But now that things had come to this, what could he do?
He could only use his wise mind to analyze the situation for Shen Yicheng.
"Grand Secretary, this lowly official believes that there is no problem with Grand Secretary's strategy. The Beijing-Hangzhou Canal has been cut, and the capital is in danger of running out of food. Running out of food is secondary, but once the army runs out of food, it's hard to guarantee what will happen.
Thus, even if it is to reduce the food burden on the capital and maintain its stability, we must send soldiers south to the Yangzhou region. After all, Yangzhou currently has no shortage of food. If necessary, we need to send some soldiers to the important cities and towns to reduce the burden on the capital.
In addition, we need to restrain the grain merchants in the capital from hoarding and driving up the price of grain upon hearing the news, thus destabilizing the capital and causing the people to seethe with resentment. At this moment, we must stabilize our position so that we can smoothly quell the rebellion.
Also, it is necessary to move the soldiers from Jizhen and Liaodong south, especially Chai Guozhu and Li Rusong away from Jizhen and Liaodong. On the one hand, we can increase the strength of our army, and on the other, we can have these two most unstable people leave the rear of the capital, making it easier for the Imperial Court to send people to take control of Jizhen and Liaodong. "
Shen Yicheng was stunned by these words, and the atmosphere in the guard room seemed to have changed.
"You mean that Chai Guozhu and Li Rusong are not worthy of trust?"
Liu Huangshang nodded. "That's right. The two of them accompanied Scoundrel Xiao in the bloody battle of Datong in Shanxi for half a year. I don't believe that they don't have any feelings for each other. Furthermore, Li Rusong and Scoundrel Xiao worked together in Korea. Although Scoundrel Xiao beat Li Rusong in Korea, I heard that Li Rusong was convinced by Scoundrel Xiao.
For such a hot-tempered person, it was not easy to make him submit. It could be seen that Xiao Luo's skill in controlling people was superb. Among the generals who had fought under him, there were not many who complained about him. More or less, they had some respect for him.
In the past few years, the imperial court had repeatedly gone on expeditions, such as the war in Korea, the war in Burma, and the war in Datong of Shanxi. A large number of generals had accumulated meritorious service and were promoted to the position of commanding generals. These people were more or less related to that traitor Xiao.
Now that these generals had received news of the sudden change in the imperial court, they would definitely feel uneasy. Even if the imperial court appeased them, it would not be able to safely dispel the uneasiness and suspicion in their hearts, and even their dissatisfaction. Instead of waiting for the disaster to occur, it would be better to take the initiative to lure the tiger away from the mountain.
After the tiger leaves the mountain, we can drive it to the frontline and face the bandits. With that, we can destroy the tiger's den in one fell swoop, relieving us of our worries. After all, Ji Town is only two to three days' journey from the capital, and the elite soldiers of Ji Town are incomparable to the soldiers of the capital. How can we allow the enemy to sleep soundly next to our beds? "
Shen Yicheng nodded as he listened, then asked, "What if they don't come?"
"If we don't ask them to come alone with their troops, they might resist. However, if we ask them to come with their troops, they will definitely come. The imperial court has a righteous name, so they won't dare to resist."
Liu Huangchang was very confident about this.
Shen Yicheng narrowed his eyes and nodded.
"Assistant Minister Liu's words agree with me. This is very good. We can do as you say. Assistant Minister Liu, if the internal situation is stabilized, what about the bandits outside? Was the traitor navy in the south the traitor Xiao Luo? Is it possible that Thief Xiao is still alive? "
Shen Yicheng stared at Liu Huangchang.
Liu Huangchang's heart skipped a beat, then he took a deep breath and said, "This lowly official doesn't dare to say whether Thief Xiao is dead or not, but that navy is very likely to be the Myanmar navy. The Daming navy only has two capable battalions. One is Chen Lin's Guangdong navy, and the other is Thief Xiao's Myanmar navy.
Half a year ago, Thief Xiao even used the Myanmar navy to defeat Frangiyi who were entrenched on Luzon Island, allowing Luzon to be restored as a vassal of the Daming. It can be seen that the strength of their navy is quite impressive. "
Shen Yicheng asked again, "If that's the case, why didn't Chen Lin's navy stop them? Or is it that Chen Lin's navy betrayed the imperial court and sided with Thief Xiao? "
Liu Huangchang swallowed his saliva.
"Maybe there's another possibility, which is that Chen Lin's navy was defeated by the Myanmar navy, and the imperial court doesn't know about this yet. After the Myanmar navy defeated Chen Lin's Guangdong navy, they went north to attack Zhenjiang Prefecture and cut off the supply route to the capital in order to kill the imperial court. They also occupied Nanjing to cut off the communication between the imperial court and Jiangnan. This tactic is too bold, and it's very unpredictable.
This … "Liu Huangchang suddenly didn't know if he should continue.
"What are you trying to say? Go on! "
Shen Yicheng spoke.
Liu Huangchang had to continue.
"This is the same tactic that Thief Xiao used to deal with the Wei Nation. Thief Xiao was born in the northwest, but he relies on naval battles. He used the navy to defeat the Wei Nation navy at sea, then directly sent troops to land in Wei Nation. That's how he defeated Wei Nation. This tactic is very Thief Xiao's style."
"You're saying … Thief Xiao is still alive? He's the mastermind behind this? "
Shen Yicheng's voice became low.
"No! Not necessarily. Thief Xiao had Yuan Huang by his side, and now Yuan Huang is also following Thief Xiao in Myanmar. Maybe, maybe this is also Yuan Huang's doing. Thief Xiao may not be alive! "
Liu Huangchang quickly explained.
At this point, if Shen Yicheng still didn't have a plan in mind, he would be letting down his current position. So he stood up and looked around at his subordinates.
"Xia Qing, according to Assistant Minister Liu's instructions, go and make arrangements. Summon the troops from Ji Town and Liaodong, and prepare to go south to deal with the thief. Zhu Butang, draft His Majesty's era name as soon as possible and let His Majesty choose."
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Xiao Daheng and Zhu Geng accepted the order.
Zhu Geng acted quickly. On the 18th of the eighth month, he drafted a few good era names for Zhu Changluo to decide. Zhu Changluo followed his grandmother's teachings and gave the choice to Shen Yicheng. Shen Yicheng didn't refuse and chose 'Taichang' as the era name for Zhu Changluo.
"This old subject hopes that the country will be safe and prosperous, so I chose the two words' Taichang '. Is Your Majesty satisfied?"
Shen Yicheng asked Zhu Changluo.
Zhu Changluo didn't have any objections.
"Everything will be decided by the old Grand Secretary. I have no objections."
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty."
Seeing Zhu Changluo's honest look, Shen Yicheng was very satisfied. After a while, he asked meaningfully, "Now that the court is in a difficult situation, the national treasury is empty, and the thieves are rising again, I wonder if Your Majesty can allocate some money to this old subject to solve this urgent problem?"
Zhu Changluo swallowed his saliva.
"Everything will be decided by the old Grand Secretary."
Shen Yicheng nodded in satisfaction.
"Your Majesty is wise! By the way, Your Majesty, do you like the dancers that this old subject presented to Your Majesty? "
At the mention of this, Zhu Changluo's little face blushed.
"I can feel the old Grand Secretary's concern for me. I like them very much, very much. The old Grand Secretary is very considerate."
"Hehe, it's just a few dancers, Your Majesty doesn't need to mind. This old subject has some more beautiful dancers here. I wonder if Your Majesty is willing to accept them?"
Hearing this, Zhu Changluo felt a surge of heat in his lower body, and his mind quickly jumped to an indescribable environment.
"This … this … everything will be decided by the old Grand Secretary."
Shen Yicheng chuckled.
"Hehehehe, Your Majesty is wise. This old subject will make the arrangements right away."
With that, Shen Yicheng turned and left.
Seeing that Shen Yicheng had left, Zhu Changluo immediately stood up and called for the eunuch beside him to bring him back to the palace.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
