after being kidnapped by the general

After Yuanli met Chu Mingfeng, he returned the power of housekeeper to Yang Shi.

This time Yang readily took over.And after learning that Chu Mingfeng had given Yuanli three greeting cards, he specially ordered Chu Hechao to accompany Yuanli to meet the famous Confucian officials.

In the past few days, Chu Hechao got into the five major military camps, and found many colleagues to study ways to obtain food.When he received Yang's news, he was watching the training of the central soldiers on the school grounds, and returned to the mansion from the barracks sweating impatiently.

Yuan Li stood under the eaves of the mansion gate, waiting for him with red lips and white teeth. When he saw him, his eyebrows and eyes slightly curved, as white as the morning mist, "The general is back."

The tall man walked quickly in front of him, beads of sweat dripped down his chin, his handsome brows were moist, he looked down at the envelope in Yan Yuanli's hand, and asked casually, "Who is there?"

Yuan Li said: "Young Mansion Shangshu Zhou Yukan, Taiwei Zhang Liangdong, Sili Xiaowei Cai Yi."

The official system in the Northern Zhou Dynasty was somewhat complicated, similar to the system of the Sangong and Jiuqing, but a cabinet was added to restrict the Sangong and Jiuqing, and then the post-supervisor government and the cabinet were established to check and balance each other.

The five ministers in the cabinet are all appointed by the emperor himself or elected by the ministers, and they have great power.But after the emperor established the post-prison mansion, the eunuchs gained the emperor's trust and connivance, and the cabinet was gradually restricted and suppressed.

And these three adults, the Taiwei is the Sangong, the Shaofu Shangshu is the Jiuqing, and the Sili Xiaowei is a full-time picket and a hundred officials in Beijing. They are all well-known big shots.

"Chu Mingfeng cares about you very much." Chu Hechao smiled and raised his eyelids, "Which minister do sister-in-law want to go to first?"

Yuan Li took out a letter to "Taiwei Zhang Liangdong" from the envelope, "I only plan to visit the Taiwei."

Taiwei Zhang Liangdong is the chief assistant of the cabinet, leading the national military, and has the highest official position among the three.At first glance, Yuanli chose Taiwei as a matter of course, but in fact Taiwei has no real power. It sounds nice in name, but in fact it is just a position to take the blame for the emperor.Once any natural or man-made disaster occurs, the emperor will remove the Taiwei to plead guilty.But Shaofu Shangshu and Sili Xiaowei are different. Although the official positions are not high, the real power is stronger than the other.

Yuan Li is not short-sighted.The more he thought about it, the more he felt that there was a lot hidden about Chu Mingfeng's serious illness. At this juncture, it was better for him to avoid dealing with high-ranking officials who held real power.

Besides, although Taiwei is a deceitful position, Zhang Liangdong is a great Confucian in the world, he is proficient in classics and history, and he is good at rhetoric and poetry. Every day, countless people want to see Zhang Liangdong.If he can get a compliment from Zhang Liangdong, he will soon become famous in Luoyang.

Chu Hechao took a deep look at Yuanli, raised his hand and threw the big knife to the servant, and went back to the mansion to change his clothes.

When they arrived at the Taiwei's mansion, they saw a long queue in front of the mansion from a distance. These were people who wanted to visit Zhang Liangdong, and there were many students from the Imperial College mixed in there.Two servants skillfully placed four baskets in front of the door, waiting for these people to line up to put greeting cards and poems in the baskets, and two baskets were already full.

Yuan Li was amazed and was about to queue up at the back.Chu Hechao led him up to the two servants, and handed him invitations.

The two servants thought that Chu Hechao wanted to jump in the line, and their faces were sullen. When they lowered their heads and saw the greeting card in Chu Hechao's hand, their expressions immediately became respectful. They invited Chu Hechao and Yuanli After waiting here for a while, he returned to the mansion with the greeting card.

In the gazebo by the pool.

Zhang Liangdong took a look at the greeting card, laughed and handed it to the other two friends, "Let's take a look, this is Chu Mingfeng's greeting card, the young man in the letter whom he praised so much , is that Ruyang Yuanli who cheered him up?"

Ruyang Yuanli?

Following his father as a guest, Zhan Shaoning, who was doing nothing aside, moved his ears and looked over.

Ouyang Ting and Jing Zhaoyin Zhan Qibo, both of whom held the post of Sikong, looked at the greeting post, stroked their beards and smiled knowingly.

"Chu Boyuan means that he wants you to take this child as his apprentice."

Zhang Liangdong was quite proud, "Then let's meet this child."

Not long after, the servant brought Chu Hechao and Yuanli in.

The people in the pavilion watched them approaching, Ouyang Ting saw Chu Hechao first, and couldn't help laughing: "Chu Ciye is here too?"

Zhang Liangdong's expression changed, and he turned around looking for something.

Zhan Shaoning asked curiously: "Master Taiwei, what are you looking for?"

Zhang Liangdong said with a mournful face, "The old man is looking for a place to hide!"

Zhan Shaoning was puzzled, and his father explained with a smile: "The Taiwei is in charge of the national military and is in charge of the military and political affairs of the world. General Chu came to Luoyang to ask for food, and the Taiwei was the first to bear the brunt. Mr. Zhang, I heard that he has been looking for you several times before. times, but you escaped by calling yourself sick?"

Zhang Liangdong smiled wryly, and didn't look for a place to hide, "I want to adjust his military salary..."

But everyone in the court knew that his position as Taiwei was just a false position, and the real power was in the hands of the emperor.

Ouyang Ting sighed, "Forget it, the rations of the 13 soldiers in northern Xinjiang are the most important thing. When we look back, we will write a letter to the emperor to help him."

While speaking, Yuan Li and Chu Hechao had already walked over.

The three adults had known Chu Hechao for a long time, and they were even more curious about Yuanli. Three pairs of eyes looked at Yuanli at the same time.

With a smile on his face, Yuan Li has a handsome appearance and a heroic spirit, but he does not show his sharpness, and is so restrained that people feel good about him.At first glance, the three adults had a very good impression of Yuanli.

Under their watchful eyes, Yuan Li acted calmly and generously, saluted everyone without being humble or overbearing, and when he looked up, he met Zhan Shaoning who was winking.

Zhan Shaoning found a peer to suffer together, he smiled all over his face, "Brother Yuan."

Yuan Li was also a little surprised, "Brother Shaoning."

Zhan Shaoning motioned Yuan Li to sit beside him, and after sitting down, the two exchanged a few pleasantries.

"You are also a student of Guozixue," Zhan Shaoning said, "Brother Yuan, when will you come to Guozixue to listen to lectures?"

Yuan Li said with a smile: "It should be gone in a few days."

While the two of them were chatting, they were also listening to the conversations of several adults.

Unexpectedly, Chu Hechao didn't mention the issue of military pay, but just sipped the wine slowly, talking and laughing with the others, if not for his tall stature, he would have looked more like a Confucian general.

The topic slowly moved to Yuanli again.

"Ruyang Yuanli, I have heard about your reputation. You are a good and filial boy. Chu Boyuan said in the invitation letter that you have both talents and virtues, and you have great talents and general ideas. I don't know if this is true or not?"

Boyuan is Chu Mingfeng's name.Yuan Li said with a smile: "Master Chu's words are exaggerated."

"Good boy, don't be self-effacing," Zhang Liangdong stroked his beard. Chu Mingfeng seldom writes letters of recommendation for others, let alone such letters of recommendation that cannot conceal his appreciation. He believes in Chu Mingfeng's vision , I couldn't help raising some expectations for Yuanli, "Then I will test you."

Zhang Liangdong asked Yuanli a few questions.Considering that studying is difficult nowadays, all he asked were extremely simple questions.Yuanli answered the questions fluently, and could always draw inferences from one instance, and the answers were even more novel and interesting.

Zhang Liangdong became interested, "You came to visit me today, do you want to worship me as your teacher?"

Yuan Li's eyes lit up, "Yes, students have admired Lord Taiwei for a long time."

Zhang Liangdong has many disciples under his name, and he is a veritable master of the world.Yuan Li felt that one more apprentice was not many, and one less apprentice was not a lot. He was still very sure that he would be able to worship under Zhang Liangdong's name.

Sure enough, Zhang Liangdong showed a slightly shaken and thoughtful look, and after a while, he asked: "You want to worship me as a teacher, what do you want to learn from me?"

"Learn the Five Classics and know the number of ritual and music books." Yuan Li said.

Zhang Liangdong asked again, "What do you want to do after learning this?"

Yuan Li said: "In order to become an official."

Zhang Liangdong didn't like people who were full of fame and fortune, but Yuan Li answered very frankly, his eyes were clear and straightforward.Not only did Zhang Liangdong not harbor any malice, but he liked his sincerity, and continued to ask, "Then what kind of official do you want to be? Are you in the cabinet of the Sangong, or a local official?"

Yuan Li pursed his lips and smiled, "I want to be an official who protects my family and the country."

Zhang Liangdong frowned, "Do you want to join the army?"

Yuanli nodded.

Zhang Liangdong sighed, a little displeased with young people's ambitions, "Do you know how difficult it is to lead troops and how complicated the military administration is? Let me ask you, do you know how military laws are formulated? How to convince soldiers to obey your orders? How many horses and vehicles does an army of [-] people need? How much food can they eat every day? How to calculate armor, arrows, crossbows, halberd shields, and oars? How to deal with enemies, heavy rains, landslides, and land subsidence ? What should be the criterion for rewards and punishments in the military?"

After asking these questions one by one, Zhang Liangdong's tone became more persuasive and serious.Zhan Shaoning was dizzy from being entangled, his nose was sweating from nervousness, he didn't dare to look up at Zhang Liangdong, he lowered his head and glanced at Yuan Li from the corner of his eye, shaking his head in his heart.

Big brother, what are you talking about, look, Master Taiwei is angry.

Zhang Liangdong is not angry at all, he has seen too many people who are eager for success, but he had a lot of good feelings for Yuanli before, so he is inevitably a little disappointed at this time, "You don't understand these things, how can you talk about defending your home and country?"

Yuan Li was not angry, he said calmly: "It is precisely because the students don't understand that the teacher teaches them. But it's not like the students don't know what you said."

Zhang Liangdong was taken aback for a moment, and Ouyang Ting and Zhan Qibo couldn't help showing unexpected expressions.At this time, Yuanli had already begun to answer Zhang Liangdong's previous questions in an orderly and clear manner.

"If it is an expedition, there are five difficulties. One is the difficulty of handling horses, the second is the difficulty of obtaining food, the third is the difficulty of marching, the fourth is the difficulty of transshipment, and the fifth is the difficulty of weather. *When there is no war, the food is distributed at four taels per person per day In times of war, food is distributed at six taels per person per day. The more soldiers consume, the more people there are, and the faster the food will be used up. Even if there are no enemies to fight, daily marching, setting up camps, digging canals and building towers will still cost a lot Strength, if a soldier eats little, he will not even have the strength to hold a knife and a shield. Therefore, before marching, prepare enough food and grass, and calculate the necessary consumption of men and horses. This is an extremely important condition. As for military law and Rewards and punishments are also very important. Orders and prohibitions, rewards and punishments are clearly defined, so that military orders can be communicated and smooth, 'The brave must not advance alone, and the cowardly must not retreat alone, this is the law of using the crowd'*, this is the unity of the army, and also The key to victory. However, many generals can do this, but smooth communication has been the difficulty of marching and fighting since ancient times..."

Yuanli spoke very slowly.

He needs to conceive the words in his mind, and then say them one by one. Such a slow speed gives others time to understand his words and catch up with his thinking.

Zhang Liangdong was already shocked, and Ouyang Ting didn't give in. He fixed his eyes on Yuanli, showing an expression of contemplation or sudden realization from time to time.Even Zhan Qibo, who didn't know much about the expeditionary force, nodded repeatedly.

Chu Hechao listened quietly with half-lidded eyes.

Zhan Shaoning suddenly raised his head and looked at Yuan Li in disbelief.After seeing the performance of several adults, he tried his best to calm down, trying to follow Shang Yuanli's thoughts, but he was extremely reluctant, half understanding.In the end, Zhan Shaoning didn't embarrass himself anymore, he pretended to understand, and he nodded as others nodded, looking at Yuan Li with admiration.

Even if he couldn't understand, he could see that Yuanli knew everything about the march, so he was able to speak clearly, and every sentence made sense.

"...If we do this, we will be able to achieve greater victories in the long run."

After Yuan Li finished speaking, he looked up and met several pairs of fiery eyes, almost startling him.

But he quickly realized that this look was very familiar to him, it was the look that he couldn't wait to snatch away when he saw a good seedling.

Zhang Liangdong sighed deeply, with complicated emotions, "I'm not as good as you."

Yuan Li quickly said he didn't dare, feeling a little ashamed in his heart.

His knowledge is obtained by standing on the shoulders of giants, and it is the summary and analysis of later generations.Compared with these great scholars, he is equivalent to cheating.

Ouyang Ting's eyes were burning, "What you said is well-founded, and I was also enlightened. I just don't know, do you have any research on the art of war?"

Yuanli thought for a while, "I know a little bit."

Ouyang Ting immediately looked at Chu Hechao, "General Chu is my God of War in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. He has made great achievements in battle and led the troops. Could you please have a talk with Yuan Lang?"

Chu Hechao seemed to be waiting for this sentence, and agreed neatly, "Yes."

Ouyang Ting immediately asked people to prepare a chess game, intending to use the chess pieces as soldiers and the chessboard as a battlefield for Yuan Li and Chu Hechao to fight each other.But Yuan Li was not good at playing chess, so he stopped Ouyang Ting, turned around and gave Lin Tian a few words.

Lin Tian left in a hurry, and not long after, he came back with two guards from the Yuan family.

The two Yuan family guards carried a box together. When they reached the gazebo, they put the box down and took out the square sand table inside.

As soon as he saw the sand table, Ouyang Ting stood up abruptly.

The sand table was placed on the stone table of the gazebo, and the guards brought clean water and carefully filled up the river on the sand table.

In an instant, the mountains, rivers, cities and jungles are vivid, and the mountains and cliffs are clearly visible at a glance, and they are all under the eyes.

Ouyang Ting's beard trembled with excitement, "What is this?"

"Sand table," Yuan Li said succinctly, "Students make things in their free time. The terrain in this sand table is exactly that of Ruyang County."

Zhang Liangdong took a deep breath, touched the sand table carefully, and muttered: "It can be so realistic..."

When everyone's eyes were focused on the sand table, Yuan Li took out three small flags of different colors, "The general chooses one color to represent the army he leads, and let's have a game on the sand table."

Seeing that there were still extra flags left, Zhan Shaoning immediately said excitedly: "I want to too! I'll be with you!"

The three flags were placed in the hands of three people, Zhan Shaoning chose the defender and placed the army in the city.Chu Hechao wanted the attacker, while Yuanli wanted the mountains and plains south of the river.

The three of Zhang Liangdong couldn't help but walked to the table and took a closer look.

There was enough food in the city, and the Zhan army relied on the strong city wall to defend to the death, but the Chu army's strong attack was ineffective.Zhan Shaoning couldn't help showing a smug smile. He knew that defending the city is easy and difficult to attack. Although the Chu army has many troops and horses, they don't have much food. As long as he defends the city well, no one can beat him!

But soon, the Chu army changed another method, constantly harassing the city from east, west, north, south, Zhan Shaoning was in a state of desperation, and his hands and feet were in a panic.By the time he reacted, Chu Hechao had diverted river water into the city. Not long after, Ruyang City was flooded by the river, the city wall fell, and Zhan's army perished.

"Oh, it's a pity!" Zhang Liangdong pulled out a few beards in a hurry, wishing he could put it on top, shook his head and sighed, "He's making a lot of noise!"

Zhan Shaoning bowed his head in frustration and withdrew from the battle.

The Chu army occupied the city, supplemented themselves with all the food and soldiers of the Zhan army, and after recuperating, they were ready to go out to attack the Yuan army.And when their two armies were fighting, Yuanli had already started to farm and grow food and build a new city relying on the terrain.

The two armies met on both sides of the river. The Chu army challenged many times, but the Yuan army stood still.Because the soldiers were not good at water warfare, Chu Hechao couldn't cross the river. He frowned, and directly divided his troops into two groups, attacking the Yuan army's rear from the mountains behind.

However, this sneak attack fell into the Yuan army's strategy of going up to the house and pulling the ladder, and secretly hiding the old warehouse.

The Yuan army had already divided into three groups, and as soon as the Chu army made a move, they immediately took action.False defeat all the way, led the Chu army who entered the mountain from the rear into the valley, blocked the front and rear exits with huge stones, and trapped this part of the Chu army at the bottom of the valley alive.The other party smuggled across the river with boats built from trees cut down in the mountains, and burned the food and grass left by the Chu army in Ruyang City.

By the time Chu Jun reacted, he had already run out of food supplies.And half of the soldiers were trapped on the side of the river, and the other half were trapped in the mountains. If things went on like this, the Chu army would only be dragged alive to starve to death.

Yuan Li raised his head, pursed his lips and smiled at Chu Hechao, "General, I'm not good at war, so I have to start with logistics, and slowly drag the Chu army to death."

Chu Hechao looked at the sand table, put down the flag, and suddenly smiled, "Sister-in-law is amazing."

Only Yuanli heard this sentence.Others are still immersed in the wonderful process.

"Wonderful," Zhan Qibo sighed, "The general was defeated by the river."

Zhang Liangdong sighed, "Yes."

After a long time, everyone came back to their senses.

Ouyang Ting said directly: "Zhang Liangdong, you are not suitable to be his teacher."

Zhang Liangdong opened his mouth to refute, but gave a wry smile, "Yes, I'm really not suitable to be his teacher. But you, Ouyang Ting, are very suitable to be his teacher."

The author has something to say:

*Five Difficulties of Marching is the content of the joint performance of Shu Hede and E-Ning to Qianlong

*From "Sun Tzu's Art of War"