Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 215 War and Peace
However, it's understandable, since the sons of military merits hate this kind of talk the most!

—Those who know nothing like to engage in armchair strategizing, turning everything on the battlefield into their own random thoughts, or even their own wild and unrestrained fantasies!
In their words, it was as if the outcome of the battle was determined by the respective advantages of both sides.

Like weights on both sides of a balance scale, if you have more advantages, you will surely win; if you have fewer, you will surely lose!
These people don't even think about it properly. If victory or defeat on the battlefield is measured by such measures, then what's the point of having generals like them?
Why not just compete on numbers, equipment, and morale?
Gu Tingye frowned, glared fiercely at Sheng Changfeng from behind, and immediately stood up, loudly retorting, "Scholar, I think Changfeng's words are somewhat presumptuous!"

"what?"

Sheng Changfeng's enthusiasm, no, it should be called passion, was immediately met with a bucket of cold water from the eldest son of the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion!
It dripped from head to toe, and poured into my heart through my ears!

"Well……"

The words that Sheng Changfeng was about to say were suddenly stuck in his throat, and a large blush rose to his face.

However, Gu Tingye ignored Sheng Changfeng's flushed face, shook his head, and said eloquently, "In reality, there is no such thing as a battle that is guaranteed to be won!"

"No matter how favorable the conditions are before the war, once you're on the battlefield and trapped, everything is out of your control!"

Gu Tingye glanced around at the people around him and continued, "Leaving aside everything else, let's just talk about the battle at Mimen Pass back then!"

Was the battle lost due to low morale, insufficient manpower, or ineffective weapons?

"No!"

Gu Tingye analyzed, "Given the circumstances at the time, no matter how you look at it, the outcome would have been much more favorable for our dynasty to win, but..."

"In the end, our dynasty was defeated and Northern Liang won the battle!"

"They even launched a counterattack and invaded our territory, seizing large swathes of Yanzhou!"

At this point, a hint of shame and indignation appeared on Gu Tingye's face as he said resentfully, "And where did such a disastrous outcome come from?"

Gu Tingye already had the answer in his heart. He knew that the biggest reason for the defeat in that battle was Emperor Huizong and his minister Li Ang. However, to avoid offending the emperor, he could only swallow Emperor Huizong's name and blame everything on Li Ang.

"Isn't it all because of the treacherous minister Li Ang's reckless interference?"

In fact, the position of prime minister was only held during the founding period of the dynasty by Emperor Taizu. After the foundation of the country was stabilized, Emperor Taizu gradually and intentionally reduced the power of the prime minister. By the time Emperor Taizong succeeded to the throne, the role of prime minister was already nominal. In the end, Emperor Taizong even transformed the prime minister into a cabinet minister, and the responsibility of leading all officials was gradually divided among the officials and placed in one person.

The term "treacherous minister" used by Gu Tingye is merely a conventional way of referring to the chief minister.

"Those who do not understand military affairs but recklessly interfere in the military are a great scourge to the country and the army!"

Although Gu Tingye didn't even glance at Sheng Changfeng, he felt that the second son of the Gu family was criticizing him. For a moment, Sheng Changfeng was so ashamed that his face turned red and he looked extremely embarrassed.

After all, when it comes to military affairs, the Gu family of Ningyuan Marquis still holds much more authority.

"Hmm..." Old Master Zhuang remained noncommittal, neither saying that Gu Tingye was right nor that Sheng Changfeng was wrong. He simply turned his head and pointed to Qi Heng beside him, saying, "Qi Heng, then tell me, how did you solve this policy question?"

"This……"

Qi Heng was slightly taken aback, clearly not expecting that Mr. Zhuang would ask him this now.

However, he had already prepared for this, so after thinking for a moment and organizing his thoughts, he quickly stood up, bowed to Mr. Zhuang, and said, "In response to your question, scholar, I think what these three have said makes sense."

Qi Heng first made a polite remark, and then stated his own opinion.

"However, during the examination, Yuan Ruo still felt that the imperial court should send troops to counterattack Bei Liang!"

Qi Heng smiled apologetically at Sheng Changbai, Gu Tingye, and the others, and then, with Sheng Changfeng's expression softening slightly, continued, "Actually, Yuan Ruo doesn't know much about what Brother Changbai said about the Southern Border, but Yuan Ruo feels that the court is probably planning to launch a counterattack at this time."

Because Qi Heng had been immersed in preparing for the imperial examination these past few days, he hadn't paid much attention to important matters of the court and wasn't very clear about the latest political developments.

After all, generally speaking, the policy essays in the metropolitan examination would not involve the latest court politics, because these matters would only come up in the palace examination. The metropolitan examination would usually use past major events as examples to illustrate the thoughts of the students, so that the examiners could understand their character and select the best candidates for employment.

That's why Qi Heng is lagging behind here. Of course, whether his attention was diverted by his romantic feelings is unknown. Perhaps only he himself knows the answer.

"To be honest, all the dukes in the court intend to wage war against Northern Liang."

Qi Heng pondered for a moment before speaking, "Although the Duke of Yingguo has not spoken, the Duke of Xu and the Duke of Jingguo are both on the side of advocating war!"

The Dukes of Yingguo throughout history have been top figures in the military of the court, especially the current Duke of Yingguo. After the Battle of Mimen Pass, almost all of the court's capable commanders were wiped out, and the only one who could be considered capable was the current Duke of Yingguo, Zhang Yong.

Therefore, the current military leader is Duke Zhang Yong of England, whose prestige far surpasses that of the Minister of War in the imperial court!
However, because the Duke of Yingguo is stationed in the northern border year-round and not in the court, there are some things that cannot be expressed in time. Therefore, the current military families are represented by the Duke of Xu and the Duke of Jing.

Among them, the Duke of Xu was a title that appeared at the same time as the Duke of Ying during the reign of Emperor Taizu. He was also considered an ally of the Duke of Ying in the court. The Duke of Jing, on the other hand, was a rising star who appeared during the reign of Emperor Taizong. Therefore, although the two were united on some issues, they acted independently and competed with each other on other matters.

Of course, how much of this was due to their mutual understanding to reassure their superiors is unknown, but the fact that these two factions unanimously agreed to wage war against Beiliang is a rare instance of their agreement.

After all, without war, their military achievements would inevitably become useless.

However, while some were in favor, others were opposed. The civil officials in the court held opposing views, believing that war should not be started at this time.

"Moreover, Yuanruo believes that the current emperor is also intentionally planning to start a war against Beiliang at this time!"

Thinking of his father's evaluation of the current emperor, Qi Heng immediately said, "After all, every wise ruler who intends to leave his mark on history thinks of expanding the territory and restoring the Chinese nation!"

(End of this chapter)