The envoys from Shu Kingdom had just arrived in Jinling after many twists and turns. At this time, the Southern Tang Kingdom had already known that the Zhou army had launched a two-pronged attack on Shu Kingdom.
The envoy was just a lobbyist, but no matter how eloquent he was, he could not fool the rulers and ministers of the Southern Tang. There were still many talented people in Jinling. Although it was weaker now, its territory was no smaller than that of the Zhou Dynasty in its heyday, and its population and wealth even surpassed that of the Zhou Dynasty. As a big country, it was not so easy to be influenced by others.
Even if the lobbyist was talking a lot, he only had one goal: to form an alliance with the Southern Tang Kingdom and send troops to attack the Zhou Dynasty. His eloquence was still good, especially the fact that the Wu-Shu alliance during the Three Kingdoms period was able to confront Cao Wei for a long time, which was very convincing. The truth was really true, and Zhou, Shu, and Tang were very similar to the Three Kingdoms. But in fact, it was not so easy to repeat the classic diplomacy of the past.
King Li Jing appeased the envoys from Shu and quickly summoned important ministers from Jinling to discuss matters in the imperial city.
The magnificent palace, with its exquisite carvings and jade bricks, still exudes the grandeur of the Southern Tang Kingdom. This country has been established for much longer than any other dynasty in the Central Plains, and has long been the overlord of half of the country.
Han Xizai, a minister who usually indulged in sensual pleasures, took the lead in refuting the arguments of the envoys from Shu one by one after entering the palace, and said at the beginning: Your Majesty, this is not the Three Kingdoms period.
Han Xizai talked about it: Sun Quan and Liu Bei of Wu and Shu had their own ambitions. Let's talk about ancient Shu first. Whether it was Liu Bei's rejection of Jingzhou in the early period or Zhuge Liang's expedition to Qishan in the later period, they always had the ambition to compete for supremacy; therefore, Liu Bei always threatened the north and could be used as a deterrent.
The Meng family of Shu Kingdom today does not seem to be able to accomplish great things. Apart from relying on the terrain to defend the two Sichuans and claim the throne, what else has they done? During the Jin-Han era, the Jin Dynasty was destroyed by the Khitan and the Central Plains was in chaos. Shu Kingdom occupied Qin and Feng, which were taken over by the Jin generals who took the initiative to surrender. Then they did nothing and missed the opportunity. The Central Plains had no ruler and they could not leave Sichuan. What else can they expect now
As for my country, it is also not Sun Wu. During the transition period between Jin and Han, why was my country unable to advance into the Central Plains? All its elite troops were trapped in Wuyue. With Wuyue holding us back from all sides, we were helpless.
After hearing this, the ministers all looked at each other sideways and discussed in a low voice for a while, and most of them felt that what Han Xizai said made sense.
Han Xizai looked around and continued: What is the current situation? In the Battle of Huainan, the Zhou army was fully mobilized, but did Shu mobilize a single soldier? Similarly, now that Shu is under attack, our country is already weak, not to mention that we are unable to do anything. If we are not careful, we may be burned. Then Shu will not save us. The southern countries all want to bring disaster to others, so how can they send themselves to block the Zhou Dynasty's edge
Han Xizai's proposal immediately attracted the support of other ministers. This kind of public opinion was the mainstream in Jinling, and most people really did not want to be involved in war.
But at this moment, the king's younger brother Li Jingda stepped out and scolded: "You civil officials only know how to eat, drink, have fun and wait for death. You are not worthy of planning."
Li Jingda was the most powerful military commander in the Southern Tang royal family, and also the fourth brother of the king. No one dared to confront him and just remained silent.
You have too many reasons, but I only recognize one: If you can't win, nothing matters. Li Jingda said in a tough tone, "Now Shu is forced to fight the Zhou army, whether they want to or not; if we don't use troops now, when will we fight?" I have two plans. The best plan is to send troops to Jingnan to destroy the Zhou army stationed there, block the Zhou army's eastern route, and attack Shu from the east and west to eat up the Zhou army's elite. The worst plan is to recapture Huainan. At this time, the Zhou army's elite troops have been deployed, and Huainan's Li Chongjin has been destroyed, so it is very empty; we can cross the river to recapture the eastern capital Yangzhou, and recapture the fourteen states north of the Yangtze River, which will be the foundation of hegemony.
Li Jingda clasped his fists and said: If your royal brother gives the order, I will be the vanguard.
The king lowered his head and said nothing. Li Jingda was a little impatient and immediately asked for a fight: "Brother, don't believe Zhou Chao's words of friendship, and don't worry about angering them. In this world, strengthening our strength is the right thing to do."
Seeing that the king still did not speak, the Privy Councilor said: "Don't worry, King Qi Li Jingda, the king has his own considerations. How can we rashly start a war when it comes to national affairs?"
Li Jingda did not dare to force him. He sighed, shook his sleeves and stepped aside with an unhappy look. His third brother Li Jingsui was poisoned to death because he participated in the power struggle. The previous lesson was not far away.
Li Jingda stepped back, and Han Xizai spoke again: Our country will not sit and wait for death, but wait for the opportunity. I think the time is not good now, it is too risky and it is difficult to get the support of the people.
A minister asked: When is the time that Han Gong thinks we should wait
Han Xizai said calmly: Let me first assume one thing. When the Jin Dynasty was destroyed by the Khitan, the Central Plains was without a master. If the Southern Tang Kingdom could withdraw and lead its army northward to the Central Plains, what would the situation be like
Everyone discussed it, and this matter had been brought up more than once. The debate even involved the level of national policy because some people believed that if peace had been maintained with the southern countries at that time and the country's elite troops had not been involved in the war with Wu Yue, the Jin and Han dynasties could have taken the opportunity to establish their rule in the Central Plains.
The national policy of the Southern Tang Dynasty has always fluctuated. Sometimes, it pursued the strategy of unifying the south first, strengthening its strength, and then confronting it to wait for the right opportunity. This path also achieved results, and it successively destroyed the Min and Chu countries. However, it was stuck in a quagmire when dealing with the Wuyue Kingdom and never resolved it. Unable to defeat the Wuyue Kingdom, the Southern Tang Dynasty implemented another national policy, which was mentioned by the ministers from time to time, that is, to live in harmony with the various countries and conserve their strength.
However, the dispute no longer exists. After losing Huainan, Southern Tang’s strength declined and it could not destroy Wuyue, so the first path has been terminated.
Han Xizai brought up the old story again. If the assumption is true, the Southern Tang Kingdom is no longer the Southern Tang. It is estimated that it has been called the Great Tang with its capital in the Central Plains. When the Jin Dynasty fell, the Hedong Jiedushi relied on the small territory to go south to establish the Later Han Dynasty, recruiting people along the way, because the people in the Central Plains needed a regime dominated by the majority population after driving away the Khitan. At that time, the Southern Tang Kingdom had such a large territory that it would be easy for the Han people in the Central Plains to accept it as long as the army went north; the Southern Tang was much stronger than the small territory of Hedong anyway, and the chances were very high.
Han Xizai and the others discussed this for a while before continuing: The opportunity ten years ago was fleeting, Your Majesty has waited ten years, can't you wait a little longer
He looked at the twenty or so people around him and said solemnly, "Yes, we are waiting for an opportunity like the one between the Jin and Han dynasties. The Zhou army launched a massive attack on Shu. It seemed to be aggressive, but in fact it was just a weak force trying to hold up the scene. As long as the Zhou army was not successful in this battle, the Central Plains would be in chaos. This time, our dynasty should have made preparations early instead of rushing into the quagmire."
The ministers in the temple expressed their own opinions, and there were roughly three kinds of propositions: The first group, led by Li Jingda, wanted to take an active attitude and attack Jingzhou and Jiangbei now, which would inevitably make them enemies with the Great Zhou and enter a state of war.
The second group, including Han Xizai, tended to believe that the Zhou army could not conquer Shu, and expected that the Central Plains would fall into chaos, so they waited for a more secure time to take action.
The third group was more negative, believing that the Zhou Dynasty was still strong and the general trend had entered a unified stage. They suggested moving the capital to Hongzhou, leaving Jinling, which was under attack from both the north and south of the Zhou Dynasty, and remaining submissive to the Zhou Dynasty. No one dared to say what to do in the future, but everyone understood that they might want to surrender when the situation could not be stopped, and end the foundation of the Southern Tang Dynasty in exchange for wealth.
At this time, the king asked: Why doesn't the prince speak
The crown prince was Li Yu, who had been appointed as the crown prince by the king against all odds. During the short period of Li Hongji's rebellion, Li Yu behaved very well, was completely in the same mind as his father, and was deeply trusted by the king.
Li Yu finally got what he wanted, but it was not easy to become the crown prince. Some people in the court opposed him. Most of the opponents thought that he was obsessed with music and poetry and was afraid that he would delay important things. They made some excuses saying that he had no son. However, this matter was not too important in this world, and an adopted son could also inherit. It was easier for Li Yu to adopt a one-year-old boy from his brother's family as his son, and the problem was completely solved.
I am more in favor of Han Xizai, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Secretary of the Central Secretariat. Li Yu said cautiously, without much to say, but this sentence was indeed well thought out. Li Yu did not speak before, but it was not that he did not listen or think.
When Li Yu looked at his father from afar, he felt that his father was really a little old. Not old in age, he was only in his early forties, but his demeanor was as if he had lost all hope. The ambition he had when he expanded the territory and conquered Min and Chu was no longer there. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for his father to adopt Li Jingda's suggestion; and moving the capital and waiting for surrender might be something his father could not accept for a while, after all, he had once had a glorious time and could be regarded as an accomplished monarch.
Therefore, Li Yu believed that Han Xizai's proposal was the most acceptable to his father; and if he supported him, he would stand on the same side as his father.
Li Yu himself did agree more with Han Xizai's ideas.
Uncle Li Jingda was famous for his military skills, but he thought the government was too simple. Many people in Southern Tang, including the rich and powerful, were not willing to fight. If he forced Southern Tang into a war regardless of everyone's wishes, it would probably cause a lot of trouble and resistance. Wars cannot be fought whenever you want. And rushing to go to war with the Zhou army was risky.
But if the Zhou army was defeated in Shu, the situation would be completely different.
The terrain of Shu is treacherous and it is not so easy to fight. Even when the Central Plains was stable, the powerful rulers of the past dynasties could not do anything to them. The current Queen Mother of the Zhou Dynasty has just taken over the regency and the country is not stable yet. In order to establish prestige, she hastily sent troops. This is really too risky. Maybe people in the war-torn Central Plains are like this, often betting the fate of the country on the outcome of a war. When Zhou Shizong just ascended the throne, he also took this shortcut; now the Queen Mother of the Zhou Dynasty and her family generals are using the same trick again.
Can you always get what you want
The Queen Mother of Zhou Dynasty was not Zhou Shizong, and Guo Shao was even less so. Li Yu thought that it would be difficult for them not to be defeated in the mountains of Shu.