Chapter 445: Circle

With a piece of edict, an envoy, and a word of mouth, the barbarians can be persuaded to become a vassal state of the dynasty, avoiding the loss and bloodshed caused by the military front. What kind of credit is this? A great contribution to the sky! It must be a great contribution that will remain in history and be praised by all ages!

This idea is the most real and urgent desire of civil servants at present.

As for whether this idea is feasible, it is up to the benevolent to see the wisdom of the wise. Others may think that since the human race and the barbarian race are feuds, can they "treat each other with tenderness" besides fighting each other? Isn't this bullshit?

But in the eyes of many civil servants with dreams, nothing is impossible. Isn’t it the highest honor that literati yearn for to defeat others without fighting? Now that the barbarians are weak and the old Jing Dynasty is powerful, as long as the barbarians have a little knowledge of current affairs, they should be subdued so that they can take advantage of the slope. Isn't this "surrendering the enemy without fighting"?

Therefore, in the eyes of civil servants, it is not impossible to persuade the barbarians to change the future situation of the two tribes by means other than war.

Including left minister Ye Lansheng is also a supporter of this idea.

Anyway, the fights are endless, why not try another way to get along with the barbarians?

But not everyone sees it that way, at least they won't become optimistic because of this change in the Ministry of War. For example, Bai Changqing, Minister of the Ministry of household affairs.

Bai Changqing took up the conversation, and had a negative view on the emperor's control of the military department: "Although your majesty has always been centered on us and the army, in my opinion, your majesty is actually the one who takes the lead in the battle. Otherwise, he will not let the chief of Taoism in the south Zuo Yuliang is actively manipulating the military formation and setting up outside the customs. In addition, you may not be aware that just a few days ago, His Majesty ordered the start of a large-scale transportation of grain from the state storage granary to the south, and the quantity is more than ten times the previous amount."

Bai Changqing's words were meant to reveal some secrets, but everyone present here are all leaders in the civil service group, so they wouldn't talk nonsense.

Ye Lansheng frowned slightly, and said in a deep voice: "Bai Shangshu means that His Majesty is not only leading the battle, but also has been secretly promoting the progress of the army? And we just stared at the army and were kept in the dark?"

"Yes. I think it is even more difficult to achieve our ideas now that the Ministry of War is under the control of His Majesty. Your Majesty is eager to lead the battle. After all, His Majesty personally won the victory in the last battle against the barbarians. Whether it is previous results or experience, Your Majesty probably won't "sit down and talk" with the barbarians."

"Your Majesty is the main battle, but the people's livelihood is the most important thing! Once the war ignites, it will waste the treasury in vain? It is more cost-effective to spend this money than to build a few more canals. Besides, how many people will die together in the war? I will do my best to persuade It is His Majesty who makes His Majesty change his mind."

"Yes! Isn't this our duty as officials in court?"

"Tsk tsk, the duty is right, but I don't like His Majesty's character!"

"So what if it's difficult? Could it be that you just give up?"

Bai Changqing's words completely ignited this discussion. After all, everyone here is considered a smart person. After reading through it, they can naturally understand the meaning of the words, but they can't help themselves if they want to give up.

"Actually, think about it differently. It may not be good news for us that the Ministry of War is now in the hands of His Majesty. This is equivalent to His Majesty standing on the side of the Ministry of War. Will he suppress us in turn?"

As soon as these words came out, there was another silence in the study. It is true, and others have thought of it.

Ye Lansheng turned the teacup as if he was thinking about something, and the discussions around him gradually quieted down because of his long silence.

"grown ups?"

"I'm wondering if I can find some people who can speak out in front of His Majesty to help persuade me. The military affairs in the south are imminent, and if it continues, once the fight officially starts, it won't be able to stop." Ye Lansheng as As the head of civil servants, Zhuhe also followed his lead. Once Zhuhe was under pressure, he would definitely be affected the most. In any case, the war cannot be allowed to start so soon.

"Help? But isn't everyone in the court who can help now standing on our side? Who else?"

He also quickly reacted cleverly, hesitated for a moment before saying: "Master Zuo, do you mean those princes?"

Lords?

All the eyes of everyone present were fixed on Ye Lansheng, expecting the leader to give a definite answer.

"That's right. To be precise, they are His Majesty's seven princes. They have been moving up and down for more than two years. I know that some of you must have contacted them. But I warned you before not to stand in line because you haven't At that time, now I think I should be able to borrow the power of these princes."

After finishing speaking, Ye Lansheng's eyes swept around, everyone around either lowered their heads, pretended to look away, or pretended to whisper to the neighbors as if they didn't see it, anyway, they just didn't meet Ye Lansheng's eyes.

These words are not easy to answer, especially the person in his early years, who is easy to remember.

Ye Lansheng has long been used to this situation. People say that civil servants have a lot of minds, but they are not false at all. Who here is not self-protection? Looking for the prince to take advantage of the situation is a good way to say it, but it is a meddling in the "imperial power struggle" if it is not good. If you are not good, you will lose your head.

But it was impossible for Ye Lansheng to handle this kind of thing alone, so he called his name directly: "Master Bai, what do you think?"

The corner of Bai Changqing's mouth twitched, and he thought to himself: Why is it me again? !

But being called by Ye Lansheng, Bai Changqing couldn't pretend to be deaf and dumb, otherwise he would disrespect the other party's leader status. So he thought for a while before saying: "Have you noticed that His Majesty's control over the princes has become more and more loose in the past few years?"

"Indeed. But what does Lord Bai mean?"

"I think His Majesty is deliberately letting the princes go about their activities, and at the same time he is testing them. He is probably preparing for that. So, is it appropriate for us to take advantage of the princes now?"

Smart people usually say seven points and three points when they speak. Ordinary people will think it is hypocritical and difficult to listen to, but the advantage is that "you understand it naturally", and it is convenient to deny: I didn't say anything, it was you Figure it out!

It is obvious that Ye Lansheng and the others are smart people, even if they are divided into high and low, it is not difficult to understand Bai Changqing's words.

"Master Sibai said so, it's true!"

Some people really realized it, with surprised expressions; while some people were very calm, they obviously found out a long time ago but didn't say anything.

Ye Lansheng was the one with a calm expression, but he was not in a hurry to speak, and now Bai Changqing had raised the topic, so let other people discuss and discuss first, he listens, and finally he comes to the conclusion.

Sure enough, after Bai Changqing became an "outstanding bird", it was impossible for the rest of the people to just listen. One by one, they began to calculate in their hearts, but their mouths were full of rhetoric.