Traveling the Heavens in Thunderbolt

Chapter 1107: Phoenix Wings
"You have calculated everything to ruin my mood. All you rely on is Beiliang's geographical advantage. With this geographical advantage, I can't take action, and Xu Tianjiao can't take action either. But you can't stay in Beiliang forever. Liyang and Xichu are both Beiliang's great enemies. As the King of Beiliang, you will eventually have to go to the front line in person."

"Once that happens, you will surely die."

In response to Tan Tai Pingjing's words, Xu Fengnian said, "If the centuries-old calmness of your Nanhai Guanyin Sect is broken so easily, then there is no need for the Guanyin Sect to exist. Tan Tai Pingjing, you have already fallen behind by saying this."

I don’t know when it started, but Xu Fengnian’s voice became deeper and deeper.

Xu Fengnian asked abruptly: "Li Yishan and Zhao Changling are known as Xu Xiao's left and right arms. What do you think is the difference between them?"

Knowing that Xu Fengnian wanted to take this opportunity to discuss with him about the world's counselors, Tan Tai said calmly and deliberately: "Zhao Changling is very good at open strategy, and has a reputation for being eloquent and resourceful. Everything he plans is successful. On the other hand, although Li Yishan is good at long-term planning, he did not make Chen Zhibao return to Beiliang, which caused a certain degree of internal friction in Beiliang. Externally, the relationship between Liyang and Beiliang deteriorated. Beimang even regarded Beiliang as a thorn in his side. If it weren't for the sudden appearance of King Yan, it would be unknown whether Beiliang belonged to Chen or Mang at this time. In the eyes of outsiders, Li Yishan is not as good as Zhao Changling. Among the many counselors in the Spring and Autumn War, he is at the bottom."

Xu Fengnian commented: "Well, you know how to use other people's words to cover up your true thoughts. You are much better than Xie Guanying who is not even as good as sitting in a well and looking at the sky."

Tan Tai Pingjing naturally understood what Xu Fengnian meant and gave his true evaluation, "The ruthless scholar Li Yishan is actually the most affectionate. No matter the situation, status, or fate, deep in Li Yishan's heart, he is always willing to have goodwill towards the world and trust people. Zhao Changling is different. Because of his early experiences, he does not trust people. So he chose Chen Zhibao, and Li Yishan chose you."

Tan Tai stared at Xu Fengnian calmly with her silver eyes for a while, and added, "But now it seems that Li Yishan also made the wrong choice."

Xu Fengnian's smile remained unchanged, but his voice became deeper, more magnetic, and clearer. Why did he choose the wrong one? "

Tan Tai said calmly, "You have fallen into darkness just like King Yan. I don't know when it started, maybe it was during the Liangmang battle, maybe it was Xu Xiao's death, or maybe it was after the battle with Gao Shulu and Li Yang's imperial decree. But you eventually fell into darkness, just like King Yan."

"Is this why you have made up your mind to become my enemy?" Xu Fengnian did not deny Tan Tai's calm statement, but began to comment on Zhao Changlin and Li Yishan. "Zhao Changling was born into a wealthy family of the first rank in the Spring and Autumn Period. This identity allows him to be treated as a guest of honor even in front of monarchs, generals, and ministers of various countries of his time. Therefore, he was able to be successful in every trip ordered by Xu Xiao. This made some of the scholars under Xu Xiao have an illusion that Zhao Changling could handle both strategy and decision-making, and Li Yishan, who was born into a poor family, didn't need to worry at all. But is it really because of his family background? , which also caused him to have a fatal flaw. And this flaw is the same as the mediocre people in Li Yang now." "On the other hand, Li Yishan is a Confucianist on the outside and a Legalist on the inside, mixed with the kingly way. This is the foundation of the Xu family's army, which enables Xu Xiao to withstand repeated defeats in the Spring and Autumn War. In the final analysis, Zhao Changling is just the face of the Xu family's cavalry, the icing on the cake. Li Yishan is an indispensable part of Beiliang, and he is helping Xu Xiao in times of trouble. People only say that Li Yishan is not good at conspiracy, but they don't know that if there was no Li Yishan in Beiliang, these 300,000 Beiliang cavalry, the best in the world, would have fallen apart long ago, or would have been used as wedding clothes for others."

Tan Tai calmly gave the answer, "This flaw is the people's will."

Xu Fengnian said: "Xu Xiao's life can be divided into two parts. He was crowned a king and became a vassal in the northwest border, which was the watershed. Before that, he worked hard for the old emperor Zhao Li of the Zhao family in Liyang, and trampled on various countries in the Spring and Autumn Period, sweeping them all into the dust of history. After that, the incense and friendship accumulated by the Xu and Zhao families for many years were almost gone. Zhao Dun won the battle for the throne. Before the new monarch ascended the throne, he had a grudge against the first meritorious minister of the previous dynasty. The Xu and Zhao families began to be strangers. Zhang Julu's ascension to the top of the temple opened the peak of the court's secret encirclement and suppression of the Beiliang border army. The imperial examination set a threshold for Beiliang scholars to enter the officialdom of the Central Plains. Cai Nan, a direct descendant of Gu Jiantang, and Zhao Ying, the King of Huainan, were appointed to work together to restrain Beiliang, and finally made the people of Beiliang Road, including the Xu family, become non-our kind. Living in a remote corner in the northwest of the Central Plains, they are hardly regarded as our country and our people by the Central Plains gentry."

"It's ridiculous. As the most powerful force in Liyang, the Liyang court has always regarded Beiliang, the border barrier of Liyang, as a major concern. The Xu family's cavalry, as the mainstay of the border with combat power better than the two Liao border armies, has never received financial support from the Central Plains. The Zhao family planted the root of the Guangling River rebellion. Although it secretly promoted the restoration of the Western Chu Kingdom and barely achieved the goal of weakening the two major forces of the vassal kings and military generals, the war was not going smoothly and the loss of Liyang's national strength was far beyond the expectations of the old Prime Minister Zhang Julu when he was alive. Western Chu went south to destroy the most powerful king among the kings, King Yanchi, and thus greatly increased its strength. The mediocre people in the Liyang court were completely unable to control the situation like Zhang Julu did. They even forced Zhang Bianguan into Western Chu. And this miscalculation will become a fatal mistake for Liyang."

Tan Tai calmly pointed out: "This is partly due to the handiwork of King Yan. Both Jiang Si's growth and Zhang Bianguan's military strategy were too unexpected."

Xu Fengnian shook his head and said, "Jiang Si and Zhang Bianguan are just helpers. The real cause of this situation from beginning to end is Liyang itself. The Zhao family of Liyang thought that they could do whatever they wanted by winning the hearts of scholars all over the world. Little did they know that the foundation for supporting them was the countless bones sacrificed in their so-called overall situation."

Xu Fengnian affirmed Huang Longshi's talent, "Huang Longshi is indeed a brilliant talent. The scheme he set up was considered foolproof even by the gods. But if you think you are foolproof, you are likely to fail. Complex problems have simple answers. If you have a simple answer, you naturally need to solve it in the simplest way."

At this point, Xu Fengnian asked again: "Now, do you still think that Emperor Ziwei's goal is to get rid of me and achieve hegemony while protecting Beiliang?"

(End of this chapter)