Chapter 518 Time waits for no one
Li Yaoshi, the General who Guards the East and Duke of Wei, was appointed as the commander-in-chief of all military affairs in Huainan and was given the imperial seal.

Under his command were General Liu Fuwei of the Left Guard, General Chen Zhen of the Left Guard, Xu Qiande, the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Pengri Army, Fu Weixue, the Right Commander-in-Chief of the Pengri Army, Xie Shufang, the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Tianwu Army, and Yang Xianguo, the Right Commander-in-Chief of the Tianwu Army.
The total number of elite troops from various routes is more than 30,000, not including the Jiangzhou navy and the current Huainan troops. The total force adds up to 60,000 to 70,000.

Such a lineup is full of generals, including generals who are well versed in military tactics, such as Li Yaoshi and Xu Qiande, and famous generals who are strict in military discipline, such as Xie Shufang and Chen Zhen. There is no shortage of fierce generals who are good at charging into battle, killing generals and capturing flags.

Yang Xianguo, Fu Weixue, and Liu Fuwei are all powerful generals who can defeat ten thousand enemies.

Li Yuanhui felt that he had attached enough importance to the Eastern Wei regime in Jiangdong.

Before the destruction of the Western Wei last year, Li Yuanhui admitted that the Jianghuai line was neglected.

After a series of wars last year, Jiangdong and Eastern Wei have organized a team with considerable combat effectiveness, which is enough to be used for a while in this chaotic world of struggle for hegemony.

But the one they have to face is Li Pharmacist, the "God of War" and a T0-level general.

If this star lineup fails to produce any results, it would be a bit too fake and it would not be unfair to cut a few of them.

At present, it is impossible to afford a large-scale war on two fronts, but the current situation is that Chang'an is the leader of the Northern Han. The Qi Wang Bafu and other tribes only need to coordinate, so in addition to maintaining sufficient troops in the north, the south can still support a local war.

Originally, Li Yuanhui had always wanted to wait until the north was stabilized before taking charge of the combat mission to Jiangdong.

But recently, important ministers and officials such as Lu Xiang, the Governor of Northern Yuzhou, Xie Xun, the Governor of Yangzhou, Zhang Fu, the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple and the Judicial Counselor of the Tiance Palace, have died one after another. These people were important aides and subordinates of Li Yuanhui when he started his career in Jianghuai, and they had always held important positions. Now that they have died one after another, in addition to feeling sad, he also began to worry about these important ministers and generals under his command, as well as veteran soldiers who had fought in many battles, most of whom are now in their forties.

Some of them are almost fifty years old. Basically, they are at their prime. If they delay, they will miss their prime and start to decline. By then, although Li Yuanhui himself is young and can endure, if there is no successor in the army, there will be a shortage of combat effectiveness.

Even the younger generation who are being trained now, such as Duan Shao, Lan Yu, Zhu Wenzhen, Li Bao, Li Changgong, and Li Yanzong, although they have good potential, they will not be able to hold up the scene overnight.

Li Yuanhui also thought that after he had conquered the world, he would continue to expand outward and solve all the problems in the grasslands and the Western Regions. If he still had the energy left, he would also solve the problems with the neighbors south of the Himalayas.

This all takes time. It would be best to let these generals give full play to their talents and expand the territory.

The premise of all this is to unify the world and take the throne.

Without these great generals and veteran soldiers, Li Yuanhui would not have the confidence to fight for the throne.

So he was determined to speed up the process and try to resolve the battle by utilizing the generals and veterans in their prime.

Compared with the generals, the problem of veterans is even more serious. The combat effectiveness of each army is very dependent on veterans. Most of these veterans have been soldiers for nearly 20 years, and many of them have been soldiers since the Former Yan Dynasty.

Even the earliest batch of Jianghuai veterans were mostly around 40 years old. After all, Li Si himself was over 30 and in his early 30s.

Therefore, Li Si felt that Chang'an's strategy was completely acceptable and was willing to assist with all his efforts. The Tang Dynasty had already lost a lot of time and opportunities due to internal friction.

Li Yuanhui made it clear in the memorial sent to Chang'an that your third brother is the current leader of our Tang Dynasty. I will do whatever you say, brother, and I will do it without a second thought.

Li San asked the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Yao Yi to read out the memorial from the King of Qi in public in the main hall in front of all the court officials and confidants.

The court officials who had doubts about the King of Qi's attitude were immediately slapped in the face, and all said that Your Majesty was wise, and that you and His Royal Highness the King of Qi had a really good brotherly relationship.
It was normal for court officials to have doubts. After all, at this time before the New Year, the Eastern Palace and the Prince of Jin's Mansion were still arguing over some issues.

But now the emperor and the prince of Qi are completely different? When the emperor was in power, the prince of Qi didn't seem to be so easy to talk to.

At some earlier time, the army of Jiangdong also began to gather. Before the Han army left Yecheng, it took the lead in sending out troops. A 100,000-strong army set out from Jianye, went up the Yangtze River, passed through the Rushu River and entered Chaohu Lake. It also recruited the Lujiang warlords who had previously rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, and gathered 20,000 troops, a total of 120,000 people, to prepare to attack Hefei.

Not long after, 120,000 Han troops set out from Yecheng and entered Bingzhou through Fukouxing. At the same time, another 30,000 Han troops entered Bingzhou from Jingxing, and their destination was also Jinyang.

Before Liu Xuanji led his army into Bingzhou, he left the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of State Affairs Liu Daohe to guard Yecheng, the Minister of Works and the General of the Zhenjun Army Tian Hongsi to supervise the military affairs of Jizhou, and the General of the Zhengnan Army Su Dingbian to guard Fangtou and control the troops of the Qishui River. The Qishui River line still maintained three Kaifu armies with more than 37,000 people. After hearing that the Emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty Liu Xuanji was personally leading the expedition, Li Sanlang named his eldest son Li Chenghui as the King of Jin to supervise state affairs, Sima Xiuye ​​as the governor of the Eastern Capital, and his second son Li Chengjin as the King of Jing to accompany him to the expedition.

After the appointment was announced, a minister immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, since the eldest prince is the legitimate son of your Majesty and the Queen, and he is kind, filial, intelligent, quick-witted and studious, he should be made the crown prince to correct the foundation of the country. I think your Majesty should make the eldest prince the heir."

At this moment, these words caused the hall to fall silent.

Even Li Sanlang was a little surprised.

.

But this suggestion was refuted by Li Sanlang in court.

"In the sixth year of Wude, I, Taizong, and the King of Qi have already made an alliance. It is sealed in a golden box and will be passed down from brother to brother. My son has no achievements now. How can he become the crown prince? After a hundred years, the throne will be passed to the King of Qi."

The censor retorted, "If anyone with merit can be made the crown prince, then does that mean that the ancient rituals and laws are no longer needed? I think that although the King of Qi has made great contributions to the country, the rituals and laws cannot be disrupted. If they are disrupted, the inheritance of the country will be in jeopardy. I think this alliance should be abolished."

Li Sanlang showed an unhappy look on his face and rebuked: "Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, are you trying to alienate our brotherhood? Get out."

The censor was immediately upset when such a big hat was put on him, but Li Sanlang did not intend to punish him at all, and only refuted him. There was no punishment.

Li Sanlang even specially wrote down this person's name.

His name was Wei Zheng, and he was from Julu, Jizhou. He served as a royal censor. In his early years, he had served in the Wagang Army and was a staff member of Zhai Rang. Later, he followed Zhai Rang's son to surrender to the Tang Dynasty.

When leaving court, Wei Zheng walked in the corridor of the palace, and many of his colleagues kept away from him.

At this time, someone shouted, "Brother Wei."

Wei Zheng looked back and saw that it was Cui Xiaotong, the Imperial Court Minister.

Both of them were old members of Wagang, but their treatments were very different. Cui Xiaotong was recruited by King Jin at that time and became a military officer in his military office. Later, he became an important member of the Tianzhu General's Office. Now he serves as the Yellow Gate Minister, which is a high-ranking official in the Menxia Province second only to the Shizhong.

Given his status as the Prince of Jin's former residence, it is foreseeable that he will become the prime minister in the future.

"Brother Cui."

Cui Xiaotong said: "Brother Wei, I would like to congratulate you in advance."

Wei Zheng asked, "Where does the joy come from?"

He thought to himself, I just got scolded by the emperor in the hall, how can I be happy? Could it be possible? Then thinking about the identity of the person in front of him, he seemed to understand something.

Cui Xiaotong smiled and said, "Brother Wei, just wait patiently. With your integrity today, Brother Wei should be able to hold a high position like the Minister of the Court in the future."

Shizhong, the head of the Menxia Province, and one of the prime ministers.

These words made Wei Zheng a little puzzled at first, but he soon realized that he was actually taking a gamble. He did not believe that the emperor did not want to pass the throne to his son, so he made the suggestion at this time.

Wei Zheng knew that he would be reprimanded because what he said just now was not conducive to the harmony between His Majesty and the King of Qi, especially at a time when troops were about to be dispatched.

But now he knows that he made the right bet.

(End of this chapter)