Three Kingdoms

Today was not a good day. Although it did not rain, it was very windy. The strong wind blew the Chinese army's banner, pulling it straight, as if the entire banner was to be torn off the flagpole.

Han Sui still had a smile on his face, but there was something hidden in his smile. It was not pure. He spoke in a gentle tone and said slowly: "...Those war horses...maybe they were bought by Wang Yu from Di Ren..." We have been friends with King Di Ren for many years, so how could he go back on his word and change his mind at such a critical moment? This is unlikely..."

"Does uncle think that my nephew is just acting out of his own free will..." Ma Chao looked at Han Sui, raised his hands and said, "If it is a lie, my uncle will know it as soon as he checks it. Why does my nephew have to be a villain in vain? And..."

Han Sui waved his hand, interrupted Ma Chao's words, and said: "My dear nephew, that's not what I meant. Don't think too much about it... I'm just trying to trick Wang Yu... this... doesn't make sense..."

Ma Chao was silent for a moment and said: "Uncle, this is wrong. We don't think it makes sense, but it doesn't mean that King Di Ren also thinks it doesn't make sense...Uncle is naturally broad-minded and tolerant of the world, but King Di Ren only rules the roost in Xia Bian Mountain. , this vision... not to mention..."

"...What's more," Ma Chao looked at Han Sui and whispered, "the Di people are good at mountains, so what's the use of buying war horses? Is it possible that the Di people Wang Hu also wants to form a cavalry team? There must be some problems with this matter … Before, my nephew was in an ambush and saw that the mountains and plains were full of soldiers from the Western Expedition. Now that I think about it, how could the reinforcements from the Western Expedition arrive so quickly?”

Han Sui lowered his eyelids and stroked his beard. He was silent for a while and then said, "My nephew, you mean that the Di people also participated in the ambush in the west that night?"

Ma Chao said: "It is true that my uncle and the King of Di Ren had some friendship before, but after all, people are separated from each other and we treat each other with sincerity, but who can know what the King of Di Ren is thinking? Zhengxi stationed at the bank of the Qingni River For many days, if you have any contact with the King of Di Ren, there must be envoys coming and going, and someone will eventually see it..."

Han Sui was stunned for a moment, then he laughed, waved his hand and said: "My nephew is worrying too much... If there is really a conspiracy, he should try his best to cover it up. How could he let his nephew see the war horse and leave it behind?" Leave some clues for people to investigate?"

"What my uncle said makes sense..." Ma Chao said, handing over his hand, "Since my uncle believes in Di Renwang's nest, my nephew has nothing to say... It's just a good idea to be more careful..."

Han Sui smiled and nodded and said: "What my nephew said is true... Ah, is my nephew better? Yesterday, someone went to pick some herbs from the surrounding area. My nephew will bring them back later. If there is anything else, If you need it, just ask someone to go to the back camp to get it..."

Ma Chao thanked Han Sui and then withdrew.

Han Sui smiled brightly. After Ma Chao left, his smile shrank little by little until it shrunk into the wrinkles on his face. The darkness between the deep wrinkles is like ink.

"Come here!" Han Sui's face was shrunk in the shadows, only his mouth and beard were exposed. His eyes were shining in the shadows. He ordered the guards who came in, "...take two people and dress up. Pretend to be a Qiang person...and then go to Xiabian City..."

…………………………

Duan Xuan and others arrived at Tianshui with the army just two days ago. Naturally, it is impossible for the army to enter the city, even if they have a good relationship.

The Xiliang tribes came from Wuwei. Although they were cavalry, they had to travel long distances. Of course, they needed to be repaired, so they set up several camps, large and small, on the outskirts of the west gate of Tianshui.

Zhao Rong is a famous scholar in Tianshui, more famous than Jiang Xu, Jiang Jiong and Yang Fu. Fame is a thing. On the one hand, it requires talent, and more importantly, it requires wealth. If you have money, you can raise a group of sailors. Well, that's wrong. They are wanderers and libertines, spreading their reputation around and expanding their influence. But those who don't have money, no matter how talented they are, are just a poor scholar. …

Moreover, the ancestors of the Zhao family also served as three princes, and the family was large. Therefore, when Zhao Rong took Jiang Ji to visit Duan Xuan, Duan Xuan even left the camp directly to greet him at the gate of Tianshui City.

Zhao Rong was several years older than Duan Xuan, so Duan Xuan naturally called him brother. When the two met, they held hands and were very affectionate. They chatted for a long time. After a while, Zhang Heng and Liang Xing also came, surrounding them. Zhao Rong met again, and they were all smiling and irritated.

A group of people wandered to Duan Xuan's camp, leaving the other Xiliang tribes' campsites with doubts or sudden looks in their eyes...

"Brother Zhao! Don't be polite!" Duan Xuan laughed and pushed Zhao Rong to the main position, then sat down at the bottom and said, "No matter where you are, even in the little brother's camp, this The chief position still belongs to Brother Zhao! Hey, don’t say it, that’s it, Brother Zhao, if you refuse, I’ll be in a hurry!”

Zhao Rong smiled helplessly, bowed to the crowd, and said, "I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed, so I'm going to overstep my bounds today?"

Duan Yan clapped his hands and said, "What's wrong with this? This is how it should be!"

Zhang Heng and Liang Xing also echoed.

"Zhongming, I haven't seen you for a while. Why do you look so thin again? Brother Zhang Xian has gained a little weight..." After Zhao Rong sat down, he looked around and said with a smile.

Zhang Heng laughed loudly and said: "Ah, Brother Zhao is laughing at me! I am a rough person. I don't think about anything when I eat and drink. I throw all my worries and problems to Brother Duan. It's my fault. It's hard work, Brother Duan... "

"Hey, it's all brothers showing love, how can you say hard work..." Duan Xuan waved his hand and said, "It's just that I feel really old these days, eh, don't laugh, I really feel like this. Look, I These temples have turned a little white..."

Everyone looked at it and saw that it was indeed the case, and they couldn't help but sigh.

"Alas, time is not forgiving..." Zhao Rong sighed with emotion, "I think back to when I was young and full of ambitions. I thought I could achieve great achievements and serve the court, but I never thought... alas..."

Duan Yan said quickly: "It's my fault that I made everyone sad! Today is a happy gathering of brothers, let's not talk about this anymore. Come on, please serve some food and drinks. We won't come home until we get drunk today!"

After three drinks and five dishes, the topic gradually turned to the entire war situation in Xiliang. After all, this is the most important thing at the moment and cannot be avoided no matter what.

"Ahem..." Zhao Rong cleared his throat and said, "No matter what, first of all, the west of Longyou is our territory, and it should be ours no matter what. Do you have any problem with this?"

"This is natural!" Everyone said in unison.

"Brother Wen Yue has great talent and plans, and intends to march into Sanfu..." Zhao Rong glanced at everyone and said slowly, "We brothers in Xiliang are brothers and sisters. Naturally, we will both suffer losses and prosper. It is our duty to help each other..."

Jiang Ji suddenly raised his hands and said, "That's what Brother Zhao said, but I also have something to say, I don't know whether to say it or not..."

Zhao Rong smiled and said: "We are all brothers, there is no restriction, just say it."

Jiang Ji thanked him with his hand, and then said: "I am not very talented, but I just thought of one thing. Please clarify my doubts...that is, what are the benefits of marching to Sanfu now? Do we want to plunder food and grass? Or population? Or will he stay in Sanfu forever and never return to Longyou?"

"..." Everyone suddenly fell silent.

It is not that everyone has not attacked the Third Assistant before, but under normal circumstances, Xiliang was in war and lacked food and clothing, while Guanzhong was relatively well-off, so they attacked the Third Assistant and plundered food and grass to save themselves.

However, Guanzhong has experienced several wars and has just survived a plague. Moreover, it is inevitably a bit exaggerated to say that Guanzhong is still rich and has a lot of food and grass.

As for robbing people...

Is this still necessary for robbery?

Some time ago, especially during the war in Youfufeng, a large number of refugees were already moving around with their families, and some of them arrived in Longyou. This population has come to our door voluntarily and voluntarily, why do we still need to plunder them in a big way? Furthermore, these people also need to spend money and food, and Xiliang does not have many products. Could it be that the purpose of plundering people is to watch these plundered people starve to death?

Who has this spare time?

Therefore, the biggest, and almost the only, interest for the various tribes in Xiliang is to occupy territory within the Sanfu and become the master of Guanzhong.

But at this stage, is it really appropriate to enter Guanzhong?

It’s not that Guanzhong is not attractive enough, but that even if it can be won, can it be defended?

And the most critical point, although Jiang Ji didn't say it, everyone knew in their hearts, how to divide Guanzhong?

You can't just give a few corners of the land and be done with it, right?

"Now is a good time to attack the third assistant..." Zhao Rong said, "...the imperial court is no longer able to operate. Zhengxi has just obtained the third assistant, and he has retreated to Hanzhong. Even if Brother Wenyue cannot capture and kill Zheng West, I won’t be able to return to Guanzhong even if I conquer the West for a while..."

"Furthermore, Zhengxi needs to defend a large area from Bing north to Hanzhong, and the troops are naturally dispersed. Therefore, we only need to attack Longshan and then directly capture the third auxiliary. This is not a problem..." Zhao Rong continued. , and then glanced at Jiang Ji, "But I also know the meaning behind Zhong Yi's words, that is..."

Zhao Rong stopped talking.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Ji said: "Zhengxi is good at using troops. Although we have not officially fought against each other, Zhengxi has made great achievements in battles all the way... What's more, before Brother Wenyue... that..."

Then Jiang Ji stopped talking.

Jiang Jiong doesn't need to say much about this kind of thing, he can just point it out.

Han Sui and Ma Teng are relatively good at fighting. Everyone admits this. However, the combination of these two people has failed again and again in Guanzhong. This is said to be the result of Han Sui, Ma Teng and others. It’s okay to be weak, and it’s okay to say that General Fei Qian of Zhengxi is too strong, but one thing is the same, that is, both the Han and Ma families suffered defeats one after another, and together with these Xiliang tribes, they can reverse the situation in one fell swoop. , is the victory determined?

Those present were really from Banco, or had read some military books, and those who knew some about the art of war were Zhao Rong, Duan Xuan, and Jiang Ji. However, Zhang Heng and Liang Xing just happened to have the opportunity and had not read the books for a few days. , without a master, he was just a horse thief at first, and then he is today.

If Zhao Rong, Duan Xuan and others had not taken care of the faces of Zhang Heng and Liang Xing to some extent and had spoken in the plainest way, maybe by the time they finished speaking, Zhang Heng and Liang Xing, who had not read the scriptures, would not have known about the others. What does the first sentence mean...

Duan Xuan was silent for a moment, and then suddenly said: "Brother Jiang, we know that you are helping General Zhengxi transport grain and grass... Is that because of this..."

Jiang Ji shook his head and smiled: "We will talk about this later... Let me finish first... If we don't count this time, we should have marched into the third auxiliary three times. Putting aside the previous time when we were defeated by Zhengxi, wouldn't we have After conquering the west, will we definitely be able to capture Sanfu? The first time, perhaps it can be said that we had no choice but to return because of the snow and cold weather, but the second time was also a disastrous defeat... What does this mean? Our soldiers were not brave enough at that time? In order to end the future, we, the Jiang family, are not even one out of ten! This only shows one thing, that is, we have a problem in Xiliang..."

Duan Xuan looked at Zhang Heng and Liang Xing, then at Zhao Rong and Jiang Ji, and asked, "I dare to ask Brother Jiang, can you elaborate more?"

"Brother Zhao?" Jiang Jiong raised his hand towards Zhao Rong.

Zhao Rong sighed, waved his hands and said: "Hey, since we have already talked about it, it would seem that we are at odds if we don't talk about it. Let's talk about it, let's talk about it, let's discuss it..."

"Wei." Jiang Jiong cupped his hands, then looked at Duan Xuan, Zhang Heng and Liang Xing, and said, "The problem is on us, and it is no longer our fault... Don't worry, don't worry, listen to me, we all We are from Xiliang and have lived here since our ancestors. Although we are in different counties, in the eyes of those people, we are always the same kind of people... We are Guanxi people, no, we are not even Kansai people. , we are just a group of people who associate with the barbarians. In the eyes of the Guandong people, we may be no different from the barbarians..."

"Huh!" Zhang Heng slapped the table, then he came to his senses, quickly stood up and apologized to Jiang Ji, and said, "Ah! Brother Jiang, I am not targeting you, you are right! I just think of those things in Guandong The person’s face is a little angry..."

Everyone laughed.

"Hmm..." Duan Xuan motioned for Zhang Heng to take his seat again, and then said, "Brother Jiang, you said it was very interesting. This is indeed a problem. Please continue..."

"The current situation is different from before..." Jiang Jiong cupped his hands towards Duan Xuan to express his gratitude, and then said, "In the past, we raised troops to resist the imperial court, under the banner of purging traitors and returning peace to Liangzhou. Strictly speaking, Look, we are not betraying the Han Dynasty, we are just fighting for our due interests, for the sake of the stability of the people of Xiliang, don't you think so?"

"... When we started the rebellion together, it was not just to make ends meet, not to be offended, to live like human beings, and to no longer be bullied by the Kanto people, we united and made a covenant to raise the army, and we did Here we are..." Jiang Ji continued, "It's just that some people are not. Some people amassed wealth and sought high positions when we were working hard. Then our people died and got nothing. Instead, they got rewards and got away with it. Captain, or even general... Excuse me, we have paid so much, what have we gained? Brother Zhao has studied ancient and modern times, and is proficient in strategy. When the late emperor was here, he was already the eighth captain of Xiyuan. What position does he hold now? ?”

Zhao Rong waved his hand and said: "Don't mention this, don't mention this..."

"Look at Brother Duan again, a brother from the Sanming Clan in Liangzhou. In terms of knowledge, reputation, and talent, how far behind is he? What position is he in now? Did we contribute less before? Or did we do something bad before? "Jiang Jiu turned to Duan Xuan and said.

In fact, there is no need to name anyone, everyone knows who Jiang Ji is talking about, and what Jiang Ji said is not wrong.

Duan Xuan stroked his beard and remained silent without answering.

Everyone also fell silent.

Jiang Ji paused for a moment, and then said slowly: "The most important thing is that now we have two thousand stones, and we still want to attack Sanfu and take Guanzhong. What exactly do we want to do? And do we want to, or should we say , is it possible, is it worth continuing to follow?"

Duan Xuan raised his head suddenly, and then saw Zhang Heng and Liang Xing giving indescribable looks...