Cai Yi's four sons competed for the position of the son, Cai Hui was the first to be excluded, and later accepted the advice of his wife Junzhi and retired to Jinmen as the capital. Jinmen is where the main hall of the Jun family is located, and Cai Hui can avoid the center of Fanyang's vortex and get the help of the Jun family's forces; Second, Jinmen is also close to Fanyang, and Fanyang has any troubles, so it will not miss the opportunity to rush back from Jinmen. Cai Hui has no great talent, but he can still listen to Junzhi's words, and his status in the Cai family has risen steadily over the years, and he also relies on Junzhi in his heart.

But after the Jun family and Jiang Ning secretly cooperated, others often used this to attack Cai Hui, making him feel uncomfortable.

The situation is like this, and it is not to blame that the pearl of the Jun family has another investment. Cai Hui's resentment in his heart has not disappeared, and he is helpless in the end, but Xu Ruyu came to Fan Yang at this time and tried his best to speculate.

Cai Hui glanced sideways at Cai Yuhua, and wanted to speak again.

Cai Yuhua is the descendant of his father, and the various factions in Fan Yang are vying for power, but they will not turn him into the vortex.

But it was he who came to Jinmen with his father's warrant, and he knew that Xu Ruyu would arrive in Jinmen by sea.

From afar, you can see the tall mast at the mouth of the Laishui River and the simple lookout post erected on the high embankment.

The patrol guard on the lookout found Cai Yuhua and his party, took out the horn, and whined.

Cai Hui waited for a while, but he didn't see any reaction on the other side of the embankment, and said angrily: "We rushed to the wilderness, but Xu Ruyu didn't even get off the boat, but I don't care, Mr. Cai is the messenger of his father, how can he behave like this?" "Take the reins and control the horse, and you have to turn back.

Cai Yuhua stretched out his hand to block it, and said: "The third prince is slow, in your heart, what is Xu Ruyu's intention to come to Fanyang this time?" ”

Cai Hui was stunned, he didn't ask Cai Yuhua for a long time, but let him ask first.

Jun Zhi asked rhetorically, "What does Mr. Cai think he is here for?" ”

Cai Yuhua sighed: "He wants to enter Fanyang City." ”

Cai Hui sneered and said, "Mr. Cai didn't say what Xu Ruyu came to Fanyang City for?" ”

"He just wants to enter Fanyang City, and his heart can't let go."

Cai Hui was stunned.

Cai Yuhua continued: "If you want to say that he has any specific purpose, it may be to see the prince, to see the old county king, or it may be to transport the remains of the Jinghe county lord to Jiangning. ”

"Oh?"

Cai Yuhua sighed and said, "Others want to stop him from entering Fanyang, but the third prince shouldn't stop him." ”

"Why?"

Cai Yuhua glanced at Jun Zhi and said, "With the relationship of the Jun family, the third prince can at least leave a back road for himself in Jiangning." ”

"Mr. Cai is also not optimistic about Fan Yang's situation?" Cai Hui asked.

Cai Yuhua smiled bitterly and said: "I am only a shallow learner, and I can't see through the overall situation, but Xu Ruyu came to Fan Yang at this time, which means that he is not optimistic about the situation in Fan Yang." ”

Cai Hui said indignantly: "Mr. Cai and Xu Ruyu have met in Shangnan and respect him so much? ”

Cai Yuhua sighed, didn't say anything, pointed to the tall mast in the distance, and said, "Is the third prince going with me, or am I going alone?" ”

Cai Hui looked at Jun Zhi's bleak expression, and said hatefully: "That's it, that's it, I've already rushed so many ways, it doesn't hurt to walk a few more steps." ”

Jun Zhuoyan saw the message from the lookout: Cai Yuhua and his party, who had stopped for a while, continued to move forward, and relaxed their hearts.

Fang Su knew in his heart: Cai Yuhua represented Cai Yi's thoughts, if Cai Yi didn't want Xu Ruyu to enter Fanyang, Xu Ruyu would really return to Jiangning here.

Zhao Jingyun picked up Cai Yuhua, Cai Hui, and Jun Zhi and his party on the battleship.

Jun Zhuoyan looked at Jun Zhi, he didn't see him for a dozen days, his face was clear and he lost a lot, and his heart hurt slightly.

Song Qian smiled crisply, grabbed Jun Zhi's arm and said, "Zhi'er, the sea breeze here is strong, let's go to the cabin to talk." ”

Jun Zhi called in a low voice: "Auntie." He saluted Xu Ruyu, but looked at Cai Hui. Cai Hui waved her hand impatiently, and she followed Song Qian into the cabin.

Xu Ruyu owed Cai Yuhua, which was considered a courtesy, and sat back in the high-backed carved chair, and said: "Shang Nan, five years have passed, and my uncle's body is still healthy?" ”

Cai Yuhua did not avoid Cai Hui's presence, and said directly: "The letters between the East China Sea and Youji are becoming more frequent, and the prince sneaked to Shangnan to confess his relatives with the general, and he can hide it from others, but he can't hide it from his own family. I'm fine. ”

Although he expected everything, listening to Cai Yuhua himself, there was still a tingling feeling in his heart. Since the year before last, Xu Ruyu had a bad premonition, but he couldn't get away from the affairs of Southern Fujian, and he didn't have the energy to study the situation in the north.

Despite this, Xu Ruyu still tried to do some work through the Jun family. This time he went north, Xu Ruyu went to the Northern Tang Dynasty and Yanmen to personally inspect the enemy's situation, and Fang Su came to Fanyang to report the situation. When he came, Fan Yang was not prepared at all.

Probably in the eyes of the Cai family, it is Xu Ruyu's ambition for Youji.

Xu Ruyu sneered twice, his sharp gaze stopped on Cai Hui's face, and said slowly: "The scenery of this Laishui estuary, Cai Dufu might as well sit down and watch this blue turquoise rushing sand and gravel." ”

Cai Hui's face was blue, but it was inconvenient to attack, under Xu Ruyu's sharp and cold gaze like a sword blade immersed in the water of Qingwei Spring, his heart was weak for a while, and he regretted leaving his guards on the shore.

Cai Yuhua sighed and said, "The prince asked me to ask the general, can the decline be saved?" ”

Xu Ruyu withdrew his gaze from Cai Hui's sweaty face and cast it on the undulating sea.

"Even if the Xun family sends troops from the Northern Tang Dynasty to seal the passage at the western foot of Taihang, it will not be able to reverse the overall situation. The strategic significance of Hulan's opening of the Taihang West Foot Passage is to bypass the frontal defense line of Fan Yang and put the South Route Army and the Middle Route Army into the defenseless southern and central parts of Youji, and its grain and grass supply does not depend on the Taihang West Foot Passage, the Hulan people plundered into a surname, and the defenseless Youji is like a big hunting ground in their eyes, and the granaries in the cities that let the Hulan people capture are full of grain and grass, and the countryside is full of civilians who have not had time to escape, they can plunder grain and grass and strategic materials anytime and anywhere, and they are not afraid that the back road will be cut off. ”

"Fan Yang can't say anything, and the Hulan people are always unable to gain a foothold in Youji. Fan Yang's soldiers were strong, and Hulan couldn't attack it for a long time, so he had to retreat beyond Yanshan. ”

Xu Ruyu glanced at Cai Hui indifferently and chuckled; Cai Hui felt the contempt in his laughter.

"For hundreds of years, it has been common for Hulan Koubian, but the large-scale invasion was a hundred years ago and can be compared to now, do you think the Hulan people will follow the old path of a hundred years ago?"

A hundred years ago, the king of Hulan led a large-scale invasion of Yanmen Pass, but also from the west foot of the Taihang channel to the south, from the Taihang Road straight down to Hanoi, along the river backstream, through Luochuan, from Tongguan into Qinzhou, attack Xijing, the old dynasty royal family Yuan was forced to move the capital to the south. However, the Hulan people lost 200,000 troops under the Northern Tang City, and the King of Hulan also died of arrows under the city, and failed to capture the Northern Tang City.

That battle made a thousand generals stereotyped, a man who relied on 30,000 weak brigades and a dozen civilians to resist the frenzied attacks of the most ferocious people for three consecutive years. Chen Gui's "Records of Experiences in the Northern Tang Dynasty" is a masterpiece of defense tactics.

Cai Hui was stunned. Xu Ru turned a blind eye and said to himself: "A hundred years ago, the Hulan people were not good at attacking or defending cities, they were used to the vast grasslands and rolling tents, and in their eyes the cities were useless. Perhaps they suffered too much when they captured the city, so he destroyed a city when he captured it, and even the towering Xijing City was also turned into a pile of ruins after the Hulan people slaughtered the city for ten days. It may also be because Hulan knew that it would be a nightmare for the Hulan people who were proficient in cavalry warfare to defend the city, so they turned the entire north into a big battlefield where Hulan's iron cavalry galloped across the city. After the Yuan clan moved its capital to Nanping, it gathered nearly a million troops in the south, but it was still unable to achieve the victory of the key surname in the field. The turning point of the whole battle was the offensive and defensive battle of the Northern Tang Dynasty, and in the past three years, the Hulan people fell nearly 200,000 people under the Northern Tang City, but they still did not capture the Northern Tang Dynasty. In fact, in the later stage of the battle, Hulan was already doomed to a fiasco, and Hulan's war potential was exhausted under the Northern Tang City, even if the Northern Tang City was captured, it would be useless, but Hulan's unexpected death accelerated the course of the war. Xu Ruyu softened his passionate tone, "And now, the Hulan people have a plan to establish a solid defensive area in the southeast of Youji to resist the reinforcements that may come to the Xun family and the Yi family; Use a strong force to isolate the cities that have not fallen in the central and southern parts of Youji, forming lonely cities, from easy to difficult, slowly conquering. Although Chu Shiji and Chu Shize first led the army into the southern part of Youji, although it was short, their methods were quite distinct, and the blood and softening could make people lose their resistance, not to mention that there was also a Cai Zhengshi who led the Anyang Han camp army to open a road and build a bridge for Hulan Fengshan to meet the water. Hulan had no intention of attacking Fan Yang this time, their intention was to squeeze Fan Yang's living space. Yuguan Military Town, Juyongguan Military Town, and Fanyang City supported the strategic situation of Fanyang, but with the fall of the peripheral cities and dock forts, the elite soldiers of the Cai family could only defend the three cities. Even if the Cai family can hold Fan Yang, what can they do? The Hulan people, who had plundered Youji, spared the Cai family a way out of life and withdrew from Beigukou, leaving the Cai family with only three dilapidated cities, could they stop the Hulan people from invading again? ”

Cai Yuhua said with a gloomy expression: "The prince also said that the Cai family can escape this time, but they can't escape the next time." ”

"The Hulan people have been silent for a hundred years, and this southern invasion is even more violent, if they can't achieve a decisive battle victory, and can't greatly destroy their war potential, even if they repel one of their invasions, the second invasion of the Hulan people will come again in a short time."

Fang Su was beside him, and secretly thought: Probably it was this consideration that finally made Xu Ruyu give up his efforts. Chu Shize, Chu Shiji, and Boyan Ziyi are quite good commanders. The Cai family was at a disadvantage, and it was already the limit to barely hold Fan Yang, and it was almost impossible to defeat the Hulan army. Even if the Hulan people fail to support the pro-Hu regime in Youji, they can calmly withdraw from Youji. What is left for the Cai family is just a fragmented gloom, how can it stop the second and third invasions of the Hulan people?

Xu Ruyu looked at Laishui, which rushed into the Bohai Sea, and said softly: "Laishui bypasses the north of Fanyang, if the Hulan people have patience, they will build a dam on the northwest slope of Fanyang to stop the water, and when the Laishui soars in early autumn, they can pour water into the city." How many cities in the world can withstand water? As long as Chu Shize thought of a plan to flood, the Fan Yang garrison had to go to the city to fight a decisive battle, and there was no other way. What is the chance of victory between Fan Yangbing and Hulan Iron Cavalry? ”

Cai Hui's face turned pale: The Cai family has 100,000 elite soldiers, and now there are 200,000 Hulan soldiers and horses pouring into Youji. If it drags on until a decisive battle has to be held, it is better to fight to the death with the Hulan people while the cities in the south and central are not completely lost.

Xu Ruyu seemed to see through Cai Hui's thoughts, and said indifferently: "If it is not bad, Hulan's soldiers and horses stationed in Yancheng should be planning to cross the Gubei Pass, and only interspersed between Yuguan and Fanyang can contain the garrisons of Yuguan and Fanyang; Even in the direction of Yanmen Pass, Hulan will also gather troops to press Juyong Pass, and the Cai family has no chance to gather troops to fight a decisive battle with Hulan. ”

Cai Yuhua had expected this, but his mood still couldn't avoid being extremely bad, and his voice became a little hoarse: "Is it really a dead end?" ”

"With Chu Shize whom I know, the big detour strategy he drew up will only be more complete and more impeccable than I expected." Xu Ruyu sighed slightly, "That's all I want to tell my uncle." Fan Yang, I will also go, the people of the Cai family just don't want me to enter the city, and I don't need to go into the city. I will go to the foot of Behe Mountain to retrieve my mother's bones, and I do not want to see my mother's body buried in a place that has been reduced to alien beings to ravage at will. ”

Cai Hui's face was as pale as earth, although he was not a smart and excellent person, but he could also recognize the good, Xu Ruyu said for a long time, he already believed it, looked at Jun Zhuoyan, wanted to talk to him, but didn't know what to say, he looked at it a few times, but heard Xu Ruyu say softly: "It's getting late, Mr. Cai and Cai Dufu should go back to the city, the secret post of the Hulan people should have sneaked to Fanyang, and the road is not too peaceful at night." ”

Cai Yuhua bowed and said, "I will return to Fanyang overnight and pass the word to the prince." ”

Cai Hui was surprised: Xu Ruyu only said for a long time that the situation in Youji had deteriorated irreversibly, and his father may not have guessed in his heart, Cai Yuhua is also worth rushing back to Fanyang overnight for these words? I wanted to talk to him about things, but it seems that I can't count on him.

Song Qian got out of the cabin, faced Cai Hui, and said, "I will leave Zhi'er for a few days, and you will pick her up in a while." ”

Cai Hui was not annoyed but happy, bowed down and said, "It should be, it should be." He saluted Jun Zhuoyan, turned around and followed behind Cai Yuhua, and when he stepped on the rope ladder, he saluted Xu Ruyu again, but he looked a little flustered.

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