In the words of the Son of Heaven, there seemed to be a metaphor, Guo Wei felt it, his eyelids raised, and the two eyes made contact, that is, he avoided it.

Guo Wei arched his hand, lowered his posture, and said: "With this crippled body, His Majesty Lao cares so much, and the minister is grateful!" ”

"It's all in Guo Qing's mansion, if it's as restrained as the upwards, it will be too boring!" Raising his hand, Liu Chengyou made a relaxed gesture and lay down on the blanket spread out in the garden.

The tone was unconsciously solemn: "Since I ascended the throne, I have carried out reforms and forged ahead, although I have not worked hard, but I have not been slackened. After three years of sharpening the sword, it is now time for the sharp blade to be unsheathed and stop the world. The country is in an extraordinary situation, the military and political forces are in demand, and they still need a minister with outstanding hope, and the Privy Council is waiting for Guo Qing to return to the government to pawn it! ”

The meaning of the Son of Heaven was already obvious, and when he met Liu Chengyou's frank gaze again, Guo Wei hesitated slightly, and then under Liu Chengyou's gaze, he got up and knelt down, and bowed: "If Your Majesty does not abandon this remnant body, the minister is willing to serve!" ”

I thought that Guo Wei would pretend to be reserved and excuse himself, but I didn't expect him to be so happy and his attitude was so deferential, which was pleasant. couldn't help but take a second look at Guo Gong, and even Liu Chengyou was thinking that when he came to the door, Guo Wei probably knew that he was going to make a comeback......

personally helped Guo Wei up, and the next conversation was much more formal. After all, Liu Chengyou couldn't kiss Guo Men, just to have a barbecue.

It was Guo Wei who took the initiative to ask: "The Khitan invaded the south, Kou was in the north, and the imperial court also sent troops, and it is reported that His Majesty will also personally conquer." At this time, when the military situation is urgent and the situation is urgent, His Majesty has a call, and the edict can be announced by a lieutenant official, and the minister will be ordered. ”

"I am bored in my heart, and this time I left the palace, not only to distract myself, but also to seek advice from Guo Qing for something!" Liu Chengyou breathed a sigh of relief.

Guo Wei arched his hand: "The minister doesn't dare to be." ”

Although Liu Chengyou is sure in his heart, Guo Wei must have some understanding of the military situation. But Liu Chengyou still didn't know about it, and told him about the military situation in the north, the armament of the Han Dynasty, the Khitan change, and the strategic dispute between the north and the south that worried him the most.

After spending a moment detailing the situation, Liu Chengyou stared at Guo Wei with questioning eyes: "The Chinese military of the DPRK has its own opinions, and has made every effort to show the advantages and disadvantages, but in this heart, it is still uncertain, after all, this is a decision related to the social and mountainous areas and the pattern of the world, and I really dare not be cautious." ”

"Guo Qing has been raised in the public mansion for a long time, and his knowledge is known for his sharpness, the so-called bystander is clear, in your opinion, where should the southern expedition or the northern expedition take?"

In the face of the Son of Heaven's training, Guo Wei did not answer for a while, thought seriously for a long time, and did not mention the arguments about the pros and cons that had already been repeated, but asked Liu Chengyou: "Your Majesty thinks that I need to use how many soldiers and horses will be used to recapture the Yanshan Pass in the Northern Expedition to the Khitan?" ”

Liu Chengyou replied without hesitation: "With the current power of the imperial court, with all your might, you can raise 200,000 cavalry, half of those who can fight, less than 50,000 who can rely on the benefits, and even fewer who can fight to the end!" ”

"Your Majesty knows the soldiers!" Guo Wei nodded, complimented him slightly, and asked: "If you do your best, how long can you last with the accumulation of three years of the imperial court and the gains from destroying the Buddha?" Is Your Majesty sure in his heart that he can take the border states and rebuild the customs defense? ”

Liu Chengyou was silent for a while, and shook his head directly: "I can't answer this question!" ”

Seeing this, Guo Wei continued to ask: "In Your Majesty's opinion, if you attack the puppet Tang Dynasty and take its Jiangbei, how many soldiers and horses will be needed?" How much does it cost? How long does it take? ”

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou pondered a little, and his tone was full of confidence: "With the current situation of the pseudo-Tang Dynasty, coupled with my painstaking calculations, there will be 60,000 troops on land and water, and I am confident that I can take it in half a year!" ”

As soon as the words fell, he turned his head to look at Guo Wei's generous demeanor, Liu Chengyou also understood his opinion, sighed slightly, and said: "In my heart, I am just a little reluctant to have such a good opportunity. Just like the battle of Luancheng at the beginning, gamble everything and win a game, so that there is such a big victory! ”

When Liu Chengyou said this, he seemed to have forgotten one of his thoughts after Luan's victory: he didn't dare to take such a risk again.

Hearing this, Guo Wei said: "Your Majesty is no longer the prince who led the division alone, and what you hold in your hands is not the honor and disgrace of an army. ”

"It's just an itch of patience! Youyan is in the hands of the enemy, like a thorn in the back, like a fish in the throat, everything is controlled by it! Liu Chengyou said that the center was indignant.

"Your Majesty is an extraordinary king, you should endure extraordinary humiliation and do extraordinary things!"

After thinking about it, Guo Wei suddenly asked, "Your Majesty, do you know the Bohai Kingdom?" ”

Liu Chengyou replied: "Haidong Shengguo, how can you not know? ”

"It has been established for more than 200 years, with prosperous culture, vast territory, numerous state capitals, and prosperous agriculture and livestock. Yelu Deguang, the ancestor of the Khitan, was able to go all out to the south, and he conquered again and again, and he still had spare strength! ”

Liu Chengyou frowned slightly, looked at Guo Wei, and listened to his words.

I saw Guo Wei, pointing to the south, and said seriously: "The south divides the countries, and the pseudo-Tang is the richest, in the eyes of the ministers, the pseudo-Tang is the Bohai Sea of my dynasty!" ”

Speaking of which, Liu Chengyou's dignity was only a little bit of wine, but the little hesitation between his eyebrows seemed to have been relieved.

He also invited Guo Wei to drink, talked with him about the northern frontier, and discussed some of the concerns in his heart about the north.

Liu Chengyou told Guo Wei that he really did not have the confidence to win this time, if he exhausted the national strength of the Northern Expedition. He just took into account the threat of the Khitan, and he was unwilling to be controlled by others from the bottom of his heart, just like this time, if the Khitan wanted to go south, he had to give up even the opportunity to use the southern strategy. And if you wait for the big man to barely have the strength to fight on both sides, you don't know when you need to wait.

He also thought about defeating the Khitans and recapturing Tan, Ji, Confucian, Wu and other states and defending them, but he didn't know how much it would cost him. And the risk of taking a risk, the aftermath, made him feel even more worried.

Even if it succeeds, how many soldiers, horses, money and food will be spent to reconstruct the northern defense line, I am afraid that in the next few years or even longer, the Han will have to be completely contained in the north. And if we learn from history, the Great Wall is still there, so we can block the threat of the north, and there will be no more danger of Hu cavalry invading the south? Not necessarily. The main utilitarian advantage of seizing the north is to make the Han not strategically weaker than the enemy when dealing with the threat of the grassland.

After listening to Liu Chengyou's heartfelt words, Guo Wei sighed: "How to choose, Your Majesty really has a fixed opinion in his heart, and what the minister said is redundant!" ”

That's right, Liu Chengyou came to the door, in addition to asking Guo Wei to go out of the mountain, just to find some confidence from him and ease his emotions......

Guo Wei continued: "Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains has been in civil strife, the Khitan has risen, and even if the sixteen states have not been lost, the threat from the north has never been small. In the final analysis, the threat of Hulu is hateful, but its own strength is even more important. Now that the Holy Lord of the Han Dynasty is in the court, there are also famous ministers and generals, and people of a hundred battles, just when they are rising, sooner or later there will be a time to go north! ”

During this visit, Guo Wei had already praised Liu Chengyou more than once, Liu Chengyou waved his hand and continued: "I have also thought about taking advantage of the Khitan's self-chaos, the new lord's initial establishment, and the mentality of seeking stability, sending a large army to the north, using threats and intimidation tactics, and forcing it to cede back my Yanyun land......"

Saying this, Liu Chengyou himself laughed and laughed at himself: "If you think about it, you take it for granted." With the current situation, we really can't miss the military situation because of a momentary delusion! ”

"Your Majesty!" Guo Wei solemnly said to Liu Chengyou: "I am foolish to be a minister. For the Khitans, if they are only prepared, they can concentrate the forces of the Yuan, Hebei, and Hedong; If you want to recapture Guanshan, you need to have nothing to do on the sides of the Han Dynasty and gather the power of Jiangbei; However, if you want to eliminate it, you need to level the countries, govern the military and the people internally, and do your best to do the whole country, not in one or two wars! ”

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou thought for a moment and said, "Guo Qing, this is a strategy for me to eliminate the Khitan!" ”

"Okay, I got a meal for Guo Qing today, and I am very satisfied with my wife's craftsmanship......" Wiping the greasy corners of his mouth, Liu Chengyou got up: "Talk to Guo Qing, I have gained a lot, I will stay soon, and I will go back to the palace first!" ”

"Treat Your Majesty slowly, the hospitality is not good, please forgive Your Majesty ......" Guo Wei still maintained humility and humility.

"That's right!" Before leaving, Liu Chengyou pointed to Zhang Yongde, who was guarding in the distance, and said: "Your son-in-law, you have been by my side for a long time, and you are a general. ”

Hearing this, Guo Wei said: "After all, he is young, but he is afraid that people will not be convinced!" ”

"Aren't I famous for using Qingjun now?" Liu Chengyou waved his hand: "I think he can do it, he can do it!" ”