Chapter 3628 Winning allies
Cheng Yaojin was horrified. He quickly sat upright and said solemnly: "You said there will be a rebellion in the army?"
There have been a lot of rumors in the army recently, and the morale of the army is unstable. He, the general in charge of the army, naturally knows this. Not only the rest of the troops, but also the rumors among the Zuowuwei under his command are also rampant. However, in his opinion, now that the army is approaching Guanzhong and Chang'an is in constant fighting, there is no way to intercept these messages. It is inevitable that the soldiers in the army will be affected by this and speculate.
But even so, why did a rebellion happen?
Li Ji knocked on the table, frowned and said displeasedly: "Stop messing around, I just ask you, if there is a rebellion in the army, what will you choose?"
Cheng Yaojin was silent for a while and said in a deep voice: "I am only loyal to your majesty. Now your majesty... then, I will be loyal to the prince."
He has always been regarded as one of the more "sideline" factions in the court. He is loyal to the emperor but does not participate in government affairs, let alone be attached to any force. He remains neutral and has a firm stance. Even if he agreed to let his son enter the East Palace, it was because the Crown Prince of the East Palace was a person of great honor and righteousness. If he was not deposed by His Majesty for one day, it would represent the uprightness of the empire.
He will never surrender to any party out of greed for profit, but if anyone comes to rob him of his interests because of his strong power, that is absolutely not allowed.
He has no further ambitions. It is enough for him to be a detached minister of Zhenguan. I will not ask for more benefits, nor will I go into the muddy waters of power struggle. Of course, the premise is that none of you mess with me...
Li Ji nodded and said slowly: "With hundreds of thousands of troops gathered in one place, all kinds of unpredictable situations are inevitable. Once a mutiny or even rebellion occurs, the entire army will inevitably collapse, which will lead to the rebellion raging in nearby state capitals, and even It will affect the situation in Chang'an. The army cannot be in chaos. This is the bottom line."
Cheng Yaojin pondered for a while and felt that Li Ji would not dig a hole for him, so he nodded in agreement.
They have all come from the troubled times of the late Sui Dynasty, and have seen too many disasters brought by the army to the people. As the saying goes, "bandits are like combs, and soldiers are like grates." In many cases, the harm of the army is greater than that of bandits. After all, A well-organized army, the strength is really that there are too many bandits of the same number in a powerful country.
The rebel army stormed the state capital, hijacked the people, and robbed money and food. This was a sign of the end...
Cheng Yaojin did not have the ambition to "take the common people of the world as his own responsibility", but he absolutely did not want to see the beautiful mountains and rivers conquered by the bloody battles of the monarchs and ministers destroyed by the flames of war.
He is not a politician, but at least he still has some persistence.
Li Ji added: "If there is a rebellion in the real army..."
Cheng Yaojin was categorical: "If someone launches a rebellion, you will definitely take credit for your actions and act accordingly. You will never be confused."
Li Ji shook his head and said: "We can't sit back and watch the rebellion start before imposing sanctions. We must take a preemptive strike and kill this rebellion before it becomes a thing. Otherwise, there will be endless troubles. But I am not in a position to do it, and I still need your help. , shocking the whole army.”
It is true that those who strike first and those who strike last control others, but when Cheng Yaojin nodded happily and agreed, he suddenly frowned.
I seem to have been entangled by this white-faced traitor...
If a rebellion breaks out, it will be obvious who is right and who is wrong, who is loyal and who is traitorous, and it is easy to kill them with a knife. But the so-called "precaution in the bud" has not yet been launched, so how can one know who the traitor is?
You can't just tell Li Ji who is who, right?
But I have already agreed, but I can’t regret it...
He knitted his eyebrows, stared at Li Ji, and said in a low voice: "Are you trying to trick me?"
Li Ji looked serious and displeased: "Since when did I have the leisure to talk nonsense with you? The morale of the army is not stable right now, and the slightest carelessness will lead to overthrow. You must not be negligent, otherwise it will lead to disaster. Big mistake, too late to regret! ”
Seeing Li Ji's attitude, Cheng Yaojin was heartbroken and asked hurriedly: "Then you should tell us, what are the hidden agendas in your mind when you are procrastinating upstairs?"
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This is something that no one in the army can understand. With Li Ji's ability and wisdom, he should never delay his trip and delay his return like this. He dragged his troops away for nearly three months from the day they withdrew from Liaodong. Until spring is about to begin, we are still hundreds of miles away from Guanzhong... What kind of conspiracy is there?
Cheng Yaojin was driven crazy by this incident.
Li Ji was silent for a moment, then reached out to pick up the teacup, took a sip, and said slowly: "Everything I do is in compliance with His Majesty's will. As for the details, I can't tell you at the moment. But there is one thing I can tell you. In any case, I have never thought about seeking benefits for myself or for a certain party. From the beginning to the end, I am only loyal to Your Majesty.”
Cheng Yaojin was silent.
Based on his understanding of Li Ji, he could feel that these words were spoken from the bottom of his heart, but the more so, the more suspicious he became. His Majesty has passed away. Could it be that His Majesty had foreseen that there would be a rebellion in Chang'an after his death, so he had something to say to Li Ji?
This is a bit too incredible.
Your Majesty is indeed wise, powerful, talented and strategic, and can be called a rare holy king in the past. But if you say you can predict the future, Cheng Yaojin doesn't believe it...
But seeing Li Ji being so tight-lipped, he had no choice but to give up: "Whatever you do, just arrange it, and everything will follow your orders."
Li Ji sighed and said, "Why would I want to do this? However, this matter is inevitable. The rebellion is irreversible. If we can eliminate the traitors and traitors in the army in one fell swoop, no matter how big the sacrifice, it will be worth it."
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Cheng Yaojin naturally understood what it would mean if a rebellion broke out in the army. He frowned and said: "If you plan to strike first, then make a plan and implement it quickly without too much delay. The closer you are to Guanzhong, the more likely it will be caused by the rebellion." The harm will be greater, and long-term pain is worse than short-term pain.”
Li Ji glared at him and said: "How can this be done? There are no traces of rebellion and no evidence of crime. That is to punish without teaching. Those who don't want to rebel will be forced to rebel. But there is no need to worry, you just need to Just make preparations in secret, at most it’s just before arriving in Luoyang.”
Now those people have already secretly planned it, and they may not have made up their minds for a while, but as long as they put a little pressure on themselves, they will definitely be alerted and they will take action immediately.
Cheng Yaojin saw that he had nothing else to do, so he stood up and left. But when he reached the door, he stopped again, looked back and asked: "Of the generals in the army... who can be trusted?"
Naturally, he would not think that Li Ji only regarded him as a "just person", but he needed to know who specifically, in addition to cooperating with each other, he could also take targeted preventive measures to avoid things getting worse. Something went wrong.
Unexpectedly, Li Ji shook his head and said calmly: "Except for you, I can't believe anyone in this army."
"Ha!"
Cheng Yaojin looked up to the sky and laughed, teasingly: "Do I want to thank you, the British father, for your trust, or do I want to mock you for being alone and the enemy of the whole world?"
Li Ji said leisurely: "Soldiers are more valuable than more elites. As long as my Zuo Houwei and your Zuowu Wei remain firm, we will definitely be able to frighten the entire army and stabilize the world! The rest of them are all contemptuous of juniors. If we work hard to win them over, , but leak the secret, so even if they are willing to come over, I will use it with caution."
The Sixteen Guards commanded the elite of the Tang Dynasty army, but not all of them had strong soldiers and strong combat power. In terms of pure combat power, the left and right military guards and the left and right marquis guards had always been the first level. With the sudden rise of new armies, their combat power soared. Of the Youtun Guards, the rest were more than a step behind.
Of course, the current army of hundreds of thousands cannot all be elite. Apart from the baggage, civilians, and troops under the jurisdiction of Zhechong Prefecture in various places, the real elite is only 200,000. The Zuo Houwei directly under Li Jing plus the Zuo Houwei under Cheng Yaojin. The military guards numbered one hundred thousand.
So as long as these two armies are not in chaos, the rest will not be able to make too big a splash, and this is where Li Ji's confidence lies...
*****
The army set off, still slowly and leisurely. Scouts from all walks of life came out in all directions as if they were still on the front line. Hundreds of thousands of troops looked at each other head to tail, in neat formations. Countless vehicles carrying food, fodder, ordnance slowly moved forward with the army, heading towards Mengjin in the wind and snow. Starting from the ferry, we crossed the Yellow River to Luoyang, then headed east across Hangu Pass to Tongguan, crossed Tongguan and arrived in Guanzhong.
At noon, we arrived at Mengjin Ferry.
The so-called "Mengjin Ferry" is not a ferry, but the general name of a series of ferry crossings located on the south bank of the Yellow River within this area. When King Wu defeated Zhou, the place where eight hundred princes gathered was here. Since the Western Han Dynasty, the policy of "controlling the river with passes and guarding the passes with rivers" has been pursued. Passes were set up on both sides of the Yellow River to garrison troops.
The army arrived at the north bank of the Yellow River. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the bank. Flags were like clouds and soldiers were like sand. It was vast as far as the eye could see.
The strategy of crossing the river was planned as early as halfway. Otherwise, if we arrived at the river and discussed the order of the troops crossing the river, I am afraid it would be delayed for another ten days and a half...
It's just that hundreds of thousands of hedgehogs gathered in one place. Although a plan for crossing the river was made in advance, when things came to pass, there were still some oversights, leading to mutual crowding, collisions, and conflicts. I wish the candidates and book friends that they will do well in all exams, get all the answers correctly, be on the gold list, and be at the pinnacle of life! ! !
(End of chapter)