Deng She immediately sent the messenger away, briefly told Hong Jixun about the content of the conversation just now and the strangeness he felt, and said: "Liu Taibao didn't even mention a condition, it seems that he has a lot of plans!" ”

Hong Jixun nodded yes and said, "The lord is reasonable. The minister looked at Liu Taibao as a person, and he was by no means willing to accept his fate. He has been embarrassed for a long time, and he has no ambitions but no way to carry them out. Now, it is easy for the lord to say that he has moved Jinling and wants to take Chakhan Timur together. For him, it can be described as a godsend, and it is expected that he will never let it go lightly. In the minister's opinion, the reason why he didn't want anything was nothing more than to put a long line and catch a big fish, perhaps because he wanted to wait for a better time. ”

Knowing that Deng She and Zhu Yuanzhang are not good people, even if they make a request at this time, they probably won't get any response, so they simply don't mention anything, and by the way, they can maintain the dignity of the court, and then wait for the war to develop to a certain extent, or it will be more conducive to Anfeng, and then wait for the opportunity to move.

This is Hong Jixun's speculation, worthy of Haidong's think tank, outstanding resourcefulness, and the speculation is very correct. In just a few words, Liu Futong's thoughts were said for eight points.

Deng She bowed his head and said, "Mr. Gaojian, I think it's true." But I didn't take it to heart. In the face of absolute strength, even if there are more conspiracies and tricks, it is useless, Liu Futong is declining, to be honest, with Anfeng's current strength, it is really not in Deng She's eyes. If it weren't for the fact that "fame" and "righteousness" were still useful, I am afraid that he would not even ask for the holy decree.

Two or three years ago, he was furious at seeing his subordinates kill innocent villagers; Two or three years later, before he knew it, he was hard-hearted. Not only hard-hearted, but also more and more realistic. Occasionally, when he was alone in the ashram or woke up from a dream in the middle of the night, he would involuntarily recall the past, and ask himself whether what he was doing now was right or wrong, whether he had been guilty or guilty, but in order to achieve his ambitions and ambitions, he thought, "Maybe the means don't matter." ”

Everyone holds the holy flag in their hearts and walks towards sin with a red face. Faintly, he would also feel that this seemed to be just an excuse, but was it important? He asked himself. Is it an excuse, or is it not an excuse? The most important thing is not to get lost in power; At least he kept in mind what his ambitions were.

"My lord?"

"Huh?"

Deng She woke up and looked up at the sunlight outside. The sun is shining, showing the light and shadow of Taoism on the wall; There is no wind, and the trees in the courtyard stand quietly and luxuriantly, facing the sun. He suddenly got up, stood up, and said to Hong Jixun with a smile: "The sun is just right in the courtyard, sir, why don't you go out for a walk?" ”

Hong Jixun has nothing to do.

One after the other, the two stepped out of the shady room and into the light-filled courtyard. Bathed in the sun, Deng She only felt that his whole body was warm, as if the darkness had been swept away, and after feeling it quietly for a while, he changed the topic and asked, "Why did the gentleman come to me?" ”

"The military report that Tai'an just delivered. Yesterday, Yang Wanhu led his troops as the vanguard, and had broken through the resistance of the Yuan army on the west bank of Shanyang Lake, and cooperated with Hu Zhong's troops to capture Jiaxiang in a battle, and joined forces with Zhao Zuocheng. Monk Li then advanced, cleaning the battlefield along the way, and by tomorrow at the latest, he would also arrive at the foot of Juye City. In addition, Kyeongcheonheung besieged Jeju heavily, and Jeju's enemies failed to break through the siege many times. Moreover, probably because of the influence of Yang Wanhu and Li Shang's victory, Wang Baobao's Ministry took the initiative to abandon Yutai, Jinxiang and other places, and retreated again, and has now retreated to Chengwu and Shanzhou. ”

"Chengwu, Shanzhou?"

Deng She has long memorized the terrain, topography, and cities and counties around Jining, and he knows everything clearly without looking at the map.

Jiaxiang, in the west of Jeju and northwest of Sanyang Lake, is the only place for Yang Wanhu to go to Juye. Earlier, Zhao gave Hu Zhong 2,000 cavalry to come here, not to seek the city, but to defend the pass. Yang Wanhu had crossed the lake and joined forces with Hu Zhong, and his military strength increased greatly, and it was not surprising that he captured Jiaxiang in one fell swoop.

Yutai and Jinxiang are just west of Shanyang Lake and other lakes, south of Juye and Jiaxiang, and belong to the south of Jining Road. After Wang Baobao's army defeated Juye, because there were thousands of cavalry of Gao Yanshi in the northwest to hinder him, he had to retreat south, and first retreated to these two places. Now, Yang Wanhu and Monk Li have crossed the lake one after another, which is equivalent to threatening the flanks of these two places, so he has no choice but to retreat again.

Shanzhou, Chengwu.

one on Jining Road, on the border between Jining and Caozhou in the west; One is in Caozhou.

The Haidong army that attacked Jining Road was divided into three groups, Zhao Guo smashed Huanglong and forced Wang Baobao away; Yang Wanhu and Monk Li walked to Shanyang Lake, attacked the hinterland of Jining, and forced Wang Baobao back again; Qing Qianxing occupied Yanzhou and besieged Jeju, but he firmly held the hub transit area of Jining Road in his hands.

As long as Yanzhou and Jeju are in hand, they can continuously send the materials and troops of Tai'an and even Yidu to the frontline battlefield through various channels; At the same time, it also ensures the safety of Tai'an and other large rear. And Zhao Guo is like an arrow off the string, full of momentum, and in the initial stage of the war, he played a key role. As for Yang Wanhu and Monk Li, they initially mainly played a role of containment and cooperation, but since the development of the war, the focus has gradually shifted to them. After all, no matter what, the backbone of consolidating the results of the battle is still the pawn.

To put it simply: occupy the hub; then smashed the Yellow Dragon; Then the whole line was advanced and bloomed everywhere; In the end, the enemy will be decisively defeated. It can be said that Deng She's idea of dividing his troops into three routes before the war has been basically realized so far, except for the article of "promoting the enemy to fight a decisive battle". In the end, whether or not we can successfully achieve the "decisive battle of promoting the enemy" is not only in Haidong itself, but also depends on the cooperation of Jinling.

Deng She subconsciously paced in the courtyard and pondered, not to mention Jinling, asked about another thing, and said: "Since Wang Baobao has retreated from Yutai and Jinxiang, did Monk Li immediately follow up and take advantage of the situation to occupy the city?" ”

According to the military report, Monk Li has sent thousands of soldiers and horses and is rushing to these two places. Now it may have arrived. There were no enemy troops stationed in the city, and it was easy to occupy the city. ”

"It's okay to have Yutai, Jinxiang must be won."

There are two large granaries of the Yuan army around Jinxiang, and there are a lot of grain storage. Sun Ziyun: "Because the grain is for the enemy", in the war, the military expenses and grain are obtained from the enemy country, so that "the military food can be sufficient." Especially in the current situation of Yidu, grain reserves are becoming more and more scarce, so it becomes even more important to "feed the enemy because of grain".

Hong Jixun said: "Wang Baobao is quite fatherly, although he gave up Jinxiang and Yutai because of the lack of troops, and retreated into Shanzhou and Chengwu in the whole line, but in the eyes of Yichen, he will definitely not leave us with the grain in Jinxiang, even if Monk Li can arrive in time, I am afraid that there will not be much gain." ”

"He was in a hurry to withdraw his troops, and he couldn't bring much grain and baggage. At most, set it on fire. I heard that those two granaries are very large, and Li Shousheng has already sent enough people to infiltrate Jinxiang, as long as Monk Li's speed is faster, he can still rescue some of them. ”

"I hope so."

Hong Jixun paused and said, "Lord, when it comes to food, there is indeed not much food in our army. On the Tai'an side, Deng Chengzhi had already sent two urgent reports, saying that the current amount of grain reserves was only enough for half a month's needs of the whole army,—— which still added the grain captured by Zhao Zuocheng in Juye. ”

"Half a month ,......。"

"yes."

"How much grain do you have in Yidu?"

"On the orders of the lord, Luo Lilang and Wu Henian have sent two batches of grain to the front line, and the remaining stored grain is only enough for the Yidu garrison to eat, and it is really irretrievable."

"......, if you can't adjust it, you have to continue to adjust it to the front line!"

"And what about the garrison in our city?"

"Ordered Li Jing and Li Lan to do their best to collect the grain reserves of the counties and counties along the southeast coast, and instructed them to transport all the grain to Yidu in addition to keeping enough for their own army."

"Even if it can't last a month."

Tens of thousands of troops are outside, facing a strong enemy, and there is no food for a month, which is very dangerous.

Deng She raised his head and looked through the courtyard gate, the afternoon sun flowed, reflecting on the banana trees in the distance, a little bit of gold. When he came out of the room, he felt that the sun was very warm, and after so many hours, he felt a little hot, and when he stepped into the shade under the tree, he said: "The battle has reached this level, and it is absolutely impossible to withdraw the troops. Can't last enough for a month? I gritted my teeth and worked hard, and I had to hold on! However, Mr. is also reasonable, and he must not have a backhand, just in case the war is stalemate. In this way, he ordered Pyongyang to give Wenhua Guo half a month, and ordered Liu Yang's sailors to send a batch of grain to support Yidu first. ”

According to Deng She's original intention, in fact, he didn't want to use Haidong's grain reserves.

Why?

First, Haidong is not rich, and the war with Chahan years ago has already used a lot of Haidong's warehousing. The main people of Haedong were Goryeo, so they got Goryeo, and if the looting was too heavy, it was really not conducive to rule. Not to mention, not long ago, Yao Haogu had just smashed the rebellion of the former Goryeo nobles.

Second, transporting grain from Haidong to Yidu is a long way, and it is a land route and a sea route, and the consumption on the road is too great. Ten percent of the grain, and in the end, it is good to be able to transport five or six percent of the benefits. Why did Sun Tzu say "because of the grain is the enemy"? This consumption from the home country is one of the important reasons.

Deng She sighed and said, "'Xing, the people are bitter; Death, the people suffer. Whether it is a soldier or a grain crop, the burden will eventually fall on the people. Sir, if our army can't win this battle,......, to be honest, I myself will feel ashamed of Haidong's father. ”

"The lord is wise and martial, generous and loves the people, although the people are bitter today, they will not suffer tomorrow."

Deng She smiled, temporarily put down this end of the mind, although the food is small, but it has not yet reached the point of exhaustion, tear down the east wall, make up the west wall, as much as possible to barely support, the current key is still in the front line of the battle situation, he turned his mouth and asked: "What is the current situation in Dizhou?" ”

"The military orders of the lord have been sent to Liaoxi and Liaoyang respectively. Chen Hu replied and promised that he would be able to send out the army within three days. Li Ye in Liaoxi had already begun a tentative attack on Shijiabao, and when Chen Hujun arrived, he would launch a general attack. It was probably affected by this, after all, as soon as Liaoxi was in western Liao, our army could directly take Dadu, so the Yuan army that came out of Dadu earlier stopped advancing yesterday. According to the Dizhou military report, there seem to be signs of retreat. As long as its military horses are withdrawn along the way, and Chahan has no reinforcements to send, then my Dizhou City will dare to be safe, at most, there will be no danger. ”

"Tell Luo Guoqi, Wang Guoyi and others not to slack off, let alone be careless! Don't ask them to have merit, as long as they have no fault, can hold Dizhou, and don't let the Tartars cross the border one by one, it is a great achievement. ”

"Yes."

"Tell Chen Yutou again, you need to pay attention to the movements in Dizhou at all times, if Luo Guoqi, Wang Guoyi and others are defeated and lost, he must immediately pull it up and plug the loophole!"

Chen Yutou was originally stationed in Laizhou, and was ordered to be transferred to Yidu a while ago. However, although he was transferred to Yidu, he did not camp in the city, but camped fifty miles northwest of the city, less than two hundred miles from Dizhou. If it is said that Luo Guoqi and Wang Guoyi are the gate of Yidu and the first line of defense; He is the second line of defense, guarding Yidu, and at the same time, he also has the responsibility of echoing Dizhou and rushing to help at any time.

Hong Jixun agreed.

I talked about the war in Jining, discussed the preparation of food and salary, and then talked about the situation in Dizhou and Liaoxi.

Deng She held on to the tree, moved his waist slightly, the war was urgent recently, he rarely had time to move, his body couldn't help but be a little uncomfortable, bent down slightly, patted his legs, and Hong Jixun smiled: "In the past, Liu Bei went to Jingzhou, was a guest for Liu Biao, and was comfortable for several years. Sir, I think back then, I couldn't leave the saddle, and all the flesh was gone. Since coming to Yidu, he has rarely gone out of the city, let alone riding and archery martial arts,......, oops, there are a lot of wastes. 'The sun and the moon are galloping, the veteran is coming, and the merit is not established'. What Liu Bei felt back then, I am also 'concerned' now. ”

"Liu Bei was already in his prime, but the lord is now in his prime, which cannot be compared. Why is this prominent? ”

Deng She shook his head and said, "No. I've heard that 'little but studious, like the rising sun; Strong and studious, like the light of the day; Old and studious, like the light of a candle'. Although I am young and not yet old, my husband should be able to do it as soon as possible, so how can I really wait until I am old and decrepit? ”

"Less but studious, like the rising sun; Strong and studious, like the light of the day; Old and studious, like the light of a candle", this is a sentence that Shi Kuang, a musician of the Jin Kingdom said to Jin Pinggong in the Spring and Autumn Period, and there is a sentence at the back, "Which is the best thing to do?" ”

The original meaning is that when I was young, I liked to learn, like the sunshine of the newborn sun; When I was middle-aged, I liked to study, like the sun of the noon sun; When I was old, I liked to study, just like the light of a candle. Which one is better than walking in the dark?

In other words, it is "live to be old and learn to be old", no matter how old you are, as long as you are willing to learn, it is always better than not learning.

However, Dunsher does not mean this when quoting here. He is saying that youth and prime of life are like the light of day, but old age is like the light of a candle, and you can't wait until it becomes a candle to achieve meritorious deeds.

Hong Jixun was so smart that he quickly understood what Deng She meant, and he heard the deep meaning contained in it, and said with a smile: "The lord is a hero!" Although the minister is not talented, he has done his best. ”

If there was a third person present, they would not know what the two of them were talking about, but they understood each other. Deng She laughed and said, "If you want to show your ambition, you need to rely on the power of Mr.!" The reason why he suddenly put forward the view that "it is necessary to achieve meritorious deeds as soon as possible" is that the deep meaning contained in it is nothing else, it is precisely that after faintly implying that after laying down the country and winning the world, he still wants to have enough time to govern the world.

Hong Jixun's "Xiongtu" also alludes to this meaning.

Since ancient times, beauties have been like heroes, and they are not allowed to see white heads in the world. Even if there is a lot of pride, even if there are many ambitions, even if there are countless ideals and pursuits to be realized, but the biggest enemy is not a strong enemy, nor oneself, but the years that pass like a white horse.

Although Deng She is young, after all, he has been a human being in two lives, and his feelings about this are particularly profound. He remembered a song he had heard in later generations, which was originally the theme song of "The Great Hero Zheng Chenggong", called "Borrow from the Sky for Another 500 Years". Zheng Chenggong died of illness before he was forty years old, died young, and failed to realize his ambition to drive out the Tartars, so in the song, the last line sings: "I really want to live another five hundred years." ”

In his previous life, Deng She often sighed for him, and in this life, he drove out foreign races and restored China in the same way. As he gradually sees this goal as a personal responsibility, and as he grows more and more mission-oriented, he inevitably becomes more sensitive to the passage of time.

The sun is just right, and the plantain outside the courtyard is full of green leaves.

In April and May, when the cherries are red and the plantain is green, the streamer is easy to throw people.

Smelling the fragrance of flowers in the courtyard, Deng She turned his gaze, stopped looking, calmed down, and asked leisurely: "Wu Guogong of Jinling, where is the current army?" ”