Chapter 1168: Only Pity the Common People
Li Tai did not lead the army to the frontline this time, but he felt more tired than the previous expeditions.
When he led the army to the frontline before, although he was inevitably tired and suffered from the hardships of sleeping in the open air, he basically just had to focus on the war. For other things, he only needed to plan the general situation and did not need to execute them personally. He had a group of trusted staff to provide him with a satisfactory result.
But this time he was in charge of the rear, and there were many things to manage. Although many things had been planned many times, there were still various variables and accidents in the actual implementation process.
Every accident had to be remedied in time, so that he couldn't count the number of times he was woken up in his sleep during this period, and some things did not have a proper solution at all. After all the efforts, there was no satisfactory result. Such a situation really made people feel frustrated.
Of course, the main reason was that the war in the Western Wei Dynasty was originally difficult to maintain. The front line seemed to be triumphant and had made many gains, but compared with the actual expansion of people and land in the previous stage, many gains were still not implemented.
For example, in Heluo, although Han Xiong and others have already deployed the occupation of the garrisons of the Northern Qi cities, the most important Jinyong City and Heyang are still under the control of the Qi army, and there is no significant gain in these newly occupied places.
The good days of being able to fight and feed the war and get fatter by casually breaking a city are no longer there. Even if the wool of the Northern Qi grows faster, it can't catch up with the speed of the Western Wei. Not to mention that in the late Tianbao period of the Northern Qi, the Northern Qi itself has been hit by various natural disasters and man-made disasters, and its strength is no longer as good as before.
As for Henei, the newly opened battlefield, Yang Yu, Sima Yi and others also carried out various military operations very well, successively occupying several strong cities in Huaizhou, some of which were directly conquered by the Wei army, and some were local tyrants who responded to the uprising.
If it was the former, it would be fine. The Western Wei army could still obtain the right to distribute all the spoils. Although the overall harvest was not as rich as before, Huaizhou, as a prefecture located in Hebei, was still in a better situation than Heluo.
But if it was a local tyrant who rose up, the Wei army could not plunder the spoils at will. Instead, those tyrants who took advantage of the situation and seized local control would collect and plunder.
In general, the main limiting factor that restricted the Wei army from further expanding its victory was that the food and grass supply could not keep up. As a result, although the Wei army had invested more than 50,000 troops this time, not many of them could be active in the front line of the battle, and the battle line did not dare to be too unrestrained. Otherwise, Li Tai might have urged the front-line divisions to move outside Yecheng to show the nobles in Yedu the heroic demeanor of the Guanzhong men.
Therefore, it was not only the Northern Qi that was eager to stop the war and make peace. Li Tai also hoped to achieve the goal that was difficult to achieve with military strength alone as soon as possible through other means.
So after complaining about some other minor issues that affected the progress of the war, he asked Lu Shuhu about the situation and gains of his communication with Yang Xiuzhi: "Uncle has been separated from the Hebei people for several years. Now that we meet, I believe you will talk about your farewell feelings and be happy?"
"You can talk about your farewell feelings, but you may not be happy."
After hearing this, Lu Shuhu sighed first, and then briefly recounted the conversation with Yang Xiuzhi.
After hearing this, Li Tai spoke again: "Now the ruler of Qi wants to destroy Hebei and resist the royal army. Although it is just speculation by the people in the palace, it is very likely to come true based on the various signs revealed by the people of Qi. After hearing the good advice from your uncle, did Lord Yang question it?"
After hearing this question, Lu Shuhu shook his head: "Now the ruler of Qi has just been established, and the people in Ye are already suspicious. The ruler of Qi has encountered this danger before his grace and power are fully utilized. Now he is staying in Jinyang and is unwilling to come south. It can be said that he is too thick-armed and too thin-armed. Many people in Ye also have hidden grievances. What I said was not just to instigate, but also to hope that they can keep their own plans and not be sold out with a public heart."
"If they are willing to be loyal to the royal army and willing to consult with them, it would be the best, but if they are just blindly loyal to the Gao family and also help If they help Gao to plunder the people of Hebei and stop me, there will be no friendship between us! "
Li Tai certainly has a kind side, but he can't be a good guy all the time. When talking about the problems of these Hebei nobles, he has his own opinion: "It is gratifying that these followers are helping the righteous, but it is not a pity that they are ignorant and seek death. What I regret is that the thousands of people in Hebei should not sacrifice their lives under the sword and the blood and flesh barriers built by Gao to guard Hebei because they have no choice!"
After hearing this, Lu Shuhu was silent again. After coming to Guanxi for several years and getting along with this nephew for a long time, he could clearly feel that the King of Tang did not have too strong a sectarian view. He valued people's ability more than their background.
Some relatives and friends who came from Hebei did not live a comfortable life under the shade of a big tree. Although they received some money, food and land, if they had no talent and just wanted to live a life of friendship, it would be difficult to get involved in secrets, and even some leisurely official positions were not granted.
From a personal point of view, this was more or less inhumane. But Lu Shuhu was naturally not a mediocre person who was eager to rely on nepotism to seek advancement. On the contrary, he admired this kind of imperial mentality from the bottom of his heart.
A true king should give everyone in the world as many and fair opportunities for advancement as possible, rather than being intimate and indulgent to those around him without limits. Behind closed doors, it is not excessive to be intimate and friendly, but if you want to control public tools for a long time, you need to have a fair heart.
Li Tai did not notice the admiration in his uncle's eyes, but continued to say: "If the envoy of Qi does not come, then it's fine. Since it has come to this, we have to beg for peace. Yang Gong and other nobles in Hebei are worried about their hometown and family, and they will certainly not let the Qi Lord stop the peace talks at will, and they will definitely do their best to persuade him to continue.
Now the people of Qi are still mostly afraid of fighting. Even Duan Shao begged for peace from me before. Now the Qi Lord is newly established and the military and the country are not stable. The other generals must not dare to lead the army to the south easily. In this way, the court officials in Ye and the nobles in Jinyang are all eager to seek peace. Even if the Qi Lord still wants to insist on refusing to fight, I am afraid he will not dare to go against the public sentiment. At that time, I will give him whatever he wants!"
The main purpose of Li Tai's tough attitude and harsh demands is to destroy the psychological defense of Qi Lord Gao Yan, so that he will not be overconfident because he just led a victory in a coup and make more operations that do not match his strength.
Especially since Northern Qi still has a certain amount of assets, it still cannot crush the enemy. If they choose to hold on for a while longer, Western Wei may have to give up. Once they show their weakness, their irresistible and invincible image and deterrence will naturally be greatly reduced.
Under Lu Shuhu's reminder and concept control, Yang Xiuzhi also realized that this trip to Western Wei might be a scapegoat trip, and his mood naturally became a little uneasy. During this period, other members of the delegation have more or less contacted some of the people who had fled to Guanxi before. Although these people may not be as close as Lu Shuhu and Yang Xiuzhi to talk about sensitive topics directly, they are often infected and hinted when they are talking about the past.
For example, the current Qi Lord Gao Yan may not be able to represent the interests of the people in Yezhong, nor may he be able to allocate them many resources and benefits. On the contrary, even if they violate the wishes of the Qi Lord, the price and loss they pay may not be as great as imagined. Moreover, since they still have considerable united front value at the moment, even if they pay a certain price, they will get compensation from other places.
Qi Shiyi and his party have been indoctrinated with similar ideas to a greater or lesser extent, and ideas are more effective in brainwashing than simple information transmission. You still need to judge whether the information is right or wrong, and make choices that are beneficial to yourself. But once a certain idea is established, many problems are self-evident and do not need to be explained.
Not to mention the changes in the minds of the Qi envoys in Hongnong City, when the relevant information was transmitted to Jinyang, Qi Lord Gao Yan could not help but fly into a rage, and even had the messenger tied up and hung in front of the Jinyang Palace to be whipped and punished personally, and publicly scolded Zhaojun Wang Gao Rui: "Zhaojun Wang was known for his shrewdness in previous years, but now he is really facing a major event, and he is so stupid! Such a cunning and rebellious voice should be refuted on the spot and rejected in person, but this evil voice was actually reported to the country, which is really annoying!"
Such a request was unacceptable to Gao Yan, and he would not even start any consultations and negotiations with the Western Wei Dynasty. He had not established his favor and prestige in the country at the moment, and he had to accept such humiliation and make such a big concession at the beginning of his accession to the throne, which would have a disastrous impact on his later governance and prestige.
Although Gao Yan had some of the sinister intentions that the Wei people imagined when selecting the members of the delegation, he generally hoped to reach a peace talk. Because the current situation in the country made him feel guilty, and he even worried whether the Jinyang army could successfully go south to the battlefield if a war really broke out.
The difficulties and feedback given by the Wei Kingdom now exceeded his imagination, which also made him feel a sense of loss of disillusionment. When he really wanted to formally prepare for the war with the Western Wei, he couldn't help but feel a headache, and felt that the pressure was so heavy that he could hardly breathe.
"Is there really no other way to properly resolve this crisis?"
Gao Yan was furious and wanted to directly order the delegation to withdraw and return home and give up negotiations with the Western Wei, but when he picked up the pen, it seemed to be a thousand pounds heavy and difficult to use on paper.