Plan to cut off the nine states

There was a knock on the door outside. Xue Jinyao handed his younger brother to the wet nurse and went to open the door himself. When he saw the visitor, he couldn't help but be slightly startled, "Are you...are you General Meng under King Wu?"

"My Majesty Meng Nilun, I'm here to pay homage to the ruling lady."

Xue Jinyao was extremely uncomfortable with the title of "Governing Lady" and did not give way. "I have seen her, you can leave."

"I have a few words to say to the ruling lady. This is also what ruling means."

"Why doesn't he say it himself?"

"There are some things that are difficult to say in person when in power."

"Hey, what a big rack."

Xue Jinyao stepped aside, and Meng Senglun stepped into the house and said to the wet nurse: "Please go to the inner room to take shelter for a while."

The wet nurse immediately carried the child into the back room. Xue Jinyao became more and more dissatisfied. Just as he was about to reprimand, Meng Nilun turned around and handed over his hand, "Does the ruling lady want to avenge the coming king?"

"Of course. Why, Xu Chu sent someone to stop me?" Xue Jin snorted, not looking at General Meng in front of him.

Meng Nilun shook his head, "On the contrary, I am here to provide the ruling lady with a chance."

Xue Jinyao was stunned, "Xu Chu..."

"There are some things that are difficult to say about governance. I can only say them."

"you say."

"If nothing unexpected happens, the kings will go to the hall today to worship the King of the World. All the guards will stay outside. There are only five kings and a few eunuchs minding their own business in the hall."

"Can you take me in?"

"The Ruling Lady is the beloved daughter of the Incarnate King, and she has been ordered to assist the new king. All the mages in the city are waiting for the Ruling Lady to appear and take them with her. No officer of the Incarnate Army dares to stop her."

Xue Jinyao thought for a while, "Is this really what King Wu meant?"

"In short, this will not harm King Wu."

Xue Jinyao snorted again, pulled out the dagger in his arms, took a look at it, then took it back and said to Meng Sylun: "Take me to see the magicians."

On the other side, the main hall has been cleaned up, there is no blood stain, no trace of last night's summoning ceremony, only the lonely throne remains in place.

When the kings came here for the first time, Xue Liujia held a banquet and occupied the throne alone. Although he extended an invitation, no one dared to come forward to sit or take a look.

Today, the kings can come closer. Although they are still embarrassed to climb the steps, they can at least see clearly.

Ma Wei did not step forward. After killing the King of the World, he had already tried to sit down. At this time, he would rather stay behind.

"Does the Emperor of All Things sit here to meet his ministers and govern the world?" Ning Baoguan asked.

"No." Shen Dan replied coldly: "This place is only used a few times a year. The Emperor of All Things rarely meets with his ministers. He relies on his favored ministers and cronies to govern the world. The location is erratic. The most common place is Zishi. He often went out of the palace to have fun in the ministers' homes and drafted imperial edicts."

Ning Baoguan let out a long oh, "I see." After a pause, he added, "Prince Jin was once a favorite of the Emperor of All Things?"

Shen Dan smiled slightly and said, "It takes a little longer. In terms of being favored, I am not as good as King Wu."

Ning Baoguan raised his eyebrows slightly, "That's right. If you weren't a favored minister, you wouldn't have the chance to assassinate the Emperor of All Things. King Wu is decisive, I admire him, I admire him."

The word "admire" came out of Ning Baoguan's mouth, and it had a special meaning.

Xu Chu smiled and said, "When the eunuchs come over, let's worship the King of the World according to the rites of an audience, so that people outside can see and hear. That should be fine."

"Why do eunuchs need to participate?" Ning Baoguan asked.

"Well...because I can't find anyone who everyone trusts to do this."

"Don't want too many people." Ning Baoguan said.

"Only ten people."

While they were talking, the eunuchs had arrived, all of them looking panicked. They didn't look like they were here to host a ceremony, but rather like they were here to die.

Xu Chu said: "We can bow down in a serious manner, or we can stand aside and watch, just to show off."

"I don't want to worship a living person, let alone a dead one?" Ma Wei was the first to walk away.

The kings relied on their status and were unwilling to actually worship. They did not gather together, but dispersed and wandered around the hall. Ning Baoguan and Gan Zhao were particularly curious and looked at every pillar in detail.

Ten eunuchs stood in front of the throne, shouting tremblingly, asking the invisible people to take turns to kneel down and worship the invisible emperor. They themselves felt strange, and their voices trembled even more.

Xu Chu was not too far away from the throne. He looked at the eunuch and felt funny in his heart, but there was no smile on his face.

Ma Wei came up to him at some unknown time and was leaning against Xu Chu's shoulder. Xu Chu was frightened and almost shouted. He immediately turned around and saw Ma Wei, and his expression returned to normal.

Ma Wei smiled and said, "What's wrong with King Wu?"

"People have died here..." Xu Chu said with a forced smile.

"I killed him with my own hands." Ma Wei said a little proudly, motioning Xu Chu to follow him to the side, and whispered: "What I said that day was nonsense, so don't take it to heart, King Wu."

"What words?"

"Many things have become easy and simple. I just said casually. In fact, nothing will be really easy or simple. If King Wu hadn't helped me, I might... Anyway, I have to thank you."

"There is no need to be polite, Prince Liang. The friendship between you and me has lasted for many years and will not change with just a few words. When I was wrongly accused, it was only thanks to Prince Liang's help that I was able to escape."

Ma Wei hummed, motioned Xu Chu to go further, walked around behind a pillar, away from the kings, and said in an even lower voice: "Did Guo Shifeng go to King Wu?"

"Prince Liang is looking for him?"

Ma Wei shook his head, "King Wu doesn't have to answer, but don't lie. I know Guo Shifeng better than you."

Xu Chu did not answer.

Ma Wei waited for a while and continued: "What happened? When we planned to assassinate the emperor together, we were close to each other. Now that the Emperor of All Things is dead and Tiancheng is half over, you and I are kings, but we seem to have become strangers, wary of each other, and it is rare to say a word of truth."

"I think this is because we have not found our own position."

Ma Wei was slightly stunned, then smiled and said: "Yes, everyone wants to be king, everyone wants to compete for the throne, and no one wants to be under someone else, but there is only one throne, although it is spacious, it cannot accommodate two people. On the contrary, Guo Shifeng knows what he wants to do best."

"I sent him out of the city. Guo Shifeng wanted to go to Yecheng instead of me."

"Alas, although Guo Shifeng is two-faced, he has always had a good vision. He went to Yecheng for a reason. Could it be that we All the hard work will be wasted?"

"The rebels have the upper hand in numbers. As long as they unite, they will surely win."

"Unite..." Ma Wei leaned over and glanced outside the pillar. Seeing no one approaching, he whispered, "Speaking of surrendering to Yecheng, the King of Jin also has this intention, and has sent people to contact the officers and soldiers a long time ago. The reason why the city gate has not been opened for a long time is that the conditions have not been negotiated."

Xu Chu was not surprised at Shen Dan's secret actions, but he did not expect Ma Wei's frankness. "The King of Jin is also observing the situation. If the rebels can regain the upper hand, he will naturally stand on the side of the rebels."

Ma Wei approached Xu Chu, almost close to his ear, "I have been wondering, why do you prefer to choose the King of Jin instead of helping me?"

Xu Chu was a little embarrassed and simply did not speak.

"Later I figured it out. I myself have joined the King of Jin today and the King of Ning tomorrow. What right do I have to blame the King of Wu? The King of Wu was right just now. We didn't put ourselves in the right position. So one of us has to make a change, otherwise, we will have to fight."

"Yeah." Xu Chu knew Ma Wei too well and could almost guess the meaning behind every word he said, but this time was an exception. He was a little confused.

Ma Wei paused for a moment and finally made up his mind, "As long as you let me keep the title of King of Liang, I am willing to serve you as my master."

Xu Chu was shocked and took a step back, bumping into the pillar. He looked at Ma Wei and couldn't tell how much of his words were true and how much were false.

Ma Wei's face was very serious, "I used to hope that the King of Wu would serve me as his master, but now it seems impossible. The King of Wu is stubborn-" Ma Wei suddenly laughed, "It has always been like this. Instead of letting the King of Wu change his mind, I'd better change it."

Xu Chu was so surprised that he couldn't speak.

Ma Wei sighed softly, "King Wu doesn't believe it now, it doesn't matter, I will do a few things to make you believe it."

"I believe King Liang, but... what made King Liang change voluntarily?"

Ma Wei's face twitched slightly, and after a while he said: "Because... I was scared. I really thought that all the soldiers of the Advent Army wanted to kill Xue Liujia at first, but the result was the opposite. Many people wanted to avenge him. When the whole city was in turmoil, I was really scared. But fear also has its benefits. I was finally able to calm down and think about where I was wrong, and think about who is more suitable to be the emperor between me and King Wu. Although I am reluctant to admit it, I think it can only be King Wu."

"There are many people who want to take the throne, not just me."

"The only one who can convince me is King Wu." Ma Wei bowed slightly, "The ceremony over there is almost over, let's go over, I will find another opportunity to visit King Wu's camp, and then we will talk in detail."

The eunuch has stopped talking and stood there at a loss.

Gan Zhao smiled and said, "It is said that there are many dragons in the emperor's family. It is true. However, among so many dragons, not one has jumped out to protect the court. They are all useless and cowardly dragons."

Shen Dan said on the other end, "It is said that someone has calculated that the dragon vein of Dongdu is broken and the purple air moves north, so the King of Xiangdong and the King of Jibei are going to Yecheng to set up another court."

Ning Baoguan said coldly, "Is it okay? We have nothing to do here. If the soldiers take the opportunity to attack the city, it will just catch us off guard."

"It's okay." Xu Chu announced, waving his hand to dismiss the eunuchs, "I'll stop here today. I will make a detailed plan and discuss it with the kings."

The kings bowed and said goodbye. Just as they were about to leave, a group of people walked into the hall.

Xue Jinyao came with a dozen magicians and blocked the kings' way out, "Wait, I haven't worshipped yet."

The news of Xue Jinyao's return to the city had not spread throughout the city. Except for Xu Chu, the kings were a little surprised to see her.

Gan Zhao was the most familiar with her and felt the most awkward after meeting her. He stepped forward and said, "Saint Jin is fine, which is good news. That... we have already paid homage to her..."

"Thanks to you, I can officially pay homage to her. It won't take long. Is it okay to wait a while?" Xue Jinyao glanced at her. She didn't bring any weapons or wear armor, but she had an indelible heroic spirit that made people dare not easily raise objections.

Ning Baoguan said, "You can wait a while. Don't delay too long, niece."

The King of Jin didn't say anything and looked out. He didn't understand how Xue Jinyao broke in. The Jin army had clearly received his strict order not to allow anyone to enter the hall.

The King of Liang looked away and didn't look at Xue Jinyao. He had long forgotten that the King of Wu was the son-in-law of the King of the World. Only then did he remember it. He was a little bit grumbling in his heart and regretted that he had said those words too early.

Xu Chu stepped forward, held Xue Jinyao's hands, and stared into her eyes. "The kings do have urgent matters and can't stay for long. You..."

He wanted to say something, but he was hesitant in his heart.