Zhu Nao

Zhu Jiao's question was inexplicable, and Xie Wuji was stunned for asking it.He asked back, "Why does Miss Zhu ask this?"

Zhu Jiao pointed to Xie Wuji's map hanging on the wall, and said: "I saw the map of Chengdu Mansion, and suddenly remembered that General Xie seems to have a good relationship with Chengdu Yin, so I just asked out of curiosity."

There are several maps hanging on the wall of Xie Wuji's house, all of which are detailed maps of Fu County and Yanzhou generation, which are what he needs to look at when he is checking intelligence and deploying troops.The only map that has nothing to do with him is the map of Shu Mansion - he is also always paying attention to the changes in the situation in Shu, so he also hangs it on the wall.

Xie Wuji squinted his eyes, and gently rubbed his left hand with his right fingertip placed under the chopping board. After a while, he calmly replied: "Zhufu Yin is a person who can achieve great things."

Zhu Jiao seemed dissatisfied with this answer.She suddenly became angry for no reason: "If he can really achieve great things, why can't he even defend a Shizhou right now? I heard that the Changsha army only took one day to reach the mouth of the Yangtze River! I heard that the Chengdu government's ten thousand The army didn't even fight, and surrendered to the Changsha army! How did he become a Chengdu Yin?"

With her series of questions, it seemed that the one who lost the battle was not the Shu army, but herself.

Xie Wuji frowned immediately.

Zhu Jiao continued: "People outside now say that Chengdu Yin is a big liar. A few years ago, there were rumors that he was diligent in government and caring for the people, and he was talented and powerful. It was all rumors he released to fool the people! In fact, he He was extravagant and oppressed the people! Now that the Changsha army has captured Shizhou, the news cannot be concealed, so he showed his true colors!"

Xie Wuji's face instantly turned cold, and Zhu Jiao was so frightened that she was swept away by his cold eyes, not even daring to breathe.She was obviously very afraid of Xie Wuji.It's just that since she was afraid, she didn't know why she insisted on provoking him.

Xie Wuji didn't attack her, he turned his head slowly, and asked Wu Cong who was beside him: "Is there really such a rumor among the people?"

He is busy with military affairs, and it is impossible to do everything by himself.There are officials in the army who specialize in handling intelligence, and they will report reliable information to him after screening.As for those who knew it was nonsense, there was no need to waste his time on it.

Wu Cong hurriedly stepped forward and said: "General, there are indeed. It's all rumors made by ignorant children. In addition to those, some people say that the real Zhu Fu Yin has long been killed by Zhang Xuan's methods, and the current Zhu Fu Yin is just a fake That's why they suffered a disastrous defeat in Shizhou." — Thanks to the imagination of these people, they were able to string together all the rumors, and finally a convincing story was strung together.

These rumors are really unbelievable to those who know, but in the eyes of those who don't know, it may not be an interesting story.

Qingyang is so far away from the land of Shu, the nonsense of a few drunkards in the teahouse and tavern will soon be used as gossip and spread throughout the city. become the truth.This is not only the case among the people, but if the government and the army lack reliable sources of information, they are very likely to accept these absurd rhetoric in the end, causing turmoil in the army and panic among the people.

Xie Wuji had suffered such a loss in his early years, so now he pays more attention to the control of news and intelligence.It's just that Qingyang doesn't seem to have the ability to control information, and even the dignified daughter of the Marquis of Qingyang has accepted these absurd claims.But at least she didn't believe that Zhu Nao was a fake, so it wasn't too absurd.

Xie Wuji didn't explain anything to Zhu Jiao, but instead asked her: "What else have you heard?"

Zhu Jiao curled her lips and said, "I heard that Chengdu Yin is not popular in Shu, and only exploits the people. There are many forces opposing him in Chengdu. Last year he was forced to flee to Liangzhou for refuge, and he didn't find a chance to return to Shu until this year. I It is also heard that the people of Shizhou opened the city gates to welcome the Changsha army, because the people don’t like Chengdu Yin and would rather let Changsha Yin govern. Everyone said that Chengdu will be annexed by Changsha in a short time, just like Jiangling Like the government."

After a pause, she asked, "General Xie, is this true?"

Xie Wuji and Wu Cong couldn't help laughing at these extremely ridiculous remarks.Zhu Nao quelled the chaos in Liangzhou, so it can be said that he was forced to flee to Liangzhou for refuge?I'm afraid even a storyteller may not be able to make up such a story!

But the next moment, Xie Wuji's smile disappeared quickly, and suddenly he raised his hand to support his forehead, as if he was enduring some kind of pain.

Zhu Jiao didn't know what he was thinking and stared at him curiously.

After a while, Xie Wuji said coldly: "Is Miss Zhu anything else?"

Zhu Jiao was taken aback, and said anxiously: "General Xie, you haven't told me what kind of person Zhu Fu Yin is? Are the rumors true?"

Xie Wuji only looked at her with distant and indifferent eyes: "The reason."

Zhu Jiao was taken aback: "What, what?"

"I must tell you why."

Zhu Jiao: "...!!!"

She has been held in the palm of her hand since she was a child, and no one has ever dared to make a face or say a harsh word to her.But after arriving here, in less than two days, she has suffered the rejection and cold stare she has never experienced in her life!

How could there be someone like Xie Wuji in the world? ? ?ah? ? ?This handsome face is simply blind! ! !

She was so angry that her seven orifices were filled with smoke, Xie Wuji had ruthlessly issued the order to chase away guests: "Send Miss Zhu out."

Immediately, a few guards came in outside the tent, first saluted Zhu Jiao, and then went out with Zhu Jiao on their shoulders.Zhu Jiao panicked: "I'm going out, I'm going out by myself! But until General Xie refuses to marry me, I will definitely not go back to Qingyang!"

To her surprise, Xie Wuji didn't insist on sending her away, but instead ordered: "Make an empty room next door for Miss Zhu."

Zhu Jiao was taken aback again.Xie Wuji What does this mean?On the one hand, he was as cold as ice to her, and on the other hand, he let her move near him?

In fact, Xie Wuji didn't have other ideas, but Zhu Jiao always came to him, if he lived far away, Zhu Jiao would have a reason to wander around in the barracks.Living close together limited her range of movement.

After Zhu Jiao was taken out by the guards, Xie Wuji ordered again: "Take care of her and her servants, don't let them leave the courtyard."

The guard was stunned for a moment, and said, "What if they want to go back to Qingyang?"

Xie Wuji said: "Then let her come to see me first, and don't let her leave without authorization."

The guard said "yes" and went out.After everyone left, only Wu Cong and Xie Wuji were left in the house.

Xie Wuji leaned back on the chair back, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, and his face was full of tiredness.

Wu Cong asked cautiously: "General, what's wrong with you?" Ever since Zhu Jiao told the folk rumors about Zhu Nao, Xie Wuji's expression was very ugly.

Xie Wuji said word by word: "Heretical, shameless."

Wu Cong was stunned.After thinking back and forth, he immediately understood Xie Wuji's meaning: "The general is saying that those rumors among the people are spread by cults?"

Xie Wuji said coldly: "It must have something to do with them!"

Wu Cong fell silent for a moment.

There are always all kinds of unimaginable rumors among the people, and no matter how fantastic the rumors are, some people will believe them.These rumors may be treated as jokes after dinner, or they may cause unexpected serious consequences.So people with a heart will deliberately spread rumors to achieve their own ulterior motives.

Why did the people in Yanzhou and Qingyang know so quickly about what happened in Shu, thousands of miles away?Knowing about it was not even a few days later than Xie Wuji!Needless to say, someone must be paying close attention to the changes in the situation in Shu, and then spreading rumors in the north!

But why did those people spread rumors about Zhu Nao?Zhu Nao is obviously not here? ——Presumably, it was because those people knew that Zhu Nao was Xie Wuji's reliable and powerful ally, and they also knew that Zhu Nao might be the one who could destroy the Xuantian Sect!

You must know that although the common people in the north have not seen Zhu Nao in the past two years, Zhu Nao has an excellent reputation among the people.The performance of the armies of various princes in the capital was unsatisfactory. Only Zhu Nao helped the refugees along the way, and even brought all the people in the capital back to Shu.If Zhu Nao continued to go north at that time, the people in the north would definitely welcome him.

And now, Xie Wuji is plotting to take back Yanzhou, and Zhu Nao may send troops from central Shu to help him at any time.Xuantianjiao was worried that Zhu Nao would pose a threat to them, so they desperately spread rumors. For a while, they said that the real Zhu Nao had been killed by Henry Zhang, and the current one was just a counterfeit; Even the people in Shu couldn't stand his oppression, and would rather surrender to Changsha Mansion.

Once these rumors are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, Jun Nao's accumulated reputation will be overturned, and when he leads the army to the north, the people will definitely resist and fear him in their hearts.

The more battles Xie Wuji and Wu Cong fought, the more they understood a truth: the real victory or defeat is often not decided on the battlefield.If the hearts of the people are toward the cult, the common people will inform the cult, help the cult to hide its tracks, and raise food and grass for the cult.As for the army that came to deal with the cult, the common people would keep making trouble for them.The army is walking behind, and the people are burning bridges and burning forests in front, digging traps... How can this battle be fought?

Moreover, the hearts of the military and the hearts of the people are inseparable.If the hearts of the people are against each other, it will be difficult to gather the morale of the army.Just like the fall of Yanzhou, is it because the Yanzhou army is not as good at fighting as the cult army?No, it was because of the evil cult's demagoguery that led to civil strife in the defenders of Yanzhou. The general Jiao Bie rebelled and opened the city to meet the enemy. This finally led to the fall of Yanzhou!

In addition, there are those rumors against Zhu Nao, and there will be many rumors against Xie Wuji.Zhu Jiao said that she admired Xie Wuji, but actually trembled when she saw Xie Wuji, which showed that in her mind, Xie Wuji was a very terrifying person.It's just that she dared not tell those rumors in front of Xie Wuji.

Xie Wuji's current situation is basically besieged on all sides, he doesn't know how many enemies he has, he doesn't even know who is his enemy...

Thinking of this, Wu Cong also felt the hairs all over his body stand on end.He immediately said: "General, I will immediately order people to suppress those rumors."

Xie Wuji was noncommittal.The mouth of Fangmin is stronger than that of Fangchuan. Can the repression hold back those long-winded mouths?If he acted carelessly and was caught by others, it would become him oppressing the people again.But if they are not suppressed, are they allowed to talk nonsense?

After a while, he pressed the center of his eyebrows, and said in a low voice: "Write a letter, explaining the situation here, and send it to Chengdu as soon as possible."

He didn't know what the situation in Shizhou was like, but he knew that Zhu Nao should focus on the Shu government, and he might have to stay in Shu for a long time to deal with the Changsha army.But right now he really needs Zhu Nao's help... so he can only say: "Please send capable people to help me, Lord Zhu."

Wu Cong also knew how heavy Xie Wuji's heart was at the moment, so he could only sigh secretly, and said yes, and went out to make arrangements.

=====

On the other side, Chengdu.

In the afternoon, Zhu Nao was lying on the teacher's chair, holding a book in his hand and slowly flipping through it.This time, what he was looking at was not the ledger, but a book of folklore tales.While watching with relish, he took a few sips of hot tea from time to time, and it was really a very leisurely afternoon.

He said that he was in a hurry to rush to Fu County to help Xie Wuji, but in fact he didn't see him in any hurry. After finishing the bureaus of Changsha Mansion and Jiangling Mansion, he ordered people to collect a bunch of fairy tales and fairy tales that are most popular among the people. , Take a look at it whenever you have free time.

Just when I finished flipping through another book, Jing Zhe walked into the yard.

"My lord." Jing Zhe said, "I just sent a message from the north of the city, saying that the ceremonial guards are almost finished. Do you want to go and have a look, my lord?"

Zhu Nao put down his book and got up: "Let's go and have a look."

A group of people left the government and came to the north of the city. There was an open space in the north of the city.A phalanx of guards of honor consisting of hundreds of people was neatly arranged in the open space, dressed in red and green, waving flags and hanging streamers, so ostentatious.

Zhu Nao found a place to sit down, and said, "Let's begin."

The messenger immediately ran towards the phalanx.Not long after, the leather drum rang three times first, which was the signal to start.Immediately, the suona was blown, the gong was struck, the silk and bamboo orchestras sounded together, the horns, gongs and drums resonated, and the cheerful music shook the earth together, startling countless flying birds!

What a waste!What a waste!Dang Dang Dang Dang Dang!Dang Dang Dang Dang Dang!Dang Er Lang D D D D D D D D D D!

Even though Zhu Nao was ready, the loud and orderly music still shook him from his chair.Immediately, he clapped his hands with a smile on his face: "Okay! Very good!"

In the guard of honor, Zhu Nao ordered people to find more than a hundred musicians who played, played, played and sang from the people. They have been practicing a piece of music for more than a month.This song is not complicated at all, but it is cheerful enough and lively enough.And Zhu Nao's requirements for the musicians are: to be neat, to be loud, and the louder the battle, the better!

Undoubtedly, the musicians did.

Amidst the resounding music, Zhu Nao turned his head and asked, "Have you paid them all the rewards?"

Jing Zhe hurriedly moved to Jun Nao's ear, Jun Nao said loudly several times before he heard Zhu Nao's question clearly.He hurriedly arched his hands into a circle, and replied into Zhu Nao's ear: "It's all done! Don't worry, my lord, it's enough!"

These people were about to go north with Jun Nao, and they might encounter dangerous things, so Jun Nao asked them to pay them generous salaries and rewards.

Zhu Nao asked again, "Where are the rest? How many have you found?"

In addition to musicians, he also ordered people to find storytellers with the best business and the most rewards in Sichuan, as well as Jianghu people and traffickers who were famous for their eloquence.

Jing Zhe roared: "At present, there are already 350 or eight people who have agreed to go north with the army!"

"how many people?"

"Three hundred! Fifty-eight!"

"Oh!" Junao smiled even more, "More than 300 people, enough, enough."

Everything that should be prepared is ready.He got up and walked out, Jing Zhe hurriedly followed.After walking hundreds of meters away, they could still feel the ground under their feet vibrating with the music.

Zhu Nao ordered: "Go ahead and get everyone ready. We will set off northward at the end of this month!"