Yao Haogu and Hong Jixun did not return home, and came to see Deng She in the moonlight.

It's not that Deng She went to the banquet late and left early, he has been really busy in the past few days, and the envoys from all over the world need him to meet when they arrive. The arrival of the envoys who traveled thousands of miles and crossed the ocean was naturally not only as simple as greeting him for the New Year, but also with special tasks, or such as the envoys of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, for the purpose of trade; Or like the messenger of Goryeo, in order to seek truth from the void.

It's easy to say that it's good to be hypocritical, like the King of Goryeo and Zhang Deyu, who received them perfunctorily and didn't give them a chance. The trouble, on the contrary, is trade, although Deng is reluctant to ask for it, but can not but be cautious to deal with it.

When Hong Jixun and Yao Haogu came, Deng She was talking about this with the two subordinates of the left and right divisions. Seeing that the two of them were coming, Deng She stopped talking, waved his hand, and ordered the two to retreat first. Yao Haogu said with a smile: "Ambiguous Pixian, sit back and wait." It's about a diligent man like the lord! ”

Although it was almost midnight, Deng She was in good spirits and did not show any fatigue at all, so he motioned for the maid to come over and light the lamps and candles on the wall, and invited the two to take a seat.

Yao Haogu's words, from "Shangshu", are simple and difficult, he didn't understand the first half of the sentence too much, but the second half of the sentence was clear, and he knew that he was praising himself. He smiled, and also quoted a sentence from the "Book of Songs", and replied: "I don't dare to ask for work." ”

In addition to dealing with military and political affairs, he reads books every day, although most of them are history books, the art of war, etc., but he still reads some of the "Book of Songs". Confucius taught his son, saying, "If you don't learn poetry, you can't speak." At this time, Deng She quoted casually, and sure enough, he set off people with "elegance" and close to "etiquette", which is completely different from those reckless warlords.

The three of them were seated.

Deng She picked up the slips handed over by the two subordinates, put them aside first, and said, "At the banquet tonight, what Zhang Deyu said is really the same as Mr. Hong's judgment the day before yesterday. Mr. Talented. I have a blessing from God, sir. ”

Hong Jixun had a little bit of alcohol, and said frankly: "Shenyang is lonely, don't listen to Zhang Deyu's bragging, what a word, you can call 100,000 Northland Tiger Ben." Naha was trapped in the lonely city, and under my pressure, he was at the end of his rope. However, the tiger is dead, Shenyang is too close to my Liaoyang, what Zhang Deyu said today, although it can be temporarily perfunctory, and at the same time give me time to rest.

"But for the next decision, the lord still needs to make a decision as soon as possible to get rid of this henchman!"

Yao Haogu agreed.

He said: "At the banquet, Zhang Deyu said that I have five evils in Haidong, although it is an exaggeration, it is a common trick of lobbyists, so you don't need to pay attention to it. However, when you think about it, there is some truth. Don't say that the east of the sea is vast and sparsely populated, but only that we have Goryeo in the east, outside the west of the fortress, the sea in the south, and Shenyang in the north. Enemies on three sides. Soon it will be New Year's Day, and after the beginning of spring, the army can be raised, and the next step of the lord's plan really needs to be thought about. ”

At this time, they are busy determining the official system and military system, and are busy with internal affairs, and there is little time among the ministers to agree on the next expansion plan, and without an overall strategy, they will be at a loss. Taking the opportunity of Zhang Deyu's arrival, Haidong's two think tanks want to express their personal opinions.

Deng She's spirits perked up and said, "Sir, come quickly, I'll listen to you." ”

Yao Haogu glanced at Hong Jixun and saw that he didn't mean to say it first, just holding the tea bowl and drinking slowly, which was very different from the previous preemptive speech, and knew that he just wanted to test his ability.

Earlier in Shuangcheng, before Yao Haogu descended, he fought with Hong Jixun many times, and there was quite a conflict between them. Speaking of which, Yao Haogu was magnificent, knowing that the two of them were their masters at that time, he didn't take this bit to heart, but he knew the way to be a minister, what was the most taboo on the lord? Courtiers form factions. Especially he and Hong Jixun can be described as Haidong's right-hand men.

Therefore, since he became a monk in Dengshe, Hong Jixun has been cold to him, and he has only maintained a polite and humble attitude on the surface, and has not deliberately befriended him. The two have always been lukewarm, and they have been on the big face, but they have no personal relationship.

He humbly conceded a few words, and seeing that Hong Jixun still refused to say it first, he took the lead and said: "The minister thinks that to solve my situation of being an enemy on three sides, I need to take two steps. The first step is what the lord is doing now, establishing a system, developing trade, managing internal affairs, and recruiting and strengthening the army.

"People, you can't eat fat people in one bite, after digesting what you have, you can raise troops when you have something to do, and the second step is to raise troops. How to raise troops? The best strategy is to break each one. Because I have congenital deficiencies in Haidong, even after recuperation, I do not have the strength to start an all-out war, and only after distinguishing the advantages and disadvantages of the enemy in all aspects, it is the most stable to attack them separately. ”

Deng She turned his eyes to Hong Jixun, Hong Jixun played with the tea bowl and nodded slightly.

Deng She said: "I know everything about running internal affairs, recruiting troops and strengthening the army. Recently, in addition to the two gentlemen, Luo Guoqi and others also submitted their own strategies and put forward many feasible suggestions. These suggestions of theirs, the two gentlemen have also seen, and they can be implemented only after the spring. The first step is pressed for now. Excuse me, sir, how to 'separate it' in this second step? ”

"Distant friends and close attacks, choose the weak one to strike first."

"What is the weak?"

"Liaoxi, Shenyang, and Goryeo, between the three, the strongest seems to be Goryeo, and the weakest seems to be Shenyang. In fact, it is not, the Ningchang, Taining, Kaiyuan and other roads north of Shenyang have thousands of miles of land, and there are many Mongolian tribes. Today, Shenyang is blocking the front, and the Mongolian tribes in Ningchang and other places may say: The enemy is thousands of miles away and has nothing to do with me. Once the lord pulls out Shenyang, the threat of the soldiers will inevitably lead to a sense of self-danger in his life, and he will no longer be scattered, and he will definitely gather together and take the initiative to fight with me.

"Therefore, if the lord first thinks that Shenyang is weak and attacks it first, he will get a city in vain, with a land of less than a hundred miles and a mouth of only tens of thousands, and he will fall into front of the wolves of our army, and be harassed by them day and night, and there will be no peace. As a result, it will be difficult to have the energy to attack other places. It's more than worth the loss. ”

In short, Shenyang served as a barrier to the north, and if it was to be attacked, it would help change the state of the scattered sand of the Mongol tribes and arouse their fighting spirit, so they did not fight it for the first time and kept it.

Deng She thought so, and said: "Shenyang seems to be weak and strong, but Goryeo seems to be strong and weak?" ”

"Not bad!"

Yao Haogu said eloquently: "The lord has entered Goryeo, and he is invincible. A few months ago, the Battle of the Twin Cities annihilated all the elites of Goryeo. Since then, Goryeo's vitality has been greatly damaged, there are no elite soldiers, there will be no brave generals, and the treasury is empty, and there are Japanese pirates along the coast who are consuming their only remaining strength day by day, and the temples are constantly fighting for their own parties. This is the time for me to make persistent efforts and use force.

"When the new army is trained, the minister asserts that there is no need for the lord to levy in person, only one general, lead 10,000 tigers, cross the river for a long drive, show off his might, and use my emerging strong army to attack the depressed Goryeo, not to mention destroying the withering and decaying, it is not impossible to decide without a fight. Our army will be able to win easily.

"Established in the southern part of Goryeo, I don't have to worry about the future.

"The lord has decided to use Liaoyang as the provincial capital to show his ambition to forge ahead; Taking Pyongyang as the western capital, we will promote the benevolence and righteousness of loving the people. As Zhang Deyu said, with such a scale, we can cross the Hanhai Sea and go south when we advance eastward, and retreat is enough to draw Yalu and defend ourselves. Let's ask the heroes of Liaodong, who can compare? The second is flattened, such as the backhand. ”

Hong Jixun put down the tea bowl and listened intently. At this time, he spoke: "First Goryeo, it should be like this. But may I ask Lord Yao, after winning Goryeo, will you fight Shenyang next? ”

"Exactly."

"Lord Yao just said that if Shenyang falls into my hands, the Mongolian tribes in the north will definitely fight with me, 'trapping our army in front of the wolves', what should I do?"

"In the past, Chu and Han competed, and Henkel and Chu overlords competed for power in the Central Plains. Chu's army is not strong, Henkel lost nine times out of ten, but he was able to win in the end, what he relied on was Han Xin? It is true that Han Xin is an immortal general. However, Henkel is the emperor, and the first merit was given to Xiao He. May I ask Lord Hong, what is this for? ”

"Henkel is dead, Xiao He is resigned; Henkel lacked food, and Xiao He gave food. ”

"Yes! If the lord wins Goryeo, he captures the king of Li, and rolls the north and south into one, just like Henkel's pass. The so-called one time, that time. With Goryeo as the reliance of our army, the Mongol tribes will no longer be a problem. ”

Hong Jixun was noncommittal, and then asked, "What about Liaoxi?" And what should I do? ”

"Liaoxi is close to the belly, and it is even stronger than Shenyang. In the humble opinion of the minister, you must not provoke it easily, I will strengthen the army to Tunwuping and stationed in Yizhou, as long as I can prevent it from attacking me, it will be fine. After the lord takes Goryeo in the east and Shenyang in the north, sit and wait for changes, if there is something in the Central Plains, I can take it; If the Central Plains is fine, lock up and protect yourself. ”

Hong Jixun was silent.

Yao Haogu continued: "In addition, in fact, there is another potential threat to my Haidong. ”

Deng She guessed three points and asked, "Who?" ”

"Polo Timur. He garrisoned Shaanxi and Hebei, and it seemed that he was thousands of miles away from me, but his forward was far away from the outside of the fortress, and the lord had to be on guard. ”

"How to prevent it?"

"The capture of Goryeo and Shenyang is a close attack, and to deal with Polo is to make a distant friend. However, he has always hated my Emperor Song, and it may be difficult to make friends with him. Has the lord heard of Yang Cheng and Cheng Sizhong? ”

Of course Dunsher had heard of it.

In particular, Cheng Sizhong, who was originally from the Liaodong Red Turban System, was originally a descendant of Guan Duo. After Guan Duo defeated Shangdu, he and Pan Cheng and Sha Liu Er led the main force to Liaodong, leaving a team of men and horses to garrison Shangdu, and its leader was Cheng Sizhong. After Guan Duo's death, Deng She had already had the intention to contact him, but he didn't care about it for the time being.

Yang Cheng has a relationship with Shandong. It is said that he was originally a general under Mao Gui Mao Pingzhang, and now he is active in Hebei, with nearly 10,000 people, and he is also one of the heroes of the north.

Yao Haogu said: "The minister thinks that if he wants to solve Polo's troubles, it will be on these two people." The lord can contact them, not expect them to submit, and even treat them with equal courtesy, and support them as much as he can. The more active and powerful they are, the more they will attract Polo's attention. In a short period of time, we can ensure the safety of our Haidong. ”

Deng She's head was in agreement.

Outside the hall, the night wind gusted in, and despite the brazier, it was still difficult to keep the cold out. Yao Haogu talked for a long time, his mouth was dry, he poured cold tea, changed the hot water, drank two sips, and felt a little warm. He said to Dunshe: "The minister's humble opinion is roughly like this. There must be deficiencies among them,...... "Chao Hong Jixun arched his hand, "I wish to hear Hong Gong's high opinion." ”

He said everything, but for a while, Hong Jixun had nothing to add, opened his mouth, opened the folding fan, and closed it again with a snapping sound.

The hall was quiet for a moment, and Deng She smiled: "The hero sees the same thing. Since the two gentlemen disagreed, let it be as such. After the new army is trained and recuperates, it will go out to Goryeo. As for contacting Yang Cheng and Cheng Sizhong, leave it to Mr. Yao to handle, okay? ”

Yao Haogu is familiar with Cheng Sizhong, and it is appropriate to hand it over to him.

Speaking of which, when Dunshe has nothing to do, he often thinks about his next step. It's not that he said that what the hero sees is slightly the same, what he thinks of is not much different from what Yao Haogu said, but it is not so formed. Now that the strategy has been set, it is suddenly clear that the military and politics before and after this year will revolve around it.

The example given by Yao Haogu just now is good, Liu Bang is on the expedition, and Xiao He is behind. If the military is compared to a knife for supremacy, then domestic affairs are its foundation, and diplomacy is the momentum.

Since the external alliance allies have been handed over to Yao Haogu, then internally they will have to rely on Hong Jixun, Wu Henian and others. Wu Henian was not in Pyongyang, Deng She picked up the letter submitted by the staff of the left and right divisions before, handed it to Hong Jixun, and said with a smile: "Contact Yang Cheng and Cheng Sizhong, and it will be a year later at the earliest." The most urgent task is how to deal with the emissaries from outside.

Zhang Deyu said well, delay him for two days, and perfunctory promise. This is a major event for trade with Jiangsu and Zhejiang. How to deal with it, leave it to Mr. Hong, okay? ”

Both Zhang Shicheng's envoy and Fang Guozhen's envoy carried a long list of the goods they needed and the goods they were willing to trade with Haidong.

The goods they need are relatively simple, and there are only a few Korean specialties that travel freely in China, such as Korean rice, ramie cloth, green ware, bronze ware, Silla lacquer, as well as ginseng, poria and other medicines, mink, otter skin and other furs, and at most, add some Korean paper or something.

The trouble lies in the fact that they are willing to exchange trade goods with Haidong. The characters in the south of the Yangtze River are prosperous, the silk is famous all over the world, and the colored satin and colored silk are the goods that they first ask to trade with Haidong. secondly, it is cotton, then it is ceramic, and others such as agarwood, books, jade, etc.

Most of these things are luxuries, except for cotton cloth and books, what is the use of Dunsher asking for them? It was a waste of money and contrary to the previous trade regulations set by Yao Haogu,—— which clearly stipulated that the flow of luxury goods was prohibited. What he needed was bows, armor, gunpowder, horses, food, and what he needed more was Ding Zhuang and skilled workers.

This is where bargaining comes in.

It makes sense for Deng She to hand over this work to Hong Jixun. First, Hong Jixun grew up in Goryeo and was familiar with the trade between Goryeo and Mengyuan in the past. Second, he is eloquent and thoughtful, making him the most suitable for negotiation. Of course, he is a little arrogant and too sharp, but when the time comes, he can send another old man to partner with him.

In addition to these two points, Hong Jixun also has an advantage, which is not enough for outsiders ,—— involves one of the most valuable goods in Goryeo. He was in charge of training all the thousands of Goryeo women offered by the king of Goryeo, and he was born in a famous family, so he knew the market of Goryeo women in the Central Plains, and he would not suffer in price.

Hong Jixun felt that he had fallen on Yao Haogu just now, and his competitive mind came up, so he naturally agreed happily.

On the streets outside the house, there was the sound of drums, and it was heard far away in the night, nearly three watches. Hong Jixun and Yao Haogu got up to say goodbye, and Deng She personally carried the lantern and sent the two of them out.

Turning back to the backyard, he was in a good mood. When it comes to prosperity in history books, it is often said that all nations are coming to court. Although he Haidong is now only one of the separatist forces, and he is at the bottom of the ranks in terms of strength, but despite this, envoys from all over the world have come one after another. A year ago, he had never imagined this scenario.

The wind was cold to the bone, and his heart was warm and excited. The trees in the courtyard, with their branches pointing to the night sky, are full of energy. He walked around the yard, without any sleepiness, so he simply turned back to the front yard, took the strip of Luo Guoqi and others, picked up the lamp and looked at it carefully, and had no sleep all night.