Wei Xuantong is definitely Pei Yan's "iron rod" in the choice of camp, just like the relationship between Xue Shao and Guo Yuanzhen. Earlier, he had a little friendship with Xue Shao, but this "friendship" was far from enough to change his political position.

So when he arrived in the political hall, Wei Xuantong clearly put on a "business-like" attitude, and in response to Xue Shao's barrage of doubts and reprimands, he immediately replied with a tough attitude and said: "The interests of the country are absolutely supreme. The adjustment of the positions made by the officials for the generals of the army is definitely for the greatest extent to protect the interests of the country! ”

"I don't think it's absolute, is it?" Xue Shao sneered and said, "I know that the army will routinely adjust the positions of the generals and generals of the guards, as well as the governors and captains of the military towns. The purpose is to prevent them from forming gangs in their own songs, and eventually it will be difficult for them to support their own troops. ”

"Since General Xue knows, why bother with cross-examination?" Wei Xuantong's tone is not too good, it can be said to be tough, or it can be said to be annoyed.

"But that's peacetime!" Xue Shaodouran raised his voice, and immediately suppressed Wei Xuantong in terms of momentum, and almost shouted: "Since Emperor Taizong pacified the Turks, the border of the Tang Dynasty has been generally peaceful, and the flames of war rarely burn within the borders of the Tang Dynasty. As a result, our army is in a state of idleness most of the time. There are occasional wars, and there are also temporary conscription expeditions to Goguryeo and expeditions to the Western Regions. Under such circumstances, it is absolutely understandable that generals frequently transfer ministries to avoid the overflow of military power. This is also an important measure for our Datang army to maintain stability, and I absolutely support it! ”

"But fifty years of peace have passed! Today, unlike in the past, Turkic soldiers and horses have repeatedly invaded the border of the Tang Dynasty and even reached the hinterland. Ulzhou fell, Helong Sanzhou and the horse herding prison were sacked, Yunzhou fell and Hebei was shaken, and the Turks were almost about to hit Bingzhou! ”

"Everyone, wake up!" Speaking of this, Xue Shao was almost furious: "Now that the troops of the Turkic Puppet Khanate are getting stronger and stronger, they are no longer the barbarian tribes that surrender to the Tang Dynasty, their army is enough to compete with the main force of the Tang Dynasty!" Please don't be arrogant and think that my Tang Dynasty is prosperous and powerful, and with a piece of paper, I can make the Turks willing to defeat and bow down! After the battle of Hebei, although our army won a miserable victory, our border defense has been quite tight, not only the lack of troops, the lack of food and grass, the lack of war horses, the old weapons, the departure of the old commander Xue Rengui even more obvious that the generals in the border town are lacking - in this situation, you also have to transfer those generals who have dealt with the Turks on the battlefield, they know something, and can really fight, can win the war, what is the Great Wall? ”

Xue Shao's repeated remarks made some people fall into deep thought. Wu Zetian nodded approvingly, and Cen Changqian, the squire of the military department and the third rank of the same Zhongshu sect, also cast an approving look at Xue Shao.

But Wei Xuantong was still not convinced, he said: "General Xue, things are not as strict as you said. The movement of generals in the army has been uninterrupted from the beginning of the founding of our dynasty to the present. As long as the combat effectiveness of the army can be guaranteed, and the order is prohibited, which general leads which army to fight, this difference is not too big. Take Pei Wenxi Pei Gong, the commander of the order, for example, he has both civil and military positions, and most of the time he serves in the imperial court. As long as there is a war, he can return triumphantly when the army that is requisitioned at any time is handed over to him - why hasn't he heard him say that the transfer of generals will lead to defeat? ”

Xue Shao smiled, "Wei Shangshu, you also said it—that's my ancestor Pei Wenxi." The question is, how many Pei Wenxi are there in Datang? ”

Wei Xuantong was slightly stunned and did not answer.

Xue Shao said again: "Besides, Pei Gong is a handsome strategist, and he is wise and strategic to win. But the battle was fought with a knife and a shot, and it was those generals who really went to the battlefield to command the battle. If a general is not familiar with the soldiers under his command, how can he win if he is restrained everywhere when he commands, just like a person who is tied hand and foot to fight with others? -- Now that the Turkic border troubles have arisen, the Western Regions are not peaceful, and the Tibetans are eyeing each other. Our generals can no longer be a good general just by going to the court and listening to the reports of their subordinates as they did in peacetime. He had to train his army day and night to keep it in combat, and he had to be very familiar with his subordinates, and he had to know the enemies he was facing. The truth that confidants and opponents are invincible in a hundred battles, I don't think I need to get an axe in this class, right? ”

"But now, the officials are going to remove and replace most of the generals on the border line. It's not that I despise the abilities of the new generals, but they simply can't know themselves and their opponents as soon as they take office. Xue Mou is not talented, since the last time he followed Pei Gong's Northern Expedition, he has been in contact with the Right Guard Army, and to this day he does not dare to say that he knows this army well and commands Ruoding. ”

Xue Shao let out a long sigh and said: "The two countries are at war and the two armies are facing each other, and the fight is not who does it more right, but who makes fewer mistakes. If the enemy forces take advantage of the sharp change of commanders on our defensive borders, the consequences will be unimaginable. The defeat of Helong and the loss of Yunzhou will definitely be staged again! - If Wei Shangshu doesn't believe it, please stick to your own opinion. I only hope that when the time comes, you will dare to stand up and take on this responsibility. Don't act like some people and act like nothing happened! ”

Wei Xuantong was finally moved, turned his head and blinked his eyes again and again, as if he had a trace of hesitation.

Pei Yanke was annoyed, he glared at Xue Shao angrily and almost scolded, his expression was obviously saying-You just talk about him, why do you want to talk about me?

But Pei Yan didn't dare to scold, otherwise wouldn't he take the initiative to take a seat? I could only smash my teeth and swallow it in my stomach, and my old face was red.

Xue Shao smiled coldly at him, there is a kind of you taking it? - I'll suffocate you! I'll suffocate you!

Seeing that it was about to reach a stalemate, Wu Zetian took the opportunity to come out to the rescue and said: "Xue Shao's opinion from a military perspective is very reasonable. He has a sentence that is most reasonable, this time is different from the past, the Tang Dynasty is in trouble, the foreign soldiers are strong, we can no longer be blindly arrogant, we must pay attention to our enemies. It is indeed an indisputable fact that border guards are tight. If not, there would be no loss of Helong and the fall of Yunzhou. In this way, there is still a lot of room for discussion on the motion to replace the posts of military generals. Therefore, this bill cannot be passed or implemented for the time being, and must be further considered and amended. Until it is determined that it will not affect the stability of the border defense, it can be executed! ”

When the ministers heard this, Wu Zetian's words were really impeccable. Neither vetoed the minister's motion on the spot, nor did he say it was worthless. Instead, I used a rather sleek "drag" word decision - let's talk about it!!

"Ladies and gentlemen, do you have any opinions?" Wu Zetian asked.

"No objection!"

Including Pei Yan, everyone joined together - it won't work if you don't agree, what Xue Shao said does make sense. Whoever insists on carrying out this bill in the political hall today is tantamount to taking responsibility. If there is another fiasco in the fall of the state and county, then he will really die!

No one dared to sign such a "life and death military order" in a hurry. Including Pei Yan, he didn't dare!

This concludes the meeting.

Since the bill of the Ministry of Officials was not passed, it was naturally impossible to talk about Xue Shao's transfer and reduction of military power.

In other words, Pei Yan and the others failed. Xue Shao, it's a success!

The ministers left the political hall one after another, but Xue Shao sat still and did not move.

He felt tired.

It's not that the hands and feet are weak and the body is overdrawn, but the spirit is quite tired!

Fighting with such a group of people almost exhausted Xue Shao's spirit.

After sitting for a while, a little eunuch came over, approached and said, "Xue Yuma, the Queen Mother invites you to the Dragon Head Hall for a while." ”

"Well, come on." Xue Shao responded.

After resting for a while, Xue Shao walked out of the political hall to the dismount bridge and rode on his horse, and went to Longshou Pond, the place where he first met Princess Taiping.

Wu Zetian had already taken the first step to come to the Dragon Head Palace, which was one of the watersheds between the inner court and the outer court, so that she could meet with the ministers in private.

Xue Shao arrived at the Longshou Palace, and unexpectedly found that Princess Taiping's cane was also here, and he also saw Yang Siqiao and the twenty-class sword marquis outside the palace. Xue Shao stepped forward to ask, it turned out that the princess had just arrived in Chang'an today, and after returning to Beijing, she entered the palace directly, and the queen mother asked her to meet here. When the Queen Mother came, Linlang accompanied the princess and the prince into the palace, just waiting for the horse to arrive.

Xue Shao's heart warmed slightly, and he really missed their mother and son a little!

Xue Shao, who was already tired, suddenly felt strength, and even his steps became much brisker, and he strode into the palace. When he arrived outside the gate of the palace, he saw Linlang, and before he could say a word to them, he heard the angry voice of Princess Taiping coming from the house-

"Queen Mother, why don't you kill that old horseman with a cane!!"

Xue Shao was slightly stunned, what a big anger!

"Don't talk nonsense." Wu Zezai reprimanded softly without being annoyed, and said: "Pei Yan is Gu Ming's first assistant to the court, he has served the Tang Dynasty for more than 30 years, and he has always been diligent and very meritorious. Although he did make some mistakes, on the whole, he still made more contributions to Datang than he demerited. Of course, the most important thing is that he is not a big traitor. It can even be said that he is a highly respected Qing official. Have you seen how many prime ministers and princes do not have personal wealth in their families and do not seek official positions for their relatives and friends? If you don't talk about others, you and Xue Shao can't do it, right? ”

Xue Shao listened to these words and nodded silently. Although Pei Yan is his political enemy, although he has indeed committed crimes in public office, he has to admit that his private morality can still be called "noble". Wu Zetian's words also revealed some information, Pei Yan is now in a high position, plus he has nothing to find fault with in terms of morality, which is extremely in line with the censorship standards of Confucianism. So unless he makes a big mistake or makes a big deal, otherwise, it is not easy to touch him, let alone bring him down.

When the emperor kills people, he must kill them with reason and evidence, and be able to convince the public. Otherwise, he will offend the anger of the public, discourage people, and even endanger the stability of his position.

- What's more, Wu Zetian is not an emperor after all!