Section IX

Shang Yukun had already prepared, and when he heard Wu Ming ask, he said without thinking: "The land of the four wars between China and the West, if others occupy this place, it will definitely be intolerable to the other major forces, but adults are different, you have an innate advantage in China and the West. In the north, there is a governor who withstands the pressure from the west, and in the south, Persia is friendly with you. Not to mention the east, China and the West are still nominally in the Southern Han Dynasty, as long as you don't go too far, whether it is the prime minister or the queen mother, you can only turn a blind eye to you. ”

After a pause, he continued: "This is the overall situation, that is, the living environment of China and the West. Within the imperial court, the prime minister and the queen mother fought more fiercely, so naturally they had no energy to ask about the development of China and the West, and adults had more space and time for development. For the internal affairs of China and the West, it is necessary to reconcile the contradictions between several governors, and even slowly take their power back into your hands, and at the same time recycle the military power of Liao Sangongzi, and slowly reduce the impact to a minimum, so as to achieve a smooth transition. ”

Wu Ming thought for a while and said, "I naturally understand these truths. It's just how to take advantage from the near and harm from far away. And how do you go about it? ”

Ouyang Linshan was very good, and he boiled the tea in such a short time. Seeing that he had served good tea, Wu Ming stretched out his hand and said, "Listening to Mr. Shang's words, there is a feeling of sudden opening in the bottom, please sit down and speak slowly." ”

Shang Yukun was not polite, sat down and took a sip of tea and continued, "How to start?" Good question. The military and politics of China and the West are still divided into two parts, internal and external, and they are treated differently. ”

He cleared his throat and continued, "Let's talk about diplomacy first. Diplomacy is actually simple, that is, stability, stability of the status quo. ”

Steady? This coincides with Sun Yunlong. It's just that it's also stable, Sun Yunlong is playing the idea of long-term peace and stability for the imperial court, and he is completely standing on Wu Ming's position to speak. Wu Ming's heart moved, stared at him and said, "Stabilize the current situation? So, that's inaction? ”

Shang Yukun laughed and said: "My lord's words are also bad, the so-called stability is to do your best to stabilize the status quo and put an end to possible changes, there are many things to do, it is as simple as doing nothing." Let's talk about the east first, this westward expedition, connecting the three provinces of central and western China, the imperial court was finally able to control zhì, and it was only a province of Chengzhou. Qingting, although the two provinces of Pangui nominally belong to the imperial court, they secretly obey you, why do you think this is? ”

Wu Ming said: "This is naturally the ...... of Sun Dudu's connivance" Before he finished speaking, Shang Yukun had already shook his head and said: "Although I don't know why Sun Dudu connived at the self-reliance of the two provinces in the central and western regions, I can see one thing clearly, that is, the prime minister and Ben don't have the energy to ask about the war ahead. If you think about it, occupying one of Chengzhou has already made him anxious, and it is really unwise to offend you by trying to do the other two provinces at this time. If there is no fetters of the Queen Mother, even if you have Governor He standing behind you, with the temper of the prime minister, you will definitely not be able to tolerate the independence of the two provinces in China and the West, and make a wedding dress for you. ”

Wu Ming was silent, but nodded secretly in his heart. At the beginning of the Western Expedition, the three-way army set off at the same time, even if the prime minister was scheming, I was afraid that the gap between the results of the three-way battle would be so large. In the spirit of going on the road without incident, he returned defeated, and the lower road with the greatest hope was made by Liao Gang, and he was burned by a mountain fire, and the horse lost its front hoof. The original intention of the middle lane was to contain it, but it was more expensive than it was to be less and more. Such a consequence, even if it is a prime minister, I am afraid it is a little unexpected. But the prime minister has always been a step-by-step plan, and he rarely makes mistakes. Even if there is such an accident, he is still in charge with Zuo Ying and squeezes himself out of Pangui.

Thinking of this, Wu Ming's heart moved. Zuo Ying followed him, and said that he gave advice, which is probably only one aspect. There is another aspect, I am afraid that it is the role of the supervising army. Thinking of Pangui City, Zuo Ying's various moves to seize power, he became more and more sure in his heart. It's just that the prime minister didn't expect that the Queen Mother would be so calculating with him in Chengzhou, and Sun Yunlong would also turn a deaf ear to the Guards Battalion taking over Shuanghui. So that one wrong step, one wrong step. In the end, he became the biggest beneficiary of the Western Expedition. But if all the plans of the prime minister are realized, after this westward expedition, the entire three provinces of China and the West will probably have to fall into his hands. At best, he is just a pawn and cannon fodder.

Wu Ming nodded and said, "That's right, but in Mr.'s opinion, what should I do?" ”

Shang Yukun asked rhetorically: "My lord thinks that the prime minister and the queen mother are two factions, who is more powerful now?" ”

"Naturally, I respect the prime minister."

After all, the four provinces south of the Yangtze River are the prime minister's territory, and he has been operating here for more than ten years, and his power can be said to be deep-rooted. Although the Queen Mother's power has increased greatly in recent years, it is still far inferior to Cheng. So Wu Ming didn't think about it, and immediately gave the answer.

Shang Yukun nodded and said, "Exactly, joining the weak to control the strong is exactly what adults need to do now." Only in this way can the importance of China and the West be revealed, and only in this way can a delicate balance be maintained, giving adults the time and space to develop calmly. ”

It is natural that the weak will win the strong, which is naturally true. But Wu Ming vaguely felt that the Queen Mother was not powerless to fight back in front of the prime minister. I remember that four years ago, when the Queen Mother dragged Ma Xianlin's yamen commander down by force, the prime minister obviously still had the strength to fight back, but he retreated. In the future, whenever it comes to the majesty of the royal family, the prime minister will give three points to the queen mother. Needless to say, in the hands of the Queen Mother, she must have pinched the prime minister's handle, otherwise the prime minister would not be so jealous. But what it is, Wu Ming still can't guess.

Seeing Wu Ming frowning, he looked worried. Shang Yukun said: "What, is there something difficult for adults?" Is it because of Mrs. Qing? ”

Wu Ming shook his head and said, "It's okay, she doesn't have to worry too much about it." ”

Being an enemy of the prime minister will definitely make Zhu Yuqing embarrassed. But Wu Ming also knows that between the prime minister and himself, Zhu Yuqing will definitely be on his side, which Zhu Yuqing has long said. But because of this, Wu Ming had some scruples, once he fought too hard with the prime minister, Zhu Yuqing would inevitably be in a dilemma. This woman, who was as clear as water, not only helped Wu Ming when he was most depressed, but also gave him the courage to live. Now that He Yi is unharmed, he feels that he owes Zhu Yuqing the most.

Shang Yukun also breathed a sigh of relief, and said slowly: "That is the case, then the adults should keep this in mind when they walk in the imperial court in the future, so that they can be like a fish in water." ”

Now the entire business has to rely on Wu Ming's snort to survive, although he talks eloquently, he looks calm and light. But when talking to Wu Ming, he is still careful. The family matter between Wu Ming and Zhu Yuqing, if it weren't for the prime minister, he wouldn't have taken the initiative to mention it. Seeing Wu Ming say this, he also relieved his heart. Wu Ming is known for his benevolence and righteousness, but he is afraid that he will face off with Cheng in the future, and he will be his mother-in-law, so the merchant will bet on the wrong treasure.

Wu Ming looked at him and said, "Mr. is very reasonable, Wu has written it down." I will be careful to deal with it on the side of the imperial court, but what about the other places where China and the West are fighting? ”

"Needless to say, in the north, there is a governor to support you, which is also your greatest advantage. As for the West, other small countries are not worried, and Xiyi is a bit of a threat, but under the deterrence of Governor He in the northwest, Xiyi will definitely not dare to attack lightly. Therefore, in a short period of time, the diplomatic direction of China and the West will be in the south, that is, between Persia and Nanban. ”

Wu Ming smiled bitterly: "That's right. However, the imperial court is currently allied with Persia, and due to historical reasons, there can never be a day of dialogue on an equal footing with the Nanban. After all, I still nominally belong to the imperial court, so the diplomatic space is much narrower. ”

On the front line of the Duner grassland and the Jiyu forest, Persia and the Nanban Chen soldiers confronted each other, and the two sides were still difficult to decide for a while. Wu Ming's meaning is that the southern barbarians have the advantage, so they should help Persia, according to the alliance between the two sides, which is understandable. However, if Persia has the upper hand, whether it will send troops to attack the back road, such a treacherous thing, is a diplomatic taboo.

Shang Yukun shook his hand and smiled: "My lord, in terms of diplomacy, you pay attention to a winding path, so it can be so direct." If Nanban really has that ability and has attacked the Daya Snow Cave, you can naturally send troops to copy their back road. But on the other hand, if Persia wins a big victory, it will really fight the area around Tidal City. You only need to increase your troops on the north bank of the Azure River, and Persia must have a lot of scruples, so dare to attack with all your might, so that you have also achieved your goal? ”

It's also too insidious. This Shang Yukun really deserves to be a talent. Wu Ming thought about it, but was still a little uneasy: "What if the imperial court intervenes and wants me to withdraw from the army?" ”

Shang Yukun laughed and said, "My lord, you are really a fan of the authorities. The imperial court also did not want Persia to destroy the Southern Barbarians, which would do all kinds of harm but no benefit. It's really come to that point, you don't need to find a reason, the prime minister and the queen mother also have to make excuses for border friction. ”

Wu Ming felt a chill in his heart, and said that there are two kinds of hypocritical people in the world, that is, ~ sons and politicians. I used to listen to it myself, and at most I just laughed. Now that I think about it, that's a very apt statement. After listening to Shang Yukun's analysis one by one, he realized that diplomatic things were even more insidious than real knives and guns on the battlefield.

For the above remarks, Shang Yukun has been preparing for a long time, and now it seems that the effect is good. Seeing that Wu Ming was concentrating, he obviously had heard the entrance. He was also a little proud in his heart, coughed, and made a concluding speech: "Your lordship has not yet gained a firm foothold in China and the West, so you should take a defensive position on the periphery, and the best way is nothing more than to provoke contradictions between the surrounding forces, so that they have no time to take care of anything else, and nip possible dangers in the bud." In this way, you can free up your hands to rectify the interior, which is far away. ”

Hearing him say this, Wu Ming's heart was bright. couldn't help laughing and said: "Mr. Xie advises, and the rest is to take the benefits from the nearest one." I wonder where this benefit comes from? ”

"Naturally, it's inside China and the West!"

Shang Yukun clarified Wu Ming's thinking diplomatically. But Sun Yunlong also mentioned it before, although the starting point is different, the method is similar, so although Wu Ming is surprised, he still has a bit of a score. But when it comes to the inside of China and the West, he may really be clueless, and you have to listen carefully to what he has to say.

Shang Yukun didn't think about it, and immediately replied: "If you want to manage the inside, it's actually not difficult, as long as you find the root cause." ”