My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 558 Heading North! Troops March Out of Jinyang!
Erzhu Rong asked himself a question.

I used to be so full of vigor, as if I had the world's affairs under my control.

Even when he learned that Yuan Ziyou intended to train Gao Yu to challenge him and act as a referee in an attempt to reclaim the lost imperial power, he didn't take it seriously.

At that time, he had boundless confidence, feeling that he could tame and control Gao Yu, this wild horse!
Great talents are like wild horses; the more capable a person is, the greater their ambition.

But what about the last two years?
He has indeed changed a lot. He has become insecure, started to feel afraid, and always feels that everything is out of his control.

The essence of avoiding battle is that he is afraid of losing and dares not continue to lose.

But how could he, who was knowledgeable about military affairs, not understand?
If a city only stays in the city and defends itself, without the courage to go out and fight the enemy in the field, its morale will collapse sooner or later.

The more afraid you are of losing, the more you will keep losing.

"Prime Minister, the morale and fighting spirit of the army are still good at the moment, and we still have the ability to launch an attack... If we continue to hold our ground, it will be too late to regret it when the morale of the army is completely lost!"

Hebasheng earnestly persuaded him.

Still no one spoke. Even Husi Chun, who was usually quick-witted and eloquent, could tell that Erzhu Rong was very conflicted at this moment, so he did not speak rashly.

For Erzhu Rong, this was a crucial decision.

If you speak up now, you'll have to take responsibility in the future.

Seeing that Erzhu Rong still looked conflicted, Hebasheng hardened his heart completely.

"Prime Minister! If you are really afraid, then you can issue an edict right now to assemble a large army, and we can return directly to Guanzhong. Anyway, if we continue to hold out like this, Luoyang will be lost sooner or later, and then we will have to return to Guanzhong anyway."

Everyone's expression changed, and Heba Yue kept giving Heba Sheng meaningful glances.

Offering honest advice is certainly good, but at the moment he wasn't sure what Erzhu Rong was thinking, and saying such things in public might anger Erzhu Rong...

The two brothers were right in front of Erzhu Rong, and they had no ability to resist.

Erzhu Rong could even bring up old grievances and use Heba Yun's defection as a pretext to control the two brothers.

"All right!"

Erzhu Rong suddenly shouted, "Afraid? What a joke! Why would I be afraid of Moheduo?"

He turned to look at Hebasheng, then stepped forward and grasped Hebasheng's hand, saying, "Po Hu's heartfelt words have enlightened me, cleared my mind, and dispelled my doubts."

"Fight! We really can't let Mo Heduo get too cocky!"

Hebasheng was overjoyed and quickly bowed, saying, "I was forced to do this just now, and I hope the Prime Minister will forgive me. Please send me several thousand elite cavalry, and I am willing to be the vanguard for the Prime Minister!"

Erzhu Rong smiled and said, "Am I such a narrow-minded person?"

Then he shook his head, "We do need to fight, but not in Jianzhou."

Upon hearing this, Heba Yue, Su Chuo, Wang Xiang, and the others were all relieved and their eyes lit up.

It seems...

The dire situation and successive defeats diminished Erzhu Rong's confidence considerably, but they did not affect his judgment of the overall situation.

"Prime Minister?"

Helianda asked in bewilderment, "If we want to resolve the crisis in Luoyang, shouldn't we quickly reclaim the lost territories of Yewang and the others?"

Erzhu Rong shook his head. "Moheduo paid such a heavy price to take Yewang last year. How could he sit idly by and watch us take it back? He has deployed a large number of elite troops here. It would be unwise to fight him to the death here rashly. To relieve the crisis in Luoyang, we need to start from elsewhere."

Helianda quickly cupped his hands in greeting, "I am foolish and hope the Prime Minister will enlighten me."

Erzhu Rong turned around and pointed to the location of Bingzhou on the map, or more precisely, the location of Jinyang!
"Our troops will march out of Jinyang and head north to seize Sizhou!"

“Sizhou and Hengzhou were originally He Liuhun’s territory. Mo Hedu did not extend his reach here, nor did he send any elite troops there. If I attack Sizhou, I can also relieve the crisis in Hedong.”

The governor of Sizhou was Liu Gui, and the governor of Hengzhou was Wei Jing.

After Gao Yu and Gao Huan resolved their differences, Gao Yu successfully absorbed Gao Huan's 'assets'. However, in order to maintain stability, Gao Yu did not rashly change Gao Huan's initial personnel appointments. Making personnel changes rashly when the overall situation was not yet stable could easily be interpreted as discarding someone after they have served their purpose, which would cause others to worry.

"Moreover... Moheduo will not sit idly by and watch me regain control of Shanxi. He will definitely send troops to rescue me. With this shift in power, the pressure on Hanoi County will be much less."

Like Guanzhong, Shanxi is a naturally suitable place for separatist rule. With its mountainous terrain and the Taihang Mountains as a natural barrier, as long as the passes of Mayi and Jingxing are recaptured, Shanxi will become an impregnable and impregnable fortress!
The Guanzhong Plain is located in Guanzhong, and the Taiyuan Basin is located in Shanxi.

They can all achieve internal self-sufficiency, creating a situation of mutual consumption.

This is why.

The reason why China has had a North-South conflict since ancient times, but never an East-West conflict.

because……

The North-South conflict resulted in the two sides ruling separately along the Yangtze River, and the stalemate could be maintained for a long time.

But when the East and West go head-to-head, the West always wins.

The reason is that although the land in the west may be a little barren, its geographical advantage provides a natural protective barrier. Western regimes can fail a few times, and if they fail, they can simply retreat into their shells and slowly recover their strength.

But... any regime in the east that loses even once will find its flat terrain besieged by enemy troops.

The tolerance for error is on a different level.

Hebasheng immediately realized, "The Prime Minister is wise!!"

Helianda and the others understood and bowed, saying, "The Prime Minister is wise!"

Erzhu Rong smiled. When people lack self-confidence, they do need constant encouragement from the outside world.

After everyone had left...

Erzhu Rong kept Su Chuo behind.

"Lingchuo, in your opinion, who should I send to command the troops?"

Su Chuo hesitated for a moment and said, "This matter is of great importance and requires the dispatch of a trustworthy and capable person... How dare I speak recklessly?"

Erzhu Rong looked at him and chuckled a few times. "Is it that you dare not speak recklessly, or that you dare not speak at all?"

"The Prime Minister is wise and capable; he must already have someone in mind."

"I do have someone in mind, but I'd like to hear your opinion."

"Prime Minister Wang is the Prime Minister's confidant..."

"Is this truly what you think?"

Erzhu Rong looked at him with a half-smile.

Wang Xiang was a member of the Taiyuan Wang clan, which had a close relationship with Erzhu Rong, which seemed quite reasonable.

but……

Under these circumstances, the Wang family of Taiyuan could very well turn against them.

Such aristocratic families do not have deep ties with anyone; they only seek to continue existing in this world.

Su Chuo could tell from the fact that Erzhu Rong only kept himself and not Wang Xiang that Erzhu Rong would not send Wang Xiang back.

This also confirmed his idea.

Erzhu Rong had not lost his sense of the overall situation; he had simply been unable to adjust for a while after suffering a series of defeats.

If Erzhu Rong were truly an incompetent person, how could he possess the power he has today?

At this point, he stopped pretending.

Instead, they took the initiative to speak out what was on their minds.

"Prime Minister... The most suitable person to command troops must not only be capable and absolutely loyal, but also have sufficient prestige and seniority."

"Although I am the commander, I have read through history books. Since ancient times, the most important thing for an army to be invincible is that its leaders are of one mind. If the person sent out does not have enough prestige, he will not be able to command his subordinates. After all, this is Jinyang..."

(End of this chapter)