The Grandmaster Strategist

Li Zhi entered the palace with his chamberlain. He had written a letter asking for an attack on Chu a few days ago, but there was no response. Today, his father finally called him into the palace, and he was a little overjoyed. The meeting was held in the Imperial Study Room. Emperor Yong Li Yuan was sitting behind the Long Book Desk, his eyes slightly squinted and hesitant. Next to him sat a beautiful young woman in imperial attire, sitting on the chair to the left of the book desk. Sitting in this order are Prince Li An, Prime Minister Wei Guan, and Wei Guogong Cheng Shu. In addition to the first seat on the right, there are General Fuyuan Qin Yi and Qi King Li Xian. Li Xian is still pale and a little sick, but The spirit is pretty good.

Prince Li An is thirty-six years old this year, two years older than King Yong Li Zhi. However, he has never practiced martial arts. He is not as handsome as Li Zhi. Although he does not look very old because he has taken good care of himself, there is always something between his eyebrows. With a hint of exhaustion, he looked at Li Zhi's charming appearance coming in from the outside, with a trace of jealousy flashing in his eyes. Li Zhi walked directly to the Long Shu case, prostrated himself in the tunnel and said, "My son, please pay homage to my father." Li Yuan said, "Zhi'er, why are you here so late?" Li Zhi smiled and said, "My son just received intelligence from Jiangnan before he came, so I sorted it out. I took it over for a moment so that my father could see it."

Li Yuan looked at Li An strangely and said, "An'er, didn't you already hand over the Jiangnan spy information?"

Li An smiled and said: "My second brother must not know that Jiangnan's intelligence has reached me first."

A cold smile flashed in Li Zhi's eyes, and he said: "The Jiangnan intelligence from His Royal Highness came from Liang Wan. The intelligence channels here are different, so there must be some things that the father doesn't know yet."

Li An looked stern. He tried every means to control the Jiangnan spy network. He didn't expect that Li Zhi still had other information. How could he not be jealous? He said coldly: "I see. A few days ago, the sixth brother attacked Xiangyang. If the second brother If you bring out that information, I'm sure Sixth Brother will not be defeated so miserably." He only focused on his own pleasure and attacking Li Zhi, but forgot about Li Xian's mood, and a hint of gloom flashed in Li Xian's eyes.

Li Zhi said calmly: "Brother Chen only discovered that our intelligence network in Jiangnan was not complete when the sixth brother failed in his first attack on Xiangyang. The military deployment map of Xiangyang we obtained was very rough. It must be the defender of Xiangyang." There were manipulations when submitting the report to the Ministry of War. It can be seen that the intelligence network in charge of Miss Liang has been noticed by knowledgeable people in Nanchu. It is only due to the protection of the monarchs and ministers of Nanchu that they dare not eliminate them. In this way, when we officially and Nanchu If the war begins between Chu and Chu, our intelligence network will inevitably be destroyed. Due to this situation, I have to rewire the wiring. It has finally been quite successful. Your Highness the Crown Prince does not know the details. It is not that I blocked it, but the new wiring has just been effective. , so I did not support my sixth brother in time." At this point, Li Zhi glanced at Li Xian and bowed slightly to apologize. Li Xianwei shook his head slightly to show that he didn't mind.

As soon as Li Zhi came in, he was quarreling with Prince Li An. Seeing that they stopped temporarily, except Emperor Yong, the young woman and Li An, everyone else stood up to salute Li Zhi. King Li Xian of Qi was about to stand up, but saw Li Zhi With the anger in An's eyes, he sat back again. Li Zhi sat down in his seat and agreed with everyone. The beautiful woman in palace attire had eyes as cold as ice when Li Zhi accused Liang Wan. After Li Zhi sat down, she said, "According to your Highness, my nephew Wan has endured hardships in the south of the Yangtze River, and yet he is still left behind, isn't he?" She spoke, and Li An lowered his head slightly, with a smile on his lips.

Li Zhi leaned forward and said: "Your Majesty, I dare not belittle Miss Liang's achievements. When Changle married far away, my father and we all felt sorry for Changle. Her temperament was gentle and gentle, so I sent Miss Liang to accompany Changle to Southern Chu." , Li Zhi is also very grateful. Over the years, we have been so successful in Nanchu, and Miss Liang has contributed a lot. However, now that the situation has changed, Miss Liang has almost made it obvious, so I have to establish another spy network to avoid Miss Liang. After being forced to retreat, we lost control of Jiangnan."

A faint smile appeared on the young woman's pretty face, as if she accepted Li Zhi's explanation.

That smile that looked like a plum blossom after snow made all the men in the study feel moved, but since she was a noble concubine, they all quickly looked away.

Seeing that the atmosphere had improved, Li Zhi said, "Since my father has received the information brought by His Highness the Crown Prince, he must have seen the "Book of Admonition to the Emperor of Jin"?" Li Yuan picked up a copy of the manuscript from the desk and said : "Yes, this Jiang Zhe is indeed very talented. Both the prince and the king of Qi have recommended this person to me. I have seen his poems, especially the poem Po Zhenzi, a small poem that drove the king of Shu to death. He is really talented. Jueshi, after seeing this book today, I believe that this person is not only a talented man, but also a capable minister. If Nanchu reuses this person, it will be the disaster of Dayong. Now that this person has been dismissed from office, he can definitely be recruited. .”

Li Zhi smiled and said: "Father is right, this man's talents are indeed extraordinary. My son and I have seen him in Shu, and our sixth brother has seen him in Nanchu. It's a pity that this man is indifferent to fame and fortune, and he is a loyal minister of Nanchu. I'm afraid he won't surrender." Bar?"

Li Yuan nodded and said: "Yes, I am also worried about this. Seeing this person's appearance, he should be a loyal minister of Nanchu. But as the saying goes, a wise minister chooses his master and serves him. I see this man's poems are free and easy, so he should not be A stubborn person, right?”

When Li Zhi heard what he said, he knew that Li Xian had not told Li An about his encounter with Jiang Zhe in Xiangyang, so Li Yuan would not think that Jiang Zhe might not surrender. He glanced at Li Xian and said, Li Zhi looked a little uneasy, smiled slightly, and continued: "Yes, because I got Jiang Zhe's seal this time, I checked it carefully and found that this person has a close relationship with Prince De Zhao Jue. In Shu, he He was the counselor for Zhao Jue. It is said that he was recuperating at home for more than two years, but he kept writing letters to Xiangyang. This time Liang Wan sent someone to assassinate Zhao Jue on the way. It was the servant he sent who saved Zhao Jue, and he even went to Xiangyang to see him in person. During Zhao Jue's last meeting, I found out that the new Governor of Southern Chu, Lu Xin, and Jiang Zhe also knew each other. Before Jiang Zhe passed the exam, he was the teacher of Lu Xin's son, Lu Can, so I thought that this man might not surrender easily. .”

Li Yuan listened with great interest, while Li An and Ji Guifei secretly exchanged a look. It seemed that they did not pay much attention to Jiang Zhe. Li Yuan looked at Wei Guan and asked, "Xiang Wei, what do you think?"

Wei Guan replied: "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. Southern Chu is tired now. It will only take a few years to pacify the south. When the time comes, the world will be at peace, and the wise men will naturally come back. Jiang Zhe, judging from his poems, is not a stubborn person, how can he not Feng Zhengshuo."

After hearing his answer, Li Yuan couldn't help but smile and said: "Xiang Wei is right. Although this person is worthy of reuse, there is no need to worry too much. After Nanchu is pacified, I will order him to join the court as an official."

Li Zhi looked at everyone and found that both Li An and Ji Guifei had indifferent expressions in their eyes. Only Li Xian's eyes were full of ridicule. He knew that his goal had been achieved. He praised Jiang Zhe in front of everyone just to hide his feelings for him. If you want to secretly arrange to win over Jiang Zhe, it is difficult to avoid the attention of Li An and others. It is better to show your importance to Jiang Zhe, so that other people's eyes will focus on Jiang Zhe's appearance. Talent, on the contrary, will not truly understand the importance of Jiang Zhe, nor will he go against himself for an "ordinary" celebrity. Only Li Xian can see through his plan. He also understands Jiang Zhe's talent, but he must also hope that Taking Jiang Zhe under his account, for this reason, he would never reveal what he had done. Next, he would only need to secretly compete with Li Xian.

Having achieved his goal, Li Zhi said cheerfully: "My father has summoned his ministers to discuss the attack on Chu. I wonder what my father's plan is?"

Li Yuan said: "This time Dayong lost his troops in Xiangyang. I am worried that Nanchu will be out of control from now on, and I plan to send you to lead the army to attack Chu. Now that the leader of Nanchu has become emperor, it just gives us the best excuse. Last time we used virtue. The prince has ill intentions and is preparing to harm me, Dayong, and the excuse is too far-fetched. Now it is natural for us to attack Chu, what does Zhi'er think?"

Li Zhi said: "Father is right. The military in Southern Chu is in chaos now. According to my original plan, a large army should be encircled to cut off the connection between Jingxiang and Jiangnan. It would take several years to gradually It consumes the military power of Nanchu and the people's hearts. But now it seems that if they are given time and their army stabilizes again, it will be impossible to capture Nanchu in less than ten years. If the father allows it, I want to take a risk. , give Nanchu a heavy blow, causing them to lose their determination to confront me, Dayong, and then pacify the resistance forces one by one. Although this may take a long time, within three years, I can guarantee that Nanchu will be conquered. Return to the territory of Dayong, and then spend another twenty years slowly regaining the people's support, what does the emperor think?"

Li Yuan heard what Li Zhi meant. According to his idea, the most perfect thing is to defeat Nan Chu in one fell swoop. But now it seems that Nan Chu still has something to do. He thought that Nan Chu could be conquered within three years, although the cost It was decades of turmoil, but it should not affect the situation in the Central Plains, and he would not have to worry about it by then. The desire to establish achievements was more important than anything else. He agreed with Li Zhi's opinion.

A hint of gloom flashed in Concubine Ji's eyes. She knew that if this happened, Jiangnan would be in chaos for many years and the people would suffer, but she did not stop it because she knew that Li Yuan had already decided. She once again believed that the sect leader's decision was the right one. Yes, although King Yong is talented and wise, in comparison, the mediocre Li An is more suitable to be the Lord of Yong.

Seeing that Li Yuan had agreed, Li Zhi put forward a detailed plan. According to the intelligence, Nan Chu's military strength was now dispersed. Because of the battle with Dayong, Nan Chu strengthened its defenses in Shu to prevent Dayong from breaking through Shu and flowing down the river. , and Xiangyang was attacked twice, resulting in heavy losses of soldiers. In order to replenish the troops, the Southern Chu military headquarters was almost stretched, and there was also a long defense line along the Yangtze River. It can be said that Southern Chu is now in a situation where the outside is strong but the inside is weak. Li Zhi proposed to first launch an attack and siege from Shuzhong and Xiangyang, so that Nanchu could concentrate on the two wars. Then he would bring his own elite cavalry to break through the Yangtze River and attack Jianye. According to common sense, Jianye City would not be attacked for several months. If it doesn't come down, a few months will be enough for the Southern Chu army to cut off Li Zhi's retreat and seize King Qin Jianye. But now that Jianye is empty, and using Dayong's internal support in Jianye, Li Zhi is confident that he can defeat Li Zhi within a few days. Capture Jianye, and then plunder the Southern Chu royal family and hundreds of officials to Dayong. By then, Southern Chu will be leaderless. Not to mention that even the capital city has been breached and the king has been captured. This is enough to greatly damage the morale of Southern Chu. Even if they set up another After becoming the leader of the country, it would be difficult to confront Dayong, and then Dayong could pacify Jiangnan in the name of Zhao Jia. Although this plan would take more time to actually completely rule Jiangnan and would cause more troubles, Li Yuan hoped to make Nanchu a vassal sooner, so he still agreed to the plan.

Although Li An is not very proficient in military affairs, he is also aware of the consequences. However, he thinks that if Li Zhi completely captures Nanchu, he may not be able to keep his reserve. Li Xian failed to attack Nanchu this time, and he was heartbroken. Thinking that this way there would be a chance to save their lives in the future, neither of them objected. Although Wei Guogong Cheng Shu and Fuyuan General Qin Yi both disagreed, they both understood the mystery and knew that objections were useless. In this way, such a plan to attack Chu that was criticized by later generations and did not conform to the art of war was passed. Except for Li Zhi and Shi Yu, no one knew that Li Zhi's biggest purpose was to get Jiang Zhe.

Everyone had made a decision, and Li Yuan sighed: "Zhi'er, this time you attack Jianye, you must ensure the safety of Changle, and you must bring her back safely. She has sacrificed too much for Dayong, I feel sorry for her. .”

Li Zhi sighed slightly. Princess Changle was the beloved daughter of his father. Her mother, the eldest grandson, was known for her virtues. Changle herself was dignified and gentle, so Changle was the most favored by her father. The fourth son of the emperor, Li Xian, who was born to the eldest grandson, was assassinated to protect Li Yuan. The seventh son of the emperor, Li Jin, died young, so in order to comfort the eldest grandson, the imperial concubine, the emperor promised Princess Changle that she could choose her own son-in-law after Ji. Princess Changle already had someone she liked, and the emperor also agreed to marry her. However, because he wanted to make a good relationship with Nanchu, his father ordered Changle to marry the prince of Nanchu, Zhao Jia. At that time, Concubine Changsun cried in front of her father and complained that Dayong and Nanchu would turn against each other sooner or later. If Changle married, how would they live in the future. But the father was still determined. Princess Changle's desperate look when she said goodbye was something Li Zhi could never forget. Although he cleverly arranged for Yongnu to compete for Zhao Jia's favor and avoid too much emotional involvement between Princess Changle and Zhao Jia, When he learned about Princess Changle's life of almost seclusion, he still felt extremely sad. Especially when he knew that Princess Changle was pregnant and decided to abort the child after many considerations, Li Zhi could almost see Changle's grief and despair. She knew clearly that if the child Everything I will face in the future will be so cruel, so I made this decision.

Thinking of this, Li Zhi said categorically: "Father, don't worry, this time I will definitely take my sister back. My sister has sacrificed a lot for me, Dayong. I will definitely ensure her safety and bring her back to my father's house." We are happy on our knees."

Li Yuan sighed and said: "After taking her back, I will choose another son-in-law for Changle in a while, so that she will not be left as a widow at such a young age."

Everyone hesitated for a moment, then Wei Guan said: "Your Majesty has your own way, but if Zhao Jiaru is captured and comes here, he will still need to use his name in a short time. The princess is the Queen of Nanchu. If your Majesty openly chooses a son-in-law for the princess, the people of Nanchu will inevitably I hate Dayong with gnashing of teeth."

Li Yuan said angrily: "Should my daughter suffer forever?"

Wei Guan was speechless. In his opinion, it didn't matter whether Princess Changle was happy or not, but he didn't dare to say this.

Li An tried to smooth things over and said: "Father, what Xiang Wei said makes sense. Why don't we choose a husband for the imperial sister first and let them make an engagement secretly? In a few years, Southern Chu will be pacified, and Zhao Jia After it has no effect, I can justifiably marry the imperial sister."

Li Yuan nodded slightly and said: "That's it. Don't spread this matter out yet. We'll talk about it after Chang Le comes back. Okay, I'm a little tired, you go ahead."

Li An, Li Zhi, Li Xian, Wei Guan, Cheng Shu, and Qin Yi all stood up to leave. Concubine Ji supported Li Yuan and walked out of the imperial study. Everyone also left. Li Xian did not leave with Li An. Instead, he deliberately stayed behind and said to Li Zhi: "Second brother, do you think Jiang Zhe will definitely surrender to you?"

Li Zhi said calmly: "Why, the sixth brother also wants to keep him under his command."

Li Xian geared up and said, "Second brother, I fell in love with Jiang Zhe as soon as I saw him. You have so many ministers and generals under your command, just give me Jiang Zhe."

Li Zhi smiled slightly and said, "Do you think if he doesn't vote for me, he will definitely vote for you?"

Li Xiandao: "I think this kid is quite aware of current affairs sometimes. If he is willing to vote for me, I will worship him as my teacher and obey his words. He will definitely agree, as long as the second brother does not compete with me."

Li Zhi smiled bitterly. He didn't expect that Li Xian would surrender so hard. He didn't want to argue with Li Xian, so he said: "We still don't know whether he is willing to submit to Dayong. We argued too early. By the way, you and Li Xian When will Miss Qin get married?"

Li Xian smiled and said: "I'm not in a hurry. Anyway, the fate has been decided. Qin Zheng's master and father want me to hurry up, so I'm planning to get married next month."

Li Zhi smiled and said: "Then I won't be able to come back in time. You have delayed me for several years. Fortunately, Miss Qin is waiting for you."

Li Xian sneered: "If Concubine Ji hadn't urged my father to issue the edict, I would have waited a little longer. There are so many beauties outside, how could I be busy? The Liu Piaoxiang I saw in Nanchu last time is really a natural. Beauty, if it weren't for Qin Zheng, I would have gotten it. Second brother, when you come to Nanchu this time, you might as well go and see her. She is really a peerless beauty. A hypocritical woman like Liang Wan can't compare to her. , you are a woman, why are you worrying about the country and the people?"

Li Zhi smiled and said: "Okay, I will tell my sister-in-law to go and let her know that you look down on her." Li Xian quickly apologized.

Although Li Zhi was smiling on his face, his heart was cold. Li An now had the support of Fengyi Sect and Li Xian's help. If Li Xian was more mature, then Li An could really compete with him instead of relying on his father. Thinking of the emperor's favoritism and thinking of the increasingly dangerous situation around him, Li Zhi once again determined that he must get Jiang Zhe. He needed someone who could help him break through many obstacles.

In September of the first year of Zhihua, King Yong Li Zhi proposed a plan to pacify Chu and led an army of 400,000 people southward. Jingxiang was shocked.

——"History of Chu in the Southern Dynasties·Biography of King Chu Yang"