Chapter 273 Want your son to become successful?

As battle reports from Yuzhou and Jingzhou were sent to Chang'an one by one, the Prime Minister's Mansion, as the core of power, also began to get busy.

King Li Yuan of Tang, his two sons, and a group of confidants had already had a strategic plan.

It has been clearly stated that this year's actions by the two major armies of Jingzhou and Yangzhou to conquer Yuzhou were feint attacks, which only aimed to attract the attention of Luoyang and prevent Luoyang from daring to put all its troops on the Tongguan front line, so as to restore production in Guanzhong and prepare for the next step of going east through Qiaohan.

But Li Yuan did not expect that the fourth brother's advancement was too fast. In just one month, he captured Runan County, the largest county in Yuzhou, and the front line was directly advanced to Yingchuan area, only a few hundred miles away from Luoyang.

Now information has also come from Tongguan that the last elite central army of Eastern Yan stationed in Hongnong has withdrawn to Luoyang, obviously to deal with the offensive of the two major legions of Western Yan in the direction of Yingchuan.

Therefore, we can be sure that if the current situation continues to develop, a major war will definitely break out in the direction of Yingchuan.

Unless the two major armies of Jingzhou and Yangzhou abandon the cities they have already captured, the Jingzhou army will retreat to Daowan City, and the Yangzhou army will retreat directly to the south of the Huai River.

Otherwise, a war between the two sides is inevitable.

From a strategic point of view, this is a good opportunity. If this battle can be won, Luoyang can even be captured in one battle.

But the risks are also huge. The Jianghuai Corps in Yangzhou is the main corps of Western Yan, second only to the Guanzhong Central Army, and has always played an important role.

So Li Yuan was a little hesitant about how to make a decision, so he directly summoned a group of confidants and generals from various armies in the meeting hall of the Prime Minister's Mansion, of course including the two heavyweights Dalang and Erlang.

When Li Erlang, who was hunting and practicing formations with the Black Armor Army outside the city, rushed back after receiving the news, the meeting had already begun.

"I think that Guanzhong is exhausted now, so we should not resort to military action. It is better to order the armies of Yang and Jing to stabilize Runan, Nanyang, Chenjun and other places, confront the Eastern Army, consume its spirit, and wait for the right time. Then Guanzhong can send a large army to Luoyang directly, and the world can be settled and the country can be safe!"

"The hinterland of Yuzhou has no strategic location to defend. The armies of Jing and Yang may not be a match for the Eastern Yan Central Army. It is better to order them to retreat to extend the Eastern Army's supply line and consume the people's strength in Luoyang."

"In my opinion, we should send elite troops to support Yingchuan and fight a decisive battle with the enemy. Luoyang will be decided in one battle!"

"Since there is no food in Guanzhong, we should send troops to support Li Sikong. Jianghuai is rich under Li Sikong's rule and can meet the food and grass supply of the army. We should go north from Yingyin to Luoyang."

Li Er entered the hall from the side behind the crowd, came to the seat to the right of Li Yuan and sat quietly, listening to the suggestions of the generals and staff.

Basically, the opinions can be divided into two categories. One category suggests fighting a war of attrition with the Eastern Yan in the Yingchuan area instead of a decisive battle.

After a year and a half or even longer, Guanzhong would be ready to go straight to Luoyang from Tongguan via the Xiaohan Road.

The other is to strike while the iron is hot and directly send troops to support the Yingchuan battlefield, because the situation is now very clear.

If we win Yingchuan, we can march into Luoyang.

Troops from Guanzhong had to go through the Xiaohan Road. If the war dragged on for a long time, supply alone would become a big problem.

As everyone argued back and forth, Li Yuan became more and more hesitant. After discussing for half a day, they still couldn't come to a conclusion.

After the meeting, Li Yuan invited Dalang and Erlang to have dinner together. When the three of them were alone, he started to ask.

"What do you think should be done about the matter we discussed today, Dalang?"

After hearing this, Li Xiaoyan thought for a moment before saying, "I think we should not be impatient at this moment. Sanlang and Silang have a combined army of more than 100,000, which should be evenly matched with the Eastern Army. I think we should hold our ground and wait until Guanzhong is rectified, and then go east through Qiaohan. By then, the East and the West will join forces and work on a two-pronged approach, then we can settle the matter." Li Yuan nodded after hearing this. This was in line with Dalang's usual temperament, acting steadily and not impatient.

Then he looked at Erlang and asked, "What do you think of what your elder brother said?"

Li Er first bowed to Da Lang, and then said, "I think what you said is not right. Yingchuan in Yuzhou is a thousand miles away from here. According to the time, the Eastern Army is probably about to arrive in Yingchuan, and Sanlang and Silang may have joined forces. The battle of Yingchuan is about to start. It may be too late to give orders to Sanlang and Silang at this time. Besides, the generals will make their own decisions in the battle on the front line. Now the situation is clearer than them. Now, on the premise of stabilizing Guanzhong, we should fully support Sanlang and Silang. The two of them are facing more than 100,000 elite troops of the Eastern Army in Yingchuan. If it is just an order, what good will it do to the front line? At the beginning, Han Zhaolie led his army to fight with the Wei army in Hanzhong and failed repeatedly, so he urgently sent a letter to Yizhou to increase troops.

Zhuge Liang, who stayed in Chengdu, consulted his staff member Yang Hong for advice. Hong said, "Hanzhong is the throat of Yizhou and the opportunity for survival. Without Hanzhong, there will be no Shu! This is a disaster for the family. Men should fight and women should transport. Why hesitate to send troops?" So Zhuge Liang quickly mobilized troops and sent them to Hanzhong to reinforce Zhaolie, which led to a great victory in Dingjun."

"Although the situation in Yingchuan is not as critical as that in Hanzhong, the importance of the battle is no less than that in Hanzhong. Right now, Sanlang and Silang are fighting with the Eastern Army of Luoyang. If they win, Luoyang can be secured, and if Luoyang is secured, the whole world will be at peace. We should send reinforcements as soon as possible. What is there to hesitate?"

After hearing this, Li Yuan fell silent.

Li Erlang was actually right. Now, no matter what was said in Guanzhong and Chang'an, it was all nonsense. Especially the one about asking the Yuzhou and Jingzhou armies not to go out to fight, to hold their ground and wait for a good opportunity in Guanzhong.

Undoubtedly, they all wanted to let the third and fourth brothers consume the resources in the front, and then wait for Guanzhong to have sufficient troops and food to clean up the mess.

If Yingchuan wins, they will head north to Luoyang. What is there to hesitate about at this time? Send troops to support them directly.

You are short of food in Guanzhong now and cannot support a large army marching out from the Xiaohan Road. After all, the pressure of transporting food is very great.

But there are more than 100,000 Chinese and foreign troops in Guanzhong now. Can you send a few tens of thousands of reinforcements?
With the food reserves in Jianghuai, tens of thousands of reinforcements can be supplied. At the same time, it will not affect the overall situation in Guanzhong.

What is there to hesitate about?
Logically speaking, he actually agreed with Jilang's words.

But the calculations made by Li Yuan were somewhat different from those made by Erlang and Dalang.

What he needs to think about now is not only to take over Luoyang and pacify the world, but also the problems of his sons.

When he was still in Shu, he met a fortune teller named Yuan, who read his face and told him fortunes, and his predictions were always correct.

But at the same time, it also implicitly pointed out that although he had the appearance of a supreme being, he might be bullied by his descendants in his later years, and there was worry that his descendants would kill each other.

He didn't believe all of these words, but the current situation among the disciples forced him to take precautions.

Erlang, Sanlang, and Silang each led a troop. None of them was good at it, but they all had their merits.

When the world is united, there will be disputes among the sons over the succession. Although Dalang has not made outstanding achievements, he is his most preferred candidate.

Moreover, deposing the eldest and enthroning the youngest is also a way to bring disaster.

Although he has not yet taken that position, that position is already in his pocket.

However, the world has not yet been unified, and several sons who hold heavy troops still need to conquer the world.

But we must also guard against them trying to make the world their own.

Fathers all hope that their sons are capable, but if their sons are too capable, it will be difficult for them to be fathers.

(End of this chapter)