After the rain, the refreshed Zhao Dangshi walked through the verandah and walked slowly to a room. The interior furnishings are simple, only a desk, a collapse, plus a few futons, a chess board is placed on the desk, all the treasures of the study have been moved aside, only a tripod of incense burner stands on the side of the chessboard, curling smoke.

A middle-aged Confucian student heard the sound and got up to greet him, Zhao Dangshi took off his leather boots outside, only wore Luo socks to enter, and the two knelt on the futon across the desk opposite each other.

Zhao Dangshi said with a smile: "Mr. is really elegant, these days, it is rare to see a few expensive tables and chairs at home." ”

Gu Junen, who was on the other side, replied: "Mu Xiu is destroyed by the forest wind, the tables and chairs are high and straight, the view is abrupt and flamboyant, and the subordinates are tranquil by nature, and they are not used to it, but they love this simple and simple futon couch that is not amazing." I hope you will forgive me for the inconvenience caused to the lord. ”

"Follow the customs, follow the home. Mr. is extraordinary, with the style of an ancient hermit, Zhao is a layman, and he should come more to get involved in such a clean atmosphere. ”

While chatting and laughing, a little waiter brought tea, Zhao Dangshi held the teacup and warmed his hands and looked at the chessboard and said, "It seems that Mr. today is setting up a game." ”

Gu Junen smiled and said: "Sitting and talking about military politics is boring. If there is no adjustment, it is easy to get tired and distracted. It's better to play chess with his subordinates, and talk about it. ”

Zhao Dangshi smiled heartily: "Zhao is a good player in chess. In the square land of the chessboard, the fierce competition is not much better than the battle array, and there are similarities and differences. Reflecting from the same place and getting inspiration from different places is exactly what Zhao saw as a martial artist who led the battle to see the true meaning of chess. ”

"Those who can draw inferences from one another are extraordinary, and those who can see the subtleties are even more extraordinary. However, the lord can draw thoughts from the small chessboard and then push it to the world, which is really the only thing to see in the life of his subordinates. Gu Junen sighed.

Zhao Dangshi said with a smile: "Mr. has said it, the world does not care about the power, only on this chessboard, please pay more attention to Mr." ”

Gu Junen nodded slightly and said, "It's okay, the lord will invite you first." ”

At the moment, Zhao Dangshi was the first to move, and both of them were talented and quick people, and they moved five or six steps, but there was no loss. After two more steps, Zhao Dangshi's left hand went straight down to the hinterland of Gu Junen's chess formation, and immediately threatened the horse on his right. Gu Junen thought for a moment, jumped off the horse to dodge, and Zhao Dangshi wanted to chase again, but the horse was already hiding under the wings of the elephant.

"My lord is doing a good job." Gu Junen praised it.

Zhao Dangshi said: "This is a powerful character in the chessboard world, which can be described as a powerful character who travels thousands of miles in an instant, and I like it the most." Most of the time, it is not possible to make a final decision, but there is no problem in causing immediate changes wherever you go. ”

Gu Junen then said: "Yes, if it is used well, it is enough to revitalize the overall situation. But if it is not used well, it will give the enemy a flaw and leave early. ”

Zhao Dangshi heard that there was something in Gu Junen's words, so he said: "It turns out that Mr. has this way in his chess. As he spoke, he picked up his left hand and hung in the air, "So where should this guy go next?" ”

Gu Junen sat upright and said, "Go to Sichuan." ”

Zhao Dangshi smiled and said, "As I expected, Mr. also has this plan." ”

"Sichuan, the country of abundance, if it becomes a hegemon, it must be won. When the water is clear, there are no fish, and the mudier the water, the more beneficial it is for our army. To run Sichuan, it is not enough to rely on Qin, Deng, Zheng and others, and it is necessary to borrow some external forces. ”

Zhao Dangshi smiled, took the chess and nodded on the chessboard, but finally put it down: "It's not time to move it now." ”

"It's coming." Gu Junen said calmly, "What our army has to do is just wait and see what happens." ”

Zhao Dangshi was silent, looked at Gu Junen's horse and said, "I like to use cars, but Mr. likes to use horses." ”

"The lord doesn't like to use horses?"

"Horses are very strong, but they are also difficult to handle."

"What is difficult to control also needs to be controlled. Does the lord remember the policy proposed by his subordinates a few days ago? ”

Zhao Dangshi responded: "Mr. has a profound layout and is deafening, how can Zhao forget." He continued, "Huguang and Sichuan are the foundation of our army's hegemony. The so-called foundation, in terms of Huguang and our army, the four prefectures of Xiangyang Mansion, De'an Mansion, Chengtian Mansion and Jingzhou Mansion are sufficient. In addition to these four prefectures, it is also necessary to protect each other with barriers to guard the north and east directions of our army, otherwise the foundation will be unstable, and it will be difficult to devote oneself to Sichuan. The barrier is Yunyang Mansion, Nanyang Mansion, Runing Mansion, Huangzhou Mansion and Wuchang Mansion, of which Huangzhou and Wuchang Mansion are close to each other and can be seen as one. ”

Gu Junen nodded and said: "Xiangyang Mansion is already in hand, De'an Mansion is also in the middle of the house, Chengtian Mansion and Jingzhou Mansion are empty, they are at your fingertips, and the foundation of our army is not to worry." At present, the focus is on the real barrier. ”

Zhao Dangshi thought for a moment and said: "There is Xu Hui in Yunyang Mansion and Guo Ruke in Nanyang Mansion, there is nothing wrong with these two mansions, but Mr. is referring to Runing Mansion, Huangzhou Mansion and Wuchang Mansion?" ”

"Exactly, Runing Mansion needs people to sit in charge, and Huang and Wu also need people to sit in charge. These two candidates are indispensable. ”

"What the gentleman said is reasonable, the horse mentioned by Shi Cai is one of these two candidates?"

Gu Junen listened to him ask, stretched out his finger and pointed at the horse, and the elephant not far from the horse.

"Oh? Is there a difference between these two candidates? ”

"Yes, I said earlier that horses are powerful but difficult to control. This elephant is simple and easy to use, but it can't fly to the Chu River and Han realm, so it can only protect itself. Gu Junen continued, "This horse and an elephant, you don't need to say it to your subordinates, and the lord also knows who it refers to. ”

Zhao Dangshi looked at the chessboard and said thoughtfully: "The horse is placed in Runing Mansion, and the Huangzhou Mansion and Wuchang Mansion are placed in the elephant." ”

Gu Junen smiled and said, "The lord is wise." ”

Zhao Dangshi hesitated a little and said: "If Mr. and I can't go wrong with the prediction, he will be the candidate for the elephant." But there is Song Yihe in Wuchang Mansion, can he beat Song Yihe? ”

Gu Junen smiled and said: "Song Yihe has no Yongwei battalion, but he just chooses a soldier and horse in the money, and he is definitely not his opponent." He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Besides, Song Yihe is a liuguan and does not have such great ambitions, so the lord can rest assured." ”

"That Runing Mansion ......"

"If the horse wants to enter Runing Mansion, those bandits will definitely not be able to stop it, and what the lord wants to worry about is mainly still in control."

"Harness the ......" Zhao Dangshi groaned and picked up the right cannon that had been inserted into Gu Junen's chess array, took a horizontal step to the back of the Ling, and stroked his palm, "Come on, sir, this horse is now back into the mortar." ”

Gu Junen laughed and said, "It seems that my horse, the lord is decided." The main utility cannon is also good. ”

Zhao Dangshi said: "This cannon is used to it, can it not be easy?" ”

"Then the lord has to continue to use it. The big opening and closing, vertical and horizontal shutting is nothing more than a cannon, moving thousands of miles and pulling the world. Just like our army's newly cast Hongyi cannon, aiming at the artifact, aiming off or even exploding, it is very bad. Just like the scene where the subordinate horses give the lord's cannon to the lord, if you can avoid it, you can avoid it. ”

"Naturally." Zhao Dangshi touched his beard and said, "How is Mr. going to resolve it?" ”

Gu Junen frowned, but he didn't touch the horse, but reached forward and pushed his platoon across the river: "If the lord doesn't care about my pawn, the other cannon will be gone." ”

"Use the army to relieve the artillery and encircle Wei to save Zhao, Mr. is a good means." Zhao Dangshi said as he pulled his car to the back seat.

Gu Junen nodded at his pawn and said, "This pawn looks inconspicuous, often quiet and immovable, but it can be very useful to take the enemy's henchmen at critical times." The pawn ate the cannon and almost succeeded. ”

When the chess came here, Zhao Dangshi suddenly got up and sighed: "Horses, horses, elephants, cannons, and pawns, together they are a game of chess. ”

Gu Junen also stood up and said: "The lord also missed two chess pieces, if there is no lord as a handsome man in the center and Zhao Ying's soldiers to work hard for the officer, these five people, horses, elephants, cannons, and pawns will be useless." ”

Zhao Dangshi smiled brightly, laughed, and sat down again with Gu Junen: "Come, finish the chess." I'm going to see Mr. this time! ”

"It's better to be respectful than to obey!" Gu Junen bowed and replied with a gentle face.

A month later, in the heavy snowfall, Zuo Liangyu, who had just finished the New Year in Xinyang Prefecture, led his troops to Yuncheng.

Zhang Yingyuan, the deputy general of the Zuo Xie's battalion, braved the wind and snow through the camp and entered Zuo Liangyu's Chinese army tent. There were several charcoal fires burning in the tent, it was very warm, he rubbed his hands, walked to Zuo Liangyu who was roasting the fire and said: "Zuo Shuai, find out, Liu Guoneng is dead, and Zhou Fengwu surrendered to the thief." ”

Zuo Liangyu was slightly stunned, and immediately asked, "How did Liu Guoneng die?" ”

Zhang Yingyuan replied: "Not a month ago, the army attacked Ye County, Zhou Fengwu went out to fight in the field and was captured and betrayed. The thieves took the opportunity to storm the city, and the artillery bombarded the city, and the officers and soldiers could not resist it. Liu Guoneng was captured, the thieves surrendered, and he was killed unyieldingly, along with Zhang Wuyi, the magistrate of the county. ”

"Zhou Fengwu is a king and eight calves, he has been with me for a long time, and he can't even compare to Liu Guoneng in trouble, doesn't this make me angry?" Zuo Liangyu was angry, his red face became redder, and he spit into the charcoal fire with a mouthful of saliva, which immediately caused a sizzling sound.

Zhang Yingyuan hurriedly said: "Zhou Fengwu is a two-skinned face, and his subordinates are not used to seeing him on weekdays. Zuo Shuai can rest assured, as long as his subordinates still have a breath of air, he will not let the surname Zhou go unpunished! ”

Zuo Liangyu was sullen for a long time before suppressing his anger, and then asked, "Where are the others?" ”

"Most of them have arrived, and they are camping in the northeast of the city. Wang Yuncheng, Zhang Yiyuan, Ma Yingxiang, and Bai Xian will come to meet Zuo Shuai immediately, and Xu Guodong is withdrawing from the direction of Yexian, and he can also arrive in the evening. ”

"Knowing that Ye County was defeated, I didn't want to lose so badly. When such depressing news came, Lao Tzu went to see the princes again, wouldn't he be short as soon as he met? Zuo Liangyu shook his head and became angry again.

Ye County failed, and the Henan official army was afraid that the intrusive army would take advantage of the situation to infiltrate eastward, and gather in this Yuncheng County in advance. At present, the governor of Sichuan General Army, Yang Wenyue, the governor of Tunchengxi, Baoding and other places, Ding Qirui, the governor of Tuncheng, and Zuo Liangyu is northeast of Tuncheng.

Zhang Yingyuan added: "Fang Guoan will come to visit Zuo Shuai first later." ”

"Okay." Hearing this, Zuo Liangyu's face softened slightly.

Fang Guoan is a native of Xiaoshan County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Nanzhili, a young scoundrel who is not tolerated by the clansmen, and defected to Zuo Liangyu to join the army, and has repeatedly made meritorious contributions. When Zuo Liangyu entered Sichuan to chase Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, he was promoted, and he served more, and was promoted to the Sichuan General Army because of his merits, and he was also a member of the Zuo Family Army.

Zhang Yingyuan said at this time: "My subordinates sent gifts to Ding Gong and Yang Gong on the order of Zuo Shuai, and I heard from Ding Gong that the thieves may have the intention of attacking Kaifeng Mansion again in the near future." ”

"Hmph, look for death." Zuo Liangyu sneered, "Yuncheng is not restrained, Xuzhou is not pulled, Li Zicheng really has the courage to attack Kaifeng Mansion?" ”

Zhang Yingyuan shook his head and said: "I don't know, the thief is bold, who knows what outrageous moves he will do." ”

Zuo Liangyu's face was as tight as a railway: "The thief doesn't know the height of the sky, and he is trying to force me Xu Zhou, how can he tolerate him." The officers and soldiers of this conference, Wang Qiaonian, the governor of the three sides, will also come here, thinking that he is still on the way. According to what he wrote in his letter, He Renlong in Yansui Town and Zheng Jiadong in Guyuan Town were among the levies, and when the soldiers from all sides gathered, they had to let Li Chuang know that Lao Tzu was not easy to mess with! ”

Zhang Yingyuan listened to these bold words, and his emotions were also high, his face was solemn, and his fists were also clenched tightly.