The land south of the Yangtze River has always been said to have heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below, but that was in the past.
Since the arrival of Zhu Meng, who exploited the people's wealth in the south of the Yangtze River with harsh policies and heavy taxes such as Hua Shi Gang, this place of wealth in the Song Dynasty has been deteriorating year by year, and the people's lives have become even more embarrassing. After Fang La and his men rose up and turned the whole Jiangnan upside down, the cities and towns in various places began to wither away, and their former glory was no longer the same.
As the capital of the so-called Wu Kingdom today, although the situation in Hangzhou is much better than that of Suzhou, which just experienced the war, the people's livelihood in the city is still poor, and the prosperity recorded in various classics and notes is not visible at all. less than. Fortunately, Fang La finally learned the lessons learned from the corrupt officials of the Song Dynasty such as Zhu Meng, and did not dare to exploit them too much. Now the people in the city can still survive.
Compared with the difficult times for ordinary people, the officials and dignitaries of Wu State were much more relaxed. After all, in the past two years, they have conquered many cities and seized the money and grain warehouses in various places, which has quickly enriched the pockets of many civil and military officials who followed Fang La in the uprising. Especially those important ministers in the court, their lives are even more nourishing.
Although the common people had to think hard to survive the winter due to the arrival of winter, some important ministers could peacefully enjoy the scenery outside and drink tea and play chess in the hall where the charcoal stove was lit.
In the original mansion of a wealthy man in Hangzhou, two people were now sitting opposite each other, chatting and making random moves. One of these two people is the prime minister of Wu, the most trusted official around Fang La, and his brother Fang Fei, and the other is Jiang Shihu, whom he has not seen for a long time!
It is said that after the battle to eliminate the fierce dragon in Jiangzhou, Jiang Shihu finally escaped from the waterway with the help of his brother Jiang Dalong, and also avoided repeated pursuits by the government. In the following years, he remained anonymous, hiding everywhere, and finally settled in Jiangnan.
But unfortunately, when Jiang Shihu planned to live a peaceful life, the government refused to let him go. It's not that Jiangzhou officials are so powerful that they can recruit people from thousands of miles apart, but that Hua Shigang's heavy taxes are weighing on him.
Jiang Shihu, who already harbored hatred for the government, could not be willing to be exploited, so he took the opportunity to commit murder. At this time, Fang La, who was also in Muzhou, also led the crowd to rebel. As a result, the two groups of people who resisted the harsh government quickly joined together, grew rapidly, and began a magnificent journey to capture the southern half of the Yangtze River.
During this process, Fang Fei provided logistics for Fang La, Fang Shifo helped him conquer the city, and Jiang Shihu made suggestions for him, making up a clever plan to defeat the official army one by one and capture the city. The reason why heavily guarded cities such as Hangzhou and Suzhou could be breached was because of Jiang Shihu's design. By buying off the people in the city, the inside and outside were coordinated.
Precisely because he had made great contributions to Fang La, even though he was not from the Fang clan, he was appointed a high-ranking official in the court after he became emperor. He was a Taifu, and he was almost on an equal footing with Fang Fei, the prime minister of Wu. like existence. And to this day, Fang La still has great trust in him and obeys his advice. He can be regarded as a very human minister.
If we really want to make an inappropriate comparison and compare Fang La to Liu Bang, then Fang Fei is Xiao He, Fang Shifo and Pang Wanchun are Han Xin and Zhou Bo, and then Jiang Shihu is Zhang Liang. And now in Wu
He also has an extremely popular name among the state officials and the military - "Infinite Strategies", which shows how much prestige he enjoys among the Wu army.
However, if someone meets Jiang Shihu for the first time, it will be difficult to connect him with such a famous figure. At this time, Jiang Shihu was fifty-five in his thirties, but he didn't have much masculinity. He was still a little sickly and would cough a few times from time to time. This is because he was injured when he escaped from Jiangzhou and soaked in water for many days, which caused the root of the disease, almost becoming a consumption-like ghost.
Opposite him, Fang Fei is not worthy of his name. Although he has the word "fat", he does not look obese at all. Instead, he is handsome and handsome in his late fifties, and his manners are extraordinary. Even the way he thinks about it can make many women's hearts flutter. I am so envious.
On the chessboard, the black and white armies were completely strangled together, and it was difficult to tell the difference. This made Fang Fei's piece even more difficult. After a long while, he landed a piece on the corner. Playing chess is like doing business. When he is not sure, he would rather hold firm than make a bold move.
When Jiang Shihu saw this, he chuckled: "Fang Pingfen is so cautious. Your move really exceeded my expectations."
"I don't dare to relax even a little bit when I play chess with you, Master Wuyi Ce Jiang." Fang Fei replied with a smile, and then said casually: "Presumably Qin Chi has met Sun Tu by now, right?"
Hearing the name Sun Tu, Jiang Shihu's eyes froze, but he quickly recovered and said: "It should be like this according to time." Although many years have passed, he still clearly remembers that time in Jiang Everything that happened in the state, my brothers on the river, and my brother Jiang Dalong were killed by Sun Tu's troops.
When his elder brother and all his brothers had already been buried in the belly of the fish, and he himself was living in the south of the Yangtze River, Sun Tu relied on his original achievements and was stained with the blood of his brothers to reach such a high position step by step! The anger and unwillingness in his heart could not be hidden no matter how much he tried to endure it.
Fang Fei naturally noticed his change and filled a cup of tea for him: "What happened back then is in the past, so don't worry too much about it for the time being, otherwise it will only make you sad and hurt your body."
"Thank you." Jiang Shihu nodded slightly, picked up the tea bowl and took a sip of the thick tea soup, which calmed his mind a little. Then, he smiled and said: "Isn't Prime Minister Fang not very sure about this matter?"
"Yes, I have carefully checked this Sun Tu. This person has always been bold in his actions, but he also hates evil. Since he is an official of the Song Dynasty, it is extremely difficult to persuade him to surrender. Even if Qin Chi is very eloquent, I think the probability of this happening is about 30%."
"Prime Minister Fang is still too optimistic. In my opinion, it is not bad to achieve something." Jiang Shihu had recovered by this time and said with a calm smile.
"Huh?" Fang Fei frowned: "In that case, why did you still support His Majesty's decision in the court? His Majesty would not have sent people out easily if you had not been optimistic about it that day."
"Didn't Prime Minister Fang see that His Majesty was really interested in talents at that time? In the battle of Danyang and the battle of Changzhou, it was Sun Tu and his Shandong soldiers who frustrated our army and ruined my overall plan. After that, there were General Pang sent news that Sun Tu had been ostracized by the Song Dynasty and the people in the south of the Yangtze River. His Majesty naturally wanted to take him for his own use. So in my opinion, even if you and I
Despite his objection, His Majesty agreed at the time, but he would certainly be unwilling to do so afterwards. And if we lose the battle with Sun Tu again in the future, His Majesty will bring up the old matter again, which is not a good thing for our country of Wu. It is better to stop thinking about him as early as possible. "
Fang Fei was dumbfounded after hearing this explanation. After a long while, he smiled bitterly and shook his head: "It's a perfect plan. You really have a perfect plan, but this time, His Majesty was included in the plan."
"This is also a helpless move. I hope Fang Xiang will help me keep this secret." Jiang Shihu said while looking at the other party with a smile.
Fang Fei nodded hurriedly and said: "Of course, only you and I know about this matter, and we will never let a third party know about it. You are also doing it for the future of Wu State, and you are out of loyalty." After a pause, Then he said: "But in this case, even if Sun Tu doesn't kill Qin Chi because of this, wouldn't his trip be in vain?"
"That's not necessarily the case." Jiang Shihu smiled confidently, then picked up the tea bowl and took a sip.
These words made Fang Fei's heart skip a beat: "Why, do you have a backup plan?" Based on his understanding of the colleagues in front of him, whenever he showed such an unpredictable smile, it proved that he had a comprehensive plan, and it was very likely that he would It's going to be successful. When he first planned to break Hangzhou, he showed such a smile in front of Fang La and boasted that he could break the city in half a month. And in the end, he really did it!
"It seems that I can't hide it from Prime Minister Fang. Yes, in fact, I have another plan this time. Once Sun Tu refuses to surrender, Qin Chi will go to see another person and borrow his help to help us capture Sun Tu. The road is eradicated!"
Fang Fei's mind changed and he blurted out: "Could it be that you had already instructed Qin Chi to let Sun Tu go to Jinling to meet Zhu Meng once he refused to submit?"
"Fang Xiang is wise!" Jiang Shihu raised his thumb and praised, but Fang Fei gave a wry smile: "Don't put gold on my face. When it comes to such calculations, I can't agree with you." Compare that. But if you think about it carefully, this is a good idea, but can Zhu Men really listen to us?"
"If he is smart enough and has the overall situation in mind, of course he cannot be used by us. But Zhu Meng is obviously not such a person. He is extremely selfish and arrogant. He must not tolerate a general like Sun Tu who may not be obedient but is very useful. . In addition, the Song Dynasty has always suppressed military generals and been wary of military generals. As long as Qin Chi can eliminate the interests one by one, we are not afraid that he will not do what we want and work with us to get rid of Sun Tu and the Shandong army. Army!" Jiang Shihu's answer was very confident. It was obvious that he had figured out the temperaments of Zhu Meng and Sun Tu.
Fang Fei sighed, and after a while he nodded and said: "What you said is indeed reasonable. With Zhu Meng's personality, as long as he is slightly provoked, he will definitely get rid of Sun Tu for his own benefit. It's a pity that this is the case. A rare and famous general is about to be killed."
Feeling the thoughtful gaze from Fang Fei, Jiang Shihu smiled again: "Does Prime Minister Fang think I did this on purpose, just to avenge the great revenge of the past?"
"It doesn't matter whether it is right or wrong. Now, for us, it is the best thing to kill Sun Tu with a borrowed knife. I only hope that you can continue to do this with your reputation as an invincible strategy. With such a powerful enemy, our Life is not stable."
When the two of them said these words, Qin Chi, who came out of Danyang in a panic, had already appeared outside Jinling City...