Xun Guanniang asked Bian Yan what he was thinking, and Bian Wangzhi said: "Xi Daohuizhi is a person, he has always been humble and cautious, although he is good at drinking, even if he is drunk, he never lies. Today, he escaped from the banquet with wine, but he 'hated not being able to join the curtain of Pei and Zu'...... Is it because his heart has been moved? ”

Xun Guanniang said that since this is the case, why did he run away?

Bian Yan replied with some uncertainty: "I think there are many people at the banquet, and it is inconvenient to say it clearly...... "If it were all our old men, forget it, there are several women here, Xi Jian has any ideas, he will definitely not say it in front of women-" And what Madame said today may not be more aggressive. ”

Xun Guanniang said in her heart, it's my fault for daring to be affectionate...... If it is really a man, whether to stay or not, he should express his position bluntly, why is he still pretending to be drunk and running away, which is even more grinding than a woman! Sure enough, only my husband is the highest in this world, and nothing else is enough!

was depressed, so I heard Bian Yan say: "The hour is not late, the night is not deep, you should go to find out his true intentions, and please wait a while." ”

So Bian Yan said goodbye to Xun Guanniang, first sent his wife and children back to his residence, and then drove alone to visit Xi Jian, which means: Aren't you very good at drinking, why are you drunk so quickly today? Is there anything wrong with your health, let me see, do you want to invite a doctor to come......

Xi Jian really opened the door to welcome Bian Yan, and as soon as the two sides sat down, he asked: "Bian Jun has a word, but Keming told me, why did you lie to Mrs. Pei?" ”

Bian Yan said with a smile: "Pei Yuanjun is very important to Bian Gong, whenever he wants to solicit, Mrs. Pei has also heard of it. I wanted to ask Bian Gong what he was thinking during today's banquet, because when I talked to Mrs. Pei, he was a helper. The noble family is a woman, and what she said may be inappropriate, which offends Bian Gong, and she apologizes for her here. Then he arched his hands and bowed deeply.

Xi Jian hurriedly raised his hands and picked up Bian Yan: "Why should you be like this, and ...... Mrs. Pei's words are not unreasonable, but they ......" said in a low voice-"I really can't bear to betray General Liu, this loyal heart is difficult for a woman to understand, Bian Jun should know me." ”

Bian Yanxin said that after making trouble for a long time, you still refused to stay, so he immediately persuaded him: "For the sake of Xi Gong, it is really dangerous to be disgusted, and you can't live for a long time, how can you stay in Huaiyin, you can get security in private, and you can also do a big career in the public - Pei Zhijun's talent and ambition are not ordinary, and Xi Gong is unknown, and he ...... to be ."

Xi Jian shook his head and interrupted him: "I have made up my mind, Jun Bian doesn't need to persuade him anymore, and ......" smiled slightly-"Jun's words are not as far away as Mrs. Pei." Then he grabbed Bian Yan's hand and said, "If you are tired of something, I hope Xu Fang will help; If I am lucky enough to survive, I will be the Duke of Pei and work with Bian Jun. Now I still entrust my wife and children to Pei Gong and Bian Jun, if I can make Ximen endless, I will die, and I should also thank the two kindnesses underground. Xi Mai is the widow of his brother, and his sister left Zhou Yi, although the two sons are young, they are still willing to study diligently, and they are entrusted with it today, and they do not resign. ”

Xi Jian's meaning is very clear, I was ordered by Liu Yan to go south, but I stayed halfway and didn't go back. I'm going to be tired of going back again! But considering that place is really dangerous, I can't let my wife and children, as well as my nephews and nephews take risks with me, so they will all stay in Xuzhou, and please take care of you and Pei Yuanjun.

Now that it has been said that it is not easy for Bian Yan to persuade him - fortunately, the original goal has been achieved, at least he did not let you take all his wife and children away. Whether it is Xuzhou or Yuzhou, the current strategic goal is the Central Plains and Guanxi, Hebei's Shile had to be put first, there is Shile, tired of the danger, the fall is only a matter of time, if Xi Jian is killed, the fate should be so, can not be imagined; But in case you are still alive, your wife, children, nephews and nephews are all in Xuzhou, so you are not afraid that you will not come.

immediately patted his chest, took on it, and was about to say goodbye, but Xi Jian still pulled his hand and refused to let go. Bian Yan cast his puzzled gaze on Xi Jian, and saw that Xi Daohui's face was sinking like water, and asked: "As Bian Jun said during the banquet, Duke Pei and Zugong have all entered Henan and broken Liu Yi; Liu Cang personally commanded the army to cross to the south, maybe in the next two days, there will be a decisive battle - what are the chances of winning? ”

Bian Yan smiled and replied: "I don't understand military affairs, and Gong Xi can't help but ask questions blindly." However, in the previous battle of the gutter, my 2,000 soldiers in Xuzhou encountered no less than 50,000 thieves under Liu Yi's department, and fought fiercely all day without saying defeat. From this point of view, Pei envoy Jun Changyun and my Xuzhou soldiers are elite, right and wrong, and there are Zu Shizhi and Tao Shixing, then they will fight a decisive battle with Hu, and the victory can be expected - maybe the victory is already on the way, but it has not yet arrived in Huaiyin. ”

Xi Jian groaned: "I went south from Hebei, first Dongguan after entering Xu, then Langya, East China Sea, and saw the dilapidated state, which is no different from the Central Plains; Until Xiapi, there was a slight cheer up. However, when you enter Linhuai and Guangling, you can see that the fields have been cultivated, and you will not be able to distinguish one or two - that is, it will be covered by heavy snow, and whether you are familiar with the land, you can also distinguish one or two. It seems like this, where did the soldiers come from, and where did they get enough food? ”

Bian Yan patted Xi Jian's hand and replied: "Xu Fanghu, this is incomparable with Qingzhou, let alone Si and Ji?" However, the reason why he was able to get the soldiers and enough food was because Pei Zhijun summoned the displaced people to reclaim the fertile soil west of Hangou - if the Duke of Xi was not in a hurry to go south, I could lead the Duke to watch it tomorrow - although some households were divided into land, most of them were in the east of the county. That is, regardless of the whole Xu, then Linhuai, Guangling two counties, if the household is prosperous, just like the former division, Ji, Pei Zhijun will be able to raise an army of 100,000, not only 20,000. ”

"I see," Xi Jian nodded, "I don't know if it's Juntun or Mintun?" ”

"The military and the people are ......", so Bian Yan roughly introduced the situation of Tuntian in Xuzhou to Xi Jian. Xi Jian said with a smile: "It's like Wei Wu in Yanzhou...... I hope that the heavens will bless that this battle of Henan can win a big victory, and the siege of Chang'an may be solved, and the thieves will retreat to Hedong and Hanoi, and within three or two years, they will no longer be troubled by the Central Plains. Then he frowned slightly: "Only the thief occupies Linzhang, and its momentum is becoming hotter, and it should not be underestimated—or the great enemy of my Jin in the future is not Hu Lu, but a thief!" ”

- He was also captured by Shi Le, and he had dealt with Shi Le, Zhang Bin and others, and knew that they were all extremely dangerous characters.

Bian Yan nodded and said, "Pei Yuanjun also tasted this." was supposed to go north and pacify the thieves first, but Chang'an warned the police, the Son of Heaven was in danger, as a courtier, how could he not go to the rescue? ”

Xi Jian leaned closer, lowered his voice and asked Bian Yan: "Jian has a word, I don't know if it should be ......" Bian Jian said that in the middle of the night, just the two of us are in the hall, so what else can't be said?

Xi Jian hesitated for a moment, but finally said: "The former Pei Gong often has letters with me, Yun Jiankang but seeks to divide the territory, and has no intention of going north to the Central Plains and restoring the old capital." I didn't believe it at first, but in the past few years, General Liu has also sent an envoy to Jiangdong, and I can tell what I have seen and heard, and I can see that Pei Gong's words are true. This year, he suddenly ordered the northern expedition of Xu and Henan, which should be a plan to drive the tiger and devour the wolf. If the second duke is defeated, Jiangdong will seek the two states; Even if the two dukes are victorious, I am afraid that they will be ordered to retreat from the army by other things, and if they do not obey, they will be betrayed, and the two states will also fall into the hands of Jiankang - you must not worry. ”

Bian Yan also lowered his voice and said, "This matter has long been calculated by the king. ”

"Oh, I don't know how to plan it, can you tell me?"

Bian Yan said: "The first person who talked about this matter, Pei Wenji also, Ranyun has nothing to worry about. When the Northern Expedition was made, if Jiangdong sent troops to attack Xu and Henan, the division would be nameless, and there would be scolding. The northerners first crossed, but a few years, the southerners all looked sideways, and they were already gloomy, if Jiankang was harmful to the country, I was afraid that the disaster would cause Xiao Wall, and Wang Maohong would not make this decision. And if the front is victorious, and the troops are ordered to retreat urgently, it can be 'the general is outside, and the king's order is not subject to prevarication'......"

Xi Jian was a little disapproving: "How can this be prevaricated? ”

Bian Yan smiled: "That is, there is no prevarication, Jiankang wants to rejuvenate the Northern Expedition, but who can send it?" Jiankang guards are only one or two thousand, and Wang Maohong and Yu Yuangui are scholars, and they are incompetent; If Wang Chuzhong sent troops, he would bear the brunt of Yuzhou, not as good as Xu Fang; Zhou Shitanan is also a native of Anken, and Anken seeks land in Jiangbei for them? In the past, Du Tao, Hu Kang and Xiang were in turmoil, and the ministers of Jiankang passed the buck to each other, and they had to send troops until they were half a year old, so they wanted to plot Xu and Yu, and how long should they be delayed? His army has not yet moved, and the second duke must have returned. ”

Xi Jian breathed a sigh of relief at this time: "That's good-in fact, the second prince doesn't have to rush back, it's better to go west quickly in order to seek the edict of the Son of Heaven, if he gets the encouragement of the Son of Heaven, Jiankang can't do anything." ”

Bian Yan nodded: "What Gong Xi said is true, I should be a secret letter to inform Pei Yuanjun." ”

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In fact, when Xi Jian and Bian Yan were discussing this matter, the Jiankang regime had already issued an order to withdraw the army, and it was not Wang Dao who contributed to it, but Yu Liang. Director Wang asked Yu Liang: "Today, the victory is not scored, and the soldiers of the two states are urgently ordered to return to the south, if they are unwilling, how to deal with it?" Yu Yuangui replied: "If he is defeated, there is no need to apply for an order, and he will naturally return to the state; If Peter were victorious and he was destined to return, he would not obey! Now I heard that the army is not running out of food, and the thieves have gathered the main force in Henan, I expect that when Zu and Pei Zheng are in a dilemma, they will withdraw from the army, and there is a reason for them to be unwilling? ”

Yu Liang was also a political ...... at that time Politician, but his biggest weakness is two: one is to act in a disciplined manner, often unwilling to carefully consider the consequences; The second is that they think too highly of themselves, and they feel that what they can't do, others will definitely not be able to do. Then the Northern Expedition army was only 40,000 - Pei Gai falsely reported the number of his own troops to Jiangdong - I heard that Liu Cang led 60,000 or 70,000 people to the south to change himself as the commander, do you dare to fight this battle? I don't dare!

Maybe Zu Ti is a little bolder than himself, dare to take risks, but don't forget that there is a Pei Gai on the side - Pei Wen is just a scholar, Beidu Xuzhou is specifically for Zu Ti to farm and do logistics, and he has led at most 5,000 people to destroy the Fifth Yi before, and he has only flaunted his might on the river once, but the fifth Yi can be compared with the fierce Hu Bing?

He pondered that Zu and Pei must be arguing endlessly on the issue of whether to fight or defend, and they were in a dilemma - advance, basically unable to win; Retreat, where is this face going?

Director Wang frowned and asked, "What if the two of them refuse to retreat?" ”

Yu Liang said what about - "You can apply for the crime of disobeying orders, send troops to fight, advance Yu and Xu, and build a healthy momentum with me." ”

"The soldiers of Jiangnan, it is still difficult to protect themselves, who can cross north to defeat them?"

"You can order your brother to take Yuzhou in Zhongbei; Zhou Shida calmed down the situation in Guangzhou, in order to Xu Fang," Yu Liang smiled, "The key is, don't Zu and Pei dare to disobey their orders if they don't worry about this?" ”

The two discussed for a long time, and in the end, Wang Dao couldn't resist Yu Liang - Wang Maohong's weakness was that he was not strong enough, especially the little brother Yu Yuangui - so he had to allow him to ask. Of course, they didn't take into account it, what if Zu Ti and Pei should go to ask the Son of Heaven for the edict, but when the Son of Heaven saw that it was held hostage by Suoqi, could the edict be so easy to get?

The main problem is that they have no confidence that the Northern Expeditionary Army can really win and calm Henan, so they instinctively ignore this matter......

But in fact, Jiankang's order has not yet arrived in Henan, Pei Gai and Zu Ti have joined forces together, and they have already taken the Yanshi, and then sacrificed and swept the tombs of the emperors on Shouyang Mountain, and the army went straight to Luoyang. When the order came, the two were patrolling and hanging in Luoyang City, Zu Ti was shocked when he heard the report, so he went back to the camp to ask what happened, but Pei Cai grabbed the horse's head, Pei Cai said You can't go - we have to discuss it first, and then we can return to the camp.

Because this matter can't be hidden, when the time comes, the soldiers will have to hear about it-mainly those dock castle owners in Yuzhou-people's minds are returned, how can you still drive it? The plan for today is to delay the time first, you stay in Henan, I will urgently lead the troops west to save Chang'an, please send the edict of the Son of Heaven, and you can crack Jiankang's scheme.

After the agreement, he returned to the camp and asked for a discharge order. Jiankang's excuse was: Wen Shile had conquered Linzhang, was about to meet Cao Wei, went south to attack Xu Fang, and then crossed the river to invade, in order to ensure Jiankang's survival, the Northern Expedition was suspended, and Qing and others could lead their troops to return in a hurry......

When Pei saw it, he couldn't help laughing, and said: "This rumor is spread in vain, I don't want the princes of Jiankang to be so cowardly, and they are actually covered by rumors...... In front of the generals, it is inconvenient to bring out those frustrating intrigues, so he has to say this-"I have sent someone to say that Cao Wei has been surrendered before, thinking that it is the envoy who belongs to Jiankang, and has not yet arrived in Jiankang'er." And the combined soldiers of Shi and Cao want to invade Xu Fang, and they are still thousands of miles away from the south of the Yangtze River, so what are the worries? ”

Immediately, he wrote a letter and signed it with Zu Li, asking the messenger to bring it back to Jiankang - this is to delay time. Immediately the two armies held their own meetings, and on the side of the Yuzhou army, Zu Ti said that the situation is very good now, how can he easily withdraw the troops? King Langya has been disturbed by rumors, let's just explain it to him clearly - there is no need to retreat first, I will stay in Henan for the time being, and wait for the future.

As for Xuzhou's side, Pei Gai's words were very clear: "This Jiankang princes are jealous of us and don't want to make us make meritorious contributions!" This is a trick to provoke the generals, and sure enough, when the generals heard this, they were all angry and clamored - only Tao Kan lowered his head and did not move. Pei Gai said: "For today's plan, only if we keep the king of the East China Sea first, so that we don't retreat first, we will rush to Chang'an, rescue the Son of Heaven, and ask the Son of Heaven to issue an edict, then we can build a healthy without worry." Looking left and right: "Who will ask for orders?" ”8)