The Grandmaster Strategist

On Wuyin day of the first year of Longsheng, on the ninth day of the third month, the Yong Zezhou water camp and the Northern Han Qinzhou water camp fought in Qinshui. The Yong army's baggage was half destroyed. Liu Dai, the deputy commander of the Northern Han navy, and the fourth son of King Jinjun were captured.

——"Zi Zhi Tong Jian Yong Ji III"

Boredly, I looked up at the arrows all over the sky. I stood calmly on the boat. This was because the river in this area was not particularly wide, and a small Shunzi could take me ashore to escape in times of crisis, so I acted accordingly. With a calm and fearless look, if there was really any danger, I'm afraid I would have asked Xiao Shunzi to take me away. Looking at the chaotic river surface in front of me, I was a little tired from standing and wanted to find a chair to sit on, but in order to boost morale, I still had to stand upright. We have been fighting for nearly an hour. There should be Yong troops nearby to support us, but I looked up and around, but there was no one there. I couldn't help but feel uneasy. Could it be that the Northern Han army had already come out to challenge? Now that the Ji family is unstable, how could they? Will fight at this time.

While I was making calculations in my mind, Su Qing said coldly behind me: "Sir, I have thought about it carefully. This navy should have been newly built at the beginning of last year. The general who commanded the navy was a confidant of the Northern Han Dynasty. General Ji Sheng, the final general received information that he was establishing a new army in the upper reaches of Qinshui River. However, Ji Sheng had always been at odds with Long Tingfei. The final general received information that he requested an order to train the new army in order to fight against Long Tingfei. Therefore, the general did not pay special attention. Now I think that they should use the lake at the source of Qinshui to train the navy. Because they were protected by the masters of the magic sect, the scouts we sent there were unable to penetrate the defense line there, and the general was ordered to be in Qin at that time. The state is in charge of the overall situation, so I have made such an omission, so please forgive me."

I waved my hand and said: "The matter has come to this, it is useless to say more, but Ji Sheng should not be good at the navy in the first place, how could he become the commander of the navy."

Su Qing thought for a while and said: "General, the warships of the Northern Han Navy should be the standard ships of the Southern Chu. They must have been trained by the generals of the Southern Chu Navy. Although Ji Sheng is also a cavalry general, his background is different. He is a Qinshui fisherman, at least he is more suitable than other generals."

I pointed at the young general who had just shot me three arrows. At this moment, he had brought several ships to try to break through the blockade and deal with the baggage ships. Seeing his bravery and skill in battle, I couldn't help but feel moved. Su Qing glanced at him, with a cold light flashing in his eyes, and said: "This person is Liu Dai, the fourth son of King Jinjun, a clan member of the royal family of the Northern Han Dynasty. Most of the princes of Jinjun are not talented, and only this bastard is talented in both civil and military affairs." , originally intended to establish him as the crown prince, but the princess of the county came from a famous family in the Northern Han Dynasty, so she naturally refused to let the crown prince's position go out of her hands, and made things difficult for Liu Dai many times, so King Jinjun was forced to send Liu Dai to the army as a general. Unexpectedly, This man has actually become a navy general."

I exclaimed: "The Northern Han royal family is really full of talents. I am afraid that Liu Dai was originally a cavalry general. He will not learn water warfare for too long. Although there are still some shortcomings now, it is already extremely rare. If we can capture this person alive, then This battle is just a small setback for us, but it is worth it." I saw that he had failed to break through the blockage of our navy to attack the baggage ship behind him several times, and I couldn't help but feel something in my heart. The voice said: "Can you let him go, and then use half of the baggage to capture and kill him? This man is a clan member of the Northern Han Dynasty and a rookie in the navy. If you can capture and kill this man, the morale of the navy of the Northern Han Dynasty will be greatly improved." If we are frustrated, our army will dominate the Qinshui River."

Zhuang Ru said in embarrassment: "If there is a loss of baggage, I'm afraid His Highness the King of Qi will be blamed."

I smiled and said, "As long as this person is captured, I will take full responsibility."

Zhuang Ru showed a relieved look on his face and waved the flag in his hand. After a while, Liu Dai successfully broke through the defense line of the Dayong navy. He was pleasantly surprised and led his army to rush forward. The navy on board all used rockets. Suddenly There were fireworks on the river, and several baggage ships were set on fire. I knew his intention, which was to burn the baggage ships and severely damage the morale of our army. Moreover, after he burned the baggage ships, he could attack from both front and back to break the Yongshui Army's ship array. . He charged smoothly and led many Northern Han warships to cross the gap.

Those warships had gradually fallen into the Yong army's ship formation, but now when they saw the opportunity, they all rushed back. The killing went smoothly, and most of the Northern Han Dynasty navy did not notice. Except for most of the baggage ships, which took the opportunity to retreat, there were more than ten baggage ships that moved to both sides when Zhuang Ru ordered to release the defense line at the beginning, faintly catching up with Liu Dai. The warships he brought surrounded him. Zhuang Ru's face showed murderous intent, and with an order, these baggage ships rushed toward the middle stream as if they had lost control. The navy on board lit the baggage and grain and grass, and jumped into the water to escape. More than a dozen fire ships trapped Liu Dai and others.

When the young general saw this, his expression turned pale. He was going down the river. Knowing that he could not turn back immediately, he had to order to continue forward. At this time, several of the baggage ships that had originally retreated anchored in the middle of the river. , already blocked on the water, Liu Dai's warship crashed into it after rushing through the fireworks. The Yong army and navy on the baggage ships all fired rockets, and the baggage ships also burst into flames, trapping Liu Dai's dozen warships in a sea of ​​fire.

At this time, Ji Sheng, the commander of the Northern Han navy, saw the fire raging in the rear of Yong's army, and his sight was blocked by fireworks. He was originally happy that Liu Dai had burned the enemy's baggage, but a short time later, there was a shrill horn sound from behind, and Ji Sheng was stunned. Hearing this, I felt cold in my heart. It was clear that Liu Dai had fallen into a desperate situation. Although he wanted to rescue him, he saw Yong's warships swarming from all sides. He knew that if he continued to fight, he would be in trouble, so he had to order his troops to retreat. The Northern Han warships were faster than Yong's warships. The army successfully disappeared out of sight of Yong Jun in a short time.

Seeing that the enemy troops had retreated, Zhuang Ru quickly ordered the battlefield to be cleaned and the prisoners to be collected. Almost all the remaining Northern Han troops died in the battle. Their bravery impressed the Yong Army officers and soldiers. Only Liu Dai, who fought to the end, was killed by a few water-based soldiers. The good Yong Jun water ghost was overturned in the water and captured alive. In this battle, the Yong army lost eighteen baggage ships and nineteen warships, while the Northern Han army lost seven ships and twelve fighting ships. Although in comparison, the Yong army was still defeated, but the navy But it was all laughter. This time the Northern Han navy made a sneak attack without warning and was repulsed. With preparation, the Yong army could compete for Qinshui. They had enough means to prevent the Northern Han navy from going south. As for the fact that they were unable to win, there was no Let them worry, after all, the main purpose of the Zezhou navy is to transport baggage, not to fight the Northern Han navy. And Zhuang Ru and others knew that the fact of capturing Liu Dai alive was enough to make the newly built Northern Han Dynasty Navy lose confidence, so they were even more elated. As for the lost baggage, they would not take it to heart. Who told me to do it? I can't afford it.

I happily paid a hundred taels of gold and asked the navy soldiers who captured Liu Dai alive to distribute it among themselves, and had Liu Dai, who was dizzy from the river water, locked up in the bottom cabin. Then I returned to the cabin and wrote a letter to His Royal Highness the King of Qi with a grimace, explaining to him the loss of baggage. Although I agreed with Zhuang Ru to sacrifice some baggage, eighteen ships was a bit too outrageous, but I thought Liu Dai had a rare treasure in his hands, but I still smiled proudly.

At this time, Hu Yanshou walked in and said solemnly: "Sir, the reinforcements have arrived."

While I was writing furiously, I asked: "What's going on? I remember that there should be at least a thousand cavalry nearby. They can't fight on the water, but the Qinshui River is not wide. They can use crossbows to kill those Northern Han people on the bank." Why did the navy arrive so late? Did they not see our signal for help?"

Hu Yanshou said bitterly: "My subordinates have already asked the generals who led the army. There were only a few small groups of a hundred cavalry nearby. After they saw the signal for help, they came to the rescue one after another. Unexpectedly, someone with magical skills actually killed them continuously. The generals of most of the cavalry, these cavalry were forced to hunt down the assassins, and now it is chaos."

My hand shook, and a drop of ink fell on the white paper. I looked at the letter paper stained by ink, sighed, and threw the unfinished letter into the stove in the corner of the cabin. He stood up with an expression on his face and said, "Did one person do it?"

Hu Yanshou said sadly: "Yes, judging from the assassination method, it should be one person. Moreover, our army has been clearing the country for many days. There is no way there will be too many assassins and spies left in this area."

I fell into deep thought, looked up at Xiao Shunzi and said, "Do you have such a method?"

Xiao Shunzi said coldly: "That man's martial arts skills are not weaker than mine."

I sneered and said, "How many people in the Northern Han Dynasty do you think can compare with yours in martial arts?"

Xiao Shunzi said without thinking: "Duan Lingxiao should be here in person, Jing Wuji will not take action."

I thought for a while and then said hesitantly: "Xiao Shunzi, do you think Duan Lingxiao will continue to stay in this area? It shouldn't be easy for him to assassinate me or King Qi, but it would be easy to assassinate those low-level generals."

Xiao Shunzi said coldly: "If Duan Lingxiao stays here, he can only mix among the refugees or hide in the wild. You might as well order the cavalry in charge of clearing the field immediately to form a team of five hundred people to coordinate with each other and kill all the Northern Han people you see." They were all slaughtered, so that Duan Lingxiao could not hide. Even if Duan Lingxiao wanted to assassinate, he would not be able to easily approach our army. If he forced it, the five hundred cavalry could hold him tightly. After our army's masters arrived, No matter how high Duan Lingxiao’s martial arts skills are, he still can’t escape.”

I thought about it carefully and said: "The matter is urgent, and we cannot report it to His Highness the King of Qi. Hu Yanshou, send me an order to order our army to clear the country in advance, and send someone to inform His Highness the King of Qi."

I quickly wrote a dozen military orders, stamped my military supervisor seal, and passed them on. Although I was a military supervisor and could not directly mobilize the army, this situation was quite special. I just asked for action in advance. The Great Seal of the Supervisory Army should be easy to use. And I am also thinking about the middle and low-level generals. If they don't cherish their lives, then I won't care about them. Of course, I still specially wrote a letter to inform King Qi. In order to deliver it safely, I asked Su Qing to deliver it in person. Although she is not Duan Lingxiao’s opponent, I can’t let Xiao Shunzi deliver the letter. After all, my Life is the most important thing.

On the grassy post road, a cavalry team galloped past. The leader was Su Qing, followed by some cavalrymen wearing green armor. She was ordered to report the military situation to the King of Qi, so she galloped forward and did not dare to stop for a moment. At this time , the nearby armies had received Jiang Zhe's order to clear the country in advance. Fortunately, most of the civilians in the Northern Han Dynasty had fled to Ji, so they didn't see too many scenes of massacre along the way. Not to mention that Su Qing's heart was as hard as iron. It was just a glimpse of the miserable scene. She left in a hurry. Apart from her confidant maid Ruyue, she only brought the cavalry sent to him by Jiang Zhe. The assassin who assassinated the Yong army general had not been captured yet, so Su Qing was cautious along the way and did not dare to do anything. main idea.

Suddenly, Su Qing's eyes glanced at a pavilion on the road ahead. A man in gray clothes was standing with his hands behind his back. Su Qing's eyes were so sharp. At one glance, he could see the man's appearance clearly. He was in his thirties. At many years old, his body is as tall and tall as a green pine tree, his appearance is upright and upright, and his eyes are as deep as the night sky, giving people an unfathomable feeling.

Su Qing reined in his horse and stopped. These horses were all well-trained. As soon as Su Qing stopped his horse, the horses behind him also stopped in time. The originally running cavalry stopped. Those cavalry also knew about the assassination and were worried in their hearts. With murderous intent, the murderous intent of more than twenty people gathered together, making this small piece of heaven and earth seem to solidify. The man in gray flashed his eyes and couldn't help but marvel at the sophistication of this cavalry. He slowly stepped forward and said calmly: "Is this girl Su Qing, the chief sentry of Dayong Military Camp?" Although it was in a questioning tone, everyone was interested. I feel like he has already determined this in his mind, and he just asked this question to confirm.

Su Qing said coldly: "It turns out that Duan Lingxiao, the first disciple of the Demon Sect, is here in person. Could it be that Mr. Duan doesn't know how a mantis arm can be used as a chariot? I have millions of Dayong cavalry, so why would you do such a useless thing?"

Duan Lingxiao smiled slightly and said: "The girl is right. Although Duan is very powerful in martial arts, one person cannot compare with thousands of troops. But some things are better done than not done at all. Not long ago, the girl made a decisive killing on the bank of Qinshui River. , Duan admires her very much. Duan's younger brother Xiao Tong once told me in detail about the girl's great achievements. Duan couldn't help but want to meet you, a hero among women. Today we meet on the road. How lucky you are. Miss, why don't you dismount and come over, let's talk. How about a moment?"

A warm light flashed in Su Qing's eyes and she said, "It's a great honor for me to be able to talk to you." After saying that, he got off his horse and walked towards the resting pavilion. Her maid Ruyue said loudly: "Miss, he will definitely kill you, how can you talk to him."

Su Qing said with a smile: "What kind of identity is Duan Lingxiao? How could the future leader of the Demon Sect go back on his word? Since we invite Su Qing to talk, if he kills him without telling him, wouldn't it make the world laugh?"

Duan Lingxiao's eyes flashed with admiration. Naturally, he didn't bother arguing with Ruyue. He just glanced at her coldly and said to Su Qing: "Mr. Su, women are not worthy of men. No wonder Junior Brother Xiao regards girls as his lifelong enemy. I, Junior Brother Qiu, I also admire the girl very much. When I meet her today, it is indeed better to meet her than to be famous. Miss Su, you are originally from the Northern Han Dynasty. It is a pity that you open your eyes for Dayong just for personal hatred and family hatred."

Su Qing smiled proudly and said: "Your Excellency believes that Su Qing's life can be taken today, so you feel that it is a pity? The Northern Han Dynasty did not show kindness to me, Su Qing, just to avenge my hatred. It is okay for Su Qing to join Dayong, and now Dayong occupies the Central Plains, Northern Han and Southern Chu are just lingering. Even though the Demon Sect of the Northern Han Dynasty has countless heroes and the situation is like this, there is nothing that can be done. If you are willing to abandon the dark and turn to the light, you will definitely be above Su Qing. Why should you cling to your weakness and die? The country is destroyed.”

Duan Lingxiao's eyes flashed coldly and said: "That's all, I also know that Miss Su will not look back, but I can't bear it in my heart. Does the girl know why Yong's army drove out and massacred civilians this time? If the girl is willing to tell the truth, Duan can not kill her. The lives of the girl’s subordinates.”

Su Qing smiled slightly, although he knew that Duan Lingxiao said this to mean that he was determined to kill him, but he didn't take it to heart, and said: "Su Qing is just a scout, how do you know about such a major military event? Your Excellency is blind. "

Duan Lingxiao said coldly: "Is that really the case? Does Miss Su know why I suddenly went on a killing spree?"

Su Qing thought for a moment and said solemnly: "Of course we won't let these cavalry rescue the navy. I guess Uncle Duan really wants our navy to be completely defeated."

Duan Lingxiao said lightly: "You are right. Since the Yong Army entered Qinzhou, I have come to investigate the military situation. This invasion of the Yong Army was so huge that Duan had no choice but to personally take action in this battle of life and death." I saw the Yong Navy a few days ago and learned that Chu Xiang Hou Jiangzhe was among the navy. After passing the news back, General Long ordered the navy to go to war. It would be great to be able to defeat the navy in one fell swoop and cut off the Yong Army's food route, but it couldn't. If we take the opportunity Killing Jiang Zhe in formation was also a great achievement. For this purpose, I did not hesitate to lower my dignity and personally assassinate the generals who came to help. Unfortunately, the Yongshui army was stronger after all, and the result was only unsatisfactory. Duan wanted to leave immediately. He went there, but saw the girl getting off the boat. He remembered the girl's status and must know many secrets, so he took the risk to intercept her. If the girl was willing to tell all the secrets in her heart, Duan could not take the girl's life. Otherwise, it would be best for Miss Su. I hope to die on the spot, and if Duan captures me alive, I’m afraid that all kinds of torture will make the girl regret it.”

A look of indifference flashed in Su Qing's eyes, and she said: "Su Qing has already put life and death aside. Your Excellency, threatening Su Qing like this is of no use." After saying that, she retreated coldly, and the cavalry who were guarding her had also abandoned her. The horses surrounded her, vaguely protecting her. At this point, both Duan Lingxiao and Su Qing knew that this was all they had said, and they could only speak with force.

Duan Lingxiao sighed softly and said: "Miss Su is so talented, but she is a minister of Yong. What a pity." With his regretful words, there seemed to be a murderous atmosphere in the world. Everyone knew that he was about to take action, and they couldn't help but mention it. He was on guard, but Duan Lingxiao didn't make a move. He just poured out endless murderous aura from behind him, forcing the cavalrymen to have two thoughts of fighting to the death or abandoning their weapons and surrendering. However, these cavalrymen were all warriors who had experienced hundreds of battles. , although most of them are not masters of the family, they have learned the skills of comparing momentum from the battlefield, and they have unleashed the murderous intentions in their hearts. For a moment, the momentum of both sides was evenly matched.

Duan Lingxiao's eyes flashed with helplessness. With such elite soldiers in Dayong, it's no wonder that they can dominate the world. In comparison, although the soldiers of the Northern Han Dynasty were brave and fierce, their personal combat power was mostly higher than that of Dayong warriors. However, if they formed a military formation, they would inevitably Be inferior. However, he is an innate master, but in an instant, he has eliminated all distracting thoughts in his heart, and even the murderous intention has disappeared without a trace. Those Dayong cavalrymen were trying their best to support themselves in the murderous aura that was like a sea wave. Suddenly, the murderous aura disappeared completely. Those cavalrymen suddenly lost their opponents. They felt their hearts were shocked. Some of the cavalrymen with weaker combat power already had expressions on their faces. Pale, there is another person, a mouthful of blood has been splashed on the saddle. At the moment when they turned from the strongest to the weakest, Duan Lingxiao had already taken action.

Su Qing felt that her eyes were blurred. Duan Lingxiao's palm had already slapped her face. She turned over and stepped back to avoid it. With a flash of cold light, she drew her sword and fought back. When the palms and swords met, the sound was like gold and stone. Su Qing only felt that the tiger's mouth was like a tiger's mouth. Damn, the sword was almost out of hand. She took a deep breath and used the strength to retreat. Duan Lingxiao was following her like a shadow. The two of them fought together. There were green and gray figures entangled in the sword light and snow shadow, making the cavalry unable to help and could only disperse. Kai surrounded the two of them, and everyone took out crossbow arrows, preparing to shoot Duan Lingxiao at the right time.

Su Qing used all his strength, and the sword waves were higher and higher, but Duan Lingxiao was like a giant reef in the sea, refusing to bow his head despite the wind and rain. When Su Qing encountered such a strong opponent, he felt that his sword skills had never been so good before. Feeling happy, even the last time I fought against Qiu Yufei, I didn’t feel like this. Because Qiu Yufei’s martial arts were dexterous and clever, Su Qing’s speed and movement were not as good as his. Even though he was overwhelmed, he could still display his sword skills to his heart’s content, but it was Duan Lingxiao’s. The majestic and fierce martial arts allowed Su Qing to give full play to his strengths. When he was in a comfortable position, the shadow of the sword turned into a huge wave, and countless murderous intentions were revealed in the beauty. Duan Lingxiao's martial arts skills were far superior to Su Qing's. Although he couldn't take her life for a while, he was able to do it with ease. Seeing Su Qing's swordsmanship like this, a strange light flashed in his eyes. With a clang, a sharp short sword slipped out of Duan Lingxiao's sleeve. The sound of countless weapons clashing was deafening. He took Su Qing's fierce attack forcefully. Duan Lingxiao's broken sword turned into a flowing rainbow. Each sword was as fast as a sword, like water flowing out of it. Like a dragon, it penetrated Su Qing's sword net.

Su Qing tried her best, and any flaw in the fierce attack was broken by Duan Lingxiao. She was resolute by nature. In a moment, she took off the long sword in her right hand and shot towards Duan Lingxiao. The dagger in her left hand blocked the edge of the broken knife. There was a loud noise. Her delicate body fell backwards like a kite with its string cut off. Duan Lingxiao let out a long roar and chased away. At this time, the knights who were skimming the formation shouted loudly at the same time, the crossbows rang, and more than 20 crossbow arrows with almost invisible shadows shot at Duan Lingxiao in the air. Duan Lingxiao's sleeves Swinging, those crossbow arrows stopped as if encountering an invisible wall, and reflected and fell. At this time, the second and third waves of crossbow arrows had already been shot. Duan Lingxiao's figure was spinning in the air like a windmill. The crossbow arrows were reflected back, and the two The knight was shot off his horse by a reflected crossbow bolt. But Duan Lingxiao's action was also delayed for a moment. At this time, Ruyue had already passed by on horseback and pulled Su Qing onto the horse. Su Qing spit out a few mouthfuls of blood and said loudly: "Let's go!" Ruyue led the horse and fled towards the road. The knights While using his crossbow to block Duan Lingxiao's pursuit, he rode his horse to pursue him. A hint of coldness flashed in Duan Lingxiao's eyes. He grabbed the reins of the war horse thrown down by Su Qing and galloped after them. Su Qing's mount was a horse that could only be found in a thousand miles. Duan Lingxiao was also an expert in riding, and he had caught up with everyone in less than a moment.

Duan Lingxiao smiled coldly, raised his palm in the air, and knocked the last knight off his horse. When he rode past his mount, he casually took off the saddle from his saddle. Thousands of phantoms flashed through the saddle, and the two knights were caught by him. He fell off the horse, but in just a moment, he had already caught up with Kisaragi, who was lagging behind because he was carrying two people. Su Qing was lying on Kisaragi's shoulder, and seemed to have passed out.

A cold light flashed in Duan Lingxiao's eyes, and he stabbed Su Qing's vest. At this moment, Su Qing suddenly fell to the side, and Ru Yue leaned down. A crossbow appeared in Su Qing's hand, and the crossbow machine rang softly. The crossbow arrows shot at Duan Lingxiao at the same time. At this moment, the distance between the two of them was only two feet. The horse was a long weapon and could not block the crossbow arrows. Fortunately, Duan Lingxiao had excellent riding skills. His body seemed to be suddenly broken and he leaned back, and a crossbow arrow came from in front of him. There was a shrill neigh of a horse passing by the door. Duan Lingxiao felt his body go limp. The horse ran wildly for more than ten feet and fell to the ground. Duan Lingxiao jumped up and fell to the ground. At the same time, Ma Shan got out. A black light like thunder and lightning flashed in the air, shooting towards Su Qing who had already stood up from the horse. Su Qing had just exhausted all her strength to complete the act of leaning up and shooting an arrow. She sat up. Just when her limbs were weak and her mind was weak, when she saw Ma Shu coming, she could no longer dodge. She was as pale as snow. A chilling smile appeared on her face, and she waited quietly for the moment when Ma Cha stabbed into her chest.