Plan to cut off the nine states

(2019, Happy New Year everyone!)

Tang Weitian got up late, walked into the meeting hall, and quietly stood behind King Wu, standing straight and looking at the door, as if he had been guarding here for a long time.

There were not many generals left in the city. Xu Chu quickly finished handling the morning's affairs, turned around and asked, "Is the old beggar here again today?"

"The Governor has a very good memory. He still remembers this incident. When he came, the answer was wrong and I drove him away. I didn't come back until I saw him walk out of this street with my own eyes."

Xu Chu was a little disappointed, "He must be an ordinary beggar." He lowered his head to check the documents, then quickly raised his head, "What did he answer?"

"The Grand Governor said the answer was 'Zhou Lv'. He said 'Mr. Zhou of the Dongyang Marquis Family'. It's just the same word. Isn't he a liar?"

Xu Chu said hurriedly: "The Young Master Zhou of the Dongyang Hou family is Zhou Lu. The old servant is not used to calling him by his first name..."

"Ah? Are you really an acquaintance of the Governor?"

"Get him back quickly...please come back."

"Yes, I'll go right away. I don't know if he's far away..." Tang Weitian ran out in a panic, muttering: "I should have made it clear earlier, how did I know they were the same person..."

Xu Chu smiled and shook his head. His mind was not here. He soon turned to the situation in the world. He was relatively confident about conquering the new World Army. Although increasing the number of World Army at this time would bring great trouble. After all, The advantages outweigh the disadvantages. As for the Sheng family in the east, they cannot place their hopes on the thousands of people in Ningbaoguan. They do not expect Guo Shifeng to win over the Sheng family, as long as they can delay it for a while.

Although Ning Baoguan was brave and good at raids, he was never stupid enough to attack a stone with an egg. The power disparity between the two sides was too great, so he was more likely to surrender and lead the way for the Sheng family.

Xu Chu weighed the situation and became more and more confident. Yecheng must pay a heavy price to win over the heroes. After this siege, it is estimated that there will be no counterattack.

Xu Chu couldn't help but sneered. He wanted to negotiate peace with Yecheng, but now it seemed that his thinking was too simple. Princess Huanyan was a powerful enemy, and he would never give in easily.

Tang Weitian ran in, "Old Beggar brought it. Fortunately, I can run fast."

"Where is the person?" Xu Chu looked behind Tang Weitian, but saw no one.

"I'm running fast, come back and let me know, he's still behind me." Tang Weitian breathed out, suddenly turned around and ran out. It turned out that he really just wanted to let the old beggar know, and he wanted to go back to lead the way for the old beggar.

Xu Chu had no time to stop him and could only watch Tang Weitian run out.

After waiting a little longer this time, Xu Chu ordered the guards to bring some wine and meat. Just after they were laid out, Tang Weitian came back for the second time, followed by someone.

The man was dressed in rags. He knelt down and kowtowed as soon as he entered the door. He would call him "Young Master" at one time and "Master" at another.

Tang Weitian said from the side: "This is the King of Wu, not a young master, nor a master. You can either imitate me and be called the Governor, imitate the people of Wu and be called the ruler, or be like others and be called the King of Wu."

Xu Chu couldn't see the man's appearance clearly and said, "Are you really an old servant of my family? Come over and let me take a look."

The old beggar just kowtowed, but Tang Weitian pulled him up, pushed him a few steps forward, and said to King Wu, "Is it him? If not, I will throw him out immediately."

"Whether it is or not, let him eat something first." Xu Chu still didn't recognize it. The old beggar's face was already dirty, but now the runny nose and tears made him lose his original appearance.

The old beggar wanted to recognize his master, but felt hungry after seeing the food. After a while of conflict, his belly got the upper hand, and he ate the meat as soon as he grabbed it. After eating several large pieces, he drank a glass of wine.

Tang Weitian swallowed his saliva when he saw it, and said angrily: "If I had known there was meat, I wouldn't have drank so much porridge."

Although the old beggar was hungry, his appetite was average. After eating half a plate of meat, he couldn't eat anymore. He hesitated for a moment and handed the plate to the guide, "If I can still eat it..."

"Yes." Tang Weitian took the plate, glanced at King Wu, and started eating with a zeal, a mouthful of meat and a mouthful of wine, as if he hadn't eaten any food for breakfast.

Xu Chu had already recognized him. He was really an old servant in his family. "Come and sit here."

The old servant wiped the oil on his hands on his clothes, lowered his hands and said: "Where can I sit in front of the King of Wu? I am so grateful to be summoned by the King of Wu and given wine and meat, and I dare not ask for anything more." ”

"Today is extraordinary. We are reunited after the disaster. It doesn't matter if you come over and sit." Xu Chu still couldn't remember the old servant's name, and vaguely felt that he had never revealed it.

The old servant sat slanted on his stool, feeling uneasy.

"How did you end up like this?" Xu Chu asked.

"Ever since the young master...since King Wu left, I have been kicked out of my house, and the palace refused to take me in. I have nowhere to go, so I have to go to the streets to beg for food. I never thought that one day I would see my little master again." As the old servant spoke, he began to cry again.

Someone happened to come into the hall, and Xu Chu ordered Tang Weitian to take the old servant down, wash up, change into new clothes, and see you later.

There was no news from the direction of Mengjin, but Xue Jinyao, who was going south, had already seen the Jingzhou Army. As Tan Wuwei expected, the Jingzhou Army chose to camp in a dangerous place, with no intention of escaping or attacking. It was obvious that they had expectations.

Xue Jinyao also set up camp and was observing the terrain. He initially decided to launch an attack early tomorrow morning. Xu Chu replied "I understand" and did not explain more to the messenger.

After finishing his morning duties, Xu Chu went to the study to meet his old servant.

The old servant has returned to sixty-seven percent of his former appearance, but the frostbite and scars on his face will not disappear for a while.

The old servant refused to sit down this time and stood at the door, sighing: "King Wu still loves reading so much. Look at the room full of books. There are more books than before."

"It's just a decoration. I haven't even seen it." Xu Chu suddenly felt that he had nothing to say, "You should stay with me from now on. At least you won't be cold or hungry."

"Being able to serve King Wu is the greatest blessing in my life. When I was living on the street, every time I dreamed, I dreamed of the small courtyard in the back alley. I was still cleaning the courtyard and delivering meals to King Wu."

Xu Chu's status in the Lou family was not high in the past, and the old servants were quite aggressive in speaking in front of him. They rarely knelt down like they are now. Xu Chu was a little uncomfortable with it.

"Well, you don't have to do hard work from now on. If you have time... just clean the table." Xu Chu was afraid that the old servant would feel uncomfortable, so he arranged a job for him.

"If there is a speck of dust on the table, King Wu will banish me... and don't give me food to eat."

"You go down first and let Tang Weitian find you a place to stay."

"Yes, it's great to meet my little master. I don't know what kind of virtue I accumulated in my previous life..." The old servant nodded and backed away.

"Wait a minute." Xu Chu stopped the old servant, thought for a while, and asked, "Have you been living on the street?"

"At first I stayed with some old friends for a while, but as time went by, they started to show off, and I left angrily. I thought I could find a job quickly, but they all thought I was old. Alas, now I know I have no children. Such misery..." The old servant wanted to wipe away his tears again.

"How have the streets been since I've been in town?"

"Are the common people? They are very happy. They all say good things about King Wu, saying that King Wu is a wise king who only comes once in a lifetime. When King Wu comes, Dongdu will finally be saved..."

Xu Chu missed the old servant who spoke sharply and always "urged" him to make friends with powerful people, and couldn't help but sigh.

"What did I say wrong?" The old servant quickly shut up.

"No, I just... hope to hear the truth, the truth. These days, I have been followed by guards wherever I go. The longer I stay in the city, the less I understand the changes in the Eastern Capital."

The old servant was dazed for a while, and gradually regained a sense of the past. Although the person in front of him was the King of Wu, his appearance and expression seemed not much different from those of the Seventeenth Young Master before - maybe, but the old servant couldn't say He came out, so he boldly said: "Wang Wang wants to listen to the truth?"

"Um."

"Then I will...if King Wu doesn't like to hear it, he can stop it at any time. Unlike the people outside, I don't have any complaints against King Wu."

The old servant lingered at the gate of the military camp for many days without being summoned, and he was quite resentful in his heart. However, after eating and drinking, and wearing a new look, the clouds and mist suddenly cleared, and all he could see was the kindness of King Wu.

"You said, I will stop when it's time to stop."

The old servant coughed twice to encourage himself, "To be honest, the people... are quite satisfied. All the corrupt officials have disappeared, the rebels never harassed the people, and the King of Wu asked the temple to provide porridge again. To say that I am dissatisfied, I am a little bit dissatisfied. , Business can no longer be done, and trading is inconvenient, but it is not a big deal. The profiteers are worried, but the people are not. "

"The temple has long been out of food. I know whether the rebels are harassing the people. If you don't want to tell me the truth, forget it. Go down and rest. You must be tired too."

The old servant returned to his parents like a lost chick. He was frightened and frightened. When he saw that King Wu seemed displeased, he immediately said: "To be honest, um... if this continues, the people in the city may not be able to survive." ”

"So serious?"

The old servant was hesitant about how far he should go. Seeing that King Wu was not angry, he felt relieved and stepped forward and said: "It's good that King Wu's soldiers didn't massacre the whole city, but almost all the food in the city was destroyed by the rebels." Take it away. Those who have surplus food in their homes should hold on for a few more days. Those with too little surplus food will have nothing to eat. They are begging everywhere like me, but where can I go in the winter? There is not even a tender grass in the ground. No. Chickens, ducks, geese and dogs...kill all the chickens, ducks, geese and dogs that can be killed, and then we can only eat people. I heard that there are really missing bodies in Nancheng, and there are also children who suddenly disappeared..."

"Stop."

The old servant immediately shut up, and after a while he said carefully: "It's all rumors. I have never seen any cannibalism. Although there is not much food in the city, we can still live by tightening our belts. Just wait until spring. There is no such thing." A few days left.”

"Spring begins?"

"Yes, at least I can go out of the city to dig some wild vegetables, and the tribute grains from the south should be shipped." The emperor had run away, and the old servant thought that everything could continue as usual.

"There is still one last battle in Dongdu. After this battle, Dongdu will not be short of food."

"Yeah, yeah, the last battle. I have to say that these people are really stupid. They were defeated by King Wu so many times, but they still refused to admit defeat, making life difficult for both the city and the outside. Sigh, if everyone could figure it out, they would surrender earlier. King Wu, how good would it be to be like Mrs. Lan..." The old servant closed his mouth again.

"It's okay. What have you heard about Mrs. Lan?"

"It's nothing, it's just...just...some people think that King Wu can kill even his own family and doesn't care too much about the life and death of the people in the city. But I don't think so. If I see those people who gossip in the future, I will spit in their faces. King Wu is a nostalgic person, and he is even willing to take in an old loser like me. This is proof. Mrs. Lan's death has nothing to do with King Wu, and the fact that her murderer committed suicide is also proof."

Although the old servant lives on the street, he is still more concerned about the affairs of the General's Mansion.

But Xu Chu didn't think those words were "talking nonsense". He was speechless and looked back blankly, unable to remember how far he had deviated from his original intention.