On April 25, Beiping County, Linyu Palace, the emperor was there.

Since the expeditionary force crossed Liaoshui to the east and the Third Eastern Crusade officially began, the connection between the palace and the headquarters of the Eastern Expedition has suddenly become closer, and the speed of news transmission has also accelerated suddenly.

This kind of atmosphere also permeates the palace, but compared with the previous two years of the Eastern Crusade, this year's atmosphere in the palace is particularly depressing, due to the aggravation of internal and external troubles and the worsening of the general trend of China and foreign countries has forced the Holy Lord and the center to a dangerous situation, they can not lose the third Eastern Crusade, can not lose this "life-saving straw" that may reverse the current political predicament, however, the more they are afraid of something, the more they are worried about something, but the more they come.

In the past, the commander-in-chief and the expeditionary generals obeyed the orders of the Holy Lord on the surface, but secretly tried their best to obstruct or even oppose the Andong Army to join the main army in Huaiyuan, which actually meant that the contradictions between the military and the Holy Lord and the center were becoming increasingly intensified; Subsequently, the king of Qi acted arbitrarily and led his army to leave Huaiyuan in the name of patrolling the border without authorization, and went north to Fuyu City to join Anton's army, and this astonishing move meant that the conflict between the king of Qi and the holy lord was intensifying; Now Cui Hongsheng is even more lawless, the Goguryeo envoy came to negotiate peace, but Cui Hongsheng cut down the Goguryeo envoy with a knife in the name of humiliating the Middle Earth on the terms of peace, and directly cut off the road of peace between the two sides, how can this be true! There's no royal law yet? It is related to the success or failure of the Eastern Expedition and the rise and fall of the country, a front-line commander of the army neither reported to the Holy Lord, nor asked the Command, he arbitrarily made his own decisions, this matter is said to be a rebellion at best, and lawlessness at worst, but Cui Hongsheng went against the norm and did it without hesitation, and he was not afraid that the Holy Lord, the Central Committee and the Command would hold him accountable, why?

It's scary to think about. Today, Cui Hongsheng represents not only the main battle faction of the military, but also the fundamental interests of the Shandong people, so his extreme move of killing the Goguryeo peace envoys is in essence a challenge to the holy lord and the central government on behalf of the main battle faction of the military and the Shandong political group, and a challenge to the centralized reform.

The goal of the military's main battle party for the Third Eastern Crusade was to destroy Goguryeo, only in this way could we avenge the dead soldiers, restore the glory of the Weifu, rebuild the power of the Weifu, and stand up with a chest to defend the military power of the Weifu, and the centralization of military power is the top priority of the reform of centralized power, without a high degree of centralization of military power, the centralized system is just a castle in the air, and a storm can completely destroy it.

If the Third Crusade fails to destroy Goguryeo, fail to achieve a brilliant victory, and fail to obtain huge political benefits to make up for this huge loss, the decline of the Shandong people after the heavy blow will become faster and faster, and the passive situation of the Shandong political group in the three-legged political pattern of China and Turkey will become more and more serious.

The Holy Lord and the Center aimed at the Weifu and the military power, the Guanlong people aimed at the Shandong people, and the Eastern Expedition battlefield was the place where the two sides of the game fought fiercely, and the result of the Third Eastern Crusade determined the victory or defeat of the two sides of the game, so the bottom line of the Holy Lord, the center and the Guanlong people was Yalu Water, and the Yalu Water was exchanged for the surrender and surrender of Goguryeo in exchange for the land west of the Yalu Water, so that it could not only win the victory of the Eastern Crusade but also strengthen the concentration of military power, and at the same time suppress, hit and weaken the Shandong people, but how could the military main battle faction and the Shandong people be tied? How can you allow your opponent to play with you?

So Cui Hongsheng broke out, the first to cross the Liaoshui to start the third crusade, and then galloped directly to kill Yalu Shui to seize the opportunity, and then cut off the head of the Goguryeo council and the envoy with a knife, forcing the holy lord and the center to the "corner". What's next? The situation is so good, the battle situation is so favorable, the soldiers are full of fighting spirit, their morale is like a rainbow, and they are gearing up to kill Pyongyang, slaughter Goguryeo, take revenge, and expand their territory, do the holy lords and centers still have to be stubborn, ignore the general situation and the will of the army, have to stop at the Yalu water, and have to put on the "hat" of cowardice and incompetence and fear of war? Do you have to fight your own authority and smear your image?

However, once the Holy Lord and the Central Commander were forced to change their attack strategy and order the expeditionary force to do everything in their power to destroy Goguryeo, the consequences would be serious and the situation could get out of control.

If the expeditionary force is defeated for a long time, or even defeats again, the Holy Lord and the center will inevitably face the disaster of political collapse, and more seriously, if the Great War of the North and South breaks out immediately after, will the demoralized and disheartened Weifu army be able to withstand the roaring army of the Northern Captives? Can the enemy be kept out of the country according to the danger of the Great Wall?

On the contrary, if the expeditionary force is like a bamboo, invincible, and destroys Goguryeo, the Weifu is bound to defend its military power by virtue of the exploits of opening up the territory, and the Shandong people are bound to repair the wounds and increase their strength by virtue of the political benefits they have obtained, and launch a fierce counterattack against the Guanlong people. The three-legged political pattern of China and Turkey intensified the turmoil, and the political crisis between the two capitals intensified and rapidly collapsed.

These foreseeable serious consequences are unacceptable to the Holy Lord and the center, so in the face of the provocation of the main military faction and the Shandong people, and in the face of the compromise attitude adopted by the Eastern Expedition Command with Yu Wenshu and Guo Rong as the subject of this matter, the Holy Lord is very angry, and Yu Shiji, Xiao Yu, Zhao Cai, Pei Yun and other central ministers are also angry, but the Eastern Expedition battlefield is in full swing, and it is definitely not possible to change generals and criticize harshly.

Aren't you trying to stop the peace talks? Okay, then no peace will be negotiated, anyway, now Pyongyang is stubbornly resisting, and it will not surrender until it is cornered; Aren't you going to cross the Yalu waters? Okay, as long as the conditions are met, you will cross the river to the east, anyway, now the supply of grain and grass is difficult, and the other two Andong troops and sailors who attack together on the three roads can not see the shadow, at this moment crossing the river is a lone army deep, there is a danger of destruction, I want to come to Cui Hongsheng, Li Jing, Xue Shixiong and other generals without absolute certainty, and do not dare to risk the victory or defeat of the Eastern Expedition and the lives of the soldiers.

The only way to do this was to compromise in desperation, and although the Holy Lord and the members of the central core felt depressed and aggrieved by this, they also felt the pressure and crisis that came with it. Where does the crisis come from? At the same time, the major political forces in the country may also make misinterpretations, leading to further aggravation of the domestic political crisis, which will affect and even jeopardize the process of centralized reform.

How do you get the best of both worlds?

Under the current situation, Yu Shiji and other central core ministers could not accurately guess the true attitude of the Holy Lord towards this matter, so everyone's position was also ambiguous and ambiguous, and they did not dare to make decisions without authorization to cause the Holy Lord's displeasure.

The Holy Lord's expression was cold and unhappy. He was very dissatisfied with the negative attitude of his cronies, and at such a critical moment, he was expecting you to offer advice and have the courage to take responsibility, but as a result, you passed the buck and wanted to shift the responsibility to me, in this case, what do I want you to do?

Finally, the Holy Lord couldn't bear it anymore, pointed to Zhao Cai, the secretary of the military department, and directly named him, "The Eastern Crusade has been carried out so far, what are the views and suggestions of the military department?" ”

Zhao Cai knew that the main thing of the saint was a suggestion, not an opinion, and he had no possibility of perfunctory, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth, tell the truth, since Yu Wenshu, the supreme commander of the Eastern Expedition who was on the front line, had chosen to compromise, and he was not afraid of offending the Holy Lord, why should he tell lies?

"Shengshang, the Ministry of War believes that the current battle situation is very favorable to me, the main army of the middle road has been in Yalu Water within half a month, and the left Andong Army has also entered the Hanfa River to the east, and has been attacking for more than 20 days, if everything goes well, it should also point to the domestic city, although the naval division has not yet been dispatched, but my two-way attack has been completed, with the existing strength of Goguryeo, it is impossible to fight on two fronts, and I am unable to hold the Yalu Water line for a long time, so as long as my two armies tacitly cooperate and attack with all our might, we will be able to break through the Yalu Water defense line, The Goguryeo people were forced to retreat on all fronts and hold on to Pyongyang. With such the initiative in my hands, even if we can't capture Pyongyang and destroy Goguryeo, at the worst, we can incorporate all the land west of Yalu Water into our territory and build a martial art to expand the territory. ”

Zhao Cai's attitude was clear, the center should adjust the goal of the Eastern Expedition, and at the worst of all, it would also pocket the land west of Yalu Water, so that the military and political benefits could be maximized, so the Holy Lord must order the expeditionary force to take advantage of the victory to advance and expand the results of the battle.

The Holy Lord was silent.

Zhao Cai continued, "Holy Lord, crossing the Yalu River and attacking Pyongyang are two different things. At present, although our army does not have the conditions to attack Pyongyang, it has the conditions to cross the river and advance eastward, that is to say, in order to maintain an active offensive posture, our army can completely cross the Yalu River and fight on the east bank of the Yalu River, so as to pose a greater threat to Pyongyang. ”

The Holy Lord turned his eyes to Yu Shiji, Xiao Yu, and Pei Yun to ask for their opinions.

Yu Shiji said four words expressionlessly, "You have to inch in." ”

Zhao Cai's face was ugly, but he did not refute it, in fact, he said this from the position of the military, and from the position of the center, since crossing the river to the east and advancing to the east could not attack Pyongyang and could not expand the results of the battle, why did the army still spend manpower and material resources, risk defeat, and enter the east bank of the Yalu River to fight? Does this have any meaning other than satisfying the military's desire to attack?

The Holy Lord's eyes changed slightly, and the sharp light flashed away.

Xiao Yu weighed it for a long time, and suddenly said a suggestion, "The sailor is preparing to attack in Donglai, and the situation of the Eastern Expedition is very favorable to me at this moment, it is a favorable time for the sailor to cross the sea, once the sailor enters the battlefield, it will inevitably have a strong impetus to the battle situation." ”

Xiao Yu is not seeking benefits for Laihu'er and the water master, but from the position of the Holy Lord, he must take advantage of the current favorable opportunity to win the benefits of the water master.

Since the Eastern Crusade, the Holy Lord has protected Laihu'er and the sailor in every possible way, and the degree of protection has even reached the point of blatantly violating fairness and justice, and openly violating the laws of etiquette, which not only made the world stunned, but also made Laihu'er and the sailor become "the target of the public", accelerating the division within the Wei Mansion. This is a huge hidden danger that can be foreseen, once this hidden danger erupts, it will be catastrophic, and it must be saved, and the only way to save it is to let Laihu'er and the sailor win the battle on the battlefield of the Eastern Expedition, make meritorious deeds, wash away the shame of the Pyongyang fiasco, and use the enemy's head and the destruction of Goguryeo to justify their own name, fight for the face of the Holy Lord, and repay the Holy Lord for their bottomless protection.

As soon as the sailor came, the situation of the battle would inevitably change, and the corresponding situation in other aspects would also change, including some unfavorable factors that the Holy Lord was worried about, so the Holy Lord's position would inevitably be loosened, and perhaps the current favorable situation could quickly expand into an unprecedented victory.

Zhao Cai's face became more and more ugly, while the Holy Lord remained silent, and a hint of pleasure flashed imperceptibly in his eyes.

Why didn't Zhao Cai mention Lai'er and the sailor? The reason is well known, but a military secretary has prejudices against Laihu'er and the sailor because of various complicated reasons, and he stays away, and even affects his judgment and deployment of the Eastern Expedition situation, how can such a military department secretary be of great use?

The atmosphere became more and more dreary and oppressive.

Pei Yun coughed lightly twice, and said slowly, "Anton's promise is to attack Pyongyang at any cost, if Pyongyang cannot be captured, then even if the Andong army is annihilated, not a single soldier will withdraw across the Yalu Water, so the minister believes that the key to the development of the Eastern Crusade is not whether the main force in the middle of the road crosses the Yalu Water, nor whether our naval division quickly crosses the sea to join the battlefield, but whether the Andong Army fulfills its promise and kills the city of Pyongyang at any cost and attacks the city with all its might." As long as the Andong Army fulfills its promise, as long as the Andong Army begins to besiege the city of Pyongyang from all sides, the main army and the naval division of our central route will be able to advance in unison and kill under the city of Pyongyang unimpeded, so that Goguryeo will surely perish. ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone, including the Holy Lord, secretly woke up, and their minds immediately jumped out of the shackles of the battlefield of the Eastern Crusade and returned to the political battlefield of swords and swords.

Of course, Pei Yun didn't help Anton speak, but had the intention to put Anton to death.

At the beginning, the Holy Lord and the Central Committee agreed to appease Anton, that is, Anton's army must participate in the Third Eastern Crusade, the purpose of which is to kill people with a knife, and use the Third Eastern Crusade to fight, weaken and even strangle Anton, a new force that has just risen but cannot be controlled by the Holy Lord and the center, so the goal of the Third Eastern Crusade is not only Goguryeo, but also Anton, but now with the beginning of the Eastern Crusade, as the Eastern Crusade situation is favorable to its own side, as the military coerces the Holy Lord and the Central Center to concede military power by holding the victory or defeat of the Eastern Crusade, The attention of the Holy Lord and the Center was also shifted, and Anton was ignored intentionally or unintentionally.

For the Holy Lord and the center, the biggest hidden danger in Northern Xinjiang today is the runaway Anton, as well as the runaway Li Pingyuan, and the Third Eastern Crusade is the best opportunity to eradicate this hidden danger.

The core layer of the center quickly formed a decision, and the Holy Lord decisively issued an edict, ordering Laihu'er to lead the sailor to cross the sea as soon as possible.

At the same time, the edict ordered the headquarters of the Eastern Expedition, and the main army of the middle route to encircle Liaodong City and Wugu City, and confront the enemy army across the Yalu River, while dividing the troops to attack, quickly swept the towns west of Yalu Water, and ensured that the complete occupation of the west of Yalu Water was completed in the shortest possible time.

The edict ordered Andong's army to speed up its attack and cross the Yalu River to attack Pyongyang as soon as possible, and instructed Li Pingyuan to fulfill his promise to capture Pyongyang at all costs, otherwise he would bear the consequences.

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(End of chapter)