He put away the two small silver boxes and poured himself another bowl of hot tea and soup, but he didn't drink it, just held it in his hand to keep warm.

There were probably a few more people in the big room outside, and there was a flurry of greetings, but he didn't pay attention to listening, so he sat cross-legged by the kang with his eyebrows and brows on his knees.

Xiao Jian made a comeback, which was not his surprise. The defeat of the grassland was not a simple military defeat, nor was it Xiao Jian's responsibility alone, so this conservative-minded old general would make a comeback sooner or later. However, even if the imperial court has concerns and ideas, it should not let Xiao Jian be highly trusted as soon as he comes back. You must know that even if you don't judge heroes by success or failure, Xiao Jian was the general manager of the Yanshan camp after all, and tens of thousands of people died on the grassland during the northern expedition, and such a fiasco was only a year of leisure, and it was not even a punishment, which was really rash and almost child's play! If the imperial court really wants to do this, how should it explain to the generals and colonels involved in the personnel adjustment of the northern Siwei Town, and what will the Liyuan armies that are about to be abolished and merged?

He is keenly aware that Xiao Jian's comeback is not a simple matter, it is inseparable from the general climate in the court; More precisely, this is related to the dispute in the court over the strategic direction of the north and south as to who is the main and who is secondary; And from the establishment of the Jiazhou camp and the candidate for the head of the camp in the brewing, the answer is even more imminent: between Xiao Jian and the right minister Zhang Pu, there must be some tacit understanding and compromise. He can imagine what kind of tacit understanding this is, it is nothing more than Xiao Jian's use of actions to support Zhang Pu's strategy of "first the south and then the north", and Zhang Pu gave up the liquidation of Mo Gan's defeat, so that Xiao Jian got a chance to wash away his shame, and Zhang Pu could rely on Xiao Jian's military victory to achieve his goal of unifying the various voice leaders in the court.

For Xiao Jian and Zhang Pu, in this political deal, both sides took what they wanted, and the result was a happy one; There's no doubt about that! But for him, the result is the opposite, if "first the south and then the north" really becomes the proposition of the imperial court, then the grassland plan that he and Zhang Shao devised with all their brains is likely to become the unfortunate victim of this transaction......

No! Becoming a victim is no longer a possibly impossible problem, it is bound to become a reality! And he dared to conclude now that this day would come soon, maybe today......

It was this question that he was struggling with.

In another hour or two, he will be summoned to see His Majesty, and most of the two prime ministers he has never met will also accompany him, if Emperor Dongyuan asks his own views on the dispute between the north and the south when he sees him, should he insist on his own views and emphasize the importance of the north, or should he echo Zhang Pu's proposition of "first south and then north"?

The benefits of echoing Zhang Pu are obvious. As long as Zhang Pu leaves a good impression today, not to mention that the miscellaneous things he wants to do when he enters Beijing will become easy, even if he wants to do the tricky things of a simple leading general, it will also be easily solved. As for his opposition to Zhang Pu, there is no need to say the consequences, even if Zhang Pu has the mind of the prime minister at that time, those officials who want to tie up with the right minister will suffer a little for themselves, and as for the transfer, don't even think about it.

But he didn't want to say things that were against his will, especially when they didn't concern him alone. In his opinion, whether it is south first and then north or north and then south, it is simply a false proposition that cannot be established. For the current Da Zhao, the most dangerous enemy is in the north, and it can only be in the north. As long as the Turquoise still rules the grasslands, as long as their war horses are still roaming the border, and as long as their scimitars have not been broken, Da Zhao will never be able to get respite and peace! As for Nanzhao and Tubo, can they also be regarded as strong enemies? In his eyes, these two small countries that provoked Da Zhao without knowing life or death were not even worried about scabies. As long as Da Zhao can completely solve the problem in the north, there is time and a way to clean them up in retrospect!

First the South and then the North? He couldn't help but burst into a sneer in his heart. Zhang Pu really looks up to these two southwestern states that are about to move!

Of course, he also knows that the right minister Zhang Pu may not understand these truths. Zhang Pu also has Zhang Pu's difficulties in doing this, which he can understand. Zhang Pu not only had to be different from his predecessor's approach, but also had to maintain the majesty and dignity of the imperial court, and also took the opportunity of coordinating different opinions in the court to make personnel changes, and there would be no better way than to "first the south and then the north". As long as the war in the south goes well, it can prove that the predecessor's approach is wrong, as long as the southern expedition can be victorious, the imperial court that has lost face on the grassland can regain its dignity, and Zhang Pu will also gain time and opportunity to do what he wants......

What exactly does Zhang Pu want to do, and how will he do it, Shang Cheng doesn't even have the slightest eyebrow in his heart. The only thing he can be sure of is the "Houbei" in the southern strategy, and the fight against Nanzhao and Tubo is for the sake of "Houbei", that is, to compete with the Turks. The differences between Zhang Pu and his predecessor are actually here, one is to act hastily, and the other is to plan and then act, and the difference between the two can be immediately distinguished.

Shang Cheng supports prudence and opposes imprudence. But he did not support Zhang Pu. Since the importance of the north is undoubted, the term "first south" is purely a superfluous act of taking off your pants and farting. What's more, "first the south and then the north" is easy to say, but it is difficult to implement, and the local garrisons in the southwestern states are even difficult to protect themselves, where are the surplus troops used for the southern expedition? If troops are transferred from other places, then it will inevitably be empty elsewhere, and if there is a bit of turmoil, how will the imperial court respond? In addition, the natural environment in the southwest is harsh, and the transportation conditions are not satisfactory, so if the strong troops from the north are transferred, not to mention the others, a single failure to adapt to the water and soil will cause large-scale non-combat attrition. There is also the preliminary preparation for the southern expedition, which cannot be done in one or two years. Just look at Yanshan, what a huge system project is to fight a war in this era, until now, the materials, food, and equipment transported from the mainland in order to conquer the Turbulent Territory are still in an endless stream, and Wei Mu Luji is already considering setting up a fourth large warehouse......

In the end, he made up his mind to tell the truth to the Dongyuan Emperor and the two prime ministers. If possible, he will also fight on the basis of reason, and strive to make the imperial court dispel the idea of "first the south and then the north". As for whether the right prime minister Zhang Pu will "look the other way" at himself because of this, he doesn't care much. Even if Zhang Pu is the right minister who controls the government, it is not so easy to clean him up, after all, he is not a civilian official but a military general, and the set of methods to deal with civilian officials is of little use to him; And he is the fake governor of Yanshan, to put it in detail, he is only at the same level as Zhang Pu, the right minister, and he has not made any major mistakes, Zhang Pu wants to pick him up, and it is impossible for the three provinces and six ministries to agree.

The problem now is that he doesn't know how far the North-South dispute has gotten. If the imperial court had already made a decision, it would be impossible to turn it over again.

He can only think about the good side of things, hoping that this matter has not yet come to an end.

He didn't know that even now, Chen Pu, who was waiting for the meeting at the Yamen of the Ministry of War, had just heard a piece of news related to him: Xiao Jian agreed to be the proposed head of the Jiazhou camp, and at the same time, he also recommended him to the imperial court and the military department, and proposed that he be the deputy head of the Jiazhou camp, fully responsible for suppressing the rebellion of the bureaucrats and the military operations against the Nanzhao State......