Chapter 324: Adaptability is not his strong point

Li Yuan sent Li Er to Liangzhou to patrol the border, originally as an excuse to guard against the Turks.

But what was unexpected was that the Turks did not come, but Tuyuhun came.

In June, after recuperating for several years, Tuyuhun Khan Fuyun, who felt he was fit again, led his army to invade Liangzhou and Longyou several times. It was a bit unusual to invade at this season, because autumn is the season when nomads like to invade when the weather is high and the horses are fat and strong.

However, Li Er was in Liangzhou, so the Tuyuhun people's attack at this time would undoubtedly hit a wall.

Li Er led thousands of Yongliang cavalry and once again attacked Fuhan, killing and capturing thousands of prisoners, and almost captured Fuyun Khan alive.

All the Hu people in Longyou were afraid of the prestige of the Tang army's cavalry, and they sent people to Wuwei to express their willingness to become vassals of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Yuan in Chang'an City was naturally very excited when he received the battle report.

In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Li Yuan held up the battle report and said to the prime ministers: "Erlang has achieved another extraordinary feat. I don't know how to reward him. Haha."

The prime ministers all responded with a smile, "The King of Qin is the most valiant and brave man in the world, and he is a master at using troops. This is all due to your Majesty's good teaching!"

"Your Majesty, with helpers like the King of Qin and the King of Jin, why should you worry about the unrest in the world?"

Among the prime ministers, Pei Hongde was the prime minister in the previous dynasty, Sima Xiuye ​​was an old friend of Li Yuan, Yuwen Chengye was a military general turned civil official, Wen Daya and Pei Ji were Li Yuan's close confidants.

These people also have different opinions on the issue of establishing a crown prince.

Pei Hongde and Yuwen Chengye's attitude towards this was to stay out of it completely.

Sima Xiuye ​​and Wen Daya clearly supported the King of Qin, but Pei Ji's attitude had never been revealed. According to his usual attitude, he would follow Li Yuan's choice.

However, Li Yuan never revealed that he would make the Prince of Qin the crown prince, nor did he show any preference for the third and fourth sons. Instead, he valued his eldest grandson Li Cheng'an, which was known to both the court and the public.

This attitude is very intriguing, and the ministers in the court are all shrewd people, and they are all wondering whether Li Yuan wants to make his eldest grandson the crown prince?

After reading the battle report, they were about to discuss the battle in Luoyang. Coincidentally, the eunuchs also handed over the news that Li Qinglian had requested an audience, so Li Yuan ordered to summon him. Several prime ministers sitting on both sides listened to the report made by Li Qinglian on behalf of Li Yuanhui.

".Your Highness considered that the Yan army was well-trained and well-armored, and their morale was high, so he ordered General Liu to defend the city and not to come out. At the same time, he ordered General Chai to lead his troops across the river to feint to attack Qinghe and Pingyuan, and to send light cavalry to harass the Yan army in all directions."

"He also dispatched General Li to lead 30,000 troops to cross the Chen Pass and attack Hedong to eliminate the threat to Guanzhong."

"Your Highness is busy with military duties at the front and cannot travel. I have been ordered to report the situation to Your Majesty."

Before Li Qinglian left, Li Yuanhui had not yet decided to attack Hedong, but after making the decision, Li Yuanhui immediately sent someone on horseback to inform Li Qinglian of the information and asked him to present it to Li Yuan in person.

Hearing this, Li Yuan nodded repeatedly and said, "Li Qinglian, I know you. Your Highness has mentioned you to me, saying that you are a man of great strategy and have come up with many ingenious ideas. Seeing you today, I find you are indeed a man of talent. Listening to your performance today, I feel as if I were there in person, not bad."

Then he looked at the prime ministers and asked, "What do you think was wrong with the King of Qi's response?"

Yuwen Chengye, the Minister of War, said: "Your Majesty, I think the King of Qi used the army with caution and thoughtfulness, and sought victory in a steady manner, which was not inappropriate."

Wen Daya said, "I think that your highness the King of Qi stationed a large number of troops in Liyang and Chaoge, and sent a small army to attack Hedong. This is in line with the key to the art of war. The so-called war is the art of deception. So when you are capable, pretend you are incapable; when you are ready, pretend you are not ready; when you are near, pretend you are far away; when you are far away, pretend you are near. Lure them when they are profitable; take them when they are in disorder; prepare for them when they are strong; avoid them when they are strong; frustrate them when they are angry; make them arrogant when they are humble. This is the way of victory in the military, and it cannot be announced in advance. I think there is nothing wrong with this arrangement."

Yuwen Chengye continued, "Your Majesty, I think Guanzhong should send troops across the river to cooperate with the King of Qi to capture Hedong. Otherwise, Hedong is not in the hands of the Tang Dynasty and will always be a threat to Guanzhong. The Yan army can cross Puban and threaten Guanzhong at any time."

Upon hearing this, Li Qinglian also spoke up: "Your Majesty, the King of Qi also has this intention."

Hearing this, Li Yuan turned to look at the eunuch beside him. The eunuch immediately understood and asked someone to get a map and unfold it beside the emperor. Li Yuan frowned slightly as he looked at the map. In fact, people at his level already knew the geography of the world by heart.

But whenever I have to make a decision or think about some problems, I still habitually look at the map, as if I want to review what I have learned and fill in the gaps, or perhaps I just want to look at the place names on the map.

"Liu Xuanji is a brave warrior. He took only a few months to almost conquer the entire Ji Province. Now his army is gathering in Ye City. Do you think your King of Qi can stop the Yan army from advancing southward?"

Li Yuan retracted his gaze and looked at Li Qinglian who was playing the opposite.

Li Qinglian said, "Your Majesty, if you know yourself and your enemy, you will never be in danger in a hundred battles. Your Highness the Prince of Qi is a close friend of Liu Xuanji, so he will naturally know how he uses troops, and he will definitely make the most reasonable decision. I believe that as long as Your Highness is here, the Yan army will not be able to cross the Yellow River."

Li Yuan asked again: "Then can the King of Qi defeat the Yan army in the north, capture the two states of Hebei, You and Ji, and make the land of Yan and Zhao belong to our Tang Dynasty?"

Li Qinglian hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said, "Adapting to changing circumstances is not his forte."

"Hahahaha." Li Yuan laughed after hearing this, "I never thought there would be a Zhuge Kongming in my family. Hahahaha"

Li Qinglian's statement about adaptability and military strategy was not his forte and was obviously taken from Chen Shou's evaluation of Zhuge Liang in "Records of the Three Kingdoms".

"However, Liang is good at managing the army, but not good at making extraordinary plans. His ability to govern the people is better than his military strategy."

It means that Zhuge Liang's talent lies in his expertise in training and managing the army, but his weakness is in coming up with surprising strategies. His ability in governing the people is far superior to his strategies as a general.

Of course, this statement is not meant to disparage Zhuge Kongming, but is a comparative statement. And it is also said later that "the enemies we faced were sometimes outstanding people, with different numbers of troops and different offensive and defensive systems. Therefore, although we mobilized the people for many years, we were unable to defeat them.

In the past, Xiao He recommended Han Xin, and Guan Zhong recommended Prince Chengfu, because they both considered their own strengths and could not combine them. Liang's ability to govern is also inferior to Guan and Xiao, but there were no famous generals like Chengfu and Han Xin at that time, so his achievements were delayed and his great righteousness was not achieved? It seems that destiny has its own destination, and it cannot be argued with intelligence. "

It means that Zhuge Liang's ability and knowledge in government affairs was probably comparable to that of Guan Zhong and Xiao He, but there was no other famous general at that time who could match up with Cheng Fu and Han Xin, so his achievements were delayed and justice was difficult to uphold.

This may be God's will. There is a destiny for who will own the world, and one cannot just rely on talent and intelligence to fight for it.

Li Qinglian's words were obviously a euphemism to say that our King Qi might not be best at fighting, so it might be difficult for him to advance into Hebei. But he would have no problem defending his current territory. It's just that if you force him to attack Hebei, it's like asking Zhuge Liang to go north to attack the Central Plains. It's not that he can't fight, but your family has more powerful people, so why not use them?

Li Yuan was also very happy when he heard Li Qinglian compare his son to Zhuge Liang.

Although this may be a bit of an exaggeration, judging from Li Silang's management of Jianghuai, training and commanding of the army, and his ability to identify and employ people over the years, this evaluation is really in line with the evaluation.

Even his second brother praised Li Silang's ability in training and managing the army. Under his governance, there was war every year in Jianghuai, but no civil uprising occurred. Instead, the people could have food to eat and were not displaced. The number of households even increased compared to the Dayan period.

Except for Shu, where Li Yuan started his rebellion, no other region in the world could do this.

But what kind of place is Shu? It is a land surrounded by mountains and naturally isolated from external wars, and a large number of immigrants poured in.

What is Jianghuai? It is a place that has been conquered four times. The population of Jianghuai has grown despite the wars every year, which means that this place has also taken in refugees and helped them settle down.

What does it mean that the refugees have settled down? They have food to eat and can survive.

So Li Yuan thought about it carefully and felt that Li Qinglian’s summary of his fourth brother was very good.

Adaptability is not his forte.
It turns out that besides Mingfeng, there is also Fulong in my family?
(End of this chapter)