After entering February, the breath of early spring began to permeate the Central Plains, and the frozen rivers in various places began to show signs of thawing. Li Shi, who had endured it for more than half a year, began to impatiently raise the sword to cut the feudal clan.
In the imperial study, Li Shi was listening to the opinions of the two prime ministers.
Li Bi bowed and said: "Wei Chen understands His Majesty's determination to reduce the vassal state, and Wei Chen does not object to it. In fact, the peace in the west now means that we have no worries. It is indeed a better time to reduce the vassal state, but Wei Chen still recommends mastering the method."
The method is to concentrate our forces to defeat them one by one, and be careful not to spread them across the board."
"Which one does Li Xiangguo think is better for me to cut first?" Li Shi asked.
"Wei Chen suggested that we attack the rebels first for three reasons. First, the enemy threatens Yangzhou and can cut off water transportation at any time, which is a serious concern for us. Secondly, the Huaixi army is cruel and the people have long hated it, so we should attack the rebels first.
, we have the upper hand morally and can win the support of the people all over the world; third, the enemy is located in Jianghuai and has little intersection with the north. Fighting against the enemy will not make the feudal towns in Hebei feel a sense of crisis. These three reasons are enough.
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Li Shi was very hesitant. On the one hand, he accepted all the plans to defeat him, but on the other hand, the one he wanted to attack first was not Li Na, but Li Na. He had been thinking about it for a whole winter, but now Li Mi asked him to change his target.
It really embarrassed him.
Lu Qi had already figured out the emperor's thoughts, and he knew how to suit him.
"Your Majesty, I have different opinions!"
"Please speak, Mr. Lu."
"Your Majesty, Wei Chen completely agrees with Li Xiangguo's strategy of defeating each one. This is a wise strategy. As for the timing of cutting down the vassal state, Wei Chen even advocates that it should be sooner rather than later. We must be resolute and decisive to cut down the vassal to the end. However, the first target is for
** Lie, Wei Chen feels that something is a little inappropriate."
Li Mi glanced at Lu Qi, suppressed the hatred in his heart and said, "What does Lu Xiangguo think is wrong?"
"Li Xiangguo has forgotten that the Jianghuai River is a water town. We don't have enough warships. First of all, we can't even cross the Huaihe River. It is said that the tyrants already have hundreds of warships. I'm afraid we won't have the upper hand in a water battle."
"I don't agree with your idea. The Tang army will never dare to go to war because of fear of the enemy. Those who make such a decision will inevitably be nailed to the pillar of shame in history. If there are no warships, we can build them, even if we
You can go south from Xiangyang, but you cannot be timid before fighting."
Lu Qi was so scolded that he was really annoyed. He said to Li Shi again: "Your Majesty, to reduce the vassal state, we need to seize the opportunity. It is easy first and then difficult. I am afraid that a few years will have passed by the time we build a warship and defeat the enemy. Zi
The Qing Army has grown again. Your Majesty, Li Na is currently the weakest. We must not give him a chance to breathe. We must seize this opportunity to eliminate him resolutely."
Li Shi nodded. Lu Qi's words got to his heart. He made up his mind to operate on Li Na first.
"Li Xiangguo, let's not argue about who to fight first. This has nothing to do with fear of not fighting. It is just a choice. I know that Li Xiangguo's idea is reasonable, but I decided to fight Li Na first to finish the unfinished business last year.
The war is over."
Li Mi had no choice but to sigh deeply. It would be unwise to attack the Central Plains first!
Lu Qi was overjoyed and quickly suggested a plan: "Your Majesty can summon Li Na to Beijing, but he will definitely not agree. Then use the reason of disobeying the decree to remove him from the post of Ziqing Jiedushi, and order Li Mian to take over as Jiedushi."
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After a pause, Lu Qi continued: "The Shence Army is very powerful in combat. In order to ensure the success of the vassal reduction, I suggest sending out the Shence Army again to cooperate with Li Mian to wipe out Li Na in one go."
"This is a very good policy from Prime Minister Lu, I accept it!"
In the afternoon of the same day, Li Shi issued an edict and summoned Li Na, the envoy of Ziqing Festival, to the court.
Several envoys riding fast horses left Chang'an and went straight to Licheng County in Qizhou.
At the same time, Li Shi appointed the eunuch Song Fengchao as the supervisor of the Shence Army. Qu Huan, the military commander of the Shence Army, led 30,000 Shence troops to the Central Plains to participate in the war. Li Mian and Bo Ying Jiedu, the governor of the Bian Song Dynasty,
Liu Qia was asked to lead an army of 30,000 to prepare to participate in the encirclement and suppression of Li Na.
.........
In Licheng County, Qizhou, Li Na just received the Flying Pigeon Express message from the Chang'an Intelligence Point.
Although Li Na defeated his brother and regained the power of the vassal town, Li Na suffered heavy losses in this civil war between brothers. In addition, Li Mian took the opportunity to lead an army to sweep the Ziqing prefectures. Almost all the troops he deployed in the prefectures were destroyed, and his troops were only
With 20,000 people left, he had to surrender to the imperial court.
In accordance with the court's terms of surrender, he abolished all state vassal offices, abolished all self-imposed rules, and reduced the army by 10,000, leaving only 10,000 troops in his hands.
But Li Na did not really disarm, but dispersed 10,000 troops in the form of state troops to the five states of Deng, Lai, Qing, Mi, and Zi that were still under his control. Li Na knew very well that once the epidemic in Hebei was over, the court would
It is very likely that he will also attack himself.
Unexpectedly, not long after the beginning of spring, Li Na's biggest worry came to light.
"It's so shameless!"
In the lobby, Li Na was furious and cursed the emperor Li Shi, "It's a shame that he is still the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. He goes back on his word. What he says is not true. He is clearly a cesspit maggot. Even pigs and dogs keep their word better than him!"
Fortunately, apart from his personal soldiers, there was only a staff member Wu Shan in the lobby. Wu Shan was Li Zhengji's most trusted staff member. He had followed Li Zhengji for many years. He was resourceful and loyal. He supported Li Na's rise to power. He was thrown into prison by Li Jing and was almost killed.
He died, but was rescued by Li Na who spent a lot of money to bribe the jailer, and was named chief staff officer by Li Na.
Wu Shan advised: "Even if His Highness scolds him for three days and three nights, it will not help. The most urgent task now is to find a countermeasure. Otherwise, as long as His Highness refuses to come to Beijing, the imperial court will find an excuse to launch a war. Time waits for no one!"
Li Na slowly calmed down and said: "Sir, you are right. I am mainly angry and dizzy. How should we deal with it now? Please teach me, sir!"
Wu Shan stroked his beard and smiled: "Has Your Highness forgotten the story I told His Highness before?"
Li Na suddenly realized, "Sir, are you talking about combining vertical and breaking together?"
Wu Shan smiled slightly and said: "The imperial court is the Qin State. They are using the strategy of liaoheng and horizontal to defeat them one by one. We alone cannot resist the imperial army. We must use the strategy of combining vertical and vertical to deal with it, combining Tian Yue, Wang Wujun, and Zhu
Tao and ** are fierce, and our five families joining forces to rebel is the only way to defeat the imperial court's plan to unite."
Li Na took a few steps with his hands behind his back and said a little worriedly: "I'm afraid they won't respond."
Wu Shan advised him: "Tian Yue will definitely respond to this. He and we are at odds with each other. If we are destroyed, he will be next, and then Wang Wujun."
"Wang Wujun killed Li Weiyue, will he respond?"
Wu Shan sneered and said: "The civil servants in the imperial court are still a bunch of nerds. If I were the one in charge of the imperial court, I would make Wang Wujun the governor of Shuofang, or he would be Taiwei, Pingzhangshi, general, and Prince Zhao.
His high position and high rank allowed him to leave Zhaozhou happily.
As long as he left Zhaozhou, he was like a fish out of water and could only be slaughtered by the imperial court. Only then did Chengdejie Du Fan Town be completely cut off, but that idiot Lu Qi actually made Wang Wujun the military envoy of Zhaozhou. Chengdejie
He still has the 40,000-strong army of Du Mansion, which is extremely stupid. Isn't this forcing Wang Wujun to rebel?"
Li Na nodded slowly, "I understand, what about Zhu Tao?"
"Your Highness, Zhu Tao is the most treacherous and cunning person, but his ambition is greater than anyone else. He should know that once the three towns of Ziqing, Weibo, and Chengde are destroyed, his Lulong Jiedu Mansion will be next. But
On the other hand, he is also the strongest. As long as His Highness agrees to make him emperor in the future, I believe he will definitely raise an army to devour the Yiwu Jiedu Mansion. His goal is Hedong. The old prince has long told me
, Zhu Tao has always been eyeing Hedong. If he gets the support of Huihe, he will definitely be the first to become emperor."
"Finally, there is ** Lie. Sir, do you think he will follow?"
Wu Shan smiled and said: "** Lie is a man who bullies the weak and fears the strong. He will definitely take the opportunity to apply to the imperial court to restore his title of king. If the imperial court ignores him, he may not dare to rebel. But if the imperial court agrees to restore his title of Nanping County Prince,
position, he will definitely see that the imperial court is afraid that he will follow the rebellion, so he will definitely follow the rebellion and either attack Yangzhou eastward or continue to annex Xiangyang Prefecture."
Li Na made up his mind that instead of being annihilated by the imperial court, it would be better to fight to the death with the imperial court.
Wu Shan further suggested: "We need to do two things now. One is to collect grain for a protracted war, and the other is to recall the troops from various states. I suggest that your highness pretend to agree to join the court, and then delay the time to complete the war preparations."
Li Na gave a thumbs up and praised: "Sir, you are Xiao Wang's Zhuge Liang!"