Prime Minister

Chapter 1073 The Person Who Knows You Best

Chapter 1073 The Person Who Knows You Best

In Chongzheng Hall.

The official, wearing a dragon robe, stood with his hands behind his back in front of the huge map of Song and Xia that reached the top of the hall.

Now, this huge map of Song and Xia, like a soaring dragon's claws, has three shocking arrows extending from it.

These three arrows run across the territory of the Song Dynasty and into the territory of Western Xia.

The three arrows represent Xihe Road.

Below there is a line of small characters: Li Xian, Xihe Road General Manager and Army Commander Zhang Zhi, Xihe Road Deputy Army Commander and First General Wang Hou.

Jingyuan Road.

Below there is a line of small characters: Jingyuan Road, Huanqing Road, Wang Zhongzheng, who was in charge of border affairs and signed the Jingyuan Road Jinglüe Si, Shen Kuo, the Jingyuan Road Jinglüe Envoy, and Zhong Shidao, the Jingyuan Road Army General.

Fuyan Road.

Below there is a line of small characters: Gao Zunyu, the governor of Fuyan Road and general manager of the army, Zhong Yan, the deputy general manager of the army of Fuyan Road and the first general, and Li Shunju.

Although Jingyuan Road and Xihe Road were two routes, the two routes joined forces at Mingsha City in Western Xia and reached the heart of Xingling Prefectures in Western Xia.

The Fuyan Road is breathtaking, stretching across the three prefectures west of Hengshan Mountain in Western Xia, crossing the vast sea and reaching Xingqing Prefecture in Western Xia.

Although the emperor had never been to the battlefield in his life and had never seen how soldiers fought, he could guess what it was like from reviewing the troops and listening to the reports from his subjects.

What exactly do these two attacks on Xia mean?

For the emperor, the Xining Reforms can be said to be the work of three assistant ministers, Wang Anshi, Han Jiang and Zhang Yue, and the final achievement was the conquest of Qingtang. After the Yuanfeng era name change, the emperor stepped out from behind the scenes and took charge of the government personally, no longer relying on the prime minister to assist in decision-making as before.

It is not enough to simply change the era name from Xining to Yuanfeng.

The emperor needed a great military achievement to intimidate his subjects by defeating a country, and to completely establish the Zhao Song royal family and his authority as the emperor!

Therefore, he was unwilling to let others take charge of this battle. As long as he could conquer the Xia Kingdom, he would be comparable to Emperor Taizong of Tang and deserve the title of the Lord of Restoration.

That’s right, the emperor wanted to be Emperor Taizong of Tang, but Sima Guang criticized Emperor Taizong all day long, which is a big mistake.

"Your Majesty, Lu Huiqing is waiting for you outside the palace!"

"Announce it immediately!" The official looked very happy.

If we talk about who in the world knows his mind best and who is most in line with his wishes, it must be Lu Huiqing.

It's just that Lu Huiqing is now in mourning. Originally, he was the best candidate to lead the army out of Fuyan Road, but now it is impossible. However, on his way back to his hometown in Fujian to mourn, the emperor still asked him to go to Beijing and summoned him to see him.

"The ominous person Lu Huiqing pays homage to His Majesty!"

When Lu Huiqing saw the emperor, she couldn't help but burst into tears, and the emperor's eyes also turned red when he saw her.

The emperor had once been annoyed with Lu Huiqing, but how could it be said that there was no affection between the emperor and his subjects during their ten years together?

The emperor immediately helped Lu Huiqing to stand up, and Lu Huiqing was deeply moved.

The emperor and his ministers talked about the past for a while, and then the emperor took out a few letters and said, "Zhong Yan has repeatedly submitted petitions to mobilize a large army of nine Han and Tibetan generals from Fuyan Road to attack Xia. He said that as long as they bring more than ten days of food, they can roll up their armor and attack Xingling in a hurry."

"Otherwise, if the Khitans take advantage of the situation, the threat will be greater than that of China. Zhong Yan also said that Li Yuanhao left a will that he would rather follow China than the Khitans. This shows that if China attacks the Xia, the Xia will surrender."

The official took out the letter again and said.

"This is the memorial submitted by Yu Chong, the governor of Huanqing Road. He said that Xixia was a clown and Emperor Renzong wanted to destroy it. Now Xixia has suffered from natural disasters and man-made disasters this year. It is time for me to vigorously conquer it. As the saying goes, speed is the essence of war. In the past, Li Jing used only 3,000 soldiers to destroy the Turks."

"Now, all the armies have been preparing to attack Xia for three years to make sure everything is in place. Once the attack is successful, it will benefit the country for thousands of years. There is no need to worry about a shortage of soldiers and food. It is estimated that it will take more than a month to defeat the enemy."

The emperor said, "I order Yu Chong to report this confidential matter, which cannot be expressed in writing. I order him to go to the capital to report it."

At this point, the emperor paused and said, "However, I have not made a final decision yet. I still order Wang Zhongzheng, Yu Chong, and Zhong Yan to find out more about Xixia's situation before making a decision."

"I will not rush into a war that will destroy a nation. I must be cautious and prudent."

When the emperor saw that Lu Huiqing did not express his opinion, he felt a little unhappy.

The official said: "Qingtang has been pacified for more than a year, and the Tibetan troops have all surrendered. We can mobilize 100,000 or 200,000 Tibetan and Han troops in Xihe Road alone."

"If Li Xian and Zhang Zhi lead the Xihe Road army from Huizhou to cross Quwu Mountain and attack Tiandu Mountain, they can cut off the right arm of the western bandits. Then let Shen Kuo and Wang Zhongzheng lead the army out of Jingyuan Road. The two armies will meet at Mingsha and then cross the river to Hebei to attack the heart of Xingling."

"Gao Zunyu, Zhong Yan led the elite troops from Fuyan Road to attack Hengshan! What do you think?"

Seeing the emperor's words, Lu Huiqing hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Xixia is a country of loose sand. If time goes on, chaos will occur. Now we have no reason to attack them suddenly. I am afraid that the whole country will unite. I think we should wait for a while!"

After hearing what Lu Huiqing said, the emperor was so angry that his heart almost stopped beating.

It was you who said that the attack on Xia had a 90% chance of success and kept encouraging me. Now it is also you who says that we should not attack it rashly.

My troops are ready, the arrow is on the string and has to be shot. Yet you tell me to wait a little longer because the time is not right yet.

The emperor asked, "Do you want us, the Western bandits, to die peacefully?"

After hearing what the emperor said, Lu Huiqing, who had always known the emperor's feelings, actually didn't "understand".

Lu Huiqing said: "Your Majesty is right. Xixia is small and weak, so it is not worth attacking it with a big fanfare. I think we can wait until there is civil unrest in Xia and then send another general to Jingyuan or Fuyan. Then we can decide the outcome with a single battle."

Upon hearing this, the emperor was extremely disappointed with Lu Huiqing. He looked at Lu Huiqing and waited for him to say something.

But after waiting for a long time, Lu Huiqing didn't say the next sentence.

The emperor then realized that he had been fooled by Lu Huiqing, and immediately said, "I am tired, you can leave now!"

Lu Huiqing was somewhat embarrassed, but he was extremely grateful for the emperor's kindness, so he bowed solemnly and said, "Your Majesty, take care. I will take my leave!"

The official was in no mood at all and just waved his hand.

……

Lu Huiqing walked out of the hall, thought for a moment, and then said to his attendants, "Go to Zhang's house immediately!"

Although Lu Huiqing and Zhang Yue are each other's biggest political enemies, who in the world knows them best?

That must be Zhang Yue.

As expected, Lu Huiqing was turned away when he arrived at Zhang's house.

There is no reason, recuperating from illness is the biggest reason.

After hearing this, Lu Huiqing cursed in his heart. The whole world knew that Zhang Yue was pretending to be sick. Why was he pretending?

However, Lu Huiqing became angry and insisted on meeting him.

Chen Guan came out to meet Lu Huiqing and bowed, saying, "Mr. Zhang doesn't want to see his old friend again, so why is Mr. Lu doing this?"

Lu Huiqing said: "Mr. Zhang, do you know the importance of the country? The importance of the country? I will leave after saying a few words!"

Chen Guan smiled and said, "Prime Minister Zhang asked me to ask Lu Gong two questions."

"what is the problem?"

“Is it more important to ask questions or to give answers?”

"Another question is, which is more important, choice or hard work?"

Lu Huiqing was surprised and asked, "What does this mean?"

Chen Guan smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Zhang said that Mr. Lu is the smartest person he has ever met in the world. You must know what he means!"

ps: There will be updates tomorrow!

(End of this chapter)