"Cao Bin lost! In a field battle, he cleanly lost to a little-known general in Yangzhou! Gong Yunda looked at Hu Guang, the staff member in front of him, his face was full of tiredness and depression.

"The subordinates already know, and there is already a rumor outside." Hu Guang nodded.

"Word got out so quickly?" Gong Yunda was taken aback.

"Commander, canal!" Hu Guangdao: "We have always had business dealings with Yangzhou. ”

Gong Yunda sighed, "Tell me, what should we do now?" Cao Bin sent someone over, asking us to gather troops and horses, and attack Yangzhou again, he said, Yangzhou soldiers and horses are also suffering heavy losses, and if we send troops now, we will definitely be able to reap the effect of surprise soldiers. ”

"What does the marshal want to do?" Hu Guang asked.

"Dilemma!" Gong Yunda shook his head and said.

"Is the marshal worried about the young marshal?"

"That's just one of the reasons!" Gong Yunda said: "If we can win by sending troops, it doesn't matter, if we are afraid, we will break our wings again after sending troops, that is, we will lose our wife and lose our troops." Send troops, there is no certainty of victory, if you don't send troops, Your Royal Highness is afraid that you will be annoyed and angry. ”

Hu Guang said with a smile: "Jie Shuai, you don't have to worry too much about where the Third Highness is now, Cao Bin is just a fierce introvert, the initiative is actually in the hands of Jie Shuai, whether you want to send troops or not, you can make your own decisions without looking at people's faces." ”

"What do you mean by that?" Gong Yunda sat up straight.

"This time is also that time!" Hu Guang took two steps forward and said, "At the earliest, we were forced by the strength of the Third Highness and had to give in to him, so as not to suffer the disaster of Huainan by the army, but now, the situation is very different. ”

Gong Yunda nodded slightly.

"His Royal Highness is now trapped in Eyue and it is difficult to get out, he is too murderous in Ezhou, so that the Hubei soldiers are sad and sad, the lips are dead and the teeth are cold, the remnants of the Hubei soldiers are in chaos everywhere, bandits are everywhere, and there are several strong voices inside, and there is a tendency to become stronger and stronger." Hu Guang was a little gloating.

"There is information that these bandits are supported by people from the north." Gong Yunda said: "Without the silver money from the north, how can these bandits hold out until this time." ”

"Yes, the north is strongly supporting these bandits!" Hu Guangdao: "And in Yueyang, Qian Biao and Zheng Wenchang have already made it clear that the carriage and horses have thrown themselves into the north, plus Jingnan Jiezhen, along the line of the Yangtze River, the power in the north has become bigger and bigger, and the three highnesses can't extinguish the rebellion in Eyue, and they can't take the Dongting Lake basin in Yueyang, and now they are in a dilemma, at this time, the position of our Huainan is becoming more and more important." ”

"That's right!" Listening to Hu Guang's analysis, Gong Yunda's face finally relaxed.

"So, you can ignore Cao Bin's threat, you just don't send a single soldier, what can he do?" Hu Guang sneered: "Now, they still rely on our Huainan to export money and grain to Eyue." I was in a hurry, and I didn't even give them this. ”

"If he really annoys His Royal Highness, what if he returns to the army to deal with us Huainan?"

"Does Your Highness dare?" Hu Guang said with a smile: "If he dares to return to the army, I am afraid that Yueyang's Qian Biao will recover Eyue in a big way, once Qian Biao is allowed to sit in Yueyang, Eyue will really not belong to him, at this time, will His Royal Highness dare?" He will only win over the handsome. Otherwise, if the marshal turns against him, he will be unlucky. ”

"A turnaround?" Gong Yunda was taken aback.

Hu Guang smiled slightly and said, "Jieshuai, now we can call ourselves strange goods." Although we have been sending money and food to His Royal Highness, we have no inextricable hatred with Yangzhou. ”

"How do you say that?" Gong Yunda said dissatisfiedly: "My sailor was destroyed once, and my eldest son is still in their hands. ”

"Compared with the whole of Huainan, the weight of the sailor is not too heavy." Hu Guangdao: "Now on the water, Yangzhou has an absolute advantage, but they have never come to the direction of Chuzhou, and since the end of that battle, our business with Yangzhou has not been affected much. What does this mean, it shows that Yangzhou also wants to have a good relationship with the marshal, and they also want to win over the marshal! ”

Gong Yunda stroked his beard for a long time before he said, "Then what do you think we should do now?" ”

"We are now sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai and watching the wind and clouds rise." Hu Guangdao: "If the Third Highness can quickly take Yueyang, pacify Eyue, and then join forces with Dai Chao's army, and take Eyue and Jingnan into his arms, then the section commander will have little choice but to completely fall to the Great Liang, otherwise, Huainan will inevitably suffer." But if they can't do that, the marshal can rest easy. ”

"What if they fail?" Gong Yunda took a deep breath.

"Marshal, if they fail, then why can't we pour another handful of salt on their wounds?" Hu Guang's face turned pale, "Completely fall to Yangzhou!" We, only on the side of the winners, only do what is better for ourselves. ”

Gong Yunda pondered for a moment and nodded: "You are reasonable, but since you haven't turned your face yet, how can you reply to Cao Bin?" ”

"Just tell him that now that the autumn harvest is imminent, Huainan must make every effort to ensure the autumn harvest, and it is impossible to recruit government soldiers to participate in the war, and the strength of the standing armor is insufficient, and there is not enough money and food to support this war, so it can only be left after the autumn harvest." Hu Guang said lightly.

"That's a good excuse!" Gong Yunda smiled, "But Your Highness, they have also done a lot of tricks in my Huainan, and some people have completely fallen to them, and they actually support us to immediately organize an army to attack Yangzhou." ”

"Such people who eat inside and outside, why should the festival commander be polite to them?" Hu Guangdao: "If they want to go, the festival commander will let them go, but there is no money and food, and there are no reinforcements, do they dare to go?" ”

"If I don't send troops, they will shout a few times at most. It's just annoying. ”

"Some people like this, don't think about the overall situation of the handsome, and want to hug their thighs, hey, you must know that this thigh is not necessarily secure. Why don't you kill chickens and monkeys, and clean up the fiercest ones? ”

"Always thinking of the old days!"

"When they are doing these things, they have long been unable to read the feelings of the marshal." Hu Guangdao: "Jieshuai, no matter what happens in the future, but Huai'an must hold the group tightly, you can have enough bargaining chips, if you are easily co-opted and bought, what will Jieshuai take to bargain with others in the future!" When it's time to kill the killer, kill the killer. ”

"I see what you mean!" Gong Yunda said. "I'll think about it first."

The two were thinking about themselves, but there was a noise outside the gate, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps, Gong Yunda was angry in his heart, and when he raised his head and was about to attack, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in his field of vision. He stood up, almost in disbelief of his eyes.

"Father, I'm back!" The man got down on one knee and shouted with his head up.

Gong Yunda rubbed his eyes vigorously, and when he looked at it again, who was the person in front of him, who was not his son? Since the defeat of the Yangzhou Water War, Gong Bin has been captured by Yangzhou for more than half a year.

"Bin'er!" He hurriedly walked to him, pulled Gong Bin up, and looked up and down: "You, are you back?" How did you get back? You okay? They didn't embarrass you, did they? ”

"Father, it's a son, the son is very good, they put me back, in Yangzhou, they didn't embarrass me, but gained some weight!" Gong Bin's eyes were moist, and he said continuously.

"It's good to be back, it's good to be back!" Gong Yunda nodded repeatedly.

"Congratulations on the safe return of the young marshal." Hu Guang on the side stepped forward, first congratulated him, and then said; "Did the young marshal come back alone?"

In a word, Gong Yunda's father and son were pulled back from the joy of reunion.

"No, it was Yangzhou Qin Xinming who sent me back." Gong Bin said.

"Did you come back quietly, or did you come back with great fanfare?" Hu Guang asked.

Gong Bin shook his eyes and said: "It's not a big fanfare, but it hasn't avoided people's eyes, and many people have seen me when I got off the boat from the dock here." ”

Hu Guang sighed: "Jie Shuai, Yangzhou, how vicious the intentions are. ”

"Mr. Hu, what do you mean by this?" Gong Bin asked.

Hu Guang shook his head: "Yangzhou chose to publicly release the young marshal at this time, what will Cao Bin think?" What will the Third Highness think? ”

Gong Yunda gasped: "They will think that I have colluded with the Yangzhou side. ”

"Exactly, otherwise, how could they release the young marshal back without saying anything, they are forcing the marshal to make a choice!" Hu Guangdao.

Gong Yunda walked around the house a few times, "How about killing that Qin Xinming?" This person has a very high status in Yangzhou, and killing him can also reassure His Royal Highness. ”

"But in this way, we and Yangzhou will be completely inseparable." Hu Guang shook his head and said, "Jie Shuai, are you ready to start a war with them?" ”

"Then you say, what now?"

"First, we need to immediately send someone to explain to His Royal Highness, Cao Bin and others, whether they believe it or not, our posture still has to be put on display, and second, prepare a batch of money and food to send to Cao Bin to show that we still support them. In this way, even if they are suspicious, they will not make any excessive actions for a while. ”

"Hmm!"

"Secondly, Jie Shuai, it's time for Huainan to clean up, after having such a thing, I'm afraid that His Royal Highness will increase their efforts to win over some people who are not strong-willed within us, especially in the army, and they must be purged."

"It makes sense, and those who should be killed should not live anymore." Gong Yunda's eyes were murderous.

"Finally, since Qin Xinming is here, he naturally wants to talk to you, why don't you meet him?" Hu Guangdao: "Since you want to bet on both ends, you might as well listen to what he has to say!" ”