The Grandmaster Strategist

On March 24, Wuyin, the first year of Longsheng, King Li Xian of Qi reorganized his army to Anze, and the Northern Han army retreated to Qinyuan.

——"Zi Zhi Tong Jian Yong Ji III"

I was soaking comfortably in the hot spring, squinting my eyes and enjoying the rare leisure time. Suddenly, a desolate song came from the shore: "The birds of prey do not flock together, it is natural since the past life; how can the circle be able to circle around?" Come on, who of us live in different ways and live at peace with each other; bend our hearts and suppress our ambitions, endure and resist criticism; stay honest and upright until death, and consolidate the strength of the saints before us." I was so shocked that I almost staggered and fell in the water, this Ji Xuan, this is really too much. When I was debating the classics with him two days ago, I was completely refuted by him. After all, he is a master of classics, and I am willing to be defeated. But this old gentleman has been very bad-tempered in the past two days. He just recites poems and poems when he has nothing to do. "Oh, I'm sorry for the hardships of the people's lives" and "I'm still doing good in my heart, but I have no regrets even though I died nine times". They are clearly satirizing my betrayal of Chu Touyong. Okay, I'll bear with it. After we meet up with the army, I won't have to stay with him. When I send him to the emperor in the future, I will be careful to avoid him. I glared at the old man fiercely, and I no longer had any interest in bathing. I said to Xiao Shunzi on the bank: "Help me up, I want to change clothes."

Xiao Shunzi is also quite proficient in poetry and prose under my influence, and he is well aware of Ji Xuan's overt and insidious sarcasm. However, I have no choice but to do it, so he can only watch from the side. After all, this old gentleman is not The extremely vicious enemy is just a good-looking old man. With Zhao Liang here, this old man will never do anything too extreme, so I suffered a little injustice and Xiao Shunzi just watched the joke.

Seeing Xiao Shunzi snickering secretly, I could only feel depressed. After I got ashore, I put on the clothes Xiao Shunzi handed me. I wiped the water droplets from my hair with a square towel and said, "Today is already twenty-three." On that day, the King of Qi should have regrouped. Su Qing went to investigate the military situation. I think he should be able to rendezvous with the army in the next two days. When the time comes, let the King of Qi send people to send their masters and disciples to Zezhou. Out of sight, out of mind. what do you think?"

Xiao Shunzi glanced at Ji Xuan who was walking not far away and Zhao Liang who looked embarrassed beside Ji Xuan. He sneered and said: "Young Master is asking for trouble. Mr. Ji has a stubborn temper. If it weren't for his obstruction, Zhao Liang is also in our hands. I'm afraid he won't be so polite. If such a person gains the emperor's trust in the future, if this old gentleman continues to talk so openly, I'm afraid it will damage the reputation of the young master. If it is according to my wishes, he will They'll just kill him, so why bother?"

My heart trembled, and I took a peek. I saw that the old man and the young man should not be able to hear Xiao Shunzi's voice, so I whispered: "How can this be done? If I kill them, I'm afraid that I will be in the eyes of the scholars of the Northern Han Dynasty." Their reputation is going to be stinky. As long as they can be used by me, Dayong, it doesn't matter if I feel a little wronged. Besides, this Ji Xuan adheres to the belief that "if you are prosperous, you can benefit the world, and if you are poor, you can be alone." At the beginning, he Dissatisfied with Liu Sheng's founding of the country, he neither wrote a letter to directly remonstrate, nor did he eat his corpse, but abandoned his official position and went into seclusion. This shows that he is not a foolish and loyal person. Now he is mocking me, not only to vent his dissatisfaction, but also to test my character. If If I care about this matter, it won't make him look down on the Lord Yong and his ministers, so I can't care less about it."

Xiao Shunzi nodded silently and did not continue to persuade me to kill someone. In fact, Xiao Shunzi may not understand the reason, but he regards me as a father and brother and does not want anyone to bully me. I secretly smiled bitterly in my heart, and there was one more thing I didn't say much. In the hearts of those foolish, loyal, foolish and filial scholars, I am afraid that my reputation is already stinky, so what does it matter if I add Ji Xuan.

Seeing King Qi's banner from a distance, Su Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief. She rode her horse forward and said to the garrison at the camp gate: "General Su Qing, on the order of the Lord Supervisor of the Army, came to see His Highness King Qi."

The guard general recognized Su Qing. When he heard that he was sent by Jiang Zhe, he immediately beamed. The King of Qi was busy arranging the army these days. Although he didn't get angry, he always had a gloomy face.

It makes people tremble when they see him, and everyone knows that His Highness King Qi respects Lord Supervisor. As long as Lord Supervisor is fine, King Qi will be happy, and their lives will be much easier. The guard general sent people to the commander's account to report, and at the same time sent his deputy general to lead Su Qing in.

Su Qing walked in the camp and looked at it with his eyes. Although Yong's army was defeated, the camp established by King Qi was strict and there was no depression in the camp. King Qi was indeed a famous general at that time. Su Qing praised it in his heart , but her face was calm. This was the first time she formally met with King Qi after her identity was leaked. She was still uneasy in her heart. Although Princess Qi was a disciple of Fengyi Sect, King Qi and Fengyi Sect were not the same. Harmony, she knew this well. Although King Qi did not treat her differently because of the supervisor, Su Qing was still uneasy in her heart.

Walking into the tent, Su Qing's originally uneasy mind finally calmed down. Seeing King Qi standing with his hands behind his back and looking at him with a smile, Su Qing felt relieved for some reason. He stepped forward and knelt down and said, "I will bow before you." Your Majesty, the Lord Supervisor is safe and well, this is a letter brought by the Lord at the end of his life."

Li Xian looked at Su Qing. Although he had a calm smile on his face, his heart was in turmoil. His close guards once advised him to leave Su Qing alone or even imprison him, so as not to make the court suspicious of him again, but Li Xian wanted to He refused without thinking. When did he, Li Xian, need to use other people's life and death, honor and disgrace to clear his innocence. Su Qing's existence reminded him of many past events. Qin Zheng in his youth, who was smart and beautiful, made him devote himself wholeheartedly for the first time, and Wen Ziyan, who was as cold as frost, but was the only one he respected in Fengyi Sect. Li Xian didn't want Su Qing to be treated unfairly. But Li Xian also knew that his situation was not much better. What he had done in the past was enough for Li Zhi to jail him without any excuse. If he really wanted to protect Su Qing, the damage to him would definitely be considerable.

Fortunately, in addition to himself, Zezhou Camp also has Jiang Zhe. At first, Li Xian was a little worried when he found out about Su Qing. Jiang Zhe seemed to hate Fengyi Sect with all his heart, and Su Qing was Wen Zi. Disciple Yan was the direct descendant of Fengyi Sect. Li Xian was not sure whether Jiang Zhe would let Su Qing go. But to his surprise, and what he expected, Jiang Zhe kept Su Qing. Qing, this made Li Xian respect and trust Jiang Zhe more. Of course, for Li Xian, who is the prince of the clan, if Jiang Zhe's decision is accepted by the court, it will be an obvious message that the court will no longer pursue the crimes of people related to Fengyi Clan, which will make many people feel sad. An, although I don’t know how Li Zhi will decide, Li Xian can feel the significance of it, and he also believes that Li Zhi will make a wise decision.

Hiding his thoughts, Li Xian took the letter from Su Qing's hand. He said it was a letter, but it was actually a longan-sized white wax pill. Li Xian casually picked up a piece of tissue paper from the handsome desk and wrapped the wax pill in tissue paper. He stopped, then picked up a paper knife placed on the desk and skillfully scratched the surface of the wax ball. After the wax ball was cut open, a residual green liquid oozed out from inside, and soon penetrated the tissue paper. Li Xian took out a small He took a circle of honey-colored wax pills, wiped off the green liquid on them with tissue paper, then crushed the honey-colored wax pills through the tissue paper, and took out a piece of silk as thin as a cicada's wings. During this period, Li Xian was very cautious in his movements, never letting the The green liquid stained my hands. Su Qing was fascinated, her eyes were full of doubts, and she couldn't help but ask: "Your Highness, what is going on?"

Li Xian said without raising his head: "This is designed by Chu Xianghou. The wax pill has two layers inside and outside, and the middle is filled with venom. If an unsuspecting person crushes it directly with his hands, he will be invaded by the venom and the inside will be soaked. The letter is on the letter paper. The Marquis of Chuxiang is a cautious person. This letter must be very important. He may be worried that someone will snatch it away midway."

Su Qing's heart trembled. The Marquis of Chuxiang was really powerful. I am afraid that he was sent this letter as a test. If he wanted to pry into the secrets, he would definitely be poisoned and died. However, Su Qing was not dissatisfied. He studied under Wen Ziyan. Being able to be entrusted with important tasks by Jiang Zhe is already a rare and valuable trust. Su Qing will only admire Jiang Zhe's methods, but will not feel any resentment.

Li Xian looked at the dense handwriting on the thin silk, frowning for a while, thinking deeply for a while, then gently shook his head for a while, sighed, and put the thin silk on the commander's case. In fact, Li Xian was defeated this time. He didn't take it to heart. He had been defeated many times since he joined the army. He had also dealt with more tragic defeats than this. So after the defeat, he was busy reorganizing his soldiers to prepare for another fight. Unexpectedly, Jiang Zhe thought more than he did. Going deeper and further, it was obviously a defeat, but he thought of a strategy to take advantage of the defeat. The portrait in this letter made Li Xian feel cold in his heart. If such a person can be loyal to each other, no wonder the second brother can win the throne. Li Xian was really convinced at this moment.

He looked at Su Qing, who was waiting for his order with a cold expression, and said with a smile: "General Su, you take a day off, go to see the Marquis of Chuxiang tomorrow, lead him back to the central army, and tell him that I will definitely do what he asked me to do. .”

Su Qing was at a loss, but she had been in the army for many years and naturally knew what it meant to act under orders, so she agreed solemnly. The night was uneventful. Of course, Su Qing didn't know that King Qi had urgently delivered a memorial from eight hundred miles away that night.

Su Qing was on the road the next day. According to her idea, it was actually best to bring more than a thousand cavalry and pick up Jiang Zhe. However, King Qi said that the Northern Han Army's spies had retreated and the place was already under the control of Yong's army, so There is no need to go to such trouble, and Jiang Zhe is also protected by tiger guards. I am afraid Jiang Zhe will not be willing to mobilize troops in this way. Naturally, Su Qing would not have any objections. She had tried the moves with Xiao Shunzi. She was certain that Xiao Shunzi's martial arts skills should be on par with Duan Lingxiao's. Even if there were assassins left in the Northern Han Dynasty, could they still be higher than Duan Lingxiao's? So Su Qing wasn't worried either, but to be on the safe side, Su Qing was cautious along the way and went around in circles before returning to Jiang Zhe's hiding place.

After greeting the Hufu guards who were on guard outside, she walked into Jiang Zhe's residence and saw a square table and two wooden chairs set up in the courtyard. Jiang Zhe was playing chess with Ji Xuan there. Although there was insufficient medicine, However, Ji Xuan's health gradually improved. He likes to play chess by nature, and he usually drags Zhao Liang to play chess with him when he is seriously ill, but now he can't help it anymore. In particular, Jiang Zhe's chess skills were not very good. Ji Xuan would often defeat Jiang Zhe even if he gave him four pieces. Since he could not resist with force, Ji Xuan preferred to attack this junior who he disliked under the chessboard. , but Jiang Zhe was too embarrassed to refuse, so he could only look at the chessboard with a sad face.

After throwing in the pieces and admitting defeat, I looked at Ji Xuan's proud old face and muttered something unwillingly, but he came over with a cold look, and I immediately started to pack up the pieces with a smile, but to be honest, I wasn't angry at all. Although this old man has a weird temper and often embarrasses me, after the initial irritation, I now like this feeling. For a long time, the people around me have either respected me like a god or feared me like a snake or scorpion. Although some Several people close to me love me and respect me, but there is no such friend who treats me as a normal person. Although this old man always puts on a face, I think he is approachable, and although he doesn't like me, he doesn't have any strong hostility. If Xiao Shunzi didn't let him, he wouldn't allow him to stay by my side. The old man is a very good friend, so I am willing to be bullied by him.

When Su Qing walked into the courtyard, she saw such a scene. She couldn't help but smile secretly in her heart, and stepped forward to report: "Sir, the general has already met the marshal. The prince asked you to return to camp quickly, and said that everything should be done as per Let’s follow your Lord’s plan.”

I smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Ji, please ask my nephew to help you pack your bags. We will be on the road after lunch."

Ji Xuan's hand shook, and the hand he was picking up chess pieces shook, and a chess piece fell on the chessboard. With a soft sound, his expression became angry and he said: "I obey your order."

I knew he was unhappy, but I couldn't say anything to him at this time. I gave Zhao Liang, who was waiting on the side, a look. He stepped forward and helped Ji Xuan down. I smiled and said, "Xiao Shunzi, go and tidy up." When packing, be sure to bring Mr. Ji Xuan’s original volume with you. The old man promised to lend it to me for a few days. By the way, go tell Hu Yanshou and prepare to leave here.”

Xiao Shunzi smiled slightly and waved to summon two tiger guards to protect me. As soon as his figure disappeared from the side room, I stood up and said, "Let's go for a walk by the lake. It’s such a great place, but it’s a pity that I won’t have the chance to come here in the future.”

A tiger guard said loudly: "Sir, Master Li is not here, so it's better to be careful."

I said impatiently: "There are no enemies here. What are you worried about? You can't protect me. General Su, you have worked hard all the way. Go down and rest first."

For some reason, Su Qing always had a feeling of uneasiness in her heart. She subconsciously refused and said, "Sir, it's better for the general to accompany you." As soon as she said this, she could clearly see the coldness in Jiang Zhe's eyes. The light flashed, revealing a rather interesting look.

I looked at Su Qing, and I couldn't help but wonder if she had guessed something. However, it was not appropriate to have her around, so I refused and said, "No, General Su, go down and rest first." Su Qing saw the use of words in my words. With a commanding tone, he had no choice but to retreat.

I walked to the hot spring lake and looked at the crystal clear lake water, like a piece of clear jasper. In this remote place, there is a lake of clear water gathered by hot springs, creating this Taoyuan resort. It is really shocking. This creation, I Being able to take refuge here after the defeat was probably a gift from God. The more I thought about it, the more I fell in love with this place where I had lived for several days. I leaned down and stretched out my hand to gently stir the warm lake water. My figure was shattered into pieces, and I could not help but murmur: "The green spring gushes out half the temperature of the lake, wishing to wash away the eternal dust of the world." Just after I chanted two sentences, I heard someone behind me holding up his palm and saying: "Good poetry, I have heard that the poets of the Marquis of Chu are the most talented It is the most beautiful place in the world, and it is indeed well-deserved when I see it today. With such a beautiful scenery on such a good time, Lord Jiang would have no regrets even if he died here!"

I smiled slightly and said to myself: "You are finally here." Knowing that the man would not take action immediately, I stood up and turned around, only to see that the two tiger guards who were following me were standing still. , and behind them, a majestic man wearing tiger guard armor, but with a very unfamiliar appearance, stood with his hands behind his hands. His expression was outstanding, and his courage was so powerful that he could smile proudly in the sky. I laughed loudly and said: " It turns out that Mr. Duan Lingxiao is coming in person, and Zhe Wei has not come far to greet him, which is really rude." At this time, a figure flashed in the distance, and the guards who noticed that I was in danger were rushing over, and a green figure was the most Quickly, he was twenty feet away in an instant. Just as he was about to move forward, Duan Lingxiao said sternly: "If anyone dares to cross this line, I will kill the Marquis of Chuxiang immediately." Before he finished speaking, he turned around and said, A burst of energy came out of his body and drew a horizontal line on the ground fifteen feet away. Xiao Shunzi stopped outside the line, his eyes showing cold murderous intent, but he never crossed the line. At this time, Hu Yanshou and Su Qing had also arrived and fell behind the horizontal line. They both looked anxious and panicked.

But I was calm and said with a smile: "I have heard for a long time that the first disciple of the Demon Sect has an extraordinary bearing. Last time the eldest son killed many of my Dayong soldiers, Zhe is still engraved in my heart. Today the eldest son must have come to take Jiang Zhe's life. "

Duan Lingxiao is not in a hurry at the moment. He has long known that no matter what, as long as he kills Jiang Zhe, everyone will be alarmed, so he is not in a hurry to escape. With his martial arts, as long as he does not fight hard and does not fall into a battle, there are people outside. With the support of several of his fellow juniors, it is not difficult to escape. Moreover, he is only one foot away from Jiang Zhe, while Xie Ying, who has the highest martial arts skills, is fifteen feet away from him. With such a distance, even if the master takes action himself, no one else can. He wanted to stop himself from killing this weak scholar, so he didn't rush to do it. After all, he was somewhat curious about this Jiang Zhe.

I saw that he was not taking action for the time being, but I felt a little relieved. If a fight broke out all of a sudden, I would not have the chance to speak calmly like this. Looking at the two guards standing frozen to the side, I saw that both of them had angry faces. He was sweating profusely but unable to move, so he asked: "Master Duan, why didn't you kill these two guards? Although Zhe was grateful, he also felt a little strange."

Duan Lingxiao smiled and said: "I'm not soft-hearted, I just heard that the Marquis of Chuxiang was good at using poison, and he used it to restrain the people of Fengyi Clan in the past, and I wanted to have a talk with the Marquis, so I left these two people behind. Life, I hope the Marquis of Chuxiang can restrain himself and not dare to use poison without authorization, so as not to harm the lives of these two people."

My eyes flashed and I said: "Master Duan, have you forgotten that they are all my bodyguards, and they only stay by my side to protect my safety. Even if I killed them all, no one can do it." It's my fault, it's their own fault, they will think so even under the Nine Springs."

The eyes of the two guards flashed with enthusiasm, and they seemed to agree with my words. Although Duan Lingxiao couldn't see their expressions, he already knew from the changes in their breathing that these two guards were indeed loyal people. However, he did not have the slightest worry and said: "Others might do this, but Duan felt that with Lord Jiang's temperament, he would be ruthless and righteous towards his enemies, but he would be merciful and merciless towards his own people. This is what Duan has read many times. The conclusion reached after the intelligence related to the Marquis, and if it were not the case, Yu Fei probably would not have been able to escape from the Marquis. Now if it is said that the Marquis would secretly use poison regardless of the lives of these two people, Duan Never believe it."

I was speechless for a moment. Although he said that Qiu Yufei's incident was just a coincidence, but thinking about it carefully, I really don't like to do harm to people around me. Apart from anything else, if I hadn't made arrangements in advance, I would have encountered such a situation today. , even if I can apply poison, it is definitely difficult to do it. After all, these two guards are my old people who followed me in Hanyuan. I am already uneasy about putting them in danger this time.

Duan Lingxiao saw the change in my expression and knew that he had hit the mark, so he said calmly: "Jianghou assisted His Highness King Yong to ascend the throne of God, and then abandoned his power and lived in seclusion in the East China Sea. Duan admired him very much, but unfortunately Hou After all, I can't let go of my kindness to the king and my ministers, and I can't abandon my secluded life to help the King of Qi attack me in the Northern Han Dynasty. Although I deeply admire your talent, I can only meet you in life and death. But if the Marquis is willing to live in seclusion in Linquan from now on, I will never do it for Dayong. Please give me some advice, Duan can let Mr. off for once today."

I sighed softly and said: "Glory and wealth to me are just a fleeting thing. It's just that Jiang was greedy for life and feared death most in his life. If Da Yong could not rule the world, Jiang would not be able to live and work in peace and contentment in this life. I can only accept Mr. Duan's kindness." However, the eldest son said this, did he hope to weaken the fighting spirit of all my subordinates? In fact, he has no power to restrain the chicken, so the eldest son does not need to worry so much."

Duan Lingxiao sighed and said: "The Marquis is too worried. Duan just couldn't bear the sadness of his fourth brother. Before he left for Donghai, he sent me a letter about his friendship with the Marquis. Although he was determined to kill the Marquis that day, But I admire the Marquis very much. I know that Yu Fei is a lonely man and has few good friends in his life, so I can't bear to hurt the Marquis' life. However, although your army was defeated this time, it still did not lose its vitality, and the Marquis left at this time The protection of the army is the only chance for our army to weaken your army. Originally, if the Marquis agreed to go into seclusion, Duan wanted to ask the Marquis to rest in Jinyang. Unfortunately, my kindness was not accepted by the Marquis. Now it can only be a matter of life and death. See you."

I laughed instead of being angry. If I had just been greedy for life and fearful of death and agreed to go into seclusion, Duan Lingxiao would have asked me to follow him to Jinyang, and would have even sworn in the name of the leader of the Demon Sect not to harm my life. But I am a dignified person. The Yong Supervisory Army, the Prince Consort, and the Marquis of Chuxiang were really coerced and taken to the capital of the Northern Han Dynasty. How could I have the dignity to meet Princess Changle and the Emperor? This demon sect really has a strong tone. It’s a pity that although I, Jiang Zhe, am greedy for life and fear death, I am not a person who lives alone. I could risk my life to drink King Yong’s poisonous wine that day, but how can I put myself in a life-or-death situation today? The situation is that even if I didn't set up a trap in advance and waited for Duan Lingxiao to surrender, I would never be willing to be captured.

I regained my cold and ruthless mood and said, "Master Duan, have you ever thought about why Su Qing came to meet you alone?"

Duan Lingxiao's heart trembled. The thin body of the young man in front of him suddenly exuded endless majesty and murderous aura, which was shocking. He paid attention to the movement around him and said: "Presumably your army thought that all our scouts and spies had retreated. Bar?"

I shook my head and said, "That's not the case. Zhe is accustomed to adding insult to injury, so he can't help but judge a gentleman with a villain's heart. He is also proud of his nature. He expected that your army would take the opportunity to assassinate me. Instead of waiting for your army to assassinate me, it would be better to lure the snake out of its hole." , I expected that the person who assassinated me must be the eldest son Duan. Xiao Tong’s martial arts skills are not as good as those of Xiao Shunzi. He is also the person in charge of the scouts in the army and cannot take risks easily, so it must be the eldest son who takes action. However, the surrounding fields are vast and we are hiding. It's hard to find anywhere. If I were the eldest son, I would also keep an eye on our army camp, because I must get in touch with the Chinese army. So I sent Su Qing back to report the news. Firstly, you recognize Su Qing, and secondly, there is Duan Invincible is in Anze, and he should probably know that Su Qing is by my side. As expected, the eldest son followed Su Qing here. I ordered the Huwei Guards to focus on the outside. If you want to succeed in the assassination, you must wait until I There were the fewest guards around me, so I sent Xiao Shunzi away and took only two guards to the lake. As expected, your Excellency, after changing into the clothes of the guards around me, went to the lake with the intention of assassinating me. Unexpectedly, Do you know whether the guard restrained by you is alive or dead?"

Duan Lingxiao felt a chill in his heart. What he had done in the past few days was as if Jiang Zhe had seen it with his own eyes. He carefully observed again, but he still didn't realize that there was someone within two feet of him. He thought to himself and said softly: "Of course it is. They are dead, but the Tiger Guards are really powerful. I took action personally, and one of them almost shouted, but in order to avoid alarming everyone, I only killed three people. I think the Marquis will not be heartbroken."

But I felt a real pain in my heart. Although I knew there would be sacrifices, it still made me feel guilty. I couldn't help but hide my face and said: "That's it, you guys take action."