Amidst the clamor for sending troops to Nanjing in the Southern Yue court, there were still those who maintained a clear head and correct understanding.
Strictly speaking, Tang Bo, the prime minister of the Southern Yue Kingdom, was an out-and-out opportunist and speculator.
Whether it was during the internal turmoil in the northwest of the Great Xin Dynasty, when the second emperor Zhao Gan died, he strongly advocated that Li Zongmin, the former Prince of Guangxin, ascend the throne;
Or, now, facing the enticement of Qin Ruhui, the prime minister of the Great Xin Dynasty, who strongly urged the Nanyue Kingdom to send troops to Jinling.
The judgments made by strategist Tang Bo were all in line with the current national conditions and strength of the Nanyue Kingdom.
Admittedly, if the Southern Yue Kingdom were to send troops to Nanjing at this time, it would have a great chance to bring the Lianghu region of the Daxin Dynasty into its territory without bloodshed.
Then what?
Given the current strength of the Southern Yue Kingdom, it is simply impossible for it to defend such a vast territory.
Not to mention, in the north, Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, who commands a million troops, is also eyeing the situation covetously.
As expected, Tang Bo's words immediately poured cold water on Emperor Li Zongmin of Nanyue, who was originally full of ambition and ready to take advantage of the coup in the Daxin Dynasty to make a big move and fish in troubled waters, as well as a group of radical war factions in the court.
Emperor Tiande, Li Zongmin, sat on the dragon throne with a furrowed brow, asking himself:
Indeed, even powerful states like the Turks, the Tibetans, the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions, and the once-powerful Xin Dynasty could not withstand the might of the Longcheng army under Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin.
If our own Nan Yue Kingdom's wolf soldiers were to rashly send troops to Jinling to face the Longcheng army marching south, it wouldn't be fair to say they had no chance of winning, but rather that their hope of victory would be extremely slim.
It's certainly not a worthwhile trade to risk the lives of millions of people in the Nanyue Kingdom, and the Li family's rule over the kingdom, for a promise that is clearly a mirage.
At this moment, Emperor Tiande, Li Zongmin, humbly sought advice from the emperor on the dragon throne, asking, "So, according to Chancellor Tang, I should reject the invitation from Qin Ruhui, the prime minister of the Xin Dynasty, to form an alliance with the Nanyue Kingdom?"
"No!"
In the imperial court, Prime Minister Tang Bo immediately smiled and said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, this is actually a golden opportunity for our Southern Yue Kingdom to show goodwill to King Chen Huai'an of Jin."
"Now, Prince Chen Huai'an's troops in Longcheng have completely taken over the northern territory of the Great Xin Dynasty, and it is a foregone conclusion that the army will continue its southern expedition."
"Since its founding, the Southern Yue Kingdom has consistently adopted a policy of isolationism, never actively seeking relations with either the Great Xin Dynasty or the King of Jin."
"However, as the general trend of the world becomes clearer, our Southern Yue Kingdom will have to consider how to handle its relationship with the Great Xin Dynasty, especially with the powerful and well-equipped Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin."
After a pause, Tang Bo continued his analysis: "Therefore, I believe that the fact that the Prime Minister of Daxin, Qin Ruhui, took the initiative to present an alliance treaty to our Nanyue Kingdom could become an opportunity for our Nanyue Kingdom to establish friendly relations with the King of Jin."
With that, Tang Bo cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Li Zongmin, who was seated on the dragon throne, and revealed the prepared statement he had already prepared:
"Your Majesty, I humbly suggest that you immediately write a letter and dispatch a special envoy to Longcheng, the fiefdom of Prince Jin, to proactively extend goodwill to Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin."
"If necessary, we can present the matter of Qin Ruhui, the prime minister of the Great Xin Dynasty, inviting the Southern Yue Kingdom to send troops to Jinling City as a pledge of loyalty to the king, Chen Huai'an, and await his decision!"
snort!
No sooner had Chancellor Tang Bo finished speaking than Crown Prince Li Shiyu, the representative of the pro-war faction, became displeased.
Li Shiyu snorted coldly, his expression one of utter dissatisfaction, and said, "Prime Minister Tang, a great battle is imminent, yet you feign weakness before even engaging in combat, boosting the enemy's morale while diminishing your own."
"If you were in the wolf army formation, you would be undermining morale!"
As he spoke, Li Shiyu stepped forward and addressed Emperor Tiande on the dragon throne, saying, "Father, I believe that Prime Minister Tang's actions are inappropriate and have damaged the dignity of our great Nanyue Kingdom."
"How could my mighty Southern Yue Kingdom possibly offer goodwill to a rebellious vassal king of the Great Xin Dynasty?"
"Even if we adopt an open diplomatic policy, it should be Chen Huai'an who takes the initiative to send envoys to our Nanyue Kingdom to acknowledge our vassalage!"
"Father, my opinion is that the matter of sending troops to Nanjing in exchange for the two lakes region can be discussed again, but the matter of sending envoys to Chen Huai'an to show goodwill should absolutely not be done!"
After saying that, Li Shiyu glared at Tang Bo with a somewhat provocative look in his eyes.
Of course, these words were just angry words spoken by Crown Prince Li Shiyu to save face.
How could he not know the strength of Chen Huai'an's million-strong Dragon City army?
However, as a former prince of the Xin Dynasty and now the crown prince of the Nanyue Kingdom, Li Shiyu's arrogant personality meant that he would not submit to Chen Huai'an.
Therefore, upon hearing Tang Bo say that his father, the emperor, should write a letter and send an envoy to Longcheng;
Furthermore, when necessary, the Southern Yue Kingdom should be made to obey Chen Huai'an's orders. Such remarks and actions immediately aroused Li Shiyu's sensitive and fragile heart, and he was the first to stand up and oppose it.
"alright!"
At this moment, Li Zongmin, who was sitting upright on the dragon throne, finally spoke, saying, "This matter is of great importance, and what Prime Minister Tang said makes sense. Let's do as Prime Minister Tang says!"
"Father Emperor—"
Seeing this, Crown Prince Li Shiyu wanted to say something more.
Finally, Emperor Tiande, seated on the dragon throne, abruptly interrupted him, saying, "That's it, all my beloved ministers, dismiss the court!"
"Court adjourned—"
As the elderly eunuch beside Emperor Tiande shouted "Dismiss the court!" in a shrill voice, the matter of the Southern Yue Kingdom sending envoys to Longcheng to establish friendly relations with Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin was thus settled.
at the same time.
In the royal palace of Dali, the capital of the Nanzhao Kingdom, thousands of miles away.
Mu Rongfu, the Prince of Pingxi, who proclaimed himself emperor in September of the first year of the Xin Dynasty's reign, naturally received an invitation from Qin Ruhui, the prime minister of the Xin Dynasty, to form an alliance.
Furthermore, they offered Mu Rongfu a generous incentive to divide the world into three parts.
He promised Mu Rongfu that as long as he could send 50,000 troops to Jinling City to assist Qin Ruhui in successfully enthroning Zhao Lingzhan, the son of the Prince of Fu, as emperor in this palace coup, the troops stationed in Daxin in Yunnan and Guizhou would be withdrawn.
They handed over Yunnan and Guizhou to the Nanzhao Kingdom.
Faced with such a tempting offer, and lacking a strategist like Tang Bo, the prime minister of the Nanyue Kingdom, Emperor Jingwu of Nanzhao, Murong Fu, and his group of chieftains were immediately blinded by greed.
They agreed to the alliance request from Qin Ruhui, the prime minister of the Great Xin Dynasty, and dispatched 50,000 troops to Nanjing.
On the fifth day of the sixth month of the second year of the Lingwu era of the Daxin dynasty, 50,000 rattan armor soldiers of the Nanzhao Kingdom set off from the capital Dali, passing through Yizhou, and headed north to Jinling.
On the same day, after a month-long march, Wu Sanjia, the general who held supreme command of all the armies of the Great Xin Dynasty, finally led his 180,000 elite troops to the outskirts of Jinling City.
Across the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, they faced off against the Liangjiang and Lianghu New Army, supported by Prime Minister Qin Ruhui.
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