After several days of rapid marching, King Yong and other Yong troops reunited. King Yong's army of more than 100,000 troops retreated step by step towards the territory of Dayong. The other blocking troops forced the Nanchu army that came later to send them away.
So the next march was leisurely and comfortable. As a prisoner, I received preferential treatment and did not have to live with other prisoners. King Yong ordered a separate tent to be prepared for Xiao Shunzi and me. Although it was a marching tent, it was very comfortable and elegant.
, the ground is covered with thick brocade felt, and the gaps around the tent are tightly wrapped with fur, so that the cold autumn wind will not blow in. There is a large bed in the corner of the tent, which is enough for two people to sleep peacefully.
There is a square pine table on the other side of the tent, with two chairs on both sides. There is a purple sand tea set on the table, and in the center of the tent there is an exquisite and practical copper stove. Now there is a pot of boiling water on it, making the whole room more comfortable.
The tents are all warm.
Xiao Shunzi listened to the water boiling and skillfully made me a cup of hot tea. I stretched and sat up. Several accidents over the years have left me with the root cause of the disease. Although I insist on practicing Qigong for health,
However, the old illness still relapses from time to time. I have also wanted to take good care of it, but heart disease is difficult to cure, and it is difficult for doctors to treat it themselves. Therefore, I have always been sick in the past few years. Although it is an excuse to recover from illness, my body is not good.
It's really not very good. Xiao Shunzi helped me sit up and complained: "Young master always refuses to take a good rest. This trip to Dayong is so tiring, I'm afraid he will get sick again."
I sighed and said: "What can I do? You also know how my illness came about. Most of it is heart disease. In fact, I am much better now. It's just that this march reminds me of the attack on Shu. It's a pity that Prince De
I have returned to the west by riding a crane. Now I am already in the Dayong Army Camp. Thinking of the past, I can’t help but feel sad. Alas.”
At this time, a loud laughter came from outside the tent and said: "I heard that Mr. Jiang is unwell, and I came here to visit you." Following the laughter, King Yong Li Zhi walked in. He was dressed like a prince, with others following behind him.
Two counselors and three people walked into the tent. I reluctantly wanted to get out of bed, but Li Zhi had already walked over, held me down and said, "Sir, there is no need to get up. I heard that your husband is sick, and Zhi is busy with military affairs, so I took the time to come and visit.
How rude." After that, he sat beside my bed and looked at my face worriedly.
I saw that the two Confucian scholars had also sat down and leaned forward and said: "Suiyun's old illness has relapsed and he cannot get out of bed. Please forgive me. I have heard for a long time that His Highness King Yong has many talented people around him. I don't know how to call you two."
An old, handsome, middle-aged Confucian scholar in his fifties stood up and said: "Guan Xiu from Beihai has met Mr. Jiang. Mr. Jiang is famous all over the world for his literary talent. Guan once read Mr. Jiang's poems, and his teeth and cheeks were so fragrant that he couldn't bear to pass away."
ah."
Another white-shirted Confucian scholar with fine eyebrows and long eyes and an elegant demeanor also smiled and said: "That day, my husband broke the news and forced the king of Shu to death. I still think about it in my heart, and I will give birth to Dong Zhi later."
I said lightly: "I have heard for a long time that among the counselors under King Yong's tent, Beihai Guanxiu was good at arranging grain, grass and soldiers, Dong Zhi from Luoyang was good at marching and setting up formations, and there was Gou Lian from Yingchuan, who was good at sending envoys to all directions. These three were collectively called the Three Heroes.
, the first time I saw him today he really lived up to his reputation, but it’s a pity that we only saw two of the three heroes, which really made Suiyun sigh that the family is so poor and so poor.”
Dong Zhi said with a smile: "Brother Gou is not in the army now, so we can't meet each other. He also respects his husband very much. On that day, he followed Prince Gu De to the Dayong Army. The three of us happened to be not in the army, so we left in a hurry.
, and we didn’t have the chance to talk in detail. Now that the gentleman has returned to His Highness’s command, I think we can have a chat over wine in the future.”
I looked at Li Zhi, smiled slightly, and did not refute Dong Zhi's words to avoid making him look ugly. I just said lightly: "Although Sui Yun is sick, he is still in good spirits. If Brother Dong has any questions, please feel free to come.
I asked Suiyun, but Suiyun dared not tell me."
After talking for a while, they saw that I was tired and left, and Li Zhi repeatedly asked me to have a good rest. He said that a carriage had been arranged to take me with him, and he also asked Xiao Shunzi to take good care of me. If he needed anything, he could ask Guan Xiu for it.
After they left, I leaned on the bed and said with a smile: "The counselors of King Yong are very sincere, but I think Gou Lian is a little narrow-minded. Otherwise, why didn't His Highness King Yong bring him with him?
?”
Xiao Shunzi smiled and said: "Young Master is smart now. That Gou Lian is also in the camp, but he has a bad temper, so King Yong did not invite him to come, so as not to immediately offend the Young Master."
King Yong and two counselors walked out of the camp and sighed: "I thought he was just asking for illness, but unexpectedly he was really sick. Alas, he is not in good health, and I forced him to travel far away. No wonder he has always been very cold to me.
."
Dong Zhi comforted him and said: "Your Highness, don't worry. I saw that although this man was sick, he was in good spirits. I must not have been angry because Your Highness took him with him. Although I couldn't see through this person's thoughts, I said he obeyed Your Highness.
He did not refute him face to face, which shows that this person is not invincible."
Li Zhi smiled bitterly and said: "Jiang Zhe is very easy-going. Even if I force him to give him an official position, he may not refuse it. But if I want him to sincerely serve me, it will be difficult. Prince Zhao Jue of Germany valued him very much at the beginning.
, but perhaps with some reluctance, he refused to serve with the army anymore. Prince De is still the uncle of the King of Southern Chu, so he was so perfunctory, and I am worried that he will be perfunctory with me in the same way."
Guan Xiu said: "Your Highness, please rest assured. Although this person's heart is as cold as ice, he still has a warm-blooded heart. Otherwise, he would not have come forward to remonstrate directly. As long as Your Highness treats you sincerely, you will definitely be able to gain his loyalty. I heard that that day he and
The alienation of Prince De is mostly due to Rong Yuan, Prince De's aide, but I am worried about Gou Lian's temperament. It is difficult for this person to convince others and he always has to provoke him several times, fearing that he will offend Jiang Suiyun."
Dong Zhidao: "Brother Guan is overly worried. I think that if Gou Lian goes, he may have unexpected results. Although Jiang Zhe looks gentle and elegant, he is unruly and unruly in his heart. He and Brother Gou have a similar temperament. I don't think so.
What adverse consequences will there be?"
While the three of them were discussing over and over here, Gou Lian, whom they were worried about, had already arrived in front of my account. Gou Lian was the most arrogant person. When he learned that Li Zhi had specially brought Jiang Zhe back to Jianye, he again
He cared so much about him that Gou Lian felt uncomfortable. This time Li Zhi took Guan Xiu with him, but Dong Zhi went to visit the doctor without him. Gou Lian felt uncomfortable in his heart. With his intelligence and intelligence, he naturally knew that Li Zhi and the others
He was worried that he had offended Jiang Zhe, which made him even more unwilling, so he came to my tent shortly after Li Zhi and the others left. I am still a "prisoner" of Yong's army, even though Li Zhi ordered that no one should disturb me.
, but Gou Lian's status in the army is very high, so the sergeant guarding me did not stop him and allowed him to walk into my tent calmly.
As soon as I saw this young man with a hooked nose, I guessed his identity. Seeing him standing in front of me without courtesy and sizing me up for a long time, he waved his hand to stop Xiao Shunzi's anger. I smiled and said, "Excuse me, but he has a sharp tongue."
Is it true that someone as honest as a sword will always have a spring?"
Gou Lian was slightly startled and said: "I didn't expect that Jiang Suiyun, whose song cost the King of Shu his life, would also recognize this little person like me. I didn't know that I used to ridicule the King of Shu, 'Once he becomes a captive, he will sink his waist and wear his temples to spend time.
"Has the top scholar already known what happened today? I saw that my brother looked haggard and his body was torn apart. It should be considered as 'sinking his waist and panning his temples to spend time'."
I said calmly: "I have heard for a long time that Brother Yongquan once served as the staff of Zhang Chen, the general of Xuzhou. Zhang Chen did not follow Zhengshuo and led his troops to separate the local area. Brother Yongquan was quite favored by him at that time. Later, His Highness King Yong attacked him.
Zhang Chen, Your Excellency was ordered to go to Yong Ying as an envoy. Unexpectedly, he was impressed by His Majesty's majesty and persuaded General Zhang to abandon his armor and surrender after his return. In the future, Your Excellency went on envoys to all places for His Highness Yong Yong and fulfilled his mission. However, I don't know whether it was because he went out for Zhang Chen in the first place.
So, instead of being humiliated by being accused of surrender, your Excellency will be hung up on you in the future, and then you will achieve something later?"
Gou Lian's face turned red. Although he persuaded Zhang Chen to surrender, although it was praised as a good talk, he always felt that he had not persuaded King Yong to withdraw his troops. Instead, he became the lobbyist for King Yong to persuade him to surrender. This was a disgrace to his mission. He did not expect to be
The person exposed it to the point. He said in awe: "His Royal Highness King Yong is like a dragon and a phoenix. He is elegant and noble. How can he be swayed by his words? It is not strange for me to return in defeat. Moreover, I can make up for my shortcomings by saving General Zhang from the fire and water.
But Your Excellency, since you know that Dayong is the orthodox one, why don't you follow Zhengshuo?"
I laughed and said, "Brother Yongquan, what I said is wrong. I said that General Zhang did not follow Zhengshuo. It was because the Central Plains were unified in an instant and the people's hearts were attached to him. General Zhang relied on the strength of the army and did not understand the current affairs, so he took it lightly.
Although our country, Southern Chu, is a small one, it has been in existence longer than Dayong. Suiyun was once the number one scholar in Southern Chu, a first-level Jinshi, and served in the Hanlin Academy for many years. He was deeply favored by the king. How could he abandon the emperor and become a great scholar?
Yong, Suiyun is very aware of integrity and shame. The old master is still here, how can he follow the trend and serve the new master."
Gou Lian rolled his eyes and said: "Since your Excellency is determined to serve Nan Chu, now that the leader of Nan Chu is in my camp, and Zhao Jiadu is kneeling down to serve me, Yong, why are you so stubborn? Besides, I heard that the wise minister chose the leader and
Zhao Jia was stupid and forced the wise king to die, but our lord, His Highness King Yong, was extremely humble, courteous to virtuous subordinates, and acted decisively. His reputation for benevolence, righteousness, and virtuousness was spread all over the world. Why did you cling to your weakness and refuse to surrender, so that you were laughed at by the world?
"
I smiled coldly and said: "Although the wise ministers choose the master, I have never heard that the old master is still there, so he serves the new master's wise ministers. In the past, Yurang served Zhibo. After the death of the Zhongxing clan, the Zhongxing clan was no more than a mortal."
However, Yu Rang never gave up on him. What's more, Sui Yun's former followers were not Zhao Jia alone, but the royal family of Nan Chu. The late king appointed me as an imperial concubine, and Prince De appointed me as counselor. The kindness is so great before my eyes. How can I see the glory?
If you are rich, you will immediately join a new owner."
Gou Lian said sternly: "Although your words are gold and jade, you have been denounced for a long time. Why are you so infatuated?"
I said calmly: "In the past, Bigan was disloyal and did not change his ambition. Qu Yuan was demoted. He heard about King Huai of Chu and came to Shenjiang. Suiyun was not an idiot and did not dare to imitate the sages. However, he was ignorant of glory and took refuge in the new master.
I don't dare to seek wealth and honor."
When Gou Lian heard this, he had no choice but to bow down and say: "Sir, your character is noble and noble, and I admire you. However, Your Highness has the appearance of a king. It would be a pity if you miss him, but he is sick in the army. Yongquan dare not fight against him. When Yong
We are thousands of miles away, can Yongquan come to interrupt me and listen to my advice?"
I smiled and said: "Brother Yongquan is famous all over the world. It is Suiyun who should ask for more advice. I am lonely on the way. If you have time, you might as well come and have a candlelit night chat. It's just that although Suiyun is well-read, he doesn't know much about music, chess, calligraphy and painting."
Yes, I heard that you are quite famous in this area, so I hope you will give me some advice."
After Li Zhi learned that Gou Lian came to see me privately, he was very worried and immediately sent someone to persuade him. Unexpectedly, when the man arrived, he saw that Gou Lian and I were having a very happy conversation. When Li Zhi heard this, he couldn't help but be happy. From then on, he often
I would not refuse to ask his staff to come and accompany him. We talked in detail for many days. I couldn't help but admire the staff of King Yong's staff. Guan Xiu was very proficient in money and food documents, Dong Zhi was proficient in the art of war and battle formations.
When we started talking, we talked endlessly, and Gou Lian was knowledgeable and talented, and I got along best with him, but he had a competitive personality and always liked to debate difficult problems with me. Talking with these people every day put me in a good mood.
Coupled with Xiao Shunzi's careful care, my illness gradually recovered on the road.
I have a good impression of them, and they also admire me very much.
Guan Xiu was good at military affairs, money and food, and was the boss of King Yong's confidant. However, as soon as he talked with this young man, he found that no matter what he said, he immediately understood it. Occasionally, he said a sentence or two, and he always hit the point.
Later, Jiang Zhe accidentally said that he had handled documents under Prince De's account. Only then did Guan Xiu know why this Hanlin bachelor knew so much about these trivial matters. He originally thought that Jiang Zhe had served in Prince De's shogunate and was just a military counselor.
That’s all.
Dong Zhi was good at the art of war, but when he debated with Jiang Zhe, he found that Jiang Zhe knew everything about ancient and modern battle formations, even the parts he didn't understand. Jiang Zhe spoke eloquently and explained in detail, so he asked him how he knew it.
, the young man smiled and said that he had read military books in the Lu Mansion of Zhenyuan Marquis, and later compiled military books and strategies in the Hanlin Academy. Dong Zhi originally thought that Jiang Zhe was just talking about war on paper, so he tried to practice war with him, but Jiang Zhe used troops.
Like a horse flying in the sky, there is no trace to be found, and strange peaks often emerge from the most incredible places, but after thinking about it, it makes sense and is amazing. After Dong Zhi was convinced, he couldn't help but be competitive, so he debated with him about the weapons of war, and unexpectedly
Jiang Zhe could also talk in detail. Although Jiang Zhe mostly remained silent later on, if he spoke occasionally, Dong Zhi would be left to think for a long time and then go to research and improve the equipment the next day.
Gou Lian admired Jiang Zhe the most. He originally boasted of being knowledgeable, but Jiang Zhe once participated in the preparation of the Chongwen Palace in Nanchu. He had read tens of millions of books. Every time he argued about an article, Jiang Zhe often quoted from other sources, which made Gou Lian dumbfounded.
As for the art of rhetoric, although Jiang Zhe didn't use it very often, when Gou Lian was so proud that he couldn't help himself, Jiang Zhe would often convince him with just one sentence.
What the three of them admire most privately is that despite Jiang Zhe's talent, he is calm and natural. When talking to him, it's like a spring breeze. They only feel that he is talented, but not overbearing. Only in the dead of night, he will
It made people sweat. Later, the three of them became more and more eager to win, but Jiang Zhe often retreated slightly, letting the three people's enthusiasm turn into a spring breeze. It took a long time to realize that Jiang Zhe had not accepted the challenge.
Although the journey of thousands of miles is far away, it will eventually come to an end. When they are about to arrive in Yongdu, the three of them once again asked Li Zhi to meet him and asked him to take Jiang Zhe as his subordinate. Gou Lian was the most fierce, saying: "If your highness cannot
It is a real pity to have this person under my command. His talents are many times better than mine. If we were to become his enemy, I'm afraid our corpses would be gone."
Li Zhi said with a bitter face: "Gentlemen, how come I don't know the importance of this person? But every time I go to persuade him, this person remains silent, leaving me helpless."
Guan Xiu said: "Your Highness, there is no need to be anxious. This person respects Your Highness quite a lot and has no hostility towards us. He should not refuse to come here. This time when we return to Beijing, we will send this person to Prince Yong's Mansion to be placed under house arrest and we will slowly persuade him."
There is always a way, not to mention Shi Ziyou's generosity and kindness, he will definitely be able to enlighten him."
Li Zhi sighed: "That's all. If Shi Ziyou can't convince him anymore, I, my king, how can I let this go?"
Guan and Xiu looked at each other in confusion, knowing that Li Zhi had murderous intentions.
"The rain is gurgling outside the curtain, and the spring is fading. The quilt cannot bear the cold at the fifth watch. In the dream, I don't know that I am a guest, and I am greedy for joy for a while. Don't lean on the railing alone, there are infinite mountains and rivers. It is easy to see others when they are gone. When the water falls, the flowers are gone, and in the sky,
world."
I put on my clothes and stood in front of the window. This is the post house. Tomorrow is the day when I arrive in Yongdu. I recited the newly written "Lang Tao Sha" and felt infinitely lonely in my heart. Thinking of the charming scenery of Nanchu, my heart was filled with tears.
Xiao Shunzi walked up to me and whispered: "Master, these days, you have convinced Li Zhi's advisers, but you have always refused to favor Li Zhi. If Li Zhi has murderous intentions, you should
What should we do?”
"Xiao Shunzi, you don't understand. In the past, I just went with the flow. It didn't matter who I was an official. Even in front of Prince De, I was just perfunctory. But His Highness King Yong's heart is like a mirror. If I surrender to him, if I can't
To tell the truth, His Highness King Yong will not be satisfied and cannot solve his crisis. If I want to do my best, then I have to see the magnanimity of King Yong. I deliberately forced him to kill me. If he is finally willing to let go,
I just think of him as the Ming Jun Holy Lord. If he finally has murderous intentions, then he is just an overlord and a hero. Instead of worrying about him killing heroes in the future, why don't I test his ambition today and if he can finally let him go?
I, then I believe that the king and his ministers can start and end well in the future. If he——, I can just fake my death and escape."
Xiao Shunzi said with an anxious look on his face: "Young Master, His Highness King Yong is extremely powerful. If he wants to kill you, how can he escape? Although my martial arts are good, I can't guarantee that I can rescue the Young Master."
I smiled lightly and said: "I think that in order not to hurt the hearts of famous people in the world, His Highness King Yong will definitely not kill me with real swords and guns. Poison is the best way. I have prepared a precious poison.
After I took it, I became as stiff as death. It is difficult to steal a person, but it is not easy to steal a corpse. After I escaped, I hid in Yongdu. When I got the opportunity, I took the opportunity to avenge the murder of my wife.
When the time comes, Xiao Shunzi, you and I can travel around the world and remain anonymous, wouldn't it be great? People often say that reading thousands of books means traveling thousands of miles, but I'm looking forward to it a lot."
Xiao Shunzi said reassuringly: "Then I have to hope that King Yong will kill the young master, so as not to involve the young master in having to work hard for him."
I smiled slightly. Not everyone is qualified to put in all my efforts. To be honest, I am afraid that no one can pass my temptation. If they are not used, they will be killed. This is the indescribable thought of those wise monarchs.
It's a pity that King Yong is really a man that I admire, I thought with some regret.