The Grandmaster Strategist

In December of the 19th year of Xian De, the Southern Chu army fought in Luocheng. At that time, Yong Wang Li Zhi fought at Jiameng Pass. Not long ago, there were rumors that Yong and Shu generals were making peace. Prince Zhao Jue of De was very uneasy and asked for advice. Jiang Zhe talked secretly for a long time. The next day, the Chu army attacked the city in a hurry. On December 19, Luocheng was defeated. General Wei Xianzhong lay in wait. The next morning, they attacked the city again. General Long Bu misheard the intelligence and went out to pursue. They were lured into a tight siege. After a day of fighting, the men and horses were trapped. Prince De personally called for surrender in front of the battle line. Long refused and committed suicide in anger. The king sighed and personally collected the bones and buried them in Luocheng.

On December 25, Jiameng Pass learned that Luocheng had fallen, and the Shu army had no intention of fighting. On December 28, Jiameng Pass fell. At this point, Shu had no barrier anymore. Someone Yun Jiangzhe once proposed two strategies to destroy the city and alienate people at this time. Later, he met Rong Yuan, an aide to the old prince, and asked about it. Rong pondered for a long time and said that it was true. However, he refused to tell the details of the two strategies. Not long ago , Rong died of illness, and someone went to offer sacrifices to him. His son spoke to his father on behalf of his father. Jiang Suiyun was a genius in the world, but Prince Xide did not dare to use it.

--"History of Chu in the Southern Dynasties Biography of Jiang Suiyun"

I put down my pen, and Han Zhang had already walked out. He opened the courtyard door and saw a general wearing yellow gold armor and white brocade robes standing outside. Behind this man stood a black-robed Confucian scholar, and behind the two After that, there was a group of personal guards wearing white armor. Han Zhang had been in the Nanchu Army for nearly a month. Why didn't he know the identity of this person? He felt uneasy and silently opened the door and stood aside. Zhao Jue just glanced at him and walked into the room. Rong Yuan followed him in with a gesture. The other guards immediately surrounded Jiang Zhe's study.

I didn't hear Han Zhang's announcement, and just when I was feeling strange, I saw Zhao Jue walking in. I quickly stood up according to etiquette, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I came to my humble residence. I am not welcomed by the clouds, so please forgive me." "

Zhao Jue first saluted and said, "Zhao Jue has been busy with military affairs recently and has not come to check on Mr. Jiang's condition. Please forgive me."

I said calmly: "The prince holds a heavy army and is busy with everything. He has no time to take care of his subordinates. I don't know what advice I have here today."

Zhao Jue glanced at Rong Yuan, and Rong Yuan quickly stepped forward and said apologetically: "Master Jiang, I have been neglectful a lot recently, please forgive me."

I said naturally: "Mr. Rong, there is no need to be polite. Since you two are here in person, you must have important military matters. Please speak frankly."

Rong Yuan glanced at me ashamedly and said: "Shu sent envoys to see King Yong Li Zhi and asked for peace. Li Zhi didn't agree, but he didn't refuse either." As he said that, he handed me a lot of information, which was very detailed, even There are dialogues between Li Zhi and Yang Can. After reading it, I couldn't help but smile. This Yang Can's name is the same as that of my first student Lu Can, and his personality is similar. He is both a threat and an inducement. It's just such a pity, I sighed: "The people in Shu are beautiful, but it's a pity that the Lord of Shu cannot use talented people. Now that the country is in danger, these talented people still don't abandon Shu. No wonder people say that Shu people are loyal."

Zhao Jue asked: "Why, has Suiyun already seen that Dayong will not accept Shu's peace proposal?"

I smiled and said: "If King Yong wanted to agree to peace, he would ask what the benefits would be. But King Yong only asked about talents in Shu, and he clearly intended to recruit talents to govern Shu, so King Yong would not agree to peace. "

Zhao Jue frowned and said: "Then why did King Yong let such news spread? If I, Nanchu, knew about it, it would be a bit..."

I said calmly: "King Yong is really powerful. He deliberately allowed such rumors to spread. I'm afraid he wanted Nanchu to know. As far as I know, our Nanchu did not seriously attack the city during this period. I think the prince We hope that if King Yong captures Jiameng Pass in a bloody battle, then the defenders of Luocheng will be affected and can no longer defend the city with all their strength, and then we can capture Luocheng without any effort."

Zhao Jue and Rong Yuan looked at each other. This was a decision they had secretly discussed, but they didn't expect it to be revealed by my words, so neither of them acquiesced. I continued: "I think King Yong also felt sorry for his loss.

So using this rumor forces us to make a quick decision. Alas, King Yong is really scary. So what if we see through his mind? In the end, at worst, King Yong agrees to Shu’s peace request, which will allow us to face the anger of Shu. Yong can tolerate the continued existence of Shu. , as long as he secures Yangping Pass, he can occupy the fertile land of Dongchuan. However, we have fought hard so far, but we can only obtain the difficult and dangerous Shu Road. We, who have betrayed our alliance, are attacking Nanchu. On this occasion, I have three strategies to offer: the upper, middle and lower levels. "

Zhao Jue was very confused after hearing this and asked: "What are the three strategies? Please tell me in detail."

I said seriously: "This strategy is still the same as before. If Dayong cannot bear it anymore and captures Jiameng Pass first, then we have achieved our original goal. But if Dayong gets angry, he changes his mind and accepts the Kingdom of Shu." If we seek peace, then we will completely fail. With this strategy, victory or defeat will depend on King Yong’s thoughts.”

Zhao Jue said sadly: "If the victory or defeat depends entirely on others, wouldn't it mean that people are the swordsmen and I are the fish and meat, so what's the right strategy?"

I said solemnly: "The middle strategy is to attack the city with all our strength. As long as we attack Luocheng, Dayong will immediately attack Jiameng Pass. By then, the Kingdom of Shu will naturally perish. Our gains will exceed our expectations, but our losses will also exceed our expectations." Expected.”

Zhao Jue frowned. He just didn't want to lose too much, so he didn't want to attack the city with all his strength. He said in a deep voice: "What's the best way?"

I smiled lightly and said: "We use Qi to attack the city and capture Luocheng. The losses will not be big. When the time comes to compete for the victory in Shu, if we exercise restraint, we can achieve all strategic goals."

Zhao Jue frowned and said, "But how to use Qi to break the city?"

I said confidently: "Now the defenders of Luocheng are divided into two armies. One army defends the city and the other camped outside. They coordinate with each other. If we want to win, we must first cut off its foreign aid. I suggest that we attack the city quickly and then attack outside. If the enemy troops in the camp light a fire in a direction that can be seen, then the troops outside will definitely think that Luocheng is in danger and come to the rescue. We will set up an ambush on the way and annihilate the Shu army. After the foreign aid is cut off, we can concentrate on dealing with the troops inside the city. Defenders. At that time, we can attack the city again, and then let people wear the clothes and armor of the Shu army and pretend to attack our baggage, making them think that the Shu army outside is still there, and we will act like we are retreating in a hurry because the baggage is destroyed. , luring the Shu army out of the city to pursue them, arranging an ambush to cut off the retreat, and trapping and killing the general. What will happen if Luo City is not broken?"

Hearing this, Zhao Jue accidentally broke the tea cup. This plan was so sophisticated and vicious. He looked at me with new eyes, which made me confused. Zhao Jue finally confirmed that the gentle and elegant young champion in front of him was actually a scheming person. Zhao Jue couldn't help but feel a chill because of the feminine and cunning figure. He was an upright person. Although he had used tactics before, he had never seen such insidious ambush and booby traps. He said goodbye to Jiang Zhe somewhat unnaturally and went to make arrangements for the battle.

At dusk on December 16th, the Southern Chu army began to attack Luocheng. Soon, a fire was lit. Wei Xian mistakenly thought that Luocheng was in danger and rushed from the mountain road. However, he was ambushed by the Southern Chu army on the way. Wei Xian fought desperately. He was killed by Zhao Jue who personally participated in the ambush. The Shu army dispersed, and the Chu army strictly guarded the passage to prevent the news from being learned by Luocheng.

In the early morning of December 17, the Nanchu army launched another large-scale attack. General Long Bu led the defenders to repel several attacks and suffered heavy casualties. At the end of the day, the Nanchu army suddenly became confused, and then immediately retreated. Long Bu was in the city. They saw a raging fire in the Nan Chu camp in the direction of Fushui Pass. At this time, a close associate of Zhao Jue pretended to be a Shu army scout and came to report that Wei Xian had burned down the Nan Chu baggage. Long Bu was overjoyed and saw that the Shu army retreated without any order. He led the cavalry to pursue them from behind. The Nanchu army was defeated and scattered. Longbu chased for twenty miles, but was cut off by the Nanchu army hidden in the mountains. The Nanchu army closed in, forming an ambush from all directions. Longbu led seven Thousands of elite soldiers rushed around and fought hard all night. Their cannons were stained with blood and their bodies were seriously injured in more than a dozen places. Finally, they could not rush out. All the guards around them were killed. Finally, they were surrounded by the Nanchu army. Zhao Jue personally persuaded him to surrender. Long Bu laughed and said: "We in Shu have only beheaded generals, so how can we have people who bend their knees and surrender?" After saying this, he raised his sword and committed suicide. Zhao Jue sighed and ordered a grand burial.

On December 18, the Southern Chu army withdrew to Fushui Pass for repairs. On December 19, Zhao Jue attacked the city again. Luocheng lost its generals and was unable to defend. At dusk, Kaicheng surrendered.

On December 23, Jiameng Pass received news that Luocheng had been lost. The morale of the army was in chaos, and Chengdu was completely exposed to the military front of Southern Chu. On the same day, King Yong Li Zhi launched a large-scale attack on the city. The Shu army in the city had no fighting spirit. On December 25, Jiameng Pass fell and Prime Minister Shenjun was captured. At this point, the Shu Kingdom no longer had any passes that could be defended.

When Meng Yun of the Shu Kingdom received the battle report, he fainted several times and sobbed in the court: "It has been sixty years since our ancestors founded the country. Now it has disappeared. Even though I am dead, I dare not see my ancestors." When he asked the courtiers about their plans, someone suggested surrendering. Meng Yun After thinking about it again and again, he hid his face and went back to the harem. The courtiers looked at each other and had to scatter.

At the end of the 20th year of Xiande, on the New Year's Day of the first lunar month, Dayong and Nanchu people celebrated their great victory. The whole country of Shu was in a bleak state, waiting for the armies of Dayong and Nanchu, which were being repaired, to enter Sichuan to join forces in Chengdu.

Everyone in the army was beaming with joy. After drinking a few glasses of wine in the commander's tent, I resigned. I returned to my residence, lay on the bed, and thought about the future in a daze. Only Zhao Jue knew about my plan this time, and I also asked him not to spread it. Zhao Jue agreed to go out. He must have thought that my plan was too cruel, but he didn't know that it was because I was about to leave Nanchu. If anyone knew about my plan, I might not be able to live in peace for the rest of my life. The victory brought not much joy, because I knew that Han Zhang cried bitterly in the room last night, although his voice was very low, and he even avoided his wife.

In fact, compared to my plan, King Yong's plan is more vicious and upright design, letting others take chestnuts from the fire for him. At that time, I still didn't tell Zhao Jue that King Yong had another purpose, which was to take advantage of this to get my Nanchu spy. First-hand information from the Internet. I think that in order to collect information about the peace talks between Dayong and Nanchu, and then pass the information to Prince De through Shuzhong, Prince Yong should have taken the opportunity to grasp the identity and whereabouts of many of our Nanchu spies. Then he can How scheming it is to eradicate Nan Chu's forces easily. I didn't intentionally tell Prince De. It would be too slow for them to think of this. What's more, I really don't dare to offend Dayong. In addition, Zhao Jue is vaguely afraid of me and rejects me, so I also lose support. his interest.

Alas, I really hoped that Nan Chu could have a Zhongxing Ming Lord, but Zhao Jue is not a talent like Guan Zhong Leyi, but a bit like Uncle Bao. He is too clear-cut in black and white, good and evil, and does not know the principle of combining light and dust.

Nanchu, is there really no hope? I thought sadly.

In January of the 20th year of Xian De, the armies of both sides were not in a hurry to make progress. They repaired and consolidated the territory they had occupied, waiting for the spring to bloom. For Shu, this is the last winter. Although the Shu Kingdom has lost most of its military power, the situation is not easy to appease. I have seen the pride and stubbornness of the Shu people. In just one month, seven rebellions and twenty-three assassinations occurred. Of course, no one deliberately For me, I'm not a famous person. Most of the famous people in Shu refused to surrender. If they couldn't resist, they resisted silently. The situation was so dangerous that Zhao Jue's hair turned a few gray. It was obvious to win, but it was so difficult. In the end, a unified opinion was reached. It would be better if the King of Shu surrendered. Therefore, Dayong and Nanchu finally decided to march to Shu at the same time on February 1st in advance. Chengdu.

Before departure, Zhao Jue came to see me again. He now likes to meet me privately instead of asking for my opinion publicly. He must think that my strategy is too sinister, but I prefer this method. Is it safer? No It would be nice if people knew it was my idea. Besides, I have come up with a lot of ideas during this period, and they are all a bit vicious, so I asked Han Zhang to leave a long time ago. It would be too dangerous for him, a Shu man, to stay with me at this time. Well, if he thinks that killing me is worth the lives of his family, I will be in trouble.

In order to protect me, Xiao Shunzi tried his best and found a good candidate in the prison of the Nanchu Army. That man was Chen Zhen, a secret spy killer of the Shu Army. After the city was broken, he was captured because he was found out. He had assassinated our generals many times, and he should have been executed. Moreover, this man had a vicious personality and a cold nature. He was a figure who didn't care about anything but himself. If he hadn't broken through the city too quickly this time, he would have escaped long ago. But Xiao Shunzi just liked his cold nature and easy control, so he asked me to take care of Zhao Jue and rescued him. Zhao Jue felt that he had not given me anything in return, so he agreed. Xiao Shunzi used secret techniques to do it on him. I was still worried about my hands and feet, so I asked Xiao Shunzi to give him a chronic poison I prepared. Of course, I only told him that the antidote was at Xiao Shunzi's place. In this way, I had a trustworthy bodyguard. According to the According to Xiao Shunzi, this person will not sacrifice his life to kill me. He cherishes his life so that he will not betray me. He is the best guard.

After Zhao Jue sat down, he said worriedly: "We are about to capture Chengdu. Then there will be no buffer from Shu. How should we deal with Dayong? The king of the country sent a secret order, telling us not to offend Dayong."

I had already prepared this point and said: "Xiaguan thought that the main conflict will be in Chengdu. Who can capture the King of Shu will be the biggest beneficiary. We don't want to compete with Dayong on this point. If we compete, it will be useless. Yes, I have an idea, so that the King of Shu will not fall into the hands of Dayong. That's it. In addition, I heard that the reason why the King of Shu is far away from the talented and close to the villain is because he dotes on the princess, Mrs. Jinlian and his wife. Eunuch Zhang Quan, I heard that Mrs. Jinlian is extremely beautiful. We will give all the courtiers and concubines of Shu to Emperor Yong. If King Yong sends them to Yongdu as prisoners, then Mrs. Jinlian will definitely be favored by Emperor Yong with her beauty. , when the time comes, we will plant a fire in Dayong's harem. If King Yong kills them, although it is a pity, Emperor Yong will definitely be angry when he finds out. Old people love beauty most, especially people like Emperor Yong. We are not very wise monarchs. Regardless of success or failure, we have alienated Emperor Yong and his son. Of course, we also have something we must get. After entering the city, please send Mr. Rong to the Ministry of Household Affairs first to collect the classics and household registration albums. This is our future governance. Of course, the key to Xichuan, gold, silver, jewelry and the like must also be snatched. One is to cover up the importance of our seizure of documents, and the other is to reward the three armies and bribe the king. As for the rest, we don’t care about the mansions of the Shu court officials. Let Dayong handle it."

Zhao Jue nodded after hearing this and said, "Master Jiang mentioned the estrangement between Emperor Yong and his son. I wonder if I can say more."

I thought that I was leaving Nanchu anyway, so I didn’t want to hide it, so I said: "The fight between King Yong and Prince Li An of Dayong for the crown prince is known to the world. Dayong established the country with force, and Li An must be in an embarrassing situation. This time King Yong conquered Shu, with such a great achievement, Li An must be gnashing his teeth with hatred. We sent spies to Dayong to spread rumors that King Yong would establish himself in Dongchuan..." At this point, Zhao Jue already understood that he was deeply moved. He glanced at me, full of fear, and said with deep admiration: "Master Jiang's good plan can keep Nanchu safe for several years. I don't know what your needs are, and Zhao Jue will definitely help with all his strength."

I thought to myself that this was a wish to be granted an official position, and I said calmly: "I am tired of riding my horse this time, and I have contracted the root cause of the disease. I hope to resign and return to my hometown when I go back. If I can get permission from the prince, I can give advice to the king. I would be very grateful."

Zhao Jue frowned and thought to himself, Jiang Zhe has a deep scheming mind. It would be a good thing if he did not seek power, but if he leaves, if he defectes to another country, then Southern Chu will be in danger. Therefore, Zhao Jue said categorically: "Master Jiang's words are wrong. You are so talented that Zhao Jue is relying on you. How can you go into seclusion? If Master Jiang doesn't like being busy with government affairs, I will inform the king of the country and let Master Jiang stay in Hanlin." With the kindness of the hospital, you don’t have to deal with official duties if you have nothing to do.”

What, I was dumbfounded, how could it backfire. That night, when I told Xiao Shunzi aggrievedly, Xiao Shunzi slapped his forehead and said: "Oh my God, sir, you still don't understand the thoughts of those royal people. For a person like you, if they are willing to let you go, they are not afraid of you." Are you going to join the Dayong and Northern Han Dynasties? Who made you show off your talents like this? It seems that not only can you not resign, but from now on you will have to hide your capabilities and bide your time. If you have the right opportunity, you can simply abandon your official position and leave."

I looked at Xiao Shunzi in shock, expressing my shame and admiration.

On February 15th of the 20th year of Xiande, Nanchu and Dayong joined forces in Chengdu. The two armies surrounded Chengdu. Prince De went to pay a visit to King Yong Li Zhi. I couldn't hold back my curiosity and wanted to see who King Yong was. What a hero, he followed Zhao Jue. When I came to King Yong's camp and saw the tigers and dragons lurking in the camp, I was filled with admiration. King Yong Li Zhi greeted us at the camp gate. From a long distance, I saw him standing at the gate of the camp. He was wearing a prince's attire, and he was elegant and noble. Although he was just standing there, I felt as if the momentum of the entire camp was gathered on him. A hundred steps away from the camp, Prince De dismounted and walked. Naturally, I followed suit. As we got closer and closer to the camp, King Yong greeted him with a smile. At this time, I finally discovered something that horrified me. , King Yong and Li Zhi, I actually recognized him.