The Grandmaster Strategist

In the second month of Guiyou in the 22nd year of Xian De, King Yong Li Zhi defeated the Northern Han Dynasty again. However, the Lord of the Northern Han Dynasty issued an edict, ordering Weiyuan General Long Tingfei to regain his love. Long Jing was so beautiful that he turned the tide and blocked Li Zhi at Yanmen Pass. Li Zhi was defeated and retreated, but his troops were not seriously damaged. In March of the same year, Dayong and the Northern Han Dynasty negotiated peace.

At the beginning of April, King Li Xian of Qi went south and sent troops to Xiangyang. At that time, Prince Jue of De held Xiangyang and was severely defeated. Then someone in the court said that Prince De was in control of the army, and he was always training his troops with the intention of conquering the north. Da Yong therefore raised troops to attack Chu. The Lord believed it and ordered Prince De to return to the court. On the fourth day of the fifth month, the King of Qi once again raised troops to invade Xiangyang. Regretfully, he ordered Prince De to travel to Xiangyang at night and under the stars.

--"History of Chu in the Southern Dynasties: Biography of Prince De Jue"

I stood in front of the window with my hands folded, looking at the cold moonlight. Xiao Shunzi stood behind me, and Chen Zhen stood at the door. Xiao Shunzi said: "Sir, how are you going to reply to His Highness King Yong's letter? The messenger is still waiting."

I said calmly: "You wrote a reply for me and said that King Qi will definitely not be able to win. With Prince De here, even if Prince Yong comes in person, it will not be so easy to break through Jingxiang guarded by Prince De. I am a minister of Southern Chu, how can I There is a reason to take refuge in Dayong. But it seems that Dayong is about to raise an army. Chen Zhen, you need to send someone to monitor Liang Wan carefully. I think they will take action. "

At this time, there was a knock on the door. I nodded. Chen Zhen stepped forward to open the door. A boy of fourteen or fifteen years old came in. He knelt on one knee and said, "Sir, there is urgent news. King Li Xian of Yongqi is attacking." Xiangyang.”

I smiled lightly, Li Xian still knew the art of war. If Jingxiang fell into the hands of Dayong, the connection between Shuzhong and Jiangnan would be cut off, and Dayong would be able to devour Nanchu. However, I believe in Prince De's ability. Jingxiang's defense is very tight.

In the next few days, there were a lot of discussions in the court. Dayong's attack on Nanchu made the ministers scared and angry. Some people angrily demanded that Dayong be questioned, but more people were discussing how they had offended Dayong. Some people even said that they should immediately go to Dayong to apologize and ask Dayong to withdraw his troops. Prime Minister Shang Weijun took a firm stand and asked to send envoys to ask Dayong why he invaded for no reason. Although this proposal was unanimously agreed, the civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty were even more uneasy, so some people secretly visited Mingyue Tower for several days in a row. Want some reassurance. I didn't stop any of this. Even the ministers of the DPRK and Central Government have lost confidence in Nanchu. What else can I do?

I asked Xiao Shunzi to take out the military deployment map of Xiangyang and study it carefully. Xiangyang is actually composed of Xiangcheng and Fancheng. The two cities face each other across the Han River and are connected by a pontoon bridge in the middle. Both cities are large cities with deep ditches and high fortifications. If If the enemy divides his troops to attack, his strength will inevitably weaken and cannot be broken. If the enemy attacks one city, soldiers from the two cities can support each other through pontoon bridges. Coupled with the protection of the navy, Xiangyang is easy to defend but difficult to attack. When Prince De arrived in Xiangyang, he sent me a defense plan and asked me to give him some advice. I did not give a clear answer. I just gave Prince De the design of a pontoon bridge. If the original wooden bridge was damaged, it would be difficult to repair it. I I ordered two rows of wooden piles to be erected in the river. Each wooden pile was hammered into the river bottom with a wooden pile several feet tall. There were iron chains on it and wooden planks were laid on it. It was a pontoon bridge that could be repaired at any time. In addition, I also put a wooden pile with a Ling Ding's fishing nets carried samples to Prince De, asking him to put the fishing nets under the water during the battle to prevent water ghosts from sneaking up and destroying the pontoon. I just gave Prince De a picture and a fishing net. As for how to set up defenses, it was Prince De's own idea and had nothing to do with me. After looking at it, I still feel that if Prince De guards Xiangyang, it will not be easily lost, but doesn't King Qi know that Xiangyang is easy to defend but difficult to attack?

On April 14, King Li Xian of Qi ordered an attack on the city. The offensive was in full swing. Dayong soldiers were not afraid of casualties and fought desperately to attack the city. Prince De ordered the navy to use the Han River to attack the King of Qi's infantry with bows and arrows, forcing them to retreat. The King of Qi made a comeback for the second time. , ordered the use of trebuchets to force the navy back, and the army took advantage of the situation to attack the city, attacking the north gate of Xiangyang day and night. Seeing that the situation was critical, Prince De personally led 3,000 cavalry out of the south gate.

Attacking the side of Yong's army, Yong's army did not expect that the Southern Chu army dared to leave the city, and their positions were in chaos. Qi King Li Xian ordered five thousand fine cavalry to meet the enemy, and led Zhao Jue to the east gate with rolling wood and stones to defeat them. Li Xian was furious and sent 20,000 troops to suppress the formation and defend the two wings. He urged the 80,000 troops to attack the north gate in turn. The north gate was in danger. Zhao Jue kept his eyes on the city to supervise the battle. Finally, when Yong's army was exhausted, the defenders of Fancheng A sneak attack from behind and two sides attacked. Li Xian saw heavy losses and had to retreat. Zhao Jue pursued for thirty miles, and Yong's army suffered heavy casualties. Zhao Jue just retreated. The two sides fought for three days, and Yong's 150,000-strong army suffered casualties of more than 60,000. , the Southern Chu defenders had 70,000 troops and 20,000 casualties. This was a tragic victory. After Yong's army retreated, Zhao Jue immediately sent people to the court to report the victory and ask for reinforcements.

At this time in the court, Zhao Jia was both happy and worried when he saw Zhao Jue's victory medal. He said, "Dear lords, although Uncle Wang won, the Yong army was ten times more powerful than mine. What should we do? OK?"

Shang Weijun reported: "To the lord of the country, although Dayong has lost the alliance this time, our military strength is far inferior to that of Dayong. It is better to take this opportunity to send people to ask for peace from Dayong."

After hearing this, everyone said that this should be the case. At this moment, someone reported that the envoy sent to Dayong had returned. Zhao Jia quickly ordered him to go to the palace. This envoy, Fu Yulun, was a prostitute in the 16th year of Xiande's reign, and now serves in the Ministry of Rites. He knelt down and reported: "I was sent as an envoy to Dayong, but before I entered the territory of Dayong, I was stopped by King Li Xian of Qi. He claimed that The purpose of raising troops to invade Chu this time is to protect the Qing emperor. This is the letter from the King of Qi to the king."

Zhao Jia quickly asked the chamberlain to take it over. After a closer look, the following content was written on it.

"The King of Yongqi pays homage to the Lord of Southern Chu. This time he raises an army for no other reason. Prince Zhao Jue of De is extremely ambitious. He is stationed in Xiangyang and is working hard. He is always peeping at our border of Dayong. What's more, he intends to seize the artifact. Unless this man is eliminated, there will never be peace in Dayongnan Chu. I am a close relative of the country's lord and uncle, so how can I be willing to harm him? If I don't believe it, please order him to return to the court. He will definitely resist and refuse to agree. I will keep the promise in the past, but only his powerful ministers. The power is great. Once the king restores his empire and that person raises an army to cause chaos, I, the Great Yong, will not be able to intervene. If the king takes back his military power, the harmony between our two countries will remain as before. If the king believes his slander, I will join the king to hunt for Jiangnan. That’s it.”

Zhao Jia looked at it and felt chills all over his body. If you want to believe it, you suspect that he is alienating the emperor and his ministers. If you don't believe it, since Zhao Jue came back from attacking Shu, he repeatedly asked for military expenses, money and food. He suppressed Xiangyang and refused to return to the court. Could it be true? On the contrary, I thought that Zhao Jue's reputation was far superior to mine, and I couldn't help but feel jealous. He said calmly: "If Uncle Wang wins, he should also return to the court to receive rewards, pass on Gu's will, and order Prince De to return to the court."

Zhao Jue, who was far away in Jingxiang, refused to return to the court after receiving the imperial edict. He stated that the military situation was urgent and he could not return to the court for the time being. Zhao Jia was originally only slightly suspicious of Zhao Jue. Seeing that Zhao Jue refused to come back, he couldn't help but He became a little more suspicious and issued several edicts. At first, Zhao Jue refused to comply with the general's military orders, but the words of Zhao Jia's edicts became more and more sharp. In the end, even the courtiers started to protest. Suspicious and helpless, Zhao Jue handed over the defense of Jingxiang to Rong Yuan and returned to Jianye with some personal guards. Still dozens of miles away from Jianye, a plain-looking man came to block the road and gave Zhao Jue a letter. Zhao Jue opened it and saw a line of elegant and elegant handwriting.

"It was a big mistake for you not to return in the beginning, and to come back today is even more wrong. But now, you might as well turn back to Jingxiang and support your troops with self-respect."

Zhao Jue looked at it, sighed, burned the letter on the fire, and said, "Thank your master for me, and tell him that Zhao Jue is not a rebel."

The man retreated silently.

When he arrived in Jianye, Zhao Jue went to the palace gate to ask for an audience, but Zhao Jia issued an edict and was imprisoned. Although Zhao Jue explained the reasons for his unwillingness to come back, it was of no avail. In Zhao Jia's heart, if he were not worried that Qi King Li Xian would not retreat as agreed, , Zhao Jue had been punished long ago. While Zhao Jue was in prison, suddenly some courtiers came forward to demand Zhao Jue's death. However, Zhao Jia was not confused enough and instead released Zhao Jue from prison and temporarily placed him under house arrest.

The above request to kill Zhao Jue was my idea. After I got the message from Chen Zhen that Zhao Jue was unwilling to rebel, I thought of this method. Zhao Jue was a loyal minister and a stupid person. If he had come back immediately , Zhao Jia will definitely know that he was wrongly blamed, and then Zhao Jue can return to Xiangyang soon. Since he did not come back at first, and now he comes back, it will appear to be a guilty conscience. Zhao Jia, even a wiser person, can't help but be suspicious, not to mention I don't think Zhao Jia is any smarter than an idiot. After Zhao Jue was put under house arrest, I was really embarrassed. According to my thinking, it would be better if Zhao Jue couldn't get out, so that the opportunity I needed would come soon. But thinking about Zhao Jue's hard work to support Nanchu, I couldn't There are unspeakable scenes, I really can't bear it. Even if Nanchu is going to perish, it should be done after the people who love it try their best. So I wrote to Rong Yuan at that time, telling him to incite officials to petition for Zhao Jue's execution. The messenger I sent was very fast. Not long after Zhao Jue arrived in Jianye, the people sent by Rongyuan arrived. He sent people around to provoke those who were afraid of Dayong to come to the court. As expected, Zhao Jia was not so confused that he I still had general confidence in Zhao Jue, but when I saw so many people asking for Zhao Jue's death, I became suspicious. Zhao Jue's life was saved, but now we have to see when he can be returned to Xiangyang. This depends on Dayong. Helped.

Sure enough, not long after, the King of Qi invaded Jingxiang again. This King of Qi was really impatient. If it were King Yong, he would have waited a little longer. Rong Yuan was finally able to do something and stabilized the situation in Jingxiang. The 800 soldiers in Xiangyang The arrival of urgent documents from Liga made the king immediately wake up and sent Zhao Jue back to Xiangyang. Zhao Jue didn't care about anything and immediately took his guards on the road. Not long after arriving outside the city, Zhao Jue saw a handsome and elegant young man sitting in a ten-mile pavilion. There was a pot of wine and two wine cups on the stone table in the pavilion. Behind him, stood a middle-aged man with an average appearance. , in each of the four corners of the pavilion stood two boys of about fifteen or sixteen years old. Zhao Jue smiled and kicked off the saddle, bowed deeply in front of the young man and said, "Thank you Suiyun for rescuing me. Zhao Jue is very grateful. I am really ashamed that I was sent off by you again today."

I stood up and saluted: "Your Majesty has profound merits, and those evil tricks will naturally not harm you. Your Majesty is leaving Jingxiang with a long future, so I came with Yunte to see him off."

A young boy came forward, poured two glasses of wine for us, and then quietly stepped back. Zhao Jue saw that this young man had smart hands and feet and a handsome appearance. He couldn't help but feel good about him and said, "Suiyun has been pampered in recent years. These servants As soon as you see it, you can tell that it is everyone’s style, and it has a bit more of a bookish aroma.”

I smiled calmly, raised my glass and said, "I advise you to have a glass of wine. May the road be smooth to Jingxiang."

Zhao Jue raised his glass and drank it down in one gulp, and said: "It's a pity that Suiyun refused to go to Jingxiang with me. If Suiyun was here to take charge, Jingxiang would be safe."

I chuckled and said, "Didn't Your Majesty look down on Mr. Rong?"

Zhao Jue stood up and said: "Well, I have sent you off for a long time, but I need to say goodbye at the end. The military affairs in Jingxiang are urgent, and I am in a hurry to leave. I will say goodbye now. When Yong's army is defeated, you and I will get together and have a drink. If it is unfortunate, please come with me. Come and pay homage to my grave."

Hearing this, the wine glass in my hand almost slipped. Today I started a lesson for him. In the past two years, I have gradually gained experience in divination. However, this morning after I took a bath and burned incense, I started a lesson for him and got nothing. An ominous hexagram means a premature death in the middle way. Now that I heard the ominous message in Zhao Jue's words, I was even more heartbroken. Zhao Jue mounted his horse and was about to leave. I suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I have two attendants. Although they are young, they are quite proficient in martial arts. Please ask them to accompany your Majesty to Xiangyang on behalf of Suiyun. I also want to show that the lower officials cannot accompany me." It's a pity. Pirates and Bai Yi, you came to see the prince." Zhao Jue looked at the two children who came forward to salute, and said with a wry smile: "Suiyun, you have been tired from the journey, so don't embarrass the children, right?"

I said calmly: "They are skilled in bow and horse and will not miss the prince's schedule."

Zhao Jue wanted to persuade me again, but when he saw that I was determined and time was pressing, he had no choice but to wave his whip and say goodbye and ride away.

Zhao Jue hurried all the way, except for changing horses midway, he even ate and slept in the saddle. He was originally worried that the two children Jiang Zhe sent beside him would not be able to support him, but every time he looked, he saw that these two children were in good spirits. They looked pretty good, so Zhao Jue stopped worrying about them later. Seeing that there are still more than three hundred miles to go, we should be able to reach Xiangyang by changing horses again. Zhao Jue stretched himself on the horse and said, "Okay, there is a tea shed ahead. Let's take a rest here, have lunch, and then rush to Xiangyang in one go. How about it?" Everyone was very happy. The past few days of running around were really exciting. They were exhausted. Although they still had to go on a journey, it was good to rest for a while.

When Tao Li and Bai Yi heard Zhao Jue's instructions, Tao Li got off his horse first and arrived at the tea shed. He ordered several tables to be cleared and served with hot tea. Although the tea shed was small, there were some side dishes such as salted peanuts. Li also put it on the table, turned the boss around, and soon packed up the seat. Bai Yi took the initiative to ask for a copper basin of boiling water, washed it clean, took out the square towel from the package, and waited for Zhao Jue to sit down. Next, I came to serve him by washing his face and whisking him away. Although Zhao Jue belongs to the royal family, he has been fighting on the battlefield for many years, and the enjoyment of these aristocratic families has long been out of reach. He couldn't help but feel happy to see that this pair of young men were so capable. After he sat down, drank a cup of hot tea, and devoured dry food with salted peanuts, he saw that Tao Li and Bai Yi had already finished eating. There, the boss was urged to feed the horses. Zhao Jue couldn't help but said: "What a pair of capable children. Jiang Zhuangyuan is really powerful. He has trained a pair of servants to such an extent."

One of his personal guards smiled and said: "If you like it, sir, just tell Master Jiang later and ask them to serve you."

Although Zhao Jue knew that it was common for rich families to give away their beloved concubines and beautiful maids, let alone two servants, he still shook his head and said: "A gentleman will not take away someone's love. These two children were not trained casually. "

Everyone talked and laughed for a while, and Zhao Jue ordered to go on the road. At this moment, a guard suddenly screamed. Everyone looked and saw a silver arrow shot through his vest.

Everyone was in the military, and they immediately looked for obstacles to avoid, but they heard a loud laugh, and a man in white slowly walked out of the forest. I saw that this man was very handsome, and his slender figure was outstanding under the white warrior robe. Standing upright, a large silver-white bow with almost perfect curvature hangs on the left shoulder, and an arrow pot of the same color is tied diagonally around the waist. Both the clothing and the bow and arrows are exquisite. It is obvious that their owner is a very sophisticated person. Zhao Jue felt cold in his heart and said, "It's Duan Muqiu, the silver-bowed prodigal, who has come."

The man in white smiled and said: "That's right, I heard that Prince De was here, so I came here to pay my respects. If you don't want to give up, please take a rest in your humble residence."

Zhao Jue heard that his words were gentle, but the connotation was extremely arrogant. He said coldly: "I am busy with military affairs and dare not delay. Your Excellency made a secret attack. I think you are here to assassinate me."

Duanmuqiu said disdainfully: "I have never been willing to attack secretly, otherwise the arrow just now would have killed the prince. As for the sergeant, he was just saying hello. I don't think the prince will be offended."

Zhao Jue said coldly: "I always treat my subordinates as brothers and sisters. Your Excellency treats the soldiers with such contempt. No wonder he did not serve in the Yong Army. Who in the world doesn't know that the golden Gong Zhangsun, the Silver Gong Duanmu, and the General Zhangsun are under the command of King Yong. , leads the army to fight, and is invincible, but you, Yin Gong Duanmu, can only fight bravely and ruthlessly in the arena."

Zhao Jue's words must have stung Duanmuqiu's heart. A cold murderous look flashed in his eyes, and he said coldly: "I am here just to prevent the prince from escaping. Now it seems that I can't do anything if I don't take action. But I don’t know how many arrows the prince can escape from me.”

A coquettish voice came: "I dare you to guarantee that you can't shoot him to death." Following the voice, a beautiful woman in red came out. This woman had a gorgeous appearance, but she had long eyebrows and was full of evil spirit. But she is a female Rakshasa-like figure. Zhao Jue couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "So you are here too. No wonder, you senior brothers and sisters are inseparable."

The woman said coldly: "Prince De also recognizes me, which is a great honor."