The Kingdom of Shu is different from the Central Plains of the Southern Tang Dynasty. It is a prosperous country. In other words, the conflicts within Shu are not big.

In troubled times, the gap between the rich and the poor will widen, and the rich will be surrounded by vast distances, while the poor will have no place to stand. In this way, it will be easy to bribe and win over. You only need to eliminate their main force, and their country will be easily included.

For example, in the Central Plains and the Northern Song Dynasty, if the hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops were wiped out, the rest of the land would definitely surrender. Just like the bone tiles, it saves time and effort. After all, the imperial courts are all the same, so no matter which one you choose, they will be the same.

However, the Kingdom of Shu is different. The long-term peace and prosperous life have made the people very xenophobic and relatively united internally. If you defeat the Shu Forbidden Army, there will still be rebellions in other places.

They do not regard the invaders as the imperial court, but because of its closed nature, they are very repulsive to the invaders. If you occupy this place, there will be many people who rebel.

Therefore, it is easy to conquer Shu but difficult to govern it.

The Northern Song Dynasty attacked the Shu Kingdom, and the army was looting, which caused chaos in Shu for hundreds of years. Later, the Northern Song Dynasty was afraid of irritating this group of people, so it did not dare to increase taxes excessively, and the soldiers' salaries were paid in time, and they did not dare to default on arrears.

Because this group of Shu soldiers are really just trying to make a living and are unwilling to do so. If you don't pay them, they will really rebel.

Moreover, it is easy to attack the Shu Kingdom, but the Northern Song Dynasty is still watching with eager eyes. Once you attack, they will immediately send troops to take the retreat, which is extremely insidious.

Therefore, conquering Shu is easy, but how to conquer it is difficult.

"The Zhao and Song dynasties were established at the beginning, and the army was raised last year. All wastes were restored, and the national treasury was in short supply. When I heard about the fireworks in the first day of the Yuan Dynasty, I was reluctant to set off more fireworks and rest with the people!"

Wang Ning said in a deep voice: "Today's Song Kingdom is like a poor man with nothing, and few beautiful clothes. His greedy eyes are constantly patrolling the surrounding area, hoping to take them away."

"The Kingdom of Shu is like a delicate little lady, clad in gold and silver, strutting through the market. Moreover, there are not many guards around her, so she naturally attracts covetous people. The Kingdom of Song is naturally jealous, and can't wait to occupy it, thus owning it.

With his wealth and wealth, he can raise an army and unify the world!"

"If Nanping was just taking advantage of its unpreparedness, then the Shu Kingdom was in the Song Dynasty's pocket. And when we, the Tang Dynasty, coveted it, the Song Dynasty couldn't let it go, and it was inevitable to use force. This was its

Meat in the pot, food on the plate, if anyone makes any move, they will be dissatisfied."

"So, although raising troops to Shu is the best policy, it is actually the worst policy. It would be extremely unwise to provoke Song at this time!"

Hearing these words, Li Jia was instantly speechless. He had been preparing to attack Shu, but he had forgotten that there was a hungry tiger wandering beside his bed. If he took away its food, it would be very bad.

The Tang Dynasty was not ready for a full-scale war with the Northern Song Dynasty.

"You're saying that Song's current recuperation, river construction, and anti-corruption efforts are all just a show for us to watch. In fact, he has been preparing to conquer Shu for a long time, and he has been sharpening his sword against the pigs and sheep?"

Li Jia was quite surprised. Historically, the Northern Song Dynasty's water and land armies entered Shu before conquering Shu. Now that Nanping is gone, how can they attack Shu?

You must know that there is the Qinling Mountains to the north, Hanzhong is in the hands of the Shu Kingdom, and even worse, there is Jianmen Pass. Even in the Later Tang Dynasty, it was two ways to attack Shu, and it was obviously extremely difficult to attack Shu in one way.

"It's not fake!" Wang Ning continued:

"For the Song Dynasty, China has experienced wars for a long time, and the court is short of food and money. It is the time for self-cultivation and recuperation. If there is another sword fight, Guo Zhou's many years of governance will be in vain!"

"While cultivating and recuperating, I am also saving money and food, and training my troops and horses. I am eyeing the Kingdom of Shu, and the Jingnan Mansion is probably inevitable!"

Li Jia also thought of this possibility, and his mood suddenly became bad.

Jingnan Prefecture, with nearly a million inhabitants, is indispensable for the military route, whether going north or south. Moreover, Jingnan Prefecture is also the northern gate of Hunan. If Jingnan Prefecture is lost, Hunan will lose half of it.

.

Moreover, economically, Jiangling is a transit station for people traveling from the south to the north. Many commodities rely on it to move the world. Losing it will have a huge impact on the economy.

Therefore, Li Jiaqi asked himself, if he rules the Central Plains, he cannot sit back and watch the rise of a great power in the south, let alone let it occupy Jiangling. The rising momentum must be suppressed.

Unfortunately, Zhao Kuangyin had this plan, but unfortunately, his financial resources did not allow it.

The imperial army marched north to Luzhou and south to Huainan. After struggling for more than half a year, the imperial army was exhausted and the treasury was even more exhausted.

In the final analysis, war is still a matter of spending money. The more money you have, the more wealth you will have.

At this time, the farmers who produce money and grain represent the amount of money.

Although there are not many farmers in Li Jia, they are making a lot of money just by being a transit merchant on the Maritime Silk Road, and they are not afraid of maintaining their military strength.

Of course, this is because the Northern Song Dynasty did not have a deep understanding of the Tang Dynasty. It thought that a population of two to three million people had little potential, so it was never willing to burn the boat.

"The center of the imperial court is in Guangzhou. If a war breaks out on the front line, it will be quite inconvenient for it to operate!"

Li Jia said tentatively.

"Your Majesty is wise. Although Guangzhou is located in the hinterland and is very safe, it is really unfavorable for the great cause of unification. Moreover, there is no information in Lingnan, and fighter opportunities are fleeting!"

Wang Ning had worked with the emperor for many years, so he naturally had a deep understanding of him. As soon as he started talking, he understood it immediately.

"This matter must be done slowly, don't be impatient!" Li Jia stopped him, drank a cup of tea, and continued:

"The Tang Dynasty was unified. Since Shu could not do it, the southern countries would only be puppet countries (Southern Tang)?"

"That's right!" Wang Ning sat upright, the topic turned back again, and he had to pay attention.

"The puppet country originally had thirty-three states (excluding Zhangquan), but now it has ceded fourteen states in Huainan, and now it only has nineteen states, with a population of about three million. Although it is still relatively strong now, it is still far behind compared to before.

many!"

"Furthermore, the former leader of the Jiangnan Kingdom, Li Jing, passed away and the new monarch came to the throne. He lacked prestige and it was naturally difficult for the court to work together. Unlike the Central Plains, we have many ships in the Tang Dynasty. It is naturally convenient to attack the puppet country. We can go down the river and catch turtles in the jar!"

"

Wang Ning's confident look also affected the emperor's mood.

Li Jia was imprisoned by history. The Northern Song Dynasty first captured the Kingdom of Shu and then went to Jinling, instead of first conquering the Kingdom of Shu in Jinling and taking the wealth of the Kingdom of Shu to forge ships, which was its purpose.

There are not many warships in the Central Plains, so we can only look at the river and sigh.

However, his Tang Dynasty had no shortage of ships, and although its armor was not as good as that of China, it was not at all afraid of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Li Yu is not Li Jing, nor does he have his prestige. If Li Jing's Southern Tang Dynasty has ten points, but in Li Yu's hands, it only has five points, which is still too much.
Chapter completed!