Li Ji saw the Taoist priest's extraordinary bearing and aura, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "What a remarkable man."
"Sir Li, the Taoist priest Xu Hongke from Mount Tai wants to see you."
Li Ji smiled and said, "The immortals coming here means the purple air is coming from the east. I, Li Ji, am always looking forward to it."
Xu Hongke bowed and said, "I came from Dongyue, and I see you are like a flying dragon in the sky. I want to share in your good fortune."
"Alas, I, Li Ji, am only a small county governor. Since Master Xu has come all the way here, it seems that you have some great tricks to offer me, right?"
Xu Hongke smiled and said, "I knew in Donglu that Lord Li was the best among men. You conquered the counties of Xingyang and occupied the core position of Wagang. These have already demonstrated your talents."
Li Ji said hurriedly: "This is all thanks to the steward Li Ai. He has made alliances everywhere, which has enabled my strength to grow day by day."
Xu Hongke was silent for a while, picked up the teacup on the table, and said thoughtfully:
"The Wagang Army is unstoppable, but the combat effectiveness of these troops is far inferior to that of the regular army of the Great Sui Dynasty."
He stood up and walked back and forth in the room, looking at Li Ji with his triangular eyes.
"They serve as soldiers to eat food, and these people have joined your army because of the pressure of life. If a large number of troops are gathered together for a long time, I am afraid that once the food is eaten up, the soldiers and horses will disperse, and they will be tired and tired of fighting, making it difficult to succeed."
Li Ji thought that what Taoist Xu said made sense. The consequence of living off the land would be that the common people would be displaced again and flee from famine.
In that case, the Wagang Army would be disbanded.
The days cannot be counted for long. Even if there are national granaries like Huiluo Granary, it is not enough for the refugees to eat for a long time.
Once the food in the granary is exhausted, people's hearts will be scattered.
Xu Hongke then analyzed:
"Your Excellency can take advantage of this great opportunity to advance and attack . Relying on the bravery and eliteness of your troops, you can advance eastward along the river and attack Jiangdu directly. You can capture the tyrant Emperor Yang of Sui and issue orders to the whole country."
Li Ji was cheered up when he heard this. Xu Hongke's words were very bold and this plan was very innovative.
"To attack Jiangdu directly, isn't that a head-on confrontation?"
Xu Hongke smiled and said, "The winners in this world all have three sharp weapons."
When Li Ji heard this, he thought, this Taoist Xu lives deep in Mount Dong, but he is so familiar with the worldly skills of controlling people, so he must listen attentively.
"Master, there are only you and me here. I also like the art of Qimen Dunjia. Please give me some pointers."
"Although you are familiar with Qimen Dunjia, cloud-watching and qi-reading, and have read The Art of War and Guiguzi, and are good at physiognomy, in fact, there are only three points to truly control others."
"Are those the three sharp weapons you mentioned?"
Xu Hongke smiled and said, "There are three weapons in this world that can defeat thousands of troops. One of them is money."
When Li Ji heard this, he sighed. Everyone knows that money is a powerful weapon.
As a Taoist priest, what profound ideas can you have?
"The charm of money is better than the blooming of poppies and forsythia flowers in spring. Those who are only interested in profit will see it like a fly seeing blood. They can't wait to stick their heads in it."
Li Ji laughed and said, "Master, this is wrong. There must be only a few people who love money like their lives, but there are many people who are upright and incorruptible."
"Your Excellency, you don't know that the world is bustling with people because of profit. All the exchanges are tied to the word 'profit', not to mention those lawless people."
"That's true. No one gets up early without profit. Merchants value profit over separation. I went to Fuliang to buy tea the night before last."
"I have a word of advice for you, sir. If you can get something done with money, don't waste your time on it."
Li Ji nodded, "Yes, it's easier to get things done by spending money. Take money from people and help them get rid of disasters."
Xu Hongke took a sip of tea and said, "The second weapon is power."
“Power is a double-edged sword. If used well, it will benefit the people of the world; if used poorly, it will destroy the entire family and bring disgrace upon .”
Li Ji said hurriedly: "Yes, yes, the one the Taoist priest mentioned should be the most ruthless trick."
"If I want to destroy you, I have to drive you crazy first. If I want to destroy a person completely, I will use power as a trick, which is enough to destroy your foundation of several generations in one fell swoop."
"Power must be enjoyed exclusively by the noble families, aristocratic families, and powerful clans. Common people can only look at it and quench their thirst."
Li Ji then asked: "These two weapons are very powerful. What about the third one?"
Xu Hongke said hurriedly: "In this world, everything is established if you plan ahead, otherwise it will fail. Men conquer the world, and women conquer men. As long as we use the beauty trap to take Jiangdu, it will be a natural success."
Li Ji burst out laughing when he heard this. He thought, Yang Guang was surrounded by many beautiful women, including the stunning Queen Xiao and the Sixteenth Courtyard Lady who was as beautiful as a fairy.
The harem was filled with palace maids and beauties, and the Jinyang Palace in Xijing even kept so many beauties to spend their youth.
In a small county like mine, what kind of woman could stand out and take the top spot?
Xu Hongke saw what Li Ji was thinking.
"Don't you know, sir, that Wang Shichong, the governor of Jiangdu, presented five hundred Wuyue women to win the favor of Emperor Yang?"
"Even more coincidental is the beautiful girl Wu Jiangxian from Gusu. Her fate is truly precious ."
"She was looked at more by Emperor Yang than by everyone else, and from then on they could no longer be separated. She immediately stayed by his side to serve him, and they enjoyed themselves every night on the dragon boat."
"What strategy do you think Wang Shichong used? Isn't it obvious?"
Li Ji laughed and said, "Why does this trick always work? It turns out it's because of the emperor's bad nature."
Xu Hongke took a sip of tea and laughed again.
"Sir, don't easily say that the emperor has weaknesses. I'm afraid that ordinary people can hardly stand the color of spring."
"From the perspective of health preservation, one should not be promiscuous at forty and should not be romantic at fifty. Emperor Yang really did not value his health."
Xu Hongke said in a loud voice: "The body of a young lady is as soft as butter, and she carries a sword at her waist to kill the foolish man. Although you don't see the head fall, it will secretly make your bones dry."
Li Ji thought, Yang Guang is not a stupid person, why does he have such a special liking for beautiful women?
While he was in Jiangdu, he had no time to pay attention to the uprising of rebels in the Central Plains.
Not to mention that he had no time to care, he didn't even want to hear any information about the bandits. He just sat in the fishing boat and let the wind and waves rise.
This small boat of the Sui Dynasty has its sails rolled up, and yet you, Yang Guang, managed to get through.
Li Ji suddenly thought that Xu Hongke’s third plan was to seduce Yang Guang and easily capture Jiangdu.
Now there is another way of attack, that is to directly advance to Jiangdu, take Yang Guang's head, and then you can command the world.
He thought to himself, this is a risky move, right?
Jiangdu is home to Yang Guang’s palace, and there is no shortage of elite troops gathered in Jiangdu. The Wagang Army marched south along the canal. Isn’t this like a moth flying into a flame?
Of Xu Hongke's strategies, only the third one is useful.
But where can I find this peerless beauty? Where can I find such a suitable person?
Li Ji hurriedly asked Yu Cheng to prepare the meal, and he and Xu Hongke chatted while eating.
"When dealing with people, a man should use all the bad strategies. This is the real trick. Just relying on killing, arson, and robbing wealthy businessmen will never achieve great things."
Li Ji picked up the wine glass and praised loudly:
"Master Xu has already stepped out of the secular world, but he still cares about the world. This is precious."
As soon as Li Ji finished speaking, Xu Hongke reached into his arms...