Perhaps because he knew that his opinion was not reused, Jing Xiang only replied indifferently after listening to Zhu Youzhen's inquiry: "Your Majesty looks at this matter and makes a decision, and it is inconvenient for the minister to beak." ”

However, Li Zhen pondered for a moment and replied: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that you might as well ask the opinions of the two generals, Niu Cunjie and Liu Yan, after all, they are the generals who command the army, and only they know what the situation ahead is." ”

said that he was asking for the opinions of the two, but it was obvious that Li Zhen's attitude was biased towards not changing generals, because if he asked Niu Cunjie and the others, would they say that they couldn't do it, and they had to let Yang Shihou come? So it's the same thing as not asking.

Zhu Youzhen couldn't help but be a little disappointed, and turned her head to look at Zhao Yan and Zhang Hanjie.

After thinking about it, Zhao Yan replied: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that changing generals at this time is not conducive to the army's heart; Moreover, General Niu Cunjie is also a famous general of our dynasty, and his ability to command troops is first-class, so he may not be able to defeat Yang Wu. The only thing to worry about is the adequacy of our troops. ”

Zhang Hanjie also said: "The minister agrees with General Zhao's opinion, General Niu Cunjie is enough to be the commander; However, in order to enhance the strength of our army, the minister thought that King Ye could send part of the army south to support. It just so happens that the situation in the north is relatively stable now, and the Jin State is busy destroying the Yan State and will not invade our country for the time being. ”

"As long as the main force of the Jin army does not move, it is difficult to threaten our country by relying on the Zhao army alone." Zhang Hanjie hesitated for a moment, and then muttered in a low voice: "Moreover, Wei Bojun's power seems to be a little too strong. ”

He and Zhao Yan are in cahoots, and now they rely on Zhu Youzhen's trust to firmly control the power of the court; However, for Yang Shihou, an old guy with heavy troops and huge prestige, he is still extremely jealous in his heart.

In fact, not only him, but Zhu Youzhen, Zhao Yan and others also changed their faces after hearing the last sentence.

Now who doesn't know that Yang Shihou's power has been pressed on the court of Liang, if it weren't for the fact that the current situation in Liang is extremely dangerous, there will be no chaos, but I am afraid that Yang Shihou would have launched a mutiny long ago and would be the emperor himself.

Now, in order to jointly deal with the two great enemies of Wu and Jin, whether it is Yang Shihou or Zhu Youzhen, they all tacitly recognize the status and rights of the other party.

However, if there is a chance to weaken Yang Shihou's strength......

Zhu Youzhen just had an idea, but then hid it again.

Today's Liang State really can't withstand the chaos, even a Xuzhou will attract a large intervention from the Wu State, if Yang Shihou is forced to surrender to the Jin State or the Wu State side, then the Liang State will really go to the big thing.

In addition, even if Yang Shihou does not betray Liang State, you must know that most of Liang State's army is now in the hands of Yang Shihou, that is, many of Zhu Youzhen's forbidden troops are his old troops.

In this case, if Yang Shihou is provoked, who knows if there will be another mutiny to support one of Zhu Youzhen's younger brothers to take the throne.

A thought turned in his heart, but Zhu Youzhen's face sank, and he scolded: "What nonsense is Zhang Qing talking about? King Ye is loyal to me, his ability to command troops is the strongest in our dynasty, if it were not for him, it would be difficult for me to have peace on the northern front. Zhang Qing's words are too much, and I don't want to hear them again in the future. ”

"Yes, the minister just lost his word." Zhang Hanjie hurriedly replied.

Jing Xiang and Li Zhen watched coldly and didn't say anything.

In fact, the two of them are not afraid of Yang Shihou's forces, and even have a grudge against Yang Shihou in their hearts, with Yang Shihou's ability and authority, if this person really serves the Liang State, the current situation in the Liang State should not be like this.

It's a pity that Yang Shihou and Liang Guo are now in a relationship that is more like mutual cooperation, and under the pressure of foreign enemies, they can barely maintain a relationship and not fall out.

Zhu Youzhen continued: "I listened to what you just meant, and basically opposed the change of generals. Anyway, General Niu's ability and loyalty are well known, so this time General Niu will continue to lead the troops. ”

"However, the Wu army has a large number of troops, and our army has fewer troops, if it is directly engaged with the Wu army, if you want to defeat the Wu army and capture Xuzhou, it is indeed too difficult, and you must increase the number of troops. Jing Xiang, after you go down, you write an edict to the two generals, Yang Shihou and Kou Yanqing, and ask them to send 10,000 troops south each. ”

"Yes, the minister obeys." Jing Xiang hurriedly replied.

Kou Yanqing's side is still confronting the Jin army in the middle of the river, but the situation over there has also eased up at present, and the main force of the Jin army has been withdrawn, so it is not a problem to transfer 10,000 troops.

And Yang Shihou's side, no matter what, Yang Shihou is still obeying the orders of the Liang Imperial Court, if he transfers more troops, maybe Yang Shihou will refuse; However, if only 10,000 troops are transferred, I believe that Yang Shihou will not disobey.

At this time, Li Zhen said again: "Your Majesty, it is important to increase the number of troops, but the minister thinks that in addition to increasing the number of troops, it should also appropriately increase the cavalry for General Niu, the cavalry of Wu State in the last battle of Jiangling played a great role, and this time in the big battle, King Wu will definitely send cavalry to come." If our army does not have the corresponding cavalry, I am afraid that it will be difficult to stop the enemy. ”

"The minister seconded the proposal, there are many places in Xuzhou that are conducive to cavalry play, if there is no cavalry cover, it is difficult to compete with the Wu army." Jing Xiang also echoed on the side.

Zhu Youzhen bowed his head and said: "Well, most of the cavalry of our army are in Yang Shihou's army, so let him send more cavalry among the 10,000 troops sent." ”

After the discussion was decided, Jing Xiang and the two took their leave.

"Brother Jing, wait a minute." Jing Xiang, who was walking in front, was about to draft the edict, when Li Zhen suddenly stopped him behind him.

"Master Li doesn't know what to say?" Jing Xiang paused for a moment, stopped and asked.

"I don't dare to say that I will teach, but I just have some ideas that I want to discuss with Brother Jing."

Jing Xiang frowned, and then said, "This is not the place to talk, come with me." After speaking, he took Li Zhen to the study where he usually reviews the chapters.

"Say, I don't know if Master Li has anything he wants to discuss with the old man." Jing Xiang's attitude towards Li Zhen is not good, but it is not bad either.

He and Li Zhen are both veterans who have followed Zhu Wen for a long time and are deeply trusted by Zhu Wen; And if you talk about ability, among the many civil servants in the court today, that is, a few people such as Li Zhen can enter Jingxiang's eyes.

Others, such as Zhao Yan and Zhang Hanjie, who are now highly regarded by Zhu Youzhen, can only be regarded as mediocre in Jing Xiang's eyes.

However, although Jing Xiang values Li Zhen's ability, he doesn't think much of this person's character.

When Zhu Youqi was in power, other important ministers were basically watching from the sidelines, and their attitude towards Zhu Youqi was relatively indifferent, let alone giving advice to him.

However, after Li Zhen was appointed by Zhu Youqi as the envoy of the Chongzheng Yuan, he gave Zhu Youqi ideas many times, although his attitude was not positive, but it still made Jingxiang feel dissatisfied.

It is precisely because of this that Jing Xiang has a lukewarm attitude towards this person.

Li Zhen sighed, with a hint of worry and said: "Brother Jing, no one must know better than you about the situation in our dynasty now, Wu rose in the south, and in recent years, it has attacked the north again and again, captured Jingxiang last year, and began to attack Xuzhou in recent years; I don't know where to start in the coming year. ”

"And the Jin Kingdom in the north is the great enemy of our dynasty, since the first emperor rose in the Central Plains, the Liang and Jin sides have been fighting for more than 20 years. I don't need to say much about the strength of the Jin Kingdom, and now that the Yan Kingdom is about to be wiped out, it seems that the time for the Jin army to go south again is not far away. ”

Jing Xiang's expression was solemn, and he nodded in response: "These old men you said naturally understand, but what is the purpose of you saying this now?" ”

Li Zhen didn't mind his attitude at all, but asked worriedly: "Brother Jing, the purpose of saying this is to ask, where is the way out for my Liang Kingdom?" Do you want to continue to bang with your head covered like you are now? ”

"Running around with your head covered?" Jing Xiang frowned and was silent.

"Yes, our current situation is not just bumping around with our heads covered. When the Jin army hit, we concentrated our forces to defend in the north, and when the Wu army fought, we mobilized our troops to go south. No matter how strong my Liang State is, where can I block the attack of Wu and Jin? Li Zhendao.

"So what?" Jing Xiang still had a cold attitude.

Li Zhenleng paused for a moment and said, "Brother Jing, I know that you are dissatisfied with my advice for Zhu Youqi last year, but the reason why I am like this is also for the sake of the country. Although rebellions in various places can shake Zhu Youqi's authority, they will not shake the majesty of the imperial court. That's why I will come up with ideas for Zhu Youqi in the future. If Brother Jing is dissatisfied......"

"Okay, let's not talk about it anymore." Jing Xiang raised his hand to stop Li Zhen's words, and then sighed and said: "The state affairs are difficult, even if you really take refuge in Zhu Youqi, the old man has no position to blame you." ”

"As for the question of where I should go......" Jing Xiang pondered for a long time, but he couldn't give an answer.

Wu and Jin, if they are a single country, even if Liang will fall into disadvantage, it will not be far behind; Even if you talk about the real national strength, the national strength of the Liang State is only above the Jin State and the Wu State.

Although the state of Wu alone has a large number of troops, a strong economic base, and is no worse than the state of Liang in terms of population and talent reserves, Jing Xiang believes that the strength of the state of Liang is enough to block the northern expedition of the state of Wu.

Similarly, a single Jin State, although the Jin army is brave and good at fighting, those famous generals of the Jin State are resourceful, plus the Jin State has many cavalry and strong combat power, it can indeed be called the great enemy of the Liang State; However, the fundamental problem of the Jin State was that it was economically backward and had a small population, making it difficult to continue fighting.

With the strength of the Liang State, even if it is delayed, the Jin State can be dragged down.

In fact, the Jin army and the Liang army in history confronted each other along the Yellow River for many years, and it was always difficult to defeat each other, but the Jin side lost a lot of grain, grass, ordnance, etc. in the war, and it was difficult to hold on to it in the later stage of the war.

During this period, Li Cunmiao, the king of Jin, repeatedly used the tactic of going deep into the enemy territory with a lone army and preparing to raid Kaifeng, the capital of Liang, because the Jin State could not afford to drag it out.

If it weren't for the fact that the rebel general of the Liang State leaked the news of the emptiness of the troops in Kaifeng City, Li Cunqiao decisively led the troops to attack and break through Kaifeng in one fell swoop, but I am afraid that the final result of the Jin and Liang hegemony is difficult to say.