The middle tent of the Yuan Dynasty is very large, probably five or six feet in diameter, and the roof of the tent is also very high, so it is similar to a large hall and is extremely wide.
After a few words of greeting, Yuan Zhi invited Cui Guang to sit down at the main seat. He thought that Cui Guang, along with the emperor's banner, would be the envoy regardless of whether he had the power to governor Xiliang Prefecture and Dunhuang Town.
However, Cui Guang declined on the grounds that "military and national affairs are not trivial. This is the headquarters of the Central Military Command. Unless orders are issued, those who mobilize troops and generals cannot be in the upper position, so they do not want to dampen Yuan Zhi's spirit."
Yuan Zhi did everything possible and took the main seat, and invited Cui Guang and Wei Zi to sit on the other side.
The Yuan Dynasty and the Wei Dynasty followed Han rites, and they always knelt down when discussing matters, with at most a soft felt under their knees. Cui Guang had been kneeling like this for most of his life, so he should have been used to it.
I didn't feel it in the past, but today when my knees were pressed against the felt, it seemed that my waist and legs were no longer able to control their movements, and they were not as stiff as usual. Cui Guang was slightly dazed and smiled.
After staying in Xihai for more than a month, I was used to sitting on a comfortable horse, but when I switched to sitting on my knees, I felt a little unaccustomed to it?
But we can’t let Yuan Zhi go find him a horse anymore, right?
Cui Guang sighed sadly and sat down with his knees bent. Yuan Zhi then asked his retinue to prepare food and drinks, but he refused, and then asked Yuan Zhi to retreat.
When there was no one idle in the waiting tent, Cui Guang sighed in a low voice, with a desolate look on his face: "I have something to say that makes me unhappy. I hope General Xiao won't blame me!"
Yuan Zhi's heart skipped a beat: "There's no harm in talking about it, Minister!"
"While I'm still a bit thin with Li Chengzhi, and he's still somewhat useful to him, and can still protect you for a while, General Yuan should retreat, and retreat to Dunhuang Town as soon as possible, the sooner the better..."
Yuan Zhi was stunned.
A fleeting sentence was like thunder to him, and he read countless messages in an instant.
Cui Guang surrendered?
Otherwise, how could there be words such as "there is still some use for Li Chengzhi"?
Then when he comes here, isn't it to persuade him to surrender to himself and surrender to the West Sea?
In an instant, Yuan Zhi suddenly felt a surge of anger in his heart. He changed his humble and polite look just now, and his eyes like copper bells seemed to be shining with sparks.
"Cui Shangshu, aren't you afraid that Yuan will be domineering and arbitrary?"
Self-indulgent, arbitrary?
Cui Guang was stunned for a moment, and after thinking about it for a moment, he suddenly laughed out loud: "A man from Yuan County, I was awarded the title of Empress Dowager, and was given by Your Majesty. Now he is the envoy to Hexi, holding the Emperor's banner, and the governor of Dunhuang, East and West Liangzhou.
All military officers, I have served you as the Yuan Zhenjun and the Yuan Governor, but you want to punish me for my crime. Are you trying to rebel?"
Yuan Zhi snorted coldly: "Shang Shu is already a thief, how come you are already a general? Why can't Yuan punish you?"
"Which of your ears heard that I have become a traitor?"
Cui Guang squinted his eyes and stroked his beard, "The reason why I advise you to withdraw the troops is that I am afraid that you will waste the lives of the soldiers, and I am even more afraid that you will break your sword and sink in the sand, leaving your body lying here... Since you don't understand my good intentions, I don't
I'm too lazy to talk to you..."
After a pause, Cui Guang shouted outside the tent: "Come on, bring the banner and the imperial decree into the tent..."
Still want to deceive me about the festival and the imperial edict?
These two are just dead things. Now that you have become a traitor, I am afraid it is worse than a fig leaf. Do you think that I, Yuan, am a fool, and will you do this?
Yuan Zhi sneered and said nothing, thinking that he wanted to see how Cui Shangshu, who was well-known to both women and children, played the role of the clown.
After just a few breaths, the servants sent the two items into the tent. Cui Guang took them, first pierced the banner into the ground with force, and then held the imperial edict forward: "Yuan Predator receives the edict!"
really?
This old thief wants to use an imperial edict to force Yuan Mou, and he also wants to use the Emperor's Day to force me to withdraw my troops. If I don't obey, he will most likely go around him and give the order to the generals and soldiers.
But do you think my Yuan Zhe's tent is the cowshed and horse stable? You can go in when you want and leave when you want?
If I let you out of this account completely today, Yuan will live up to his reputation of "majesty".
He still sneered silently, picked up the wine cup and took a sip of it, looking at Cui Guang as if he was nothing.
Cui Guang urged: "Yuan Zhi, will you accept this imperial edict or not?"
Yuan Zhi rolled his eyes: "If I don't answer, what will happen to you?"
Just when I thought that Cui Guang would become angry, he suddenly grinned and said to Wei Zijian, who looked like a spectator: "You see, this is because the general has not given the order to the king, and it is also my fault that I am incompetent and have no way to control him. It is so sudden."
What can I do?"
After that, he respectfully placed the imperial edict on the cases in front of Yuan Zhi, then returned to the cases and drank wine in an orderly manner.
While drinking, he still felt disgusted, saying that Yuan Zhan's wine was not hot enough. He also drank and shouted to Yuan Zhan's cronies to bring the clay stove to warm it again.
After drinking two cups, he told his subordinates to choose a sunny place to set up his tent for him, and said he should try to stay as far away from the tent as possible to prevent the Western Sea from attacking the stronghold and Yuan Zhe's death, which would harm him.
Although Yuan Zhi was only forty years old, he was already a veteran of three dynasties. He was used to seeing the tactics of civil officials and advisers scaremongering, confusing right and wrong, and acting dishonestly. He thought that Cui Guang was the same, so he still turned a deaf ear and remained silent, letting Cui Guang shout.
Little scream.
Wei Zijian was sitting at the bottom, looking at Cui Guang dancing happily, he couldn't help but sigh with sadness.
With Cui Guang's move, he was clearly setting a lottery for Yuan Zang, and was he also trying to make him fall into a trap?
But if not, so what?
Looking back on what happened after leaving Beijing, Wei Zijian really didn't know how to describe it other than "helpless".
It was also due to their bad luck that as soon as they crossed the river and reached the border of Hexi, they accidentally discovered Mrs. Guo's whereabouts. Then of course she became Huangfu Rang's prisoner.
Then he was respectfully invited to Xihai by Huangfu Rang.
Unexpectedly, the days of being a prisoner were actually easier and happier than the days of being a special envoy: there was wine and meat every day, and hot soup bathing every night. Except for the fact that Cui Guang couldn't leave the camp without permission, the rest
Everything is meticulous.
Originally intending to go to the West Sea, Cui Guang followed Huangfu to Zhenyi without any fuss or fuss.
Along the way, the two of them had a casual chat, thinking that Cui Guangyu was both a teacher and a friend of Li Chengzhi. He looked at each other with the utmost respect and confided in his heart. He was a close friend. Not to mention Wei Zijian, he was also Li Chengzhi's maternal uncle.
Now that the two of them were entrusted by the imperial court, they traveled thousands of miles, but they could not make Li Chengzhi change his mind and join the imperial court. At least in terms of personal friendship, he should treat each other with courtesy and drink and talk happily.
But who drank a lot of cooking wine, but they were all people like Li Shiliang, Bingren, Yan, Jiang, and Zhao who came from the Qin and Liang states. They were all unrelated people, so what's the use of seeing them more?
Not to mention Cui Guang, even Wei Zijian has never seen Li Chengzhi, his son-in-law.
When asked again where Li Chengzhi was, they all said he was in the West Sea, but the time had not come yet, so it was better not to see him first.
After further questioning, Li Shiliang sent someone to send the two of them to Li Song's camp.
Only then did the two of them know that Dunhuang Town General Yuan Zhi and Wuchuan Town General Luo Jian were secretly planning to join forces of tens of thousands and head straight to the West Sea in order to eliminate Li Chengzhi, a serious problem.
Under this premise, the imperial court's behavior of sending two envoys to appease Li Chengzhi was like a joke: they wanted to appease me, but they also sent troops to attack. Isn't this move of the imperial court a double-dealing and double-dealing move?
If he returns to Zhenyizhen and really sees Li Chengzhi, how can he express these words of comfort?
Cui Guang was not an unreasonable person. After asking Li Shiliang about the causes and consequences, he finally figured out the clues: It was not that Yuan Zhi and Luo Jiangou were so courageous that they had to kill them first and then show them off, but it was a coincidence, and it was dictated by the current situation.
Just like Yuan Zhi, at this time, he still carried the imperial edict to "send troops from Dunhuang and join forces with Yuan Hui of Dongliang Prefecture to patrol the West Sea." Therefore, his dispatch of troops this time was justified and no one could find any mistakes.
The blame can only be blamed on some errant misfortune for accidentally bumping into Huangfu Rang. As a result, Cui Guang and his followers were all captured. No one was left, and it was impossible to even give Yuan Zhi a sneak peek.
What's more, Li Chengzhi was so cunning that he almost cut off the communication between Hexi and the imperial court, causing the Yuan Dynasty's orders to be blocked.
But thinking about it again, Cui Guang found it extremely funny...
Luo Jian was forced to have no choice: if he did not make peace with Gao Zhao, not to mention 80,000 soldiers, he was afraid that not even eight soldiers would be left. Gao Zhao would not be needed at all. Only Gao Zhi and Changsun Dao would be able to command the army.
He broke his sword in Beizhen and survived until the end, which meant that he and Changsun Dao both suffered losses.
That would be fine if that were the case, but Li Chengzhi took advantage of every opportunity. Not only did he secretly provoke the enemy, but he also blatantly sat on the mountain and watched the tiger fight.
This kind of behavior is like rubbing sand into the eyes of a living person. Even a clay figure can arouse a certain amount of anger. What's more, Gao Zhao and Luo Jian are already heroic figures, how can they make people glare with their noses and faces?
Furthermore, both Gao Zhao and Luo Jian knew that Li Chengzhi was a serious problem, so they hit it off immediately.
Therefore, the imperial court's plan to recruit people came to nothing before it was put into effect...
At this point, it is meaningless to discuss who is right and who is wrong. All Cui Guang can do is try to make amends.
For example, let Yuan Zhi withdraw his troops as soon as possible and return to Dunhuang. Given that Dunhuang has nearly 200,000 households, nearly 500,000 hectares of farmland, and countless cattle and sheep, as long as Yuan Zhi stands still in Dunhuang, Li Chengzhi will feel like he is choking in his throat.
Don't dare to offend Guanzhong lightly.
Regardless of the rest, the only thing is that the West Sea is more than 1,500 miles away from Dunhuang. If Li Chengzhi wants to conquer it, he must send out a large army.
Let's not talk about who wins and who loses. Just this one back and forth can consume at least two to three years of accumulation in Xihai. What will he do to plot the Central Plains and compete in the world?
Therefore, Cui Guang concluded that Li Chengzhi would never engage in loss-making trading.
If he had better luck, Xi Kangsheng could make a quick decision and deal with Gao Zhao as soon as possible, and then turn around and join forces with Yuan Zhi to deal with Li Chengzhi. This would be the best strategy.
However, Cui Guang also knew that he took all this for granted and Yuan Zhi would never listen to him.
If you want to ask the reason, of course it is that Li Chengzhi was too cunning: just when the two armies were facing each other, and the war was about to start, he and Wei Zijian were released, which made Cui Guangqi want to curse his mother.
Not to mention Yuan Zhi, an honest man who was evaluated by Emperor Xiaowen as "a dull man with few words and a kind personality". Even if he were Cui Guang, he would definitely think that these two thieves had been bribed by Li Chengzhi and were not here to persuade them to surrender.
, just between the lines.
Therefore, Cui Guang was not annoyed at all when Yuan Zhi shouted angrily in a cold voice, saying that he would be "domineering and arbitrary, and good at being arbitrary."
If it were someone with a more violent temper, not to mention the following offenses, it would be possible to kill him and Wei Zijian in the tent on the spot.
But now that the matter has come to this, what else can be done?
As the old saying goes, one must eat the emperor's salary, bear the emperor's worries, and be loyal to the emperor. No matter how difficult it is, one must still fulfill his duty as a minister.
Cui Guang knew very well that for a character like Yuan Zhi, once he was sure of one thing, even nine cows would not be able to pull him back.
If you want to make him listen and persuade you, you can only make him suffer a loss that is neither minor nor serious.
Fortunately, Li Chengzhi cherishes his talent and wants to use Yuan Zhi for his own use, so he will not kill them all for the time being.
Then take this opportunity to inspire Yuan Zhi to have a fight with Li Song, so that he can recognize the reality earlier.
Therefore, Cui Guang was acting like a swindler by throwing the banner and imperial edict to Yuan Zhi. In fact, he was irritating him: If you want to fight, you'd better do it as soon as possible. Otherwise, don't blame me for not giving you a chance.
However, Wei Zijian felt that although Cui Guang was a great scholar and a wise minister, he knew nothing about military affairs and was too self-righteous.
Since he knew that Li Chengzhi was thirsty for talents, how could he allow Yuan Zhi to withdraw his troops so easily?
Not to mention Dunhuang Town, which is more than a thousand miles away, or Jiuquan County, which is hundreds of miles away, Yuan Zhi will never be able to retreat.
Including himself and Cui Guang, Li Chengzhi has also regarded them as his own. The reason why they were sent to the Yuanzhi camp this time was just a desperate tactic.
Even Li Chengzhi had already made up his mind, but once they met, Cui Guang would definitely persuade Yuan Zhi to withdraw his troops. Since Yuan Zhi had been obeying orders under Li Chengzhi for nearly a year, Li Chengzhi knew his character very well, and there was a high probability that Yuan Zhi would not be like this.
Cui Guang’s wish.
In this way, the generals can be at odds with each other, making it easier to deal with them...
But his status is a bit embarrassing. Not to mention Yuan Zhi, even Cui Guang dare not trust him completely. Therefore, rather than arousing suspicion, it is better to stay out of the matter and sit on the sidelines.
Thinking like this, Wei Zijian gave up the idea of ordering some Yuanzhi, and tried to persuade Cui Guang, but simply kept silent and drank slowly and orderly.
Seeing Cui Guang and Wei Zijian pretending to be crazy and the other acting stupid, Yuan Zhi became suspicious again: Could it be that he had guessed wrong?
It's also because Cui Guang was so impatient that he ordered him to withdraw his troops before he even had time to ask him why he came to the West Sea and why he was in Li Chengzhi's camp and was sent here respectfully by him?
Even an envoy shouldn't be so domineering, right?
Forget it, if you are playing tricks, ten of you tied together will not be able to defeat the sleeping Cui Guang. Rather than being toyed with and applauded by him, it would be better to interrogate his confidants and subordinates.
He did as he was told. Yuan Zhi immediately stood up and walked out without asking Cui Guang. Wei Zijian wasted no time in speaking.
What's funny is that Cui Guang and Wei Zijian were just as silent as if they were watching a play. They just stared at him as he left the tent.
Cui Guangcai sighed leisurely until the person disappeared and said: "Li Chengzhi gave you and me the title of Yuan Zhi just to make me and Yuan Zhi not get along?"
So you knew it too?
Wei Zijian sighed: "Why else? It's nothing more than borrowing from you and me to demoralize the Yuan Dynasty's army!"
"Why do you and I need to mess with Yuan Zhi's military spirit? As long as the two armies have fought once, they will be like the blazing sun and frost, and they will see each other immediately!"
Cui Guang stroked his beard and looked suspicious: "I always feel that your beloved son-in-law has no good intentions..."