Guo Chongtao saw that it was the same thing here in Gao Jixing, so he said goodbye to Gao Jixing and started his second trip.

Guo Chongtao's second stop was Ma Yin's Chu State.

This time Guo Chongtao's trip is different from the last time. His last trip was to go east after Gao Jixing's Nanping to Yang Xingmi's Wu State, and his trip this time was to go south after Gao Jixing's Nanping to Ma Yin's Chu State.

Why?

Because Chu and Xishu are neighbors, Guo Chongtao was afraid that Xishu would send people to assassinate them.

Guo Chongtao said: Where it is close to Xishu, it is better for me to complete the task as soon as possible and leave early.

******

Chu State is the second stop of Guo Chongtao's entourage.

The state of Chu is now Guizhou, Hunan, as well as the southern part of Hubei.

Guo Chongtao went to the state of Chu.

The book briefly says that Guo Chongtao's meeting with Ma Yin in Chu is similar to his meeting with Gao Jixing in Nanping, so I won't go into detail here.

Then, Guo Chongtao went to Wuyue in the Southern Han Dynasty.

The Southern Han Dynasty is now the area of Guangdong, Fujian is the area of the current Fujian, and Wuyue is the area of the present Zhejiang.

The Southern Han, Fujian, Wu and Yue are all small countries, and they are better at talking.

Guo Chongtao's situation in the Southern Han Dynasty, Min and Wuyue is also similar to the situation in Nanping, and I will not go into detail one by one.

Then, Guo Chongtao went to Wu again.

Wu is now the southern part of Jiangsu, most of Anhui, and most of Jiangxi.

The book is brief, and Guo Chongtao's Wu Guo and his entourage are also similar, and they will not be detailed one by one.

*******

After Guo Chongtao's visit to Wu, his trip to the south ended.

At this time, Guo Chongtao hung his head.

Because of his trip to the south, he did not achieve anything. This time, he originally wanted to persuade the southern countries to exclude Xishu from the "Seven-Power Alliance" of the southern countries, but it did not achieve the expected effect.

Although Guo Chongtao also made some gains this time, that is, several southern countries agreed to define whether Xishu was threatened to the fact that Xishu's territory was really invaded, but that was also a small gain.

This may also be because the southern countries have given Guo Chongtao some face.

Why did Guo Chongtao lose this time?

Because his goal is too high. If the goal is too high, it will not be easy to get. His goal is to get the southern countries to exclude Xishu from the alliance of the southern countries, his purpose is to isolate Xishu first, and then send troops to fight Xishu, his ultimate goal is to pose a threat to the southern countries. In that case, of course, people will not be satisfied. If you want to threaten someone, can they agree?

Let's analyze the situation at that time, Guo Chongtao will not win.

At that time, there were nine prefectures in the world, including Luoyang, Youzhou, Xuzhou, Chang'an, Hedong, Jingzhou, Chengdu, Yangzhou, and Fuzhou, the first five of which were already under the control of Li Tang, and only Jingzhou, Chengdu, Yangzhou, and Fuzhou were still under the control of several southern countries.

Speaking of which, I also have to talk about how the southern countries divided the four states.

The four states, not to mention the five states of Shangli Tang, are all administrative regions divided by the former Tang Dynasty, and the territorial population strength of each state is about the same. In the last years of the Tang Dynasty, due to the weakness of the imperial court, many state cities declared independence. At that time, Wang Jian of Chengdu declared independence, Yang Xingmi of Yangzhou also declared independence, Gao Jixing of Jingzhou also declared independence, and Wang Xianzhi of Fuzhou also declared independence. After Gao Jixing of Jingzhou declared independence, Ma Yin of Changsha and Ma Zhong of Guiyang, who was under Jingzhou's administration, also declared independence. After Wang Xianzhi of Fuzhou declared independence, Qian Miao of Hangzhou, who was under the administration of Fuzhou, and Liu Yin of Xingwang, also declared independence. Soon, Ma Yin of Changsha and Ma Zhong of Guiyang saw that they were weak and afraid of being annexed by others, so they merged into one again.

This is where the countries of the South come from.

The division of the four states in the southern countries was as follows: Wang Yan of Chengdu occupied one state, Yang Xingmi of Yangzhou occupied one state, Gao Jixing of Jingzhou and Ma Yin of Changsha occupied one state, Wang Xianzhi of Fuzhou and Qian Miao of Hangzhou and Liu Yin of Xingwang occupied one state.

It can be seen that the territory of Xishu is not small, and he himself occupies the territory of a state. If Li Tang did not annex Western Shu, the power ratio between Li Tang and the southern countries would be five to four, and if Li Tang annexed Western Shu, the power ratio between Li Tang and the southern countries would be six to three. You pose such a big threat to others, can they agree?

Therefore, the countries of the South will try their best to maintain their "Seven Nation Alliance".

Kong Qian had already seen this point.

******

Just talk about Guo Chongtao.

On this day, Guo Chongtao returned to Luoyang.

Guo Chongtao said: What can I say when I see the emperor?

Guo Chongtao was in a dilemma, and someone said: "The emperor is invited!" ”

Guo Chongtao saw the emperor go up.

After Guo Chongtao went, he saw that the emperor had prepared a lot of good wine and food for him.

Guo Chongtao's face flushed: "Your Majesty, the ministers ......." ”

The emperor said: "Guo Aiqing, you have worked hard all the way." ”

The emperor also heard that Guo Chongtao's trip to the south was not going well this time. However, the emperor didn't blame Guo Chongtao at all. Because Guo Chongtao is a minister of the humerus. Besides, it's hard to do in the first place. Let Guo Chongtao go for this matter, Guo Chongtao can't handle it well, and if you want someone else to go, I'm afraid it's even worse.

At this time, Guo Chongtao sighed: "Alas, ashamed, ashamed." ”

At this time, the emperor asked Guo Chongtao: "Guo Aiqing, what should we do in the future." ”

Guo Chongtao said: "The minister has already thought about it, and he has thought of a plan to knock on the mountain and shock the tiger!" ”

The emperor asked: "What is the plan to knock the mountain and shock the tiger?" ”

******

At this time, Guo Chongtao told the emperor his plan to knock on the mountain and shake the tiger.

As soon as Guo Chongtao said, the emperor laughed "ha" and "ha".

Guo Chongtao is indeed smart enough. His good thing is that he is not arrogant in victory and not discouraged in defeat. As early as when he failed to meet Gao Jixing, he began to brew his plan in his mind. Being able to try his best to recover and minimize losses when he fails is also Guo Chongtao's strength.

After Guo Chongtao failed to meet Gao Jixing, he thought: It seems that it is difficult to let the southern countries exclude Xishu from their alliance, how can I try my best to reverse this unfavorable situation?

At this time, Guo Chongtao came up with a plan to knock the mountain and shock the tiger.

Guo Chongtao said in his heart: Although I can't send troops to fight Xishu, I will give him a big soldier to suppress the border, I can scare and scare him, right?

Therefore, Guo Chongtao will try his best to demand in front of Gao Jixing and in front of several other countries in the south, asking them to define whether Xishu is threatened to the real invasion of Xishu's territory. In that case, although I can't send troops to fight Xishu, I can give him a big soldier to scare him.

******

At this time, Guo Chongtao told the emperor about his strategy, and the emperor smiled.

Guo Chongtao said: "This time Xishu is not crazy, we can also drive him crazy." ”

The emperor said: "Good! ”

Guo Chongtao said: "The minister's strategy is to drive Xishu crazy first, and then say that Xishu is crazy, and then say that Xishu is crazy, so we have a reason to beat him!" ”

At this time, the emperor laughed again.

The emperor said, "When should we send troops?" ”

Guo Chongtao said: "Wait another month." A month later, it was also the end of autumn, and the grain planted by the soldiers we sent down was also harvested, and the minister thought that it would be best to send troops at that time. ”

The emperor said: "Good! ”

Guo Chongtao said: "In addition, the minister has to say a word to the emperor. ”

The emperor said, "Say it." ”

Guo Chongtao said: "The words that the minister said to the emperor just now, especially the words 'drive Xishu crazy, and then say that Xishu is crazy', the emperor had better not say it to others." Such words are best known only to the emperor's ministers. Because in that case, if it is announced to the public, it will damage the emperor's reputation. ”

Guo Chongtao offered a plan to harm Xishu, which really drove Xishu crazy. >