Chapter 1048: Postmortem (2)
“It’s hard for me to make a choice!” The prime minister’s face showed a little sadness and unwillingness. “If God gives me another ten years of life, why should I be in such a dilemma?”
Li Fu couldn't help but feel nervous when he saw the prime minister like this.
After carefully reading what the prime minister said, he leaned closer and whispered:
“The prime minister’s difficulty in making a choice is not that there is no one to choose from, but that he doesn’t know which one to choose, and whether what he said is right?”
The Prime Minister sighed: "Even if there are candidates, they are all people with insufficient qualifications, and it is difficult to convince the public!"
“What the prime minister said was a reference to General Xi?”
“Although Feng Mingwen has repeatedly made military exploits, his military qualifications are still somewhat insufficient. There are some old people in the army who may not be willing to obey his orders.”
“The Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Duke Yang Wei, has been with the Prime Minister for a long time and is most familiar with military affairs. The Prime Minister also cherishes his talents, is that right?”
"Yang Wei Gong takes in all the different people. If he goes along with them, he will be happy, but if he goes against them, he will hate them. He is not a person who can gather people with lofty ideals and build up the Han Dynasty."
“The Prime Minister has repeatedly recommended Jiang Gongyan to the Emperor. The day before yesterday, he also praised him highly as a talent worthy of the king’s career. Now he is the Minister of Order. If he is allowed to succeed the Prime Minister, wouldn’t it be appropriate?”
"Although Gong Yan has the weapons of Sheji, he has no military merits. His military prestige is not as good as that of Feng Mingwen. How can he lead the army to destroy the traitors and revive the Han Dynasty?"
Reviving the Han Dynasty is not about ruling the world from a horse.
Not only must he have the skills to govern the people, but he must also know military strategy.
When the prime minister of the Han Dynasty was ordered to be in danger, it took less than ten years to save the people of Shu from hunger and cold.
At the same time, he also conducted military exercises in Hanzhong and personally led large armies to defeat bandits many times until he regained the old capital.
With such gems at the forefront, those who come after you may only be able to submit documents and approve documents, or they may only be able to lead troops to fight.
At that time, let alone convincing the public, it will be good if you are not despised by others.
Li Fu mentioned the names of several people. Although they all have their own merits, how difficult would it be to truly succeed the prime minister?
Only then did he understand why the Prime Minister said that he needed another ten years.
Li Fu couldn’t help but worry and said:
“In that case, what should we do?”
The Prime Minister sighed:
"There is no way to have both worlds in the world, that's all. I have a secret memorial under my pillow. Please help me deliver it to the Emperor."
"If things really get out of hand one day, and your Majesty is undecided, you can act according to my legacy."
Hearing this, Li Fu followed what the prime minister said and stretched out his hand to touch. When he found a memorial, he couldn't help but be overjoyed:
“It turns out that the Prime Minister has already prepared!”
"Just in case." The prime minister said helplessly, "Don't let others know about the secret report."
"You know it!" Li Fu carefully hid the secret note close to his body, "Does the Prime Minister have anything else to explain to someone?"
“Be sure to send the secret memorial to the emperor. Tell the emperor that I will make arrangements for the matters in Guanzhong, so there is no need to worry.”
Li Fu stood up and bowed deeply to the Prime Minister:
“In this way, the blessing is gone! Prime Minister, take care!”
After talking so much with Li Fu, the prime minister's strength was exhausted again and he fell into a coma.
After sleeping for a day and night, the Prime Minister suddenly woke up again. This time, his energy was much better, and he even ate more than before.
After eating two large bowls of rice, the Prime Minister ordered Feng Yong:
"Call the generals together. I have something important to say to them."
As soon as Wei Yan, Yang Yi, Guan Xing, Zhang Bao, Wu Ban and other key military personnel arrived, the prime minister lay on the couch and said straight to the point:
“I know that my life is not long, but the pass is just beginning to settle, people’s hearts are unstable, and the thieves are always thinking of counterattack.”
“Therefore, just in case, I would like to set some rules here. If one day I am not here, the troops in Guanzhong can be temporarily controlled by Feng Mingwen. Do you have any objections?”
After a period of silence in the bedroom, Wu Ban looked at everyone, but no one had the intention to speak. He was the first to stand up:
“Ever since the Prime Minister defeated the bandits, the most important military achievement has been the kings and princes. Not to mention the past, even if we can regain Guanzhong this time, the kings and princes will also take the lead.”
"And these days when the Prime Minister is lying on his bed, most of the affairs in Guanzhong are decided by the princes, and everything is done smoothly and without any mistakes."
“Therefore, according to the general’s opinion, it would be most suitable for the king to control all the armies in Guanzhong.”
Anyway, he had already made his attitude clear at Wuzhangyuan, and he was afraid that he would have offended Wei Yan and Yang Yi.
At this last moment, there is no reason to retreat.
Otherwise, wouldn’t it mean that those who travel a hundred miles are half ninety?
The prime minister's book requesting His Majesty to marry and marry Zhang Xiaoma should basically know.
In Wu Ban's eyes, Feng Junhou is not only a real relative, but also the top figure among his relatives.
If you don’t support your own people at this time, why should you support others?
After what Wu Ban said, Guan Xing and Zhang Bao hurriedly said in unison:
“What General Wu said is very reasonable.”
Li Feng glanced at Wei Yan and Yang Yi, coughed, and said:
“Whenever the ruler gives orders, no general dares to disobey them.”
The so-called promotion of talents should not avoid relatives.
Anyway, if someone else were to lead the troops in Guanzhong instead of the Prime Minister, Li Haoxuan would be the first to refuse to accept it.
Jiang Wei cupped his fists and said:
“How dare Wei An disobey the Prime Minister’s order?”
Meng Yan, the Hubu supervisor, said:
"The princes have traveled thousands of miles to fight, and their fame has shocked the world. The thieves will be frightened when they hear about it. If there are princes and princes in Guanzhong, they will have nothing to worry about!"
For anyone who is an official, the higher up he reaches, the more difficult it is for him to get there.
But similarly, if you want to pull down the person at the top, you must have a big enough reason or a strong enough background, otherwise it will be even more difficult.
Taking Yang Yi as an example, he met Feng Junhou who had enough horses and young men at his disposal.
Moreover, it was he who took the initiative to hand the handle to Feng Junhou, and Feng Junhou was able to evade him.
It is just to lift it up, not to pull it down.
If it had been anyone else, who would have been able to slap the commander of the army in the face when the foreign enemies were still in Guanzhong?
Feng Junhou came forward on behalf of the Prime Minister and took charge of Guanzhong affairs temporarily for so long. The Prime Minister's intention has long been obvious.
If nothing goes wrong, unless the emperor or the prime minister intends to replace it with someone else, this position will not belong to someone else.
Of course, if there are those who are convinced, there will definitely be those who are dissatisfied.
For example, Yang Yi has been doing nothing these days.
Although he knew that this day would come sooner or later, when he heard that everyone was supporting King Feng Gui, Yang Yi immediately blushed.
Hello, my dear mother!
He considers himself to have the highest authority below the Prime Minister. In the past few days, he has been ignored by Feng Mingwen and has already been embarrassed in front of everyone.
Even the prime minister has made his attitude clear now, giving up on himself and choosing Feng Mingwen.
This made Yang Yi's face burn, and she felt that she had been greatly insulted.
Feng Mingwen, junior!
How can one be so virtuous and capable as to dare to be above oneself?
Yang Yi stared at Feng Yong who was standing at the front, her eyes almost bursting with fire.
I thought that I had worked hard over the years and assisted the Prime Minister in many military affairs.
He never expected to end up in such a situation, which made him feel aggrieved and angry.
What is happening now has completely extinguished the last glimmer of hope in Yang Yi's heart.
Compared to Yang Yi's angry look, Wei Yan's reaction was a bit unexpected. He just kept a calm face and remained silent.
The Prime Minister looked around, taking in everyone's reactions, and asked:
"In this case, the matter is settled here. Before the emperor's edict comes, if anyone does not obey the order of General Zhengxi in the future, it will be regarded as a violation of military orders!"
Wu Ban and others all agreed in unison.
The Prime Minister looked at Feng Yong again:
“All the generals obey you, do you dare to take over the position of commander-in-chief?”
Feng Yong saluted in front of the Prime Minister’s bed:
"Yongcai has little virtue, but he is wrongly loved by the prime minister. He can only sacrifice his seven-foot body to repay the country!"
“Okay, okay!”
The Prime Minister smiled, took out the Tiger Talisman, put it in Feng Yong's hand, pressed his hand heavily, and said sincerely:
“I hope you will never disappoint me!”
Looking at Zhuge Liang and Feng Yong, and then hearing their conversation, Yang Yi was simply furious.
Even Wei Yan could hardly control his emotions, and his face was so gloomy that it was almost dripping with water.
It is a pity that the Prime Minister did not seem to notice the expressions of the two of them. He just continued to say to Feng Yong:
“Now that you are the coach of Guanzhong, what do you think of the current situation?”
Feng Yong has been busy these days, so he is certainly not busy in vain.
He had discussed the next military action with General Guan countless times.
Now that the prime minister heard the question, he said directly:
“Since the Han Dynasty restored Yong and merged the two states, I have sent people to Shangdang many times to persuade them to surrender, but they are very determined to join the thieves.”
"So I thought that as soon as the ice age of the river passes, I would immediately send troops to Shangdang to quell the chaos."
To this day, the Han army has initially established a firm foothold on the recovered territory.
Similarly, the Wei army on the opposite side has also stabilized its front.
But the Battle of Guanzhong was not completely over, because Bingzhou and Shangdang were still in the hands of the Wei thieves.
Between Shangdang and Yecheng, there is Baixing among the eight passes in Taihang as the connecting road.
With Shangdang captured, we can pose a threat to Yecheng, one of the capitals of Wei State.
And if Shangdang is left alone, Wei can use Shangdang to protect Yecheng.
So this nail must be pulled out.
But Shangdang is a basin surrounded by mountains and the terrain is difficult.
If the thieves really wanted to defend, no matter whether the Liangzhou army, which was trying every means to plunder food and grass at that time, or the Hanzhong army far away in Chang'an, would be restrained too much energy.
In addition, the cold winter was about to enter at that time, which was even more unfavorable for the advance, so the matter of going to the party was temporarily put aside.
It is now the beginning of spring. After a winter's rest, the soldiers' morale, armor, and food and grass are all ready.
In order to completely consolidate the entire Bingzhou state, it is time to resolve the Shangdang Party.
The Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty nodded:
“Yes, in your opinion, who should be sent to lead the army to quell the chaos?”
"The terrain of Shangdang is very dangerous, so we must send a brave general to go there. I am stationed in Chang'an and cannot leave lightly. Although the Liangzhou army is an elite force, it does not have enough troops."
Feng Junhou clearly mentioned the current situation of the Liangzhou Army, but at the same time he secretly praised himself for fighting bravely.
Liangzhou Army, including the Yi Cong Army who came from Liangzhou, and also transferred some troops from Qiaoshan, the total number was only over 40,000.
The main force will be stationed in Hedong to guard against the Wei thieves in Hanoi. At the same time, a part of the army will be divided to defend Bingzhou.
If it weren't for the Hu cavalry recruited from Bingzhou, I'm afraid there wouldn't be enough troops to frighten Bingzhou and Hedong at the same time.
So if we want to attack Shangdang now, we can only mobilize the Hanzhong army from Chang'an.
“Among the generals present, General Wei is the most brave. In my opinion, if General Wei can lead the army there, he will be able to attack and defeat it.”
As soon as Feng Junhou said these words, not only everyone present, but also the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty looked at him in surprise.
At present, there are 150,000 soldiers from the east of the Guanzhong River to Bingzhou.
With the backing of these 150,000 soldiers, and the current vigor of the army, capturing Shangdang should not be a big problem.
It can be said that in the battle of Guanzhong, Shangdang now has the final credit.
"General Wei..." The prime minister glanced at Wei Yan, and then at Feng Junhou.
Feng Junhou understood and turned his head:
“But I don’t know what General Wei’s intention is?”
Wei Yan did not speak, but looked up at Feng Junhou, with unconcealed surprise in his eyes.
Feng Ghost King is so kind, will he give this credit to himself?
It’s just that King Feng Gui is known for his foresight. How could he let Wei Yan, who failed in politics, see what he was thinking at this time?
Feng Guiwang just stood there, with a calm demeanor and a calm face.
How could Wei Yan endure it when he saw the other party like this?
At the moment, there was a buzz: "It's just a party, what should I fear?"
I saw him clasping his fists towards the Prime Minister:
"Please give the Prime Minister an order, and the general will lead the army across the river immediately to destroy the Shangdang thieves!"
His move is of great significance. It is only to the Prime Minister, not to King Feng Gui.
He expressed his dissatisfaction with King Feng Gui.
Feng Gui Wang naturally saw what he meant, and he just smiled indifferently and remained silent.
The Prime Minister frowned slightly, glanced at everyone again, pondered for a while, and then slowly asked Feng Yong:
“How many thieves are there in total?”
Feng Yong quickly replied:
“There are not many local garrison troops in Shangdang, but after Wang Shi regained Bingzhou and Hedong, many thieves who were persistent in their evil deeds fled one after another.”
"Many people fled to Shangdang and reunited to fight against the king's army. Therefore, according to reports from spies, the number of thieves entrenched in Shangdang should be around five thousand."
The Prime Minister nodded:
“Then I will allocate 10,000 troops, and General Wei will bring the engineering camp. How about it? Can we be sure to capture it?”
Although there is a steady stream of support from Hanzhong in the rear, once the army moves, its consumption is countless.
Moreover, it is the beginning of spring. It is said that the plan for the year lies in spring. Now Guanzhong belongs to the Han Dynasty. Part of the support from Hanzhong must be used to restore production in Guanzhong.
The art of war: if you are ten, besiege it, if you are five, attack it, if if you double it, fight it.
Ten thousand troops, just enough to "fight twice as many" as the upper party, not to mention an engineering battalion dedicated to siege the city.
Wei Yan cupped his fists and said, "The last general takes orders!"
Although the Prime Minister was in good spirits, he finally felt a little sluggish after holding on for so long.
“You all go out, Feng Mingwen, you stay.”
“No!”
After everyone had gone out, the prime minister said:
"Bring my four-wheeled cart over here. While I'm in the mood, I want to go up to the Chang'an City Wall to take a look."
Feng Yong wanted to dissuade him:
“Prime Minister, it’s still cold outside right now, so we’d better wait until it gets warmer...”
“Stop being so nagging and go quickly!”
(End of this chapter)