Five days later, the governor of Liangzhou was killed in battle and the news of the fall of the entire territory finally spread in Luoyang. Liu Hong finally opened the court meeting at the request of all the ministers.
Among all the ministers, the most delighted ones were He Jin and Yuan Wei. They finally had another chance to deal with Liu Zhang, and it was a God-given opportunity!
"Dear dear friends, you should all know the situation in Liangzhou. After Geng Bi died in battle, all eight counties in Liangzhou fell, and no one obeyed the imperial order again!"
"I am so furious now! Zhang Wen underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, losing tens of thousands of soldiers. He was demoted to a commoner by me and will never be used again! Unexpectedly, Geng Bi was even more stupid. Not only did his subordinates turn against him in battle, but he was also beheaded by his own superiors.
Kill! It is my responsibility to use this kind of trash!"
For the first time, Liu Hong took responsibility for himself. This was something that none of the ministers expected, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. If Liu Hong takes out his anger on them, these ministers will also have to suffer!
"His Majesty!"
The first person to stand up was not the general and the Taifu, but the great Sinong Wang Wen.
"What's the matter with Da Sinong?"
Wang Wen walked to the middle and bowed his hands to Liu Hong.
"Your Majesty, the treasury is now empty, and the food and grass in Jizhou, Xuzhou and Yanzhou are less than 300,000 dan, and we can no longer support the army's expedition!"
Three hundred thousand stones may seem like a lot, but it’s actually not much!
If the Western Expeditionary Army only dispatched 30,000 people, then 300,000 stones of grain and grass would definitely be enough. But if only 30,000 people were deployed, how could Liangzhou be recaptured?
Putting aside whether these 30,000 men can fight against the enemy, the number of soldiers and horses required to garrison each city just to recover them is very limited.
Even if a 100,000-strong army and 300,000 stones of food and grass were deployed, they would only be able to last for less than ten months! From Luoyang to Liangzhou, it was more than a thousand miles away. I am afraid that most of the food would have been eaten before the enemy was engaged in battle!
Liu Hong had long known that Da Si Nong would say this. Although he was prepared, he was still a little angry.
"Why, according to Da Sinong's wishes, Liangzhou will be ignored? From now on, my big man will not have Liangzhou to talk about?"
At this time, He Jin came out and looked at Wang Wen angrily.
"Da Sinong, you are a rotten scholar! Grain can be harvested every year. Once Liangzhou is occupied by rebels for a long time, I, the great man, will lose this land forever!"
Wang Wen was not in the same league as He Jin, so he would not let He Jin make things difficult for him and would directly refute him.
"The general has a lot of foresight. Why don't we provide him with one million shi of food, and then the general will march westward himself? I'm a rotten person like me, so I'll just sit in Luoyang and wait for the general to perform his heavenly feats!"
"you!"
He Jin was furious and pointed at Wang Wen and was about to curse, but Liu Hong stopped him.
"General, please calm down. I think there is some truth to what Great Sinong said."
"Your Majesty, where do I have millions of stones of food and grass? If your Majesty doesn't believe it, you can search my mansion as much as you like!"
He Jin was extremely aggrieved. Although he was a little greedy, he couldn't have been corrupt that much! How long had he been a general?
"Your Majesty, I think what the general said makes sense. If we sit back and watch the rebels occupy Liangzhou, I am afraid that Liangzhou will no longer be owned by my great man!"
Grand Tutor Yuan Wei stepped forward and rescued He Jin in time.
"Master Yuan, I also know the importance of Liangzhou, but the treasury is really too empty! The states have just shipped grain and grass, and there is absolutely no way to transport grain again in a short time!"
Wang Wen quickly complained to Yuan Wei. He could ignore He Jin, but he could never ignore Yuan Wei. Wang Wen was a real disciple of the Yuan family.
"Da Si Nong, I know your difficulties! Let me do my best for the great man and set an example for other ministers. Our Yuan family is willing to spend 10,000 stones of food and grass to support the military!"
As soon as Yuan Wei said this, all the ministers started talking about it, but this scene made Liu Hong extremely contemptuous.
How rich the Yuan family is, Liu Hong can think of it with his toes!
Yuzhou is the largest state in the world, and Runan, the county capital, is also a large county with a population of one million! Your Yuan family has occupied Runan for many years, and the amount of land and property is amazing!
Maybe one million stones is indeed difficult to collect in a short period of time, but two to three hundred thousand stones of grain and grass is a piece of cake for the Yuan family! Even Liu Hong felt that he, the Yuan family, had so much in his granary!
"Taifu Yuan is truly worthy of being the leader of the ministers! He is so generous!"
Liu Hong's word "generous" was very strong, and he did not hide his contempt for Yuan Wei. However, Yuan Wei didn't care at all, and instead handed over his hand to show his humility.
"Well, since the General and the Tutor both agree to the Western Expedition, you might as well tell me in detail what suggestions you have, so that I can learn more!"
Yuan Wei did not speak, but took a step back and gave the right to speak to He Jin.
He Jin also understood what Yuan Wei meant and directly recommended his plan to Liu Hong.
"Your Majesty, it is well known to the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty that General Liu Zhang is the number one general of our Han Dynasty! He defeated the Yellow Turban and defeated Xiliang! If Zhang Wen had not caused trouble last time, I am afraid that there might not have been the disaster in Liangzhou! In my opinion, only
Let the rear general Liu Zhang take command and personally lead the troops to conquer the rebels! Now that the rear general is out, Xiliang will have no worries!"
He Jin looked at Liu Zhang with a look of relief on his face. If someone didn't know the relationship between the two, they would definitely think that Liu Zhang was He Jin's man!
"Master, what do you think?"
Seeing Liu Hong asking him a question, Yuan Wei immediately affirmed He Jin's words.
"Your Majesty, I second the proposal! To put down the rebellion in Liangzhou, it must be the empress general!"
Liu Hong nodded. He had guessed this situation before, so he looked at Liu Zhang.
"The general, the general and the tutor all recommend you, please tell me what you think!"
Liu Hong gave Liu Zhang a look, and Liu Zhang immediately understood what Liu Hong meant.
"Your Majesty, thanks to the great general and the Taifu's respect, I am extremely frightened, lest I fail to live up to the high expectations of your Majesty and all the ministers!"
"But the Liangzhou Rebellion is a national event. As a member of the Han clan and now the prince-in-law of the dynasty, Liu Zhang is bound to do it! His Majesty and the ministers value it so much that Liu Zhang naturally does not dare to refuse and will definitely go all out!"
"But a single thread cannot make a thread, and a single tree cannot make a forest! All ministers must have heard that the troops to which our general belongs suffered heavy losses in the last battle of Meiyang. They numbered less than 5,000, and they still have not replenished their troops.
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"The situation in Liangzhou is no longer what it used to be! Even Liu Zhang's great talent cannot make up for the huge disadvantage in strength! If Liu Zhang is allowed to fight in Liangzhou, Liu Zhang's three conditions must be met!"
Everyone, including Liu Hong, stared at Liu Zhang without making a sound, waiting for Liu Zhang to make a request.
"First, I need at least 200,000 troops, and I must be the supreme commander!"
"Second, I need at least two years, which means at least two million stones of food and grass!"
"Third, I must have the absolute power to adapt to circumstances. When military strategists compete, the outcome is unpredictable!"
"If your majesty can agree to my three conditions, I will have no worries anymore! Even if I die in Liangzhou, I will never have any complaints!"