In Jiankang, in the Duke's Mansion of the Song Dynasty, everyone discussed secretly, and Liu Yu listened to reports from his confidants.
"Lord, the saltpeter used in the alchemy fire is insufficient." Xu Xianzhi reported.
Liu Yu said: "But the money and silk are not enough. Didn't Yu ask you to withdraw it directly from the treasury?"
Xu Xianzhi smiled bitterly and said, "It's because I have money and nowhere to buy it."
Liu Yu was stunned and said: "Wherever the saltpeter is produced, immediately organize manpower to dig it out. We must ensure that the necessary elixir fire is prepared."
The imperial court is preparing to attack Sima Xiuzhi, and Danhuo will be an important baggage item. Liu Yu knew that Sima Xiuzhi had built archery towers and ramming towers on both sides of Jiangling. Yang Anxuan even sent Yong troops to station in Jingling City, apparently preparing to join forces with Sima Xiuzhi to fight against him. At that time, Yong's army will use firearms. How can we win if we don't have Dan Fire to compete with us?
Xu Xianzhi said with a sad face: "I asked the Taoist who made alchemy. According to the Taoist, saltpeter is abundantly produced in Sichuan, and the largest saltpeter mine is in Mianzhu Mountain. What's more, I bought it from traders in Xiliang. In addition to alkaline land and corners in the Jiangnan area, There are no minerals except for a small amount of precipitation in latrines, cesspools, etc. The Taoist refining elixir did not use much, which was barely sufficient, but he made a large amount of elixir fire, and the saltpeter obtained from various Taoist temples was quickly used up. The foolish entrusted merchants When buying and selling, they all say that there is a checkpoint in Shu to strictly prohibit the saltpeter from leaving the customs."
"Mianzhu in Sichuan, no wonder Yang Anxuan wants to take Chengdu Prefecture and occupy Mianzhu City." Liu Yu frowned and said: "Write a letter to Tan Daoji and ask him to search for saltpeter mines in Nanyizhou, Ningzhou and other places. If there is no Danhuo , how to compete with Yang Anxuan."
Liu Muzhi said worriedly: "Even if Daoji finds saltpeter, he must pass through Jingzhou to transport it to Jiankang by water. If Sima Xiuzhi helps Yang Anxuan, merchant ships will not be able to pass. The land and mountain roads are far away, making travel inconvenient. The lord should seize Jiangling as soon as possible and connect it." waterway."
Liu Yu sighed: "Yu originally intended to wait for the summer harvest before leading his army to pacify Sima Xiuzhi. Now that the reserves of Danhuo are insufficient, if we attack rashly, the joint forces of Jing and Yong can throw firearms into the river from high places. How will the ships pass? By land. To cross Jingling City, a hard battle is inevitable."
Fu Liang suggested: "Why not take a detour from Xiangzhou."
Liu Yu and others remained silent, while Fu Liang had no experience of fighting and could only talk about war on paper. From the map, it seems that we can detour from Jiangzhou and Xiangzhou, but in fact the mountains and rivers are isolated, and many places are uninhabited. How to move forward with food, grass and baggage? It is only a short section on the map, and it may take a month to get out. When we actually arrive in Jiangling, It would be good if only one-tenth of the 10,000 soldiers and horses could be left. Should we give them away?
Liu Muzhi thought for a while and said: "Han Yanzhi, who is the official of Jingzhou and has joined the army, is my lord's old subordinate. Why don't my lord send a letter secretly and ask him to serve as an internal correspondent?"
Liu Yu shook his head and said: "The army has not yet set a departure date. If you send a letter too early, it will be easily noticed by others, which is not a good thing. It will not be too late to wait until the troops arrive at Xiakou before sending someone to deliver the letter."
Shen Tianzi said: "The intelligence reported that Yang Anxuan inspected the Division and Yanzhi and turned south after arriving at Xingyang. He is obviously worried about Mao Xiuzhi. Why don't my lord write more letters to Mao Xiuzhi, the governor of Yanzhou."
Liu Muzhi held up his palms and smiled and said: "Jing Guang's plan is very good at attracting suspicious soldiers. My lord, you might as well learn from Cao Cao's method of writing letters to Han Sui and make more mistakes."
Liu Yu's eyes lit up and he said: "Even if Yang Anxuan and Mao Xiuzhi cannot be separated, it is enough to cause suspicion between the two. This letter must be sent with great fanfare, and the imperial court can issue an edict to appease Mao Xiuzhi, and deliver it to the fool in public. letter."
"Wonderful", everyone in the hall laughed in unison.
When the laughter stopped, Liu Yu told Shen Tianzi: "Yang Anxuan inspected Si Yan and sent secret spies to follow him all the way to report in detail where he went and the people he met."
Shen Tianzi said in a deep voice: "Lord, don't worry, spies are sent every day, and Yang Anxuan's every move is under control."
Liu Muzhi's eyes flashed coldly and he said: "Why not send someone to assassinate Yang Anxuan? If Yang Anxuan dies, the world will be settled."
There were all confidants in the hall, and Liu Yu did not hide the murderous intention in his words, saying: "If we can get rid of Yang Anxuan, it will be done once and for all. This time Yang Anxuan went out for inspection, and in order to show his closeness to the people, he only had more than a hundred guards with him along the way. There is indeed an opportunity to meet the gentry and the common people."
Ding Yi, who was standing by, said loudly: "My servant is willing to relieve Duke Song of his worries and go to assassinate Yang Anxuan."
Shen Tianzi said: "Yang Anxuan has extraordinary skills. He has more than a hundred guards around him, all of whom have been through hundreds of battles. Ding Duhu needs to recruit more people to go forward."
"Assassinations in rivers and lakes are different from battles on the battlefield." Liu Muzhi said: "You cannot recruit elite soldiers in the army, but those rivers and lakes rangers are suitable. Yu followed the imperial decree to regulate Jiankang order and arrested many warriors in rivers and lakes. Tingwei's prison was overcrowded, Guo Guo Wei Ting has not had a good look when he saw Yu Ke recently."
Liu Yu laughed loudly and said: "Ding Ao, you go to Tingwei Prison and escort these Jianghu Rangers to Jingkou Villa, and select those with families among them to train. You might as well promise a heavy profit. If there are not enough people, there are also many Jingkou Rangers." , choose the best and start early.”
Ding Yi responded in a deep voice: "As ordered."
…………
In Linqiu City, the seat of Yanzhou, the imperial angel Zheng Hui read out the edict, commending Mao Xiuzhi for his contribution to the country, and awarded him a special reward of 100,000 yuan and 100 pieces of silk. Mao Xiuzhi was a little confused about this imperial edict, guessing that either King Langya or Duke Song wanted to win over him.
A banquet was held in honor of the angel. During the banquet, Zheng Hui took out a letter and said with a smile: "Mao Cishi, before leaving Beijing, Taiwei asked Yu to give you a letter. He said that he and Mao Cishi have been old friends for many years. They have not seen each other for several years and miss him very much. .”
Mao Xiuzhi's heart sank, and he subconsciously looked at Zhu Lingshi, who was on his left. Zhu Lingshi smiled and said: "Yu and Taiwei were old acquaintances when they were in Jingkou. I wonder if Taiwei has a letter for Yu?"
Zheng Hui's smile froze, and then he said: "The captain only gave Yu a letter."
The waiter took the letter and handed it to Mao Xiuzhi. Mao Xiuzhi felt that the thin letter was like a hot potato. At this time, he understood that Liu Yu was trying to alienate him.
Zhu Lingshi laughed and said: "The Taiwei treats one favorably and favors the other. My lord writes letters to both Mao Ci and Shi."
Mao Xiuzhi was sweating gurglingly. Yan Gang, who had joined the army and recorded the affairs, raised his glass to the rescue with a smile and said: "Song Gong and Yong Gong are all outstanding people, but their actions are different. We can't catch up with them. Angels have come from afar. I want to toast you."
In the study, Mao Xiuzhi opened Liu Yu's letter. The font was large, stiff and ugly, and it was Liu Yu's own handwriting.
Mao Xiuzhi knew that Liu Yu's family was poor and had not read for a few days. He was only rough in writing and his handwriting was ugly. Later, Liu Muzhi persuaded him to write bigger words, which could hide his clumsiness and appear imposing.
There are not ten words written on one page, but about a hundred words are written for more than ten pages. They are scrawled and revised, recounting old feelings from the past, without any actual content.
After reading and handing the letter to Yan Gang aside, Mao Xiuzhi frowned and said: "Song Gong wanted to drive a wedge between Yu and Yong Gong, so he sent a letter to Yu in public to make Zhu Lingshi suspicious."
Yan Gang glanced at the redacted letter and said, "This is Cao Cao's plan to drive a wedge between Ma Chao and Han Sui."
Mao Xiuzhi smiled bitterly and said, "What can I do?"
Yan Gang put down the letter and said: "Yonggong inspected Si and Yan. After arriving at Xingyang, he changed the route to the south to comfort the old tribe and the people and win their hearts. Yonggong did many practical things for the people, including distributing fields, promoting Yang Jiali, building water conservancy roads, and providing relief. The victims of the disaster, doing light corvee work, building schools, etc., were all benevolent policies, so they were deeply loved by the scholars and the people."
Mao Xiuzhi was silent. After he came to Yanzhou, he wanted to show off his skills and win the hearts of the people. However, he found that Yanzhou's government affairs were in good order. Except for Xiao Gui and Cao Sui, there was almost no place to start. All benevolence and virtue were implemented by Yonggong first. Clothed.
"Yonggong did not come to Linqiu City, but went to Yingchuan and Runan first. He was clearly suspicious of me." Mao Xiuzhi said in a serious tone: "It is probably Wang Huilong who said something in Yonggong's ears."
Yan Gang pondered for a moment and said: "The fight between Yong Gong and Song Gong has become inevitable. My lord asked himself whether he can take advantage of the opportunity to rise up?"
Mao Xiuzhi shook his head bitterly and remained silent. Although he wanted to revive his father's business, he was unable to do so. He was hampered by obstacles everywhere in Yanzhou and struggled to make progress.
Yan Gang continued: "In this case, the lord should choose the master and follow him to avoid making mistakes."
Mao Xiu said: "The general situation is still unclear. You have to take another look at it. How dare you play with the lives of hundreds of people in your family."
Yan Gang said anxiously: "My lord, adding icing on the cake is not as good as providing help in times of need. When the victory or defeat is decided, I'm afraid the winner will not pay attention to my lord."
Mao Xiuzhi glanced at Yan Gang and asked, "Guiming, who do you think Duke Song or Duke Yong can win the world?"
Yan Gang subconsciously glanced outside the door and lowered his voice and said, "I'm keeping an eye on Mr. Yong."
Mao Xiuzhi valued Liu Yu more in his heart. He had only met Yang Anxuan a few times and did not know him well. Most of what he heard about Yang Anxuan was hearsay, and it was inevitable to hear many exaggerated words, so Mao Xiuzhi did not think highly of Yang Anxuan.
On the contrary, he and Liu Yu spent some time together. Liu Yu raised troops at Jingkou. Huan Xuan was defeated and fled to Jiangling. Liu Yi pursued him. Mao Xiuzhi lured Huan Xuan into Yi and killed him. At that time, both Ning and Yi were under the control of the Mao family. Liu Yu had just taken charge of the government, and people's hearts were unstable. In order to win over the Mao family, he called Mao Xiuzhi to Beijing as an official. He promoted him repeatedly and treated him well.
Mao Xiuzhi was impressed by Liu Yu's talent, strategy, bravery and prowess in battle, and the pacification of the Yan Kingdom, the destruction of Lu Xun, and the capture of Jiangling further strengthened Mao Xiuzhi's views. Liu Yu took Jiangling without blaming Mao Xiuzhi, which made Mao Xiuzhi grateful to Liu Yu. If Liu Yu is willing to let him lead the army to attack Shu, then Mao Xiuzhi will definitely be loyal to Liu Yu.
Mao Xiuzhi had always thought that Beifu's military power was the best in the world, but this time he led Yong's army to attack Shu, which made Mao Xiuzhi look at the Yong's army's combat power with admiration. He originally thought that he would have to go through a hard battle, but he entered Chengdu easily.
Later, Yin Ji and Lu Gui led their troops into Shu. They fought with equal forces and forced Tan Daoji to retreat to Huyang City. The combat power of the Yong army was not inferior to that of the Beifu army. This made Mao Xiuzhi feel that the outcome of the battle between the Song and Yong armies was unpredictable. Hard to decide.
After pondering for a long time, Mao Xiu said: "Yong Gong occupied the north of the Yangtze River, Song Gong cultivated the south of the Yangtze River, and Ningyi Liang was divided into two. They were evenly matched. Whoever can capture Jingzhou would have the upper hand. A few months ago, the imperial court condemned King Qiao. This was what Song Gong wanted. If we take action against Jingzhou, Yonggong will definitely not sit idly by and wait for the outcome of the battle in Jingzhou to be decided before making a decision."
Yan Gang was Mao Xiuzhi's confidant, so he naturally understood his thoughts and advised: "My lord, you must not sit on the wall and make a decision early." There are three reasons why I am optimistic about Yong Gong. First, most people from the north have the upper hand in the battle between the north and the south; Second, I heard that Duke Yong received a strange book from an immortal, which recorded many strange skills, including Yang Jiali, the Yang family's military training method, tea making method, and the gunpowder to destroy Qin. If there are other techniques, what about Song Gong? Resistance; thirdly, Duke Yong is not yet forty, and Duke Song is already over fifty. How will Duke Song fight against Duke Yong in another ten years?"
Mao Xiu was horrified and said: "Gui Ming's words are reasonable. I have decided my foolish intention. I am willing to serve Yong Gong."
At this time, Yang Anxuan was in Qiao County (today's Bozhou City, Anhui Province), the seat of Qiao County. Ma Bo, the prefect of Qiao County, was the magistrate of Pingyu County when Yang Anxuan was the prefect of Runan. When Yang Anxuan went to Nanton and passed through Pingyu City, he was detained for two years each. He was originally punished for the money entering the city tax.
Later, Zhang Feng was sent to inquire, and he learned that Magistrate Ma was a capable official. Under his governance, Pingyu City's tax revenue and population increased, and the city entry tax collected was also used in practical ways. After Yang Anxuan was appointed governor of Yongyan, he remembered this capable official and promoted him to the post of prefect of Qiaojun.
A scholar dies for a confidant. Like Guo Yi, the governor of Yingchuan, he was very grateful to Yang Anxuan for his promotion. After he was appointed as the governor of Qiao County, he worked hard and had a good official reputation. Yang Anxuan came to Qiaocheng from Runan and listened to the people's comments on Ma Taishou. praise.
It is the duty of the superior to select talents and appoint them. Yang Anxuan was quite satisfied with his own vision. After encouraging Ma Bo, he decided to host a banquet for the Qiao County squire elders in the prefect's mansion three days later. Yang Anxuan moved into the east of the prefect's mansion on the grounds that he was tired from riding the horse. Yin Hotel on the side.
After washing up and sitting in the hall drinking tea, Yu Fei led someone in.
Yang Anxuan saw the appearance of the visitor and said with a smile: "What are you doing? Sit down and talk."
Some people died, but not completely...
