From the moment Chen Ping entered Xia Gong's camp in Qiao County, he was greeted by countless people saluting him along the way.
But except for Zhang Han, Sang Mu and others, the rest of the faces were very unfamiliar, especially the civil servants, almost no one knew them. After all, most of these people were gradually recruited by Heifu after he started his southern expedition.
For example, Chen Hui, who controls the Wing Camp, the governor of Dang County, Li Shiqi, the commander of the carriages, Zhong Geng, Nanyang Cheng Sui He, and they have only joined Heifu in the past two years, and now they are all in high positions.
"I moved to Jiaodong, but I fell behind."
Chen Ping said this with a smile, but in fact, his status is incomparable to anyone: Chen Ping not only has the oldest qualifications, but also started to follow Heifu in Wei seventeen years ago. He has done many conspiracies and has rich experience in governing the county.
Experience, as well as thoughts on governing the world in the future, and unparalleled loyalty.
As for Chen Hui, Li Shiqi and others, they all relied on lobbying to reach high positions, but when it comes to governing the country, they can only be average. They may be able to get into the rank of marquis, but in terms of position, they will at most be Jiuqing in the future.
It's hard to make much improvement.
So along the way, no one dared to neglect Chen Ping, and everyone bowed to him, saying that Chen Jun and his ministers secretly ranked each other. After the Northern Expedition, the first four Guan Nei Hous Han Xin, Dongmen Bao, Wu Rui,
Zhao Tuo can be said to be the four great generals, all of whom can act alone. Chen Ping, Xiao He, Zhang Cang, and Lu Jia together are also known as the four great civil servants under Xia Gong!
These four civil servants were all Jiuqing, and everyone felt that in the future, Duke Xia's left and right prime ministers would be chosen from among the four.
As a result, the four people formed a vague competitive relationship.
But when Lou Jing, a "Jiaodong clique" official sent to the Central Plains to be responsible for liaison between the army and Jiaodong, told Chen Ping about the incident, Chen Ping smiled lightly and did not take it seriously.
This may be because, although Xiao He, Zhang Cang, and Lu Jia each have their own strengths, they also have their shortcomings, which do not conflict with Chen Ping's "Huang Lao, conspiracy" nature. He also has one thing that the three of them cannot compare with.
.
Chen Ping can do dirty work for Heifu's great cause!
If I had to say that there was only one person who conflicted with him, a mysterious guy.
"Why don't you see Mr. Huang Shi?" Chen Ping asked Chen Hui from Wing Camp after greeting everyone.
Chen Hui smiled and said: "Mr. Huang Shi only gives advice and suggestions to the regent, and rarely gets together with us."
Li Shiqi coughed and said, "Mr. Huang Shi is weak and can't live without medicinal stones. He rarely shows up outside."
The words of Chen Hui and Li Shiqi were full of gunpowder. Chen Ping saw it in his eyes, smiled slightly, and said with some regret: "When I was in Jiaodong, I visited Gaigong of Jiaoxi and learned from Mr. Huang. I benefited a lot.
."
"I heard that Mr. Huang Shi also likes Huang Lao's skills. If we have the opportunity, we will discuss it in detail."
He vaguely guessed who Mr. Huang Shi was.
At this moment, there was the sound of horns, the noise of carriages and horses in the distance, and flags fluttering. It was Duke Xia who was returning from his patrol!
He heard his voice before seeing him. Before Hei Fu's car had stopped, he jumped out and walked quickly this way, laughing and spreading his arms.
"Chen Qing, Chen Qing, I've been waiting for you!"
Chen Ping quickly stepped forward and bowed down: "I have met my lord!"
Others call him regent or Duke Xia, but he calls him lord. The relationship is naturally different.
However, he was supported by Hei Fu. When Chen Ping looked up, he saw that there was nothing left and right of Hei Fu, and there was no "Mr. Huangshi".
It seems that although Heifu uses his people, he still has a layer of precautions in the relationship.
Hei Fushu looked at Chen Ping and found that he, like himself, had changed from the handsome young man in the past to a middle-aged man with some wrinkles on his forehead and a long beard.
"How many years have we not seen each other?"
Chen Ping said with emotion: "After the Jieshi meeting, I haven't seen my master again for five years."
Hei Fu continued to ask: "Is your wife and son okay?"
The relationship between the two families was extraordinary. When they were in Beidi, Chen Ping's family lived in the courtyard next to Heifu's house and shared a heating unit. When they arrived in Jiaodong, Chen Ping's children were also Wei Polu's playmates.
Chen Ping said with a smile: "My wife is finally used to eating seaside food and no longer wants to go back to Yangling County. My son Chen Mai has reached the age of literacy and can go to Xianyang to study with the two young masters."
"Good." Hei Fu nodded and laughed loudly: "When the world is settled, you can follow me and return to the court. This slaying knife of yours should be used to kill the whole world, not just one county!"
Chen Hui behind him, Li Shi and others all knew it, and thought to themselves:
"One of Duke Xia's future prime ministers has been decided!"
But he saw Hei Fu patting Chen Ping and asking him to go into the camp to talk in detail. He even said with a smile:
"Tonight, you and I should sleep well and talk about the past five years!"
…
"I came to see you today. There are two major events related to the stability of the world. One is far away and the other is near."
They all understood that this was just an expression of intimacy with the old friend in front of the ministers. After entering the camp, Chen Ping showed no pride at all. He bowed down step by step and said seriously to Hei Fu.
Hei Fu nodded: "Let's talk about the distant events first."
"The distant affairs are about Yanbei Fusu!"
"I write a report every half month. My lord, you should know that Fusu is not a puppet, and he is not held hostage by Liu Ji. He has deliberately planned to start from Haidong and take over the two Liaos in a few years."
"Last year, although I used the escaped soldiers Wei Man to attack him and reported the news to Zang Tu in Jiaodong, the puppet state of Yan, but after Wei Man plundered Liaodong, he jumped east into the mountains and forests and settled in the north of Korea and south of Fuyu.
Zang Tu was unwilling to go south. However, Zang Tu was incompetent and was defeated by Fusu in Jieshi. Although I rescued him and sent his remnants to Liaodong to continue to harass Fusu's rear, they had already lost their courage. After the spring, Fusu was defeated.
If the Liao cavalry defeats it, they can only avoid Liaonan and be unable to threaten Liaoyang."
However, Chen Ping's operation delayed Fusu for at least half a year, preventing him from expanding his achievements in Yan.
"As for the Yan general Luan Bu, he has surrendered to the puppet king Han Guang. Now Han Guang has four counties: Yanmen, Dai, Shanggu, and Yuyang, with 30,000 troops. However, Fang Shao helped Su and stopped him at Youbeiping. It was difficult to
Go west."
After saying this, Chen Ping bowed again with sincerity and fear: "I have always made my own decisions, and I hope you will forgive me."
But Hei Fu just kept silent and said slowly:
"You know, we have received reports from the north recently, saying that Han Xin has arrived at Handan, and the demise of the Zhao Kingdom is imminent. However, Han Guang, the acting king in the north, has recognized Maodun, the Xiongnu Chanyu who is younger than him, as his father, and calls himself his son.
Borrow the power of the Xiongnu to absorb the remaining Zhao army and establish a separate regime in the north?"
Chen Ping bowed his head: "I know, but I think that Fusu is a greater threat to the lord than the Xiongnu and Han Guang! The Huns are a foreign invasion, but Fusu may cause internal troubles. I am only afraid that some people in Guanzhong will give birth to evil spirits.
If you have different intentions, this will shake the foundation of the Lord..."
Heifu said: "I have a plan on how to deal with that 'King Zhao', and I will not let what you are worried about happen. Let's talk about recent matters."
"The immediate issue is the upcoming decisive battle..."
Chen Ping was responsible for the four routes of Pei County in the north, Peng Yue of Qi, Cao Shen of Jiaodong, and Qi merchant fleet in the East China Sea. He went south this time to report on the progress of each route.
"Thirteen merchants all sent private soldiers and came under the control of Cao Shen. They marched south with 30,000 troops. They have defeated Langya and captured Tan County. Now they may have reached Xiapi to join forces with the Jiangdong Boat Division."
"And the Qi merchant fleet has also blocked Dongmenque and occupied Qu County (Lianyungang)."
"After Peng Yue returned to Jibei, he killed Tian Guang and imprisoned Lu Ru. He also sent 5,000 soldiers southward, and cooperated with 5,000 other heroes to reoccupy Pengcheng, which had been abandoned by the Chu people. The troops attacked and harassed the north of Suishui River."
Heifu's strategy of "ambushing from all sides" gradually took shape. The big black python wrapped the Chu monkey in his arms tighter and tighter, and swallowed it with only one bite left!
Chen Ping said: "But the Chu Sniper did not give up resistance. Its teeth are still sharp, enough to tear the scales, even threatening seven inches."
Hei Fu nodded: "I understand what you mean. Just like in the Art of War, we are dedicated to one, and the enemy is divided into ten. So if we attack one of them with ten, we will be numerous and the enemy will be few. If we can attack the few with many, we will be defeated."
We have made an appointment with the warriors. It seems to be surrounded by ten directions, but our troops are scattered, while Xiang Ji shrinks the battle line and concentrates his troops. This is to defeat our troops one by one..."
Don't think that it's easy to fight with more and less. In this era of inconvenient communication, coordinating the battle between armies is a big problem.
But Heifu did not intend to attack from all sides: "It may seem like I am dividing my troops to surround you, but in fact it is like hunting a deer. I pick it up from all directions, but the main force corners it!"
"The other nine routes are all Jie, each occupying one area, either Pengcheng, Xu County, or Xiapi, constantly attacking and harassing the Chu people, but they are not allowed to advance easily. Only the 150,000 troops from Chen County and Dang County on the west road,
The general will continue to push eastward, and the Chu army has no retreat. They can either attack all the way and hope to break the siege, or they can only turn around and head west to fight me decisively!"
Either way, the initiative now lies with Heifu.
Now that everything is ready, there is only one question left:
Should we maintain the front line and wait for Han Xin to destroy Zhao and then move south?
"No."
Heifu also hesitated, but now, he has made a decision:
"Let Han Xin focus on the north."
"I will personally command the final battle to destroy the Chu Kingdom!"