Thirty-nine, just like the person in the Luo Shen Fu
The news of Murong Ke's death reached Gusxi Prefecture in just half a month. Huan Wen was overjoyed. Everything was as Chen Cao had expected. The prospects for the Northern Expedition were bright. Huan Wen immediately ordered people to summon Huan Huo from Jingxiang, Huan Xi from Jingkou, and Chen Cao.
Then, Huan Shixiu, and Xi Chao of Jiankang discussed matters with my aunt——
On October 25, Huan Huo, the governor of Jingzhou, sent his confidant general Zhu Xu, and Jianwu general Xie Xuan arrived in Gushu by boat to attend this important Northern Expedition meeting on his behalf. The day before, Huan Xi,
Huan Shixiu and Chen Caozhi also traveled by boat to Xifu, and Xi Chao also arrived on the same day——
In October, the winter sun was warm. Huan Wen set up a table under the Tangdi tree in the inner courtyard of the General's Mansion and discussed the Northern Expedition plan with Xi Chao, Zhu Xu, Huan Xi, Chen Caozhi and others. Huan Wen said: "Murong Ke strongly recommended his brother Murong before his death."
Chui became the Grand Sima of the Puppet Yan State. However, the Puppet Queen Mother of Yan was not allowed by the Hun family and the Grand Tutor Murong Ping. He left Murong Chui to control Luyang. Murong Chui naturally harbored resentment. The Puppet Yan State Government was in disharmony and the powerful officials were fighting among themselves. God has given me this gift.
This is a good opportunity for the Northern Expedition. I will seize the land in the Central Plains."
Huan Wen was only afraid of Murong Ke and did not pay enough attention to Murong Chui. Now that Murong Ke was dead, Huan Wen had nothing to fear, but Chen Caozhi knew how powerful Murong Chui was and immediately said: "Ming Gong, please don't
He despised Murong Chui. This man joined the army at the age of thirteen and made many military exploits. His brother Murong Ke was deeply impressed by this and felt inferior to him. He once said that Murong Chui was ten times as talented as him as a general and prime minister. Murong Chui appeared in Luyang and was right.
As our army heads north, if we want the Northern Expedition to be successful, we must first get rid of this person."
Huan Wen laughed and said: "Chen Yu has the intelligence of Zhuge Wuhou, but he also has the caution of Wuhou. Murong Chui has a sharp ears. Our army will advance by land and water. We will take Luyang first and kill Murong Chui to scare the barbarians in Xianbei!"
Chen Cao was deeply worried when he saw that Huan Wen despised Murong Chui so much. Huan Wen's defeat at Fangtou was certainly due to Murong Chui's skill in using troops, but another reason for his defeat was that Huan Wen was stubborn and self-willed.
If Huan Wen is unable to escape his fate during the Northern Expedition next year and continues to insist on going his own way and does not listen to advice, then the possibility of failure of the Northern Expedition is still very high. Murong Chui must be eliminated in advance. Chen Caozhi is self-aware and faces two battles.
He had absolutely no confidence in winning against Murong Ke. Chen Caozhi could not say that he could defeat Murong Chui just because he knew the cause of defeat in the Battle of Fangtou. The battle would not be repeated like the Battle of Fangtou so that Chen Caozhi could correct his mistakes.
Soldiers are unpredictable, and water is unpredictable. With Murong Chui's military strategy, he will design another exquisite battle. This is definitely not something Chen Caozhi can predict and control. Therefore, the best policy is to get rid of Murong Chui before the Northern Expedition.
However, will the plan be revealed?
Chen Caozhi said sincerely: "Listen to what I'm going to say, Duke Ming. Now the puppet Yan State officials are fighting each other. If Duke Ming leads the army to attack them urgently, they will all attack the enemy in unison. Murong Chui will ask Ying to go out to fight, and the military power will be concentrated in Murong Chui's hands."
Now that Duke Ming is a strong enemy, why should he try to alienate Murong Chui and completely turn against the Yan family? In this way, the morale of the people of Yan and the army will be greatly reduced. Wouldn’t it be that Duke Ming eliminated a powerful enemy during the Northern Expedition and increased his chances of victory?"
Xi Chao also said: "What Zizhong said is very true. If you can use the plan of alienation to cause chaos in Yan, you will be able to defeat a hundred thousand soldiers."
Huan Wen quite trusted Chen Caozhi's wisdom and strategy, so he nodded and said, "Chen Yu, please tell me."
Chen Cao said: "Murong Chui's wife Duan was framed and imprisoned to death by the Queen Mother Kezu Hun, and she also forced Murong Chui to marry Xiao Kezu Hun. Murong Chui hated her deeply and ignored Xiao Kezu Hun.
The relationship between Murong Chui and the Empress Dowager Yan, who dotes on Concubine Duan, the younger sister of the Duan family, is at loggerheads. What is needed now is a spark to intensify the antagonism between the two - "
Huan Wen nodded repeatedly and asked: "What should be used as a fire trigger?"
Chen Cao said: "Duan Si, the Cavalry Governor of Xifu, is Murong Chui's brother-in-law. Ming Gong can ask Duan Si, the Cavalry Governor, to write a letter to Murong Chui, urging Murong Chui to surrender to the Jin Dynasty. Otherwise, he will suffer a great disaster and recruit dead soldiers.
I took the letter to Yecheng and submitted it to Murong Ping, the king of Shangyong. I only thought that I had admitted the wrong residence. Murong Ping would definitely report it to the Kezuhun family if he believed it. In this way, it would be difficult for Murong Chui to gain a foothold in the Yan country."
Huan Xi chuckled lightly and said: "Chen Sima's plan has many flaws. Murong Chuigui is the fake king of Yan and Wu, and the riding governor of the first district sent a letter to surrender. Who is willing to believe it? And the person who surrendered to Murong would be confused.
Go to the Prince's palace, this kind of counter-intuitive plan is too clumsy!"
Chen Caozhi was teased by Huan Xi in front of him, but he didn't look angry and remained silent.
Zhu Xu and Xi Chao also smiled and said nothing. Huan Shixiu was quite dissatisfied with this brother Cong and said: "How can Chen Sima be such a fool? This stratagem seems clumsy but is actually brilliant. Chen Sima
As mentioned earlier, the relationship between Murong Chui, the Empress Dowager Yan, and Murong Ping was at loggerheads. All they needed was a spark, and this letter was the spark. It proved that the Hun family had always hated Murong Chui, and they were worried that there was no evidence to frame Murong Chui.
, Duan Qidu's letter was just what he wanted. As for the fact that it was mistakenly sent to Murong Ping's office, it was indeed unbelievable to outsiders, but the Hun family would not care about it. What she wanted was to get rid of Murong Chui, and...
What seems clumsy and clever about this plan is that Murong Chui knew that Kezu Hun and Murong Ping were going to use such a flawed letter to punish him, so they would understand that there was no way to appeal, and this was a crime they wanted to inflict.
There is no reason to worry, so Murong Chui will definitely rebel."
Huan Wen sighed slightly in his heart, everyone here is a person with high intelligence, but his son is mediocre. He only looks at the surface of the problem and cannot go deep. His insights are really mediocre, and there is a clear gap between him and others. This is really worrying——
Huan Wen said: "Shi Xiu's analysis is good. This is a clever way of defeating skill with clumsiness." He ordered someone to pass on Duan Si——
Huan Xi once again lost face in front of his father. He was ashamed and annoyed. He was annoyed by Chen Caozhi and even more annoyed by Huan Shixiu. His face turned pale and he hung his head in silence.
Before Duan Si arrived, a servant woman hurried to the back garden, but the guards stopped her and refused to let her in. This was Huan Wen's strict order to discuss military and state affairs and not allow idlers to approach. The servant woman shouted: "My lord, please give me your wife's gift."
One man, raise one man!"
When Huan Wen heard this, he was overjoyed. Before he summoned Chen Caozhi and others, Li Jingshu, who was ten months pregnant, complained of abdominal pain. Unexpectedly, she gave birth to a baby boy in less than an hour. She was very relieved and asked Chen Cao's advice.
"Chen Yu, when Duan Si comes, tell him about your estrangement from Murong Chui, and I'll go and have a look." He hurried away with the servant woman.
As soon as Huan Wen left, Huan Xi also walked away, leaving Zhu Xu, Xi Chao and others looking at each other in shock.
After Chen Caozhi went to Jingkou, his apartment at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain was taken back by the military government and used for other purposes. Wei Chang, the chief secretary of the general's palace, arranged for him to live in the guest room of the general's palace. Both Zhu Xu and Xi Chao were the same.
Chang said that he lived with Gu Kaizhi, and Wei Chang only relied on him——
Duan Si was at the Zicheng military camp, but he did not arrive so soon. Chen Caozhi ordered the guards of the General's Mansion to look for Gu Canjun at his residence if Duan Qi Du came.
At three o'clock in the morning, Chen Caozhi brought Huang Xiaotong and two other guards to Gu Kaizhi's residence at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain. Gu Kaizhi was painting in the study when he heard the doorman announcing that Chen Caozhi had arrived. He seemed to have not heard anything. The doorman knew that Chilangjun would once paint
He was so obsessed that he was unstoppable and didn't care about anything. The doorman knew that Chen Caozhi was a close friend of the mad man, so he took it upon himself to invite Chen Caozhi to sit down in the hall and explained the situation. Chen Caozhi smiled and said: "Wait a minute."
I went to see him -" When he came to the study room, he saw Gu Kaizhi painting on silk. He didn't even notice that there was an extra person in the study room. He drew a few strokes, then put the pen in his bun and looked at the drawing with his hands behind his hands. Suddenly
The eyebrows are divided, the face is filled with surprise, and the brush is drawn to add color and then draw——
Chen Caozhi did not dare to say anything, and stood aside quietly watching Gu Kaizhi paint. This silk painting was about half completed. With Chen Caozhi's knowledge, he knew at a glance that this was Gu Kaizhi's famous work "Fu Tu" of the Goddess of the Luo River.
The faceless man standing on the bank of the river that Gu Kaizhi is painting should be Cao Zhi, and isn't the fairy-like woman with towering clouds in the waves on the river, her clothes fluttering, wanting to leave but still staying, looking forward and lovingly, the goddess of Luoshui?
Gu Kaizhi's brushwork was delicate and simple, his brushwork was heavy, and his colors were dignified. His painting skills were already perfect. Chen Caozhi sighed softly: "Chang Kang was obsessed with painting, so he became a painting sage. Just like me, I traveled north and south, and my army was ruthless.
It’s rare to hold a paintbrush once a year. If you want to pursue a long-term prosperity, there is no reason to stop in this world.”
Chen Caozhi thought about how happy he was to learn painting from Wei Xie with Gu Kaizhi in Taolin Xiaozhu, Wu County. Now, although he is gradually rising to a high position and his family is prosperous, he still feels a kind of melancholy, as if an old friend has gone far away and the good news has been lost.
If he can never be found again, how can he remain as pure and innocent as Changkang?
Chen Caozhi stood there in a trance, but did not notice that Gu Kaizhi was looking at him in surprise. Gu Kaizhi just looked at him but said nothing. When Chen Caozhi came to his senses and opened his mouth to speak, Gu Kaizhi shouted: "Don't do that.
Move!" Chen Caozhi was frightened. Gu Kaizhi stared at Chen Caozhi for a while, but he could no longer find the melancholy beauty he had just seen. He did not even look up at that moment and concentrated on painting——
At this time, the doorman came to report that Duan Qidu asked to see Chen Sima. Chen Caozhi left Gu Kaizhi's studio to see Duan Si, but Ran Sheng also came with him. He was very happy to meet him. Chen Caozhi was very interested in Duan Si and Ran Sheng.
After talking about the plan to alienate Murong Chui, Duan Si was overjoyed. Hundreds of his direct descendants of the Duan clan in Xianbei and tens of thousands of his subordinates were wiped out by Murong. Duan Si hated the Murong clan to the bone, and although Murong Chui was his brother-in-law, Duan Si
When Si led his troops to flee south, Murong Chui wanted to express his loyalty to Lord Yan and chased him all the way. There was no trace of in-law affection!
Duan Si said: "I will go back to the military camp and write a letter. After writing it, I will submit it to Grand Sima Huan for approval. I will choose the messenger who is willing to die generously as soon as possible and will never disgrace my mission."
Duan Si was impatient and rushed back to the military camp in Zicheng. Ran Sheng stayed behind to chat with his brother and asked him about returning to his hometown to worship his ancestors. Unexpectedly, dusk came -
Chen Caozhi saw that Gu Kaizhi had not come out yet, so he went to the studio to visit again. Gu Kaizhi was still concentrating on painting. Chen Caozhi moved closer and saw that Cao Zhi, who had previously been faceless by the river bank, now had a clear look on his face. It was his appearance, with a sluggish expression, looking from a distance.
The Goddess of Luo on the Yanbo River, longing for——