Li Kexiu exchanged a few more pleasantries with the Southern Song delegation before rising to take his leave. Song Qingshu intended to remain and see whether he could learn more from the Southern Song envoys.
After seeing Li Kexiu off, Lu You asked Han Tuozhou with a worried expression, "Prime Minister Han, after winning Li Kexiu over, are we really going to honor our agreement with Wu Sangui and launch a northern expedition against the Qing?"
Song Qingshu was startled. If the Southern Song truly launched a northern expedition, the Golden Snake Camp in Shandong would bear the brunt of it. When the time came, should he grant them passage or not? If he did, the Qing were his own holdings, and caught between Wu Sangui and the Southern Song, they would likely collapse completely. If he refused, war with the Southern Song would be inevitable. Setting aside the outcome of the fighting, the more important issue was the damage to his reputation.
After the fall of the Ming, the Southern Song was now the only remaining Han Chinese regime in the world. A northern expedition represented political righteousness. If the Golden Snake Camp obstructed it, it would likely be reviled by Han Chinese everywhere. That would truly leave him suffering in silence.
Worried, Song Qingshu hurriedly pricked up his ears and continued listening.
Han Tuozhou smiled and shook his head. "Wuguan, you are too straightforward. Great Song has no conflict of interest with the Qing, so why should we make a wedding dress for Wu Sangui? Rather than confront Wu Sangui head-on after destroying the Qing, we should sit back and watch them both bleed each other dry."
Lu You frowned. "But this opportunity is once in a thousand years. It would be a great pity to miss it.