Chapter 263 The choice of people, the new military situation
The Yuan Empire was not only a khanate like the Jin Kingdom, but the other two countries saw that the Jin Kingdom had taken advantage of Daqian, and the northwest border defense of Daqian was extremely empty, so they would have the mentality of picking up the advantage and raise troops to attack the border.
Several civil servants hesitated for a moment and then advised: "Your Majesty, if there is only trouble at the northeastern border, it will only be a disaster for one place. But if the border troops are transferred from the northwest, the northwest border defense will also be weakened. In case of an accident later... "
At the end of the words, his voice became quieter and quieter, but Li Qian understood the meaning.
If there is only a gap, then Daqian still has room to send troops continuously to expel the enemy who invades in the future.
But if the two most important frontiers in the northwest and northeast are all breached, then Daqian today may be in danger of national subjugation!
"I understand."
Li Qian nodded silently. After all, he had never experienced such a change. He was still a little impatient just now, and subconsciously wanted to use all the available power at the moment.
But doing so now will not solve the court's urgent needs, but may expose even greater flaws.
He took a deep breath and thought about the current situation. In this matter, Li Qian would not forcefully implement some unreasonable measures for the sake of his own face.
"In addition, according to the military newspaper, there are still 70,000 fighting troops at Jiayuan Pass, plus the troops and horses at other passes in the rear..."
Li Qian paused for a moment, recalling the memorials he had dealt with over the past year regarding the Northeast Frontier Fortress, and said a figure: "We can still gather 130,000 troops and horses."
Although it sounds like a lot, it is only under the most ideal situation that there are so many combatable soldiers. No one knows how many soldiers are left now. We must wait for follow-up information to arrive in the capital.
Moreover, if you want to use these people, you will face a big problem.
Many officials below were silent for a moment, and finally Li Jing spoke: "Your Majesty, it is not easy to mobilize these 130,000 troops. The imperial court still has to send people to the border to lead the troops to resist the captives."
After Li Jing finished speaking, he did not sit down, but just looked at Li Qian steadily, as if waiting for him to make a decision.
Li Qian knew what he meant, and he also knew what the other ministers thought.
In fact, while sitting in the palace for a long time, Li Qian had already thought about this issue that was very heavy for him.
After such a big change, no matter whether Wu Sangui openly rebelled or not, he could no longer be trusted. The imperial court would definitely send people to take over the large number of remaining soldiers and coordinate the resistance against the Jin soldiers.
But who should be sent?
Li Qian immediately thought of the generals who were leading the troops in the Wu Kingdom, but after just a little thought, he excluded these people.
The border troops have been guarding the border all year round. They are all arrogant and fierce generals who refuse to obey the heaven and the earth. With the backing of Wu Sangui, a local leader, the commander of these forbidden troops may not be able to subjugate these people.
And there may be a situation where the old and the new will confront each other!
Under the premise of the invasion of Jin soldiers, such a situation is undoubtedly very fatal.
If you want to send someone, you have to send someone who is very authoritative and can completely suppress Wu Sangui.
There were not many such people in the court, and Li Qian could only think of a few, the most important of whom were Li Yuan, Yang Jian, and Zhao Kuangyin.
But if they were really asked to go out to lead troops, Li Qian would still be more repulsive.
None of these three people are law-abiding characters. They are quite honest in the capital now, but that may not be the case if they really go out.
After they successfully fought off the invading enemies and accumulated prestige, the originally high-pressure balanced situation was destroyed. In addition, all their royal family members were outside. It didn't seem surprising that they would take advantage of the situation and raise their own troops. They would wear yellow robes...
But right now, the three of them are indeed the best candidates!
Li Qian's breathing was a little heavy. On the one hand, there were the Jin soldiers who might march forward, and on the other hand, there were Li Yuan and others who might start a rebellion...
Ever since he just figured this out, he has been immersed in difficult choices.
Is it more important to defend against the invading Jin soldiers, or to defend against Li Yuan and the others?
But there was obviously no time for him to continue inking. Li Qian raised his head and looked around, and found that the ministers were all looking at him.
"It is indeed necessary for the predecessors to go to Jiayuan Pass."
Li Gan paused for a moment, then turned to look at the three Li Yuans on the other side: "I wonder who among the three of you, the emperor, the general, or the marshal is willing to take on the important task of wiping out the enemy captives and regaining Dingyong Pass."
After his words fell, the air in the palace stagnated for a moment, and the crowd of civil servants became a little restless. Then the three Yang Jian people who were called all stood up and replied in unison: "I wish to go."
In the end, Li Qian made his choice.
From the perspective of personal selfishness, Li Qian might be willing to leave the three of them in the capital.
But now this situation not only involves whether Li Qian's throne is stable, but also the safety of the country and the nation.
Li Qian, who had this past life memory, subconsciously thought of all the horrific tragedies that Hou Jin had done after entering the country.
And now this kind of thing may happen again now... This is something Li Qian absolutely does not want to see.
Between the country and the individual, Li Qian finally made a choice.
But after the selection, new disputes have arisen.
There are three people who are qualified to rush to Jiayuan Pass. Which one should you choose?
Maybe the generals themselves don't like war, but they have to admit that they exist because of war, and there are channels for their promotion because of war.
As for Li Yuan and the others, if they can command and repel the Jin invasion and regain the defense, they will surely gain extremely high prestige and momentum!
Moreover, the three of them are vaguely in a competitive relationship. If they fail to catch up with this opportunity, they may be widened by their opponents.
Therefore, the tone of the three of them was extremely firm this time.
The commotion among the civil servants on the side was even worse. It seemed that everyone had different opinions, but they all maintained good restraint at this time.
Li Qian looked at the three people and was silent for a moment. He wanted to say something, but in the end he couldn't.
This time is different from the last time we went to Wu Kingdom. It was impossible for the three of them to go out at the same time before.
Not to mention anything else, as long as these three people cause internal strife outside, it would be better not to let them go at all.
Moreover, if only one person goes out and the remaining two are in the capital, this can also be used to limit the "ambition" of the person who goes out, so that he does not dare to give it a try.
But if all three of them go out...then the ocean will be as vast as a fish can leap, and the sky will be as high as a bird can fly.
Li Qian was silent, and Li Yuan and the other three were also silent, seeming to be waiting for His Majesty the Emperor's decision.
At this time, there really was nothing left to say. Li Qian believed that no matter which one he chose, the other two would probably not agree.
This may be what is called one monk carrying water to drink, two monks carrying water to drink, and three monks carrying water to drink.
"Your Majesty, the detailed military report has not yet been delivered, and the situation may not have collapsed to such an extent."
Qin Hui suddenly spoke, attracting everyone's attention. He continued: "Why don't you send Zuowei Wei to go north to inquire about the news, and at the same time act as a deterrent? The imperial court will send letters to the Ming and Han countries, asking them to take care of them."
"If the Jin Kingdom still has its sense, it will definitely withdraw its troops on its own."
The northeastern border is located between the Ming Dynasty and the Han Dynasty. This proposal is indeed feasible.
But in Li Qian's view, this was more of Qin Hui's wishful thinking.
The Daqian court may still have some control and deterrence over other vassal states, but its influence on the Qin, Han and Ming dynasties... is almost nonexistent.
The Ming Dynasty and the Han Kingdom might help to intimidate the Jin Kingdom out of moral sentiments, but they might not be able to go to the extent of sending troops. They might even be happy to see the Jin soldiers penetrate deep into the hinterland of the imperial court.
Not to mention anything else, if the Jin soldiers really reached the vicinity of the capital, they would be able to lead a large number of soldiers and horses directly to the capital with just a slogan of "raise troops to serve the king".
Moreover, the Han and Ming countries also had their own opponents on the grasslands, and there was also a steady stream of customs and defense pressure.
Therefore, we cannot rely on them to resist the invasion of Jin soldiers this time, we can only rely on ourselves.
However, although Qin Hui's words made no sense, they temporarily eased the current deadlock for Li Qian.
He nodded slightly and said, "What Prime Minister Qin said makes sense."
"Commander Wu Sangui is also a battle-ready general selected by the emperor. Although he has lost Dingyong Pass, he has left tens of thousands of battle-ready soldiers for the imperial court."
Having said this, Li Qian paused for a moment, even he himself didn't believe such nonsense.
High emotional intelligence: leaving behind vitality.
Low EQ: Don’t fire a shot and run away quickly.
"It would also be a good thing if Wu Sangui could take advantage of the terrain of Jiayuan Pass to keep the Jin soldiers out of the pass."
The ministers all nodded slightly when they heard this, including Li Yuan and the other three.
But only they themselves know what they are thinking.
A man who could not stop the Jin soldiers when he was stationed at Dingyong Pass, should he be expected to use Jiayuan Pass, which is smaller than Dingyong Pass, to block the invading enemies?
"But even if General Wu stops the Jin people, Dingyong Pass will still have to be recaptured."
Li Qian's voice deepened and he continued: "More troops and horses must be sent in advance."
The ministers nodded again as expected.
"Send the order to Zuowei Wei to break camp and march to Jizhou as soon as possible. Send the order to Longxi and order the soldiers to start preparing for war."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Several relevant civil and military officials took the order one after another.
Next, Li Qian's tone was a bit stern: "Send an order to Wu Sangui and ask him to report the current war situation as soon as possible! All details must be reported back to the court as soon as possible!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Qin Hui once again received the order.
Li Qian took another look at the three Li Yuan people in the front, and then said: "In this case, this discussion will end here, and all the nobles will go back to the Yamen first."
"We will discuss countermeasures after detailed military reports are sent to the capital."
These people may have heard the implication of Li Qian's words, but they didn't say anything at this time, they just accepted the order one after another.
In Li Qian's eyes, they left the Wenhua Hall one by one.
Li Qian also knew that no matter who he chose, the other two would probably not accept it. He could only let the three of them decide who was better...
Thanks to Jing Yan, almost all court officials knew about this important news.
They may not know the contents of that military report, but they must know that major events have happened in the imperial court recently, and it is also a big war.
Although some people in the court were panicking now, everyone saw that the elders who participated in the discussion that day did not move at all, and as usual, calm gradually returned.
However, beneath this visible calm, there is a fierce and turbulent undercurrent.
Wenyuan Pavilion, the right prime minister's room.
Today, there are only two people on duty, Qin Hui and Wang Ciweng. Neither Wan Qixi nor Qin Xi are here.
"Prime Minister Qin, which master should we support?"
Wang Cweng asked with some worry: "It seems that the three of them are cruel this time. No matter who they support, I'm afraid they will have a conflict with the other two..."
"Who do you support..."
Qin Hui looked out the window with his hands behind his hands, his expression a little dazed.
For some reason, he always felt uneasy since that day, but after thinking about it carefully, he couldn't think of any problem.
"To be honest, no one wants to support the truth."
Qin Hui's voice was a little low, not because of the break with the other two, but because he also saw a crisis in it.
If one of them really gets stronger, causing the balance among the three to be broken... the relatively stable situation in the court may be about to undergo major changes.
But who can we rely on now if we don’t rely on them?
“It’s okay if no one supports it.”
Wang Ciweng hurriedly followed: "As long as you, Prime Minister Qin, don't take action, I think the three of them will not dare to offend us."
Qin Hui did not comment on this, but asked another matter: "How is Da Sima's condition?"
Hearing this, Wang Ciweng's face also showed a bit of regret: "I heard it is getting worse and worse, and I can hardly get out of bed."
Qin Hui frowned. In his opinion, Li Jing was the best candidate.
In fact, it was not just him, but many civil servants in the court also thought so.
Li Jing was a military general, and later became the Minister of War. His ability in marching and fighting was not an issue.
As the Secretary of the Ministry of War, he also had great say in the promotion and transfer of border army generals, and he was also responsible for coordinating supplies for the border army... Such a status and prestige were enough.
The most important thing is that he is a civil servant, not a military general. The Ministry of War only has the power to mobilize troops, but not to train them. Civil officials will not be afraid of him.
This is simply a perfect choice.
But unfortunately, he suddenly fell ill and became very seriously ill.
"Have you found out the cause of Da Sima's illness?"
Qin Hui frowned, turned around and looked at Wang Cweng: "Why did he... get sick so coincidentally?"
Wang Ciweng understood and immediately said: "According to the imperial doctor, Da Sima suddenly contracted a cold syndrome. Dampness and cold entered the body and damaged the lung meridian, so he became ill."
Not pretending to be sick, but really sick.
But Qin Hui's brows furrowed deeper: "There haven't been many rainy days in recent days, so why is there so much dampness and cold in the body?"
"Has anyone been suspicious of Da Sima's residence in recent days?"
Wang Cweng's expression changed: "Xiang Qin, you are saying..."
Qin Hui subconsciously twirled the book in his hand: "A spy from the Jin Kingdom sneaked into the capital and plotted to kill Da Sima at this critical moment."
Wang Ciweng paused for a moment, and then said: "The lower officials don't know much about this matter. The servants guarding the courtyard in Da Sima's house are all his own soldiers who fought with him on the battlefield in the past, so it's not easy to find out the information..."
"It's not easy to pry..."
Qin Hui narrowed his eyes slightly: "Then it seems that he is a traitor."
Wang Ciweng lowered his head and remained silent, but the figures of three people already appeared in his mind...
At this moment, a burst of rapid footsteps came from outside the duty room.
"Prime Minister Qin, Your Majesty has summoned you to go to Ziwei Palace to discuss matters."