The Grandmaster Strategist

Huocong, Marquis of Wenxiang, came from a humble background. In the 25th year of Emperor Taizu's military power, he was rescued by Sima Jiangzhe of Prince Yong's Palace and entered the palace. When he was young, he worked as a servant in Hanyuan. Later, Emperor Taizong gave Princess Changle of Ning a palace as a residence, while Cong still served in Hanyuan. He secretly read Zhe's manuscripts and books every day, which was discovered by Princess Zhaohua. The princess took pity on her and wrote to the Marquis of Chu Xiang about this matter. Zhe was moved when he heard about it. Pass the letter to the princess to teach her teacher Yan. Later, Zhe returned from the army. He was delighted after trying his articles, so he took him under his tutelage.

Although Zhe was known as a talented man in the world, his splendid articles were the best in the world, but he dabbled in many subjects, and was strict in nature. He only read classics and history.

——"Biography of Marquis Wenxiang in Yongshi"

At the end of December of the 27th year of Dayong Wuwei, the Zezhou camp was full of joy. After several years of stalemate, they finally achieved a victory. The lieutenants and officers in the army were all smiling. What's more, the emperor sent a decree to reward the three armies, and all the sergeants were Their wallets were full, and the victory and rewards made the Zezhou soldiers feel proud.

After Long Tingfei withdrew from Zezhou, King Li Xian of Qi ordered to camp at the border of Qinzhou before the snow fell. After a month of fighting with 300,000 Yong troops and 200,000 people recruited from Zezhou, a hundred-mile camp was built. , this time, the Yong Army will never allow the Northern Han Army to enter Zezhou again. As the New Year approaches, although the Zezhou camp is heavily defended, it still allows sergeants to take turns to go out. Although there are no towns nearby, profit-seeking businessmen have already established a temporary market. Although the temporary houses are simple, they are very warm. There are hotels, brothels, casinos, and all kinds of goods for sale. The King of Qi is not opposed to the emergence of the market. After all, without these, winter will be sad, but for the sake of safety, he still sent troops to the market. The city was under control to prevent spies from the Northern Han Dynasty from taking the opportunity to enter and spy on the military situation. Although no military order was issued, everyone knew that the attack on the Northern Han Dynasty next spring was already a certainty.

In the Chinese army camp, I was leaning on the soft couch and reading letters from home. This time the emperor sent someone to convey the decree and commendation, and he also brought letters from home. Changle and Roulan both had letters, although they really wanted to see what Roulan had written. What, but the longing for Changle has already filled my heart. So I opened Princess Changle’s letter first.

Princess Changle's letter was very long, actually covering seven pieces of silk. Judging from the condition of the ink, it seemed that it was not written at once. It might have been written randomly, and she wrote a few lines every day before following the messenger.

"My journey was quite smooth, except that Shen'er was occupied by Master Cizhen. I rarely see my concubine several times throughout the day. Shen'er has been able to walk, but not for long. When my husband returns home, I should be able to see Shen'er walking alone.

…

The third brother Wang treated Lin'er rather coldly. Although the concubine was dissatisfied, the brother and sister had not seen each other for many years. Brother Wang was ordered to take the concubine back to Beijing, so he could not dissuade her, so he had to keep Lin'er and Roulan around. I am worried in my heart. The third brother Wang is now extremely powerful, but he hates the sixth brother endlessly. I am afraid that the incident involving the brothers visiting the wall will happen again.

…

After getting the emperor's secret letter, there were rumors in the capital that Zezhou was defeated. I knew that my husband was in Zezhou, so it would not be like this. However, the rumors spread and people were panicked. I had no choice but to slow down my journey and meet local officials and their families along the way.

…

When the prince is welcomed in the suburbs, the ceremony is so important. I feel guilty both physically and mentally. Although the prince is young, he is smart and kind. Roulan and the prince are childhood sweethearts. When they meet again, they are still as close as before. Although Lin'er is aloof and arrogant, the prince treats her with sincerity. Lin'er is already a brother to the prince. The emperor's brother ordered Lin'er to accompany the prince in reading, which caused considerable criticism in the capital.

…

There was an incident that made me uneasy. Sima Ai, a noble daughter of the former Shu, killed a pregnant talent. Although the queen stopped her, the talent died after giving birth. The second prince was pitiful because his biological mother was humble and she was an innocent victim. Fortunately, Cheng Chongrong rescued her. My sister-in-law has asked the second prince to take Cheng Chongrong as his mother. However, Sima Ma'ai killed the prince and his biological mother. Her crime was not a light one. According to the laws of the country and palace regulations, she should be killed with a cane.

However, the brothers of the three kings came to plead for mercy, saying that guarding Dongchuan required the help of Shu families. Sima's achievements were outstanding. If he killed his daughter, fear of chaos in Dongchuan, the emperor's sister-in-law had no choice but to pardon her death penalty. However, everyone in the queen mother's heart hates her, and the emperor's brother will not have a prosperous heir. If he is so appeased, there will be many troubles in the future. When I arrived in Beijing, my mother and queen took care of me.

The emperor's sister-in-law secretly conveyed the holy will, so I killed my concubine in the cold palace that night. Although it was the emperor's order, I still couldn't feel at ease. I am afraid that the three kings and brothers will hate me. I am loved and protected by my father and brother, and I am fine. I only worry about it affecting my husband. I hope that my husband will do it.

…

I heard that the Southern Chu army was attacking Jiameng Pass, and the emperor's brother had sent the three prince brothers back to Dongchuan. However, I was uneasy. Her husband's previous letter mentioned Lu Can's unfeeling affair. This son has been a general for generations, and he has been personally appointed by his husband. Regarding the art of war, I am afraid that Dongchuan will not be defeated, and there is a rift between the three prince brothers and the royal family. I see that his thoughts are deep, and I am afraid of changes in Dongchuan. I should not interfere with military and state affairs. However, if Dongchuan is in chaos, the war in the Northern Han Dynasty will be difficult. Hey, I can't bear to have you guard for a long time, so I'm really worried.

…

Today, Hai Zhongying secretly came to Beijing to meet me and asked Zhou Shangyi to be his wife. I had heard that the two of them were deeply in love, but Shangyi's name was still on the palace roster. Hai family went to sea all the year round. Businessmen valued profits over separation. Concubine I was hesitant both physically and mentally, so I didn't make the matter clear. Now that Haishi is sincere, I will take the initiative and make the decision. The day before yesterday, I asked my mother, Empress Yi, to remove Duanniang's name, and the marriage is scheduled to be completed at the end of the year. However, although the family affairs include Manager Dong and Xiao The six sons are taking care of her, but the inner house still needs female officials. The queen has promoted a good person from the inner court to a female official in the palace. Although this is a great favor, I don't know what my husband wants, so I dare not agree.

…

"

I read the letter and sighed softly. Changle was overthinking it. She was worried that the emperor wanted to arrange personal surveillance around me. In fact, there were at least hundreds of maids and generals in the princess's palace, and they were arranged by the queen herself before entering the capital. Yeah, you want to plant a spy so unknowingly, why bother to do it so obviously? Besides, the female officer chosen by the Queen must be smart and capable, and it will definitely save Changle from having to worry about it. It is very important to me to keep such a person. There are only benefits. Even if this person is responsible for surveillance, it doesn't matter. I have nothing to hide. Besides, judging from Sima Ai's incident, the emperor and the empress regarded Changle as their right-hand man. In this way, It is inevitable to have some secret messages, and it is even more desirable to have such a person who can leave a channel to pass the messages.

I picked up my pen and wrote a reply, asking Changle to preside over the marriage of Hai Zhongying and Zhou Shangyi on my behalf. In addition, the queen's kindness must be accepted. As for Prince Qing's matter, I didn't mention it. I didn't want Changle to worry about military affairs. These things are natural. The emperor has to worry about it, and I won’t go to Dongchuan. Just kidding, my reputation there is probably very bad. I have not forgotten about the king of Shu. However, the Jinxiu Alliance is developing well in Dongchuan and Shu. But some time ago There is no special information coming. It seems that I should urge Chen Zhen.

After writing the reply to Changle, I picked up Roulan's letter again. After opening it, I almost became angry after reading a few lines. This little girl actually said proudly in the letter that she had complained to the queen. She said that I did not allow her to write to the prince, and the queen promised that she would teach me a lesson after I returned to Beijing.

Fortunately, the rest of the story was about boasting to me about the Emperor taking her out incognito to have fun. It seemed that the Emperor was not an ordinary dote on Roulan. The joy was described as being there in person. In addition, it was just a joy for the three children to play together after the prince came back from the south study room. I felt a little bit sour in my heart. This little girl was always at ease in everything, and she seemed to be born to defeat me. She was having so much fun that she actually didn't forget to complain.

At the end, there is a strange thing written. Roulan mentioned that she sneaked to Hanyuan to play. Because it was my former residence, there are still many documents and precious books in it, so it has been there for several years. Protected and organized by dedicated personnel. Because Li Lin listened to the class for several days and actually laughed at her for not knowing poetry, Roulan was so angry that she wanted to go to my study to find a rare book to embarrass Li Lin. Because I have not returned to Beijing, the ban on Hanyuan is still there. It worked. Roulan sneaked in. After all, Hanyuan's defense couldn't be as tight as before. But Roulan discovered an interesting thing. There was a little boy who secretly looked at my anthology and book collection when no one was looking. Roulan originally wanted to send this little boy to Changle, but after checking, she found out that this little boy is called Huo Cong. I brought him into Prince Yong's Mansion. He has been arranging flowers and trees in Hanyuan for the past two or three years. Roulan thought about it. She thought that if this matter was known, Huo Cong would definitely be kicked out. Although she was naughty, she was soft-hearted and did not want to tell the truth, so she forced Huo Cong to explain the article to him. According to Roulan, Huo Cong explained it better than I'm fine because she can understand.

Seeing this, I couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Back then, I met Donghai and King Qing's subordinates and rescued an orphan. This child had a pair of stubborn and good eyes, but at that time, I was focused on seizing the direct descendant and didn't pay attention to this at all. Child, I remember that this child later became a servant of Prince Yong's Mansion, and because he was very good at taking care of flowers and trees, I saw him one time and casually asked him to enter the Hanyuan to serve the flowers and trees. But I haven't paid attention to this child. I didn't expect that he is still in Hanyuan, and from Roulan's words, he is a studious and motivated child.

I think I, Jiang Zhe, have a reputation as a talented man, but several of my named disciples are all military generals. Needless to say Roulan, if she is interested in reading, will I not teach her, Shen'er, even though she is young? , but it doesn’t look like the seeds of studying. Now that I am under the disciple of Master Cizhen, I should have no problem becoming a martial arts master in the future. When it comes to articles, I don’t have any extravagant hopes. After thinking about it, I have so much knowledge that I don’t have a successor. When I thought of this, I took out the letter to the princess and asked her to ask the teacher to read it for Huo Cong. I decided in my heart that if Huo Cong is really good, I will accept it. If I don’t like this disciple, there’s nothing wrong with cultivating a talented person, right?

After putting down the letter from home, I took out the emperor's secret letter. What it said was exactly the current situation. There was no warning before Nan Chu sent troops this time. It was thanks to the emperor's robbery of Jianye. Although the Nan Chu court officials were very fond of Dayong. Fear, but it is more fear than hatred. In fact, the government affairs of Nanchu are now in the hands of Shang Weijun. This person is probably eager to buy peace with gold and silver. In the past few years, Nanchu has not paid the five yuan that he routinely paid every year. In addition to a million taels of silver compensation, various precious tributes, including women's gold and silk, must be sent to me. The taxes collected by the government for my business in Nanchu have tripled in the past few years, although there are still Lu Can and Rong Yuan. Such a military commander has almost no increase in military strength. There is nothing that can be done about it. The supplies, food and wages required by the army are so huge. If you don’t have money, you can’t even think about raising an army. But I still have to admire Lu Can. He has served in the past two years. He established farming in the middle of Shu and engaged in smuggling business through Yangtze River water and sea transportation. He earned a lot of gold and silver. Not only did he train an elite army, but he could also support Rong Yuan who was guarding Jingxiang. Of course, not many people know about this matter. Lu Can is very strict about it. Even Shang Weijun, the powerful prime minister of Nan Chu who dominates the world, is not very clear. After all, the Nan Chu army can be said to be the world of the Lu family. If Shang Weijun If they press too hard, civil strife will break out in Nanchu before Dayong goes south. As for me knowing this matter, it is really because both Tianji Pavilion and Jinxiu Alliance are involved, but I don’t want to stop this matter. Not to mention that this business brings me millions of silver every year, and I can control the financial resources of the Nanchu army. I am already very proud. I can cut off Nanchu's smuggling route at any time if necessary. In this way, the Nanchu army will be stretched thin without money and food. However, such a sharp weapon must be used at critical moments. I don't want to use Nan Chu's troops to suppress Dongchuan this time. After all, Dayong cannot fight on both sides. Before the Northern Han Dynasty is peaceful, Nan Chu's hope cannot be cut off.

After reading the emperor's secret letter and the military information transferred from the Ministry of War, I suddenly had a strange feeling in my heart. How could it be such a coincidence? The Northern Han Dynasty was newly defeated, the Southern Chu was raising troops, and King Qing's behavior was so weird. As far as I know, , this King Qing has the ability to run in Dongchuan for many years, even when Fengyi Sect is at its peak, he can't do anything to him. How can such a person easily reveal his differences with the royal family? It doesn't matter that he hates King Qi, but he doesn't It was time for a change when the King of Qi sent troops to the Northern Han Dynasty. Although a Sima Ai was a noble daughter of the former Shu, she made such a big mistake after the fall of the country. Logically speaking, let alone being killed with a death stick, she was punished. The Sima family is also a matter of course. King Qing only needs to ask that Sima Ai’s clan not be held accountable, which is already a rare favor. A daughter should not let the Sima family make the decision to break with the Yong court. Why do I think Qing Is Wang's approach a bit too arrogant? There must be a connection between these three things, but I couldn't figure it out at the moment.

After thinking for a long time, I still felt that I had no clue, so I put down the paperwork and walked out of the tent. It was almost dusk at this time. The air outside was very cold and the air-conditioning hit my face. I shivered. The climate in the north is really difficult. Although I left Nanchu It has been many years, but I still am not used to the cold in the North. The cold wind made my mind clearer. I simply walked around aimlessly without thinking about anything. As I was walking, I suddenly saw Xiao Shunzi walking into a small tent with his head lowered. I suddenly felt curious. He has been missing for the past few days. I originally thought he was practicing some new moves, but unexpectedly... Here, I looked around, and it turned out that I had walked to the place where important prisoners were detained, but what was Xiao Shunzi doing here?

Although I knew that no evil should be seen, I was really curious and deliberately walked not far from the camp. Although the distance was still quite far, at least the guards around me couldn't hear what was said inside, but I could Listen carefully, I looked like I was deep in thought, as if I was still thinking about tactics, but my mind was all on my ears, listening carefully to what was going on inside.

Ling Duan was lying on the bed, his eyes full of coldness and sorrow. He was the only survivor of the ghost riders beside General Ghost Face. He still clearly remembers that at the last moment, the war horses were lost and only a few ghost riders were left. Protecting the general against countless horses and sabers, his colleagues around him lost their lives one by one. Finally, only the general and himself were left on the battlefield. In fact, Ling Duan still couldn't believe that he could survive until that time. Yong Jun shouted "Capture Tan Ji alive" and surrounded him. The general protected himself behind him. Although he could temporarily protect the general's back, the general clearly took over most of the attack. At that moment, Ling Duan realized that the general was trying his best to protect himself. Ling Duan was grateful and ashamed in his heart. I can defend with all my strength. Unless I die, I can't let anyone hurt the general's back. This is Ling Duan's only thought. The last Dayong general seemed to see the weakness of the general, and turned to attack him fiercely. Just when his horse was about to pierce his throat, the general blocked the fatal blow with his arm. But this way, the situation becomes even more dangerous. In the midst of the siege of thousands of troops, with no horses and serious injuries, how can there be any hope of survival. Within a moment, he was stabbed to the ground, but the general stood there motionless. Chang Ge turned into a copper wall and an iron wall, protecting himself from the red-eyed Yong soldiers who would casually take his life. Even after his death, he still protected him with his body. Ling Duan, who couldn't move, looked at him so closely as he danced with his sword, taking away countless lives, watching him being surrounded and killed. From beginning to end, the general didn't say a word, but Ling Duan clearly saw the general's eyes filled with emotion. It was a look of encouragement, a look that told you to take care of yourself. When Tan Ji fell to the ground, Ling Duan fainted.

In fact, when Ling Duan woke up in Dayong's military camp, there was also a hint of joy in the midst of grief and humiliation. He had not fully appreciated the beauty of life. After all, death was not what he hoped for, but his fate after being captured was different. What will happen? He will not hold grudges against those Dayong soldiers, because the general has long said that those who kill will always be killed. That day, as a ghost rider, he suffered countless wronged souls under the long sword. Today, although the general and his colleagues died in the hands of the Yong army, Even his two brothers died in the battle, but Ling Duan did not resent Yong Jun. He only hated the sky. Why did the world have war and let the lives of ordinary people like himself be as low as ants. Of course, Ling Duan does not hate Yong Jun, but he is not grateful to Yong Jun for saving him. If there is a chance, Ling Duan still hopes to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy again. The general said that any hatred will be settled on the battlefield. But it is not so easy to escape. If you become a prisoner of war, you will be sent to hard labor even if you are not executed. How can you possibly go back to Northern Han Dynasty?

Not to mention what Ling Duan was thinking, he did not live in this camp alone. All the prisoners were imprisoned in the military camp. Regardless of their superiority or inferiority, there were twelve people in each camp. There were no beds or lights, and there were only a few prisoners with special status. Ling Duan received such treatment mostly because he was a ghost rider next to Tan Ji, but the other prisoner living with him was a bit strange. That person was a senior officer in the Quartz Camp. His name is Li Hu. Although this man is brave, he is reckless and his position is low. How could he be specially imprisoned? But this man was a subordinate of Shi Ying, and Tan Ji and Shi Ying were at odds with each other the most, so Ling Duan was unwilling to pay attention to him. Until the man came to life and said proudly, his supervisor of Dayong, the Marquis of Chu Xiang, was hit by the water. Although he did not succeed in taking that man's life, Li Hu was still very proud. Now Ling Duan understood and looked at this fool with sympathy, although he did not know exactly who the Marquis of Chu Xiang was. What a character, but he was obviously treating this kid's injuries to make him look good, just like fattening a pig before killing it. But after thinking about it, he still didn't tell this young guy about his slim future. After all, he A person's life is no longer his own. It would be of no use if he had known about it. It would be better to let him feel comfortable for a few more days.

While he was thinking wildly, someone walked in at this time. This person was a young man in green clothes. He had an elegant appearance, a bit feminine, but his expression was as frosty, as lonely as the snow in the cold sky. Ling Duan only took one look and lay down again. Go down, that man comes often these days, and strange to say, every time this man comes, he only asks how the two of them are injured, and then leaves after chatting a few words. Although his attitude is cold, there is no trace of contempt. Every time he came, he would bring good medicine and some exquisite food. Ling Duan found that since this man came here often, there seemed to be more sergeants guarding him, and their attitudes were all respectful. From these remarks, one could tell that the identity of this person must be different. However, when I asked the sergeants outside, they were all stern and no one was willing to talk about that person. However, although this man was kind, Ling Duan was not willing to get close to him at all. Perhaps because of his many years of fighting on the battlefield, Ling Duan was very sensitive to danger. He could feel that although the man had an elegant appearance and no murderous intent in his expression, he was deep in his heart. But he is a person who does not value human life. As for Li Hu, he didn't seem to like seeing this person very much. It's not that he was that smart. Once, Ling Duan heard Li Hu muttering something like "sissy". It seemed that his rough and arrogant temper was offended. He couldn't stand it. This kind of people just exist. The man who came in today was a little different from before. His hands were empty and he didn't bring anything. Although he didn't speak, Ling Duan could feel the coldness coming from his bones. He couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart. He must have been ready to tear off his mask today. He glanced at Li Hu sympathetically. Ling Duan could feel that this person's target was not him.