Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 35, Wu Yuan's Suggestion

When talking about beauties, Feng Tai becomes generous.

"Don't worry, sir. I have twenty-six beautiful concubines. As long as you can persuade the Huaiyin thieves, you can take them all!"

Wu Yuan shook his head.

"If we send him off like this, Fang Yong will think that the King of the South has humiliated him. I'm afraid that not only will the plan fail, but it will also lead to hatred and he will attack us."

Feng Tai: "This...what does Mr. Wu mean?"

Wu Yuandao:
"I heard that when the king captured Jinling, he got a pair of sisters. They are very beautiful, but he has not yet had sex with them. If you send them off with these two, your plan will be accomplished!"

Feng Tai was shocked when he heard this and said:

"No, no, the Xue sisters are extremely beautiful and are my exclusive love. The reason I haven't had sex with them yet is to temper their tempers. I must not let anyone else have sex with them!"

Wu Yuandao:
"In that case, Your Majesty is probably willing to pay 100,000 taels of gold. I'll go to the treasury and withdraw it now!"

Feng Tai's expression changed, and he said:

"No, no, no, you can't touch the gold."

Wu Yuan pretended to look helpless.

"This... The King of the South is unwilling to part with his wealth, and is also stingy with his beautiful lady. I really have no idea what to do. Please find another solution, King of the South!"

When Feng Tai heard that Wu Yuan was going to quit, he immediately became anxious.

He did not have any wise and capable people under his command, and they were all helpless in the face of Shi Guangzhu's attacking army. Only Wu Yuan proposed a feasible plan. If Wu Yuan did not go, how could he stop Shi Guangzhu's army?
"Mr. Wu, please don't be angry. Do I have to use money and sex to impress Fang Yong?"

Wu Yuan said: "The king also said that he has no friendship with the Huaiyin army, and has no money or beauty. How can I persuade a hundred thousand soldiers with just my tongue? Allow me to advise you, there are countless beauties in the world. If the king of the south wants to become a great man, how can he be stingy for two beauties?"

Feng Tai: ...

After a long silence, Feng Tai sighed.

"If I give these two girls to you, can it really be accomplished?"

Wu Yuan showed his delight and said, "Your Majesty is a wise man, and he still can't bear to give up these two beauties. I heard that Fang Yong is only a young man, and he suddenly gained power because he responded to Your Majesty's righteousness. He must cherish these two beauties to help Your Majesty!"

……

Feng Tai: "Well, I'll do as you say, sir!"

Return to Huaizhou.

However, after Fang Yong occupied Huaizhou, he immediately began to develop vigorously. He captured all the surrounding counties and towns, built warships, developed military settlements, gathered the people, and became increasingly powerful.

During this period, Fang Yong began to recruit a large number of talents, and he found that he had too few talents under his command.

Especially regarding the management talents for Huaizhou City and other county towns, it is impossible to find suitable talents.

Jia Yucun has several jobs and is very busy every day.

Fang Yong issued a call for talents, but it had little effect.

Most of the literati were unwilling to come and help Fang Yong, which made Fang Yong extremely distressed.

At the same time, the thing Fang Yong was most worried about happened.

Duke Shanguo Shi Guangzhu is on his way to lead his troops to quell the rebellion. If he passes by Huaizhou, there is a high possibility that he will fight with me.

Fang Yong is currently in a stage of rapid development, and it is really not a good time to start a war with the court.

But there was no way. Now that things had come to this point, Fang Yong could only choose to fight.

In order to prepare for the upcoming war, Fang Yong expanded his troops to 80,000 men, and asked Xue Dacui to purchase a large number of weapons, armor, and artillery to equip the army.

Among them, heavy armor and iron armor are strictly controlled. Xue Dacui has no connections and cannot buy them, so he can only make do with cotton armor and leather armor.

Just like that, time passes.

One day, Fang Yong was training his troops when Li Chou brought him a message saying that an envoy from the Southern King Feng Tai wanted to see him.

Fang Yongsui received the envoy.

Wu Yuan was very excited at this time. Before arriving, he had inquired about Fang Yong through various sources. Apart from his age, Fang Yong's various actions and styles of doing things were in line with Wu Yuan's expectations of a wise leader. Among them, there were three things that Wu Yuan valued the most.

First, Fang Yong was modest and cautious enough. He did not proclaim himself king immediately after gaining power like Feng Tai did, but instead called himself a general. This showed that Fang Yong could restrain his desires and had a very long-term vision.

Secondly, Fang Yong was able to practice benevolence. He did not kill people indiscriminately after gaining power like other uprising leaders. This benevolence enabled Fang Yong to gain support from more classes, and he was quite like Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty.

The third and most important thing is that Fang Yong has no strategist yet. Even if he has one, he is a mediocre one, otherwise Fang Yong would not be allowed to stay in Huai'an and fight against the army of Duke Shanguo at this stage.

Wu Yuan felt that this was a very good opportunity. He was already seventy-six years old and it was very likely that he would never have such an opportunity again.

Soon, Wu Yuan officially met Fang Yong.

Wu Yuan's first impression of Fang Yong was that he was young. It was very rare for someone to start a rebellion at this age. Secondly, he had a very good appearance and did not look like a bandit.

Fang Yong's first impression of Wu Yuan was that he was old, and then ugly...

The two people seem to be two extremes.

"My name is Wu Yuan, courtesy name Yuanhao, nice to meet you, General Fang!"

Fang Yong: "Mr. Wu, there's no need to be so polite."

Fang Yong asked someone to find a seat and serve tea.

"I wonder what business you have come here for, sir?"

Wu Yuan said, "I came here on the orders of the King of the South. I have one official business and two personal matters. I hope the general will make the decision."

Fang Yong said: "Sir, please speak."

Wu Yuan said, "Let's talk about official business first. The Southern King sent me here to give the general two beautiful concubines, hoping that the general would lead the troops to serve as cannon fodder and defend the Duke of Shan Guo's army on behalf of the Southern King."

Fang Yong: ???
What's going on? Are all messengers so direct nowadays?
Although he was very surprised in his heart, Fang Yong maintained his expression unchanged on the surface.

"Um... this matter is of great importance. Let me discuss it with the generals before making a decision. Does the King of the South have any other opinion?"

Wu Yuan couldn't help stroking his beard and smiling when he heard this, and he clasped his hands and said:

"General, you are not easily surprised by praise or criticism. This is indeed admirable, but you shouldn't be so mature. I was offended by what I said just now. Please forgive me, General."

After saying that, Wu Yuan stood up and bowed again.

Fang Yonglian said: "The verbal offense is insignificant, sir, there is no need to be polite."

Wu Yuan: "Thank you for your forgiveness, General. I am not here for the Southern King's affairs, but for two personal matters."

Fang Yong: "Sir, please speak."

Wu Yuan: "First, the Southern King wanted to kill me, so I came here on an excuse to seek the general's protection. Second, I heard that the general was in great danger, so I came here to offer advice.

Fang Yong rolled his eyes and thought: Is he coming to seek refuge with me?

Fang Yong looked at Wu Yuan again and said that he was not very good-looking, which was really a compliment to him.

This man was seven feet tall, with gray hair and beard, hunched back, square face but thin cheeks, looking just like Grandpa Niu who had a terminal illness. He was really not good-looking.

And he is too old.

However, since ancient times, all the stories have told Fang Yong that judging people by appearance is a taboo, so even though Wu Yuan is very... difficult to describe, Fang Yong still patiently said:
"Don't worry, sir. I am willing to protect you. But I still don't understand what you mean by your words that I am about to face a great disaster."

Wu Yuandao:
"I heard that the imperial army is coming, but the general is still stationed here. Do you want to use a city to resist the vast territory of Daxi?"

"Since ancient times, there have been many people like Chen Sheng and Wu Guang who have led the way for the king. Do you also want to emulate them, General?"

Fang Yong was inspired when he heard this, thinking that there was indeed something to this, and asked hurriedly:
"I am confused about the way forward, please give me some advice, sir!"

Wu Yuandao:
"Daxi has a vast territory and tens of millions of people. Duke Shan is strict in managing his army and is truly an extraordinary general."

"Even if the general wins by chance this time, the Duke of Shan can rely on the strength of Daxi to regroup and make a comeback. The general only controls one city, and he will be in danger by then."

"I have a plan that can help you avoid the enemy's attack temporarily and conserve your elite troops. Let the King of the South first try to restore the Duke's military power, and then you can come up with a good plan."

(End of this chapter)