Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 133: I can’t lead my father’s team. I simply can’t lead them.

When Chu Shizhao heard that the imperial court advocated defending Chang'an to the death instead of moving south, he fell asleep with relief.

The main reason why Chang'an could not be defended in the previous simulation was that the Huns chose the time when Emperor Yongjin died. The government and the country were unstable. After the defeat on the front line, as long as one large clan chose to migrate south and evacuate, it would cause large groups of large clans to follow suit.

Now that Emperor Yongjin is still alive, the government has a backbone, and everyone is united. Chu Shizhao does not think that this battle to defend Chang'an will be difficult.

However, when Chu Shizhao woke up, he found that the sky was about to fall.

After consultation among the ministers in the court and the country, they all recommended Wu Zhen, the old general from the Zhengguang Emperor's period, to be in charge of the affairs of defending Chang'an and hold military power.

Judging from his resume alone, Wu Zhen is very famous. He is not only a famous general during the reign of Emperor Zhengguang, but seriously speaking, Wu Zhen is a veteran of five dynasties.

The person he previously served was Emperor Taizhang, the father of Emperor Zhengguang and Emperor Yongjin.

Chu Shizhao's grandfather was given the temple name Wuzong. This temple name is actually very mysterious. Normally, it should be a positive temple name.

"To be strong and powerful against the enemy's virtue is called martial arts", "To conquer disasters and chaos is called martial arts", "To punish the people and overcome them is called martial arts".

These are all commendatory meanings.

But as time goes by, these temple names become more and more ironic.

For example, Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Qizhen, was not wise.

Zhu Houzhao, the Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, was supposed to have a positive side in terms of military governance, but his temple name was more of a satire on the fact that Zhu Houzhao had no significant achievements in civil governance and only had military power, so he was called Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty.

Chu Shizhao's grandfather, whose temple name was Wuzong, was also not outstanding in civil administration, and his reign was very short, only six years. Later, Chu Shizhao's uncle, Emperor Zhengguang, also had a short reign, only four years.

Chu Shizhao's father, Emperor Yongjin, reigned longer than his brother and father.

The power of the Jiedushi could not be curbed and became increasingly inflated. This was a problem that emerged during the reign of Emperor Taizhang. During the four years of Emperor Zhengguang's reign, he targeted the Jiedushi throughout, which led to a breakdown in relations between the central and local governments and the phenomenon of emphasizing culture over military power.

Wu Zhen rose to prominence during the reign of Emperor Taizhang. He was a capable general of the emperor and fought many foreign wars with him.

During that period, the Huns did not dare to invade the Great Zhou Dynasty easily. The two sides fought back and forth on the border, and the overall situation was balanced. Emperor Taizhang even won a great victory in a counter-encirclement. When the Huns were alone and deep in the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he wiped out a Huns army of over 10,000 troops in the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The First World War brought about decades of peace.

The border troubles of the Great Zhou Dynasty became serious again. According to the time calculation, it started in the 23rd year of Yongjin.

According to the information from the simulation, someone had set a bad precedent, making the Huns realize that the Great Zhou Dynasty was a weak organization with a strong exterior.

The twenty-third year of the Yongjin reign happened to be the time when Lu En's eldest son, Lu Yi, was serving as the governor of Datong Prefecture.

He was attacked by the Huns and was worried that he would not be able to defend Datong, and would commit a serious crime and be held responsible. So he bribed the Huns heavily and asked them to move their attack to other places, which led to the fall of Daning Prefecture.

From then on, the Huns tasted the sweetness of attacking Daning Prefecture. For ten consecutive years, whenever the Huns were short of food or money, they would take the initiative to attack the border and harass the border of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

But this large-scale attack directly hit Chang'an, which was very rare.

Now, the biggest problem is this old General Wu Zhen. If you just look at his resume, his record is impeccable.

However, in the simulation, Chu Shizhao regarded it as one of the three major pitfalls.

Because in one simulation, the Zhou Dynasty was besieged by the Huns, but General Wu Zhenwu failed to correctly perceive the change in the situation. He thought that the Huns were not a concern and advocated a counterattack. He led the Three Prefectures Army, which seemed elite but was actually vulnerable, to launch a counterattack, using offense as defense.

They did not expect that the Huns were now strong and well-armed, nor did they expect that the army of the Zhou Dynasty had almost lost its combat capability after more than 20 years.

All the government troops that could have been used to defend the city were wiped out in one wave, which accelerated the defeat of the war and indirectly led to the fall of Chang'an.

It's a war criminal-level performance.

This time, the court once again entrusted him with an important task and brought Wu Zhen up. Chu Shizhao felt a little dizzy on the spot.

Moreover, with Chu Shizhao's qualifications, can he directly inform the ministers and his father that Wu Zhen is behind the times and cannot take on the important task?
If he dares to speak, he will be criticized.

At this point, Chu Shizhao had to say that if he sat back and watched Wu Zhen follow the simulation, the casualties in the Great Zhou Dynasty would not only be the government troops, but the people in the city would also be implicated.

Chu Shizhao had previously thought that this game was a sure win. Although the big families each had their own selfish motives, they were willing to bleed heavily this time in order to protect their own interests. Even if it was for the sake of interests, it was also harmony among people. But he did not expect that the person in charge of military affairs would be Wu Zhen.

Moreover, in the absence of simulation and deduction, there is nothing wrong with letting Wu Zhen take on this important task.

He had fought with the previous emperor and had fought against the Huns, so he was qualified both in terms of combat experience and reputation.

But no one could have imagined that such a stable candidate in everyone's eyes would eventually be hung up and beaten by the Huns, the kind of beating that was done by a spinning top.

Chu Shizhao didn't dare to just stand by and watch.

If we watch the show again, Chang'an really can't be defended.

When he first read history, Chu Shizhao often complained about how the emperor always used the wrong people, not using the people who should be used, and using the people who should not be used.

The moment he truly became a historical figure, Chu Shizhao discovered that any person was a famous general or a wise minister before he got into trouble.

If Wu Zhen had not fought this disgraceful battle, he would have been a famous figure of the Great Zhou who escaped unscathed.

Fortunately, Chu Shizhao now lives in the palace, in the Wude Hall, otherwise, Chu Shizhao would have no chance to see his father.

As soon as the morning light appeared, Chu Shizhao immediately asked to see his father.

In the Taiji Palace, Emperor Yongjin, who was already troubled by the Huns' siege of Chang'an, heard about Chu Shizhao's request for a meeting and invited him into the palace to discuss matters together.

In the entire temple.

In addition to Emperor Yongjin, there were many ministers gathered around Chu Shizhao that he had seen in the simulation.

Almost all the famous people in the Yongjin Dynasty were in the Taiji Palace. The ones that Chu Shizhao remembered most vividly were Du Zhiyun and Wei Yan.

The former is the head of the Jingzhao Du family, and the latter is the face of the Wei family.

"Your son greets His Majesty." Seeing the presence of foreign officials, Chu Shizhao did not dare to show too much intimacy and immediately paid his respects.

Emperor Yongjin was worried about the difficulties of handling affairs, but when he saw Chu Shizhao, his frown relaxed instead.

After all, Chu Shizhao will shine in military and political affairs in the future and is quite talented. Some of the response plans mentioned by Chu Shizhao before also coincide with those of the ministers. Therefore, Emperor Yongjin believes that even though Chu Shizhao is a little immature now, he may be able to come up with some good ideas that can bring him some unexpected surprises.

When the others saw the Fourth Prince Chu Shizhao coming, they all bowed and gave the crown prince enough face in front of Emperor Yongjin.

"Fourth Brother, you are here." Emperor Yongjin looked at Chu Shizhao, "Now the Xiongnu are so arrogant, do you have any good plan for garrisoning Chang'an?"

After hearing these words, the expressions of Du Zhiyun and Wei Yan changed at the same time.

Especially in Wei Yan's opinion, the fourth prince Chu Shizhao is too young. How can a child be allowed to participate in the discussion of state affairs?

"General Wu's intention is to take advantage of the fact that the Xiongnu have not yet established their front line." Emperor Yongjin pondered for a moment and said, "We should go out of the city to fight them first and dampen their spirit. If we win, we may be able to immediately dissuade the Xiongnu from their offensive."

Emperor Yongjin was moved by Wu Zhen's opinion.

As an emperor, passive defense is naturally unpopular. Everyone prefers to take the initiative, especially someone like the emperor who is naturally in an advantageous position.

Such an infuriating situation where one can only defend but not attack is really hard to tolerate, and there are many wars that can serve as examples.

In situations like this where the defenders have fewer people and the attackers have more, there are many examples where the defenders get unexpected surprises when they take the initiative to attack.

Wasn't it because Chu Shizhao defeated Wang Shouyi's army of 100,000 by switching from offense to defense that he was able to win?

It was Chu Shizhao's example that made Emperor Yongjin believe that Wu Zhen's idea could be a variable for victory. Chu Shizhao could never have imagined that Emperor Yongjin was inclined to Wu Zhen's proposal because of his radical decision in the Battle of Poyang.

This is completely a forced application.

Chu Shizhao had no choice but to take the initiative to attack. Besides, Poyang was not Chang'an and it was not easy to defend.

Chang'an is different from Poyang. It is the capital of the Zhou Dynasty. It can be defended. Besides, the risk of taking the initiative to attack is the same as that of Poyang, right?
If Chang'an took the initiative to attack and lost, the country would basically be destroyed.

Poyang took the initiative to attack. If it lost, there would still be a tiny room for maneuver. If it won, it would make a huge profit. This is a no-cost business.

Even if Chang'an took the initiative to attack and won, the ultimate impact would not be to persuade the Huns to retreat, and it would be impossible to completely wipe out such a highly mobile army as the Huns.

If you think about it carefully, this is all pure nonsense.

"I think you shouldn't act on your own initiative and attack blindly." Chu Shizhao shook his head and said, "Chang'an is the most important city in the entire Great Zhou. Father, have you ever thought about what will happen to Chang'an if you take the initiative to attack and cause serious casualties to the defenders?"

"In terms of gains and losses, we are defending and waiting for the arrival of the royal troops to persuade the Huns to retreat."

"We attack, aren't we also trying to force the Huns to retreat?"

"But if we take the initiative to attack, there will be a risk of being eaten by the Huns. Once the Chang'an garrison is empty, who can say for sure whether the Huns will directly capture Chang'an?"

"On the contrary, if we hold on to Chang'an and do not take the initiative to attack, the Xiongnu will not be able to guarantee their own food and grass. When the troops coming to support the king are powerful, they will retreat."

"Therefore, advocating an offensive approach is not advisable."

When he said this, some people were immediately dissatisfied.

"King Jin means that General Wu is not as good at fighting as you are?"

The person who spoke was Wang Huai.

In fact, whether to take the initiative to attack or to defend Chang'an is a choice. Many people think that Wu Zhen can be given a try, while many people think that there is no need to take the risk of fighting.

However, the subtle point is that if Chu Shizhao supports it, Wang Huai will definitely oppose it.

This is the factional struggle.

Wang Huai stepped out and recounted Wu Zhen's past achievements one by one as if they were his own treasures. What he said made it seem as if Chu Shizhao looked down on the old general Wu Zhen.

At such a small court meeting, other ministers who were discussing the matter also nodded one after another.

Words can deceive, but records cannot.

Wu Zhen had outstanding military achievements and rich experience, and these ministers knew nothing about war. How could they not respect the opinions of a general who had been immersed in military affairs for more than 30 years and had made a living by archery and horsemanship for most of his life?

Chu Shizhao was quite helpless.

This time, the treacherous minister has really jumped out.

He used to not understand why many things could not be implemented in a country. It was so difficult to get things done. When you said something, there were always different people opposing it. How could the emperor accept the opinions?

But what Wu Zhen was responsible for was not just the tens of thousands of soldiers from the three prefectures. He was also responsible for the lives and property of the people of Chang'an, and even the safety of the entire north.

The fall of Chang'an and the invasion of the Five Barbarians were both possible events.

At this time, Chu Shizhao had no choice but to fight to the death.

"General Wu Zhen has made outstanding military achievements, and I do not refute that. However, the safety of Chang'an concerns the people of the world. Acting rashly and attacking blindly will only cause greater unrest. If General Wu fails to win the initiative, and the elite troops of the three prefectures die outside the city, then Chang'an will be empty of troops and become an isolated city. How can we delay until the reinforcements come to the king?"

"Even if we really want to take the initiative to attack, we should delay for seven days and wait until the troops are on their way to attack the camp. Even if we fail, the Great Zhou Dynasty will have a way out."

Wang Huai narrowed his eyes and said, "But if we delay for seven days, won't this delay the opportunity to fight? The Huns have just arrived and they haven't gained a firm foothold yet. How could they have thought of killing them like this?"

"Is there no such thing as winning by surprise in the art of war?"

"I still believe in General Wu's judgment. We can go out of the city and give it a try."

Originally, the Donggong Party lacked a platform that could show its authority in the army. Chu Shizhao's few words might not offend Wu Zhen, but they would definitely make Wu Zhen unhappy.

Wang Huai said this not only to attack Chu Shizhao, but also to win over Wu Zhen.

Chu Shizhao could not help but said, "Even if we really have to fight, the court should have kept some men to prepare for the final defense. General Wu raised his hand and asked Chang'an to send tens of thousands of troops to attack together. If we lose the battle, won't the Great Zhou Dynasty perish here?"

"If you are going to take action, you should do it with all your strength. If you leave some room, it just happens that there is a lack of troops, which leads to the defeat of the war on the front line. Can you bear this crime, Fourth Prince?" Wang Huai said without hesitation.

Chu Shizhao finally realized that as long as someone wants to oppose you, he has ten thousand reasons to oppose you.

What you say is not important; what matters is how you oppose me.

"The lives of the people in this city depend on what you and I say." Chu Shizhao could no longer bear his anger. "I am willing to go through fire and water for my father and be the first to do so."

"Minister Wang, are you willing to go with me?"

Since you advocate going out of the city to fight the Huns.

it is good!
Then attack! Attack me hard!
Wang Huai was immediately dumbfounded, because he was thinking that when the time came, it would be Wu Zhen who would take the initiative to attack and go out of the city to meet the attack.

If he wins, it means that what Wang Huai supports is right and the ideas he advocates are correct. If he loses, it is because Wu Zhen is incompetent and did not fight well.

But you, King Jin, directly dragged him to the front line. This is completely an unconventional move and does not follow the rules.

All of a sudden, Wang Huai fell silent.

"What's wrong? Why don't you dare to speak?" Chu Shizhao said coldly: "Didn't you say that going out of the city to meet the enemy was a good idea? I asked you to go out of the city to meet the enemy, why don't you dare to do it, Lord Wang?"

Wang Huai was really speechless at this moment. He just wanted to object, but he didn't really want to risk his life. The battle on the front line was brutal and even the commander-in-chief could be killed by stray arrows. Who would go into the battle personally for no reason?

But Chu Shizhao was really angry, and he was not joking when he said this.

You want to fight, right? Then let’s go to the front line together. Chu Shizhao took revenge on the spot by shooting an arrow and killing Wang Huai directly.

Anyway, the simulation has already verified that you are disloyal to the Great Zhou Dynasty and will definitely rebel in the future.

This big man's deer can kill a general named Li, so why is it abnormal that my Great Zhou's arrow hits the head of a minister named Wang?
Just at this time.

A eunuch shouted, "Your Majesty, General Wu carried a coffin and placed it on the top of the city wall."

"He is just outside the palace and wants to see you."

"He also told me that since ancient times, scholars died for their advice and warriors died for their battles. Since I have been paid by the Zhou, I should repay them with my life. In this life-and-death situation, he vowed to live and die with Chang'an."

Chu Shizhao’s eyes went dark.

I can’t lead my father’s team. I simply can’t lead them.

What on earth did my father experience during the more than 30 years he was in power?

I'm trying my best to persuade my father to be calm, and you just do this. Isn't that roasting my father on the fire?!
I feel that it has the same effect as one fan against ten haters!

It's so fucking hard for me to lead this team.

(End of this chapter)