Establishing a thousand-year family from the nobles of the Western Han Dynasty

Chapter 170 Rejection
This sincerity can be said to be very great, which means that the Han court can regain control of Luoyang without spending a single soldier and have a formal capital, instead of having to stay in Wancheng, a place that is not suitable as a capital.

The most important thing is that the losses are smaller. If we continue to send troops, the Xin Mang in Chang'an will not sit idly by and wait for death. They still have at least 300,000 soldiers who can fight if they defend important places such as Luoyang, Hangu Pass and Tongguan.

The Han army would not be able to break in for a while, unless God blessed them and the Liangzhou army in the northwest broke through the blockade and trapped the main army in a trap.

If Luoyang is captured, the Xin Dynasty will not be far from destruction. It is only a matter of time. Internal rebellion alone will be enough to give them a hard time, and the Han Dynasty can just sit back and watch the fight!

What's more, there is one thing that the Han court really wants, the imperial seal!

This regime has long been criticized by people all over the world for lacking an imperial seal. Even if it works hard to govern, it cannot cover up this defect!
After dinner, the common people were almost always talking about the fact that the current emperor did not have the imperial seal.

The Han Dynasty's restrictions on speech were not as severe as those of the Qing Dynasty. People would only be punished if they openly insulted or ridiculed the emperor and were heard by local officials.

Normally, there is no need to keep a close eye on things that only God, the earth, you and I know.

"The envoy, please go down and have a rest first. This matter is of great importance and I need to discuss it with my ministers." Liu Xiang originally wanted to refuse directly, but when he heard this condition, he was moved.

The Chimei Army is just a group of peasants. With the cooperation of the Xinmang Army, it would be very easy to wipe them out. In this way, Henan can be taken without any effort!

If they were even more shameless, they could launch a sudden attack, kill the new army, and then contact the Northwest Army to attack Chang'an.

The effect is similar, and it doesn't require consuming so much food and manpower, so it's worth considering.

In fact, he wanted to agree directly, but the problem was that the emperor did not have the final say in the court. Strictly speaking, four statements were needed.

The opinions of the two people in the court, General Xu Zhong and Prime Minister Xu Hua, were the ones that really played a decisive role.

"Everyone, please discuss it and come up with a charter." Liu Xiang focused his eyes on Xu Hua, "Let me express my opinion first. I think we can agree to the Xinmang's request for peace. If Luoyang is in hand, Chang'an will be within reach. It's just a matter of sooner or later."

"The advantage is that we don't need to take risks and reduce the consumption of troops. After all, the lives of soldiers are lives. Of course, there are disadvantages as well. If everything goes well, we can go straight to Huanglong and destroy the Xin Dynasty in one fell swoop."

"The emperor cannot make arbitrary decisions on the affairs of the world. It still depends on you all."

In fact, this "everyone" refers to the prime minister. Xu Zhong usually has a very cold attitude towards state affairs, and he just does whatever Xu Hua says.

So strictly speaking it still means one person.

"Your Majesty, I think it is possible. You have already mentioned the advantages, so I will not elaborate on them. We should be cautious in everything and continue to act according to the original plan. There are many variables, and if we are not careful, it may lead to a reversal of the power of our two dynasties."

"There are hundreds of thousands of troops, all of them elite. If we lose a lot of them, it will shake the foundation of the country!"

Grand Marshal Zhu Chun came out to express his intentions.

This one of the Three Dukes was also a powerful figure in the court, the leader of the Huainan faction, had considerable influence within the Xu Party, and was a close confidant of General Xu Zhong.

He once served as the governor of Yangzhou and the former general, and had 20,000 Danyang soldiers and 30,000 Jiangdong navy under his command. A few years ago, the Xu family fulfilled their promise and gave him the position of Grand Marshal.

But even so, the local governor and generals in Yangzhou were all from Huainan, and the court followed Zhu Chun's lead. His ideas were very important, and even Xu Hua could not ignore them.

Even though Xu Hua has spoken, Zhu Chun will most likely insist on his decision. He knows clearly that the head follows the butt.

"Well... Grand Marshal, great minds think alike." Liu Xiang nodded with satisfaction. It seemed that the Grand Marshal was still on his side.

In fact, Zhu Chun's idea was very simple. The 200,000 troops under the command of the second Xu on the front line included soldiers from Yangzhou. His thinking was conservative and he didn't want to go any further. He was satisfied with defending an acre and three pieces of land.

Therefore, these armies are of vital importance to him. Without soldiers, how can one hold the position of one of the Three Dukes securely?

Whether a minister in the court has real power nowadays depends on whether he has military power and how many troops he has.

Even the previous Praefectus Urbi Xu Zhao was not a person of connections. As Xu Zhong's adopted son, he had joined the army to suppress rebels since he was fifteen years old. He had accumulated considerable military merit. With the help of his adoptive father, he was able to be ranked among the Nine Ministers at a young age.

He controls the palace guards, which are his own 5,000 elite troops. They belong to the Jingzhou army and are the main figures inside.

He was once hailed as the best young general under Li Yang. Since the Left General, who was in charge of the military and political power of a state, was dismissed, he gradually replaced his position as the leader of the young faction.

Having been to the frontline these days, Xu Zhong planned to appoint him as the governor of Yanzhou and give him the rank of rear general after the war. If Li Yang performed well, he would be on par with him, otherwise he would be replaced.

The general had no obsession with Li Yang, but for the sake of his elder brother, he allocated an elite force of the Northwest Army to him.

Of course, it was also meant to test one's ability. The Northwestern Liangzhou Army was a famously fierce army in the Han Dynasty, and was also notorious for its arrogant and fierce generals, who were arrogant because of their favor.

This was not the first time that they had fought with soldiers from other factions, and the only ones who could suppress them were the generals within the Northwest Army.

The only person who could suppress the generals and ministers of Liang Province was Xu Yuan, and he obeyed the orders of Xu Hua and Xu Zhong for the sake of the Grand Commander's face.

If Li Yang can deal with these people, then we can talk about re-employment, otherwise forget it.

The Han Dynasty has long been no lack of talent.

"What Zhu Sikong said is biased."

The Right General Wang Qing stepped out. He also had another identity: the governor of Xia Pi and the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of all counties and prefectures in Xuzhou. He was also a powerful figure.

He had at least 20,000 troops under his command and was very brave in battle. He followed Xu Min in his early years, and later made great achievements in Xuzhou. He then became independent and stayed in the court in Nanyang. He did not return to Yecheng, the secondary capital in Hebei.

Essentially, he is also a member of the Xu Party, but belongs to Xu Min's Hebei faction and also obeys Xu Hua. But after all, the Qinghe Xu family and the Nanyang Xu family are two families.

There are still divisions among the camps. Wang Qing doesn't dare to offend the three big guys, but there is no problem in confronting Zhu Chun who is at the same level.

As an extreme character, he is the exact opposite of his opponent's conservatism.

He was also very dissatisfied with Zhu Chun. He believed that he was no worse than the other party in terms of ability, qualifications and strength, but he was only a general of a high title in the court.

Even though he was only the governor of Xia Pi, Xuzhou did not have a governor, and Xia Pi was the provincial capital. He had military supervision power, which was enough to prove everything and that he was also a separatist state.

Zhu Chun glanced at him and said with a fake smile: "I wonder what you think, General?"

As a person who is content with the status quo and has no ambition, he does not like to make enemies with anyone, but he will not be nice to those who are hostile to him.

Are you kidding? We are all big warlords with tens of thousands of soldiers. Why should we accommodate you? I am just a Buddhist, but not a coward! He has reason to suspect that the other party is deliberately targeting him.

Wang Qing bowed his hands to Emperor Liu Xiang and the Prime Minister and General respectively, and said, "Now, our army has mobilized the troops, all parties have taken action, and have formed an alliance with Zheng An. No matter how you look at it, we have completed preparations for war."

"Under such circumstances, how can we just stop fighting? How can we stop those generals who are eager to make achievements?" "Your Majesty, I am a soldier and have done sufficient research on this war. Our army will win without a doubt! Although the overall number seems to be similar, the new army has already exhausted most of its energy due to the rebellions in various places."

"The Northwest Army has been harassing us constantly, and the Xinmang soldiers have been completely frightened. I'm afraid they will be defeated before the battle even starts. In addition, the ministers in Chang'an have also contacted our dynasty to surrender. Wang Mang has always been arrogant. If he hadn't been desperate, how could he suppress us and cede land to seek peace?"

"I think we can't just follow Wang Mang's wishes! Since we can destroy him in one fell swoop, why should we keep waiting?"

"This war must be fought! The people in the interior of the Xin Dynasty are all loyal to the Han Dynasty. Our Han Dynasty urgently needs a victory to reassure them. This is also a necessary battle for the founding of the country! Even if we destroy Xin later, we will not be able to have the momentum we have now."

"Wang Mang is a traitor, and we will make him pay the price!"

Wang Qing's argument was also well-reasoned and well-founded. In fact, neither of them was wrong, but one was more conservative and the other was more radical; one wanted to be safe and the other wanted quick results.

It depends on how it is implemented. It makes sense. If an order is given to negotiate peace, I'm afraid Xu Yuan will be the first to disagree.

Those generals and soldiers who hope to achieve military merit may also be resentful of the imperial court.

In a sense, war is the best way to achieve class advancement and can greatly reduce domestic class conflicts.

"General Wang is right, but there are risks anyway. Our Han dynasty has been established for nearly ten years, and the Guandong region has become stable. There is no need to continue taking this risk."

"If the stalemate continues, the Xinmang Dynasty will be destroyed by peasant uprisings everywhere, or we can just watch."

"Why do it yourself?"

Zhu Chun was not willing to be outdone. He certainly knew these advantages, but he still didn't want to follow this and let his people die in vain.

Why resort to war when the problem can be resolved without bloodshed?

Wang Qing also fought back, "Humph, the Chang'an court was destroyed because of your thoughts."

“Since there is a risk of trial and error, I still don’t dare to take a chance.”

Then, court officials from various factions also expressed their suggestions, which can basically be divided into two groups: conservatives and radicals.

Everyone engaged in a heated debate, citing examples of the merits of their own ideas and refuting each other.

For a moment, the whole hall was noisy and in chaos. Many times, the ministers in the court were not so decent and swearing in the streets was not uncommon.

"Silence!" the young eunuch shouted.

Everyone quieted down and said in unison:

"Your Majesty, please make your decision!"

Liu Xiang was also in a dilemma. He originally wanted to negotiate peace, but after hearing what Wang Qing said, he felt it made sense.

If they retreated, what would happen to the soldiers and generals who were eager for military merit? There were not many opportunities like this to decide the fate of the world in one battle, and it was unknown when the next one would be.

"What does Xu Zaizhi think?"

He passed the ball to his beloved minister, who was the only one who could make the final decision.

No one dared to object.

"I think it is a good thing that we have taken Luoyang without bloodshed."

Upon hearing this, the conservatives showed joy on their faces, and those who held opposing opinions remained silent, not daring to talk back to the most powerful official.

But Xu Hua suddenly changed the subject, "But what General Wang said is not without reason. Everything has its positive and negative sides."

"Let me tell you what I think. Seeking the skin of a tiger will never end well. I remember that the traitor Wang Mang was defeated once during the reign of Emperor Ai. Or rather, he took the initiative to show weakness and withdraw."

"But within a few years, he made a comeback. Isn't this time similar? Over time, anything can happen."

The conservatives who had been excited just now suddenly froze in their expressions. Anyone with a discerning eye could understand what the prime minister meant.

He favored a direct attack on Huanglong rather than a ceasefire.

Xu Hua continued, "The court has reached a consensus with General Zheng An of the Red Eyebrow Army. Both sides call on loyal Han people to jointly fight against the traitor Wang Mang."

"We made an alliance with him with great confidence, but after just a few months we are breaking the alliance. This doesn't seem to be in line with a great power. Whether it's in history books or among the people, it won't sound good if people tell about it in the future."

"It's really not wise to bear the stigma for such a small benefit."

"Your Majesty, I mean to refuse the peace talks and act according to the original strategy!"

He directly rejected the conditions offered by Wang Mang. It was indeed very tempting, but too inhumane, and there were deeper reasons for it.

The future emperor of the Han Dynasty is lurking among them, waiting to establish meritorious services. If I simply stop the war with the Xinmang Dynasty and turn it into a minor friction, how can he come to the fore?

If the Mang clan is destroyed slowly, the world situation will be determined, and only those warlords who are already powerful will be qualified to compete!

Even if you are destined to be the emperor, you still need to follow the trend of the times. Wasn't Emperor Gao of Liu Bang the true emperor? But before the uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guangda, you could only watch dogs fight at home and be a commoner.

It’s impossible that Emperor Gaodi is also incompetent.

So we must fight! Xu Hua planned to take this opportunity to destroy Xinmang in one fell swoop! In the past two months, Liu Xiang's health suddenly deteriorated and took a sharp turn for the worse.

He knew that this was the so-called "power of historical revision". After the demise of the Xinmang Dynasty, it was the emperor's stage.

If annexation really changes to cannibalization, then Liu Xiang will have changed his fate against the will of heaven, and he will not die again, and he will have the qualifications to compete for the throne!

Liu Xiang had already expressed his views, so he simply stopped talking and said, "Let's do as the prime minister wishes. Do you have any objections?"

"I have no objection."

Zhu Chun was very reluctant, but helpless. As a member of Xu's party, how could he go against the boss?
not worth it.

Afterwards, Liu Xiang summoned the envoy again and sternly rejected the other party's requests for peace from all over the country. The envoy rushed back to Chang'an in despair with the bad news.

(End of this chapter)