Chapter Eighteen: The Disciples

  What is called fate, the so-called fate is actually similar to the film and television works of later generations, purely deceiving. If there are similarities, it must be a coincidence. In the Northern Army, although King Yan has been deceiving everyone all along, telling them that they will win with conviction, but the heavens, geography, and human harmony were all on the side of the imperial court. In King Yan's view, these two words "must win" he himself did not even believe.

  But now this guy called Hao Feng Lou actually believed it.

  Hao Feng Lou said bluntly: "First, the King of Yan has conquered Beiping, and his subordinates are all fierce warriors who cannot be stopped. The imperial court's military is lax and has been so for a long time, even if they had ten times the number of northern troops, they would not be able to fight."

  Zhu Dian nodded his head and thought to himself, "This person has some insight."

  "Secondly, Your Highness has always had great ambitions and is open to good advice, showing respect for the virtuous and talented. However, nowadays the Emperor favors corrupt Confucians, and many officials in the court are merely pedantic scholars who only know how to nod their heads and pretend to agree; such people are not worth worrying about."

  Zhu Di looked at Hao Feng Lou with appreciation and thought it made a lot of sense. He had always looked down on those ministers in the court.

  Hao Feng Lou continued: "Furthermore, the Son of Heaven seems to have won over the hearts of the people, but the Son of Heaven has reduced the power of the vassals. Under the instigation of petty men, he has violated the golden laws and jade decrees set by the great ancestor emperor, causing the imperial relatives to be in danger every morning and evening, and the people's hearts are lost. Your Highness has risen up in arms to quell the chaos, and has won over the hearts of all the imperial relatives, and is sure to win without a doubt."

  At this point, Zhu Di looked at the monk beside him with a startled expression, and the monk's eyes also flashed with a hint of doubt.

  Because these words were the first advisor to Zhu Di's side, that is, the reason why the monk Yao Guangxiao advised Zhu Di to calm down the difficulties. Yao Guangxiao analyzed the advantages and disadvantages one by one in order to increase Zhu Di's confidence, and finally came to a conclusion of inevitable victory.

  But now, Hao Feng Lou actually said the same thing as Yao Guang Xiao. They didn't know that Hao Feng Lou's analysis was based on hindsight. In Zhu Di and Yao Guang Xiao's eyes, an ordinary Jiangnan aristocratic young master had such insight and logical analysis ability, which was indeed rare.

  Zhu Dian was speechless for a moment, and Hao Feng Lou's performance was indeed a bit eerie.

  Yao Guangxiao applauded and said: "Good, well said."

  Hao Feng Lou said with a humble tone: "No, no, this is just a student's superficial understanding."

  Yao Guangxiao spits blood. Your shallow understanding coincides with that of a poor monk, does this mean the poor monk's level is only as shallow as yours?

  Fortunately, Yao Guangxiao did not have the heart for fame and fortune, and instead smiled and said: "Then let me test you again. Now that the Yan army has crossed the river, Nanjing is right in front of us. But there are 100,000 troops stationed in Nanjing, making it easy to defend but hard to attack. How should we capture Nanjing?"

  Zhu Dian also perked up his spirits and wanted to hear how Hao Feng Lou would respond.

  Hao Feng Lou said seriously: "So Nanjing cannot be attacked."

  Zhu Dian narrowed his eyes and said, "Oh? Can't attack?"

  Hao Feng Lou said seriously: "With the army and horses of the King of Yan, if they have been attacking for a long time without success, their morale will definitely be low. And I heard that the Emperor has already sent high-ranking officials to various places to recruit soldiers and march towards the capital to defend it. If the King of Yan's army is unable to succeed after a long time, their morale will be low, and the armies from various routes are also arriving one after another, what can the King of Yan do?"

  Zhu Dian took a deep breath in reverse, looking at Yao Guangxiao.

  Just now, Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao had also formulated a strategy to capture Nanjing, but both of them believed that it was not advisable to use force against the city of Nanjing. The reason is the same as what Hao Fenglou said, once the stalemate continues, the Yan army will definitely lose.

  The problem is that the King of Yan has spent his whole life on horseback, fighting more battles than eating meals, so having such insight is only natural. And Yao Guangxiao, who has studied the art of being a mastermind all his life, is the first strategist under the King of Yan's command, and it is only fitting that he should have such discernment.

  Ke Hao Feng Lou is only seventeen or eighteen years old, still in his youth, how can he have such insight?

  Yao Guangxiao also couldn't bear it and said: "Since we can't launch a strong attack, how are we going to capture it?"

  Hao Feng Lou thought this pair of guys were really shameless, and in just a few words they would reveal all their trump cards.

  Yao Guangxiao saw his doubts and thought he had no way out, so he smiled and said: "If you have a good plan, the poor monk is willing to accept you as a disciple."

  Yao Guangxiao indeed had a mind of loving talent, because this young man was really too clever, he felt very much like his younger self.

  Hao Feng Lou couldn't help but ask: "What benefits will I get from becoming your apprentice?"

  As soon as he asked, Hao Fenglou's true nature was exposed. He felt regretful and thought to himself, "I'm so garrulous! How could I have asked such a question at this critical moment?"

  Zhu Dian couldn't help but laugh, slapping his thigh and saying: "He is the Lone King's bosom friend, if you become his disciple, the Lone King will treat you like a son or nephew!"

  This sentence is obviously not said to Hao Fenglou, but to Yao Guangxiao. Whether this sentence is true or false, Zhu Di's one sentence made Yao Guangxiao's face flush with pride. What is this? This is the feeling of being valued by a leader. A leader's appreciation is not just about a few heartfelt words, but about unintentionally promoting oneself.

  But in the eyes of Hao Feng Lou, Zhu Di was indeed different from his butcher's appearance. He was very good at winning people's hearts. With just one sentence, he could make Yao Guangxiao, an old fox, surrender to him completely.

  "Alright, it's settled." Hao Fenglao also relaxed and sank into thought: "But I need to think about it first."

  Zhu Di appeared very magnanimous: "Do as you wish."

  The water in the copper basin had cooled down a bit, Zhu Di ordered someone to remove the water, and everyone returned their boots one by one. Hao Feng Lou made an effort to recall the process of the Jingnan campaign in his mind, after figuring out the outcome of the Jingnan campaign, he began to think about how to improve this outcome.

  It's like having a difficult problem, you already know the answer, but just knowing the answer is not enough, you also need to come up with the solution process.

  Zhu Dian and Yao Guangxiao, on the other hand, had someone bring in tea, holding their teacups and blowing off the foam, occasionally exchanging a glance. They apparently didn't quite believe that Hao Fenglou could come up with the best strategy, so they asked questions simply to test him, to see what level this young man could reach.

  After a moment of silence, Hao Feng Lou suddenly spoke up and said, "Your Highness should hold back the troops."

  "What's wrong?"

  Hao Feng Lou said, "Because we want to break Nanjing, it's not about who is strong or weak, but about psychology. The King of Yan led the army south, and all the way down, he was like a broken bamboo, making the people of Nanjing anxious. Now that the army has arrived at the city gate, the city of Nanjing must be in chaos. If we attack the city now, once we get bogged down in a fierce battle, it will only make the civil and military officials inside the city unite against us, while our army becomes exhausted. If we hold out for too long without making progress, it will be disadvantageous to us. But if we don't move, the people inside the city will see that the Yan army has arrived, but they won't know how deep or shallow our military strength is, and they will definitely be anxious."

  In short, this is intimidation. With a knife placed on the necks of the monarchs in Nanjing, although the King of Yan knew that the Yan army had traveled thousands of miles and was already at its last gasp, as long as the Yan army was stationed here, it would be enough to scare others.

  Zhu Dian nodded and said, "Is it just a matter of holding back troops and not taking action?"

  Hao Feng Lou smiled and said, "Of course not. The Yan army is holding back its troops, and the people in the city are anxious. At this time, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter, it's exactly the opportunity for King Yan to take advantage of. King Yan can order scouts to infiltrate the city, buy off the civil and military officials inside the city, and respond from within and outside."

  Zhu Dian was shocked.

  He was truly shocked this time, and it was a well-planned move by Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao. In fact, after taking down Zhenjiang, they had already made plans for this, but unexpectedly, Hao Fenglou also thought of it.

  United we stand, united we fall.