mtl008 Chapter 195 Wei Rong's Strategy
Chapter 195 Wei Rong's Strategy
When Wu Wei heard the emperor asking about the situation in Weizhou and other places, he paused for a moment and said, "I will give you a chance to express my feelings."
"Your Majesty, Weizhou is now divided into two parts: Shuiquan Pass and the city. Prince Consort Zhao Sheng (Shen) led the officers and soldiers of Shuiquan Pass and repelled the Jin army led by the Wang family of Changshan, killing over 10,000 of them."
"Li Xin's son-in-law? Why is he called Zhao Sheng?" Zhao Hengzhen asked in confusion.
"Your Majesty, as far as I know, the consort is a child from the princess's family, adopted by Prince Zhao Xin as his adopted son. He takes the imperial surname Zhao, and his name is Gao, with the courtesy name Shen."
"Oh..." King Zhou dragged out the sound. This name reminded him of his sixth son. He demoted him to a commoner in order to protect this son. He didn't expect this child to be so extreme.
"and after?"
Seeing the King of Zhou's interest, Wu Wei continued, "In the battle of Weizhou, the Jin army retreated directly. Yu Wenhua also abandoned the siege of the East Gate due to the defeat at Shuiquan Pass. However..."
"what happened?"
"However, the Xiongnu in the south probably passed by a mine and looted it, killing nearly 10,000 Dingzhou soldiers and miners."
Zhao Heng was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then continued to ask, "What's going on with the military town?"
"The military garrison has now determined that it was the remnants of Zhang Xuegeng's army who were responsible. They have completely massacred the post guards and 6,000 defenders."
After Wu Wei finished speaking, he looked at the emperor's expression and found that there was no change, so he stopped talking.
"Is all this the Lu family's doing? What on earth do they want to do?"
Zhao Hengzhen's voice was very loud. When the guards outside heard it, they all looked into the room. After finding nothing unusual, they continued to guard outside.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. From what I've seen, the Lu family is collaborating with the Wang family this time, employing Xianbei to enter the country. Ostensibly, this is to target Dingzhou, but in reality, there are also Murong Xianbei gathering outside of Yanzhou."
"Want to contain my entire northern region?" Zhao Hengzhen thought for a moment and then said, "Is the Lu family trying to support the Eighth Prince? There's no need to make enemies like this."
Zhao Hengzhen originally planned to invite Zhao Hui to Beijing, but the third son declined, so the eldest prince went to court, but the eldest prince's authority was also restricted.
King Zhou didn't expect to find a stink bug while cracking melon seeds.
The Lu family wants to support the eighth prince.
Should they invite the Fourth Prince to the capital to disrupt the situation? Or should they use their own tactics to force the Wei family to take action against the Lu family?
"Bring an oral instruction to Wei Rong tomorrow, that's all..."
Zhao Hengzhen whispered a few words to Wu Wei, and Wu Wei instantly understood what was going on.
Since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there has been constant internal strife. Most court officials believed that it was caused by the separatist rule of the vassal kings, while others bluntly pointed out that the aristocratic families were the cause of the disaster.
In Dingzhou and Weizhou, Zhao Hengzhen asked Wu Wei to convey an oral message to Wei Rong, hoping that he would come forward and immediately stop the current dispute.
If Wei Rong couldn't do it, he could only ask Prince Yan to do it.
Among the seven princes now, the third prince Zhao Hui has strong military power. If he directly steps in to quell the rebellion, he may not succeed. However, if he supports someone, the entire court may not be able to stop him.
"Grand Eunuch, please go back and tell His Majesty that I will definitely see to this matter."
When Wei Rong bowed to see Wu Wei off, he said these words with a humble expression.
Wu Wei also knew that these words were spoken for others to see, and he might not really mean it in his heart, but so what?
Watching Wu Wei leave, Wei Rong turned and said to the housekeeper in the courtyard.
"Go find Minister Cui of the Ministry of Revenue, Lu Xiang of the Ministry of Works, and Hong Kui of the Left Guard. Tell them I have something to discuss."
The housekeeper left as soon as he was told, and Wei Rong was alone in the room thinking quietly. At this time, Wei Ao came to the yard, saw his father concentrating, and stepped forward to ask.
"Father, why are you unhappy?"
Wei Rong looked at his son, who had nothing to do all day long except strolling around the streets with a bird cage or flirting in brothels and flower boats.
Today he was wearing a gorgeous white brocade robe, and even in the middle of winter he held a folding fan in his hand, and appeared with two servants.
It's a rare opportunity to show up at home.
"Rare guest, why didn't you go out and cause trouble today?"
Wei Rong said sarcastically.
"Hey! I don't know where to go in the capital. The Second Prince said he would take me to Luoyang City in two days."
Wei Ao looked at his father's attitude with boredom, and without thinking, he said out Zhao Wei's verbal agreement.
"Luoyang? Zhao Wei?" Wei Rong seemed to remember something. He reached out and pulled Wei Ao over, and used his eyes to stop the servant who was about to follow him.
"My son, go find the Second Prince. When you come back, if I have guests to meet, take him directly to the study next door."
As he spoke, he pointed in a direction with his finger, his eyes seemed to ask, do you understand what I mean?
"Okay, Dad, I'll go right away." Wei Ao turned and left. Looking at his son's back, Wei Rong didn't know whether he understood what he meant.
Cui Shangshu from the Ministry of Revenue arrived the earliest. Suddenly, the Prime Minister called him over, and he rushed over immediately.
"Give me some good tea!"
** is the housekeeper of this compound. He is the one who welcomes and sees off distinguished guests, which shows his status in the mansion.
"What does Minister Wei want to see me for?"
The Cui family doesn't like to associate with people in the royal family, but of course they are not stupid enough to offend them.
"The Lu family caused trouble this time, and His Majesty asked me to come forward to quell it. I thought the affairs of the eight families should be resolved behind closed doors. Therefore, since your Cui family owns two families, it is only natural that you should come forward to preside over this matter."
Wei Rong praised Cui Bingzhong very highly and did not care about his own status at all.
"Then I wonder what Prime Minister Wei thinks?"
"This..." Wei Rong was about to speak when he heard someone come in. He looked at ** with a gloomy face.
**When he reached the gate, he saw a servant standing ten steps outside the gate, saying that Lu Xiang from the Ministry of Works had arrived.
"Minister Cui is here, please go and welcome Minister Lu!"
As the prime minister, Wei Rong had no reason to lower himself to greet him. His words at this time seemed to reflect the importance of Cui Bingzhong's identity, but in fact it was not the case.
However, Cui Bingzhong was really deceived by Wei Rong's tricks, and his vanity suddenly soared.
It’s not that the ancients had low IQs, but that vanity has always been more cost-effective.
**Welcome Lu Xiang in, pay respects to Wei Rong and Cui Bingzhong, and then take a seat in the second seat in the living room.
"Just now, Minister Cui asked me how to quell the conflict caused by the Lu family. I think it's a good idea to use General Hong Kui of the Left Guard to go to Bingzhou so that we can solve this problem once and for all."
Lu Xiang didn't know what Wei Rong meant, but Cui Bingzhong knew that there were significant interests involved.
"Prime Minister Wei, if you want us to provide some kind of help, just tell us directly."
Cui Bingzhong knew that the old fox in front of him probably wanted to make a fortune from the national crisis.
"The Lu family's actions are like a cancer that is eroding the peaceful soil of our dynasty. To quell this rebellion, I will implement the following strategy:
First, dispatch an elite division. Select battle-hardened generals, well-versed in military tactics, and lead well-trained soldiers to the border. This division will be well-equipped with top-quality bows, crossbows, and swords to ensure combat effectiveness.
Second, divide and disintegrate the enemy. For their generals, you can reason with them, promise them a way to reform themselves, and persuade them to surrender; for those who are stubborn, list them as the primary targets for elimination.
Third, food and fodder supplies will be distributed uniformly throughout the rebellious areas, with reserves of three to five days' worth. Border trade will be blocked, and the flow of suspicious supplies into the war zone will be strictly prohibited. Villages supplying supplies to the rebels will be treated with both kindness and force, encouraging them to cooperate with the imperial court and cutting off their food and fodder and weapons supplies.
Fourth, unite the border residents. Post notices informing them of the imperial court's determination and actions to suppress the rebellion. Offer generous rewards to those who assist in suppressing the rebellion.
Fifth, we must eradicate all evil and show no mercy to those causing rebellion, so that peace can be restored to the border."