Great Han Empire

Chapter 183

Zhang Wen was very angry, helpless, and frustrated.

He looked at Gai Xun and Fu Xie who were sitting across from him, and asked, "What's Master Yuan's opinion?"

Master Yuan is Yuan Pang, the deputy commander of the Western Expedition Army.He stayed in Chang'an to take charge of the army's logistics supplies.

"Master Yuan means that the suppression of the rebellion in Xiliang should end within two months, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous." Gai Xun stroked his black beard and said slowly.

Zhang Wen sighed for a long time, frowning.

"The situation on the battlefield changed rapidly. Bian Zhang and Han Sui did not take the risk and advance as we expected. They diverted to Meiyang, intending to join Beigong Boyu first, and then attack Chang'an, so our earliest plan has already It can’t be realized.” Sangyang looked at the map laid out on the table and said slowly, “Now that the captain has moved the battlefield to Meiyang, he is still preparing to fight the rebels to the death.”

Gai Xun and Fu Xie looked at the map at the same time, with serious expressions on their faces.

"Does the emperor have an edict to ask recently?" Zhang Wen asked Gai Xun.

Gai Xun nodded.

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?"

"The national treasury is empty and there is no money. Last year, the Xianbei invaded Youzhou, and the Yellow Turbans in Jizhou revived. At the beginning of this year, there were rebellions in Nanyang County and Jiangxia County in Jingzhou. Xiliang, from the end of the previous year to now, for more than a year, the rebellion Not only was the army not wiped out, but it became more and more rampant. The court not only had to spend money to fight in these counties, but also exempted these counties from taxes, and also provided continuous disaster relief assistance to these counties. , so there is no money."

"Youzhou is better. Last year, under the command of Lord Liu and Lord Yang, the army and the people worked together and defeated the Xianbei people and the Yellow Turban Army successively. The imperial court spent hundreds of millions of money on disaster relief. But the bottomless pit in Xiliang is the imperial court The biggest burden is that from last year to this year, the imperial court has spent 30 billion yuan on military expenditure alone, which is equivalent to the military expenditure allocated to Xiliang by the imperial court in the past ten years."

"Yuan Gu (Gai Xun's character), how did you reply to His Majesty?"

"It's not that my Han country has no money, my Han country is very rich, but my Han country's money is not in the treasury, but in the homes of powerful families and wealthy families. I can only say so much, and the rest is up to His Majesty." Gai Xun said in a low voice.

Fu Xie sneered and said loudly, "Your Majesty is the richest person in the world. In order to save money, His Majesty specially built the Wanjin Tower in the West Garden. Your Majesty is in the treasury..."

"Shut up..." Gai Xun yelled loudly, "Zhengnan, you are a member of the imperial court, why do you speak so freely, when will your temper change?"

Fu Xie glared at Gai Xun bitterly, but remained silent.

"This time I asked you to go to Luoyang to ask for money. You are lucky. You didn't get any money, but people offended you." Gai Xun said angrily, "Master Situ is the third prince of the court and an important minister of the country. You are stuck in Situ's mansion." At the door, swearing, what kind of dignity is this?"

"What kind of bullshit is he? His Situ was bought with money. He is an important court official? Is there such a bullshit imperial court official? Li Zhonglang led his troops westward, traveling three thousand miles and costing 5 million yuan. He didn't want to find a way to solve it. That’s all, instead, we come up with ideas to spend from our military expenditure in Xiliang, I don’t scold such rebellious ministers who harm the country and the people, who shall I scold?” Fu Xie stood up and shouted excitedly, “Now the Xiliang battlefield has increased by [-] people. , [-] war horses, the military expenditure has not increased, but has decreased, how will this battle be fought? When will the Xiliang counter-rebellion end? Are the soldiers going to starve while fighting?"

Zhang Wen stood up, walked to Fu Xie's side, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Zhengnan don't need to be angry, don't need to be angry. Sigh... It's all because of my incompetence, which made it difficult for Xiliang rebels to be wiped out. The Great Han Kingdom has suffered for me and the people of Xiliang. I am ashamed."

"Master Taiwei..." Fu Xie knelt down and said emotionally, "Since arriving in Xiliang, Mr. Taiwei has been sleeping all night, devoting all his energy and brains to countering the rebellion, forgetting to eat and sleep, and his hair is all white. A lot. It should be us subordinates who feel ashamed, for not doing our best and failing the trust of His Majesty and the Taiwei."

Gai Xun, Sang Yang, and Geng Bi also hurriedly knelt down, quite uneasy in their hearts.Zhang Wen hurriedly helped them up one by one, shaking his head and being speechless.

"Master Taiwei, if the decisive battle in Meiyang can be successful, maybe all the problems can be solved easily." Geng Bi comforted Zhang Wen.

"You must never think of a decisive battle." Fu Xie said loudly, "Master Taiwei, this is a way to exhaust the water. Even if this battle is successful, it will only bring the Han Kingdom a temporary victory. In the future, Xiliang will be The Great Han Kingdom is a heavy burden."

Geng Bi immediately retorted: "Master Fu, once the Xiliang rebels are calmed down, there will be no more wars in the country. After several years of recuperation, the Han has recovered its national strength, and it will be easy to deal with the Qiang Hu who caused Xiliang's disaster. In the future, the Qiang people It is much easier to drive out of Xiliang than to wipe out the rebels now."

"What about the past few years?" Fu Xie asked loudly, "After the decisive battle, how many soldiers can stay in Xiliang? What did your lord say, abandoning Xiliang? After Xiliang was pacified, there would be no more wars in the Han Kingdom. I'm afraid this is Lord Geng's wishful thinking?"

"Zhengnan, all the money and supplies allocated by the imperial court to the Xiliang battlefield are only enough for our 15 troops to last until the beginning of July. In July, there will be no supplies to reach Chang'an. It is impossible for us to eliminate the rebels in two months." The most they can do is recapture Jincheng and drive the rebels across the Yellow River. In July, no matter who wins or loses between us and the Xiliang rebels, the troops must retreat.” Zhang Wen smiled wryly, looked at Fu Xie and said, “I’m here It’s been almost a year in Xiliang, commanding an army of 10,000+, costing huge sums of money, but I can’t put down the rebels in Xiliang, how can I explain to the emperor?”

After a pause, Zhang Wen said again: "Maybe if I do this, everyone will say that I am doing it for my own career." Zhang Wen shook his head and said with a smile, "Actually, I don't want to be a Taiwei, I can also be other officials. In my opinion The relationship with His Majesty, with my reputation and family background, if I don’t want to be a minister, at least I can be a lieutenant of Sili. It’s much more relaxed. You all know what kind of official this lieutenant is. First, to put it bluntly, he is the emperor's scapegoat. Have you ever seen a captain who has served for more than two years?"

"Haha..." Zhang Wen laughed, bitter and desolate, "Everyone knows who I am. Although I don't have any outstanding talents, I am loyal to the country and work hard. I have never done anything corrupt or perverted. I have a clear conscience .”

He glanced at everyone, and slowly said: "The reason why I have been looking for opportunities to fight the rebels again and again is very simple. I want to make money, and deal with the rebels in Xiliang first."

Everyone was stunned.

"The matter of Xiliang will be dragged on like this, one year, two years, three years, how long will it be? Xiliang's words of giving up are actually just angry words. He means to let go of Xiliang in advance. It is a fact that the people have been devastated, but for the sake of the entire Han Kingdom recovering from being severely damaged by the Yellow Turban traitors, and for the sake of preventing the people of the entire Han Kingdom from being dragged into the abyss of suffering, can Xiliang not temporarily bear the burden of the past few years? suffering?"

"If the anti-rebellion in Xiliang is delayed again and again, in three or four years, tens of billions of dollars will be spent. After three or four years, the court will not only be unable to make ends meet, but will be heavily in debt, and the country will also fall into a crisis because there is no respite. We are dying, and the sunset is in the western mountains. But if we put down the rebels, and only the Qianghu invasion is left in the western border, we can endure it for three or four years. When the country recovers and the treasury is full, we will deploy our troops again. Enter Xinjiang to drive away Qianghu. At that time, even if more money is spent to pacify Xiliang, the imperial court can fully afford it."

"For His Majesty, suppressing the rebellion is a million times more important than driving out the Qiang Hu."

Everyone was silent, even Fu Xie had nothing to say.

Zhang Wen suddenly let out a long sigh, as if he was about to pour out all his resentment.

"However, the development of the current battle situation has completely exceeded my expectations. It is more difficult to complete the plan for the decisive battle. My country is suffering."

"Why did Lord Taiwei say that? Isn't our situation very good now?" Geng Bi comforted, "As long as Beigong Boyu arrives in Meiyang tomorrow, we can start operations immediately."

"Han Sui and Han Wenyue are so talented that ordinary people can't compare with them. At first we lured the enemy into deep, and the plan went smoothly, but when we opened our mouths to eat him, he suddenly ran away." Zhang Wen said with a heavy heart Said, "15 people first encircled and annihilated Bianzhang, and then encircled and annihilated Beigong Boyu, eating one bite at a time, and now they have turned into a fat man eating one bite at a time. I don't know if they will give them food. Things in Xiliang are getting more and more complicated .”

He looked up at Gai Xun and Fu Xie and said, "My lords and Bian Zhang, Han Sui have known each other for many years. Tell me, will they start a decisive battle with us in Meiyang?"

"It's absolutely impossible." Fu Xie said loudly.Gai Xun twirled his beard and nodded again and again, agreeing with Fu Xie's opinion.

Huangfu Li, who joined the military, walked in quietly.

"Master Taiwei, Li Xiaowei, General Dong's subordinate, asked to see you, and said that General Dong has an important military report."

"Please." Zhang Wen said loudly, startled.

===

As soon as he entered the gate of the camp, Li Hong ran into the messenger who was ordered to invite him.

Zhao Yun pulled the horse and walked beside him, and said in a low voice, "Master Taiwei must have agreed to General Dong's suggestion."

Li Hong said with a smile: "Master Taiwei is very knowledgeable, and the staff around him are also outstanding, so he can naturally handle the situation in front of him with ease."

"The adult's idea..."

"Since Mr. Taiwei agreed to General Dong's suggestion, he must have new considerations about the whole battle situation. If Mr. Taiwei's combat strategy changes, then there is no need to mention my idea. We just arrived in Xiliang , it’s better to be restrained and cautious, so as not to be said to be arrogant.”

Zhao Yun laughed.

"My lord has changed a lot in his words and deeds since he arrived in Xiliang. He is cautious in everything he does, looking forward and backward."

Li Hong put his arms around his shoulders and laughed loudly: "One day you will be asked to bring [-] soldiers, and you will know what's going on." He patted Zhao Yun vigorously and sighed: "I still want to bring you back. Take a lot of places back to Jizhou."

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(End of this chapter)