When Shi Le received the letter, it was already early the next morning, because he had just returned from an inspection tour of the camp on the west bank of Qishui River.
Peking University Camp was already in sight. After receiving the letter, Shi Le simply ordered to rest in an abandoned village outside the camp.
Today is the Double Ninth Festival. After taking a nap in the middle of the night, Shi Le suddenly got up and found that he was a little cold.
He stared at the small yard covered with weeds.
A lot of okra grew on its own in the vegetable patch, mixed with wild vegetables and weeds, swaying gently in the cold wind.
Perhaps, when the owner abandoned this small courtyard, the last vegetable he planted was okra.
When Shi Le left the yard, the wind became stronger, carrying a faint shrill cry.
The vegetation turned from flourishing to drying up, and was repeatedly torn apart by strong winds.
The air is relatively fresh, cloudless, and the sky is clear blue.
The soldiers caught an old man from nowhere and found a bag of beans he had hidden in the firewood pile. The old man immediately collapsed to the ground and kept wiping tears.
When Shi Le saw it, he was speechless for a long time.
When the soldiers saw Shi Le's face, they smiled and returned the food.
Seeing that Shi Le was still sullen, he added a few more cakes and told the old man to get out of here.
The old man thanked him profusely, but did not go far. Instead, he hid in an empty courtyard at the far west end. After a while, smoke rose from the kitchen, and the fragrance of cooking beans wafted in the wind.
Shi Le returned to the courtyard.
Before breakfast was ready, some soldiers went to a nearby orchard to pick a bag of fruits.
Shi Le greeted Zhang Jing, and Zhang Bin and others sat down, eating fruits and talking about things.
"After the soldiers, everything was covered with thorns, the remains covered the fields, and there was no one inhabited. Unknowingly, Ji County turned out to be like this." Shi Le ate the sweet pears with a somewhat desolate look in his eyes.
When he was young, he farmed, herded cattle, and did all kinds of farm work.
Although my father was a young commander in the tribe, he was away from home for many years. In addition to suffering from injuries and illnesses when he returned home, he did not receive any reward from the Jin court, so his life was not very comfortable.
Years of continuous disasters and the desire for a wealthy life led him to embark on the path of slave trade.
Walking around various manors and reselling slaves, he once made money and his life was much better.
But it was only "a little" earned, because most of it was shared by officials of all sizes in Bingzhou.
Yes, that guy Sima Teng has no conscience and will do anything to make money. The people of Hu and Jin in Bingzhou have countless dealers for him, and he, Shi Le, is just the peripheral of Sima Teng's subordinates.
Just a slave trader on the periphery.
At the end of this unscrupulous trade, he ended up being gangstered. He and his goods (slaves) were sold to Qingzhou together.
That period may have been the lowest point in his life, but he also met a noble person.
The owner of the manor who bought him appreciated his talents and gave him freedom, so he started his career of following the Gongshi clan and starting the Jisang rebellion. Today, he is already a prince.
Shi Le had no good impression of officials.
He has a lot of disgust towards the princes of the Sima family, especially those who are so heartless as Sima Teng.
At this point today, he has become the largest warlord in Hebei. He is no longer the slave trader struggling to survive, and his thoughts have changed considerably.
His dislike for the Sima clan prince remained the same, and his attitude toward the officials was complicated: on the one hand, he was disgusted, but on the other hand, he had to pinch his nose to win over him, otherwise no one would help him take care of the place.
Maybe he can't be very kind to ordinary people, after all, he exploits them all the time, but at least he knows the sufferings of people's livelihood, which doesn't mean he doesn't sympathize with the people's sufferings - sympathy is sympathy, and those who should be squeezed still have to be squeezed.
It’s not that he is being pretentious or subtle, because people themselves are complex and have completely different feelings at different times.
"Shao Xun advised me to stop fighting, to make a living for the people of the world, and to serve the Jin court." At this point, Shi Le's mouth showed an unknown meaning: "It is ridiculous to say it. Didn't he take the initiative to provoke the war this time?
?”
"Your Majesty, this person probably just wants to drive a wedge between Yecheng and Pingyang." Zhang Jing said, "In fact, you don't need to pay attention to him. The army has already moved south one by one and will arrive soon. We will fight with him by then."
"What do Meng Sun think?" Shi Le looked at Zhang Bin and asked.
Zhang Bin did not answer immediately, but frowned in deep thought.
Zhang Jing wanted to speak, but Shi Le stopped him with his hand and waited quietly.
After a moment, Zhang Bin cupped his hands and said, "Shao Xun is actually not easy either."
"Oh?" Shi Le's expression changed and he asked, "Meng Sun, come quickly."
"Shao Xun was a minister of the Jin Dynasty, but the Emperor of Jin was quite afraid of him and would do mischief from time to time. Although the Duke of Luoyang was forced by the situation to cooperate with Shao Xun, it was only for a while. In the bottom of his heart, they looked down on Shao Xun. Once Shao Xun's ambition was exposed, they would
There will be no cooperation and there will be opposition."
"Secondly, the two generals Kong and Zhao have arrived in Henan. The cavalry comes and goes like the wind. They can eat in the wild. Because the food is given to the enemy, it may turn Shaoxun's hinterland upside down and shake his military morale."
"Thirdly, the Fang Bo of Nanyang, Xiangyang, and Jiangdong has a rather interesting attitude towards Shao Xun. Xun is in a place where there are four battles, which is a big disadvantage. Once the decline is revealed, he will be attacked from both sides, which will be very uncomfortable."
"Fourthly, when they heard that Shao Xun vigorously promoted warriors to become officials, the Yu Yan clan dared not speak out in anger. When their fortunes were at their peak, these might have been trivial matters, but once they were no longer there, things would change."
After saying that, he took a serious look at Shi Le and said: "Your Majesty, please do not plan to swallow Shao Xun in one bite. The only way to deal with the current situation is to slowly figure it out."
"Stalemate?" Shi Le asked quickly if he realized something.
"Stalemate." Zhang Bin nodded and said.
Shi Le said "Huh", put down the half-eaten pear, stood up and thought silently.
"Will it change for a long time?" Shi Le stopped and asked.
"It may change." Zhang Bin replied.
Shi Le frowned.
Zhang Bin's expression did not change and he only said: "In battle formations and military battles, there is no such thing as a sure thing."
Shi Le suddenly smiled and said: "What Meng Sun said is absolutely true. Even if there is only a slim chance, we must seize it with all our strength."
Zhang Jing looked at the two of them and stopped talking.
He really wanted to say something just now. After listening to Zhang Bin's words, he sighed secretly. Meng Sun had indeed analyzed the situation very clearly.
It is difficult to storm forts and fortified cities, and they cannot take advantage of their cavalry, so the gains outweigh the losses.
Now we can only wait and see if there will be any changes if we delay for a long time.
Although the armies of both sides gathered in Fangtou and the battle was fierce, in fact, the outcome of this battle depended on places other than Fangtou - at least for their side, this was indeed the case.
"Your Majesty, maybe we should send someone to go to Pingyang." Zhang Jing suddenly thought of something, so he said: "The emperor has driven back Xianbei, and all the elite soldiers and generals are resting in the three counties of Xihe, Pingyang, and Hedong. If the emperor can be persuaded,
If we mobilize some troops to go south, or urge Cao Yi to send troops to help, the situation will be greatly improved. At the worst, if we mobilize Zhao Gu's troops, we can have a better chance of winning."
"What do Meng Sun think?" After hearing this, Shi Le looked at Zhang Bin again.
"Maybe you can try, but don't hold too much hope." Zhang Bin said: "The king must have heard that 'crossing Yonghe' has become a national policy. The elite of the imperial court who defeated Xianbei may have been transferred to Guanzhong. In this autumn
When the horse is tall and fat, is there any reason not to use it?"
"It makes sense." Shi Le nodded repeatedly.
He has decided to send another group of envoys to Pingyang to lobby. If that doesn't work, he will send some gifts.
He knew very well that there were many people in the Pingyang court who disliked him and often said bad things about him. But those people were also money-minded, so it was always right to spend some money, and there might be unexpected surprises.
"In order to avoid the emperor's suspicion, your Majesty can send Shao Xun's messenger and letter to Pingyang and hand them over to the emperor for delivery." Zhang Bin added: "Shao Xun mentioned many of the emperor's unsavory things in the letter.
He will surely perish. I think the emperor is not a man of great ambition and will be angry when he sees faith. Maybe good things will happen."
Shi Le laughed loudly when he heard this and said: "Shao Xun wanted to have me, but Meng Sun easily defeated him. In turn, he could use the emperor to gain benefits. He is really my Xun Yu."
"Secret activities cannot be tolerated." Zhang Bin smiled and said, "In the end, the outcome will depend on swords and guns. Now is the time to compete for strength, so don't let your breath go."
Shi Le's face straightened up when he heard this, and he said: "What Meng Sun said is absolutely true. It's great if an off-board move can work, but it's normal if it doesn't work. I started with eighteen horses and fought for several years to get where I am today. I won't put the cart before the horse."
of."
"After the army arrives, it must be attacked. How can we become a strong army without bloodshed?"
"The situation in Henan..." Shi Le pondered for a moment and sighed: "That's all. I will take out the treasures I have collected and send them to Qingzhou to persuade Cao Yi."
"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Bin praised.
"How should we break up with Cao Yi?" Shi Le asked.
"Shao Xun has captured Yuyan. If we can't get to Hebei quickly, we will attack Qingzhou sooner or later," Zhang Bin said.
Shi Le fisted his fist and praised: "It is easiest to persuade people by telling the truth. Cao Yi must also have this worry in his heart. If more people whisper in his ears, great things will happen."
After that, I recalled some of the important assistants and generals around Cao Yi, and I had a good idea.
In fact, this time Cao Yi was given some face.
Kong Dou and Zhao Lu crossed the river to the north, and Cao Yi sent troops to meet them. Although he later rejected the proposal to attack Yanzhou together, he also sent some food and military supplies to support Kong and Zhao, and the scene was still accomplished.
It can be seen from this that Cao Yi is actually a little worried that Shao Xun will attack him. This is the opportunity.
Chapter completed!