Zhang Wen was very angry, helpless, and depressed.

He looked at Gai Xun and Fu Xie who were sitting opposite him and asked, "What is Lord Yuan's opinion?"

Lord Yuan was Yuan Pang, the deputy commander of the Western Expedition Army. He stayed in Chang'an to be responsible for the logistics supply of the army.

"Mr. Yuan means that it is best to end the rebellion in Xiliang within two months, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable." Gai Xun stroked his black beard and said slowly.

Zhang Wen sighed long and frownlessly.

"The situation on the battlefield changes very quickly, and Bian Zhang and Han Sui did not take the risk as we expected. They turned to Meiyang, intending to meet Beigong Boyu first, and then attack Chang'an, so the earliest plan we set could not be realized." Sang Yang looked at the map spread on the table and said slowly, "Now the Taiwei transferred the battlefield to Meiyang, and he is still preparing to fight the rebels to the death."

Gai Xun and Fu Xie looked at the map at the same time, with a very solemn expression on their faces.

"Does the emperor have a handwritten edict come to ask recently?" Zhang Wen asked Gai Xun.

Gai Xun nodded.

"What does Your Majesty mean?"

"The national treasury is empty and there is no money. Last year, the Xianbei invaded Youzhou and the Yellow Turbans of Jizhou resumed. At the beginning of this year, rebellions broke out in Nanyang County and Jiangxia County in Jingzhou. Xiliang, from the end of the previous year to the present, not only have the rebels not been wiped out for more than a year, but have become more and more rampant. The court not only has to spend money to fight in these prefectures and counties, but also has to provide disaster relief assistance to these prefectures and counties continuously, so there is no money."

"Youzhou is a little better. Last year, under the command of Lord Liu and Lord Yang, the military and civilians worked together to defeat the Xianbei people and the Yellow Turban Army, and the court spent hundreds of millions of dollars to provide disaster relief. However, the bottomless pit of Xiliang is the biggest burden of the court. From last year to this year, the court spent only one military expenditure, which reached 3 billion yuan, which is equivalent to the military expenditure allocated to Xiliang by the court in the past ten years."

"Yuan Gu (Gaixun's word), how did you reply to Your Majesty?"

"It's not that my Han Dynasty has no money, but my Han Dynasty is very rich, but my Han Dynasty's money is not in the treasury, but in the homes of powerful and wealthy families. I can only say so much, and the rest is His Majesty's business." Gai Xun said in a low voice.

Fu Xie sneered with a "sneer" and said loudly: "Your Majesty is the richest person in the world. In order to store money, Your Majesty specially built a Wanjin Tower in the West Garden. Your Majesty is in the national treasury..."

"Shut up..." Gai Xun shouted, "Zhengnan, you are a senior official of the court, why are you talking unrestrained? When should you change your temper?"

Fu Xie glared at Gai Xun with hatred, without saying a word.

"This time you asked you to go to Luoyang to ask for money. You have not received one of the money, but you offended all of them." Gai Xun said angrily, "Mr. Situ is the third Duke of the court and an important official of the country. You blocked the door of Situ's mansion and cursed. What kind of discipline is this?"

"What kind of shit is he? His Situ bought it with money. He is an important official of the court? Is there such a shitty important official of the court? Li Zhonglang led his troops westward, traveling 3,000 miles and spending 200 million yuan. He just didn't find a way to solve it. Instead, he came up with an idea to spend money from our Xiliang military expenses. I won't scold such a rioter who harms the country and the people. Who will I scold?" Fu Xie stood up and said excitedly, "Now the battlefield in Xiliang has increased by 50,000 people and 30,000 war horses. The military expenditure has not only not increased, but has been reduced. How to fight this battle? When will the suppression of the rebellion in Xiliang end? Are the soldiers hungry while fighting?"

Zhang Wen stood up, walked to Fu Xie, patted his shoulder and said, "Zhengnan does not need to be angry, no need to be angry. Alas... I am not capable of it, so that the rebels in Xiliang have been unable to wipe out it for a long time, which has made my great Han Kingdom and the people of Xiliang. I am ashamed."

"Master Taiwei..." Fu Xie knelt down and said with emotion, "Since he arrived in Xiliang, he has been sleeping at night and working hard, racking his brains to suppress the rebellion, and forgetting to eat and eat, and his hair has become much white. What I feel ashamed is that we subordinates, who have not fulfilled their hearts and responsibilities, have failed to live up to the trust of His Majesty and the Majesty."

Gai Xun, Sang Yang, and Geng Bi also knelt down in a hurry, feeling quite uneasy. Zhang Wen hurriedly helped him up one by one, shook his head speechless.

"Master Taiwei, if Meiyang's decisive battle can be successful, perhaps all problems can be solved." Geng Bi comforted Zhang Wen and said.

"The idea of ​​a decisive battle must not be." Fu Xie said loudly, "Master Taiwei, this is a way to fish in the waters. Even if this battle is successful, it will only bring temporary victory to the Han Kingdom. In the future, Xiliang will be a heavy burden for the Han Kingdom."

Geng Bi immediately retorted: "Mr. Fu, once the rebels in Xiliang are pacified, there will be no war in the country. After several years of rest and recuperation, the national strength of the Han Dynasty will be restored. It is not a small task to deal with the Qiang and Hu who have caused trouble to Xiliang. It will be much easier to drive the Qiang people out of Xiliang in the future than to wipe out the rebels now."

"What about these years?" Fu Xie asked loudly, "After the decisive battle, how many soldiers in Xiliang can stay? What should we do about the defense of Xijiang in the past few years? Let the Qiang and Hu burn, kill and loot? Or as Lord Situ said, give up Xiliang? After the Western Liang is pacified, there will be no war in the Han Kingdom. This is probably Lord Geng's wishful thinking?"

"First south, all the money and materials allocated by the imperial court to the battlefield in Xiliang were only enough for our 150,000 troops to maintain until early July. By July, there was no supply to Chang'an. In two months, it was impossible for us to destroy the rebels at all. At most, we would not be able to regain Jincheng and drive the rebels across the Yellow River. By July, no matter who we and the rebels of Xiliang won or who would win, the troops would have to retreat." Zhang Wen smiled bitterly and looked at Fu Xie and said, "I have been in Xiliang for almost a year and commanded more than 100,000 troops, and spent a huge amount of money. He could not pacify the rebels of Xiliang. How could I explain to the emperor?"

After pausing, Zhang Wen said again, "Maybe if I do this, everyone will say that I am for my career." Zhang Wen shook his head and smiled, "Actually, I can be other officials if I don't become a Taiwei, and I can also be other officials. With my relationship with Your Majesty, with my reputation and family background, I will not be a nobleman, at least I can be a Sili lieutenant, who is much more relaxed and free. You all know what kind of official this Taiwei is. To put it nicely, the head of the three dukes, and to put it badly, it is the scapegoat of the emperor. Have you ever seen the Taiwei who served for more than two years?"

"Haha..." Zhang Wen smiled bitterly and desolately, "Everyone knows who I am. Although I don't have any outstanding talents, I am loyal to the country, work diligently, and never do anything corruption and abuse of power. I have a clear conscience."

He looked at everyone and said slowly: "The reason why I repeatedly looked for opportunities to fight the rebels was very simple, which was to fish out of the lake and deal with the rebels in Xiliang first."

Everyone was stunned.

"If the Xiliang incident is dragged on like this, one year, two years, three years, what year will it be? How much does the country cost? Do you have to drag down the Han Kingdom because of Xiliang? Lord Situ's words of giving up on Xiliang are actually just an angry word. He means to let go of Xiliang in advance. The rebels of Xiliang were eliminated, the troops of Xiliang were defeated, the Qiang and Hu continued to invade, and the people of Xiliang were destroyed, which is all true. But in order for the entire Han Kingdom to restore the vitality after being severely damaged by the Yellow Turban Rebels, and in order for the people of the entire Han Kingdom to not be dragged to the abyss of suffering, can't Xiliang temporarily bear the suffering of these years?"

"If the matter of suppressing rebellion in Xiliang is delayed again and again, in three or four years, there will be tens of billions of dollars in expenditure. After three or four years, the court will not only be in excess of money and be in debt, but the country will also fall into a state of dying and sunset in the west because it has no chance to breathe. But if we pacify the rebels and only the invasion of Qiang and Hu in the West, we can endure it for three or four years. When the country recovers its vitality and the national treasury is full, we will then rush into Xinjiang to drive away Qiang and Hu. By then, even if we spend more money to pacify Xiliang, the court will fully pay."

"For Your Majesty, suppressing rebellion is tens of millions of times more important than driving away the Qiang and Hu."

Everyone was silent, and even Fu Xie had nothing to say.

Zhang Wen suddenly sighed, as if he was about to exude his resentment.

"However, the development of the battle situation has completely exceeded my expectations. It is more difficult to complete the decisive battle plan than to reach the sky. My great Han Kingdom is so painful."

"Why did Lord Taiwei say that? Isn't our situation very good now?" Geng Bi comforted, "As long as Beigong Boyu arrives in Meiyang tomorrow, we can start the action immediately."

"Han Sui and Han Wen's appointment are very talented, not comparable to ordinary people. We originally lured the enemy into the deep and the plan was implemented smoothly, but just when we opened our mouths and prepared to eat him, he suddenly ran away." Zhang Wen said in a heavy mood, "Fifty thousand people first surrounded and annihilated Bian Zhang, then surrounded and annihilated Beigong Boyu, and ate one bite at a time. Now they have become fat people in one bite. I don't know if they can give it to them. The matter in Xiliang is getting more and more complicated."

He looked up at Gai Xun and Fu Xie and said, "The two lords and Bian Zhang, Han Sui has known each other for many years. Tell me, will they fight us in a decisive battle in Meiyang?"

"It's impossible." Fu Xie said loudly. Gai Xun twisted his beard and nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Fu Xie's opinion.

Huangfu Li, the military officer, walked in quietly.

"Master Taiwei, General Dong's subordinate Li Xiaowei asked to see him and said that General Dong had an important military report."

"Please hurry." Zhang Wen was shocked and said loudly.

＝＝＝

As soon as he walked into the gate of the camp, Li Hong encountered the messenger who was ordered to invite him.

Zhao Yun pulled the horse and walked beside him, whispering: "The Grand Marshal must agree to General Dong's suggestion."

Li Hongxiao said: "The Taiwei is knowledgeable and his staff are outstanding. He can naturally handle the situation in front of him."

"That adult's idea..."

"Since Lord Taiwei agreed to General Dong's suggestion, he must have new considerations about the entire battle situation. If Lord Taiwei's combat strategy has changed, then there is no need to mention my idea. We have just arrived in Xiliang, so it is better to be restrained and cautious, so as not to be called arrogant people."

Zhao Yun laughed.

"Since I arrived in Xiliang, my words and actions have changed a lot. I am careful in everything I do and look at it."

Li Hong hugged his shoulder and laughed loudly, "One day you will know what's going on." He patted Zhao Yun hard and sighed, "I want to bring you back, and bring you back many places to Jizhou."
Chapter completed!