How much of the content of Lu Liqing's memorial is true and how much false?
Zhao Weilong asked this question to the ministers, which proved that he had lost trust in the Western Front general.
In this regard, all the ministers were silent.
After a few breaths, I heard Huang Zhicheng, the Minister of Civil Affairs, say: "Your Majesty, what Lu Liqing said is true or false, we still need to send someone to verify..."
Only this true imperial master would say this at this time without worrying about the emperor's wrath.
"Verification?"
Zhao Weilong sneered, and then said: "I ask you, how many capable soldiers did the imperial court support after exhausting the wealth of the five counties in the south of the Yangtze River?"
Seeing that no one answered, Zhao Weilong said directly: "Including the newly built Seven Guards Forbidden Army, there are only 100,000 people..."
"King Yong is in the northwest. Even if he takes over the three northwest counties, can he afford an army of 100,000?"
Not to mention, after hearing Zhao Weilong's last words, everyone at the scene looked thoughtful.
As Zhao Weilong said, the three northwest counties have poor land and relatively small populations. Even if they were occupied, they would not be able to provide 100,000 troops.
Regardless of the consequences, the three northwest counties can mobilize 30,000 soldiers, which is already very good.
The soldiers here are not ordinary guard troops, but troops capable of fighting tough battles.
After experiencing the zombie chaos, the productivity of the three northwest counties will be greatly affected, and it will be impossible to support an army of 100,000.
Thinking of this, all the important officials present felt ashamed, and they had all forgotten this incident.
To put it bluntly, they believed in Lu Liqing too much, and the urgent military situation prevented them from thinking too much.
In fact, except for Wang Cunzhang, the Minister of War, who read the military newspaper in full, everyone else only scanned it roughly.
Time is tight and the military situation is urgent, so there is nothing we can do about it.
"I ask you again, is it easier to defend the city or to fight head-on?"
This question refers to the decision of Lu Liqing and others to abandon Hanbei City.
Generally speaking, it is definitely much easier to defend a city, especially in counties like Hanbei, whose defenses are quite complete.
Seeing that everyone still didn't answer, Zhao Weilong said coldly: "The method of using troops is to encircle it at ten points, attack it at five points, and divide it when the number is doubled. If the enemy is small, it can be fought, if it is small, it can be escaped, and if it is not strong, it can be avoided...
…”
"Even if the enemy has an army of 100,000, is it ten times their strength? Will they be forced to abandon the city?"
At this moment, everyone in the hall still didn't answer.
Zhao Weilong's words seem reasonable on the surface, but any situation must be analyzed concretely, rather than just talking on paper like the current situation.
In any case, Lu Liqing and others had personally experienced the front lines and knew the situation better than those in the imperial court.
"Your Majesty, I agree with Huang Zhicheng's view. This matter must be investigated strictly!"
Looking around, Wang Tinghe continued: "Chaotian can order the Metropolitan Procuratorate to compile the Supervisor and send commissioners to the front line to learn about the war situation!"
Letting the Military Department of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Editorial Supervisor send people together can ensure the fairness of the investigation to the greatest extent.
Of course, Wang Tinghe proposed this method in order to allow Zhao Weilong to step down and put an end to this matter.
However, what happened was contrary to expectations, Zhao Weilong's anger was greater than Wang Tinghe thought.
Before anyone else could express their opinions, Zhao Weilong said: "The investigation should be carried out, but Lu Liqing and others should also be punished for deceiving the court!"
At this time, Wang Cunzhang, Secretary of the Ministry of War, said: "Your Majesty, after the matter is found out, it will not be a problem to punish him, and it will make the government and the public more convinced!"
As the core figure of the main war faction, Wang Cunzhang naturally understood Wang Tinghe's intentions, so he stood up to dissuade him.
Immediately afterwards, Huang Zhicheng, the Minister of Civil Affairs, also bowed and said: "Your Majesty, the two adults said it politely. It is not a bad idea to punish him after the situation is found out!"
Huang Zhicheng did not speak for anyone, but stood up with the overall situation in mind.
In any case, the Western Front has encountered a foreign enemy, and it is very likely that it will be a strong enemy. At this time, we must act cautiously.
"Check it out? Losing the city and losing the territory is a matter of fact. It was clearly written in the military report. Does it still need to be investigated strictly?"
When he thought of this, Zhao Weilong felt so angry that he wanted to chop off Lu Liqing's head.
Seeing Zhao Weilong insisting on this point, everyone present did not know how to dissuade him.
In their opinion, Lu Liqing's decision to abandon Hanbei City was irreversible. Holding on to the city could completely delay the rebel army.
"deliver an imperial order……"
Upon hearing these two words, all the ministers present knelt down.
"The Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Ministry of War, and the Editorial Supervisor will all send commissioners to the front line to verify the situation on the front line!"
"Lu Liqing will be relieved of his title of Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front, and he will return to the capital immediately. His duties will be temporarily assumed by Zhang An, Marquis of Wuqing!"
In order to prevent everyone from talking about the harm of changing generals before the battle, Zhao Weilong continued: "Zhang An, the Marquis of Wuqing, is young and powerful, has long studied military affairs, and has been on the front line for a long time... I don't think he can take on such an important task!"
When everyone thought about it, that was exactly what happened.
The imperial army has retreated to the east of the Han River. With its superior strength and the natural barrier of the Han River, it is not difficult to defend the line.
In other words, even if the general is replaced, it will not affect the overall situation.
From this point of view, replacing Lu Liqing, the Western Front general, is not a bad thing.
This man has been leading the army for nearly three years since the 24th year of Tai'an, and he has already developed some arrogance.
In order to maintain the imperial court's control over the army, it was indeed a very appropriate opportunity to take this opportunity to remove Lu Liqing.
The hall was quiet for a few seconds, and Wang Tinghe was heard to say: "The Emperor Mingjian!"
Several other people present kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, this is a clear warning!"
No matter what factional conflicts there are, they are ultimately matters within the court. In the face of the arrogant border generals, they all have a stand to maintain the dignity of the court.
At the scene, only Huang Zhicheng was worried.
If the front line is really as critical as Lu Liqing said, it would be very dangerous to replace the general.
But the next moment, Huang Zhicheng shook his head.
How could the rebels have more than 100,000 troops...
After Lu Liqing was removed, the anger in Zhao Weilong's heart subsided a lot.
Looking at everyone, Zhao Weilong said in a deep voice: "Everyone loves me!"
When everyone stood up, Zhao Weilong continued: "King Yong rebelled, and anyone who has anything to do with him should be punished as a traitor!"
"They must be the ones who committed the murder in the city the night before!"
"Go to Dali Temple, patrol the city, and go to Luofu Yamen to investigate these thieves!"
Everyone present had no objection to this point.
Concubine Duan was kidnapped just before King Yong came and they all guessed that it was someone from Zhao Yanxun's faction.
He could easily kill dozens of officers and soldiers in Wudingfang, and at the same time steal people away without making a sound. This ability sent chills down the backs of the ministers present.
If these traitors hiding in the dark aim their swords at important ministers like them, it will be life-threatening.
Fortunately, after the Wudingfang incident, the guards at the left and right prisons stepped up their vigilance and personally participated in curfew patrols at night.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty!" all the ministers said.
At this moment, Wang Cunzhang, the Minister of War, said: "Your Majesty, King Yong deceives people's hearts and makes the army and people commit great rebellion. I think... the imperial court should issue an edict to punish the thieves and point out the fact of their rebellion!"
"The emperor has divine power, strong soldiers, and great righteousness, and he will definitely strike fear into the hearts of the rebels!"
"At that time, the emperor can show kindness to the traitor army, punish only the culprits and pardon the accomplices, or he can cause the traitor army to collapse without a fight!"
Zhao Weilong nodded, with a smile on his face, and said: "This is a strategy to attack the heart, it's very clever!"
Standing up, Zhao Weilong walked towards the imperial case and said: "Back then, King Yong and Concubine Duan had the heart of a snake and a scorpion, and tried to seize the throne..."
The heart of a snake... hearing this word, everyone felt a little complicated.
You know, Zhao Weilong did a lot to protect Concubine Duan when faced with the Empress Dowager's pressure.
After all, it was because of Concubine Duan's great efforts that Zhao Weilong succeeded to the throne.
Turning against others, this is the qualified status... Looking at the young monarch in front of him, Huang Zhicheng was filled with emotion.
At this time, Zhao Weilong went on to say: "The emperor inspected him and scolded his mother and son. Who would have expected that this person would never die of evil intentions, and now he would start plotting against him!"
"It is truly a heinous crime and deserves death!"
Zhao Weilong's last sentence was murderous, which meant that after he successfully suppressed the rebellion, he would definitely kill Zhao Yanxun.
Any uncle-nephew relationship is bullshit in Zhao Weilong's opinion.
In time, he would bear the infamy of killing his uncle, and he would also vent his anger.
