Chapter 2: The Metamorphosis of Thought

  Du He saw that Du Ru Hui not only didn't help him come up with a plan, but instead boosted others' morale and undermined his own prestige. Overwhelmed with emotions, he stared blankly at the letter lying quietly on the stone table, standing frozen in the empty courtyard.

  After a moment of silence, Du He's heart was not convinced, but he had to admit that Du Ru Hui was telling the truth.

  How can I go to the imperial palace and persuade Li Shimin with such a casual attitude? If there is no convincing argument, what can make him change his mind? It should be known that Li Shimin is the emperor, one word is nine tripod cauldrons, how can he easily go back on his words?

  He took a few steps forward and picked up the letter left by Du Ruhui.

  When he opened the book, but couldn't calm down to read, just casually glanced at it for a few moments, suddenly a few lines of text caught his attention: "Those who are good at guessing emotions must use their most happy times to infer their deepest desires; those who have desires cannot hide their emotions. They must use their most fearful times to infer their greatest dislikes; those who have dislikes cannot hide their emotions. Emotions and desires will inevitably reveal themselves through changes. If one is moved but doesn't know what's changing, they should not speak with the person, but rather ask those close to them, knowing what brings them peace. The changes in emotions are reflected on the outside, so it is often possible to infer the hidden emotions from the visible signs, this is called probing deeply and understanding emotions."

  Du He's expression changed drastically, and when he turned over to look at the title on the letter, he saw the three ancient characters "Gui Gu Zi".

  Suddenly, I understood Du Ruhui's intention and my heart was stirred. "Guiguzi" is a book left by Guiguzi, a master of a strange skill. Guiguzi, whose surname is Wang and first name is Xian, was the founder of the school of vertical and horizontal alliances. He often entered the Yunmeng Mountains to collect medicine and cultivate his Taoist skills. Because he lived in seclusion in the Ghost Valley of Qingxi, he called himself Master Guigu. His two most famous disciples were Su Qin and Zhang Yi: one relied on his silver tongue to unite the six states of Eastern China and hang the seals of their ministers, leading the various states to jointly resist Qin and becoming famous for a time; while the other relied on his strategic thinking and persuasive skills to cause the alliance of the six states to collapse, making an immortal contribution to the state of Qin.

  Speaking is also a skill, take Su Qin for example, he was born in a poor family and was the son of a farmer, but he could hang the seals of six countries, while Zhang Yi was just a noble of the Wei state, but he became the first prime minister of the Qin state, they all relied on their mouths.

  A sharp tongue is as good as ten thousand brave soldiers.

  Thinking of Su Qin and Zhang Yi, Du He's hand trembled slightly, holding his breath and concentrating, he continued to read seriously.

  "When speaking with the wise, rely on breadth; with the knowledgeable, rely on clarity; with the eloquent, rely on concision; with the noble, rely on dignity; with the wealthy, rely on loftiness; with the poor, rely on benefit; with the lowly, rely on humility; with the brave, rely on boldness; with the foolish, rely on sharpness. This is the method, but people often do the opposite.

  Therefore, when speaking with the wise, one should use this to enlighten them; when speaking with the unwise, one should use this to instruct them; and it is very difficult to achieve. Thus, words have many categories, and affairs have many changes. Therefore, one can speak all day without losing their category, and handle affairs without disorder; one can spend all day without changing, and not lose their main point.

  Therefore, wisdom values not forgetting; listening values acuteness; speech values uniqueness."

  Upon reading this, Du He's mind was shocked. These words were too right! To make others agree with oneself, one must first "guess their feelings" and understand their psychology, only then can one propose suggestions that hit the nail on the head. After carefully savoring these words, a chill ran down his spine as he thought to himself: if he hadn't grasped Li Shimin's thoughts, didn't understand why he wanted to form an alliance with Tibet through marriage, and rashly went to reason with him, not only would it be pointless, but it would also make Li Shimin feel resentful. If he could first grasp Li Shimin's psychology and then choose the right way to advise him, he would naturally be able to achieve his goal of persuading him.

  That's the art of speaking.

  Du He is no longer reckless, but rather calm and serious, starting from the beginning to read "Gui Gu Zi" The whole book is divided into twelve chapters: Bian Bi, Fan Ying, Nei Gong, Di Xi, Fei Zhen, Wu He, Chuang Pian, Mo Pian, Quan Pian, Mou Pian, Jue Pian, and Fu Yan. It is a book that studies the strategies and tactics of social and political struggles, and the techniques of speaking and debating.

  Time slipped away unnoticed, and after finishing "Guiguzi", night had already fallen.

  Du He closed his eyes and savored the key points in the book.

  To her surprise, the scattered ideas seemed to have converged into a river of thought, with various solutions emerging in her mind. After this period of quiet contemplation, Du He felt as if a weight had been lifted from her eyes, and everything suddenly became clear.

  A book "Guiguzi" made Du He's thoughts undergo a substantial transformation, no longer confined to the things he saw in front of him, looking at problems more deeply and further. For Du He, this was not easy on his spiritual marrow-washing and bone-changing, laying an extremely solid foundation for his future rise to prominence.

  Du He walked back and forth, no longer being confused by emotions, but thinking about Li Shimin's true thoughts. Li Shimin was known as the greatest emperor in history, a powerful ruler of his time. He wouldn't be manipulated by anyone, nor would he recklessly entertain the idea of marriage unless it was beneficial.

  "To persuade him, we must find the interests that are in common with Tibet and our own! As long as we find these common interests, we can fundamentally discover the problem, then refute it, persuade him, and solve the problem."

  This is the Vertical and Horizontal Alliance, a ruthless and cold-blooded political doctrine, also known as "The Art of War for Ruling People"!

  Du He's mind kept flashing back to Li Shimin's actions in history. He wanted to understand Li Shimin, his thoughts and his goals.

  From Li Shimin's accession to the throne, all the way to the conquest of Liaodong, the attack on Kucha, and the defeat of Goguryeo, etc., suddenly his eyes lit up, and everything became clear.

  "Ah-ha!" Du He slapped his thigh and exclaimed in a low voice: "I understand now!"

  Li Shimin was a generation of heroes, with a broad-minded and wise monarch who had a grand strategy in his heart, that is, to conquer the Western Regions and subdue Goguryeo. Therefore, the strategic goal of the Great Tang Dynasty lies in the north, on the Silk Road, in Liaodong, and its objects are Gaochang, Khotan, Dashi, Goguryeo, Turkic, Xueyantuo, etc., which block Li Shimin's ambition to conquer the Western Regions and subdue Goguryeo.

  The Tubo region was barren and located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which was not suitable for the people of the Central Plains at all, so Li Shimin didn't even have the idea of conquering them.

  The Tubo gradually became stronger, but compared with the Great Tang Dynasty, it was still far behind.

  Li Shimin never took Li Xueyan's radish seriously. Compared to him, what is that radish?

  However, if he wants to expand northward, then he must ensure stability in the rear.

  So he wants to ally with his relatives and form an alliance with Tubo, so that the Great Tang has a stable rear, and then he can achieve his own ambitions.

  Was Li Shimin wrong?

  No, he did the right thing.

  At this moment, Duhe truly felt Li Shimin's ambition and extraordinary foresight.

  Historically, due to the marriage alliance with Tubo, the Tang Dynasty and Tubo were in a state of peace. Although Tubo became powerful as a result, the Great Tang also had a stable rear and was able to launch a series of external wars.

  Li Shimin simply overlooked one thing.

  He Li Shimin is a monarch of all ages. Under his rule, the majestic wind of Zhenguan made the great Tang dynasty shake the world, and no one could match it.

  What about his descendants?

  Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Empress Wu Zetian, and even Emperor Xuanzong of Tang were all extraordinary figures, but how could they possess the ability of Li Shimin to make the four barbarians surrender?

  When Li Shimin was alive, Tubo was as gentle as a sheep. After Li Shimin's death, it didn't take long for Tubo to show its sharp teeth.

  Du He smiled confidently, which made Li Shimin understand his idea, just like finding the root of a patient's disease, and then there was only symptomatic treatment left.

  Haha!

  Thank you for everyone's support, this book has officially entered the top three of the new book chart and achieved quite good results.

  A single "thank you" is truly insufficient to express the gratitude in my heart.

  So the second generation decided, next week will still explode, at least three updates a day.

  Tomorrow is Monday, and the battle for the new book list starts again. It's the most critical first day of rushing to the list, so let's get everyone's support once more!

  Starting point. Welcome, book lovers! The latest, fastest and hottest serialized works are all on the starting point of original works!