Chapter 517 But Incompetent

Kong Ming stood up and looked carefully at the map behind him.

The slender fingers slowly moved up from the east of Luoyang, and finally pointed at Youzhou:

"The Liao cavalry's long drive points to the capital of the Song Dynasty, and it can arrive in the morning and in the evening."

"Without Youzhou, Song Zuo will be in trouble."

When talking about this matter, Zhang Fei and Ma Chao both became serious.

"We took Youzhou three ways and tried to achieve great things with cleverness, but we failed."

Zhang Fei also walked over, made two gestures on the map with his palms, and finally made a shallow stroke on the Taihang Mountains and said:

"Shanxi's soldiers are not something to be afraid of. Whether they win or lose, die or live, it will not harm the situation in Hebei."

"On the contrary, Hebei is a place where cavalry can move freely.

After a while, he lowered his head and thought for a while before continuing:

"Or, if we can garrison a large number of troops and form a fortified city, keep watch and help each other to make the Liao cavalry unstoppable, and spend two or three years building the camp step by step, then Youzhou can be conquered as far as Hebei."

"Or, if you spend all your wealth and wealth into the pass to seek good horses and cast fine cavalry, and use the cavalry on foot to coordinate with the fortified city as bait, and destroy the fine cavalry of Liao, then the offensive and defensive momentum will be different."

Zhang Fei's words did not surprise Kong Ming, who smiled and waved his feather fan and nodded to show his approval.

Liu Bei was particularly gratified. He watched his third brother conquer Hanzhong from Pang Tong and pacify Yongliang. A few months ago, he suppressed the rebellion alone.

In the past, when he was impatient in military affairs, he could say that "it took two or three years of hard work to build a camp step by step." It can be seen that at this time, the third brother is increasingly far away from the drunken Zhang Fei who was said by later generations to be a whipper. How could Liu Bei not be happy?

"Maybe it doesn't need to be so troublesome."

Not to be outdone, Ma Chao also simply measured the Yongliang area he was most familiar with on the map, so as to get an idea of ​​the size of Hebei, and then started from the angle he was most familiar with:

"The Song Dynasty was able to push forward with horses and infantry in front of Youzhou, which shows its suddenness."

"To seize the opportunity and try to be a suspect is to take advantage of others. It is better to place an army at the Taihang Pass and make loud noises to think that the enemy is a suspect, and then the whole army will go out with all its strength."

"Put all your efforts into Youzhou. As long as the city is destroyed, Hebei will be conquered."

Ma Chao's simple and crude style of play that makes full use of huge troops also made Kong Ming nod frequently.

But why does this method of making soldiers shout loudly on the mountain to make soldiers suspicious look so familiar?

Zhang Fei didn't care so much and asked Ma Chao directly:

"What if Youzhou can't defeat it?"

"How is that possible?" Ma Chaoda shook his head:

"Youzhou has been a Han country since ancient times. Why should you work for the Khitan people?"

Ma Chao has been called a bastard since he was a child. Now that he has led the army, no one dares to mention these two words in front of him, but there is no doubt that he is also aware of the unity of Han'er:

"A heavy army is besieging the city. If the Khitans are suspicious of Han'er in the city, the defenders will be stretched thin."

"If there is no suspicion and only internal and external connections are made, Youzhou City can be conquered in one go."

Zhang Fei was silent. Although this was the case, he always felt that it might not be that simple.

…

In the Manlu Palace, Wei Yu's incident of causing violence to the prince when he was admonishing him made the ministers involuntarily think of the current prince, well... and the Duke of Lu whom they had not seen for a long time.

Everyone had vague guesses about Hou Junji's whereabouts, so there was also a lot of sadness.

After all, everyone could see the importance His Majesty once attached to the old man of Prince Qin's palace.

If nothing like that happened, the Western Region should have been the place where Duke Lu could show off his talents.

Moreover, at Li Yaoshi's age, it is not suitable to stay in the Western Region for a long time. In theory, Hou Junji is the most suitable candidate to be the future general guardian of the four towns of Anxi, but it is a pity...

As for what Li Cheng is doing, he is only twelve years old now, and the former officials of the Qin Palace have watched the prince grow up, so it is difficult for him to have any harsh words.

The ministers did not dare to say anything, but Empress Changsun had no such scruples. With a hint of worry in her eyes, she looked at her husband and said softly:

"How about your Majesty taking some time to instruct Cheng Qian in martial arts in the next two days?"

What else could Li Shimin say? He could only nod in agreement immediately.

But in my heart, I also felt a certain amount of resentment toward Zhao Er:

Why can't you discipline your son well?

[Zhao Pu’s comeback is just as we said before, he came out to block Zhao Er’s gun.

In fact, looking at the history books now, half of the negative comments about Zhao Pu are concentrated on this "three-time visit to the prime minister".

As mentioned before, Zhao Er never plays with small ones in his life, and he only plays with big ones.

In just two battles, the Battle of Gaoliang River and Yongxi's Northern Expedition, the Song Dynasty successfully lost all its wealth. At this time, the Song Dynasty was unable to fight anymore.

But a large number of the main combatants promoted by Zhao Er in order to create his own image as a wise and powerful warrior are still in the court. What should we do? Let Zhao Pu come.

After Zhao Pu became prime minister, those who took the lead in the Song Dynasty, such as Zhao Changyan, deputy envoy to the Privy Council, Chen Xiangyu and Dong Yan, who were known as "Chen Sangen" and "Dong Banye", were either demoted or released.

The attitude of the Northern Song Dynasty court towards the Khitan changed from war to peace, all due to Zhao Pu's efforts.

For this reason, after the Jingkang Disgrace, literati in the Southern Song Dynasty criticized Zhao Pu a lot. They believed that Zhao Pu's third visit to the prime minister was a strategic mistake of the Song Dynasty. Zhao Pu should also bear three-thirds of the credit for the shame of the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty.

These were more of the angry words of the Southern Song Dynasty when they saw the national humiliation. After all, under the circumstances of internal and external difficulties, no matter who Zhao Er put in his position, he had to make a strategy of recuperating and temporarily stopping the war.

Moreover, the unified strategy that Zhao Pu gave to Zhao Dading in the early days was to go first from the south to the north, first from the easy and then from the difficult, rather than saying that we would shrink from pacifying the south.

It can only be said that Zhao Pu was indeed unlucky in some respects. Zhao Da, who they had planned strategies with, passed away mysteriously, and Zhao Er was a man with high ambitions and low power, who completely ruined his family's fortune.

The literati and righteous men of the Southern Song Dynasty were eager to criticize Zhao Pu's strategy of advocating peace, but they chose to be blind to Zhao Er, who fundamentally led to the defeat of Gaoliang River and the failure of the Northern Expedition of Yongxi.

This is not surprising. After all, the main person responsible for the Northern Expedition of Yongxi was Cao Bin, who did not even have the position of Privy Councilor. How could it be the wise and powerful Emperor Taizong?

In addition, apart from the strategy of advocating peace, Zhao Pu did promote a lot of young talents in the five years of his third appointment as prime minister.

Lu Mengzheng, Zhang Qixian, Kou Zhun, Feng Zheng, Wang Jiying and other highly praised prime ministers were all recommended and promoted by Zhao Pu, and Wang Yuzhen, a tough and reputable official in the early Song Dynasty, was also treated with courtesy by Zhao Pu.

Therefore, it can be said that Zhao Pu did a lot of practical things for the Northern Song Dynasty, and he was considered a capable official in any case.

As for Zhao Er? In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong criticized him for "shameful virtues", which simply means that his virtues were not good.

Our teacher once commented that he "uses whatever means possible and is eager to take the stage", and emphasized that he is "incompetent".

He did not confirm or deny the authenticity of the candle shadow axe sound and the golden box alliance, but focused more on Zhao Er's eagerness to take the throne.

However, in comparison, Zhao Er himself is quite open-minded, for example, he once commented on Er Feng:

"...Looking at what Taizong did, he is probably a person who likes fame. Every time he does something, he must make a big show in advance... Is this natural!"

In "The Records of Taizong", he is not behind others at all. When talking with his ministers, he believes that his achievements surpass those of Qin Shihuang, his talents surpass those of Han Wu, and his virtues surpass those of Tang Zong, and his mentality is healthy and outstanding.

In addition, Zhao Er and his sixth-generation grandson Wanyan Gou had a lot in common in their evaluation of Erfeng:

"Tang Taizong... can be called a wise king. However, he was boastful and liked fame. Although he listened to advice and accepted criticism, he was not as sincere as Emperor Wen of Han."]

〖Liu Bei: Emperor Shizong was talented and brilliant. He fought against foreign invaders and improved laws and regulations. He practiced benevolence and justice and conquered all disobedience. His merits and virtues were so great that they could not be fully publicized. Although he was suspected of being warlike, he also regretted the Luntai Edict. What kind of talent do you have?

Zhang Fei: It was Taizu who could ride on horseback and repel the enemy. Who are you who dare to move your lips?

Ma Chao: If we were on the battlefield, I would kill you.

Li Shimin: Bah!

Pei Xingjian: Me too!

Yuchi Gong: Ma Mengqi, can your Liangzhou horse be faster than a sorghum donkey cart? 〗

Zhao Guangyi had completely wilted at this time, and he lowered his eyes and dared not look at the words written by his ancestors.

Especially the simple word of Emperor Taizong of Tang, but his disdain was fully expressed.

Although Emperor Zhaolie spoke a lot, his merits and demerits were the same, which was enough for him not to say more.

Zhang Fei cursed bluntly, but if you think about it carefully, the person might really be his ancestor. After all, they were from Zhuo County, and in a sense, they were from the same hometown.

And Ma Chao's words made him a little frightened, and Yuchi Gong's mocking words made him laugh even more.

If it weren't for today's incident, he should have been very interested in watching those names that were only seen in the history books laughing and cursing.

But now all this laughter and cursing were directed at him, which made him feel bitter in his heart.

At this time, the palace was a little quieter, so Zhao Kuangyin could clearly hear the sobbing behind him:

"I am ashamed."

Zhao Kuangyin sighed, and did not turn back to comfort him. He just thought for a while and said slowly:

"After all, you are working for the Song Dynasty, and the younger generation will not tarnish your name."

Then he said excitedly:

"But now, the imperial army has not been damaged, and we should use the grain and money in the south of the Yangtze River to attack the Northern Han."

"Go slowly, conquer Yanyun in Youzhou again, and make China reunite."

Zhao Kuangyin looked up at the light curtain, with undisguised desire in his eyes. Since he was an emperor, who didn't want to create a unified foundation for future generations to remember?

And he was different from his younger brother who could only talk. He still remembered that the "first south and then north" formulated by Zhao Pu mentioned in the light curtain was discussed with Zhao Pu on a snowy night ten years ago.

And this younger brother…Looking at the already depressed Zhao Guangyi, thinking about the imperial guards that were wasted by him, Zhao Kuangyin was still a little angry:

"If you really have the virtue of Qin Shi Huang, Han Wudi and Tang Taizong, why can't I do the same to you after I die?"

Zhao Kuangyi raised his head suddenly after hearing this, and then met his brother's eyes that were completely cold:

"What the world said is really a word to break, you are incompetent."

Zhao Guangyi had endured all the dirty scolding before, but when he heard his brother say that he was incompetent, a burst of blood rushed to his forehead, and he wanted to let his brother understand what it meant to be angry. He was also a man of blood!

Dragging his broken leg, Zhao Kuangyi roared and rushed towards his brother, punching his brother's black face.

However, unlike the scene that Zhao Kuangyi expected of his brother falling on his back and being seriously injured and his teeth flying, the Zhao Song official sitting there was motionless, and his face pressed by the fist had no expression at all.

Then he watched his brother raise his right hand, clench it into a fist, swing his elbow back, and then punch like thunder, coming towards him.

Zhao Guangyi felt as if he had turned in the air, and his body fell to the ground again, as if it was not himself. There was a buzzing sound in his ears, and the sweet and fishy blood rushed out of his mouth and nose again.

Then he heard his brother's voice in a daze as if it came from the clouds:

"Your steps are weak, your punches are soft, and you can't even hit people, but you want to lead the army in person?"

After a pause, he could vaguely feel that his brother changed the direction of the question:

"The King of Jin rebelled and wanted to assassinate, did you see it clearly?"

So Zhao Guangyi's head, which was just filled with hot blood, was immediately like ice water, and his limbs trembled slightly.

Then he could no longer hold on and fainted.

Neither Zhao Kuangyin nor Zhao Pu took King Jin seriously as he lay motionless on the ground.

Zhao Pu even took a pen and paper from the chamberlain and wrote down the names he just heard one by one.

Although these people may not be easy to find, and they may be young in age, they are still good talents who want to take charge of the battle. Even if they cannot be used, they can keep the list in hand so that if they really encounter them, they will not be in a bad mood and miss out on good talents.

And in the final analysis, we already made it clear ten years ago when we decided to prioritize the south and the north. This is a strategy of putting the easy things first and then the hard things.

Zhao Pu and Zhao Kuangyin both knew the sharpness of the Khitan cavalry and the high city of Taiyuan.

Even if there is an opportunity to change course now, it must be done with extreme caution.

…

In the Manna Palace, Li Shimin spat in the air, and Li Shimin no longer took it to heart.

To be honest, if the heroes of later generations were like Zhu Baba, he would be happy to accept it and then correct his words and deeds based on what they said.

Or even more special, such as the founder of the country in later generations, he would only admit it with a smile, after all, his achievements could be called extraordinary.

But this is Zhao Er and Wanyan Gou? Shaking his head in his heart, he didn't even care about it at all.

Moreover, Li Shimin secretly guessed that if Zhao Er really resurrected Yan Yun and occupied the Western Region, he might be able to do more than himself.

But then I felt that I was worrying too much and was trying to figure out what Yanyun was. Don't let Zhao Da beat him to death yet.

However, although Li Shimin no longer cared about it, Yuchi Gong's eldest son, Sun Wuji, and other relatives and ministers were all quite unhappy. They listed the things that Zhao Er did not deserve as a son one by one, which instantly made the palace lively.

Even Queen Changsun’s words were spicy:

"He who knows others is wise, and he who knows himself is wise. He who neither knows others nor himself knows is stupid."

But then she thought that this was the emperor of Song Dynasty, and Empress Changsun couldn't help but sigh.

In the end, Li Shimin pressed the matter down with a smile:

"I am indeed not as sincere as Emperor Wen of Han, so I should encourage myself."

In this regard, no one in the Manlu Hall had any opinions, and everyone praised him for his kindness.

…

When Ma Chao saw someone calling out his cousin in Tang Dynasty, he was surprised but also regretful:

"If I can compete with the famous Tang Dynasty generals to discuss military affairs, drink wine and practice martial arts, it will be a pleasure in life."

Zhang Fei nodded quickly and said:

"What Meng Qi said is exactly what I want."

The eldest brother had previously said that he just wanted to join in the fun and beat up Emperor Song. How could that be possible! I, Lao Zhang, also have pursuits.

But when Zhang Fei said this, both Pang Tong and Jian Yong looked expectant.

If possible, let alone the miraculous future generations, it would be an unimaginable blessing for them to meet and drink with the kings and ministers of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

Otherwise, will there be opportunities to communicate more through text in the future?