Zuo You walked up the steps from the pedestal of the Jinxiang Palace, and couldn't help but stop slightly to look at the west. There were dark clouds in the sky, but the light was brightest in the clouds that hung west, and the sun was hidden in them. At this time, in addition to listening to the bells and drums on the castle tower, the most intuitive way to judge the hour is to look at the height of the sun.

He walked out of the imperial city on foot from the side gate of Xuande Gate, and was about to get into the carriage waiting on the royal street at his house, but he saw Wang Pu's honor guard, so he stopped and stood on the side of the road. Sure enough, Wang Pu also got out of the carriage. The officials all have their own pomp, so it's easy to see on the street.

Zuo Yu crossed the royal street, and staggered to the opposite side. Wang Pu also returned the salute by the carriage.

After the ceremony, Zuo Youcai walked through the royal street with his servants and met Wang Pu to greet him.

At this time, Zuo You looked at a construction site on the east side of the south side of the imperial city, pointed and said, "Is that the temple built by the inner treasury?" ”

Wang Pu said quietly: "It's called Xuanren Merit Pavilion." All the civil and military who have made meritorious contributions to the country and the people in this dynasty have tablets standing in them after death, and there are portraits and records of life and achievements to engrave tablets for future generations to worship and cherish every year. ”

Zuo You said: "Before, the lower officials read the chapter, it seems that the construction was originally built to burn paper for the fallen soldiers. ”

"Exactly." Wang Pudao.

The two talked for a while, and suddenly fell silent. Zuo You wondered if his portrait would be hung inside, and whether he would become a respected minister in the future...... I guess Wang Pu is thinking the same way.

After a while, the two looked at each other, and Wang Pu said: "The hour is not early, the old man will take the first step." ”

Zuo You blurted out: "The king's family is also in the east, why don't you take a ride together?" ”

Wang Pu smiled when he heard this: "Since we are invited, it is better for the old man to be respectful." ”

At this time, the focus of the Great Zhou court was not to prevent the courtiers from forming a party, and the more serious military generals did not have much control over their brothers, and the civil officials did not care who they had personal relations with. So they rode in the same car without any hesitation.

Zuo You got into the car and asked in a low voice: "Wang Yuanjun also advocates using troops against the Liao State first?" ”

Wang Pu pondered for a long time and said: "At the beginning of the founding of the Han Dynasty, the rule of Jingzhi recuperated and recuperated, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty only started a war with the Xiongnu after cutting the domain......"

Zuo You listened to it and pondered in his heart, if Da Zhou recuperated after two generations, what else would happen to us?

Wang Pu continued: "But at this time, it is different from the Han Dynasty. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, after the Warring States Period, the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty, and the chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty, the world was depressed, and the population decreased sharply. At that time, it was impossible to have the strength to fight with the Xiongnu.

The situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty was much better than that of the early Han Dynasty, and the Shu land and the south of the Yangtze River were cultivated for decades, with almost no damage; At this time, the grain is full, the forbidden army is strong and strong, and we have the strength to continue the war.

In addition, the Liao State is now in civil strife and relatively loose internally, so the timing is excellent at this time; But their strength is not damaged, and as long as there is a strong master, they can quickly recover their offensive strength. Therefore, the old man advocated a few years ago that it should not be too late to start a war with Liao. ”

"It can't be too late." Zuo Yu is fully in favor.

Wang Pudao: "From the first emperor to the present, there has been a wave of turmoil within the Great Zhou Dynasty (to put it more euphemistically), and the old man's original proposition is that the country still needs to be stabilized, and after being fully prepared, he is ready to fight against the Liao State for a long time.

However, the Battle of Jinyang surprised Wang Pu, and his views on this changed again. If you can quickly capture Youzhou and recover Hebei first, the situation will be very good. ”

Zuo You is not very proficient in military affairs; Although Wang Pu is a civilian official, he has served in the Privy Council for a long time and is very familiar with military strategy. Zuo You asked, "If you can capture Youzhou, you can recover Hebei?" ”

Wang Pu said: "Of course you can, at least the odds are very high." Youzhou City is an important town, located in the north of Hebei, and there is no such thick city in the south of Yanshan. Occupy this city, and you have dependence. ”

Zuo You doesn't think well of this kind of general statement.

Wang Pu also seemed to see that Zuo You was not a person who knew everything about military affairs, so he breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice: "The situation is like this. It is estimated from the many confrontations with the Liao army over the years...... (The Great Zhou army is now stronger than before), and the Zhou army is not afraid of the Liao army in the field, otherwise there will be nothing to fight in the attack; Stay in the city and fight people, how can you talk about attacking?

However, after the main force of the Liao army moved south, there were more horsemen and stronger mobility; There's no way they're going to fight us and come out on top. As long as the main general of the Liao army knows the soldiers, he will definitely keep trying to find opportunities, even if he loses ten times, as long as he defeats once, he can repel the attack of the Zhou army, and even gather and defeat the main force of the Zhou army's infantry; And even if the Zhou army won ten times, it could not completely destroy the Liao army reinforcements, and it did not dare to besiege the city under the threat of the Liao army...... Unless the military strength far exceeds that of the Liao army, it dares to besiege the city on the one hand, and fight a decisive battle with the Liao army reinforcements on the other; Otherwise, it will be defeated faster by the inner and outer clamps.

But once the Great Zhou took possession of Youzhou City, it was different.

Infantry defended the city, and cavalry moved inside and outside the city. If the Liao army first attacked the cavalry outside the city, the horsemen would move closer to the city, and the infantry and cavalry would cooperate to fight with it; If the Liao army dares to attack the city, the infantry will form a formation on their backs, and the cavalry will threaten the flank of the Liao army at any time.

The timing was unfavorable, and the Zhou army retreated to the city and waited for the fighters. The Liao army had no chance to uproot Youzhou City, and a large number of horsemen went out to fight, and as time prolonged, the waste was greater than that of our dynasty. ”

Zuo You pondered for a long time, and then asked, "Is there enough grain and grass in Youzhou?" ”

Wang Pu said: "The Liao State has always operated Youzhou, and there is a large amount of grain inside and outside, not to mention eating on the battlefield, as well as the grain and grass gathered after the army attacked the city in the early stage; Even if you send food temporarily, it's too late. The Liao army was not strong enough to besiege the city, how to prevent the Great Zhou from transporting grain from the country? ”

Zuo You said: "The horsemen attacked the grain road. ”

Wang Puyi frowned and glanced at Zuo You: "If Youzhou is in the hands of our dynasty and has a strong offensive strength, the main force of the Liao army must be stationed in the north, otherwise what will happen to their grain routes and back roads?"

Hebei is thousands of miles away, unless the Liao army can completely cut off the southern traffic of Youzhou and encircle Youzhou from the periphery, otherwise it will not be able to stop our supply to the DPRK; Raids and harassments are inevitable, there will be a lot of losses in the battlefield to send food, the Great Zhou army also has cavalry looking for opportunities to counterattack, and the Liao army also has to take risks. ”

Zuo You took a long breath when he heard this, and said: "The lower officials did not intend to argue with the king, but the ministers planned for the king, and they didn't dare to understand it. ”

Wang Pu said indifferently: "The old man understands. ”

Zuo You deliberately breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Today is a good battle, maybe the situation on the battle array is better than ours." ”

Wang Pu said: "Exactly, we are arguing, and we have not weighed the lords of the two countries, and the emperor of the Great Zhou is wiser than the lord of Liao...... The battlefield is changing rapidly, and after all, it depends on the hearts of the upper and lower. ”

He pondered for a moment and then said, "The old man has changed his opinion, and there have been many trade-offs. One of the most important reasons is that even if the Northern Expedition fails, in the wisdom of His Majesty, the situation will not be too bad; The situation of the Liao State at this time still can't do anything to us. ”

Wang Pu became more and more abrupt when he heard this, at this time, the court trusted the emperor very much, because if the emperor was prepared for the battle according to experience, he would not be defeated, how could he be invincible?