The city was covered with wind and snow, and this was the first snow of winter this year. The snow fell and was trampled by people and animals, making the city of Xuzhou muddy.
Xuzhou City has a history of thousands of years. It is located at the strategic pass of Huaisi, at the crossroads of north-south transportation, and is the seat of royal vassals. It was originally one of the few rich and majestic cities in the world.
Once the water transportation between the north and the south was cut off, Xuzhou's commerce and trade dropped a lot, but it was the Huaisi War that really caused the city of Xuzhou to suffer a heavy setback.
Although during the Huaisi War, the city of Xuzhou was never attacked by the refugee army, nor was it heavily looted. However, during the more than half a year that Yue Lengqiu guarded Xuzhou, countless houses in the city were demolished, and bricks and stones were transported to the top of the city.
They resisted the refugee army's siege of the city, and then the refugee army flooded the city. More than half of the city of Xuzhou was submerged in floods for half a year, causing diseases in the city and countless houses collapsed.
After the war, the imperial court was extremely vigilant against Chen Hansan who was guarding Xuzhou, and the supply of money and food was extremely strict. In order to supply 20,000 troops, Chen Hansan did his best to raid the local area. From then on, the city of Xuzhou became more and more dilapidated.
There was no chance for recovery.
Even the Chu Prince's Mansion in Nuoda was in dilapidated state. The vermilion door was dim under the light of the wind lantern, and a few pieces of vermilion paint peeled off, which seemed to bear witness to the decline of the Yuan family.
Zhang Yubo took off his poncho, without bothering to shake off the snow, and handed the horse to the attendants beside him. He raised his head and glanced at the plaque on the palace archway, and ignored the secret whistles on the left and right who were spying on the palace.
, walked up the steps to the eaves of the majestic house, and buckled the heavy copper ring.
The small door opened. When the gate officer saw that the prefect Zhang Yubo was visiting, he said nothing and asked Zhang Yubo and his retinue to go in through the side door.
Due to the Mafu case, the Chu palace and Huaidong had a grudge. Zhang Yubo and Huaidong came from the Dongyang lineage. The relationship between Chu Wang Yuanhancheng and Zhang Yubo was also very bad at first. However, after Lin Gu broke up, Zhang Yubo was regarded as a member of Gu Wuchen's lineage.
Official Yuan Hancheng looked better when he saw him.
Now that Qingzhou has been defeated and all the remnants have returned to Huaidong, the Lin-Gu split has naturally become a thing of the past - but the situation in Xuzhou is tense at this time, making it difficult to guess what Chen Hansan was thinking, and Chu King Yuan Hancheng did not care about it for the moment.
Resurrection of old grudges - In Xuzhou city, if Yuan Hancheng wanted someone to discuss matters with, who else could he have besides Zhang Yubo?
King Yuan Hancheng of Chu had not yet gone to bed. When he heard that Zhang Yubo was visiting, he put on a cold coat and went to the side hall to see him.
"It is rumored that Lin Huaidong came to Huaiyang. Is this true?" Yuan Hancheng asked.
Chen Hansan's motives were unstable and he no longer wanted to be a turtle in the urn. Yuan Hancheng could only regard Lin Fu as a life-saving straw, and he could not worry about killing his son-in-law.
"The news is indeed true. A letter came from Huaiyang this afternoon. Lin Huaidong summoned me and Chen Hansan to Huaiyang to discuss military matters." Zhang Yubo said.
"Did Chen Hansan agree to go there?" Yuan Hancheng asked. As long as Chen Hansan agrees to go to Huaiyang to meet Lin Fu, it means that he has no different intentions. Although Yuan Hancheng knows that this possibility is slim, the situation has reached
This step no longer allowed him to have some unrealistic delusions.
At first, Yuan Hancheng also supported Chen Hansan to stay in Xuzhou. Unexpectedly, the disaster was so serious at this time. Even outside the palace, several secret sentries were posted for Chen Hansan to monitor him. Even Yuan Hancheng's entry and exit from the palace were restricted.
.
Yuan Hancheng knew that in front of these fierce men with military power, the majesty of the imperial court and the clan had been completely lost. In his opinion, Lin Fu was not necessarily any better than Chen Hansan. The only difference was that Lin Fu
On the surface, he is still loyal to the court and will not defect to Yanhu, but Chen Hansan is too hard to tell.
Zhang Yubo shook his head and said: "Chen Hansan is bedridden due to illness. I haven't even seen his face. How could he go to Huaiyang? The letter from Huaiyang mentioned that the prince is a mature and prudent man who can help the situation.
I have an idea, and I intend to invite the prince to Huaiyang to discuss military affairs..."
"That's it!" Yuan Hancheng sat down on the chair with a pale face. He felt a chill running straight up from his tailbone. Huaiyang's letter just gave him an excuse to leave Xuzhou, a place of right and wrong. As long as Chen
Since Han San did not openly rebel and surrender, he and Zhang Yubo could not be prevented from going to Huaiyang to participate in the military. But if he left alone, what would happen to the hundreds of people in the Chu Palace?
Yuan Hancheng did not think that Lin Fu mentioned him in the letter out of good intentions, but because he did not want to bear the charge of being a dignified king of Chu and coercing a rebellious general into surrendering to the enemy.
"Master Zhang, you go to Huaiyang. My bones and muscles are stiff and I am too lazy to move in such a cold weather." Yuan Hancheng said dejectedly. At his age, what's the point of escaping alone?
"The official thinks that Chen Hansan may not be determined to surrender to the enemy," Zhang Yubo lowered his voice. After all, Chen Hansan did not openly surrender to the enemy. When discussing this matter, he subconsciously lowered his voice, "Chen Hansan is a man who is good at calculation.
Although he has no integrity at all, surrendering to the enemy would do more harm than good to him and he would not do it. I estimate that he is just waiting for a price to sell..."
"Keep talking..." Yuan Hancheng heard something, cheered up a little, and asked Zhang Yubo to continue.
"If the prince can convince Chen Hansan to fake surrender and cooperate with Huaidong to defeat the Yanhu troops, his achievements will be enough to make him a marquis. How can it be better than him being driven by Yanlu to attack Huaidong?" Zhang Yubo said.
"I heard that Chen Hansan and Huaidong have an old grudge, and the generals of Huaiyang Town who have recently defected to Huaidong have a bloody feud with Chen Hansan. How can we let Chen Hansan and Huaidong sit down and plot together?
Prisoners?" Yuan Hancheng asked.
"Chen Hansan's fame and wealth are tied to Jiangning, not to Huaidong. As long as the prince guarantees that his achievements will not be suppressed by Huaidong, why wouldn't he want to? Huaidong, of course, puts the overall situation first and does not
You will think of Chen Hansan who took 20,000 elite soldiers to dedicate Xuzhou to the Yan captives; besides, in addition to Lin Huaidong, the people in charge of the military on the northern front were Dong Shilang..." Zhang Yubo said.
"It's worth a try." Yuan Hancheng pondered for a moment and said. Now that he has become a turtle in a urn, he gave up his family of more than a hundred people and fled to Huaiyang alone to seek asylum from his old enemy. Yuan Hancheng was more willing to try to persuade Chen
Han San.
************
Zhang Yubo and Chu Wang Yuan Hancheng jointly submitted a greeting card, insisting that they would not leave the hall until they saw someone. Ma Zhen could not resist, so he could only invite the two of them into Chen Hansan's "ward".
Chen Han had a dark beard and a dark face, with a sweat towel on his forehead. When Zhang Yubo and Yuan Hancheng entered the house, he was supported by two beautiful concubines who were as beautiful as flowers and jade, and he stood up with great effort. His throat seemed to be scratched by a cat's claws.
The same thing happened, his voice was deep and hoarse, and he said: "Your Majesty, please come here. It is really disrespectful for me to be so negligent..."
"General Chen, don't blame yourself. The war is going on. I heard that General Chen was not in good health, so I anxiously came to visit him." Yuan Hancheng didn't care whether Chen Hansan was really ill or fake, he just followed what he and Zhang Yubo discussed.
He continued, "The safety of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Xuzhou City is entrusted to General Chen, so we don't care about General Chen's complaints that we disturbed your recuperation in the past..."
"What are you talking about, Your Majesty? What orders do you have, Your Majesty? I, Chen Hansan, will go to the mountains and seas of fire without hesitation, so what's the intrusion?" Chen Hansan leaned forward and had no intention of sending the concubine and Ma Zhen away.
, propped up the edge of the bed, coughed a few times, and said, "Although the war in the north is tight, I have 20,000 men guarding Xuzhou. I dare not say anything else, but I guarantee that Huma will not be able to step into the city of Xuzhou - Your Majesty, don't look at me
If I can’t get up now, when Hu Ma arrives at the gate of Xuzhou City, I will be lying on the hospital bed still unable to get up, and I will ask someone to carry him to the top of the city. Besides, Mr. Zhang will take care of all other matters, so the prince can rest assured.
…”
Chen Hansan had read the book several years before he became a horse thief. What he said was so flawless that even Zhang Yubo and Yuan Hancheng couldn't find any flaws in it.
Zhang Yubo said: "Only to defend the city, Chen Shijun's troops and horses are strong, which is more than enough. However, apart from the soldiers and civilians in the city, hundreds of thousands of rural households outside Xuzhou City are helpless. According to Huaidong Hou's order, the wall must be fortified and the wilderness cleared.
But if you build a strong wall and clear the countryside, it will seriously harm the people. Moreover, if you build a strong wall and clear the wilderness this year to resist the enemy, next year the enemy horses will come again. Why don't we completely destroy the Xusi area?"
"What clever idea does Mr. Zhang have?" Ma Zhen stood aside and asked calmly.
"If we can defeat the Yanlu, we can not only weaken their spirit, but also relieve the siege of Dongping. Can we kill two birds with one stone?" Zhang Yubo said.
"Master Zhang said so, and I think so too, but there are only 20,000 soldiers and horses in Xuzhou city, and there is no way to defeat Yan Lu..." Chen Hansan said.
Zhang Yubo glanced at Yuan Hancheng, and Yuan Hancheng took over the words and said: "I have discussed with Mr. Zhang today, thinking that if Xuzhou fakes defeat, he will lure Yanhu to send troops to capture Xuzhou, and Xuzhou and Huaidong will cooperate inside and outside to annihilate
If we get this force of Yan captives who came to capture Xuzhou, they will be severely weakened, and the siege of Dongping will naturally be solved - General Chen, what do you think of this plan?"
Chen Hansan and Ma Zhen looked at each other, their eyes full of hesitation, but then they laughed loudly, forgetting to pretend to be sick, and said: "It is said that Prince Chu has many plans and good decisions, and is a powerful figure in the clan. I heard today
When the Prince of Chu came up with the plan, Han San also had an idea. Otherwise, Han San would be bedridden and unable to get up. It would be better to ask the prince to take over the military power on Han San’s behalf..."
Yuan Hancheng solemnly said: "General Chen, I am not trying to trick you. The current crisis cannot be solved without a clever strategy. This is also a good opportunity for General Chen to make great achievements - he has great fame ahead of him. Although there are some risks, General Chen will not take it.
Of?"
"This, this..." Chen Hansan said, "It's not that Han San doesn't dare to take risks, it's just that he doesn't live up to expectations. Mr. Lin summoned me to discuss matters in Huaiyang, but I couldn't go. Prince Chu's plan is good.
But Han San couldn’t hold himself up and went to Huaiyang to discuss the details of setting up the trap with Mr. Lin!”
"I am willing to go there on behalf of General Chen. If I can dampen the enemy's morale, Huaidong will not be willing to show weakness." Zhang Yubo said.
"This, this..." Chen Hansan hesitated for a long time and did not say anything. Instead, Ma Zhen winked at him and said, "Let me think about it for a day or two. I don't want to be in a hurry.
God makes things happen…”
Zhang Yubo saw that Chen Hansan was showing signs of persuasion, and knew that he could not force him, so he said goodbye to King Yuan Hancheng of Chu and left.