Li Qianshun indeed worked very hard to make Xia Guo strong and prosperous, but obviously his ministers could not understand this painstaking effort. For example, what Xi Fengchang cares about most now is to successfully complete the tasks assigned to him by his father and prevent the emperor from using troops abroad. Ambition, and instead chose to remain neutral.
Originally, he wanted to use the King of Yue to make suggestions, but now it seems that Mo Xuxihe, who is traveling with him, is a more ideal candidate. So after traveling for a while and after hesitating for a while, he finally spoke: "I wonder what Ning Ling thinks of Liao and Song Dynasties sending envoys to celebrate the emperor's birthday this time?"
Xifeng often wanted to find the right topic tactfully, but his thoughts could not be hidden from the old fox Mo Xihe. He immediately started laughing: "You want to ask me about my attitude towards the Liao-Song war, right? This is What does your father mean by sealing off Ye Chang? He doesn’t want me to take any action against these two countries, right?"
These questions immediately stopped Xi Fengchang, leaving him stunned for a moment not knowing how to answer. But just this reaction made Mo Xiahe know the answer, and he smiled again and said: "Actually, I am not optimistic about using troops rashly at this time. Our foreign strategy has always been to focus on darkness. Can we not use it?" There is no need for soldiers. After all, I am not as good as the Song people in terms of money and food, and I am not as good as the Liao people in terms of soldiers and generals. If we really fight with them, we will only suffer in the end."
Hearing his answer, Xi Fengchang's spirit was immediately lifted, and he hurriedly said in surprise: "So Ning Ling doesn't agree with the use of foreign troops. I wonder if you can come forward and advise the emperor to let him give up his intention to use troops against Liao and Song Dynasties. What's on your mind?"
"Humph, this is not easy." Mo Chihe shook his head at this, glanced at Sun Tu who was following behind and said: "I won't hide it from you, in fact, the reason for the renewed dispute between Liao and Song Dynasty this time is ultimately because of my intervention by the court. The internal affairs of the Liao Kingdom single-handedly facilitated it. And as early as the emperor got rid of the Liang family and took the government into his own hands, he had already planned to provoke a war between the two countries, thus allowing me to draw chestnuts from the fire. Now everything is going according to his plan. The planned plan is going ahead, do you think the emperor will listen to my advice and stop at this time?"
Xi Fengchang and Sun Tu changed their expressions almost at the same time after hearing these words. The former naturally knew how difficult this matter was, while the latter only now confirmed that Youzhou was indeed the mastermind behind the incident in Nanjing. , which made him resentful.
If those Xia people hadn't provoked that incident, they might have returned to the Song Dynasty safely, instead of letting almost everyone die outside Youzhou City! This made Sun Tu even more determined to take revenge on the Xia people, letting them know what would happen if their hinterland was infiltrated and caused chaos!
Seeing the two of them changing their expressions, Mo Xiahe thought they were worried that things would be difficult to stop, and felt funny in his heart. In fact, he had already seen that the reason why the Xi Feng clan wanted to prevent the emperor from using troops abroad was not based on the overall situation of the Xia Kingdom, but entirely based on their own position.
Because the roots of his Xifeng clan are on the eastern border, if they really want to go to war with the Liao Kingdom, they will be the first to bear the brunt, and the losses will be huge. Mo Chihe can be sure that if the Xia Kingdom just decided to use troops against the Song Dynasty this time, Xi Feng Yechang would never raise any objections.
After taking two steps forward
, Mo Xiahe thought again. Now that he and the Xifeng clan have formed an alliance to fight against the prince's party because of this incident, it is really hard to refuse their request directly, at least on the surface. The face still needs to be sold. Otherwise, people will say that he has crossed the river and burned the bridge.
So he soon spoke again: "However, there are many people in the court who are not optimistic about the emperor's plan to advance this time, so if you can contact more courtiers and express your opposition together, you should be able to get the emperor to withdraw his order. In fact, here When it comes to foreign wars, the only person who can really influence the emperor is Privy Councilor Uguru Ya. If you can convince him, even the emperor will have to think twice."
Xixia actually learned from the Song Dynasty in many government systems. For example, in addition to Zhongshu, it also established a Privy Council to control the country's military power to check and balance the powerful Zhongshu Ling. It's just that in this dynasty, because Mozhihe is old enough and powerful enough, Privy Councilor Uguru Yacai is not taken seriously by others, but his military status cannot be ignored.
Xi Feng Chang nodded in agreement, but then said with a grimace: "But I, Xi Feng, have never had any contact with the Privy Councilor. I'm afraid there's something wrong if I rush to visit him now, and he may not listen to me." ah."
"This depends on your ability." Mozhihe certainly understood what he meant by asking for help. In fact, he could indeed come forward to persuade Uguluya, but he didn't want to do so at all. Because this was against the emperor's will. He had already made the emperor very dissatisfied because of the prince's affairs. If he got involved in this matter again, he might really get into trouble.
Just when Xifengchang had a look of helplessness on his face, Moxihe said again: "But there is one person who can help you."
"But who is it?"
"The King of Yue. Before the King of Yue went to Dingzhou, he had a close friendship with Uguru Ya's eldest son Ugu Boqi. You can definitely ask him to come forward and lead you to visit him." Mo Chihe quickly gave the answer. Knowing the answer, Xi Fengchang's face suddenly lit up with joy. He really didn't expect that there was such a relationship with the King of Yue.
So he immediately said happily: "If this is really the case, Uncle Yue Wang will definitely not refuse my request. With him coming forward, things should be easier to talk about."
"Haha." Mochihe glanced at him thoughtfully. The relationship between the King of Yue and the Xifeng clan seemed to be quite close. Does that mean that he actually had some thoughts? Thinking of the virtuous reputation of the Yue King in the Xia Kingdom in recent years, and comparing it with the prince's actions, Mo Chihe actually had something in his heart that made him a little scared.
After a while, he suppressed the throbbing and said: "If you can really win the support of the Privy Council, and if the courtiers cooperate, I will definitely come forward. By then, all the important officials in the court will oppose it, even if the emperor again Even if you are determined, you can only take back your life."
This derivation made Xi Fengchang feel happy again, and he thanked him repeatedly for his guidance. Although Sun Tu didn't interrupt along the way, he saw something else from the perspective of a bystander. Obviously, the Privy Councilor named Uguru Ya and Mo Xichhe were not on the same side, but the relationship between the two parties was not considered hostile. And the reason why Mo Tsihe said this was not only to express a little favor to Feng family, but also to fear that
You might also want to take the opportunity to make good friends with the other person.
Several people talked while walking, and now they have returned to the door of Mo Chihe's mansion. The defense here is still tight, but the mood of its owner is completely different. In fact, most of yesterday's anger was staged, not only to show determination to the emperor, but also to win people's hearts. But today, now that he has obtained what he wants, the death of a few of his men is nothing.
Of course, Mozhihe had to find a way to catch the murderer of last night's murder, so that the official position of Inspector General could truly fall into his own hands. Therefore, when he arrived at the door of his house, he no longer had any intention of chatting with Xi Fengchang. He just gave a final warning: "But you must be prepared when you go to see Wu Guluya. I heard that the envoys from Song and Liao will be here these two days." I have come to see you many times. As for their purpose, I don’t need to tell you anymore, right?"
After inviting Sun Tu to stay at his house for a few days but being declined, Mo Chihe finally returned home, and Sun Tu and his party set out on the road again.
It was almost dusk at this time, and Sun Tu thought that they should go back to the other courtyard to rest. Unexpectedly, after taking two steps, Xi Fengchang suddenly suggested: "How about we go see Uncle Yue Wang now and ask him for help?"
"It's getting late today. Isn't it inappropriate to ask for help at this time?" Sun Tu hurriedly tried to dissuade him. If this happened in the Song Dynasty, if they came to the door suddenly without any prior notice, I'm afraid they might not be willing to let them in.
But Xi Fengchang smiled confidently and said: "Uncle King Yue has always regarded me as his nephew. Even if he comes to visit now, it is not a gift. What's more, the matter is urgent. I really can't wait any longer." After knowing the envoys from Song and Liao, After frequent contact with Uguruya, he was really worried that the matter would come to an end early, so he had to seize every opportunity to convince the other party.
Now that he had said so, Sun Tu couldn't persuade him anymore, so he nodded in agreement, and then they quickly turned around and headed straight for the Yue Prince's mansion, which was not too far away.
The King of Yue was indeed a little surprised by their sudden visit. After meeting, he looked at Sun Tu and sighed: "Sun Qianli, you have made a name for yourself in our Xingqing mansion this time. You actually became an enemy of the prince, and you escaped pursuit twice. It’s really impressive.”
"The King of Yue was so complimentary. I was just lucky for a moment. Fortunately, the prince was generous and didn't really want to attack me because of this trivial matter. Otherwise, my life would have been in danger." Sun Tu said humbly.
After chatting for a while, Xi Fengchang revealed the purpose of his visit today when asked by the King of Yue. After listening to his story, the King of Yue frowned unconsciously: "I do have a good relationship with Ugu Boqi, but I have some differences with the Privy Councilor. So on this matter, I can You may not be able to say anything.”
"There is no need for Uncle Yue Wang to come forward for this. My nephew also knows your difficulties. I just hope that I can use Uncle Yue Wang's presence to see the Privy Councilor. Of course, if Ugu Boqi can really say a few words for us, then It could not be better."
Seeing that it was difficult to evade the matter, the King of Yue finally nodded and said: "Then let me help you this time. It just so happened that Ugu Boqi sent someone to invite me to visit the house yesterday, so you can follow along in the next two days. Let me go with you!"