Chapter 4056 Heart-to-heart talk between monarch and minister
Human nature is always full of contradictions. For example, I can give you some things, but you can't take them away. This is especially true for the emperor.
He willingly handed over the throne to King Jin, and the King of Jin made friends with his followers to exclude dissidents and seize the throne, which is absolutely not the same.
Therefore, His Majesty Li Er attaches great importance to the sudden impeachment trend against King Wei...
The first priority is to understand the thoughts of all the forces in North Korea and China.
Although Xiao Yu laughed angrily, His Majesty Li Er did not get angry. Instead, he stood up from behind the desk, walked to Xiao Yu, took his hand, and together they knelt in front of the mat by the window and sat on the mat. , ordered someone to make a pot of tea, and brought in a few dishes of refreshments. The monarch and his ministers sat across from each other and had a long talk.
Xiao Yu poured tea for His Majesty Li Er, who got straight to the point and asked directly: "What does Song Guogong think of Yi Chu? Once Yi Chu is released, which prince does Song Guogong think is qualified?"
Xiao Yu put down the teapot and paused.
There is a small trap in His Majesty's question. He first asked what he thought of Yi Chu, and then directly asked who do you think would be a suitable successor if the Crown Prince was deposed... Of course, at their level, such traps are not worth mentioning. , obviously His Majesty is not using this to test anything, it is completely the true expression of His Majesty’s intention - I want to store it easily, do you agree or disagree?
Xiao Yu quickly expressed his position: "The Yi Chu is a state matter, but it is also a family matter of His Majesty. His Majesty has been a wise man for thousands of years. Naturally, he has thought deeply about the ownership of the throne. The old minister dare not comment."
I have no objection, but I have reservations...
Then he said: "However, there is a lot of slander against the King of Wei among the government and the public at present. Some of it may be true or false, some may or may not be true, but it is better to defend the people than to defend Sichuan. Once public opinion arises, it is difficult to eliminate it. There should be more efforts in this regard. Attention.”
I have no objection, but Your Majesty, you have to consider public opinion, right? When public opinion is fierce in both the government and the public, and everyone is opposed to King Wei becoming the crown prince, you should still compromise...
His Majesty Li Er drooped his eyelids, sipped his tea and remained silent.
Xiao Yu kept saying that he was not against Yi Chu, and he did not explicitly say which prince he supported, but his tendency was already very obvious.
But he was not sure whether this wave of public opinion was instigated by Xiao Yu and specifically targeted at King Wei...
Putting down the tea cup, His Majesty Li Er sighed, rubbed his eyebrows, and said slightly tiredly: "Since returning from the Eastern Expedition, I have often felt tired. I don't know if it is a problem of injury or age, and I am quite lacking in energy. You are the founder of the country. Hero, two dynasties Lao, you must take charge of the government and help me share my worries. Now that the imperial court is in disarray, Guanlong is in decline, and powerful families from Shandong and Jiangnan are entering the court. How to deal with each other and balance the interests of all parties, you have to do a good job for me. Check.”
Xiao Yucheng was frightened: "Your Majesty is at his peak in the Spring and Autumn Period, and it is the time when you are creating great achievements. This Eastern Expedition was a great success, and Goguryeo was overthrown in one fell swoop. Your Majesty's heroic name will be recorded in the annals of history for future generations to revere and be famous for generations to come. Veteran Minister It's vulgar and can only be used to fill in the gaps. It will never be worthy of His Majesty's trust. "
When your boss tells you something like "taking on a heavy responsibility", although it is expressing trust, you should never agree with your chest, or even say something stupid like "Don't worry, leave everything to me." Instead, you should Respectfully express that you are willing to do your best and obey orders.
He has been in official circles all his life and has been in high and low officialdom for decades. How could he make such a mistake?
His Majesty Li Er shook his head and said dissatisfied: "There are only you and me, the monarch and my ministers here, why are you so cautious and trembling? You know how a certain person is, and you have always been impatient of such tricks of manipulating people's hearts. You always insist on being straightforward in everything, and you never care. What is the difference between king and minister?”
Xiao Yu nodded: "Your Majesty has an eternal mind and a mountain-like spirit, which is far superior to the ancient emperors."
This is not a compliment. When His Majesty Li Er went against the odds and conquered the world, apart from his great talent and great strategy, he was also an outstanding figure of his generation. It was also because of Zhenguan's ministers who abandoned their families and careers and followed him to the death. When it comes to being the emperor of the world and the supreme emperor of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, His Majesty Li Er was very kind to those old brothers in the past. Not only did he give generous rewards and promotions, but he also often had banquets and rejoiced together, regardless of the emperor's majesty, singing and dancing whenever he pleased. Fan is even more common.
Just this approachable style has made kings throughout the ages bow down to him.
The magnificence of the spirit is unique...
His Majesty Li Er said slowly: "What are the emperors who are far superior to the ancients? You ministers are just using it to coax me. If nothing else, who can compare with the achievements of Emperor Qin and Han Wu Zhenshuo through the ages? Even if I have been working hard and sleeping for twenty years , Be diligent in government affairs and dare not slack off at all. In the end, it will be difficult to compare. ”
In fact, as long as they can overthrow Goguryeo, bring thousands of miles of fertile land in the northeast into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and annihilate countless Hu tribes in the surrounding areas during the Zhenguan era, they can barely compete with those two emperors with great ambitions. After all, although the Han Dynasty attacked the Xiongnu from far away, it never occupied its territory. The four counties in Liaodong were only nominally subordinate to the Han Dynasty, but they were actually autonomous.
The Liaodong region that had never been truly conquered in history was captured in his hands. This was a great feat that the talented and strategic Emperor Yang of Sui could not complete in his lifetime, even at the cost of the collapse of the entire empire!
However, although Goguryeo was destroyed now, he missed a move and did not send his troops to level the city. The final blow was completed by the navy after he withdrew his troops...
Xiao Yu was silent.
As an imperial minister and at the center of power, he naturally knew that His Majesty Li Er wanted to create a grand hegemony unprecedented in history and achieve the reputation of "one emperor through the ages". However, the battle of Liaodong was not completed, so it was given to him. His Majesty Li Er gave a heavy blow.
After all, the credit for the fall of Goguryeo cannot be attributed to him as the emperor. Even if the navy had not violated military orders and attacked Pingrang City, this Eastern Expedition, which was carried out with the strength of the whole country, would have ended in failure...
Without such unparalleled military achievements, how easy would it be to become "one emperor through the ages" and surpass the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty?
His Majesty Li Er suddenly straightened his back and said excitedly: "But now, there is a shortcut to the south in front of us. As long as we keep walking and stick to it for twenty years, we can create an unprecedented prosperous age. The achievements of the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty will be achieved." It also pales in comparison!”
Xiao Yu hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, 'Haste makes waste', our Tang Dynasty has a good foundation. As long as we take it step by step, we will eventually achieve what we want. But soldiers are the way of life and death, the way of survival. Although the country is big, it is good to War will lead to death! We have just devoted all our strength to the eastward expedition. If we want to conquer foreign countries again, we should accumulate our national strength and plan for it slowly. We must not overestimate our achievements and underestimate the enemy."
Is there any other "shortcut to the south" that can surpass the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty? In his opinion, the only option is to continue to use troops externally. Goguryeo has been destroyed, Xue Yantuo has disappeared, Tuyuhun has been cut off from the roots, and the Turks have fled to the desert... The surrounding countries may seem to be tyrannical for a while, but in fact they are powerful from the outside, and they are destroyed and fled. The only thing left is Tubo, which is entrenched on the plateau.
But how could Tubo be comparable to the likes of Goguryeo and Xueyantuo?
Its people live in the snow-capped mountains of the plateau, and their lives are difficult and their temperament is tenacious. The population has surged in recent years, and there are no less than hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers in the country. Songtsen Gampo was a man of great talent and strategy, and Ludongtsen was a generation of outstanding people who made Tubo prosperous and strong, and its national power was strong.
Nowadays, the Gar family of Ludongzan is under suspicion of Songtsan Gampo. The ruler and ministers are alienated and the internal and external imbalances are imbalanced. We only need to support Ludongzan to occupy the land of Qinghai Lake and watch the domestic political struggle and internal strife continue. When the situation is depleted, it can be decided in one go to send out troops for conquest.
But if troops are sent out rashly at this time, the country's power will not decline, but it will encourage the country to abandon its past resentments and unite in the face of powerful enemies...
Although he was fighting for power and gain, he was still a minister of the Tang Dynasty first, and he could not sit back and watch His Majesty Li Er greedy for power and make mistakes.
This is the principle.
His Majesty Li Er was stunned for a moment, and then he understood the reason why Xiao Yu reacted so violently, and then explained with a smile: "Where did the Duke of Song think? Even if I am confused, I will not conquer Tubo within ten years. This Don’t worry.”
A mere Goguryeo made his army of millions exhausted and almost failed. The difficulty of conquering Tibet must be more than ten times higher. If there is no appropriate opportunity, how can we dare to launch troops rashly?
Even if he wanted to surpass Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han, he would never make fun of Guo Zuo...
Xiao Yu asked curiously: "Then what exactly is the 'Zhongnan shortcut' that His Majesty mentioned?"
After a pause, he said horrifiedly: "Is it possible that your Majesty wants to go on an expedition to conquer Dashi?"
Now that the Anxi Protectorate has firmly controlled the Western Region and has brought the Ili Valley under its jurisdiction, the army can go straight out of the Western Region and march to Suiye City, and then head west from Suiye City to attack Damascus along the path that the Japanese army used to invade. In theory, It is possible.
If you are more ambitious, you can even go south from Suiye City and bypass the plateau mountains to send troops to Tianzhu...
No matter Dashi or Tianzhu, if you choose one of them, your achievements will be enough to surpass the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty, which is unprecedented.
His Majesty Li Er looked speechless and said angrily: "Am I crazy? The Great Shi Country is far away in the horizon. Even if Tiger Tiger of the Tang Dynasty can conquer the city and overthrow his country, how many troops will be needed to occupy the distant and huge territory? ? I’m talking about the countries in the East and Southeast! ”
"Uh..."
Xiao Yu was also a little embarrassed and breathed a sigh of relief. He was still puzzled: "The countries in the East and South Ocean are all on the vast sea. They are generally small, sparsely populated and dotted around. It is difficult to carry out large-scale attacks. Moreover, now the navy spans the seven seas. , those small countries are all dormant under the threat of the navy, and they will destroy whoever they want. The most important thing is that the natives of those small countries have never been regarded by orthodoxy. They are all barbarians. What is the use of them? "< br>
Those small overseas countries have never threatened the Central Plains Dynasty in history. They are either vassals or barbarians. Who will take them seriously?
Even if such a small country could be conquered, what would be the use?
The achievements may not be great, but they have to be appeased by rewards of money and food, and even immigrants and officials are dispatched. The trouble far outweighs the benefits, so no emperor from ancient times to the present has bothered to take it...
The community is sealed and people are isolated at home, but they feel restless and confused. People are really strange animals...
(End of chapter)