Chapter 164: Attracting the Phoenix
"Three strategies in one? How to say"
Cai Yong's eyes lit up and he asked hurriedly:
"Your three strategies combined into one sounds good to me, but I don't know how to combine three strategies into one."
Zhuge Gui smiled and said:
"Then let me talk about it. You see, the first strategy of fortifying the wall and clearing the country is actually delaying and waiting for change, which is the worst strategy. The second strategy of marching westward to the Central Plains is actually using offense instead of defense and being aggressive. Finally, the third strategy is to go as far as possible. Then why not merge together, that is, first send troops to the counties north of Fenggao, establish a defense line here, and then gradually retreat to Fenggao if things don't work. Then use Feng Gao to hold fast. At the same time, send a small team of capable people. There is no need for many people to find out the situation in Donglai first, and then look back."
Cai Yong slapped his thigh, his face showing joy, and he knew that he was right to find Zhuge Gui. This person is indeed not an ordinary rotten person, he is really talented.
Then Cai Yong, who could still sit still, immediately said goodbye to Hu Muban and Zhuge Gui, and went to look for Zhang Chong.
At this moment, Zhang Chong was still discussing with He Kui. Seeing Cai Yong come in, Zhang Chong hurriedly welcomed him to his seat. Zhang Chong had always respected Cai Yong. This man had a high reputation and was able to share happiness with the people. He knew the world. Therefore, you can still have a pure heart. For such a senior, no amount of respect from Zhang Chong is too much.
In addition to his noble character, Cai Yong's talent was unparalleled in the world. He Kui even said that Cai Yong's academic achievements were comparable to those of Ban Gu, Zhang Heng, and Cui Yuan in the entire dynasty for nearly two hundred years. Cai Yong has always been said to be a great talent that is rare to see in a century.
Although the words were exaggerated, Zhang Chong felt that they were not exaggerated at all. As far as he came into contact with him, he found that this man was not proficient in military art, and was not proficient in other matters such as steles, poems, historical records, etc. He was also good at calligraphy, painting, music and rhythm, as well as astronomy, calendar, yin and yang prophecies. The numbers of spells, etc. are all well understood. He is a true generalist and a great talent.
Moreover, his knowledge is not just a superficial knowledge, but every aspect has reached the highest level in this world. For example, music. Once when he went to the governor's house, he heard this old man playing the piano. Although Zhang Chong does not know music, after all, he has listened to countless songs in later generations, and he can still grasp whether they sound good or bad. Although after listening to the old man's piano, he did not have the emotion of Old Master Kong who had lingering sounds and couldn't taste the meat for three days, but Zhang Chong was in a good mood for a day.
But for Zhang Chong, what valued Cai Yong most was not his articles or music, but his familiarity with the personnel of his dynasty. This old man is very proficient in the allusions of this dynasty, which is amazing.
This was what Duman told Zhang Chong privately. Duman had been staying in Taishan for the past six months. At that time, he heard that Cai Yong had entered the court and wrote a letter specifically mentioning that Cai Yong had participated in compiling the national history "Han Ji".
This is the first national historical undertaking of this dynasty. Since the time of Emperor Ming Dynasty, Ban Gu and others were ordered to compile "Shizu Benji" in Lantai. In the following more than 100 years, it was added four times and the compilation location was moved to Nangong Dongguan. In this generation, it was Cai Yong who added it together with the famous scholars at that time, Ma Rixi, Yang Biao, Lu Zhi, and Han Shuo. It can be said that there are few figures in this generation who understand the history of allusions and allusions of this dynasty better than Cai Yong.
This talent is a top priority for Zhang Chong. Although he is very knowledgeable about history, the history of this world only focuses on some people and events that are slightly more popular. In this regard, he is definitely not as good as the Eastern Han Dynasty. Cai Yonglai, who lives history, understands it. With him, Zhang Chong has a clearer understanding of the upper-class people in this world, their social relationships, personalities, and family networks, and can truly know himself and his enemy.
In addition, Cai Yong himself is a member of this upper class. He is related by marriage to the Yuan family of Runan, is a family friend of the Cui family of Jizhou, is a comrade of the Yang family of Hongnong, and has close relationships with famous anti-eunuch officials such as Huangfu Gui and Chen Qiu. . It can be said that if the news of Cai Yong joining the Taishan Army spreads all over the world, I believe there will undoubtedly be a big storm in the family circle.
Therefore, for a noble person like Cai Yong, the best arrangement is to engage in learning instead of being a high eunuch. But Zhang Chong is now a poor man with short ambitions and a thin horse with long hair. He can only let Cai Yong hold multiple positions. As his senior adviser, as the prefect of Fenggao, and as a senior lecturer at his military academy, he squeezed every drop out of this old man, and he was still smiling all day long.
Of course Cai Yong is not stupid, but for people who really want to do things, they are not afraid of too many things, but they are afraid of not being able to do things. Since Xiaohuan, scholar-bureaucrats have always wanted to do something, but they have been unable to do so. The king cannot be corrected; the laws and disciplines of the court cannot be corrected; the corruption of counties and counties cannot be questioned. The entire court was paddling downhill all the way to the end, and no one could turn it around.
But fortunately, Cai Yong is assisting a hero this time, a new force that is rising and becoming more and more powerful. The world can still be saved. Looking at the leader of the anti-Han forces in front of him, Cai Yong thought of a young Xiaolian, Cao Cao, whom he had met when he was still in Kyoto.
Although this king comes from a family of eunuchs, he is not willing to be dirty. Although people often scold him behind his back for having an eunuch and being ugly, he can remain calm and calm and his ambition will not change.
He could see that this gentleman was extraordinary. His high-spirited and seizing-the-clock fighting spirit was rarely seen in the circles of Kyoto. So Cai Yong helped Cao Cao a lot at that time. At that time, he was a famous person in the Kyoto circle who judged the world, and he was already a scholar leader. He once commented on Cao Cao's extraordinary performance.
At that time, Cao Cao really needed such a leader to wash away his status as a eunuch, so he was always grateful for Cai Yong's help. Later, during Cai Yong's years in Kyoto, the two had a close relationship. It's a pity that they are both gone. This king has become a Han official, and Cai Yong has become a Han traitor.
Han and thieves are not at odds with each other, so the friendship between Guan and Bao can only be severed from now on.
Here, after Zhang Chong respectfully welcomed Cai Yong to his seat, the old man impatiently said that he had a plan to offer. He sincerely wanted to help Zhang Chong regain his place in the country. Then he went to Zhuge Gui to find a plan, and told Zhang Chong that Zhuge Gui's three strategies were combined into one. Unexpectedly, just after he finished speaking, Zhang Chong and He Kui looked at each other and smiled, then heard Zhang Chong say:
"Sure enough, they coincide. I have been discussing with Shulong all afternoon, and we also feel that these three strategies can be implemented in parallel, just as you think. It is to focus on defense and mobilize troops. As for Jiaodong, we plan to let it go first, and plan to fight with it first. The Beihai and Donglai canals will be discussed first, and then the key personnel will be selected to open up base areas in Jiaodong.”
Cai Yong didn't understand these military affairs. He just wanted to help. Now that he saw that Zhang Chong had already understood it clearly, he stopped talking about it and instead started talking about one thing:
"Qu Kui, I have been in the army since I joined the army. I have not made any achievements, but I am already in a high position. I am already ashamed. But I know that I don't have any military talents, so I know more talents and want to recommend them to Qu Kui."
Zhang Chong was refreshed and immediately became excited. He loved talents the most, and he hurriedly asked Cai Yong to speak.
Cai Yong was stunned at first and was embarrassed to say:
"They are two of my students. I sent them a letter to come to Mount Tai a few days ago. I believe they are already on their way. One of my two students is named Lu Cui and the other is named Ruan Yu. They both have some talents and can hold the post of military secretaries. .”
Lu Cui, Ruan Yu?
Never heard of either of these. But since he is a student of Old Man Cai and can be called talented by him, then he probably has something.
Then Zhang Chong continued to look at Cai Yong expectantly, and the old man murmured:
"No, just these two."
In fact, since Cai Yong joined the Taishan Army, he has not thought of recommending some talents to Zhang Chong who he thought had talents and skills that could help the country. For example, he recommended Gao Jie to Shentu Pan from the same county, but he was a man of his own. People who are not even Han officials, how can they become thieves? The same was true for Bian Rang, whom he recommended back then. He was from the Chenliu Bian family and had a bright future in the Han Dynasty, and he would not be a thief. There are only a few students he brought up in Chen Liu's hometown, such as Lu Cui and Ruan Yu. The two of them treated him like a father and agreed without even asking what he was doing.
In fact, Zhang Chong also knew that it wasn't that Cai Yong had no one, but that these people didn't like him as a thief. However, he had no hope of recruiting high-level talents, and his main focus was on cultivating and attracting frustrated people.
The Han court has been in peace for a long time, and there are many people who have read poetry and books but have no future. These people have no chance in the Han court, so they will naturally think of finding a way out elsewhere. He naturally recruited a group of such rural scholars during this period. There were two of them, one named Gao Sheng and the other Yan Zhuang, both of whom were somewhat talented but could still be used.
For example, this Gao Sheng is from Ban County, Pingyuan. The Gao family is a big family in Ban County. His ancestor is a doctor who taught "Lu Shi" during the Guangwu period. It is said that Gao Sheng is a member of a family of Confucian classics and should not join such thieves as the Taishan Army. However, he had already gained notoriety in the clan because of his wife-stealing incident. Later, when he learned that the Taishan bandits had risen again and captured Fenggao, he came here after hearing the news.
He has always been proud of his talent for his promotion, and now letting him bury him in the countryside will undoubtedly mean that he will die. He is not willing to live a life of chewing grass roots all day long, but the original path to progress has been completely blocked for him because of his moral problems. In other words, there is no chance for him to rise unless the world is in chaos.
So he came to join the Taishan Army, a force outside the Han court. Especially when Zhang Chong posted a request for talents again after defeating Feng Gao, the sentence: "Only those who can help me can use them." made Gao Sheng consciously find him. Got a close friend.
But for Gao Sheng, just shouting slogans is useless. He still has to see the strength of the Taishan Army. This is incredible. Gao Sheng has traveled all over Heshuo. What kind of Xiao Jie doesn't he know? But none of them had the strength of Mount Tai's army, so they really dared to rebel.
At that time, Gao Sheng forged a prophecy and went to find Zhang Chong. In his words, he revealed that Zhang Chong was the destiny, and Gao Sheng was here to help him achieve his great cause. Zhang Chong didn't believe in prophecies at all, but he knew it worked. Moreover, what he values is the talent of Gao Sheng. This person comes from a wealthy family, dares to do things, and has the energy to travel around the lakes and seas. He is like an alchemist and is a cruel and practical person. Later, he was introduced to the shogunate by Zhang Chong and allowed him to As secretary of the army.
The other person's name is Yan Zhuang. He is from Ju County, Beihai. He was originally a disciple of the Gongsun family in this county. He was framed and lived in Langya. Later, when he heard Zhang Chong's order seeking talents, he took his younger brother Yan with him. Gang came together and defected to the Taishan Army. His younger brother, Shanqi, had already been introduced to the Tuqi and became a cavalry general, and he himself, Shanshu, was originally doing accounts for the Gongsun family of Dahai Shang. After defecting, he naturally became one of the chief clerks of the Zhang Chong shogunate. of holes. He originally learned the math chips used in "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", but later went to Taishan Army to learn the nine-nine multiplication tables, and became even better at calculations.
Therefore, there are talented people in this countryside. As long as you build this nest well, a phoenix will naturally come to nest in it.
(End of chapter)