Similarly, another news reached Niu Youdao.
When the news arrived, Niu Youdao was sitting on the bank of the lake fishing with a bamboo pole. With his skill, he could fish out fish from the lake with his hand, so he couldn't catch fish slowly.
Fishing is not a purpose, it is a pastime and a way to clarify your thoughts.
Yuan Gang came over and inserted a piece of paper into Niu Youdao's hand. He slowly sat down cross-legged and slowly grabbed the grass on the ground.
Niu Youdao shook off the paper, glanced at the contents of the letter, and seemed to be muttering to himself: "Traveling in the mountains and rivers...preserving strength...Dayan's survival is not what he cares about..."
What he was talking about was the rude words Shang Chaozong said to him, and what Shang Chaozong said was presented to him almost word for word.
The situation has come to this day step by step. Do you really think that he can hide in the mountains and completely let the government and the city go untouched? It is impossible to ignore it completely. He may not interfere with Shang Chaozong, but it is impossible for the situation in Nanzhou to get out of control, and some regulatory measures are inevitable.
Just like Baili Jie did to Gongsun Bu, it would be too easy to influence some people around Shang Chaozong with Niu Youdao's current influence in Nanzhou.
Why was the message back to Shang Chaozong so ruthless? It's because he already knew that Shang Chaozong couldn't hold himself back any longer, and he already knew what he was going to talk about when they met. He had already made up his mind. If he couldn't send troops now, he couldn't send troops. What was there to talk about
The harsh words were spoken just to pour cold water on Shang Chaozong so that he could wake up and stop being hot-headed.
As he thought about it, Niu Youdao smiled at the corner of his mouth. He looked back at Yuan Gang and found that Yuan Gang's face was very heavy.
The letter was thrown back onto Yuan Gang's crossed legs, his eyes turned to the lake, and he continued to catch his own fish, saying, "Do you still think it's inappropriate for me to do this?"
Yuan Gang slowly rolled up the paper: "Do you want to say that you know people but not their hearts? Do you want to say that I saw the wrong person? In fact, it's not that serious. He was just complaining."
Niu Youdao: "I don't think it's serious. No one wants to be a puppet manipulated by others. Everyone has emotions, and it's normal to complain. No matter what he says, it doesn't matter to me. As long as there is a process and a result, a little noise can't change anything. What I care about is what you think. Monkey, I just want you to understand that he is different from the two of us. He wants to be the king and hegemon, and the other wants to rule the world. In the end, no matter what kind of person he was at the beginning, he will slowly change in the end, so don't be too wishful thinking."
Yuan Gang: "I can understand his mood. If it were me, I wouldn't sit back and watch my country be invaded and engulfed by foreign enemies. I will rise up to resist, and I will be more fierce than what he did."
Niu Youdao: "Others don't know, but you should know the news Gao Jiancheng gave me. He doesn't need Shang Chaozong to take the initiative to ask for help. Once the war goes unfavorably, the court will send Nanzhou troops to fight. If the war goes well, the court can successfully wipe out the rebels. We can just sit back and see what will happen sooner or later, so what’s the rush? Why don’t you be more prepared and have the right to move forward or retreat freely in your own hands?”
Yuan Gang: "Should we inform the prince about the information provided by Gao Jiancheng? The prince is keeping it in the dark and doesn't know anything, which can easily lead to misunderstandings."
Niu Youdao: "There is nothing we can do about the misunderstanding. Gao Jicheng's affairs must not be known to others. Even the top secrets in the DPRK are only known to a few people. Once leaked, Gao Shaoming was arrested before, and the secret was leaked later. People in the DPRK It’s not stupid, it’s not good for Gao Jiancheng. For us, the effect of one Gao Jiancheng is worth millions of soldiers, so Gao Jiancheng must not make any mistakes. If the prince misunderstands, let him misunderstand. Just treat it as cooperating with the show."
Yuan Gang was silent.
Niu Youdao put away the fishing rod and the hook in his hand. He found that the bait had been eaten. He put the bait again and shook the line into the water. He said lightly, "Shang Chaozong, I don't want to see him for the time being, but Meng Shanming can still meet him." Yes. I don’t understand fighting. Regarding this war, I want to hear his opinion before making a decision. Let the matchmaker go in person to pick up Meng Shanming. "
Yuan Gang nodded, and after standing up, he said, "Over at Shunfeng Hall, I figured out some clues, and I've already asked people to follow me. I don't know if it will be useful."
Niu Youdao tilted his head and asked, "What's going on?"
Yuan Gang: "There are many golden wings coming and going to Shunfeng Hall, but the golden wings that have a destination have an irregular pattern. It seems to be irregular, but in fact there is a hidden pattern. If you look at it for a long time, you can see that no matter what is sent out, No matter how the time changes, there will definitely be a trip within three days."
Niu Youdao looked solemn and said, "Let those who follow you be careful."
Yuan Gang: "Don't worry, the arrangements are ready."
…
In the Imperial Palace of Yanjing, the heads of the three major sects, Long Xiu, Gong Lince, and Meng Xuan, gathered in an attic to enjoy tea.
The disciples of Lingjian Mountain went upstairs and sent a secret message. After reading it, Meng Xuan said to the other two people: "The news came from the Weiguo grain delivery fleet. It was attacked again and hundreds of monks were killed. , five grain ships were damaged and sank into the sea."
Long Xiu said calmly: "It was beyond our surprise. In this fight, the monks from Han, Song and Jin Wei Qi really lost a lot. On the contrary, the men of our three factions participated in the confrontation between the armies and suffered no losses."
Gong Linche: "It's indeed a bit unexpected. It's the time to weaken the strength of those sects. If this continues, I don't want the war to end so soon."
The three of them looked at each other with different expressions and drank tea in silence.
…
In a large hall of Zhao State's palace, someone spoke impassionedly, and a veteran in golden armor argued with the ministers.
Minister Fan Xiu raised his hands to Hai Wuji who was sitting in the seat and said: "Your Majesty, send troops! We must put pressure on South Korea as soon as possible and force South Korea to withdraw its troops. Once the Yan Kingdom collapses, Han and Song Dynasties will eat it and become fat, and our Zhao Kingdom will be sandwiched between the east and the west. Sooner or later, we will face disaster!"
boom! The old general in golden armor stood up, pointed at the case, and angrily said, "Old thief Fan Xiu, who has received so many benefits from the Yan State, actually speaks for the Yan State and wants to ruin the great opportunity for the rise of the Zhao State. His heart is worth killing and he should be killed!"
Fan Xiu stood up with a red face, "Pang Teng spoke nonsense and slandered the minister in public. Please punish him!"
Hai Wuji, who was sitting in the seat, immediately waved for him to sit down, and then pressed his hand towards the golden-armored veteran, "General Pang, discuss matters as they are, and don't speak nonsense!"
The golden-armored veteran snorted coldly at Fan Xiu and sat down.
This man was the Grand Governor of the Zhao State, commanding the military and horse power of the Zhao State. His position was equivalent to that of the Grand Sima of the Yan State, and his family was full of loyalty. Including him, three of his father and son generations were the Grand Governor of the Zhao State, which shows how favorably the Zhao State treated the Pang family.
It's just that the Pang family seems to have some bad luck. When his father was the governor of Zhao State, he died in a battle with Qi State at the hands of Hu Yanwuhen, the current general of Qi State, and his body was never recovered. After his brother took over the position of Governor, he fought with the Yan State and was forced into a desperate situation by Ning Wang Shang Jianbo. In the desperate situation, he refused to be captured and drew his sword to kill himself. The body was recovered from the Yan State by the current Queen Mother Shang Youlan. Come.
When Pang Teng came this time, he knew that there was going to be a verbal dispute, so he came specially wearing a suit of armor.
In fact, it was Hai Wuji who asked him to come. There had been a lot of discussion between the DPRK and the Central Government recently, and Hai Wuji couldn't bear the disturbance, so he asked Pang Teng to argue.
Among the seven kingdoms, there are two governors who have the power of military affairs. The golden-armored Pang Teng of the Zhao Kingdom and the silver-armored Luo Zhao of the Song Kingdom.
Pang Teng was over sixty years old and wanted to repay Zhao for his great kindness to the Pang family before he got old.
Luo Zhao joined the army at the age of fourteen. At the age of eighteen, he led his troops to fight against Yan Guoying's military guards. He escaped unscathed and became famous in the world. He was adopted as an adopted son by the Emperor of Song Dynasty and was given a silver armor shirt. At the age of twenty-three, Then he was promoted to the Grand Governor of the Song Dynasty. Now he is only thirty-three years old. He has both civil and military skills. In addition, he is handsome and his wife is a beauty.
A minister stood on Fan Xiu's side and said: "Grand Governor, Mr. Pan is also devoted to the country. Once Han and Song become powerful, our country, Zhao, will be in danger!"
Pang Teng responded with a cold look, "Sit up? In the current situation, all countries are involved. It is not easy for Han and Song Dynasty to become the leader. You are too worried. Now, I, Zhao, are waiting for food, grass and war horses to be delivered to their door. Where can I find them? How can you miss such a good thing? You can stock up the military supplies that come to your doorstep and wait for them to be consumed by the three countries of Han, Song and Yan. When the three countries are weakened, our Zhao country can take advantage of the situation and sweep across the three countries. It's like taking something from a bag. How can you miss such a great opportunity? ?”
The minister asked: "How can Qi Wei just sit back and watch? What should I do if I take advantage of my troops and attack from behind?"
Pang Teng: "The Jin Kingdom is watching with eager eyes. The Qi guards will not dare to come out in full force. At most, a small coalition force will be sent to put pressure. I can send a group of troops to entangle, harass and delay. Try to delay it, and great things can be accomplished!"
Fan Xiu said in a deep voice: "Grand Governor, how can everything be as beautiful as you think? What should we do if something unexpected happens? Your Majesty, I still say what I said, the current situation cannot be changed easily, otherwise it will be catastrophic!"
"A bunch of rotten wood, talking nonsense, ignorant of military affairs, difficult to enlighten." Pang Teng stood up again, cupped his hands towards Hai Wuji and said: "Your Majesty, you don't have to pay attention to this group of rotten people. At present, you can't send troops under any circumstances. You can only sit back and watch, whether it's to South Korea." Apply pressure, or finally send troops to sweep away, the initiative is all in my hands, even if the fight fails, it will be a good thing for our country, Zhao, to just sit back and watch the Eastern Three Kingdoms consume until they whine."
Hai Wuji hummed and said to the ministers, "General Pang, this is a very clever plan!"
…
In the main hall of the Jin State Imperial Palace, there were hot pots for heating. All present were core ministers, and those who were not high enough could not be involved in high-level secrets.
Plans are not as good as changes. Many things change with the situation. Shao Pingbo is also arguing with the ministers.
Although the Jin State was poor, its ambition was not poor, and its folk customs were strong. It was resentful that the Zhao State took 30% of the supplies delivered to the Yan State, and was especially dissatisfied with the Jin State's humiliation and bowing to the Zhao State. The officials were noisy.
"It is easy to break if you are too strong. It is not advisable to be too strong. You should combine hardness and softness. Two generations of the Pang family of Zhao have been humiliated. Pang Teng has a strong temper and has long wanted to avenge his shame. Hai Wuji's ambition is like dry wood. If there is a chance, Pang Teng will definitely kill him. Blow and burn, and you can't take it back. The 30% of the supplies given to Zhao Guo are not fat meat, but heart-breaking medicine given to Zhao Guo. Let him save a large amount of supplies, just to strengthen his courage and promote his actions."
"At this time, the State of Zhao must sit back and watch the Eastern Three Kingdoms consume. When the time comes, Hai Wuji will definitely send troops to sweep across the country. Qi Wei is worried that the State of Zhao will become powerful, and is also afraid of the Jin State, so he only dares to use a small number of troops to exert pressure on the Eastern Expedition. It will definitely be difficult to recover. The Zhao State is unwilling to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We can just sit back and watch, and watch the consumption of the Three Kingdoms turn into the consumption of the Four Kingdoms. If we continue to sit back and watch, seeing that the Zhao Kingdom is about to become powerful, the Qi Wei cannot hold back and will definitely come to me, the Jin Kingdom, for negotiation."
"We, the State of Jin, can take advantage of this opportunity to recruit Qi Wei to form a coalition force for the Eastern Expedition. At this point, the four countries are already exhausted and weak, and the two countries will inevitably agree to carve up the four countries together. In this way, the situation in which our State of Jin has been blocked by Qi Wei for many years can be solved. With the vast territory and the large number of people, we have the resources to accumulate strength, and we can wait for an opportunity to deal with Qi Wei..."
Shao Pingbo, dressed in silver fox fur, walked back and forth among the ministers present, chatting and radiating.
Tai Shuxiong, who was sitting at the top, looked at the ministers from time to time and couldn't help but smile when he saw that they all looked thoughtful.