Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4324 Where Does Confidence Come From?

Li Jing's face was cold and his tone was sonorous: "When the military order arrives, even if you go through fire and water, you must not hesitate. As a soldier, everything is for the victory of the war, so even if you die nine times, you will have no regrets! If everyone is like you, after defeat Prevarication, who else is willing to fight for the front and defend the territory? Liu Yanjing was defeated and absconded, causing the war situation to be corrupted. I don’t know how many soldiers died because of him, so the death penalty is inevitable! If you really think that the status of a "Yuan Cong hero" can make you It is above the military law, why not go to present the mausoleum to kill yourself in front of Emperor Gaozu now, and sue me as commander in Jiuquan!"

"Li Yaoshi, you deceive people too much! My son's life cannot be in vain, and he will not let it go!"

Filled with grief, Liu Dewei jumped up against the case and left in a huff.

Inside the tent, Li Jing watched Liu Dewei's back disappear at the door calmly, without any change in his face.

*****
In Liu Ji's mansion, in the flower hall, Zhang Xingcheng was present. The two sat kneeling on the clean floor. There was a carved lacquer table near the window, and a small red clay stove was burning with charcoal. Lift it up, pour boiling water into the teapot, and then hold the pot to pour tea.

The drizzle was dripping outside the window, and the fragrance of tea was lingering in the hall. It was very pleasant for the two of them to sit facing each other, sipping tea and chatting.

Zhang Xingcheng put down his teacup, sat the kettle on the small stove again, and said: "The defeat of Fengqiyuan this time caused Jin Wang's army to drive straight into Chang'an City, and the offensive and defensive battle of Chang'an can be fought at any time. Li Jing is considered a strategic mistake. "

For a long time, the reason why the ruling and opposition parties have not been very optimistic about King Jin is not because of the disparity in the strength of the two sides, but because of the huge difference in strategic and tactical strength.On the imperial court side, there are Li Jing and Li Ji, well-established and well-known marshals in the world, who have made great achievements in half-life battles, strategizing and invincible, and the younger generation also has up-and-coming stars like Fang Jun. A Yuchi Gong.

However, now, the myth of Li Jing's "Military God" has almost been broken, which will directly lead to the low morale of the imperial court. Under the ups and downs, the morale of the King of Jin will inevitably be boosted, and the combat power of both sides needs to be re-evaluated.

Liu Jie took a sip of tea and shook his head: "How can a mere defeat turn the tide of the situation? Besides, Liu Yanjing suffered a big defeat in this expedition. It seems that Li Jing's decision-making was wrong, but in fact the process was too rough and completely different from what he had done in the past. Be cautious, there may not be a deeper layout, and it cannot be superficial."

Can a person who can be recognized as the "Military God" commit such negligent mistakes in such a major battle?
For this point, Liu Ji is skeptical.

Zhang Xingcheng also held the same opinion here, and sighed: "It's really hard for outsiders to guess the reason. Whether it was intentional or unintentional, only Li Jing himself knows. But now almost all the troops belonging to various forces in the East Palace Six Commands were killed in battle. Feng Qiyuan is the truth, and even Li Jing accuses Liu Yanjing of all the crimes, he himself does not even have the infamy of "repelling dissidents"... His majesty's move is certainly brilliant, but it also shows that the "benevolence" he has always advertised is really a posturing, When he secures the throne, those forces that do not belong to his direct lineage may be purged one by one."

Liu Jie drank his tea with his head down, but didn't agree.

From Zhang Xingcheng's standpoint, it is natural to spare no effort to promote the opposite of Li Chengqian, so that all forces are jealous and disgusted with Li Chengqian, so as to win more support for King Jin.As long as his remarks do not appear in public, even if Li Chengqian is very dissatisfied with him, he cannot be convicted for it.

Datang will never be convicted for words.

Liu Jie understood Zhang Xingcheng's meaning. From the beginning, Liu Jie stood by and watched, and later he intended to unite court and Chinese officials to resist the imperial power. Until now, he has been at odds with the military. It can be said that he has never been Li Chengqian's direct descendant.

If Li Chengqian can instruct Li Jing to use extremely dark means to repel dissidents in the army, then tomorrow it is possible to wipe out those civil and military ministers who belong to his direct line in the court...

"So, whether Li Jing intended it or not, the consequences of this defeat are extremely serious."

Liu Ji sighed, the seriousness is not only due to military passivity, but also because it will cause suspicion and fear in the hearts of all parties in Guanzhong, making the already vacillating position more inclined to King Jin.

The situation is not optimistic.

But if it is said that Li Jing made such a mistake, it is hard for Liu Ji to believe it. What if Li Jing did it on purpose, or even at the behest of His Majesty?
Zhang Xingcheng's eyes flickered: "No matter what the inside story is, Liu Zhongshu's situation is extremely worrying, and he should have made plans earlier."

If this defeat was an unintentional mistake made by Li Jing, then there must be no pre-remedial measures. The strategic error has led to the current situation being passive, and the King Jin army may storm Chang'an City at any time.

If Li Jing did it on purpose, then there is only one reason, that is to reject dissidents and completely eliminate the troops that do not belong to the emperor's direct line from the army, so as to prevent these troops from being overwhelmed and ruining major events in the future.

The impact of the latter is more serious, which shows the emperor's extreme distrust of all parties. Once the crisis of Jin King's mutiny is over, it is almost inevitable to gradually secure the throne and cleanse all parties one by one.

What's more, the defeat of the army this time was simply because the emperor, Li Jing and others deliberately caused anxiety in the hearts of all parties, so that they completely stood on the side of King Jin, so as to achieve the purpose of "leading the snake out of the hole" and eliminating them one by one...

In any case, from Liu Ji's standpoint, whether now or in the future, it is impossible to escape the liquidation blow of the emperor.

Zhang Xingcheng believed that it was not just Liu Ji, but the patriarchs of all forces in Guanzhong were worried and suspicious in the mansion, and their positions were more and more inclined to King Jin...

Liu Ji thinks what Zhang Xingcheng said has some truth, but he still doesn't understand: "Jin Wang's troops approaching the city of Chang'an is enough to trigger a fierce reaction from all parties in Guanzhong, and no one can predict how many people will stand on Jin Wang's side. Under such circumstances, shouldn't His Majesty try to unite all the forces that can be united, and first defeat King Jin's rebel army? If you "lead the snake out of the hole" and draw out those opposing forces who are not subject to His Majesty, wouldn't it be more and more powerful? King Jin's power, is he bound himself in a cocoon and bringing himself to perish?"

Unless the emperor has full confidence in putting down the rebellion of the King of Jin, he will still have the power to eliminate those hidden dangers that will sooner or later become constraints on the imperial power.

But where does such ample confidence come from?

Zhang Xingcheng leaned his upper body slightly forward, and said in a low voice: "The king of Jin has made complete preparations, and he will definitely win this battle. Liu Zhongshu has to make a balance early, so as not to miss the opportunity and be taken ahead by others. Time will pay off.”

The earlier the investment, the greater the risk, and the higher the return will naturally be. If you wait until the situation is completely clear, there will be no risk at that time, but who will accept your investment?

But Liu Ji naturally would not change his position so easily.

He looked at Zhang Xingcheng and asked, "What kind of preparation do you mean by 'complete preparation'? After all, the matter is of great importance, not only the life and death of me, but also the survival of the whole family and even the huge faction. I have to be careful." cautious."

It is not a secret that some of the troops stationed in various places in Guanzhong secretly communicated with the King of Jin to respond when the soldiers of the King of Jin approached the city of Chang'an to reveal the dawn of victory. unclear.

Moreover, according to various signs, there must be extremely important people who will respond to King Jin, so that King Jin and the forces attached to him can give it a go...

Who is this person, or these people?

If you don't tell me, how can I believe that you will be able to accomplish anything?

However, Zhang Xingcheng shook his head with a smile and said, "Only His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin can grasp such mysteries. How can I know? Liu Zhongshu doesn't need to talk to me. I can only say that as long as the army reaches Chang'an, the victory will be the King of Jin." stuff in the bag."

Liu Jie lowered his head to drink tea and remained silent.

Obviously, what Zhang Xingcheng said was not lying, he had no idea who the person King Jin was secretly contacting.

"Let me think about this matter for a while, and then reply."

If you don't tell me the truth, why should I put the treasure on you?
Zhang Xingcheng smiled bitterly and was helpless. He secretly contacted the ministers of the DPRK and China, but he didn't dare to expose it too much. He could only do it in this way of private lobbying, but he didn't even have the slightest autonomy when he was questioned, and he didn't dare to give any answer at all. Can you convince others?
King Jin is very jealous of their Shandong family...

At this time, a servant of the Liu family knocked on the door and came in. Liu Ji asked, "What's the matter?"

The servant glanced at Zhang Xingcheng, but hesitated to speak.

Liu Ji thought for a while, and said, "There's no need to hide it, it's okay to speak up."

Just a domestic servant, what he said must have nothing to do with privacy, so there is no need to guard against Zhang Xingcheng...

The servant then said: "The news just came that after Liu Yanjing was defeated, he fled back to the mansion alone, and wanted his father Liu Dewei to intercede. Liu Dewei rushed to the camp outside the Chunming Gate and had a private talk with Duke Wei. After this face, Liu Dewei left angrily, Liu Yanjing was shown to the public by the owl head, and the head was passed on to all the troops, so as to imitate others."

When Zhang Xingcheng heard this, he immediately cheered up and said, "Li Jing is confused, and he is self-defeating! Liu Dewei is a hero of 'Yuan Cong'. Heroes feel the same, the rabbit dies and the fox is sad! Liu Zhongshu, God help King Jin!"

However, Liu Jie said indifferently: "Liu Yanjing's command error led to the defeat of the army. Later, not only was he unable to fight and retreat from the enemy, he would be punished for his achievements. Instead, he fled in fear of death and abandoned more than ten thousand soldiers, leading to the annihilation of the entire army. This has seriously violated military discipline. There is more than a death penalty. How can Duke Wei execute military laws lightly because he cares about Liu Dewei's prestige and status? Liu Yanjing should be killed, and whoever feels disobedient because of this is really a traitor."

He thought deeper than Zhang Xingcheng - Li Jing is not a fool, how could he openly provoke all the "heroes of Yuan Cong" just because of the so-called defense of military discipline?
If he dared to do this, he must have had the confidence to prevent the situation from causing corruption.

In the final analysis, it still lies in confidence. Not only His Majesty is full of confidence, even Li Jing is also so confident...

But where does this enigmatic confidence come from?

Zhang Xingcheng looked stunned, why did Liu Ji relax a bit just now, but now he suddenly changed his tone when he heard the news that the situation in Guanzhong might be corrupted?
Liu Jie looked at Zhang Xingcheng and said: "Brother, please go back first, such a big incident happened, I want to enter the palace and wait for His Majesty's order."

Zhang Xingcheng had no choice but to leave depressed.

Liu Jie asked his servants to take a bath and change clothes, held up an umbrella, walked out of the mansion, and entered the palace in a carriage.

(End of this chapter)