The number of participants in this pre-imperial meeting was not large, only Yang Wei, Wang Zhang, Feng Dao, Guo Wei, Wang Jun, Wei Renpu, Fan Zhen, Wang Pu, plus Tao Gu and Wang Pu of the Hui Dynasty.

A total of ten people, from the names of these ten ministers, it can be seen that the standard of this palace meeting is very high, regardless of the size of the official position, the status of the low, these people are qualified in Liu Chengyou's eyes to access the core strategy of the Han Dynasty, can make suggestions and suggestions on the affairs of the southern expedition, and take the lead in setting an example.

Even if Liu Chengyou is now dissatisfied with Yang Wei to the point of stopping his heart, he still does not deliberately ignore it, no matter what, at least on the surface, Yang Wei is still the first assistant of the Han Dynasty. The etiquette of monarchs and ministers, the respect and humility of the upper and lower levels, is exactly what Liu Chengyou wants to re-establish.

In addition, none of the generals who directly commanded the troops were present, including Shang Hongqian and Bai Wenke, the heads of the front division of the palace and the head of the guard division. The southern expedition to Jiangbei is still a secret of the Han Dynasty, and in this matter, the generals of the forbidden army only need to do their own work of commanding the army, and make some preparations for the southern expedition under the will of the Son of Heaven.

When Liu Chengyou brought Tao and Wang Erchen to the courtesy, exempted the ministers from courtesy, and sat down, the door of the Chongzheng Hall was slowly closed by the joint efforts of the attendants, turning the palace into a secret discussion, adding a bit of mystery to the imperial meeting.

After all, Tao Gu is a righteous envoy, no matter what, he should report it, I saw him get up, salute in a proper manner, and said: "Your Majesty, princess! ”

"The ministers went south this time, and they circled Jinling for nearly two months, and were ordered by the king to see and hear about their state affairs in detail. From the perspective of the ministers, the pseudo-Tang Dynasty is the great enemy of the country, and it must not be underestimated because it is located in the southeast and the people are weak and the soldiers are weak. ”

Under the gaze of Liu Chengyou and a group of court bosses, Tao Gu felt particularly energetic, his beard trembled slightly, and he said: "For more than 30 years in the Southern Tang Dynasty, it has been passed on to the current lord Li Jing, the foundation has been solidified, and the people's hearts have been attached to ......."

As soon as Tao Gu finished speaking, one of the people in the hall interrupted him mercilessly: "If I remember correctly, when the Tang ancestor Li Yu established the pseudo-Tang Dynasty, it was the second year of the former Jin Dynasty Tianfu (937), and it has only been thirteen years, how can it be more than thirty years?" ”

Wang Jun straightened his waist and sat in the hall, his expression was stiff, and he seemed to be in a bad mood, the reason could probably be seen from his seating order, there were too many people who had seats ahead of him.

With Tao Gu's mind, he was not in a good mood in the face of such faceless questioning by the privy deputy envoy, but considering Wang Jun's power position, he couldn't afford to offend him for the time being, so he didn't say anything.

However, Tao Gu was very calm on his face, and even had some contempt in his heart. In Tao Gu's view, people like Yang Wei, Wang Zhang, Guo Wei, and Wang Jun, who now occupy high positions in the Han Dynasty, are short-sighted and ugly.

Even for such a "stupid" question, there is some anticipation. Chao Wang Jun smiled, Tao Gu said calmly: "What Wang Shumi said is good, however, most people in the world have only seen the puppet Tang Dynasty for thirteen years, but few have noticed that before the southern kingdom replaced Yang with Xu and replaced Wu with Qi, since Xu Wen, his father and son have spent twenty years of time to seize the power of Yang Wu, cherish the old ministers, cultivate party henchmen, and invite the people to buy the hearts of the people. ”

"Therefore, although the Southern Tang Dynasty won the country in the second year of Tianfu, the foundation of its business was when Xu Wen and his father and son were in Wu, and they must not be negligent because of the short days of their dynasty!"

In Tao Gu's mouth, Li Yu for a while, Xu Wen for a while, Qi Guo for a while, Yang Wu for a while, father and son, and pseudo-Tang ...... There is a suspicion of being a showman, Wang Jun is also rude about the history of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and he probably understands it, and he was a little confused for a while and unable to refute it.

Glancing at Wang Jun, who was bitter and hateful, Liu Chengyou motioned to Tao Gu: "Tao Qing continues." ”

"Yes!" Respectfully saluting Liu Chengyou, Tao Gu continued to say leisurely:

"The minister is not a compliment, the pseudo-Tang ancestor Li Yu is really a hero for a while. He has been in charge of the Jianghuai military administration for more than 20 years, working hard, practicing the government of reassuring the soldiers and the people, lightly dismissing the meager endowment, persuading farmers to teach mulberry, encouraging businessmen, and making friends and neighbors. Xing the imperial examination, built a wide academy, educated the people, vigorously recruited scholars, and made Wendao flourish in the south of the Yangtze River. The Central Plains is dressed in the south, and all of them are going to invest and obey. ”

"Such hard work has made the pseudo-Tang Dynasty national strength and crown the southern secession countries. Jiangnan is rich in products, its grain, salt, tea, silk, papermaking, all kinds of workers are prosperous, the people have their own food, their land, and their houses......"

Li Jing is not as good as his father, but since he succeeded to the throne, he followed his father, sent troops to destroy Min four years ago, obtained half of his Tai land, and was able to surround his old enemy Wu Yue on three sides. Now the puppet Tang Dynasty has 35 prefectures in Huainan, Jiangdong, Jiangzuo, and Mindi, and it is named after more than 5 million, no less than the Han Dynasty, and tens of thousands of troops, or better than the Central Plains. ”

"Therefore, the pseudo-Tang Dynasty is really a great enemy, and you must not ignore it!"

Tao Gu said, the hall was quiet for a while, and all the princes present were thoughtful. After waiting for a while, I didn't see Liu Chengyou speak, Yang Wei's eyes glanced slightly, and he said in an unpredictable tone: "The harvest of Taoshe people going to Jinling won't be to praise the pseudo-Tang Dynasty!" Thinking about it, it really makes the old man's teeth cold! ”

Wang Jun Tao Gu didn't want to be offended, and in the face of Yang Wei's ridicule, Tao Gu didn't dare to provoke easily, or in front of the emperor.

Although he snorted coldly in his heart, Tao Gu bowed to Liu Chengyou on his face, and his words were solemn: "The minister just told His Majesty about the national conditions of the pseudo-Tang Dynasty bluntly, so that His Majesty could use the strategy and avoid poor consideration and insufficient preparation." ”

After that, Tao Gu looked at Liu Chengyou with a look of the following.

"Although I covet the wealth of the pseudo-Tang Dynasty, I have never underestimated its national strength!" Liu Chengyou raised his hand, which could be regarded as an endorsement for Tao Gu, but his gaze moved away from Tao Gu's gaze and turned to Wang Pu, who landed safely in the last seat, and said: "Everything has its own advantages and disadvantages, Tao Qing said that it is strong, I don't know how Wang Qing feels?" ”

Liu Chengyou This is obviously a chance for Wang Pu to perform, Tao Gu saw it, and his heart was full of jealousy. He knew in his heart that what he said earlier was secondary, and the words that followed were the main point. He had the intention to speak, but he opened his mouth and turned into helplessness. Tao Gu was very careful and smart when it came to meeting the camp, and he didn't dare to interject casually, especially on such occasions.

Inside the closed hall, the dim light brought the atmosphere to the "conspiracy".

Under Liu Chengyou's gaze, Wang Pu got up, his face was not sad or happy, and he was not in a hurry, and first expressed a certain amount of agreement and affirmation to Tao Gu's speech: "Your Majesty, what Tao Gong said is true!" The prosperity of the pseudo-Tang Dynasty is indeed the crown of the world. The so-called Yang Yi Yi Yi Two, today, in terms of the wealth of the country, except for Xishu, which has been managed by Meng Chang for more than ten years, there is no force in China that can match it. ”

"Then ......"