Aspiring to the Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 177 Planning Nanping
Seeing Zhou Zong's inexplicable mention of this, Luo Youdu knew that this old guy must have plans, and said calmly: "It is true, the inheritance of the country is the most important thing, it is related to the future of the world, and this matter should be taken seriously."

Zhou Zong said with a smile: "Maybe someone is worried, but I don't know what will happen to the emperor of Zhou?"

Luo Youdu realized in an instant, this guy turned his mind on Guo Rong's son.

In terms of age, Guo Rong is now 36, and his son must be in his teens no matter what.

Isn't the teenage Prince of Zhou just perfect for Zhou's younger sister?

But his wishful thinking is destined to fail.

Although Luo Youdu didn't care about the grievances between Zhou Zong and his father, he had no other affection for him and couldn't respect him.

One mouthful and one father-in-law, in addition to reassuring the Zhou family and Zhou Ehuang, it also has other meanings.

"There are four sons in the official family, which is quite a lot. Among them, the eldest son is four years old this year, and he is naturally intelligent."

Sure enough, as soon as Luo Youdu said this, Zhou Zong was dumbfounded.

Four years old?

The younger sister is nine years old, there is a big difference in age!
Zhou Zong saw Guo Rongying's martial arts prowess today, and the fact that he has many capable men under his command, so he moved his mind.

With the momentum of Da Zhou, there may be a real chance to unify the world in the future.

If you can marry Zhou Xiaomei into the Zhou royal family, wouldn't that be better than marrying into the Southern Tang royal family, the current Southern Tang royal family?
Thinking that at Guo Rong's age, the heir should have a match with Zhou Xiaomei.

Unexpectedly, the oldest eldest son is only four years old.

Zhou Zong suddenly remembered that he had indeed heard similar news ten years ago. The former Emperor Liu Chengyou of the Han Dynasty forced Guo Wei to rebel.Now it seems that Guo Rong's heirs must be among them.

Four years old!

Nine years old!

This……

Zhou Zong was struggling in his heart, he really didn't match up.

Thinking of the face of Li Jing in the Southern Tang Dynasty, I'm afraid I won't be able to please him if I go back with my old bones.

Zhou Zong still has a little understanding of Li Jing, he is arty and cares about face.

Due to the situation, he almost begged to persuade himself to marry his daughter with the dignity of an emperor.

After the limelight passed, Guo Rong and Luo Youdu returned to Kaifeng, and when they appeared in front of Li Jing again, what they got in return was definitely not gratitude, but deep shame.

Zhou Zong brought Zhou Xiaomei with him this time, which means he will live in Yangzhou permanently.

Jinling no longer has a foothold for their father and daughter.

But when he came to Yangzhou, Zhou Zong found that Luo Youdu treated them very well, and Luo Youdu's status in Guo Rong's heart was also extremely high.

It can be seen from today's banquet.Zhou Zong naturally knew that on his own, he was not qualified to be treated like this by the Great Zhou Emperor, and the other party only looked at the face of this son-in-law.

Since my son-in-law has such a face, why should he stay in Yangzhou?
It's better to go to Bianjing Kaifeng to gamble on it.

Zhou Zong looked at Luo Youdu's increasingly satisfied and sad face, and said, "Son-in-law, I wonder when you will go north? I have a deep relationship with Ehuang's father and daughter, and I am reluctant to say goodbye immediately. If you can stay in Yangzhou for a little longer Day, that's all right."

Luo Youdu laughed secretly in his heart: "Since my father-in-law is reluctant to part with the eldest lady, why not come to Beijing with us? The situation in the north is far less terrible than what you have heard in the south of the Yangtze River. It was true many years ago. More than [-] generals were executed, and the general Zuo Yulin forced Meng Hanqing to commit suicide, and the order has been rectified. The generals in Beijing dare not be too domineering at the moment."

"The style of writing in Beijing has also been greatly improved under the management of Dou Yanshan. If my father-in-law comes to Beijing, I can talk about classics and history with him."

"Dou Yanshan's literary talents are not inferior to Xu Xuan and Han Xizai from Jiangnan..."

Luo Youdu has no objection to Zhou Zong's desire to develop in Kaifeng.

People like Zhou Zong have a good reputation, value their own reputation, and will not do evil things.At most, it is just borrowing his name to integrate into the Central Plains scholars, and it will not cause much impact.

Before he married Fu Qing'er, he definitely couldn't take a concubine first, and he couldn't marry Lina immediately.

The face of the old Fu family has to be taken care of no matter what.

I am really sorry to let Zhou Ehuang stay in Kaifeng alone.

With my father and sister by my side, it will definitely be much better.

Zhou Zong pretended to be hesitant, and said: "That's fine, I have heard of Dou Yanshan's name for a long time, and I can't wait to see him."

He was full of joy, looking at the son-in-law in front of him, the more he looked at him, the more pleasing to the eye he said, "I understand that my son-in-law loves my little daughter, but after returning to Beijing, you should not call him like this at your father-in-law. I'm afraid it will be unpleasant for King Wei to hear it..."

Luo Youdu smiled indifferently and said: "It's okay, Fu Laotaishan doesn't like me, it may not be a bad thing."

Zhou Zong's expression changed slightly. Looking at his future son-in-law who never stopped smiling, he couldn't help feeling a little apprehensive in his heart. His future son-in-law is really not easy to get along with today. It was able to hide it from him, and for a while, he was a little afraid to speak.

Luo Youdu seemed to know nothing, and continued to introduce the situation in Kaifeng.

Who is worthy of association and who is not worthy of association, it is beneficial to have a good relationship with whom, and it is harmful to have a good relationship with whom.

As the second in command of the Kaifeng Mansion, Luo Youdu still has a certain understanding of these things.

But Zhou Zong became more startled the more he heard it, and he didn't dare to think about anything else.

After sending Zhou Zong back to the mansion, Luo Youdu left and rode his horse back to his residence.

Zhou Zong paused for a moment, suddenly felt that his decision was hasty, maybe it would be better to spend his old age in Yangzhou.

But such a thought just flashed through his mind. How could he, who valued fame more than anything else, be satisfied with spending his old age in this poor place like Yangzhou?

The son-in-law is outstanding, could it be a bad thing?

Luo Youdu returned to his residence, Zhao Pu greeted him.

"Sir, the envoy from Nanping came here with a heavy gift, but his subordinates have driven them out."

Luo Youdu nodded and said, "Good job!"

He was about to take a bath and sleep, but seeing Zhao Pu respectfully beside him, he said, "Follow me."

Bringing Zhao Pu to the study, Luo Youdu fiddled with the tea set on the table.

Zhao Pu immediately found a charcoal fire to boil water wisely.

Luo Youdu asked Zhao Pu, "Do you know why I drove away the envoys from Nanping?"

Zhao Pu pondered for a moment, then said: "My subordinates blindly guessed that Nanping's lack of support this time has angered the officials. The officials either want to do something to Nanping, or they want to teach Nanping a lesson."

Luo Youdu nodded in satisfaction. Zhao Pu was able to see these things from the limited news, which is already very good.

"This conquest of Jiangnan, the Southern Tang has no room to fight back in the short term, but it is not safe, the official's ambition is in the world. Now that Xishu and Jiangnan have been leveled, the next opponent must be Liu Han who occupies Taiyuan and Yanyun who occupies Yanyun. Khitan of the sixteen states."

"Especially the Khitan in the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, who are the most difficult to deal with. This battle, or not to fight. Once it is fought, it must be dark and earth-shattering. Any negligence in a small matter may lead to the defeat of the entire line."

"Relying on Huainan alone is too little deterrent to the Southern Tang. It is uncertain whether the Southern Tang will revolt when our dynasty is at war with Khitan."

"If Jiangling can be captured, it will be included in the bag. It will be a great deterrent to Western Shu and Southern Tang."

Zhao Pu's eyes lit up, and he said, "So the officials deliberately snubbed Nanping in order to force Nanping to rebel? So the officials have an excuse to send troops to take it?"

He paused, glanced at Luo Youdu, summoned up his courage and said, "I'm afraid this matter will not be easy. Nanping is a land of three states, and there are at most less than ten thousand soldiers in hand. In terms of strength, I, Da Zhou, can casually Jiedu envoys are stronger than Nanping. Give them ten guts, and they will not dare to rebel. No matter how cold and difficult the officials are, he will humbly please the officials. Don't forget, sir, the Gao family in Nanping is famous Shameless. In order to get a reward, I will do anything."

Luo Youdu smiled approvingly and said: "You are right. Gao Baorong has obtained his father's true biography. During this Southern Expedition, because our dynasty did not set up a naval force, the officials ordered that Wuyue, Wuping, and Nanping send out naval forces to help. Wuyue, Wuping, and Nanping Wuping sent troops and horses, but Nanping used the excuse that Gao Baorong was ill, unable to manage affairs, unable to make decisions, and then when our army won a decisive victory, he dispatched troops instantly, and personally wrote a letter to persuade Li Jing to surrender."

There was a three-pointed sneer on his face: "You said that Gao Baorong is trying to persuade Nantang to surrender for my dynasty, or to save Nantang from fire and water?"

Only a few people knew that Da Zhou was unable to continue the southern expedition.

No matter what time, Da Zhou showed an attitude of never giving up on the Southern Tang Dynasty.

The water boiled at this time, and Luo Youdu made a cup of tea for Zhao Pu and himself.

Zhao Pu respectfully took the tea from him, and said, "It's not surprising, Nanping is the one who wants to maintain the status quo the most. They are too weak to beat anyone. If they don't keep trying to please me, Da Zhou, then Nanping If they had a little strength, they would have been wiped out a long time ago. Only by maintaining the status quo, can they sit back and relax and become the king. Once the situation changes drastically, they will be the first to be unlucky."

In history, Zhao Pu helped Zhao Kuangyin gain the power of the Great Zhou Dynasty. After the rebellion was eliminated, Nanping was the first to eliminate it.

Although Nanping is weak, its geographical location is extremely important.Located in the center of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, it is adjacent to the north and the south, and it is adjacent to the Southern Tang Dynasty in the east, Houshu in the west, and the Southern Han Dynasty in the south.Occupying Jing and Hu can split the Jiangnan kingdoms.

Luo Youdu said: "As Zeping said, the next step of my Dazhou is to take Nanping. But it is different from what you think, sending troops to take Nanping will damage my Dazhou's face. The officials still want to save face... Gao Baorong still has a heart The ghosts are all on the dark side. To take Nanping so blatantly is the strategy of the subordinates, and it is a last resort."

"Since we can't mobilize troops, I'm wondering if we can take Nanping down without bloodshed."

He said in shock.

Zhao Pu was startled, and the teacup in his hand fell on the desk, splashing himself all over.

Zhao Pu jumped up hot, patting the water on his body with both hands.

Luo Youdu smiled and comforted him: "Don't get excited, don't get excited!"

Zhao Pu didn't care about the tea stains on his body, and said in shock, "What did you say is true?"

Luo Youdu blew on the hot tea in his hand, tasted it slowly and said, "If you don't try it, how would you know?"

　Thank you book friend An Gang for the [-] reward, thank you for your support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)