The dream of a lonely hero

The King of Jin smiled slightly and said:"Guo Mao's name is so powerful that the enemies are brave, and the people in the city rush to spread the praises. What's wrong with this? Guo Mao is the formation envoy in front of the King of Jin of the Song Dynasty. Isn't it the military power of the Song Dynasty? ? Yuxi, you're worrying too much!"

Prince Jin's master and servant chatted all the way back to the commander's house. It was already dark, and they went back to their rooms to rest.

King Zhao Guangyi of the Jin Dynasty took stock of the recent desperate situation and turned it into safety, just like a dream. From defeating Snake Valley, walking to Yemapo, and abandoning Xiongzhou City, the 100,000 Song troops he commanded were killed by the Liao State, leaving behind their helmets and armor and almost losing all of them. On the verge of collapse. The sky will not stop me, Orion Guo Mao and Guo Cunmi turned out to turn the tide. He led 500 people in the market and threw money and discarded objects to lure the enemy deep. He fought to the death in a last-ditch battle. He counterattacked and chased Liao's vanguard army and horses into Pansi ditch with a series of kills. , block the front and encircle the back, a fire will burn a hundred thousand soldiers to ashes, it only takes half a day; it only takes half a day to recover Xiongzhou, release the surrender troops to show the power of our army, Tanzhou surrenders in the hope of the wind, and uses the heavenly soldiers to burn the city of Youzhou, Youzhou It doesn't take half a day to defeat it without attacking, it's really a stroke of genius! This is the highest realm of military strategists - the ability to conquer without fighting. Even if Sun Wuzi was reborn or King Han Qi (Han Xin) was reincarnated, he could not do this!

From Pansigou to Youzhou City, the Liao soldiers were invincible, and the news of Guomao's victory came frequently, which made Jin King Zhao Guangyi excited again and again. As the day of Youzhou's great victory gradually faded away, an indescribable worry came from his heart like smoke from the kitchen stove again and again. It arose, instead of a feeling of extreme joy and sadness, which lingered and became stronger and stronger, making me almost choked and unable to sleep or eat for several days.

On this day, Jin Wang Zhao Guangyi did not eat or speak for three meals. He paced back and forth in the inner hall of the Commander's Mansion, sometimes fast and sometimes slowly. Wang Yan, the nearest attendant, stood on one side. King Jin walked to the desk and picked up a teacup. The tea in the cup has already gone cold. Wang Yande deduced that his master had no intention of using tea, so he neither said much nor changed the tea, but quietly observed and waited for his master's instructions. King Jin lowered his head and moved step by step with no direction. He stopped when he reached the wall. He looked up at the dark bamboo forest outside the window, rustling in the autumn wind. He was meditating. The teacup he was playing with dropped to the ground unintentionally with a"pop" sound. It seemed particularly loud in the quiet hall. Wang Yande walked quickly and silently, stepped forward and bent down to pick up the broken cup stubble on the ground.

The King of Jin said:"The cup is always unbroken, why should the potter eat it! Don't pick it up anymore."

Wang Yande thought that his master finally spoke today, and said:"Your Highness is really a bodhisattva. He never forgets the suffering of the people in the world. The Song Dynasty is very lucky.!"

King Jin asked:"How is Yu Xi (Chen Xin) doing these days?"

Wang Yande said:"Go back to Your Highness! Your Highness's army entered Youzhou, and the young man followed His Highness's instructions and chose a building for Chen Xin. Shanghao Mansion is very quiet on Shuaifu North Street. Every now and then, I was ordered by His Highness to greet Chen Yihou and handed over to him all the gold and silver brocades His Highness had given him. His younger brother Chen Congbao died in the Yemapo battle and died for the country. , His Highness visited him often to appease him, and gave him many treasures, which is a great courtesy! Even Guo Mao, who has made great contributions, may not be as good as him." The King of

Jin said calmly:"The secret generals and soldiers are talented, and Yu Xi Xinglin is the most outstanding one. He is the right-hand man of the lonely king. Remember Yan, don’t make rash comments!"

If other servants had said that, King Jin would have been furious and had to behead him on the spot. But Wang Yan was different. He was not only very good at observing words and emotions, He is also very tight-lipped and will never talk to anyone about anything about King Jin or his subordinates. King Jin knows this very well and trusts him very much.

Wang Yande said in panic:"Your Highness! I made a mistake, I made a mistake! Please punish me, Your Highness."

King Jin said:"That's it. Let's go and ask Yuanda to accompany me to visit Chen Yuxi."

Then Wang Yande served King Jin to change. In casual clothes, he also pretended to be Xiao Si, held up a lantern, and followed the King of Jin out of the back door of the Shuai Mansion to Chen Xin's residence.

The north wind was raging, and the bright moon and stars in the night sky were blown down into the bottomless ravines at some point and disappeared without a trace. Fallen leaves were flying in the streets, the chilling air penetrated the muscles and bones, and the turbid light from the lanterns swayed with the footsteps. With. King Jin, Wang Yande and Yuanda, one master and two servants, rushed all the way to Chen Xin's residence.

Besides, Yingzhou capital deployed Zhao Guangmei, the prince of Fangjun in the commander's mansion. Since the king of Jin Zhao Guangyi went to Xiongzhou to take office, he sent nearly a hundred spies to spy on the king of Jin, reporting three times a day. From the time King Pansigou of the Jin Dynasty defeated the 100,000 Liao army, to Fuxiong Prefecture, Ketan Prefecture, and Dingyou Prefecture, the eleven prefectures of Yanyun surrendered and good news came frequently. Zhao Guangmei was so angry that he didn't want to eat or drink. In addition to yelling and cursing, the servant vented his anger and beat and scolded him. The whole handsome manor was in a state of chaos, and more than a dozen servants were injured in one day.

On this day, Zhao Guangmei, the king of Fangjun, convened civil servants and generals in the commander's mansion to discuss countermeasures. Li Mu, the"Magical Military Advisor" of the Prince's Palace, Yan Ju, the Sima of the Prince's Palace,"Xiao Chenping", Sun Yu, the"sick son of the Prince" who joined the army, Zhang Ping, the Chief Bo, Yan Huaizhong, the Yishan of the Prince, Wang Jixun, Kong Mu and Fan Deming; Qiao Lian, the number one scholar in the Wei Dynasty,"Sai Zhang Liao", Yan Mi,"Tianmu General","Tianmu General" in Wu Jinshi, Fan Tenghu,"Bi Cunxiao", Zhao Huailu,"Black Spirit Officer", Zhao Qiong,"Xiao Rengui", Yan Zhong,"Big Sword General","Jin Chunxiao""The white-headed ape" Wang Jian and others were divided into two compartments.

Zhao Guangmei sat behind the handsome case and sighed:"Zhao Guangyi! Zhao Guangyi! Why does God always favor you so much!" He said to the left and right,"Do you have any good ideas?"

Li Mu, the chief minister of the palace, drooped his eyelids, afraid of words. Yan Ju and Sun Yu confessed that they were disappointed and did not dare to say more. Moreover, they had no good ideas in mind. Yan Ju and Sun Yu were experts in civil war, but they had no skills other than fighting in the nest. The other civil servants saw that the three giant civil servants, Li Mu, Yan Ju, and Sun Yu, did not pay attention and could not speak, let alone the military generals.

When Zhao Guangmei saw that his subordinates were all pretending to be deaf and mute when encountering important events, they roared loudly:"Trash! A bunch of trash! You usually speak well and are eloquent, but when you come to work, all of them just sit on the sidelines and eat nothing but nothing!" He picked up the flaming lion seal on the handsome case and threw it to the ground. All the civil and military officials were so frightened that they trembled. Wang Jian carefully stepped out of the queue, looked around both sides, and said,"Don't blame His Highness for getting angry. This is Your Highness's kindness. If we were replaced by a master like King Jin, we would not have any problem losing our official position and being sent to another position!" He turned to Zhao Guangmei and said," Your Highness! Mr. Minghe also started from a very close place. He thought how could the King of Jin be a thing in the pond? Give him a glass of water and he could stir up a thousand waves." Wang

Jixun, the Marquis of the Prince's Palace, joined in and said:"Your Highness! Yanxiang ( Wang Jian) ​​is right, the King of Jin is not a good bird. The officials have long expected that the King of Jin will meet with him for his achievements. They can only hate the fact that they are in a humble position and did not dare to speak nonsense at the beginning."

Prince Sun Yu joined the army and thought: Wang Jixun is a very special person. Jian Chen, who was born as a Jinshi, did not only act as a hindsight, but also thought that his official position was humble; Wang Jian was not good-looking, civilized and unmilitary, so he won the favor of the county king by relying on his background as the fourth generation and the third prince, and he dared to make irresponsible remarks; but the king It was a good move for Jian to shift the responsibility for the poor things to Fan Yong, otherwise the royal family's Chang Shi, Sima, and Jianjun would not be able to get rid of their involvement. Chu Li said:"Your Highness! Ming He has a brilliant plan, how could he be so wrong! Let the tiger return to the mountain. , He is very safe! He has not been seen for several days in a row. He has been raising troops for a thousand days and using them for a while!"

Zhao Guangmei asked:"Sun Yu is chaotic! How long have you been in my house, but you have given me a good plan! You are so shy now. You are slandering Mr. Minghe with your face! Get out! Get out!" He overturned the commander's case to the ground, and the documents on the commander's case were scattered all over the floor. The staff were so shocked that they fell to their knees.

Zhao Guangmei scolded:"Why don't you go away and wait to receive the reward?" All the staff left the commander's mansion in despair.

Zhao Guangmei walked around the room anxiously. He stepped on the paperwork and fell to the ground. Two or three servants braved it and hurried forward to help him up. An old man walked in quietly and waved to the people not to help Zhao Guangmei up.

Zhao Guangmei leaned down and scolded,"Come here! Come here! Everyone is dead!" No one answered. He got up angrily and said angrily,"What a shame! Force the lonely king to kill! Come here! Come here!" When Leng Buding saw the old man standing at the door of the handsome hall, he immediately suppressed his anger and stood frozen, with a look of shame on his face. It was a child who had done something wrong. After a while, he said:"Sir! I was wrong - I let you down!"

The old man was Fan Yong and Fan Minghe. For more than ten days or dozens of days, King Jin's victory in front of the enemy made him anxious and uneasy. He never went to the Commander's Mansion on the excuse of illness, and he was alone and quietly thinking about countermeasures. That day, I came up with a plan and came to Fangjun Wang Zhao Guangmei to make suggestions.

Fan Yong said solemnly and solemnly:"Your Highness! It is the old man who is wrong. The old man has let down your highness! The old man has failed the old king (Zhao Guangmei's father-in-law, King Jinduo of Futian County, Wang Zhenning Army Jiedushi Zhang Duo) has placed great trust in him. , His Highness has not been taught to remain calm in times of danger." He bowed and bowed.

Zhao Guangmei was even more ashamed, and hurriedly supported him and said:"Sir! Sir, don't abandon me! I must-must listen to your teachings." Then he was led into the deep back hall of the handsome manor. The guests and hosts took their seats.

Zhao Guangmei calmed down for a moment, clarified his thoughts, and said:"Zhao Guangyi conquered the thirteen states of Yanyun in a row. How dare he not ask the Holy Emperor to station the imperial army. Does he want to cede the territory and the king and the Song Dynasty fight against each other?"

Fan Yong said:"Your Highness! The King of Jin has The second heart has no such power, and the thirteen states of Yanyun in Liao State have now surrendered to him. The Thirteen States of Yanyun are the gateway to the Central Plains of Liao State. How can Liao State not send heavy troops and not make a comeback? The morale of the army in the thirteen states is unstable. The officials were uncertain and the people were uneasy. It was normal for them to switch sides when the Liao army was approaching. The reason why the King of Jin did not submit a memorial to ask the imperial army to garrison was probably because he was dazzled by the victory and thought he could completely control Yan. Yun Thirteen Prefectures, in order to compete for the crown prince's capital."

Zhao Guangmei said:"Of course Zhao Guangyi cannot defend the Thirteen Prefectures, but his Guo Mao is amazing! Even the heavenly soldiers and generals are at his disposal, Zhao Guangyi is now even more powerful than a tiger! You I said that Guo Mao is an old friend of yours, how about bringing him over to work for me?"

Fan Yong shook his head and said:"It's a must! Mr. Qingfeng's nature is old and he knows very well that he will never abandon public service for personal reasons."

Zhao Guangmei said anxiously:"Then - how to get rid of him? Otherwise, I will die without a burial place!"

Fan Yong said:"'Qingfeng' has the ability to turn things around, his talent in the world, and his unpredictable tactics. He is a powerful enemy! How? I really have nothing to do to get rid of him, but there is a way to separate him." Zhao Guangmei held his breath and concentrated, saying:"I would like to hear the details."

Fan Yong said:"Your Highness can send a messenger to Youzhou with valuable gifts to ask me to leave. Give the name to Guo Mao, and I will write a letter to Guo Mao and take it with the messenger. When the messenger arrives in Youzhou, he should not see Guo Mao first. On the pretext of looking for Guo Mao, he will visit the key offices of the Commander-in-Chief in Youzhou and tell everyone when he sees him. I was ordered to pay a visit to Guo Mao by the order of Fan Yong, the king of Fangfang County."

Zhao Guangmei smiled and said:"Okay! Zhao Guangyi was very suspicious at first, but when he learned that Guo Mao was close to me, Guo Mao would not have a good life!"

Soon the messenger came back to him. Zhao Guangmei, the king of Fangjun, reported that Guo Mao was arrogant. Not only did he not have any gifts or letters from his men, he had not even seen him in person. The messenger withdrew. Fan Yong, who was on Zhao Guangmei's side, didn't feel any embarrassment at all. This was all within his expectation. On the contrary, Zhao Guangmei felt embarrassed. In order to take Fan Yong's face into account, she comforted him:"That foolish man Guomao doesn't know how high the sky is. Wait until I catch him and ask him to kowtow to my husband and apologize!"

Fan Yong knew his good intentions and did not reply. He thought carefully. Thinking about countermeasures.

Zhao Guangmei walked slowly, and after a long while, she said:"Guo Mao! Guo Mao! Why did God have to do this to you, a half-god and half-ghost? You have Zhang Liang's plan and Han Xin's strategy, but you are as brave as an overlord. Being used by Zhao Guangyi, I am destined to die!"

Suddenly, Fan Yong laughed indulgently, and continued to laugh. After a long time, he burst into tears,"Woo! God is jealous of talents, God is jealous of talents!"

Zhao Guangmei was suddenly startled and exclaimed"Sir! Sir! It's all my fault that made my husband insane. It's my fault! It's my fault!" He beat his chest and stamped his feet.

Fan Yong stopped crying and said:"Your Highness, please don't be surprised! I am laughing because God is helping Your Highness, and crying because I am grieving the loss of my confidant."

Zhao Guangmei turned around and looked at him intently, with a normal expression, and said:"First - sir! This is what I said How do you say that?"

Fan Yong said:"Your Highness reminded me. If Zhang Liang had the strategy of Han Xin and the bravery of an overlord, would there still be the 400-year-old country created by the emperor of the Han Dynasty?"

Zhao Guangmei seemed to understand, but said:"Then Zhang Liang should not listen to Liu Bang's orders."

Fan Yong said:"What your Highness said is absolutely true! A great talent like Qingfeng will not come out in a thousand years, and when a great talent reaches a certain level, it will be useless."

Zhao Guangmei Confused, he said:"How can it be useless?"

Fan Yong said:"Let me ask, Your Highness! Can such a talented person be used or dare to use it?"

Zhao Guangmei said:"Sir, what you are talking about is that Guo Maocai is so talented that he can't do anything to win!"

Fan Yong said. :"It is now! How will the master of Cai Gao Town abandon his master, kill his master, and change the color of the country in the future! Guo Mao will not know it with his moral cultivation, but no matter which master he serves, how can the master not think like this?!"

Zhao Guangmei thought about it and said:"As the saying goes: All the good birds are hidden, all the cunning rabbits are cooked by running dogs, and the enemy’s country is defeated and its ministers perish. Now how can Zhao Guangyi be so high and worry-free? There is a resurgence of the Liao State outside, and it will not be short for the comeback inside. He is incompatible with a small man and a strong army. How could he break his own wings?"

Fan Yong said:"Your Highness only knows one but not the other. In the difficult years of the early days of seizing power, a monarch only needs the courage of military generals and the wisdom of civil servants. Once power is gained, With it, the emperor will be able to secure peace in the world, and courage and resourcefulness will not only be superfluous, but will also pose a threat to him; Han Xin, Bai Qi, Wu Zixu, Wen Zhong, etc. are all well-known counselors and generals in history who are familiar to people. They have made great contributions, but their endings are all tragic. They have made great contributions to the world but have no right to survive. I don’t know that it existed before the world was peaceful at the beginning. Looking back on the Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou Dynasties in the past fifty years, Dynasties are changing like a revolving lantern, and how many supreme emperors have become orphans with their country and family ruined, prisoners of their subordinates, and their heads in missing places. Why? The cunning rabbits have not exhausted the lackeys and cooked the master, and the enemy has not defeated the powerful ministers but the king has perished. Say something. How disrespectful. If Zhou Shizong of the previous dynasty could have taken precautions and guarded against the unexpected, the cunning rabbits were not eaten by the running dogs, and the enemy's country was not defeated but the strong ministers perished, would there still be the foundation of the Song Dynasty created by today's officials?"

Zhao Guangmei said thoughtfully:"Mr., what you said is extremely Yes! Zhao Guangyi will definitely do what the cunning rabbit failed to do. It's just a pity for a genius like Guo Mao!"

Fan Yong said:"If His Highness is so merciful and soft-hearted, don't compete with the King of Jin for the crown prince position. You have to do it for the purpose - - You have to do it as a last resort! The final result of the competition between His Highness and King Jin is winner-take-all, either win all or lose all. His Highness has no other choice at all. 'Qingfeng' (Guo Mao), I should not say that he brought the blame on himself , A genius like him shouldn't come out of the mountain. Even if he does, he has to create a great cause and become the founder of the country. Otherwise, there is only a dead end." After saying this, she burst into tears and said,"How sad, 'Qingfeng'!"

Although Zhao Guangmei wanted to move him down. His rival for the crown prince, his third brother Zhao Guangyi, had not yet thought of putting him to death. Fan Yong's thorough analysis had to convince him. Is that the only way? Do talented people like Guo Mao have to die? Will Guo Mao really be reluctantly parted by the King of Jin?

Not long after, Prince Fang sent a horse scout to Youzhou to report that Guo Mao died of excessive drinking as the King of Jin marched in front of the formation. Zhao Guangmei, the king of Fangjun, was depressed, depressed and sad. He said to himself:"Qingfeng"! Unparalleled genius! What a pity, what a pity! What a shame, what a shame! The countryside in the mountains is so wonderful, why do moths come out of the mountains and cast themselves into the fire?

"Fan Yong, Mr. Mingyue, was so sad that he burst into tears and said for a moment:"Your Highness! Don't be sad, this is fate. He wiped away his tears and said,"Your Highness, please mobilize your troops to send troops to Xiongzhou tomorrow." Zhao

Guangmei said:"I led the army to leave Yingzhou and stationed in Xiongzhou. That is - it is a private flood land. If the court blames it, what should we do?""