Chapter 191 Sharing Your Worries
The person who knows the situation in Guanzhong best and has the most comprehensive information is currently at the residence of the General of Cavalry.
"Grandpa! If you can lead the army again to suppress the rebellion in Guanzhong this time, my Li family will be rich and prosperous for two generations!"
Li Chong looked at his second son kneeling at his feet, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
He is already seventy years old this year, and this rebellious son still wants him to lead troops to war?
Is he really not afraid that his father will die in the military camp?
Li Shengui is the new favorite of Empress Dowager Hu. He goes into the palace to serve her every day these days. Empress Dowager Hu even neglects her old lover, Prince Qinghe Yuan Yi.
Li Chong had become numb to the fact that his son was serving as the empress dowager's subordinate.
Being the first to the empress dowager, Prince Qinghe is also the first to the empress dowager, so it’s nothing for your own son to be the first to the empress dowager.
But what Li Chong is worried about is, as the little emperor grows up, what will you, the queen mother, do in the future?
After all, Prince Qinghe is the young emperor's uncle, so who are you, Li Shengui?
Moreover, Li Chong has experienced three dynasties, and the situation in the court is volatile. Although Empress Dowager Hu is extremely powerful now, she may be overthrown by a coup at any time. It is not a blessing for the family for her son Li Shengui to be the head of the empress dowager.
Li Shengui knelt on the ground. Empress Dowager Hu had been worried about the rebellion in Guanzhong these days, so Li Shengui naturally wanted to share her worries.
My father is the one who is qualified to lead troops to war. If my father can pacify the war in Guanzhong, then with my grace and my father's merits, the Li family can move to a higher level!
Li Shengui really wants to improve!
Generally speaking, the Li family is just like the family of Prime Minister Zhang Yi back then. The eldest son can inherit his father's political resources, and the second son has to find his own way out after obtaining the official position.
Now, with the help of his father, his elder brother Li Shizhe has been appointed as the governor of Hezhou.
Although Li Shengui has gained the favor of the empress dowager and has been granted an official position in the Imperial Palace, it is still far from his brother's position as a provincial governor.
In officialdom, there are some steps that are difficult to cross in a lifetime.
Li Shengui knew how difficult it was for his brother to be appointed as the Governor of Hezhou. It was a position he obtained because of his meritorious service in the Northern Expedition and the credit shared by Su Ze with Li Shizhe. In addition, there was a vacancy in Hezhou and King Jiangyang was willing to help win over his father, so he made many political exchanges to get the position.
Li Shengui naturally didn't want to be a concubine for his whole life, he also wanted to be a governor of a province.
Looking at his second son, Li Chong sighed and said, "Have you ever thought about whether I, your grandfather, can win the battle in Guanzhong? If I lose, what will you do?"
Li Shengui was stunned for a moment. He had never thought that his father would lose a battle. In his memory from childhood to adulthood, his father almost always returned victorious from the battles he went to.
The only defeat was the Battle of Zhongli that year, but Li Chong was not on the main battlefield in the Battle of Zhongli, and even when the main force was defeated, my father still achieved a good record.
In the subsequent Battle of Fushan Weir, the Southern Liang was severely defeated.
It was another great victory in the northern expedition against the Rouran, so Li Shengui never thought that his father would be defeated.
Li Chong stood up with the help of Hu Chuang. After returning from the northern border last time, Li Chong's health suddenly collapsed.
Before setting out for the northern border, Li Chong could drink all night long and act foolishly with his maids.
But after coming back this time, Li Chong needed the help of a maid to get up, and his face was covered with age spots.
Only then did Li Shengui realize that his father was old.
Li Chong stood up and said, "The war against Southern Liang was a national war. At that time, the imperial guards were still elite, and the army and the people were united. The only thing I had to consider was fighting. This was the easiest war to fight."
"The last time I went to the northern border, the Rouran invaded thanks to the efforts of the soldiers of the Six Garrisons. Thanks to the elite soldiers trained by Su Ze, and the fact that the Rouran were only out to rob and had no intention of attacking cities and occupying land, we were able to drive the Rouran away."
Li Chong asked, "What can we do in Guanzhong?"
Li Shengui didn't understand military affairs, and he had never thought that there was so much knowledge involved in fighting a war.
Li Chong said: "Weather? It's summer now, the new grain has not been collected yet, and the army's food and fodder are insufficient."
"If the court orders me to lead the army, by the time I finish training and enter Guanzhong, the autumn harvest will have already begun in Guanzhong. The rebels will have harvested the food. What if they are in a long-term confrontation with our army? Can the court ensure the continuous supply of food to support the army entering Guanzhong?"
Li Chong asked again: "Geographical advantage?"
"Those who are causing chaos in Guanzhong are all local fortress owners and Qiang leaders. They are familiar with the mountains and rivers of Guanzhong."
"Qinzhou and Nanqinzhou are very close to Chang'an. If the rebels attack Chang'an, do you think the court should rescue them?"
Li Shengui hesitated for a moment and said, "The court will not sit idly by and watch Chang'an be lost."
Chang'an, the ancient capital of the Qin and Han dynasties, is a city of extremely high political significance. The name alone cannot be given to the rebels.
Li Chong said: "Qinzhou is in rebellion, Chang'an is completely defenseless, have you forgotten the story of Liu Yu?"
Li Shengui just remembered that Liu Yu had occupied Chang'an during his northern expedition. That was the most prosperous era in the entire south. The Northern Wei Dynasty did not dare to stop Liu Yu's army heading north. Even the famous Northern Wei general Changsun Song was defeated by Liu Yu's Queyue Formation.
Even such a powerful Liu Song army was ultimately unable to defend Chang'an.
This was certainly influenced by the internal political struggles of Liu Song, but Chang'an had no strategic location to defend against enemies in the northwest, which was Chang'an's most unfavorable geographical condition.
In later Tang Dynasty, after the Tibetans rose to power and occupied the Liangzhou area, they continued to threaten the Chang'an area and drove Emperor Suzong of Tang out of Chang'an, which showed that Chang'an was weak in defending the northwest.
Whoever controls Guanlong will be the Great Qin, and Guanzhong will be the foundation of the kingdom.
Even the Qin Dynasty did not begin to expand outside the Great Wall until it had eliminated the threat posed by the Yiqu people and completely occupied Guanzhong.
Politically, Chang'an must be defended.
From a military perspective, the Northern Wei court did not have enough troops to defend Chang'an.
Li Chong finally asked: "Ren Ren?"
"The people of Guanxi have been suppressed for a hundred years in our dynasty, and they have long been dissatisfied with the court. How can anyone support us when we, the foreign troops, fight?"
Li Shengui stopped talking.
It turns out that in Li Chong's view, this time the battle to enter the pass to quell the rebellion was completely without the "right time, right place, and right people", so how could the war be fought?
Li Shengui said, "So what Grandpa is saying is that the government troops will definitely lose this battle?"
Li Chong shook his head and said, "Just because your grandfather can't fight this battle doesn't mean others can't."
“To solve the problems of the people of Kansai, we need people who are deeply rooted in Kansai.”
"Why did you let Zhang Yi's son Zhang Shijun be appointed governor of Jizhou after the Mahayana sect's rebellion?"
Li Shengui asked, "Isn't it because the Queen Mother felt sorry for Zhang Sikong's death in the Yulin Rebellion, so she appointed his son as the governor of Jizhou in order to fulfill his wish?"
Li Chong looked at his equally good-for-nothing son and felt completely hopeless.
It seems that we can no longer rely on these two rebellious sons to continue the family in the future. The only one we can count on is our granddaughter-in-law Yu Jin.
Li Chong said: "The Zhang family is a prominent family in Jizhou, with 10,000 servants in Jizhou. This is why the court did not allow Zhang Yi to be the governor of Jizhou before."
"Ah? Then why did Zhang Shijun become the governor of Jizhou after Zhang Yi died?"
Li Chong felt that he had committed a sin. He was obviously a top-notch man in both literary and military skills, so how could he have given birth to two such sons?
Li Chong once again complained to his deceased wife that these two rebellious sons must be more like their mother than their father! Li Chong said, “The court did not allow Zhang Yi to be the governor of Jizhou because his clan was too powerful in Jizhou and they were afraid that he would establish his own regime and be difficult to control.”
"After the Mahayana rebellion, Jizhou was in turmoil. At this time, the court appointed Zhang Yi's son, Zhang Shijun, the head of the Zhang family, as the governor of Jizhou. This was to allow the Zhang family to use their own power to maintain the stability of Jizhou and suppress the local tyrants."
"This is a different time. Zhang Yi's disadvantage back then is now Zhang Shijun's advantage."
Li Chong said: "By the same token, those who can enter Guanxi to quell the rebellion must be people with deep roots in Guanxi. Only by dividing and winning over the powerful people in Guanxi can the rebellion be quelled."
Li Shengui asked, "Is there such a person in the court?"
Li Chong said: "Of course there is, Xiao Baoyin, the Duke of Danyang, is the most suitable candidate."
Li Shengui was a little depressed because he had no friendship with Danyang Duke Xiao Baoyin.
Li Chong looked at his useless son and said:
"I didn't expect that you are not as good as your elder brother. Xiao Baoyin doesn't know the news yet. If you go to his house and tell him the news, you can do the biggest favor."
Li Shengui suddenly realized what was going on and hurried out.
Looking at this good-for-nothing son, Li Chong sat back on the bed. He knew that he didn't have much time left, so he had to help his grandson-in-law gain more military merits in order to protect the Li family.
By the way, there is also Su Ze. If we do Su Ze some favors, maybe Su Ze will protect the Li family in the future.
Li Chong asked his son Li Shengui to do favors for Xiao Baoyin because in his opinion, Xiao Baoyin could only be the commander-in-chief to suppress the rebellion in Guanxi.
First establish good relationships, then think about how to benefit your own children.
This is the true way of dealing with people of Li Chong, nicknamed "Crouching Tiger" despite his domineering behavior.
Only a few old friends like Cui Guang knew how flexible this Northern Wei tiger was.
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At the residence of King Yuanyi of Jiangyang.
Yuan Yi was also very annoyed.
He regretted why he saved Hou Gang and sent him to Qinzhou to serve as a soldier.
Now, Hou Gang has ignored the imperial court's mercy in forgiving him and has gathered a crowd to rebel! ?
When Yuan Yi thought of this, he was so angry that his teeth were itching. He should have uprooted the Hou family that day!
Because of Hou Gang's rebellion, Yuan Yi was also scolded a lot by the Queen Mother. The most important thing now is to put down the rebellion.
However, King Jiangyang Yuan Yi became hesitant again about the candidate who could lead troops to Guanzhong to quell the rebellion.
For such a major event as suppressing the rebellion in Guanzhong, it is necessary to appoint important officials.
The commander-in-chief must be able to convince the people with his status, ability, and prestige. After experiencing a long period of decline in talented commanders during the reign of Emperor Xuanwu, there is now a shortage of candidates who can serve as the commander-in-chief.
If you look closely, there are only a few people like Li Chong and Xiao Baoyin.
But these people are not his direct descendants.
Yuan Yi became even more angry. Originally, Hou Gang was his direct subordinate in the military circle of the court. He spent countless efforts to make Hou Gang come back, but what was the final result?
The Hou family has had two members rebel against the Han Dynasty, so it can be said that they are born to be rebellious.
As for the remaining direct descendants that Yuan Yi had recruited, such as Erzhu Rong, their ranks were too low. As a chieftain of the people, Erzhu Rong did not even have the qualifications to be a vanguard general in the army.
Yuan Yi rubbed his eyes and realized that he had to come up with a candidate as soon as possible. If he let Prince Qinghe's men lead the troops to quell the rebellion, things would be troublesome.
What Yuan Yi was worried about was not only the problem of the rebels, but the fact that the army in Guanzhong was too close to Luoyang. Whoever controlled this military force would have the possibility of influencing the court.
Therefore, this power must be in your own hands! ——
Dunhuang.
Su Ze summoned his close associates to discuss the impact of the Guanzhong rebellion on his group.
When Hou Jing heard about the rebellion in Guanzhong, his eyes lit up and he said, "General, we should send troops to quell the rebellion immediately!"
Murong Shaozong said, "No! The court has not appointed a general to suppress the rebellion. Our duty is to protect Longyou. How can we send troops so easily? If we fail, the situation that we have worked so hard to open up will collapse!"
Murong Shaozong personally escorted the military rations to Dunhuang. As one of the few talents in Su Ze's group who could take charge of a region, Su Ze intended to keep him in Dunhuang.
The remaining soldiers were unable to say anything.
Soon, everyone's eyes turned to Su Chao.
Unknowingly, Su Cho had become the military advisor of Su Ze's group, because whether it was civil affairs or the court situation, how could these low-level soldiers see things more clearly than Su Cho?
Su Chao didn't know how Su Ze knew about the rebellion in Guanzhong, but Su Ze's sources of intelligence were always accurate.
After thinking for a long time, he said, "My lord, your military prestige is too low, and the court will not let you serve as the commander-in-chief of the rebellion."
"Besides, Guanzhong is too close to Luoyang. The court should appoint an experienced and prudent general to first go out of Tongguan to defend Chang'an, and then find a way to quell the rebellion."
Su Ze nodded. Hezhou and Liangzhou were too far away from the core area of Guanzhong, so even if the court asked Su Ze to suppress the rebellion, he could only lead a small force.
Su Cho said: "In the court right now, the only one who has the qualifications and prestige to lead troops to Guanzhong to quell the rebellion is Xiao Baoyin, the Duke of Danyang."
Su Cho was so confident that Hou Jing couldn't help but ask, "Isn't General Li Chong okay?"
Su Chao shook his head and said, "General Li has no roots in Guanzhong, and he is old."
Su Ze also nodded, agreeing with Su Chao's judgment.
Su Chao crossed his arms again and said, "My lord, the best scenario is that the court appoints us as a detachment. However, my lord and Duke Danyang have never had much contact. Do you want Duke Danyang to speak for you?"
Su Ze waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about this, Lingchuo. I have my own way!"
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At the Duke of Danyang's mansion, Princess Nanyang came to her husband's study, carrying a soup to relieve her heat.
Because of what happened last time, Princess Nanyang now has to be informed before entering the study. The relationship between husband and wife is so distant, which makes Princess Nanyang feel painful.
After a while, a servant came out and led Princess Nanyang into the study.
"Your Highness."
Xiao Baoyin put away the private letter on the table and then greeted Princess Nanyang coldly.
Putting down the soup, Princess Nanyang forced a smile and said, "Seeing that my husband has been worried these days, I have thought of a way to share his worries."
Xiao Baoyin forced a smile and asked, "What method?"
(End of this chapter)