Chapter 77: Discussing the Situation of the North and South (Part 1)

Ancient seating arrangements were divided into 'sitting together' and 'sitting alone'. Setting up a single seat was a more respectful way of sitting.

During the morning court meetings of the Eastern Han Dynasty, all officials sat together. Emperor Guangwu specially decreed that the three important officials—the Secretariat Supervisor, the Censor-in-Chief, and the Director of the Retainers—should sit in separate seats, so the capital called it "three sitting alone," expressing respect.

Now that Northern Wei let the Southern Qi envoys sit with the Korean envoys, it was clearly a way to belittle Southern Qi.

Seeing Liu Cheng snorted coldly: "The Northern Barbarians are arrogant, and Korea also doesn't know the height of heaven and earth."

Yu Qianlou speculated: "This is to retaliate for the last time Li Biao was sent as an envoy to our dynasty and the principal and deputy envoys were not allowed to ascend the hall, right?"

Yan Youcheng stretched out two fingers and drew them forcefully in the air:

"Not allowing Li Biao to ascend the hall wasn't because his family background was humble, causing a gap between noble and commoner! If the Northern Dynasty had sent a legitimate noble family member, how could there be any reason not to let him ascend the hall?"

Lady Xie Lady Xie Xinghan concentrated her thoughts and pondered: "The Northern Barbarians are killing three birds with one stone: first, belittling the legitimacy of our dynasty; second, winning over Korea; and third, sowing discord between our dynasty and Korea."

Yan Youcheng's anger was hard to calm, and his voice gradually rose:

"Our Great Qi has been too generous to these Hu barbarians! Every time the Wei envoys came in previous years, when did our dynasty not treat them with courtesy? We arranged for the barbarian envoys and never placed them in the same rank as other small countries! Even if Li Biao was not of a noble background and could not enter the hall, when he left the border, the Son of Heaven also sent him off with special courtesy, personally going to Langya City and ordering the officials to write poems to send him off! But how did they repay us?

During the Battle of Huaiyang, the barbarian army was defeated, and the righteous people between Qing and Xu rose up in swarms, raiding barbarian transport vehicles and killing barbarian soldiers; batches after batches returned to the south. That was the perfect time for a northern expedition! If it weren't for the late emperor having just ascended the throne and not having time to plan for the distant future, and only sending envoys to show conciliation, then whether the Northern Dynasty exists now would be unknown!"

Speaking of this, his expression dimmed slightly, and he sighed: "It's a pity the opportunity has passed. Now, now..."

Seeing Liu Cheng suddenly said: "There has been no war between the North and South for nearly ten years. Our Great Qi is strong in soldiers and horses, and the country is prosperous. We should mobilize all our elite troops to wipe out the Northern Barbarians! In my humble opinion, the army can be divided into three routes:

One route out of Jing and Xiang, knocking on the gates of Guan and He;

One route out of Xu and Yu, pounding Xu and Luo;

One route out of Qing and Ji, pointing to Peng and Pei!

Infantry and cavalry combined, water and land covered; once the great army is out, there will surely be those in the Central Plains who will rise up!

By then, internal and external forces will attack together, three routes will advance together, and the destruction of the thieves is certain!"

Wang Yang couldn't help but laugh when he heard this, immediately lowering his head to eat, hiding his expression in time.

Yan Youcheng was excited and shouted: "Good! Liu brother! In the future, if you become a commander, I will definitely follow you to build merit, and recover the Shenzhou!"

Yu Qianlou remained silent.

Recovering the Shenzhou—how easy is it to say?

Not to mention whether they could win or not, just taking Jingzhou as an example, the expenses within the province were not enough to cope with defense alone, and the court needed to allocate an additional 20 million coins, 10,000 bolts of cloth, and 30,000 bushels of grain.

Even so, it was still not enough, and they had to transport another 60,000 bushels of grain from Jiang and Xiang, which was truly stretched to the limit.

If there were another northern expedition, where would the money and grain come from? Could the national treasury support it? Even if it could, how long could it support it?

He looked at the impassioned Yan Youcheng, and then at the high-spirited Seeing Liu Cheng, suddenly remembering his younger brother, Yu

The same hot-bloodedness, the same youthful vigor.

Perhaps it is because I have stayed in the officialdom for too long, looking ahead and behind, fearing this and that; how can I accomplish anything this way?

Like what Seeing Liu Cheng said, if I go all out and do it once, perhaps I could achieve remarkable merit?

Yu Qianlou was lost in self-doubt, completely failing to see his father supporting his forehead with his hand, blocking the corner of his mouth that was curling into a cold sneer.

Yan Youcheng was in high spirits, looking at Wang Yang and Yu Qianlou, and slapped the table, "Brother Wang, Brother Yu, when the time comes, let's go to the battlefield together, see the thousand-mile landscape, and take the title of Marquis of Ten Battalion Commander, how about it?"

Yu Qianlou cupped his hands, "How could I dare to disobey!"

Wang Yang looked up, smiled, and cupped his hands, "Very good, very good."

A sharp gaze swept toward Wang Yang, and Seeing Liu Cheng's voice was cold, "Brother Wang seems quite disdainful of my words; I suppose you have other insights!"

???

You can tell that?

Why don't you ask Yu Qianlou?

Wang Yang looked innocent, "No! Brother Liu's insight is excellent!"

Seeing Liu Cheng sneered, "During the pure conversation earlier, Brother Wang said something like 'Your insight is excellent,' but in the end, it was you who had the 'excellent insight'! If Brother Wang has different opinions, please speak clearly; I am all ears."

Why is he coming at me?

Could it be because I won against you in the pure conversation this afternoon?

Could this be the legendary petty-mindedness?

If I refute your words again this time, won't you hate me directly?

You are all ears?

What is the use of being all ears?

Am I your teacher?

Or are you paying me tuition?

"Brother Liu, you really misunderstood; I have no different opinions at all."

Seeing Liu Cheng clearly did not believe him and kept sneering.

Lady Xie Lady Xie Xinghan suddenly said, "I also want to hear Young Master Wang's views."

What do you want to hear?

Wang Yang shook his head, "I have no views."

Lady Xie Lady Xie Xinghan stared at Wang Yang, "A gentleman values sincerity. Young Master Wang is not sincere."

Wang Yang smiled, "Lady Lady Xie is right; I have never been enough of a gentleman."

Lady Xie Lady Xie Xinghan's seat was close to Wang Yang's. A cunning light flashed in her star-like eyes; she leaned toward Wang Yang, covered her cherry lips with her hand, and whispered, "Since Young Master Wang admits he is not enough of a gentleman, then the cooperation..."

Wang Yang was speechless, "You can't use the same trick repeatedly!"

"The trick doesn't have to be new, as long as it works. Anyway, I'm not short of business," Lady Xie Lady Xie Xinghan said in an indifferent tone.

"I'm not using your family's boat for free either..."

Seeing Liu Cheng watched Lady Xie Lady Xie Xinghan and Wang Yang whispering, his expression becoming increasingly gloomy.

Yan Youcheng asked curiously, "What are you two whispering about?"

Lady Xie Lady Xie Xinghan smiled, "Young Master Wang said he has other views."

"When did I..."

"This trick is used for the last time." Lady Xie Lady Xie Xinghan finished quickly, then sat up straight again, looking like she was listening intently.

Wang Yang had no choice but to say:

"Brother Liu's loyalty and righteousness are something I truly admire. However, the struggle between the North and the South depends on the situation; if the situation is not complete, one cannot succeed. Now the situation is unfavorable to us and favorable to the enemy; speaking lightly of a northern expedition is of no benefit to the country—"

Seeing Liu Cheng said disdainfully, "I think Brother Wang has been scared out of his wits by the northern barbarians."

Wang Yang ignored Seeing Liu Cheng's mockery and continued:

"The so-called situation is divided into terrain, national strength, soldiers and generals, timing, and so on. Not to mention the others, just in terms of terrain, to resist the North from the South, there are three essentials."

"First, to defend the Yangtze, one must first defend the Huai."

"The Yangtze defense line is thousands of miles long; if one place is broken, the enemy enters the heartland. Drawing a line at the Yangtze to defend is already at a disadvantage."

"To defend the Yangtze, one must first defend the Huai River! Use the Jiang-Huai region as a buffer."

"The Huai River has many tributaries; it can connect to the Luo River above and the Yangtze below. If the Southern Dynasty gains it, the Central Plains lose their barrier; if the Northern Dynasty gains it, the South loses its fence..."

Only then did Yu Yi look at Wang Yang seriously for the first time, his gaze beginning to become solemn.

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Note: The specific data on Jingzhou's annual expenditures comes from the "Biography of Prince Wenxian of Yuzhang" in the "Book of Southern Qi": "Jingzhou's annual expenditure is 30 million in cash, 10,000 bolts of cloth, 60,000 hu of rice, and another 100,000 hu of rice from Jiang and Xiang provinces are given to the garrison." This is the data from when the Prince of Yuzhang was in charge of Jingzhou. There were special reasons for such huge expenses: first, the Northern Wei army was moving, and the military pressure on Jingzhou increased; second, the Prince of Yuzhang was favored and held great power. Therefore, history books say this was "unmatched in modern times." Now the Prince of Badong is in charge, so the expenses naturally cannot be that high. Coupled with the Emperor's attitude toward the Prince of Badong, the loss of national strength, and other factors, I have made adjustments downward.

As for the Southern Dynasty and Northern Dynasty, they are not terms used by later generations, but common terms used by people at the time. For example, Yan Zhitui said: "After the chaos of the Northern Dynasty, the calligraphy is vulgar." ("Family Instructions of Master Yan: Miscellaneous Arts"). Liu Xiubin said: "I have received great kindness from the Southern Dynasty and have succeeded to the frontier." ("Book of Wei: Biography of Liu Xiubin").