Xu Feng said in a young voice: "The road to the Central Plains in the south of Beimang, before leaving Yang, there are probably two roads to choose from since ancient times, one is to enter the North Liang and occupy Xishu, west to east, condescending. The second is to go south from the gateway of Jizhou and go straight into the hinterland of the Central Plains, so there are three disasters that enter the Gyeonggi of the Dabong Dynasty. Now there are three roads, in addition to attacking Beiliang Jizhou, there is one more two Liao, the reason is very simple, the capital is too close to the north, the emperor Zhao Li rejected the proposal of the capital to move south to the Guangling River on the grounds that the monarch should guard the border gate. Therefore, according to common sense, the Beimang army knocks on Liaodong, as long as it wins, it can go straight to Tai'an City, which is almost a once and for all. ”

The old monk smiled and said, "Lord Wang, you can say that it is 'two words'." ”

This time, not only did the old spy have to be forcibly held down by Yuan Zuozong so that he didn't pull out his knife and cut people, but even Xu Yanbing, who had always been watching coldly, began to frown, vaguely a little angry.

Xu Fengnian said quietly: " However, but there are 300,000 border troops in Beiliang, the most important thing is the existence of hundreds of thousands of elite cavalry, of course, because of the two Liao border fortifications built by half the country, the coexistence of the two, so that Beimang does not dare to act rashly, once the attack on Tai'an City is not a month, the Beiliang cavalry can use the northern border line with Jizhou as the core as a grain and grass support, and run to Liaodong at the fastest speed. As for the Beimang army from Jizhou in the middle as a breakthrough, it is estimated that the rural talents who can only talk on paper know that it is a fool's move. So, does it mean that our Northern Liangbian Army has an unshirkable responsibility to Liyang and the Central Plains, and it is an indispensable contribution?"

The old monk asked rhetorically, "Isn't it based on this inference?"

Xu Fengnian smiled: "No, it's too." The key is that both the imperial court and Beiliang believe that the Beiliang Iron Cavalry is just the private army of the Xu family, and only recognizes the Xu Ziwang Banner, does not recognize the holy decree, and does not recognize the son of heaven of the Zhao family. Then there is a question on the table of Xu Zhao's two families, no one can bypass it, Xu Xiao thought about this question back then, his eldest son, if it is an embroidered pillow that does not follow his father or his mother, then can he go to Tai'an City and be a hedonistic horse regardless of the wind and rain? Or go to the interior of the Central Plains to change a piece of land and be a prince of peace? I think Emperor Zhao Dan has thought about this question many times, that is, how to ensure that under the premise of Bei Mangxian and Bei Liang, and on the premise of ensuring the stable transition of Bei Liang's military power, can he change his surname and change the owner of the unruly Bei Liang? Many people in the Central Plains said that the Spring and Autumn War, if Gu Jiantang, who only debuted later than Xu Xiao, could destroy the Six Kingdoms, but because of the Spring and Autumn Eight Kingdoms outside Liyang, Xu Xiao was destroyed six early, and he Gu Jiantang could only helplessly follow the Xu family's army to pick up leaks, that was a helpless thing, who made him more than ten years younger than Xu Xiao, and he would be more than ten years late in joining the army? ”

The old monk couldn't help but laugh.

Even the little monk who listened to it from beginning to end was also interesting.

Yuan Zuozong smiled knowingly. Xu Yanbing also loosened his frowning brow.

Xu Fengnian sighed, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, some rare pride, and shook his head to himself: "The answer is yes and no." Because of Gu Jiantang, he would not be able to win the Battle of Xileibi, let alone Xichu, which was not without the strength of a battle after the defeat at that time. ”

The old monk was noncommittal, obviously skeptical. Although the old man is a remnant of Western Chu, after all, he resigned very early and became a scattered person far away in the rivers and lakes, and at first he was a civilian official who liked to talk about military affairs and was not good at military affairs.

Xu Fengnian couldn't help but laugh and said: "If you can't win the Battle of Xileibi, it was Gu Jiantang himself who said it back then, and it was when there was no one around, he told Xu Xiao in person. ”

The old monk with a somewhat embarrassed look subconsciously raised his arm, as if he wanted to touch the bald head, but only touched the shabby leather hat.

Xu Fengnian suddenly asked: "Why did the master say that only Xu Xiao could defend the northwest important land at the beginning of Yonghui?"

The old monk did not hide it, and said: "It is the words of the Jiangnan Daogu Xu family, the general Xu Gong of Longxiang and the poor monk. The poor monk knows what it is, but doesn't know why it is, and just borrows it for a purpose. ”

Xu Fengnian smiled bitterly: "It's not a secret, this time to block the Beiliang Iron Cavalry to Guangling, Xu Gong, the squire of the military department, is the leading general. ”

The old monk was dumbfounded.

Xu Fengnian shifted back to the previous topic, "When I traveled to the rivers and lakes for the first time, Zhao Gou had many assassinations, and as for the first few assassinations that happened in the Beiliang Palace, without Zhao Gou's arrangement, I believe that the master would not believe it." ”

The old monk nodded, convinced of this matter.

Xu Fengnian said with a smile: "I also entered Beijing as a prince later, and I learned that the queen at that time and the current queen mother had privately blocked Zhao Gou. ”

"Why is that?"

Personally, at that moment, she felt that there was still some incense left between the Xu and Zhao families, or it was inevitable that she would feel a little guilty about the white clothes case in the capital back then. But the real crux of the matter is that she thinks more long-term and is more conducive to the country's social welfare, that is, Beiliang has a royal highness of the prince, and there is an eldest son of the Xu family who has the opportunity to be a puppet of the imperial court, which is far better than Xu Xiao simply rebelling in anger, in fact, at that time, she and her man who sat on the dragon chair had a big disagreement, and the first emperor Zhao Dian had always hoped that Beiliang's surname was Chen, and hoped that the white-clothed soldier Saint Chen Zhibao, whom he greatly admired, would guard the country for his Zhao family. But in addition to being very jealous of Chen Zhibao, Queen Zhao Pheasant also has selfish intentions, that is, in the case of the bad Liyang Zhao family, let the eldest son Zhao Wu be the king of Beiliang, go to the north to stay in the cool word, and become the king of Liang who is side by side. ”

"Master, let me ask you, do you think that if I die violently, Xu Xiao also dies, or something similar, I am not happy to toss outside the customs, I just want to go to the capital to go to the Central Plains to live a peaceful life, and Xu Xiao also agreed, so assuming that there is no chaos and infighting in Beiliang, then what will be the situation if Gu Jiantang goes to Beiliang to lead the army as the general of the Great Pillar Kingdom?"

"Although the poor monk doesn't know about military affairs, he thinks it will be a good thing, Gu Jiantang led the Beiliangbian army to fight to the death, and the court can also promise to let Gu Jiantang be posthumously crowned king after his death, but it probably won't be hereditary, otherwise it will be the second Xu family, after all, the poor monk still knows the military heart, which is fought by continuous wars, and also by the death of the dead. ”

"Yes, that's the best outcome. Then I took a step back and said that Xu Xiao and I were not alive at the same time, would the Beiliang military generals obey Gu Jiantang's control?"

"This ...... The poor monk did not dare to make a rash assertion. ”

The night was deep and silent.

Yuan Zuozong said indifferently: "Can the master trust me Yuan Zuozong will say a few words of fairness?"

The old monk was a little surprised, and said with a smile: "It turns out that this is General Yuan Baixiong Yuan of the Battle of the Princess's Tomb! ”

Yuan Zuozong said slowly: "Under the premise that both the father-in-law and the prince are strictly ordered not to make trouble, only say the words of the 'old man' in Beiliang, I, Yuan Zuozong, will leave Beiliang, and it is possible to go to the Western Regions, and I will not enter the Central Plains of Beiliang for half a step in this life." The other two righteous sons, Chu Lushan, will establish himself as the king in the Liuzhou area, and may even defect directly to Beimang after the death of his father-in-law, and Qi Dang Congress will take off his iron armor and be a servant to the prince. Among the commanders of the cavalry army of the Northern Liang Border Army, Yan Wenluan may go directly to Qingliang Mountain to fight hard, even if he doesn't go, most of them will be angry to death, and if they are not angry, they will not go out, Chen Yunchui, Zhou Kang, He Zhonghu and others all left the border army. Among the young and strong generals, Liu Jinu, Hu Kui, Shi Fu, Ning Emei, Wang Lingbao, Li Mofan, etc., almost all of them will leave the border army in a negative mood. In the end, those who stayed in the border army, the old man didn't have to think about it, only Cao Xiaojiao and his ilk could still be used. As soon as these people leave, even if Gu Jiantang takes all the old troops of the Spring and Autumn Period to Beiliang, even if the framework of the 300,000 border army is still there, I think the combat power is less than half of the original, maybe the master will feel that half of the combat power is also 150,000 soldiers and horses, plus Cai Nan's army, plus someone's Xishu, plus Cao Liang's support, and a steady stream of Central Plains reinforcements, such as the Qingzhou army, can even mobilize the Gyeonggi army to rush to the northwest, in the end, there is still a chance to drag the Beimang army and slowly exhaust the national strength of Beimang, isn't it?"

This is the third time the old monk has said this tonight, "Isn't it?"

Yuan Zuozong took a deep breath and sneered: "Yes? Of course not! You must know that in this Liang Mang battle, my Bei Liang also won Bei Mang by luck, why, as soon as the master heard that Bei Liang only died 100,000 and Bei Mang died 30, he felt that the victory was easy? I might as well tell you the truth, at that time, Bei Liang, who was fighting on the third front, as long as one front collapsed, it would be a situation where the whole front would be defeated, and then it would not be 100,000 Bei Liang who would die, but the entire 300,000 border army plus 300,000 more!"

Xu Fengnian looked up at the night and muttered in a subtle voice that he could hear: "Only 100,000 dead." ”

Yuan Zuozong was a little aware of his gaffe, and tried his best to regain his calm tone, "But these are not real dead knots, the real hidden danger is ......"

Xu Fengnian interrupted Yuan Zuozong's words by calling his name, "Yuan Zuozong!"

Yuan Zuozong kept his mouth shut, and even directly put on a posture of closing his eyes and concentrating.

————

A chance encounter, some unfinished, and at the same time not a happy part.

The five horses walked slowly, and Yuan Zuozong suddenly smiled: "Feel more comfortable?"

Xu Fengnian closed his eyes and breathed hard, as if he had the unique refreshing spleen of the spring cold, and said with a smile: "Pour out all the complaints in one breath, the whole person is much more comfortable." There's no way to say that in Beiliang, after all, I am all angry people, especially the second sister and Xu Beitong, who don't treat me as a punching bag. ”

Yuan Zuozong smiled, but soon had some hidden worries, "Because of the rout of the two Huai border armies, and the banner of Jingjing, we are still safe all the way south, but then the Jibei Jingcai, Xishu infantry and Qingzhou soldiers and horses are about to converge, plus the Guangling battlefield is getting closer and closer, Wu Chongxuan's northern Xinjiang army is eyeing the tiger, I am afraid that someone will soon jump out to disgust people, so as to flatter the imperial court and not hinder major events, but after all, it is trouble." ”

Xu Fengnian shook his head and said, "Since you have decided to go south, you no longer have the luxury of expecting to have a good reputation in the Central Plains in the future." ”

Xu Yanbing joked: "The prince has finally helped Beiliang save a little reputation in the past two years, and most of them will be beaten back to their original form again." ”

Xu Fengnian pouted and said, "This kind of thing is not a thing. ”

Xu Yanbing sighed: "This is worthy of being said by the King of Beiliang." ”

Yuan Zuozong echoed: "It is worthy of what the Great Grandmaster of Martial Arts said. ”

The old spy and Zhang Longjing said in unison: "Yes!"

Xu Fengnian straightened his face and said: "Presumptuous, they are all dragged out by this king and beheaded!"

A hearty laugh spread far and wide in the night.

As one of the ancestral courts of Buddhism, Hanshan Temple has always been known for "the temple of small Buddha", different from the two Zen temples that cover a vast area and many monks, Hanshan Temple in the history of monks at most but more than 100 people, as one of the three ancestors of the opening of the monk of Kuanxin, in the Dafeng Dynasty by the successive kings and ministers of the revered, the last emperor of Dafeng is to be called the Bodhisattva of the flesh, now the origin of the Buddhist rosary is also the first to put forward the soybean count of the monk of Kuanxin. This ancient temple can escape the disaster in the spring and autumn wars full of gunsmoke and is well preserved. But the imperial court just issued an order, and it was ruined in one fell swoop.

In the five horses disappeared in the night, the old monk Fa Xian let the little monk carry the oil lamp to return to the land temple to sleep, the old man walked alone along a night dew soaked boots path, like a lonely ghost wandering in the wilderness, after about half an hour before returning to the land temple, different from the previous small temple cold and lonely like the tomb, at this time the land temple actually became colorful in just half an hour, brilliant atmosphere, there was a bit of the prince's family of the rich and noble state, the stone steps paved the brocade stove to add charcoal, not to mention, there was a graceful middle-aged man sitting by the fireside, and there were several maids who looked like fairies waiting diligently。 The old monk looked strange, walked up the steps, squatted by the stove and stretched out his hand to warm the fire, the middle-aged man looked like a picturesque person, and asked softly: "How?"

The old man took off his fur hat and put it on his knees, and said softly, "He can listen to reason better than his father." And when he talks about the reason, he also tells it one by one, in short, he is better than his father Xu Xiao. ”

The old man raised his head and looked at this man who was almost the only remaining country seeker in the Spring and Autumn Period, "Mr. Nalan, do you really want to provoke Jiangnan Daoist and Jianghu people to fight against the Beiliang cavalry? Aren't you afraid of overdoing it?"

The middle-aged man who was called Mr. Nalan by the monk Fa Xian lowered his head and played with the charcoal fire, his face was like a crown of jade, glowing with a beautiful luster, and he answered the question, "You Buddhists have sixteen visualizations, but you can see yourself? ”

The old monk sighed helplessly: "You, you are more like a monk than a poor monk." ”

Nalan Youci sneered: "Fa Xian, don't forget that you should have been an important chess piece in Hong Jia's Northern Run, and you should have gone to the Northern Mang and Southern Dynasties to serve as the head of the Buddha, you also nodded and agreed at that time, but you regretted it, this account, that person can not care, my heart is not as big as his!"

The old monk touched his bald head, "There is no way, I couldn't find a place to return in the Confucian books back then, and then I couldn't settle down in the Huang Lao Doctrine. Since you really became a monk, you shouldn't pay attention to mundane things. ”

Nalan Youci said angrily: "If you don't pay attention to the world, you don't care about the world?

The old monk smiled and said: "In the world, a pair of skins are just thrown away in this life." All sentient beings have their own blessings, and all sentient beings have their own sufferings......"

Nalan Youci stood up abruptly and shouted angrily: "Uncle!"

The old monk stared at the pot of charcoal, his eyes dazed.

Nalan Youci said indignantly: "Cao Changqing secretly contacted the remnants of the Southern Dynasty, and even Wang Sui and Gu Jiantang were moved by him, promising that after the success of Western Chu, Wang Sui would be allowed to restore the country to Dongyue, and promised Gu Jiantang to become the first person in the world, not just the Liyang Dazhu Kingdom that Xu Xiao did not want to eat, once the Central Plains was pacified and the Northern Mang was annexed, he also promised that the Jiang family of Western Chu would only survive for one lifetime, and then Jiang Xi Chan would let him be replaced by the children of the Gu family as the emperor." This is the scheduled Spring and Autumn Festival finale in Cao Changqing's heart!"

The old monk sighed: "All living beings are in great suffering. ”

Nalan Youci stood on the steps, pursed his lips, and his eyes were gloomy.

The old monk no longer called this junior in the former family Mr., but asked bluntly: "You are forcing Xu Fengnian to oppose the imperial court so much, and forcing the Central Plains to regard Beiliang as an enemy, are you planning for Zhao Bing, the king of Yan, or Zhao Zhu, the prince of Yan?"

Nalan Youci's face was cold and hard, and he said in a deep voice: " As long as Beimang loses the national strength to the south in the future, the Xu family with the male army is not allowed to leave the sun, and the Beiliang, which is like a feudal town, is not allowed to be in the world, it is the trend of the times, and the rabbit and the dog are cooked, and anyone who is the emperor will do it, not to mention that Zhao Zhu, who is the son of today, is Zhao Zhu, who is the right Ci of Nalan, ascended the throne and called the emperor, even if he and Xu Fengnian have been brothers who have exchanged lives since childhood, as long as Xu Fengnian is still the king of Beiliang, the situation of Beiliang will not change in the slightest, maybe it will be worse than these twenty years. Now there is no way to ride from Liyang to Beiliang, which does not mean that it will still be helpless after five or ten years. ”

Monk Fa Xian flipped over his palm, and changed his palm to the back of his hand to roast the fire, "The calculation is quite long-term, even Xu Fengnian's friendship with your young mastermind is counted in it, but let me ask you, the rabbit dies and the dog cooks is the reason for being the emperor, so the dog jumps over the wall in a hurry, is it also reasonable?"

The old monk didn't wait for Nalan Youci to speak, and continued: "Why didn't Beiliang send the left and right cavalry to the Central Plains south this time? It was the Daxue Dragon Cavalry, the backbone of the Beiliang Iron Cavalry? Is this 10,000-strong cavalry army going deep into the hinterland? Is it the young vassal king's willfulness? Want to take advantage of the prestige of the Xu family and show off with the neighbor of the Central Plains? Think about it, the Xu family has been outside the Northwest Pass for 20 years, and has fought a death battle with the Northern Mangmang barbarians for 20 years, and has never coveted the Central Plains, and it was before and will be. In particular, the twenty families that secretly attached themselves to Bei Liang as you mentioned earlier appeared in the field of vision of the imperial court, so didn't Bei Liang tell Tai'an City that this time the army was not a rebellion? Under the banner of Jingnan, it is a step back, so it is another step back, and Bei Liang's proportions can be seen at a glance. Now that you, Nalan Youci, are going to break the balance between the two sides, and what you do, you are not afraid of reducing the incense between Xu Fengnian and Zhao Zhu? When Zhao Zhutu sees it, it is really true that Xu Fengnian will not be angry, and he will turn back? You must know that at that time, most of Beimang was also disabled, and whoever killed the deer of the Central Plains, maybe Xu Fengnian's Beiliang Iron Cavalry would have been able to let go of his hands and feet......

The old monk suddenly stopped talking, turned his head slowly, and looked at the slender figure beside him with a shocked face, "You...... You Nalan Youci want Xu Fengnian to be the emperor?!"

Nalan Youci did not admit or deny it, and began to laugh.

Nalan Youci stretched out two fingers, gently twisted a strand of long hair hanging down his ears and temples, gritted his teeth and said, "Li Yishan's only disciple, how can he not be the emperor?!"

The old monk bowed his head and muttered, "Crazy, crazy......"

————

At that time, when Han Lin, who was knocked unconscious, woke up, it was already on the way back to the mansion of the envoy, and the official of the second rank of the feudal frontier was lying in the carriage, sitting up and leaning against the wall of the car in a daze.

He couldn't figure out a lot of things, just like he couldn't figure out why his mentor didn't choose Zhao Youling Yin Maochun in Zhang Lu, who was full of talents, and only picked Wang Xionggui, who obviously did not have the qualifications of the prime minister, as his successorHan Lin also couldn't understand why Cai Nan, who didn't have a friendship and personal friendship, why he had to withdraw by himself, so that he could stay away from this monstrous turmoil that was enough to make his career die, instead of dragging himself into the water and suffering together.

Only at this moment did Han Lin, who was rising step by step in the officialdom of the capital, understand one thing, no matter how much knowledge the scholar had, he and those battlefield warriors were not all the way after all, because you never knew what amazing things they would do next.

Han Lin lifted the curtain of the car and looked at the white snow outside, chilling through his body.

He was a little ashamed of Cai Nan, and he hated the unruly King of Beiliang.

Han Lin thought that if Cai Nan didn't die this time, even if he risked being suspicious of the imperial court, he would have to have a good time with this general of Gu Jiantang's old department. It's just that Han Lin was a little lonely soon, under such a powerful iron cavalry charge, as the main general, how could Cai Nan not die?

Han Lin sighed softly, and then his eyes became resolute, he made up his mind, Cai Nan's family, as long as he Han Lin was an official in Lianghuai for a day, he would take care of them for a day!

But at this time, the master must not have imagined that Cai Nan was not actually killed in battle, but was seriously ill and unconscious in bed for many days, and the bed was not in the Cai family's house, but in the tent of the large military camp, which showed that the injury was serious, and it had reached the point of being unable to withstand the terror of a little carriage bump.

So much so that when the celebrant eunuch who "rushed" all the way from the capital to Hezhou to announce the decree, when he entered the camp tent with the holy decree of the rhinoceros horn shaft, he also smelled the strong smell of medicine and the bloody smell that could not be concealed. In fact, before the curtain was lifted, the eunuch had already seen the wives and children of the envoys, and they were all in a panic, not only worried about the life and death of the head of the family, but also worried about the thunder and anger of the court and the guilt. Along the way, most of the scenes of those big military camps are glimpses, but the mourning scene of everyone losing their souls cannot be faked, it is the kind of mourning army that has fought a big defeat and must be a fiasco.

As one of the eight eunuchs in the palace of Tai'an City, who are not considered to be the oldest generation of eunuchs, under normal circumstances, it is the edict of the second-rank border officer, and it is far from his turn, but this decree is obviously a tacit evil errand of the big red python robes, and it is impossible for Song Tanglu to leave the side of the Son of Heaven, as the second-in-command of the eunuch, according to the law, he will only hold up the holy decree of those mutton fat and white jade shafts, otherwise it will be too low, and then it will be the righteous eunuch of the hall, among the eight people, he is the poor worm with the least qualifications, the lowest backer, who will not comeThe middle-aged eunuch who felt sorry for himself had a straight face, squinted, first looked around, and then slowly focused his eyes on the sickbed, there was a pale young military general standing next to the bed, he couldn't stand up straight, he was on crutches, and the eunuch frowned, before he came, there was a general description of the situation of Cai Nan's army, and some of the main generals had elaborated on the burly young man in front of him, who should be Cai Nan's only moth son, who died in the early years of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and followed Cai Nan's surname very early, called Cai Bai, in the Cai family, Cai Bai's status is not lower than Cai Nan's three sons, and the Cai family has many things that can't be on the table, It is said that Cai Bai personally leveled it, clean and clean, Zhao Gou, who was responsible for keeping an eye on Cai Nan, also gave some good comments, thinking that it is worth cultivating with the court's heart, once it is done, in the future, Cai Nan will train tens of thousands of military horses, which can naturally become available soldiers in the imperial court.

The middle-aged eunuch was originally absolutely unable to get in touch with such an insider, but this far-traveled decree, there are too many things outside the holy decree, and there are many mysteries from the beginning, first the powerful eunuch Bingbi found him to talk to him, and told him to go to Lianghuai Dao to issue the holy decree this time, to act in secret, and the more strange thing is that the holy decree handed over to him is not one, but two! It's just that the boxes are slightly different, when the eunuch Bingbi handed over the two golden silk nan wooden boxes, he drew a hidden trace with his fingernails on one of the boxes, saying that if Cai Nan's army stopped the Beiliang cavalry, he would promulgate the holy decree in this box, if he lost, and it must be a fiasco, he would open another box, if he scribbled to deal with it, pretending to pose for a big battle, in fact, he was privately allowing the Beiliang Iron Cavalry to swagger across the border, then the two boxes did not need to be opened, you should go out of Beijing to patrol the border, how to go and how to return, don't say anything, don't say anything, don't see anyone。 However, it must be remembered that no matter what kind of decree it is, it must be promulgated after the war when the dust has settled and the situation has been thoroughly seen, but it is not too late, not even a few days at night!

So after getting a hint from Zhao Gou, the eunuch who followed the hall came to Cai Nan's camp in such a daze.

Cai Bai limped forward a few steps, bowed down and clasped his fists and whispered: "The last general, Cai Bai, I have seen my father-in-law." ”

The eunuch nodded and said in a shrill voice: "General Cai, the Lord has never woken up? ”

Cai Bai tried his best to hide his sadness, and said softly: "Back to my father-in-law, my father-in-law woke up once yesterday, but soon passed out again, and several doctors with the army, and the horse doctor we sent someone to invite from Liuzhi County, Hezhou overnight, all said that the father-in-law was injured this time, and even if he can wake up one day, he may not be able to charge again." ”

The eunuch asked quietly, "The horse doctor of Liuzhi County, but the Ma family whose ancestors have produced six or seven Ouchi imperial doctors?"

Cai Bai nodded and said, "Exactly." ”

The middle-aged eunuch snorted, in fact, after the divine doctor left Cai Nan's tent, Zhao Gou soon secretly found him, and he had preliminarily confirmed Cai Nan's injury, which was indeed extremely serious, and it hurt the internal organs, and ordinary people had to lie down for a hundred days if they hurt their muscles and bones, not to mention this?

He finally showed a little sad look, and said with emotion: "I never thought that the festival would make it so seriously injured, it's just that the festival makes the lord lie down and listen to the order, our family believes that Your Majesty will not blame, even if there are some punishments, it is also our family's business, no matter what, even if you fight for your life, you will not let the loyal Jiedu make the lord suffer the slightest grievance." ”

After Cai Bai heard this, the tough guy who bled and didn't shed tears on the battlefield, didn't wait for the eunuch to announce the decree, he had already knelt down with a plop, but he couldn't cry, as if he had been greatly wronged, but he didn't speak.

At this time, the middle-aged eunuch was a little really moved, and if this young man made the slightest gesture of gratitude, then he would be suspicious. What is Cai Bai's temperament, Zhao Gou's secret file can be clearly recorded, and he is definitely not the kind of person who can make sycophants.

After the temptation, the eunuch moistened his throat and began to read the holy decree.

The characters are naturally good characters, not like the handwriting of any Huangmenlang of the Hanlin Academy, but it is somewhat similar to the handwriting of the eunuch with his own palm print.

The content of the decree is very shocking, even the eunuch himself was a little stunned, but he was well hidden, to the effect that the 10,000 cavalry of Beiliang left the jurisdiction and rushed to Guangling Road, which was to act on the order, and the imperial court originally wanted the Beiliang cavalry to leave the country in the late spring, and joined forces with Lu Shengxiang, the chief general of the Southern Expedition, and Wu Chongxuan, the secretary of the military department, to give the Guangling rebels a heavy blow, and strive to fight and never suffer in the future. Therefore, when I heard that Beiliang sent troops early for no reason, the imperial court had no time to inform Lianghuai, which led to this disaster.

Cai Bai raised his head suddenly, and the border army generals with tears on their faces were shocked, dazed, unwilling, and even more resentful as a Liyang courtier.

The middle-aged eunuch was very satisfied with the young man's performance, because this was the emotion of a normal person.

The eunuch who was secretly instructed by Zhao Gou did not rush to get to the bottom of it, but frowned and said gloomily: "What, the general is dissatisfied?"

Cai Bai's face was painful, and finally he smashed the hard ground with both fists, "The last general is absolutely not dissatisfied with the imperial court! The last general only hates the king of Beiliang, why did he send troops early? Take 10,000 steps back and say, since you Xu Fengnian have obtained the holy decree, why don't you talk to your father-in-law and my two Huai border troops? Is it just that in order for him to be able to make a name for himself in the government and the opposition, you have to use my two Huai soldiers as a stepping stone? If he is able to lead the army alone at the end of the day, he will surely be my father-in-law and die for my brother......"

blurted out that when he said this, Cai Bai suddenly closed his mouth and lowered his head.

One is a half-dead person lying down, and the other is a person who kneels and stares at the ground, and no one in the tent is looking at him, so the middle-aged eunuch hooked the corners of his mouth slightly, and said slowly: "Little general, our family is willing to tell you something that does not spread the six ears when we see that your Cai family is full of loyalty, some things, don't put it in your mouth, just put it in your heart, after all, not everyone is as tight-mouthed as our family." ”

Cai Bai raised his head, wiped his cheek with his arm, and nodded vigorously.

He's an open-minded and intelligent man.

The middle-aged eunuch laughed, but when he thought of what Zhao Gou wanted to do by himself, his expression was a little solemn, but since the eunuch had already foreshadowed it before, compared to the surprise of reading this holy decree just now, the secret decree that could not be put into writing was a bit reasonable.

Quickly stepped forward, holding the decree in one hand, and supporting the young general with the other, and said with a kind expression: "Our family also has the courage to make an exception, not to mention the word "order", the little general will take it." ”

When Cai Bai solemnly accepted the holy decree with both hands, the eunuch lowered his voice and said: "Little general, in addition to this holy decree in your hand, there is actually a secret decree from His Majesty, although there are not many words, but you have to listen to it clearly!"

After Cai Bai was surprised, he immediately knelt down again.

The middle-aged eunuch said in a deep voice: "The edict of the two Huai festivals makes Cai Nan a loyal and righteous uncle!"

Cai Bai looked up this time, with a completely different look, which was surprise and gratitude.

The eunuch carefully considered the wording, and said slowly: "There are some things, the little general understands in his heart, our family is not a land immortal flying around, just a eunuch with mediocre foot strength, why can you bring this secret decree to your stepfather today? Isn't it the first time Your Majesty learned that the Northern Liang barbarian sent troops in advance, he thought that your father-in-law and the Lianghuai elite would definitely fight bravely to stop it? I thought that there would be this day? Otherwise, your Cai family can have this secret decree of the emperor's grace? Obviously, in Your Majesty's heart, you two Huai Na are extremely dependent on you, and you are willing to be regarded as the pillar of the country. ”

Cai Bai faced the east, facing the direction of the Tai'an City, and kowtowed vigorously.

Next, there were no polite greetings between eunuchs and Beijing officials, and the eunuch was about to leave the camp and return to Beijing to resume his life, and Cai Bai wanted to ask people to hurriedly send some good things that were more valuable than silver for this father-in-law, but the middle-aged eunuch refused with a smile and walked neatly.

There are eunuchs in the world who are not greedy for money, but there are very few, and he is not, but he can do it with the eunuchs, especially the two eunuchs with the palm prints are characters like Han Shengxuan and Song Tanglu, he should understand that sometimes, when dealing with some people, not only sleeping peacefully without collecting money, but also more valuable than collecting money.

After Cai Bai carefully put down the holy decree, he limped and insisted on sending the middle-aged eunuch to the gate of the camp, and watched the big eunuch sit in the carriage and go away until he completely disappeared from view, then returned to the lifeless camp tent and sat back on the small bench next to the bed, without saying a word, his eyes were dark.

A hoarse voice that shouldn't have appeared came into the ears, "Bo'er, that eunuch is gone?"

Cai Bai didn't have any shock, nodded and said, "Father-in-law, go away." ”

Cai Nan's body didn't move at all, only his lips moved slightly, and he wanted to sneer a few times, but unfortunately it was really difficult, after all, the root of the disease had fallen, it was true, but the young vassal king's shot was very measured and exquisite.

Just like what the 10,000 iron horsemen of Beiliang did before.

It's the opening of the formation.

Rather than breaking the formation.

Of course they died, and most of them were Cai Nan's descendants, but it was very interesting here, looking at the heavy casualties, but in fact there were dead people, but there were not many, and there were countless wounded.

This kind of thing, if you are not a veteran of a hundred battles, you will not understand the mystery.

But to say that Cai Nan had a good relationship with the Beiliang Iron Rider from the beginning, and wronged him as a festival envoy, Cai Nan did have the heart of death to block the road at the beginning, if it weren't for that, he would not put the elite under his command on the front line.

The body is far from healing, but Cai Nan, who has recovered quickly, said smoothly: "Bai'er, it's hard to act for a rough person like you." ”

Cai Bai smiled bitterly: "Father-in-law, it is related to the life and death of our Cai family, how can Cai Bai not care? But to be honest, it is much more difficult than going into battle to kill the enemy." ”

Cai Nan asked, "How do you feel after listening to the two holy decrees?"

Cai Bai said with mixed feelings: "If it weren't for knowing in advance that Bei Liang would not have been allowed to go south, and with the strange behavior of the Bei Liang cavalry, Cai Bai would really believe that eunuch's nonsense today!"

Cai Nan, who was lying on the bed, looked directly at the top of the camp tent, "It is said that the rabbit dies and the fox is sad, although I don't know what our general thinks, but I do have such a thought, for so many years, looking at Liyang's means to deal with Beiliang, on the table, and under those tables, one after another, it is inevitable that the drum will be beating in my heart, why do you think my father-in-law can always hold the military power at the border, is it my Cai Nan's ability to lead the troops to fight is very great? The reason why he rose all the way and achieved a knotted degree is actually because of two people, one is a general, and the other is still a general. ”

The last sentence sounds like nonsense, but Cai Bai knows that not only is it not nonsense, but also the meaning is rich, which can not only be jaw-dropping, but also creepy.

The first general is the benefactor of the father-in-law, the second great pillar of the Liyang Dynasty, Gu Jiantang. The second general is Xu Xiao, the old Liang king who was scolded as the slaughter of the Spring and Autumn Period.

Cai Nan said in a low voice: "But even if I have a relative, but I, Cai Nan, have only awe for the old emperor Zhao Li and the first emperor Zhao Dan, and have no other thoughts of rebellion, why?" It's very simple, they are amazing, no matter the internal reasons, after all, they can still suppress the two generals, suppress the Manchu Dynasty civil and military, Zhao Li can make Xu Xiao willing to help his old man fight the world, and help Liyang fight Beimang to defend the world until he dies, and after his death, let us General Gu wear official robes instead of iron armor, and sit on the bench for twenty years in the cramped military department. Zhao Dian is not bad, if he wants the powerful Zhang Shoufu to die, Biyaner will die obediently, after Zhao Dian died, he also left a lot of belongings to today. It's a pity, although Zhao Dian has personal grievances, he has never been harmless to state affairs, and when it comes to Zhao Zhen's hands, he can't hold the scale, but this kind of thing, you can't say that the young emperor is really wrong, the world is like this, it can only be explained as creation and making people. Having said that, I also believe that if Zhao Li was the emperor, Bei Liang probably wouldn't even have the idea of sending troops to Guangling, and Zhao Dian would have sent the holy decree to us earlier, and he would definitely not be so twisted and pinched. ”

Cai Bai hesitated: "Although I don't have a good impression of the young Tianzi, but if it were me, I'm afraid I would only do worse." ”

Cai Nan snorted, "Zhao Zhen is not bad, as long as he is given time, he can't say that he will do better than his father and grandfather." But after all, it is still a little tender, plus today's temple, the blue eyes are dead, Tan Tan Weng seems to be still the same, I guess I am almost disheartened, although there is still a first emperor left us from the Yang Yang Dragon, but compared to this halfway out of the mountain Shangyin School Palace sacrifice wine, especially Yuan Benxi's teacher, Zhao Zhen naturally trusts the Chen Wang who he pulled up single-handedly, but unfortunately trust is trusted, at the critical moment, the bottom of his heart will not pay too much attention to Chen Wang's opinion, because Chen Wang is young, and the emperor is also young. Without Xu Xiao in the northwest, Beimang immediately called, and the temple did not have Yuan Benxi and Zhang Julu, and problems also appeared. I guess that if Zhao Zhen can be more generous in the matter of Cao Yun, then Xu Fengnian's inexplicable dispatch of troops will at least do some superficial work, such as sending someone to ask Tai'an City for a holy decree. It's just that in the bottom of his heart, the young emperor still hopes to use our two Huai border troops to weigh the weight of the Beiliang Iron Cavalry to see how much water there is. Now it's a mess, and there is no such a seamber as Blue-eyed in the court...... Just thinking about this in the last two days, I feel a little sullen in my heart, so I can feel less. ”

Then Cai Nan sighed and said: "If Qi Yanglong and Huan Wen don't say a few fair words at this time, Liyang, who has a good situation, I'm afraid it will be a big disaster." ”

Cai Bai didn't know what to do.

Cai Nan didn't explain anything, and his already hoarse and low voice was a little vague, "This time, my father-in-law picked up a life from the Ghost Gate, and after thinking about it, I still told you something, but my father-in-law didn't really think it through, you can figure it out yourself." ”

Cai Bai leaned forward and lowered his voice: "Father-in-law, you say, I'll listen." ”

Cai Nan said in a calm tone: "'Defend against the Beiliang Xu family, secretly guard against Chen Zhibao, do a good job as your border general, and great things can be expected." This is the only secret letter that the general has sent to me Cai Nan for so many years, it is a verbal message, not written on paper. ”

Cai Bai's pale face instantly became more and more snow-white, but soon a sickly flush appeared.

Cai Nan closed his eyes and said tiredly: "After dying once, it turned out that now, it seems that the young man surnamed Xu is still interesting, and the others are like that." By the way, Bai'er, when will you be able to lead the army after I really receive the holy decree of being a loyal and righteous uncle, as for whether you can become a festival envoy, it depends on your own ability, and your father-in-law will not be of much help. Don't persuade me, father-in-law, maybe I don't think it's interesting. ”

Cai Nan stopped talking, just kept his eyes open.

There are rare drums of the Spring and Autumn War in my ears, the smoke of the Spring and Autumn War in my eyes, and the rare life and death of my youth in my heart.

————

During the Yonghui period, the world only knew that there was Zhang Lu Gu Lu in the temple, and I didn't know that there was a half-inch tongue strategist who lived on the edge of the palace. In the current auspicious year, the civil and military officials still don't know that not far from Yuan Benxi's residence, there is a secluded house with an extra blind guest, surnamed Lu Mingxu, and there is only a personal maid by his side to serve his diet and daily life.

On this day, a young man with a special identity came to Lu Xu's residence, the former was both a guest and a host, because although he surnamed Zhao was a guest in this small courtyard, he was the owner of the entire Liyang.

Today, Zhao Zhan is not wearing a dragon robe and a jade green shirt, and Lu Xu, who has secretly become a big spy in this dynasty, sat opposite each other in the room.

There is only a box of chess pieces on the table and no chessboard, this is a small habit of Lu Xu, whether he is turning the book or thinking, he will place a box of chess pieces at hand, and when he has nothing to do, he will grab a handful and slowly rub it in the palm of his hand.

Zhao Zhang's tone was indifferent, with a hint of blame in his words, "Why did Mr. not only order Zhao Gou to stay along the way, but even strictly ordered the local people in the rivers and lakes not to show up and not to stop the Beiliang cavalry?"

Lu Xu, who held a handful of cool chess pieces, moved his five fingers slightly, squeaked slightly, and faced the angry reproach of the king of a country, this blind young man who became the center of the dynasty overnight had no expression, and said slowly: "Liyang's face is not in such an innocuous trivial matter, but His Majesty's face is in the border wars of Liangliao, Beiliang and Lianghuai. If His Majesty thinks that anyone in the world can tolerate it, but he can't bear Xu Fengnian, so he wants Lu Xu to act rashly, then it's very simple, Zhao Gou's big man died scatteredly, but he is still a huge force calling for wind and rain in the local area, not to mention what to stop the scholars and the people in the rivers and lakes from making trouble, that is, on the way south of the Beiliang cavalry, in every county, every state, every county, there are people who come forward, and some people die under the hooves of the Beiliang war knife, why is it difficult?"

Zhao Zhen was silent, but the resentment between his eyebrows was undiminished.

Lu Xu stretched out his arm, leaked a chess piece from the palm of his hand and fell on the table, "From the real point of view, the family has money and a place of soldiers and horses, and from the virtual point of view, the people's heart, the army's heart and the general trend of the sky, aside from the future harvest, it is a little less at the moment." The Northern Liang cavalry marched south this time, although it was under the banner of calming the chaos, but in the hearts of the civil and military officials, it was the wolf's ambition, and in the eyes of the people of the Central Plains, it was the young vassal king's domineering. The current situation, the worst situation, is that Xu Fengnian colluded with Western Chu, regardless of the Beimang War, and reached an intention with Cao Changqing to divide the Central Plains equally, such as Xu Fengnian and the empress Jiang Xi in the future, to change the throne transition of the left hand for the right hand, the country name is still Chu, the emperor's surname is Xu, in the final analysis, it is still fertile water does not flow into the fields of outsiders. Isn't that right?"

Zhao Zhen nodded sullenly and said, "It's exactly as Mr. said." ”

Lu Xu smiled and said, "It's just that then again, Your Majesty asked yourself, will Bei Liang be the opposite?"

Zhao Zhen shook his head and said: "This will not be, the 100,000 soldiers of the Beiliang border army died in front of the pass, and only more than 10,000 cavalry troops went to Guangling behind, and Beiliang will not rebel." ”

Lu Xu threw a few more chess pieces on the table, "Since this is the case, then the imperial court should not force Bei Liang to rebel, and at the very least, don't come forward yourself, let Bei Liang and Bei Mang fight to the end." Guangling Caoliang, if you want it, then give it to you, the heroic martyrs who died in battle, you Xu Fengnian can't pull down your face and ask the court for it? But the court will also give it to you. In the second Liang Mang War, you may not have enough troops? The two Huai Jie Du envoys Cai Nan's army, and the court lends you. Cai Nan is not enough, Jizhou also has the soldiers and horses of Han Fang and Yang Huchen, two deputy generals, and I will lend them to you. ”

Zhao Zhen frowned.

Lu Xu said calmly: " The imperial court should not think about how to beware of Beiliang, but how to separate Beiliang and the Xu family, do not hope that the second generation of the Xu family is still disloyal to the court, but think about how to make the young and strong generals of Beiliang not have the slightest disobedience, so that they and the entire Beiliang Dao sincerely believe that Beiliang is the Beiliang in the territory of Liyang, and the Xu family is just helping the court to manage and govern Beiliang, even if one day Beiliang does not have the Xu family's iron horse, but even if the Liangmang war is unfavorable, they Beiliang from officials to the people, everyone has a way to retreat, Beiliang has no foothold, then the court will let them retreat to Lianghuai, retreat to Shu Zhao, and even be able to retreat all the way to Jiangnan。 ”

Zhao Zhen's brows loosened slightly, "If this is really the case, it doesn't matter if the Xu family is against it or not?"

Lu Xu smiled dumbly and said: "Your Majesty, remember, if you want the Beiliang Xu family to become a sourceless water, it's still early, once you rely on the careful operation of the imperial court, you are willing to give up some things to Beiliang first." The second is to rely on the next Liang reckless consumption, and the third is to rely on the hearts of the people of Northern Liang to tilt the imperial court, and the imperial court can no longer recognize him as an uncivilized Northern Liang barbarian, and cannot restrain the Liangdi scholars in the matter of meritorious service in the imperial examination. The officials of Beiliang who have a foothold in the temple cannot be without Sun Yin Yao Baifeng, nor can they only have the likes of Jin Lanting. Fifth, rely on Liyang to quickly let Xu Gong, Lu Sheng, like Song Li, these innocent and useful generals stand out, quickly end the Guangling War, don't think about reducing the power of local generals to the death, the water is clear, there is no fish, once the military generals are completely speechless in Liyang, the Beimang army is still in the north and is not injured at all, is it still only relying on Xu Jiatie to ride to fight in the end?

Zhao Zhen picked up the chess pieces that had missed from Lu Xu's hands from the table one by one, clenched them tightly, and fell into deep thought.

Zhao Zhan subconsciously imitated the movements of the blind young man, and the chess pieces in his palms rubbed against each other, "In the final analysis, Mr. wants the court to retreat into advance?"

Lu Xu did not hesitate to say something rebellious, "It is to ask Your Majesty to retreat as advance." ”

Zhao Zhen smiled, it was strange that the young Tianzi was obviously not angry.

Lu Xu suddenly asked: "Your Majesty, isn't it strange that with the eyes of Zhang Julu and Yuan Benxi, why can't you think of this shallow method of drawing salaries from the bottom of the kettle?"

Zhao Zhen's heart was shocked, and he laughed: "I only know that Mr. has made this hand, and he will not be superficial." ”

Lu Xu let go of his palm, and the chess pieces fell to the table with a bang, "The two seniors, they just can't think about it, I believe that all the layouts of the two of them at that time were mainly aimed at Beiliang and the two, not Xu Fengnian." The same prescription, used in different places, has diametrically opposite effects. ”

Zhao Zhan said incredulously: "Apart from Xu Xiao, who else can there be?"

Lu Xu raised his head, expressionless.

Zhao Zhen suddenly, "Chen Zhibao!"

Lu Xu's words became more and more shocking, "In the early years, no one would have thought that Xu Fengnian would really be able to succeed hereditarily, but with the talents of Mr. Zhang Shoufu Yuan, he can still make up for the loss, but unfortunately, the first emperor did not give Zhang Julu a chance, and Your Majesty, you did not give Mr. Yuan a chance." ”

Zhao Zhang's face was gloomy.

Lu Xu "looked" at the young emperor, "Actually, Your Majesty came to Xingshi to ask about the guilt this time, and was angry at why I, Lu Xu, after taking charge of Zhao Gou, dared to 'cut first and then play', and arbitrarily enshrined Cai Nan as a loyal and righteous uncle?"

Zhao Zhen smiled instead, "At the beginning, I was really angry, and I even had the idea of killing, but after listening to Mr.'s digressions, I was relieved a lot, but I didn't want this kind of thing to have a second time." ”

Lu Xu shook his head calmly and said: "There will be no more, Your Majesty's trust in me is almost exhausted, and Lu Xu only has one head after all." ”

Zhao Zhan stopped what he was doing and said with emotion: "Sir, I can promise you that as long as Mr. is dedicated to planning for my Liyang, even if Mr. commits a capital crime one day, I can tolerate it and tolerate it once! If Mr. doesn't believe me, I can go to the ancestral temple and swear to the ancestors of the Zhao family......

Lu Xu hurriedly waved his hand and smiled: "No, Your Majesty is a good emperor, I'm sure of this." Otherwise, Lu Xu, a blind man who is destined to not be able to climb in his career, will be willing to come to Tai'an City?"

Zhao Zhen asked in a low voice: "Sir, I also know that there are some questions that should not be asked, and whenever a courtier answers this question to the monarch in the history books, he has never ended well, but I still hope that Mr. can be honest with each other." ”

Lu Xu said indifferently: "Since Your Majesty does not have many princes, then you should ask me above the temple, who can succeed Qi Yanglong as the first assistant of this dynasty? And do you tolerate that first assistant growing up under his nose to become an emperor with no political enemies in the court like Zhang Julu? If you ask this, does it mean that Your Majesty is not even at ease with Chen Wang? Then Your Majesty is really a lonely person." ”

Zhao Zhen said in a sincere tone: "It's not that I don't believe Chen Wang. ”

Lu Xu was noncommittal, and said to himself: "This candidate is only Chen Wang, there is no doubt about it." Yan Chiji, Sun Yin, Fan Changhou, Li Jifu, these five people, each with fatal flaws, are not as good as Chen Wang, who is expected to be a 'perfect person'. In the transitional stage before them, such as Yin Maochun, Zhao Youling, Han Lin and others, but the first assistant of the 'short-lived ghost' of the three or five years of scenery, it is not worth mentioning. ”

Zhao Zhan spread out his palms and looked down at the chess piece, "I suddenly opened up." ”

Zhao Zhen suddenly raised his head and smiled: "Sir, do you still have chess pieces for me?"

Lu Xu smiled and said, "No." ”

Zhao Zhen clenched his palms, got up and said, "Then I will accept these chess pieces." ”

Lu Xu stood up, "Then I won't send it." ”

Zhao Zhen laughed and said: "It's not necessary to send me out, but in the future, we will continue to send chess pieces, and strive for our two monarchs and ministers, at the end of our lifetime, and then sit face to face like today, slowly count those chess pieces, talk about the old past, and put them back in the box one by one, it's not too fast!"

Wait until Zhao Zhen quietly leaves.

The maidservant Xinghua, who followed Lu Xu to the capital from Jing'an Palace, suddenly found that her husband was sitting in danger, but there was a lone chess piece on the table at some point, and it was not given to Emperor Zhao Seal.

She asked curiously, "Why did Mr. keep one for himself?"

Lu Xu said softly: "It's not for me, it's for someone." ”

The woman was terrified.

Lu Xu stretched out his finger and lightly pressed it on the chess piece, "You should repay it with a national soldier!"