As evening approached, clouds piled up in the sky, and it was so gloomy that it seemed like water was dripping from it.
Pedestrians hurried on the streets of Chang'an City, eager to return home before the rain falls. People traveling with them inevitably whisper to each other, complaining about the unreasonable weather changes in the past two years and the sharp increase in precipitation in winter and summer. Heavy rain in summer and heavy snow in winter have caused The people in Guanzhong were severely affected by the disaster. Even the merchants in the city were greatly affected and their income dropped sharply. Their lives must be very tight.
The sky was getting dark and the rain didn't fall for a while.
A carriage arrived at the back door of Song Guogong's Mansion. After the door was cleared, the back door was opened and the carriage was led into the backyard. Li Zhi, dressed in regular clothes, jumped out of the carriage and went straight to the study under the guidance of the steward.
In the study, Xiao Yu was already waiting here. After being greeted by others, he invited Li Zhi to his seat. Xiao Yu was accompanied by the Prime Minister. After the servant served tea, he was dismissed by him. There were only two people left in the study, and then he complained. : "The situation is sensitive at this time, and it is inappropriate for His Highness to visit us like this."
Li Zhi said helplessly: "I also know that this move is inappropriate, but I don't know where to go now, so I came here to ask Duke Song for advice."
Xiao Yu raised his hand to invite Li Zhi to drink tea, and then asked: "What's the problem, Your Highness?"
The current situation can be said to be extremely beneficial to Li Zhi. First, Li Zhi came up with the idea of "going to sea to build a country", so that he was recognized in front of His Majesty as someone who cared about brotherhood and did not want to fight with each other. For this reason, he would rather give up all his glory and wealth and avoid overseas... His Majesty must have been approving and expressing his feelings in his heart. Feeling distressed.
And this led to speculation about whether he was coerced and intimidated by the prince and the king of Wei, which can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone.
In addition, Xiao Yu secretly manipulated the imperial censors to write a letter together, forming a huge wave of public opinion, which swept the king of Wei into the public opinion, causing his prestige to be greatly reduced. The situation was completely on Li Zhi's side.
It is destined that the crown prince will be deposed, and no one can reverse His Majesty's will. King Wei's status will plummet due to his unpopularity, and the ownership of the throne will gradually become clearer...
Under such circumstances, Xiao Yu really couldn't figure out why Li Zhi would come to the house in person regardless of avoiding suspicion. Didn't he know that once His Majesty noticed it, he would come to the conclusion that they were secretly communicating and become suspicious?
Li Zhi took a sip of tea and then said: "To be honest, I asked my father for permission to go to sea to establish a country. I wanted to retreat in order to advance, but I also wanted to go with the flow. In any case, I could avoid the most intense dispute at the moment. Chu Feng is always a good thing... But the situation is different now. If the navy quickly destroys the Japanese country, and the court requests that the prince be sent to establish the country there, wouldn't this king be self-defeating? "
Xiao Yu frowned and immediately understood what Li Zhi meant.
Li Zhi's previous request to go to sea to found the country was made with both hands, and he also had the intention of forcing a palace from His Majesty - either you are willing to let me go to the Japanese islands to join the Japanese people, and I will never be able to return to Chang'an in this life to fulfill my filial piety at your knees. , or you can keep me in Chang'an and canonize me as Crown Prince.
It has to be said that it is indeed clever to retreat in order to advance in this way. Although it is forcing His Majesty to marry, His Majesty will not be disgusted because everyone knows what will happen to a prince who fails to compete for the throne.
But now the problem is on my side...
Li Xiyu, the governor of Liangzhou, suddenly wrote a letter to slander the King of Wei. In addition, the imperial censors and officials in the court impeached the King of Wei for his "impetuous character", "headstrong and conceited" and "resemblance to Emperor Yang", which greatly damaged the prestige of the King of Wei. , public opinion was fierce for a while, which greatly increased Li Zhi's chances of winning the heir apparent.
If the navy destroys the Japanese country at this time, and His Majesty agrees to Li Zhi's previous request to let him go to sea to establish the country, wouldn't this God-given opportunity be wasted?
In short, Li Zhi is now in a dilemma...
Xiao Yu thought for a while and reassured: "It is indeed a bit troublesome, but the navy may not destroy the Japanese country so quickly. At least before the entire Japanese country is wiped out, your majesty will definitely not let His Highness go to the Japanese country."
Although the Japanese Kingdom is under the control of the Navy, His Majesty's love for King Jin will never allow him to be in any danger. Therefore, it can only be possible to let the Japanese Kingdom be completely wiped out when the entire territory is cleared. Li Zhi went to Jianguo.
As far as he knew, although the Japanese country had a small defense, it was dotted with islands and mountains. Once the Japanese escaped into the mountains, at least a hundred thousand troops would be needed to wipe them out.
The naval force is powerful, but it needs to cover the entire East and Southeast Asia. It is impossible to dispatch such a large army to fight in Japan...
Li Zhi shook his head and said: "The Duke of Song is the prime minister of the country and is in charge of the world's affairs, but he has neglected the situation overseas. I have been inspecting the military department and know very well about the official correspondence about the navy. Now the navy The division had less than 10,000 troops in the Japanese country, and only controlled limited areas such as Asukakyo, the Edogawa outlet, and Sado Island. However, it funded and supported the Ezo people to occupy key passes in the Japanese country. As long as Fang Shun gave an order, those who were flooded The Eni people, who are fully armed and hate the Japanese to the core, will tear every Japanese into pieces and chop them into pulp. With the Navy maintaining troop transportation and logistical supplies along the coast, in less than two months, the entire Japanese country will be destroyed. They will be completely controlled by the Navy, and I am afraid that it is not impossible for the Japanese to be exterminated."
Being in the Ministry of War, he could keep abreast of all the dynamics of the Navy at all times. No one in the court knew the power of the Navy better than him.
Every time they arrive at a place, the first thing the Navy does is not to kill brutally, but to first support the weak ethnic groups in the area to resist the local government. They adopt a check and balance strategy to suppress the strong side and support the weak side, so that everyone must rely on water. teacher, otherwise they will be completely cut off.
Or they support local powerful figures to challenge the orthodox regime, leading to protracted war and intra-ethnic conflict.
This strategy allowed the navy to gain maximum benefits at the minimum cost and control almost all foreign countries in the East and Southeast Asia.
The Navy rarely fights in person, but almost every war in the two oceans has its presence hidden in it. This has caused the barbarians everywhere to hate the Navy, but they have to kneel down to fight for the Navy in order to survive and even for their own benefit. support……
The Navy first supported the Soga family in Japan to suppress the power of the emperor, which caused various domestic forces to conflict with each other, wars continued, and the country was extremely weak. Later, the Soga family took it upon themselves to kill the emperor and intended to rule the Japanese islands for a long time. The navy was extremely dissatisfied. It only needed to support the Ezo people who had been persecuted by the Japanese for hundreds of years to launch a war, and the Japanese islands could be razed in a few months. Ping, completely included in the territory of the Tang Dynasty.
Xiao Yu stroked his beard with a solemn expression.
In recent years, he has stopped caring about military affairs and has focused all his energy on court affairs. Therefore, he only knows that the navy is rampant in the East and Southeast Asia, but he does not know that the power of the navy is so powerful that it has islands like the Japanese country. A foreign country with a large population can be destroyed in a matter of seconds without consuming too much of its own strength.
With Fang Jun's loyalty to the East Palace, he would definitely order Su Dingfang to speed up the destruction of the Japanese country so that King Jin could go to sea as soon as possible...
Now we are trapped in a cocoon, riding a tiger with difficulty, and things are not easy to handle.
Xiao Yu pondered: "For the present plan, it is best to take advantage of His Majesty's love for His Highness and not let you leave the capital... Why don't you go to Da Ci'en Temple tomorrow and say that you and His Highness the Crown Prince will be Queen Wende?" Pray for blessings and wait for a while."
Li Zhi could only nod helplessly.
This is also a helpless move, and he can't delay it for long, because he is determined to reserve the throne, and he must take action to influence his father's decision, instead of hiding in the Great Ci'en Temple and waiting for fate...
…
Xiao Yu ordered someone to hold the lamp, and the two of them were plotting in the study. Suddenly, there were rapid footsteps outside, and a steward came in to report: "His Royal Highness, King Wei, is outside the door, asking to see the master of the family."
Xiao Yu and Li Zhi were both stunned, and the latter was a little panicked: "Brother Qingque knows that this king is here, so he came here to cause trouble, right?"
The matter of Yi Chu was inevitable, and it was a foregone conclusion that the prince would be deposed, but in the end who would take the throne, the father was still undecided, so he decided by appointment. But there is a bottom line in everything. My father will acquiesce in his competition with Brother Qingque, but will not allow one of them to collude with the ministers of the DPRK and suppress the other.
Father must make the most rational decision in a fair and just environment...
Of course, it is impossible to completely separate the prince and the ministers, and it is inevitable to have secret connections, but if they are made public and put on the table, this is something that the father will never allow.
Once the forces of the DPRK and China participate in the struggle for the throne, due to their respective interests, it will inevitably cause an extremely huge involution in the future. Dissidents will be excluded, party members will fight for the throne, and the prince who fails in the struggle for the throne will fall into a place of eternal destruction...
Xiao Yu was unsure, secretly complaining that Li Zhi was a bit confused when he came to visit, and said: "Your Highness, please wait for a while, and wait for me to go and have a look."
…
At this time, the sky had completely darkened, and there were many pedestrians in the square. Either the officials on duty were off duty, or the merchants in the city were returning home after closing time, and there was an endless stream of people and carriages.
A large lantern was hung in front of the Duke of Song's Mansion, illuminating the stone steps and the street brightly. King Wei's luxurious four-wheeled carriage stopped in front of the door, blocking the entire street and half of it.
Li Tai was dressed in rich clothes, holding the jade belt around his waist, standing on the stone steps with a plump chest and protruding belly. When he saw Xiao Yu hurriedly came to greet him, he scolded him indiscriminately: "You and other traitors are secretly colluding with each other." If you slander me, I will not pursue it, but where will your actions put the King of Jin?"
Xiao Yu was bewildered by the reprimand and asked in confusion: "I have not conspired to slander His Highness, let alone what is my relationship with the King of Jin?"
Li Tai looked angry, ignored Xiao Yu, turned around, and shouted to the pedestrians who were blocked on the street: "Originally, King Jin has sincerely asked his father to go to sea and found a country. This move is for the sake of all brothers." , the love of brotherhood, and the unwillingness to break up due to competition for the heirloom. This person, who is as bright as the wind and the moon, as powerful as the sea, should be a model for the world!"
Upon hearing this, passers-by on the street applauded: "His Royal Highness, King Jin, is benevolent and righteous!"
Some people shouted: "His Royal Highness the King of Wei has worked hard for the education of the empire, and all the scholars in the world are grateful for his kindness!"
Xiao Yu frowned. The King of Jin's voyage to found the country was only spread in the court. Once it spread throughout the world, it would be really hard to get off the tiger...
Moreover, Li Tai always calls "traitor", which is simply a curse...
Suddenly, there is a feeling of uncertainty in life and the impermanence of things in the world, with depression and depression... People live for a lifetime, and grass and trees fall for a while. What is the meaning of all this?
(End of chapter)
