"Your three strategies combined into one sounds good to me, but I don't know how to combine three strategies into one."
Zhuge Gui smiled and said:
"Then let me tell you. You see, the first strategy is to fortify the wall and clear the country. It is actually delaying and waiting for change, which is the worst strategy. The second strategy to march westward to the Central Plains is actually to use offense instead of defense and to be aggressive.
Finally, the third strategy is to go as far as possible. Then why not integrate them together, that is, first send troops to the counties north of Fenggao, and establish a defense line here to block the enemy in the north. If things don't work, gradually retreat to Fenggao.
Then hold on with high authority. At the same time, send a small team of capable people. There is no need to have many people. First, we will find out the situation in Donglai, and then we will look back."
Cai Yong slapped his thigh, his face showing joy, he knew that he was right to find Zhuge Gui. This man was indeed not an ordinary rotten person, he was really talented.
Then Cai Yong, who could still sit still, immediately said goodbye to Hu Muban and Zhuge Gui, and went to look for Zhang Chong.
At this moment, Zhang Chong was still discussing with He Kui. Seeing Cai Yong come in, Zhang Chong hurriedly welcomed him to his seat. Zhang Chong had always respected Cai Yong. This man had a high reputation and could share the joys of the people. He knew the world.
Therefore, Zhang Chong can still have a pure heart. No amount of respect from Zhang Chong is too much for such a senior.
In addition to his noble character, Cai Yong's talent is unparalleled in the world. He Kui even said that Cai Yong's academic achievements were comparable to those of Ban Gu, Zhang Heng, and Cui Yuan in the entire dynasty for nearly two hundred years.
Cai Yong is said to be a great talent that is rare to see in a century.
Although the words were exaggerated, Zhang Chong felt that they were not exaggerated at all. As far as he knew, this man was not proficient in military tactics. He was not proficient in other matters such as stele, poems, historical records, etc.; he was also good at work and writing.
He is good at painting, proficient in music, astronomy, calendar, yin and yang, prophecies and numbers, etc. He is a true generalist and a great talent.
Moreover, his general knowledge is not just a superficial knowledge, but every aspect has reached the highest level in this world. For example, music, once he went to the county governor's house, he heard this old man playing the piano. Although Zhang Chong does not know music, after all, he is very good at music.
I don’t know how many songs he listened to in later generations, but he could still grasp whether they sounded good or not. Although after listening to the old man’s piano, he didn’t have the lingering sound and emotion of Master Kong, who couldn’t taste the meat for three days, but Zhang Chong was in a better mood for a day at that time.
But for Zhang Chong, what valued Cai Yong most was not his articles or music, but his familiarity with the personnel of this dynasty. This old man was well versed in the allusions of this dynasty, which was amazing.
This was what Duman told Zhang Chong privately. Duman had been staying in Taishan for the past six months. At that time, he heard that Cai Yong had entered the court and wrote a letter specifically saying that Cai Yong had participated in the compilation of the national history "Han Ji".
This is the first national history-making undertaking of this dynasty. Since the Ming Dynasty, when Ban Gu and others were ordered to compile the "Shizu Benji" in Lantai, in the following more than 100 years, four additions were made, and even the compilation location was moved to Nangong.
Dongguan. In this generation, Cai Yong added it together with the famous scholars at that time, Ma Rixi, Yang Biao, Lu Zhi, and Han Shuo. It can be said that there are few figures in this generation who understand this dynasty better than Cai Yong.
Allusions to history.
This talent is a top priority for Zhang Chong. Although he is very knowledgeable about history, the history of this world only focuses on some people and events that are slightly more popular. In this regard, he is definitely not as good as the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Cai Yonglai, who lived history, had a clear understanding of it. With him, Zhang Chong had a clearer understanding of the upper-class figures in this world, their social relationships, personalities, and family networks, and could truly know himself and his enemy.
In addition, Cai Yong himself is a member of this upper class. He is related by marriage to the Yuan family of Runan, is a family friend of the Cui family of Jizhou, is a comrade of the Yang family of Hongnong, and has close relationships with famous anti-eunuch officials such as Huangfu Gui and Chen Qiu.
.It can be said that if the news of Cai Yong joining the Taishan Army spreads all over the world, I believe there will undoubtedly be a big storm in the family circle.
Therefore, for a noble person like Cai Yong, the best arrangement is to engage in learning instead of making him a high eunuch. But who made him Zhang Chong is poor and short-minded, and his horse is thin and hairy, so Cai Yong can only do it alone.
He held several positions. He was not only his senior adviser, but also the governor of Fenggao, and the senior lecturer of his military academy. He squeezed every drop out of this old man, and he was still smiling all day long.
Of course Cai Yong is not stupid, but for those who really want to do things, they are not afraid of having too many things to do, but they are afraid of not being able to do things. Since Xiaohuan, scholar-bureaucrats have to do things if they don't want to do them, but they can't do them. The king cannot be punished; the laws and disciplines of the court,
It cannot be corrected; the corruption of counties cannot be questioned. The entire court is rowing downhill all the way to the end, and no one can reverse it.
But fortunately, Cai Yong is assisting a hero this time, a new force that is rising in the east and becoming more and more powerful. The world can still be saved. Looking at the leader of the anti-Han forces in front of him, Cai Yong thought of
When he was still in Kyoto, he met a young Xiaolian, Cao Cao.
Although this king comes from a family of eunuchs, he is not willing to be dirty. Although people often scold him behind his back for being an eunuch and making him ugly, he remains calm and composed and his ambition remains unchanged.
He saw that this gentleman was extraordinary. His high-spirited and fighting spirit of seizing the day was rarely seen in the Kyoto circle. So Cai Yong helped Cao Cao a lot at that time. At that time, he was the world's critic in the Kyoto circle.
A famous scholar who has become a scholar leader once commented on Cao Cao's extraordinary qualities.
At that time, Cao Cao really needed such a leader to wash away his status as a eunuch, so he was always grateful for Cai Yong's help. Later, when Cai Yong was in Kyoto, the two had a close relationship. Unfortunately, they are both gone.
This king is already a Han official, and Cai Yong is already a Han traitor.
Han and thieves are not mutually exclusive, so the friendship between Guan and Bao can only be severed from now on.
Here, after Zhang Chong respectfully welcomed Cai Yong to his seat, the old man impatiently said that he had a plan to offer. He really wanted to help Zhang Chong regain his dominance in the country.
Then he told Zhang Chong that he was looking for Zhuge Gui to find a plan, and Zhuge Gui's three strategies were combined into one. Unexpectedly, just after he finished speaking, Zhang Chong and He Kui looked at each other and smiled, and heard Zhang Chong say:
"Sure enough, it coincides. I discussed with Shulong all afternoon, and we also think that these three strategies can be carried out in parallel, just like you think. They are to focus on defense and mobilize troops. As for Jiaodong, we plan to let it go first, and plan to fight with it first.
The Beihai and Donglai canals will be discussed first, and then key personnel will be selected to open up base areas in Jiaodong."
Cai Yong didn't understand these military affairs. He just wanted to help. Now that he saw that Zhang Chong had already understood it clearly, he stopped talking about it and instead started talking about one thing:
"Qu Kui, I have been in the army since I joined the army. I have not made any achievements, but I am already in a high position. I am already ashamed. But I know that I don't have any military talents, so I know more talents and want to recommend them to Qu Kui."
Zhang Chong's spirit perked up and he immediately became excited. He loved talents the most, and he hurriedly asked Cai Yong to speak.
Cai Yong was stunned at first and was embarrassed to say:
"They are two of my students. I sent them a letter to come to Mount Tai a few days ago. I believe they are already on their way. One of my two students is named Lu Cui and the other is named Ruan Yu. They both have some talent and can hold the post of secretary of the army.
.”
Lu Cui, Ruan Yu?
I have never heard of either of these. But since he is a student of Mr. Cai and can be called talented by him, then he probably has something.
Then Zhang Chong continued to look at Cai Yong expectantly, and the old man murmured:
"No, just these two."
In fact, since Cai Yong joined the Taishan Army, he has not thought of recommending some talents to Zhang Chong who he believed to be talented and capable of serving the country. For example, he recommended Gao Jie to Shentu Pan from the same county, but he was a man of his own.
How could a person become a thief if he was not even a Han official? The same was true for Bian Rang, whom he recommended back then. He was from the Chenliubian family and had a bright future in the Han Dynasty, so he would not become a thief.
There were only a few students he brought up in Chen Liu's hometown, such as Lu Cui and Ruan Yu. These two people treated him like a father, and they agreed without even asking why they were here.
In fact, Zhang Chong also knew that it was not that Cai Yong had no one under his control, but that these people did not like him as a thief. However, he had no hope of recruiting high-level talents, and his main focus was on cultivating and attracting some talents himself.
Frustrated person.
The Han court has been in peace for a long time, and there are many people who have read poetry and books but have no future. These people have no chance in the Han court, so they will naturally think of finding a way out elsewhere. He has naturally recruited a group of such people during this period.
There are two rural scholars among them, one is named Gao Sheng and the other is Yan Zhuang. Both of them are a bit talented, but they can be used.
For example, this Gao Sheng is from Ban County, Pingyuan. The Gao family is a big family in Ban County. His ancestor is a doctor who taught "Lu Shi" during the Guangwu period. It is said that Gao Sheng is a member of a family of Confucian scholars and should not have joined such thieves as the Taishan Army.
However, he had already gained notoriety in the clan because of his wife-stealing incident. Later, when he learned that the Taishan bandits had risen again and captured Fenggao, he heard the news and came here.
He has always been proud of his talent, and if he is buried in the countryside now, he will undoubtedly die. He is not willing to live a life of chewing grass roots all day long, but the original path to progress has been completely ruined because of his moral problems.
He is blocked. In other words, unless the world is in chaos, there is no chance for him to rise.
So he came to join the Taishan Army, a force outside the Han court. Especially when Zhang Chong posted a request for talents again after defeating Feng Gao, the sentence: "Only those who can help me can use them" made Gao Sheng consciously find him.
Got a close friend.
But for Gao Sheng, just shouting slogans is useless. He still has to see the strength of the Taishan Army. This is incredible. He Gao Sheng has traveled all over Heshuo. What kind of owl does he not know? But there is no one.
If there are strong soldiers and horses in Mount Tai, they will indeed dare to rebel.
At that time, Gao Sheng forged a prophecy and went to Zhang Chong. He revealed that Zhang Chong was the destiny of fate, and Gao Shang was here to help him achieve his great cause. Zhang Chong didn't believe in the prophecy at all, but he knew that this was the destiny of Zhang Chong.
Things work. Moreover, what he values is Gao Sheng's intelligence. This person comes from a wealthy family, dares to do things, and has the energy to travel around the lakes and seas. He is like an alchemist, a cruel and practical person, and then he was introduced by Zhang Chong
The shogunate appointed him military secretary.
The other person's name is Yan Zhuang. He is from Ju County, Beihai. He was originally a disciple of the Gongsun family in this county. He was framed and lived in Langya. Later, when he heard Zhang Chong's order seeking talents, he took his younger brother Yan with him.
Gang Yi came up and defected to the Taishan Army. His brother Shanqi had been introduced to the Tuqi and became a cavalry general, and he himself, Shanshu, was originally doing accounts for the Gongsun family of Dahai merchants. After defecting, he naturally
He became Kong Mu, one of the chief clerks of the Zhang Chong shogunate. He originally learned the math chips used in "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", but later went to Taishan Army to learn the nine-nine multiplication tables, and became even better at calculations.
Therefore, there are talented people in this countryside. As long as you build this nest well, a phoenix will naturally come to live there.