Chapter 9 They are wolves

Zhuge Liang took the same step, entered the prime minister's house, went straight into the study and sat down, spread out the official business that had not been finished on the desk, and did not raise his head. His left hand held his sleeve, and his right hand habitually took over the red pen handed over by Shu Zuo. He hung his elbow to write, but he stopped. He sighed inexplicably and covered his excellent eyes. There was a flash of loss.

"The Prime Minister?" Dong Caoxuan and Jiang Wan, who came in to repay his official duties, appeared at the door. As soon as he saw Zhuge Liang's appearance, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. Zhuge Liang gave people the impression that he had always been energetic, as if he had never known to be tired. Now although he was still sitting upright, he faintly showed a trace of weakness.

"It's Gong Yan." Zhuge Liang was shocked and woke up from a ttonish. Then he nodded to Jiang Wan, asked him to sit down, and then said to Shu Zuo, "Go and make a pot of tea." After thinking about it, he said, "Go to your wife to get Yizhou tea."

"Oh." Shu Zuo answered and turned around. Jiang Wan sat down suspiciously. He knew that Zhuge Liang rarely drank tea when he was at work, because of the urination function of drinking tea. Zhuge Liang thought it was a waste of time. Today, he abnormally wanted to invite Jiang Wan to drink tea, but insisted that he go to the backyard to find his wife to get tea, which was really abnormal.

Thinking of Zhuge Liang's entry into the palace, Jiang Wan suddenly became a little worried: "M Prime Minister, how is the king's health?"

"Not very good." Zhuge Liang shook his head with a heavy face: "Look at that, it's good to hold on until the prince and the general come back." He paused and looked up at the door. Jiang Wan agreed and quickly said, "All Caos are busy in their own rooms."

Zhuge Liang was relieved and quickly said what had just happened in short words. Then he looked at Jiang Wan, and the corners of his mouth were a little helpless.

Jiang Wan frowned slightly, thought for a while, and said, "There is nothing wrong with the king's foresight in this move. Why is the Prime Minister worried?

Zhuge Liang was a little surprised. He glanced at Jiang Wan and hesitated for a moment. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a sound of footsteps outside the door, from far to near, and then the tall, long-faced and short-bearded Ma Yan appeared at the door. As soon as he saw Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wan's eyes, Ma Yan smiled: "Gong Yan is also there."

Jiang Wan's lips, which had been closed, were loosened. He turned his head and looked at Zhuge Liang and said with a smile, "The Prime Minister, it seems that You Chang always comes by coincidence. The Prime Minister was about to treat us to tea. Before the tea was brewed, he smelled the fragrance."

"The Prime Minister invited us to have tea?" Ma Qian looked at Zhuge Liang unexpectedly, turned around and retreated, and took care of him at the door. Then he hurried back, took off his shoes, knelt down opposite Zhuge Liang, leaned forward, and asked with concern, "The Prime Minister, can't the king hold on?"

"Nonsense." Zhuge Liang's face sank, but there was no anger in his eyes. On the contrary, he showed a trace of approval. He briefly said what he had just said to Jiang Wan again. Ma listened quietly, with disdain in his eyes: "What is Li Yan? How can he represent my Jingxiang people? Anyway, it has to be the prime minister.

"Youchang, don't talk nonsense. The square is alert and aware of current affairs. The use of soldiers is also quite strategic. The general and the general of the middle army are old. He is in his prime and is the right reserve force."

"Suitable?" Ma Qian sneered: "He has fought a few battles, but it's all against Qiang people. What can he do? At best, he is just a partial general. If he wants to be in charge of the overall situation and plan the strategy, how can he be as good as the prime minister? I think the king is confused.

"You Chang, don't talk nonsense!" Zhuge Liang was really unhappy this time, and his face became very stern: "You are still young. The king doesn't need you for the time being. I hope you can become calmer. Why don't you draw a lesson at all, or are you so crazy? Unexpectedly, he dares to slander the king. Fortunately, only Gong Yan is there. If he is listened to by others, not only will you go to prison, but also Gong Yan and I will be implicated.

Ma Yan smiled awkwardly and answered. He answered. The Ma family is from the Xiangyang clan. Their brothers have a good relationship with Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang entered Liu Bei's left general shogunate. They also left Xiangyang together, and later entered Sichuan together. Liu Bei valued his brother Ma Liang very much, but he looked down on him very much. Zhuge Liang recommended him in front of Liu Bei many times, but Liu Bei said that he exaggerated and was unbearable, which made Ma Qian, who had always conceited, very unhappy. However, he only said a few words in front of a bosom friend like Zhuge Liang, and he never showed a word in front of others.

"The Prime Minister taught me a lesson." Ma Yan sued a crime and turned to Jiang Wan and said, "Please take care of me."

Jiang Wan stroked his beard with a smile and nodded: "Youchang, you have a plan. Let's see how to solve it?"

"Lecture about martial arts hall or something is actually not that important." Ma Yu said disapprovingly, "In such a place, at best, we can only train some lieutenants, marquises and so on. If you want to cultivate famous generals, it depends on the qualifications of each person. There was no similar school before. Where did so many famous generals come from? First, it is hammered on the battlefield. First, it is born with a talent for soldiers. Although he has never been on the battlefield, he has special experience in military tactics. Ma said in one breath, "As the saying goes, if you take the law above, you can only get it. If you take the law in the middle, you can only get it below. What kind of famous generals can Vietnam have? Of the four generals, two of them are pirates, one is a Yangtze River thief, and the other is the ship supervisor of Dongye Shipyard. They usually deal with some small pirates and so on. What kind of fame can such a person teach in the future?

Zhuge Liang smiled: "In the eyes of childhood, the lecture hall is probably just a place for the enlightenment of military science, right?"

"The Prime Minister's words are right." Ma Qian said modestly, "Since the king wants to cultivate military talents through the martial arts hall, and foreshadow the future to master the military power, why don't the prime minister send a few people to participate in it? Let's see who is the most suitable person and general. If the Prime Minister thinks it's inappropriate, it's also simple. He is willing to go to the martial arts hall by himself as a traveler, and then compete with the people arranged by the king.

Zhuge Liang's eyes lit up and he nodded slowly. Liu Bei didn't like Ma Qian. Ma Qian is nearly 40 years old, and now he is still white. Even if Liu Bei passed away, for a long time, with Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others, he could not have the opportunity to take charge of the army. Naturally, Ma Qian would not have the possibility of going to the battlefield. Instead of this, it is better to let him travel to Funan in his private capacity, such as If he became famous in the State of Yue, it would be fair to use him again in the future.

"You Chang, it's good to go out and have a look." Zhuge Liang smiled faintly: "Read thousands of books, travel thousands of miles, accumulate thickly, and make great things late."

... In July, Xia Hourong and others arrived in Yuyang. Cao Zhang heard that several brothers and his subordinates had come together. He did not dare to neglect it. He asked Chizhao, the governor of the Ministry, to take a thousand iron horses to meet 50 miles. Xia Hourong was shocked when he saw the thousand horse wearing black armor, holding a halberd, a long knife on the left, and a strong bow on the right. It is difficult to sit firmly on the horse of Mercedes-Benz, and it is very difficult to use the halberd with one hand, so generally knights use the ring knife as a weapon. Only warriors with superb riding skills or super strength can use long soldiers such as the halberd on the horse. The most elite cavalry in the State of Wei is the tiger and leopard horse, but there are not a thousand people in the tiger and leopard riding. Holding a long soldier.

Xia Hourong remembered Sun Shao's words. He looked at the thousand cavalry. Only then did he find that these cavalrymen were high saddles on their backs, and their feet were full of iron shovels. Such saddles and iron shovels were seen by Xia Hourong in Funan. Sun Shao's was there immediately, but Xia Hourong had not tried them. Now it seems that these are Sun Shao. One of the sharp weapons mentioned.

"Are these all supported by Vietnam?" Xia Hourong said to Hao Zhao with a smile.

Hao Zhao hurriedly saluted: "Exactly, these long halberd and ring knives are all the superior weapons of the State of Yue. The people of Yue provided the equipment of 10,000 horses. The bows were made by ourselves, but the State of Yue supported 500,000 arrows made of Huiji arrows and bamboo. These stares are also given by the State of Yue. We made them ourselves, and we have made them in total. More than 30,000 pairs are still being made. By the end of the month, we can prepare about 50,000 pairs.

"Will you send troops at the end of the month?" Xia Hourong shook his head: "This is not the best time to send troops."

Hao Zhao smiled and said, "This is how General Cheqi arranged it. For the specific reason, the general must have considered it."

Xia Hourong smiled. He looked at Hao Zhao intently. He knew that if Cao Zhang succeeded this time, Hao Zhao would not be a general in the future.

Under the escort of a thousand iron riders, Xia Hourong and others came to the military camp outside Yuyang City. It was very lively outside the city. Between the barracks and Yuyang City, there were full of people coming and going. Many people had southern accents and smiling with professional surnames on their faces. Xia Herong roughly recognized them. These were all businessmen from Yue. He paid attention and found that whether these merchants were going to the barracks or to the city, the car It's full. He also noticed a strange phenomenon. The wheels of these businessmen were different. They seemed to be wrapped in a layer of black things, and they walked much more smoothly than ordinary cars. When they encountered potholes, the range of bumps was much smaller.

"What is this?" Xia Hourong stopped a Vietnamese businessman and pointed to the wheel and asked.

"Wheels." The Vietnamese businessman replied calmly.

"Then why are your wheels different from others?"

The businessman shrugged his shoulders: "They are reluctant to spend money and are only willing to use that old-fashioned wheel. This is my new product in Yueguo. With this, the wear of the wheels is negligible. The service life is nearly ten times longer than before, and the price is only three times that of ordinary wheels.

"What the hell is this?" Xia Hourong asked.

The businessman glanced at Xia Hourong warily, with a kind smile on his face: "I don't know. I only know how to buy and use it, and don't inquire about those things that shouldn't be inquired about. If you want to buy it, you can go to Yuyang City to ask. There is a Funan car shop in the city that specializes in selling this kind of wheels. They should know where they came from. After saying that, he politely arched his hand and drove away.

Xia Hourong looked back at Hao Zhao. Hao Zhao smiled and said, "What he said is not bad. After using this kind of wheel, it is not only much more stable, but also durable. However, the price is also expensive. The general ordered 15,000 pairs of wheels. At least, Yue Guo lowered the price a little.

"Why don't you ask the King of Yue for something directly?" Xia Hourong smiled.

"I want to pass, but I don't want to." Hao Zhao looked at those businessmen with love and hate, and even some worries. However, Shibao, the supervisor of the East China Sea of the State of Vietnam, said that these are not military materials, nor are they operated by the State of Vietnam. It is not easy for them to force merchants to reduce prices. If you think it's cost-effective, don't buy it if you think it's not cost-effective. As long as the merchants don't raise prices, it's not easy for them to ask.

"Is the stone bud decided by itself? Didn't you return to the king of Yue?"

"Shi Bao said that this kind of thing is the same thing to report to the King of Yue, and there will be no second statement. He is doing things according to the regulations. If he abuses his private rights, those businessmen will go to the Prime Minister's Mansion to sue him. Hao Zhao said angrily, "I think it's the post-law surnamed Shi. Maybe it's the king of Yue's order. He just wants to make a fortune at the time of my Wei's expedition."

"You can't say that." Cao Rui, who has been following Xia Hourong, suddenly interrupted and said, "The State of Yue supports the equipment of 10,000 people, which is more valuable than 10,000 wheels, right? I have spent a lot of money. How can I pay less money than this? In my opinion, what Shi Bong said may be true.

When Hao Zhao saw Cao Rui say so, he didn't dare to say anything. When they came to the barracks, Cao Zhang had sent people to wait and welcome them into the tent. The big tent was full of books and maps, and more than a dozen officials were discussing the matter. Cao Zhang introduced one by one that there were several nearby county magistrates such as Huwuwan captain Tian Yu, Huwuwan, Huxianbei captain Huxianbei, Yuyang and other nearby county magistrates, and Qingzhou Musun Guan was also there.

"Youquan, you're so good." Cao Zhang greeted him with a big smile, "I have a lot of business here, and I'm busy with you. I'm short of someone to coordinate the overall situation. Don't leave when you come. Help me sort out these things." He glanced at Cao Yu, Cao Rui and others and said with a smile, "Do you know what the king asked you to do?"

"I know." Cao Yu responded first, "Father, let us follow our brother to practice."

"Well, you all make books. Let's get familiar with the most basics first." Cao Zhang waved his hand and said, "When you get to the army, the first thing is to be familiar with the military order. Let the army preach the military order to you later. I will give you a day to check it at this time tomorrow. If you can carry it, you can continue to stay here. If you can't recite it, go to Yuyang City first. It's much more comfortable than the barracks.

Cao Yu and others looked at each other in conspicu of each other. They thought all the way, but they didn't expect that Cao Zhang would arrange them like this. In their minds, Cao Zhang should first give them a grand reception banquet, and then arrange some people to protect them, look around in the military camp, and understand the situation. Who would have thought that Cao Zhangzhen I plan to use them as ordinary taxis.

While Cao Yu and others were still hesitating, Cao Rui bowed first and saluted: "I will obey the order of the general." Then he walked over to the soldier who stood out with a calm face and bowed again: "Please give me more advice." Jun Zheng was shocked and quickly dodged to give way.

Cao Zhang nodded secretly, but pretended not to see it. He pulled Xia Hourong into the account and threw Cao Rui and others out of the account. After entering the account, Cao Zhang showed a strange smile. He stood behind the door and looked at the helpless nephews outside and watched them follow the army with different looks. Then he sighed and said, "It seems that it is right to bring them out to practice. Otherwise, most of these verticals will become waste. Even if you have some ability, it's all in your mouth.

Xia Hourong sighed: "General, the king and the prime minister are both suffering people. They know that without training, it is difficult to have real talents. If it is an ordinary person, how can there be such a tolerant surname? Don't you know that when I took these young people out of Yecheng, I cried among the people who saw them off, as if I had sent them on an expedition. It's not one or two to fall in love with me. Well, these are all letters. You can read them one by one.

Cao Zhang took a thick pile of letters and did not open them. He just swept the cover and finally said in surprise, "There is no sister-in-law?"

"No." Xia Hourong laughed softly and said, "The Prime Minister and his wife are on the same mind this time."

Cao Zhang glanced at Xia Hourong, smiled bitterly, and said nothing. It has not been a year or two since Cao Pi and Zhen have been at peace with each other. Everyone close to them knows that the woman Cao Pi loves most is Queen Guo, not Zhen.

"Little vertical, you dare to make fun of the things in the palace." Cao Zhang stared at him and shouted in a low voice.

"Hey hey, it's nothing." Xia Hourong touched his nose, looked at the busy people in the tent, pushed Cao Zhang and said, "Let's talk about official business first. Let's talk about other things in detail in the evening. I have a lot to tell you."

Cao Zhang agreed and talked about the official business to be handled by Xia Hourong. Xia Hourong has been in the army for more than ten years. He was very familiar with these things and soon entered the role. He sat in the account, found several people to ask about the situation, read the accumulated official documents at a strange speed, and then began to find the corresponding person to deal with the problem. His perverted memory ability has been fully exerted. Those who were called to inquire found that Xia Hourong, who came here, was far more familiar with the situation than they imagined. He was even more familiar with a lot of things involved in various affairs than many old officials who handled them himself, which was simply astonishing.

In the middle of the night, everyone who had been busy all day dispersed, and Cao Zhang and Xia Hourong had time to sit down and talk. Cao Zhang took a pot of sugar cane wine, put two plates, roasted a sheep, and sat opposite Xia Hourong, drinking wine and eating meat while listening to Xia Hourong's story of what he had seen and more than a year. Xia Hourong said it in detail. He not only said a lot of things he saw, but also said his own thoughts. Finally, he said, "The king gave me the Sun Tzu's art of war he poured."

Cao Zhang was stunned for a moment, and then calmed down again. He cut a piece of mutton, put it into his mouth with his fingers, and chewed it slowly. After a while, he swallowed it down and took another sip of wine. Then he said lightly, "Only by passing it to you can it be said that there is no wrong person. Originally, this should have been passed to Cang Shu, but unfortunately, alas--"

Xia Herong hesitated for a moment and said worriedly, "I... I'm afraid I can't bear such a responsibility."

Cao Zhang turned his head and looked at him and smiled: "It is said that you really can't afford such a responsibility, but now the situation is different. If there is no pillar in the State of Wei who can compete with Sun Shao, I'm afraid that the country will be difficult for a long time. Our brothers have their own strengths. If we can unite, we may not be Sun Shao's opponents, but, alas, people's hearts are unpredictable. It's not easy to talk frankly. He silently cut another piece of meat and sent it to his mouth. He opened his mouth and was about to eat, but suddenly said, "You Quan, I suddenly found that the one who knows my father best should be Sun Shao, the king of Yue."

Xia Hourong nodded, and he felt the same way. Since he left Yue, he has been thinking about these things all the way. Gradually, he found that there was an inexplicable force behind all this. The overall change now, traced back to the source, in fact, all came from a dialogue between Cao Yan and Sun Shao that year. It was precisely because of that dialogue that Cao Yan ventured to send troops, hoping to unify the whole country in his lifetime. Unfortunately, later, with Sun Shao's return from Jiaozhou to participate in the war, he broke through the middle road in one fell swoop, and quickly advanced to the vicinity of Xu County and took it away. The emperor, and then promoted the meeting of soldiers, smashing Cao Jian's dream of unifying the world, and also magically continuing the fire of the Han Dynasty that was about to be extinguished.

Even now, he can get Cao's trust, which seems to be promoted by Sun Shao. Otherwise, although the Xiahou family is no different from the clan, it is impossible to put the task of maintaining the harmony between the Cao brothers on his shoulders. The reason is very simple. Once he has a strange mind, Cao Shen will be self-defeating. Now, there is Sun Shao, a fierce tiger sitting aside. Whether it is him or the brothers of the Cao family, they have to consider foreign enemies first. Before they form an advantage over Sun Shao, they don't care about the open fire, and if the three brothers of the Cao family don't turn against each other, it is impossible for Xia Hourong to make any changes.

This is a chess game that contain each other. Sun Shao first fell behind, and then Cao Qian responded with a move. Next, it depends on the reaction of the Cao brothers. Obviously, whether it is Cao Pi or Cao Zhang, they are very clear about the situation in front of them. Whether they are willing or not, they have wisely chosen to cooperate with Cao Wei's layout.

" By the way, where is the Vietnamese fleet in the East China Sea?" Xia Hourong suddenly asked.

"I went to the Japanese country." Cao Zhang smiled and said, "They asked me if I wanted to help. How dare I ask them to help? Just help me with some food ordnance, and war will be avoided. Otherwise, I'm really worried. These Vietnamese generals fight for their lives. Don't rob me of the limelight at that time. Cao Zhang said and couldn't help laughing: "You Quan, do you know that these people look like dogs, but they have done a lot of tricks. They don't say any rules on the battlefield. Everything is for the purpose of victory, and they cheat everything. It is said that when fighting Sanhan, it was a group of pirates who fought against the striker. These people came and went without a trace and dragged Sanhan exhausted. They easily blocked them in the harbor, thinking that they could be captured in the first battle. Unexpectedly, the East China Sea Fleet of Vietnam killed from behind and almost anniied the main force of the three Koreans's naval division in the First World War. You should know that it's okay to fish on the ships of Sanhan. It's not even enough to fill the teeth to fight against the Vietnamese fleet.

"That's right, the King of Yue even swallowed Tianzhu sailors this time, not to mention these three Koreans." Xia Hourong smiled and said, "The cavalry of the three Koreans may be okay, but it's not enough to talk about sailors."

"Cry?" Cao Zhang sneered: "The three Koreans probably think so. As soon as they heard that the sailors were defeated and the Yue people went ashore, they gathered more than 25,000 horses to kill them. But who had thought that there were also cavalry in Yue, although the Goguryeo people only had a total of 5,000 horses, but these 5,000 cavalry defeated one after another. Three Korean cavalry, and then chased them for a long distance, and chased all the three Koreans to death. Cao Zhang paused for a moment and said, "They are wolves. It's definitely a nightmare to be targeted by them."

(to be continued)