In the room, Jing Hui and Dao Yan discussed secretly.

"Since entering the city and breaking up with Feng Timu, for a few days, there has been no chance to meet him in private. I don't know if he said that Lu Ju moved? ”

"I met Feng Timu late, and I didn't have a senior brother who knew him well. But judging from his usual contact, although this person has some talents, he lacks courage and does not look like he can do big things. Expect him to move the land together? I'm afraid it's hard. ”

"I don't have much hope for him, but now you and I are accompanied by Zhao Zhong in Yidu, eating and living, which is like house arrest, and you can't go in and out freely! It was difficult to meet with Lu Ju and others. What can I do? ”

"You and I are here to do great things, and we must be cautious and steady. This is not long, not short, but only two or three days. It's a long time coming, why should senior brother be in a hurry? ”

"I'm just afraid that Gong Li won't be in a hurry!"

"Richard Han personally led the elite to aid Caozhou, but now he is afraid that he is facing the city with the Yan thief, and he has no time to take care of it. Even if you get the message of Lu Ju and others, you can't use it now! ......, senior brother, don't be impatient, wait and see. As long as Xiao Deng is not suspicious of you and me, there will always be a chance to meet Lu Ju and others. ”

"The junior brother is right. ......, speaking of 'no suspicion', although the red thief took good care of us, but before we entered the city, the Deng thief separated you and me from Feng Timu, and in the past few days, Zhao Zhong has been with him day and night. What do they mean exactly? Senior brother, do you think Deng Thief is suspicious? ”

"You and I are defenseless, and here in Yidu we are like sheep falling into the mouth of a tiger. If Xiao Deng is suspicious of us, should you be polite? If you lose it, we'll go to jail! ......, he summoned us and did not say anything, but he gave us a reward. And look at that Zhao Zhong, he is also very respectful when he sees each other every day, and he keeps saying to you, senior brother, that you will be called 'Senior Master'. Judging from these signs, Deng Thief does not seem to be suspicious. ”

"So much for the best! ......, but, as the junior brother said, you and I are like sheep in the mouth of a tiger in Yidu now. Although the matter of 'saying down' is urgent, it needs to be steady, but it can't be delayed again and again! ......, I can't say, it's better to find an opportunity to meet with Feng Timu in private first, and then consider whether to meet with Lu Ju and others depending on the situation. ”

"That's exactly how it should be."

"But Zhao Zhong is very strict with you and me, junior brother, do you have a good way to meet that old seal in private?"

Monk Daoyan pondered for a moment and said, "There is a plan to offer to senior brother. What do you think? When the great monk Jinghui heard this, he was happy to come from it, and said in a loud voice: "Wonderful plan, wonderful plan!" ”

But what's the plan? Just two words: "feigning illness".

Didn't Monk Jinghui excuse himself from going out of the city to visit the mountains under the pretext of "being unwell"? simply made this "physical discomfort" more serious, and came to a "water and soil adaptation" and "pretending to be a serious illness". People are often vulnerable when they are sick; In addition, I am in the "guest", homesick and want to see an "old friend", there is nothing incomprehensible, right? He used this as an excuse to meet with Feng Timu in private.

Jing Hui rejoiced for a while, turned her sorrow, and said, "Pretending to be sick is indeed a good way. But, how to pretend to be this disease? Pretend to be sick? Zhao Zhong is very respectful to you and me, once I get sick, he will definitely call a doctor. No. 1 vein, isn't it exposed? ”

Monk Daoyan said lightly: "What's so difficult about this? I went to the street to find some croton for my senior brother, and after eating some, I naturally had diarrhea. No matter how clever a doctor is, he can't say that you are pretending. ”

Croton is hot and poisonous, and can cause vomiting and diarrhea after taking it. Although it is indispensable to endure some hardships, the symptoms of "vomiting and diarrhea" also coincide with the cause of "water and soil adaptation".

I have to say that Monk Daoyan's move is very "vicious". It's just that a great monk Jinghui has a "great compassion" of "sacrificing his life to serve the tiger" and "I don't go to hell who will go to hell". ”

The plan has been decided, without further ado.

The two talked for a while, and Monk Daoyan found a reason to go out on the street and look for croton. Although there were two officials from the Buddhist and Taoist yamen who followed, he was very witty and could not get rid of it for the time being. In a short time, I got what I needed. Turn it back and give it to Jing Hui to eat.

It took less than a quarter of an hour to have an effect. Vomiting and diarrhea. This is still a little pretending, half an hour later, there is no need to pretend, the monk Jinghui collapsed and weakened, his face was as white as paper, and he didn't even have the strength to go to the toilet.

Soon, the news reached Zhao Zhong's ears, and he hurriedly came to visit, and seeing that the situation was not good, he went to ask for a doctor in person.

Taking advantage of the fact that he had come and gone and had not yet turned back, seeing that there was no one in the room, Monk Daoyan grabbed the hand of Monk Jinghui and asked in a low voice, "How do you feel?" ”

Jing Hui said weakly: "Abdominal pain is like a twist, headache and dizziness. Alas, something is not good. ......, junior brother, did you eat too much croton? ”

"Don't tight, don't tight. The dose is far from lethal. Eat more and pretend to be like. ”

"Ahh Not again. ......, junior brother, help me up quickly. ”

Monk Daoyan hurriedly helped him up and carried him to the toilet, only to hear "a sparse noise", and another Lushan waterfall was flying.

He pretended to be sick here, and he didn't mention it for the time being.

only said that Zhao Zhong, out of the yamen, hurriedly went to find a doctor, walked on the street, bumped into a horse, the horse flew everywhere, the chicken flew and the dog jumped, and he wondered in his heart, and thought: "Fang Buzhen was ordered to patrol the city, and he just took down two officials who violated discipline and beheaded a powerful slave. Who is this, so unsightly? Breaking the law against the limelight? ”

While thinking, he let go of the roadside, and waited for the knight to rush to the front, and took a closer look, but saw that it was a general dressed as a hundred households, holding a small flag, so he urged the horse to gallop, and shouted loudly: "Front-line military report, eight hundred miles urgent!" Idle people get out of the way quickly! ”

Zhao Zhong muttered to himself and said, "It turned out to be a messenger. And he thought, "Front-line military newspapers? Jining won the battle, and Xu and Su also fell into the hands of the lord. What other military newspaper at the front is worth such urgency? Dare to be the old horseman of Chahan has made any changes? Speaking of Chahan, he suddenly remembered something, "Yes, I heard that Chahan personally led his elite soldiers to help Caozhou." Could it be that the Caozhou Military News came? ”

He guessed well, it was the Caozhou Military Newspaper that came.

The messenger crossed the street on horseback and entered the palace of King Yan. Deng She had just finished writing a letter to Yao Haogu and ordered someone to send him away, when he received a message from the guards and hurriedly called him in.

"King Qiyu, Caozhou urgent."

"Bring it!"

The messenger made an urgent report, and Dunsher began to take a look. Recognize the handwriting, it is Zhao Guo's own book. He looked at it carefully and asked the messenger, "So, Zhao Guo has withdrawn his troops?" ”

"Yes. Chahan led his army to force outside the city, and our army was attacked by the enemy and had to retreat. ”

"How did Chahan cross the Yellow River? Didn't Ah Guo put a garrison by the river? ”

"Chahan used a fake as the main force and stationed on the opposite bank, attracting the attention of our riverside defenders. At the same time, they selected the elite, made a detour of thirty miles, crossed the river at night from other places, and then interspersed back again and again, and scattered our defenders. Then the whole division crossed and drove to the outside of Caozhou City. ”

"How many horses did he bring?"

"Ten thousand people up and down."

If other Yuan generals were replaced and led 10,000 people to aid Caozhou, even if he was attacked by the enemy, Zhao Guo might still be able to stop it; But now it is Chakhan Timur who leads the army to help, not to mention 10,000 people, even if it is only 5,000, Zhao Guo is difficult to resist. Deng She knew this. He bowed his head and said: "There is a strong city in front of it, and there is a strong enemy coming to help, and it is difficult to support the left and right, and the enemy is on the back of the abdomen." Therefore, the troops had to be withdrawn as a last resort. ”

"Exactly."

"Before withdrawing the army, did you ever fight with Chahan?"

"There were two battles. Once after the riverside defenders were dispersed, Zhao Zuocheng immediately sent two thousand elites to the riverside, but he still failed to keep Chahan. The second time was outside the city, but it was Chakhan who attacked first. ......, at that time, he had just arrived at the city, fifteen miles away from our army, and without waiting to set up camp, he personally mounted his horse and led three thousand elite horsemen to charge our formation. Our army was caught off guard, and in less than half an hour, he pulled out two battalions in a row. ”

"In less than half an hour, two battalions were lost in a row?"

"Yes."

On that day, the Yuan army in the city watched the battle, and the enemy and I clashed outside the city. Within half an hour, the Yan army lost its armor and retreated one after another; Chahan took the lead and pulled out two battalions in a row, with momentum like a rainbow. If it is defeated and retreats again, the Yuan army in the city will definitely go to war, and with the echo of the inside and outside, it is not impossible for the Yan army to retreat on all fronts!

Once the retreat is carried out, the defeat of the army is like a mountain, and the decline will be irreversible. Don't talk about Caozhou, it is estimated that even Chengwu and other places, I am afraid that they will also be taken back by the Yuan army.

Deng She said: "Then how was this decline stopped? ”

"Zhao Zuocheng ordered his soldiers to go to the front line to plant the flag, and agreed with the generals: 'The flag is in the people, and the flag is lost'. And clearly ordered: 'If you dare to retreat again, you will be beheaded immediately'. Subsequently, he personally led a thousand people, and the city gate of Bo Caozhou lined up, threatening the city, so that it did not dare to send troops. In this battle, which lasted from noon to evening, the two battalions lost by our army changed hands again and again, and the corpses on the battlefield were piled up like mountains, blood flowed in the fields, and the cry of a fierce battle could be heard dozens of miles away. And until Chahan retreated, although the Tartars in the city tried again and again, they never dared to show their heads. ”

At that time, there was a strong enemy outside and a strong city inside, Zhao Guo was the main general, where should it be important?

Although Chahan is strong, the division from afar has not had time to rest, and even the camp has not been established, so it will be difficult to last. His charge was just a "one-shot attack", and it was bound to "decline again and exhaust again." So, the key point is not in Chahan, but in the city.

If the city takes the opportunity to send troops and suffers from the enemy inside and outside, the Yan army will inevitably take care of one and lose the other, and "go to the big thing".

Therefore, after Zhao Guo issued a strict military order to the soldiers on the front line, he ignored Chahan and the battle ahead, and personally sat outside the city gate to intimidate the city, so that the Yuan army in the city did not dare to move, and finally stabilized the situation after a hard battle.

——There is a poem in the time: "Divide the light and the heavy, and do not take responsibility for anything in the world." For generals, when you know the advance and retreat, and know the severity, Zhao Guo can be said to be successful!

"What about Chahan after he withdraws from the army?"

"After Chahan retreated, some generals in the army insisted on continuing to besiege the city, thinking that although Chahan was menacing, he was attacking from afar, and the logistics were difficult to transport. And our army is backed by Jining, and the baggage transportation is endless, as long as it can hold out for a while, it will definitely be able to win without a fight. ”

"If you have such an opinion, why did you withdraw your troops again?"

"Because Zhao Zuocheng doesn't agree with their views."

"Oh? What is the point of view? ”

Zhao Zuocheng thinks: As soon as Chahan came, first of all, the morale of the Tartars in the city went up; Secondly, the soldiers and horses brought by Chahan are all elite, up and down 10,000 people, and there is the shame of Wang Baobao and others' previous defeat, and they must have come with a heart of revenge this time. But if mortals want revenge, they will be vigorous. On the other hand, looking at our army, after several battles, it has long been exhausted, and 'the division is old'. On the one hand, the enemy is aggressive, and on the other hand, our army is gloomy. In addition, as soon as Chahan came, there were 'victory in crossing the river' and 'momentum in the first battle', which faintly gained the upper hand. Therefore, if we continue to fight and stalemate, we are afraid that there will only be more and more disadvantages to our army. Therefore, Zhao Zuocheng strongly advocated the withdrawal of troops. ”

"I see."

"Zhao Zuocheng also said: 'Today, Jining is in my hands, Caozhou is a lonely city, and there is the Yellow River behind it. Chahan is here, and it is difficult to garrison the army for a long time. When he retreats, it will not be too late for our army to fight Caozhou again. ......, and if he doesn't retreat, when our army is rested, he can also make a comeback and meet him again to hunt the territory. At that time, it was our army that was aggressive, and Chahan was the one who was gloomy. If there is such an advantage in retreating, why should you die in the city'? ......, like this, persuaded the generals. ”

Deng She nodded, his expression did not move, and he thought in his heart: "Don't be three days, you should be impressed." Looking at today's Ah Guo, who would have thought that just a few years ago, he was just a pawn? He was very satisfied, but he could not say this word of appreciation in front of the messenger, and then asked, "How did you withdraw from under the nose of Chahan?" ”

"It's not hard to say. After the battle that day, Chahan built a camp overnight. Taking advantage of this opportunity, our troops withdrew overnight. ”

"The whole army has withdrawn into Chengwu?"

"Before the villain came, our army had just withdrawn into Chengwu. Zhao Zuocheng planned to temporarily stay there for a period of time to see if Chahan was entering or leaving, and then make countermeasures. ”

It is a matter of the safety of tens of thousands of troops, although it sounds like Zhao Guo has handled it well, but Deng She can't help but ask in detail, and then asks: "After our army withdrew, what happened to Chahan?" ”

"As of the time of the villain's arrival, there has been no change in Chahan."

Deng Shexin said: "Ah Guo's analysis is very correct, Li Chahan led 10,000 people to the west, and it will be difficult to garrison Caozhou for a long time. His next step is either to withdraw, or to continue the offensive and invade our territory. ......, according to common sense analysis, he was willing to leave Shanxi and came with his teachers in person, and the momentum was huge, and the goal was definitely not only to relieve the siege of Caozhou. What was he going to do? You need to write a palindrome and teach Ah to listen carefully, so that you can beware of it. ”

Just thinking about it, someone outside the door came to report: "Report, Liu Shijiu asks to see." ”

……

As the saying goes: when you are free, you don't have anything, and when you are busy, you rush to do one thing.

"Richard Han relieved the siege of Caozhou" has not yet been asked, and Liu Shijiu has brought another major piece of news. He entered the room, bowed respectfully, took out a paper from his sleeve, held it high above his head, and presented it to Dunshe.

Deng She took it, opened it casually, and asked, "What is this?" ”

"A private letter that the minister just received."

"Private message?" Deng She couldn't help but wonder, and his hand was slow. "Private message", what are you showing me for?

"From Anfeng, Liu Futong wrote."

"Oh?"

Deng Sheleng was stunned for a moment, raised his head, glanced at Liu Shijiu and the messenger from Caozhou, pondered for a moment, and instructed the messenger to say, "I probably know about Caozhou's affairs. You step down first, go to Mr. Hong, and tell him what happened. When you are done, go back to the camp and rest. ”

The Caozhou messenger received the order and exited the door.

Deng She opened the letter and watched.

The letter is not long, except for the greetings at the beginning and a few private words at the end, there is only one central meaning: "King Yan recovered Xu and Suzhou, and sent people to Anfeng to ask for a reward, and the messenger I have already seen it." Xu and Su are in the north of the Yellow River, which is not Shandong, and is far away from Haidong. It stands to reason that it should not have been given to King Yan, but should have been handed over to Wu Guogong, or managed by An Feng himself. But since these two places were laid down by King Yan, they must be rewarded for their merits, and it is okay to give them to them. The lord only made one request for this, that is, to ask King Yan to send some men and horses to help me get back Bianliang and restore the old capital. You have done a good job in all your errands in Yidu. I'll leave this to you. If it can be done, it will be a great achievement. ”

Because Liu Futong's letter was sent by a special person to send it quickly, it came faster than Yidu's envoy group. Before the messenger returned, the letter arrived.

Deng She took out a few sentences from the letter and read: "'Please send some men and horses from King Yan to help me get back Bianliang and restore the old capital'." ......, hehe, Liu Taibao is trying to ask me to borrow soldiers. "I read it several times and noticed something unusual, "'It should be handed over to Wu Guogong, or it should be managed by An Feng himself.'" ......, weird, weird! Why did it suddenly get involved with Wu Guogong? Could it be that Liu Taibao is hinting at something? ”

After pondering for a while, he asked Liu Shijiu: "What do you think?" ”

Since being subdued by Deng She, Liu Shijiu has long been loyal to Haidong. Otherwise, he wouldn't have just received this private message from Liu Futong, so he made a special trip to present it to Deng She. He said: "The minister thinks that the king's analysis is correct. ......, Liu Futong clearly wanted to use Xu and Su as bait to borrow troops from the king. If the king refused, he threatened to hand over Xu and Su to Wu Guogong, or take care of himself. ”

He paused for a moment, and secretly looked at Deng She's expression,—— the proposal of "sending someone to Anfeng to ask for a reward" was made by him, but he never expected that his clan brother "Liu Taibao" would come to such a hand and exchange "borrowing soldiers" for "jurisdiction", so he was nervous, and he was deeply afraid that Deng She would blame him, and he didn't have to "steal chickens and rice", which is why he hurriedly came to ask to see Deng She as soon as he received this private letter.

Seeing that Deng She did not look annoyed, he plucked up his courage and continued: "In the minister's humble opinion, in fact, the lord doesn't have to deal with him at all!" Anyway, now Xu and Su are in the hands of the lord. He is short of soldiers and food, and he can't reach the whip, even if he wants to manage himself, he can't do it! Foolish people talk about dreams, why bother? ”

Dunshe shook his head and said, "No, no. ”

"What do you say?"

"Although An Feng is powerless, Wu Guogong is different."

"What's the difference? Could it be that Zhu Yuanzhang still dares to rob? ”

"There is no such thing as a robbery, but it is inevitable that there will be a problem. ......, you look at Liu Taibao's sentence: 'Xu and Su are in the north of the Yellow River, which is not Shandong, and is far away from Haidong'. Taste it carefully, what do you think he means? What is it implying that? ”

"The north of the Yellow River, not Shandong, far away from Haidong."

Liu Shijiu is not a stupid person, just because after seeing the letter, he was afraid that Deng She would blame him, so he failed to settle down and seriously analyze what the letter said. ”

"If I refuse to borrow troops, he will tell Wu Guogong this hint again. Suzhou is not enough, I want to think of Xuzhou, control and strangle Huaisi, occupy the throat of the north and south, extend in all directions, and it is really a place for soldiers to fight. Wu Guogong is a heroic figure, will he not know the stakes and will not be greedy? Even if he doesn't take it for the time being, as long as Liu Taibao gives him the name of 'governing Xu and Su', sooner or later, there will definitely be trouble! ”

"In the opinion of the Lord?"

Deng She didn't say, but sighed: "The tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop, the tree wants to be quiet and the wind does not stop!" ”

He still had a layer to say. Man dies for money, and birds die for food. If he doesn't borrow troops, it is foreseeable that after getting the name of "governing Xu and Su", Zhu Yuanzhang will definitely be co-opted by An Feng. Without Zhu Yuanzhang's strong support, the Anfeng court only had a "false name"; And if Zhu Yuanzhang began to support Anfeng because of his greed for Xu and Su, then the Anfeng court would "have both name and reality".

Once the Anfeng Imperial Court "has both name and substance", Haidong will not be able to deal with itself.

He thought in his heart: "Xu and Su must not be allowed to go out, and Zhu Yuanzhang must not be allowed to be co-opted by An Feng." In this case, it seems that there is only one way to do it today? ”

But if it is a borrowed army, it is really unwilling. Deng She noticed Liu Shijiu's panicked appearance, knowing that he was afraid of being blamed, smiled and said, "You don't have to panic! Earlier, you proposed to ask for a reward from Anfeng, and I agreed at that time. After all, I didn't expect Liu Taibao to have such a trick. ......, speaking of which, I despised him. Nothing to do with you! Am I the one who angers? ”

Liu Shijiu kowtowed, and said: "The king is generous, and he is not as knowledgeable as the villain." ”

"Get up! Counting the time, the messenger who went to Anfeng will probably be back soon. Let's see what the decree they brought back says, and then it's not too late to discuss it. Deng She shook the letter in his hand and said, "I will leave this letter written to you by Liu Taibao for the time being, and I will go back to Mr. Hong to see it." I'll give it back to you when I've decided on a countermeasure. ”

"Yes, yes. The king stayed. ”

Not long ago, Hong Jixun just sighed with emotion "stealing half a day of leisure"; Less than two hours later, two important events came one after another. "The tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop", this is a good saying.

Deng She sent Liu Shijiu to retreat, summoned his entourage, and instructed: "Go to Mr. Hong's place to see, if the Caozhou messenger has finished reporting, and Mr. has nothing else to do, please come and meet." ”