In the fourth year of the Northern Han Dynasty, it was midsummer.

In the inner hall of Jinling, Li Jing, the lord of the Tang Dynasty, and several ministers who worked on poetry and articles, were having a banquet, watching the emotions they revealed, and they looked very happy.

In the splendid inner hall, the ice hidden in the palace is filled with utensils all around, and the cold smoke rises, creating a comfortable environment in this hot summer. took a sip of chilled wine, and drank a few sips of "ice and snow bayberry syrup", which was refreshing, almost written on Li Jing's face.

Tang lord Li Jing summoned his ministers to a banquet this time, not because of the pleasure of weekdays, but for celebration. The main thing is to celebrate two aspects of news, one is that the situation in Hunan is becoming more and more optimistic; The second is that the Northern Han Dynasty is in trouble.

"Your Majesty!" Feng Yansi got up with a cup of cold drink, first glanced contemptuously at Han Xizai, who still had the same demeanor, and said to Li Jing: "The news has been confirmed, the preparations for war in the Northern Han Dynasty in the past two months are all to prepare for the southern invasion of the Khitan, not what some people are worried about, and there are other plans. ”

"According to careful investigation, since this spring, the Khitans have increased their attacks on the border of the Northern Han Dynasty. Now the Han court is full of rumors, and it is bent on the north, and it is powerless to take care of it. The affairs of Hunan, I can settle down! ”

At first, the great movement of the Northern Han Dynasty to prepare for war could not be completely concealed, so there was a strange voice above the Southern Tang Dynasty. Led by Han Xizai, it was suggested that Li Jing should be vigilant and increase vigilance, especially on the border between the two countries.

After a period of thinking, deduction, and comprehensive news from all sides, Han Xizai finally thought in the direction that frightened him, the Northern Han Dynasty intended to be in Huainan.

However, when he rushed to Li Jing and the Southern Tang Dynasty ministers to warn him, he attracted the ridicule of Feng Yansi and others, and even Li Jing felt that he was a little whimsical.

In any case, since the two countries exchanged envoys to repair relations and make friends in the second year of Qianyou, the Northern Han has always shown great goodwill towards the Southern Tang Dynasty. Along the Huai border, the trade between the merchants of the two countries became more and more prosperous, and the salt and grain in the north of the Yangtze River, and the silk brocade and tea in the south of the Yangtze River made the bureaucrats and merchants of the Southern Tang Dynasty earn a lot of profits.

With the proposal of "dividing Chu" in the Northern Han Dynasty, the relationship between the two countries has a more meaning of "love and adultery". Han Xizai put forward his "delusions" again at this time, and immediately let Feng Yansi and others grasp the sore feet and attack him for disregarding national affairs because of political discord.

Therefore, Li Jing, who was already soft-eared, was a little dissatisfied with Han Xizai, although he did not scold, but he did not listen to his suggestions on this national policy.

On that day, Han Xizai was sad and difficult to control, and after leaving the palace, his soul was so sad that he burst into tears. sighed and said: Xiang envoy Song Gong is in the court, why is this.

The Song Gong he spoke of was the founding father of the Southern Tang Dynasty and the Song Qiqiu, known as the "First Strategist". Although Song and Feng Yansi are in the same party, Han Xizai still admires his wisdom and strategic vision, and I believe that he can also see that something is wrong between them.

It's a pity that Song Qiqiu has been sent to Hongzhou as an envoy for several years, and now he is far away from the center, and he has to prepare grain for the westward expedition. What is interesting is that Song Qiqiu was demoted to Hongzhou precisely because of the party dispute with the Jiangbei Shiren group represented by Han Xizai.

And this time, with the good news coming from the north, Han Xizai's worries became unfounded.

Ma Zai of the Song and Feng parties, and Wei Cen, the counselor, also stood up and said with a smile: "Now that the Northern Han Dynasty is already taking care of themselves, even if they really have ambitions against our dynasty, there is no need to worry." Hunan Ma Xicao, has been about to betray their relatives and leave, people's hearts have been lost, I can attack, will be able to spread the word, expand the land for thousands of miles. ”

Even Han Xizai, who was sitting alone on the case, looked much calmer, and seemed to have temporarily let go of the doubts in his heart. The monarchs of the Southern Tang Dynasty, at this time, are the first to celebrate, probably the Mandate of Heaven, and they love the Tang Dynasty.

"Good! Good! Good! Li Jing was full of smiles, and even shouted a few times, but he didn't hide his weakness, and immediately hesitated: "Send troops now?" ”

Although he has the heart to make contributions, from front to back, every time he makes a decision, Li Jing seems hesitant.

Seeing that the emperor's old mistake had been committed again, Feng Yansi immediately persuaded: "Your Majesty, it has been nearly two months since the two generals of Bian and He have been tuning Yuan and Hubei, and the carriages, horses, boats, and ships, grain, grass and ordnance are also being allocated one after another, which is enough for the army in March. Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng, who stole Langzhou, also accepted the order of our dynasty, and with the current situation in Hunan, they can make up their minds. ”

In addition, it is reported that when the Southern Han lord heard about the Chu change, he also sent military horses to the border, looking at his intentions, I am afraid that he wants to take the land of Lingnan. Therefore, our dynasty must not hesitate, in case it misses a good opportunity, so that the Southern Han army takes the lead. ”

Feng Yansi was impatient, but the hesitation in Li Jing's personality became more and more obvious, put down the wine glass, thought about it for a while, and said slowly and calmly: "Since the land of Ma Chu is available, I am not in a hurry for a while, wait a little longer." ”

Seeing Lord Tang's reaction like this, Feng Yansi was about to speak, and listened to him again: "Huainan has a food shortage, and the hungry people are everywhere, so it is better to wait for the hunger to ease." ”

Last year's unfavorable weather and poor harvest in Huainan led to a grain shortage in Huainan, which was rich in land this year. The taxes of the Southern Tang Dynasty on the low-level people were actually very heavy, and after paying the taxes, it was basically enough to survive the rations, and this spring, the Southern Tang Dynasty court began to prepare for the invasion of Chu, and mobilized a large amount of grain from the official warehouse in Huainan.

All the situations rushed together, which also caused the starvation of Huainan people. In view of this situation, Liu Chengyou ordered along the Huai Dahanzhou County to put thin grain relief, and those who went north to the hungry people, those who were willing to stay were to be placed on the land, and those who were unwilling were not forced to stay, and let them go south to return to their hometowns.

No matter what choice you make, it's not a bad thing for Dahan. It's just a little grain, Liu Chengyou doesn't do loss-making business, he looks forward to returning to the hungry people in Huainan, preaching the benevolence and righteousness of the Han Dynasty, and attacking the heart before he fights. After all, the officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty were not so "generous" in terms of relief.

And for the Southern Tang Dynasty businessmen who went north to buy grain, Liu Chengyou also issued an edict, there is no need to stop them, let them buy, but in terms of price, there is no limit. No matter how high the price of the Huainan merchants used to buy grain, they would definitely sell it at a higher price after they pulled it back......

Li Jing did not perceive the evil intentions hidden by the Northern Han Dynasty, but praised its benevolence and righteousness. At this time, he mentioned the hunger in Huainan and said: "In this way, send an envoy to the north with gifts to thank him for the grace of Huainan's help." In addition, please ask him again to send troops to divide the matter! ”

"Your Majesty, is this going to be a temptation to the Northern Han again?" Feng Yansi seemed to have touched Li Jing's thoughts.

Li Jing didn't deny it, his eyes seemed to shine, and a little excitement appeared between his eyebrows, as if he was excited about his wisdom, and raised his hand and said: "When it comes to autumn, the autumn grain will be put into storage, and the Khitan may also move troops south, and at that time, it will be foolproof for my dynasty." ”

"Let Bian Hao be in Yuanzhou, train his troops well, and prepare for the attack."

Li Jing has already made up his mind, Feng Yansi thinks about it for himself, it seems to be quite reasonable, and he is not stubborn, after all, it is rare for the emperor to have his own opinions, and this situation to refute him is not the work of smart people.

"By the way, Your Majesty, there is one more thing to do!" Feng Yansi said suddenly.

"Let's talk about it!" Li Jing was slightly curious.

"Jiangsai Bianka reported that an official ship borrowed the road from Wu Yue into the river, saying that it was to escort Princess Wu Yue north to Kaifeng and marry Liu Chengxun, the king of Huaiyang of the Han Dynasty! The town guard didn't dare to let it go without permission, and he had already detained it, and asked the court to go to the district! Feng Yansi said.

Hearing this, Li Jing was not only puzzled: "Wu Yue paid tribute to the Central Plains and took the sea route, how could he swagger and borrow our dynasty this time?" ”

Feng Yansi said: "In the opinion of the minister, Wu Yue wants to take this opportunity to demonstrate to our dynasty and show his friendship with the Northern Han Dynasty!" ”

"Humph!" Snorted softly, Li Jing seemed to disdain Qian Hongyu's small movements, and said, "Let the herald go, it just so happens that the envoys will go north together, and they will also congratulate you!" ”

"Your Majesty is generous!"