Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 220 Old Dogs and Old Dogs
Juqu Xianwu's throat bobbed, and as he met the sharp, hawk-like gaze of the Crown Prince of the Great Han Empire, his rebuttal turned into a broken sigh.

The Crown Prince's assertiveness left Juqu Xianwu speechless. He knew he couldn't persuade the ruler of the Han Empire, so he had to step back and let Xiao Yuan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, arrange for him to stay at a guesthouse.

Han Sui stayed behind to await the Crown Prince's questioning.

"Wenyue, tell me about the battle situation in Liangzhou."

Liu Bian pointed at Han Sui. As a native of Jincheng County and the army's supply censor, Han Sui's judgment of the situation should be more accurate than that of many people in the court, given the combination of various information.

Han Sui sat in his seat and bowed to the Crown Prince. After a moment's thought, he decisively replied, "Your Highness, I believe we should fight again."

"General Zuo's strategy of throwing stones as a game and engaging in prolonged battle serves three purposes: first, to make the rebel army complacent and weaken their morale; second, to deplete their supplies and provisions, causing them to collapse without a fight; and third, to allow the troops to rest and boost morale. Now, the army is in high spirits, and everyone is eager to fight. We will surely defeat the enemy in one battle!"

Liu Bian nodded slightly. Although he did not express his opinion explicitly, he agreed with Han Sui's viewpoint.

Huangfu Song also stated in his letter that he did not genuinely want a ceasefire, but only hoped to wear down the rebels' morale through this so-called ceasefire negotiation.

Yuzhong is 2,400 li away from Luoyang. Han Sui led Juqu Xianwu to travel 200 li a day, and the round trip would take nearly a month. This would delay the rebels for another month. By then, even if the rebels did not collapse without a fight, they would have no will to fight.

Yes, this General Zuo really wants to capture Beigong Boyu and bring him to the Jiade Hall to perform a dance for His Highness the Crown Prince.

Liu Bian was initially puzzled as to how Huangfu Song could be so cunning.

The letter stated that the plan was devised by Xun You, a military advisor, and was modeled after Wang Jian's strategy to destroy Chu.

However, Wang Jian was wearing down the King of Chu's patience and trust in Xiang Yan, while Huangfu Song was wearing down the rebel army's food supplies and morale.

Xun You was a man of few words and a dull face, giving people the impression of being wooden and dull, but he had many schemes in his heart.

Of course, this was because Beigong Boyu was unaware of the true strength of the Han army.

Huangfu Song was once again granted the authority to act as an imperial envoy, and Liu Bian granted him the power to wage war and make peace, as well as the authority to dispose of prisoners of war.

However, Huangfu Song also mentioned the handling of the Qiang and Hu rebels in his letter. As for the Qiang people who fear power but do not appreciate virtue, only by completely breaking their backbone will they lie on the ground like dogs, obediently accepting their master's scolding and not daring to bare their sharp fangs at their master!
Liu Bian acknowledged this point.

Which dynasty or generation of Qiang and Hu peoples could be obedient?

Even during the reign of that Heavenly Khan, in the ninth year of the Zhenguan era, a branch of the Qiang people, the Dangxiang Qiang, rose up in rebellion and joined forces with the Tuyuhun against the Tang Dynasty.

Meanwhile, the Tangut Qiang people officially established the Western Xia state during the Northern Song Dynasty, becoming a major threat to the Northern Song.

This is just one of the Qiang tribes. It took nearly two thousand years of Sinicization for this to be accomplished. Even the Heavenly Khan could not truly win over this tribe, so he did not expect to achieve it in this dynasty.

Seeing that the Crown Prince was deep in thought, no one spoke to break the silence until the Crown Prince raised his head and looked at everyone again. His gaze swept over Liu Yan and Liu Tao, who were eager to try, and landed on Zhang Xun, the Minister of the Bureau of Guests, and he asked, "What does the Minister of the Bureau of Guests think?"

Zhang Xun was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, seemingly feeling somewhat flattered.

Everyone knows about the struggle between Liu Yan and Liu Tao. The fact that the Crown Prince asked who it was first clearly shows who held a higher position in his heart. But no one expected that the Crown Prince would ask him first.

Seeing Zhang Xun speechless with astonishment, Lu Zhi reached out and shoved him, shouting in his ear, "Zijun, how dare you not answer His Highness's question?"

Zhang Xun and Lu Zhi were related by marriage; Zhang Xun and Lu Zhi's wife both came from the Zhang family of Jiyin, though they were cousins, not siblings. Liu Bian didn't blame him, but simply rested his hands on the table, interlacing his fingers and pressing them against his head, quietly waiting for Zhang Xun's reply.

Professionals should handle professional matters. As the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cao Shangshu was in charge of affairs concerning the Northern Di and Southern Man tribes, he naturally had a great deal of authority to speak on this matter.

"I believe that peace talks are possible, but a battle must be fought first!"

Once he regained his composure, Zhang Xun didn't falter. Instead, he analyzed the current situation, the habits of the Qiang people, and even their population size, replying, "If we don't inflict heavy damage on the Qiang people, they will rebel at any time! As Your Highness just said to those Qiang and Hu people, does that mean that our Tianhan has mobilized over 100,000 troops and hundreds of thousands of laborers just to go on a day trip to Liangzhou?"

Liu Bian remained noncommittal, turning his head to look at Lu Zhi.

The court had heard too many analyses of the Qiang and Hu people's habits and population in recent days, so Lu Zhi chose to speak from a military perspective: "Your Highness, if we go to war now, Huangfu Song will surely win."

"At this moment, I'm afraid the soldiers in the army will not agree to peace talks. The soldiers have marched three thousand miles away. If they do not receive military merits, they will not receive sufficient rewards. They will inevitably harbor resentment. This move will also be detrimental to Your Highness's prestige."

Han Sui, who had just returned to Luoyang from the army, deeply agreed with Lu Zhi's words. Although he did not have any disloyal intentions, such a blow to the morale of the army was too heavy. Who could be willing to work hard for a long time but not get any military merits?

Seeing that His Highness the Crown Prince had not asked for his opinion, Liu Yan could no longer sit still and spoke up, "Your Highness, I believe that the military supplies are plentiful and the soldiers are eager for battle, so we are ready to fight!"

Liu Tao glanced at Liu Yan in surprise, his face instantly darkening.

Liu Junlang, you old scoundrel! Where is the dignity of the head of all officials?

You old dog, His Highness didn't even ask you, yet you took the initiative to speak up, just to compete with me for power. You have no shame, do you?

However, Liu Tao's eyes suddenly darted around, as if he had thought of something. He regained his calm and composed expression and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, the new grain has been harvested in early summer, which can be called the opportune time; the two armies are facing each other in front, and our army has deep trenches and high walls, which can be called the advantage of terrain; the court officials all advocate war, the soldiers are eager for battle, and if the whole country is of one mind, this can be called the harmony of the people!"

As soon as he finished speaking, it was Liu Yan's turn to have a dark expression.

Such concluding remarks should have been made by him, the head of all officials, but he neglected this matter in order to vie for precedence.

This old dog actually outdone him!
Liu Yan glared at Liu Tao, his wide eyes blazing with anger. Although he didn't make a sound, his slightly moving lips suggested that he was hurling a very vulgar insult.

Liu Bian felt that what he heard sounded like "old dog," "your mother is a maid," and other words that were meant to greet Liu Tao's mother and female ancestors throughout history.

Liu Tao's ancestor, Liu Bo, the Prince of Jibei, was the son of Liu Chang, the Prince of Huainan.

Liu Yan's ancestor, King Lu Gong, was the son of Emperor Xiaojing. The two families had no common maternal lineage, so it was perfectly acceptable for Liu Yan to curse Liu Tao's female ancestors to death!

However, Liu Tao could not greet the great-grandmother and grandmother of King Lu Gong, otherwise... well, don't blame Liu Yan for accusing him of disrespecting Empress Dowager Bo and Empress Xiaowen Dou!

Seeing that all these important ministers agreed to fight, Liu Bian was naturally happy.

The scholars of the Han Dynasty were still tough enough when facing foreign tribes.

Although Emperor Xiaowu's conquests left the land desolate, he ultimately forged a sense of national pride in the people of the Han Dynasty.

Since there is no objection from the court to continuing the war, what is there to hesitate about?
Then hit!
(End of this chapter)