Let’s go back and look at the situation at Hulao Pass. After Qian Xiangmin was sent away, the members of the Wagang Army immediately got together to discuss with Li Mi how to rescue Zhai Rang. Unfortunately, when Chen Sangliang was captured alive, everyone in the Wagang Army discussed and discussed, and they came up with two solutions. One is to rescue Zhai Rang by force, and the other is to agree to Chen Sangliang's conditions, The Hulaoguan throat that was just grabbed was exchanged for Zhai Rang.
Rescue by force is obviously unrealistic, not to mention that the Sui army in the eastern capital has been rushing to Luokou Cang for reinforcements, and the Wagang Army has little advantage. Even if the Wagang Army still has an absolute advantage, Chen Sangliang will At the last moment, Zhai Rang could be chopped up with one knife, so that the Wagang Army could not get it in the market. As for the exchange of Hulao Pass, although everyone in the Wagang Army said that as long as Chen Sangliang kept his promise, it would definitely be worthwhile to exchange Hulao Pass for Zhai Rang, but if you really want to do this, even if it is Zhai Rang Zhai Hong and Zhai Mohou, his closest relatives, were actually somewhat reluctant.
The decided ball was naturally kicked in front of Li Mi, the temporary boss of the Wagang Army. All the generals of the Wagang Army, including Zhai Hong and Zhai Mohou, said in unison, "Pu Shangong, apart from Brother Zhai, our Wagang Army You are the one with the highest prestige and the most resourcefulness among the righteous teachers, and now Brother Zhai is unfortunately captured, whether to use Hulaoguan to exchange for Brother Zhai, please decide, we are all up to you."
If Li Mi is stupid, he will really use the crucial Hulao Pass to exchange Zhai Rang back, but because he is not stupid, Li Mi is unwilling and dare not show it, so he can only say in a deep voice: "It's about King Zhai's business." Life, if Hulao Pass can be exchanged for King Zhai, of course I am very willing, but what I am worried about now is, if we really hand over Hulao Pass, whether the little thief Chen Yingliang will fulfill his promise Let King Zhai back? After all, this little thief Chen Yingliang is notoriously scheming, so maybe he won't know how to play tricks."
All the generals of the Wagang army praised Li Mi's opinion together, and then Zhai Hong said: "How about we send an envoy to the enemy camp to negotiate with Chen Yingliang's traitor first, and ask him to release him first before we let us go?" Hulaoguan, if he refuses, we will discuss with him an exchange method that both parties can rest assured, and take the opportunity to see how my virtuous brother is doing now."
"Good idea, good idea." All the generals in Wagang agreed, and Li Mi also agreed. At that moment, everyone discussed the choice of envoy, and decided that Zhai Hong would send his confidant Wang Rumo to take up the position. They also discussed the negotiation of the exchange method. The bottom line, and then each dispersed to prepare.
As soon as a group of the Wagang Army left, Li Mi's confidant lackeys of course immediately approached Li Mi again, and asked in a low voice, "Pu Monkey, are you really planning to exchange Hulaoguan for Returning to King Zhai? Isn’t it a pity to do this? Only when Hulao is in our hands can we control the battlefield initiative in Luoyang, the eastern capital. If we hand it over, it will be extremely difficult to get it back? "
"What can I do?" Li Mi said helplessly: "If I refuse, if I don't agree to use Hulao Pass in exchange for King Zhai, it's no wonder that Zhai Hong, Shan Xiongxin, and Xu Shiji, the Wagang old men, don't turn against me immediately, and they don't give up. It’s not just a matter of temporarily agreeing, just take one step at a time.”
"Then what if Chen Yingliang's traitor really decides to exchange?" Wang Bodang asked worriedly.
"It's not that easy. The thief Chen Yingliang is not a fool. How could he agree to let him go first and then shut him down? This matter has to be bargained." Li Mi shook his head and said in a low voice: "You don't have to worry too much, the people over there Zhai Rang It’s just that they say it beautifully, why they are reluctant to give up anything for King Zhai, but I can see that none of them are really willing to exchange in this way. So we can’t get too involved in this matter, we have to follow Zhai Rang’s side People do things, and they might screw it up themselves."
The confidants nodded, and then returned to their posts for night duty or returned to their rooms to rest at Li Mi's request. Only Li Mi's staff officer, Fang Xuanzao, was not in a hurry to leave. After everyone left, Fang Xuanzao whispered to Li Mi again: : "Pu Shangong, don't you often say that you and Chen Yingliang are both confidants and enemies? This is a godsend opportunity for you to monopolize Wagang. Why don't you contact Chen Yingliang in private and let him replace you? Remove the biggest obstacle?"
"I'm crazy to do this." Li Mi said angrily: "The little thief Chen Yingliang is more cunning than a fox. If I dare to do this, it is equivalent to handing the knife that can kill me to the little thief Chen Yingliang. If we can stir up an antagonism between us and Wagang, not only will the Hulao Pass become more difficult to hold, but our lives will also be in danger."
After all, looking at Fang Xuanzao's disappointed expression, Li Mi warned with concern: "Remember, you must never act in private without telling me, and you must not contact Chen Yingliang in private, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous."
Fang Xuanzao withdrew, and after the handsome hall was empty, Li Mi was not in a hurry to go back to his room to sleep. He had been thinking hard about the real intention of Chen Yingliang's negotiating envoy, but he couldn't figure it out for a long time. In the end, Li Mi had no other choice. I can only continue to decide to take one step at a time and adapt to the situation. And when it was time to go back to the room, Li Mi remembered the gift Chen Yingliang asked Qian Xiangmin to bring to him under the reminder of his own soldiers. He picked up the small wooden box and opened it. There are some white crystal sugar, Li Mi picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. He felt that the taste was cold and sweet, and it was indeed a rare delicacy. Li Mi couldn't help smiling, and scolded: "Traitor, you are really versatile. I can't imagine that there can be such a delicacy in food." Accomplishments."
…
Let's also take a look at the situation of the Wagang Army envoy. Wang Rumo, the Wagang Army envoy who is in charge of leaving the customs and contacting Chen Sangliang, is the younger brother of Zhai Rang's confidant Wang Ruxin. Zhai Hong's favorite, he is very respectable in the Wagang Army, and he is also very loyal to Zhai Rang brothers, so after receiving the mission assigned by Di Hong, even though he knew that the mission was very dangerous, after the dawn of the next day, Wang Rumo still Masquerading as ordinary people, he left the customs and rushed to Luokou Cang to meet Chen Sangliang.
Luokou Cang, which has just experienced a war, has already been on full alert, and the road leading to Luokou Cang from Hulao Pass is also very tightly blocked. Wang Rumo was stopped by the Sui Army's ambush scouts less than ten miles after leaving the customs. Wang Rumo, who shoulders a heavy responsibility, did not dare to reveal his identity and intentions casually, and only said that he had an urgent matter to meet Chen Sangliang. However, the Sui Army scouts also took Wang Rumo seriously, and immediately took Wang Rumo to the Sui Army camp outside the Luokou warehouse. It was handed over to the Chinese army camp, and not long after that, an official who claimed to be Yuan Tiangang came to meet Wang Rumo and asked about the origin of Wang Rumo's name.
First, he carefully asked Yuan Tiangang if he could bring his words to Chen Yingliang, and after receiving Chen Sangliang's affirmative answer, Wang Rumo carefully reported his identity, explaining that he was ordered by the Wagang Army to negotiate with Chen Yingliang on Zhai Rang. Yes, but Yuan Tiangang was a little surprised when he heard it, and blurted out: "Why is there another envoy? Didn't you Wagang thieves send an envoy just now?"
"Someone has arrived before me?" Wang Rumo was dumbfounded, and hurriedly said, "Mr. Yuan, who sent that envoy?"
Yuan Tiangang didn't answer, he made some calculations first, and then asked Wang Rumo to wait at the gate of the Zhongjun camp, and went back to report to Chen Sangliang, but after waiting for some time, the soldiers came to escort Wang Rumo to meet Chen Sangliang, and when When Wang Rumo came to the door of a rather large sleeping tent, he first saw Sui soldiers carrying some bowls, chopsticks, wine and meat out of the tent on wooden trays. It seemed that Chen Sangliang had just entertained someone in the large tent of the Chinese army. But when Wang Rumo entered the dormitory, he saw only a sui army general with oily hair and noodles sitting in front of a table of wine and vegetables. Apart from some personal soldiers protecting him, there was no one else.
What made Wang Rumo even more puzzled was still behind. Although the oily noodles immediately revealed his identity and admitted that he was Chen Sangliang, the wicked executioner with the blood of the rebels on his hands, he didn't mention a word about the Wagang Army before. The envoy's visit was just a direct question about Wang Rumo's status and position in the Wagang Army and his intentions. Wang Rumo truthfully confessed that he was the staff officer of Zhai Rang's brother Di Hong, and then made a request to Chen Sangliang on behalf of the Wagang Army, asking that Chen Sangliang Sangliang released Zhai Rang first, and then the Wagang Army handed over Hulao Pass to Chen Sangliang.
Of course, Wang Rumo's request aroused Chen Sangliang's loud laughter, and said, "Release the people first and then receive the goods? You Wagang thieves treat me as a fool, and I let Zhai Rang go. Will you still hand over Hulaoguan? It’s okay to exchange, there is only one way, that is, you hand over the Hulao Pass first, and then I will naturally release Zhai Rang.”
Wang Rumo insisted again and again, but Chen Sangliang didn't listen at all, and waved his hand rudely and said: "No, you must surrender Hulao Pass first, and then I will release you. Only you can discuss how to release Hulao Pass, but The order cannot be changed. Go back and tell Zhai Hong, Shan Xiongxin, and Xu Shiji, and say that you can change if you want, or if you don’t want to, and when I send troops to retake Hulao Pass, it will be too late for them to change.”
Seeing Chen Sangliang's resolute attitude, Wang Rumo, who didn't even have a sip of tea, didn't dare to insist, he just asked to let himself and Zhai Rang meet, but Chen Sangliang still refused, saying: "No, Zhai Rang is currently under the custody of elites from several armies. If I ask you to see him, the news will leak right away? If you want to ask Zhai Rang's attitude, I can tell you directly, whether he is willing to exchange or wants him It’s up to you to decide for yourself. Go, I’m still on business, so I won’t send you off.”
In this way, before meeting Chen Sangliang for five minutes, Wang Rumo, who hadn't even had a sip of tea, was forcibly asked out of Chen Sangliang's bed tent, and was directly escorted out of the Sui army's camp. He was released only ten miles away from Hulao Pass. Although Wang Rumo was angry in his heart, he did not dare to resist. As soon as he was freed, he immediately returned to Hulao Pass and reported to Zhai Hong, Shan Xiongxin and others who were waiting for him. After passing by, I saw Zhai Hong and others who were waiting hard on the wall directly.
It is conceivable that Di Hong and others were angry when they learned the result, and they all scolded Chen Sangliang for being insincere, unreliable and untrustworthy. When Wang Rumo reported the details of the mission, Di Hong and Shan Immediately, Xiongxin and the others became suspicious, and asked in amazement: "Before you, there was already an envoy from our Wagang Army who went to meet Chen Yingliang's traitor?"
"It's absolutely true, it was a dog officer named Yuan Tiangang who accidentally slipped the tongue." Wang Rumo nodded, and said: "Also, when I went to see Chen Dog Officer, I happened to see his personal soldiers moving out of the military tent. Some food and wine that I had just eaten, but when I went in, I saw that there was still a table of wine and food in front of Chen Gouguan, and when Chen Gouguan talked to me later, he didn't mention the other Wagang envoy at all."
Hearing this, no matter how careless a person is, they will inevitably become suspicious. Zhai Mohou, who has always been known to be suspicious and jealous, blurted out: "Who sent the messenger? Why don't we know?"
Of course no one can answer Zhai Mohou's question, but subconsciously, a familiar figure emerged in the hearts of almost every Wagang general...
"Pu Shangong is here." Looking forward to Cao Cao, Cao Cao will arrive. At this time, Li Mi also led a group of his cronies to the wall, and walked straight to Zhai Hong and others with a smile. Zhai Hong and Zhai Mo The Hou father and son were quite smart, and immediately told Wang Rumo not to mention the other envoy. Wang Rumo understood, and when he reported to Li Mi, he only introduced the envoy and did not mention the other mysterious Wagang envoy.
"What kind of medicine is sold in Chen Yingliang's traitor's gourd?" With insufficient information, Li Mi was confused when he heard it, and said in surprise: "Send someone to ask for negotiation, and we agreed to negotiate, why are you so rude to our envoy? Does he want to negotiate or does he not want to negotiate at all?"
Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, not quite understanding Chen Sangliang's real purpose, but Zhai Mohou suddenly asked: "Pu Shangong, what is the reply of the envoy you sent to contact Chen Yingliang's traitor?"
"Little General Zhai, what do you mean?" Li Mi was taken aback, and hurriedly said, "Who did you hear that I sent someone to contact the traitor Chen Yingliang? Why didn't I know when I sent the envoy?"
Zhai Hong, Zhai Mohou, and Wagang generals all paid attention to Li Mi's expression. Although they saw that Li Mi's appearance did not seem to be fake, they also knew that Li Mi was old in the city, and his emotions and anger were invisible. have a question. Seeing that the situation was not good, Li Mi hurriedly said: "Generals, have you heard something? Please be careful, Chen Yingliang's traitor is notoriously scheming, and we must guard against his schemes. I swear to God, I will I really didn't send someone to contact Chen Yingliang's traitor in private!"
The most disgusting thing about alienation schemes is that once they get into the game, even if they know that the alienated party cannot do wrong things, there will still be pimples in their hearts. It is the same now. Although Li Mi's attitude is sincere, the Wagang generals do not believe that Li Mi will After doing such a thing, he was still somewhat puzzled. Fortunately, Shan Xiongxin, who had received Li Mi's kindness, came out in time to smooth things over and diverted the topic, so everyone did not continue on this matter. Li Mi also knew that Chen Sangliang must have some kind of conspiracy, but there was not enough information, and he couldn't guess Chen Sangliang's real purpose for a while. He could only make an appointment with the Wagang generals to discuss the rescue of Zhai Rang. , and then leave.
"Arrange a few people to find out what Wang Rumo said to Zhai Hong and the others when he came back. The more detailed the better." This is Li Mi's whispered confession on the way away from the city wall, and he added: "Also, pay attention to Zhai Hong, Zhai Hong and the others. Mohou, Shan Xiongxin, Xu Shiji, and Wang Ruxin should report to me immediately, but they must not let Zhai let the people over there know that I am spying on them."
"Everyone, please don't forget Zhang Liangjian and Fan Zeng's trick. This trick is somewhat similar to what happened today." After Li Mi left, Wa Gangzhi excused Xu Shiji for him, and then Xu Shiji said: "And Chen Yingliang, the little thief, has always been known for his treachery. When he was in Qiao County, he used tricks to alienate Du Fuwei and Miao Haichao. Now that we have taken down Hulao Pass, we should work together with Pu Shangong At that time, we must not be suspicious of Pu Shangong because of such a trivial matter, and ruin the big event of jointly attacking Luokou Cang in the Eastern Capital."
At present, I am only a little skeptical. After hearing Xu Shiji's words and the story of Zhang Daxian's death of old man Fan, the generals of the Wagang Army and Zhai Hong and his son all nodded their heads, but the lump in their hearts still exists. Perhaps Xu Shiji, who tried his best to excuse Li Mi, still had some doubts in his heart, "What if Pu Shangong really did it? At this time, if Brother Zhai has any troubles, then Pu Shangong will take advantage of it."
Li Mi's intelligence work has always been good. Wang Rumo concealed the content of the mission. As soon as it got dark, Li Mi's secret work had already detected it. Li Mi was shocked when he heard the report, and immediately held a meeting in the headquarters. The people had just arrived. All sat down, and Li Mi immediately said straight to the point: "My lords, there is one thing that I always find very strange, that is, why does Chen Yingliang's traitor not allow our envoys to see King Zhai? Logically speaking, if Chen Yingliang's traitor really wants to have We exchange Hulaoguan, so we should let us see King Zhai, so as to strengthen our determination to exchange? But why did he refuse? ”
"Pu Shangong, what do you think is the reason?" Xu Shiji asked curiously.
"I won't be able to figure it out for a while." Li Mi pursed his lips, and replied: "There may be many, King Zhai is not willing to exchange himself, and King Zhai has..., but I think Chen Yingliang's traitors are not at all. The possibility of getting King Zhai is the greatest!"
"The little thief Chen Yingliang didn't get Big Brother Zhai at all?" Shan Xiongxin asked in surprise, "Then why did he send someone to negotiate with us? What is he trying to do?"
Li Mi pursed his lips again, and said suddenly: "The real purpose of Chen Yingliang's little thief should be to divide and disintegrate our Wagang Volunteer!"
Everyone was shocked, and quickly asked why, Li Mi analyzed very carefully: "Please think about it carefully, if Chen Yingliang's traitors are passive in order to reverse the situation of the battle, and send their troops to seize Hulao Pass, our Wagang volunteers will work together to meet the enemy bravely. Relying on the strong city and dangerous terrain of Hulao Pass, how confident can Chen Yingliang's traitor be in taking Hulao Pass with the untrained recruits in his hands? But if our Wagang Volunteers are divided by his tricks and do not trust each other, then Wouldn't the possibility of Hulao Pass being breached by him increase immediately?"
After asking this question, seeing that all the generals in Wagang showed contemplative expressions, Li Mi said again: "My lords, I will not hide the secret from you. General Wang Rumo encountered some special circumstances when he went to the envoy camp. The soldier who was listening told me. I can conclude that before Wang Rumo met the traitor Chen Yingliang, there were no other Wagang envoys to meet the traitor Chen Yingliang! Yuan Tiangang’s so-called slip of the tongue was just the prior arrangement of the traitor Chen Yingliang, what kind of banquet with food and wine? , it’s just an illusion created by the traitor Chen Yingliang, the real purpose of this traitor is to make us Wagang volunteers suspect each other, and then profit from it!”
After everyone thought about it for a long time, Xu Shiji was the first to take the case and said: "It must be so! The traitor Chen Yingliang can fabricate a non-existent treasure of the Southern Dynasty, and then fabricate a non-existent fake messenger. It is easier than eating and drinking. We absolutely Can't be fooled!"
Everyone nodded, but suddenly there was a shocking shout outside the door. Everyone was shocked and hurried out to check the situation, but soon a few soldiers rushed into the front yard and shouted loudly: "Pu Shangong, Good news, my lords! King Zhai is back! King Zhai is back!"
"Really? Is it really King Zhai?!" Wagang's generals all asked in surprise.
"Of course it is true!" The soldier who reported the message said excitedly: "King Zhai led his army to lurk in the mountains for a day, and after finding out the news that we had captured Hulao Pass, he marched from the mountains and bypassed Baihua Valley. , arrived at the mountainous area south of Hulao Pass, and now it is only about ten miles away from Hulao Pass, King Zhai is afraid that the officers and soldiers will intercept him, so he wants us to send troops to respond immediately!"
"Send troops immediately to meet King Zhai's triumphant return!"
While the generals in Wagang were cheering, Li Mi also made a prompt decision and immediately dispatched troops to lead the army out of the customs to meet Zhai Rang. , laughing and said: "Chen Yingliang, traitor, you didn't expect King Zhai to come back so soon, did you? Your despicable trick is useless this time, right?"
On the night of February 18th in the thirteenth year of Daye, after lurking in the mountains for more than two days and one night, Zhai Rang, the real leader of the Wagang Army, finally led his army back to Hulao Pass. According to the news, it was too late for Chen Sangliang to send troops eastward to intercept them. Zhai Rang's exhausted army had already joined up with the Wagang Army in advance, and immediately withdrew to Hulao Pass. Shan Xiongxin, Xu Shiji, Wang Bodang and Yang Jishan four After the great generals joined forces, the Sui troops who rushed out did not dare to pursue rashly, and could only watch helplessly as Zhai Rang withdrew to Hulao Pass.
When the news was sent back to the Sui army camp, Chen Sangliang did not feel any disappointment or regret, and said with a smile: "Li Mi, you must be very happy to have seen through my bluff, right? But don't be too happy too early, this is just start."