The Grandmaster Strategist

The Yue family in southern Fujian was a maritime family that had endured for a long time. The rising star of the Hai family had old grudges with the Yue family that could never be resolved.

——"Biography of Yong Shi Huo Shi"

In Jinghai Villa, on top of the red building, I looked at the geographical map of mountains and rivers on the table, and said with a smile: "The Southern Fujian Yue family is the first shipping company in the world. It has been passed down for several generations and has lasted for a long time. Not only are there talented people in the family, After the collapse of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Yue clan took the opportunity to control the military and political power of Southern Fujian. After the founding of Southern Chu, Southern Fujian was still unique. Under the pressure of Dayong, Southern Chu had no energy left to pacify Southern Fujian. Therefore, the Yue family is actually a prince. Although Nan Min is nominally a vassal of Nan Chu, in fact, like Binzhou, it is not under the control of Nan Chu. However, the Yue family will not go too far. After all, if Nan Chu was determined. Although the Yue family could obtain support by surrendering to Dayong, they would retreat to the sea in a short time. Then the Yue family's industry in southern Fujian would suffer heavy losses. Therefore, for the Yue family, It’s best if the world is divided into pieces like this, so that they can have greater interests.”

Princess Changle, who was sitting on the soft couch next to her and concentrating on embroidery, raised her head and said thoughtfully: "When my cousin was dormant in the East China Sea, the Yue family took the initiative to support my cousin and married him. I think it was with the intention of letting my cousin. It’s time to contain Dayong’s idea.”

I said leisurely: "Yes, although the Yue family lives in seclusion in the South China Sea and does not have the ability to compete in the Central Plains, it does have the ambition of separatist rule. 'A house full of flowers drunken three thousand guests, and a sword illuminated twelve states.' This is how to describe the prestige of the Yue family In the famous sentence, these twelve states refer to Fuzhou, Jianzhou, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Tingzhou, Nanjianzhou, Shaowu, Xinghua and Meizhou, Jieyang and Nan'ao in eastern Guangdong, although Nan'ao is not yet a state. , but this place is known as the throat of Fujian and Guangdong. There are many merchant ships and it is more prosperous than Binzhou, so it is called the "Twelve States". Although the Yue family actually only controls Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Jieyang, and Nan'ao, this is the southeastern part of Guangdong. The essence of Fujian is backed by mountains and facing the sea. Nan Chu can do nothing, and Dayong is also beyond its reach. Although the Yue family is low-key and has never fought for hegemony or claimed kingship, it can be said from the phrase "the hall is full of flowers and drunk with three thousand guests" I know that the Yue family has a large number of guests. If you want to maintain such a status, in addition to surrendering to the strong, it is possible to let the troubled times continue endlessly. This time the Jiang and Yue families are getting married again, it is the Yue family who took the initiative. of."

Princess Changle frowned slightly and said: "It's really hateful that the Yue family is so thoughtful. The sufferings of the people in the world probably don't matter in their eyes. Suiyun, if that's the case, why are you watching this marriage succeed? In this way, how can it be done?" It's not as they wished. Moreover, now that Haishi is engaged in shipping with your support, Binzhou has become a seaport second only to Quanzhou in South Fujian, and my cousin's military support is even more important. Now Yuejia is probably also conquering the ocean. Regarding the idea of ​​trade, if they master the secret technology of Haishi shipbuilding, wouldn’t it be even more powerful? Even from this aspect, they cannot successfully marry the Jiang family?”

I played with the jasper paperweight in my hand and said calmly: "Although the Yue family has bad intentions, it is my wish to let them get involved in ocean trade. This is how things in this world are. Except for the fact that the throne can only be occupied by one person, no matter what else it is, What, it's best not to try every means to monopolize it by one person. Now that the ocean trade is monopolized by the Hai family, I don't know how many people are jealous. Now that the world has not been unified, it's okay. When the world is unified and the world is at peace, I'm afraid the first one wants to deal with it. The one who belongs to the Hai family is the emperor. Even if you don’t move the Hai family temporarily for my sake, after a hundred years, the Hai family will be wiped out. In this case, it is better to let the Yue family get a share of the pie. In this way, although There will also be people who want to crack down on suppression, but as long as they have enough ability, they can continue to support it.”

When Princess Changle heard the words "The first person who wants to deal with the Hai family is the emperor," her hand shook, and the embroidery needle pricked her finger. After hearing this, she calmed down and said, "That's right. , Although the emperor is wise, it is difficult to pretend not to see this kind of thing,

Since my husband has this plan, there is no need to worry about the marriage between Jiang and Yue. However, the Yue family is already so powerful, and they are leaning towards Southern Chu and are unwilling to surrender to Dayong. My husband now allows them to intervene in ocean trade. Wouldn’t it only further fuel their arrogance? "

I said meaningfully: "How can there be such a good thing? Although the Yue family can participate, it is not now. If the Yue family is not weakened, let alone I will not be relieved, even Brother Hai will be uneasy. I am going to give the Yue family first It’s a heavy blow to the family and gives them another chance to participate in ocean shipping.”

Princess Changle said worriedly: "But since the Yue family is the overlord of the South China Sea, how can my husband give them such a big blow? After all, Southern Fujian is still the territory of Nan Chu. If the Yue family is angered and they turn to fully support Nan Chu, how can it be done? Isn’t it more troublesome?”

I shook my head and said: "Everything comes from prosperity and decline. Now that the Yue family has been passed down for more than ten generations, there are already many hidden worries. What is especially criticized is that the Yue family's business methods are too domineering, and they do not deal with business opponents. They often use every means to suppress them. Those who obey me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish. Businessmen in southeastern Guangdong and Fujian have to look up to him. Zhongying once mentioned that when he offended a deacon of the Yue family in eastern Guangdong, the result was that When he went to sea, he encountered pirates and his family fortune was destroyed. Later, Zhongying suspected that the Yue family was responsible for this incident. Although there was no evidence, the Yue family and the pirates had a long history of contact, and Zhongying originally He could continue his business. Those creditors did not want to force him to repay the debts, but they hoped that he could continue to operate so that he could repay the huge debts. The Yue family also hindered him. In the end, Zhongying dispersed all the family wealth and still owed a lot. Due to the debt, Nan Min could not find a place to live, so he moved to Dayong. It was a coincidence that Wu Ji was in charge of Tianji Pavilion's business, took a fancy to Zhong Ying's talents, and supported him to make a comeback. Later, Pirates discovered that he and Hai Zhong Ying were I am an uncle and nephew, and I live in seclusion in the East China Sea, so I fully support the Hei family. Jianghou is also very dissatisfied with the Yue family, which has formed the situation today where the Hei family has come from behind. The Yue family has naturally made many enemies with his behavior. We still can’t see that if the critical moment comes, they will all attack in groups, and there are many hidden worries within the Yue family. The battle for the head of the Yue family is now in full swing, which is the best opportunity to attack the Yue family. "

Princess Changle sighed and said: "The battle for the royal family's heir is certainly very bloody, and the struggle between the heads of aristocratic families is also a life-and-death affair."

I said softly: "Zhen'er, have you thought about the hunting palace again?"

A trace of sadness flashed in Princess Changle's eyes, and she said: "How can I forget this matter? The eldest brother conspired to commit treason and was sentenced to death, the sixth sister-in-law committed suicide and apologized, and the empress also committed suicide. Zhen'er really doesn't want to recall such tragic events."

I walked up to Princess Changle, gently took her into my arms, and said, "Don't think too much about it, they deserve it, and the reason why you and I fell in love was because of the incident in the Hunting Palace, not for anything else." , just because of this, you shouldn’t be so hurt.”

Princess Changle couldn't help but blush. Although they had been married for nearly three years, she still felt ashamed when she remembered that she couldn't help but lose her composure in public that day during the palace hunt. Seeing that she was no longer sad, I said: "Since you don't like to hear about the family affairs of the Yue family, I won't mention it. At this time, Shen'er should be awake. You go and take a look. I also need to read some documents." Well, it won’t pass.”

Princess Changle put away the embroidery and complained: "You said you left the court in the past two years to rest in peace, but you can't let go of these things. If you had known this, you might as well not have left. Even your hair has turned gray. Why are you doing this!"

I couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "Zhen'er, I told you a long time ago that there is nothing you can do about my hair. Although the Nine Revolutions Heart-Protect Pill saved my life back then, Mr. Sang took good care of my body again when I arrived in the East China Sea. But the medicinal properties are still too strong, which is why my hair color turned like this. In the past few years, I have been calm and recuperating seriously. As for the trivial things like Haishi and Yueshi, they were just caused by my idleness and boredom. To relax, you didn’t see me forgetting to eat and sleep, right?”

Princess Changle rolled her eyes at Jiang Zhe and said: "Okay, I believe you are. If you hadn't helped your second brother, you wouldn't have almost died in Chang'an. You won't be allowed to fight like that in the future. Do you think I don't know? , a few days ago, as soon as the second brother's letter arrived, you started to get busy. It seems that these leisurely days are coming to an end. I won't stop you from doing anything, but everything must be done in a relaxed and orderly manner. Don't work as hard as before. That’s good.”

I quickly said: "I am sure, my wife's orders must be obeyed. Otherwise, I will go with you to see Shen'er."

Princess Changle couldn't help laughing and said: "Stop being ridiculous. Don't you think I don't know? If I let you see him, you will definitely tease him again. He is just snoozing. I don't know what your temper is. You used to be like this." I heard from my second sister-in-law that you always secretly bully and tease Lan'er, but now you don't even let Shen'er off, you really don't act like a father."

I couldn't help but shrink my neck. I didn't dare to argue with this. I made my son cry several times, but the princess caught him every time.

After the princess disappeared, I withdrew my reluctant gaze and stepped forward to inspect the embroidery left by the princess. Sure enough, I found blood stains on it. I couldn't help but feel sad. In the past few years, although the princess and I have been harmonious, There is always some guilt in my heart. That day, the princess and I eloped to the East China Sea and got married under the auspices of Mr. Sang. Not to mention the complicated etiquette of a princess’ wedding, we didn’t even have the basic six etiquettes. There were only a few people watching the ceremony, except those around us. Except for a few people, there is no outsider. After we got married, I spent nearly half a year in rest and taking medicine. The princess only had a title. However, the princess had no complaints at all and served her wholeheartedly. She also took on the responsibility of taking care of the housework and taking care of Rou. Although Lan had the help of Dong Que and Zhou Shangyi, it took a lot of effort for a beautiful girl to take care of these trivial household chores. My health has improved greatly in the past two years. Although the friendship between husband and wife is good, I still dare not indulge in restraint in the boudoir. However, the princess is as always, taking good care of my daily life and diet. In order to take care of my body, she even asked Mr. Sang for advice from the secret book of medicinal diet collected by the royal family. Now my diet is all purchased by the princess. Even Mr. Sang has to admire the princess's talent in this area. Thinking of the small pastries that the princess occasionally cooked by herself, I couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva. The deliciousness is unforgettable.

The princess is so affectionate, and I should have lived a leisurely life with her like this, but now I have to rejoin the world. Although I don’t want to leave this ordinary and peaceful life and return to the dangerous world, there is nothing I can do about it. Regarding the matter, Li Zhi asked Hua Liu to send a letter a few days ago, explaining the current situation and asking me to help in a subtle way. Not to mention Li Zhi's previous kindness, even for the sake of Princess Changle, he could not ignore it. If another tragedy happens to the Dayong royal family, I'm afraid Changle will not be able to bear it. Besides, this is also an opportunity for Princess Changle and the Supreme Emperor to get back together. In any case, the princess's elopement always made Li Yuan angry. Now that he has come back in response to the emperor's order, he can allow their father and daughter to reconcile. I believe the princess will be happy. of. Moreover, I know very well that now that I have become the son-in-law of the Dayong royal family, my destiny is closely related to Dayong. If Dayong cannot rule the world, then I will never want to live a happy life.

Looking at the stack of documents on the desk, I flipped through them again. A cold smile appeared on my face, and I whispered softly: "East China Sea, Yue Jia, Northern Han, and Southern Chu!" There was gradually a chilling tone in my tone. .

At the same time, in the island port where the Marquis of Donghai held a wedding for his beloved son, on the wedding boat of Nanhai Yuejia, in a very secret cabin, a young man with elegant appearance and elegant temperament was also reading documents. , a silver lamp in the windowless cabin radiated dim light, reflecting the face of this young man who was nearly thirty years old. Perhaps it was the effect of the light, but there was a trace of vicious murderous intention on the young man's handsome face.

"Donghai, Yuejia!" the young man muttered in a low voice, with a cold light of disdain flashing in his eyes. Putting down the documents in his hands, the young man picked up the silver lantern and walked to the corner of the cabin. There was an exquisite map hanging on the wall of the cabin, which mapped the territory of the original Eastern Jin Dynasty and the territory currently occupied by Dayong, Northern Han and Southern Chu. Territories are circled with different colors of paint. The young man's eyes fell on Binzhou in the north and Quanzhou in the south, showing a cold smile, and then his eyes fell on Qinzhou and Zezhou where the Northern Han Dynasty and Dayong were facing each other. He said to himself: "The Northern Han Dynasty should take the opportunity to attack Dayong. They should not miss such a good opportunity. Although losing the East China Sea is not a fatal blow to Dayong, it is also a traumatic loss. And There is another benefit to controlling the East China Sea, maybe I can catch that person."

Thinking of that person, a look of deep hatred flashed across the young man's face, and he said sternly: "Jiang Zhe, Li Zhen, I will never let you go. Li Zhen, you promised yourself to be chaste and refused to marry me in every possible way. That's fine, but you actually eloped with Jiang Zhe. How can you live with such an unchaste person in the world?"

Just when this young man had a cruel and vicious look on his face, someone said outside: "Your Majesty, everything is ready. Yue Wujiu has sent the news. If there is no accident, please don't take action, Your Majesty."

A trace of ridicule flashed across the young man's face and he said, "Come in."

The cabin door opened, and a thin-looking middle-aged man walked in. He said respectfully: "Letters have arrived at the first seat, the first seat of Yihuang Hall, and the first seat of Fengwu Hall. Please give instructions when to start."

The young man said calmly: "What's the rush? Wouldn't it be better to wait until both of them are hurt before taking action?"

The middle-aged man smiled slightly and said: "Yue Wujiu can be considered a shrewd man. This time he actually fell into the trap of the leader. His reputation is really ruined. The leader is so wise and powerful that those merchants can't match him."

However, the young man did not show any complacency at all, and said: "I have suffered miserably before, and I have learned two things. One is that there is no one without weaknesses in the world, and the other is that if things are different, If you don't succeed, you can't relax. Yue Wujiu is not a fool, but his weaknesses are too obvious. Speaking of which, the Yue family's inheritance method has given him too much ambition.

Speaking of which, the ancestor of the Yue clan was quite a farsighted person. He knew that wealth could only last for three generations, and that pampered descendants would not be able to take on big responsibilities. However, he did not want direct descendants to be replaced by collateral descendants, so he decided on such a weird plan. rule. Each generation of clan leader can choose a capable heir among his descendants as the next generation clan leader. If all the heirs are unworthy, the clan leader can choose one of them as the acting clan leader, and then designate the most outstanding person in the clan as the chief deacon. The power is held by the chief deacon, and at the same time, the sect leader will appoint a close person to be the protector. In this way, if there are worthy heirs among the acting sect master's descendants, they can naturally take back the sect master's power from the chief deacon with the help of the guardian. If there is no outstanding successor in the third generation, then the chief deacon can inherit the sect master. position. In this way, it not only gives the descendants of the collateral line in the clan the opportunity to seize the direct line, but also gives the direct line the greatest protection. Just imagine, if the acting patriarch who has been deprived of his power does not know how to educate his son to regain power, then this line will be replaced It is also a matter of course. So after this rule was set, the Yue family was passed down for seventeen generations. Although the direct line lost power, they all regained it in the end. This is why Yue Wujiu feels uneasy and cooperates with us.

Although the current leader of the Yue clan, Yue Wuling, is mediocre, he is not a fool. He has consolidated his power by marrying his own sister to Jiang Yong, the Marquis of Donghai, and now he wants to marry his beloved daughter Yue Qingyan to the young Marquis. Jiang Haitao, his eldest son Yue Wenhan is even more talented and strategic. How can Yue Wujiu be willing to accept the power he has received when he is about to give it away again? Let’s start from here. Yue Wujiu is fighting for power and position. There is no reason not to take the bait. . "

The middle-aged man said hesitantly: "Despite this, Yue Wenhan is very respected by the children of the Yue clan. If we help Yue Wujiu in this way, I am afraid that the people of the Yue clan will not accept Yue Wujiu as the sect leader."

The young man smiled and said: "There are some things you don't know. This Yue Wenhan is indeed a talented person, but he did the last thing he should have done. He should not have blocked our way, and there should not be such a person who wholeheartedly works for him." A good sister who is considerate of others should not marry such a concubine."

The middle-aged man suddenly asked: "Is that Mrs. Xue also from Yihuang Hall?"

The young man hesitated for a moment and said: "That's not true. Mrs. Xue was an old acquaintance of ours in the past. She was originally from a noble family. Even now, her father is also a high-ranking official in the court, a dignified young lady. , how could she have become someone else's concubine if it wasn't for her wrong behavior. Speaking of which, the sect master, Ji Shouzuo and Yan Shouzuo still feel that Mrs. Xue is too humiliating to them. However, in any case, without Mrs. After seeing the Wenhan brothers and sisters, I'm afraid they would have committed suicide a long time ago and would not be at our mercy. Who gave Mrs. Xue such a good face that she didn't want her husband to know about the past? If we hadn't threatened her with this, how could she have given in? "

The middle-aged man said: "But the leader originally promised to save Yue Wenhan's life and let him make Mrs. Xue his wife after the matter is completed. Will Yue Wujiu agree to this matter?"

The young man sneered and said, "It's not enough if we don't agree. We kept Yue Wenhan in order to contain Yue Wujiu and prevent him from becoming too arrogant. Anyway, Yue Wenhan will not be able to escape from our hands by then. The major crimes he committed are all except Who can protect him, Nanchu or us?"

After the young man said this, the cabin fell into an incomparable silence. He subconsciously recalled the hard work of the past few years. It was not easy for Nanchu, who was originally hostile, to gain a foothold. Everyone in the door had their own thoughts. After two or three years, After the battle, he finally reorganized Fengyi Sect into Fengwu Hall and Yihuang Hall, dispersing the original power of Fengyi Sect. Ji Xia and Yan Wushuang were in charge of the two halls respectively. Due to the discord between their ideas, He often fights secretly, and sets up Chentang by himself, recruiting outsiders to take charge of peripheral affairs and front line work. He is neutral on the surface, but because the two halls attack each other, his Chentang becomes the most important force. The leader of the sect, Ling, Yu had already left Santang alone, and had no other strength except a group of personal guards around him. And because he knew that Fengyi Sect was not the place where he could seize the ultimate power after all, he wisely maintained Ling Yu's status and the balance within the sect. After such a difficult process, he finally fully mastered Fengyi Sect and could Start your dream revenge. And he finally convinced Shang Weijun to cooperate with him. For Shang Weijun, the Lu family who controlled the military power was too big a threat, even more than the threat of Nanchu in Dayong. Self-destruction of the Great Wall was probably a hobby of successive generations of rulers in Southern Chu.

Lu Can, a cold light flashed in the young man's eyes. If he hadn't relied on this person to resist Dayong now, he would have thought of a way to make Lu Can die. Not because of Shang Weijun, but because Lu Can was once him. disciple. There seemed to be a ferocious beast roaring and howling in his chest, destroying everything that man left in the world. This was the only obsession in Wei Ying's heart.

In the wedding hall, behind heavy curtains, the bride is still waiting for the auspicious moment under the service of the maids and servants. The Yue family is a famous family, and Yue Qingyan is the legitimate daughter of the clan leader. There are many maids, and the dowry is generous. He is the direct brother of the bride, the young sect master Yue Wenhan and the chief deacon of the Yue family Yue Wujiu. Of course, they are already in the wedding hall at the front. In addition to the female relatives of the Yue family, the only people in the back hall are the servants of the Jiang family. The person responsible for taking care of the bride is no one else, but Yue Wenhan's concubine, Mrs. Xue.

It has been nearly two years since Mrs. Years ago, Yue Wenhan went to Putuo Mountain to fulfill the wish of his mother who passed away. He accidentally met Mrs. Xue. He fell in love with her and pursued her hard. However, Mrs. Xue was as cold as ice and refused her many times. Yue Wenhan pursued the beauty for more than a year before he finally moved his heart. According to Yue Wenhan's wishes, he wanted to marry her as his wife, but he was opposed by the elders of the Yue clan. They had high hopes for Yue Wenhan and regarded him as their future sect leader. The marriage of the sect leader of the Yue clan could not be decided easily. of. Although Mr. Xue has both good looks and good looks, his origins are unknown and he cannot be the main wife. In desperation, Yue Wenhan turned to Mrs. Xue and begged her, hoping that she would marry him as his concubine and wait for the right time to set her straight. Unexpectedly, after thinking behind closed doors for several days, Mr. Xue actually agreed and said that she was not worthy of being Mrs. Yue. Although Yue Wenhan was surprised, he fell deeply in love with her and happily married Mrs. Xue. The relationship between the two was very good at first, but after the young lady's wedding date was agreed upon, there seemed to be no problems between the two. Yue Wenhan suddenly became cold to Xue, but Xue didn't take it seriously, and instead enthusiastically arranged for his sister-in-law's marriage.

Roulan and Li Lin, led by the Jiang family's maid, walked into the back hall and saw Mrs. Xue instructing the maid to touch up the bride's makeup. Mrs. Xue is twenty-six or seventeen years old, with an appearance like a spring flower, a body like a willow, a graceful expression, and a graceful temperament. Although there are many people in the room, they are all in order under her command. However, Roulan's thoughts were all focused on the bride. Looking carefully, she saw that the bride was no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. She was frail and slender, with picturesque features, beautiful and elegant. Although she was still young, she was already stunningly beautiful. If there is any shortcoming in appearance, it is that Yue Qingyan's complexion is too fair, almost transparent. Although beautiful, it is too pale and appears to be lacking in vitality and blood. Therefore, Mrs. Xue was applying rouge to her with her own hands. She painted it carefully for a long time before reluctantly letting go. Mrs. Xue must be good at grooming. With her skillful hands, Miss Yue indeed seemed to have a bit more color and a bit more beauty. She was dressed in a red silk wedding dress, with a phoenix crown and a hazel skirt, which made her look even more beautiful. The servant girl with a soft blue collar exclaimed: "Young lady is so beautiful, and the young marquis is so lucky."

Her voice alarmed Ms.

The servant woman bowed down and said, "Mrs. Xue, this is Miss Lan, the daughter of the young Marquis' mentor. The Marquis asked her to come to the back hall to meet the young lady."

A bright light flashed across Mrs. Xue's eyes, and she said with a smile: "It turns out to be Miss Lan, Qingyan, come and meet her."

Yue Qingyan was silent at first, but when he heard Mrs. With her right hand, she motioned Rou Lan to come to her side. What a slender hand that is, with icy skin and snowy skin, as if carved from beautiful jade. Roulan walked up to her and couldn't help but hold the delicate hand. The tentacles felt cold. Roulan couldn't help but think, is it possible that this bride is made of ice? I couldn't help but shudder.