The Grandmaster Strategist

In February of the eighth year of the Longsheng Period, Yang Xiu was ordered by General Lu Can to supervise the army in Huainan and spy on Huaibei.

——"Zi Zhi Tong Jian Yong Ji IV"

The Zhou brothers said goodbye to Gu Yuanyong and were about to go downstairs. However, the atmosphere above the restaurant changed drastically. All the idle people had left. The four young people who were originally sitting on the outermost seats were already standing guard at the end. Outside the bamboo curtain on the left, Yuan Tingyue stood with a calm demeanor. When he came over to the four people, Zhou Ming and Zhou Hui felt eight icy eyes flashing past them, and they were already sweating through their heavy clothes. This kind of power must not be an ordinary person. Moreover, the two of them glanced at each other and saw Du Lingfeng standing outside the curtain, with a respectful expression and a hint of fear. They knew that the man in Tsing Yi with gray hair and frosty temples inside the curtain was the noble person Gu Yuanyong said, but they didn't expect it. It’s just who he could be. The two of them didn't dare to spy and hurried downstairs. Zhou Hui thought of the cold eyes of the servant in blue for no reason, but strangely, he couldn't remember the appearance of that person.

I stood in front of the window and looked down, watching the Zhou brothers greeting the elders on the street and helping arrange Zhuang Qingpu's funeral. I couldn't help but point at them and said: "I have too much to do. In fact, there are countless heroes in Southern Chu. Once they arrive, When the country is ruined and the family is destroyed, one after another, one after another, no need for me to bother to warn, the emperor will also know the difficulties of Pingchu. Chu people are like water, they seem weak and can be bullied, but if they are really angered, they will face all-pervasive threats. Counterattack. Now we have the upper hand, but we have not yet approached the bottom line in the minds of the Chu people. If the Chu people cannot completely lose their confidence in the Nanchu royal family, even if the iron hoof crushes the mountains and rivers of Jiangnan, we will only get broken tiles and ruins. The buckwheat is green.”

Xiao Shunzi replied: "Young Master's intention is also to keep more heroes of Southern Chu, so as not to damage the aura of heaven and earth. With a compassionate heart, Heaven will certainly take pity on you. How can you blame Young Master for being troublesome?"

I sighed slightly, thinking that these days the frogs lived in the cabin. After arriving at Guangling, they landed by boat and slept in the open air along the way. It was extremely difficult. The Huaidong Army of Southern Chu did not take it lightly. It wanted to cross many defense lines. If you are not familiar with it, The secret camp disciples of Geography lead the way, but I'm afraid it's impossible for so many of us to reach Chuzhou silently. However, although the road we took was difficult, it was also a road for secret spies from the two countries. Along the way, we encountered many secret spies who came and went. We relied on Xiao Shunzi's guidance to avoid the eyes and ears of these people.

When I entered Chuzhou City, I used the Tiger Guard Token carried by Hu Yanshou and others. After working hard all the way, I asked Hu Yanshou to see Pei Yun. I found a restaurant on the roadside to take a rest. Unexpectedly, I saw this scene. , when Zhuang Qingpu went upstairs, I saw that his life was hanging by a thread. Even with my medical skills, there was no hope of his resurrection. I couldn't bear it, so I gave him a pill. Although it couldn't bring back his life, it could bring him back to life. He lives a few more hours. It's just that Zhuang Qingpu is so stubborn in his choice of good that he refuses to accept it. Although the difference is only a few hours, no one is greedy for life and afraid of death. I admire him for being so decisive. It's a pity that God is jealous of talents. It cannot be undone.

At this time, Pei Yun's clear voice came from outside the curtain: "Huainan Jiedu Envoy, Xuzhou Camp Chief General Pei Yun invites you to see me."

I smiled slightly, pointed outside the curtain and said, "Come in, why do you need so many etiquettes?"

Pei Yun had already lost the smell of alcohol and straightened his clothes after hearing this. He did not dare to be disrespectful to this person who even his mentor respected very much, not to mention that this person was kind to him in the past. Seeing Jiang Zhe's instructions, he took Gu and Du in with him.

After entering the curtain, Pei Yun knelt down on one knee and said, "I will pay my respects to the Marquis at the end. I didn't know that the Marquis would be here. I didn't come far to welcome you. Please forgive me for my sin."

I stepped forward to help Pei Yun and said with a smile: "You are already a dignified military governor, why do you need to be so polite? I came here privately, the emperor must not know it?"

Pei Yun thought to himself, no matter how you came here, if you were not here, I would not be able to easily dismiss Gao Bing from his military post and eliminate internal troubles. If Luo Jing had not been assassinated, with the support of this person, I could have removed Luo Jing. , just thinking that once this person comes, many embarrassing things will no longer become troubles,

He bowed willingly this time.

I vaguely guessed what he was thinking, smiled slightly, and turned my eyes to Gu Yuanyong. Seeing his horrified expression, I must have guessed my identity and was wondering why I ended up in Chuzhou when I should be in Dinghai?

He stepped forward and bowed his head, saying: "This must be Mr. Gu. My cousin works in Chuzhou and is under your care. I will thank him."

Gu Yuanyong was at a loss and at a loss. Since the south and north of the Yangtze River were isolated from each other, little things like Jing Changqing's would naturally not spread. Seeing his confusion, I gave Xiao Shunzi a wink, and Xiao Shunzi stepped forward and said lightly: "Jiaxing Jing The family belongs to the son's mother's family, and the current head of the family, Jing Changqing, is the son's cousin. He once served as the governor of Chu, and he was favored by the Lord. He is very grateful. This time the young master passed through Jiaxing, and Jing Changshi asked the young master to express his gratitude. "

Pei Yun, Du Lingfeng and Gu Yuanyong all felt a shock in their minds. Naturally, they didn't know whether Xiao Shunzi's words were true or false. Jing Changqing and Jiang Zhe had always had a rift. During this trip to Jiaxing, the two did not meet at all. Gu Yuanyong was the first to wake up. He was not as worried as Pei Yun and Du Lingfeng that he had offended Jiang Zhe, so he could watch with cold eyes. Seeing that Jiang Zhe's eyes were full of smiles, he had no intention of blaming him. Moreover, since this person was famous, he must be a person who could express his emotions and anger. If he really had resentment because of this, how could he speak frankly. Now that he has been appointed by Pei Yun to act as the county governor, he will be both prosperous and deprived. Most of his wealth and life are tied to Pei Yun, so naturally he does not want to see him embarrassed, so he said: "Jing Changshi is loyal and upright. I have always admired General Pei. Although he was imprisoned to establish his authority, he also valued him very much."

Pei Yun had come to his senses at this time, and couldn't help but be glad that he didn't directly kill the strong man, Chang Shi. Seeing that Jiang Zhe didn't have an angry face, and thinking about Jing Changqing's mysterious disappearance, he couldn't help but smile: "Pei originally thought it was because of the negligence of his subordinates. They were just robbed of the prison, and now that I think about it, they couldn't even watch the prisoner even if they couldn't see each other."

These words were flattering, but there were no traces of them. Even I found them pleasing to the ears. I originally intended to scare Pei Yun, lest he borrow my power for nothing, but I didn’t want to think about it at the moment and pointed at the altar. Qingmeijiu said: "That's all, that's all. This wine is really good. I'm leaving Chuzhou tomorrow, so I'll ask the shopkeeper to bring two more jars. How about you and I having a drink?"

Pei Yun felt relieved, knowing that the incident did not make Jiang Zhe dissatisfied. He glanced at Du Lingfeng and saw Du Lingfeng's uneasy expression, and said: "The Marquis is so elegant, how can I refuse, Ling Feng, go get two jars of green plums?" Bring the wine."

Du Lingfeng was ecstatic in his heart and hurriedly bowed and left. He secretly swore in his heart that he would not take a step closer to Jiang Zhe before the Duke of Chu left tomorrow. His fear of Jiang Zhe was not because of the rumors, but for a strong-blooded man. For young people, no authority can deter them. It's just that when Du Lingfeng was practicing martial arts in the Shaolin Temple, Master Cizhen once returned to the temple with his closed disciple Jiang Shen. While Master Cizhen was busy discussing Buddhist scriptures and martial arts with the elders in the temple, Jiang Shen was handed over to the younger disciples who took turns taking care of him. , Jiang Shen was only four years old at the time, but he was extremely naughty, giving everyone a splitting headache. One day it was Du Lingfeng's turn to take care of Jiang Shen. Jiang Shen was particularly naughty. He couldn't take care of her at a glance and ran away without knowing where he was. Du Lingfeng was a little impatient and spanked Jiang Shen hard while others were not paying attention. , and then Jiang Shen was indeed honest for a long time. As a result, when Du Lingfeng woke up from his nap at noon and held Jiang Shen in his arms to hand him back to his uncle, Master Cizhen, everyone was stunned when they saw him, and then they hid their mouths and snickered. Du Lingfeng came to his senses, and when he looked in the mirror, he realized that his eyebrows had been shaved off. For the next six months, he was so ashamed that he did not dare to go out, and he also avoided seeing Jiang Shen again. In his mind, like father, like son, a little devil like Jiang Shen, his father must not be easy to mess with. He had offended Jiang Zhe, so naturally he wanted to stay as far away as possible.

After a moment, two jars of green plum wine were brought in by Du Lingfeng himself, and then he took the opportunity to retreat. Gu Yuanyong saw that Pei Yun and Jiang Zhe seemed to be interested in talking in secret, so he retreated wisely.

After drinking for three rounds, Pei Yun began to get down to business and asked: "Didn't the Marquis go to Dinghai with the navy? The intelligence report from the day before yesterday still said that the Marquis attacked the Yongjiang estuary in Zhenhai at night and burned more than a hundred ships of the Chu army. ship."

I laughed when I heard this and said, "This is an exaggeration. The Yongjiang Estuary Harbor in Mingzhou is blocked by silt, and ships with more than a thousand stones cannot enter. Lu Can can at most leave some speedboats there to monitor the movements of Dinghai and convey news. Military information, if Lu Can still gives the Donghai Navy a chance to achieve a major victory, he will not be a dignified general." At this point, I turned to Xiao Shunzi and said: "Cong'er is still not stable enough. It's not in my nature to have to show up for such a trivial matter. I'm afraid if I do this one or two more times, even if I don't reveal my whereabouts, Lu Can will know that Dinghai is a stand-in."

Xiao Shunzi said calmly: "Even if he knows, he still has to convince others."

Pei Yun had naturally heard that Jiang Zhe had left a substitute in Dinghai. Although he had never heard of the name "Cong'er" mentioned by Jiang Zhe, he thought he was a first-class disciple of Jiang Zhe. Thinking of Jiang Zhe's general Nan Chu Junchen's gaze lured Wu Yue, but he escaped and came to Chuzhou. This kind of dragon's behavior is really admirable.

Pei Yun was filled with doubts. There was no order from the imperial court and he had not received any relevant intelligence. Although he did not think there was anything wrong with Jiang Zhe, the most important thing at the moment was to protect Jiang Zhe, and the second was to write to the emperor to explain the matter. , but Jiang Zhe just said that he was leaving tomorrow. If he really let Jiang Zhe go casually, I am afraid that if something goes wrong in the future, the emperor would definitely blame him, so he asked: "Master Hou has been on a dangerous journey since Wu Yue." The general admired me for sneaking into Chuzhou. Now the war is going on. Although Huaibei is still under the control of our army, spies from Southern Chu often come in. Why don't you stay in Chuzhou for a while? "

I sneered and said, "If we stay in Chuzhou, I'm afraid we will be captured alive by the enemy. Does General Pei worry so much about Chuzhou's defense? I'm afraid even Xuzhou may not be able to be saved."

Pei Yun was shocked and said cautiously: "What does the Marquis mean by this? In the end, Chuzhou and Sizhou will block the Southern Chu army from going north. Although the Chu army in Huaixi won a great victory last time, it also suffered heavy damage. , and General Cui Jue and Cui were guarding Suzhou, why would Xuzhou also fall? Moreover, Lu Can was planning to fetter Wu Yue for Lord Marquis, is there any way to separate and go north to attack our army? "

I sighed softly: "Your Majesty, King Qi, and even I still underestimate Lu Can. After our army was defeated years ago, the defense lines of Chuzhou, Sizhou, and Suzhou are still stable. There are still two troops in Huaibei, you and Cui Jue. There are more than hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers. In our minds, we can already defend Huaibei. Regardless of whether the monarchs and ministers of Southern Chu dare to provoke war again, His Royal Highness the King of Qi is about to lead his army southward and set up a Jiangnan headquarters in Runan. Xuzhou, so although Huaibei has insufficient troops, we don't take it to heart.

Who would have thought that Lu Can would have such courage. This time I passed through the northeast of Huaihe and found that the amount of grain and grass that the Chu army had levied exceeded the normal needs of the Chu army in the east of Huaihe. Moreover, Yang Xiu is now in command in Guangling, which is the key point on the way north. He said, "We are building up our troops right now. I didn't take it seriously at first. With only the Huaidong army and horses, it was absolutely impossible to conquer Sizhou and Chuzhou in one fell swoop. It wasn't until I arrived in Chuzhou that I realized that there was discord between the civil and military forces and the people were filled with resentment. No wonder Lu Can had If I have the guts to attack Chuzhou, if what I expected is true, as soon as Yang Xiu attacks, the Huaixi defenders will cooperate with the flying cavalry battalion to go north to seize Suzhou and advance to Xuzhou. Once Xuzhou is lost, they can threaten Qingzhou to the north and Nanyang to the west. , the Chu army not only secures Jianghuai, but also takes the initiative to attack Dayong.

Now that I think about it, it is true that God blessed Dayong. The East China Sea army attacked Wuyue, which damaged the tax base of Southern Chu. Lu Can had to go to Wuyue to supervise the army in person. Although Yang Xiu was also a talented person, he lacked some decisiveness. In order to maintain stability, he delayed the attack. time, otherwise if they started to launch the attack ten days ago, I am afraid that the people of Chuzhou would rise up and Chuzhou would be in danger. "

Pei Yun's face turned livid when he heard this, and he couldn't help but secretly regret that he cherished his future and allowed Luo Jing to act recklessly. Thinking about it carefully, the more he thought about it, the more chilled he felt in his heart. Now Changsun Ji is besieging Xiangyang again. Although most of the attacks are feints, However, there must be no time to take into account the Jianghuai war, and the Huaibei defense line seems to be in danger. If the Chu army intends to advance north, the target must be Xuzhou. Seeing that Pei Yun already knew the seriousness of the current situation, I added, "I can't blame you. The Southern Chu Army has never taken the initiative to go north. Now that you know the news, you can arrange how to defend it. As long as Chuzhou is not lost, Even if Sizhou falls, it will not be considered a defeat for our army."

Pei Yun stood up and bowed his head and said: "General, I would like to thank Lord Hou for the warning. Lord Hou, please rest assured that as long as Pei is in Chuzhou for one day, Chuzhou will never be lost."

I nodded and said, "That's good. Although the Jiangnan branch has not yet been established, my appointment as counselor has been decided. You don't need to worry about any culpability. I can take care of everything. Originally, Huaibei was in danger, so I should stay here. That's right, it's just that the original plan for the Xiangyang war was a bit conservative, so I'm going to see Chang Sun Ji. You give me the customs clearance documents and a guide to show me the way. And all the soldiers and civilians who know that I'm coming to Chuzhou, you We all need to be careful, I don’t want others to know my whereabouts yet.”

Pei Yun nodded and said: "General, I will obey. The Du Lingfeng whom the Marquis met just now is my nephew. He is very familiar with the road and can guide the Marquis. The people who saw the Marquis today will be controlled and cut off." This matter will not be leaked.”

I nodded and said: "Once Chuzhou is attacked, you must be careful to prevent chaos in the city. Gu Yuanyong is a talent. As long as you still have hope of winning, he will not rebel. This man is quite famous in Chuzhou. You It is right to let him succeed Luo Jing this time. You have to win over him well to stabilize the hearts of the people of Chuzhou. That high-minded person is not successful enough, but I think he is more than capable of failing. If there is anything wrong, let him If you want to kill him, don't be soft-hearted."

Pei Yun solemnly said: "I will obey your orders."

I stood up and said, "Okay, let that Du Lingfeng arrange food and lodging for us. Your military affairs are important. I don't need you to see me off when I leave tomorrow, so as not to make any noise."

Pei Yundao said: "The documents required by the Marquis will be submitted to the Marquis at Lingfeng tomorrow. The general will now go to the camp outside the city to order troops. Please forgive me for being disrespectful."

I said calmly: "Go quickly, I also want to have a few drinks here."

Pei Yun stood up to leave and walked downstairs without hesitation. Not long after, I heard the sound of horse hooves downstairs, gradually disappearing.

I sighed softly and said: "This time is really a fluke. If Hu Yanshou hadn't discovered that the number of grain ships was far greater than it should be on the way, and there were people with your skills as spies, he wouldn't have been able to find out this time. Chu’s strategy of seizing the east and attacking the west. It’s really funny to say that I lured the Chu army’s attention to Wu and Yue, but Lu Can took advantage of the situation and took the opportunity to regain Huaidong and advance to Xuzhou. This time the two of us are evenly matched.”

Xiao Shunzi said calmly: "No matter how careful the plan is, since it has been leaked, it will not be easy to succeed. Otherwise, how could the young master go to Xiangyang with such confidence?"

I laughed when I heard this and said, "Pei Yun is a disciple of the Shaolin Dharma Protector. His temperament is both resolute and decisive, and he also has the power to change. A few days ago, he indulged Luo Jing because he didn't want to offend the powerful ministers, which caused the situation in Chuzhou. Unstable, but now that he knows that the Nan Chu army intends to attack, he will kill decisively. Even if Chuzhou becomes a river of blood, he will not let Nan Chu take advantage of it." At this point, I sighed again. He said: "If I had come a day earlier, I am afraid that Pei Yun would have driven Luo Jing away by now, and then there would be no regrets today."

Xiao Shunzi sneered and said: "Young master, you are just talking nonsense. I'm afraid Zhuang Qingpu has something to do with Nan Chu. Otherwise, why would he pass through the defense lines of the two armies and return to Chuzhou? Besides, he would assassinate Luo Jing, wouldn't he?" Is it beneficial to Nan Chu? General Pei and Luo Jing have not yet reached the point of incompatibility. If the Chu army attacks, an iron-fisted county guard will be more trustworthy than a surrender, right? And if Zhuang Qingpu is not seriously injured and dying, even if General Pei took pity on him and had to capture him and behead him. When the time comes, the soldiers in the city will definitely be more resentful towards Dayong. Internal and external troubles will break out at the same time. I am afraid that Chuzhou City will not be so easy to defend."

After hearing this, I lowered my head and thought for a moment, and said: "What you said makes sense, but Zhuang Qingpu is dead, so there is no need to mention it. It would be a pity for this man to die anyway. If Yang Xiuzhen wants to sacrifice such a Man, I would laugh at him for being short-sighted."

At this time, I heard the familiar sound of footsteps, and I knew it was Hu Yanshou who was going up the stairs. I suddenly laughed and said, "Hu Yan married Su Hou. Not to mention other benefits, his ability to monitor the enemy's situation has improved by leaps and bounds." Otherwise, if we are afraid that the Chu army is approaching the city, we will know that Nan Chu still has the courage to attack Huaibei?"

Xiao Shunzi was shocked when he heard this. Even with his cold face and cold heart, he couldn't help but smile.