Chapter 4351 4353 [The Calm Before the Storm]

Xiang Nan also met with Song Shidao, Shang Xiuxun and others.

Song Shidao was very supportive of Xiang Nan's marriage to his sister Song Yuzhi.

On the one hand, Xiang Nan was indeed a rare young talent; on the other hand, he also doted on his sister Song Yuzhi. Since his sister liked it and even his father supported it, what could he object to?

Moreover, he later saw the crops and inventions that Xiang Nan brought out, and each of them shocked him. Therefore, he supported Xiang Nan to be his brother-in-law even more.

"Shidao, what is the situation in the Central Plains now?" Song Que asked with concern.

"Now everyone is still at peace and relatively calm on the surface. Only Zhai Rang's Wagang Army is more active." Song Shidao reported, "But I heard that the Yuwen clan, the Li clan and the Dugu clan had a private dispute because of the account book of the Dongming."

The Dongming was a merchant ship of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Although the Ryukyu Kingdom was a small overseas country, it was best at making weapons.

The Li Clan, the Dugu Clan, and the Yuwen Clan all wanted to rebel, so they secretly hoarded soldiers, food, weapons, and armor, and therefore frequently communicated with the Ryukyu Kingdom and purchased a large number of weapons and equipment.

The Ryukyu Kingdom also had records of their purchase of weapons. Once leaked, their conspiracy to seize power and usurp the throne would be exposed, and whoever was exposed first would become the target of public criticism.

Therefore, the Li Clan, the Yuwen Clan, and the Dugu Clan robbed the account books on the Dongming. But Song Shidao was not very clear about the specific results.

Because he was at the Pegasus Ranch at the time, not on the Dongming. The struggle between the three major clans was also carried out in secret, so he only heard some news.

"Kou Zhong, what do you think?" Song Que looked at Xiang Nandao.

"Uncle, I think this is just the calm before the storm." Xiang Nan waved his hand and said, "The three major clans are at peace on the surface, but in fact they are all accumulating power in private, and there is bound to be a fight between dragons and tigers. We don't have much time left."

In history, it took only seven years for Li Yuan to rebel and unify the north and the south.

If the Song clan does not seize the time to develop, then the Li clan will devote all its strength to attack the Song clan, and the Song clan will have little room to resist.

And Li Shimin is not Yang Jian. Li Shimin is a wise monarch of all ages, known as the Khan of Heaven, with great talent and wisdom. It is not so easy to compete with him for the world.

Of course, if Xiang Nan takes action, even hundreds of thousands of troops are not his opponent.

The magic he practices, such as landslides, meteor showers, arrows, flame storms, and beans-casting soldiers, all have very powerful lethality.

It can be said that once they are cast, even an army of tens of thousands of people can be easily defeated. In addition to his martial arts, even an army of 100,000 would be defeated in front of him.

But Xiang Nan didn't want to commit murder.

He couldn't bring himself to kill thousands of people for no reason.

Of course, developing weapons was not one of them. Because a kitchen knife could also kill people, but a blacksmith didn't have to bear criminal responsibility.

So once the Li clan really unified the north and the Yangtze River Basin, and then attacked Lingnan, Xiang Nan still hoped that the Song clan could save themselves, instead of relying on him to lead the way.

…

"You are right. Although our Song clan occupies Lingnan and is in a corner, we have nothing to do with the imperial court and the three major clans. But once they decide the winner, no matter who is left, they will deal with us in the end, so our Song clan must not slack off."

Song Que nodded, "We must seize the time to strengthen ourselves, otherwise, when they decide the winner, we will become fish on the chopping board."

"Dad means..." Song Shidao hesitated, "We have to attack too."

"Yes, the three major clans are all concentrated in the northern region. Once they fight, we will send troops to the north to occupy Jingxiang, Sichuan, Chongqing, and Jiangnan, at least divide the river and rule." Song Que nodded.

The Li clan now occupies Jin, the Dugu clan occupies Chang'an, and the Yuwen clan serves Emperor Yang of Sui in Jiangdu. The Wagang Army is in Xingyang, Dou Jiande is in Jizhou...all belong to the northern region.

Since ancient times, it is easier to fight from the north to the south, but it is more difficult to fight from the south to the north.

Because the north has population advantages, cavalry advantages, and terrain advantages.

Since the Song Dynasty, the population of the south has been on par with that of the north. Before that, the development of the south has always been inferior to that of the north.

The south has no large grasslands, so it is very difficult to raise horses. In addition, the water network is dense, so residents travel by boat, which is also called "southern boats and northern horses".

The North China Plain, Guanzhong Plain, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are all smooth, with almost no decent obstacles. Therefore, it is easier for the north to attack the south.

Once the densely populated, commercially developed, and rich areas such as North China, Guanzhong, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are occupied, the strength of the north will exceed that of the south. At that time, it will not be a problem to gradually conquer the south.

At that time, Cao Wei occupied most of the north, so the national strength was strong. Even if Shu Han and Sun Wu formed an alliance, and there were politicians and military strategists like Zhuge Liang who were extraordinary in the world to plan and make plans, it was still difficult to change the overall situation.

It was because Cao Wei was strong that even if the Battle of Chibi suffered such a huge loss, there was still a chance to make a comeback. In comparison, Shu Han and Sun Wu were weak in national strength and could not hold on after a failure.

...

Song Que is not only a martial arts master, but also a military strategist. He is well-versed in military books and military affairs. He naturally knows that if he does not expand his territory in time and only defends a place in Lingnan, it is a sheer daydream to hope for a peaceful life.

You should know that Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, did not want to unify Lingnan and make him surrender completely. It was because Emperor Wen of Sui fought against the Chen Dynasty and the Western Liang Dynasty, which made the country exhausted and the people corrupt.

At that time, Lingnan was strong and powerful under the management of the Song family for hundreds of years, so Emperor Wen of Sui estimated that even if he had to fight, he would suffer heavy losses.

At that time, the newly conquered country might fall into chaos again. After all, there were still many people in the Southern Chen who believed that Yang Jian was not a Han Chinese, did not want to be ruled by him, and were ready to rebel against him at any time.

Therefore, Yang Jian did not dare to use the sword and could only adopt a policy of appeasement towards the Song family, and named him the King of Zhennan, nominally unifying the world.

But now the times have changed. After Emperor Yang of Sui ascended the throne, he dug the Grand Canal to connect the north and the south. In this way, not only is it more convenient for goods and personnel to travel, but also for the northerners and southerners to integrate with each other, promoting unification and eliminating contradictions.

If the northern army wants to fight to the south, it can use the Grand Canal to dispatch troops and replenish food, which saves time and effort. Therefore, the next time the great unification comes, the Song clan will definitely not be able to live in peace.

Therefore, in order to avoid being a fish on the chopping board, we must take the initiative to attack, at least occupy Jingxiang and Jiangnan, so that we can achieve the goal of dividing the river and governing.

It is best to occupy Huaibei and divide the Yellow River and govern, so that the Song clan can be guaranteed not to be annexed.