It’s hard to break a phoenix’s destiny

Chapter 684: Discussions in the Study

The court ended in unpleasantness.

Liu Yao's mood was also extremely bad.

Back in the study, he scolded all his personal generals, "You just know how to quarrel! This is not the time to discuss military strength, do you understand?"

Guo Jin and Liu Gu didn't dare to say a word. Even Li Lianhua and Mao Hongbin, who were not present in the court, quietly walked in and listened to Liu Yao scolding these people.

"Don't I know that we should make a concerted effort? However, we have nothing now. We are just defending Chang'an City and cannot even take Pingyin! What else do you want to do? Besides, the weather is getting colder. Without food and grass, it will be a problem for the soldiers to survive the winter!"

"So, that's why I said that it's wrong for Xiao Yi to always give in. He should hurry up..." Guo Jin was very dissatisfied.

"What? Can you cross the river with your 10,000 men? How many of you can swim?" Liu Yao interrupted him before he could finish. "I want you to think with your brains now! Not with your fists!"

Seeing that Liu Yao got angry, the group of people fell silent again.

Mao Hongbin had heard a general idea from Liu Cheng before, and he understood in his heart that Liu Yao really wanted to win over a knowledgeable and strategic official like Xiao Yi to be his confidant. At least such a person could be considered shrewd and calculating. Although he could not lead troops in battle, he was very good at making plans and playing tricks behind the scenes.

Although he was also a civil official, he could not help with matters such as marching to war. He could only help Liu Yao manage the affairs of Chang'an City, which he could still handle.

Seeing the situation in the study, he grinned and said with a stiff face: "Your Majesty, this matter still needs to be discussed again. I have another urgent matter here, and I would like to ask you for your advice."

"What's the matter?" Although Liu Yao was angry, he was still polite to Mao Hongbin.

"There are many sick people in Chang'an City recently. I am thinking about whether I should boil some herbal medicine and distribute it to the people for free. First, it can prevent diseases if there are none. Second, it can cure diseases if there are any. Third, ..."

"I'm just making some medicine, why are there so many questions?" Liu Yao frowned.

Mao Hongbin chuckled, "I want to use the things like boiling and distributing medicine to count how many people have been sick recently and what the situation is. In addition, I also want to see which places have the most people getting sick, whether it is because of the bad environment, whether it needs disinfection and sanitation, etc...."

"Okay, go ahead and do it. You can arrange things like this yourself, and there is no need to ask for my opinion." Liu Yao nodded. He would immediately agree to anything he thought made sense and would never drag his feet.

"Actually, I have another idea." Mao Hongbin saw that Liu Yao's expression had improved a lot, and then said, "There are a large number of people in the military camp, and it needs to be tidied up. At least let these soldiers clean up their living environment. Of course, officials should do the same. I have been to the homes of Lord Chen and Lord Li before, and saw that their cooks were killing chickens and sheep in the yard. It was very bloody, and they didn't even clean up in time, which attracted a lot of flies and ants. It was really too dirty. By the way, Lord Xiao's home is very close to the homes of these two adults. I heard that the cooks are shared, so they must not be very clean." "You go and do it." Liu Yao felt annoyed when he heard Xiao Yi's name. It would be very troublesome if he could not use this person.

Mao Hongbin finished his story and asked Liu Yao for advice. He was about to leave with a smile, but when he saw the generals with gloomy faces, he couldn't help but say one more sentence: "The queen prepared a lot of food today. She said she wanted to invite the young generals of the Shaoying Group to eat there. But the emperor just asked Liu Cheng to take people to check the situation outside, and he won't be back for a while. Don't waste these foods, let..."

Mao Hongbin also secretly looked at Liu Yao's face before continuing, "Your Majesty, these foods will not taste good if they get cold. Why not let General Guo and the others eat them instead?"

Liu Yao's frown deepened, but Li Lianhua secretly gave Mao Hongbin a thumbs up.

"What are you doing here, General Li? What do you want to say?" Liu Yao did not answer Mao Hongbin, but turned the conversation to Li Lianhua. Although Li Lianhua was his general now, she was also the sister-in-law of his queen, so he naturally had to be nicer to her.

Moreover, Li Lianhua managed the army well, and managed the 100,000 troops in an orderly manner, even in a unified manner, with strong combat effectiveness. The reason why Liu Yao's words were so important was also thanks to the support of this army.

Li Lianhua was also a very logical person. He clasped his fists towards Liu Yao like a man, and then said, "I heard that Lord Xiao Yi said today that he wanted to form an alliance with Shi Le. This is absolutely not allowed. Shi Le is too ambitious. If they know our details, it will be a huge hidden danger."

"Xiao Yi's intention is to pretend to form an alliance just to create a huge momentum." Liu Yao explained for Xiao Yi, "I understand his intention, but how to do it specifically, or even how to talk about it, all need to be discussed in detail."

"That's good." Li Lianhua nodded, "I'm just asking about this matter. Your Majesty, please be careful of Shi Le."

"Well, I know about this." Liu Yao nodded again, "The situation in the world is still chaotic now. We can't trust anyone, but many alliances can still be done temporarily. Shi Le should also have the intention to rule the world. However, it depends on whether he has the luck to do so!"

"Or..." Li Lianhua paused again and looked at Guo Jin and the others. "Your Majesty, don't worry. We still need to discuss this matter slowly. Or, let the young generals of the Shaoying Group go to Shi Le to take a look."

"No, no, if Shi Le finds out, it will be disadvantageous to us." Guo Jin said immediately, "Shi Le is famous for being suspicious and a fickle villain. Back then, the late emperor hated him very much."

"Tell the Shaoying Group to be careful and at least go and see what the current situation of Shi Le's army is like. It's better to know ourselves and the enemy. We are not short of food and clothing now, and we are living a good life. If we really want to talk about an alliance with Shi Le, I'm afraid we have to show some sincerity. Then, whatever he needs, we have to provide."

"Well, I still need to discuss this matter with Xiao Yi." Liu Yao's head started to hurt again. "This old man has a lot of ideas, so you guys better not yell at him."

"How could we?" Guo Jin and Liu Gu said at the same time, "He always looks so superior, and it makes me angry just by looking at him."

"I am sitting on the throne, so naturally those old ministers have some opinions. But we have to let them have their say, right?" Liu Yao also said earnestly, "At present, only when we have a unified opinion internally can we act in unison externally, isn't that the truth?"