Let's talk about the hustle and bustle first.

This guy is both civil and military, and he is very theoretical, and everyone has seen his previous performance.

In the summer of 25 AD, after he fled back to Tianshui from the beginning and proclaimed himself the general of Xizhou, he began a turning point in his life: to participate in the competition for the first brother in the world.

The basic idea of his short- and medium-term development is: to gather people's hearts inside, to make friends with Liu Xiu externally, and to wait for the opportunity to become the emperor.

Following this line of thinking, he was smooth sailing for a while.

Lao Kui was born as a literati, and whether he worked in Wang Mang's central organs in his early years, later raised an army with his uncle to fight against Wang Mang, or defected to the beginning, he was known for his respect for knowledge and talents. Now, to open up his own career, he has consciously strengthened the work of recruiting talents and uniting people's hearts.

After the end of the game, many social elites, experts and scholars in the Sanfu area came to him, and he warmly welcomed and treated them with humility, and established a very simple and close relationship with them.

(Humility and humility, leaning over to lead the cloth cloth.) ）

In addition to practicing what he preached, cherishing and cherishing talents, he also did everything possible to do a good job of winning the hearts of the people and engaged in the appointment of cadres from all corners of the world. Soon, a large number of experts, talents and heroes from all walks of life gathered around him.

For example, he appointed Pinghe Dayin and Chang'an Gu Gong as the master of Wang Mang's period, Fan Kuan of Pingling as his mentor, Zhao Bing, Su Heng and Zheng Xing as sacrificial wine, Shen Tugang and Du Lin as book-bearers and servants of the imperial history, his own disciples Wang Zun, Zhou Zong and Changling Wang Yuan as generals, and Maoling (now northeast of Xingping, Shaanxi) as Suide generals.

It should be said that these people gathered around Lao Kui come from all over the world, and many of them are real talents and even top talents. Like Ma Yuan, Zheng Xing, Du Lin, and Shen Tugang, who later defected to Liu Xiu, they were also well-known senior leading cadres, who achieved the ultimate in their own fields of work and left their names in history.

It should be said that Lao Kui still has a certain combat effectiveness with such a leading group.

In this way, Lao Kui quickly became an independent political force, and his popularity and prestige soared rapidly.

(This name shook Kansai and was heard in Shandong.) ）

Earlier, for Liu Xiu, Kui Huan admired him, hoping to follow Liu Xiu.

When he had an incident with his family, he was under the banner of restoring the Han family. Shortly after defecting to the change, he participated in the attempted coup d'état, the purpose of which was to kidnap Liu Xuan and return to Liu Xiu.

After escaping back to Tianshui and developing independently, he also gave full support to Liu Xiu's use of troops in the west.

In 26 AD, Deng Yu's subordinate Feng Yu rebelled during his expedition to the west, and it was with the help of Lao Kui that it was settled.

At that time, Feng Yu fled to Tianshui, hoping to develop in the west with the help of Lao Kui.

Lao Kui gave Feng Pi a head-on blow and beat him to the ground in Gaoping (present-day Guyuan, Ningxia).

(Arrogant counterattack, broken in Gaoping, all the baggage.) ）

This created conditions for Liu Xiu to arrest General Feng Pi next.

In this regard, Deng Yu was very satisfied and grateful, and immediately sent a special envoy to appoint Lao Kui as the "General of Xizhou" in accordance with Liu Xiu's authorization, responsible for taking charge of military and political affairs in Liangzhou and Shuofang.

Soon, the Red Mei army rushed west after the scourge of Chang'an, and also planned to develop in the Longxi area, Lao Kui sent his own general Yang Guang to intercept and defeat the Red Mei.

The red eyebrows turned back and returned to the east, and got into Liu Xiu's iron bucket array, which had a lot to do with Lao Kui's interception and fight in the west of Chang'an.

In 29 A.D., Feng Yi, the general of the expedition to the west, attacked the forces of Gongsun Shu who invaded the Sanfu region in accordance with Liu Xiu's strategic deployment.

This period of time is the honeymoon period of the relationship between Lao Kui and Liu Xiu, and it is also the period of rapid growth of his power.

In this way, Lao Kui made meritorious contributions to Liu Xiu's new empire, and accepted Liu Xiu's personnel appointment, which can be regarded as the imperial court official of this new empire. As a result, many of his subordinates and confidants persuaded him to hurry up and send people to Luoyang, the capital, to meet Liu Xiu and have a close relationship.

Lao Kui felt that it made sense, and he also wanted to get close to Liu Xiu and strengthen the relationship.

From about 27 A.D., Lao Kui began to exchange letters with Liu Xiu.

And Liu Xiu also reciprocated to Lao Kui, replied in a timely manner, and was very polite.

However, all this is a superficial phenomenon, and behind it there are more interests of the parties concerned, political calculations and contests.

For example, Lao Kui is scheming, and he just regards Liu Xiutao as a means to win people's hearts, which makes his political honeymoon with Liu Xiu cloudy.

At the same time, Liu Xiucheng's government was very deep, and he had a deep understanding of Lao Kui's political ambitions, so he first played Tai Chi against Lao Kui.

Now, Liu Xiu doesn't want to use a long fist on Lao Kui and directly flatten him.

Because, at this time, he has not completely settled the war in the east, and the area around Youzhou in the north is not peaceful, so he really can't spare his hands; Gongsun Shu has already called the king and emperor in Chengdu, he will definitely fight Chengdu, and he doesn't want to attack too much at present, besides, he has to help Lao Kui when he uses troops in Shudi; In the end, if Lao Kui doesn't come around nonsense and doesn't toss around, why do you have to flatten him?

Therefore, Liu Xiu dealt with Lao Kui and decided to use political and diplomatic means first, and then use force to a certain extent.

Specifically, Liu Xiu has two plans for Lao Kui: based on La, try to make him surrender at a small cost; Focus on fighting, prevent him from rebelling, and don't let him sit big, or even call him a brother.

One day, Liu Xiu had a heart-to-heart conversation with Lai She, considering that Kui Huan's power was growing day by day and Gongsun Shu was proclaimed emperor in Chengdu, and wanted to hear the cousin's high opinion.

Speaking to Laixi, Liu Xiu can completely communicate with each other.

He said:

"Now the hustle and bustle of Xizhou has not really been attached, and Gongsun Shu is the emperor in Shu, where the land of Longshu is far away from the mountains of the Central Plains, and the main energy of our generals is in the east, I have been thinking about ways to conquer Xizhou, what should I do?"

Lai She is a cheerful person, and immediately asked for a trip to Xizhou.

He replied:

"In the early years in Chang'an, the minister and Kui Huan had old friends. When this person first started the incident, he called for the restoration of the Han family, and now His Majesty's merits are immeasurable, and his prestige is in the sky, and the ministers are willing to send envoys to him to announce to him the letter of the imperial court. He will surely be bound to him. Then, it is not a matter of concern for Gongsun Shu to bring about his own destruction. ”

Liu Xiu felt that what Lao said was very reasonable.

(Emperor Ran.) ）

In 27 A.D., Lai She's first envoy to Xizhou went to find Kui Huan.

(Three years after the establishment of the military, the beginning of the hustle and bustle.) ）

This time, the history of how Lai Shu flickered is unknown, and we only know that it is very effective.

Due to the flickering of the old man and the persuasion of the people around him, Kui Huan wrote to Luoyang, praised Liu Xiu's merits, and officially expressed his courtesy to Liu Xiu.

(Three years, the hustle and bustle is on the book.) ）

Of course, Liu Xiu also sincerely wanted to envelop Lao Kui at this time, and replied to Lao Kui in a timely manner, the tone was extremely polite, the title was extremely cordial, and the etiquette and format of the letter were almost equivalent to treating a brother of an empire close to his own strength, which can be said to express his condolences and comfort to Lao Kui to the fullest.

(Repay the special gift, speak the word, and use the etiquette of the enemy country, so the comfort is good.) ）

The following year, after Lao Kui sent troops to assist Feng Yi in defeating Gongsun Shu's generals, he also sent people to Luoyang to make a special work report to Liu Xiu.

Liu Xiu was very satisfied and gave Lao Kui an enthusiastic handwritten reply.

This reply letter is actually a letter of thanks, Liu Xiu is quoted from the middle, commenting on the past and the present, the words are concise and fluent, the writing is unbridled, and it is a beautiful article. If you are interested, you can flip through the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty - The Biography of Kui Huan".

In order to save time, we would like to tell you that this letter has several meanings.

First, Liu Xiu said that he likes to make friends, especially friends who are virtuous and righteous.

Second, he spoke highly of Lao Kui's military assistance, saying that if it were not for Lao Kui's help, Deng Yu and Feng Yi's westward expedition would have been difficult to complete, and the Guanzhong area would have been occupied by Gongsun Shu long ago. Here, he used several allusions in a row, comparing Lao Kui to King Wen of Zhou and Bole, and comparing himself to "the lead knife of the horse" and "the flight of flies", saying that Lao Kui's behavior was simply "helping the people to save the danger".

Third, he explained his strategic intentions, that is, he himself was too busy, and if Gongsun Shu invaded the Hanzhong and Sanfu regions, he hoped to borrow Lao Kui's soldiers and horses to block them.

Fourth, he told Lao Kui euphemistically, now that my Han Dynasty is the time to employ people, as long as you work hard, it is also a good time for you to make contributions.

Fifth, he compared his relationship with Lao Kui to Guan Zhong and Uncle Bao, and said that if he needed to communicate in the future, he would contact him directly by handwritten letter.

We are iron buddies, and the relationship is so good that we are logistically connected!

It should be said that no matter how much Liu Xiu made preparations, at present, he really sincerely wanted to encircle and stabilize Lao Kui, so that he could become an important force in the empire to stabilize the west.

Since then, Liu Xiu has really treated Lao Kui with courtesy.

(The more graceful it is.) ）

At this time, due to his important position and increasing strength, Lao Kui gradually became the object of attraction by forces from all sides.

Soon, Gongsun Shu also launched an offensive against Lao Kui.

However, as a typical conspirator, Gongsun Shu's method of buying people's hearts is very distinctive, that is: pay equal attention to grace and power, and use heavy troops to suppress Lao Kui to accept the canonization and appointment he gives.

He sent troops to Hanzhong several times, sent special envoys, and brought cadre appointment documents and seals and other tokens to canonize Lao Kui, and the price was also very heavy: Dasikong and Fu'an Wang.

(Later, Gongsun Shushu sent troops to Hanzhong, and sent an envoy to support the king of An'an with a ribbon.) ）

Come and work together, buddy, I'll give you a high-ranking official, otherwise, beware that I'll be flattened at any time!

Lao Kui didn't eat this set at all, and soon made Gongsun Shu's methods a historical joke.

As his power grew, Lao Kui gradually felt his value and weight. He felt that he was equal to Gongsun Shu's strength, and he was on an equal footing, and it would be a shame for him to be a minister.

So, after Gongsun Shu harassed him repeatedly, Lao Kui was annoyed and grabbed his messenger and cut him down. That's not all, Lao Kui also sent troops to intercept the attack, so that Gongsun Shu's Shu soldiers no longer dared to go north easily.

(Therefore, the Shu soldiers did not go north.) ）

In order to promote a cadre, he used knives and fists, and even the staff members were hacked to death by the target to be promoted, and Gongsun Shu should feel his failure.

However, although Kui Huan accepted Liu Xiu's appointment on the surface and refused Gongsun Shu's reward, deep down, he did not intend to attach himself to anyone.

Liu Xiu called himself a brother and a brother, Gongsun Shu tried his best to promote himself, and the powerful factions in other places also showed goodwill, he saw his weight day by day, and felt that he could make his own piece of the world in this troubled world.

Originally, Liu Xiu called him King Wen of Zhou in his reply, which was just a kind of flattery, a kind of politeness, and it could also be understood as a kind of foolishness, but Lao Kui took it seriously.

He really regarded himself as the reincarnation of King Wen of Zhou, and packaged and displayed himself according to King Wen of Zhou's standards everywhere. At the same time, deep down, his ambition is surging like a tide.

He thought to himself: instead of letting others reward him, it is better to promote himself himself!

Then let's be king first.

So he consulted with his generals about becoming king.

(He was arrogant and self-pretending, and often thought that Siber was repeated, but he discussed with the generals to establish himself as king.) ）

However, his idea was dissuaded by his subordinates.

Especially Zheng Xing, who told a good reason, Lao Kui had no choice but to give up after hearing it.

Zheng Xing is a big Confucian, and he didn't want to play with Lao Kui, but Lao Kui took a lot of effort to invite him to help him, and he respected him very much.

Zheng Xing later served as Liu Xiu's senior senator (Taizhong doctor), and we will introduce him in detail later.

It is necessary to go it alone, but how to do it alone, he has to observe and observe the situation again, and re-investigate and inspect several experts around him.

Kui's desire to promote himself is so strong, seeing that it is not easy to be called the king, he thought of another idea, which fully shows that his ambition is as turbulent as Peng Pet, but the way of expression is a little more tactful and subtle.

Lao Peng couldn't be promoted, so he simply proclaimed himself King Yan and sent troops to attack the superior leaders; Lao Kui is more elegant, he sets up a large number of positions according to the rules of a kingdom, arranges his subordinates to serve, makes himself high above everyone, and looks very noble.

(He is not king.) After a wide placement position, to high self-esteem. ）

Zheng Xing's thinking is very orthodox, so he bluntly persuaded Lao Kui:

"These positions such as Zhonglang General and Taizhong Doctor you have set up are the specifications of the emperor, not what we should set up as ministers. These superficial bells and whistles are in name only, affect prestige, and even appear to be guilty. ”

It should be said that although Zheng Xing's words are ugly, they are very reasonable: Is it interesting to engage in these?

Lao Kui was very disgusted by these words, but after thinking about it, he had no choice but to give up and remove these positions again.

(The hustle and bustle stops.) ）

While trying to claim the king, Lao Kui also paid great attention to observing the surrounding situation and inspecting all parties. The key points he wanted to understand were Liu Xiu in Luoyang and Gongsun Shu in Chengdu, and the envoys sent were his Suide general Ma Yuan.

And Liu Xiu, who has a deep understanding of Lao Kui's thoughts, is also prepared for him, but when to use soft and when to be hard, you have to master the measure.

Now, please note that we are proud to introduce horse aid.

The reason why we focus on introducing this actor when the big play is in full swing is because he is so good, and his performance has profoundly affected the cast and crew, including the leading actor Liu Xiu, and profoundly affected the development of the plot.

Ma Yuan (14-49 BC), the word Wenyuan, is a native of Fufeng Maoling, and is a rare politician and military strategist in the history of our country.