The Grandmaster Strategist

Putting down the information in his hand, Li Kang looked at Huo Yi with satisfaction. Although this ordinary young man with ordinary appearance and honest demeanor seemed to be just an honest man without any scheming, who would have thought that he was one of the top figures in the Splendid League. These days Following Li Kang, he did a lot of things for Li Kang and eliminated many officials who were inclined to the imperial court. Although he was still wary of the Jinxiu League, Li Kang already had considerable trust in Huo Yi.

Huo Yi, or Bai Yi, stood respectfully. Seeing that Li Kang had read the information, he said: "Your Highness, I have received the news that Xiahou Yuanfeng may have arrived at Sanguan. These days, Your Highness They intercepted the imperial envoys and documents, and blocked the road from Sanguan to Dongchuan on the grounds that there were thieves. Although there was no flaw on the surface, the Yong court was busy fighting the Northern Han Dynasty and could not help but slack off on Dongchuan. Li Zhi and his ministers are not idlers. They have already discovered the clues. If they don't want to force the prince to rebel at this time, they are afraid that Yong's army has already entered Sichuan. However, Xiahou Yuanfeng has personally taken action, and the Japanese alliance has recently been outside Sanguan. We have captured more than a dozen secret spies from the Mingjian Division. I don’t know when the prince is going to take action. It’s time to wait. If we wait until the Dayong court is free, I’m afraid we won’t have a chance.”

Li Kang smiled and said: "Don't worry, Li Zhi will never dare to fall out with me now, and although I show my support for the troops and self-respect, in Li Zhi's view, I am just fighting for power at most. Who would think of me?" Would a majestic Prince of Dayong deliberately break Dayong into pieces? Therefore, the court must try its best to appease him. Li Zhi issued several edicts to commend the king. Didn't he just not want me to openly oppose the court? He wanted to wait until he was destroyed. After the Northern Han Dynasty, Xiahou Yuanfeng came to deal with me again with the remaining power of his victory. Wouldn't it be weird if Xiahou Yuanfeng didn't come? But the time has not come yet. Li Xianchu was defeated and his strength was not greatly damaged. With Long Tingfei's ability , and with the right location and people, we can definitely cause Li Xian to suffer a disastrous defeat, and it won’t be too late for me to take action until then.”

Huo Yi said hesitantly: "But the one who fought against the Northern Han Dynasty was King Li Xian of Qi. He is one of the most famous generals in the world. He is also assisted by the Marquis of Chu Township Jiang Zhe. What if the Northern Han Dynasty loses?"

Li Kang shook his head and said: "No matter how smart Jiang Zhe is, Long Tingfei just can't resist. As long as he retreats one city after another, he can tie up the King of Qi. When the time comes, we won't be able to win for a long time. I will bribe the ministers in the court." Jin Yan, accusing the King of Qi of wasting his troops in vain. When the time comes, internal and external troubles will come, and Li Zhi will be very worried. Regardless of the recent peace agreement between Dayong and Nanchu, by then, no matter how idiot Shang Weijun is, he will add insult to injury. In fact, if I were Li Zhi, the most important thing would be The most important thing is not to attack the Northern Han Dynasty, but to stabilize Dongchuan first. To fight against the outside world, we must first stabilize the inside. This is the wisest principle."

Huo Yishen thought: "Perhaps the Yong court had no choice. Now Southern Chu is waiting and watching. Although the prince has rebellious intentions, it has not been made clear. Li Zhi must have hoped to defeat the Northern Han Dynasty with lightning speed, so that he can calmly They have dealt with us, but they didn’t expect that the Northern Han Army, which was defeated in Zezhou, would still have such combat power.”

Li Kang nodded and said: "Be careful, the timing of our attack is very important. By the way, we have set up a lot of ambushes outside Sanguan, and we must not let Mingjian Division's spies sneak into Dongchuan."

Huo Yi said confidently: "Your Highness, don't worry, the Protector Ma of our alliance is personally in charge and will never let the Mingjian Division succeed." Li Kang nodded with a smile. He also had his own confidants. Naturally, he knew that outside of Sanguan, the Jinxiu Alliance had or They killed or captured many spies from the imperial court. Their methods were very brutal and violent, and they also suffered considerable losses. This shows the sincerity and loyalty of the Splendid Alliance.

After resigning, he walked outside the hall. Huo Yi had a faint smile on his lips. Waiting for him outside were two young men, one gentle and elegant, the other brave and tough. They were both in their mid-twenties. It was Shangguan Yan and Xiong Bao with very indifferent expressions on their faces. A few days ago, after being reprimanded, they followed Huo Yi into Prince Qing's Mansion in the name of meritorious service. Although they were frightened by the power, these two young men were very respectful to Huo Yi. ,

They didn't dare to offend them at all. After all, Huo Yi was Huo Jicheng's adopted son and Chen Zhen's confidant, and their elder family members were still in the hands of the Jinxiu Alliance. However, the rejection in their hearts continued unabated, even though Huo Yi was always polite to them. Can't understand their mood. Huo Yi sighed slightly when he saw their expressions. He just pretended not to see them and ordered: "Send a message to Protector Ma to strengthen the monitoring of Sanguan. We must not let a secret Da Yong spy sneak into Dongchuan."

Ma Cheng, the person in charge of the Jinxiu League who is responsible for intercepting the secret spies of the Mingjian Division outside the customs, is in his forties. He is a backbone who is determined to restore the country. Chen Zhen specially sent him to take charge of the matter this time because he has great influence on the country. Yong has a deep hatred, and the people assigned to him are all the best in the Jinxiu League. Of course, these people all have one characteristic, that is, they are very keen to fight against Dayong. Because the Jinxiu League kept a low profile in the past few years, they were quite dissatisfied. Let them take action this time, it's like a tiger coming out of the cage, so they have achieved great results during this period.

Although there were two people in Sanguan who also participated in this operation, they had no achievements. One of them was Gu Ying, the only son of Gu Ning, the Great Protector of the Splendid Alliance. A few days ago, Huo Jicheng, the leader of the Splendid Alliance, decided to cooperate with King Qing. Gu Ning Because he offended Huo Jicheng, his remaining power was cut off, allowing everyone in the Splendid Alliance to once again see the alliance leader's powerful means of eliminating dissidents. Gu Ning was worried about his situation, so he asked his friend Ma Cheng to take care of his only son. Although Ma Cheng was not a direct descendant of Huo Jicheng, he was always more respected by Huo Jicheng and Chen Zhen. With him protecting Gu Ying, Gu Ning could feel relieved. And Ma became concerned about Gu Ying's safety. Even after taking on such an important task, he still brought Gu Ying away, but he was not allowed to take action. After all, although Gu Ying was good at martial arts, he was only seventeen years old. So Gu Ying could only watch others take action.

But the other person is different. His name is Luo Jianfei, and he is Chen Zhen's confidant. Speaking of which, since Chen Zhen took charge of the daily affairs of the Jinxiu Alliance, most of the power of the elders in the alliance has been lost. Now, the most important people used by Chen Zhen are Huo Yi and Huo Shan, the adopted sons of the alliance leader. Huo Yi is smart and capable, with strong martial arts skills, Huo Shan is proficient in agency information and is the best at planning ambushes. Although these two are young, they hold great power and are decisive in killing, and everyone in the alliance is in awe of them. It is said that the alliance leader also had an adopted son, Huo Li, who once made great contributions, but has now disappeared. There are rumors that he died young, but no one dares to pursue him. In addition, there is a mysterious guard around Chen Zhen. This guard is composed of some guards of similar age. Each guard is a talented man with both civil and military skills. Their number is uncertain and their whereabouts are secretive. I am afraid no one can figure it out except Chen Zhen. Knowing their strength and organization, once something big happens in the alliance, these guards are often the ones in charge, so no one dares to look down on them. There have long been rumors in the alliance that these guards are similar in age and temperament to Huo Yi and Huo Shan. I am afraid that they were all trained by Huo Jicheng personally. They were probably the close followers and ears that Huo Jicheng sent to Chen Zhen in order to control the affairs of the alliance. And this Luo Jianfei It's one of them.

Luo Jianfei is a guard who is relatively familiar to the allies of the Splendid Alliance. He has participated in important affairs many times and has cooperated with Ma Cheng many times. This man has a handsome appearance, but he is ruthless. Wherever he appears, there are often rivers of blood. This man is not only responsible for The enemy is ruthless, even to his own people. He will never obey anyone else's orders except Chen Zhen's. Even Huo Yi and Huo Shan don't dare to order him casually. This time Chen Zhen sent him to disperse the people, just to use his help. His ruthless tactics. Ma Cheng vaguely knew that he held Chen Zhen's secret order and could take over his power at any time, so he treated him as a supervisor and did not dare to offend him at all. This man had a weird temper and covered his head in the secret helm during the day. He slept, and at night he walked outside alone with his sword. When he came back several times, his body was full of blood and even had scars, but no one saw his captives, not even a human head, which made people uncomfortable. Know the results of his battle.

You must know that it is not easy for the Jinxiu Alliance to set up a defense line to intercept the secret spies who have escaped from seclusion. The skills of Dayong's secret spies are very good, and their ability to remain invisible is also outstanding. If it's fine during the day, as long as you send an eyeliner to watch carefully at a high place, you can discover their whereabouts, and use various means to send messages to inform the experts in the alliance to intercept and kill them. If it is night and the visibility is not wide, we can only send experts to wait and see at some important roads. Anyway, there is a line of defense behind. Even if those secret spies pass this level, it will not be easy to sneak into Dongchuan. However, most people who participate in hunting at night are in groups. Only Luo Jianfei likes to be alone.

That night, when the moon was dark and the stars were setting, Gu Ying quietly left the camp and followed Luo Jianfei to see what he did at night. He knew that his martial arts skills were not as good as Luo Jianfei's, so he followed him from a distance. Fortunately, Luo Jianfei did not hide his figure, so Gu Ying actually followed Luo Jianfei all the way to a valley. This valley is a small road from Sanguan to Dongchuan. Because of the rugged road, there are few pedestrians, but it is an important thoroughfare for secret spies. If it is daytime, no one can hide from the cliff overlooking the valley. If it is night, it is pitch black and nothing can be seen. There is no suitable hiding place in the valley, so it is not a suitable place to intercept. Gu Ying feels strange. , doubts arose as to why Luo Jianfei chose this place. Under his gaze, Luo Jianfei climbed up the cliffs on both sides, with no intention of staying in the valley and waiting for hunting opportunities.

Gu Ying hesitated for a moment, then secretly followed him up the cliff. On the top of the cliff was a bamboo forest. The bamboo forest surrounded a dilapidated mountain temple. Behind the mountain temple was a flat boulder protruding from the cliff. Gu Ying knew the terrain here well. At first, He followed Ma Cheng here for inspection. Seeing a fire light up in the ruined temple from a distance, flashing in the darkness, Gu Ying knew that Luo Jianfei had lit a bonfire and then closed the temple door to block the leaking firelight. So he plucked up the courage to sneak up the cliff and go around to the back of the ruined temple, hoping to see if there was a chance to get in without being seen by Luo Jianfei. Although the moonlight was dim, Gu Ying could still vaguely see the scenery in front of him. Not long after, he found that there seemed to be a big hole in the wall behind a clump of grass in the corner. He pushed aside the dead grass silently, and the big hole was barely enough. Let him get in, and he got in gently. There was darkness in front of him, and no firelight could be seen. Based on the location, he could roughly guess that it was an altar table for the mountain god. As for the lack of firelight, it seemed that it was laid on top of the altar table. The brocade curtain has still not been stolen. Huddled in a small space, Gu Ying didn't dare to move.

In fact, Luo Jianfei was highly skilled in martial arts and would not have been so defenseless. He didn't realize it on the way. It was because Gu Ying was careful and he was eager to meet people, so he didn't pay attention. After all, no one in the Jinxiu League had the guts to target him. Who could Do you think that Gu Yinghui's newborn calf is not afraid of tigers? After he entered the ruined temple, he was busy lighting bonfires and cleaning the hall. When Gu Ying sneaked under the altar table, it was when Luo Jianfei went out to look for dry firewood, so by mistake, Gu Ying sneaked into this place. . Although Gu Ying was young, his martial arts were inherited from his family. Although Luo Jianfei was very powerful in martial arts, he was only first-rate and could not detect clearly, so he did not discover Gu Ying's existence.

Gently exposing a small crack in the curtain, Gu Ying carefully looked at the flickering firelight and the young man in black with a gloomy and cold face. Luo Jianfei sat cross-legged by the fire, closing his eyes and concentrating. Although he was young and handsome, the gloomy look and the faint murderous aura all over his body made him full of intimidation, even though the firelight illuminated him as if he was being cut with a knife. He has a generally handsome face, but it gives the impression that he will disappear into the darkness dispersed by the fire at any time. Gu Ying remembered that Protector Ma once told him that Luo Jianfei had most likely been a killer. At this moment, he really understood what Uncle Ma meant. Such murderous intent and darkness, wouldn't it be strange if he wasn't a killer?

Just when Gu Ying felt a little numb in his limbs, there was suddenly a slight sound of footsteps outside the temple. Gu Ying was startled and held his breath. The temple door was pushed open and the cold wind rushed in. Gu Ying shivered. He saw a tall figure standing at the temple door. The man was wearing a gray cloak and a sun hat on his head, which was held low. , he couldn't see his appearance clearly, only the hilt of the sword was exposed on the left side of his waist, and he knew that this man was also a figure in the world. The man stood in front of the temple door, stood quietly for a moment, reached out and gently took off his bamboo hat, revealing a delicate and smiling face, eyes as bright as the cold stars in the night sky with tears in them, and looked steadily at Luo Jian, who looked calm. Fei was as excited as if he were seeing a relative he had not seen for many years.

Gu Ying felt relieved and thought, maybe it was Luo Jianfei's old friend, so he didn't say it clearly. After all, although he didn't like people from Chen Zhen's group, he didn't want to fight within himself. Unexpectedly, just after he took a breath, he saw a flash of sword light, and the young man in gray actually jumped forward, waving his big cloak, and with a huge wind and wave, he extinguished the bonfire. Gu Ying felt his eyes go dark, and then there was a sound in his ears The sound of weapons clashing. Gu Ying held down the hilt of the sword and listened carefully. His eyes were dark, and the stars and moon outside were dim. He could only listen to the two men fighting hard in the palace. What's more, he followed Luo Jian secretly and flew here. It was Luo Jian. Even if Jian Fei died, he wouldn't dare to take action easily. After a while, Gu Ying's eyes gradually adapted to the darkness, and through the gap in the curtain, he could faintly see the two people fighting fiercely in the main hall. Both of them seemed to be good at fighting hard in the dark, their sword energy flowing freely as if in daylight. Gu Ying could only see the light of the sword and the vague figures of the two men. But he couldn't tell the difference between Luo Jianfei and the strange young man who came after him. He had lost his cloak at some point. They were both dressed in fancy clothes and had the same figure. Even their swordsmanship and martial arts had many similarities. They looked like each other. They were disciples of the same master competing there, but Gu Ying clearly felt that these two men were extremely fierce and showed no mercy at all. The two fought about a hundred moves, and one of them had the upper hand, but the other could only parry. Gu Ying was worried, not knowing who would win.

At this time, the man who was at a disadvantage flew back and said with a smile: "That's it, I'm convinced. Your martial arts have improved very quickly in the past few years. You must have obtained Master Li's true inheritance again, right?" Gu Ying heard this man's voice was unfamiliar, Knowing that Luo Jianfei had the upper hand, he felt relieved and at the same time he couldn't help but have doubts. It seemed that these two people were old acquaintances, but why did they have to fight in the dark and be so ruthless?

At this time, with the fire shining on his clothes, the man in gray lit the bonfire, picked up the large cloak that was thrown on the ground and put it on. Luo Jianfei sat back in his original position and motioned for the man to sit next to him. A warm smile appeared on his cold face and he said: "Hua Liu, I haven't seen you for many years. Now you are already in a high and powerful position. How could you think that you still remember us old friends?"

The man in gray sighed: "If it weren't for fate, I would still like to serve the young master like you. Now Chi Ji is working for the young master in Northern Xinjiang, Pirate Li is operating in the East China Sea, Lu Er's business is all over the world, Bai Yi , Shanzi are in Shu, Yulun and Quhuang are in Nanchu. No matter where they are, the other brothers are under the wings of the young master. Only I, although I am an official and close to the emperor, can't help the young master. ,well!"

Luo Jianfei smiled and said: "What are you talking about? If you hadn't helped the young master control General Qin, I'm afraid the prince would have become the emperor. Now you are following Xiahou Yuanfeng in Mingjian Division. It is also very important. If Xiahou Yuan Feng has the intention to harm the young master. Can you find out immediately? Mr. Li said that if the emperor wants to kill the young master, Xiahou Yuanfeng must be the first to know, so as long as you keep an eye on Xiahou, you are keeping an eye on the emperor. Besides, , are you willing to let go of your adopted mother and adopted brother now?"

Although Gu Ying did not have much knowledge, he was shocked when he heard this. Luo Jianfei was the backbone of the Splendid Alliance. He did not expect that he was Dayong's secret spy. Gu Ying certainly did not think that Chen Zhen was also one of them. He just thought that if this matter was exposed, Chen Zhen would be ashamed of himself, and couldn't help but smile on his lips. Then he thought that this person was an undercover agent in the Jinxiu League, and he might have let go of many secret spies of the Great Yongming Appraisal Division. When you go in, you have to report it to the Horse Protector quickly. After all, he was young, and he was very anxious. Unknowingly, he even breathed a little heavier. Fortunately, the two people were whispering together, their expressions focused, and they seemed not to notice. Gu Ying quickly breathed softly and tried to listen. But the voices of the two people were very low, and Gu Ying could only vaguely hear some fragmented sentences, except that the two people mentioned the words "Prince Qing" and "Splendid Alliance" from time to time. After a long time, the two people finally stopped talking and looked at each other with a smile. Luo Jianfei stood up and said, "Okay, the matter is over. You can go back. If it gets dawn soon, it will be difficult to move."

The man in gray seemed to hesitate for a moment and said: "There is something that Mr. Xiahou asked me to tell you. He hopes that the young master can consider it and hand over the Splendid Alliance to him after Dongchuan Ping."

Luo Jianfei's movements seemed to freeze, and after a while, he said coldly: "What do you mean, Master Xiahou? The Jinxiu Alliance is the master's weapon, how can we give it to anyone casually, let alone why should we let Xiahou Yuanfeng take advantage of this? "

The man in gray sighed and said: "Lord Xiahou said, in the whole world, there is no royal land. Dongchuan is also the territory of Dayong. The Jinxiu Alliance is rebellious no matter what. He is in charge of the Mingjian Division and cannot tolerate such a force in the imperial court. In addition. Moreover, the young master has now become a marquis and will be promoted step by step in the future. It is better to leave these shady matters to him. If the Splendid Alliance still has the value of existing, then it should be controlled by Lord Xiahou."

Luo Jianfei sneered a few times and said: "You are not ashamed of your words. You should know what is going on with the Splendid Alliance. If it was two years ago that the Young Master wanted to hand over the Splendid Alliance, I would definitely agree, but now the Splendid Alliance is in control We have 50% of our business in Dongchuan and Xishu, and we are cooperating with the remnants of Tianji Pavilion and Fengyi Sect in Nanchu. You should be very clear about the importance of the Jinxiu Alliance to the Young Master. This time, the Young Master will sacrifice 70% of the Jinxiu Alliance for Dayong. With the above strength, I didn’t expect Xiahou Yuanfeng to be so greedy that he wouldn’t even let go of the remaining 30%, and you actually spoke for him, Hualiu, do you still remember who gave you the glory and wealth you have today?”

There was no trace of smile on the handsome face of the man in gray anymore. He raised his right hand and said, "I swear to God, if I have any ill intentions towards you, I will die with my body intact."

After hearing what he said, Luo Jianfei's expression softened a little, but he was still angry and said: "Okay, let me listen to your explanation, why do you speak for Xiahou Yuanfeng?"

Hua Liu sighed and said, "I just heard Master Xiahou say this, and I also reprimanded him, but Master Xiahou said that Dongchuan was under the control of King Qing in the past, so there was nothing wrong with the Young Master controlling the Jinxiu League, but after Dongchuan was pacified, , if the young master continues to have a close relationship with the Jinxiu Alliance who intends to restore the country, I'm afraid the emperor will be too worried. The young master's talent is a gift from heaven, and the power in his hands is huge. It would be too much to talk about self-protection. If the young master is willing to take the initiative to hand over the Jinxiu Alliance , then on the one hand, you can express your loyalty, and on the other hand, you can distance yourself from the rebellion. Compared with the insignificant loss, there is nothing wrong with gaining the emperor's heartfelt trust and removing the power that may be subject to suspicion. I also think Mr. Xiahou said it politely , and even if you give up the Jinxiu Alliance, the young master still has enough strength to protect himself, we can escape from the Jinxiu League and concentrate our efforts to protect the young master, so I hope you can explain this matter to Mr. Chen and the others, and then forward it to the young master to know, Xiahou Your Excellency doesn’t want to discuss it directly with the Young Master, so if it doesn’t work out, there won’t be any resentment, do you think I’m right?”

Luo Jianfei's expression changed several times, and he said after a long time: "I will explain this matter to Mr. Chen, but the final decision still depends on the young master's wishes."

Hua Liu said: "If the young master does not agree, I will do my best to dissuade Mr. Xiahou."

Luo Jianfei nodded slightly, turned around and walked out of the temple door. Not long after, the man in gray also followed. Only then did Gu Ying realize that he had almost forgotten to breathe. How could this be possible? The Jinxiu Alliance turned out to be just someone else's pawn. The young master they were talking about had an unknown identity. He single-handedly controlled the Jinxiu Alliance, but he had something to do with Dayong Mingjian Division. Gu Ying didn't know much about the current situation. If it were his father or sworn brother Shangguan Yan, he would have guessed something. However, he was ignorant and didn't know how shocking the things he heard were. After a while, he estimated that the two people should have gone far away, and then got out of the altar table, ready to return to Ma Cheng and explain to him the secret he heard today. Who would have thought that as soon as he walked out of the temple, he felt his vest go numb and fell to the ground. Then someone stepped on his back and said, "Sure enough, I heard you right. There is someone lurking in the temple, Jian Fei. Do you recognize this person?" ?" Gu Ying felt that his whole body was cold. He was not afraid of death. At his age, if he had been a few years older and had experienced all kinds of joys in life, he might be greedy for life and afraid of death. But now he is young and vigorous, full of blood. When Fang Gang was young, he was most likely to disregard life and death, but what he was worried about was his father and other uncles and relatives. If he died, he was afraid that they would never have a chance to escape. The man in gray kicked him over and Gu Ying's pale face fell into Luo Jianfei's eyes. His pupils suddenly shrank and he pressed his right hand on the hilt of his sword. But soon, a struggling expression appeared on Luo Jianfei's face, and the long sword was not drawn out after all.