Prime Minister

Chapter 1273 Wang Gui's Way of Advance and Retreat

Chapter 1273 Wang Gui's Way of Advance and Retreat

In the Zhang Mansion.

Zhang Yue and Chen Guan are playing chess.

"Liu Zijing (Liu Changzuo) has ordered the entire army to counterattack. It seems that a great victory is not far away!"

While Wang Gui was still waiting for news in the Zhongshu duty room, Zhang Yue, who was on sick leave in the mansion, knew the news earlier than Wang Gui.

At this moment Zhang Yue spoke to Chen Guan with a smile.

Chen Guan smiled and said, "If it was Lord Zhaowen who heard the news in advance, his disciples would definitely take the opportunity to buy more salt notes and other items in the market and then make a profit."

Zhang Yue smiled and said, "I don't do these things, not because I look down on them, but doing too many of them will damage your moral character."

"The matter of 'Yang Zhen's Four Knowledges' must not be ignored!"

Don't assume that God will not notice anything you do. He always has another way to do it for you.

So don’t be afraid of good things not being known, and don’t think that bad things are unknown. The four knowledges of Buddhism are the way. When a thought arises in the mind, the gods and ghosts of heaven and earth know it, others also know it, and even if you don’t know it, your intention already knows it.

Therefore, the Confucian "be cautious when alone" is correct. But it is more taboo to do it intermittently or with too much purpose.

Seeing Zhang Yue calm, Chen Guan became more respectful and asked, "I admire you very much! Why did you make the Tanguts no longer a threat to the border after only three years of your presidency?"

Zhang Yue laughed at Chen Guan and said, "Three years?"

"Do you really think I've only been doing this for three years?"

Chen Guan said: "I sincerely seek your advice!"

Zhang Yue said: "Since I was appointed by Your Majesty to lead the campaign against the Tanguts, those who believed in me have never doubted me, and those who doubted me have never believed me!"

"Everything in the world starts with belief or disbelief! Those who believe always believe, and those who don't believe always don't believe. Each side has its own faction, each has its own opinion, and they attack each other all day long!"

"In fact, in my opinion, these two kinds of people are the same. They are all too lazy to do anything and don't know what it means to be successful!"

Chen Guan was embarrassed when he heard this and said, "Prime Minister, most people in the world are like this. To be honest, I can't stand hearing someone say that the attack on the Tanguts will fail."

Zhang Yue laughed and said, "What you said is true, isn't it?"

"It's hard to say that achievements are difficult, but they are not difficult. Only one or two out of ten people can understand achievements."

"Everything in the world must start with the easy and end with the difficult. The easy comes first and the difficult comes later. Do it first and then know it! If it was during the Zhiping years, you asked me whether we could attack the Dangxiang? I couldn't answer you, so I asked Wang Shao to go to Zhiguwei Village. I don't know whether he can gain a foothold, but we have to do it first."

"After Wang Shao gained a foothold, I led troops to Xihe Road, and then conquered one state at a time. Zhao Sizhong (Mu Zheng) surrendered and then rebelled again, rebelled and surrendered again. When the situation was somewhat stabilized, Gui Zhang killed Jing Sili, and then Gui Zhang was killed by me. Finally, Qingtang initially surrendered, but Aligu rebelled against Song again. Zhang Zhifu defeated Liang Yimai at Taoshui, and then Aligu surrendered, and Qingtang completely surrendered..."

Chen Guan listened very carefully. Zhang Yue continued, "Now that I think about it, it was repeated over and over again. When I won, some people said I could win. After I lost, some people said I had said so."

"But I had never expected what would happen to the Tanguts in Qingtang. From the beginning to the end, I was half-believing and half-doubting. Some people said that the Tanguts could definitely be destroyed, while others said that they could not be destroyed. I never listened to them."

"But when someone asks me this, how do I answer him? For example, Your Majesty once asked me, and I said that we could destroy the Tanguts within five years. Now I know that I was wrong. In fact, I just want to think about how things will turn out in the end if we do it step by step."

"After Qing Tang surrendered completely, the imperial court's two expeditions against Dangxiang were defeated and returned. The court and the people were depressed and thought that this matter could not be done. But after I was ordered, I successively captured Lanzhou and Xi'anzhou, but was defeated again at Mingsha City. Finally, after defeating Dangxiang's 800,000-strong army at Lanzhou City, some people advocated taking advantage of the situation to destroy Dangxiang, but I advocated peace talks..."

"It was not until we took Liangzhou that the government and the people felt more confident. Now when I talk about peace, people don't believe me... But after the Liao Kingdom intervened, all officials were suspicious of me..."

Chen Guan had some understanding after hearing this. Zhang Yue said to Chen Guan: "It's not that I have foresight, but I just talk about the facts and always persist in doing it, while most people in the world just believe or not believe. So what is merit?"

"When Your Majesty first presented the Tianzhang Pavilion to me, I had already said this. Can we win or not? Can this thing be done? Don't jump to conclusions, because before things are done, you don't know much. You must listen to others more, such as Lü Huiqing and Sima Guang. People can believe in one side but not listen to one side."

“When you are doing things, you constantly verify your own and others’ judgments, and constantly keep the truth and eliminate the false. As you are doing things, you will find that many things seem harder than climbing to the sky, but in the end, when you take a closer look, you will find that they are nothing special.”

Chen Guan was sincerely convinced. Believe it or not, everyone in the world can explain why, and some may even have personal experience of it, but those who truly achieve success do not follow this path.

Chen Guan said: "I understand now. At the beginning of the reform, you said, 'The more you practice, the more you know. The deeper your knowledge, the more you can practice.' Now, this principle is also true everywhere!"

“Now I understand what you meant by ‘If you keep thinking about it, there will be a response’!”

Zhang Yue nodded.

-

"Prime Minister! Prime Minister!"

In the viewing room of the East Hall of the Zhongshu, Wang Gui was awakened.

Wang Gui asked, "What's the matter?"

But a group of officials in red robes surrounded Wang Gui and said happily, "Prime Minister, we won, we won!"

"Shen Cunzhong urgently reported that the Western bandits were defeated in Pingxia City. Tens of thousands of the most elite Western bandits were captured in one fell swoop. From now on, the Dangxiang will no longer be a threat!"

Although Wang Gui knew what was going on when he heard this, he was still very happy.

Officials on both sides said: "The Prime Minister has made another great contribution to his tenure!"

"The Prime Minister ruled the country with ease, and the Western bandits were wiped out without making a sound!"

"The Prime Minister is able to plan and strategize from a distance. He is extremely wise!"

Wang Gui smiled faintly when he heard this, and soon Cai Que came in and congratulated Wang Gui.

Wang Gui had been prime minister for more than ten years and had his own bearing. He calmly asked, "Does Your Majesty know?"

The officials said one after another, "Your Majesty has already known about this and has reported the good news to the Empress Dowager. The palace has ordered that Your Majesty has not had a good night's sleep for several days, so he needs to rest well. We, as your subjects, should not disturb him today and report anything tomorrow."

Wang Gui said with emotion: "Your Majesty is really concerned about the country and the people!"

"The Holy Lord is concerned about this, so the soldiers of the three armies are willing to obey orders, and the ministers are also working together!"

Everyone praised: "Today is the end of all hardship and happiness!"

Wang Gui then asked again, "Does the historian know him?"

The officials said, "They have sent someone to report it."

Wang Gui nodded, and an official took the opportunity to say, "This great victory, without the historian, the princess is not in charge, let's see, it doesn't mean he has to do everything."

Another official laughed and said, "That's right, that's right. Since the historian has not been feeling well lately, let him rest for now."

That being said, everyone knew that the officers and generals who were selected to command the frontline this time were all appointed by Zhang Yue. However, in the East Hall, the officials all knew who to speak to.

Wang Gui smiled slightly while pinching his beard when he heard this, and looked at Cai Que and asked, "What do you think, Zhizheng?"

Cai Que pondered for a while and then said, "Reporting to the Prime Minister, the Tanguts have been defeated. If, as Shen Cunzhong reported, all their elite troops have been lost, they will no longer have the strength to attack. I think the Tanguts are about to die. Even if we don't fight them, it will take more than ten years to make up for the losses of these fierce troops who have been fighting for many years."

"At that time, let alone the Liao Kingdom attacking me from two directions, even the Liao Kingdom could make trouble for the Dangxiang."

"Then we can negotiate a peace treaty with the Liao Kingdom before the historian returns to the court, and seize everything!"

An official said: "Yes, the power is in my hands now, so I can act accordingly!"

An official laughed and said, "Even if we return Liangzhou to the Tanguts now, they won't dare to take it!"

All the officials laughed when they heard this.

Everyone thought, without Zhang Yue in charge, everyone was nervous. How to deal with the attack from both the Dangxiang and Liao? No one could come up with a detailed strategy. So not to mention Wang Gui, even Cai Que hoped that Zhang Yue could return to the court to take charge of government affairs.

But now that Shen Kuo has won, the situation is different. Liao is now alone, and his intimidation power is not as strong as before.

Since I can handle the following matters myself, why should I ask Zhang Yue to return to the court to take care of state affairs?

In the officialdom, people are always used in a forward-looking manner and not in a backward-looking manner. Isn't this the truth?

I begged you, Zhang Yue, to come back before, but you didn't. Now the situation has been reversed, you don't have to come back for the time being, we can handle it ourselves!

Wang Gui smiled and said, "You all have a point."

"So, it is precisely at this time that we should invite the historian back to the court to take charge of the affairs!"

Everyone was surprised and didn't understand what Wang Gui meant. Cai Que nodded and said, "Prime Minister, that's a good idea!"

Wang Gui slowly stood up from the chair and said with a smile gone.

"Everyone, please follow me to Mr. Zhang's residence!"

Wang Gui walked out of the East Hall of the Secretariat, and officials came one after another in auspicious attire to congratulate him.

However, Wang Gui took all the officials to Zhang Yue's mansion!

Sitting in the carriage, Wang Gui closed his eyes to rest. He was indeed old, and his energy was not as good as before. He was unable to do many things. When people get older, the most important thing is that their energy is not as good as before.

If people don't have the energy, they will be afraid of the hassle and trouble of everything and will be too lazy to care about anything.

In this respect, Wang Gui is indeed old, but he is not confused.

Although all the officials were congratulating him, Wang Gui was fully aware of the role he played in it.

Others can pretend to be confused, or keep flattering him because of their power, but Wang Gui himself must understand that he can fool anyone but not himself.

What about the accumulation of strength for a breakthrough, latecomers surpassing the competition, and being the best in the industry? Just listen to these words and don't take them seriously.

Since you have been given a way out, you should step down quickly.

Wang Gui squinted his eyes and looked at the streets of Bianjing, thinking to himself, in fact, being an official is neither difficult nor easy, and it is neither difficult nor easy. Just as the Book of Changes said, a gentleman knows the subtle, the obvious, the gentle, and the hard, and only then can he be the hope of ten thousand men!