Chapter 364 Another Ten Years
"King of Han, you don't have to take Qingzhou, but you must not let Tang Kingdom be stable."

Military Advisor Wang Sizheng stood up and spoke.

When Liu Xuanji heard this, his eyes lit up and he nodded to signal him to continue.

Wang Sizheng said: "Why did Zhuge Wuhou launch the Northern Expedition in the past, fighting every year? Was it a war of aggression? I think that if Zhuge Wuhou launched the Northern Expedition, Cao Wei would have to respond with half of the world's manpower and material resources. This is a method of tiring the enemy. If there is no Northern Expedition, Shu Han will be in Yizhou, and Cao Wei's national strength will be ten times stronger than it. If Cao Wei is given time to recuperate, the difference in national strength will become larger and larger, and Shu Han will surely perish. Therefore, Zhuge Wuhou went against the will of heaven, making 'Zhong and Guo not take off their armor, Yongliang not put down their saddles', and Jia Xu also persuaded Emperor Wu of Wei to collect grain and gather troops in Huainan, and not to fight Dongwu quickly. At this time, Tang was strong, and Hebei was half as strong as it, and the longer it was delayed, the stronger Tang would be. Although Hebei was also recovering, it was not as vast and populous as Tang. Therefore, we must use the method of tiring the enemy and not let Tang be idle."

Liu Xuanji looked solemn when he heard this.

There is nothing wrong with what Wang Sizheng said from a strategic perspective.

But seeing Liu Daohe shaking his head again and again, Liu Xuanji knew that he should not agree to send troops. After all, one does not know how expensive firewood and rice are unless he is in charge of the household.

Although Liu Daohe was only Shangshu Zuocheng and concurrently Youzhou Zhizhong, in terms of power, he was the de facto prime minister and minister of revenue of Yan State.

He knew best how much money and grain there was in the treasury, how much tax was collected last year, and how many people could be mobilized from each region without affecting farming.

He also knows best whether Dayan can send troops now, how many troops it can send, and how much food it can mobilize.

"What Wang Canjun said makes a lot of sense, but last year, the 200,000-man army was in Jinyang and confronted the Tang army for more than half a year. The treasuries of Youzhou and Jizhou have been empty, and because a large number of civilians were mobilized to transport food, some counties have also seen a significant reduction in food production. No matter what, the army cannot move this year. And don't forget that Youzhou was also hit by the Turkic invasion last year. If we must send troops, we can only mobilize 10,000 people of food and grass for a period of three months. If we mobilize more, next year will be even more difficult."

Wang Sizheng heard this and did not argue with Liu Daohe, but explained: "I also understand what Brother Liu said, but more than 10,000 soldiers and horses are on the march for three months, which is enough to do a lot of things. What Wang meant is not to fight a big battle with the Tang Dynasty, but to send a small number of elite troops to contain them."

Upon hearing this, Liu Daohe no longer resisted, but just kept silent.

Lu Rou, who had been silent the whole time, said, "King of Han, if you just want Qingzhou to tie down the Tang army, and we can rest and recuperate without sending a large army to support, I have a plan."

Liu Xuanji was shocked when he heard this, "Mr. Lu, just go ahead."

Lu Rou said slowly: "Yang Kan and Yang Sui have Qingzhou, but they have no official status. They have not declared themselves kings, nor have they paid tribute to Li Tang or our Great Yan. If you, the King of Han, are willing to appoint Yang Kan as the governor of Qingzhou and give him a title, he will have enough confidence to fight the Tang army. And if the Great Tang knew that Yang Kan accepted the official position of our Great Yan, it would certainly not tolerate him occupying Qingzhou. Before going north, it must take Qingzhou first. Although Yang Kan was defeated by Li Yuan last year, he is brave and the troops under his command are also quite capable of fighting."

Lu Rou's words made Liu Xuanji's eyes light up.

No matter what, Hebei is now under the shell of Dayan, and has Murong Yang, the legitimate puppet emperor. This is righteousness and status.

Lu Rou's idea is low-investment, but if successful, it will be high-yield. No one dislikes it.

If one could use a decree to get Yang Kan's tens of thousands of troops and Qingzhou to share the pressure for Dayan, it would be totally worth it.

At the same time, they can pretend to send out troops, or even send a small number of elite troops to fish in troubled waters and take advantage of the situation.

All in all, you can try it because it costs almost nothing.

Anyway, the Dayan brand only has this function now. It is unknown whether the country name will still exist in a few years.

Liu Xuanji immediately made the decision and decided to issue an edict to Yang Kan of Qingzhou.

First of all, the crimes of the Yang family were pardoned, and Yang Su's official titles were returned. Such titles as Grand Tutor, Minister of the Chancellery, Duke of Chu, and posthumous title "Jingwu".
Then he let Yang Kan inherit the title of Duke of Chu, and at the same time appointed him as the General of the Eastern Expedition, the Commander-in-Chief of the Qingzhou Military Affairs, the Grand Master of the Three Departments, and the Envoy with Special Powers.

It was very generous, and one level higher than the governor and duke of a county that Li Yuanhui promised to give to Yang Sui. But the meaning was completely different.

When Liu Xuanji gave these to Yang Kan, he never thought that Yang Kan could truly be loyal to Dayan. He just gave you a title and asked you to fight with the Li family of the Tang Dynasty.

This is an abuse of official positions, which are just empty titles and no salary is required.

But Li Yuanhui's governor and county duke are different. This means that you, Yang Sui, can bring the surviving members of your Yang family back to your hometown Hongnong, and there is a place for you in the Tang Dynasty court, and other members of your Yang family can also serve as officials. This is equivalent to regaining the status of a noble family from a displaced criminal.

The meaning is completely different.

In April, after the imperial edict from Hebei was delivered to Qingzhou, the Yang brothers had to make another decision.

In the inner hall of Kaiyang County Government, Yang Kan sat in his seat and said self-deprecatingly: "I still think too highly of myself. I thought that I could use Qingzhou to provoke a war between Li Tang and Northern Yan, and my Yang family could take advantage of the situation. Now it seems that I thought too much. Whether it is Liu Xuanji from Hebei or Li Yuanhui from Luoyang, both of them have great determination. It seems that we really need to make a choice."

Yang Sui sighed and said, "Shouldn't this be expected a long time ago?"

Yang Kan smiled and said, "Yes, but people always like to pin their hopes on these illusory things. Wasn't it the same when my eldest brother started an uprising against Yan?"

Yang Sui said: "No, it's different. Murong Ying had already started to deal with my Yang family. Even if my eldest brother didn't start a rebellion, Murong Ying would not let the Yang family go. We were helpless."

Upon hearing this, Yang Kan sighed and kept silent, but no one knew what he was thinking.

Yang Sui then continued to persuade him, "Although Li Yuan and his son are cruel, they are also tolerant. We might as well go with the flow and submit to the Tang Dynasty. There will naturally be opportunities to bring honor to our family in the future."

Hearing this, Yang Kan shook his head and said, "No, Sixth Brother, let's split up the family as we agreed before. I don't think Liu Xuanji will necessarily lose to the Li family. All of Li Yuan's sons are heroes, but if they fight for the throne, their fate may not be better than that of the Murong family. Although Liu Xuanji came from a humble background, he has heroic ambitions. In the Battle of Jinyang, he fought against the three brothers of the Li family alone and did not lose. In addition, Yan Ting also restored Aye's title to keep the Yang family alive. Sixth Brother and I can choose a side."

Yang Sui nodded, and then asked, "Then maybe you have forgotten the hatred of Big Brother and others and are working with Liu Xuanji?"

Starting from the eleventh year of Tiansheng, the two men led the young people and women and children of the tribe to seek survival everywhere, hiding from place to place, and finally took refuge in Wagang, where they found a place to live.

It has been nearly ten years now. During these ten years, the Great Yan that they once wanted to overthrow was destroyed.

Instead, it was the two people who finally killed their brother Yang Xun, Li Yuanhui and Liu Xuanji. One was the King of Qi of the newly established Li Tang, and the other was the King of Han of Dayan, who dominated Hebei and held the emperor hostage.

There may be no chance for revenge, but some people are destined to be restless.

Yang Kan laughed and said, "Hahaha, I certainly won't forget this, but it's never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. If you can't take revenge in ten years, then you can wait another ten years. Gou Jian was able to sleep on firewood and eat bitter food to serve King Fu Chai of Wu, so why can't I, Yang Kan, follow suit?"

"Shiyilang, if this is impossible,

"Hahaha, then just do it even though you know it's impossible!"

Yang Sui stopped trying to persuade them. Yang Kan’s choice was not wrong, but the two of them would have to lead their people in opposite directions in the future.

(End of this chapter)