"I have set up a consolation envoy among the nine armies. What do you think?" Yang Guang asked in the palace.
Qiu He, the general of Zuoyuwei, was the first to say: "I think it is appropriate. As soon as my million-strong army arrives, Goguryeo will definitely flee. If there are comforting envoys to recruit them, they can surrender early and reduce the number of wars. This will save a lot of money."
trouble."
He was not like this before. During the reign of Emperor Kaihuang, he was also an upright and good official.
Qiu He's surname is Qiu Dun, and he is from the Xianbei tribe. His family has been a family of officials since the Western Wei Dynasty. After entering the Sui Dynasty, he served as the governor of three places successively, and his political achievements were quite remarkable. However, after Yang Guang came to the throne, Qiu He suddenly changed.
, turned into a cunning person who is good at flattery.
In fact, Yang Jian and Yang Guang are two people with completely different personalities. He is now working for Yang Guang, so he naturally follows Yang Guang.
Sure enough, after Yang Guang listened, he smiled and said:
"You know me, after all, Goguryeo is a small country. Has it ever seen a million-strong army? At that time, our Sui army will have banners hundreds of miles away, the strength of the golden sword, and the might of the army. It has never been seen in ancient and modern times. If I were Gao Yuan
, seeing this shape, he also surrendered."
It's a pity that you are not Gao Yuan, so he won't surrender.
Qiu He quickly smiled and agreed.
In addition to him, there is another person who supports the establishment of a consolation envoy, and that is Duan Wenzhen, Minister of the Ministry of War. This person is also from Xianbei and has served as an official of Yang Jian. He is almost seventy this year.
Historically, he died on the way to conquer Goguryeo. He was not beaten to death, but died of an illness on the way.
He supported it because the military supplies for a million-strong army were allocated to the Ministry of War. He calculated the accounts and found that there was not enough food to eat, there was not enough ordnance, it was difficult to recruit manpower, and the country was spending too much. All kinds of problems were placed on the table in the lobby of the Ministry of War.
Of course, the emperor also had a share in the case, but the emperor didn't take it seriously.
In his view, if Goguryeo can surrender early, the huge gap in the army's logistics will disappear. An early shift will help eliminate these hidden dangers and disadvantages. Otherwise, if the war falls into a stalemate and lasts for a long time, the big problem will be exposed first.
Sui.
The Goguryeo people were waiting for work at leisure, while they were working hard on expeditions, so the consumption of military supplies was very different.
"I also agree with the setting up of comfort envoys. Our army is so strong that Goguryeo will surely surrender by then. One comfort envoy can recruit and surrender a city, which is beneficial to our army," Duan Wenzhen said.
This is where the butt determines the head. Everyone is looking at the problem from their own standpoint. Everyone has their own difficulties. If there is a problem with the military supply of the army, Duan Wenzhen will have to take it with his head. He doesn’t want to bear the responsibility at the last moment of his life.
The crime will bring harm to the descendants.
Yang Guang nodded with satisfaction, looked at Su Wei and said:
"What do you think, sir?"
Su Wei knew the disadvantages of setting up comfort envoys, but he and Duan Wenzhen had the same problem. They both wanted the war to end as soon as possible, the sooner the better.
An army of more than one million and a logistics manpower of two million are a heavy burden for the country and a very risky thing. With so many people, it is difficult for you to manage them under normal circumstances, let alone in an emergency.
Under normal circumstances.
Who can know whether there will be any trouble in the future? The sage said: Don’t enter a dangerous country, and don’t live in a chaotic place. In folk proverbs, don’t go to places with many people.
Su Wei did not have the courage of Gao Xi. He was originally timid. The older he got, the timid he became. With the twenty-fourth army, dragons and snakes mixed together, no one could tell what would happen.
So Su Wei said: "I think it's appropriate."
Niu Hong was clearly giving him a look, and he understood it, but he ignored it on purpose.
Yang Guang naturally also saw Niu Hong's frequent gestures, frowned and asked: "You seem to have doubts?"
Niu Hong sighed, nodded and said: "As the saying goes, the generals are outside, and the emperor's orders are not respected. The position of the comfort envoy is too great a constraint on the leader of the army. An army cannot have two generals, otherwise there will be a disaster if the dispatch fails. I,
I think that even if this position is set up, it should be based on local conditions and combined with the marching commander before deciding whether to recruit or surrender."
In fact, positions of this nature have always existed. They used to be called supervisors of the army. They were also directly connected to the emperor. Their duty was to correct the inappropriate behavior of the commander of the army.
The power of the supervisor is very great, because his words represent the emperor, so the commander-in-chief has always had to please the supervisor, or fool, or deceive, in order not to let the other party interfere with his use of troops.
Therefore, in addition to being good at using troops, the commander-in-chief of the three armies also has a necessary skill of deception, and this skill is very important.
But this comfort envoy, in addition to performing the duties of supervising the army, also has the task of recruiting surrender. Think about it, once the emperor gives you a task, what will you do?
You will try your best to accomplish it. If you don't surrender, I will persuade you to surrender. If you are willing to surrender, I will persuade you to surrender again. Otherwise, I will appear to be just a decoration and have nothing to do.
This is the allure of power. This is the same as if you are asked to be a gold medalist, you will think about collecting taxes. If you are asked to be a forward, you have to shoot.
There are not a few things that have happened to the supervisors. From ancient times to the present, countless supervisors have been killed. Some of them gave random instructions on the military affairs, and even lost the battle, and were settled by the queen. Some were simply killed in front of the battle because of their nonsense.
.
But things keep happening, but this thing always exists, and its existence is reasonable, because the supervision of the army is related to the emperor's control over the army. You all think that it cannot be done, but the emperor thinks that it must be done, so whoever is more powerful has the final say.
Duan Da, the general of Zuo Xiaowei, thought so. He was a member of the army of Prince Yang Guang of Jin Dynasty, and he was also the deputy commander of Zuo Wei, the crown prince during the period of Prince Yang Guang. He was used to considering things from Yang Guang's point of view.
He knew that the emperor would not change this position, so he supported it.
In the end, of the nine people, only three were opposed, Niu Hong, Wei Xuan, and Guo Yan. Niu Hong was out of war considerations. The remaining two were both famous generals and had been constrained by the supervisory army. They knew that this position was really worthless.
Put the eggs.
Among them, Wei Xuan suffered a big loss back then, and he spent a lot of money in order to win over the supervisors. Later, he learned to be smart and didn't spend any money. Let's do it.
On weekdays, Yang Guang always made his own decisions and acted arbitrarily, and it was not uncommon for him to pick on n-girlfriends. Today, he actually acted fair.
"Since the majority agrees, let's take advantage of the majority and comfort the envoys without withdrawing."
Niu Hong looked helpless. These people you found are wrong. Do you dare to ask for opinions at the court meeting?
Most of the nine people are your confidants, and winning or losing has already been decided.
In Tangying Township, Yang Ming finally waited for Li Jing.
Li Jing arrived very late because after entering Hedong, heavy snow blocked the road and the road was difficult to walk. Fortunately, after entering Wenxi, the snow on the road was cleared, so he was late.
After the two sat down, Dugu Feng'er poured wine for the two of them. The first step in serving her husband was to eat and drink. She was learning.
Li Jing was very happy to recommend Yang Ming. It could be said that it was exactly what he wanted. When a person is particularly capable, what does he need?
We need a stage to show our talents.
Conquering Goguryeo was undoubtedly Li Jing's dream. Although he was not recruited in the early stage, he set up a sand table at home and had already practiced it countless times.
"How has the Xuanting matter been resolved?" Yang Ming asked with a smile: "Yin Jiang asked you to be a peacemaker. I'm afraid you offended someone, right?"
Li Jing smiled and said: "It's not a big deal, Xuanting still listened to the advice. Yuan Qing's character was too arrogant. Yang Sili wrote to me and asked me to be responsible for disciplining Yuan Qing from now on, so I came out this time and took him too.
I brought it with me, Your Highness, please forgive me."
"It's okay to take him with you. This kid is too wild-tempered. Only the battlefield is his home. It's difficult to restrain him anywhere else," Yang Ming nodded.
Yang Yuanqing did not follow him to Hedong because he was afraid of Yang Ming and feared that Yang Ming would severely criticize him, so he waited for Li Jing to meet him at his hometown in Hongnong County, southeast of Hedong.
Li Jing continued: "Your Highness's East Palace is quite complicated right now. Various factions have been formed. Among them, the Crown Princess's natal family is the most powerful. I'm afraid it won't be good if things go on like this. I took Yuan Qing away for this reason.
, this child is a thorn in the side, and the Crown Princess is currently powerless to restrain him. If he stays in his East Palace, I don’t know how much trouble he will cause."
It’s not scary to have factions, and it’s not scary if they fight. What’s really scary is that they don’t fight. Yang Ming actually knows this much better than Li Jing.
He arranged all the people personally. He had already planned them all at that time. The factions that emerged now were basically within Yang Ming's predictions, or in other words, he had single-handedly promoted them.
As the crown prince and concubine, Yang Yinjiang must be taken care of by her mother's family, and the Yang family's arrogance is actually a means for Yang Ming to suppress other factions.
A tyrannical man must have a certain level, and only if he exceeds that level will Yang Ming intervene. Now Xuanting beating Wei Zheng is not a problem at all. When Xuanting wants to kill Wei Zheng, it will be a problem.
Where is this? It's just some minor disputes on the surface, and there will be secret conspiracies in the future. The East Palace is the chessboard, and Yang Ming is the chess player.
Yang Ming nodded: "That's how it is in a crowded place. Everyone has their own ideas, and conflicts arise from this. I don't want to forcefully intervene, but appropriate warnings are still needed."
Li Jing smiled and said: "Your Highness, why don't you ask me which faction you belong to?"
Yang Ming laughed: "Of course you are a princeling, otherwise why would you be a peacemaker? Because everyone knows that you, Li Jing, are my right-hand man. If they don't give you face, they don't give me face."
Li Jing sighed: "When I first met Your Highness, Your Highness was only ten years old. At that time, I felt that His Highness was not a mortal, and was different from other imperial grandsons. Now it seems that the glory of the sun and the moon cannot be covered up by clouds.
"
"Just like Brother Jing," Yang Ming said with a smile, "Your Majesty has not yet made up his mind whether to use you or not. Although I have recommended you, you still have to take the last step on your own."
Li Jing nodded with a solemn expression: "I have this confidence."
"Okay!" Yang Ming clapped his hands and said, "But before that, I have something to tell you. I hope you can listen."
Li Jing laughed loudly: "Li Jing will consider every word of His Highness's instructions in his heart. Please tell me, Your Highness."