In February, the snow on Mount Yuelu melted overnight and was replaced by a verdant mountain and a spring breeze.
In a small village, an Old Master dressed in plain clothes stood under the eaves with his hands clasped behind his back, overlooking the vast rivers and mountains of Chu. The sound of reading came from the distant school. The voice was young and tender, but it added a sense of vitality to the mountain village.
Thud, thud, thud —
Mei Qusheng, who was carrying a book case on his back and holding an umbrella, came to the courtyard outside the eaves and bowed.
"Master, why aren't you playing chess in the forest?"
The Old Master did not even bat an eyelid. He did not speak much as usual.
"Didn't you see the rain?"
"Uh …"
Mei Qusheng chuckled and walked closer. He put down the book case under the eaves and looked around. "Where are the big white goose and Huang? Master, did you stew them? Did you leave some for me? I ran all the way and I'm still hungry. "
The Old Master looked to the northwest. "I gave them away as a dowry."
Mei Qusheng's face showed some dissatisfaction. "Xu Buling, that bastard. He kidnapped Yu Fu and did not give her a dowry. He even took away her livestock. How can he be so thick-skinned? Fortunately, he did not take away the house and the land … "
The Old Master snorted. "Not only the house and the land. That brat also wanted to take away me."
Mei Qusheng was stunned. He walked closer and asked curiously, "Xu Buling wants to invite Master to Xiliang to give advice to the Xu family?"
The Old Master walked into the rain and slowly walked along the rocky mountain path.
"I asked Xu Buling to go to Youzhou to let Song Ji find out that Xu Buling is robbing the jade seal in Youzhou. He will then deploy troops to the northwest to guard against Su Of Gojoseon and leave an opening for Northern Qi to break through. I asked you to send a letter to the King of Chu and leak the news of Bodhi Island so that the Kings of Wu, Chu, and Su will be involved in the battle for the jade seal and become enemies.
Everything went very smoothly. Xu Buling also knows that I'm the one behind all this, so a few days ago, he sent someone over to ask for geese. He also invited me out of the mountains and asked me to stay in Suzhou. He didn't want me to think that Song Ji and Song Zhengping have a better future and sell them off. "
Mei Qusheng followed behind, shielding himself from the rain with an oil-paper umbrella. "Master, you have already married Yu Fu to him."
The Old Master chuckled. "He is right to worry. If he thinks that I will be loyal to him unconditionally after marrying my granddaughter, then he will be useless.
What I, Su Mu, seek in my life is the same as Ancestral Master Zuo Zhe, and that is' world peace '.
Peace was achieved through fighting, just like raising venomous insects. The rulers of the three countries and the feudal lords were all insects in the Gu Gu Gu. They used the flesh and blood of other insects as nourishment and devoured each other until there was only one Gu King left. Only then would the Gu Gu Gu Gu Gu be at peace. This was also the general trend.
However, the time span of devouring and annexing each other was too long. The longer it dragged on, the greater the harm to the people. What I did was to go with the flow and pick the insect that seemed to be the strongest. I pushed it a few times so that it could sweep the area faster and eat the other insects.
This insect could be Song Ji, Song Zhengping, the Jiang Family of Northern Qi, the Chen Family of Nanyue, or even a commoner. But it had to be the one with the highest chance of becoming the King of Venomous Worms.
If Xu Buling is unlucky and can't eat other worms, even if I'm Yu Fu's grandfather and treat him as my grandson-in-law, I can't go against the trend and force him to become the King of Venomous Worms. At that time, the only thing we can do is to protect the lives of his family. "
Mei Qusheng thought about it seriously and nodded. "Teacher is looking at people and things from the perspective of the world. Ordinary people really can't understand teacher's painstaking efforts."
"If you don't accept what the heavens have given you, you will be punished. I only hope that Xu Buling can understand this."
Old Master turned to look at Mei Qusheng: "Has the King of Chu made any moves?"
Mei Qusheng nodded slightly. "The north is losing ground and the Qi army is closing in on the Yellow River. Wu, Wei and Yu, three princes, seized the opportunity to rise up, they gathered four hundred thousand troops and horses, and recruited more than three hundred thousand rebel soldiers from all over Jiangnan, giving the imperial court an ultimatum. They even cut off the transportation supplies of the Liaoxi Protectorate. The Liaoxi Protectorate has asked the imperial court for help many times.
Unable to defeat the enemy on the outside and disobedient on the inside, Song Ji can't turn the situation around. Courtiers have already advised him to abdicate the throne to the eldest prince, Song Ling, to suppress the rebellion of the princes. They will first pacify the northern Qi before making further plans. After the King of Chu inquired about this, he sent a secret letter to Chang 'an. I'm afraid there will be a reply in the near future. "
Old Master nodded. "Go and tell Mount Wudang to have Immortal Qing Xu write a letter personally, explaining that the King of Chu 'coerced' Chen Daozi to murder Xu Buling and intended to divert the disaster to the Xiliang Army. Otherwise, when the Xiliang Army reaches Chu, Mount Wudang will be gone. "
"Yes."
Mei Qusheng nodded his head and left with the oil-paper umbrella.
Spring rain fell.
The Old Master, who was walking with his hands clasped behind his back, was suddenly drenched.
"Umbrella!"
"Oh … Teacher, I'm sorry …"
…
Three days later, in the city of Chang 'an.
The current situation was like the gloomy weather above the Imperial City. Dark clouds pressed down, making it difficult for people to breathe.
In the Imperial Study behind the Taiji Palace, Courtiers stood with their hands at their sides. The chaos since the beginning of the year had caused the Courtiers to lose their former arrogance, and their faces were filled with lingering worry.
Originally, the Dai Yue Courtiers ruled the world and welcomed all nations to their court. In their eyes, the feudal princes and barbarians were nothing more than troublesome bugs. They could shake the world with a stomp of their feet. This had always been the case since the founding of the country.
But now, the Courtiers suddenly realized that stomping their feet was no longer effective. The Northern Qi, which had been regarded as a 'stray dog', had suffered for sixty years and was now looking back at the Central Plains, baring their fangs and claws, so sharp that it sent chills down one's spine.
They had thought that by transferring the Guanzhong Army over, they could easily flatten the Northern Qi. But when the battle started, they realized that the Guanzhong Army was no match for the Northern Qi cavalry. If it weren't for Dai Yue's geographical advantage and numerical advantage, the fearless Northern Qi soldiers would have already crossed the Yellow River.
Now that they thought about it, they realized the root of the problem — Dai Yue had been busy recuperating for the past sixty years, so the army had not fought any major battles. The generals who led the army were all descendants of the generals who had founded the country sixty years ago. They were well-versed in the art of war, but they were too conservative in actual combat. They did not have the drive that Dai Yue had when he had killed his way out of a tiny place. Moreover, the frontline and rear were unstable, so the generals of the border army could not calm down and fight.
Northern Qi was completely different in the past sixty years. Located in the barren lands of the Mobei Desert, they fought almost every day with the barbarians of the Northern Frontier for the sake of a piece of grassland and a water source. It was said that they had even fought all the way to the Qian River. As time went by, the gap between the two armies had gradually widened. It was only now that the Courtiers realized that Dai Yue's army was no longer the same as the one under General Xu Lie's command.
Not to mention that the Three Eastern Kings had taken the opportunity to launch their troops to force the abdication of the throne. Faced with internal and external troubles, the country could not hold on for long, no matter how strong it was.
Faced with this predicament, Song Ji was clearly the most furious. He threw the secret letter in his hand at the feet of the courtiers and scolded angrily.
"This Song Zhengping has the ambition of a wolf. When I asked him to send troops to pacify Jiangnan, he dilly-dallied and sent thirty thousand men. When I asked him to send troops to the Northern Frontier, he was defeated in every battle and did not contribute at all. Now that the East can no longer be suppressed, he actually came over to persuade me to abdicate the throne and let him take charge of the situation. Even if I give him the throne, what can he do now? Plead with Northern Qi to surrender and send troops to pacify Jiangnan? … "
Seeing the secret letter on the ground, the Courtiers looked at each other and did not know what to say.
From the beginning, the King of Chu had dilly-dallied and did not help either side. He wanted to seek benefits between Chang 'an and Jiangnan. Sending a secret letter at this time was obviously taking advantage of the situation. He wanted to force Song Ji, who was facing a difficult situation, to leave behind the mess and let him clean up. If the King of Chu really obtained the throne, the three kings of the East would lose the title of "finishing their apprenticeship". Maybe they could negotiate. Moreover, with the combat power of the King of Chu, Liaoxi, and Guanzhong armies, it was not impossible to attack Northern Qi and push Jiangnan.
However, Song Ji directly threw the secret letter of private negotiation in the face of the Courtiers, which also showed his attitude. It was impossible for him to abdicate the throne to King of Chu. This was likely to push the King of Chu to the side of the King Of Wu, but the Courtiers could not say anything because of this. They could not really persuade Song Ji to abdicate the throne to the vassal state to make peace. When Song Ji heard this, he would probably push the speaker out and chop him up on the spot.
Since Song Ji had made his attitude clear, even if the King of Chu did not turn to the side of the King Of Wu, he would certainly not make any more efforts. He would drag it out until Song Ji compromised. The current predicament of being isolated and helpless still could not be solved.
Minister of Finance Lu Chengan waited for Song Ji to vent his anger, then stepped forward and said,
"To resist foreign aggression, we must first pacify the internal situation. Now the war in the north is urgent, and the King of Chu pays lip service but secretly disobeys. It is difficult for him to transfer a large number of troops to Jiangnan to suppress the rebellion. In my opinion, the Xiliang Army is currently idle in the northwest, and the Prince of the Left of Northern Qi, Jiang Yan, is doing his best to help the east. He can only defend and cannot march into Xiliang. Su Of Gojoseon should be able to transfer troops to suppress the rebellion in the south. "
Prime Minister Xiao Chuyang had just become in-laws with the Xu family, so he certainly could not speak for Su Of Gojoseon at this time. He pointed out the shortcomings of this proposal.
"General Xu Lie has made great achievements in the war. He has the land of 12 states, which is enough for him to be independent. At this time, Su Of Gojoseon has come out to turn the tide. How should His Majesty reward him? After the war, Su Of Gojoseon did not go back, but stationed himself in Chang'an with the reason of protecting the King. What reason can he use to drive Su Of Gojoseon back to the Western Region? "
As the head of the military officials, Grand Commandant Guan Hongzhuo was already pressed by the current situation. He said,
"The war in Guanzhong is about to start, and Xiliang is conserving its strength at the border. If we don't use Su Of Gojoseon's troops now, after a year and a half, when the imperial court and the kings have both suffered great losses, what if Su Of Gojoseon comes out to attack Guanzhong on his own? Do we have to fight on three fronts: Jiangdong in the east, Northern Qi in the north, and Xiliang in the west? What if Nanyue raises its troops at this time? We have to pull one of them. Even if we don't let Su Of Gojoseon come out, we have to let Su Of Gojoseon attack Northern Qi's western front and reduce the pressure on the east. How can we let Su Of Gojoseon stay in the northwest as if nothing has happened … "
His words were reasonable. The Courtiers thought for a while and shook their heads.
"Su Of Gojoseon and the Left Prince of Northern Qi have been at each other's throats for 60 years. If they could fight their way in, they would have done so long ago. If they couldn't, they would at most cause some trouble for Northern Qi. It's not advisable to force their way into Northern Qi just to wear down Su Of Gojoseon's troops."
Imperial Censor Cui Huailu thought for a while and stepped forward.
"Let Su Of Gojoseon send out his troops, but he doesn't have to bring out his entire army of 200,000. The Xiliang Army is powerful. We only need 50,000 soldiers as the vanguard, along with the prefectural soldiers from Guanzhong and Shu, to defend the three eastern kings. As long as we stabilize the situation, the Guanzhong Army and the Liaoxi Protectorate will be able to attack Northern Qi with all their might. After pacifying the war in the north, we can turn around and join forces to attack the three eastern kings. "
The Courtiers frowned at this suggestion. Normally, Su Of Gojoseon would leave tens of thousands of soldiers to defend while the rest of the army would march south to quell the internal rebellion. This way, the reputation of the Western Liang Iron Cavalry wouldn't be a problem.
Cui Huailu's suggestion was a little like trying to put out a burning cart of firewood with a cup of water. No matter how powerful the Xiliang Army was, how could 50,000 soldiers fight against the hundreds of thousands of soldiers under the command of the three eastern kings? Adding in the rebellious refugees, the number was already over a million. Even if they brought the prefectural soldiers and the militia to defend the city, the Xiliang Army would definitely be the ones to fight head-on. The defending cavalry would have no advantage at all and would be exhausted in a few months.
However, there were some advantages to this method. By using the Xiliang Army as cannon fodder, they could first resist the pressure in the east. No matter how small the 50,000 Xiliang Army was, it shouldn't be a problem for them to hold out for a few months. The prefectural soldiers would then fight a few battles and naturally become useful soldiers. When the war in the north took a turn for the better, they could turn around and work together to quell the rebellion in the east. The Xiliang Army wouldn't be the main contributor, and they could even reduce the strength of the Xiliang Army. This could be considered the best of both worlds. However, this idea was clearly too damaging.
Song Ji thought for a moment, then nodded. "Xu Buling has reached the age of a crown and will have the heavy responsibility of overseeing Western Liang in the future. He cannot lack experience. Issue an edict ordering Prince Su Xu Buling to lead 50,000 elite soldiers to the Guanzhong Pass and work with the White Cavalry General Guan Hongye to quell the three eastern kings. "
"Yes!"
Grand Commandant Guan Hongzhuo hurriedly bowed.
When the Courtiers heard this, they hesitated for a moment, then nodded lightly. If Xu Buling was ordered to lead 50,000 soldiers, he would definitely be working with the White Cavalry General Guan Hongye to help him. It was true that Xu Buling was skilled in martial arts, but he was almost 20 years old and had never fought in a war. It was impossible for him to be like the Great General Xu Lie, who used tens of thousands of soldiers to snowball into an uncontrollable situation. Moreover, after the war was over, it was easier to send Xu Buling back to eat sand than to send Su Of Gojoseon with hundreds of thousands of Xiliang Army.
After the courtiers had no objections, the eunuchs were about to leave to pass the order when a civil official suddenly said,
"If Prince Su leads 50,000 soldiers to quell the rebellion of the three eastern kings before the Northern Qi army retreats, and Su Of Gojoseon leads 150,000 elite soldiers to rest and build up strength in the northwest. At that time, when Prince Su returns to Chang 'an … "
"…"
The courtiers were silent for a moment, and even Song Ji furrowed his brows.
The civil official quickly shut his mouth. After thinking about it, he also felt that he was a little paranoid.
If 50,000 soldiers could wipe out the three eastern kings, then why would Su Of Gojoseon still stay in Western Liang and eat sand? He would have led 200,000 soldiers to sweep through the world …
