Great Han Empire

Chapter 495
After He Yong finished speaking, there were voices of opposition and denunciation in the Shangshu room one after another. Many ministers were excited and scolded Li Hong for being arrogant, lawless, threatening the emperor with heavy troops, and wantonly trampling on the laws of the Han Dynasty. thief.

Yuan Kai thought for a long time, then raised his hand to signal the ministers to quiet down.

"If Mr. Li holds the late emperor's edict and brings heavy troops south, how should we respond? Should we continue to support the present emperor or obey the late emperor's edict?" Yuan Kai shook his head repeatedly and sighed, "Xiandi, this is the late emperor..."

The ministers didn't understand what Yuan Wei's words meant, and they were all silent.

"Since the beginning of the Lulongsai War in the first year of Zhongping, Lord Li has been leading his troops to fight on various battlefields in northern and western Xinjiang. In the past six years, Lord Li has made great achievements in defending the Han Kingdom against foreign enemies and suppressing rebellions. , He is the hero of our Great Han Kingdom, and even more a loyal minister of our Great Han Kingdom, this is unquestionable." Yuan Kai said slowly, "The reason why he went south today is because he was loyal to the first emperor and the Great Han Kingdom. If he Ignoring the late emperor's edict, and living in a corner of the northern border, is he a loyal minister of the late emperor? Is he a loyal minister of our great Han country? It would be too serious to say that the Han thief said it."

"Today's situation all stems from the late emperor. Your lords should be very clear about this." Yuan Kai said calmly, "Master Li did not use the late emperor's edict to inform the world, nor did he threaten the emperor with books, but only used the shortage of food and grass as an excuse to lead the country. The soldiers went south to Jinyang, and it was considered very thoughtful. Although there were many conditions that he asked Mr. He to bring back, there were many places that violated the laws of the Han Dynasty, but all of them were for the safety of the northern border, for the success of Bingzhou's farming, and for the north. Your lords should be very clear about the survival of the millions of displaced persons.”

Ding Gong, Lu Zhi, and He Yong looked at Yuan Wei with admiration, but the other ministers became more and more startled when they heard it, and gradually understood Yuan Wei's meaning.

"Master Li holds the last emperor's edict in his hand, and bears the safety of northern Xinjiang on his shoulders, but he is facing the crisis in Luoyang today. How do you tell him to deal with himself?" Yuan Kai looked at the crowd, and suddenly smiled, "Northern Xinjiang After the war, why were we worried that Mr. Li would go south? Because we all knew that he was in a very difficult situation at that time, and it was difficult for him to advance or retreat, so we asked Mr. He to go north to find out the truth."

There was silence in Shangshu's room, all the important ministers of the Great Han Kingdom were contemplating, and no one spoke anymore.Mr. Taifu, who is a member of the Li Shangshu and handles the state affairs, suddenly said these words, naturally it was not aimless.Does he have a better solution?
"Master Taifu, can you tell me the countermeasures?" Taifu Yang Biao asked.

"Of course, we should agree to any request that is within the scope of the Han law. We can also agree to any request that violates the Han law." Yuan Kai stroked his long beard with one word. He said in a sentence, "But we also have a request. Master Li must go north to conquer the Xianbei Kingdom this year. Otherwise, what will he use to prove his loyalty to the Great Han Kingdom and the Emperor?"

All the ministers suddenly realized.

===

The ministers then discussed specific countermeasures.

Northern Xinjiang can allocate 100 billion yuan this year to farmland, relocate victims, and repair cities in the south of Hetao. However, considering the flood in the lower reaches of the Yellow River this year, Bingzhou must accept more victims who have moved north.

Because of the large influx of disaster victims into Bingzhou, Beijiang really needed to add more farming areas, so the imperial court agreed to Li Hong's request to add six counties, including Hedong County, to Beijiang for farming.

It was agreed that General Cheqi would govern the military administration of fifteen counties within ten years. In addition, he would also take over the military power of three prefectures and two counties. Therefore, the court believed that there was no need to set up Bingzhou Mu, so Dong Zhuo was exempted from Bingzhou Mu. However, the court believed that Bingzhou must reset the post of governor of Bingzhou.

During the ten-year farming period, there were too many uncertain factors, coupled with the poverty of Bingzhou itself, the imperial court agreed that these fifteen counties would not have to pay taxes to the treasury for ten years, but the imperial court believed that the ten-year period should start from the fourth year of Zhongping Counting it, it means that there are still seven years left without paying taxes to the treasury.

Considering the current situation in northern Xinjiang and the lack of finances of the Han Dynasty, the imperial court did not agree with Li Hong's formation of 30 frontier troops in northern Xinjiang, but only agreed that Li Hong should maintain the current size of 20 frontier troops, including 12 field soldiers.Of course, the 50 billion military funds that Li Hong wanted to build the army were gone.

Now Princess Changping has arrived in Hejian Kingdom, only King Bohai is still detained in Luoyang.However, when the King of Bohai will return to his vassal state, it can only be determined by the emperor and the queen mother.

As for Li Hong's request to garrison troops in the [-]th counties, and to garrison troops in the garrison and lead the prefect, as well as to garrison troops in Jizhou and use Jizhou taxes to fill the two prefectures, the court never mentioned it.

Finally, the imperial court asked Li Hong, the general of chariots and riders, to immediately reorganize his troops and horses, and prepare to go north to conquer Xianbei in August.

===

Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang took this memorial of the ministers to the Changqiu Palace for the Empress Dowager to have a look.

After listening to Zhao Zhong's report, the queen mother looked at the memorial carefully, and then said: "I don't know much about government affairs, so you can do whatever you want, as long as Li Hong can guard the northern border and stop going south. Little Dong Hou can't leave the capital no matter what."

"I think so too." Zhang Rang said, "Li Hong proposed to garrison troops in Jizhou, and also wanted the King of Bohai to return to the country. Obviously, he wanted to support the King of Bohai as emperor in the north. Now the Taiwei Lord Liu Yu is in Youzhou. Zhou, if Li Hong joins forces with him to support the King of Bohai, this matter will be out of hand, and the country will be in chaos in the future."

Empress Dowager He asked in panic, "What can Ai Qing do?"

"From my point of view, it's better to change the King of Bohai to King Chenliu. Chenliu County is near Gyeonggi. Even if King Chenliu wants to return to the vassal state, he will still be by the emperor's side, and there will be no big waves."

Empress Dowager He was overjoyed and hurried to play, ordering Zhao Zhong to draw up an order immediately.Empress Dowager He felt relieved, and immediately felt heartbroken about the 100 billion allocated to Northern Xinjiang.

"This money, can you allocate a little less?"

Zhao Zhong's complexion changed, and he hurriedly advised: "Queen Mother, this must not be reduced. The Yellow River flooded again this year, and thousands of victims flooded into Bingzhou. What Li Hong wants now is money and food. If Because this incident has angered Li Hong, the loss outweighs the gain."

Empress Dowager He was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "My palace must play, let's make an order immediately."

===

He Jin, the general who participated in the affairs of Li Shangshu, also received this memorial.

He Jin called He Jin, showed him the memorial, and asked, "How is the matter in Hejian Kingdom going?"

"Wu Tang failed to attack several times." He Jin said, "Master Taiwei has sent [-] soldiers to Hejian Kingdom to protect the princess, so...do you order them to withdraw immediately?"

"Come back, there is no need to anger Li Hong at this time." He Jin said, "Since the will is in Li Hong's hands, the princess is not a threat to us. The key now is to protect the King of Bohai and not let him have any accidents." Then He Jin pointed to the last few words of the memorial and said, "Look, will Li Hong go north to attack Xianbei? We need him to stay in Jinyang and Hedong for a long time, otherwise things in Luoyang will be very troublesome."

"At this time, going north is indeed the best opportunity. If the late emperor was still there, Li Hong would definitely lead his army northward without hesitation, but now..." He Jin said with a wry smile, "Now that the disaster victims in Bingzhou have reached millions, the situation in northern Xinjiang It's in danger, even if you give him a hundred guts, he won't dare to march north, so don't worry, General, this matter is safe, but..."

"But what?"

"Don't the general think that Li Hong has changed a lot? He is no longer the leopard he used to be. He is even more dangerous. You see, in order to maintain the safety of northern Xinjiang and ensure that the state and farmland are effective, he not only ignored the late emperor's will , and even made many requests that violated the law." He Jin said worriedly, "Although he is nominally for the Han Dynasty, for the northern border and the millions of disaster victims, in fact, he is not for his own wealth and life. , not for his own power and glory. A ten-year contract? Ten years later, he will be full-fledged, who else in this world can compete with him?"

He Jin pointed to the memorial on the case table and said: "Master Taifu and the ministers in the court thought that Li Hong's loyalty and the survival of northern Xinjiang could be used to threaten him to go north to conquer, why didn't they think about it, if Li Hong Hong would rather bear the charge of resisting the decree than going north? Is it too wishful thinking that Master Taifu wants to use the northward conquest to eradicate Li Hong's hidden danger?"

He Jin smiled and said: "The conditions for the army to go north this year are not very good, and before Luoyang is stabilized, I don't want him to go north, but in order to get the ministers in the court to agree to his conditions, Li Hong can still go north a little bit." When we meet all the conditions of Li Hong, he has the right to have money and soldiers, and the situation in northern Xinjiang will gradually improve. Once the government is under control and Luoyang is stabilized, then Li Hong can lead his army to conquer the north. Since the civil strife broke out in Xianbei last year, the strength of the Xianbei people has been greatly reduced. This is the best opportunity to make great achievements, and I don't want to miss it. "

"So, the general is determined to help Li Hong?"

"Since he kept his promise and went south to help me stabilize Luoyang, of course I have to keep his word and help him stabilize northern Xinjiang." He Jin said, "In order to ensure the imperial order, I have to join hands with Li Hong, otherwise, even if I eradicate the traitors in the future, I also want to fight this group of scholars to the death, what good is it for me? As long as Li Hong is here, the ministers in the court will have to help me deal with this leopard, and without the support of the scholars, I can be safe Gradually control power and control the government without any worries."

"General, what about ten years later?"

"Ten years later, our Great Han Kingdom has already regained its vitality, and its national power has flourished. If Li Hong doesn't keep his promise, the emperor can gather the power of the whole country to besiege northern Xinjiang. Could it be that he alone can counter the entire Great Han Kingdom?" He Jin smiled and said, "Ten years later, if the farming in northern Xinjiang is successful, the people will live and work in peace and contentment. If Li Hong is a loyal minister, he will not bring disaster to the lives of the people in northern Xinjiang, and will willingly hand over the military and political power. If he lets the power deceive If he wants to split his territory and claim the title of king, he will lose the hearts of the people, and the congregation will betray their relatives, and I believe he will be wiped out after a long time."

He Jin thought for a while, and felt that there was nothing wrong with He Jin's idea.Ten years, in the blink of an eye, Northern Xinjiang is so big, so poor, with a population of several million, and perhaps more disaster victims will enter Bingzhou in the future.

"How to report back to the emperor and queen mother now?"

"I agree." The general picked up the memorial and said with a smile, "The general of chariots and riders is too timid to go south to the east of the river. Of course he can only get these things."

===

Li Hong returned to Jinyang day and night.

After listening to Li Wei's narration, General Fenwei Xian Yufu, General Yang Lie Zhang Yan, General Hutian Zhonglang Zhao Qi, and General Chaqi Shi Zuoyan were silent for a long time after listening to Li Wei's narration.Although Li Hong had to go south to intimidate the emperor and the court due to the situation in northern Xinjiang, many of the conditions he proposed violated the laws of the Han Dynasty.

"Does your lord know the consequences of doing this?" Zhao Qi smiled wryly, "Even if you can achieve your goal, if you are not loyal to the first emperor and then to the current emperor, your reputation will be greatly damaged, and once you lose all your power, you will be at risk of exterminating your family." disaster."

"Let's not talk about the future." Li Hong smiled indifferently, "If we want to resettle millions of disaster victims to farm in the south of Hetao, we can't do it without billions of dollars. Now the income from salt and iron in Bingzhou and Hedong can't be paid. It is very difficult to provide disaster relief, let alone support the state and farmland, so we must get the 100 billion money immediately."

"What about Jizhou's taxes?" Xian Yufu asked, "You want Jizhou's annual taxes. It's impossible. The emperor and the court will not agree."

"I don't expect them to agree either." Li Hong said with a smile, "Mu Yangqi of Jizhou drives the victims to Bingzhou. He will always pay a price. He will always give me hundreds of millions of dollars a year."

"Your Excellency really wants to build a 30 frontier army?" Zhang Yan also asked, "Now that Your Excellency threatens Luoyang with heavy troops, they dare not agree even if they want to."

"I can't even handle the stomachs of the victims. Why do I need to build a 30 frontier army?" Li Hong shook his hand and said, "I just want money, and I want the 50 billion. For the army, keep the number within [-]. Other soldiers should let them go back to the tribe to graze. Those who should go to farm should go to farm. I don’t have so much military pay to support them. After fighting for so many years, they also Time to go home."

Looking at the heavy rain outside, Li Hong cursed a few words, "It's all because of the rain, otherwise there would be such difficulties in northern Xinjiang, forcing me to not only lie to people, but also to fight against the emperor."
Only then did Xian Yufu and the others understand Li Hong's thoughts.One by one, the tense hearts were suddenly relieved.Li Hong remained the same as in the past, but this time the disaster was even worse.Now that the late emperor is not here, many things have become very troublesome. For the sake of the stability of northern Xinjiang, he can only take risks to do things against his will.

"Zhong Yuan, is this all your idea?" Zhao Qi asked with a smile.

"My ideas are all within the provisions of the Dahan law, and the excess is added by the adults themselves." Li Wei said innocently, "But having said that, if it weren't for the Lord He Yonghe to go and say a few words I'm afraid my lord will have to hang around in Wuyuan for a few more days."

Xian Yufu looked at Li Hong seriously and asked, "What did your lord just say? Are you going north to fight Xianbei?"

Li Hong nodded.

Xian Yufu and the others were shocked, "At this time?"

Li Hong nodded again.

"Fight Xianbei at this time?" Zhao Qi asked incredulously, "Then you are still leading the army south now?"

"The main purpose of going south is to attack Xianbei, not to ask the court for money and land." Li Hong pointed to Li Wei and said, "Zhong Yuan, tell the four adults about going north to attack Xianbei."

===

In order to ensure that millions of disaster victims are safe and secure on the border south of Hetao, the danger of the Yinshan Mountain and the Great Wall alone cannot stop the Xianbei invasion. It is necessary to cross the Yinshan Mountain and drive the Xianbei people into the desert thousands of miles away. Just like when Hussar General Huo Qubing led his army to attack the Huns for more than [-] miles, only by driving them thousands of miles away and not approaching the frontier fortress can the border guards in Beidi and Shuofang be guaranteed.

The continuous influx of disaster victims has pushed northern Xinjiang into a very dangerous situation, and the crisis-ridden situation in Luoyang left Li Hong with no choice. Apart from going north to conquer, it seems that he has no better way to solve the current crisis in northern Xinjiang.Fighting, only continuing to fight can temporarily alleviate the plight of northern Xinjiang.

In the face of the fierce offensive of the Han army, the Hu allied forces were finally completely defeated after resisting for two months, but the powerful attack momentum of the Han army made the Xianbei people panic.Tuoba Feng, Lord Xianbei in the north, after losing the handsome Tuoba Wei and 5000 cavalry, left only an army of [-] soldiers. Facing the huge pressure of survival, he couldn't wait to bow his head to the king of Xianbei. Qianman was also sent back to Danhan Mountain by him.Tuoba Feng, the northern Xianbei lord, lost his strength and lost the qualification to be on an equal footing with the lords of the Xianbei tribes.In the near future, even if his northern Xianbei has not been attacked by the Han people, it will be divided up by the leader and the elders.

Xianbei King Kuitou also felt the murderous intent of the leopard in the distance, and he hastily sent someone to invite Lord Xianbei Murongfeng from the central region, Lord Xianbei from the west to Luoluoluo, and Lord Xianbei from the east Mijia to Danhan Mountain for discussion.The four parties unanimously decided that as long as the Han invaded the prairie, the four parties would jointly send troops.Immediately, the scouts of the Xianbei people spread all over the frontier fortresses of two thousand miles and the border counties of the Han Dynasty, monitoring the movements of the Han army day and night.

After Li Hong decided to go north to conquer, he immediately began to mobilize the army to go south in the rain, trying to confuse and deceive the Xianbei people.

He ordered Xu Rong to lead his troops westward into Beidi and Shuofang counties, and Yan Rou to lead his troops eastward into Dai and Shanggu counties. The troops are scattered, and there is no illusion of going north unintentionally.When the rainy season on the grasslands ended in July, General Li Hong led his army northward and went deep into the desert to attack Xianbei.

After hearing Li Hong's expedition strategy, Xian Yufu, Zhang Yan, Zhao Qi and Zuo Yan all thought Li Hong had gone crazy.

"The situation in Luoyang is unstable, how can the army go on an expedition to the desert?" Zhao Qi asked dumbfounded in shock.

"The other purpose of my army going south is to stabilize the situation in Luoyang." Li Hong said with a smile, "What is the root cause of the turmoil in Luoyang now? It's just an eunuch. As long as the eunuch is killed, the general will be in charge of the court, and Luoyang will be in charge." What's the mess?"

"Can the imperial court guarantee the army's food, salaries and military equipment?" Zhang Yan asked with a frown.

"During the time the late emperor was alive, I planned to go on an expedition to the desert in August, and the court also prepared enough food and military equipment for the army in northern Xinjiang." Li Hong said, "Luoyang is stable, and everything is the same as when the late emperor was alive. What should we do?" Fighting or how to fight, how the imperial court should provide me with food and pay or how to provide me with food and salary, there is no change."

"If the imperial court suddenly cuts off the supply of food and supplies..." Zuo Yan said in fear.

"I was prepared for this." Li Hong said, "We have stockpiled food and grass for three months in advance. In addition, there are still troops left behind in Hedong and Jinyang. To be honest, if all of our 10,000+ troops were killed in the desert, The damage caused by the millions of disaster victims in northern Xinjiang to Gyeonggi is probably far greater than the threat I, Li Hong, have on Gyeonggi, right? I believe that the generals, Lord Taifu and the ministers in the court will not put the fate of the entire northern Xinjiang at risk. It's a trifling game with Dahan Sheji."

Li Hong stood up, walked out with a whip in his hand, and said to Xian Yufu and Zhang Yan, "Brother Yuxing, Brother Feiyan, immediately recruit [-] recruits from the victims of the disaster to enter the countryside in Hedong, and I will bring the black panther Yi Congying and the [-] garrison soldiers who came from Hedong went to Anyi first."

"Your Excellency, won't you go home?" Zhao Qi asked.

"I don't have time, I want to see Dong Zhuo right away."

===

One hundred thousand field soldiers held high the battle flags of Yushi, Yang Feng, Wen Chou, Liang Baiwu and other generals, and under the leadership of Li Hong, they quickly entered the Linfen camp.

Zhang Baiqi, who came to greet him, asked Li Hongdao in surprise: "My lord, why did you bring back these one hundred thousand field soldiers?"

Li Hong said with a smile: "They are the main force of the northern Xinjiang army now, they are no longer field soldiers. In a few days, General Xianyu will send you one hundred thousand new soldiers for field field."

Zhang Baiqi asked suspiciously: "Then Lord Yu and Lord Yang's army has not reached the east of the river?"

"They will soon return to Wuyuan County the same way."

===

Zhongchang servant Song Dian rushed to Linfen Daying to announce the decree.

Without further ado, Li Hong ordered Pang De to drag Song Dian out and chop him up, put the bloody head in a brocade box, and then asked Zhong Huangqi to take him back to Luoyang.

At this time, Li Wei opened the imperial decree and glanced at it, and couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise: "My lord, Your Majesty worships you as the Great General of Chariots and Great General of Yitong. Your Excellency is already in the same position as the third prince."

Li Hong didn't even look at it, he waved his hand and said, "Order the army, to approach Anyi City tomorrow."

===

(End of this chapter)