"In this Northern Expedition to Khitan, the Privy Council and the General Staff of the World Military Office have formulated a battle plan, and it is expected to send 150,000 troops."

In the Chongwen Palace, the privy envoy Xia Luqi, Xie Yugan and Zhu Yu of the General Staff of the World Military Office, reported to Li Congjing about the plan to send troops to the Khitan this year, "Now I have 400,000 soldiers and horses, in addition to the 200,000 forbidden army in Luoyang, it is the border army of Hexi, Anxi, Nanzhao, Jiaozhi, Youyun and garrisons in various places. ”

"I am not worried about the expedition plan, the last time it was the privy envoy and the prince, who repelled the Khitan invasion of Yikun Prefecture, and this time the northern expedition is still carried out by the privy envoy and the prince. Before, the prince's main task was to work the army, and this time the privy envoy could teach him more battlefield knowledge, and as for the method of marching and conquest, it was the privy envoy who took the idea and was responsible. Li Congjing said, "After the war, all civil affairs, including the internal relocation of the Khitan people, have been handed over to Wang Pu, and the privy envoy does not need to be distracted." ”

Charucci nodded and said: "Everything is being prepared for the expedition, and it will be completed in a few days. ”

The crown prince is the son of the queen, but Xia Luqi is the father of Dou Niang, Li Congjing let these two lead the troops to the battle, which can be described as far-reaching, both the meaning of the test and the heart of the show. Today, Charucci is also the chief of staff of the General Staff of the Military Office, and in the future, the post of privy envoy will be abolished. In terms of military affairs, it is enough to have the military government and the military department of the General Staff of the world, and there is no need for an additional Privy Council with duplicate functions, and in the final analysis, military power is still concentrated in the hands of Li Congjing, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

Coming out of the Chongwen Palace, Xie Yugan and Zhu Yu walked side by side, and the former sighed: "From the Tongguang period to the seventh year of Dingding, from His Majesty's departure from Youzhou to the king's landing, from the southern invasion of the Khitan to the anti-occupation of Yikunzhou, my Tang Dynasty has used troops against the Khitan several times, so many years have passed, and this war is finally coming to an end...... It's not easy! ”

Zhu Xuan empathized and said: "It's really not easy. If His Majesty hadn't gone out of Youzhou back then, how could today's battle to destroy the Khitan Kingdom come about? ”

Xie Yugan nodded, and suddenly asked, "When the Khitan is destroyed in the future, how will the Bohai Congress be?" ”

"What else?" Zhu Xuan stretched out his hand and patted his fat belly, and smiled so that the fat on his face was agitated, "Naturally, it is a province." ”

"Set up a province......" Xie Yugan looked up and looked forward, and a little arrogant out of thin air, "Destroy the country and set up a province, and I will be strong!" ”

......

Spring rain is dripping.

"Since I went to Anxi on the first floor of Zhang, I heard that the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains are praising the voice of my Tang Dynasty benevolence and righteousness. This time the Khitan province was established, and the Khitan civil affairs were more complex than those in Anxi, and there were many places to use, and I had asked His Majesty for orders to go to the Khitan, but His Majesty did not allow it, so I still sent the prince to go. In Su Yuqi's mansion, Su Fengji stood under the eaves, looking at the raindrops with his hands on his sleeves, and when he said these words to the former, his face was not without a sense of loss.

"You are the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Your Majesty will naturally not let you leave the center without permission." Su Yuqi said truthfully, "The prince once followed His Majesty in Youzhou in the past, and he was familiar with all Khitan affairs, so he was the best choice to preside over the Khitan civil affairs. ”

"The horizontal knife is immediate, and the contribution is the lifelong pursuit of our Tang people, how can I not feel sorry for this missed opportunity?" Su Fengji sighed.

Su Yuqi said with relief: "If the Khitan war goes well, the imperial court will still use troops to Tubo in the coming year, you can try again and beg Your Majesty." ”

"Tibet? Then it's even more unlikely. Su Fengji shook his head, "Your Majesty put Jiang Wenwei and Zhang Yi in Hexi, and they have not been transferred for several years, neither to the Western Regions nor to the Khitan, and it is clear that they will be used in Tubo in the future." ”

Su Yuqi glanced at Su Fengji strangely, with two points of scrutiny in his eyes, "You want to be the prime minister?" ”

Su Fengji smiled bitterly and did not shy away from it, "Your Majesty's method of employing people is already very obvious, the two prime ministers Feng Gong and Mo Gong, the former followed His Majesty who fought and traveled all over the country, and the latter was only in phase after returning from the sea, he never followed the army to fight, he never went through the battlefield, he never made contributions outside the country, where can he be the prime minister?" Not to mention Jiang Wenwei and others, Zhao Pu, Li Chongmei and others from the academy were all taken by His Majesty to participate in the battles of Hexi and Anxi. ”

Speaking of this, Su Fengji sighed: "Horizontal sword and meritorious service, not only is my Tang people's lifelong pursuit, but also the only way to the position of prime minister!" ”

Su Yujue's expression did not change extraordinarily, and he looked at the flowerbed in the courtyard that was beaten by the spring rain, "Whether to be the prime minister or not, I have never thought about this matter...... But I've been hearing some wind lately. ”

"What's the rumor?" Su Fengji asked curiously.

Su Yuqi didn't squint, "I heard that you, the Minister of Finance, are suspected of corruption and bribery." ”

Su Fengji's eyes widened, "Su Yuji! Are you still guarding against me? It's not your business now, is it? That's the duty of the Goshidai! ”

Su Yu smiled and said: "I am the main drafter of the "Tang Law", and I have the responsibility of supervising the implementation of the law all my life. ”

Su Fengji said helplessly: "It's really yours!" ”

It's a seemingly inconsequential conversation.

But it was precisely this conversation that made Su Fengji, who had already realized that he could not be the prime minister, and wanted to make full use of his power to "fake public and private", and restrained his thoughts that he should not have.

......

At the beginning of the spring rain, there was still water vapor in the courtyard, but because it was covered with stone bricks, the stagnant water dried up quickly, but before the water vapor dissipated, two people jumped into the courtyard with swords and began to catch and fight. One of them was dressed in a red suit, with a petite figure, a woman, and the other was a man in a green shirt with a long sword, and his demeanor was dusty, like a monk from outside the world.

After about a stick of incense, the two stopped, and then a servant moved a chair and a tea stool and placed it on the edge of the courtyard for the two to rest.

Relieved and took a sip of tea, Jianzi looked at the fifth girl, her voice was still clear and cold, "I can't imagine that I haven't seen you for a few years, your swordsmanship has reached this point, and I don't know if Your Majesty has delayed your skills because of political affairs over the years." ”

The fifth girl said: "If Your Majesty really delays his skills because of political affairs, won't you be able to win him once?" ”

Kenzi snorted, "I've never lost either!" ”

The fifth girl glanced at him, "That's Your Majesty letting you, don't say you haven't noticed it." ”

Jianzi suddenly turned red with shame, and shouted: "Hurry up and help me bring him a message, I want to enter the palace to compete with him, this time I will definitely win him!" ”

The fifth girl sighed, "I'm afraid there is no chance." ”

Jianzi was puzzled: "Why?" ”

The fifth girl lowered her head, her cheeks crimson, "In two days, I will also enter the palace." ”

"You're going to enter the palace too?" Jianzi was puzzled for a while, and suddenly reacted, "Doesn't that mean that in the entire Luoyang City, no, the entire Tang Dynasty, I can no longer find anyone to fight with?" ”

Realizing this, Jianzi gritted his teeth: "I haven't fought with her since I entered the palace, and even you entered this time...... Your Majesty has no time to pay attention to me...... I, what do I need this sword for?! ”

After that, he got up angrily and threw his long sword out.

The fifth girl looked at him amusedly, "Why don't you enter the palace too?" ”

"I can't get in!" Jianzi turned around and said in annoyance, but found that the fifth girl's eyes were playful, which made a chill rise on the soles of his feet, "You...... What do you mean by that? ”

The fifth girl said leisurely: "Don't pretend, I really think we don't know, you are actually a daughter?" ”

......

Youzhou.

"What's been wrong with Yerod's light lately?"

"It's not a change to talk about, it's all expected, he should have learned the news that His Majesty is going to use the Khitan army this year, and he is preparing to fight a decisive battle with my Wang Shi in the coming day."

In the envoy's mansion, Li Yanrao was having a discussion with Zhao Xiangyao, who had just returned from the Khitan.

"The battle of Yikun Prefecture in Dingding for three years exposed the military strength accumulated by the Khitan in the past few years, Yelude used explosives, artillery and other things to storm the Yikun Prefecture military fort group, and wanted to reproduce the Changxing period, our army conquered the battle of Yikun Prefecture, but I don't know that the Yikun Prefecture defense line has long been different...... Yelu Deguang's attack on Yikunzhou was frustrated, and he turned to use the advantage of cavalry to fight with us on the grassland, and used rushing tactics to light beacons everywhere, but he did not take advantage of half of it. ”

Li Yanrao said, "This time I came prepared for the Tang Dynasty, the Khitan was forced to fight, and how many troops Yelu Deguang could accumulate was basically within the control of us, and his dying counterattack was destined to fail to open the situation." ”

Zhao Xiangyao said with a smile: "In any case, this is the battle of life and death of Yelu Deguang, since Yelu Min became the prime minister of the Khitan, more than ten years, the Khitan has undergone too many changes, if he does not fight back in desperation, I am afraid that in the future, without my Tang soldiers and horses Northern Expedition, his Khitan country will become a vassal of my Tang Dynasty." ”

Li Yanrao showed a thoughtful look, "In the years since I recovered Hexi and Anxi, the Uighurs and the Hujas, including the Tatars and Tibetans, have been constantly sending envoys to Luoyang to meet our emperor, not to mention those states outside the South China Sea. There is only one Khitan country left in this world, isolated and helpless, and it seems weak, this time Yelu Deguang still has the heart to gather soldiers and horses, and fight to the death with my Tang Dynasty, which is very rare. ”

Zhao Xiangyao's face was reminiscing, "At the beginning of the first year of Tiancheng, His Majesty led Lu Long and the Hundred Battles Army to the West Tower, Yelu Abao died, Yelu Bei ascended the throne, and Murowei and Tatar divided the land for autonomy, which made the Khitan country suffer a big setback; In the first year of Changxing, His Majesty came to the West Tower, Yelubei died, 200,000 Khitan soldiers and horses killed each other, and his country was already in decline; Now, in the seventh year of Dingding, Wang Shi will finally come to the West Tower, and it is time to wipe the Khitan Kingdom from the grassland! ”

......

In the autumn, Luoyang sent 150,000 forbidden troops and arrived in Youzhou one after another.