Chapter 739: Plan and then act

Zhao Jin occupies the throne, a position where his father and brother have ever sitted. When Zhao Chen first sits, although he was thin and weak, he was often sick, but his majesty was able to deter the ministers. And Zhao Jin is different, not that he has no prestige at a young age, but because you can obviously see that he is a little nervous, since Zhao Ding Xu Liang stepped into the hall, he kept changing his sitting posture, although the movements were very small, but it exposed the panic in his heart.

When the second minister made a big salute, he stretched out his hand and smiled reluctantly: "The two virtuous ministers are flat, come, give a seat." Before the Song Dynasty, the prime minister saw the emperor and "sat and discussed", and had to put a cup of tea. Because the emperor is the head of the state, but the prime minister is the head of the government. The relative power restricts the imperial power to a certain extent. But the Song Taizu of this dynasty abolished this system, since he has been, the prime minister sees the emperor standing and talking, unless the emperor gives the seat, you have a position, as for tea, don't think about it.

After the two sat down, Zhao Jin drank a few sips of tea by himself, and then said: "I summoned the two virtuous ministers to come here to hear about the Northern Expedition again. The so-called, partial listening is dark, and listening is clear, is the second secretary again, and then talk to me? ”

As soon as Zhao Ding's words fell, he quickly got up at the right time and said, "Official, minister......"

When the emperor saw him standing up, he stretched out his hand and seemed to want him to sit down, but Zhao Ding had already started to speak, Zhao Jin moved his lips several times, and he still didn't dare to interrupt the stubborn old man's words after all.

"The minister thinks that the king of Xujun led the western army to recover the eastern half of the river and severely frustrated the arrogance of Beiyi! This time, he defeated the party and defeated the Jinxia coalition army, and the morale of Beiyi has fallen to the bottom! Because of this, the Beiyi were bound to focus their defense on the west, which inevitably weakened the power of the Jianghuai in the Central Plains. At this time, it is time to order the three armies, promise a reward, in order to inspire the morale of the soldiers, so that they will be brave and make noise to the north! In this way, the Central Plains can be restored, and the mausoleum can be returned! ”

This upright person, where he is emotional, naturally speaks impassionedly, loudly, and very agitatedly. How did the emperor not know, even Xu Liu felt a little restless when he heard this.

Zhao Jin nodded frequently, and continued: "When I am in the palace, I often hear the good news of the front-line soldiers defeating the Northern Army, so we can see that Beiyi is not afraid, right, Zhao Qing?" ”

"Your Majesty, that's right! I believe Xu Xiang is also clear about this! Zhao Ding suddenly pulled this.

Xu Liang got up silently, nodded and said: "Since the establishment of the martial arts, Beiyi has lost the courage of the past, and it is difficult at home and abroad, so there is no need to be afraid. ”

Zhao Ding immediately took over the conversation: "Your Majesty, when the first emperor was here, he was determined to forge ahead, and he took it as his task to recover the lost territory and restore the old frontier. Cherish the day and the year, the middle way collapsed, and now His Majesty inherits the legacy of the emperor, and should think of the ancestral foundation and the remnants of the Central Plains, and must not miss the opportunity! ”

When the emperor heard this, he was about to speak, but he saw Zhao Ding take out a notebook from his sleeve and said: "The minister will now participate in the political affairs of Zhu Zhuo and Li Ruoshui in the near future, and further formulate a strategy, and I implore Your Majesty to take a look." ”

Seeing this, Zhao Jin asked the attendant next to him to go down the stairs to fetch it, and Zhao Ding took the opportunity to play: "This year, Liangzhejiang, Jinghu, Jiangnan and other places are all large, and the military needs are sufficient, so there is no need to worry." And there is no need to doubt that the morale of the front-line soldiers is high. There are only two things that the ministers are worried about. ”

At this time, Xu Liu saw that he was right, and he really wanted to hear what he had to say, and wanted to hear how he solved two crucial problems. The first is unified command, and the second is the cooperation of the Western Army.

"The first thing is unified command." Zhao Dinglang said. "In the last Northern Expedition, Zheyan supervised all the soldiers and horses, but He Ji was the son of a meritorious hero, holding the handle of the army and domineering the lawless, violating moderation, and there was a defeat. This time, the minister still intends to use Zheyan to control the troops of the two Xuanfu Divisions in Jinghu and Jiangxi, and Han Shizhong, the envoy of Jinghu Xuanfu, all control Yue Fei's two generals, all of whom are from the army. ”

When Xu Liang heard this, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but have a sneer.

"The second thing, the Western Army has been fighting for many years, and it has only experienced the recovery of Hedong and the crusade against the Western Xia campaigns, the people are lacking, and the soldiers are tired, so it is really not appropriate to raise large troops. However, the Jin people were extremely jealous of the Western Division, even if the Sixth Route Western Army did not move, the Jin people would not dare to take it lightly, and it would be impossible for them to transfer their Yanyun Hedong Divisions to the Central Plains to help. These two questions are not a problem, so in this way, the Northern Expedition, how can it not be done? ”

Zhao Ding talks eloquently and clearly, giving people a feeling that you have to believe. Zhao Jin listened, and also began to hesitate, according to Zhao Ding, it seems that the Northern Expedition is easy, and the recovery of the old capital is only in the morning and evening.

"Please Your Majesty, don't let the remnants of the Central Plains, look south to Wang Shikong and cry, winter goes to spring and comes another year!" The last sentence, Zhao Ding said in an extremely painful tone. Xu Liu even suspected that those two lines of poetry were written by him for this face.

Faced with this situation, Zhao Jin didn't know what to say, so he had to say: "Zhao Qing sit, sit." ”

Zhao Ding sat down, and the emperor said to Xu Liang again: "Xu Qing, I know that although you are a serious jinshi, you grew up in the family of the army, so the king of Qinghe County fought on the battlefield in his early years, and later transferred to the literary rank, which is also a beautiful talk." Qing's brothers, all good generals, and Xu Wei, the king of Dongguan County, are the Northwest Great Wall. I believe that Xianqing is very familiar with military affairs, I want to ask you, is the Northern Expedition feasible? ”

Let's not talk about Xu Liang first, Zhao Ding heard the emperor's words in his ears, and felt that something was wrong, and the Zhao official family seemed to be paving the way for something.

Xu Liang bowed, and then said: "Qi Shengshang, the minister has not liked bow horses since he was a child, and he has no ambition to be on the battlefield. However, due to the influence of family style, he traveled to various parties after joining the office, and he did not dare to be proficient in military affairs, and he could be regarded as half-understood. ”

There is an allusion in the Song Dynasty, saying that it was a certain official who studied hard for ten years and won a Jinshi background, but this benevolent brother also came to Wen and Wu, and shot a good arrow. The emperor wanted to meet with the Liao envoys, and learned that the Liao envoy was strong in martial arts, and it happened that there was archery at the banquet. planned to temporarily change this civil official to a military rank and compete with the Liao envoy, hoping to give the Great Song a long face.

The civil official agreed, but as soon as he returned home, he was so angry that the old mother beat him up, and cried while beating: "I raised you as an adult and provided you with a study, and it was not easy to get a title on the gold list, but you didn't want to use your talent to assist the king and stabilize the country, so you did such a thing!" ”

In her opinion, you are a serious jinshi, but you go to change the martial rank, this is simply self-depraved and humiliating!

Zhao Jin's words originally wanted to praise Xu Liang's civil and military skills, but he had no other meaning, but Xu Liu had to solemnly explain it first. I didn't like archery when I was a child, and I wasn't interested in fighting on the battlefield, but I was influenced by my family style and knew a little bit about military affairs.

Think about it, the two uncles of the previous generation of his Xu family were military ministers, his father was also a military minister first, and the four brothers of this generation are all military ministers, and all of them are well-known brave generals, capable generals, and famous generals. But when he faced the emperor, he had to distinguish himself, which shows that even though the imperial court now relies heavily on military ministers, the deep-rooted concept is still difficult to change.

When Zhao Jin heard what he said, he didn't feel any difference, and nodded in approval.

Chen believes that what Zhao Xiang said before is generally good. Moreover, the minister did not doubt Zhao Xiang's loyalty at all, and the minister was the same, looking forward to the early determination of the Central Plains by Wang Shi, and the opening of the city, the minister actively agreed with the Northern Expedition, but not now. Xu Liang said.

Without waiting for the emperor to ask, Zhao Ding rushed to say: "Dare to ask Xu Xiang, why can't you go on the Northern Expedition now?" ”

Xu Liang didn't talk about other gossip, and gestured two fingers: "Two questions." The first is unified command, and the second is the coordination of the Western Army. ”

Not only Zhao Ding was stunned, but the emperor was also stunned, didn't they say it just now, these two questions are not problems, why are you pulling them out now?

In addition to being stunned, the emperor was also a little anxious, I was waiting for you to have a more convincing-sounding reason, and then just push the boat down the river, what are you doing?

"Xu Xiang, didn't I make it clear just now?" Zhao Ding asked sideways.

"Your Majesty, with all due respect. Zhao Xiang only knows one of these two issues, but he doesn't know the other. Xu Liang looked very stable.

"Oh? Xu Qing said. The Emperor said.

"First, let's talk about unified command." Xu Liang is not in a hurry. "That's right, whether it's Yue Fei or Han Shizhong, the ranks, qualifications, and prestige of these two generals can't be compared with Zhe Yan's quality, and it's easy for Zhe Xuanfu to control them. But Zhao Xiang didn't know that it was easy to control the second general Han Yue, but the second general Han Yue might not be able to control the Shenwu rear army. ”

Zhao Jinru listened to the book of heaven, and Zhao Ding was full of doubts.

"The Shenwu rear army, the composition is very complex. It is composed of the remnants of the original Tokyo Left-behind Division, the first part of the Changjie Army under the command of He Ji, and the first part of the Xijing Left-behind Division of Zhang Bofen and Zhang Zhongxiong. Among them, the Changjie Army created by Tong Guan in the past years is the most fierce. After He Ji's resignation, it was Liu Yan who commanded Chang Jie's army, and his previous military rank was above Han Yue, and now Han Yue's second general wants to command freely, I am afraid it is not enough. Besides, the part of the Xijing Left-behind Division was originally led by Erzhang, and the Zhang brothers left Jinghu one after another, and when King He Junwang was there, he could still suppress the bullets, and Han Yue was only afraid that he was almost hot. Think about it, in this case, how can we unify command? As soon as the connoisseur made a move, he knew if there was Xu Liang's words, whether he was right or not, Zhao Ding couldn't refute it, because Zhao Ding himself didn't know that there were so many complicated relationships between the Shenwu Rear Army.

"Let's talk about the cooperation of the Western Army. Xu Wei's book, His Majesty has already read it, and Zhao Xiang must be aware of it. The people of Sichuan and Shaanxi have run out, and they can't afford to fight on a large scale for the time being, so Xu Xuanfu wants to stop fighting and recuperate with the people. ”

When Xu Liu said this, Zhao Ding questioned: "I said that even if the Western Army does not move, the Jin Army will not dare to be careless. Xu Xiang has worked in Sichuan and Shaanxi for many years and should know. ”

"Of course, the Jin people are afraid of the Western Army like a tiger, which is not said. But there were two problems that Zhao Xiang did not notice. Xu Liang said very seriously.

Zhao Ding was slightly angry, and responded coldly: "Please give Xu Xiang advice." ”

"First, the Liao lord died, his youngest son succeeded him, and the queen mother was regent, and most of the troops of the Liao army of the Eastern Expedition were transferred back, which could not have no impact on the Western Army." Xu Liang explained.

Zhao Ding was silent, because the facts were there, and there was no room for argument.

"Second, although the summer capital has been breached, the party members are essentially cornered. But don't forget that the Xia lord and the officials are still in the hands of the Jurchens. If I launch the Northern Expedition, in order to draw troops to the south, the Jurchens can use the Xia lord to incite in the old land of Western Xia, but I am afraid that the Western army will not contain the Jin army, but will be contained by the Jin army. Xu Xuanfu's truce and war, and the policy of recuperating with the people has been approved, and it is impossible to change the order every day, right? ”

Xu Liang said, took a step back, and said that he was done. Zhao Ding pondered his remarks, and there was no way to refute them, so he had to say: "It seems that I was afraid of wolves before and tigers later, when will I have to go on the Northern Expedition?" How long will we have to let the people of the Northland fall into the hands of Diyi? ”

Xu Liang glanced at him and was confident: "Don't be in a hurry at this time." As long as there are a few more years, when Jinghu, Jiangxi, and Huaixi are strong and strong, and the materials in Sichuan and Shaanxi are sufficient, the Son of Heaven sent down a pro-conquest edict, ordering Xu Wei to lead the western army from the northeast of the river, if the Liao army is still willing to go east, then make it out of the summer realm into Yanyun, Jinghu and Jiangxi two armies take the Central Plains, Huaixi one army attacks Huaidong, and the Zhulu army water 6 advances together. Wouldn't Beiyi be invincible and rush to escape? Don't say that restoring the old frontier is to break through Yanyun and chase away from Beiyi, so what's the difficulty? Sincerely, the lost land can be recovered, the national shame can be snowed, and the great Song Dynasty is prosperous, and the time is not far away! ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Guanjia said loudly: "Okay! Good! Listening to Xu Xiang's words, I was suddenly opened! The discussion of the virtuous is really safe! ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xu Liang bowed.

Zhao Ding saw that the emperor opened his mouth to praise, is there any point in arguing? I had to be silent and accept this fact. But it doesn't mean that he agrees with Xu Liang's opinion, like you say, everything is logical. You must know that the world is impermanent, and when the Jurchens are in internal and external difficulties, you will not be soldiers, and if you wait for a few years, you are in business, and people will not sit and wait, and the opportunity must not be lost, and the time will not come again......

"At the beginning of my practice, I was still unfamiliar with the military and politics. The two virtuous ministers are Liangfu Liangbi, they are my right and left hands, I hope that Zhao Qing and Xu Qing will be sincerely united, and Zuo Zhen will achieve the cause of Zhongxing! In this way, I live up to my ancestors and ancestors, and Erqing can also be famous all over the world and be famous for centuries! Zhao Jin's words are quite beautiful.

Zhao Ding and Xu Liang gave a big gift and the emperor's grace.

Coming out of the vertical arch hall, Xu Liu was quite ambitious. As he said to Qin Hui, all the ministers in the court, if you talk about knowing soldiers, who can compare to me? As long as I am still in the phase, military issues will always be my own words, and my colleagues should just listen to them, and don't mess around with peace.

Although Zhao Ding did not get the support of the emperor, he did not see the appearance of discouragement, seeing Xu Liang in front of him with light steps and a complacent appearance, after going down the steps, he walked a few steps quickly: "Xu Xiang." ”

Xu Liu paused for a moment, and the two walked side by side, only to hear Zhao Ding say: "Xu Xiang, this thing is a chance that can be encountered but not sought." If you miss such a good opportunity, are you not afraid of regretting it in the future? ”

Xu Liang smiled when he heard this: "Regret? Hehe, Xu never regrets what he decides. Besides, the Jurchen is no longer the original Jurchen, and now the strength of the two countries is declining, are you afraid that he will not be able to go to the sky? ”

Zhao Ding also sneered: "The Jurchens don't seem to be able to escape the sky, but ......" The last two words he said were particularly heavy, and Xu Liang couldn't help but stop and wanted to hear what he was going to do.

I saw that the other party's face fell, and he said in a low voice: "Now that the saint is young, state affairs are all decided by the ruler." While you and I are still in power, if we don't finalize this matter, when the Holy Commander makes an arbitrary decision in the future, will you and I still have the share to cut off? ”

Xu Liang smiled and didn't speak, as if the opinions of the conversation were not worth refuting.

Zhao Ding turned a blind eye and continued to lower his voice: "When today's son is a benevolent lord, he is not as decisive as the first emperor, and when the saint personally manages the government in the future, who can say clearly?" In the past, we fought for many years, and that was because we had to fight, and the Jurchens threatened our dynasty at all times. But now, the Jurchens have long been unable to invade the south, born in sorrow, and died in peace, this truth, you are also a person who has read poetry and books, you will not fail to understand! That's all Zhao said! After finishing his words, he brushed his sleeves and clouds.

Xu Liang stood in place with his hands behind his back, looked at the back of the galloping back, shook his head and sighed: "If you are loyal to the king and work diligently for the country, who can compare to this old man?" ”

On the other hand, Zhao Jin left the vertical arch hall and hurried to the harem. Along the way, thinking about the situation in the palace just now, I couldn't help but smile, as if I had done a satisfactory thing. As he walked, he said to the attendant behind him: "I didn't lose my temper in the palace, right?" ”

"No, no, the official family has a demeanor!" The chamberlain praised.

"Then what do you think of Zhao Xiang and Xu Xiang's reaction?" Zhao Jin asked again.

"That's not the same! Zhao Ding must feel that the official family is decisive, and Xu Liang must think that the saint is wise! The chamberlain continued to tout.

"Well, well said! Well said! As Zhao Jin spoke, his pace was a little brisker.

After a while, when he arrived at the palace where the queen lived, the emperor rushed in, and saw Empress Liu sitting in the middle room, but the others did not arrive, and the voice came first: "Feng Niang, you are really smart!" ”

When Empress Liu heard this, she stepped forward and said, "Why are the officials so happy? Things settled? ”

"Isn't it just a solution? I follow your method, let Zhao Ding and Xu Liang state their opinions separately, and then praise Xu Liang, but do not belittle Zhao Ding, the two prime ministers are happy and convinced, and they leave with their goodbyes! However, both of them seem to have a point, and if I really make a decision, it is really difficult to choose. Zhao Jinmei smiled openly.

The chamberlain also helped on the side: "Niangniang, it's a pity that I wasn't there at the time, and the official family said that the two prime ministers looked up to the mountains!" ”

"Haha, you just have a mouth, and you haven't reached the mountain, right?" Although Zhao Jin said this, he was extremely happy in his heart.

"Your Majesty is the lord of a country, although they are ranked as Zaifu, they are only His Majesty's courtiers, how strange is it that the mountains are uplifted?" Empress Liu is older than the emperor and looks quite mature. "Your Majesty has supported Xu Liang this time, and the next time there is a dispute among the ruling ministers, Your Majesty will support Zhao Ding, so that it can appear that the official family is fair, impartial, and has his own opinions!" ro！ ~！