thing was all pinned on Wei Xiao?
At this time, even Fu Zhan and Song Hong's hearts were in their throats. They could only get one side of the story from Chengdu, and no definite news had been sent back from Liangzhou. But who could guarantee that?
Wei Xiao, he must not have rebelled?
The two of them looked at Deng Yu in unison and cast a helping glance at him. Deng Yu's status in the court was very special. If civil servants were compared to doves and military generals were likened to hawks, then Deng Yu was neither a dove nor a dove.
He is not a hawk, he is more like a mediator between doves and hawks, trying to resolve conflicts and disputes between the two sides.
Deng Yu noticed Fu Zhan and Song Hong looking at him. He raised his eyes to look at Liu Xiu and secretly smiled bitterly. Is your Majesty planning to force the civil servant to death?
It seems that His Majesty is also very dissatisfied with the civil officials who have repeatedly blocked the imperial court from sending troops to Liangzhou!
He took a deep breath, raised his hands forward, and said, "Your Majesty, you are wise!"
Liu Xiu turned to Deng Yu and asked, "Zhonghua thinks General Xizhou will send troops to attack Shu?"
Deng Yu said seriously: "If Wei Xiao obeys your Majesty's will and sends troops to Shu, it means that Wei Xiao is still loyal to Your Majesty. On the contrary, it means that Wei Xiao has indeed taken refuge with Gongsun Shu, at least he has the intention of treason. Your Majesty
Using this to test Kuai Xiao's loyalty is really extremely wise, and I am admired by all my ministers!"
After hearing Deng Yu's words, the ministers present said in unison: "Your Majesty is wise and wise, and I admire you all."
Liu Xiu looked at Deng Yu angrily and funny, muttering to himself, "Deng Yu and Deng Zhonghua, you can resolve the embarrassment of throwing me out with just a few words! Liu Xiu is not such a narrow-minded person, and he doesn't like to pinch people."
He grabbed his little tail and didn't let go. He took a deep breath and said seriously: "Nanjun is in danger, but we can't save it for the time being. Our army's strength should be gathered in Luoyang. If Wei Xiao does rebel, Luoyang's soldiers should attack Wei Xiao first.