The slightly damp firewood first crackled as it burned. Then, it burned fiercely. The smoke quickly faded, and a strong medicinal smell floated out from the vats. This time, the medicinal smell was not unpleasant. If one carefully savored it, there was a faint fragrance. After all, it was a tonic.
A Nu snuggled in Yang Fan's arms and said softly, "Your servant's body is much better. Langjun doesn't have to take the risk to get these tonics."
Yang Fan smiled but did not say anything. In his heart, he thought, "If I didn't think of getting these herbs, I'm afraid I wouldn't have known that the Khitans had this kind of plan. These barbarians, when it comes to scheming, are not inferior to the hundred officials of the imperial court. This news must be sent to the court as soon as possible. "
A Nu leaned into Yang Fan's arms with satisfaction and said in a low voice, "During the days when Langjun was missing, your servant did not know the taste of food and did not sleep at night. Now your servant is at ease. It's just that Xiao Man is still worried about you at home. It's all your servant's fault. As soon as I saw Langjun, I chased after you without thinking. At that time, I should have left someone to send a message back. "
Yang Fan hugged her tighter, and after a long silence, he said softly, "Xiao Man has Nianzu and Sirong by her side. With them quarreling and worrying, Xiao Man still has a goal in her heart. She doesn't have so much time to think about me..."
He comforted himself. In fact, even he did not believe that his and Xiao Man's relationship was the deepest. It was not only love, but also family. Xiao Man had two children to take care of, and she did not have to travel outside. Her body might not be as haggard as A Nu, but when the news that he was in danger spread back, how could the damage to Xiao Man's heart be small?
But it was an expedition of 160,000 troops!
The small Khitan people had never been taken seriously by the court. At the beginning, when they sent out 160,000 troops, there were officials in the court who criticized them. They thought that the emperor was making a fuss over a minor issue, and that it was the emperor who insisted on sending so many troops.
At that time, even Yang Fan had the same idea. He thought that thirty to fifty thousand elite soldiers would be enough to defeat the Khitan motley crew. Who would have thought that the imperial court would be defeated? Moreover, it was defeated once, twice, thrice, and defeated so miserably?
Thinking of this, Yang Fan also felt an indescribable resentment in his heart. After a long silence, he softly said, "Get well quickly, we … will soon leave the mountain!"
…
The news that the Turks had successively defeated the Jingnan, Pingdi, and Qingyi Border Armies, captured Gui Prefecture, Danzhou, Dingzhou, and Zhaozhou had not only reached the Imperial Court, but also the Western Regions.
When Di Renjie, who was in the middle of settling the refugees, fortifying the border, and repairing the damage caused by the Turks' invasion, heard the news, he seemed to be stricken with a severe illness, instantly aging.
In the last few years of exile, he had aged a great deal, but his optimistic and positive attitude towards life had never changed. Even though he was well aware that the strength of the country had declined over the years, he had always felt that this decline was only relative to the power of Taizong and Gaozong. No matter what, the Imperial Court was still an existence that the surrounding countries could only look up to.
But the successive defeats of three armies in Hebei had been like a blow to the head, thoroughly waking him up.
It turned out that … the dynasty had already declined to this extent. Once those enemies who had temporarily laid in ambush because of the strength of the Tang dynasty realized that this was a paper tiger, could their ambitions still be contained?
The night was deep, but Di Renjie had no desire to sleep. After pacing outside for a long time, he returned to his tent and silently drank. After a few cups of wine, he began to feel tipsy.
He was an old official who had lived through the reign of Taizong and Gaozong. He had personally watched as the Tang dynasty grew stronger step by step. Now, he had gone from a youth to a man of his prime, and now he was in his twilight years. His hair and beard were as white as snow, and the Tang dynasty … was it also beginning to decline?
"Marshal Di, Great General Lou Shide requests an audience!"
Di Renjie's drunken eyes indifferently glanced at the guard and waved his hand, ordering, "Invite him in!"
Lou Shide slowly walked in, dragging his crippled leg. He clasped his hands to Di Renjie and said, "Lou Shide pays respects to Marshal!"
Di Renjie didn't even raise his head. He only poured some more hot water into the basin and then carefully placed the tin wine pot in the middle of the hot water. "Sit, let's drink a cup or two together!"
Lou Shide had only come to find Di Renjie to discuss countermeasures after hearing the news that the Turks had marched out of Hebei. He knew that Di Renjie had always rejected him, but he didn't know that when Di Renjie was in dire straits, he had repeatedly recommended Di Renjie to the Imperial Court, and Wu Zetian had already shown Di Renjie. Thus, he was rather surprised by Di Renjie's attitude.
Lou Shide saw that Di Renjie was so focused on the wine pot that he didn't raise his head, so he could only walk up and sit down on the stool across from Di Renjie. His body was extremely fat, and the moment his plump buttocks pressed against the stool, it immediately squealed as if it was about to fall apart.
Di Renjie couldn't help but laugh. "You old fool, how can you still be so fat at such an old age? I've never seen you lose any weight."
Di Renjie's words were somewhat intimate, and Lou Shide's heart warmed. He also couldn't help but laugh. "This servant actually doesn't eat much. It's just that I was born with this kind of physique. There's really nothing I can do about it."
Di Renjie raised the wine pot and poured him a cup. "Come, drink!"
Lou Shide said, "Marshal, this servant has come today because …"
Di Renjie said, "I know why you have come. Haha, this matter … what else is there to say? Come, drink, drink! "
Lou Shide sighed. He had no choice but to raise his cup and toast Di Renjie before downing it in one gulp. Lou Shide usually didn't drink, and with his temperament, it was even more impossible for him to drink like this. His current action was enough to show the depression in his heart. Di Renjie chuckled and immediately poured him another cup.
The two of them drank one cup after another, and gradually, they became tipsy. At this time, the wind outside began to blow faster, and sporadic snowflakes began to fall. Although they melted before they hit the ground, the dampness on their faces told them that it had already begun to snow. Winter was coming very soon.
"Moche can be considered an ambitious and ruthless character. He knows when to bow and submit, and he can fight and escape. In the morning, he beheads you and becomes sworn brothers. In the afternoon, he can stab you in the back! One moment, he can strut around arrogantly, and the next moment, he can kneel and beg for mercy while kowtowing like pounding garlic. Heh! I, Old Di, don't bow to anyone, but I don't dare to bow to someone like this! "
Di Renjie scolded him with a smile as he drank a mouthful of wine.
Lou Shide's eyes began to moisten as he held his wine cup. "Sigh! Don't talk about him. To forge iron, one must be strong. If we are strong enough, no matter how cunning or tyrannical he is, what can he do? Black Tooth Chang Zhi, Quan Xiancheng, Cheng Wuting … they died too early. If any of these famous generals were still alive, the situation in Hebei wouldn't be so rotten. The Empress Dowager really shouldn't have killed them! "
Perhaps Lou Shide was drunk, but he actually referred to the Empress Dowager as the Empress Dowager.
Di Renjie seemed to be even more drunk than him. He actually didn't hear it at all and continued, "The Empress Dowager was originally not good at military affairs, especially when she was the regent as a woman. There were many obstacles in the court, causing the Empress Dowager to place too much importance on military power. She gave it all to the Wu clansmen, but which one of the Wu clansmen knows how to lead an army?"
Lou Shide sneered and said, "It's fine if they're not good at military affairs, but are they good at national politics? Fighting for power and profit is equivalent to national politics? Being good at scheming and scheming is the way to rule a country? It's better to use the strategy of restraining barbarians. This is a national policy that has been effective since Taizong's time. Why can't it be persisted? Why should it be changed according to one's own preferences?
To deal with barbarians, you have to make them fear the power of the imperial court, but you can't oppress them too much. Not to mention foreign tribes, even if they are from the same tribe, if you oppress them too much and don't treat them as one of your own, who would be willing to serve you and bow to you? But what has the imperial court been doing all these years?
In the third year of Shuigong, the imperial court launched a punitive campaign against the Tubo Nine Tribes, which had first attached themselves to and then rebelled. They ordered the Western Turkic tribes to send troops to help. The Turkic tribes provided their own troops, horses, and money. After six months on the battlefield, they finally defeated the rebels and raised the prestige of the nation. In the end, the military campaign was over. It was fine if the imperial court didn't reward them with money, but there wasn't even a word of praise.
Instead, the Empress Dowager used the reason that they attacked a Uighur tribe without permission as an excuse. She reprimanded them and forbade them from entering the imperial court. She ordered them to be dispatched to Liangzhou and returned to their tribes. Are their sons not raised by their parents? Do they not have wives and children? They shed their blood for the imperial court, and this is the result they got!
Who wouldn't be angry at being burned after crossing the river? Who wouldn't be disappointed? In the future, when there is a military campaign, which of the tribes attached to the imperial court will be willing to help? Who will be willing to contribute? "
An honest person like Lou Shide was even more difficult to control than Di Renjie when he was enraged. He angrily said, "Master Di is always in the capital, but this servant has been guarding the borders all my life. I know this better than you. This servant's words are all true. If the nation doesn't have the grace of its trusted aides, how can they be loyal?
Also, the imperial court took advantage of the internal strife of the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganate and issued an edict to persuade them to surrender. In the end, the Qibei Turkic Khaganate surrendered more than five thousand and Gan Khaganate surrendered more than four thousand. All of them were injured, starving, and pale. Not even one or two out of a hundred had sheep or horses. However, they brought the young and supported the old, and came from afar to surrender, but the imperial court didn't give them any aid.
As a result, they were crying piteously for food, dead bodies piled on their pillows, and curses filled the air. This servant … saw this with my own eyes! The imperial court either didn't summon them to surrender, or since they did, they didn't give them any aid and let them die on their own. Where would the prestige of the imperial court go?
What's more, the tribes were originally poorer than the imperial court. The majestic imperial court often extorted them, forged the Great Zhou's Ten Thousand Kingdoms Praise Tianshu, and forced the rulers of the four barbarians to contribute! Ten Thousand Kingdoms Praise Tianshu? Bah! On the day the Tianshu was forged, how many of the tribes secretly cursed?
Now the imperial court is forging the Nine Cauldrons, and I heard that Wu Sansi is plundering the barbarians for donations. If it wasn't for the incident in Hebei, he wouldn't have stopped. The barbarians aren't fools. If you treat them like this, they won't be of one mind.
Let's talk about the Turkic disaster. Back then, the Turkic Khan Ashina Fu Nian had surrendered to the imperial court. Prime Minister Pei Xingjian had promised on behalf of the imperial court that as long as he surrendered and personally went to the imperial court to ask for forgiveness, the imperial court wouldn't kill him. In the end, Fu Nian was executed when he arrived at the imperial court. The great Prime Minister Pei was betrayed by his own imperial court! If Fu Nian hadn't died that day, how could the disaster have happened today? "
Di Renjie naturally knew what Lou Shide was talking about. These were all major mistakes made in the administration of the nation, but what could he do? Every time Lou Shide said something, Di Renjie would drink a cup, and soon he was drunk.
Di Renjie, who was filled with resentment and anger, could no longer hold it in and vented, "This time, the imperial court sent 28 generals and 160,000 soldiers for the northern expedition. Everyone felt that it was like killing a chicken with a butcher's knife. Since the imperial court looks down on the Khitans, why did they send so many soldiers? "
Lou Shide said, "Isn't it because most of the generals are from the Wu Clan, and what they lack the most right now is military merits. The imperial court also wanted to appease the ambassador with Wu Sansi, and their intentions couldn't be clearer. It's a pity that the army was defeated too quickly, and Wu Sansi didn't even have time to set off! "
Di Renjie smiled bitterly, "All these years, the imperial court has neglected military equipment, and the military power is controlled by the Wu Clan's many Prefectural Princes who don't know how to use troops. The soldiers aren't well-trained, and their military power is far from what it used to be. With a group of generals who aren't good at fighting, how could they not be defeated? In the end, after a huge defeat, the Empress Dowager was still not satisfied and sent a second army, which was still led by the Wu Clan's nephew. This army reached Hebei, but other than wasting money and rations, they didn't achieve anything. They had no choice but to send Wang Xiaojie and let Su Honghui, who's affiliated with the Wu Clan, be the deputy marshal. In the end … "
The more Di Renjie spoke, the more pained he felt.
He was skilled in politics and knew that Wu Zetian didn't give up on using the Wu Clan's power to lead the army in the face of repeated defeats. This was to share military merits after a great victory and establish the Wu Clan's prestige. In other words, Wu Zetian was now inclined to make the Wu Clan's nephew the heir to the throne. This was to prepare for the transition of the Wu Clan's regime.
Thus, the more the Great Zhou army lost, the worse the blow to Wu Zetian and the more beneficial it was for Li Tang's revival. However, this price was too tragic. Hundreds of thousands of descendants died on the battlefield to satisfy the Empress' desire for power.
Di Renjie was worried that the Khitans would let go of their old grudges and ally with the Khitans. If that happened, the imperial court wouldn't just have to suffer a few defeats and lose a lot of strength. It would also have to deal with the southwest Tubo, the northwest Turks, the north Khitans, and the Xi people forming an anti-Zhou alliance. Once this happened, with the current strength of the imperial court, how would they deal with it?
The snow outside the tent grew heavier and heavier. Unknowingly, the ground was covered in snow. At a glance, it was a vast expanse of whiteness. In the snow, several fast horses galloped over from afar and entered Di Renjie's camp.
The messenger jumped off the horse, still panting, and said, "There's a copy of the Ministry of War that requires Marshal Di's perusal."
Di Renjie's bodyguard accompanied him through the heavy snow to the commander's tent. As they walked, he asked, "Brother, why are you in such a hurry? Is there some important military news?"
The messenger replied, "I'm here to deliver the transfer order. The imperial court has appointed Great General Lou as the deputy chief and Great General Shazha as the chief of the vanguard. They're going to send troops to Hebei to suppress the rebels! Marshal Di is now the commander of the western army. If we want to transfer troops from here, of course we have to report to Marshal Di first! "
The bodyguard was surprised and said, "They want to transfer these two Great Generals? They are old generals who are good at fighting. Is the war in the north so urgent that they actually want to transfer two Great Generals to the north? I wonder who the commander of this army is? "
A look of disdain flashed across the messenger's eyes. However, his tone was extremely respectful and said, "The commander is the Jun Wang of Hanoi, Great General of the Right Jin Wu Guards, Wu Yizong!"
In the tent, the two old officials vented their complaints more and more. The more they spoke, the more resentful they became. First, they scolded loudly and finally, they could not help but cry sadly.
One of them had guarded the borders for his country all his life, but the country was getting weaker and weaker. He did not know what the future would be like. The other worked hard to govern for the prosperity of the country, but in exchange, he was exiled again and again. He did not know if his hard work would bear fruit one day.
What made them even more afraid was that the country they had been loyal to for their whole life was rapidly weakening. They did not know if there would be a day when the country would rise from the dead. The two old men scolded and cried and were drunk into a pool of mud. They hugged each other and slept on the same bed, their voices like thunder. They hoped that they could sleep forever and never wake up again.
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