Jiuxi

Chapter 695: 693 [Long Sleeves and Good Dancing]

In the imperial study, Han Zhongjie and Li Shizhi, who had hurried over, were taking turns reading the three secret memorials.

Logically speaking, the secret reports from these important frontier officials were top secret, so Li Zongben's move could naturally prove his respect for Han and Li.

As Han Zhongjie was the first minister to pledge allegiance to Li Zongben, it was natural for him to gain this trust. However, Li Shizhi was able to surpass him later because he had a precise understanding of the emperor's thoughts.

Whether in the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of Personnel, Li Shizhi could accurately grasp the emperor's ideas and implement them meticulously and perfectly, especially after he became the Minister of Personnel, he never refused the emperor's adjustment of officials in the court, which made his status in the emperor's heart advance by leaps and bounds, and now he is only second to Han Zhongjie.

The two men read the three secret memorials very carefully. Han Zhongjie finished reading first, raised his eyes to meet the emperor's calm gaze, and said meaningfully: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Shanyang seems a little timid."

"timid?"

"I remember that when the late emperor was alive, the Duke of Shanyang was the most staunch supporter of the Northern Expedition, and he even clashed with most of the officials in the court for this. Compared with the difficulties faced by the Great Qi a few years ago, our dynasty is now stronger in terms of national strength and military preparations, and the civil strife in Jing is a godsend. I really don't understand why the Duke of Shanyang has become so cautious? Even if there was no civil strife in Jing, would our border troops never dare to march north?"

Han Zhongjie paused for a moment, shook his head and said, "This is inconsistent with the courage and fortitude that the Duke of Shanyang has shown in the past."

Li Zongben's eyelids twitched slightly. Han Zhongjie's words were very similar to his previous judgment, so he said calmly: "Are you trying to say that Lu Chen has become conservative for another reason?"

Han Zhongjie said frankly, "I will not maliciously speculate on the thoughts of the Duke of Shanyang, but I think that the change of a person's attitude is mostly determined by his position. Although the Duke of Shanyang was extremely favored by the late emperor, he was only a junior in the border army system and could not surpass the two dukes in any case. Now he alone leads more than 100,000 troops from the Dingzhou Military Governor's Office, and most of them are elite soldiers and generals that he is very familiar with and close to. It is inevitable that he will have the idea of ​​cherishing his own things."

The so-called "cherishing one's own possessions" is probably just another way of saying "holding troops for self-esteem", but it is not as straightforward and explicit as the latter.

Li Zongben groaned in silence, then looked at Li Shizhi, who had already read all the secret memorials, and asked, "What does Minister Li think of these three memorials?"

Li Shizhi said slowly, "Your Majesty, both the Duke of Shanyang and Commander Liu have their own reasons. Commander Liu is a model of a loyal minister. I believe that once the imperial edict arrives, he will unswervingly complete the task assigned by Your Majesty. As for the Duke of Shanyang's concerns, it just shows that he is loyal to Your Majesty and the Great Qi, so he will speak out and make suggestions. I actually want to talk about this secret memorial from Governor Xu."

Li Zongben said with interest: "You can talk about it."

"Last year, your majesty ordered Governor Xu to replace Lord Chen. When I learned about this, I thought it was a stroke of genius. Looking at the court, no one is more suitable for this position than Xu Yanbi. Only he can truly stand up to the Duke of Shanyang and live up to your majesty's expectations."

Li Shizhi's words were a bit blunt, making Li Zongben and Han Zhongjie feel a little uncomfortable. After all, this was a naked move against Lu Chen, and Lu Chen's previous performance could be described as a loyal minister. It was more or less unkind to target him so deliberately.

However, the two also knew that Li Shizhi chose to make things clear in order to express his true feelings to the emperor, and only by being honest could they work together.

Li Shizhi continued, "Although the advice given by Governor Xu in his secret memorial seems similar to that given by the Duke of Shanyang, it is fundamentally different."

Li Zongben asked: "Why?"

Li Shizhi said calmly, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Shanyang County is more motivated by military considerations. Our border troops do need to rest, and of course we cannot rule out the possibility of what the Marquis of Yongyi said. I have known Governor Xu for more than 20 years, and I have nothing but admiration for his character. Governor Xu is worried that once the border troops are dragged into the quagmire of war, or fall into the enemy's trap, it will inevitably threaten the security of the border. Dingzhou has only been under the control of Da Qi for two years, and the local people have been repeatedly devastated by war. It is difficult for them to withstand another displacement."

Li Zongben couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

In fact, while waiting for these two people to enter the palace, he had gradually calmed down and his dissatisfaction with Xu Zuo had been alleviated.

Hearing Li Shizhi's gentle persuasion, he finally realized that he had wronged Xu Zuo, and at the same time he admired Li Shizhi even more.

Li Shizhi added: "Your Majesty, whether the Northern Expedition is carried out or not, loyal and devoted ministers like Governor Xu should be rewarded."

There is no doubt that he was very clear about the emperor's reaction after reading Xu Zuo's secret memorial, but he did not expose it directly. Instead, he defended Xu Zuo in a very tactful way.

Li Zongben knew it well, and nodded with satisfaction, "My dear minister, what you said makes sense. How could I treat Governor Xu unfairly?"

"Your Majesty is holy."

Li Shizhi gave a timely flattery.

Han Zhongjie looked at this harmonious scene between the emperor and his subjects, and felt a sense of crisis in his heart, so he asked, "It seems that Minister Li also agrees with Governor Xu's point of view?"

Li Zongben's expression remained normal, but there was a hint of complexity in his eyes as he looked at the Minister of Personnel.

Li Shizhi responded calmly: "My lord, I admire the character of Governor Xu, but that doesn't mean I agree with his views." When Li Zongben heard this answer, he couldn't help but feel relieved.

Li Shizhi said to him again: "Your Majesty, I still hold the same attitude as a few days ago. The Northern Expedition is imperative."

"My dear, please tell me in detail."

"It is certainly correct that Governor Xu is focusing on the safety of Dingzhou. He should do his job well. However, looking at the general situation of the world and discussing the decades of disputes between Qi and Jing, we cannot limit ourselves to the gains and losses of a single place or a single city. Looking back, the comparison of the strength between our dynasty and Jing was the watershed in the 13th year of Jianwu. Before that, the enemy had an absolute advantage, and things gradually changed after that. The Jing army is not an invincible enemy, and our border army is catching up. As one side gains, the other loses, and the Great Qi should continue to maintain this high-spirited momentum."

Li Zongben nodded repeatedly as he listened, but Han Zhongjie was far inferior in terms of eloquence, and even if he wanted to refute, he couldn't find a reason.

Li Shizhi continued, "To be fair, the current Jing Kingdom is still strong, but a thousand-mile dam is destroyed by an ant hole. In the past two years, our border troops have found a breakthrough. What we need to do now is to continue to expand this gap and continue to frustrate the morale of the Jing army through victory after victory on the battlefield. This is true."

"The Kingdom of Jing has expanded rapidly over the past thirty years. Although Emperor Jing has done his best to patch things up, the internal power struggle will only become more and more intense. The sudden death of the Crown Prince of Jing is a concrete manifestation of the intense struggle. On the other hand, our people are united as one. Even if there are certain disputes, they will obey the overall goal of expelling foreign enemies. In particular, the confidence that the late emperor brought to hundreds of millions of people will be further consolidated in your Majesty's hands. This is momentum."

"Your Majesty has everything in your hands. The timing, location and people are all right. The Northern Expedition is a natural move. Why hesitate?"

Li Shizhi bowed and concluded with a resounding voice: "Your Majesty will surely realize the last wish of the late emperor and become the ruler of the Great Qi Resurgence. Your name will go down in history and be remembered for eternity."

Li Zongben only felt comfortable all over, as if every pore began to breathe.

Han Zhongjie felt jealous. Of course, he also hoped for the revival of the Great Qi, but he really couldn't say what Li Shizhi said.

Fortunately, Li Zongben did not lose his mind. Although the blueprint drawn by Li Shizhi made him waver, the Northern Expedition could not be achieved by just talking, especially now that Lu Chen had clearly expressed his opposition.

He pondered and said, "I am very pleased with your words, but Lu Chen's attitude is so firm, what can I do?"

Li Shizhi suddenly glanced at Han Zhongjie and said calmly: "Your Majesty, in fact, the predicament faced by the Emperor of Jingguo can provide us with some reference."

"Oh?"

"In the past 20 to 30 years, the Jing army has been invincible from north to south. Even if Qing Yugong did not show up, they could still expand their territory. However, the two emperors of Jing State relied too much on Qing Yu and his son, so that the Qing Yu family became stronger and stronger, and eventually formed a situation where the tail was too big to be removed. The reason why Your Majesty sent Governor Xu to Dingzhou was essentially to guard against similar situations, but this is ultimately a temporary solution. If there is no second person in the Great Qi army to stand up, every battle will rely on the Duke of Shanyang. Even if he remains loyal, there will inevitably be a military group that is impenetrable in the end."

Li Zongben's heart moved, and the doubts that had troubled him for a long time were suddenly solved.

As Li Shizhi said, always relying on Lu Chen means constantly giving him weight, and if no one can compete with him, then his position in the army will only get higher and higher.

As the emperor, of course he doesn't want to see this kind of situation.

Li Shizhi said sincerely: "Your Majesty, if the Duke of Shanyang is determined not to send troops, you don't have to blame him too much. On the contrary, you should make this matter public in the name of rewarding his loyalty to the country, and let the millions of people of Daqi judge for themselves whether this matter is right or wrong. At the same time, Your Majesty can let the Jingzhou Army be the main force of this northern expedition. As long as Commander Liu can push the border line forward a hundred miles away from Heluo City, it will be enough to prove Your Majesty's wisdom and bravery."

Li Zongben was delighted and nodded, "Very good."

Li Shizhi had completely taken the initiative in the conversation at this point, and continued, "If Your Majesty is worried that the Dingzhou Army is unwilling to contribute, and the Jingzhou Army is not strong enough, why not let the soldiers of the Beijing Camp continue to go north for training?"

Han Zhongjie couldn't help but say at this moment: "That's right, the soldiers of the Beijing Army are willing to fight to the death for Da Qi!"

Li Zongben looked at the excitement on his face and said with a smile, "Are you willing to share my worries?"

Han Zhongjie said without hesitation: "It is my honor to share your majesty's worries. I am not afraid even if I die on the battlefield!"

Li Shizhi remained silent upon seeing this. He had originally wanted to recommend Han Zhongjie as the commander-in-chief and Liu Shouguang as the deputy commander-in-chief. Now that the monarch and his subject had such a tacit understanding, he naturally didn't need to say much.

He lowered his head slightly and smiled softly in his heart.

This court is becoming more and more interesting.

(End of this chapter)