The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 464 Dilemma
Since human beings have lived in groups, no matter in the clan era or the emperor-dominated dynasty era, once their own clan or country suffers a major blow or a major military failure, they will conduct deep reflection and even pursue the responsibility of the person concerned. When people take responsibility, the emperor will be forced to issue an imperial edict to take all the responsibilities on himself, to explain to the subjects of the world, and then conduct a deep "reflection". However, no emperor is willing to step out until the moment of last resort This step, because once the Edict of Guilt was issued, it would add a stain to his reputation that could never be erased, and more seriously, it might lead to instability of the throne.

The Tang Dynasty was no exception. Ever since they joined forces with the Sui Dynasty, they suffered major failures in succession. They first failed at the Hedong Road, and then were forced to withdraw from Bingzhou. In the process of opening the Yongliang Passage, the Tang army won first and then lost. All plans to obtain Ma Yuan went bankrupt, and even Guanzhong, the fundamental place, was almost lost. However, under the aggressiveness of the Great Sui Dynasty, the Tang Army's Eastern Expedition Plan ended in the disastrous defeat of Li Gongxiao's Eastern Route Army, which caused Li Shimin's helplessness. Do not withdraw from the Luoyang dispute...

The failures one after another made the Tang Dynasty full of pessimism. Although Li Yuan deliberately exaggerated Li Xiaogong's failure, he expanded the number of the Sui army infinitely, and exaggerated Li Xiaogong's breakout and added the tragedy of a lonely hero. , but the effect is not ideal.Just because no matter your reasons, failure is an unchangeable fact.

The current pessimistic atmosphere in the court can be seen everywhere, and some rumors have even spread from the Ministry of Officials, saying that more than [-]% to [-]% of the officials are considering resigning.

In the midst of pessimism and extreme disappointment with the court, the call for Li Yuan to carry out military reforms became louder and louder. The huge pressure and worry made Li Yuan fall ill, which lasted for four days.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the fourth day that Li Yuan finally had the energy to summon Li Jiancheng who had been waiting for an interview.

"My son-in-law pays respects to his father!"

"sit!"

"My son, thank you for sitting down!"

Li Yuancai sat up from the soft couch with his exhausted body. He glanced at Li Jiancheng, who was slowly seated, and couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion in his heart: the difficult state affairs made Li Jiancheng completely lose his elegant demeanor of "a man on the road is like jade, and his son is unparalleled in the world". What relieved him a little was that he, the heir, had become more stable and matured.

Li Yuan's voice was hoarse, and he paused for a moment, only to hear him say in a slow voice out of breath: "Your Majesty! Although I have not been in the court these few days, I also know some things that happened recently... To sum it up, there are two things. : One is to review the reasons for the failure of this campaign, and all those responsible must be held accountable; the other is to carry out profound military reforms in line with the principle of "the capable go up and the mediocre go down", and then take advantage of Yang Tong's inability to deal with us with all his strength. I have the opportunity to restore the combat effectiveness of the army as soon as possible, and make complete preparations for the upcoming Xiangyang offensive and defensive battle. Before meeting the ministers, I want to hear your true opinion!"

Li Jiancheng was silent for a while, and said seriously: "Father wants to hear the real opinion of my son?"

Li Yuan was slightly taken aback, and then smiled bitterly. He found that his son seemed afraid to tell the truth when facing him.This discovery made him feel that he was a complete loser no matter whether he was a father or an emperor, so he settled down and said: "Now we, father and son, talk about ourselves behind closed doors, so no matter what you say that goes too far, even Criticize me by pointing at my nose, and I will not hold you accountable. I hope to find the root cause of our failure and avoid repeating the same mistakes next time. Of course, I cannot shirk my responsibility for Datang to come to this point. But... ..."

Having said that, Li Yuan changed the subject and said lightly: "We must admit that Yang Tong is indeed a terrifying character. The unique layout is a little too high for him. I always think that the root cause of our successive failures is the lack of strength. If we let go of our hands and feet to fight in Henan County, we may not have a chance of winning, but the problem is that the Sui Dynasty In addition to the army in Henan County, several major legions in the north of my Tang Dynasty are ready to move at the border, so I think that although everyone has a certain responsibility, in the final analysis, our strength is not as good as others. "

"..."

Li Yuan's high-sounding words made Li Jiancheng dumbfounded, and his heart trembled: Father, this is obviously a light on responsibility and a serious situation. What he said is clear and clear, with sufficient evidence, but it doesn't mean to solve the problem at all, let alone solve the problem at all. As a result, according to what my father said, the reason why Tang Jun failed was because his strength was not as good as that of the Great Sui Dynasty. Wouldn't that tell everyone that the Tang Dynasty would be destroyed by the Northern Sui Dynasty sooner or later?Once the father's bizarre remarks are leaked, there will be an astonishing panic in the whole Tang Dynasty, and the intensity is no less than a sudden turn of events.

What makes Li Jiancheng even more frustrating is that the father said that he wanted to hear his own truth, but now he is the first to let this out. How can this be an attitude of learning a lesson?Obviously trying to get away with it.

If you really want to tell the world according to what your father said and continue to play like this, Datang will have to finish playing sooner or later, which is a fart.

In fact, Li Jiancheng knows that although it is a fact that his strength is not as good as others, whether it is Li Xiaogong's fiasco or Li Shimin's defeat in Luoyang, in the final analysis, it is caused by melee-just because every battle that has taken place since the founding of the Tang Dynasty was fought by his father and a group of people. The literati made strategic decisions in front of the map in the palace, and then asked the generals in front to execute according to the script, regardless of the actual situation.If the general in front needs to make major strategic adjustments, he must report to his father. Even Li Shimin can't do it without authorization. If the general in front makes decisions without authorization, it's okay to win.

Li Xiaogong's disastrous defeat is the most typical example. If he hadn't heard the holy order and missed the best time to withdraw his troops, he would not have been beaten to annihilation by Luo Shixin. Tragedy like Li Xiaogong's has actually happened a lot in the Tang Dynasty Many times, but Li Yuan has implemented this set of military principles up to now without heeding his lesson.

And another important reason is that the father would rather let the incompetent and immoral family members take charge of the military than believe in the ability of a general with a foreign surname. General Qu Tutong, instead of Li Shentong who only seeks to be free from faults and not to attack, and is suspected of passive self-protection, then the ending of Li Xiaogong's East Route Army will definitely be different.

These reasons are the mistakes that Datang urgently needs to correct, rather than the high-sounding theory that only talks about the overall situation and does not go into details like his father.

Of course!Li Jiancheng knew that the military power was against his father. He believed that all the troops of the Tang Dynasty belonged to his army. He had the right to know everything and decide everything. If a truly skilled general has the opportunity to display his talents, the emperor may immediately think that he will not allow him to intervene in the military, and wants to deprive him of his military power and replace him as the emperor.

Li Jiancheng's face was uncertain, and he was in a dilemma. For a while, he didn't know what he should do. Was he speaking the truth freely?Or did he speak against his will because of his father's authority?

Li Jiancheng at this moment, it can be said that it is difficult to advance and retreat!

(End of this chapter)