Do you know that my grandfather was entitled to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple?

Chapter 67 Assassination

Sheng Changbai's viewpoint isn't necessarily wrong; it's just that he's young and oversimplified things.

The imperial court was wary of military generals who wielded too much power, but it had no such reservations about allowing civil officials to control the military and political power of a region.

Is it simply because there have never been any successful examples of intellectuals rebelling throughout history?

Just because it didn't exist before doesn't mean it won't exist in the future.

The root cause is the promotion mechanism for civil servants.

Those who serve as local officials, such as county magistrates, prefectural governors, or governors, will be transferred to other places after their term of office expires, even if they are not promoted.

Moreover, their control over the army was not fixed.

He might be able to control a certain amount of the army now, but he might not be able to control it in the next position.

Moreover, if a civil official achieves political success and merits, his ultimate destination will be the central government.

But the military is different; the higher the rank, the more troops one can directly or indirectly control.

Although the military was also scattered in various places, its system was much simpler compared to that of the civil service.

Sheng Changbai's suggestion that Gu Tingye pursue literature seemed like a good idea.

However, once Gu Tingye takes a literary career, he may not have the opportunity to command the army in the future.

After all, not every civil official has the opportunity to directly command the army.

Even if he were to be appointed as the military commissioner of a border prefecture, what difference would it make?

When he served as the military commissioner, he was stationed in local areas and had limited say and influence in the imperial court.

If one has enough influence and voice in the court, their official position will certainly be high, but they will not have the opportunity to lead troops.

It was simply unrealistic for a civil official to better lead troops, or even spearhead a northern expedition to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

Sheng Changbai and Gu Tingye were both intelligent people, and when Wang You pointed out the problem, they quickly figured it out.

However, some of these issues were too sensitive, so the two tacitly refrained from discussing them further.

"Since Zecheng has some understanding of the border situation, have you thought about how to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun if we were to launch a northern expedition?" Gu Tingye changed the subject.

"Although I have done some research, it is still somewhat one-sided. Moreover, as the art of war says, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle.' I don't know much about the situation in Liao, and besides, if we want to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, Western Xia is also an unstable factor," Sheng Changbai said, shaking his head slightly.

Upon hearing this, Gu Tingye held Sheng Changbai in even higher regard.

He had been exposed to the situation from a young age and had a certain understanding of it.

If the Song and Liao dynasties were to go to war, the Western Xia would indeed be a potential threat.

This was true not only for the Song Dynasty, but also for the Liao Dynasty.

The Western Xia was a small country with barren land and a small population, but both the Song and Liao dynasties suffered losses at its hands.

If the two countries were truly willing to pay any price, the Western Xia would certainly be no match for them.

However, they were mutually restraining each other and neither dared to fully confront the Western Xia.

In fact, the existence of the Western Xia dynasty was also a major factor in the long-term peace between the Song and Liao dynasties.

"What you say is absolutely right."

Gu Tingye nodded and said, "Whether the Song or Liao side wants to launch a military campaign, they have to be wary of the Western Xia."

Furthermore, the Liao Dynasty lacked the capability to conquer the Song Dynasty, while the Song Dynasty, due to accumulated problems, was incapable of launching a northern expedition. Breaking this stalemate would be extremely difficult.

Wang You smiled but did not speak. The Treaty of Chanyuan has been viewed with mixed opinions throughout history.

Some say that even though the Song Dynasty won the war, it still had to pay tribute to the Liao Dynasty.

Although it doesn't sound like much, the problem of the "three redundancies" in the Song Dynasty was serious, and the annual tribute became the last straw.

Some say that a small amount of tribute was exchanged for lasting peace.

Given the lack of defensible terrain at the time, and the absence of the ability to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, the Song Dynasty was not prepared to do so.

Without the Treaty of Chanyuan, border clashes would have continued, and the annual military expenditures would have been far greater than this.

However, from another perspective, the Treaty of Chanyuan was actually an opportunity for the Song Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty.

After the Treaty of Chanyuan, the two countries maintained peace, but the nobility within the Liao Dynasty became severely corrupt.

As for the annual tribute paid by the Song Dynasty to the Liao Dynasty, it was nothing at all.

The Liao Kingdom relied heavily on the Song Dynasty for many of its resources, and the money earned from trade between the two countries far exceeded the annual tribute.

The Liao and Song dynasties also made money through trade, but the two countries had one thing in common: the imperial court only earned a small portion, while the majority of the profits went into the pockets of the nobles of both countries.

This is precisely why the corruption of the upper classes in both countries has been exacerbated.

If the Song Dynasty rulers had been stricter in this regard, even if the Song Dynasty couldn't solve its internal problems, the possibility of taking advantage of the Liao Dynasty's internal corruption to send troops to destroy the Liao Dynasty would have been very high.

It's gratifying that the two countries are simply competing to see who's the worst; yours is corrupt internally, but mine is even more corrupt.

Ultimately, they all perished at the hands of the Jin dynasty.

…………

Although the Yuan family's betrothal ceremony had some ups and downs, it was ultimately handled smoothly.

That night, Yuan Wenchun and his wife stayed in Yangzhou for one night, and the next day they took a boat back to Bianjing.

However, Gu Tingye did not leave. Instead, he used the excuse of sightseeing to stay in Yangzhou.

Since Gu Tingye came to Yangzhou with the Yuan family, he could also be considered a guest of the Sheng family.

Sheng Hong asked Gu Tingye to stay at the Sheng family home temporarily, but Gu Tingye refused. So Sheng Hong arranged for Sheng Changbai to be Gu Tingye's guide and take him sightseeing in Yangzhou.

After seeing the Yuan family off that day, Sheng Changbai invited Wang You to join him in leading Gu Tingye on a tour of Yangzhou's famous historical sites.

During his trip, Gu Tingye overheard that the fish in Baozhang Lake were delicious.

There are also many painted boats on the lake, where you can enjoy a whole fish feast while cruising on the lake, which is a unique experience.

So Gu Tingye suggested going to Baozhang Lake to enjoy the scenery and taste the fish.

Wang You's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing this, but he said nothing.

Sheng Changbai naturally wouldn't refuse, and immediately sent his entourage to secure the lake's location.

In the evening, the three of them traveled by car to Baozhang Lake and then took a small boat to a painted boat on the lake.

"The scenery of Baozhang Lake is indeed beautiful."

Gu Tingye smiled and said, "Taking a boat trip on the Bian River in Bianjing is not quite as enjoyable as visiting Baozhang Lake."

Unfortunately, we came at the wrong time; the scenery would have been even more beautiful in March or April.

"Indeed."

Wang You smiled and said, "The last time I came to Yangzhou was in March or April."

Everyone says West Lake is beautiful, and although I've never been there, I think Baozhang Lake is no less beautiful than West Lake; they each have their own unique charm.

"How can Baozhang Lake compare to West Lake?" Sheng Changbai chuckled.

After chatting and laughing for a while, Gu Tingye suggested that his attendants go down to have dinner.

"My attendant is named Shitou. Although his elder brother and sister-in-law used to work on boats and often ate fish, they're already tired of it. This painted boat is serving a whole fish feast, but he doesn't want to eat it, so let him serve here," Wang You said with a smile.

He's not stupid; he knew there might be assassins later, yet he still sent Shi Tou away.

Although the assassin's target is Gu Tingye, they won't attack them.

But in such a confined space, if a fight breaks out, who knows what unexpected things might happen?

With the stone there, and the fact that the other side's target wasn't him and Sheng Changbai, their safety could be guaranteed.

Now that Gu Tingye's identity has been completely exposed, it remains to be seen whether the Bai family will still dare to make a move.

Wang You thought it was highly likely, after all, money is a powerful motivator.

Upon hearing this, Gu Tingye glanced at the stone and laughed, "Your attendant is strong and has a very stable stance. His martial arts skills are quite impressive. I'd like to have a match with him sometime in the future."

Wang You chuckled to himself, thinking, "Stone is always on the boat, how could his stance be unstable?"

However, he was also curious whether Shi Tou could be a match for Gu Tingye in a real fight.

"Young master, be careful!"

Just then, Stone let out a cry of surprise.

As they spoke up to remind him, others also started to move.