Zhao Liang knew what the strategy Kou Zhun was talking about, and said secretly in his heart: Your Majesty, Your Majesty, those small scenes just now are nothing at all, and the next thing is the real big drama for you.

When Song Zhenzong heard that the prime minister was going to offer advice, he immediately became interested and asked, "Oh? Kou Aiqing has a clever plan, tell me about it. ”

Kou Zhun said solemnly: "For the sake of today, if you want to win the war, you can only do it yourself." ”

Hearing this, Song Zhenzong couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart: Alas, I want to move the capital, you don't agree, for the sake of the ancestors, I also admit it. But I never thought that this guy would have to make inches, and now he is still thinking about sending me to the front line, which is too much.

He snorted angrily and asked, "Kou Xiang, is this ...... Is this appropriate? ”

Without waiting for Kou Zhun to answer, Chen Yaosuo hurriedly said, "It's not suitable!" Your Majesty, the minister thought that what Kou Xiang said was false. Your Majesty is the Ninety-Five, the body of ten thousand gold, in my Great Song Dynasty Guoyun, how can he easily go to the border to make a risk? Kou Xiang's suggestion of such a ridiculous and hasty suggestion is really against the duty of a courtier. ”

The little prince sneered: "Chen Yaosuo, what you said is too exaggerated, right?" In the past dynasties, there was no shortage of examples of personally leading troops into battle to kill the enemy. Let's not talk about it from afar, just look at our Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong of the Great Song Dynasty, both of whom had been on the imperial expedition in person, and I didn't see any minister who was ashamed to the point of committing suicide. ”

Wang Qinruo helped Chen Yaosuo speak: "Your Highness is inevitably a little strong. Emperor Taizu once served as the commander of the palace capital of the previous dynasty, and was the supreme commander of the forbidden army under the command of Chai Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty. When Emperor Taizong was young, he also followed his brother day and night from birth to death, and his prestige was the crown of the three armies. The two emperors of our dynasty were both born in the army, and it was common for them to lead troops to fight. However, today's saints, who have been familiar with the doctrines of sages since childhood, and govern the country with benevolence and filial piety, are the wise rulers of a peaceful and prosperous world, but it is not His Majesty's forte to go into battle. One article and one martial arts, each is different, how can it be generalized? ”

The head of these words is the Tao, not only Song Zhenzong nodded frequently when he heard it, but even many other ministers also agreed: Originally, the first emperor led the army for a long time, and fighting a war was like eating, how could His Majesty be compared? Eight thousand years old have to put them together and say, this is not to catch ducks on the shelf.

Seeing Wang Qinruo take back a city, Zhao Liang, who had been standing by and watching the battle, hurriedly smiled and said, "This is Lord Wang, the Governor of Political Affairs, right?" Sure enough, thoughtful and thoughtful, I sincerely admire it. But you seem to be saying something wrong. ”

"Oh? What the official said was wrong, please ask Lin'an Hou to give advice. Wang Qinruo said with an arrogant expression.

Zhao Liang looked at Song Zhenzong on the throne, and then said to Wang Qinruo: "Fang Cai Kou Xiang just asked His Majesty to drive the expedition in person, but he didn't say that he wanted His Majesty to go into battle to fight, why did you quietly change your concept?" ”

Wang Qinruo was stunned when he heard this: "Is there any difference between the two?" ”

"Of course it's different!" Zhao Liang said: "The Imperial Expedition means that Your Majesty only needs to inspect several cities close to the front line under the strict protection of hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops; And when you talk about going into battle to fight, the usual concept is to personally straddle the horse and carry the sword, and lead the soldiers under your command to fight against the enemy. Can these two mean the same thing? Kou Xiang, I don't know if I'm right? ”

"That's what the old man meant," Kou Zhun hit the snake and hurriedly followed Zhao Liang's words and said: "These cowardly people can't be cowardly when they mention war, but they don't know that there are different positions and roles on the battlefield. His Majesty led the army to fight in person, and there was no need to personally command the battle, as long as the dragon banner appeared on the front line, our millions of soldiers and civilians would be greatly boosted and bravely kill the enemy, while the Khitans would be uneasy from top to bottom. In this way, the tide of the war will definitely be reversed. It's a pity that you are greedy for life and afraid of death, and you actually spend the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, and regard Your Majesty as the same as you, and you have broken Your Majesty's dignity for no reason! ”

Song Zhenzong heard it clearly on the throne, and said secretly in his heart: Yes? Even if I go to the army in person, I don't have to run to fight by myself. To put it bluntly, it is nothing more than moving from the Jinluan Palace in Kaifeng to the Xinggong in Lanzhou, eating, sleeping, writing and painting as usual. This battle, who should fight, how to fight, how to fight. If I can't win, I'll run south, and no one will blame me when the time comes; But if you accidentally win, it will definitely be an extremely glorious stroke in the emperor's career, which is tantamount to making a lot of money!

Seeing that Song Zhenzong was a little moved, Chen Yaosuo suddenly said: "Your Majesty, Lin'an Hou is secretly changing concepts. Although the minister is a civilian official, he is trusted by His Majesty's holy family and has been in charge of the Privy Council for many years, so he is no stranger to military warfare. On the battlefield, how can there be any reason for a simple inspection? The ancients said: Soldiers are fierce and dangerous. Once the royal drive reaches the border pass, it is equivalent to being involved in the whirlpool of the great war, if our army loses, the defeated army is like a landslide and tsunami, and it is impossible to control it at all. Even if there is a forbidden army to escort it, it must be very thrilling. What's more, if the Khitans knew that His Majesty was there, they would definitely concentrate their superior forces to launch a fierce attack, and at that time, who would be able to guarantee your safety? ”

Song Zhenzong's little bit of heart was suddenly poured cold by Chen Yaosu's basin of ice water, at this moment, his mind was full of terrifying scenes of corpses all over the field and rivers of blood, and he couldn't help but hesitate.

Zhao Liang didn't wait for him to hesitate, and hurriedly refuted: "According to what Lord Chen said, then there is no need to fight large and small wars in history. As the supreme commander of the Great Song Dynasty military and government, what you always think about is not how to win, but how to stay away from danger and save your life, how can the officers and men of our army not be discouraged? You are embarrassed to say that you have been trusted by Your Majesty and have been in charge of the Privy Council for many years, do you think for yourself, are you worthy of this trust? Anyone in the Manchu Dynasty can be cowardly and avoid disaster, but you, the Privy Council, can't do anything! ”

Chen Yaosuo was stunned by Zhao Liang, and suddenly didn't know how to respond, Wang Qinruo relieved him and said: "Lin'an Hou's words are wrong. Lord Chen is not cowardly, but he is worried about His Majesty's safety, and he does not want to let the Great Song Emperor put his life in danger. What he just said is right, once the army is defeated like a mountain, who will protect His Majesty? Do you dare to boast about this Haikou? ”

"Your assumptions are clearly unfounded." Facing the other party's aggressive questioning, Zhao Liang said calmly: "I made it very clear just now that Your Majesty's personal expedition is mainly to inspect the front line, boost morale, and at the same time deter the Khitans who are attacking in large numbers, and there is no danger of directly participating in the war. The total strength of the enemy this time is about 200,000, which is the attacking side, and we, as the defender, once we meet the battle with all our might, can mobilize at least about 400,000 troops, plus strong cities and fortresses and abundant food and grass supplies, even if the battle is lost, we can completely hold on to the danger, leaving enough time for Your Majesty to evacuate the dangerous situation. Therefore, it is really foolish to say that such a good opportunity in front of me for His Majesty to personally conquer and supervise the war, win a great victory over the Liao State, and then go down in history, was wasted by you two fools! ”

Hearing Zhao Liang talk about "going down in history", Song Zhenzong's careful thoughts began to sprout uncontrollably again, he hesitated for a moment, and asked tentatively: "Eh...... Lin'an Hou and Kou Xiang, is it really like you said, can I just go to the front line to inspect and supervise the battle? ”

"My Emperor Shengming, it's true." Kou Zhun heard that the emperor was tempted again, and hurriedly added another handful of firewood: "The minister has discussed with General Gao before, and has decided on a perfect plan for this trip, which will definitely ensure the safety of His Majesty's personal expedition, and there will definitely be no mistakes." ”

The old general Gao mentioned by Kou Zhun refers to Gao Qiong, a sixty-nine-year-old veteran general who commanded the envoy in front of the palace. This person was a famous general in the army in the Later Zhou Dynasty, and later became a close confidant of Zhao Kuangyi of Song Taizong, and successively served as the commander of Longzhi, the captain of the inspection school, and the envoy of the Zhongwu Army, and won the trust of the emperors of Taizong and Zhenzong.

Hearing the prime minister mention himself, Gao Qiong strode out and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the country is in danger, and the general deserves to die!" The prime minister's main battle is really a good strategy, and I hope that His Majesty will drive the expedition in person and revitalize the military prestige of the Great Song Dynasty. Although the old minister is close to old age, he is willing to serve to the death and protect the emperor. ”

Gao Qiong had great weight in Song Zhenzong's heart, and even he said so, which immediately made the emperor feel a lot more at ease. After thinking for a while, Song Zhenzong nodded and said: "Okay, then I will bother Kou Xiang and Gao Aiqing together, and then discuss a detailed Chen Zheng pair, including when to lead the army to the battle, which troops to take with you, what path to take, where to rest, who is responsible for the heavy responsibility of the garrison, and so on." I'll make a decision when I've seen that it's okay. ”

After the early dynasty dispersed, Zhao Liang left the main hall with the little prince and Kou Zhun and went straight to the Chu Palace.

Along the way, the two were full of praise for Zhao Liang, and repeatedly praised him for coming up with a clever plan. Half of the ministers tied the strips of white cloth to their heads, which immediately made His Majesty have no master, and even Wang Qinruo, Chen Yaosu and others were stunned, and they were completely caught off guard.

Zhao Liang said a few words modestly, remembered Yang Zongbao's matter, and asked, "Little Wangye, how is Yang Gongzi?" Can it be fished out? ”

The little prince shook his head: "Don't mention it, Chen Yaosu, that bastard, received a letter from General Yang Yanzhao and this king, and still refused to let go, saying that a big war is imminent, and there is no reason for the military attache with the troops to leave the army and run back to be a teacher in the palace, so he still has to think about it." Because this is the normal function of the Privy Council, Kou Xiang feels that it is useless even if he makes trouble with His Majesty, so he can only wait and see. Fortunately, Chen Yaosu was afraid of Old Taijun She's face, and he didn't dare to embarrass Zongbao, so he didn't suffer anything in prison. ”

Zhao Liang also felt that there was no other good way for the time being, and since Kou Zhun said to wait, he had to continue to wait and see what happened. The three of them chatted and walked, and after a while, they came to the eight-thousand-year-old palace. As soon as he entered the hospital, the little prince felt that the atmosphere was a little wrong, and curiously asked the housekeeper next to him what was wrong.

The housekeeper looked at Kou Zhun and Zhao Liang timidly, and replied, "Your Highness, General Huyan's messenger is here." ”

"Oh? News from the front? The little prince turned to Zhao Liang and explained: "Hu Yanting was originally the king's general, and later came to the Tongli Army as the deputy commander. Since the invasion of Liao, I ordered him to report the situation on the front line in a timely manner, so that I can know in my heart. ”

As he spoke, the little prince walked towards the palace, and Zhao Liang and Kou Zhun were also worried about the situation at the border pass, and hurriedly followed. As soon as the three of them bypassed the screen and entered the inner courtyard, they saw a military attache wearing only military uniforms and no armor walking out quickly, leaning down and bowing down: "Humble Qiao Yi, see His Royal Highness Eight Thousand Years Old." ”

The little prince helped him up, looked at Qiao Yi's dusty appearance, and knew that he must have run very hard all the way, obviously with extremely important military information, so he hurriedly asked, "Old Qiao, what happened?" ”

Qiao Yi didn't care about saluting Kou Zhun and Zhao Liang, and replied: "Your Highness, the main force of the Liao army has been unable to attack Yingzhou for a long time, so he chose to take the initiative to give up, bypassing Yingzhou instead, and going south directly. ”