Emperor Sui Yang

Li Deyi and a group of 72 thieves were escorted to Luoyang. Two of them froze to death on the way, and the rest were also severely frozen.

We can't let them die. They are more valuable now that they are alive.

Yang Ming ordered them to change into some thick clothes, and then sent troops to escort them to the capital.

Father Yang Guang has been holding back his anger, and Li Deyi is undoubtedly a good target to vent his anger on. He will probably end up like Wang Bo, wasting a lot of oil.

The military information sent to the capital from Luoyang has never stopped. Yang Ming will report to the capital immediately what happened here.

If it were other commanders, they would not do this. They would deliberately delay it, creating a time lag to avoid the emperor's intervention.

This is not disloyalty, but a necessary means. There are too many things to consider in the position of commander. Humanity and sophistication are the top priority. Both the top and the bottom must be taken care of.

But Yang Ming has no such worries because he dares to disobey the order.

He was the only one who dared to disobey the order, so Yang Guang would not make himself uncomfortable and issue orders. The prince did not listen. This was a slap in his face. To avoid a slap in the face, he had better keep his mouth shut.

It depends on the person whether the general will accept the emperor's orders. Some people will die if they do this, while some people will show the harmony between the emperor and his ministers.

It boils down to one thing: the emperor can't do anything to you.

"The prince used his troops quickly and defeated the Shandong bandits before the end of the year. Now Henan has become more stable. Your Majesty can celebrate this year's Lantern Festival with the people," Pei Ju said with a smile at the court meeting.

After Yang Guang received the news, he was already smiling from ear to ear. Because the distance was too far, the capital side only knew that the Shandong bandits had been defeated.

After all, there were 15 people. Although Yang Xuanzang's battle went smoothly, when reporting to the court, he couldn't say that. He had to make the process very difficult.

It took a lot of effort for me to win.

Yang Yue frowned and said: "The prince's side is progressing smoothly, but it is still a bit difficult to protect the children. Ge Qian and Gao Kaidao's bandits have already gathered 15 troops. Zhang Xutuo's march north is not smooth, and the decisive battle may have to wait until May. .”

"Their best way is to delay," Yu Wenshu said: "Lai Hu'er has Mohe Khitan tribesmen under his command. After all, these people are unreliable. They haven't started fighting yet because they can't fight. Once an unfavorable situation arises, Mohe Khitan will fear Abandoning Rong Gong, Deng Hao from Liaodong only brought 2 troops, and the disparity in strength was too great. Guarding the official warehouse in Zhuo County and protecting the children would be a waste."

"Zhang Xutuo can't afford it," Pei Yun said with a frown: "Since he entered Hebei, he has been struggling every step of the way. Gao Shida in Qinghe County is also a member of the Gao family, and he may be colluding with Geqian Gao Kaidao. If the thieves get together in one place, there will be a big melee north of Hebei."

Yu Shiji said: "Can we let Duke Guo of Tang enter Hebei through a well and help Duke Rong?"

The Well Trail is one of the Eight Trails in Taihang, which is the mountain road from Yangquan, Shanxi to Shijiazhuang, Hebei. Niangzi Pass is on this line, but it certainly does not exist now, because Niangzi Pass was built by Li Xiuning in history.

Yang Yue shook his head: "That's inappropriate. Someone must guard Shanxi. Once Li Yuan is transferred from Shanxi, he may be taken advantage of by the Turks. By then, the Turks can move southward along Shanxi and approach Guanzhong. There are not many soldiers in Guanzhong now." "

Yang Guang nodded and said: "Shanxi cannot be moved. How is the contact between Shiju and the Turks?"

Pei Ju sighed: "I have already lost a lot of property to Ashina Suni, but this person's attitude is hard to figure out. I think he is willing to take advantage of it, but I'm afraid the time is not right now, so I can't rush it." .”

Ashina Sunishi is Qimin's biological brother, and he is currently a major force in Eastern Turkestan after the Great Khan.

The Sui Dynasty intended to sow discord, but it has not achieved any results at the moment. In fact, everyone knows the reason. There was civil strife in the Sui Dynasty. If there had been no civil strife, Ashinasuni might not have dared to have a fight with Jieli because of the support of the Sui Dynasty. But I definitely don’t have the guts right now.

"The situation in Hebei is complicated. Your Majesty chose to give priority to suppressing the rebellion in Hebei, which is a wise move," Yang Da said: "Now it seems that we still have to wait until the prince wipes out the Wagang bandits before the dawn of Hebei can appear."

Cui Junsu said in a deep voice: "It's a pity that the heavy snowfall in Luoyang and the southbound road hindered the prince's opportunity to go north. Otherwise, we should have received good news in February."

"Jiangdu has become a confrontation, and Wei Xuan has not been able to get a better deal. The people of the world have reported that they dare not send troops easily for fear that Feng Xuan will change." Su Wei said: "Half of Jiangnan has been captured by thieves, and the situation is no better than How much better is Hebei?"

"Instruct Wei Xuan to take the initiative to fight decisively," Yang Guang said in a deep voice.

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of all the ministers changed.

Yang Yue hurriedly said: "Absolutely not. Wei Xuan is a famous general of our time. He knows the situation in Jiangnan better than we do. How to make a decision? It is better for the court to intervene. If we rush to fight, we may have the opposite effect."

"You mean, my army can't defeat the rebels?" Yang Guang's expression changed and he said sinisterly.

Su Wei tried to smooth things over and said: "Mr. Yang definitely doesn't mean this. Jiangnan is an important land for the country, and Wei Xuan knows the importance of it. He doesn't dare to fight now. He must have concerns, and it is definitely not cowardice."

"Because this is a land with great national wealth, we cannot allow thieves to wreak havoc," Yang Guang said: "You don't want last year's taxes, but I still have to ask for them. There is no money in the national treasury, who will make up for it? Him? Or you?"

Su Wei and Yang Yue are mute.

That's how the ass decides the head.

At present, there is chaos in all directions and the treasury is empty. The taxes from Jiangnan last year have not been collected yet. If they cannot be collected, Wei Xuan and the others will go hungry. Once there is another mutiny, it will be much more terrifying than the rebels.In fact, Du Fuwei had already collected it for the court, and all the money went into his pocket. Even if Wei Xuan went south to recapture several counties, he would have no money to collect it.

All the ministers were silent, so a decree urging Wei Xuan to fight decisively was sent out.

In fact, Wei Xuan, who was in Jiangnan, did not fight because he was afraid that if he lost Jiangdu, the line from Luoyang to Jiangdu would be cut off.

Yang Ming defeated the Shandong bandits in Luoyang, which was a good thing for the court, but not for Wei Xuan, because after the Shandong rebels returned to Shandong, they were already eager to go south.

Wei Xuan would be caught between Shandong and Du Fuwei and other rebels. At that time, there would be only one way to survive, which was Tongji Canal.

Therefore, Jiangdu must not lose it.

"The prince is mainly attacking Hebei and has no time to take care of us for the time being. The matter in Jiangdu still needs to be decided by the general manager," Wang Shichong said in the lobby of the official office.

Wei Xuan had a headache and said: "We will attack Shandong only after we have conquered Hebei, and we will not go to Jiangnan until we conquer Shandong. I'm afraid we won't be able to survive until that time. I have already written to the prince early to seek a solution."

He took 20 troops from the capital, together with the Jiangdu garrison, plus Zhou Zhongmo's Xiangyang navy. The strength was already between [-], but Du Fuwei in the south had already become a strong force, occupying Lujiang, Danyang, Liyang, The five counties of Piling and Wujun have [-] troops and claim to be the general manager of Jianghuai.

To the south of Du Fuwei, there are still several big rebel leaders who have established separate factions and do not invade each other.

Under such circumstances, Wei Xuan did not dare to lead his troops and leave Jiangdu.

At this time, someone announced outside the door that Prince Wei Huaijing had arrived.

"Please come soon," Wei Xuan was overjoyed and went out to greet him personally.

Wei Huaijing is the son of Wei Zhen and the brother of Prince Liangyuan Wei Xianhui.

"My dear brother, you must have come all the way with the prince's instructions, right?" Wei Xuan smiled and asked the other party to sit down.

Wei Huaijing nodded and said: "The prince has received the letter from the general manager. He has an idea that may temporarily resolve the situation in Jiangnan."

"My dear brother, please speak," Wei Xuandao said.

Wei Huaijing said: "The rebel Wang Huahua of Xin'an County was appointed the general manager of Shezhou, Cao Shiqi of Poyang County was the general manager of Raozhou, Lin Shihong of Yuzhang County was the general manager of Hongzhou, and Liu Yuanjin of Wu County was the general manager of Wuzhou, and they were ordered to lead their troops to attack Du Fu. Power."

After that, Wei Huaijing took out several canonization orders stamped with the prince's seal:
"If the Grand Master is willing, he can send someone to spread this decree to everyone."

Wei Xuan, Wang Shichong and other generals were stunned and looked at each other.

There is no doubt that this is a pretty awesome strategy, but the question is, is the emperor willing?

These people are all rebels. The emperor wants to kill them quickly and appoint them to official positions. The court will be disgraced because this means that the court has nothing to do with you, so he chose to recruit them.

"This... I don't dare to take charge of such a big matter," Wei Xuan said distressedly. The responsibility is too great and I don't dare to shoulder it.

Wei Huaijing smiled and said: "The chaos in Hebei will end in autumn at the earliest, or at the end of the year if it is later. If the chief manager can survive until that time, he will not have to do this."

Yang Ming's idea is tantamount to a ploy to drive a wedge between the gangsters in Jiangnan. Aren't you going to do it now?If you are determined to resist the imperial court, then I will recruit you.

Wang Hua, Liu Yuanjin and others are not powerful and cannot compare with Du Fuwei. This is a combination of strong and weak.

If you are a rebel, if you can become an official, you may not be a rebel.

"I am afraid that Your Majesty will punish you," Wei Xuan sighed.

Wei Huaijing said with a smile: "The Chief Manager does not need to worry about this. When the prince went on the expedition, he asked His Majesty at the Daxing Hall. This is an expedient measure, and Your Majesty agreed."

"Don't lie to me?" Wei Xuandao.

Wei Huaijing smiled and said: "How dare I dare to trick you, old man, about this kind of thing? The prince's decree document is also there. This can't be fake, right?"

After Wei Xuan took the decree and flipped through it, he nodded after being silent for a while: "This is undoubtedly the best way at the moment. In this case, please tell the prince and Wei Xuan will do it."

Wei Huaijing stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Then Jiangnan will leave it to the general manager. When I come, the main force in Luoyang has already set off to the north. The matter in Hebei will be solved soon. Please hold on until the prince goes south, and the matter will be settled."

Wei Xuan nodded and said: "Please tell the prince that Wei Xuan will never abandon Jiangdu and wait for the marshal's army."

When Yang Ming goes on an expedition, he can control the world's soldiers and horses. People like Wei Xuan, who comes to protect his children, can only be obedient, let alone Yu Juluo Zhang Xutuo.