Liaocheng is the capital city of Dongchang Prefecture, and can also be called Dongchang City.
At this time, Ling Su, the right-wing army, had already reached the gates of Liaocheng.
Since the beginning of spring, probably because the Qi people have placed most of their troops in Qingzhou, the right-leg army's battle on the Dongchang Prefecture has been going extremely smoothly. In less than two months, it has reached the gates of Fucheng.
However, because the city was tall and strong, the right army did not rush to attack the city. Instead, they stationed outside the city and actively communicated with the other two armies to prepare for the next step of coordinated operations.
And that afternoon, when General Ling was patrolling the camp, he saw an old man fishing by a stream outside the city.
Ling Su loved fishing, which was known to many generals in the Huai'an army. Whenever the army rested, he would find a place to fish.
Ling Su's subordinates would sometimes give him fishing rods with better materials, and Ling Su would usually accept them.
At this time, the old man had caught a whole fishing basket. Ling Su suddenly became interested and sat next to him, chatting with the old man and exchanging fishing experiences.
In the evening, the old man chatted happily with General Ling, so he invited General Ling to drink fish soup at his home. After thinking about it, Ling Su readily agreed.
The personal guard behind him hurriedly stepped forward and whispered: "General, there is chaos around here, but this old man is fishing here peacefully. It's very strange."
The old man on the side had a very good ear. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "I know who you are."
"You are Nanchen's army."
When the guard heard this, he frowned and corrected: "It's Da Chen."
"It doesn't matter if it's Nanchen or Dachen."
The old man said with a smile: "I heard that you are teachers of benevolence and righteousness. Wherever you cross the border, you do not disturb the people and do not plunder. If this is the case, where does the chaos come from?"
"Isn't it possible that Da Chen can't tolerate an old man fishing?"
Ling Su smiled when he heard this and said, "That's what I said."
He looked back at the guards behind him, frowned and said, "There are all my right-line army officers and soldiers around here. I'm not going alone. What should I worry about?"
After speaking, he smiled at the old man and said, "My husband is leading the way. This fish looks very delicious. I am in luck today."
The old man looked at Ling Su, then at the personal guards behind him, and then said with a smile: "This military master is here with me."
The old man led Ling Su to the door of a farmer's yard. He walked in first. Ling Su looked around and found nothing wrong, so he ordered his guards to wait at the door and pushed away.
Walked through the door.
In the farmyard, there is a well and a dining table. At this time, a young man dressed in commoner clothes is sitting at the dining table, reading a book.
The old man who was fishing just now was already standing respectfully behind the young man.
Ling Su looked around, then walked up to the young man, glanced at him lightly, and asked, "Is it Mr. Zhou?"
The young man put down the book in his hand, looked at Ling Su, and praised: "The general is so courageous."
"It's actually here."
At this time, there was naturally no one else who could be called Mr. Zhou, and it was Zhou Yuanlang, the latent minister of the Northern Qi Dynasty.
Ling Su smiled hoarsely.
"Sir, this is outside Liaocheng. Our Huai'an Army is stationed a few miles away. When it comes to courage, you should be the one who has the courage."
Zhou Yuanlang smiled: "Since I dare to come, I naturally have a way to return to the city."
He looked at Ling Su seriously and said with emotion: "General Ling is so young, he must be only in his thirties this year?"
Ling Su looked calm: "Thirty-six or seven."
When he followed Shen Yi to fight against the Japanese, he was already in his early thirties. Five years later, the founder of the Huai'an Army was already nearly forty years old.
"Tsk."
Zhou Yuanlang shook his head and said with a smile: "That's not too young."
"As far as I know, the leader of the Huai'an Army, Xue Wei, is only in his twenties this year, right?"
Ling Su looked calm: "He is ten years younger than me."
Zhou Yuanlang smiled and said nothing.
General Ling said calmly: "Mr. Zhou invited me over. If there are only such provocative words, then it seems that we have nothing to talk about."
Zhou Yuanlang shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "General Ling, some things are not just talked about, but done."
"Two months ago, when we contacted you, you killed three of our spies, but we didn't hold you accountable?"
"In fact, General Ling only gave a hint, and the Dongchang Prefecture Qi army retreated when they saw the general, allowing the general to achieve a victory all the way to the Liaocheng city."
He said leisurely: "This place is only more than two hundred miles away from Jinan."
Ling Su smiled hoarsely: "I didn't hint anything, sir."
"If the general says there is no such thing, then there is no such thing."
Zhou Yuanlang smiled and said, "General, do you think Shen Qi will know that you came to see me today?"
This is a threat.
In other words, coercion.
Ling Su's face became serious and he replied without hesitation: "Of course Mr. Shen knows."
"From the first time you came into contact with Ling, Ling immediately reported it to Mr. Shen, including this time."
"Mr. Shen is wise and wise. He knows everything, no matter how big or small."
Zhou Yuanlang frowned slightly at first, and then said thoughtfully: "In this case, there seems to be no reason for the general to come to see me again today, right?"
Ling Su sat there, silent.
Zhou Yuanlang looked at him, suddenly understood what he meant, and said thoughtfully: "The general means that Shen Qi knows that we met, but he doesn't know what we said specifically."
Ling Su did not answer, but said to himself: "Right Route Army, I don't have any intelligence information for you, and there won't be any compromise."
"The war in Dongchang Mansion must continue smoothly."
Zhou Yuanlang narrowed his eyes.
He understood what Ling Su meant.
The Right Army has no information for him, but it can give him some information about the other two armies.
The price is that the war on Lingsu's side must go smoothly.
In other words, he can use some information to exchange military honors for himself.
Zhou Yuanlang thought for a while and said, "General, aren't you afraid that Shen Qi will know?"
"Guild Shen knows."
General Ling said quietly: "He will know that when Ling met the Qi people, he used their tricks to make a fool of himself and gained many benefits for no reason."
"In the end, Qi people will be taken advantage of by Ling Mou, and they will get angry and have nothing to do."
Zhou Yuanlang touched his chin and saw the beard that had flowed out.
After thinking seriously for a moment, he looked at Ling Su.
"Why should I trust the general?"
He looked calm: "How do I know that General Ling doesn't really want to be a free man?"
A smile appeared on Ling Su's lips.
"Mr. Zhou, Xue Wei has captured Laizhou."
"Jinan, it is no longer possible to support further east. Unless you, Yandu, support Dengzhou from the north, the eastern part of Shandong will soon be completely eaten by Xue Wei."
"At this time, do you still have the capital to negotiate terms with Ling?"
Zhou Yuanlang's eyelids twitched, and then he frowned and said: "No matter what the battle situation is, you can't be taken advantage of for no reason."
He looked at Ling Su.
"General Ling, what do you think?"
Ling Su smiled.
"Ten days later, the vanguard of the Huai'an Army will march eastward from Laizhou and take Zhaoyuan and Laiyang."
"We plan to occupy the entire Dengzhou before June."
He paused and said, "The Left Army has recently marched into Anqiu."
Zhou Yuanlang still looked calm.
"We can send people to check these, and we can find them."
Ling Su raised his eyebrows: "What does Mr. Zhou want?"
"March map."
Zhou Yuanlang's face was calm: "When will the army go specifically?"
"And Shen Qi's specific troop deployment."
"Also, the distribution of grain and grass."
Ling Su stood up with a smile on his face: "Then sir, think about it carefully."
Zhou Yuanlang also stood up and looked at Ling Su.
"Is General Ling really willing to be overwhelmed forever by a junior and an outsider?"
"You also said that Xue Wei has already captured Laizhou and will soon capture Dengzhou."
"Why is he so successful?"
"Because these two states are easy to fight! Because Shen Qi is right next to him!"
"This is already an obvious partiality."
"General Ling..."
Zhou Yuanlang said earnestly: "It's time to think about your own future."
The corner of Ling Su's mouth twitched, he stopped, looked back at Zhou Yuanlang, and then said slowly: "What Ling does depends on how Mr. Zhou performs in Dongchang Mansion."
After that, Ling Su slowly left.
Zhou Yuanlang looked at his leaving figure and frowned.
At this moment, even he couldn't tell the difference clearly.