Chapter 172 Even Dong Zhongshu was convinced [please vote]
In mid-to-late November, news from the Beiguan front line was sent back to Chang'an.
It happened to be the last court meeting at that time. The ministers knew it well. The timing of sending this news was a coincidence. It happened to coincide with the court meeting. I am afraid it was His Majesty's deliberate arrangement...
The ministers listened to the story in the front row.
"Recently, Beiguan has won a great victory. The champion Hou Chu sent troops from Chang'an and attacked the enemy thousands of miles away. He defeated the right Beiping County and made the rebels unable to advance or retreat. They were in a dilemma.
The next day, Champion Hou defeated 6,000 enemies and attacked the western and eastern Liao counties to explore the strength of the enemy.
Then he sent his troops to take back Yuyang and went up to the valley to build the Guancheng.
A few days ago, the champion Hou Zheng's army left Liaoxi and joined our Han frontier army at the right time. The troops were abundant. The champion Hou Ling's army encircled three and left one, leaving only the north of Liaoxi County, without forming an encirclement.
One day later, sergeants from the city opened the city gates to welcome our troops into the city. The rebels fled northward in panic. The champion Hou Fu raised three thousand troops, but failed to pursue them. They entered the grassland, and that night, they suddenly attacked Wuhuan, north of the grassland.
The Green Mountain Division under his command defeated more than 2,600 soldiers at night.
The leader of the Green Mountain Tribe, Heluo Houjian, was captured alive, and more than 3,200 people in the tribe were captured.
He took a deep breath, took out the dossier he had prepared before coming, took it out of his sleeve, and presented it to the emperor:
"Your Majesty, please take a look.
Huo Qubing glanced around. This was another completely sealed secret courtyard in the palace.
Master, do you still want to oppose me and Lang Zhongling’s ambition to open up new territories?”
I got it, I feel so happy, Master, can you possibly understand it?
Having good generals but not using them is like having a good opportunity but not seizing it.
Because it was the Xiongnu royal tribe that was defeated, the income gained was quite a lot, and there was still a surplus after the defeat, which was used to replenish the national treasury.
It depends on what Champion Hou wants. If he is allowed to continue fighting, can he wipe out all the foreign invaders along the Northeast?
"I want to go to the palace."
Your Majesty, could you please recall Huo Hou to Chang'an first? Winter is about to come and it will be difficult to continue using troops.
Dong Zhongshu: "Your Majesty can appoint me as the head of the Imperial Academy. I can offer wine in the contemporary academy. If my wish is sufficient, I can also make suggestions for your Majesty."
Can your Majesty issue an order to transfer Lang Zhongling from the border back to Chang'an?"
Huo Qubing was slightly surprised. Why should he go to a special place to talk about something?
Immediately he stood up with the emperor.
In a powerful group, there cannot be all those who charge forward. There must be people who can remind and brake at critical moments.
This is the revenue and expenditure of our treasury in recent years. The cost of raising troops, combat costs, and training costs are all among the top five.
According to statistics after the war by the Da Nong Order, the gains from the victory were higher than the battle losses.
If you want to completely remove it, you can wipe out the Wuhuan tribes at the same time. Qubing's secret book also said that there are signs of Xiongnu activities in this area... Regarding related matters, it is indeed necessary to summon Qubing back to Chang'an.
Only after discussion can we fully promote it.
In addition, there is a chaos in the currency system, a chaos in the minting of money by counties and states, private ownership of salt and iron, and losses in balance and other consumption.
Dong Zhongshu bowed his head, picked up a volume, and unfolded it.
Give me a few years of buffering in the middle of the court to manage everything, and then I will try to use troops." Dong Zhongshu said.
The emperor said: "Then I also want to ask Master, good generals have been hard to find in ancient times, and generals such as great generals and champions who have never been born in the world are even rarer.
After hearing the news, all the ministers thought: Champion Hou is not attacking the rebels. He has turned his troops to attack Wuhuan and other troops on the northeastern front. The change is most natural... Wuhuan at this time
The tribes were shocked, fearing that they had been disrupted by the champion.
"I do have something to ask of Your Majesty.
The content of the volume is that three months ago, Huo Qubing attacked the Xiongnu for the second time, defeated the Xiongnu royal court troops, swept through the royal court's subordinate ministries, suffered losses in that battle, and captured the gains of each tribe.
When Marquis Huo returns to Chang'an, can I discuss all matters together?" Dong Zhongshu changed the topic back to his original request.
On the giant purple jade door, there are countless symbols engraved on it.
In the afternoon of late November, Weiyang Palace, study room.
Of course, the main reason was that after several months of observation, Huo Qubing's continuous victories increased Dong Zhongshu's confidence in fighting and made him change his original intention.
Liu Che waved his hand and the stars began to change.
In late November, Huo Qubing received the emperor's edict, so he made some arrangements and returned to Chang'an from Beiguan under the protection of his own army.
Liu Che's thoughts changed slightly and he said: "If Master is ready to become an official again, I can allow Master to be the prime minister or the censor."
The emperor thought that he had recovered from his illness yesterday. He had sent out troops one after another to defeat many tribes in Wuhuan and captured the enemy leaders. The base of the secret forces had been found. It was east of Fuyu and had to go out of Liaoxi County.
Continue deeper into the Northeast.
However, I believe that a strict supervision system must be set up to prevent excessive military expenditure and all the money being spent on war."
The emperor vaguely understood what Dong Zhongshu meant.
The chamberlain read it out in front of the palace, and all the ministers heard it.
The head of Taixue is equivalent to the president of a national university in the Han Dynasty and a leading figure in contemporary culture.
Liu Che looked away from the memorial in his hand and looked at Dong Zhongshu.
"The doctor ordered to attack the Qiang people. Not much was captured, but fewer troops were sent. He only led 200 forbidden troops, and the losses were almost negligible."
I have been adjusting the state affairs, but now that the Xiongnu have suffered a new defeat, it is the time to expand their territory and sweep across the barbarians. If we miss this opportunity, it will be too late to regret it.
The strong-willed Master Dong was ready to become a wallflower and move closer to the emperor and Huo Qubing.
Every time there is a war, there is a surplus. No wonder the Da Nong Order has no objection to war recently... Dong Zhongshu's thoughts were up and down.
Seeing that all the ministers bowed their heads and no one had any objections, the emperor smiled and announced his withdrawal from the court.
Dong Zhongshu, led by his chamberlain, bowed in and said with a salute: "I have seen your Majesty."
The emperor's tone became increasingly harsh, and he stated that opening up new territories was the common aspiration of himself and Huo Qubing, and his meaning was clear.
He was planning to change his approach.
Even the little official was a little excited, his face full of joy.
"Master Dong, what's the matter?"
"The relevant comparison between battle losses and capture gains has not been finalized yet, but the defeated rebels were well-armed and had thousands of battle armors. The gains from capture are still much higher than the battle losses."
The emperor himself also liked a group of ministers who could coordinate civil and military affairs and restrain each other.
In a sense, it is equivalent to the head of the staff group behind the emperor, participating in discussions on the direction of national policies and correcting the emperor's direction of governing the country.
With Huo Qubing's victorious military record and the emperor's strong support, he could not stop him even if he wanted to.
This is what Qubing said, if you can keep winning, you will get richer as you fight."
If we continue to obstruct him, the relationship with the emperor and Huo Qubing will become increasingly rigid, which will only make things worse and nothing can be done.
"I have met Your Majesty." Huo Qubing bowed and saluted.
Just as Master Dong was about to speak, Liu Che pulled out three memorials from the low table and pushed them over the air: "Master, take a look at these memorials first."
He arranged to read out the status of the battle in Beiguan at the court meeting, in order to let the officials know that fighting in Beiguan had begun, and the battles had been victorious. It was useless to stop it, and all ministries needed to cooperate with each other.
Why?
The emperor was startled. In the first half, you seemed to be trying to convince me by presenting facts and reasoning, but in the second half, you took a sudden turn and agreed to fight?
Although the old master turned a corner, he did not turn completely.
Dong Zhongshu remained silent and silently picked up the second memorial.
The clerk Bai Yu sent back to deliver the news nodded and said:
"Yes, the news sent back from Beiguan said that the champion Hou's troops were so sharp that none of the northern border barbarians were his enemies, and he won consecutive battles. Some border barbarians heard of his name and moved north, not daring to fight.
The emperor kept writing on a memorial scroll, speaking in a distracted manner.
Regarding the relevant war, I, the general, and the lieutenant general have deduced it many times, and they all feel that to endure the temporary hardship, even if I am scrimping on food and clothing, I still have to fight. If I have to fight, I will not allow the barbarians to raise their heads. Master, do you think so?"
Dong Zhongshu made some preparations and soon entered the palace again to ask for an audience with Emperor Liu Che.
To be continued...