After listening to Yue Zhi's words, Xu Zixian made a powerful hand gesture and said, "Taiwei doesn't need to feel pity, or regret, self-harm, or feel that Li Zhaoqi and Taiwei have made some wrong decisions. The immediate result is inevitable, and there are no surprises at all. It was a surprise to me that more than 10,000 soldiers were rescued, and the current situation was completely expected. ”

"Does Your Highness mean that the original intention of the Northern Expedition was wrong, so it will be defeated?"

"Not really." Xu Zixian shook his head and said: "The Northern Expedition is also a last resort, and if it continues like this, Great Wei will really not be able to withstand it." From the point of view of wealth, we are ten times as much as Donghu, but it is a soldier of the whole country, plundering wealth from top to bottom distribution, we have never done this in China since ancient times, they are fighting to make money, we are losing. What's more, Donghu burned, killed and looted in our territory, and every time Hu cavalry entered the country, our losses were calculated in tens of millions. The northern part of the country was ruined, the people withered, the wealth could not be collected, and the imperial court could only levy taxes from the south to raise soldiers, and in the long run, the south was also overwhelmed. Go down, not to mention the armor and equipment of the forbidden army, even if it is a daily military salary, the imperial court is about to be unable to afford it. The Northern Expedition is to advance forward and set the battlefield at the junction of the enemy and us, so that even if the Donghu people fight, the gains outweigh the losses, this idea is correct. But before doing anything, you must not only consider the strength of the enemy, but also your own strength. A big war, from the armor and weapons of the soldiers to the Yulu, to the mobilization of grain and grass logistics, millions of troops and people, how much is needed for a protracted period of time, whether the national strength can be supported, this layer is not calculated, I didn't expect that we have been passively beaten for decades, the national strength has been overdrawn, and we can't hold such a decisive battle at all. The so-called gathering sand into a tower, accumulating a lot, we have been losing, everything is not appropriate, this situation is like the kind of gambler who takes out the ancestral title deed to gamble, such a situation, how many are not losing all the family? ”

Yue Zhi was a little dissatisfied at first, after all, from beginning to end, the Northern Expedition army was not without a chance, if it wasn't for the imperial court urging the battle, if it wasn't for the back road handed over to a waste like Xu Ziwei, if it wasn't for ......

But after listening to Xu Zixian's words, Yue Zhi thought about it carefully, and could only sigh: "Your Highness is right, we will lead the whole army to be wiped out, and it seems that it is not for no reason. ”

"There is nothing wrong with the bloody battles of the soldiers at the front." Xu Zixian said solemnly: "The wrong thing is the imperial court, the Son of Heaven, the two governments, and the three divisions, the wrong thing is that the lack of national strength still forces the soldiers to fight a decisive battle with the enemy, and the wrong thing is that the Son of Heaven and the two governments and the three divisions do not Xu Tu cheer up and prepare for war, but lose the red eye, take the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers as a bet, there is a lot of mistake, the fault is in the bow, the primary fault of this battle, of course, is to have the Son of Heaven bear it first, and then the important ministers of the two governments and three divisions, and finally talk about the front generals." In my opinion, whether it is a lieutenant or many generals in charge of the army, there is no big mistake on the battlefield......"

Xu Zi said this first, and some unfinished words will not continue.

Now, of course, the main responsibility is put on the Son of Heaven, and then the two governments, it is estimated that Han Zhong will stand up for a while, Zhang Guangen has to resign and step down, and he may also be held accountable.

Under the prime minister, under the cardinal envoy, there must be a lot of middle-level officials who have been arrested and questioned, and there may be wronged, after all, they are ordered to do things, but under the defeat, in order to shirk their responsibilities and cover up their mistakes, whether these officials are wronged or not is not too tight.

This autumn, there will be many officials who will be beheaded or hanged, and after the fiasco, these things are inevitable, and Xu Zixian has no intention of paying more attention to this kind of thing.

As for talking to Yue Zhi about this, the meaning is of course very obvious.

"Rescued soldiers......" Xu Zixian said in a deep voice: "Above the capital, you have to go to the south with me, you can take the family to Fuzhou, and place it everywhere on Fujian Road at will, in Jiangling, Hangzhou, Mingzhou, Quanzhou, these good places, you can choose with everyone." But you have to work for me for at least ten years, and after ten years, whether you return to Daibei or Yan Zhao, it depends on everyone's will, and I will never say a word when the time comes. Ordinary soldiers, up to the rank of sentinel, want to serve me, and after training, the salary is the same as that of the government army, which is only higher than that of the forbidden army, and can help them move their families, and all the expenses, including the cost of settling in, are borne by the shogunate. If you don't want to stay and serve me, they are also loyal and brave men who shed blood and sweat for the country, unlike military attachés, I will arrange for ships to send them to the shore of the Tianjin Sea, inform the local government to make proper arrangements, and each person will be rewarded with money, I am the prince of the country, close to the clan, I can't make the soldiers too cold. ”

Xu Zixian's meaning is also quite clear, most of the military attaches above the head of the capital are from Jiangmen, their families have served for generations, and they have retired with the country, and the Great Wei has taken care of Jiangmen in several things such as taxes, and the children of Jiangmen are also easy to get the opportunity to be promoted, so after they are rescued, they should serve the Qin King Shogunate.

As for the ordinary soldiers, whether they become government soldiers, or are willing to return to their original station, they follow the soldiers' own wishes, Xu Zixian will not only not stop them, but will also reward each person with a consistent amount of money, which can be regarded as some compensation for these soldiers who have served the country in blood.

At this moment, not only the generals of the forbidden army who came with Yue Zhi were moved, but Yue Zhi himself also showed a moved look on his face.

According to the Chinese tradition, soldiers should serve the country on the battlefield and not retreat even if they die. Defeated soldiers, or captured soldiers, have never had a good evaluation, even if they resist to the last moment, as long as they are not killed, they will be ridiculed for a lifetime.

For example, Li Ling of the Han Dynasty led 5,000 soldiers and horses to fight in the grassland for more than ten days, and was surrounded by the enemy.

After being besieged for more than ten days, there were no friendly troops to help, and there was no life in internal and external difficulties.

Under such circumstances, Li Ling could only choose to surrender, which was understandable, and there was nothing wrong with his approach to save the lives of his soldiers.

Every soldier is first and foremost a human being, if he surrenders without a fight, or if he collapses at the first touch, and he has not fulfilled his duty as a soldier, then of course it is not a pity to die, or the surrenderer deserves to die.

Li Ling's subordinates, but after fighting for more than ten days, they ran out of food and killed countless enemies, and in this case, the enemy did not slaughter them completely, but allowed them to surrender, but the enemy seemed to be much more generous. On the other hand, on the Han Wu side, after hearing the report, he took revenge on Li Ling's family and killed Li Ling's family, so how can it be said that it is fair to the generals who are loyal to the country?

Sima Qian spoke for Li Ling, but was brutally corrupted, and after a thousand years, killing himself became a Chinese dogma, rather than trying his best to save the lives of the soldiers as much as possible.

The Northern Expeditionary Army in front of them, including Taiwei Yue Zhi, will not end well if they return to the imperial court.

Although the court knows that it is not the fault of the soldiers, but from top to bottom it will definitely be washed, punishing the generals is inevitable, and ordinary soldiers are not good, if it is tens of thousands of people, it is enough to be of great use, and the court will endure it, more than 10,000 people are just a few troops, and they are not of great use.

"The rescue of the soldiers was already an unexpected joy......," Yue Zhi said in a deep voice: "If you have to serve Your Highness, the treatment is not under the forbidden army, I think there will be many people who are willing to serve Your Highness." It's just that we fled from the extreme, and we were defeated and did not form an army, and we really can't afford to be so trusted by Your Highness......"

"I have already said that defeat is not the responsibility of the soldiers, I will not pass the blame, nor will I blame, in my place, one is one, two is two, whose responsibility is whose responsibility, you can't shirk it and can't escape, but it won't ask people to admit their mistakes for others." Xu Zi stared at Yue Zhi first and said, "I don't know what Taiwei is going to do?" ”

Wang Zhi, Deng Wenjun, Lu Sihai, as well as Lin Shaozong, Li Xingwu, Dong Ruixiang and others were all staring at Yue Zhi.

In terms of the stability of leading troops and the experience of leading hundreds of thousands of troops, which of the generals in the shogunate can compare with Yue Zhi?

Even if Yue Zhi is a foreign general, his reputation is too high, and he is not suitable to lead the army in person, with his experience, he trained the generals, served as the chief of Wutang Mountain, and taught the senior generals for Xu Zixian, and the gains obtained were far more than the previous efforts.

Just as the Donghu people are eager to get Yue Zhi, Xu Zixian is also the same, and these allies and subordinates around him also understand the importance of Yue Zhi.

Prestige, status, and actual ability, Yue Zhi does not think second to the military attachés of this dynasty.

The Northern Expedition failed, and Yue Zhi's prestige was damaged, but anyone with a discerning eye knew that the defeat in this battle was not Yue Zhi's responsibility, and the damage to his prestige was not too heavy, and in terms of actual ability, Yue Zhi was too important to the Qin Shogunate, which had a relatively weak foundation.

Besides, Xu Zixian still has very clear requirements...... After this battle, when it comes to responsibility, General Fang's statement is of course more acceptable.

This involves the dispute between the throne of the Son of Heaven and the future throne, Xu Zixian did not make it clear, but I believe that Yue Zhi has understood.

"I admire it ......deeply," Yue Zhi said with some difficulty: "I believe that ordinary soldiers will understand His Highness's virtue and make a choice." As for myself, I am deeply traumatized, and I have no hope for a career, and I just want to find out what is going on in this battle, in addition to the urging of the Son of Heaven and the two governments due to the lack of logistical support, and whether there are generals in the rear who are fighting for power, so that they have failed to follow Li Zhao's prior order, we must consolidate the rear road of our army, and suffer a crushing defeat? If it is found out who is responsible, even if it is a life, Yue must make him fall under the law......"

Yue Zhi's expression was still calm and calm when he spoke, but the people present could also feel his deep hatred.

The defeat of the Northern Expedition is inevitable in Xu Zixian's summary, betting on all the net worth, the result is of course lost, all the little things are accumulated together, all in the bad direction, and finally get the worst result, this is a law, which is irreversible by non-manpower.

But for Yue Zhi, if the Son of Heaven and the two governments did not force the war, now he and Li Guorui are still on the side of Yushui, calmly dealing with the Donghu army.

If the money and grain are in place, the morale is sufficient, and the food is sufficient, although they are now surrounded, it is difficult to say whether the forbidden army will be annihilated or the Donghu people will not be able to withstand the withdrawal of the army.

If, according to Li Guorui's arrangement, the rear road is to send heavy troops to garrison along the forts, so as not to make the head and tail unbalanced and make the big mistake of ignoring the head and tail, then even if the war is unfavorable now, the pattern of strategic confrontation on the whole has not been broken, and both sides may be cautiously looking for a glimmer of wisdom to see if they can find a chance for victory.

Under the accumulation of various mistakes, Yue Zhi hated Li Jian, Li Enmao and others the most, and of course, the most hated was Xu Ziwei, who was ordered to guard Tashan Fort.

If this person is ordinary and responsible, this war is not over yet.

"Xu Ziwei fled from Tashan and bypassed Ningyuan, which was the first to go to the sea." Xu Zixian looked at Yue Zhi and said expressionlessly: "For the sake of my blood relatives, I will send someone to send him to Jinhai to go to Beijing in a small boat, how to deal with the meaning of the Son of Heaven and the two mansions." Who knew that my cousin might really be a great crime, and he was punished by God, and when he was going to the port with a small boat, there was an accident, the boat capsized, and Xu Ziwei and several of his guards drowned very close to the port! Wang Jieshuai has already written a note and reported it to the imperial court, and now it is estimated that it will also be sent to the Beijing Division, how the Son of Heaven and the two governments will react, this is not something I can predict. However, in my opinion, Xu Ziwei's crime is extremely evil, even if he doesn't drown, he should be punished, I will also write a recital, write my own meaning, whether the Son of Heaven is happy or not, I will not care. ”