Wen Zhong and the Yue people, who completely took refuge in the big merchants, have been living in peace for a long time, but the news of the five kings of Baiyue surrendering to Cheng was covered by the king and did not spread, and even the ministers in the court did not know, so in the eyes of the people of the world, the main force of the big merchants led by Wen Taishi was still dragged in the south by the Yue people.

Southern Xinjiang.

"Taishi, Bishui Pass has been lost, and Lu Shangshu has also been defeated, how long do we have to stay in this deep mountain and old forest?"

Zhang Guifang, Fang Xiang, and Fang Bi rushed into the camp tent panting, the south can be regarded as calm, if it weren't for Wen Zhong forcibly pressing with his prestige, these generals would have been unable to help but repay their merits.

"Soon, soon. Uncle Wen's beard grew a little longer, he gently stroked his beard and put down the newspaper in his hand.

"Taishi, even if we can wait, the soldiers can't wait!" Fang Xiang hurriedly said: "There is no war but you can't go home, although the roads in the deep mountains and old forests are difficult to travel, and it is inconvenient for the princes from all walks of life to send spies to find out the information, but occasionally they have to pretend to have a big battle with the Yue people, especially the news that the Bishui Pass has fallen and the Western Expedition army has been defeated recently, and the soldiers are almost to the limit!"

"Yes. Fang Bi also responded: "Even if the soldiers can endure it, I'm afraid that the Yue people will also feel dirty!"

The situation in the south is actually not very good, there is no war but the soldiers are still left in the deep mountains and old forests, not to mention homesickness, life is also inconvenient.

Fortunately, everyone felt that Wen Taishi and King Wen had other plans, waiting to make greater contributions, and when the time came, they could return to the dynasty to glorify their ancestors and live a worry-free life.

But now that the news of the defeat came, it was no wonder that people were panicking, the defeat was obviously not expected by Wen Taishi, and the Zhou army even occupied such a strong pass as Bishui Pass, which was menacing, and they couldn't see where the opportunity for meritorious service was.

At the same time, the unfavorable news of the Western Expedition is also easy to make the Yue people uneasy, although several kings of Baiyue are singing in court, but if the Yue people see the decline of the Great Shang and can't resist the attacking Zhou army, it is impossible to continue to be obedient, in order to survive, regardless of their own boss, it is also possible.

All this made Zhang Guifang and others anxious, if it dragged on like this, I was afraid that it would really mutiny, and the most elite soldiers and horses of Dashang were not defeated in the hands of the Zhou army, but in the south that had already stabilized, not to mention becoming the laughing stock of the world, and the western expedition would inevitably be more difficult to continue.

"Calm down, generals. Compared with the impatient generals, Uncle Wen was unusually calm, picked up the newspaper on the table again with one hand, and took a few sips with the wine lord in the other.

Sitting in the camp tent, the wind can't blow and the rain can't get drenched, drinking, reading the newspaper, this is the daily life of Uncle Wen's southern expedition recently.

After all, the roads in the south are dangerous, and newspapers are one of the few channels to grasp the news of the world.

Seeing that the old man was about to read the newspaper again, Zhang Guifang hurriedly stepped forward and said anxiously: "Taishi, we can't wait any longer! Your Majesty needs Taishi, and Dashang needs our troops and horses!"

"Exactly. Uncle Wen put the wine lord down, drew a circle with his finger on the newspaper, and said, "Look at it." ”

When Zhang Guifang heard this, he lowered his head, and happened to see the marching route published in the newspaper, and his eyes immediately widened: "Your Majesty's personal expedition? This is a good thing; if Your Majesty is you, you will definitely be able to turn the tide, but what is published in this newspaper? Before the march, the marching route and strategic deployment were made public, could this be a strategy to confuse the enemy? Or was the news leaked and had to be done as a last resort?"

Wen Zhong shook his head: "The old man doesn't know what the door is, but among them, there are two things that can be certain, one is that His Majesty led the army to fight in person, which can stabilize people's hearts, and the other is that even if it is blocked halfway, His Majesty will definitely succeed in meeting with General Lu, and the morale of the army of the Western Expedition will be greatly boosted." ”

"That's right. "Zhang Guifang, as a general who accompanied the king of Zhou's southern expedition before, witnessed the capture of the city in one day, so he naturally would not doubt the ability of the king to use troops.

Wen Zhong said again: "Then Guifang, tell me what other news is conveyed in this newspaper." ”

"There is still news?" Zhang Guifang looked puzzled, but it was just the marching route and deployment, how much news could there be?

He looked at Wen Zhong with a smile on his face, but he didn't dare to be scornful, he read the newspaper several times over and over again, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and suddenly realized: "The last general understands!"

Wen Zhong nodded and motioned for him to continue, Zhang Guifang understood, the Fang family brothers and Chao Lei were still in the clouds.

"The number of soldiers and horses led by His Majesty is not large, and Lu Shangshu is newly defeated, but he still has the strength to fight, this army of soldiers and horses seems to be a drop in the bucket, and it can't bring much combat effectiveness, at most, it can only give the soldiers of the Western Expedition confidence, let them know that there are reinforcements, which can improve morale. ”

"But if that's all, it's not enough for Your Majesty to personally conscript, Your Majesty's personal conquest is very important, the Western Expedition has suffered a big defeat, if the royal driving pro-conquest is not smooth, Your Majesty's prestige will inevitably be damaged, and the country will inevitably be turbulent, which can all show that Your Majesty's move has another deep meaning. ”

This deep meaning may be to use the marching route as a bait to lure the Zhou army to send troops to ambush, and then defeat it in one fell swoop and recover the decline, but these have nothing to do with us, what we need to pay attention to is that the reinforcements are not enough to bring absolute superiority to the western expeditionary army. ”

"Since it is His Majesty's personal expedition, it is inevitable that there will be some gains, even if it cannot encircle and suppress the main force of the Zhou army and go straight to Xiqi, it is necessary to recapture Bishui Pass and defeat the main force of the Zhou army. ”

"And this plan is exactly us. ”

"We are the elite of big businessmen, and we have Yue people as wings, and we have been in the deep mountains and old forests for a long time, not attracting attention, let him Ji Fa and Jiang Ziya use the means to reach the sky, and it is impossible to expect that the five kings of Baiyue have already surrendered for a long time. ”

"Just wait for Your Majesty to fight with the Zhou army, we will lead the army up the river, besiege and kill before and after, we will definitely be able to win a big victory, and it is not impossible to capture Ji Fa alive, this marching deployment seems to inform the Zhou army, like arrogance, and seems to be to lure the enemy, but for us, it is actually an edict to send troops. ”

Fang Xiang and Fang Bi waved their fists excitedly: "In other words, we can send troops?!!"

They didn't understand much, but they could hear the last few words.

"Not bad. Wen Zhong nodded and said with a smile: "When the five kings of Baiyue were captured and sent to the court, the old man told His Majesty with a bag of tips, and made two preparations, if this matter is made public, it will be in the name of Baiyue's submission to deter the princes, if it is concealed, it will be used at a critical time to deal with the Zhou people, and now, it is a critical time." ”

"The old man is still thinking about when to send troops, but I didn't expect that His Majesty has created an opportunity for the old man, whether it's good, it's good..."

As he spoke, Wen Zhong's voice changed: "In the previous issues of the Yuedan Commentary, did you listen to the old man's orders and stay close to him day and night?"

“... Yes. When Zhang Guifang heard this, her face turned dark, and even with Fang Xiang, Fang Bi and others, her complexion was not very good.

These generals of the big businessmen, in the Yuedan review are either brave and unscrupulous, or have no power to restrain the chicken, on the other hand, Xiqi, far more than the four sages, eight junjuns and thirty-six masters, with the Yuedan review of the first issue of the journal, what Xiqi four court pillars, five tiger generals, six good generals, seven strong generals, eight tiger horses, the twelve tiger ministers of the Great Zhou, the thirteen Taibao, the twenty-eight generals of Lingtai....

The names are louder than the other, the names are more obscure than the other, and I have almost never heard of them at all, who can be convinced?

Zhang Guifang and others were in a hurry to send troops, and they also had the idea of fighting for their voices, so as to rewrite the evaluation on the Yuedan Review.

"Good. Wen Zhong smiled, his eyes showed a bit of appreciation, and suddenly he became serious again, and said, "Zhang Guifang!"

"The last general!"

"You are in charge, lead Fang Xiang, Fang Bi and other generals to lead the army north along Weishui, and the old man will press behind!"

"Yes!"