Huang Shang was stunned and then said: "I don't mean that. What I want is a marriage, not a marriage. I want to marry their princess."
Zhao Xu's expression softened after hearing this.
Huang Shang said: "I know that Xia has a princess who is in her prime. If your majesty marries her, it will strengthen the relationship between the two families. Maybe Liao will not dare to move once this news comes out."
Zhao Xu was stunned, but he didn't expect that Huang Shang would target him.
However, Huang Shang thought of things too simply. He was the emperor, so don't marry a foreign woman. Even marrying a native woman would not be that simple. There were too many constraints.
And if you want to marry, will they agree to marry you?
Zhao Xu pondered for a long time and expressed his concerns.
Huang Shang frowned after hearing this. He had already made up his mind for this reason. What else did he want?
Huang Shang was not afraid that Xia would not agree to marry the princess. Li Qiushui's granddaughter wanted to marry Xiao Feng, but he could not get through.
It is interesting enough to have a granddaughter marrying Xiao Feng, but it is impossible for Li Qiushui to take all the good things.
As soon as Li Qiu Shui's idea came up, Huang Shang rejected it. He had never thought of asking Li Qiu Shui to marry his granddaughter to the Song Dynasty. It was just a coincidence that at this time, Huang Shang thought of Li Qiu Shui's granddaughter, so he asked Li Qiu Shui. Qiu Shui would not refuse.
But he didn't expect that there would be a problem with Emperor Zhao Xu, who was unwilling to marry the princess of Xia.
Huang Shang scratched his head a little. He couldn't force the emperor to marry this princess, but this was really a clever trick he thought of. It was a pity that he couldn't execute it. He couldn't help but said: "Let's propose marriage in the Song Dynasty, and Xia will not refuse. Your Majesty is not willing to marry her, sir. I don’t know if there is any prince of the right age. The only prince I know is the Prince of Suining County, whom I teach now, but he is only in his early ten years and his age is not suitable.”
Zhao Xu asked curiously: "How can you be so sure that Xia will definitely agree to Song's marriage proposal?"
Huang Shang said: "I have dealt with them. The person in charge of Xia is a smart man and will not make wrong decisions."
Zhao Xu nodded and said: "I know that in the battle between Song and Xia ten years ago, it was Qing who was responsible for negotiating the peace. Xia won, but got nothing. It was Qing who saw through Xia's lies. Since you are sure that Xia will agree to Song's marriage proposal, I will go ahead and confer the title of King Duan on the prince of Suining County, grant him the title of Military Envoy of Pingjiang and Zhenjiang, and propose marriage in his name."
Huang Shang said in shock: "He is only ten years old."
Zhao Xu said without any doubt: "That's enough."
It's really hard for Huang Shang to argue. This is the royal family's own business. The emperor can do whatever he thinks is appropriate. He doesn't need to say anything.
Huang Shang no longer expressed any objection, and Zhao Xu asked again: "Is this going to be foolproof?"
Huang Shang said: "It's not enough."
Zhao Xu asked: "What else?"
Huang Shang said: "There is a tribe in the eastern part of Liao called the Jurchen tribe. This nation is brave and good at fighting. Unfortunately, its population is too small and it has been oppressed by the Liao. Once the Liao army invades the border, we can encourage this tribe to do something behind the Liao. . Liao is internally unstable, how can it have the strength to invade south?"
Zhao Xu said happily: "I don't even know about such things."
Huang Shang said: "Your Majesty, you don't know what's normal. This tribe is still very weak. This tribe is adjacent to Goryeo, and gold, silver, weapons, etc. can be transported to this tribe through Goryeo. Goryeo has resumed its tribute to our Song Dynasty, and the court asked him to cooperate. He won’t refuse.”
Zhao Xu thought more and asked: "Goryeo has resumed its tribute to the Song Dynasty, but it has been professing its vassalage to the Liao Dynasty. Can it agree to the Song Dynasty?"
Huang Shang thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty is worried about the inconvenience caused by the official situation, but it is easy to handle. Chen's family has always been engaged in maritime trade. The restoration of contact between Goryeo and the court this time is also through the connection between Chen's family and Goryeo's relatives, the Li family." The relationship between my son and my son. My family still maintains contact with the Li family. I can use my family to smuggle personal relationships and let Gaoli provide us with a channel."
Zhao Xu was a little unsure and asked: "Does he dare to participate in the war between Song and Liao?"
Huang Shang said: "Chen's third brother has always been responsible for the maritime trade of the Chen family. The Li family has always wanted Chen's third brother to have more trade with Goryeo. However, Goryeo has a small population and insufficient spending power, and he does not produce much valuable products. things, so Chen’s third brother is not willing to go to Goryeo. He likes to go to places that are further away and have richer products. I can let my third brother go to Goryeo more and let the Li family earn more money. We just Let him provide a passage, and he won't have to do anything else. We can even pay for this road. I think it shouldn't be difficult to do."
Zhao Xu asked again: "Is there any more?"
Huang Shang said: "This is not enough? If it is not enough, then the former ministers can pay Xia and Jurchen to invite them to fight. You can also pay Goryeo to send troops directly, and Tubo in the southwest can also send troops. Pay them to fight the war.”
Paying people to fight in wars really impressed Emperor Zhao Xu. It sounded ridiculous, but it was feasible.
Zhao Xu smiled and asked: "If we can keep paying people to fight wars, can the Song Dynasty not use the army?"
Huang Shang shook his head and said: "How can that be done? If we don't have the ability to protect ourselves, they will turn around and rob us directly. What I'm doing is just to buy time to strengthen ourselves, not a permanent strategy. What's more, come up with something The money can save us from dying, I think it’s worth it.”
Zhao Xu nodded in agreement.
Zhao Xu said: "It seems that if you mobilize all these things, it will be easy to destroy Liao."
Huang Shang didn't expect that with just a few words, the emperor, who was still worried at first, would be able to destroy the Liao Dynasty.
Huang Shang said: "It is impossible to destroy the Liao. All these things I did are causing trouble to the Liao, but they are incapable of destroying the Liao. For example, the Jurchen tribe of the minister is divided into many tribes to fight each other. They can only cause trouble to the Liao." It's a little troublesome. It prevents the Liao from using all its energy on the southern invasion, and it can't cause much damage to the Liao. Moreover, Tubo is so far away, and if it really wants to fight the Liao, the power it can contribute is very limited, and it is not needed at all now. , he is just a path in Chen's imagination. Xia's army is not weak in combat effectiveness, but its size is there. It will always survive in the cracks of big countries, and it is difficult to become a decisive force. As for Goryeo, I'm sorry I bluntly said that the combat effectiveness of the armies of Goryeo and Song Dynasty was too poor, and such armies were not enough to threaten Liao."
Zhao Xu's face turned cold, and then darkened. This was a fact, and he himself knew it, so he rectified military affairs as soon as he took office. These changes will take time.
Huang Shang was so outspoken, which made Zhao Xu feel good about him. He felt that unlike other scribe groups, they were always hesitant and too narrow-minded.
