In the early years of the Song Dynasty, Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, bowed down to Zhao Kuangyin, the Taizu of the Song Dynasty, and sent people to pay tribute every year.
At that time, there were three famous scholars in the Southern Tang Dynasty, Xu Yanxiu, Xu Xuan, and Xu Kai, who were called "Three Xu" at the time. Among these three, Seo Hyun is the most famous.
In this year, Li Yu sent Xu Xuan to pay tribute, and according to the custom, the Song Dynasty government sent an escort envoy to follow him. The courtiers in the court have heard of Xu Xuan's name for a long time, and they are afraid that their eloquence and words are not as good as Xu Xuan, so no one is willing to go.
The prime minister in charge of this matter was also very difficult, and in the end, he really had no choice, so he handed over this problem to Zhao Kuangyin.
After Zhao Kuangyin listened to the prime minister's report, he said: Okay, you can step down, and I will deal with this matter.
It didn't take long for Zhao Kuangyin to send an edict to the palace front division, that is, the official office in charge of the name of the Praetorian Guard in front of the palace, asking him to prepare a list of ten illiterate guards to enter the palace.
After getting the list, Zhao Kuangyin pointed to one of the names and said: This person can do it, just let him go.
The ministers were dumbfounded, but Zhao Kuangyin had already decided, and they didn't dare to say anything more.
For some reason, the guards who became escorts crossed the river and joined Xu Xuan at the urging of their superiors.
Along the way, Xu Xuan talked eloquently, and the people accompanying him were amazed by his erudition and eloquence, but the guards didn't say a word, because he couldn't understand what Xu Xuan was saying at all, so he could only nod his head in agreement.
Xu Xuan didn't notice it at first, he was still chattering, and after a few days, he was silent when he saw that the guards didn't squeak.
Regarding this matter, Yue Ke, that is, Yue Fei's grandson, once commented like this.
He said: At that time, there was no shortage of well-educated people in the imperial court, such as Tao Gu and Dou Yi, and if they were sent to defend themselves, would it be as difficult as Xu Xuan? This is also a superior strategy to surrender without a fight, right?
Indeed, if Zhao Kuangyin sent a person who could speak well to argue with Xu Xuan, if he lost, he would lose his national body and win, it would not be a glorious thing in terms of the huge strength gap between the two countries at that time.
Moreover, since ancient times, literati have been inferior to each other, and even if Xu Xuan loses, he may not be really convinced.
Zhao Kuangyin's clever strategy of foolishness and wisdom is also reflected in him.
When the Song Dynasty sent troops to destroy the Southern Tang Dynasty, Li Yu twice sent Xu Xuan to the Song Dynasty in order to seek peace.
For the first time, Xu Xuan said to Zhao Kuangyin: Your Majesty, like a son and a father, has never made any mistakes, so why should I see it?
Zhao Kuangyin replied directly: You think that the father and son are divided into two families, but what?
Just one sentence made Xu Xuan speechless.
The second time he made the Song Dynasty, Xu Xuan tried his best to excuse Li Yu, saying that Li Yu did not refuse the edict, but because he was sick. In the end, Zhao Kuangyin drew his sword and stood up, angrily reprimanding Xu Xuan: "No need to say more! What is the crime of the lord of Jiangnan? It's just a surname in the world, lying on the side of the couch, and not allowing others to sleep soundly!"
Look, since you can't argue, let's tell the truth, and the result is simple and straightforward, which immediately shut up Xu Xuan.
Zhao Kuangyin's wisdom can be seen from this.
In fact, this technique can also be widely used in life, especially for those who like to talk and chatter, just ignore him, when he does not exist, he can naturally retreat.
(Image source: Internet, invasion and deletion)