Galan's meaning is very straightforward. As long as the Dragon Guard remains in the northern border, there will be no crisis. However, Galan's suggestion, in Yang Gongren and Cui Xun's opinion, has ulterior motives. To put it simply, Galan intends to escape the dispute over the imperial rule after the end of the Eastern Expedition and tries to stay out of the matter.

But how is this possible? Is Galan innocent or has other plans?

Today, King Yang Tong of Yue has been pushed to the forefront and has become the target of all those who covet the throne. A new political storm is brewing, and the emperor does not want to face the shocking storm again after the end of the Eastern Expedition. He urgently needs a stable political situation to promote his martial arts, restore the vitality of the empire, consolidate and strengthen centralization, and accelerate the reform process. Therefore, he prepared for the future and decisively established the Dragon Guard Army from the perspective of stabilizing the political situation and protecting the King of Yue.

Why did the emperor form the Dragon Guard Army? Why did Yang Gongren, Cui Xun and Jialan jointly lead the Dragon Guard Army, which was far away from the center but was also under the imperial guards? In fact, there was the intention to protect King Yang Tong of Yue, as well as the intention to deter those who covet the imperial rule, so as to achieve the purpose of curbing and delaying the outbreak of a new wave of political storm.

Jialan agreed with Yang Gongren and Cui Xun's analysis of the future political situation of the empire, but because the King of Yue Yang Tong was at the forefront, and because a new political storm with the main purpose of fighting for the imperial reign was inevitable, the future political situation of the empire will become more and more chaotic, and the battle between aristocratic groups representing different interests will become more and more intense. Therefore, not only the Long Wei Army must be out of the matter, but the royal family headed by Yang Gongren and the Shandong family headed by Cui also must be out of the matter. After all, the deaths of the powerful and powerful imperial families such as Yang Xiong, Yang Da, and Cui Hongsheng have seriously affected the strength of the royal family and Cui family. With a scarred body to fight the enemy who came from all directions, how can we win?

In addition, from the perspective of the emperor and the central reformists, what is needed most after the end of the Eastern Expedition is stability, including stability at the domestic and foreign situation. However, in the dangerous situation where there are strong enemies eyeing them and treacherous gangs inside, the emperor and the central reformists are in a hurry and lose sight of the other. If another battle for imperial reunification is launched at this moment, the emperor and the central reformists will be in a hurry and unable to cope. At that time, don’t say anything about promoting the reform process, even the empire’s destiny will be in danger.

Therefore, whether it is based on one's own interests or the interests of the emperor and the empire, King Yang Tong of Yue must "escape" the upcoming new round of imperial unification disputes at any cost. Yang Gongren, Cui and Jialan, who have been in harmony with King Yang Tong of Yue, must make decisions early and prepare for the future in order to protect King Yang Tong of Yue to the greatest extent and help the emperor and the center stabilize the political situation of the empire. Curb and delay the outbreak of a new wave of political storm in the empire and win a precious respite for the crisis-ridden empire.

Yang Gongren and Cui Xun looked at each other speechlessly. If you say that Jia Lan is Tianzhen, his performance in the Yang Xuangan Rebellion is remarkable. He is both visionary and strategic, fully demonstrating his outstanding political talent. However, the views and strategies expressed today are far from reality. To put it nicely, it is idealistic, and to be ugly, it is naive and naive.

Politics is actually a roaring vortex in the long river of history. All creatures floating on the river and sneaking under the river cannot escape this vortex. Once they are caught in the vortex, everything depends on the arrangement of fate, and even if they struggle to the death, it will be useless. I won’t talk about the history of the old dynasty. Just for today’s empire, the five sons of the late emperor were in the cruel battle for imperial rule. The former crown prince Yang Yong was deposed, the third, fourth, and fifth were either died of anger or were brutally banned.

, or rebels. Father and son turn against each other, brothers are robbed. Human relations are extinct. In fact, whether it is the late emperor or his five sons, they are not interested in being involved in the struggle for imperial rule. They all want to complete the transfer of power smoothly and safely to ensure the stability and development of the empire. However, the final result is very different from their wishes. The late emperor and his sons are swallowed up by the roaring vortex, and in the end they struggle to "escape" are only the last one.

Vortex one after another, history always advances in a cycle. Today, the late emperor and his sons and grandsons face the inheritance of the imperial throne, their greatest wish is not to repeat the mistakes of the previous generation, but the reality is very cruel. The short-lived prince Yang Zhao died suddenly, leaving a thick layer of haze on the future of the empire.

Escape? Can you escape? Whether it is the emperor or his sons and grandsons, whether it is the important royal ministers of the royal family like Yang Gongren or the rich middle-class families like Cui, let alone Pei Shiju and Xue Shixiong, the close ministers whom the emperor relied on, have now been involved in the huge and invincible whirlpool of the imperial inheritance. Who can escape?

“Reality and desire always go against each other.”

Cui Xun's expressionless face, his tone was lazy and gloomy, giving people a sense of depressedness.

Cui Xun didn't believe that Jia Lan's words were originally intended, but he had no intention of questioning or asking questions. Now Cui has been "bound" with King Yang Tong of Yue, sharing honor and disgrace. Now King Yang Tong of Yue has been deeply favored by the emperor with the achievements of suppressing the rebellion. Although he is still very far away from the position of crown prince, at least there is a glimmer of hope. Especially the establishment of the Dragon Guard Army has created a solid shield for King Yang Tong of Yue.

Who is the emperor's heir? Is it Yang Tong? Or is it Yang Tong to support the future monarch? Just like when the late emperor supported King Jin and the Qin and four other sons assisted Prince Yang Yong? But the late emperor's approach failed. This is a lesson from the past. Does the emperor still want to repeat the same mistake? From the perspective of inheritance, King Yang Hung of Qi was the crown prince for granted, and the second heir was King Yang Gao of Zhao. Now the king of Qi was ruined under the repeated attacks of hostile forces and was basically abandoned by the emperor. Therefore, when the Zhao King, who was hungry at the beginning, gradually grew up, once the opportunity came, he would step on the body of King Yang Hung of Qi to sit on the throne of the emperor.

Of course, this is just a guess, a more reasonable and legal guess. The first condition for who will be the crown prince of the empire in the future is strength. Just like the successor in the current position, if he had no strength and Jiang Zuo as his strong backing, it is still unknown whether he could defeat his younger brother, Han King Yang Liang and the huge Daibei, Yanbei and Hebei army.

But it was precisely because of the failure of King Yang Liang of Han that the huge army of Daibei, Yanbei and Hebei were severely damaged, resulting in the number of northern troops in the empire sharply. The emperor had to recruit troops from other regions in the east to expedition. With the defeat of the first eastern expedition, the number of northern troops in the north once again decreased sharply. After the end of the eastern expedition, the army from Central Plains, Jinzhong, Jianghuai, Jiangzuo and other places had to return to their prefectures. So how many troops in Daibei, Liaodong, Yanbei and even the entire Hebei region could be left?

It is based on this reality that Galan tried to keep the Dragon Guard Army in the northern border, on the one hand, to achieve success against the enemy and expand his own strength. On the other hand, he gave strong support to the King of Yue Yang Tong of the Eastern Capital, while King of Yue Yang Tong kept his low profile, hid his strength in the abyss, waiting for an opportunity to soar into the sky.

Galan's idea was too ideal. The problem was not on himself, but on his opponent. If the emperor had to push King Yang Tong of Yue to the forefront and make him the target of public criticism, so as to help him clear all obstacles before his favorite successors took over, or other noble groups who covet the throne and support them must have defeated King Yang Tong of Yue to the ground. Thus, the dispute over the imperial rule was heated up until the final winner was won, then how could King Yang Tong of Yue hide his strength and keep a low profile? How could he hide in the abyss? When he needed help the most, his supporters were far away in the northern border, and he did not even have a chance to struggle, and he would be torn to pieces by the roaring vortex.

Yang Gongren sighed and said, "In fact, Your Majesty has put the King of Yue on the back of the tiger. In the future, the King of Yue will be difficult to ride a tiger, and it will be impossible to hide his strength and maintain a low point, and it will be even more impossible to hide the dragon in the abyss."

But Galan sneered, and his tone gradually became stern.

"I said that today's empire is already internal and external troubles. There are northern enemies invading outside, and treasons are rising inside. The court is even more invading the party and fighting fiercely. If we launch a dispute over the imperial rule again, the empire will be in danger of collapse." Galan's voice gradually became excited, "Don't be limited to one's own interests to examine the political situation in China-Turkey. We must stand higher to see further."

"What is higher? What is farther?" Trison asked dissatisfied with Galan's tone.

"The so-called higher means the collapse of the empire. The so-called farther means saving the empire and saving the people."

Yang Gongren and Cui Xun were secretly shocked, and each of them tightened their mouths, not daring to criticize them randomly.

Galan ignored it and continued, "The emperor and the central government are losing control of the local area, and the growth of local forces has accelerated the speed of riots and riots. Once the scale of the Middle-earth rebellion expands without restrictions, the emperor and the central government completely lose control of the local area. Then the empire has actually entered a state of collapse, and it will only take time for the defeat. At this time, there are northern enemies outside and traitors inside. How can we save the empire? How to turn the tide? How to maintain the unity of Middle-earth?"

Galan waved his hand vigorously, "We need a great hero who raises his arms and calls in all directions, a powerful army that can defeat all the attacks, invincible and invincible, and even more, a stable rear, a large frontier where the Northern Barbarians flee, and a strong base that allows the great hero and his army to save the empire."

Yang Gongren and Cui Xun finally understood, and Galan's wolfish ambition was finally revealed.

Galan's big strategy is based on an extremely pessimistic prediction of the future of the empire, and old history has proved that this strategy has successfully saved the dynasty and saved the innocent people who fell into the darkness again and again. But the question is, is the future of the empire really as pessimistic as Galan predicted? If the future of the empire is very optimistic, is Galan's strategy beneficial to the interest groups with King Yang Tong as the core? At any time, absolute strength determines everything. Therefore, if Galan and his Dragon Guards rise rapidly in the northern border, it should be beneficial to the interest groups where King Yang Tong of Yue is located. The only thing that is worried is that once Galan loses control and his ambitions expand without limit, and he wants to rebel, it will be a nightmare for the empire.

Yang Gongren didn't want to continue talking anymore. He was in a very chaotic mood. With his prediction of the future of the empire and his current difficult situation, he was also pessimistic. In a sense, he was moved by Galan's strategy. After all, the potential benefits brought by this strategy are immeasurable. However, is Galan capable of completing his strategy?

Cui Xun didn't want to continue talking anymore. Galan's pessimistic predictions about the future and Galan's future strategy greatly subverted his understanding of today's current situation and shook his sense of identity with Cui's strategy. He was eager to tell what Galan said to Dongdu so that the core members of Cui's family would reconsider their future development ideas. If Galan was right and his predictions about the future were as accurate as his predictions of the Yang Xuangan Rebellion, then Cui's future strategy must be changed, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

In this way, it is meaningless to hold Jialan accountable for "recruiting thieves and soldiers". It is obvious that Jialan puts his hope of expanding his strength in the future on the Hebei rebel army. Just when the time is right, his Dragon Guard Army will inevitably sweep the entire north. At that moment, how far is the King of Yue Yang Tong from the position of the crown prince, or in other words, from ascending to the throne of the emperor?

However, reality and wishes always go against each other. No one knows the future, nor does anyone know whether Galan's strategy is right or wrong. Therefore, whether Yang Gongren or Cui Xun, he was nervous and worried, but also had a hint of contradictory mentality of expectation, and each performed his duties and allowed Galan to "do whatever he wanted" in the Dragon Guard.

In February, the emperor and the minister of the capital made a decision and launched the third Eastern Expedition.

The emperor ordered the Longwei Army to go north and rush to Liaodong from the day of receiving the order.

At this moment, Li Mi, Wang Zhongbo and others escaped successfully and quietly arrived at Qinghe City.

＝To be continued...
Chapter completed!