It has to be said that Li You still has a clear understanding of himself. But his character is like this. He can criticize himself, but he will never admit that he is not good in front of outsiders. Since the other party has
It was such a sincere compliment, so he accepted it shamelessly.
Yin Hongzhi was even happier than Li You to see Island Master Yang. Others didn't know the details, but he did. Because this was part of his deal with someone. If he didn't get this person's promise to help in this rebellion, even if
He was eager for revenge, but he definitely did not dare to act rashly.
At this time, Li You asked: "I heard that you are from Nanyang and are subordinates of the Qiu Beard Guest. This king... uh, my God has been friends with the Qiu Bearded Guest for a long time. I don't know where he is now and when can he meet me?"
"Your Majesty, the bearded guest is now the co-owner of the seventy-two islands in Nanyang and our leading brother. Although the Nanyang islands cannot be compared with the Central Plains, they still have a population of 200,000 to 300,000 and an elite army of 10,000 to 20,000. If you come by boat,
No matter what, it will take hundreds of boats, big and small. In addition, the turnover of grain, grass, ordnance and other items is complicated, and a big brother must be in charge. Therefore, let me come first and report to Your Majesty. In less than half a month, the people and horses will arrive one after another."
"Seriously?" King Qi and the three kings around him were very excited. The Qiu-bearded guest was famous in the world, like thunder. Li You grew up listening to the legendary stories of the Qiu-bearded guest, and everything about him was very important.
As treasured by many families, the skills of the bearded man have been passed down by word of mouth and have become somewhat deified. Not only is he recognized as the number one in martial arts, but he is also rumored to be number one in the art of war. Because he has a brother named Li Jing. According to legend, Li Jing
Li Jing's art of war was taught by Qiu Bearded Guest. Now Li Jing is the military god of the Tang Dynasty, victorious in every battle, and invincible. He is so powerful, how can the person who taught him the art of war be so powerful?
Li You and the three kings were originally pessimistic about the prospects of this rebellion, but when they heard that some bearded men were coming to help, they instantly felt a glimmer of hope.
Island Master Yang followed up and said: "There are many righteous people from all over the country who are still waiting and watching. Since your Majesty has proclaimed himself emperor, why should you stay in a corner? Once you leave Qizhou, the world will be shocked. Your Majesty must also be aware of my eldest brother's reputation.
.With the help of my elder brother, there will be a gathering of righteous men from all over the world. As long as your Majesty can treat the virtuous corporal with courtesy, righteous men from all over the country will come one after another. When the time comes, why worry about not being able to gather millions of soldiers in your hands?"
When Li You heard this, it made sense! He immediately said happily: "I made a mistake. I originally thought of gathering enough soldiers and horses in Qizhou and raising enough food and grass before marching westward, but I forgot the principle of supporting war with war.
Yang Zhuangshi... Yang Qing's words made me enlightened! Island Master Yang listened to the title - By the way, what's your name?"
"Subordinate Yang Hua!"
"Yang Qing is loyal and loyal, and I am very pleased. Today, I confer the title of Lord of Yang Huayang Island as a pioneer general to open the way for our country of Qi, on par with the six ministers."
Island Master Yang smiled slightly, but even if he stopped, the play still had to be performed after all. He thanked him repeatedly, and for a while, the monarch and his ministers were in harmony and happy.
When everyone returned to Prince Qi's Mansion, Li You naturally wanted to hold a grand reception banquet. A steward came to report that Jiang Zhen had come, waited for a while and then left. Li You didn't care. In his heart, Jiang Zhen had never entered.
He had passed through their inner circle, and if it had not been for the appointment of people and the official positions in the three provinces and six ministries, he would have been excluded a long time ago. If they really wanted to hire people, they would not have planned to trust him.
After the banquet, the King of Qi gave Yang Hua a mansion. In order to raise military supplies, many wealthy gentry were found guilty and dealt with, so there were many vacant mansions. When Island Master Yang was sent away to rest, Li You happily took the three of them.
The king and Yin Hongzhi want to study the plan to send troops to Hedong Road in half a month.
Yes, Li You has decided to postpone the war for half a month, and he has no intention of informing Li Mu...
…
At this time, Li Mu was having dinner.
The place where he met Cuilian was the 'rich area' of Qizhou City. Of course Cuilian didn't live there, so she took Li Mu for a walk and came to a neighborhood. There were not many residents here, and the houses seemed
There are advantages to being dilapidated. The people who live here are all poor people, and the government would not try to rob it. Most of the residents are relatives who move around frequently. If the city is not peaceful at this stage, this area can really be called
Those who don’t close their doors at night and don’t pick up lost things on the road.
Because they are all from the same family, they basically form a small life circle of their own.
The dishes are very simple, two wild vegetables, one stewed and one sauced, and the other two dishes are a domestic chicken and a fat fish, paired with a pot of homemade wild wine. This is already what Cuilian can do here.
It was the best meal I had ever had. It cost more than 200 yuan. When Li Mu went to the toilet, he happened to catch up with the food delivery person and overheard it.
But when Cuilian paid him the bill just now, it was only one tael of silver. Li Mu found it interesting, but he didn't expose her.
The food was not very sumptuous, but unexpectedly, Cuilian's cooking skills were pretty good. Since Li Mu moved into Chang'an City, he has always eaten and used the best food. He is used to eating delicacies from the mountains and seas, and suddenly eating some "coarse food" is not a bad idea.
A different kind of flavor, especially the pickles that Cuilian had prepared, which really went well with the rice. Li Mu ate two bowls of rice just with the pickles.
Seeing that he was eating happily, Cuilian was relieved. She actually knew that Li Mu heard about her overpayment. But Li Mu didn't mention it, so naturally she wouldn't expose it herself. Now that Li Mu is eating happily,
I didn't mean to mention it, so I felt a little relieved. It seemed that this benefactor had a fairly tolerant character. As long as he served me well at night and coaxed out more money, it shouldn't be a problem.
If you can hook up with this young master, then——
Cuilian's heart moved, and she peeked at Li Mu through the light of the oil lamp. It had to be said that Li Mu's appearance had improved a lot after the union of soul and spirit. Although at first glance, he was not so obviously handsome, the more he looked at it, the more handsome he became.
I found it fascinating, and the little deer in Cuilian's heart started to rush wildly.
She picked up the wine bottle, came close to her, rubbed Li Mu's arm, filled the wine glass for him, and said in a tired voice: "Seeing as how old the young master is, why is he going out alone? He came to see Nunu again - could it be that he is young?"
You had a quarrel with your beloved wife at home, why don’t you go out and hide for some peace and quiet?”
This is an obvious test. If Li Mu follows the words, he will naturally know whether he already has a wife at home.
Those who work in this industry are not afraid that their patrons will have wives. Having a wife is easy, and it is the same for men. If there is a serious person at home, they want to change their taste and find an informal one outside. Cuilian also has self-awareness, and her
Due to their past birth, they were destined not to be a young lady in a wealthy family, so they could only entertain people with sex and live in an outside house. Therefore, it was beneficial to them to have wives, while those without wives had nothing to do.
How to answer this?
Li Mu thought about it, sighed, and said: "You have really good eyesight. To be honest, I come from a wealthy family. Just because my family has arranged for a daughter of a family friend whom I have never met, I don't want to do this.
I just ran out. I went to inquire specifically today, and that girl is very mediocre in appearance, and I don’t like it. But there’s no choice, the family has arranged it, so I have to accept it, right?”
She hasn't gotten married yet, but she has already made an engagement. Although it is not very advantageous, it is not without success. Cuilian hangs out in the "rich area" and runs a stall, and she has some understanding of the affairs of these rich children. Most of them can't help themselves when marrying.
.It must be in line with the interests of the family. This is the most basic condition. However, it is easy for them to take concubines, so there is a saying that marrying a wife with virtue and taking concubines with sex. Most aristocratic families will also accept this "
compromise” conditions.
If I can hook up with this young master and become his favored concubine before he gets married, and keep him outside, even if he gets married, I will benefit from it.
Thinking of this, Cuilian smiled all over her face, squeezed tighter, and said: "Young master, you should still put family affairs first. People say that if you marry a wife with virtue, your beauty will only be of little beauty. Even if it is a little bit worse, as long as your virtue is good, it will be fine."
"Are there other things?" Cuilian pointedly said, "Don't you still have a concubine?"
"Concubine -" Li Mu thought of his concubines. They all had their own merits and each one was different. He felt happy thinking about it and casually said: "I have also looked for a few concubines, but they still didn't work out!"
Cuilian's heart suddenly flashed. She had also chosen several concubines. It seemed that the pressure of competition was not small. She glanced at Li Mu secretly. He was quite strong, but she didn't know if he could withstand it: "Why can't it be done?
What, you’re also mediocre in appearance?”
Li Mu said: "That's not true, it's just that those girls are only twelve or thirteen years old, and their bodies haven't grown yet. What's the smell? I don't like it!"
Cuilian was a little surprised and pleasantly surprised. At such a young age, this young man actually liked a woman who was much more mature than him. Aren't she older than him? In this way, her advantage was still obvious.
"Young master is really different. If it were anyone else, he would be extremely happy."
Li Mu had already seen what Cuilian meant, but he couldn't give in. He just talked nonsense and said: "You also see that I am different? I am smart and discerning! I have been thinking about myself since I was a child.
I'm different. Others say I'm bragging. Today I finally found someone I agree with. That's it! I'm such an outstanding young master, what kind of woman can't be found? My father insists that the two families are close friends and we can marry each other.
It’s ridiculous to have a kiss together!”
"Young Master is absolutely right." Cuilian Tuqiong saw it, leaned close to Li Mu's ear, pursed her lower lips, and said: "I wonder if I can catch the Young Master's eyes with such a thin willow posture..."
"Yes... yes," Li Mu pushed Cuilian away and said, "It's just that I'm tired today, so it's better to go to bed early. We just met, so we're not in a hurry on this day."
Cuilian was a young woman after all, and she was still shy. Seeing that Li Mu declined, she found it difficult to speak again. She gave Li Mu a shy look, got up and went back to her room.
Li Mu let out a long breath, finished the remaining half bowl of rice, and went back to his room to sleep.
After a while, Li Mu heard the sound of chirping next door, and through the gap in the window saw Cuilian go out and move the table. Li Mu was still a little worried, so he got up and moved a chair to block the door, so that although the door could not be sealed,
, but if someone pushes the door, there will be a sound, and you have time to protect your innocence.
…
At this time, Jiang Zhen, who had gone around the "Imperial Palace" for a while, had already returned home.
If it were a real palace, even if he was a court official, there would be no chance for him to move around the palace at will. But in the palace of King Qi, there is no difference except for a different title. Jiang Zhen is the Minister of the Ministry of War, and he often goes in and out of the palace.
No one from the guards cared about him.
Jiang Zhen walked around and wrote down the intervals and frequency of sentry posts and patrols. When he returned to the mansion, he drew the appearance of Prince Qi's mansion and the deployment of troops everywhere according to his memory. He frowned and thought for a moment, and then
I clicked on the home part.
Although the palace is not as heavily guarded as the palace, the back house area is still closed to the public. Not only him, but also Yin Hongzhi has to avoid suspicion and must report his comings and goings. However, he also spent some money through the palace servants and got a general understanding.
Let’s look at the situation behind.
The back house is the living area of King Qi and his family. It was originally nothing. But King Qi had made the queen a few days ago, so naturally he had to avoid suspicion. The guards with handles were all moved to farther away positions.
Replaced by maids and nuns, the troops were relatively empty. Jiang Zhen thought for a long time and felt that there might be two possible solutions to capture the King of Qi by surprise.
One is to pretend to be a vendor delivering food to Prince Qi's Mansion, and enter Prince Qi's Mansion in disguise. The back house is a small stove. After delivering the food in the front yard, it is customary to come to the back house to deliver food. If you can sneak in, then
Rockeries, firewood sheds, etc., lurking down, waiting for King Qi to come back to sleep, and then surging out, there is a chance to achieve unexpected effects.
The advantage of this plan is that it saves people. It only requires three or five experts, and it can be done at the right time. But if you don’t wait for the right time, or the time is wrong, you will end up being shot to death by random arrows, and even your last words will be lost.
No chance to say.
There is another more important question. This plan requires masters. Although I am in charge of soldiers, I am not a general. I am just a scholar with no power. If I do this, how will I get the credit? I have not played a big role.
It works! If you come up with an idea, at most it will just absolve you from guilt. Isn’t the credit also in vain?
Everyone is ambitious. Jiang Zhen originally just wanted to survive, but now that he has the opportunity, how could he be willing to give up this rare opportunity to achieve greatness? In this case, the second plan is the best option.
The second plan is to rush into the palace and capture King Qi.
To enter the palace, three or five people are not enough. The more people, the better. In this way, the dozen or so people he has in hand come in handy.
Although he didn't have many people at his disposal, he had contacted General Wang. If General Wang had not been put on line with the Marquis of Luoyang beforehand, he would have been the one to preside over the matter. After the matter was completed, General Wang
After all, we are separated by one layer, so we can't take advantage of him.
And to make a surprise attack into the palace...
Jiang Zhen pondered: "You can only enter from the back house where the defense is weakest. But King Qi is not in the back house during the day. If there is any trouble, he will escape. Therefore, we can only attack at night..."
Jiang Zhen thought about it for half the night, calculated all the possibilities clearly, and then slept with his clothes on.