Chapter 953

Yang Lingqi said: "Is it possible that the Emperor is deliberately playing the role of a morally corrupt person in public, making mistake after mistake, and these mistakes are to be corrected by the Yongyang Prince? Over time, the Yongyang Prince's prestige among the subjects would thus be enhanced."

Hu Xiaotian felt moved inside upon hearing this; he had not thought of this aspect. Laohuangdi and Qiqi, one playing the bad cop, the other the good cop—the possibility of this old and young colluding in an act is high. Furthermore, considering how they handled the matter of his parents, it is exactly Laohuangdi stepping forward as the bad guy, letting Qiqi come out to win hearts through favors. If Yang Lingqi's analysis is entirely correct, then they truly deserve to be called painstakingly devoted.

Yang Lingqi said: "Sir Hu, do not overlook one matter: since the Emperor has broken Dakang's centuries-old convention by ennobling the Yongyang Princess as a prince, it shows that the Emperor has made up his mind to defy opposition, and he is likely intending to choose the Yongyang Princess as his heir."

Hu Xiaotian had indeed thought of this as well; since Dakang could produce its first female prince, it was possible for the first female emperor in history to appear. But Hu Xiaotian could never understand why Laohuangdi doted on Qiqi so much—was it out of familial affection or some unknown special feeling? Hu Xiaotian said: "Who becomes the Emperor's heir is not important; a clever wife cannot cook without rice. Now, no matter who sits in that position, they will be at a loss."

Yang Lingqi said: "If the Emperor truly thinks this way, then he is still wise. In his years on the throne, he has acted against the proper way, been incompetent and idle; the subjects have long lost faith in him, and once public sentiment is lost it is like spilled water that cannot be gathered back. He may have realized this, which is why he is pushing the Yongyang Prince forward to let the subjects regain confidence in the Yongyang Prince."

Hu Xiaotian said: "From his current actions, indeed there is such a possibility."

Yang Lingqi gave a modest smile and said: "Just my humble opinion, Sir Hu, hear it out. Do not take it seriously; Dakang's greatest predicament right now is famine. From various signs, this autumn's harvest is likely not to be good. If a widespread famine breaks out, the country will inevitably fall into chaos, for the people regard food as heaven. When the common folk cannot fill their stomachs, they will rebel. All surrounding states eye Dakang covetously; once Dakang erupts in internal turmoil, they will certainly not let this opportunity slip."

Hu Xiaotian said with interest: "Brother Yang, please speak."

Yang Lingqi gave a modest smile and said: "Just my humble opinion, Sir Hu, hear it out. Do not take it seriously; Dakang's greatest predicament right now is famine. From various signs, this autumn's harvest is likely not to be good. If a widespread famine breaks out, the country will inevitably fall into chaos, for the people regard food as heaven. When the common folk cannot fill their stomachs, they will rebel. All surrounding states eye Dakang covetously; once Dakang erupts in internal turmoil, they will certainly not let this opportunity slip."

Hu Xiaotian said: "What do you have to defuse the crisis?"

Yang Lingqi said: "Regardless of whether Dakang acknowledges it or not, its once vast territory has already been fragmented into pieces, continually shrinking; today its domain is less than half of its former extent. The true hegemon of the Central Plains now is Da Yong, and the surrounding small states, cowed by its power, dare not engage in any grain trade with Dakang. This is an external cause of Dakang's famine. Dakang currently finds itself in famine, but has not yet reached the point of utter exhaustion. To effect change from outside, there are several methods: first, buying grain at high prices. No matter how harsh the state's system, private trade has never been prohibitable. We can encourage domestic merchants to purchase grain through various channels, and the court can give them certain rewards, doing our best to safeguard their interests."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Relying solely on small-scale private trade probably cannot solve the problem, and Dakang's treasury is already empty, lacking the funds to subsidize these merchants."

Yang Lingqi said: "Indeed, that is only one of the methods; another is to obtain grain sources from the surrounding small states."

Hu Xiaotian thought to himself that he had overestimated Yang Lingqi; the methods he proposed were ones others had already considered, and in fact they proved unfeasible, fundamentally unable to solve Dakang's problem. He smiled calmly and said: "You said before that the surrounding small states dare not trade grain with Dakang, so why are you making this suggestion?"

Yang Lingqi said: "They dare not speak out because they are cowed by Da Yong's might; although Da Yong is weakened, it is not a paper tiger that everyone can bully. Since Da Yong dares to threaten them, Dakang can do the same. Find allies and jointly confront the most threatening enemy."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Dakang's current situation is like a collapsed wall that everyone pushes; where would we find any allies?"

Yang Lingqi said: "In this world there are only eternal interests, no permanent friends. Da Yong's reason for choosing to turn its long-time enemy Black Hu from foe to friend and forge an alliance is not truly to secure its rear so as to free its hands to deal with Dakang. After the Black Hu Fourth Prince Wanyan Chixiong was killed, the alliance between Da Yong and Black Hu has become empty talk; Black Hu people are not fools, they have always wanted to march southward, and even without the killing of the Black Hu Fourth Prince Wanyan Chixiong, they would not sincerely ally with Da Yong. If Da Yong succeeds in conquering Dakang and unifying the Central Plains, Black Hu people would likely be unable to resist it."

Yang Lingqi said, laughing after saying this: "My proposal to ally with the Black Hu people is not to sacrifice the interests of us Han, but to use the Black Hu people in the north to check Da Yong. Moreover, there is a more important matter: that is to secure Xichuan."

Hu Xiaotian said: "But Xichuan is under Li Tianheng's control."

Yang Lingqi said: "Li Tianheng declared himself king; initially he raised the banner of marching to the rescue of the sovereign. Now that the Dakang Emperor has been restored, the pretext of 'marching to the rescue' has lost its reason, and Li Tianheng has so far shown no sign of leading his troops to submit, proving he has long wanted to carve out his own domain and has no intention of obeying the Dakang Emperor's orders. However, Li Tianheng is also a man who cherishes his reputation; he likely does not want to bear the stigma of rebellion, and thus has not yet declared himself king. In fact, the Emperor should make use of his current mindset: since the fact that Xichuan is under the Li clan's control is already established, it would be better to go with the flow and directly enfeoff him as king, acknowledging the reality of Xichuan's independence. That way, Li Tianheng would find it hard to save face."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Li Tianheng's wolfish ambitions are known to all; the reason he can act with impunity is not only because he holds Xichuan territory, but also because he holds a trump card in his hand."

Yang Lingqi said: "You mean Prince Long Yefang?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded.

Yang Lingqi said: "Li Tianheng will surely rebel sooner or later; Long Yefang is precisely the trump card in his hand, but this card can only reach its full effect after the Emperor's passing."

Hu Xiaotian also thought this way: if the old Emperor died, Long Yefang would be the most qualified to inherit the great rule, and Li Tianheng could then hold the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords, thereby smoothly taking control of the whole Dakang.

Yang Lingqi said: "Li Tianheng aims to control the entirety of Dakang, so he does not want Dakang to be swallowed by others; as long as we grasp his psychology, turning Li Tianheng into another ally is not difficult."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Even if Black Hu and Li Tianheng were willing to ally with Dakang, they are unwilling to help Dakang solve the grain problem."

Yang Lingqi laughed and said: "Alliance is not meant to solve the famine, but to stabilize the foundation, so that Da Yong will in the short term abandon the idea of sending troops southward. As for these people, if Dakang cannot feed them, they also need a livelihood; we could consider opening some border checkpoints, allowing the common folk to go to neighboring small states to seek a living."

Hu Xiaotian said: "With so many famine-stricken people flooding into other countries, they may well refuse to let them in."

Yang Lingqi said: "The strength of these small states is fundamentally incomparable to Dakang's; if they allow these famine victims to enter their borders, it would indirectly relieve pressure on Dakang; if they refuse and firmly block the famine victims, Dakang can likewise make an issue of this, seize the opportunity to launch troops and wipe them out. Although war is not a good thing, it can nonetheless divert domestic contradictions and crises."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Is this the strategy of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones?"

Yang Lingqi said in a low voice: "To be precise, it should be 'secure strong ties and strike the weak'; this is inherently a world of the weak being prey to the strong. Dakang has come to its present state; the only way is to put survival first, and then we cannot quibble over methods."

Hu Xiaotian nodded; Yang Lingqi's words were indeed reasonable—so it is for a state, and so it is for a person. If an individual cannot even guarantee his own survival, why bother to quibble over the means of making a living? Yang Lingqi's meaning could not be clearer: the more dire the situation, the more we must value diplomatic means, forming alliances to jointly check Da Yong. Against the backdrop of domestic famine, choosing expansion and aggression, invading those neighboring small states, even former vassals and allies—after all, they first broke faith and abandoned righteousness; when Dakang faced crisis, cowed by Da Yong's might, they not only refused to help but even declined fair grain trade.

Hu Xiaotian said: "These two days I will arrange for you to meet the Yongyang Prince."

Yang Lingqi said: "Sir Hu, I am honored that you value me; I am willing to always follow you."

Hu Xiaotian laughed and said: "Brother Yang, you are truly a great talent; I am merely the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard. If you stay by my side, do you really want to be just an ordinary Imperial Guard?"

A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Yang Lingqi's mouth; his hands are disabled, let alone this state—even if his hands were sound, a scholar is good for nothing, and he still lacks the strength to truss a chicken. In such turbulent times, lacking even the ability to protect himself, what talk is there of protecting others, and even survival becomes a problem.

Hu Xiaotian said: "I will recommend Brother Yang to the Yongyang Prince, hoping that your ambitions will find a true field to display them; we hit it off at first sight, and from now on we shall address each other as brothers."

Yang Lingqi hurriedly thanked Hu Xiaotian again.

At this moment, Huo Shengnan came over to look for Hu Xiaotian, but because she had heard about Hu Xiaotian's parents, she was also very worried. After Yang Lingqi left, Hu Xiaotian then recounted his recent visit to see Qiqi; Huo Shengnan furrowed her brows slightly and said: "So you mean the Yongyang Princess wants to use them to blackmail you?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Judging from the present situation, she and the old Emperor are putting on a double act—one playing the bad cop, the other the good cop. It seems they will not let me leave; my mother wanting to leave is not so easy either, but my father must needs make a trip to Luosong."

Suddenly remembering that today is Monday, I ask for some recommendation votes; I estimate it will still take ten days to get home. During the trip, Zhangyu will try to ensure uninterrupted updates; as for any outbreak, I can only wait until I return home. (To be continued~^~)