The most important thing for fishing is patience. Wang Meng has captured Nanyang. Even if the war ends here, Liang will not lose.
However, Huan Wen's Northern Expedition was difficult to move forward and he also lost Nanyang. How could he face the Jiangdong nobles?
All Li Yue had to do was wait for the fish to take the bait.
The Liang army could not move out, but the Jin army was ready to move.
A large number of scouts were snooping around.
Occasionally, an army was sent to challenge Li Yue, and they showed off their power in front of the camp and made all kinds of dirty talk and obscene remarks. Heiyun soldiers were so angry that they gnashed their teeth, and all the generals knelt in front of Li Yue and begged for a fight.
Li Yue refused at all, "Have you lost your temper after just a few insults? Anyone who speaks out again will be dealt with by military law!"
The generals surrendered and retreated.
Acting requires a full set, so Li Yue did his homework and ordered the grain ships in the canal to temporarily dock in Ruyin to avoid disturbing Huan Wen.
However, Huan Wen was extremely cautious and waited for more than half a month before finally making any move.
It was Meng Kai's secret letter, "All the generals of the Jin army despise the northerners. I am the commander of the refugees in the north. I am deeply disliked by the Jiangdong nobles. I shout and drink like an ox and a horse. I have fought bloody battles in all the battles, but there is no reward of any size... …Your Majesty, regardless of the past grievances, is willing to lead the eight thousand elite troops of your headquarters to defect to Daliang. However, I ask Your Majesty to take more care of my family members. I have traveled north and south for half my life, with only a few bones and blood left..."
This letter was written with sincerity and reasonableness, which made Li Yue feel a little confused.
But he soon woke up.
Meng Kai's secret message never came sooner or later, always getting stuck at key nodes, obviously cooperating with Huan Wen's rhythm.
"I am overjoyed to hear that my brother abandoned the dark and turned to the light. But you can come and join the army. There is no need to worry about it. I will be in charge of everything after your death. If the rats from Jiangdong dare to hurt my brother's family, I will kill all of Jiangdong one day and take revenge!"
The highest level of acting is half-truth and half-falsehood.
Meng Kai was "sincerely affectionate", and Li Yue naturally "reciprocated love".
After the letter was delivered, there was silence for several days.
Li Yue has long been accustomed to Huan Wen's hesitation and procrastination.
The Jin army camp became more peaceful, and even fewer scouts were sent.
However, the situation on both sides is like a dry fire, which will burst into flames when touched.
At this point, Li Yue still had a way out, but Huan Wen did not. Without this opportunity, it would be difficult to follow Sima Yi's old path.
The reason why Sima Yi was able to usurp the throne was based on his great martial arts. He pointed at Luoshui and farted loudly, and the nobles bowed their heads in recognition.
Huan Wen had already been defeated once in Guanzhong and urgently needed this victory to establish his prestige. Unfortunately, he found the wrong opponent.
Li Yue's mentality became more and more calm. There is a saying in "Wei Liao Zi": A soldier wins with tranquility, and a country wins with concentration.
Since you have decided to catch the big fish Huan Wen, you must be calm.
Time passed like this day by day, but the atmosphere on both sides became increasingly tense, as if it was the prelude to a storm, and the war was about to break out.
Finally, Meng Kai's letter came again, extremely brief, "Two days later, at dawn!"
Li Yue breathed a long sigh of relief. All his patience and waiting were in vain. The big fish took the bait...
Jin army camp.
Meng Kai stood like a clay sculpture in the big tent, with no expression on his face.
"If this battle succeeds, General Meng should take the lead. I will report to the imperial court and promote you to the position of governor of Xuzhou, general of Zhenbei, and Marquis of Dong'an!" Huan Wen said with a kind face.
With this set of rewards, Meng Kai officially entered the ranks of Jiangdong's powerful people. From now on, as long as he hugs Huan Wen tightly, he will be indispensable for glory and wealth.
However, this also aroused the strange looks of the generals in the tent, with envy, jealousy, and contempt...
A person who betrays his sworn brother will not be able to go far in Jiangdong in the future, even if he succeeds.
"Thank you, Master Sima!" Meng Kai bowed his hands, but there was still no expression on his face.
No one knew what he was thinking.
Huan Wen smiled and said, "You don't need to think too much about this battle. You just need to fight bravely. I will take care of your children. When the battle is completed, your daughter can be married to the Huan family."
Meng Kai's whole body trembled. In fact, the letter he sent to Li Yue was correct. His children were his biggest thoughts. A person who has been homeless for half his life cherishes his family even more.
Huan Wen's implication was that if Meng Kai had second thoughts or things couldn't be done, then forget about his children.
It can be seen from this sentence that Huan Wen never believed him.
Meng Kai shuddered, but pretended to be righteous and awe-inspiring, "Da Sima, don't worry, the general will be at odds with the Liang thieves. This battle will avenge Xun Huqi!"
After Xun Xian's death, he was awarded the title of General of Hussars.
"Hahaha, that's great!" Huan Wen took Meng Kai's hand and said to the generals, "You should also try your best!"
"Take your orders!" the generals said in unison.
After retreating, Huan Wen left Xi Chao alone.
Before the generals, he looked confident, but now they were retreating, with a heavy look of worry on his face, and he was pacing back and forth in the tent, "Guest, can this plan work?"
"Among his subordinates, Li Yue has always been cunning in his military use. Meng Kai has been separated from him for nearly ten years, and the brotherhood has long since disappeared. When fighting for the world, father and son will also kill each other, let alone sworn brothers. ?" Xi Chao looked at Huan Wen with burning eyes.
"Fifty percent?" Huan Wen frowned, knowing that Xi Chao said this just to save his own face. The real situation is probably less than 50%.
"The tactic of false surrender has been used many times since the Han and Wei dynasties. It's not surprising. If Great Sima tied the entire army to this, I'm afraid..."
"Nanyang failed, but Hefei was not defeated. The Northern Expedition will be difficult to carry out. If there is a big defeat, I am afraid that the great cause will be difficult to achieve." Huan Wen actually became melancholy, and the high spirits before the Northern Expedition were gone.
"Jingxiang has not been lost, and the elite of the Grand Sima are still there. A few losses are not worth mentioning. The great cause should not be rushed for a while. It should be planned slowly. The only current plan is to plan for it. Since it is unfavorable, it should be retreated quickly to preserve the strength. The strength is still there. Jiangdong... Then you can be worry-free.”
As long as the tens of thousands of elites in his hands are still there, Jiangdong will still be Huan Wen's forbidden favorite.
On the contrary, if the elite does not exist, he will not have the final say in Jiangdong's future.
"Retreat?" Huan Wen's pupils shrank suddenly, and his old habit of hesitation returned, "Let me think about it for a moment."
Xi Chao said anxiously: "If Grand Sima Ru is unwilling to retreat, he should give it a go with Liang Jun. Even if both sides suffer losses, Jiangdong can be guaranteed to be worry-free for ten years. If Liang Guo's vitality is seriously injured, Fu Jian, Murong Ke, Tuoba Shiyi, etc." Jian and his followers will surely rise up to attack him. Da Sima will return to Jingxiang to recharge his batteries. Ten years later, it will not be too late to conquer China!"
Although the Liang army was elite, the Jin army had a strength advantage and there were tens of thousands of young men and women in the rear, so there was still a chance.
As long as Jing Xiang is in his hand, Jiang Dong will never fly out of his hand.
However, this requires determination to break the boat.
The soldiers of the Jin Dynasty are not short of courage and bloodiness. The key lies in the decision-making of the superiors.
It's a pity that Huan Wen is no longer the Huan Wen he was when he conquered Shu. Back then, he dared to attack Cheng Han with more than 10,000 men. Now that he has an army of 100,000 and holds internal and external power, he dare not give it a go.
After hesitating for a long time, Huan Wen chose a compromise, "Let's see if Meng Kai can demoralize Liang Jun first!"
Xi Chao sighed silently.
(End of chapter)
