After a few days of rapid marching, King Yong and the rest of the Yongjun reunited, King Yong's army of hundreds of thousands of troops retreated to the territory of Dayong step by step, and the other troops responsible for interception made the Southern Chu army that came later had to be sent from afar, so the next march was calm and comfortable, as a prisoner I got preferential treatment, do not have to live with other prisoners, King Yong ordered me and Xiaoshunzi to prepare a camp tent separately, although it is a marching camp tent, but it is very comfortable and exquisite, the ground is covered with thick brocade felt, The crevices around the tent were tightly wrapped in fur, so that the cold autumn wind would not blow in at all. There is a large bed in one corner of the tent, which is enough for two people to sleep peacefully, and on the other side of the tent is a pine square table, two chairs are placed on both sides, and a set of purple sand tea sets are placed on the table, and in the center of the tent is a delicate and practical copper stove, and now a pot of boiling water is placed on it, making the whole tent warm.

Xiao Shunzi listened to the water boiling and skillfully made a cup of hot tea for me. I stretched a lazy waist, sat up, over the years several accidents, let me catch the root of the disease, although I insist on practicing health qigong, but still from time to time the old disease recurrence, I also once wanted to heal well, but the heart disease is difficult to treat, plus the doctor is difficult to treat himself, so in the past few years I have always been sick, although it is an excuse to recuperate, but my body is really not very good. Xiao Shunzi served me to sit up and complained: "Childe always refuses to recuperate, this time I went to Dayong all the way, I am afraid that Childe will be sick again." ”

I sighed and said: "What's the way to do this, you also know how my illness came about, most of it is heart disease, in fact, I am much better now, but this march reminds me of the attack on Shu back then, but unfortunately Prince De has returned to the west." Now that I am in the Dayong military camp, I can't help but feel suffocated when I think of the past. Alas. ”

At this time, a loud laugh came from outside the tent: "I heard that Mr. Jiang is unwell, and this king has come to visit." With the laughter, Yongwang Li Zhen walked in, he was dressed in a prince's uniform, followed by two strategists behind him, three people walked into the tent, I barely got out of bed, Li Zhen had already walked over, held me down and said: "Mr. don't need to get up, I heard that Mr. is sick, and Zhen is busy with military affairs, so I took the time to visit, it's really rude." With that, he sat on the edge of my bed and looked at me worriedly.

I saw that the two Confucian scholars had also sat down, and bowed and said: "Suiyun's old illness has relapsed, and I can't get out of bed, and I ask for your forgiveness. ”

A middle-aged Confucian scholar who was old, handsome, and in his fifties got up and said: "Beihai Guan Xiu has seen Mr. Jiang, Mr. Jiang's literary talent is famous all over the world, Guan Mou once read Mr. Jiang's poems, his teeth and cheeks are fragrant, and he can't bear to pass away." ”

Another white-shirted Confucian with thin eyebrows and long eyes, and a graceful demeanor also smiled: "When Mr. Yu broke through the formation and forced the King of Shu to death, he still thinks about it in his heart, and he is born Dong Zhi in his later years." ”

I said lightly: "I have long heard that the advisers under the account of King Yong, Beihai Guan Xiu is good at rectifying grain and grass armor, Luoyang Dong Zhi is good at marching and arranging formations, and there is a Yingchuan Gou Lian, who is good at envoys to the Quartet. ”

Dong Zhi said with a smile: "Brother Gou is not in the Chinese army now, so he can't see each other, he also admires Mr. very much, when Mr. followed the late Prince De to the Dayong army, the three of us happened to be not in the army, and then left in a hurry, and there was no chance to talk in detail, and now Mr. is also under the command of His Royal Highness, presumably we can talk about wine later." ”

I looked at Li Zhen, smiled slightly, and did not refute Dong Zhi's words, lest his face be ugly, but said lightly: "Although Suiyun is sick, his spirit is still vigorous, if Brother Dong has any questions, you can come and ask Suiyun, Suiyun dares not to say anything." ”

After talking for a while, they saw that I was tired, so they took their leave, Li Zhen frequently told me to have a good rest, saying that they had arranged for a carriage to take me along, and instructed Xiao Shunzi to take care of him, if he needed anything, he could ask Guan Xiu for anything.

When they left, I leaned back on the bed and said with a smile: "These strategists of King Yong are very enthusiastic, but I think that Gou Lian is a little narrow, otherwise why didn't His Royal Highness King Yongwang bring him with him?" ”

Xiao Shunzi said with a smile: "At this time, the son is smart, and that Gou Lian is also in the camp, but his surname is not good, so King Yong did not invite him to come, so as not to offend the son immediately." ”

King Yong and the two advisers walked out of the tent and sighed: "I thought he was just sick, but I was really bedridden, alas, he is not in good health, and I forced him to travel far away, no wonder he has always been very cold to this king." ”

Dong Zhi was relieved: "Your Highness doesn't have to worry, I see that although this person is sick, he is in good spirits, and he must not be angry because His Highness took him with him, although I can't see through this person's heart, but I said that he obeyed His Highness, and he didn't refute it in person, which shows that this person is not unacceptable." ”

Li Zhen smiled bitterly and said: "Jiang Zhe is very happy with what happens, I just forcibly give him an official position, he may not refuse, but if you want him to serve sincerely, it will be difficult, at the beginning, Prince De Zhao Jue attached great importance to him, but or a little reluctantly, he refused to serve in the army anymore, Prince De is still the uncle of the prince of Nanchu, he is so perfunctory, I am afraid that he will also perfunctory me." ”

Guan Xiu said: "Your Highness is at ease, although this person's heart is as cold as ice, but he still has a warm blood, otherwise he will not be directly advised, as long as His Highness treats him sincerely, he will definitely be able to get his loyalty, I heard that when he is estranged from Prince De, it is mostly because of Prince De's staff Rong Yuan, I am worried about Gou Lian's surname, this person is difficult to convince people, and he always has to provoke a few times, just afraid that he will annoy Jiang Suiyun." ”

Dong Zhidao: "Brother Guan is too worried, I think that if Gou Lian goes, I am afraid that there will be unexpected achievements, although Jiang Zhe is gentle and elegant on the outside, but he is unruly in his heart, and Brother Gou is similar in surname, I don't think there will be any bad consequences." ”

Just when the three of them were discussing here repeatedly, the Gou Lian they were worried about had arrived in front of my account, Gou Lian was the most arrogant, and learned that Li Zhen went to Jianye to forcibly bring Jiang Zhe back, and he cared for him very much, Gou Lian was no longer a taste in his heart, this time Li Zhen took Guan Xiu and Dong Zhi to visit the patient but did not bring himself, Gou Lian felt uncomfortable for a while, with his intelligence, he naturally knew that Li Zhen and they were worried that they had offended Jiang Zhe, which made him even more unwilling, so he took advantage of Li Zhen and their departure not long after, I came to my tent, I am still a "prisoner" of the Yongjun, although Li Zhen ordered that no one should disturb me, but Gou Lian's status in the army is very high, so the sergeant guarding me did not stop him, so he let Shi Shiran into my tent.

As soon as I saw this young man with a hooked nose, I guessed his identity, and when I saw him standing in front of me without manners and looking at me for a long time, waving his hand to stop Xiao Shunzi's anger, I smiled and said, "May I ask if you are Gou Yongquan, who has a tongue as sharp as a knife?" ”

Gou Lian was slightly stunned, and said: "I didn't expect that Jiang Suiyun, who gave the surname of the King of Shu, also recognized me as a little person, which is really an honor." I don't know if the champion who satirized the king of Shu in the past 'once he is classified as a captive, he will be consumed by his waist and temples' has long known what is happening today, I see that my brother is described as haggard and sick, and his body is fragmented, so it should also be regarded as 'sinking waist and pan temples'. ”

I said lightly: "I have heard for a long time that Brother Yongquan was the staff of the late Xuzhou General Zhang Chen, Zhang Chen did not serve Zhengshuo, led the troops to divide the place, Brother Yongquan was quite favored under his account at that time, and later His Royal Highness King Yongwang crusaded against Zhang Chen, Your Excellency was ordered to envoy Yongying, who knew that he was impressed by the majesty of His Royal Highness, and persuaded General Zhang to abandon his armor and surrender after going back, and said that His Excellency sent an envoy to the Quartet for His Royal Highness King Yongwang, and did not disgrace the mission, but I don't know if it was because of the initial envoy for Zhang Chen, but was humiliated by people who said that he surrendered, so that Your Excellency said that he could not hang the beam and stab the stock, and then he achieved something? ”

Gou Lian's face was red, he persuaded Zhang Chen to surrender, although it was praised as a beautiful talk, but he always felt that he did not persuade King Yong to withdraw from the army, but became a lobbyist for King Yong's persuasion to surrender, which was inevitably humiliating to the mission, and he couldn't imagine being exposed by someone to the point. He said abruptly: "His Royal Highness King Yong's dragon and phoenix posture, elegant and elegant, how can words be shaken, there is nothing strange in returning under the feathers, and in the next to save General Zhang in the water and fire, this merit can also be made up, but Your Excellency, since you know that Dayong is orthodox, why not Feng Zhengshuo." ”

I smiled and said: "Brother Yongquan's words are wrong, I said that General Zhang is not Fengzhengshuo, but because when the Central Plains is unified, the people's hearts are attached, General Zhang relies on the army, does not know the current affairs, so it is light, and although I am a small country in Southern Chu, but the country has been established for a long time, especially above Dayong, Suiyun was the champion of Southern Chu, a Jinshi, served in the Hanlin Academy for many years, and was deeply favored by the lord of the country. ”

Gou Lian rolled his eyes and said: "Since Your Excellency is determined to serve Southern Chu, now that the lord of Southern Chu is in my camp, Zhao Jiadu is on his knees to serve my Dayong, why is Your Excellency so stubborn, not to mention that I heard that the virtuous minister chooses the lord and does things, Zhao Jia is mediocre and forced to die the virtuous king, and my lord His Royal Highness King Yong is humble and clear, and the corporal is even more decisive, and the name of benevolence, righteousness and virtue is spread all over the world. ”

I smiled coldly and said: "Although the virtuous minister chooses the lord, I have not heard that the old lord is still there, so he serves the virtuous minister of the new lord, in the past, Yu Rang served Zhibo, after the death of the Zhongxing clan, the Zhongxing clan was just treated as a mortal, and Yu Rang did not abandon it, not to mention that with Yun Xi said, it was not Zhao Jia alone, but the Southern Chu royal family, the first king added me Hanlin, Prince De used me as a counselor, and the kindness was especially in front of him. ”

Gou said honestly: "Although your Excellency's words are golden and jade, but Your Excellency has long been belittled, why should you be so infatuated." ”

I said lightly: "In the past, it was said that Bigan dissected his heart, his will did not change, Qu Yuan was degraded, heard about Chu Huai's king's affairs, especially since Shenjiang, Suiyun is not an idiot, and he does not dare to follow the sages, but he is ignorant of glory and takes refuge in the new lord to seek wealth, I dare not do this." ”

When Gou Lian heard this, he had to bow down and say: "Mr. is of high quality, and he is in the lower admiration, but His Royal Highness has the posture of a king, if Mr. misses it, it is a pity, but Mr. is sick in the army, Yongquan does not dare to be strong, to Yongdu is thousands of miles away, can Yongquan come to disturb, listen to the lessons." ”

I smiled and said: "Brother Yongquan is famous all over the world, it is Suiyun should ask for more advice, lonely on the way, if you have time, you may as well come to talk about candles at night, but although Suiyun is well-read, but he is not very familiar with piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, I heard that Your Excellency is quite famous here, and please give me advice." ”

Li Zhen learned that Gou Lian came to see me privately, originally very worried, immediately sent someone to persuade him, who knew that the person came, but saw me and Gou Lian talking very happily, Li Zhen heard it, couldn't help but be happy, since then, often let the staff under the account come to accompany me, I will not refuse, more than the knee to talk in detail, I can not help but appreciate the staff under the account of King Yong, Guan Xiu is very proficient in money and grain copywriting, Dong Zhi is good at the art of war, and he talks endlessly, and Gou Lian is erudite and talented, and I can talk the most, but his surname is competitive, I always like to debate with me, and these people say to talk, my mood is not bad, coupled with the careful care of Xiaoshunzi, my sick body gradually healed on the road.

I have a good opinion of them, and they have a lot of admiration for me.

Guan Xiu is good at military affairs, money and food, and is the main secretary of King Yong's cronies, but as soon as he talked about it with this young man, he found that no matter what he said, he immediately understood it, and occasionally said a sentence or two, which was also to the point, and later Jiang Zhe inadvertently said that he had dealt with paperwork under the account of Prince De, which let Guan Xiu know why this Hanlin bachelor also knew so much about these trivial matters, he originally thought that Jiang Zhe had been in the shogunate of Prince De, but he was just a counselor military aircraft.

Dong Zhi is good at the art of war, but when he debated with Jiang Zhe, he found that Jiang Zhe knew everything about the ancient and modern battle formations, which was the part he didn't know much about. Dong Zhi originally thought that Jiang Zhe was just talking on paper, so he tried to practice the art of war with him, but Jiang Zhe used his troops like a whimsical and traceless, and every time the strange peaks protruded from the most incredible places, but in hindsight, he was reasonable and wonderful. After Dong Zhi was convinced, he couldn't help but be competitive, so he debated with him about the equipment for fighting, but Jiang Zhe was also able to say everything in the way, and later although Jiang Zhe was mostly silent, but if he spoke occasionally, let Dong Zhi think about it for a long time, and then go to study and improve the equipment the next day.

Gou Lian admired Jiang Zhe the most, he was originally conceited and erudite, but Jiang Zhe had participated in the preparation of the Chongwen Palace in Southern Chu, and he had read more than 10 million books, every time he argued about the article, Jiang Zhe often cited from the side, which made Gou Lian dumbfounded, as for the art of tongue debate, although Jiang Zhe was not very commonly used, but if Gou Lian was proud and could not extricate himself, Jiang Zhe often made him happy and convinced in one sentence.

What the three of them admired most in private was that although Jiang Zhe was so talented, he was calm and natural, and when he talked to him, he was like a spring breeze and rain, he only felt that he was talented, but he was not aggressive, and only in the dead of night would it make people sweat coldly. Later, the three of them became more and more eager to win, but Jiang Zhe often retreated gently, letting the three of them turn into a spring breeze, and it took a long time to realize that Jiang Zhe did not respond.

The journey of thousands of miles, although far away, will eventually come to an end, and when they are about to arrive in Yongdu, the three of them once again jointly asked to see Li Zhen and asked him to take Jiang Zhe under his command. Gou Lian was the most intense, and said: "If His Royal Highness can't receive this person under his command, it's a pity, this person's talent is several times better than ours, if he is an enemy, I'm afraid that there will be no bones left of us." ”

Li Zhen said with a bitter face: "Gentlemen, how can this king not know the importance of this person, but every time this king goes to persuade him, this person is silent, so that this king has no choice." ”

Guan Xiu said: "Your Highness doesn't need to worry, this person has a lot of respect for His Highness, and there is no hostility towards us, so he should not refuse to come here, this time I will return to Beijing, we will send this person to Yongwangfu under house arrest, and slowly persuade him, there is always a way, not to mention that Shi Ziyou is generous and benevolent, and he will definitely be able to enlighten him." ”

Li Zhen sighed and said: "That's the only way, if Shi Ziyou can't convince him anymore, this king, this king, alas, how can this king be reluctant." ”

Guan Xiu and the three of them looked at each other, and they all knew that Li Zhen had made a killing move.

"The rain is murmuring outside the curtain, and the spring is beautiful. Luo Ji is not tolerant of the five colds. In my dream, I didn't know that I was a guest, and I was greedy for joy. Alone without relying on the column, infinite rivers and mountains, it is easy to see when it is difficult to see. Flowing water falls and flowers go in spring, and the sky is between the rèn. ”

I stood in front of the window in my clothes, this is the post house, Ming said that it was my arrival in Yongdu, I recited the newly written "Waves and Sands", my heart was infinitely lonely, thinking of the charming scenery of Nanchu, but also my heart turned back to the bowels. Xiao Shunzi walked up to me and said in a low voice: "Childe, since these days, you have convinced Li Zhen's account advisers, but you have always refused to add a green eye to Li Zhen, if Li Zhen has a murderous intention, what should you do?" ”

"Xiao Shunzi, you don't understand, in the past, I was just at ease with the situation, it doesn't matter who is the official, even in front of Prince De, I am just perfunctory, but His Royal Highness King Yong's heart is like a mirror, if I vote for him, if I can't put my heart in my heart, then His Royal Highness King Yongwang will not be satisfied, and I can't solve his crisis, if I want to do my best, then I want to see King Yong's bearing, I am deliberately forcing him to kill me, if he is finally willing to let go, I will treat him as the Holy Lord of Mingjun, if he finally moves the killing machine, Then he is just a hegemon, instead of saying that I am always worried about him killing heroes, it is better for me to try his mind now, if he can finally let me go, then I believe that the future can be a good beginning and a good end, if he is - I just cheated death to get out. ”

Xiao Shunzi said with an anxious look on his face: "Childe, His Royal Highness King Yong is extremely powerful, if I want to kill you, how can I get out, although my martial arts are good, I dare not guarantee that I can rescue Childe." ”

I smiled faintly and said: "I think His Royal Highness King Yongwang in order not to hurt the hearts of the world's celebrities, will not kill me with real knives and guns, using poison is the best way, I have prepared a precious poison, when I take it, stiff as death, it is difficult to steal a person, it is not easy to steal a corpse, after I get out, hide in Yongdu, and wait for the opportunity to take the opportunity, I will take the opportunity to report the hatred of killing my wife, when the time comes, Xiaoshunzi, you and I can wander the world, incognito, isn't it happy." People often say that reading 10,000 books and traveling 10,000 miles, but am I looking forward to it? ”

Xiao Shunzi said with relief: "Then I have to expect King Yong to kill the son, so as not to drag the son to give him a lot of blood." ”

I smiled slightly, I want to make me work hard, but not everyone is qualified, to tell the truth, I am afraid that no one can pass this temptation of mine, if it is not used, it will be killed, it is the unspeakable mind of those wise monarchs, but unfortunately, King Yong is really a person who I admire, I think with some regret.

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