Zhu Nao

After the fire in the Patriarch Hall was extinguished, the chaos in Daxiangguo Temple came to an end.

It was night, until midnight, when the soldiers of the Shu army in Daxiangguo Temple went back to rest and sleep, a tall maroon horse galloped away from the temple and headed for the barracks.

……

A few days later, the main ministers of the Xuantian Sect and the "Weasel Spirit Zhang Xuan" were all tortured, and they were all sentenced to death. Cruel and straightforward methods were used to break the last trace of delusion of the people towards them.

On the execution ground, some people clapped their hands and applauded, some people were at a loss and confused, and some people wept secretly.No matter how people reacted, when the execution was over, Junao stopped pursuing.

Naturally, the storytellers wrote new opera excerpts, and the opera troupes rehearsed new operas, performing them both inside and outside the city from morning till night, in order to ensure that these stories were more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people than the teachings of Xuantian Sect. Know.

However, there is still no news from Henry Zhang from other branches of Xuantian Sect. It seems that Henry Zhang seems to have given up on Xuantian Sect, which was founded by him.Zhu Nao and Xie Wuji were also not polite, they kept sending people to divide the altar, using civil and military means frequently, just to eradicate the cult as soon as possible, so as to prevent the cult from causing trouble in the future.

However, under the management of Zhu Nao and others, Fenyang's government affairs are temporarily on the right track.Zhu Nao also reorganized the government of Fenyang and appointed many officials, so that the governance of Fenyang City can be managed by the new government in the future.

The overall situation has been decided, Zhu Nao and Xie Wuji no longer stay in Fenyang, and sent troops back to Yanzhou.

=====

a few months later.

Lu Feng rode fast all the way, traveling day and night, and finally arrived at Yanzhou City in the evening.Although it was getting dark, he didn't dare to delay any longer, and went straight to the gate of the official mansion with the token.

When he came outside the gate of the official mansion, he saw a man dressed similarly to him who had also just arrived.The two met face to face, nodded to each other in agreement, and already knew each other's identity in their hearts - Lu Feng was a spy of the Shu army, responsible for delivering information to Zhu Nao.And the one on the opposite side is obviously a spy from the Yanzhou Army, who came to deliver a letter to Xie Wuji.

The guards of the government checked the tokens of the two spies separately, confirmed that they were correct, and said, "You two, I will go in and report first."

Lu Feng hurriedly said: "I have something important to report to Yin Zhu."

Another spy also said: "I want to meet with General Xie."

The two of them have special envoy cards, which means that they are passing important information, and they are qualified to report directly to the general, so as not to delay the battle due to cumbersome steps.

The guard replied plainly, and went to the mansion to report.

After about half a cup of tea, a guard came out to greet him: "You two, please follow me."

Lu Feng was taken aback for a moment, and was also a little surprised to see the spy from the Yanzhou Army on the opposite side.

——Why only one guard came to pick them up?

You must know that this official residence is naturally where Zhu Nao is, and Xie Wuji has an office in the camp, which is convenient for him to dispatch the whole army; in addition, he also has an office in the official residence, which is convenient for him to communicate and coordinate with Zhu Nao and other officials at any time .

The spies of the Yanzhou Army must have been to the camp and knew that Xie Wuji was not there, so they came here to look for someone.Could it be that Zhu Nao and Xie Wuji are discussing together right now, so only one person was sent to pick them up for an audience at the same time?

Lu Feng couldn't help but glanced at the sky.It was already evening when he entered the city, he rushed here non-stop, and waited outside the government house for a while, it was already dark now.All the lights in the city were extinguished, yet Zhu Fu Yin and General Xie still got together to discuss matters until this hour, what a busy schedule!It's not easy being a high official!

While thinking wildly, Lu Feng walked in with the spies of the Yanzhou Army and followed the guards.

The guard led the two into the mansion, but did not stop when they passed the meeting hall, and went straight to the back of the mansion.Lu Feng suddenly became confused again: further behind this is the dormitory of the officials; after the back garden is the residence of Zhu Nao.

How can I meet you at your residence?Is Zhu Fuyin resting or not?What about General Xie?

The spies of the Yanzhou Army obviously had the same confusion. They suspected that the guards had taken the wrong route, or mistook their identities, so they couldn't help coughing lightly, and said, "Excuse me. What I'm looking for is General Xie... "

The guard's face twitched, and he whispered: "Just follow me."

The two looked at each other in blank dismay and had no choice but to continue walking.

After walking for a while, after passing the back garden, the house in front was indeed lit with lights.The guard stopped and said, "Go in. Fu Yin Zhu and General Xie are waiting inside."

Two spies: "..."

The two stepped forward in a daze, and the guard at the door opened the door for them.There is also an antechamber outside the bedroom, which is the place used by Junao to summon officials temporarily.

As expected, Zhu Nao and Xie Wuji were both in the hall, they sat at the table separately, dressed properly, but their hair was a little messy, as if they were scribbled together in a hurry.

The two spies hurriedly stepped forward to salute: "See Mr. Zhu Fu, see General Xie."

Zhu Nao asked straight to the point: "What's the news?"

Lu Feng regained his composure, and spoke first: "Prefect, there is a turmoil in the Guangjin Mansion. Liu Ping was assassinated, and all the power in the Guangjin Mansion has fallen into Tao Bei's hands."

Zhu Nao and Xie Wuji were slightly surprised when they heard the news.Xie Wuji asked: "Is Liu Ping dead?"

Lu Feng nodded: "Dead."

Zhu Nao and Xie Wuji looked at each other.

Liu Ping is Liu Song's younger brother. After Liu Song died, he succeeded Liu Song as the governor of Guangjin.This person is much more capable than Liu Song. Over the years of fighting in the north and south, he has almost taken the entire land of the Central Plains into his pocket.

In the past few years, the west has been pacified by Zhu Nao, the south of the Yangtze River has been proclaimed emperor by Han Rushan, and Liu Ping has occupied the Central Plains. These three have become the most promising princes among the princes from all walks of life.As for the other small princes from all walks of life, due to missing the best time, it is almost impossible to win the championship, and now they are only struggling in the cracks.

And that Tao Bei was a favorite general of Liu Ping during his lifetime. He fought for Liu Ping everywhere in recent years and made a lot of military exploits.But he didn't expect Liu Ping to be replaced by Tao Bei first before he achieved hegemony!

Zhu Nao turned to the Yanzhou Army spy again: "Do you have any news to report?"

The spy hurriedly said: "What I want to report is the matter of Xingzhou. The day before yesterday, Xiangzhou Commander Ji Nanhu led a thousand elite troops to attack Xingzhou overnight, surrounded the Xingzhou Command Post, and beheaded the Xingzhou Commander. Horse money has seized the control of Xingzhou's soldiers and horses. The reason why Ji Nan sent troops is still unknown, and his subordinates rushed to report the news when they got the news."

Xie Wuji and Zhu Nao looked at each other again.

Both Xingzhou and Xiangzhou are under the control of Guangjin Mansion. If you only listen to this news, it seems that there is internal strife in Guangjin Mansion.But if you listen to the previous news together, you can guess the reason why Ji Nan suddenly attacked Xingzhou.

——Jinan was one of Tao Bei's most loyal subordinates at that time, but Ma Qian, the former commander of Xingzhou, did not deal with Tao Bei very much.Liu Ping's assassination and Tao Bei's rise to power must have been premeditated.If Tao Bei wanted to completely take over Liu Ping's power, he had to eradicate dissidents, and that's why he took advantage of the unprepared horse money to surprise Xingzhou.

Zhu Nao asked, "Is there any other news?"

The two spies shook their heads.The incident happened suddenly, and for fear of delaying the timing, they rushed to report the incident as soon as they learned about it.

So Zhu Nao took out two ingots of broken silver and rewarded them respectively: "Thanks for your hard work."

Lu Feng and the spies of the Yanzhou Army accepted the reward and thanked Zhu Nao one after another.It was already very late, and they didn't dare to disturb the chief's rest, so they hurriedly resigned.

After leaving the front hall, the two were led by the guards to walk outside the official residence.

After walking for a while, the Yanzhou Army's spy couldn't help but said, "It's really admirable that Zhu Fu Yin and General Xie are so diligent in their administration."

These words went with Lu Feng's thoughts, Lu Feng couldn't help but nodded.

Obviously, looking at their attire, one could tell that Xie Wuji came to discuss with Zhu Nao after he had fallen asleep at night and thought of something important.Zhu Nao had also fallen asleep, and got up to discuss matters with Xie Wuji. It was really hard work to be busy until midnight!

The guard who led the way had a slightly strange expression after hearing this: "It's true that Qinzheng is..."

Lu Feng said again: "The relationship between General Xie and Zhu Fu Yin is really close."

In the middle of the night, Xie Wuji came here as soon as he said it. If he didn't trust him completely, he might not be treated like this.

The guard gave a meaningful "hmm" again: "It's true that we are close..."

Lu Feng gave the guard a strange look.Why does this person seem to have finished speaking, and also seems to have only half spoken?Is there a fake if you are not close?

The guard laughed dryly and stopped talking.

In a blink of an eye, the two spies were taken out of the government and went to rest.

……

……

Inside the house, Xie Wuji had already taken out the map and began to draw circles on it.

"Liu Ping is dead, Tao Bei is in power, and the Central Plains should be in chaos again. At this time of exhaustion..." He carefully looked at the map, looking for the easiest place to attack, and quickly thinking about the strategic layout.

Now Zhu Nao has occupied the entire west from Bashu to Fenyang, Taiyuan. If he can open the gap to enter the Central Plains and seize Henan and Hebei, it can almost be said that the overall situation of the world has been settled!

Han Rushan?Although the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River are rich and prosperous, they are small and gentle towns. It is possible to separate regimes, but it is difficult to compete for hegemony.

Sun Xiang?Changsha Mansion is now on its last legs, and it is difficult to sustain.

Zhao Wu in Hezhong, Wang Rong in Jinzhou, Sima Chao in Qingzhou, etc...their jurisdiction is too small, they have been swaying left and right, watching the situation, and have no ambition or strength to fight for hegemony.

In other words, as long as Tao Bei can be defeated and the Central Plains land won, it is only a matter of time before other forces surrender!No one has the ability to compete with Junao for the world anymore!

Xie Wuji's thoughts turned quickly, and he had already thought of an excellent route to advance in an instant.Taking advantage of the fact that Tao Bei has just taken power and his position is not yet stable, they must act fast!You can divide your troops from Taiyuan to the south and from Guanzhong to the west at the same time, first recover Hebei, and then conquer the Henan Plain all the way!

However, before he revealed his military plan, Zhu Nao seemed to have seen through his mind, and held down his hand that was drawing a circle on the map.

"Now is not the time to use troops." Junao shook his head.

Xie Wuji narrowed his eyes a little puzzled.Isn't it a good time?

In order to deal with the enemy, Zhu Nao will always try his best to create chaos and cause disputes in order to weaken the enemy's strength.But now that the Central Plains itself is in chaos, if Zhu Nao doesn't take advantage of this opportunity to defeat the enemy, there may not be such an opportunity in the future.

But Zhu Nao said: "The cost of using troops is too high. Now I have won Fengxiang, Taiyuan, and Jingzhou for the first time. I should give priority to governance. If I can't rest with the people and restore people's livelihood, even if I win the battle in the front, I'm afraid that the rear will be messed up. "

This is obviously something Xie Wuji lacked in consideration.The Central Plains has been fighting for years, and every time the regime changes, it is indeed weak.But the war in the west controlled by Junao has not stopped, and it is not safe and prosperous.It's really hard to say who is weaker than who.

The most urgent task is to rectify one's own internal affairs first.The fire at Daxiangguo Temple was a warning.

Xie Wuji was stunned, thought for a moment, and still insisted: "The war is inevitable. If you don't take advantage of the enemy's emptiness, the price will be even greater in the future!"

Even if Zhu Nao didn't want to rule the world, wouldn't others also want to?Not to mention big princes like Tao Bei who have already dominated one side, even small princes from various places will continue to expand their territory and seize important places once they have accumulated enough strength.Sun Xiang has been planning to take back Jingzhou again!Therefore, before the unification of the world, war is impossible to avoid.

Since there will be a fight sooner or later, it is better to calm down as soon as possible, so that the country and the country can be restored as soon as possible, so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment.

Zhu Nao blinked and asked, "What if we can't solve it quickly?"

Xie Wuji believes that the premise that the cost of sending troops is the least is that they can win the battle quickly.But can the battlefield be accurate?As long as the war drags on for a long time, even if they can finally attack the fortress, their vitality will be severely damaged.It's hard to say the final outcome.

Xie Wuji said: "Then take Xiaoguan and Zijingguan first!"

Even if you don't expect to wipe out all of Tao Bei's forces quickly, you should take advantage of this opportunity to attack a few dangerous points first.As long as Xiaoguan and Zijingguan can be successfully captured, the Henan and Hebei plains will be safe to defend, and the soil of the Central Plains can be gradually explored.

Zhu Nao nodded and said: "Well, if I were Tao Bei, I would definitely mobilize heavy troops early to guard Xiaoguan and Zijingguan with all my strength, so as to prevent others from taking advantage of my illness and killing me."

Xie Wuji: "..."

He heard it.In Zhu Nao's view, as long as the battle cannot be won quickly, he does not think it is worth fighting, no matter whether he can win or not.

However, Xie Wuji has been fighting for many years, let him watch such a battle opportunity being missed, how can he sit still?

At the moment, he just sat at the table with a sullen face, and he was willing to back down only if Zhu Nao came up with more persuasive arguments.

Junao did not continue to argue with him.After a while, Xie Wuji suddenly felt an itchy leg. He raised his eyes and saw Zhu Nao on the table still pretending to be looking at the map seriously; On his knees, the two fingers walked on his legs like the two legs of a little man.

Xie Wuji: "..."

His eyelids twitched, and the veins on his forehead twitched: "It's such an important military matter, so please speak up!"

Zhu Nao laughed and said, "Official affairs are official affairs, and private affairs are private affairs. General Xie can't separate public and private affairs."

Xie Wuji: "???"

It is rare for him to be so popular that his eyebrows stand erect.Who in the end does not distinguish between public and private?How could Zhu Nao have the face to say this? ?

Zhu Nao said solemnly: "It's such a good night, how can business affairs interfere with private affairs?"

While speaking, the little apprentice walked up a few more steps.

Xie Wuji: "..."

It's a good one not to give up personal interests because of public affairs!

……

……

Silent all night.

Early the next morning, Xie Wuji went back to the army.

Now they are in Yanzhou, but Zhu Nao wants to conquer the world. Judging from their current jurisdiction, Hanzhong is the best capital.A few years ago, Zhu Nao had set up a government office in Hanzhong, and when the situation in Yanzhou stabilized, he would return to Hanzhong.

Xie Wuji will not stay in Yanzhou for a long time, so in the next few days he has to make proper arrangements for all personnel in Yanzhou and make preparations for leading troops south.

He was so busy that he was busy until it was almost dusk at sunset, when he was about to go back to rest, Wu Cong walked in with an account from outside.

Xie Wuji saw something in Wu Cong's hand: "What is this?"

Wu Cong was also at a loss: "I don't know. It was sent by Zhu Fu Yin to tell the general."

Xie Wuji stretched out his hand to take it.He thought it was a recent expenditure account in Yanzhou, but after opening it, he couldn't help but be taken aback.

This account clearly records the monthly military expenditure of every [-] soldiers, as well as the annual tax revenue and food storage of the state capitals currently under the jurisdiction of Zhu Nao.

If Xiaoguan and Zijingguan were to be attacked, it is reasonable to mobilize military rations and military expenditures nearby. However, due to successive years of wars in the north, the prefectures have almost no surplus food, and the people are destitute.In order to prevent civil unrest in the north, food and grass can only be collected from the south.However, long-distance grain transportation is a huge consumption in itself, which will double or even multiply the required grain and grass.Also beware of grain roads being robbed...

If these figures are not clearly listed, only guessing out of thin air, or raising funds after the event is imminent, there will often be great discrepancies.But now such black and white words are listed on the paper, as long as anyone who has learned arithmetic can see that the difficulty of this battle is far from being as easy as it appears on the surface.

Xie Wuji looked at this account, and couldn't help feeling a little dazed.

Naturally, any general or official has to settle the accounts before going to war, and Zhu Nao doesn't need to list military expenditures for him, Xie Wuji himself knows it well.But the vast majority of people can only figure out the expenditure, but not the income - it's not that they don't want to figure it out, but they don't figure it out at all!

The more troubled the world is, the more difficult it is for the government to control it.A large number of people died or fled, and the government didn't know how many people and how many fields it could tax.The administration of officials has also become more and more chaotic, deceiving the top and the bottom, enriching their own pockets, and bullying the people by pretending to be powerful.

Coupled with the difficult and dangerous current situation and spending money everywhere, the government often can only decide taxation based on expenses.If you want [-] guan of money today, you will temporarily collect [-] guan from the people; tomorrow you will ask for [-] guan of food, and you will forcefully collect [-] guan from the people.There are fewer and fewer people who can be recruited, and the burden on the people who are recruited is getting heavier.In the end, there was not enough money and food, the morale on the battlefield collapsed, and there was another civil uprising in the rear, so they had to be defeated across the board.

And in Zhu Nao's account, not only the accounts of the states in Shu that he has governed for many years are clear, but also the accounts of the state capitals he has newly obtained over the years are also clear, which shows how well Zhu Nao manages and employs people properly.

Settling accounts is not difficult in itself, what is difficult is having accounts to settle.With such a clear account, Junao clearly knows what he can and cannot do.Unlike Xie Wuji in the past and most of the princes in this world, in this chaotic situation, they can only guess based on experience and feelings, and sometimes they can only resign themselves to fate.

What's even more rare is that this account is not only written on paper, but also recorded in Zhu Nao's heart.Last night Jun Nao didn't discuss it with him in detail, because there were some things that he couldn't understand in a few words.

Xie Wuji let out a long sigh, regained his wandering mind, and looked at the ledger seriously.

=====

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Now Guangjin Mansion has pacified most of the land in the Central Plains, and set the capital in Yedu.

At dusk, Tao Bei finished his military duties and hurried to the South Courtyard.

There is a three-room mansion in the south courtyard, which was originally used for the residence of many retainers and staff in the mansion, but it was vacated by Tao Bei some time ago, and it is exclusively used for a distinguished guest.

Several servants in the courtyard are busy.This distinguished guest had stayed in the temple for a while before, and he liked the Podocarpus pine and Bodhi trees planted in the temple very much. Tao Bei treated this distinguished guest very seriously, not only arranged several servants to take care of his daily life, but also specially picked up from the temple. Many Podocarpus and Bodhi trees were moved.This is a good south courtyard, which has been transformed like a Daxiong Palace.

Tao Bei came to the front of the house, the door of the house was ajar, but he didn't push the door to go in, stood outside the door and knocked respectfully.

A childish voice came from inside the room: "Come in."

Only then did Tao Bei push the door open and go in.

Inside the house was an eleven or twelve-year-old boy sitting cross-legged on a futon.His hair is very short, and it just reaches his ears. From the way he meditates and recites scriptures, one can tell that he was once a monk.

Tao Bei has now dominated the princes of the Central Plains, and when he saw the young man, he even bowed respectfully and said, "Tao Bei sees you, my lord."

The reason why he was so polite to the young man was because the young man's name was Zhu Xin, and according to him he claimed to be the son of the Marquis of Xunyang, who was forced to flee due to the war and ended up living here.

Even though he was just a down-and-out prince, Tao Bei hadn't proclaimed himself emperor, but still obeyed the Zhu dynasty in name, so he had this courtesy.

The young man stood up and saluted him dumbly: "General Tao, you don't need to be too polite."

Tao Bei knelt down opposite the young man and asked, "My lord, where is Mr.?"

The boy pointed to the inside: "Sir, I'm tired of reading in the afternoon, and I'm resting inside."

The so-called gentleman is a loyal retainer of the "Zhu Xin" family, who led Zhu Xin all the way to this place.In order to hide their identities, both of them had been monks and called them brothers and sisters, so as not to be killed by traitors and bandits along the way.

Tao Bei's distinguished guest was not the young man from the royal family, but that gentleman——Zhang Ling.

Zhang Ling is 25 and six years old. Although he is young, he is extremely capable.About him, he was a minister in the prince's family since he was a child.A few months ago, Zhang Ling took Zhu Xin to Tao Bei and became one of Tao Bei's followers.

At the beginning, Tao Bei didn't pay much attention to Zhang Ling, and only regarded him as a dispensable person among the many disciples.However, Zhang Ling's frequent suggestions gradually attracted Tao Bei's attention.

A few months ago, it was Zhang Ling who persuaded Tao Bei, saying that Liu Ping was self-willed, a small tool, and would hardly become a hegemony, so Tao Bei should replace him as soon as possible.These words hit Tao Bei's heart, and he asked him for advice on countermeasures.

So Zhang Linglian made an ingenious strategy. First, he personally persuaded many of Liu Ping's subordinates to abandon Liu Ping and respect Tao Bei; then he planned to assassinate Liu Ping; own position.

It can be said that Tao Bei was able to replace Liu Ping to control the Central Plains so quickly, and Zhang Ling should be the first to contribute!

Since then, Tao Bei has also regarded Zhang Ling as a guest of honor, and whenever he has time, he will come to talk to Zhang Ling and listen to him give him advice.

Tao Bei asked respectfully, "My lord, when did you rest?"

"Zhu Xin" said: "It's been half an hour. Do you want me to wake him up?"

Tao Bei hurriedly said, "No, no, I don't dare to disturb the gentleman's rest. I'll just wait here."

"Zhu Xin" asked: "General Tao is looking for my teacher... what's the matter?"

Tao Beidao: "Recently, I have heard some things about Chengdu Yin Junao and Xie Wuji, and I am confused. I would like to ask you to answer my questions."

"Zhu Xin" let out an obedient "Oh".He was just asking casually when he was bored, and he didn't really care about these things.

Tao Bei waited quietly in the room, while the young monk continued to meditate.