Chapter 13 Chapter Twelve

The First Southern Chu Champion Chapter Twelve Poisonous Schemes In December of the 19th year of Xiande, the army of Southern Chu fought in Luocheng. At that time, King Yong and Li Zhi fought in Jiameng Pass. Not long after, there were rumors that Dayong and Shu would make peace. Prince De Zhao Jue was very disturbed and asked for advice. Jiang Zhe, we talked for a long time. The next day, the Chu army was in a hurry to attack the city. On December 19, the city of Luo was broken, and the general Wei Xianzhong fell to his death. In the morning of the next day, he attacked the city again. Lured into a tight siege, one day of fighting, people were exhausted, Prince De personally surrendered before the battle, Long Mou refused, angrily committed suicide, the king sighed, collected the bones himself, and buried Luocheng.

On December 25th, Jiamengguan learned that Luocheng had fallen, and the Shu army had no intention of fighting. On December 28th, Jiamengguan fell. So far, there is no barrier for Shu.Someone said that Jiang Zhe once proposed two strategies of destroying the city and separating people at this time. Later, someone met Rong Yuan, an aide of the old Prince De, and asked about it. , Let a certain person die of illness, and a certain person went to sacrifice him, and his son spoke on behalf of Father Bai, saying that Jiang Suiyun is a genius in the world, and Prince Xide dared not use it. - "The History of Chu in the Southern Dynasties."The Legend of Jiang Suiyun"

I put down my pen, Han Zhang had already walked out, opened the courtyard door, and saw a general in yellow gold armor and a white brocade robe standing outside, and behind him stood a Confucian scholar in black. Afterwards, there was a group of personal guards in white armor. Han Zhang had been in the Southern Chu Army for nearly a month. How could he not know the identity of this person? He felt uneasy, let the door open silently, and stood aside.Zhao Jue just took a look at him, then walked into the room, Rong Yuan followed behind with a gesture, and the other guards immediately surrounded Jiang Zhe's study.

I didn't hear Han Zhang's announcement, and I was feeling strange when I saw Zhao Jue walking in, quickly stood up according to the etiquette, bowed and said: "My lord came to my humble house, and I was far away to welcome you with the clouds, please forgive me. " Zhao Jue saluted first and said, "Zhao Jue has been busy with military affairs recently, so please forgive me for not coming to visit Mr. Jiang's condition." I said lightly: "My lord is armed with a heavy army and manages a lot of things every day. How can I have time to take care of my subordinates? I don't know what advice I can give you here today."

Zhao Jue glanced at Rong Yuan, and Rong Yuan hurriedly stepped forward and said apologetically, "Master Jiang, you have been negligent a few days ago, please forgive me." I naturally said: "Mr. Rong doesn't need to be too polite, the two of you are here in person, there must be urgent military affairs, please speak frankly." Rong Yuan looked at me with shame, and said: "Shu State sent an envoy to see Yong Wang Li Zhi, and asked for peace. Li Zhi didn't agree, but he didn't refuse either." As he spoke, he handed me a lot of information, very detailed, even Both Li Zhi and Yang Can had dialogues.After I read it, I couldn't help smiling. This Yang Can's name is the same as my first student Lu Can's, and his personality is similar. He is a threat and a lure.It's just such a pity, I sighed and said: "The people of Shu are beautiful, but it's a pity that the Lord of Shu can't use talented people. Now that the country is in danger, these talented people still don't abandon Shu. No wonder people say that Shu people are loyal."

Zhao Jue asked, "Why, has Sui Yun seen that Dayong will not accept Shu's peace proposal?" I laughed and said, "If King Yong wanted to agree to a peace agreement, he would ask what is the benefit, but King Yong only asked the talents in the middle of Shu, clearly intending to recruit talents to govern the middle of Shu, so King Yong would not agree to the peace. " Zhao Jue frowned and said, "Then why did King Yong let such news spread? If I, Nanchu, knew about it, it would be a bit..." I said lightly: "Prince Yong is really powerful. He deliberately let such rumors spread. I am afraid that he wanted me to know about Nanchu. According to the officials, we did not seriously attack the city during this period of time. I think the prince It is hoped that King Yong will capture Jiameng Pass in a bloody battle, and the defenders of Luocheng will be affected and will no longer be able to defend the city with all their strength, and then we will be able to obtain Luocheng without any effort."

Zhao Jue and Rong Yuan glanced at each other. This was a decision they had discussed in secret, but it was exposed by me, and neither of them acquiesced.I continued: "I think King Yong also feels sorry for his loss, so he used this rumor to force us to make a quick decision. Alas, King Yong is really scary. Even if we see through his intentions, so what, at the end of the day, King Yong agrees. Shu's peace request will allow us to face the anger of Shu directly. Dayong can tolerate the continued existence of Shu. As long as he guards the Yangping Pass, he can occupy the fertile land of Dongchuan. However, we have fought hard so far, but we can only obtain hardships and dangers. We do not have the ability to do so, and we dare not procrastinate. If Shu takes a breather, it will inevitably attack us, the Southern Chu that has betrayed the alliance. Only at this moment, the lower officials have three strategies to offer."

Zhao Jue was very upset when he heard this, and asked, "What are the three strategies? Please tell me in detail, sir." I said solemnly: "This strategy is still the same. If Dayong can't bear it and takes Jiameng Pass first, then we have achieved our original goal. It's just that if Dayong changed his mind and accepted the Kingdom of Shu in a fit of anger If we do not seek peace, then we will fail completely, and the victory or defeat of this strategy depends on King Yong's thought." Zhao Jue said dejectedly: "If the victory or defeat is completely dependent on others, wouldn't it be a man's sword and me as a fish, so what is the best strategy?"

I said in a deep voice: "The medium strategy is to attack the city with all our strength. As long as we break through Luocheng, Dayong will immediately attack Jiameng Pass. At that time, the Kingdom of Shu will naturally perish. Our gains will exceed our expectations, but our losses will also exceed our expectations." Estimated." Zhao Jue frowned. He didn't want to attack the city with all his strength because he didn't want to lose too much. He said in a deep voice, "Then what's the best strategy?" I smiled lightly and said, "We used odd siege to capture the city of Luo, and we won't lose much. When the time comes to fight for the results in the middle of Shu, if we restrain ourselves, we will be able to achieve all the strategic goals."

Zhao Jue frowned, and said, "But how to break the city with Qi?" I said confidently: "The defenders of Luocheng are now divided into two armies. One army defends the city and the other camps outside. They echo each other. If we want to win, we must cut off their foreign aid first. I suggest that we rush to attack the city, and then go outside. If the enemy troops in the camp can see the fire, the troops outside will think that Luocheng is in danger and come to the rescue. We will set up an ambush on the way to wipe out the Shu army. After the foreign aid is cut off, we can concentrate on dealing with the people inside the city. Defenders. At that time, we can attack the city again, and then let people wear the armor of the Shu army to pretend to attack our luggage, making them think that the Shu army outside is still there, and we act as if we have to retreat in a hurry because the luggage is destroyed , to lure the Shu army out of the city to pursue and kill them, to arrange an ambush to cut off the rear, and to trap and kill the general, so what if the city of Luo is not destroyed?"

Hearing this, Zhao Jue accidentally smashed the teacup. This plan was so sophisticated and vicious. He looked at me with brand new eyes, which made me baffled. Zhao Jue finally confirmed that the gentle and elegant young champion in front of him was actually a man with a deep scheming heart. Zhao Jue couldn't help feeling a bit chilly about this feminine and treacherous character. He was an upright person. Although he had used tricks before, he had never seen such an insidious serial trap of ambushes and booby traps.He bid farewell to Jiang Zhe unnaturally, and went to arrange the battle. On the evening of December 16th, the Southern Chu army began to storm Luocheng. Soon after, a big fire was lit. Wei Xian really mistook Luocheng for danger, so he rushed from the mountain road, but was ambushed by the Southern Chu army. Wei Xian fought desperately. He was killed by Zhao Jue, who personally participated in the ambush.The Shu army dispersed, and the Chu army strictly guarded the passage to prevent the news from being heard by Luocheng. In the early morning of December 17th, the Southern Chu army attacked again. General Long Bu led the defenders to repel several attacks and suffered heavy casualties. On the way, I saw the Southern Chu camp in the direction of Fushui Pass raging. At this time, Zhao Jue's cronies pretended to be Shu army scouts and came to report that it was Wei Xian who had burned down the Southern Chu's luggage. Leading the iron cavalry to chase and kill from behind, the Southern Chu army was defeated and dispersed. Longbu chased for twenty miles, but was cut off by the Southern Chu army hidden in the mountains. The Southern Chu army gathered and formed an ambush on all sides. Thousands of elite soldiers rushed around and fought hard all night. The cannons were stained with blood and had more than a dozen serious injuries on their backs. Finally, they couldn't get out. All the guards around them were killed. They were finally surrounded by the Southern Chu army. Zhao Jue personally persuaded him to surrender. Long Bu laughed and said: "There are only beheaded generals in my country of Shu, how can anyone bow their knees and surrender." After saying that, he raised his sword and killed himself.Zhao Jue sighed and ordered a generous burial. On December 18, the Southern Chu army withdrew to Fushuiguan for repairs. On December 19, Zhao Jue attacked the city again. Luocheng lost its generals and was unable to defend, so it surrendered at dusk. On December 23rd, Jiameng Pass received the news that Luocheng had fallen, and the army's morale was in turmoil. Chengdu was completely exposed to the Southern Chu soldiers.On the same day, King Yong and Li Zhi attacked the city in a big way, and the Shu army in the city had no fighting spirit. On December 25, Jiameng Pass fell, and Prime Minister Shen Jun was captured. So far, there is no pass for Shu to defend. Meng Yun of the Shu Kingdom got the battle report, fainted several times, and wept in the court hall: "It has been sixty years since the founding of the ancestors, and now the smoke has disappeared. Although I am dead, I dare not see my ancestors." Yun Sizhi repeatedly covered his face and went back to the harem.The courtiers looked at each other and had to disperse. Xiande's 20th year Xin Wei, January New Year's Day, Dayong and Nanchu government and people celebrated the great victory, and the entire Shu Kingdom was bleak, waiting for the Dayong and Nanchu armies that were being repaired to enter Sichuan and join forces in Chengdu. The whole army was full of joy. After drinking a few glasses of wine in the commander's tent, I resigned. I went back to my residence and lay on the bed, thinking about the future in a daze. This time, only Zhao Jue knew about my proposal. Going out, Zhao Jue agreed. He must have felt that my scheme was too vicious, but he didn't know that it was because I was about to leave Nanchu. If people knew about my scheme, I'm afraid I would never have peace for the rest of my life.The joy brought by victory is not much, because I know that Han Zhang cried bitterly in the room last night, although his voice was very low, and he even avoided his wife. In fact, compared to my strategy, King Yong's strategy is more vicious. It is an upright design to let others take advantage of him. At that time, I did not tell Zhao Jue that King Yong had another purpose, which was to take advantage of this to get my southern Chu spies The first-hand information from the Internet, I think, in order to collect information about the peace talks between Dayong and Nanchu, and then pass the information to Prince De through the middle of Shu, King Yong should take the opportunity to know the identity and whereabouts of many of my Southern Chu spies. How easy it is to eradicate the influence of Nanchu. What a scheming.I didn't tell Prince De on purpose. If they didn't think of this, they would be too slow. What's more, I really didn't dare to offend Dayong. In addition, Zhao Jue's faint fear and rejection of me made me lose my support his interest. Alas, I really hoped that Southern Chu would have a Zhongxing Mingzhu, but Zhao Jue is not a talented person like Guan Zhongleyi, but a bit like Uncle Bao. Nanchu, is there really no hope? I thought deeply. In January of Xiande's 20th year, the armies of both sides were not in a hurry to forge ahead, they repaired and consolidated the territory they had already occupied, waiting for the warm spring and the blooming of flowers.For Shu, this is the last winter.Although the Kingdom of Shu lost most of its military strength, the situation was not easy to appease. The pride and stubbornness of the people of Shu made me realize. In just one month, there were seven rebellions and twenty-three assassinations. Of course, no one deliberately For me, I'm not a famous person.Most of the celebrities in Sichuan were unwilling to surrender, and if they could not resist, they silently resisted. The situation was so dangerous that Zhao Jue's hair turned gray.Obviously winning, but it was so difficult, and finally a unified opinion was reached. It would be better if the king of Shu surrendered. Therefore, Dayong and Nanchu finally decided to advance to the middle of Shu on February 1st at the same time after the exchange of fish and geese. Chengdu. Before leaving, Zhao Jue came to see me again. Now he likes to meet me privately instead of asking for my opinion publicly. He must think that my strategy is too insidious, but I prefer this way. Is it safer? No People know that it is my idea, not to mention that I have come up with a lot of ideas during this period, all of which are somewhat sinister, so I have already let Han Zhang go. He is a native of Shu staying by my side at this time, it is too dangerous Now, if he thinks that killing me is worth the lives of his family, I will be miserable. In order to protect me, Xiao Shunzi tried his best to find a good candidate in the prison of the Southern Chu Army. The man was Chen Zhen, a secret spy killer of the Shu Army. After the city was broken, he was captured because he was found Assassinated our generals many times, he should have been executed, and this person has a cruel personality and a cold nature. He is a person who doesn't care about anything but himself. If he hadn't broken the city too quickly this time, he would have escaped a long time ago.But Xiao Shunzi just liked his cool nature and easy to control, so he asked me to let Zhao Jue save him, but Zhao Jue felt that he didn't give me anything in return, so he agreed, and Xiao Shunzi used secret techniques to do it to him Hands and feet, I was still worried, so I asked Xiao Shunzi to give him a chronic poison I had prepared. Of course, I only told him that the antidote was with Xiao Shunzi. In this way, I had a reliable bodyguard. According to Xiao Shunzi, this person will not sacrifice his life to kill me, he cherishes his life so that he will not betray him, he is the best bodyguard. After sitting down, Zhao Jue said worriedly: "We are about to capture Chengdu, and without the buffer of the Shu Kingdom, how should we deal with Dayong? The lord has sent a secret decree, telling us not to offend Dayong." I already had a draft on this point, and said: "I think, the main conflict will be in Chengdu. Whoever can capture the king of Shu will be the biggest beneficiary. We don't want to compete with Dayong on this point, even if we do Yes, the lower officials have an idea to keep the King of Shu from falling into the hands of Dayong, that's enough. In addition, I heard that the reason why the King of Shu is far away from talents and pro-villains is because he loves the concubine Mrs. Jinlian and his wife. Eunuch Zhang Quan, I heard that Mrs. Jinlian is extremely beautiful. We will give up all the courtiers and concubines of the Shu Kingdom to Dayong. If King Yong sends them to Yongdu as captives, then Mrs. Jinlian's beauty will definitely win Emperor Yong's favor , when the time comes, we will plant a fire in Dayong's harem. It would be a pity if King Yong killed them, but Emperor Yong must be angry when he finds out. Old people love beauty, especially Emperor Yong. We are not very wise monarchs, no matter success or failure, we have alienated Emperor Yong and his son. Of course, we also have something to gain. After entering the city, please send Mr. Rong to the Ministry of Households first to collect classics and household registers. This is what we will govern in the future. The key to Xichuan, gold, silver and jewels, of course, must be snatched. One is to cover up the importance of the documents we seized, and the other is to reward the three armies and bribe the king. As for the other things, we don’t care about them. Let Dayong handle it." Zhao Jue nodded after hearing this and said: "Master Jiang mentioned the separation between Emperor Yong and his son, I wonder if you can say more." I thought, I'm going to leave Southern Chu anyway, so don't hide it, so I said: "King Yong and Prince Li An of Dayong are competing for the crown prince. The whole world knows that Dayong established the country by force, and Li An must be in an embarrassing situation. This time King Yong made such a great achievement in defeating Shu, Li An must be gnashing his teeth with hatred, we sent spies to Dayong to spread rumors, saying that King Yong wants to stand on his own in Dongchuan..." At this point, Zhao Jue already understood, deeply Glancing at me, full of fear, he admired deeply: "Master Jiang's good plan can keep Nanchu safe for several years. I don't know what your needs are, Zhao Jue will definitely help with all my strength." I thought to myself, this is a wish to be appointed as an official, and said lightly: "The lower official is tired this time, and has contracted the root cause of the disease. I hope to resign and return to my hometown after I go back. If I can get the permission of the prince, I will be grateful to the lord." Zhao Jue frowned and thought to himself, Jiang Zhe is a man with deep scheming, it would be a good thing if he doesn't seek power, but if he leaves, if he goes to another country, then Southern Chu will be in danger.So Zhao Jue resolutely said: "Master Jiang's words are wrong. You are very talented. Zhao Jue is relying on it. How can you go into seclusion? If Mr. Jiang doesn't like busy government affairs, this king should report to the Lord of the Ming Dynasty and let Mr. Jiang stay in Hanlin. Thanks to the hospital's kindness, you don't have to deal with official business if you have nothing to do." What, I was dumbfounded, how did things backfire.When I told Xiao Shunzi aggrieved that night, Xiao Shunzi patted his forehead and said, "My lord, you still don't understand the thoughts of those royal people. If they are willing to let go of someone like you, they won't be afraid of you." Why don't you go to Dayong and Northern Han? Who made you show off so much? It seems that not only can you not resign from office, but you have to hide your strength and bide your time from now on. When you have the right opportunity, you simply abandon your official position and leave." I looked at Xiao Shunzi shyly, expressing my shame and admiration. On February 15th of the 20th year of Xiande, Southern Chu and Dayong joined forces in Chengdu, and the two armies surrounded Chengdu impenetrably. Prince De went to pay a visit to King Yong, Li Zhi. What a hero, he followed Zhao Jue.When I came to King Yong's camp and saw the tiger crouching and the dragon coiling murderous ambush in the camp, I admired it first.King Yong and Li Zhi greeted us at the gate of the camp.From a long distance, I saw him standing at the gate of the camp. He was dressed in princely attire, elegant and dignified. Although he was just standing there, I felt as if the aura of the entire camp was gathered on him.A hundred steps away from the camp, Prince De got off his horse and walked on foot, I naturally followed suit, getting closer and closer to the camp, King Yong greeted him with a smile, and at this moment I finally discovered something that horrified me , Yong Wang Li Zhi, I actually recognize him.