"I heard that you are also from Wei and an important minister of Wei?...What is your name?"
When she saw Bei Gongyu, Mi Rui asked with a little excitement.
Seeing that there was no one around, Bei Gongyu cupped his hands and said truthfully: "I don't dare to pretend to be an important minister. I am Zhang Duwei's deputy. Bei Gongyu, I would like to pay my respects to Lord Mi Rui."
After saying that, he noticed that behind Mi Rui, Zhang Qigong was looking at him with a frown, a sad and disappointed expression on his face - this expression was familiar to Bei Gongyu, after all, Captain Zhang
He often looks at the ghosts and other troublesome black crows with this look of sadness that is greater than death.
He just didn't understand what he said wrongly just now, which actually made Captain Zhang look disappointed with him.
At this time, Mi Rui asked again: "You couldn't come to me on my sister's order, right?"
After hearing this, Bei Gongyu immediately noticed the solemn look on Captain Zhang's face, and he kept shaking his head slightly and glaring at himself.
But... what does this mean?
Beigong Yu thought about Mi Rui's words for a while, but didn't think they had any profound meaning, so he said truthfully: "I came here on his orders, and I was not lucky enough to receive the Queen's instructions. However, your Majesty once did
I have been asked to see how you are doing now if I meet you, Sir Mi Rui... I'm sorry to talk too much, but Your Majesty also misses Sir Mi Rui very much."
As soon as he said this, Bei Gongyu saw Zhang Qigong roll his eyes and stare at him with dead fish eyes.
"What did I say wrong again?"
Bei Gongyu was puzzled.
"Brother-in-law..."
Mi Rui looked embarrassed and couldn't help but turn her head to look at Zhang Qigong again.
"...My brother-in-law has always been very cruel to me. If he finds out that I almost killed one of his important ministers, I don't know how he will punish me... No, no, this is not bad. What's worse is that I have done it afterwards."
I thought about killing this Zhang Qigong to hide the truth, but I wonder if this Zhang Qigong guessed it? I heard from my sisters that I was very murderous at the time... Oops, Oops..."
She whispered secretly in her heart.
At this time, Zhang Qigong was looking at Bei Gongyu with an expression of "I am so angry that I can't argue with him". He suddenly noticed that Mi Rui turned her head and took a deep look at him, and he couldn't help but shudder in his heart.
"...I just learned that Beigong is coming. Sir Mi Rui wants to come out with me to meet Beigong for no reason. This is obviously because he still has doubts about us. Hey, this guy Beigong has been quite reliable in the past, so this
How could you be so careless this time?...Can't you see that Mi Rui
Are you trying to trick you?... You and I are both important ministers who are highly valued by His Majesty, and now we are sent to Bashu together. Have you not thought that this move will arouse the suspicion of others?... That's it, Mi.
Lord Rui must have already suspected my purpose of coming to Bashu this time."
Zhang Qigong secretly cried out in his heart that it was terrible.
Feeling that the atmosphere seemed a little strange, Bei Gongyu frowned and looked at Zhang Qigong and Mi Rui, really confused.
He thought carefully about what he had just said, and felt that there was nothing wrong with it. Why did Captain Zhang and Mi Rui both have such strange expressions?
In view of the eagerness to exchange information with Zhang Qigong and fill in the loopholes in the plan, Bei Gongyu broke the dull atmosphere: "Master Mi Rui, I have some matters that need to be communicated in private with Master Zhang. Can you allow us to spend a moment together in private?
.”
After hearing this, Xi Rui didn't think too much, nodded and said, "Well, let's talk about it."
After that, she turned and left.
Looking at Mi Rui's walking back, Zhang Qigong breathed a sigh of relief and said with emotion: "She is truly a wonderful woman with keen intuition. She deserves to be the Queen's sister. Her wisdom and wisdom should not be underestimated."
"Zhirui? How did you show it?"
Bei Gongyu looked at Zhang Qigong in disbelief. After thinking for a while, he still couldn't see how wise and wise Master Mi Rui was.
After arriving at Zhang Qigong's residence, Bei Gongyu ordered several black crows to guard against eavesdropping, and then reported his progress to Zhang Qigong: "According to the command of Lord Captain, I have successfully gained the trust of the Fan family.
,,I originally wanted to provoke a civil war between the Fan clan and the Xiang clan, but I never thought something would happen during the period..."
As he spoke, he told Zhang Qigong how he pretended to be a businessman who smuggled arms, how he gained the trust of the Fan family, and how the Qin army later intervened.
After listening to Bei Gongyu's story, Zhang Qigong was deeply pleased.
Unlike the Zuo Du Wei Department to which the Blue Crows belong, Zhang Qigong's Right Du Wei Department has few of the black crows under its jurisdiction who are smart. Bei Gongyu, his deputy whose intelligence is not inferior to Zhang Qigong's, deserves the title
This is Zhang Qigong's biggest reliance.
No, in the name of a businessman who pretended to smuggle arms, he gave the Fan family 500 sets of armaments and obtained their identity. More importantly, Bei Gongyu saw through Qin's conspiracy and persuaded the Fan family to refuse to accept Qin's so-called
Zhang Qigong was greatly praised for his kindness.
He believed that even if Zhang Qigong was in Langzhong at that time, he might not be able to do better than Bei Gongyu.
"I really didn't expect that the Qin State actually used money and silk to bribe the monarch of the State of Ju... The most incredible thing is that the monarch of the State of Ju actually accepted Qin's request to use the road to attack Shu for a little money. This ignorance is probably related to
The health care fees are pretty much the same..."
Zhang Qigong shook his head with emotion.
He once thought that a foolish monarch like Wei Fei, the king of Wei, might be unique in the world. Unexpectedly, here in the land of Bashu, there appeared a monarch who was no less ignorant than Wei Fei. He actually did this.
It was a foolish act to seek skin from a tiger.
"So, the State of Ju is now on the side of the State of Qin?" Zhang Qigong asked.
Bei Gongyu nodded and explained: "According to Fan Lie, the leader of the Fan clan, although the State of Ju was initially supported by the State of Shu in order to restrict Ba's vassal states, due to various reasons, the State of Ju later
The suzerain country of China is very dissatisfied and has always wanted to get rid of Shu..."
"Foolish!"
Zhang Qigong shook his head.
His views were exactly the same as Bei Gongyu's. He also felt that if the Qin State conquered Bashu one day, it would definitely destroy the Ju State. Unfortunately, the ignorant leader of the Ju State did not seem to have thought of this and actually did it for the sake of
For a little money, he betrayed the Kingdom of Shu.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Qigong first told Bei Gongyu about the situation in Ba Kingdom - mainly the conflicts and intentions of Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu and Chu Shuijun and others, and then said to Bei Gongyu: "The Qin Kingdom is in Bashu
None
Internal response, if the Fan family is really persuaded to jointly attack the Shu Kingdom, the Shu Kingdom will have to deal with the military exploits from Hanzhong and Langzhong at the same time, which will be a big trouble. But since you have seen through Qin's plan
The trick persuaded the Fan family to refuse to join forces with Qin to conquer Shu, and even turned to aid Shu. Qin's chances of winning were not high..." At this point, he chuckled and continued: "Maybe at this time
Qin State
If you still want to attack Shu by force, you must pass through "Jianshan". Shu once built "Jianmen Pass (Sword Pavilion)" in that area. The main garrison and garrison generals should not be too ignorant and should be able to block Qin's army."
"I feel the same way when I'm in a humble position." Bei Gongyu said with a smile.
He also felt that the geographical location of Langzhong, where the Fan clan was located, was very critical, which was why he wanted to persuade Fan Lie, the leader of the Fan clan, to reject Qin's so-called goodwill.
"I'm afraid that when the time comes, Qin won't be able to capture Jianshan and will attack Fan's Langzhong." He added.
After hearing this, Zhang Qigong sneered and said: "Unless Qin is forced into a desperate situation, he will not attack Ba while Shu is still alive. Once Qin really dares to attack Langzhong, it will no longer be possible to deceive the Ba people."
...But you still have to be cautious and let the Fan family guard Bashan in the north. As long as Langzhong is not occupied by the Qin State, the Qin State can only take the road of Jianshan Mountain. The Jianshan Mountain area is dangerous and rugged.
It is so narrow that it is difficult to take advantage of the Qin army's large number of soldiers. In this case, although Shu is weak, it can still resist the Qin army with its natural dangers."
Beigong Yushen nodded in agreement, and then asked: "What about the Chu State? I believe that neither Bashu nor Bashu are rivals of the Qin State. Although they can use natural barriers to block the Qin State, they cannot cause any harm to the Qin State.
The casualties are immeasurable... I humbly suggest that it is better to lead the Chu army to fight with the Qin army!"
"This..." Zhang Qigong stroked his beard and thought deeply: "I'm afraid this can't be done for the time being... I don't know the situation between Chu Shuijun and the Xiang clan yet, but the leader of the Ba clan, Ba Jin,
, he was always wary of the Chu State. Although he had a good relationship with Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu, he still refused to join the Chu army... He reached an agreement with Xiong Hu and was willing to help the Chu State raise food as much as possible.
Xiong Hu promised that if the Xiang clan really used Chu's troops to attack the Ba clan, Xiong Hu would send troops to assist the Ba clan in attacking the Xiang clan and Chu Shuijun, but before that, the Chu army was not allowed to enter Ba clan.
country."
"When did the Xiang clan take action against the Ba clan?" Bei Gongyu asked.
"This is not clear yet." Zhang Qigong shook his head and guessed: "If Ba Qi is smart, he will deliberately reveal his agreement with Xiong Hu to make the Xiang family feel fearful..."
"How long will it take?" Bei Gongyu frowned.
Seeing this, Zhang Qigong smiled and said: "Before, Zhang was also having a headache about this. However, after you brought the news of "Qin Army's entry", I have thought of a clever plan... Since Qin State is suffering from no
Since the Xiang clan is suffering from a lack of military strength, why don't you and I help both sides and help them form an alliance?"
Bei Gongyu was stunned for a moment, then looked at Zhang Qigong with surprise and even admiration, and said repeatedly: "Absolutely amazing! This trick is amazing!"
Talking to smart people is a tacit understanding. No, Zhang Qigong just mentioned it briefly, and Bei Gongyu immediately thought of it. As a result, these two poisonous men who are best at conspiracy immediately got together to discuss specific strategies.
Although it seems unbelievable to promote the alliance between the Qin State and the Xiang clan, it is not necessarily impossible.
After all, what the Qin State desires for the time being is "Langzhong". As long as it obtains Langzhong, the Qin State can launch a two-sided attack on the Shu State.
Therefore, if the Qin State sends people to contact the Xiang clan and uses "Langzhong" as a reward to assist the Xiang clan in attacking the Fan clan, Ba clan and other Ba clan tribes, and to help Xiang Bin, the leader of the Xiang clan, become the king of Ba,
Xiang Bin may not reject Qin.
Once they get the support of Qin, Xiangbin and Chu Shuijun will most likely use troops to attack the Ba family immediately. In this case, the Ba family can only ask Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu for help. In this way,
The army of Western Chu can enter Bajun, which will lead to the "war between Qin and Chu" that Zhang Qigong and Beigong Yu are happy to see.
However, the irony is that the people who first thought of this strategy were neither the Qin people nor the Xiang clan, but Zhang Qigong and Bei Gongyu, two Wei people who were trying to turn Bashu upside down.
After discussing the specific strategy, Zhang Qigong said to Bei Gongyu: "I'll leave this matter to you. Remember to be careful."
When Bei Gongyu heard this, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, Lieutenant Zhang, this matter will be taken care of by me."
Zhang Qigong nodded, then seemed to have thought of something, and said seriously: "After you leave this time, you might as well ask Yang Ji to contact me next time. Sir Mi Rui is already suspicious of your appearance today... Hey, it's my fault too.
, I should have warned you in advance.”
『??』
Bei Gongyu looked puzzled and asked: "Master Mi Rui has suspicions?...What are you suspicious of?"
Having said this, he immediately remembered Zhang Qigong's 'warning' in that secret letter, and said puzzledly: "Speaking of this, I am really confused about this matter. Why does Zhang Duwei think that Master Mi Rui will see through your and my intentions?"
?”
"Why do you think so?"
An even more puzzled expression appeared on Zhang Qigong's face, and he frowned and said, "Don't you think that Lord Mi Rui is a woman with a delicate mind and a very deep city?"
"Huh?" Bei Gongyu opened his mouth, looked at Zhang Qigong in disbelief and asked, "Captain Zhang, why did you come to this conclusion?"
"Why did you come to this conclusion?" Zhang Qigong glanced at Bei Gongyu and told Bei Gongyu everything about when he met Mi Rui, and then added: "She has been spying on me recently.
Just like today, when she learned that you were coming to visit, she came to see you specifically to confirm your identity."
"..."
Bei Gongyu opened his mouth, not knowing how to answer the question.
After a long time, he said tactfully: "Lord Captain, Beizhi disagrees... Beizhi feels that Lord Mi Rui just came to see Beizhi and see if there is any news from her sister."
"You think too simply!" Zhang Qigong shook his head and said.
Bei Gongyu suppressed a smile and said: "No, no, I think Captain Zhang may be thinking too much..."
"You mean I guessed wrong?" Zhang Qigong was stunned when he heard this, and then said arrogantly: "Beigong, has Zhang made a wrong judgment in these years?"
"this……"
Upon hearing this, Bei Gongyu hesitated.
After all, in his eyes, the Captain Zhang in front of him was extremely ruthless in his calculations and very accurate in judging people, and he almost never made wrong judgments.
"...Could it be that I really underestimated that Lord Mi Rui?"
Thinking of this, Bei Gongyu frowned and said: "However, when he came to the humble position, Your Majesty kept calling Master Mi Rui as a silly girl."
Hearing this, Zhang Qigong shook his head helplessly and said: "That's just a term of endearment. If you don't talk about it from afar, let's just say that I, the king of the Wei Dynasty, the late king once laughed and called your majesty a 'bad son' in front of everyone, but who
Do you doubt His Majesty's great talents and strategies?...So, one claim is not enough evidence."
"Yes, is that so?"
Bei Gongyu stammered. He was originally quite confident in his evaluation of Mi Rui, but after hearing what Zhang Qigong said, he inevitably became a little doubtful.
"Think about the Empress, Master Mi Rui. She is the Empress's younger sister. Her elder sister has great plans for the city. How can her younger sister be so bad?" Zhang Qigong said confidently.
"This...what Lord Captain said does make some sense."
Bei Gongyu lost his previous confidence and nodded hesitantly.
That night, Bei Gongyu stayed overnight at the residence of Ba Man, the general of Ba State.
The next day, he left Jiangzhou with his black crows and returned to Langzhong.
After staying in Langzhong for several days, Bei Gongyu kept paying attention to the movements of the Qin army.
Just as Zhang Qigong and he had judged, because the Fan family rejected the Qin army, the Qin army could only grit its teeth and attack Jianshan, and failed repeatedly due to the terrain.
After waiting and watching for a while, Bei Gongyu felt that the Qin army had suffered so many defeats and its patience must have been worn out. So he left Langzhong under the pretext of preparing military equipment, disguised himself and went to the territory of the Xiang clan.
After preparing all the necessary items, he pretended to be an envoy from the State of Qin and asked to see Xiang Bin, the leader of the Xiang clan.
At this time, Fan Lie, the leader of the Fan clan, had already sent people to tell Xiang Bin, the leader of the Xiang clan, about the "Qin Army's entry", hoping that the latter would be more vigilant and send troops to garrison Bashan.
It's a pity that Xiang Bin doesn't care much about this.
But today, he suddenly heard that an envoy from the Qin State came to see him. Xianglin couldn't help being surprised and quickly sent someone to invite Bei Gongyu and his party into the palace.
When he met Xiang Bin, Bei Gongyu had changed his appearance and pretended that he was a minister who was relegated by Lantian Jun Ying and that he came specially from Xianyang, the capital of Qin State.
After hearing this, Xianglin asked in confusion: "Your Excellency comes from Xianyang, not your country's army?"
Of course Bei Gongyu knew which side of the Qin army Xiang Bin was referring to. Hearing this, he smiled and said: "No, no, no, it is the generals' business to lead troops to fight, but it is our business to negotiate with foreign countries. The two sides have nothing to do with it."
put one's oar in."
He spoke so eloquently that Xiang Bin would not doubt Bei Gongyu's identity.
Even the slightest suspicion before was dispelled by Bei Gongyu's description of Qin's treasures - think about it, with the close relationship between Wei and Qin in the past, Bei Gongyu, as the right captain of Tiance Mansion,
How could the second-in-command not know the situation of Qin?
After dispelling his doubts about Bei Gongyu, Xiang Bin asked about the former's reason for coming.
So Bei Gongyu said: "We, the Qin Dynasty, want to conquer the Kingdom of Shu, but the Jianshan Mountain is steep and difficult to navigate. I hope you can allow our soldiers of the Qin Dynasty to set foot in Langzhong and send troops from Langzhong to attack the Kingdom of Shu."
Upon hearing this, Xiang Bin laughed loudly and said, "Did the envoy find the wrong person? If your country wants to garrison troops in Langzhong, it should look for the Fan family, not my Xiang family."
Bei Gongyu shook his head after hearing this, and based on his understanding of the Fan family, he said in a deep voice: "The Fan family in Langzhong has rejected the goodwill of our great Qin, and even insulted her." At this point, he raised his head and looked at me.
Xiang Bin said in a deep voice: "If the leader can help me, Da Qin, capture Langzhong, I, Da Qin, are willing to help you become the king of Ba."
This sudden sentence made Xiang Bin's expression suddenly change. He frowned and asked Beigong Yudao: "I'm afraid what you said is not appropriate."
Bei Gongyu said with a smile: "I have no intention of driving a wedge between you and the Fan family. I am just stating what is needed. What's more... I, the Qin Dynasty, have also heard about the disputes within your country, so why should the leader hide it?
?" Having said this, he said seriously: "We, the Qin Dynasty, only want Langzhong. If the leader is willing to help us, the Qin Dynasty, to win Langzhong, we, the Qin Dynasty, will help the leader to become the king of Ba. We will never break his promise!"
Xiang Bin thought for a moment after hearing this.
As Zhang Qigong guessed, after receiving Chu Shuijun's promise, Xiangbin became more and more ambitious to replace Ba Shi, but he still had concerns. After all, he was not sure. Chu Shuijun and Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu,
Who is more powerful among these two people in Chu State?
Because of this, after learning that Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu had entered Jiangzhou, Xiang Bin inevitably had concerns in his heart.
Unexpectedly, Qin sent envoys to negotiate with him.
“Only Langzhong?”
After thinking for a while, Xiang Bin asked in a deep voice.
Bei Gongyu nodded and said with a smile: "As long as Langzhong!"
"good!"
Xiang Lin nodded and agreed: "But you must."
Don't think that Xiang Bin is so easy to deceive. In fact, he may not be willing to fulfill his promise in the future. He just needs to use Qin's troops to attack the Ba family and fight the army under the command of Xiong Hu, the Pingyu Lord who supports the Ba family.
According to Bei Gongyu's request, the two parties made a contract, and then Xiangbin sent an envoy to follow Bei Gongyu to Hanzhong to negotiate with the commander-in-chief of the Qin army.
During this period, Bei Gongyu deliberately sent someone to reveal the news of "Fan's collusion with the Qin army" to the Fan family, and reminded Fan Lie that Fan Bu and his son would intercept and kill him, the "Qin envoy."
As expected, Fan Lie was furious when he learned about this incident and immediately sent his son Fan Bu to intercept and kill the Qin envoy.
After that, Bei Gongyu deliberately asked Fan Bu, the general of the Black Crows, to lead Fan Bu to the soldiers of the Xiang clan who were escorting him. During the melee between the two sides, he and his Black Crows directed and performed the scene in which the Qin envoy was killed.
Before his death, Bei Gongyu handed over the contract he signed with Xiang Lin to the envoy of the Xiang clan, and asked the latter to take the contract with him and flee to the Qin army in Hanzhong, and tell the Qin army's commander about it.
.
Xiang's envoy didn't know the truth. After Bei Gongyu faked his death and escaped, he followed the instructions and fled to Hanzhong with the contract, and presented the contract to the Qin army commander, Changxinhou Wangjian.
Wang Jian felt puzzled because he had not heard that Xianyang sent envoys to negotiate with the Xiang clan.
I want to confirm it, but I can't confirm it. After all, the 'Qin envoy' has been killed by the soldiers of the Fan clan.
Although Wang Jian immediately sent people back to Xianyang to seek confirmation from Xianyang, it would take at least a few months to go back and forth. Are these few months just wasted?
After much thought, Wang Jian picked up the contract again.
Although he was still not sure whether the envoy from Xianyang really reached an agreement with the Xiang clan, after repeatedly reviewing the contract, he did not think that this move was harmful to his country of Qin.
Therefore, according to this contract, he reached an agreement with the Xiang clan and secretly sent tens of thousands of Qin troops to the territory of the Xiang clan to help the Xiang clan attack other Ba tribes.
During this period, Wang Jian also put forward his request, that is, he asked Xiang Bin to attack Langzhong first in the name of his Xiang clan.
Whether Wang Jian can be defeated or not is not required, but at the very least, he must make the Xiang clan the public enemies of the Ba Kingdom, so as to avoid being forced to cross the river and demolish the bridge.
Xiang Bin agreed to Wang Jian's additional request.
In this way, Zhang Qigong and Bei Gongyu successfully brought the Xiang clan into line with the Qin State, greatly boosting the Xiang clan's ambition to replace the Ba clan.
And once the Xiang clan attacks Ba clan, the Chu army under Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu will immediately enter the country to help Ba clan.
It is not difficult to guess that in a short time, Badi will be turned upside down due to the intervention of the Qin and Chu armies.