"Your Highness, do you think that if the war between Dongmu and our country stops here, which of the two countries will recover faster? If the war continues, which side's national strength will be declining? Which side will be growing slowly."
Xiao Yuzhi thought for a while and then replied: "Our dynasty monopolizes the four best states among the nine states. If we stop fighting, our national strength will recover faster. If we continue to fight, it will have an impact on the growth of our dynasty's national strength." , but it has not been able to stop the rising trend of national power. On the contrary, Dongmu has been doing its best to fight against our country over the years. If this continues, as you said, it will only end up in defeat and the country will be destroyed. But why are they still there? How to do this?"
Shao Xi sighed and replied: "It should be a last resort. This is just to extend the life of Dongmu Kingdom. If the war is stopped, the national strength of our country will be restored several times that of Dongmu Kingdom. It can be said that there will be generals in a few years." Its ability to destroy the country, and now such a year-round campaign, although it has overstretched the national power, has also successfully slowed down the rising trend of our national power. At this time, we will contact the surrounding small and medium-sized countries to jointly conquer our country. Instead of dividing our country, it can make our country vulnerable to enemies from many sides and have no time to take care of itself, so as to preserve the existence of the Dongmu Kingdom. Unfortunately, this will only postpone the time of destroying the country, and the result will not change."
Xiao Yuzhi seemed extremely excited when he heard this, and seemed to be very interested in it. He even turned the two walnuts in his hand faster.
"What if, I mean what if! If Brother Shao, you were the emperor or counselor of Dongmu Kingdom, what would you think of to solve this matter when you knew that your country was in this situation?"
Shao Xi glanced at Xiao Yuzhi thoughtfully and said slowly: "If I were the emperor or adviser of Dongmu Kingdom, in addition to external pressure through war, I would find a solution within the Jingyuan Dynasty."
"Looking for a solution from inside me? What solution can I come up with?"
"Haha! For example, using the contradictions caused by the internal power struggle to secretly provide some assistance to the two parties fighting for power, causing serious internal friction due to the power struggle within our country. You may not be able to defeat a giant, but if you let him If he is sick in his body, he will fall down on his own, so the more fiercely I fight within, the safer Dongmu will be. I wonder if Your Highness agrees with me?"
The implication of Shao Xi's words is very obvious, that is, you princes should not mess around with yourselves. The more you mess around, the happier your enemies will be.
The power struggle within the court is already tense. If the royal disciples continue to be restless, it will only make the ruling foundation within the Jingyuan Dynasty even more precarious. What the enemy wants to see most is strife within your own ranks. In this process, they only need to add fuel to the flames, and the cost they pay is much lower than that of war.
Of course Xiao Yuzhi knew that Shao Xi's words meant something, but she felt a little embarrassed for a moment.
People who can't understand the importance, the inside and the outside, and make wedding clothes for others have always been laughed at. It would be unwise to cause the country to fall apart because of the fight for the crown prince's position. Therefore, the game of power must be played within the rules. If you don't abide by the rules, even if you defeat the opponent, you will not be the final winner.
"Brother Shao, let me tell you from the bottom of my heart. I feel that I have more talent for governing the country than my brother, and I have more lofty ambitions to bring peace to the world. But I don't know why my father actually gave the position of prince to a man who only reads books about sages all day long. Nerds, if our Jingyuan Dynasty is handed over to the hands of such people, how can we see hope? Rather than letting an incompetent king harm the country and the people, it is better to rise up and fight. Only in this way can our Jingyuan Dynasty become the world's most powerful one in the future. The country of the hero.”
Shao Xi's heart was trembling for a while, and he said to himself: "Don't you mean to drag me into trouble? Tell me these words. If there is any problem in the future, can I make it clear? Brother! I haven't surrendered to you yet, you Aren't you afraid that I'll spread the word if you tell me this?"
However, the words have already been said. If I continue to act crazy and act stupid, it will really be unjustifiable. Since you, the second prince, have made your words clear, there is no need to be so subtle anymore.
"I would like to ask, how does His Highness compare with the current Holy One in terms of his ability to govern the country and to know and employ people?"
"Of course it is incomparable. My father's civil and military skills are outstanding. He has faced numerous internal and external crises with composure over the years. He has appointed good ministers and good generals, and has dealt with all domestic and foreign matters well. This is why the Jingyuan Dynasty is here today. In this prosperous age, how can I compare with my father?"
"In this case, why did Your Majesty make the nerd you call the prince? If the current prince is really just a nerd, does His Highness think His Majesty can't see it? Has His Majesty not considered what His Majesty is worried about? Since His Majesty has done it Such a decision naturally has its own reasons. Since the founding of the Jingyuan Empire for more than a hundred years, there have been continuous conquests and endless wars. It is exactly in need of a conservative king. I believe that the Holy One also took a fancy to the prince who is calm, kind, knowledgeable, polite, and virtuous. These advantages of being able to change without chaos.”
Xiao Yuzhi was quite dissatisfied after hearing this.
"How can a conservative king with no ambition create a lasting hegemony? How can he conquer the four directions and pacify the world? Is it that our Jingyuan Empire only occupies four states and does not want to make progress and is content with the status quo?"
Shao Xi shook his head and said: "Your Highness, I have told you before that the Dongmu Kingdom has colluded with the small and medium-sized countries around our country to launch wars against our country all year round. The purpose is to create internal and external troubles. When our country is fully engaged in dealing with foreign enemies, , there will inevitably be some omissions internally, and they can take advantage of this to make a big fuss. The Holy Emperor chose the prince precisely to strengthen internal affairs. If our dynasty has been contained in border disputes and does not strengthen internal affairs, we will continue to Being harassed like this. The top priority of the Jingyuan Dynasty is not to expand its territory, but to firmly hold the four states in its hands so that they can make other plans in the future."
Xiao Yuzhi said thoughtfully: "No wonder every time I mentioned the foreign conquest to my father, my father was unmoved. It turned out that my father had different ideas from me. Brother Shao's words today were like enlightenment. , which has benefited me a lot.”
Shao Xi waved the folding fan in his hand with a nonchalant look on his face. He did not want to get involved in the affairs of the emperor's family, but he felt that it would be inappropriate if the imperial affairs led to the depletion of national power, internal and external troubles, and the deprivation of the people's livelihood.
When seeking political power in his position, whether it is the emperor himself or the royal children, since they have enjoyed the interests of the royal family, they should consider the interests of the people in the world. It is not that battles cannot be fought, but the people must take a breather, right?
At this time, Xiao Yuzhi asked Shao Xi about his views on the forces of surrounding countries.
"According to what you said, the most important thing for our government right now is to recuperate and collect food to feed the people. So what attitude should we adopt towards the neighboring countries? Should we also adopt a gentle strategy?"
"Peaceful coexistence, appropriate beatings."
"Well, it makes sense! If nothing happens, border trade can continue as usual. If something happens, just cut off the trade. There is no need to go to war."
Shao Xi said meaningfully: "His Highness actually knows everything, but why do you still come to ask me? In fact, what I said is only superficial. I think His Highness's thoughts should be further than mine."
Unexpectedly, as soon as Shao Xi finished saying this, Xiao Yuzhi stood up and saluted him, causing Shao Xi to be confused and hurriedly stood up to return the salute.
"Why are you saluting me, Your Highness? You are a prince, and I am only a fourth-rank official. How can you do this? How can a lower official bear this?"
Xiao Yuzhi seemed to have a very sincere attitude and said in a sincere tone: "Although I am older than Brother Shao, I am not as knowledgeable as Brother Shao in many things. It took your reminder today to realize that in the past, I only thought about myself, but ignored As a member of the royal family, I should think about the world and should not only dwell on personal gains and losses. I feel very ashamed after hearing what Brother Shao said today. I intend to become friends with Brother Shao, and I will remind you more in the future."
"His Highness is the prince of His Majesty. I am just a commoner. I just fell into His Majesty's eyes by chance. How can I dare to be friends with His Majesty? However, if Your Highness is bored and wants to find someone to talk to, I would be happy to accompany you. "
Xiao Yuzhi turned the walnuts in his hand and said to Shao Xi with deep meaning: "Although you are not old, you are quite a gentleman. If I really achieve something in the future, I will definitely have talents like you around me. Don't No matter what the pedantic old guys in the court think, they are just a bunch of jealous and incompetent people."
Shao Xi felt that today's words were all in vain. The ambition of His Highness Prince Ling in front of him did not seem to be reduced at all because of his words. It seemed that he was still fascinated by the position of prince and even the position of the current emperor.
Based on his ambition, if he really achieves something in the future, it would be best for him to stay away from him, otherwise he might lose his head.
"I am afraid that I will disappoint His Highness. I am a person who does not like to be restrained. Although the Holy Emperor has given me a fourth-grade official, it is only a casual job. I have said that I have no intention of going to court, so in the future If His Royal Highness Prince Ling does something, I’m afraid my subordinates won’t be able to help.”
What Shao Xi meant was, "It's your business how you like to toss. Don't involve me. I don't want to be a high official or a powerful minister. I just want to live a free and easy life. You'd better not bother me." , I don’t want to lose my life because of you.”
When Xiao Yuzhi saw that this guy was a piece of meat, he couldn't get enough of it! No matter how you show your kindness, you always maintain a neutral attitude and say don't rush for a while. You can only recruit such people slowly. If you push too hard, you may become your enemy one day, which will be a big trouble.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yuzhi changed the topic and chatted with Shao Xi about some local customs and knowledge.
Shao Xi was so tired from this banquet! The Prince Ling in front of him was really not a light-hearted man. He had to be careful of the other party trying to trick him. If he got involved with this man, Bao Qi would suffer the consequences in the future!
The banquet was finally over, and the two of them chatted some more, but they no longer brought the topic to the government affairs.
After chatting for a while, Shao Xi found an excuse to stand up and say goodbye.
After walking out of Prince Ling's Mansion, Shao Xi let out a heavy breath. This man is a trouble, so he should stay away from him in the future.
