In Liangzhou City, the weather is about to enter winter. The cold wind is picking up, blowing up waves of wind and sand, constantly splashing on the ancient city wall.
"The military advisor's plan has been completed!" Dong Wen, wearing a thick robe, walked into the palace in surprise.
"Report from the front line, Chao Yi has fled and left the city!"
On the contrary, after Dong Wen finished speaking, Simiao fell silent.
"Military advisor, what's wrong?"
"The plan is so smooth, but something doesn't feel right...or maybe I'm overthinking it."
"The military adviser also said that this time, it was mainly to cover the internal forces in Shuzhou. Not only that, but also forcefully forced away a Shuzhou general."
"My lord, where did Chao Yi go after he left Shu?"
"The spy reported that he went to Lingzhou. Damn it, if he comes to seek refuge, I, Dong Yi, Xiaoyi and Bo Yuntian, won't care at all."
Sima Xiu sighed, "That Chao Yi is indeed a general. It's a pity that my lord killed Ding Shu, the king of Bingzhou, so he will not join me in Liangzhou."
After just saying that, Simiao suddenly thought of something else and was about to speak——
"Lord, military advisor, some people in Liangzhou say that Shuzhou is about to attack Liang, and they have entangled the Fuxun tribe outside Yuguan, and they are working together to attack Liangzhou in one fell swoop." A general came in hurriedly and interrupted Sima Xiu.
meditation.
"This is impossible." Dong Wen sneered, "It's just a plan to alienate the children of Shuzhou. Fu Xun tribe? Those are people from Liangzhou. Military advisor, this method is a bit clumsy."
Sima Xiu nodded, thought about it, and didn't take it to heart.
Unfortunately, not long after, another general entered the palace with an anxious look on his face.
"My lord, military advisor, something bad is going on. People from the Fuxun tribe are plundering the town's granaries."
Due to the relationship with the Fuxun tribe, the border area of Liangzhou is not tense, so the number of troops fortification is not too many. The assembled troops are all placed on the line with Shuzhou.
Whether it was Sima Xiu or Dong Wen, they all frowned when they heard the news. Naturally, the big city cannot be captured, but the granaries in these small towns will be more numerous, and they will all be used as military rations when the time comes.
"Military advisor, something is wrong with this."
Sima Xiu thought for a long time, "No matter what, my lord will send people to help the tribe first and confirm clearly. Of course, the Qiang who are robbing the grain must be surrounded and suppressed immediately."
"Military advisor, there were rumors coming from the border... that the Fu Xun tribe has formed an alliance with Shuzhou."
"Rumors stop with the wise. The real intelligence should come from within the enemy's army." Sima Xiu turned his head and looked in the direction of Shuzhou for a moment.
…
About two days later, the people who went to help the tribe had not brought back any news. Instead, Shuzhou finally sent back a piece of information.
After taking the mailbox, Simiao did not open it immediately. Instead, he picked up the mailbox, heated it a few times on the candlelight, and confirmed the color change of the bamboo tube. Then he took out the letter with confidence and slowly opened it.
Dong Wen, who was next to him, looked extremely expectant. The internal agent in Shuzhou was the only disciple of his own military advisor. Needless to say, he was very capable. I am afraid that the intelligence collected would be more detailed.
After reading it, Simujia turned his hand and handed it to Dong Wen. For a moment, he hesitated for a long time on his face, and finally fell silent and closed his eyes.
"The civilian thief used thunderous tactics to kill more than fifty members of the wolf tribe at night as a warning to others... Military advisor, Chao Yi's reputation as a traitor has been confirmed."
"The following line... Yingye Pearl?"
"The Yingye Pearl was obtained by King Fu Xun from a small country in the Western Region. It has become the treasure of the clan. This clan treasure, the Yingye Pearl... appeared in the palace of Shuzhou some time ago."
"Military advisor, could your disciple have seen it wrong?"
Sima Xiu shook his head in silence, "I hope so too. But the luster of the Yingye Pearl is natural, and there may not be a second one."
"In other words, the Fuxun tribe gave the Yingye Pearl to the commoner thief. It is very likely that they have secretly formed an alliance with Shuzhou?"
Sima Xiu didn't answer, "Master, I always feel something is wrong——"
"Commander, we don't have time." Dong Wen's face became extremely cold, "Commander, please don't forget that there are almost no heavy troops on the border of Liangzhou. If the Fuxun tribe comes to attack, we, Liangzhou, will be in disaster!"
…
Liangzhou border.
A long team of three thousand people, after plundering, immediately rushed to a remote place.
"Are there any detectives behind?"
"General Chao, we have sent people to ambush. If any Liangzhou sentinels follow, they will definitely be killed."
Chao Yi nodded and glanced at the recaptured carriage. On top of the carriage, in addition to a small amount of food and grass, there were nearly a thousand pairs of Liangzhou robes and armor, many of which were stained with blood.
"Chao Song, take two thousand people with you and transport the grain and grass back to the camp. The rest of you will follow me and put on the robes and armor of the Liangzhou County soldiers and go to meet King Yudang."
This time, the military advisor's counter-intentional plan turned out to be a hidden plot. He had many things to do at first glance, but in fact, there was only one, which was to provoke a war between Liangzhou and the Fuxun tribe.
However, after just finishing this task, he had to leave immediately and hide in another place as a Qi Army cooperating with Chai Zong.
In fact, earlier, news came out from Shuzhou that many of his tribesmen were beheaded and their homes were ransacked, and they were assigned to Nanlin County to work as coolies to open up wasteland. Even the young master of Bingzhou was said to have been sent out of Chengdu and handed over.
He was raised by a poor family.
Chao Yi didn't believe him, and he didn't send anyone to find out the news immediately, so he went to question his lord.
The secret letter he received that day contained only two paragraphs.
The first paragraph is about the arrangements after leaving the city. In the second paragraph, his lord only added one sentence.
Chao Yi, I swear by the sun and the moon that I will never let you down.
…
A few days later, when the general assigned by Dong Wen was about to take his people to the Fuxun tribe, unexpectedly, as soon as they entered the border, they were ambushed and killed by the roaring Fuxun tribe. Most of them were killed. This shocked the Liangzhou people.
The general hurriedly took half the remaining troops of the battalion and fled towards Liangzhou.
"Military advisor, let's not talk about Ying Yezhu for now. The people sent to Fu Xun tribe were ambushed and killed as soon as they got close! The damn Fu Xun tribe has already surrendered to Shuzhou!"
Sima Mao closed his eyes bitterly. He wanted to leave Liangzhou and investigate for himself. But under such circumstances, how could he leave.
He only felt that there would always be omissions in the news brought back by the scouts.
"Military advisor, please don't say more. Shuzhou's attack on Liangzhou is about to begin, and we should make preparations early. Come, tell Dong Xiu of Anzhou to immediately mobilize 20,000 troops to guard the Liangzhou border!"
Dong Wen gritted his teeth, feeling extremely angry.
"My lord, please don't be anxious. I'll ask the internal agents from Shuzhou to conduct a detailed investigation to confirm the matter of helping the tribe. Don't forget that this is probably a plan of the Shu people."
"Military advisor, we have no time to wait. We don't have time! The previous intelligence said that the civilian thieves want to gather generals and prepare to attack the cold. The common thieves really dare to attack in winter. Don't forget about the tiger barbarians in Shuzhou!"
Sima Xiu was silent for a long time and sighed, knowing that in this situation, he could no longer dissuade the lord in front of him. One clue after another pointed to the betrayal of the Fuxun tribe.