Plan to cut off the nine states

Feng Ju Niang moved to the city, still treating the Siguo Valley as her "home". She would come back whenever she wanted, and never informed in advance. No matter how the officers and soldiers guarding the valley changed, they all recognized the famous Madam Feng and never stopped her.

She usually had nothing important to do when she came back. She would chat with acquaintances, show off her new skirt, talk about interesting things in the city, and let the maid clean up her room - although she never lived there, the room had to be kept, the door was usually locked, and no one was allowed to enter.

She rarely saw Xu Chu, and always said to Chang Yanzhi and others: "The little princess always said that the young master was boring, and she was right. If you stay with him for a long time, everyone will become boring. Just look at you and you will know."

That morning, Feng Ju Niang came back by car again. Before the car stopped, she jumped out, ignored everyone, and went straight to Xu Chu's room.

Chang Yanzhi reminded her loudly behind her: "The young master went to fetch water!"

Feng Ju Niang did not look back, but changed direction and went to the back mountain.

Xu Chu always thought that he was not a weak scholar. While studying, he also kept fit and even learned several sword techniques. Only when he really started working did he realize how weak he was. At first, he thought it was because he sat still for too long, but after many days, he still couldn't carry two buckets of water back to the valley in one go, so he had to admit that he really couldn't do it.

The skinny old servant could carry water back and forth slowly without stopping.

Xu Chu stopped to rest, breathing the fragrance of the plants, quite contented, and then saw Feng Ju Niang hurried over.

"Young Master is so willing to do hard work, come with me into the city, many people need servants like you." Feng Ju Niang said.

"If I can take the fragrance of the valley with me, I am willing to go." Xu Chu smiled.

"Hey, I'm joking, and you're joking too. Seriously, don't give others random advice in the future."

"Hmm?"

"Did you suggest that many Jizhou soldiers bring an extra horse?"

"Only one person came to ask for advice, not many."

"That's because he was not careful. In short, Jizhou soldiers are buying horses and have already set off. They have to look for horses on the way, causing horse prices to soar everywhere."

Xu Chu was surprised, "I only said one sentence to one person."

"You know how scary the rumors are, right? The Jizhou army has been on the expedition for only seven days, but the matter has already caused a sensation. The court has to buy a batch of horses in a hurry and sell them to the soldiers at a fair price. Otherwise, many people will find all kinds of excuses not to set off."

"Is there such a thing?" Xu Chu laughed.

"Sir, you can still laugh? Do you know how much money it costs just to buy horses? Do you know how much effort Yecheng has put into boosting morale? And it's not over yet. When the soldiers of Huai, Luo, and Bingzhou also believe the rumors, it will be a disaster - how can there be so many horses to supply?"

"You are talking like an official sent by Yecheng now."

"I am indeed here on orders."

"You want to punish me?"

"Sir, don't joke. The eldest princess sent me."

Feng Ju Niang didn't recognize so many princesses. In her mouth, the younger princess was the daughter of the King of Jibei, and the older princess was the daughter of the King of Xiangdong, which was simple and easy to remember.

"Warn me not to give random advice in the future?"

"That's what I said. The eldest princess..." Feng Ji Niang frowned slightly, "asked the young master to give advice to Yecheng. I guess what she meant was that the young master should not give random advice to others, and tell her if you have any ideas."

Xu Chu laughed, "She needs to prepare an extra horse?"

"How can I deal with the eldest princess casually? Of course, it must be a serious idea, the kind that can win a victory thousands of miles away." Feng Ji Niang looked into the distance, as if she could see thousands of miles away.

"I know nothing about what is happening thousands of miles away. The so-called 'decisive victory' is really a random idea."

Feng Ju Niang shook her head, "Young Master is a smart man, how can he not understand the current situation?"

"The world is vast, and there are many heroes..."

"I'm not talking about the world, but Yecheng, and the young master's side."

Xu Chu picked up two buckets of water, "Let's talk while walking."

Feng Ju Niang followed behind, and said after walking a distance: "No one has forgotten that the young master was the King of Wu in the past. The people of Yecheng remember that you defeated the Jizhou army in Dongdu even more clearly."

"Of course, everyone will not forget what happened last year."

"In the city, the young master has many enemies, but they are afraid of the power of the two kings and dare not come to the valley to seek revenge."

"Well, I can imagine it."

"When I was in the valley, I thought it was not a big problem. After entering the city, I realized how dangerous the situation was. There were countless enemies, and now there is another Kou Daogu. Alas, blame me, Kou Daogu is actually He was annoyed by me, but I don't know why. Besides hating me, he seemed to hate the young master more. "

"He thought you were instructed by me - I did give you some advice. So, I really like to give you random advice."

"It's called being in the same boat with your own people, but it's called giving random advice to outsiders. In short, it's hard to explain. Kou Daogu hates the young master to the bone. On the surface, he pretends to be indifferent, but according to my observation, he likes to make friends with those who hate the young master the most. He must be laying a net secretly. Kou Daogu can make friends now, young master can't imagine it, right? Who is his best friend now, young master can't imagine it. "

"Since you can't imagine it, I won't guess it. "

"Boring, the little princess is right, the young master is boring. Lou Ji, is the young master's brother or younger brother? He and Guan Daogu are as close as brothers now. "

Xu Chu really didn't expect it. He stopped, turned around and looked at Feng Ju Niang, and continued to walk, "It's the younger brother. "

"Really? Judging from his appearance, he seems to be older than the young master."

"I am the seventeenth child and he is the twenty-third child. In fact, they were born only a few months apart."

Feng Juniang said in surprise: "Is the general going to give birth to an army with all the surnames Lou?"

"Haha, the Lou family has many descendants. Even the general doesn't know the exact number. If we only count the males, there must be nearly two hundred."

Feng Juniang was even more surprised, "It's really a wise move for the young master to change his surname... Why did he end up here? What I mean is that Lou Ji hates the young master as much as Kou Daogu. He seems... seems to be very jealous of the young master."

Feng Juniang walked behind, and all she could see was his back. Even so, she observed and speculated carefully, hoping to see Xu Chu's true thoughts.

"Why are you jealous of me?"

"Jealous of the... friendship between the young master and the eldest princess, he seems to think that it is because of the young master that he and the eldest princess have not been able to get married."

"Mrs. Lan and the General died one after another, and the Lou family building collapsed, but he thought I was an obstacle that prevented him from getting married?"

"Kou Daogu has evil thoughts and doesn't reflect on himself, but he thinks that the young master and I are his enemies. The reason is the same... Hey, it's different. The young master is saying that the princess dislikes Lou Ji and is now out of the family, right?"

Xu Chu put down his burden, "Princess Huanyan cannot be said to dislike her, but she is too important and her marriage must be of great help to Yecheng."

Xu Chu picked up the wooden bucket and poured water into the vat. Feng Juniang thought for a while, "What the young master said... is not quite right. If the princess felt that Lou Ji had lost power and was of little use, why did she often summon him? If not, Guan Daogu will not make friends with him."

Xu Chu raised another barrel and asked, "Regularly summoned?"

"Yeah, I see you almost every day."

"See him alone?"

Feng Juniang said with a smile: "Young Master is also a bit... No kidding, he is not summoned alone. At least Mr. Sun Yalu and Sun are always there, as well as some other people. There are quite a lot of staff around the princess."

"Are you one of them?"

Feng Juniang smiled again, "I am still an important one. As a woman, this is my advantage." She then sighed, "But I can't sit in on the princess's affairs for the time being. I can only help her deal with some matters." Chores. I know where my weaknesses are. I need to learn some military skills and be able to make suggestions on major matters before I can enter the discussion circle. "

Xu Chu put down the bucket and was sweating profusely. Feeling that it was not enough, he left the house and walked towards the firewood pile.

"Master, don't you take a rest?"

"Carrying a load of water and chopping twenty sticks of firewood every day is my task and must be completed. Only a lot, not a little."

"Hey, it's the same as me. I've been tracing five pages a day, and I can't move at all... Occasionally I'll move a little bit, like today, when I came to see the young master, I'm afraid I won't have time to trace."

Xu Chu picked up the ax and felt it was a little heavy, so he put it down again, sat on the wooden pier, raised his head and said to Feng Juniang: "Don't learn the art of war."

"The princess values ​​​​people who understand the art of war most."

"But she's not lacking."

"I really don't like studying the art of war. What do you think I should specialize in?"

"Tracing words."

"ah?"

"From now on, I will write less about poems, lyrics, and songs, and use some documents to describe them every day."

Feng Juniang suddenly realized, "Yes, I am a woman, but what if I am proficient in the art of war? I can't imitate the Golden Saint and lead the troops to fight. The princess has to do everything herself, and is often trapped by documents and cannot sleep in the middle of the night. If I can do this It's a great achievement to take away her worries. Thank you for your good idea."

"Doesn't it count as a random idea?"

"I've told you before. It doesn't count to my own people. And I won't leak it. I promise to keep it secret." Feng Juniang was very happy and felt that this trip was worthwhile. "But the young master must not talk nonsense to outsiders again. Don't let Kou Daogu and Lou Ji harm him." Your excuse."

"Try hard and see if I can control my mouth."

"Oh, I guess the young master can't control it. Do you have anything to say to the princess?"

Xu Chu shook his head.

"The world is in turmoil during this battle. Don't you have any idea?"

"Wait a moment." Xu Chu smiled.

Feng Juniang shook her head, "I have to go. I've brought some delicious food for you to try too. Carrying water and chopping firewood won't accomplish anything, so you should stop here."

Xu Chu nodded.

Feng Juniang turned to leave, but Xu Chu suddenly said: "Prince Ning."

"What's wrong with Prince Ning? Why did the young master suddenly talk about him?" Feng Juniang turned back and asked doubtfully.

"Lou Ji did not escape. He came to deliver a message to Princess Huanyan on the orders of Prince Ning."

"King Ning is rushing to Jiangdong. There is an entire Huaizhou between him and Yecheng. Moreover, as a traitor who calls himself king, what can he ask of the princess? Isn't it possible that he... can't, compared to Louji, Ning Wang Geng is not in the right family."

Xu Chu didn't want to explain in detail, so he smiled and said, "Wait a minute, this battle will be even more exciting than I expected."

"Young Master, don't you feel regretful that you were unable to participate?"

"This is also what I want to know." Xu Chu sighed.