The Grandmaster Strategist

On September 20, the twenty-fifth year of Wuwei, the emperor went to the hunting palace. At night, the prince rebelled and King Yong was in danger.

——"The Chronicles of Emperor Yongshi"

On September 20th of the second year of Tongtai in the Southern Chu Dynasty, the thieves ordered King Yong to appear in court, but Zhe saw through it. Zhe accepted the order when he was in danger, and the command was determined, and King Yong was able to break through.

——"The Biography of Jiang Suiyun, the History of Chu in the Southern Dynasties"

I fell asleep in the carriage and arrived at the Hunting Palace. The Hunting Palace is the palace used by the Dayong royal family for annual hunting in autumn. It is located at the foot of Lishan Mountain and has dozens of palaces and courtyards. The Imperial Guards camped on three sides to protect the palace. Among them, the emperor naturally resides in Xiaoshuang Hall, the main hall of the palace. The queen, Concubine Ji, and Concubine Yan live in several nearby palaces. Concubine Changsun and Princess Changle live in Hanxiang Garden and Hanxiang Garden on the east side. There were chrysanthemums everywhere, and Li Yuan wanted to let Princess Changle, who had been depressed recently, relieve her sadness. The prince lives in the Yulin Hall on the east side, while King Yong lives in Yaningxuan on the west side, and King Qi lives in Xuanhua Garden on the west side. I know that I can’t stand the rush now, so I took the medicine specially. I fell asleep all the way and didn't wake up until I settled down.

Xiao Shunzi told me that the emperor has decreed that since we are tired from the journey today, all your highnesses and ministers do not need to go to say hello. You can just go to worship when you are hunting tomorrow. I asked: "Has there been any information from the Crown Prince and Fengyi Sect?"

Xiao Shunzi said: "Not yet, except that General Qin and General Qin Qing personally set up defenses, there is nothing abnormal."

I took the defense plan handed over by Xiao Shunzi. General Qin is indeed a famous general, and his defense is impeccable. The emperor's residence is protected by the three thousand Dongying Forbidden Army led by Qin Qing. The one who protects the palace on the east side of the Hunting Palace is Commander Yang of the South Camp Forbidden Army. , Protecting the west side is Pei Yun, the commander of the North Camp Forbidden Army, and the person in charge of the internal guards is Leng Chuan, the chief guard. The Yuehua Gate that must be passed to enter the Central Palace from the west side, and the Zhongcui Gate that enters the Central Palace from the east side, are both Being tightly controlled by the imperial guards and imperial guards who protect the central palace, it is probably impossible for them to mutiny.

However, I smiled bitterly. General Qin was still a little partial to his son. Although this arrangement put Qin Qing under control, it also had the intention of allowing Qin Qing to make meritorious deeds when something happened.

Late at night, King Yong and I discussed the situation while drinking tea. I was a little uneasy, but King Yong was very calm. For him, he had experienced countless risks and was no longer worried about it. The first watch was over, and suddenly Sima Xiong came in and reported: "Your Highness, Mr. Wei is here to convey the order."

King Yong and I were both stunned. Wei Ying was here. Then I thought about it. It’s no wonder that this time the emperor only brought Wei Ying to draft an edict for him, and none of the other civil servants brought him. Besides, Wei Ying has been He was very favored, and he was by the king's side every day. I don't know how many edicts were written by Wei Ying. King Yong was unusual. If the emperor had a decree, Wei Ying should naturally come. I accompanied King Yong into the main hall, and I saw Wei Ying wearing purple clothes and ribbons, handsome and elegant. When he saw King Yong, he smiled and said: "Your Highness, I have come to deliver the order following His Majesty's oral instructions. Please kneel down to receive it." "

King Yong glanced at me and bowed down. I followed him and knelt down. Although Jing Chi and Sima Xiong also knelt down, they looked at Wei Ying eagerly. With today's situation, no one dared to slack off. of.

Wei Ying seemed to be unaware of this tense situation and said: "The emperor ordered that King Xuan Yong Li Zhi go to Xiaoshuang Palace to see him."

Li Zhi said he complied with the order, but after he stood up, he smiled and said: "Master Wei, I don't know what my father has ordered. Didn't he say earlier today that we don't need to go to say hello?"

Wei Ying said: "The emperor was very tired, but after taking a nap, he felt much better. The queen and several nobles were accompanying him, drinking tea and chatting together. The emperor just came up with the idea, so he ordered his highnesses and Princess Changle to go. Attend the family banquet. I have already conveyed the decree to the Crown Prince and Princess Changle, and now I will go to invite the King of Qi."

King Yong was slightly reassured and said: "Master Wei, please go and convey the decree. I will go to see my father right away."

After Wei Ying finished delivering the order, he bowed and left. King Yong smiled and said to me: "Wei Ying has the talent to complement each other.

Can be reused in the future. "

I was about to agree, but there was a chill in my heart for no reason. Wei Ying's performance was perfect, but why did I feel something was wrong? Subconsciously, I listened with all my strength. At this time, Wei Ying had already walked to Yaningxuan Outside the door, at this time, I heard his voice of relief, and then heard a low chuckle, which was a self-satisfied laugh.

I suddenly thought of a lot of things. The Wei family, which has always been neutral, has always been calm, while Fengyimen tried its best to win over the Qin family. Although it may be because the Qin family has military power, it should not take any action against the Wei family. Thinking again, the incident in the prince's east palace occurred, and Wei Ying was ordered to monitor the prince. Zheng Shizhong clearly criticized the prince at the imperial meeting, and was subsequently assassinated in front of Zhuque's door. On the bloody night in Chang'an, the masked men who attacked King Qing's guards and the assassins who killed Zheng Shizhong were both men. Wei Ying should be good at martial arts, which Xiao Shunzi once said accidentally. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that I was trapped in a trap. What would happen if Wei Ying or even the Wei family and Fengyi sect had colluded.

I said flatly: "Xiao Shunzi, go and see if there is an ambush outside. Remember, don't show your signs."

The expressions of King Yong and others changed greatly. Xiao Shunzi's face turned cold and he disappeared into the night. After a while, Xiao Shunzi came back, his face a little pale, and he said coldly: "There is an ambush from the Dongying Imperial Army at Yuehua Gate, and Fengyi Gate disciples are hiding everywhere. I saw Wen Ziyan, but I didn't dare to approach. "

King Yong's expression changed drastically, and after a moment he said: "Wei Ying is in collusion with Fengyi Sect."

In this short period of time, I had already figured out a lot of things. My expression became cold and calm. I gently shook the folding fan and said calmly: "This is a miscalculation on my part. Wei Ying's identity can convince many people in the hunting palace." His words are the emperor's will. In addition, I have already thought of Fengyimen's plan. They use King Qi's army to divert our attention, but what they really use to rebel is the imperial army."

Li Zhi raised his eyebrows and said, "How could the Forbidden Army be used by them?"

I smiled bitterly and said: "Your Highness and I have a wrong idea. If we cannot gain control of the Forbidden Army, then it is impossible to drive them to rebel. And the only ones who can gain control are General Qin and Qin Qing. Now we can I was convinced that Qin Qing could not completely control the Forbidden Army, so I neglected to mention that there is only one person who can control the Forbidden Army, and that is the Emperor."

Sima Xiong and Jing Chi both exclaimed, but I ignored them and continued: "Li Hanyou is a princess and the daughter-in-law of the Qin family. What do you think would happen if she took the emperor's decree and said she was ordered to command the imperial army? .”

Everyone felt a chill in their hearts, and I continued: "Li Hanyou has become quite influential in the Forbidden Army. Although Qin Qing has not been able to actually be in charge of the entire Forbidden Army in the past two years, at least the Dongying Forbidden Army is under his direct control. Li Hanyou is a princess. Those forbidden troops are direct descendants of the Qin family, so it doesn't matter if Li Hanyou bribes thousands of people. In addition, Wei Ying is the minister accompanying him to draw up the decree, and the prince is the prince. As long as he controls Xiaoshuang Palace, the emperor's decree cannot be transmitted. , then His Highness will be isolated and helpless. Now that His Highness’s army is hundreds of miles away, he can only be at the mercy of others.”

Sima Xiong, Jing Chi and others were all shocked, but King Yong said calmly: "Since Sui Yun has figured out the layout of Fengyi Sect, he must have a way to deal with it."

I sighed and said: "Your Highness really knows the heart of being a minister. The only flaw in their method is that it cannot arouse our suspicion, so they dare not eliminate General Pei in advance. Now His Highness's only chance of survival is here, this This is also the reason why they summoned His Highness to Xiaoshuang Palace. They wanted to ambush His Highness at Yuehua Gate and kill His Highness in one fell swoop. At that time, General Pei would have no choice but to obey orders. After all, General Pei still had his wealth and life. Now I entrust Your Highness with great blessings. If you can see through their plan, you will have a chance. Your Highness, please act according to your arrangements."

Li Zhi said calmly: "Suiyun, I believe you have a way. Today I will entrust you with my life. You give the order."

I bowed and said, "It's all because of my ignorance these days that I didn't discover the enemy's tricks. It's a great blessing that Your Highness doesn't blame me. Thank you very much for still trusting me in my judgment."

Li Zhi returned the courtesy and said: "Please Suiyun, please don't worry too much. It was my king who deliberately kept you from knowing the external situation these days, which is why today's changes happened. Please Suiyun's order, I will definitely respect the general's order."

I straightened up and said, "Then I'm going to take over my duties. Your Highness must break out of the encirclement now. Before breaking out, His Highness must meet up with General Pei. I believe that General Pei is still safe and sound. The master of Fengyi Sect will not act in a way that alerts the enemy. Pei The general has great martial arts skills and has won the hearts of the army. If he uses force, he is afraid that his highness will be suspicious, so now Xiao Shunzi immediately goes to see Pei Yun and asks him to meet his highness and rush out of the hunting palace together. There must be Fengyimen around General Pei. The assassin is hiding, Xiao Shunzi must protect General Pei, otherwise His Highness will have no chance to break through. The Jiao Zhao has not spread to the entire army yet, so there should be no problem for His Highness to break out, but before joining General Pei, Fengyi Gate The siege will be supported by His Highness's guards and the masters sent by various sects. As for the rendezvous location, I want His Highness to decide."

King Yong pointed to the defense map and said: "Now we can only break out from the southwest. Xiao Shunzi, tell General Pei to meet here. When we see fire here, it's time for us to take action."

Xiao Shunzi nodded and disappeared again.

I added: "After His Highness broke through the encirclement, he immediately sent this thing to the nearest Qin army commander Qin Yong. This was originally prepared by me just in case, but unexpectedly it came in handy. With this thing, at least Qin Yong We will not attack His Highness."

At this time, Sima Xiong came in and said: "Your Highness, we are all ready, but..." Sima Xiong looked at me and hesitated to speak. I smiled lightly and said, "Your Highness, this time I cannot accompany Your Highness to break out of the encirclement."

King Yong was shocked. He held my hand and said, "Suiyun, what are you talking about? You have no power to restrain a chicken. If you stay, you will be harmed. How can you not leave?"

I smiled bitterly and said: "Your Highness, Suiyun is weak. Your Highness must be working hard to break out this time. If I follow you, I'm afraid I will die on the way."

Li Zhi shook his head and said: "Don't worry, I will take you in a carriage. Besides, you still have a chance to break out with me. If you stay, you will definitely die. Fengyimen will never let you go."

I smiled faintly, walked into King Yong, and whispered something. King Yong was stunned for a moment, and a deep thought appeared on his face. I didn’t wait for him to understand, and said: "Your Highness, please don’t waste any more time. I will ask Dong Que to protect me." Stay, if your highness can break out of the siege, even if I fall into the enemy's hands, there is still a glimmer of hope. Your highness, now the armies of your highness and the King of Qi are far away and cannot save the fire close by. General Qin's army has become the key. Please believe it. I can try my best to win the support of the general for His Highness. The general has been on the battlefield for a long time and will not be willing to be defeated."

At this time, Sima Xiong came closer and said: "Your Highness, the agreed time is coming, please make a quick decision."

I solemnly said: "General Sima, His Highness's safety is entrusted to your hands, and his great wisdom is entrusted to you."

Sima Xiong saluted and said: "Even if the general is shattered to pieces, he still has to protect His Highness from the siege."

I looked at Jing Chi again and said, "Jing Chi, you are the general beside His Highness. You have a heavy responsibility this time, so you must not slack off."

Jing Chi smiled bitterly and said, "If I don't try my best, the most you can do is punish me by copying a few more books."

Although they heard me say that there was a way to protect themselves, everyone knew that it was something uncertain. They still had a chance of survival if they broke through, but if I stayed, their chances were slim. But they asked themselves that they could not bring me to break out, and they felt even more guilty. Filling them with anger and murderous intent.

Li Zhi looked at Dong Que, the silent young man, and said in a deep voice: "Dong Que, if you can protect Sui Yun and reunite with me, I will definitely reward you. Even if you had some bad things in the past, I will also Never add guilt."

Dong Que's expression remained unchanged and he just gave a slight salute, but I smiled bitterly. It seemed that King Yong was still suspicious of Dong Que's identity.

Li Zhi strode out of the palace gate, glanced at the heavily armed people, and said: "I am the king who has caused all of you. Now the prince is plotting to rebel and intends to kill me. You will follow me to break out of the siege, and you will escape death. Zhi has no way to repay you. He can only I swear on that day that if I survive, you will be my friends in times of trouble and you will be rewarded heavily. If there are any who are timid, you can stay and surrender, I will never blame you."

Everyone knew not to speak loudly, so they all shouted in a deep voice: "The prince has no moral principles and is deceived by the saints. His highness is bound to the Yong State, and all the ministers will be ruined and will not hesitate to die."

Li Zhi waved his hand, and under the protection of Sima Xiong and Jing Chi, he mounted his horse first and galloped away. Only Dong Que and I were left in Yaningxuan. I looked at Dong Que and said with a smile, "Are you afraid?"

Dong Que said calmly: "Young Master is not afraid, so what is there to fear about Dong Que? I don't know how Young Master will arrange it."

At this time, there was a deafening cry of killing in the distance, and I also threw down a torch and lit the flammable objects collected by Sima Xiong and others. In the light of the fire, my pale face was tinged with blood.

Outside Yaningxuan, Wen Ziyan and Yan Wushuang, with fifty Fengyimen swordsmen, were monitoring Yaningxuan. Wei Ying had already arrived at Yuehuamen, holding the "Holy Oracle" and commanding the imperial army to prepare to ambush Yong. Wang and his party, relying on the reputation of the Wei family and the emperor's decree, although the imperial guards had doubts in their hearts, they did not dare to disobey the order. After all, for them, the emperor was the object of their allegiance. Even so, the closest to Yaningxuan In this place, Wei Ying still arranged some forbidden troops that Fengyimen could completely control, in order to reduce the possibility of King Yong's escape.

Just when they were a little anxious, suddenly, the door of Yaningxuan opened. King Yong was wearing golden armor and holding a horse in his hand. He said loudly: "The prince is rebelling and intends to kill me, Li Zhi. I am the marshal of Tiance. Why?" We, the people of Dayong, must not be instigated by traitors." After saying this, with the support of Sima Xiong and Jing Chi, he led a hundred cavalry and rushed away. This hunting palace was originally used for autumn hunting, so All the royal officials in the palace could ride horses. When they heard Zi Yan, they were startled and saw these people rushing out in front of them.

Wen Ziyan reacted very quickly and thought, their direction is towards Yuehua Gate, they must want to appeal to the emperor, we might as well block their escape from behind. Then he let out a low whistle that was heard everywhere, and led the imperial army to surround him from behind.

Wei Ying, who was setting up an ambush at Yuehua Gate, felt frightened when he heard King Yong's loud shout and Wen Ziyan's whistle. He immediately ordered the preparation of bows and arrows, but he came up with a thousand forbidden troops. After all, he wanted to guard against Yong. The king broke through from another direction. King Yong was proficient in the art of war. He did not think that King Yong would go to this obvious dead end.

Under the moonlight, a black arrow met the Forbidden Army wearing blue armor head-on. Jing Chi shouted loudly, and the horse in his hand flashed, sweeping away the Imperial Army who had not ridden. Sima Xiong's horse was not waiting for the blood. With splashes everywhere, King Yong shouted: "My king, Li Zhi, who dares to stop me." The sword in his hand flashed and killed a forbidden soldier. If those forbidden soldiers were to fight against the enemy, they would naturally follow one after another without fear, but in the face of the admiration in their hearts. The Yong Army God, who had been fighting for a long time, was low in fighting spirit. In just a moment, the sharp arrow formation commanded by King Yong had broken through the blockade of the Forbidden Army. Wei Ying, who was standing in the distance and commanding, frowned. It was inconvenient for him to take action because he wanted to Protect the identity of the imperial envoy. At this time, Wen Ziyan's figure appeared, as fast as lightning, several Zongyue had already approached the side of King Yong, and then they united their swords and stabbed towards King Yong.

At this time, King Yong gave an order, and the military formation that was already approaching Yuehua Gate quickly turned around and broke out to the southwest. If there was a skilled general commanding, perhaps a defense line could be set up in advance, but Wei Ying and Wen Ziyan were present None of them were generals who were proficient in military formations, and they had not expected that King Yong would discover the conspiracy and break through quickly, so they were shocked to see King Yong once again break through the weak defense line of the imperial army in the rear.

Wen Ziyan said loudly: "The rebel wants to join Pei Yun, we can't let him go and chase him."

At this time, Yaning Pavilion suddenly caught fire. The fire spread very quickly, and the smoke and dust blinded the eyes. King Yong's arrow formation rushed past the edge of Yaning Pavilion and went straight to the corner gate in the southwest of the Hunting Palace. Just when King Yong had just passed the Ya Ning Pavilion, a bolt of sword light shot out from the ground and went straight towards King Yong. A guard of King Yong jumped up from his horse and slashed down with the long sword in his hand. The sword light was destroyed with one touch. The personal guard fell from mid-air, blood spilled, but the sword light could not go any further. King Yong had already crossed the range of Ya Ningxuan.

As soon as the sword light dimmed, a woman in plain clothes quickly retreated, avoiding the long knives struck by the rushing Yongwang guards.

Wen Ziyan's heart froze. Yan Wushuang's assassination failed. If she used those Fengyi Sect swordsmen at this time, although they could entangle King Yong, they would suffer heavy losses. She couldn't bear it. What's more, if King Yong wanted to meet up with Pei Yun, he was afraid that There was no hope, and when the dilemma came, it would be a good time for Fengyimen's swordsmen to show off their power, so she did not activate those swordsmen, but allowed King Yong to kill to the southwest.