Plan to cut off the nine states

The night is like a bowl of stronger wine. Those who want to be strong have to swallow it hard and grit their teeth to show their composure.

Xu Chu suddenly felt envious of Tang Weitian, who was lying on the couch and humming quietly. He didn't have to worry about who was loyal or traitorous around him, he didn't have to take risks to make decisions that affected human lives, and he didn't have to endure the torment of killing loyal ministers...

Tang Weitian just wanted to drink enough, and then lie on the bed and sleep soundly. He didn't even notice the sounds coming from his mouth, stretched his arms, and yawned widely, "Captain, you can rest now. Bar?"

"You go to bed first."

Tang Weitian didn't say a word, and within a few words, he was already asleep.

As King Wu's personal guard, his only role now is to add a horizontal obstacle at the door.

Xu Chu couldn't sleep, so he got up quietly, walked around Tang Weitian, and walked out of the room.

It was still cold outside, but there was no longer that bone-piercing feeling. Xu Chu became more awake and said to the guards standing outside: "Spring is coming soon."

"Yes, in sunny places, the snow has begun to melt." The guard leader showed a simple smile. Like other Wu people, he respected the King of Wu very much.

Xu Chu couldn't help but wonder if the guard leader had also killed women and children in Dongdu in the name of revenge.

"Did anyone bring it?"

"I've been here a long time ago. I've been locked up in the front yard, waiting for orders from the governor."

"Take him to the study."

"Yes." The leader of the guard sent a soldier to call for someone, and he took the remaining guards to escort King Wu.

The Fourth Prince's Mansion was crowded with rebel soldiers. Xu Chu left a small room as a study room, which was filled with books, pens, inks, papers and inkstones. However, he could not spare any time to read. Occasionally, he would sit here for a while, full of anxiety. Can't read the words.

"You stay outside." Xu Chu said.

The guard leader was startled, "The governor wants to see him alone? It's too dangerous..."

Xu Chu shook his head, "It'll be okay."

The leader did not dare to say anything more.

Tian Jiang was escorted by more than ten guards. He was not restrained. After entering the room, he stood up without bowing. When he saw the guards behind him exiting the room, he showed a hint of surprise.

"Sit." Xu Chu said.

Tian Jiang said: "If it's just a sentence or two, I'd better stand."

"It's hard to say, it depends on how much you want to say."

"First let's see what King Wu wants to ask."

"The woman you avenged, tell me about her."

Tian Jiang was stunned again, "The person is dead and the revenge has been avenged, so what's the point of talking about it?"

"I want to know whether General Song died a worthy death."

"I won't say her name. She is not a famous person. She is the daughter of a neighbor and she is very kind. I once had something to do and had to go out. She took care of my mother very well. Later she She was sent to Taifu Liang's house to be a maid, and then a concubine..."

"Who do you want to be a concubine for?"

Tian Jiang glanced at King Wu, "Your family has many concubines, but you ask me this?"

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Please continue."

"The Liang family fled Dongdu in a hurry. She was forgotten in the mansion, so she returned home to live with her parents. Song Xingcai interrogated the Liang mansion, learned her whereabouts, and personally led people to arrest her... That's pretty much it."

Xu Chu felt sad, but there was also a little benefit in that he felt less regretful and forced Meng Nilun to commit suicide.

"Of course, if King Wu wants to hear another explanation, he can ask your subordinates."

"Another way of saying it?"

"They will tell you how greedy and ruthless Mr. Liang is, how many evil and evil things he has done, how much he is favored by that concubine, and how cruel he is to his servants, beating or scolding them. Such a person deserves to die, Song Xingcai's The method is a bit extreme, but we can’t do anything just because of this trivial matter.”

"Hey, Tian Zhuangshi learned a lot."

"People in the world are often like this. If they think you are good, killing someone is a righteous act. If they think you are bad, giving porridge to the poor is also ulterior motives."

"There is a shortage of food in the city. We haven't given porridge for several days." Xu Chu said.

"Everything King Wu did was normal and no need to explain."

"I still want to explain someone to Tian Zhuangshi." Xu Chu talked about how he met the Wu people, how he got to know the generals, and Song Xingcao's background and deeds. As long as he knew, he told them everything.

This was not just a matter of a few words. After listening to Tian Jiang for a while, he simply came over and sat down.

"Finished?"

"Well, this is General Song who was killed by Zhuangshi Tian with one arrow."

"What is King Wu's intention?"

"I just want Tian Zhuangshi to know who you killed."

A smile appeared on Tian Jiang's face, "Does King Wu know who I am?"

"I have heard a little bit and know that Tian Zhuangshi is a filial son."

"I was not a filial son when I was young. For me, reputation comes first, my brothers come second, and my parents come third at most. I also take things from home, not to fulfill my filial piety, but just to make my neighbors happy. You see, although I, Tianjiang, am a naughty man, I have made a name for myself and am living a better life than them."

Tian Jiang had so many deeds in his youth that he had no intention of telling them all. After thinking about it for a while, he chose one, "When I was eighteen years old, for a bet, I once went out to the north gate of Dongdu at night and killed someone before dawn. Five Night Walkers killed one more than my opponent. I don’t know the victims, and I don’t know if they are innocent. I don’t know if anyone at home is waiting for them.”

A fierce light flashed in Tian Jiang's eyes, which was the past that he had been trying to suppress but could not completely remove.

"This is the real me. Back then, even if I knew that Nightcrawler was an innocent person, I would not be soft-hearted, because I wanted to win the bet and gain a reputation. A promise worth a thousand dollars, this is my reputation, no matter how the promise was made Yes, even if it is a drunken slip of the tongue, even if it is a momentary slip of the tongue, as long as it comes out of my mouth, it must be fulfilled. "

"Tian Zhuangshi is the same now."

Tian Jiang shook his head, "I have seen through it a long time ago. I still keep my promise, but I will be more careful when I make a promise, and I will not dare to promise a word lightly again."

Xu Chu once helped Tian Jiang but never received any promise.

"Does Zhuangshi Tian still value reputation as much as before?"

Tian Jiang glanced at King Wu, "I said that to tell you that I don't care who Song Xingcai is. If he kills my benefactor, I will kill him to avenge him. That's all. I'm not talking to you about reputation." ”

"We might as well talk." Xu Chu poured the wine himself, "Guanzhong Old Wine, this is the only one in the city now."

Tian Jiang picked up the cup and drank it all in one gulp, saying "It's not bad" without changing his expression.

Xu Chu couldn't afford to fight, so he only dared to take a sip.

“King Wu once learned ‘name and reality’?”

“A little bit of dabbling.”

"No wonder. If you want to talk, let's talk. Does King Wu think reputation is important?"

"Of course it's important."

"More important than reality?"

"It's hard to say, which one is more important than reality, which one comes first and which comes last... This is a whole science."

"It's easy for me."

"I'd like to hear from you."

"Let me ask again, why does King Wu think reputation is important?"

"Able to win people, able to win over people, able to reassure people, able..."

"I have a bad reputation, but I can still win over people and bring peace to the people?"

"A person with a bad reputation is just to make people fear him and fear him. Reputation is equally important. What do Tian Zhuang think?"

"I also think reputation is important, for slightly different reasons than King Wu. Reality is false, so reputation is important."

Xu Chu was stunned, "I don't understand why. If it is real, how can it be false?"

"How many do King Wu think I can hit alone?"

"Tian Zhuangshi can be called the enemy of a hundred people."

"Hey, there are at most five, and they have to be ordinary people. If it is a practitioner, it will be very difficult for me to fight two. As for those who are more skilled in martial arts, I have to be willing to die before I dare to attack. King Wu's men With many soldiers and generals, how many of the most powerful people you can see can be defeated?”

Xu Chu thought for a while and said, "When it comes to fighting alone, there is no one more powerful than Tian Zhuangshi. When it comes to fighting between two armies, he is a rare general who can remain undefeated even with equal strength."

"What has King Wu heard of?"

"Famous generals can defeat many enemies with a small number, or even defeat ten times the enemy, but I don't believe it. I always feel that the records are exaggerated, or the enemy is too weak, rather than the famous generals being too strong."

"Look, this is what I mean, what is true is false, that's why everyone asks for a name."

"I still don't understand..." Xu Chu has always been arrogant about his intelligence. Although he struggled to keep up with Fan Guanqing, he could keep up. This time, he didn't understand why. After talking for a long time, he still couldn't understand what Tian Jiang was doing. What does it mean.

"Let me tell you one more thing about myself. I was twenty-five years old that year, and I gained a reputation as someone who would never stop fighting until death. A friend of a friend had his territory taken away from him, so he came to me and knelt down in front of everyone. Age He was much older than me, but he regarded me as his brother. The gifts filled half of the yard. This was my favorite scene at the time, so I returned the gifts and promised to avenge him.”

A smile appeared on Tian Jiang's face, and then he sighed softly, "I still can't forget it. Alas. The land grabber was also a famous hero. The next day happened to be his birthday. There was a big banquet with more than 200 guests, including At least half of them are heroes, the kind of people who dare to draw a sword when walking on the street."

"Tian Zhuangshi must choose this day to report provocation?"

"At that time, my desire for fame was stronger than anything else. Of course, the more people, the better. Many people went with me, but I asked them all to stay outside the village. When the banquet was at its busiest, all the guests were there, and I A man broke in with five knives."

"Five-blade knife?"

"Don't ask why, I just liked it at the time."

"Then what?"

"I said that I was a die-hard farmer and asked that person to hand over his territory and apologize to my friend. There were really guests who stood up for that person, and a large group of people wanted to surround me."

"You defeated them all and killed them?"

"If you ask around, there are rumors saying this, but it is not the case. I have said before that I can fight up to five people, and there are many masters in the village. Even if I fight alone, I may not be able to win them all, let alone the opponent. How many? I stabbed one knife into each of my legs and arms, then walked up to the man with the fifth knife and said, 'I will fight until I die.'"

"Those guests didn't stop you?"

"I was going to stop them, but as soon as I walked over, they got out of the way."

Xu Chu was so surprised that he was speechless.

"This is a stupid thing, but it fits my point. The reason why reputation is important is because no one is superior in strength. If there is a god in the world, he does not need reputation. If there are thousands of enemies or ten thousand enemies, he does not need reputation either. , even if they are only a hundred enemies, their reputation is not too important. They only need to show their true abilities, and people will fall down. Unfortunately, everyone in the world is trapped in the mortal body. If they want to break through this shackles, they have to seek fame. Fame is illusory, but it can magnify reality thousands of times, and reality is illusory in comparison.”

"The name of the emperor is used to rule the world. Compared with it, the emperor himself is not worth mentioning, but is empty."

"Hey, King Wu is King Wu."

"What happened next? Did that person give up his territory?"

"I'm still alive, and my reputation of never ending is still there, so what do you think? At that time, I thought it was the five knives that won me victory, but it was actually my reputation. The man was afraid that killing me would cause more trouble, so he chose to give in. . Both of us were stupid. He lost his reputation because of his timidity and soon withdrew from the world. I became more and more proud because of my temporary victory. I regarded my reputation as my reality, and really thought that I could win against a hundred and finally become a big winner. Woe. That’s another matter, I don’t want to talk about it.”

Tian Jiang stood up and drank all the strong wine again, "People in the world are too weak and need to use names to strengthen themselves. I see through this, so I give up names and seek truth. King Wu also sees through this, but he asks for a hundred times or a thousand times the name." I will take the wine away and ask King Wu to send me back to prison and be locked up with others. Please don’t come to me again.”