Chapter eight hundred and sixty-six. Potential (four).
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Seeing the incredible look of shock and anger on He Zhang's old and tired face, even the thick-skinned and dark-hearted Zhao Junchen felt a little guilty for a moment.
After all, He Zhang has spent all his money for Zhao Junchen's plan to destroy Mongolia. He Zhang can be considered loyal to Zhao Junchen when there is no conflict between Zhao Junchen and the central court!
However, Zhao Junchen's decision at this time can be said to be a betrayal of He Zhang in a certain respect.
Of course, he also betrayed those frontline soldiers who died on the battlefield.
But the feeling of guilt only passed by for a moment, and Zhao Junchen had no intention of changing his mind.
Just as Mao Jiadong guessed, Zhao Junchen summoned He Zhang and Fang Zhenshan this time, ostensibly to listen to their opinions seriously, but in fact Zhao Junchen already had a plan in mind, and this summons was just a negotiation before the decision was officially announced.
It's just persuasion.
After all, if He Zhang cannot be persuaded to accept his opinion in advance, He Zhang's upright character will definitely object in public when Zhao Junchen officially announces it. In that case, the situation will be deadlocked and Zhao Junchen will not be able to step down.
In fact, Zhao Junchen's decision was well thought out and had good reasons. At least Zhao Junchen himself did not think his decision was wrong.
He Zhang is just a general, he only needs to consider the war in front of him, but Zhao Junchen is a politician, he not only has to consider one corner, but also the whole situation, not only the immediate situation, but also the long-term development in the future
!
Because of his own selfish motives, Fang Zhenshan violated military orders and advanced rashly during this war. The frontline soldiers on both battlefields suffered heavy casualties because of him. If such crimes were punished according to military law, the only outcome would be to be beheaded in public—
—This is also the result that He Zhang and Mao Jiadong expect to see!
But don't forget that Zhao Junchen's official identity is just an imperial envoy for disaster relief. He is now in charge of the military affairs of Shaanxi and Gansu, which has seriously exceeded his authority. If nothing else, the imperial court has already received Zhao Junchen's excuse.
The information that the Governor Yue Zu was in charge of the Shaanxi-Gansu border defense must have caused an uproar, and there must be a large number of political opponents taking the opportunity to criticize Zhao Junchen!
It can be said that Zhao Junchen presided over the military affairs of Shaanxi and Gansu because of the situation and his power was urgent. But what if Zhao Junchen killed Fang Zhenshan, the commander-in-chief of Guyuan?
There were only nine military towns in the Ming Dynasty, and only nine generals guarding them. Each of them was an important figure like a feudal official. They were all important and well-connected, and they were all in the heart of Emperor Deqing.
, even if there is a good reason, Zhao Junchen definitely does not have the power to deal with it at will!
Of course, power is one thing, strength is another!
With Zhao Junchen's current status and influence in Shaanxi and Gansu, if he really wants to kill Fang Zhenshan in accordance with military law, Fang Zhenshan will have no power to resist, but this will only cause countless troubles for Zhao Junchen, which is equivalent to using a handle.
It was handed over to Emperor Deqing and the political opponents of the court. Even if Zhao Junchen achieved great success in destroying Mongolia, he might not be able to escape punishment from the court, and most of the benefits he had finally won would be lost.
Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for Zhao Junchen to kill Fang Zhenshan in accordance with military law!
If Fang Zhenshan cannot be killed in accordance with military law, there are only two options. One is to deprive Fang Zhenshan of his military power and imprison him in prison to await the court's decision on punishment; the other is to let Fang Zhenshan go.
, turned a major issue into a trivial one, pretending not to know Fang Zhenshan’s guilt.
Among the two methods, the former seems reasonable and the court can find no fault with it, and He Zhang will not have any objections. However, this method is harmful rather than beneficial to Zhao Junchen. In a certain way,
Even helping Fang Zhenshan!
After all, once Zhao Junchen realizes his plan to destroy Mongolia, his influence in Shaanxi and Gansu will be at its peak. Emperor Deqing will definitely find ways to check and balance him due to the character of Emperor Deqing. After Zhao Junchen imprisoned Fang Zhenshan, the two of them
Will completely become an enemy. After Emperor Deqing noticed this, he would most likely regard Fang Zhenshan as a pawn to check Zhao Junchen's influence in Shaanxi and Gansu. By then, Fang Zhenshan would not only not be punished by the court
, maybe it will be a success without fault, and go one step further!
According to Zhao Junchen's speculation, this situation is very likely to happen. At that time, many of Zhao Junchen's future plans in Shaanxi and Gansu will run into trouble.
Compared to this, Zhao Junchen might as well make his own decision and let Fang Zhenshan go, sell Fang Zhenshan a huge favor, and take the opportunity to take Fang Zhenshan for his own use!
Moreover, in this way, Fang Zhenshan is equivalent to falling into the hands of Zhao Junchen and can no longer resist. Zhao Junchen can easily infiltrate Guyuan Military Town. With Fang Zhenshan's effectiveness, Zhao Junchen will have many future plans in Shaanxi and Gansu.
It can also be much smoother - unlike He Zhang's upright character, Fang Zhenshan is the same kind as Zhao Junchen. After Zhao Junchen controls him, many shady things can be left to him to handle!
Since ancient times, officials have always liked to reuse subordinates who have good authority. In fact, this is the truth!
In addition, although there are not many officials in the temple who can do practical things, there are countless officials who are good at finding fault with eggs!
If Zhao Junchen severely punishes Fang Zhenshan, the reason must be made public, and some officials in the court will notice one thing - this battle originally had a chance of victory, but in the end it turned into a narrow victory and a tragic victory.
Win!
These officials have always stood up and talked without hurting their backs. After noticing this, I am afraid they will also use this as a reason to criticize Zhao Junchen - "It was obviously a complete victory, but in the end it turned into a tragic victory, and countless soldiers suffered because of this."
And sacrifice for no reason. Isn't all this your responsibility for Zhao Junchen's improper employment and command errors? If you, Zhao Junchen, hadn't acted beyond your authority, how could this situation have happened? If someone else had been in charge of this war, maybe all this could have been avoided.
Unexpectedly, I got a complete victory! So Zhao Junchen, although you destroyed the Mongolian coalition forces, you still failed!"
It’s not that Zhao Junchen judged a gentleman with a villain’s heart, it’s actually that the gentlemen in the court did this kind of thing not once or twice.
If that's the case, Zhao Junchen's hard-earned military exploits may shrink!
From this point of view, Zhao Junchen did not want Fang Zhenshan's crime to be publicized, so he just pretended that it did not happen. In that case, he would save a lot of trouble. In terms of the result of this battle, victory is victory, and no one will
If you find fault in this aspect, Zhao Junchen's military merit will not be at risk of being reduced!
*
But at this time, when faced with He Zhang's questioning, Zhao Junchen certainly couldn't just tell his true thoughts.
However, regardless of Zhao Junchen's various personal interests, just considering the development of the current war situation, killing Fang Zhenshan in accordance with military law is not a good choice. Zhao Junchen still has sufficient reasons to convince He Zhang!
Therefore, after hearing He Zhang's loud questioning, Zhao Junchen's expression remained calm and he just said slowly: "General He, please don't get angry in a hurry. My decision has been fully considered. Please listen to me first."
What’s the reason?”
Seeing Zhao Junchen's attitude, He Zhang couldn't get angry for a while, so he could only suppress the anger in his heart and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, please speak! But if your reasons are not sufficient, I am afraid that the humble person has an upright temper."
I still have to argue with you."
Zhao Junchen nodded slightly, with a humble look, and still spoke in a calm tone, asking: "In General He's opinion, when this war has developed to this point, have we won or lost?"
He Zhang did not hesitate and replied: "Of course we won. Although more than 20,000 soldiers were sacrificed and the battle was extremely dangerous, we also destroyed and captured a larger number of Mongolians. The Mongolian coalition invaded our territory."
Nearly half of them were lost in this battle. It is no exaggeration to say that this battle is an unprecedented victory for our country in the past hundred years! After the results of this battle are spread, it will definitely arouse the wonder and praise of the world! All of this is
Credit to the Imperial Envoy!
However, if it weren't for Fang Zhenshan's greedy and rash advancement, our army could have gained more results at a lower cost in this battle. If everything had gone according to the plan made by the Imperial Envoy in advance, I think our army would have gained more victory in this battle.
The number of soldiers who died would never exceed 10,000, and no one in the Mongolian army would escape! But in the end, it was because of Fang Zhenshan's disobedience of military orders that our army's great victory turned into a tragic victory that was both dangerous and dangerous.
situation!"
Zhao Junchen nodded slightly again and said: "That's right! But apart from a few high-level civil and military officials in the army, not many people know the details of the various plans I made in advance. After the bloody battles, the soldiers
Finally, the two Mongolian detachments were completely defeated, but the damage was also extremely heavy. It can be said that the morale of our army is currently in a very delicate situation, the joy of victory, physical and mental exhaustion, and the feeling after the death and disability of our comrades.
Grief...all kinds of emotions, all mixed together!"
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, He Zhang vaguely guessed what Zhao Junchen meant, his eyes flickered, and he seemed to be hesitant!
Zhao Junchen sighed and continued: "At this time, our determination of the outcome of this war will easily affect the morale of the soldiers. If we only say that this war is unprecedented in our country in the past century,
A great victory is of great significance. Everyone will receive rich military rewards. The soldiers will forget about fatigue and pain, and their morale will be boosted. The stronger their fighting spirit will be, they will be able to defeat the main Mongolian force in Jiezhou City in one go;
But if we say that this battle should have been a complete victory, but due to the selfishness of the senior generals, it eventually turned into a narrow and tragic victory. Most of the soldiers who died on the battlefield died in vain, and the soldiers would
How do you think? Can the morale and fighting spirit of the soldiers be maintained? If the morale and fighting spirit of the soldiers become depressed because of this, how can we fight against the main force of Mongolia?"
At this point, Zhao Junchen increased his tone and continued: "The world is always like this. It is obviously a good thing, but if the good thing is not perfect, the eyes of the world will often only focus on the flaws, and the good thing will not go away.
It has turned into a bad thing! Now, the result of this battle is also the same. If we publicize Fang Zhenshan's guilt, the soldiers will subconsciously ignore our army's victory and only notice that a great victory turned into a tragic victory.
At that time, our army seemed to have won, but the mood of the soldiers was probably not far from that of a defeat!... Therefore, although Fang Zhenshan's guilt is serious, considering the battle situation and morale, now
This is not the time to make a public announcement, nor is it the time to severely punish him!"
There is certainly some truth to what Zhao Junchen said, and He Zhang also knew the importance of morale.
But that alone is not enough to convince He Zhang!
So, He Zhang asked: "What the imperial envoy said is reasonable, but he let Fang Zhenshan off easily because of this. I am still unconvinced in my humble heart!"
Seeing He Zhang's statement, Zhao Junchen remained unmoved and said: "My reasons are naturally not just that simple... General He, after I came to Shaanxi and Gansu, I have told you many times that I
My ambition is very big, bigger than all of you imagined! You may think that my ambition is just to wipe out the Mongolian coalition forces that invaded our territory. At the time, this was already an incredible thing...
…But in fact, my ambition from the beginning was not just to annihilate the Mongolian coalition forces!"
Zhao Junchen's statement immediately attracted the attention of several people present.
Mao Jiadong couldn't help but ask: "Does it mean that your Majesty the Imperial Envoy has a greater ambition?"
Zhao Junchen nodded with a smile, his eyes flashing, and said: "The war has developed to this point, and I won't hide it from you! From the beginning, I not only wanted to annihilate the invading Mongolian coalition forces, but also
I want to counterattack to the northern grasslands in one go and take the opportunity to regain the Hetao area!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the hall was shocked!