The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 105 The fat sheep delivered to the door
After watching the excitement.

Li Yi no longer had the intention to patrol the camp, and immediately led his men back to the imperial government office.

He first went to the Privy Council to ask the clerk for the February court bulletin, which was the documents and intelligence copied by the court to inform the court of state affairs.

Then he returned to his office and read it carefully.

Military generals in this day and age have a very high status, but they seldom take part in the affairs of the court. It is not that they do not want to take care of it, but that they cannot reach that far.

To be honest, even Zhang Yongde and Li Chongjin rarely saw the emperor during their daily duties unless there was something important.

In contrast, civil officials and prime ministers had easier access to the emperor.

Especially a more diligent monarch like Chai Rong would often summon close ministers to discuss matters around him, such as the Palace Attendant, the Hanlin Academician, and the Counselor.

These people may not have high ranks, but they serve the emperor and have great actual power. They often participate in the discussion and formulation of military and political affairs of state.

Governing a country as large as this requires taking into account all aspects. Many things are not discussed openly in court meetings, but are mostly decided by some important officials in a very small circle.

To borrow a phrase from later generations, this is called holding a big meeting to handle small matters, and holding a small meeting to handle big matters... Don't look at Li Yi's high status and position nowadays. Those who have more power than him in the Palace Guard and the Imperial Guard can be counted on one hand.

But when it comes to making decisions on major military and political affairs, he is far from qualified. Even the emperor's cousin and brother-in-law have to stand aside.

As the saying goes, the army only needs to fight well, and the emperor and the prime ministers have more to consider... Just like the appeal filed by the people of Qinzhou this time, whether it is true or a show, Li Yi still cannot find out the inside story.

So he took the copied official bulletin from the Privy Council and prepared to read it carefully to learn the spirit of the central government.

Marrying the daughter of King Wei is indeed important, but national affairs cannot be neglected either. If you are out of touch with state affairs for a long time, you will be in the dark at the critical moment.

When Li Yi reaches this position, people at the same level or higher level usually cannot directly explain certain benefits and disadvantages to him, and he needs to figure out many things by himself.

Although this sounds fucked up, it's the reality: the higher the status of a person, the more they like to be a riddle teller.

Thinking of this, Li Yi carefully read the court report... The content recorded on it was very mixed, mostly false and empty.

After all, it is for officials from all over the country to copy and understand the policy direction of the court, and many confidential core decisions will definitely not be written down.

But some clues could be found from the trivial content, and soon Li Yi saw a name in the court report: Wang Pu.

He quickly picked up the newspaper and read it carefully.

The above content is relatively general. It roughly says that at the end of January this year, the emperor ordered more than 20 ministers, headed by Hanlin scholar Xu Taifu, to write one article each, "On the Difficulty of Being a King and the Difficulty of Being a Minister" and "On the Strategy of Pacificating the Border".

Among them, the essay "Strategies for Pacificating the Border" presented by Wang Pu, a Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites, was particularly appreciated and valued by the emperor, who directly promoted Wang Pu to the position of Left Counselor and Governor of Kaifeng Prefecture.

"I actually forgot about Wang Pu..." Li Yi suddenly slapped his head.

It is said that human energy is limited and it is difficult to focus on several things at the same time. He has been busy with his marriage during this period, which led to him missing Wang Pu, a very important figure during the Xian De period.

As for asking who Wang Pu is?

We have to mention that when Chai Rong first ascended the throne, he asked Wang Pu, who was an expert in numerology, "How many years will I have left?"

Wang Pu replied, "I am ignorant and have only learned so much that I cannot predict what will happen thirty years from now."

This is how Chai Rong famously said, "If what you say is true, I should spend ten years expanding the country, ten years caring for the people, and ten years bringing peace to the country."

In addition, Wang Pu is more famous for his "Plan for Pacificating the Border".

The core strategy of "first south then north, first easy then difficult" mentioned therein was used until Zhao Kuangyin founded the country and became emperor.

To borrow a comment from the future Emperor Taizu of Song on Wang Pu: As long as this person is alive, I cannot wear this robe.

This is enough to show Wang Pu's personal ability, but it's a pity that he died before Chai Rong... It is a coincidence that in history, Chai Rong also passed away suddenly only three months after Wang Pu's death.

Of course, these things are not important for the time being. History has deviated greatly now. Only God knows what will happen in the future.

But thinking of Wang Pu, what happened this afternoon made sense. Since the "Plan for Pacificating the Border" came out ahead of time, according to the strategy therein, if one wants to take down Southern Tang, one must first resolve the threat from Later Shu.

Then one move would affect the whole body, and the appeal of the people of Qinzhou would naturally be brought forward, and the attack on Hou Shu would also be put on the agenda.

……

With something on his mind, Li Yi simply stopped running around and stayed in the office until the end of his shift.

However, when he was about to go home, he was stopped by Zhang Yongde at the gate of the yamen.

The two men walked into the signing room hand in hand, and Zhang Yongde said bluntly: "Your Majesty wants to mobilize troops against Shu." Hearing this, Li Yi was not surprised, because he knew the matter well, but he was a little puzzled. Just this morning, the people of Qinzhou came to Tokyo to file a complaint, and now they were about to start a war.

The truth is revealed so quickly, and you don't even want to continue acting?
Seeing that Li Yi was silent, Zhang Yongde thought he didn't understand, so he immediately explained, "People from Qinzhou have come to Your Majesty to report that the Shu court is oppressive and harsh. They request Your Majesty to send troops to recover their homeland and serve the people."

At this point, he asked, "Have you heard of this, my dear brother?"

Li Yi nodded and said, "I happened to run into the people from Qinzhou on my way to inspect the military camp this afternoon."

Zhang Yongde suddenly realized. No wonder he didn't react much to Li Yi. It turned out that he was mentally prepared.

He then smiled and said, "With your intelligence, I think you should understand that this is the perfect opportunity for our Great Zhou to recapture the four states of Qin, Jie, Cheng, and Feng."

Li Yi knew this without much explanation, but he was more concerned about another thing.

He asked directly, "Who does Your Majesty want to lead the Western Expedition?"

"That's what I want to tell you."

At this point, Zhang Yongde hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "In fact, according to my opinion, if you can lead the troops to conquer Qin, Feng and other four states, then this great achievement will allow you to advance further and be promoted to Jiedushi. It shouldn't be a big problem."

"However, I cannot say too much about the expedition to Shu. I just learned about it from the Wei envoy. Moreover, you are about to marry the King of Wei's beloved daughter, so I cannot rashly recommend you and delay your marriage."

After hearing this, Li Yi was speechless. What Zhang Yongde said sounded like nonsense, and the bottom line was: I want to help you but I can't.

But upon closer thought, Zhang Yongde's decision to stop Li Yi and say this was actually an active gesture of goodwill.

After all, anyone with a discerning eye could see that among the four commanders of the Palace Guard Sima, Infantry, and Imperial Guard Sima, Infantry, only Li Yi's status and position were inferior, and he was stuck at the position of Du Yu Hou and Defense Envoy.

Although his military rank was already that of a high-ranking general, it was still not perfect without the title of Jiedushi... Which general didn't like to be called "Jiedushi"?
Li Yi now urgently needs an opportunity to make merit so that he can move up to the next level. The Western Expedition to the Later Shu is naturally a good opportunity, but he obviously cannot catch this train.

Zhang Yongde's words are equivalent to expressing his attitude -

"I'm also worried about you, brother. I hope you can quickly establish your own government and become a Jiedushi. But you're getting married now, so you can't make it in time. It's not that I won't help you as a brother.

Besides, being brothers also has its difficulties. These important matters are all decided by the Prime Minister and the Privy Council. At best, I only have the power to recommend, and that may not be of any use."

However, Li Yi really wanted to ask: Can the expedition to Shu be postponed until I get married? But after thinking about it, he knew it was impossible. Military and political affairs are not a joke. Who the hell can wait for you?

At this time, Zhang Yongde was heard saying, "Since your majesty ascended the throne, you have been determined to wipe out all the kingdoms and bring order to the world. However, our Great Zhou is surrounded by enemies on all sides. To the north, the Khitan and the pseudo-Han are eyeing us covetously. To the west, the Shu Kingdom is always trying to break out of the Central Plains. To the south, there is no need to mention the states of Jiangnan and Jingchu that have usurped the throne and do not take our Great Zhou seriously."

As he spoke, he stood up and walked over to Li Yi, patted his shoulder and said comfortingly, "There are still many battles to be fought in the future, and there are still many opportunities for you to make meritorious deeds. There is no need to rush now."

There is nothing wrong with what he said, and there are indeed many opportunities, but Li Yi is very unwilling to give up. Why should he wait until later when he can get what he wants right now?

After saying goodbye to Zhang Yongde, Li Yi went straight home.

However, just as he got home and sat down to eat, a maid hurried into the hall to report that a middle-aged man had come to the door and claimed to be a servant of Mrs. Li Er, who sold wine. He was sent by his wife to invite Li Yi to come for a chat.

"Mrs. Li Er?"

Li Yi frowned slightly. With such a name and the fact that he was a wine seller, there was only one possibility... that hypocritical remnant of the Tang Dynasty, Li Erniang.

"No, let him go."

He was full of worries and naturally had no mood to play house with Li Er Niang. He immediately asked someone to kick her out.

Guo, however, looked suspicious: "When did Erlang have a confidante who sells wine?"

Li Yi said with a smile: "How can she be called a confidante? She is just an ignorant girl who has been spoiled by fine clothes and delicious food... Huh?"

At this point, a light bulb suddenly lit up in his head: Yes, fine clothes and delicious food... doesn't that mean a very rich fat sheep?

Li Yi suddenly became excited when he thought about the fact that the betrothal gifts for marrying Fu Er Niang had not been collected yet.

It would be a shame not to kill a fat sheep that comes to your door!
"Wait!" Li Yi immediately stopped the maid and ordered, "Tell him to wait at the door for a while, I'll be there soon."

Seeing this, Guo bit her lip and muttered, "Erlang said she wasn't his confidante... He even skipped his meal to go see her."

Li Yi didn't bother to explain anything to Guo and told her not to wait for him to come back for dinner.

Followed by.

He went to the front yard to call Li Hanchao, and brought a few personal soldiers who were on duty at the mansion, and they all went out together.

(End of this chapter)