A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 335: Fear of wolves before and tigers behind

When the east wind thaws the ice, it dissipates and turns into rain. The beginning of spring belongs to wood, but the thing that grows wood must be water. Therefore, the Rain Water that follows the Beginning of Spring is the Rain Water solar term. The earth thaws and moistens everything silently.

It had been a day since spring rain mixed with snow fell over Liangdu, the capital of the State of Song. Although the city was still covered with snow, the damp air made it even colder. Even though it was not yet the end of the first lunar month, there were few people on the streets in such weather. Every household would rather stay by the fire and were reluctant to go out.

"Your Highness, the Emperor has sent a eunuch to summon Your Highness to the palace to discuss important matters."

In the East Palace, Crown Prince Gong Liangming was in the warm room making love with his new beauty, but he suddenly felt disappointed when he heard the reply from the guards outside. He reluctantly put down the disheveled beauty in his arms, walked out with a cold face and asked:

"It's almost twilight hour, is there anything important?"

"The eunuch only said that it was an envoy sent by the Liunan Kingdom, and Your Highness must know what it is about." The guard who was waiting nearby replied.

Gong Liangming frowned when he heard this. He had learned years ago that Liunan and Wucang had a conflict on the border. Although the two countries sent envoys to negotiate, neither side gave in and the relationship became increasingly tense. Wucang had always been on good terms with Xiyue. If the two countries went to war this time, Wucang would definitely ask Xiyue for help.

Liunan State naturally relied on Jingsong State to its south, and Gong Liangwu was not worried that the barrier to the south of Jingsong would be destroyed by the small Wucang State, but it would be hard to protect if the ambitious Xiyue State joined. Jingsong State could not watch Liunan State being destroyed, but once it also helped fight Liunan State, this war would undoubtedly become a contest between Xiyue State and Jingsong State.

"Has the emperor requested to summon Prince Zhao?" This matter was indeed of great importance. Even Gong Liangming could not make up his mind for a moment, let alone Emperor Jing. Thinking of this, he asked the guard again.

"Yes, we still ask Your Highness to bring Prince Zhao to see the emperor together." The guard bowed in response.

"Then what are you still doing here?" The guard's words made Gong Liangming kick him with an angry face.

The guards naturally did not dare to dodge being beaten by their master, but after being beaten, they quickly turned around and ran out of the East Palace and went to Prince Zhao's Mansion.

Gong Liangzhao was gentle, respectful and modest, and had great political insight at a young age. After being recommended many times by Crown Prince Gong Liangming, he attracted the attention of Emperor Jingdi Gong Liangying, who allowed him to enter the palace to participate in two political discussions. After seeing with his own eyes that his unknown sixth son had some ability, he gradually appreciated him more, so he allowed King Zhao to enter the palace with the crown prince every time there was an important meeting, but that was all, and he did not show much concern for him anymore.

King Zhao, who was reading in his own palace at leisure, heard the report from the prince's personal guards. Naturally, he knew that the affairs of Liunan Kingdom were of great importance, so he did not dare to delay. After giving a few instructions to the old servants in the palace, he hurried to the East Palace with the prince's personal guards.

"I have just summoned the envoys of Liunan. It seems that the war between Liunan and Wucang is inevitable. A war is imminent. I also heard that Xiyue is also ready to make a move. Emperor Liunan hopes to get the help of Jingsong to fight against Wucang and Xiyue."

A stick of incense later, in the meeting hall of the imperial palace, Emperor Jing paced back and forth in front of the imperial table with his hands behind his back and a worried look on his face. From time to time, he turned his eyes to the four people waiting on both sides of him and said listlessly.

Standing on both sides of Emperor Jing were Crown Prince Gong Liangming, Prince Zhao Gong Liangzhao, Prime Minister Yuan Lin and diplomatic envoy Qi Guang.

"Father, the Kingdom of Liunan is a barrier for the Kingdom of Jingsong in the south. I think I can help." Prince Gong Liangming was the first to bow and speak, then replied.

"Your Majesty, although Liunan Kingdom is adjacent to our Jingsong Kingdom in the northeast, they are also neighbors to Nanjiang in the south. I wonder what Nanjiang's attitude is on this matter?" But the prince's advice did not seem to satisfy Emperor Jing, so he glanced at the prime minister beside him, and Yuan Lin understood and saluted respectfully, then asked.

"Why should we, a huge country like Jingsong, care about the attitude of a tiny country like Southern Xinjiang when making decisions?" But as soon as Yuan Lin finished speaking, Prince Gong Liangming snorted coldly.

"Your Highness, although Southern Xinjiang is small, it should not be underestimated. Moreover, it is a neighbor of Liunan Kingdom. We should win it over if we can." Qi Guang, the diplomatic envoy beside the prime minister, also saluted to Gong Liangming with a smile.

Gong Liangming was speechless and could only sneer in his heart: It's obvious that he doesn't want Jing Song to send troops but he wants to pretend and avoid the topic.

“Your Majesty, Brother Royal, I think we should naturally help Liunan Kingdom, and we should also win over Southern Xinjiang. This will give us an extra force to fight against Xiyue Kingdom.” Gong Liangzhao also stepped forward and saluted to his father and brother the Crown Prince in front of him.

"Old Six has a point, but..." After discussing it, Gong Liangying seemed unsatisfied and continued to sigh.

"Father, we and Liunan Kingdom are interdependent, and we are interdependent. How could the ambitious Xiyue Kingdom help Wucang Kingdom for nothing? But it is also heading for the territory of Liunan Kingdom. Now our northwest has been covetously sandwiched by Xiyue Kingdom. Once Liunan Kingdom is also occupied by Xiyue Kingdom, we will be attacked on three sides and it will be too late!" Emperor Jing's hesitation made Gong Liangming feel almost disappointed. Although he also knew that his father's weakness and incompetence would be fully displayed whenever something big happened, so this was also within his expectations, but this matter was related to the life and death of Jingsong Kingdom, he had to stick to it no matter what.

"Your Highness, what you said makes sense, but we have to put it in context. What can my Jingsong Kingdom use to fight against the powerful Xiyue Kingdom? If we get involved in the war with Liunan Kingdom, it will be a battle between Liunan and Wucang on the surface, but in reality it will be a contest between Xiyue Kingdom and us. No matter we win or lose, my Jingsong Kingdom will completely break with Xiyue Kingdom and become hostile. By then, even if we can preserve Liunan Kingdom, my Jingsong Kingdom will probably never live in peace again." Prime Minister Yuan Lin once again spoke up to refute Gong Liangming.

"Hmph, the battle hasn't even started yet and the Prime Minister is already cowardly..." Seeing Yuan Lin's mean face, Gong Liangming was even more furious, but just as he opened his mouth, Gong Liangying raised his hand to stop him.

"Father, there are many capable soldiers in my Jingsong Kingdom. Not to mention the great general Ruan Xi on the eastern coastal area and the old marshal Xia Yang who is in charge of the western border, even the father and son of the Xiao family who have been stationed in the southern border for many years are both brave and resourceful generals. My Jingsong Kingdom is vast and rich in resources, and there are many talented people. Why should we fear the Xiyue Kingdom?" Seeing that his father seemed to be deliberately biased towards Prime Minister Yuan Lin, Gong Liangzhao could not help but continue to make bold suggestions.

"The coastal Japanese are also eyeing our Jingsong Kingdom covetously. General Ruan Xi has to stay in the eastern border all the time. Old Marshal Xia Yang is old, and there are many bandit problems in the northwest. Without his suppression, Jingsong Kingdom would have to spend most of its troops just on suppressing the bandits and rebellions, so how could it take care of foreign enemies? Although the father and son of the Xiao family have been stationed in the southern border for many years, they lack practical experience. How can they guarantee that they can defeat the Xiyue Kingdom?" At this time, Qi Guang also spoke out to refute Gong Liangzhao's words at Yuan Lin's eye signal.

"Lord Qi is so afraid of wolves in front and tigers behind. I'm afraid this is exactly what Xiyue Kingdom wants."

"King Zhao has never been in the court, so he naturally doesn't understand the importance of state affairs! As the saying goes, only by being careful can you sail a ship for a thousand years, and state affairs must be handled with extreme caution, otherwise if you are not careful, you will be doomed to perish forever!"

Qi Guang's words naturally left Gong Liangzhao speechless, and also hurt his heart like a thorn.

The discussion lasted from day till night. Although Emperor Jing did not make a final decision and said he would discuss it again at the court tomorrow morning, his two sons had seen his intention of not sending troops to help Liu Nan Kingdom, and they felt disappointed.