The Grandmaster Strategist

On September 14th, the twenty-fifth year of Wuwei, the emperor issued an order for autumn hunting, and changes were about to occur.

——"The Chronicles of Emperor Yongshi"

Jiang Haitao looked at Jiang Zhe with reverence. He knew the importance of this man very well. He had been recuperating in the guest house these days, but Princess Yong often came to visit him and inevitably said some things to him, and Jiang Haitao was the best The strange thing was that this young man was so sick that he could die at any time. Even though he was in danger, he saved his life, and he heard that his cousin King Yong was obedient to him, so Jiang Haitao entered Hanyuan by thanking him in person. As soon as he entered Hanyuan, Jiang Haitao knew that King Yong really paid great attention to Master Jiang. The guards in Hanyuan were probably even tighter than the guards around King Yong.

I looked at this young man with a smile. He was young, with a childish look on his face, and a pair of clear eyes that made it possible to see through his thoughts immediately. I couldn't help but feel good about such a bright young man, but doubts also arose at the same time. As the only son of the Marquis of Donghai, how could he have such a pair of eyes. After thinking for a while, I asked skillfully: "The young Marquis is a general, and he must be well versed in water warfare. Didn't you come here today to borrow my collection of "Ocean Illustrations"?"

I asked this question cleverly. For ordinary people, "Ocean Illustrations" is just an esoteric and difficult-to-understand book, but for Jiang, who is good at water warfare and shipbuilding, it is a hard-to-find book. This book had originally been lost among the people, but before I passed the imperial examination, I accidentally obtained half of the incomplete copy. For me, this rare and unique copy was hard to find. After I entered the Hanlin Academy, I never read it. Among the vast number of classics in the Hanlin Academy, I collected some fragments. With my own knowledge and extensive reading, I restored this book completely. When I presented this book to the court of Nanchu, no one found it. However, it was only sent to the Chongwen Palace as an orphan copy. Originally, this book was like a jewel buried in the loess, never to emerge again. However, when Dayong was negotiating peace again, King Yong once asked Nanchu to present classics, so this "Ocean Illustration" came back into my hands. I have deep feelings for this book, so I kept it. After that, for some reason, the news spread like wildfire that King Yong had an only copy of "Ocean Illustrations" in his hands, and the news that King Yong had rewarded me with this book also became known. The knowledgeable people of Dayong still didn't know. Few, there were many people who wanted to meet me, but because I never met foreigners, I couldn't do anything. Today I asked Jiang Haitao this question, but it has a very deep meaning. If it is the man who was defeated in the East China Sea, so he called himself the Marquis of the East China Sea. Jiang Yong is really proficient in water warfare and has a far-reaching vision as the intelligence said. How could he not mention this book "Ocean Illustrations"? If Jiang Xiaohou knows this book, it means that Jiang Yong is very fond of this beloved son. If he values ​​closeness, then the appearance shown by this young man is false. If he doesn't know at all, unless this son is unworthy of education, it is because Mr. Jiang deliberately indulges his beloved son. But I think this young man is innocent and has good qualifications. Jia, just like pure gold and jade, these two reasons are probably hard for me to believe.

Jiang Haitao stood up and said excitedly: "Ocean Pictures, I heard my father say it many times, and my father sighed and said, it's a pity that I can't see it with my own eyes. Are you really willing to lend it to me?" His expression was exciting and exciting. This is a young man. The expression on his face when he saw his beloved became even more clueless. I was curious about what kind of person this Jiang Xiaohou was, so I said, "Dong Que, go get my copy of "Ocean Illustrations"."

After a while, the "Ocean Illustrated Chronicles" that I had re-copied and compiled was brought. After I handed it to Jiang Haitao, I smiled and said: "But I can't lend it to you for free. After you read each article, I have to ask you If you answer some questions well, I will allow you to continue reading. If you cannot answer, you will not be allowed to read any more."

Jiang Haitao said with a calm expression: "Although Haitao is young, he has been following his father all year round. Although some things are not very clear, he still knows a little bit. As long as Mr. Jiang doesn't ask too difficult questions, Haitao is confident that he can answer them."

I smiled slightly and said, "Of course I won't deliberately embarrass you.

"As he said this, he motioned to Dong Que to take out the book and put it on the desk. Jiang Haitao knew that he could not read such precious books in person, so he excitedly moved a chair and sat in front of the desk. Dong Que stood aside to replace him. Turn the page.

After he read an article, I asked him a few questions, and he answered them fluently. Although some of the questions were superficial, they were outstanding for his age. What surprised me most was that after I repaired the This book involves a lot of missing content. Although I have added content compiled from other maritime classics, there are still many uncertainties. In such places, I have marked them in the margins. Where did he get this opinion, as well as several other opinions and my final judgment. I deliberately asked him about these points. He had his own unique opinions, and some of them were obviously more correct than my judgment. In the next few days, he and I had endless fun discussing each other's problems every day.

In the end, in addition to concluding that Jiang Haitao is a natural commander of the navy, I also came to the conclusion that he is a straightforward person who doesn't care much about anything except water. If he goes out to sea in a boat or fights on the water, he is definitely a He is a good general, but there is no need to count on him for other things. Jiang Yong must be both happy and distressed. Smiling slightly, I wrote a short note to Dong Que and asked him to keep it. Dong Que slowly kept it. I gave him several short notes these days, but Dong Que was a smart man and didn't have any. Look, you didn’t even ask me what I was going to do.

On this day, I was admiring chrysanthemums in the garden. King Yong Li Zhi came to me and said in a deep voice: "Suiyun, the situation is already on the verge of breaking out."

I smiled lightly and said, "Your Highness, please speak."

Li Zhi said: "My father announced that he will go to the Hunting Palace to hold an autumn hunt the day after tomorrow. All the royal family in Beijing will participate. King Qi sent a letter to complain about his illness, but my father asked him to go with him despite his illness."

I said thoughtfully: "It seems that the emperor is also very careful. I wonder why the emperor held the autumn hunt?"

Li Zhi sighed and said: "A lot of trivial things have happened in the past few days, which are really difficult to describe. I originally thought that I didn't need to trouble Suiyun, but now it seems that I have to trouble you."

I said seriously: "Your Highness loves Zhe so much. If Zhe cannot serve His Highness at the critical moment, wouldn't it be a betrayal of your great kindness? Please speak up."

Li Zhi sighed and told me about the past few days.

Since I fell ill on the third day of September, while I was recuperating, King Qi only made small moves at first. However, King Yong was a master of military strategy, and it didn't take long to discover that the only purpose of King Qi's army was to prepare for an ambush.

Today Li Yuan issued an edict to hold the Autumn Hunt. This time he was accompanied by 20,000 people from the Forbidden Army, led by Qin General Qin Yi. Among them, there were 10,000 people belonging to the East Camp of the Forbidden Army. Qin Qing was the orthodox leader, and the two deputy commanders were Huang Xia. , Sun Ding divided into 5,000 people, the southern camp of the Forbidden Army had 5,000 people, led by Commander Yang Qian and deputy commander Hu Yanjiu, the northern camp of the Forbidden Army had 5,000 people, and the orthodox leader Pei Yun and deputy commander Xiahou Yuanfeng would accompany them. The prince, King Yong, and King Qi all accompanied him according to the imperial edict. In addition, Empress Dou, Concubine Ji, Concubine Changsun, Concubine Yan, Princess Li Zhen of Changle, and Princess Li Hanyou of Jingjiang would also accompany him. The one who stayed behind in the capital was Prime Minister Wei Guanhe. Zheng Xia, the servant, is recovering from his injuries. Tan Yi, the commander of the Western Camp of the Forbidden Army, is in charge of the safety of the capital. There are countless other ministers accompanying him. Among them, the ones worthy of my attention are Cheng Shu, Duke of Wei, and Qin Wuqi, the father of Princess Qin Zheng, the minister of Zhongshu. , Wei Ying, who had recently joined Zhongshu Province, and Prince Shaofu Lu Jingzhong.

Not to mention, the emperor issued an edict that King Yong and King Qi could only bring a hundred guards this time. During the autumn hunting period, everything would be done according to military orders. Fuyuan General Qin Yi was the commander-in-chief. It seemed that the emperor was already aware of the current tense situation.

After King Qi's letter to refuse to accompany him failed, King Qi's army stopped moving. However, King Yong judged that these troops could travel hundreds of miles overnight and ambush the emperor's emissary on the way back to Beijing. Moreover, King Qi There are good reasons for deploying troops. Of course, King Yong has also made preparations and can block King Qi's army at any time, but this will inevitably lead to a war.

But what puzzled King Yong and his generals and staff was why King Qi would agree to accompany him. In this way, absolutely no one could command King Qi's army to attack Shengji.

I looked at the information in my hand and couldn't help but frown. I could imagine such a result. Just the day before yesterday, King Yong sent a secret letter to General Qin, telling him that Li Hanyou's life experience was suspicious. Although no evidence was shown, Li Hanyou was indeed separated since childhood and was later sent back to Jingjiang Palace by Fengyimen. Such a situation If you come, it will at least make General Qin suspicious. There are some things that you would rather believe than not. I already know the effect. As soon as the letter arrived at the General's Mansion, Cheng Shu was invited over, and then Qin Yong was also summoned. Although I don't know what they discussed, Qin Yong had already rushed to sit in the army of General Qin. In fact, during the autumn hunting period, Qin Yi's army was under Qin Yong's control. I didn't expect them to believe it, I just wanted them to be wary. This has exceeded my expectations.

In addition, just yesterday, Huo, the wife of Shao Hanlin, the imperial concubine of the East Palace, committed suicide by hanging from a beam. Then overnight, the news that the prince forced his wife to rape her and made her commit suicide in shame spread throughout the city. Although it was just a talk in the streets, what she and the prince had done before A comparison shows that everyone believes it. Although the emperor may not know it yet, after the Autumn Hunting, it will definitely not be hidden. Therefore, if the prince cannot force the palace during the Autumn Hunting, then I am afraid that the fate of being deposed will be difficult to change.

I sighed. Although the prince was forced to rebel by me, why is the layout of Fengyi Gate so weird?

I originally thought that Fengyimen would arrange for King Qi's army to suddenly break into the emperor's palace. After all, the prince and Fengyimen could control at least part of the 20,000 forbidden troops and cooperate with each other to attack suddenly. My plan was to let General Qin discover the abnormality "in time" , and then set a trap. Once those Qi King's troops arrive, and General Qin and Yong King come forward, no matter what happens to Qi King, we can control the situation, and then with the cooperation of experts from various factions, we can eradicate Fengyi Clan in one fell swoop. . But this is not the case now. The nearest army of King Qi is also two hundred miles away from the autumn hunting site, while the nearest army of General Qin is within a hundred miles, and the army of King Yong is also two hundred miles away. So, we I absolutely do not believe that the rebellion can be successful just by relying on the disciples of the Fengyi Sect Master. Moreover, the Fengyi Sect Master is still in Qixia Temple and has no plans to go to Autumn Hunting with him. In my expectation, Fengyi Sect Master should accompany him, but now it is completely different. I am really at a loss as to how the situation will develop. Fengyi Sect Master really reacted differently. The army of King Qi is no larger than that of King Yong. If the two armies fight and there is no King of Qi in the army, it will be impossible to succeed. Now that the Forbidden Army is controlled by General Qin, rebellion is impossible, so Fengyimen can rely on What rebellion?

Regarding the actual military affairs, I am not as good as King Yong and the generals. After repeated discussions, we still can't find the possibility that the prince can force the palace to succeed. But if there is no possibility of success, they will never proceed. In the end, we have to It was agreed that Changsun Ji would lead King Yong's army to attack at any time to block King Qi's army. Jing Chi and Sima Xiong accompanied him to escort him. Shi Yu and others were in charge of the overall situation in the capital. Master Cizhen appointed fifty masters from various factions to serve as Yong's army. Wang Jinwei, and admitted that it was the common intention of several sects, and he himself was monitoring the master of Fengyi Sect. In fact, masters of their level could detect each other's presence even though they were separated by several miles. , so we are not worried that he will follow the leader of the Diufengyi Sect, and both Xiao Shunzi and Dong Que will participate in the autumn hunt with me. Although I have not recovered from my illness, this matter is very important. How can I not go? .

Although I can only wait and see what happens now, I still asked Xiao Shunzi to pass on my order. The secret camp is all in motion and must be able to respond to various changes at any time. I am not worried about this. They are all good at adapting to changes, and I also gave them the token of Prince Yong's Mansion so that they can get support at any time. I clenched my fists and must believe in myself. Even if the situation suddenly changes, I can still turn the tide, not to mention that Yong can't be seen yet. What is lacking in the layout of Wang and me?

In Qixia Temple, the master of Fengyi Sect stood under the moonlight with her hands behind her back. Behind her, on both sides stood her trusted disciples, Wen Ziyan, Xiao Lan, Feng Feifei, Xie Xiaotong, Yan Wushuang, Li Hanyou, except Liang Wan has gone crazy, Ling Yu is injured and is gone, and Qin Zheng can't escape. Everyone is here, and behind these disciples, there are a hundred female swordsmen standing. They are all dressed like snow and have cold faces. They They are the backbone of Fengyi Sect who were personally trained by the master of Fengyi Sect. These women were all adopted by Fengyi Sect when they were young. The Taiyin Manual they practiced was missing some key points, so they were all ruthless and cold-hearted. Like Bing, in their eyes, there is only loyalty and killing.

After a long time, the master of Fengyi Sect said calmly: "During the autumn hunting period, it is the time for us to launch. This matter must be successful, otherwise our Fengyi Sect will be in ruins."

Wen Ziyan said in a cold voice: "Master, don't worry, everything has been arranged. If we still fail, it will be fate."

Fan Huiyao said coldly: "I never believe in destiny, Ziyan, remember, although I can't go there in person, you must cooperate sincerely, Hanyou, Xiaotong, you are responsible for the emperor's affairs, Qin Zheng will obey your orders when the time comes. Xiao Lan and Fei Fei, you are responsible for cooperating with the prince to eliminate all the resistance forces. Zi Yan and Wushuang, you are responsible for encircling and annihilating King Yong. I also have to deal with the nosy Cizhen, just I can’t support you anymore.”

Everyone knelt down and said, "Disciple, I obey."

Fan Huiyao did not let them get up, and said: "There is another person who will cooperate with you. He is a registered disciple that I have secretly accepted."

Following her words, a man walked out of the room. Wen Ziyan and others looked at his uncovered face, and they all looked surprised.

Fan Huiyao said calmly: "He is the protector of Fengyi Sect. This time, you must listen to his opinions."

Wen Ziyan and others suddenly understood many things that they had not understood before, but they did not show it and just responded respectfully.

The master of Fengyi Sect looked at the confused night and said: "Even if King Yong and the others guessed, they would not have thought of my layout. Huh, they want to force the prince to rebel. Don't I know that? Only the prince and Lu Jing Zhongcai believes that Li Yuan is indeed planning to depose the crown prince, but he does not know that I have known Li Yuan for many years and understand his personality very well. Although he has already had this intention, he has not yet made up his mind, but this is fine, Li Yuan If we waver, it will definitely be detrimental to us. Besides, if the prince succeeds in his rebellion, there will be endless troubles. He will have to rely on our sect even more in the future. Listen, after the incident is completed, our Fengyi sect will be the mastermind behind Dayong, so you must do your best .”

Wen Ziyan and others all had strong ambitions in their eyes. As women, they were about to complete an unparalleled career. What could make them more proud and proud than this?

In Prince Qi's palace, behind heavy curtains, Li Xian was lying lazily on the soft couch with an indifferent expression. Qin Zheng came over with a somewhat uneasy look, brought a bowl of ginseng soup and said: "Your Majesty, please use ginseng soup." Tang, we will set off for autumn hunting tomorrow, you’d better rest early.”

Li Xian looked at Qin Zheng and smiled sarcastically: "Okay, Princess Qi, you are very powerful. A bowl of medicine made me powerless. It seems that you are loyal to the master, but you have forgotten What are the three obediences and the four virtues?"

Qin Zheng cried and said: "Your Majesty, I really do it for your own good. Although I was ordered to be close to His Highness in the past, I really have true feelings for Your Majesty. But I can't resist Master, and they said That's right. If the prince ascends the throne, the prince can be a very human minister, and the concubine and the children can be safe and sound. If King Yong succeeds to the throne, not only the lives of the concubine and the children will be in danger, but even the prince, you will be harmed by King Yong sooner or later. If not For the sake of the prince, I would rather die than harm the prince."

Li Xian smiled bitterly and said, "Am I also telling the truth? Although I scold you, I actually hope you can succeed. Otherwise, the whole family will really go to hell together."

Qin Zheng said excitedly: "No, no, we will definitely succeed. Master will never fail."

Li Xian sighed and thought to himself, could it really be that easy? He thought of that thin and frail face.

Tonight or later, I don’t know how many people have trouble sleeping at night.