Chapter 198: Not a Pure Minister
Li Yuan's estimate was quite good. The imperial court learned about the great victory in Longxi and the rebellion in Liangzhou around the end of March.

Emperor Murong Chao was very excited when he heard this. This was considered a good omen for the beginning of the first year of Guangping.

But then, problems arose.

Li Er pushed Xiao Juan out to actually control Liangzhou. Murong Chao might not be able to see clearly, but Xue Chu, Liu He, Gao Shizhe and other prime ministers were well aware of it. Not to mention the old and cunning old guys like Wei Wang Murong Xianzong and Grand Tutor Duan Shihuan.

The issue of Murong Zan of Western Yan has not been dealt with yet, and some people have already set their sights on the counties and prefectures belonging to Liangzhou, Yizhou, half of Yangzhou and half of Yongzhou that the Li family said they occupied.

The combination of these strengths is more dangerous than Murong Zan occupying Guanzhong and Bingzhou.

Therefore, Gao Shize and Xue Chu reached a rare consensus and jointly persuaded Murong Chao to issue an edict to replace Li Yuanhui, the governor of Yangzhou.

The two men explained the pros and cons and explained the current situation clearly to Murong Chao.

Murong Chao originally firmly believed in Li Yuanhui, but he couldn't completely ignore what Gao Shize and Xue Chu said, so he asked Duan Shiheng and Murong Xianzong for their opinions.

But these two people just said some polite words without giving any specific opinions. It was obvious that they did not want to express any opinions on this matter.

Instead, he asked for advice from General Duan Yihong, and got some opinions that differed from those of Gao Xue and the other two.

"Li Yuanhui is the commander-in-chief of Yangzhou's military affairs. He is the first important minister appointed by Your Majesty after he ascended the throne. Now he has made great contributions in defending against the enemy and has never made any mistakes. Your Majesty ordered him to return to the capital. I wonder why? At this time, Jiangdong and Jingchu are both in chaos due to the former Wei bandits. A commander-in-chief of a region should not be moved lightly. I ask Your Majesty to think about it."

Duan Yihong didn't really have any old friendship with the Li family, and most of what he said was out of public interest.

Of course, there may be some selfish motives. For example, Duan Yihong's family originally lived in Chang'an, but now they are all settled in Shuzhong.
However, he did feel that the governor of Yangzhou should not be replaced at this time.

Firstly, the current situation is very unstable. Li Yuan has already occupied two and a half states. Liangzhou and Longyou are both places that produce elite soldiers and good horses, and Yizhou is a land of abundance with rich resources.

If the targeting here is too obvious, Li Yuan doesn't need to take any action. Just keeping his troops in place and watching the Western Yan and Eastern Yan fight to the death in Guanzhong will be enough to give people a headache.

Now he acts like he wants to take away other people's power, which is a bit ugly.

After listening to Duan Yihong's opinion, Murong Chao was still very confused and asked Li Xiaoyan again.

Li Xiaoyan was also helpless about this kind of problem. In the end, he could only express his loyalty on behalf of his father and brothers, and then said that everything had to be decided by His Majesty.

After all, you can't speak too much in favor of your family at this time, otherwise it will appear that you are not objective enough. It is definitely not okay to be too selfish in front of the emperor.

So, Murong Chao summoned Murong Jiayin to the palace again and questioned her.

As a result, Murong Jiayin directly asked, "Who is your Majesty going to replace Silang with?"

Murong Chao was speechless on the spot. Who should he use?

There were many people in the court who were qualified to take over as the governor of Yangzhou, but after thinking about it, Murong Chao still felt that Li Si would be a good candidate for this position.

After all, in Murong Chao's eyes, Yuwen Tan was a famous general of the previous emperor, who had been stationed in Jiangdong for many years, but what happened?
There are also several old dukes and generals who are all well-qualified, but Murong Chao really doesn't dare to trust these people now.

Although he was mediocre and his strategy and decisiveness were not enough to be called a wise ruler, he was not stupid and could see some things clearly.

Those retired nobles have not fought in a war for many years and are no longer useful.

As the first person to warn Prince Liang of rebellion, Li Yuanhui would obviously not stand on Murong Zan's side.

So Murong Chao put this proposal aside for the time being.

When the first plan failed, Zuo Pushe Xue Chu proposed a new strategy.

To attack Guanzhong from the Xiaohan Road, one must face the natural barrier of Tongguan. Hedong was in the hands of the western bandits, so it was impossible to cross the river through Longmen to enter Guanzhong.

Therefore, it would be better to send tens of thousands of troops to feint an attack on Tongguan, and then use the four outer armies as the main force, plus the armies of Jianghuai and Yuzhou, a total of 100,000 troops, which can be divided into three routes to take the lead in recovering Jingzhou.

The specific route was that Murong Deyu led the four outer armies as the main force, went through Ye County, and attacked Nanyang.

Yuzhou Governor Qu Tushi'an and Xia Wang Zhongdu Protector Murong Hui led their troops to flee to Yiyang.

Li Yuanhui, governor of Yangzhou, led his troops to the southern foot of Dabie Mountains and attacked Jiangxia.

The three armies were sent out simultaneously, striving to destroy the Western Wei and recapture Jingzhou within this year. Once Jingzhou was recaptured, they could enter Guanzhong from Wuguan, thus forming a three-sided attack on the Western bandits.

The overall feasibility of this strategy is still very high.

Therefore, the imperial court officially issued an edict in April, and three armies were dispatched to recapture Jingzhou.

The imperial edict arrived exactly ten days after Yuan Geng arrived.

It's almost May.

During this period, Li Yuanhui had been discussing the plan to send troops to Jingzhou with Yuan Geng and his staff.

It’s probably about how to make more noise.

As a result, the imperial edict came down unexpectedly.

Li Yuanhui soon realized that the imperial court first destroyed the Western Wei and took over Jingzhou, and a big consideration was to separate the sphere of influence of him and his son.

It seems that the imperial court has indeed begun to be wary of the Li family.

But if you think about it carefully, it is reasonable. After all, the territory, population, and troops controlled by the Li family are second only to the Luoyang court.

No matter who becomes emperor, you have to be on guard.

However, after receiving his brother's letter, Li Yuanhui couldn't help but sigh that Murong Chao was a gentleman.

If he were in Li Yuanhui's shoes, he would definitely find a way to remove himself from the position of governor of Yangzhou.

Li Yuanhui also felt that there was no problem with the final plan of sending troops in three directions.

And now that the imperial edict has arrived, let's prepare to send troops.

The staff members all went about their business. Li Yuanhui escorted Yuan Geng out of the camp at Shiting and gave him some instructions. Finally, the two said take care of each other.

After Yuan Geng left, he called Zhang Hongping, who had been left out for some time.

Zhang Hongping had good food and drink during these days. Li Yuanhui also allowed him to leave at any time, but he was not allowed to enter and leave the camp at will.

At the camp gate, Li Yuanhui stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the lush and green Dabie Mountains in the distance.

"Has the General made a decision?"

Zhang Hongping came behind him and asked directly.

Li Yuanhui turned around, shook his head and said with a smile: "No, whether it is war or peace, as a subject, I will naturally obey the imperial edict."

Zhang Hongping was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then an idea flashed in his mind, "Luoyang intends to send troops to attack the western bandits in Jingzhou?"

Li Yuanhui's eyes flashed with a strange look, and then he nodded: "Mr. Zhang, I don't care what Cao Yuanjing wants, but if we send troops to Yuzhang now, I'm afraid it's not a good time, right?"

Zhang Hongping nodded, "I understand what the general means. I have been here for more than ten days and have bothered you for a long time. I am grateful for your hospitality. However, the current situation is urgent. I will bid farewell to you today. We will meet again in the future."

After saying this, he leaned over and bowed.

Li Yuanhui also extended his hand and clasped his fists, "Mr. Zhang is very resourceful. If he is not in Jiangdong someday, I will definitely have a place for him here."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hongping stood up, smiled, then turned and left.

Li Yuanhui revealed the news to him, which was equivalent to revealing the news to Cao Xuan of the Western Wei Dynasty.

Because at the moment, if the imperial court takes back Jingzhou and destroys Cao Xuan, it will not be a good thing for Li Yuanhui in Jianghuai and Cao Yuanjing in Jiangdong.

Zhang Hongping also understood the intention of the music. When he heard the news revealed by Li Yuanhui, he immediately understood the intention.

Sure enough, he is not a pure minister.

(End of this chapter)