Luo Youdu recalled the bits of information he had gleaned from Zhao Kuangyin's mouth when he came to thank him.
I also thought about the details in Wang Pu's "Ping Bian Ce" and summarized the speech in my mind for a while.
Guo Rong and Wang Pu both waited patiently.
Especially the former, who looked forward to it. From the last in-depth chat, he realized that Luo Youdu was very familiar with the general trend of the world.
What is needed now is his ability.
"Be aggressive and seek attack, or be steady and pursue development. The first thing we have to consider is the opponent. Who is our opponent?"
"Is it Liu Han with strong military power? Or Meng Shu who lives in a corner? Or the Southern Tang Dynasty with terrible economic and financial resources? Or even Nanping and Wu Yue who appear to surrender but do not listen to the propaganda?"
"neither!"
"I believe that our biggest enemy is the Khitan, the barbarians from the northeast who have given themselves the imperial name of Daliao."
Guo Rong, Wang Pu is not surprised to hear this, if you can't see through this.
They are no longer worthy of becoming the strongest combination of monarchs and ministers in the Five Generations.
Luo Youdu continued: "The Khitans call us barbarians, but if we really treat them as barbarians, we will suffer a serious crime. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty, our Central Plains soldiers, armor and weapons were all in favor of the barbarians, which was enough to wipe out the damage caused by the opponent's cavalry and archery.
Advantages. However, Emperor Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, which not only opened up the path for the Khitan to go south, but also gave tens of thousands of Yanyun people to the Khitan. This included blacksmiths, doctors, scholars, and farmers.
, belongs to our cultural heritage. Later, Yelu Deguang led his army south to the Central Plains, captured Kaifeng and destroyed the Later Jin Dynasty, and plundered a large number of talents from the Central Plains to the Northeast."
"From this moment on, our superiority in armor has disappeared. On the contrary, their superiority in cavalry and archery is still there. Therefore, I believe that the Khitan is our only powerful enemy in the Zhou Dynasty, so we must pay attention to it! As for the Southern Tang Dynasty,
Meng Shu, Liu Han and the like are all trapped beasts and cannot be compared with the Khitan."
Guo Rong nodded and sighed: "Yes, I have a deep understanding of the strong fighting power of the Khitan. A few days ago, when the King of Wei came to Beijing, I told him about this matter. The only ones who can fight with the Khitan soldiers at the moment are those under his command who have experienced
The Tianxiong Army has fought hundreds of battles. It can defend well, but it is difficult to attack if it really wants to."
After he ascended the throne, he suffered a loss at the hands of the Khitan in the battle to show off his power.
Luo Youdu smiled and said: "The only good thing is that the Khitan is now in chaos. The ministers often understand the situation in the north with the merchants. Analyze the subtle details and draw conclusions. They are at odds with each other due to inheritance issues, and ministers often rebel or flee south.
Regarding our affairs in the Central Plains, I believe that before their situation is stabilized, it will be a God-given opportunity for me to launch troops in the Great Zhou Dynasty."
"As the King of Wei said, our soldiers and horses of the Zhou Dynasty cannot compete with the Khitan soldiers for the time being. But with two shoulders supporting one head, will I, a Chinese man, really lose to the northern barbarians?"
"I absolutely don't believe it."
"Your Majesty selects the best warriors from all over the world to train in the imperial palace. This is one of the means to strengthen the army. But training without fighting is not easy to talk about war on paper. I thought that during the war, I would take advantage of the fierce internal fighting in Khitan to solve the worries and strengthen the army through war.
And make the country strong.”
Guo Rong said in a deep voice: "Why worry about the future?"
Luo Youdu said to him: "Southern Tang Dynasty, Meng Shu."
Guo Rong asked again: "What is the explanation for this statement?"
Luo Youdu answered neatly: "Your Majesty is a generation of holy masters, and he has never concealed his desire to unify the world. It is impossible for the Southern Tang, Meng, Shu, Liu Han, and Khitan to know this. None of these four countries are willing to see my great Zhou Dynasty. As long as they
If you have some brains, you will definitely follow the example of Sun Liu's resistance to Cao during the Three Kingdoms period. If my estimate is correct, the four countries have secretly communicated with each other and made an agreement to support each other. Your Majesty wants to make the Northern Expedition to recover the lost lands of Yanyun, Southern Tang, Meng, Shu, and Liu Han
We will never sit idly by. At that time, we will be attacked from four directions, and we will not be able to take care of all four sides. How can we achieve the great cause of the Northern Expedition?"
Now is not the time for the people to be enlightened. National justice is nonsense in the eyes of the rulers.
Luo Youdu remembers clearly that there are historical books recording that in the past twenty-one years, the Southern Tang and Khitan officials had more than 40 official exchanges with each other. There were even more secret communications that were not recorded in books.
In the beginning, it was for the purpose of making distant and close attacks, so as to facilitate the invasion of the Central Plains. But as the aggressiveness disappeared, it began to be used to prevent the Central Plains from becoming bigger and threatening itself.
"Now Liu Han's national power has been greatly damaged due to the battle of Gaoping; the Khitan is in internal turmoil and has no intention of looking south; and the King of Wei is stationed in the north, so don't worry about it for the time being. It is the best time to solve your worries."
Guo Rong said: "Southern Tang and Meng Shu, where do you think we should start?"
Luo Youdu said: "Meng Shu and Meng Chang took advantage of the troubled times in the Central Plains to send Sun Hanshao to capture Fengzhou, and the powerful army Jiedushi He rebuilt and surrendered the three states of Qin, Cheng, and Qi. As a result, Meng Shu used his tentacles to conquer Fengzhou.
Stretch into Qinchuan. You can lead your troops to attack Guanzhong anytime and anywhere, posing the greatest threat to our army."
"Therefore, I believe that the first to bear the brunt is to recover the four states of Qin, Cheng, Jie, and Feng, and drive Meng Shu back to the land of Bashu."
"With the power of Prime Minister Zhuge, there is nothing he can do to face the Shu road that is as difficult as climbing to heaven. How about Meng Shu Hu? We only need to recover the four states of Qin, Cheng, Jie, Feng, and send a good general to guard Qinchuan. Unless Meng Shu comes again
If there is Prime Minister Zhuge who needs to be dealt with by the whole country, the West will have no worries about military danger."
A stern look flashed in Guo Rong's eyes, and he said: "After stabilizing the situation in Guanzhong, what's next for Southern Tang?"
Luo Youdu pondered for a moment and said: "Compared with the Southern Tang Dynasty, I think that taking Nanping first will be the most beneficial."
As soon as he said this, Guo Rong and Wang Pu looked at each other and saw each other's surprise.
Luo Youdu pretended not to know, but he understood deep down.
The core idea of Wang Pu's "Pingbian Ce" is narrated around eight characters: "Easy first, then difficult, first south, then north."
Indeed, compared to the Khitan, the Southern Tang Dynasty did fall into the category of Yi.
But is Southern Tang really that easy to attack?
Luo Youdu, as a later generation, naturally understands.
It is true that the Southern Tang Dynasty was not an opponent of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but it was not easy for the Great Zhou Dynasty to conquer the Southern Tang Dynasty.
At least from a historical perspective, the Southern Tang Dynasty was a large country with thirty-five prosperous and wealthy states. Its territory and population may be inferior to that of the Later Zhou Dynasty, but its national and financial resources are no less than that of the Later Zhou Dynasty. It also has the natural insurance of the Yangtze River.
The current emperor Li Jing is not comparable to Li Yu.
Historically, it took two generations, Chai Rong and Zhao Kuangyin, twenty years to pacify the south and unify half of China.
Then they faced a complete Khitan and the evolved Daliao Dynasty.
There were Ming emperor Yelv Xian of Liao Jingzong, good ministers and famous generals Yelu Wuzhi, Yelu Xianshi, Gao Xun, Guo Xi, Yelu Xiuge, Yelu Sha, Yelu Xiezhen, Han Derang, and even the legendary Queen Mother Xiao Chuo.
Facing such a lineup, Luo Youdu didn't look down on Zhao Er.
Even if Chai Rong and Zhao Kuangyin don’t die, what will happen?
Can we definitely win against such a lineup?
Wang Pu's "Ping Bian Ce" is very wonderful, but it is just like Zhuge Liang's "Long Zhong Du".
Even a god like Zhuge Liang would never expect that Sun Quan would stab Mr. Guan in the back at the most critical moment.