The Grandmaster Strategist

After several days of rapid march, King Yong and other Yong troops reunited. King Yong's army of hundreds of thousands retreated step by step towards the territory of Dayong. Other blocking troops forced the Nanchu army that came later to send them away. So the next march was leisurely and comfortable. As a prisoner, I received preferential treatment and did not have to live with other prisoners. King Yong ordered a separate tent to be prepared for Xiao Shunzi and me. Although it was a marching tent, it was very comfortable and elegant. , the ground is covered with thick brocade felt, and the gaps around the tent are tightly wrapped with fur, so that the cold autumn wind will not blow in. There is a large bed in one corner of the tent, which is enough for two people to sleep peacefully. On the other side of the tent is a square pine table with two chairs on both sides. There is a purple clay tea set on the table, and in the center of the tent is a The exquisite and practical copper stove now has a pot of boiling water on it, making the entire tent warm.

Xiao Shunzi listened to the water boiling and skillfully made me a cup of hot tea. I stretched and sat up. Several accidents over the years had infected me with the root cause of the disease. Although I insisted on practicing health-preserving Qigong, the old disease would still relapse from time to time. I also wanted to be cured, but the heart disease was difficult to deal with. In addition, it is difficult for doctors to treat themselves, so I have always been sick in the past few years. Although it is an excuse to recuperate, my health is really not very good. Xiao Shunzi helped me sit up and complained: "Young master always refuses to take a good rest. This trip to Dayong is so busy, I'm afraid he will get sick again."

I sighed and said: "What can I do? You also know how my illness came about. Most of it is heart disease. In fact, I am much better now. It's just that this march reminds me of the attack on Shu. It's a pity that Prince De I have returned to the west by riding a crane. Now I am already in the Dayong Army Camp. Thinking of the past, I can’t help but feel sad. Alas."

At this time, a loud laughter came from outside the tent and said: "I heard that Mr. Jiang is unwell, and I came here to visit." Following the laughter, King Yong Li Zhi walked in. He was dressed in the clothes of a prince, and there were others following behind him. Two counselors and three people walked into the tent. I reluctantly wanted to get out of bed, but Li Zhi had already walked over, held me down and said, "Sir, there is no need to get up. I heard that your husband is sick, and Zhi is busy with military affairs, so I took the time to come and visit. How rude." After that, he sat beside my bed and looked at my face worriedly.

I saw that the two Confucian scholars had also sat down and leaned forward and said: "Suiyun's old illness has relapsed and he cannot get out of bed. Please forgive me. I have heard for a long time that His Highness King Yong is surrounded by talented people. I don't know how to call you two."

An old, handsome, middle-aged Confucian scholar in his fifties stood up and said: "Guan Xiu of Beihai has met Mr. Jiang. Mr. Jiang is famous all over the world for his literary talent. Guan once read Mr. Jiang's poems and his teeth and cheeks were so fragrant that he couldn't bear to pass away." ah."

Another white-shirted Confucian scholar with fine eyebrows and long eyes, and a graceful manner also smiled and said: "That day, my husband broke the news and forced the king of Shu to death. I still think about it in my heart, and I will give birth to Dong Zhi later."

I said lightly: "I have heard for a long time that among the counselors in King Yong's tent, Beihai Guanxiu was good at arranging grain, grass and soldiers, Dong Zhi from Luoyang was good at marching and setting up formations, and there was also Gou Lian from Yingchuan, who was good at sending envoys to all directions. These three were collectively called the Three Heroes. , today I saw him and his reputation was indeed well-deserved, but it is a pity that only two of the three heroes were seen, which really made Suiyun sigh that the family is so poor and so poor."

Dong Zhi said with a smile: "Brother Gou is not in the army now, so we are not allowed to see each other. He also respects his husband very much. On that day, my husband followed Prince Gu De to the Dayong Army. The three of us happened to be not in the army, and we left in a hurry. , and there was no chance to talk in detail. Now that the gentleman has returned to His Highness, I think we can talk over wine in the future."

I looked at Li Zhi, smiled slightly, and did not refute Dong Zhi's words to avoid making him look ugly. I just said lightly: "Although Suiyun is sick, he is still in good spirits. If Brother Dong has any questions, please feel free to come." Ask Suiyun, Suiyun dare not tell you anything."

After talking for a while, they saw that I was tired and left, and Li Zhi repeatedly asked me to have a good rest and said that a carriage had been arranged to take me with me.

He also asked Xiao Shunzi to take good care of her, and if she needed anything, she could ask Guan Xiu for it.

After they left, I leaned on the bed and said with a smile: "The counselors of King Yong are very sincere, but I think Gou Lian is a little narrow-minded. Otherwise, why didn't His Highness King Yong bring him with him? ?”

Xiao Shunzi smiled and said: "Young Master is smarter now. That Gou Lian is also in the camp, but he has a bad temper, so King Yong did not invite him to come, so as not to immediately offend the Young Master."

King Yong and two counselors walked out of the camp and sighed: "I thought he was just asking for illness, but unexpectedly he was really bedridden. Alas, he is not in good health, and I forced him to travel far away. No wonder he has always been very cold to me. .”

Dong Zhi comforted him and said, "Your Highness, don't worry. I saw that although this man was sick, he was in good spirits. He must not have been angry because Your Highness took him with him. Although I couldn't see through this person's heart, I said he obeyed Your Highness. He did not refute him face to face, which shows that this person is not invincible."

Li Zhi smiled bitterly and said: "Jiang Zhe is very easy-going. Even if I forcibly give him an official position, he may not refuse it. But if I want him to sincerely serve me, it will be difficult. Prince Zhao Jue of Germany valued him very much at the beginning. , but perhaps with some reluctance, he refused to serve with the army anymore. Prince De is still the uncle of the King of Southern Chu, so he was so perfunctory, and I am worried that he will be perfunctory with me in the same way."

Guan Xiu said: "Your Highness, please rest assured. Although this person's heart is as cold as ice, he still has a warm-blooded heart. Otherwise, he would not have come forward to remonstrate directly. As long as Your Highness treats you sincerely, you will definitely be able to win his loyalty. I heard that that day he and Prince De's alienation is mostly due to Prince De's aide Rong Yuan, but I'm worried about Gou Lian's temper. This guy is hard to convince, and he always has to provoke him several times, fearing that he might offend Jiang Suiyun."

Dong Zhidao: "Brother Guan is overly concerned. I think that if Gou Lian goes, he may have unexpected results. Although Jiang Zhe looks gentle and elegant, he is unruly and unruly in his heart. He and Brother Gou have a similar temperament. I can't see it. What adverse consequences will there be?”

While the three of them were discussing over and over here, Gou Lian, whom they were worried about, had already arrived in front of my account. Gou Lian was the most arrogant person. When he learned that Li Zhi had specially brought Jiang Zhe back to Jianye, he again Gou Lian was very caring about him, and Gou Lian felt uncomfortable. This time Li Zhi took Guan Xiu and Dong Zhi to visit the doctor but did not take him with him. Gou Lian felt uncomfortable in his heart. With his intelligence and intelligence, he naturally knew that Li Zhi and the others He was worried that he had offended Jiang Zhe, which made him even more unwilling, so he came to my tent shortly after Li Zhi and the others left. I am still a "prisoner" of Yong's army, even though Li Zhi ordered that no one should disturb me. , but Gou Lian's status in the army is very high, so the sergeant guarding me did not stop him and allowed him to walk into my tent calmly.

As soon as I saw this young man with a hooked nose, I guessed his identity. Seeing him standing in front of me without courtesy and sizing me up for a long time, he waved his hand to stop Xiao Shunzi's anger. I smiled and said, "Excuse me, but he has a sharp tongue." Is it true that someone as honest as a sword can live forever?"

Gou Lian was slightly startled and said: "I didn't expect that Jiang Suiyun, who cost the King of Shu his life through a song, would recognize this little person like me. I'm really honored. I didn't know that in the past, I ridiculed the King of Shu that once he became a captive, he would sink his waist and wear his temples. "Has the top scholar already known what happened today? I saw that my brother looked haggard and his body was torn apart. It should be considered a 'sinking waist and panning hair to spend time'."

I said calmly: "I have heard for a long time that Brother Yongquan was an aide to the late Xuzhou General Zhang Chen. Zhang Chen did not follow Zhengshuo and led his troops to separate the local area. Brother Yongquan was quite favored by him at that time. Later, His Highness King Yong attacked him. Zhang Chen, Your Excellency was ordered to go to Yong Ying as an envoy. Unexpectedly, he was impressed by His Majesty's majesty and persuaded General Zhang to abandon his armor and surrender after his return. In the future, Your Excellency went on missions to all places for His Highness Yong Yong and fulfilled his mission. However, I don't know whether it was because he went out for Zhang Chen in the first place. So, instead of being humiliated by being accused of surrender, you will be hung up on your ass in the future, and then you will achieve something later?"

Gou Lian's face turned red. Although he persuaded Zhang Chen to surrender, he was praised as a good talk, but he always felt that he did not persuade King Yong to withdraw his troops, but instead became King Yong's lobbyist to persuade him to surrender. This was a disgrace to his mission. He did not expect to be People expose it sharply. He said nervously: "His Royal Highness King Yong is like a dragon and a phoenix. He is elegant and noble. How can he be swayed by his words? It is not strange for me to return in defeat. Moreover, I can make up for my shortcomings by saving General Zhang from the fire and water. But Your Excellency, since you know Dayong is the orthodox one, why not follow Zhengshuo?"

I laughed and said, "Brother Yongquan, what I said is wrong. I said that General Zhang did not follow Zhengshuo. It was because the Central Plains were unified in an instant and people's hearts were attached to him. General Zhang relied on the strength of the army and did not understand the current affairs, so he took it lightly. Although Southern Chu is a small country, it has been a country longer than Dayong. Suiyun was once the number one scholar in Southern Chu, a first-class Jinshi, served in the Hanlin Academy for many years, and was deeply favored by the king. How could he abandon the emperor and become a great scholar? Yong, Suiyun knows his integrity well. The old master is still here, how can he follow the trend and serve the new master?"

Gou Lian rolled his eyes and said: "Since your Excellency is determined to serve Nan Chu, now that the leader of Nan Chu is in my camp, and Zhao Jiadu is kneeling down to serve me, Dayong, why are you so stubborn? Besides, I heard that the wise minister chose the leader and Zhao Jia was stupid and the wise king was forced to die, but our lord, His Highness King Yong, was extremely humble, courteous to virtuous subordinates, and acted decisively. His reputation for benevolence, righteousness, and virtuous was spread all over the world. Why did your Excellency hold on to his disability and refused to surrender, so that he was laughed at by the world. "

I smiled coldly and said: "Although good ministers choose their masters, I have never heard that there are good ministers who serve the new master because the old master is still there. In the past, Yu Rang served Uncle Zhi. After the death of the Zhongxing clan, the Zhongxing clan was just a mortal." Yu Rang has not given up on him, not to mention that Sui Yun's former followers were not Zhao Jia alone, but the royal family of Nan Chu. The late king appointed me as an imperial concubine, and Prince De appointed me as counselor. The kindness is so great before my eyes. How can I see the glory? If you are rich, you will immediately join a new owner."

Gou Lian said sternly: "Although your words are gold and jade, you have been denounced for a long time, why are you so infatuated?"

I said calmly: "In the past, Bigan was disloyal and did not change his ambition. Qu Yuan was demoted. He heard about King Huai of Chu and came to Shenjiang. Suiyun was not an idiot and did not dare to imitate the sages. However, he was ignorant of glory and took refuge in the new master. I don’t dare to seek wealth and honor.”

When Gou Lian heard this, he had no choice but to bow down and say: "Sir, you are of noble character, and I admire you. However, Your Highness has the appearance of a king. It would be a pity to miss him, but he is sick in the army, and Yongquan dare not fight against him. We are thousands of miles away, can Yongquan come to interrupt me and listen to me respectfully?"

I smiled and said: "Brother Yongquan is famous all over the world. It is Suiyun who should ask for more advice. I am lonely on the way. If you have time, you might as well come and talk at night. It's just that although Suiyun is well-read, he doesn't know much about music, chess, calligraphy and painting." Yes, I heard that you are quite famous in this area, so I hope you will give me some advice."

After Li Zhi learned that Gou Lian came to see me privately, he was very worried and immediately sent someone to persuade him. Unexpectedly, when the man arrived, he saw that Gou Lian and I were having a very happy conversation. Li Zhi couldn't help but be happy when he heard about it. From then on, he often I would not refuse to ask the staff of King Yong to come and accompany him. We talked in detail for many days. I couldn’t help but admire the staff of King Yong’s staff. Guan Xiu was very proficient in money and food documents, and Dong Zhi was good at the art of war and battle formations. As soon as we started talking, we talked endlessly, and Gou Lian was knowledgeable and talented, and I got along the best with him, but he had a competitive personality and always liked to debate difficult problems with me. Talking with these people every day put me in a good mood. Coupled with Xiao Shunzi's careful care, my illness gradually recovered on the road.

I have a good impression of them, and they admire me very much.

Guan Xiu was good at military affairs, money and food, and was the boss of King Yong's confidant. However, as soon as he talked with this young man, he found that no matter what he said, he immediately understood it. Occasionally, he said a sentence or two, and it always hit the point. Later, Jiang Zhe accidentally said that he had handled documents under Prince De's account. Only then did Guan Xiu know why this Hanlin bachelor knew so much about these trivial matters. He originally thought that Jiang Zhe had served in Prince De's shogunate and was just a military counselor. That’s all.

Dong Zhi was good at the art of war, but when he debated with Jiang Zhe, he found that Jiang Zhe knew everything about ancient and modern battle formations, even the parts he didn't understand. Jiang Zhe spoke eloquently and explained in detail, so he asked him how he knew it. , this young man smiled and said that he had read military books in the Lu Mansion of Zhenyuan Marquis, and later compiled military books and strategies in the Hanlin Academy. Dong Zhi originally thought that Jiang Zhe was just talking about war on paper, so he tried to practice military tactics with him. Unexpectedly, Jiang Zhe used his troops like a horse in the sky, and there was no trace to be found. Strange peaks often emerged from the most incredible places, but after thinking about it later, he found it more reasonable and wonderful. Top hair. After Dong Zhi was convinced, he couldn't help but be competitive, so he debated with him about war equipment. Unexpectedly, Jiang Zhe was able to talk clearly. Although Jiang Zhe was mostly silent afterwards, if he occasionally spoke, Dong Zhi would think about it. After half a day, I went to research and improve the equipment the next day.

Gou Lian admired Jiang Zhe the most. He originally boasted of being knowledgeable, but Jiang Zhe had participated in the preparation of the Chongwen Palace in Nanchu and had read tens of millions of books. Every time he argued about an article, Jiang Zhe would often quote from other sources, which left Gou Lian speechless. As for the art of rhetoric, although Jiang Zhe didn't use it very often, when Gou Lian was so proud that he couldn't help himself, Jiang Zhe would often convince him with just one sentence.

What the three of them admire most privately is that despite Jiang Zhe's talent, he is calm and natural. When talking to him, it's like a spring breeze. They only feel that he is talented, but not overbearing. Only in the dead of night, he will It makes you sweat. Later, the three of them became more and more eager to win, but Jiang Zhe often retreated slightly, letting the three people's enthusiasm turn into a spring breeze. It took a long time to realize that Jiang Zhe had not accepted the challenge.

Although the journey of thousands of miles is far away, it will eventually come to an end. When they are about to arrive in Yongdu, the three of them join hands again to ask Li Zhi to see him and ask him to accept Jiang Zhe as his subordinate. Gou Lian was the most fierce, saying: "It would be a pity if Your Highness cannot take this person under your command. This person's talent is several times better than mine. If he were to become an enemy, I'm afraid our corpses would be gone."

Li Zhi said with a bitter face: "Gentlemen, how come I don't know the importance of this person? But every time I go to persuade him, this person remains silent, leaving me helpless."

Guan Xiu said: "Your Highness, there is no need to be anxious. This person respects Your Highness quite a lot and has no hostility towards us. He should not refuse this. When we return to Beijing this time, we will send this person to Prince Yong's Mansion to be placed under house arrest and we will slowly persuade him. There is always a way, not to mention Shi Ziyou's generosity and kindness, he will definitely be able to enlighten him."

Li Zhi sighed: "That's all. If Shi Ziyou can't convince him anymore, I, my king, how can I let this go?"

Guan and Xiu looked at each other in confusion, knowing that Li Zhi had murderous intentions.

"The rain is gurgling outside the curtain, and the spring is fading. The quilt cannot bear the cold at dawn. In the dream, I don't know that I am a guest, and I am greedy for pleasure for a while. Don't lean on the railing alone, there are infinite mountains and rivers. It is easy to see others when they are gone. Spring is gone when the flowers fall on the flowing water, and in the sky world."

I put on my clothes and stood in front of the window. This is the post house. Tomorrow is the day when I arrive in Yongdu. I recited the newly written "Langtaosha" and felt infinitely lonely in my heart. Thinking of the charming scenery of Nanchu, I felt even more lonely in my heart. Turn the ileum. Xiao Shunzi walked up to me and whispered: "Master, these days, you have impressed Li Zhi's advisers, but you have always refused to favor Li Zhi. If Li Zhi has murderous intentions, what should you do?" "

"Xiao Shunzi, you don't understand. In the past, I just went with the flow. It didn't matter who I was an official. Even in front of Prince De, I was just perfunctory. But His Highness King Yong's heart is like a mirror. If I surrender to him, if I can't Telling the truth, then His Highness King Yong will not be satisfied, and it will not solve his crisis. If I want to do my best, then I have to see the magnanimity of King Yong. I deliberately forced him to kill me. If he is finally willing to let go, I just think of him as the Mingjun Holy Lord. If he finally has murderous intentions, then he is just an overlord and a hero. Instead of worrying about him killing heroes in the future, why don't I try his mind today and if he can finally let him go? Me, then I believe that in the future, the king and his ministers will be able to start and end well, if he--, I will just cheat my death and escape."

Xiao Shunzi said with an anxious look on his face: "Young Master, His Highness King Yong is extremely powerful. If he wants to kill you, how can you escape? Even though my martial arts are good, I can't guarantee that I can rescue the Young Master."

I smiled lightly and said: "I think His Highness King Yong will not kill me with real swords and spears in order not to hurt the hearts of famous people in the world. Poison is the best way. I have prepared a precious poison. After I took it, I became as stiff as death. It is difficult to steal a person, but it is not easy to steal a corpse. After I escaped, I hid in Yongdu. When I got the opportunity, I took the opportunity to avenge the murder of my wife. When the time comes, Xiao Shunzi, you and I can wander around the world and remain anonymous, wouldn't it be great? People often say that reading thousands of books means traveling thousands of miles, but I'm looking forward to it a lot?"

Xiao Shunzi said reassuringly: "Then I hope that King Yong will kill the young master, so as not to involve the young master in having to work hard for him."

I smiled slightly. Not everyone is qualified to put in all my efforts. To be honest, I am afraid that no one can pass my temptation. If they are not used, they will be killed. This is the indescribable thought of those wise monarchs. It's a pity that King Yong is really a person that I admire, I thought with some regret.