Tao Yuanming said this, raised the water glass in front of him, took a sip, and continued: "Although Sima Guofan has no ability, he raised troops to serve the king in the name of the Sima clan, saying that Liu Yu slaughtered the clan and had treason. Those families that are secretly dissatisfied with Liu Yu will send their own forces in northern Henan to secretly join Sima Guofan, and these people will pose a real threat to the generals Liu Yu left behind in the country!"
Yao Xing smiled and said: "I see. It seems that Sima Guofan is just a cover. The real threat to Liu Yu and the unrest in the country must rely on the powerful families behind him."
Tao Yuanming nodded: "Yes, in fact, few aristocratic families really support Liu Yu, because the common people and scholars are not mutually exclusive. Liu Yu gives benefits to the common people in order to take away the benefits of the aristocratic family. How can they be willing to do so? But If no one takes the lead in resisting, whoever dares to step forward rashly will end up like the Wang family in Taiyuan. Therefore, they can only fight against Liu Yu by supporting Liu Yi. However, under the current circumstances, Liu Yi cannot openly raise troops to fight against Liu Yu. We are enemies, so for this banner, only the royal family of the Sima family is the most suitable. Others such as the Huan family, Tianshi Dao, etc. are inherently treasonous and traitors, and as aristocratic families, they will not follow."
Yao Xing curled his lips: "Isn't there Tianshi Tao in Lingnan? Do you have any contact with them, sir? When it comes to Liu Yu's mortal enemies, Tianshi Tao is the number one, and their fighting power is very strong. If I support The three forces you mentioned are raising troops, sir, can you ask Tianshi Dao to join them?"
Tao Yuanming shook his head: "I have always been in Jingzhou and have no friendship with Tianshi Dao. However, I think they once caused such a big turmoil in Wu. If the Jin Kingdom really had large-scale internal and external troubles and wars everywhere, they would also He will not sit idly by, but this also requires time to prepare. Moreover, the hatred between Tianshi Dao and the aristocratic families is very deep. If they start to rebel from the beginning, I am afraid that the aristocratic families who could have secretly supported Sima Guofan will Think again, after all, it was Liu Yu who helped them defeat Tianshi Dao and regain their family property."
Yao Xing nodded: "Then let's ignore the power of Tianshi Dao for the time being. Mr. Tao, these powers you mentioned can indeed be used, but I really need to help you and these Lius. If Yu's enemies are Liu Yu's enemies, will they break up with Liu Yu and start a war? In the past, I gave back the twelve counties of Nanyang in order to make peace with Liu Yu. Now, in order to take in Sima Guofan and the others, I have to give up these hard-won Do you really think it’s worth it if all your good intentions are ruined?”
Tao Yuanming smiled slightly: "Last time, your Majesty did not take the initiative to return the twelve counties of Nanyang, but Liu Yu sent me to ask for it. He was rude first. Your Majesty agreed to return the counties at that time because he did not want to pay for these ten counties that could not be defended. It was an act of benevolence and righteousness to use weapons rashly against the two counties, and it was not considered a loss. Just like Liangzhou, you raised troops to destroy Houliang, but didn't you withdraw your troops because you couldn't defend them and give the captured land to the three Liangs? ?”
"But it's different now. Liu Yu has officially started the Northern Expedition. Nan Yan is in danger. And you took in Huan Qian and others, which gave Liu Yu a reason to raise an army. Even if you didn't take in these people, you still helped Qiao Shu. , or even take 10,000 steps back, you now occupy this place in Guanzhong, which is enough reason for Liu Yu to beat you. After all, the Han and Hu are not at odds with each other, the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, and the recapture of the two capitals, but he talks about it all day long. of."
Yao Xing gritted his teeth: "But Liu Yu has only been controlling the internal power of Jin for so many years. After all, the attack on Southern Yan was because the Yan army openly attacked the Eastern Jin Dynasty, robbed people and killed officials. As a country, it is inevitable to send troops to take revenge. But I don’t have such a big grudge against the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Aiding Shu and taking in rebels are just things that everyone does in troubled times. Liu Yunei has enemies and wants to realize his ideal. I’m afraid there will be more The energy must be spent on internal governance, and we will not become enemies of Da Qin so easily!"
Tao Yuanming smiled and said: "It is precisely because of internal instability that Liu Yu needs to fight some must-win battles externally to consolidate his authority. If he can destroy the country and seize land, and have more distributable benefits, it can also alleviate these problems." Contradiction, this is the reason why Liu Yu attacked Nan Yan. I wonder if Your Majesty has noticed why when Murong De was in power, even when Liu Yu mobilized his army to fight outside the country, he did not dare to take the initiative to fight back against Nan Yan. , could only sue for peace, but as soon as Murong Chao came to the throne, he immediately found an excuse to send troops? Do you really think that Murong Chao robbed more than 2,000 people and killed hundreds of people in a small-scale predatory attack? Are officials and soldiers worthy of raising an army to destroy the country like this?"
Yao Xing frowned: "Are you trying to say that Liu Yu is sure to win this time when he sends troops?"
Tao Yuanming's eyes flashed coldly: "Before he sent troops, although almost everyone felt that there was little hope, Liu Yu still insisted on sending troops. For Liu Yu, I think that in terms of military knowledge and judgment, almost no one in the world can rival him. , he seems to be taking risks, but in fact he plays by ear and makes himself invincible step by step."
"Just like this time when he conquered Yan, he began to use the slogan of revenge, destroying the country and destroying the army, and used this to recruit an army of 60,000. This was a powerful army that the Eastern Jin Dynasty had not produced for many years, but in fact, he began to fundamentally He did not attack Yan in an all-out manner, but only sent the vanguard to seize Muling Pass in Daxian Mountain. This shows that his purpose was not to destroy Yan in the first place, but only to seize the Shannan Prefecture of Yan State. Reaching this step would be a serious defeat for Yan. The country can be regarded as giving an explanation to the Northern Expedition."
Yao Xing said thoughtfully: "You are right. Liu Yu did only capture the land in Shannan at first, but he soon sent a large army through Daxian Mountain, pointed directly at Linqu, and fought a decisive battle with the Yan army. This was not risky enough. ?"
Tao Yuanming shook his head: "That's because Yan State caught him by surprise and had no time to resist in Shannan. Instead, it withdrew all the defenders in the south and retreated to Linqu area to defend. Even Murong Chao's armored cavalry army was later Came here."
"Liu Yu originally only wanted to occupy Shannan, but he found that the defense of Yan State was empty. Even the vanguard troops who crossed Daxian Mountain were supported and welcomed by the local Han people. From this, he learned that the old emperor of Nan Yan died and the new ruler ascended the throne. The situation was unstable, and the Han people were separated from the Xianbei people. This was a good opportunity to destroy the country in one fell swoop, so we led our troops across the Daxian Mountains and marched to Linqu to fight the enemy."
