Lan Wuqing pondered for a moment, and finally played again: "Your Majesty, Yongzhou is using leaflets to confuse people, which is already a psychological war against the imperial court. If soldiers and horses confront each other, the imperial court has hundreds of thousands of troops, and they are invincible. Fighting psychological warfare does not rely on swords and guns. Although psychological warfare does not seem to be as bloody and cruel as battlefield warfare, sometimes, the effect of psychological warfare is far stronger than battlefield warfare, and it can even be done without a single soldier. Beat the opponent."
Some ministers echoed: "My lord, what the prime minister said is that since ancient times, one should plan first and then attack. If the plan is successful, the enemy can be wiped out in an instant without using soldiers and horses."
The little emperor frowned and said, "Nowadays rumors are spreading all over the states, and people's hearts are unstable. This is the beginning of Yongzhou's attempt to seek the court... Does the prime minister mean that if we don't handle this matter properly, it is very likely that we will be defeated before we raise our troops?"
It is a big taboo to declare defeat before a battle, but at this time, the matter is of great importance, Lan Wuqing nodded and said: "What the Holy Majesty said is correct, King Mingyue has a reputation for benevolence and righteousness among the people, if the doubts in the hearts of the people cannot be eliminated , is very detrimental to the imperial court.”
Xue Poye finally said: "Prime Minister, do we have to deal with Yongzhou's tricks from the human scheme?"
Lan Wuqing said seriously: "If you don't know the rumors, your morale is low."
Xi Muquan, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, frowned and said, "Prime Minister, rumors are spreading all over the states. Could it be that we want to order the states to ban people's words? Huzhou has just caused a civil uprising. If we rashly use force on the people, even if we can control the behavior of the people and prohibit the people's words, But it can’t dispel the doubts in the hearts of the people. When the army is organized to deal with Yongzhou, the camps of the states will be empty, and if there is a rebel party to confuse the people at that time, there will probably be even bigger troubles.”
Then some ministers echoed: "Master Xi said that the Holy Majesty, the Prime Minister, and the frontline officers and soldiers should be killed in a bath. If there is a problem in the rear, it will be a big trouble."
Xue Poye pondered for a while, then suddenly raised his eyebrows and said: "Everyone, you have misunderstood the prime minister's intentions."
The loyal minister was stunned, and Xue Poye said with a smile: "The prime minister's intention is absolutely not to control the people's words and deeds, just like Master Xi said, if you really do this, not only will you not be able to stabilize the people's hearts, but it will cause even greater troubles. .”
Lan Wuqing stroked her beard, looked at Xue Poye with a smile, and asked, "Master Xue, do you understand what I mean?"
Xue Poye smiled and said: "The prime minister's intention is that he wants to fight a psychological battle as a literati?"
Lan Wuqing laughed and said, "Sir Xue is really smart, yes, this is a battle without swords, so literati will fight with pens."
The little emperor asked anxiously: "Prime Minister, you are a literati, could it be that you are here to fight this battle?"
Lan Wuqing shook her head and said, "Your Majesty, this battle is a battle of literati, but not a battle of civil officials. People are bewitched by rumors and may not believe the words of civil officials, but prestigious literati everywhere are extremely respected and respected by the people. Believe me, if they come forward, state Yongzhou's ambitions, and spread the majesty of the imperial court, this will clear up the doubts of the people."
The courtiers immediately whispered to each other, talking a lot.
"Then... the prime minister will quickly pass on my will, so that the literati from all states will raise their pens and work together with the court to attack Yongzhou." The little emperor seemed relieved, and said seriously.
Lan Wuqing respectfully said: "Your Majesty, literati can fight this battle, but whether they are willing to fight, dare to fight, is a big question."
The little emperor frowned, and said coldly: "Born in the state of Chu, if they are not loyal to the state, are they still from the state of Chu?"
Lan Wuqing said slowly: "Your Majesty, I don't dare to fight, and I don't want him. It doesn't mean that they don't care about Chu." In this way, the hearts of literati are ultimately towards the imperial court.
"Since that's the case, why don't you dare? Why don't you want to?" the little emperor said lightly.
"The literati are knowledgeable, knowledgeable, and thoughtful, but they are timid. Now that King Mingyue has not rebelled openly, if they are to condemn Yongzhou, they will think that it is causing trouble for nothing and insulting their purity." Lan Wuqing said slowly. Slowly said: "So they won't get ahead easily, they will just wait and see what happens."
The little emperor said anxiously: "Then... In the opinion of the prime minister, what should we do?"
The little emperor knew very well that at this critical moment, he must rely on the opinions of these veterans.
These people have experienced countless ups and downs. They can always think of things that others can't think of, and they can always make the most careful arrangements. They have a lot of experience. At this time, although being smart is useful, what is more useful is to face difficulties. experience.
"Actually, whether the literati can stand out, in the final analysis, depends on the meaning of the three people." Lan Wuqing said with a solemn expression, "Each of the literati has its own leader, and the leader of the literati today is Jiangnan Chenyin. Hedong Li Shao and Xichuan Qiuying are three."
When Xue Poye heard "Chen Yin", he thought to himself: "It seems that the Prime Minister and I think exactly the same, and the father-in-law is needed to come forward. I don't know if the father-in-law replied to Suzhen. What does he mean?"
"The prestige of these three people among literati is needless to say. As long as the three of them show up and raise their arms, most of the literati will gather. It means that as long as they condemn Yongzhou, the court will win this war without weapons." Lan Wuqing stroked his beard and said: "And these three people have always been friends, even if they have different opinions in terms of knowledge, but face to face As for right and wrong, I think these three people can still reach a unity."
"Since this is the case, I will issue a decree to order the three of them to gather literati and discuss rebellion together!" The little emperor excitedly said.
Lan Wuqing sighed: "Your Majesty, these three people are all contemporary Confucian scholars who have great influence among the people, but their tempers are also unusual. Your Majesty may not know that with the knowledge and talents of these three people, it is easy to enter the court and become an official. But they have never entered the road of official career, they are only willing to do some learning, accept some disciples, and dare to complain for the people, this has achieved their prestige among the people, and it is precisely this that has developed their bad temper Well, even if the Holy Majesty makes an order, if they don't voluntarily, I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to come forward."
A general came out of the rank of generals, and said in a rough voice: "My lord, if they don't agree, I'm willing to tie them up and bring them to the capital."
Everyone saw that it was Song Fei, the former military commander of the Privy Council.
…
In the early days of the founding of the Great Chu, a good environment was created for literati. After all, generals are needed to conquer the world, but literati with a strategy are needed to rule the world.
But in the early days, after all, it was a large group of military generals who made contributions, so their attitude towards generals was relatively mild.
However, the emperors of the Chu Kingdom knew very well that it was a taboo for generals to be in charge of the army, and there was always a threat to the imperial power.
In a very orderly manner, with the stability of the government, Great Chu has planned to dismantle the huge military camp, so it is reorganized. From the group army model in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China to the state camp model, compared with the initial group army of 70,000 to 80,000 people, the camp army has been greatly reduced to about 20,000 people, and the power of generals is getting weaker and weaker. During this period, the dispatching power of the army was completely out of the hands of the military generals, whose duty was only to train the army. Even so, in order to guard against the increase in power of the generals due to long-term leadership, every two years, the military generals in the camps of the states There will be mutual adjustments between the generals, so the generals have to face new soldiers again, which prevents the rise of the power of the generals to the greatest extent, but at the same time makes the relationship between the generals and the soldiers extremely indifferent.
The real deployment power of the army has been controlled by the emperor through the Privy Council and the civil servants of the states. As far as the military strength of the states is concerned, there is no threat to the imperial power.
Even the three founding royal families who have just withdrawn from the stage of history, although they have secret connections with the three garrison armies, on the surface, they have no control, let alone other generals.
When Emperor Deqing came to the throne, except for the generals under the command of General Bianguan, almost all the generals in the prefectures in Dachu were in a state of inaction.
The generals don't have to worry about food and clothing. Although they live in wealth, they have absolutely no right to deploy troops.
Once soldiers are needed, the Privy Council and the Ministry of War will discuss the appropriate candidates for generals, and then the emperor will make a personal decision, bestow soldiers with talismans, and worship the generals.
As for the military generals in the court, they are even more useless. They are very depressed all day long and have no use for them.
This time there were signs of a rebellion in the Northwest. From the heart, the generals were a little excited.
Soldiers are supposed to fight on the battlefield, and the shroud of horse leather has no regrets. They hate spending their lives in a dull state, because although many people dream of peacetime, generals cannot show their value in peacetime .
What they need is gold and iron horses, and a bloody battlefield. Only in this way can they change the situation of being strong and weak for decades.
Although Song Fei was in the Privy Council and served as the former military commander of the Privy Council, but all along, it was just a name.
Apart from General Tianwei, the three highest military general positions in the Chu State are the former army guard, the middle army guard and the rear army guard in the Privy Council.
Although Song Fei had a very high position and stood at the front of the court, Chu State had always been safe and stable, and soldiers like them never had any say in the court.
Having endured for so many years, and finally had the opportunity to make a contribution, Seinfeld was very excited. Hearing that some literati didn't know how to praise him, he was so excited that he uttered wild words.
"No!" Lan Wuqing hurriedly said: "Master Song, that's absolutely impossible. If you really use force, the situation will be even worse, and you can't save it even if you want to."
The little emperor frowned: "Prime Minister, what should we do then? Could it be that the court still depends on their expressions?"
Lan Wuqing said: "Your Majesty, these people can only be persuaded, not forced. I think that you can send a few officials who are talented and eloquent to visit the three of them, lobbying for their interests, and persuading them. If they come forward, the Holy Majesty can also personally write three letters to comfort, so that the three of them should contribute to the court." Xiang Xue Poye smiled and said: "Master Xue, that Mr. Chen Yin is your father-in-law , Master Hou can also write books and go there, move them with emotion, understand them with reason, and it will definitely get twice the result with half the effort."
Xue Poye said: "To tell you the truth, half a month ago, I asked my wife to write a letter home."
Lan Wuqing showed appreciation in her eyes, and said: "It turns out that Master Xue has thought of this a long time ago." After a pause, he asked: "But I don't know if Mr. Chen Yin can reply?"
Xue Poye shook his head: "There is no reply yet. If necessary, I will write a letter to persuade my father-in-law later."
Lan Wuqing nodded and said, "That's very good."
The little emperor pondered for a while, and asked: "The prime minister said just now that he is going to gather troops in Taizhou, but he doesn't know who will lead them?"
Although the little emperor asked lightly, everyone knew the weight of the question, and the courtiers immediately started whispering again.
This rebellion against Yongzhou seems to be an enemy of one country, but everyone knows that under the atmosphere of Great Chu that emphasizes culture over military, the combat effectiveness of soldiers is really weak. The most combat-effective Beizhen Army is now stationed on the frontier to prevent Beihu, that can't even move.
Yongzhou's 100,000 iron cavalry has always maintained extremely strong training, and they live in Yongzhou in the northwest. The combat power is definitely not weaker than the two or three hundred thousand troops of the imperial court.
Moreover, Yongzhou raised troops quickly, led by brave generals, and their morale was high. In addition, there are many Gobi lands in the northwest, the weather is harsh, and the wind and sand are full. Environmental and climatic conditions are great challenges for soldiers from other states in Dachu.
To deal with such an army, not any general can lead troops to deal with it.
Not only does it require rich experience, fearless determination, tenacious will, and inspiring fighting spirit, it also requires the ability to march and deploy, the courage to make a decisive decision, and most importantly, the charm to boost morale and the ability to coordinate soldiers.
After all, it is necessary to gather large soldiers from all states to form a counter-insurgency army. The army is composed of officers and soldiers from all over the country. Everyone has different accents, different living habits, and different personalities. If you want to twist this group of soldiers from all over the country into one, Forming a fist with powerful combat power is by no means an easy task.
In addition to these rigid conditions, for the court, there is one thing that must be taken into consideration.
That is loyalty.
For a long time, the national political strategy of the Great Chu has neglected the generals, and the generals must have some resentment in their hearts that they dare not hang on the surface, but the political strategy of Yongzhou is just the opposite. There, military people are extremely respected, so will the military generals Defeating is definitely a problem that must be taken into consideration.
Once a war starts, it is absolutely impossible for the two sides to decide the outcome only between swordsmen. Psychologically, the generals of both sides will also have to go through a harsh battle.
Since ancient times, due to local persuasion, there have been many generals who defected.
This war is a civil war. If it is against Beihu, the possibility of such a cold-blooded defection may be very low, but now the crusade is against the Mingyue King, who has a high reputation and an extremely important warrior. Who can guarantee that there will be no cold-blooded defection? Phenomenon
Song Fei glanced at the courtiers, and finally came out and knelt down: "My lord, I am willing to lead the army to go out, and I will live up to the expectations of my lord and the court, and pacify Yongzhou!"
There was a moment of silence in the court.
In all fairness, if anyone in the court is said to be the most suitable to lead the army, it must be Seinfeld.
Song Fei is over fifty years old, has a violent temper, and is also a veteran on the battlefield. General Tianwei guards the north, and if there is any rebellion in the country, it is Song Fei who leads the army. Every time the rebellion is easily put down, in terms of leadership ability, There are really few people in the court who can compare with him.
Of course, his own martial arts are not low, and he is also proficient in marching formations. In the hearts of generals, his prestige is still quite high.
The little emperor said "Oh". Although Seinfeld asked for a fight, the little emperor understood that he could not easily make a decision on such a major matter. He looked at Lan Wuqing and looked at him with a questioning expression.
Lan Wuqing glanced at Song Fei, and said slowly: "My lord, Mr. Song has incomparable experience in the battlefield, and he is very proficient in marching and forming an army. If he leads the army, it will be an excellent choice...!" Song Song Hearing this, Fei's brows revealed a look of pride, but Lan Wuqing's words suddenly changed: "However, I think that Lord Xue Hou is the best candidate for this time to put down the chaos!"
As soon as the words fell, the court was in an uproar, and even the little emperor and Xue Poye were startled.
It goes without saying that Xue Poye is flourishing in the imperial court now, but marching and fighting is not a child's play. Whether or not Master Xue has the ability to command hundreds of thousands of troops, his experience in the battlefield alone makes him pale. .
Everyone knows that this Marquis Xue has never been on a battlefield. Sending Marquis Xue to lead the army to fight, this...isn't this just child's play
It's just that when everyone saw Lan Wuqing's solemn expression, it wasn't a joke, they were all very puzzled, and didn't know that the prime minister was buying medicine from the gourd.
The little emperor was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Prime Minister, you are...you mean to let... Lord Xue lead the army?" Judging from the look and tone of the little emperor, it was obvious that he did not believe that his master was qualified for the post of commander.
Xue Poye was also a little embarrassed, and said awkwardly: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I...I'm afraid I won't be able to take on such an important task!"
Lan Wuqing said seriously: "The subject thinks that Lord Hou is not only suitable for this job, but also must take it up!"
Xue Poye frowned, and suddenly saw Lan Wuqing cast a fleeting wink at him, and immediately understood that there must be a reason for Lan Wuqing to do this, so he could only say: "I am loyal to the Great Chu, and I will be promoted, my lord." But if you have an order, you must obey the imperial order carefully!"
At this moment, Sein Fei said loudly: "Your Majesty, I... I am not convinced!"
All eyes were on Seinfeld.
Seinfeld looked a little angry, a pair of thick eyebrows were tightly frowned, and his expression was dissatisfied.
The little emperor frowned. Sein Fei seemed to have a violent personality, and he looked like a guy who could easily offend others. He asked lightly, "Song Aiqing, why don't you accept it?"
Song Fei said loudly: "I implore the sage to allow me to ask Master Xue Hou three times!"
The little emperor frowned, Xue Poye already smiled and said: "Master Song, if you have any questions, please face them directly in front of the officials, but it's okay to ask, if I can answer, I will answer you."
"Okay!" Song Fei asked: "Excuse me, Master Xue, have you led troops to fight in the battlefield before?"
Is not this nonsensical
"I have never led an army on the battlefield!" Xue Poye said with a smile.
"Can you understand the way of marching?"
"It's just fur!" Xue Poye kept smiling: "It's almost like I don't understand."
"Have you ever been to the Northwest to understand the climate, geography, customs and customs of the Northwest?"
"Never been there!"
Song Fei said sternly: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister, fellow colleagues, Master Xue is both wise and brave, but this Northern Expedition, it was a war, not a child's play house game... I think that Master Xue is not suitable for this task." !"
After three questions, most of the courtiers agreed with Sein Fei's point of view, and many of them couldn't help but nod their heads.