The words were divided into two ends, and just when Zhang Cheng, Fang Qian and their entourage were preparing to rush to the capital, the prelude to the battle in the south had quietly begun.

On the bank of the Lancang River in Yunxi County, Cangzhou, outside the Cangzhou military camp.

On the edge of the Lancang River, at this moment, an old man and two young people are standing on the north side of the river. Among them, the old man is eight feet tall, already has silver hair, wears a laurel crown, and wears a brocade robe. Behind the old man stood the young general, dressed in silver armor, wearing a silver helmet, holding a spear, a handsome face, a pair of eyes exuding a compelling sharpness, and a high nose bridge, looking very heroic and majestic. And beside these two people, there stood a Confucian man wearing a simple green coat and a scarf on his head. I saw that the smooth and white face of this Confucian scholar was full of angular coldness; The dark and deep eyes reveal the light of wisdom; The stretched eyebrows and the high bridge of the nose all show the image of this person's wisdom.

The old man in brocade pointed to the tens of thousands of male soldiers on the other side of the Lancang River, and said to the Confucian scholars beside him: "Nephew Li Xian, see it." On the other side of the river, there is the 50,000 vanguard army of the Zhao army. The vanguard general is a fledgling young general, Sedum. But this general is a fledgling, but it has long been famous, in the early years it was a pawn under the command of Gongsun Kai, and later Gongsun Kaiqingzhou was defeated, Sedum was seriously injured, and his left arm was saved by Zhang Cheng; Later, he led Zhang Cheng to collect the remnants of the defeated generals, developed in the Taiyue Mountains, and gradually developed and expanded, and then the sparks burned the plains for thousands of miles, and gradually formed an army of nearly 20,000; In the Battle of Lingzhou, Sedum led the army to rush left and right into the right and left to enter, killing the 50,000 troops in Runzhou and returning from a great rout, Sedum collected and surrendered prisoners, and expanded the army to more than 30,000 in the past year. Now 20,000 new recruits have been recruited in Qingzhou to become the vanguard of the Zhao Army, which has been stationed on the other side of the Lancang River for more than several months, but there has been no move. ”

That's right, the Confucian scholar standing beside the old man in brocade at this moment is Li Weize's son, Li Muyuan. And the old man in brocade is Cai Tingkai, the assassin of Cangzhou.

"Ming Gong is high-minded. Looking at the deeds of Sedum, he has the style of a general, and his talent is not inferior to those generals of the Zhao army. Moreover, this person has been taught by Zhang Cheng, deceitful and wise, Zhao Jun ordered this person to be a pioneer, and he should indeed be cautious. Li Muyuan was silent for a moment, looked up at Cai Tingkai again and said: "Duke Ming, although my Wuzhou has formed an alliance with Cangzhou at the moment, with the strength of our two families, it is not enough to compete with the Zhao army. Therefore, from the bottom of the view, we must immediately unite Yanzhou and Runzhou. With the strength of our four states, we can gather at least 200,000 horses, so we can still resist the Zhao army. ”

The young general on the side stood up and said sharply: "In other words, a state will send 50,000 troops, so that everyone still has the power to protect themselves, and at the same time, they can unite to resist the Zhao army." It is indeed a good way, in this case, from the bottom of the view, Brother Li is resourceful, quick-witted, and extremely good at strategy, good at words, enough to persuade the other two states to unite and form an alliance. ”

"Brother Cai Hongyi praised. He was willing to send an envoy to Yanzhou first to persuade Zhai Qian. In this way, we can raise 150,000 soldiers and horses first, and with this heroic army, he Zhao Jun will not dare to make a mistake. Runzhou Gongsun Kai has been defeated by the Zhao army many times, and there must be many concerns about fighting with the Zhao army, and it will take time to persuade Runzhou Gongsun Kai to send troops. Li Muyuan looked at the northern camp and said to the young general.

Lancang River west from Lingzhou Kunlun Mountains, through Qingzhou, Yanzhou, Wuzhou, Chizhou, to the mouth of the East Sea, east and west stretching for tens of thousands of miles, through the state and county; This side of the water and soil nurtured half of the people of the Daqian Empire and gave birth to the brilliant civilization of the Lancang River.

Due to the topography, the water of the Lancang River pours for thousands of miles, and the turbulent river water hits the reef on the shore, and its sound is fierce and magnificent, as if the fierce soldiers are fighting, roaring, roaring; The river flows to Cangzhou, but the river is much soothed, and the river surface is flickering with dazzling "golden light", sometimes gathering, sometimes scattering. On both sides of the Lancang River, white tents are neatly arranged in black and oppression, dotted with the scene of depression on the riverbank in the middle of winter.

In the big tent of the vanguard army of the Zhao army, the vanguard general Sedum was standing by the map in the account at the moment, suddenly looking at the map carefully, and suddenly raising his head to make a contemplative shape, and the lintel was locked.

"Report!"

"Come in."

Duan Feibao, the commander of Sedum's personal guard battalion, entered the account, handed out the note in his hand, and reported: "General, General Wang Hu has sent a letter." ”

Sedum took the note, looked at it carefully, and burned it. He groaned: "Cai Tingkai's son Cai Hongyi is really a wise general, he knows that the Cangzhou army is not the enemy of our Zhao army, and he will transport all the grain, grass and ordnance away. Chen Binglan's confrontation with me is really a wise move. Just now Wang Hu wrote to say that he has 6,000 elite soldiers under his command, all of them elite; As long as we give the order, he can immediately lead his troops to help. However, it now seems that some preparations are still needed for the big war. ”

Duan Feibao stood behind Sedum and reported: "We have recruited 20,000 recruits in Qingzhou, but there are relatively few who are good at bows and crossbows, and with the archers in our hands, there are only 3,000 of them. The number of bows, arrows, ordnance, and boats is insufficient, and it really needs to be prepared for a long time. ”

Sedum nodded, and he said to Duan Feibao, "Yes." At present, the army is still resting in Qingzhou, and the new governor has not yet taken office, so he sent a letter to Wang Hu, asking him to wait for orders at any time. ”

"Yes! I'll go right away. Duan Feibao took the order.

Sedum looked north and whispered: "My lord, the last general will definitely live up to the king's order"

The words were divided into two ends, after Zhang Cheng and Fang Qian and others were handed over, they took a day off and set off for Xijing together. Fang Qian and Zhang Cheng and Yang Wenzhao rode in front, followed by Fang Ningyu and the maid in the carriage, followed by Zhang Cheng's personal guard battalion of 1,000 infantry, and the group headed towards Fuzhou.

Looking at the vast long team behind him dressed in black and carrying a standard horizontal sword in the army with a solemn expression, I saw that all the 1,000 men and horses did not squint, their steps were vigorous and steady, and their movements were neat and uniform, all of which revealed the elite atmosphere. In addition to Fang Qian's admiration, he had a new understanding of Zhang Cheng's ability to govern the army. He looked at Zhang Cheng, who was sitting next to him and chatting and laughing with Yang Wenzhao, and asked a little funny: "Master Zhang, you have a thousand elite divisions, and the safety of this road depends on you." Ha ha! ”

"I've got a few hundred taels of gold in my bag! In case I encounter a roadblock and robbery along the way, then I am not miserable. Hey! Zhang Cheng patted the burden on his back and said with a smile.

Master Zhang laughed. However, your trip to the capital is indeed full of dangers; However, you have a thousand elite divisions, mighty, as soon as you enter the capital, the goal is too big, it is bound to be noticed by others, once the person with a heart takes advantage of the problem to play, you will inevitably suffer from it. In my opinion, you might as well bring the elite among the dozens of elites, with small goals and quick movements, which will benefit you. Fang Qian thought for a moment and suggested.

Fang Qian's suggestion touched Zhang Cheng a lot. According to Fang Qian's meaning, on the contrary, like modern special forces, special forces have fewer personnel, are well-equipped, well-trained, have strong combat effectiveness, and have smaller targets, which are suitable for completing concealment, reconnaissance, assault, sabotage, and the completion of key strategic tasks in various wars.

Zhang Cheng laughed, and he said: "I am a dignified Jizhou assassin history, and the imperial court is a third-grade feudal official. If anyone dares to disagree with me, see that I do not step on him. ”

After thinking about it for a while, Fang Qian was also relieved. nodded lightly, agreeing with Zhang Cheng's words. looked at Zhou Wuliang lying on horseback again, Zhou Wuliang was stuffed with a cloth in his mouth at this moment, but he kept whimpering and screaming. He thought for a moment and asked, "You brought Zhou Wuliang with you, did you want to hand him over to the imperial court for disposal?" ”

Speaking of Zhou Wuliang, Zhang Cheng is much calmer now, and he said lightly: "Yes." ”

"Well, it's safest to do that." Fang Qian nodded and stopped talking.

It was night, night fell, everyone set up tents, raised torches, and Feng Jingyu took people to go on duty at night. Fang Qian's father and daughter sat around the bonfire, Fang Qian threw the dry wood in his hand into the bonfire, he clapped his hands, stood up, and stood with his hands in his hands. Fang Ningyu saw that her father seemed to have something on her mind, she walked up to her father and asked, "Father, what are you thinking?" I see that your lintel is locked, does it seem that there is something on your mind? ”

"Hey. Being a father is worrying about the lord. Fang Qian sighed for a while.

"But why?" Fang Ningyu asked.

"This will of the imperial court has made the father deeply worried. That's right, Zhang Cheng is indeed talented and has made outstanding contributions, and it is not an exaggeration to lead a state assassin. However, you also know that the lord handed over Jizhou to his father, and what he said when he left is still fresh in his father's memory. He said that Jizhou was his home, and he handed over Jizhou to his father, that is, he handed over his home to his father. Now, the imperial court handed over Jizhou to Zhang Cheng. ”

"Even if the eldest prince tries his best to promote, if the lord doesn't have other plans, he will definitely not agree." Fang Qian paused when he said this, and Fang Ningyu asked, "What are the plans of the lord?" ”

"It has been almost thirty years since I followed my father and followed my lord. Do the math, the lord is now eight out of fifty; Moreover, some of my father's friends in the capital have recently sent letters, and I know that the old illness of the lord in the past has become more and more serious, and I heard the news from the inner servant that the lord has been coughing up blood more than once in recent days. Worried about my father, I am afraid that my lord's days are numbered. Fang Qian was deeply worried.

After thinking about her father's words before and after, she suddenly had an epiphany and said urgently: "Father, are you saying that Zhang Cheng's appointment is the meaning of the lord?" According to what you said, the lord is planning for the aftermath? ”

"yes. Oh, yes! The second son has outstanding military achievements, and he can be said to be the first person to make monstrous contributions to the imperial court. However, after the second prince captured Lingzhou and other three states, most of the world had been returned to the imperial court. At the moment, it only takes a blow, and it is only a matter of time before the world is unified. But at this moment, the lord asked the eldest son, who had no talent to lead the army, to replace the second son, and wanted him to establish the last battle of the unification of the world. It can be seen that the lord has a mind. Fang Qian said.

Fang Ningyu thought of what her father wanted to say, thought for a moment, she looked at her father and said, "Father, in fact, who is the heir of the lord and the princess, these are none of our business." Father is always just dedicated to doing things for the court, even if the two sons fight endlessly for the throne, they can't do their father's business. ”

"Hey! Being a father is just worrying about the Lord. That's it, let's talk about it then, it's not early, you can rest early. Fang Qian said.

Fang Ningyu bowed slightly, and the other party said humbly: "Father, let's rest early!" ”

Looking at his daughter's back, he suddenly said to Fang Ningyu's back: "Yu'er, are you really happy with Zhang Cheng?" ”

Fang Ningyu was stunned, this was the first time his father had asked himself this matter so bluntly. She pursed her lips and thought for a long time before she said quietly: "My daughter Lingxian encountered danger and was bullied by thieves, but fortunately Zhang Cheng sacrificed his life to save her, so that her daughter was able to escape the clutches." But my daughter's innocence has long been destroyed, so where should I go? If she does not give up, her daughter is willing to be with her for the rest of her life and will not regret it for the rest of her life! ”

Hearing Fang Ningyu's weeping words, tears also appeared in his father's eyes, and he sighed: "Hey, go and rest." ”

Fang Ningyu bowed his head again and left silently.