The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 42 Prepare for a rainy day
Actually she was right.

Since Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital, the Xianbei had already taken root in China for 400 years, and Dugusun no longer had any characteristics of a Hu person, speaking Chinese and using Chinese etiquette, as if he was a true believer. Many Shatuo, Turkic, Uighur, Dangxiang, and Khitan people who did not want to herd sheep and feed horses went south to join the army in the border towns.

To make a living.

"When did I take the imperial examination?" After thinking about it for a while, Li Ye's mind returned to Dugu Sun.

"During the Xiantong period, I forgot the exact year."

Zhao cast a glance at the sage who had ill intentions, and continued, "The scholar is an elite in literature, and his talent is profound. Since he was appointed, he has worked diligently and never violated the rules. The imperial edicts he drafted are all exemplary."

"It is even more exquisitely written than Han Wei." Zhao emphasized.

"Oh?" Li Ye seemed to understand why this person was so worried.

He was born in a Jinshi degree, and worked hard for more than ten years, but his career did not advance...

Who doesn’t suffer?

"I have heard some interesting stories that Dugu Xueshi was a man of strong character and always exposed corrupt officials."

Zhao recalled for a moment and said in deep thought, "After Li Qun, the Minister of Agriculture, passed the imperial examination, he was appointed as the Lantian Wei. Soon after, he was transferred to the Supervisory Censor. After marrying the daughter of the Grand Commandant Du, he was appointed as one of the Nine Ministers in just two years. When the scholar found out, he went to the Southern Court and accused the Grand Commandant of abusing public power for personal gain. The Grand Commandant was so ashamed that he could not speak..."

"There are probably more such cases. There are quite a few ministers mentioned by the scholar."

At this point, Zhao's tone was quite sympathetic, and she sighed, "If this is the case, how can I get promoted?"

Li Ye waved his hand and said, "If the Grand Commandant appointed people based on personal connections, his children would have already spread all over China and abroad."

Du Rangneng was not such a person. Among his three sons, only the youngest son Du Luyi was sent to Li Ye as an attendant, while the others were all commoners. Moreover, it would not be reasonable or emotional for him to choose his son-in-law over his second son.

It is estimated that some ministers wanted to please the prime minister, so they gave Li Qun the green light all the way, causing Du Rangneng to be ashamed and unable to speak when he was questioned.

But from Li Ye's perspective.

Li Qun is indeed capable and is very proficient in farming, animal husbandry and fishery. Recently, he has been supervising the farming work in Guannei and has done it in a very meticulous and organized manner. It is rare for a child of an aristocratic family to be good at farming.

However, not everything is certain. We can observe more in the future.

We cannot immediately suspect nepotism just because he is Du Rangneng's son-in-law.

As for Dugu Sun.

Li Ye only recruits people based on their talents, and he will gradually promote people with abilities.

Just as he was about to say something to express his attitude, he saw the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Liu Chongwang, hurried in with heavy steps, led by his attendants.

Seeing the solemn look on his face, Li Ye knew what was going on. He stood up and walked to the study room behind the screen and said, "Mr. Liu, come here."

The king and his ministers sat down in a closed room.

"Secret report."

Liu Chongwang got straight to the point and whispered, "Maozhen escaped from Macheng, gathered more than 10,000 soldiers from prefectures, counties and towns, and attacked his adopted son Li Jikan. Jikan was defeated and retreated to Qinzhou. The generals Han Xinggong and Tuoba Guifan colluded with the Tibetans to rebel and killed Li Jikan and his entire family."

It’s really hilarious.

Li Jikan seized the throne from Li Maozhen and proclaimed himself as the heir. His subordinate general followed suit and killed Li Jikan and seized the throne.

"Who owns Fengxiang now?" Li Ye asked.

"General Han Xinggong called himself the governor of Fengxiang, and Tuoba Guifan called himself the training envoy, and they invited the Tubo and the Qi people to fight against the Han and Bin armies together."

Before the saint could say anything, Liu Chongwang made another big one: "Yang Shouliang and Wang Xingyu fought for Fengxiang, but there was no winner. Shouliang's sons Yang Zishi, Zizhao and Ziling believed that Shouliang's expedition would fail, so they offered one state and two passes to surrender to Wang Jian. Shouliang had no choice but to lead his army back to Shannan to quell the rebellion. So Wang Xingyu set out from Longzhou to the north to hunt down Li Maozhen and his son... Maozhen strictly guarded Dazhen Pass to welcome them..."

Nima.

The Saint was stunned by this news. How could it be so chaotic?

Li Maozhen and his son Li Jikan were fighting to the death, but before the result was decided, the two generals Wang Xingyu and Yang Shouliang started another fight for Fengxiang, which they had not yet acquired.

then……

Li Jikan was killed by Ya Jiang.

Yang Shouliang was suddenly and ruthlessly stabbed in the back by his three adopted sons, and he hurried back to Hanzhong to quell the rebellion.

Wang Xingyu continued to hunt down Li Maozhen...

Ok.

This can barely be considered a progress after so long of fighting among the four forces.

Li Ye came back to his senses and asked, "Then how should this matter be handled?"

"Raise an army to fight against them."

Liu Chongwang took a sip of water and said, "Han Xinggong is a general who first betrayed Li Maozhen and then Li Jikan. He is desperate. It's a pity that they thought of luring the Tibetans. Sooner or later, they will die in the hands of the Tibetans. Don't worry about it for now."

"What if Tubo invades Fengxiang?" Li Ye suddenly remembered Daizong who was scared away from Shanzhou by the Tubo people, and couldn't help asking.

"The Zamp was assassinated, and bandits are everywhere in the country, unable to invade Han." Liu Chongwang's old face twitched, and he said, "The most important thing right now is Wang Xingyu. Once Fengxiang is occupied by him, the harm he will cause will be no less than that of Maozhen. Now the troops of Xingyu and Maozhen have been fighting for a long time, and their troops are old and tired. This is a good opportunity for the saint to revive the country."

Send troops to wipe out these two bandits in one go?
Li Ye was very tempted by this, but his rational thinking told him not to think about it.

Wang and Li together have at least 20,000 to 30,000 troops, and they are all veterans. The 60,000 to 70,000 troops of the imperial court may look quite impressive, but half of them are new recruits from Guandong who have not been trained for long. I am afraid they are not enough to fight...

But as Liu Chongwang said, this is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity given by God.

Once one of the sides has decided the winner, it will be difficult to continue fighting.

"Your Majesty, please take care of this first. I still have important matters to attend to." Liu Chongwang stood up and said, "Your Majesty can open the Yanying Hall tomorrow and summon the heads of the three ministries and the fourth-rank officials and above of the Censorate to a meeting to make everything perfect. As for the Northern Department, I will go to the Ximen Palace Supervisor's Mansion later to explain this matter."

"it is good."

"My minister retire."

Liu Chongwang left in a hurry.

"Ruxin, I want to hear your opinion." Li Ye looked at Zhao and said.

"The armies of Bin and Qi are indeed brave and sharp, but as Liu Gong said, the soldiers are old, tired and arrogant. Once the main army arrives, if we lure them with money and goods, it is very likely that they will kill their generals and then rebel. As for frontal battles, there will definitely be some, but there will definitely not be too many." Zhao replied.

"Let me think about it." Li Ye stood up from the mat and said in a deep voice, "We must prepare for the worst in everything. We can't plan for anything without seeing a perfect situation. The Bin Division has been fighting for many years, and its combat effectiveness ranks among the top eight garrisons in the northwest of Beijing. Go to the Yingwu military camp to summon Wang Congxun. I want to talk to him."

"I would like to inform the heads of the three ministries and the ministers of the fourth rank and above of the Censorate to gather in Yanying Hall tomorrow morning."

"Yes." Zhao walked out quickly.

Li Ye paced back and forth in the inner room with his head down. He urgently needed to take stock of his family's assets. He took notes of the general situation, but if he wanted to use troops, he had to grasp it as accurately as possible and estimate how long he could support the war.

He would never dare to start a war like his predecessor did without knowing how much capital he had - soldiers, money, food, property, animal power, equipment, warfare tools, and capable generals.

You also have to determine which people and things you can decide.

In addition, if the eunuchs unanimously oppose it, what contingency plans should be prepared?

Think about it in advance. If you send troops but are defeated and the rebels march straight into Chang'an City, what should you do?

There is no way. The family’s financial situation cannot withstand even one setback.

(End of this chapter)