A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"color!"

Li Heng couldn't help but applaud Du Fu's analysis, especially since Du Fu's analysis was recognized by other important officials, which relieved Li Heng.

"Order to relay the news from the northern frontier to Vice Minister Cen, and instruct him to pay close attention to the situation in the southern garrisons."

"Who is willing to serve as an envoy on my behalf to Wei Chengqian, the military governor of Jiannan East Circuit; Wei Jingyuan, the military governor of Shannan East Circuit; and Gu Yuanshuo, the military governor of Jiangxi?"

Logically speaking, Du Fu, who proposed this plan, was very familiar with the situation of the various military governors and was the best candidate.

But now that Du Fu is the prime minister of the court, it would seem that the court has no one to rely on, which would be detrimental to the dignity of the country.

Moreover, the war situation is critical now, and Li Heng needs Du Fu by his side to offer advice and strategies.

Li Heng's gaze fell on Li Bi, and Li Bi stepped forward at the opportune moment, taking the initiative to accept the task.

Li Bi had been Li Heng's study companion since he was a child. Li Bi played an indispensable role in Li Heng's rise to the position of Crown Prince and his ability to maintain his position under the watchful eyes of Yang Guifei and Yang Guozhong. Li Bi was Li Heng's most trusted strategist.

After Li Heng ascended the throne, he promoted him one after another, and now he is the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, the third-in-command of the Ministry of Rites.

It is foreseeable that within a few years, he will be able to rise to the position of head of one of the six ministries, becoming a new high-ranking official in the court.

"The matter of bribing Xiao Chongyue, the military governor of Jiannan Xichuan, and Shen Wenhan, the military governor of Huainan, will also be handed over to you. You can use the treasures in the national treasury as you see fit."

"If you successfully quell the rebellion of the eight vassal states in the southern borderlands, it will be a great achievement, and I will reward you handsomely."

The position of Minister of Revenue is currently vacant, and Li Bi's promotion from tutor to the Crown Prince to Vice Minister of Personnel is already extremely exaggerated.

Without significant achievements, it would be extremely difficult for Li Heng to promote him again.

The imperial court is not a place where Li Heng can make his own decisions, nor can he promote people at will.

However, if Li Bi's trip south this time manages to persuade the various military governors to hold their troops back and successfully delay the court from pacifying the military governors of the western and northern frontiers, then that would be a great achievement.

It would be an exaggeration to directly promote someone to the position of Minister based on this merit, but since the position of Minister of Revenue is vacant, he could serve as the Left Vice Minister of Revenue and act as the Minister.

Once one has accumulated enough seniority, one can be promoted to Minister of Revenue, becoming one of the most powerful people in the court, with the potential to become prime minister.

"Your subject will certainly not fail in your mission."

Years of tacit understanding allowed Li Bi to naturally discern the meaning behind Li Heng's words.

Li Bi was also filled with excitement. As a civil official, who wouldn't want to enter the central government, become prime minister, and be granted a title?

Now, one of the six ministries of the imperial court was right in front of him. As long as he completed his mission, he could obtain this official position. Even with Li Bi's composure, he could hardly suppress his excitement.

After the envoys to the south were selected, another problem arose before the emperor and his ministers.

That is, who will lead the troops north to support Geshuhan, how many troops will they lead, and where will they be transferred from?

The image of the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry flashed through Li Heng's mind immediately, but he quickly dismissed it. The current situation of the court was not too dire, and there was no need to deploy the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry.

You can't just use your hole cards randomly. If someone plays an Ace, you can't just throw out your royal flush. That's not how you play cards.

"The imperial troops stationed at Zhenbeiguan are still needed to defend against foreign invasions and cannot be mobilized on a large scale."

"But we can send some elite cavalry south from Zhenbei Pass. Yunzhou is the most important of the nine northern garrisons, and we can send tens of thousands of elite cavalry to harass Yunzhou's rear."

"In addition, there are some military governors who are loyal to the court. We can order them to send some of their troops north, which would bring us at least 20 troops."

"The imperial court then drew another 20 troops from the local military garrisons and sent them to Fanyang City."

"An army of 70 is enough to pacify the entire northern frontier."

After receiving the order, Li Bi did not leave but continued to participate in court affairs. His words pointed out a clear path for Li Heng.

There is another benefit to doing this: although those military governors are loyal to the court, it is precisely because of their loyalty that the court cannot go too far.

If the court is too forceful and takes away all his power, people may think that the court is heartless and that the emperor is cold-hearted.

Now, taking advantage of this opportunity, we can have a legitimate excuse to transfer their troops away, without making the court seem cruel and heartless, and we can also resolve the situation in the northern border—a win-win-win situation.

"This plan is brilliant!"

Du Fu praised it.

Everyone present was shrewd and could naturally see the cleverness of this plan, which killed three birds with one stone. They all nodded in approval.

Li Heng felt a great weight lifted from his heart and immediately issued an edict: the Secretariat drafted the decree, the Chancellery reviewed it, and the Ministry of Personnel issued it for implementation.

After the court session, news of intelligence from the northern frontier somehow got out.

Compared to military matters, the people of Luoyang were more interested in the gossip and rumors surrounding the city.

The basis for the alliance of the nine vassal states in the northern frontier was supposedly the late emperor's edict, and they loudly proclaimed that the current emperor, Li Heng, imprisoned and murdered his father, and was unrighteous, disloyal, and unfilial.

This huge piece of gossip has been a source of great interest for the people of Luoyang.

Although they dared not discuss it in public, the story had already spawned countless versions in their homes and alleyways.

Among these countless versions, the only common point is the imprisonment of the father.

Luoyang, being the capital city and under the emperor's nose, naturally had a vivid memory of what had happened not long ago.

It's just about imprisoning one's father; the people of Luoyang are familiar with this matter.

Decades ago, the same thing happened in the same palace.

Nothing surprising.

However, the fact that he murdered his father is quite surprising. Even with the historical knowledge of the people of Luoyang, they feel like they've stumbled upon a very interesting piece of gossip.

Some people even go to their ancestors' graves to burn incense and offer sacrifices, hoping to give a bite of this melon to their ancestors who were unable to eat it.

This incident enraged Li Heng to the point of rage, and he summoned the Prefect of the Capital and gave him a severe scolding.

After scolding him, he made the Prefect of the Capital slink away. If he were to order the suppression of this unhealthy trend, wouldn't that only confirm the matter further?

Originally, some people didn't pay attention, but because of what he did, even more people found out.

Moreover, the more you suppress or prohibit such rumors, the more interested the people become.

So Li Heng had no choice but to accept it reluctantly and ordered the Prefect of the Capital to secretly investigate who had leaked the information.

However, he didn't have much hope for this. Even a fool could tell that this must have come from those aristocratic families, and definitely not just one.

Even if there were no other benefits, they would still be eager to do something that damages the emperor's prestige.

These powerful families are extremely meticulous in their work, making it very difficult for the Prefect of the Capital to investigate. In any case, Li Heng had no hope of finding out.

He ordered the Prefect of the Capital to investigate, mainly to show his attitude.

If you continue to go this far, be careful, I'll blow you all up!