The Grandmaster Strategist

The shadow of the candle flickered red, the sky was full of ice and snow outside the tent, but inside it was as warm as spring. I sat in front of the desk with my long coat on and looked at the map on the desk. I was hesitant in my heart. I didn’t know whether Ling Duan and Qiu Yufei were there. Being able to return to Northern Han Dynasty, although these two people have perseverance and I intend to indulge them, but things are fickle, and if neither of them can return, I will have wasted my efforts.

The lanterns bloomed, awakening my thoughts, and I suddenly burst into laughter. The plan over there was going very smoothly, even Qiu Yufei and Ling Duan couldn't go back, and the effect was at best poor. I had ordered Dayong's spies in the Northern Han Dynasty more than ten days ago to stir up discord between Shi Ying and Duan Wudi. Now Shi Ying must have reported Duan Wudi's crimes to Long Tingfei. After reading the information about Quartz, apart from fighting, he is really a person who is ignorant of the world. If it were not for Long Tingfei's respect and protection, I am afraid that he would either die outside the battlefield or be abandoned on the battlefield. Only he would so easily have a dispute with Long Tingfei's other confidant general Duan Wudi.

Suddenly, I had a whim. If it was not in line with my plan, Long Tingfei trusted Quartz too much, and Qiu Yufei and Ling Duan failed to bring back any information that was unfavorable to Quartz. Duan Wudi, the most steady and dignified among Long Tingfei's generals, would I won't become a victim. If I can do this, it will be an unexpected gain. However, I don't dare to hope so. Duan Wudi's combat can be described as rigorous and less mistakes. It is difficult to convict such a person to death. I am not greedy, and leaving Duan Wudi is also beneficial. I don't want the Northern Han Army to lose its fighting spirit. Having such a general with outstanding defense is an important reason why the Northern Han Army dares to fight bravely.

Maybe in the end it was not what I expected and Quartz escaped, but this period was enough to cause a gap between the generals and shaken the morale of the army. To be honest, my strategy was to minimize the advantage of our troops after taking advantage of the strength of the troops. It's just a loss. With King Qi's use of troops and the more unfavorable situation compared to the Northern Han army, defeating the Northern Han Dynasty is only a matter of time. However, if there are too many losses, the pace of Dayong's unification will be slowed down a lot. More importantly, Yes, if this war lasts for several years, when can I go home?

Feeling a little tired, I stretched myself and prepared to go to bed. At this time, Hu Yanshou reported outside: "Sir, there is a messenger coming from the capital. He is sent by the princess. Do you want to receive him?"

I was shocked, how could Changle send a messenger? Her letters were all sent through the post station. Even some relatively confidential matters were often sent through the channel of conveying military information. Could something have happened that made Changle send a letter? make. Probably not. Although there are changes in Southern Chu and Dongchuan is unstable, there are many talents in the court. Although His Highness King Qing is unruly, he should not blatantly resist Yongdu at this time. I did not tell those things I don't take it too seriously. After all, the enemy I'm facing now is the Northern Han Dynasty. If the emperor can't even stabilize this situation, he's pretending to be a wise king.

Anyway, I quickly summoned the messenger. As soon as the tent door opened, the cold wind came in, and I shivered. A handsome young man with fair complexion slowly walked in, but it was Dong Que who came in person. I felt even more worried. Dong Que Nai is my right-hand man who stays with me in Changle. Changle is a princess, and now she is away from home. If there is no one like Dong Que to take orders, there will be a lot of inconvenience. If he comes here in person, something extremely important must have happened, and it may be our own business.

Dong Que stepped forward and saluted, and I glanced at Hu Yanshou who was following behind. Hu Yanshou stepped out knowingly. Although he was responsible for supervision, he knew that some things were best not to be investigated. When he was about to exit the camp, I said tiredly: "Go and ask Xiao Shunzi to come over." Hu Yanshou quickly agreed, but his face was a little worried, and he had noticed the strange atmosphere.

When Dong Que saw Hu Yanshou leaving, he bowed down and said, "My subordinates have received a secret report from Dongchuan. The matter is urgent and I have to come and report it to the Young Master."

I waved my hand and said, "No need to be too polite. Wait until Xiao Shunzi comes to save you from having to say it twice.

Does the princess know about this? "

Dong Que said: "The princess didn't ask any questions, but she ordered her subordinates to bring home letters." After saying that, he handed over a letter. Before Xiao Shunzi arrived, I opened the letter. Changle didn't know about Tianji Pavilion and Jinxiu League. I never ask about these mysterious people around me, so there is nothing special in the letter. It just mentions that Huo Cong has made rapid academic progress and Roulan is studying with him. Shen'er is no longer as playful as before. Lively and cute, there is no trouble at home. But I can feel a faint worry between the lines. After all, we have been married for several years, and although some things have not been mentioned to him, Dong Que needs to come to see me in person. The princess must also know that something inappropriate has happened.

I read the letter, and my heart has calmed down. No matter what happened, being nervous is useless. After a while, Xiao Shunzi opened the curtain and came in. Qiu Yu was flying and stabbed a few days ago. Although I had the intention to let go, but Xiao Shunzi is still very dissatisfied with the Tiger Guards' ability to deal with top experts, so whenever I have free time these days, I fight with them in their camp. Even at night, I often give special training to some people. I often see the guards around me with bruises and swollen faces. I had some sympathy, but thinking that Qiu Yufei was just a young disciple of the Demon Sect, and there were masters above him, I didn't say anything and just sent them good medicine for their wounds. Xiao Shunzi walked up to me, looked at Dong Que, and asked coldly: "What happened?"

Dong Que said: "My subordinates received a message from Mr. Chen that King Qing was eradicating dissidents in Dongchuan. In addition to the civil and military officials who were inclined to the court, the identities of Mingjian Division's secret spies around King Qing had been revealed, and fourteen people were killed. Two people surrendered, and only one escaped. King Qing pretended to capture a secret spy from Southern Chu, and went to Dongchuan. That person had been rescued by Mr. Chen, but we had no cooperation with Mingjian Division, and King Qing had a strict blockade. Mr. Chen We didn’t want to take risks, so we had to put the man under house arrest. He didn’t know our identity and refused to ask us to help send information to Yongdu. Moreover, King Qing had recently been more respectful to the original Shu officials and the resistance forces, and there were still envoys looking for him. He went to the Jinxiu League and asked us to surrender, and he promised to make the son of the King of Shu king and re-establish the Kingdom of Shu."

I frowned and said, "Aren't the family members of the King of Shu all in Yongdu?"

Dong Que shook his head and said: "King Qing's messenger said that before the King of Shu surrendered that day, Mrs. Jinlian asked two pregnant palace maids to escape with the tokens. Yiwang left blood for the King of Shu. One of the palace maids later gave birth to a boy. It is said that he has fallen to In the hands of King Qing, King Qing’s messenger claimed that they held the identity token of King Shu to prove the boy’s identity. King Qing’s messenger promised that King Qing would make a blood oath and never covet the throne of King Shu.”

I feel a little headache. Although I look down on King Qing's narrow-mindedness, I am still surprised that he actually rebelled. After all, he is the prince of Dayong and has a respected status. Even if he rebels, he should seize the throne of Dayong. I didn't expect that he actually did it. A powerful minister of the Shu Kingdom, after thinking about it for a while, I admire his determination. He is planning to support the puppet king of Shu, and then join forces with the Southern Chu and Northern Han Dynasties to launch an attack to carve up Dayong. This person can actually let go of the Splendid Central Plains. ..

With a sigh, I reviewed the information about Prince Qing in my mind, and I had a vague outline in my mind. It seemed that Prince Qing had had this intention for many years, and he was forbearing enough. In the past, he had sworn to be incompatible with Fengyi Sect. With the help of the Supreme Emperor and the sympathy of the emperor, he occupied Dongchuan and gathered troops. Now he secretly rebelled while Dayong was attacking the Northern Han Dynasty with all his strength. It seems that for him, it is better to be a party than to be the prince of Dayong. Princes, his hatred for Dayong is not only for the Fengyi Sect. I am afraid that the Dayong royal family is the enemy he hates in his heart. Come to think of it, the compensation Li Yuan admitted that day was just a humiliation for him. He will always remember that Dayong's royal family is the enemy he hates. The Yong royal family reprimanded and gave up on him for Fengyimen.

Over the years, he has guarded Dongchuan and has done an impressive job. He has deliberately made friends with the remaining officials of the former Shu Kingdom in order to use the power of the Shu people to rebel today. Although it seems that he is still fledgling and will not openly rebel, but if there is a little bit of trouble, If there is a gap, he will launch a thunderous strike into the hinterland of Dayong. Dongchuan's position is too important. Now that I think about it, I'm afraid it was him who instigated Sima Aimai's misbehavior in the palace a few days ago. He took advantage of Sima Aimai's death with a stick to arouse the dissatisfaction of the Shu family. Now, for the sake of King Qing's face, the emperor did not kill Sima Aimai. Ai's crimes were made public to the world. Under the alienation of King Qing, Sima Ai's death symbolized the Yong court's rejection of the Shu people, and the Shu people who had lost the power to resist would rely on King Qing.

After thinking about the whole thing, I couldn't help but feel glad that I had let the Jinxiu League put aside their relationship with Dayong. Now no one knows that the Jinxiu League is an elusive resistance force of the Shu people, and I specifically asked Chen Zhen to bring those people who have ambitions of restoring the country to the throne. Being included in the alliance and restraining them with the Splendid Alliance is much less damaging than letting them do their own thing.

After thinking about it, I asked strangely: "Have all the secret spies of Mingjian Division in Dongchuan been controlled by Prince Qing? In this case, Xiahou Yuanfeng would be too incompetent. I think this person should have a backup plan. He is not desperate. However, King Qing blocked the information very tightly. If the Jinxiu Alliance had not controlled the power of the local Shu people, this information would probably not have been spread. Shouldn’t the court still know about King Qing’s rebellion?”

Dong Que said: "We don't know this either. We keep Mingjian Division at arm's length, but King Qing's methods are indeed clever. As the young master said, he cut off the connection between Dongchuan and Guanzhong. Even if Mingjian Division still has manpower, he can't To send the news back, we passed through Shuzhong and transferred to Nanchu Tianji Pavilion to send the information to Yongdu. Moreover, Mr. Chen estimated that King Qing would let the surrendered secret spies continue to send false information back. In this way, I am afraid that Yongdu We still don’t know about Dongchuan.”

I stood up, motioned to Xiao Shunzi to take out the map of Dongchuan, and muttered again and again: "Now is not the time for King Qing to rebel. I think next spring when we are fighting the Northern Han Dynasty, it will be a good opportunity for him to attack. This matter has already been It is irreversible. Even if the court knows now, it is impossible to change this situation. Dong Que, please go to see Mr. Chen in person immediately and ask him to agree to submit to King Qing. When King Qing rebels, I hope that the Jinxiu Alliance will become King Qing. Since the situation is irreversible, we must take advantage of the situation and tell Mr. Chen that the Kingdom of Shu is dead and cannot be resurrected in the hands of King Qing. I don’t ask him how to do it. I only ask him to follow my instructions. When it arrives, we can destroy King Qing and his party in one fell swoop.”

Dong Que's eyes shone brightly. He didn't expect Jiang Zhe to deal with it this way, and asked again: "Master, shouldn't we inform the court about this matter?"

I smiled deeply and said: "Xiahou Yuanfeng is not an ordinary person. I don't believe that all the forces of Mingjian Division have been eradicated. Although it may be later, the court will know about it soon. In fact, I hope you will intercept the news. Over the years, the emperor has always been wary of Dongchuan. He has deployed heavy troops between Yongdu and Dongchuan. Even if King Qing raised his troops, it would not be effective immediately. I am confident that I can destroy the Northern Han Dynasty within a year, but it won't work. It can also make them unable to fight back. When the time comes, with the Splendid Alliance as an internal response, King Qing can be destroyed, and maybe there will be some extra sweetness. Dong Que, when you see Mr. Chen, you must also find out if he and Han The general manager is determined to return to Shu, but I cannot care about the old relationship. Bai Yi, Yu Lun, Shan Zi, and Qu Huang are now the powerful deacons of Jinxiu League and Tianji Pavilion. If there is a change, you can pass on my secret order and put Chen under house arrest. Zhen.”

Dong Que said: "Don't worry, young master, Mr. Chen is a loyal young master and will never do anything stupid."

I nodded and said, "I'm just taking precautions. Okay, you have to work harder and go to Dongchuan overnight. Don't stay too long in the military camp. King Qi is not easy to deal with."

Dong Que nodded silently, looked at the thin figure under the light, and thought to himself: "This person never has an easy life."

After Dong Que left, Xiao Shunzi suddenly asked: "Is it okay if I don't tell others? If I don't tell the emperor, I'm afraid the emperor will blame the young master in the future?"

I smiled bitterly and said: "Not now. If the emperor knows about this, I'm worried that he will act hastily because he wants to protect King Qing. I will not do such things as condoning adultery. If King Qing is not eliminated, it will be difficult for Yong to live in peace, and - -" I paused, showing a mysterious smile, and said: "The day before yesterday, the emperor gave me a secret decree and reprimanded me severely, saying that I should not take risks lightly. Although he was well-intentioned, when had I ever been so angry? , was laughed at by King Qi again, so let him worry for a few more days, which is considered revenge."

Xiao Shunzi smiled bitterly and shook his head slightly. Although the master was already in his thirties, he would still show up childishly from time to time, which always made him laugh or cry. However, in this way, the resentment in his heart a few days ago disappeared. He said sternly: "Master, in this case, the Northern Han Dynasty The matter needs to be cut quickly and cannot be delayed any longer." I nodded and said: "That's it. I decided to pacify the Northern Han Dynasty this year, but it was a helpless move. Daizhou is an important place to resist the barbarians. If the barbarians attack the Northern Han Dynasty, Not only can we not step up the attack, we must also slow down the offensive. This is because we are worried that the Northern Han Dynasty leader will ignore everything and let the barbarians go south. As long as the barbarians have no intention of attacking in a large scale, the Northern Han royal family is considered wise and will definitely not do such a criticized thing. action to come.”

Xiao Shunzi said thoughtfully: "Master sent Chi Ji to the barbarian land, is it just to confirm this matter?"

I smiled lightly and said: "After Chi Ji returned, he told me that this autumn the grassland was luxuriant with water and grass, and the barbarians had no intention of large-scale plunder. Therefore, Daizhou was only slightly invaded this year and there was no war. However, this winter the barbarians suffered Snow disaster, this is what I determined based on the information I got from the barbarians after watching the celestial phenomena. The barbarians will definitely attack in large numbers next spring, but I have made arrangements. Before the snow melts next spring, the barbarians will be plagued by the plague. There will be no more than ten cattle and horses. This way First, although the barbarians are willing to attack, due to lack of combat power, Daizhou can resist their invasion. When our army attacks the Northern Han Dynasty, if the leader of the Northern Han Dynasty is really crazy and wants to use the barbarians to fight against us, So first of all, the Lin family of Daizhou must be firmly opposed. Secondly, the barbarians are weak, and we can easily drive them away after our army destroys the Han. If it is delayed until next autumn, and the barbarians have recovered their strength, they will definitely attack in a large scale to make up for the losses. If we attack again by then, The Northern Han Dynasty is tantamount to echoing the barbarians, which will harm Dayong's reputation, and it will not be conducive to Dayong's future rule here. Therefore, we must capture the Northern Han Dynasty within this year. For this purpose, Dongchuan and Nanchu will Everything must be put aside. In fact, the young master of Southern Chu suspects that King Qing is not broad-minded. As long as the emperor handles it properly, it will not affect the war in northern Xinjiang."

Xiao Shunzi listened silently and said for a long time: "Master, you want me to assassinate Long Tingfei. If he dies, the Northern Han Dynasty will never be able to recover."

I was holding the tea and was about to drink it. When I heard his words, I spit out the tea and said quickly: "Don't talk nonsense. Don't say that there is a master in the Northern Han Dynasty. Even if there is no master, you don't have to do these things. This kind of assassination." Most of these things are used by the weaker side in order to win by surprise. Now that Dayong's army is strong, you don't need to do such a thing. And -" my face gradually became serious, and I said: "Long Tingfei is a famous general in the Northern Han Dynasty. The Northern Han people respect warriors the most, and there is nothing wrong with weakening the enemy in advance. However, if they cannot defeat them on the battlefield, the Northern Han people will never accept Dayong's rule. If Long Tingfei dies in an assassination, I am afraid that the Northern Han people will rush to fight for him within a few decades. He takes revenge, and only by letting him die on the battlefield will the Northern Han people completely lose the confidence to resist."

Xiao Shunzi said nonchalantly: "Since the young master said that, forget it. Originally, I thought that it would be too rude for the Northern Han people to dare to assassinate the young master, so I wanted to repay him."

I showed a weird smile and said: "If you want revenge, there will always be a chance." Suddenly the hateful figure of King Qi flashed in front of me, and an idea suddenly came to my mind, or maybe I was seeking revenge against the Northern Han Dynasty for this assassination. At the same time, there is also a chance to take revenge on this nemesis.

The imperial fragrance is misty, deep in the ninth floor, Li Zhi is sitting behind the imperial book case, looking at the zhezi in front of him, frowning, and handing the zhezi to Shi Yu, who is sitting on the chair to his left. Xiahou Yuanfeng stands below with a low eyebrow. His eyes looked very respectful. Li Zhi sighed and said: "Xiahou, although your Mingjian Division was a little late, it finally sent the news back. Alas, the third brother is so confused. He is a nobleman of the Tian family. As long as he keeps his integrity, he will be one of the top nobles." , but he is greedy and wants to rebel. Does he really think he can seize the throne? In terms of status and achievements, he is not even as good as his sixth brother, let alone me. Xiahou, you are no longer with King Qing. Are there any manpower available?"

Xiahou Yuanfeng reported: "I am guilty of death. Except for one or two spies, all the people of Mingjian Division have been eradicated. There is one person whose life and death are unknown, but I think there is no chance that he will survive."

Li Zhi said solemnly: "Dongchuan has changed. Dayong's strength has regressed to that before Shu was destroyed. Although Li Kang, the traitor, has not yet launched, when Zezhou raises troops next spring, he will definitely not sit idly by. However, since I Even if I can capture Dongchuan, I will not be afraid of him today. Ziyou, in your opinion, should I temporarily stop attacking the Northern Han Dynasty?"

Shi Yu stood up and said: "Your Majesty, I think it is absolutely impossible. Now the Southern Chu, King Qing, and Northern Han have trapped me, Dayong. If we blindly defend, it will only weaken Dayong's national power. If we cannot defeat one family, Dayong will be defeated." The situation is very dangerous. His Royal Highness the King of Qi and the Marquis of Chuxiang have both said that the Northern Han Dynasty can be attacked. Your Majesty might as well comfort King Qing and at the same time be careful to guard Dongchuan's troops. Although Dongchuan has a desire to be independent, King Qing's subordinates are all powerful. General Yong and the people of Shu do not necessarily believe in King Qing. King Qing will never launch a large-scale attack in a hurry. Your Majesty might as well take it slow. Southern Chu is weak. Your Majesty can offer generous coins to appease the leader of Southern Chu. When the time comes, Lu Can No one can attack Dayong without permission. The south can be defended securely, but the north needs to be attacked by force. Your Majesty has issued a secret edict to the King of Qi to be careful. With the help of Marquis Xiang of Chu Township, the Northern Han Dynasty can defeat it."

Li Zhi's eyes fell on Xiahou Yuanfeng, and seeing the disapproval in his expression, he asked, "Does Xiahou Qing have any opinions?"

Xiahou Yuanfeng said respectfully: "I don't know much about military affairs, but I also know that in order to fight against the outside world, we must first settle the inside. Although Southern Chu and Northern Han are enemy countries, they are just minor troubles. If we don't attack, they may not dare to attack. But King Qing's rebellion is the internal worry. The internal worries are unjust and the court is uneasy. In my opinion, it is better to postpone the offensive in the north, appease Southern Chu, and concentrate on dealing with King Qing."

Li Zhi smiled slightly and said: "Xiahou is right, Dongchuan must be pacified, but if I am entangled in civil strife, I will be playing into the hands of the monarchs of Southern Chu and Northern Han. Xiahou, even now King Qing does not dare to rebel openly. If you want to think of ways to send people in, instigate rebellion, and create discord, I don’t need to teach you about these things. After I came to the throne, I established Si Wen Cao in the military headquarters to be responsible for the assassination of the army. I will issue a secret decree to establish the Southwest County Division to be responsible for Dongchuan, The military intelligence spying on Western Shu and Yunnan and Guizhou, and the Southwest County Division are temporarily entrusted to you. Treat King Qing as the former King of Shu. Can't we do what Dayong has done a second time? Ziyou, let Gou Lian go on an envoy. In Southern Chu, let him bear the heavy responsibility of appeasing the leader of Southern Chu. The people of Chu are afraid of Dayong, so they must not dare to start a war. Lu Can can't save the world with his own strength. I'm not worried about the north, but Zi You Write a letter to Sui Yun on my behalf. If I don’t believe that he doesn’t know about Dongchuan, ask him not to hide it. I won’t be soft-hearted and ask him to come up with a charter.”

Shi Yu only knew a rough idea of ​​these things, but he also vaguely knew that Jiang Zhe had some private power that he had never handed over. The emperor tacitly approved of this matter, so he nodded in agreement.

Xiahou Yuanfeng was moved when he heard this. He didn't know many things before King Yong took over the throne, but from the emperor's tone, it seemed that Jiang Zhe had some private personnel in Dongchuan. If so, that would be great. , he was worried that he would not be able to properly reorganize Dongchuan's intelligence network in his eagerness. Suddenly something occurred to him and he said tentatively: "Your Majesty, four days ago, Dong Que, the housekeeper of Princess Changle's residence, suddenly went north. It is said that he went to Zezhou."

Li Zhi and Shi Yu looked at each other and smiled. Li Zhi shook his head and said, "This Sui Yun has always been a foggy person. It's rare to see him honestly."

Shi Yu smiled and said, "This is also your Majesty's tolerance. Otherwise, with Marquis Jiang's temperament, who else would have the guts to use him?"

Li Zhi said with great enthusiasm: "The thing that I am most proud of in my life is to have Jiang Zhe in my hands. Ziyou, you have to rush eight hundred miles to send the letter. Otherwise, I don't know when this person will give me an accurate letter." ?”

Shi Yu agreed with a smile, and Xiahou Yuanfeng laughed with him. He was once again shocked by Li Zhi's favor for Jiang Zhe, and once again he was glad for his original choice.