Plan to cut off the nine states

After experiencing a near-death experience in the Eastern Capital, most of the Xiangdong King's ambitions disappeared, and he relied more and more on his daughter to handle government affairs. Every time important matters were discussed, although he sat in the main seat, he would just be in a daze and take a nap, leaving all major and minor matters to his daughter.

He believed in his daughter more than he believed in himself.

The matter discussed today was relatively simple, and there were relatively few participants. Apart from the Prince of Xiangdong and his daughter, there were only Sun Yalu and Lou Ji. They had already been summoned once last night. After returning home, they each thought of their own ideas. This time it was a formal discussion.

The situation in Jiangdong has reached a point where it must be resolved first.

Lou Ji was eager to make meritorious deeds, so he spoke first: "I have thought about it carefully. Ning Baoguan is ambitious, cruel and bloodthirsty. He cannot live under others for a long time. Sooner or later, he will fall out with the Liang and Lan families. Please allow me, Princess." Going south, either to persuade or to alienate, must let Ning Baoguan reveal his true nature."

Yecheng's greatest hope for Ning Baoguan was to kill the emperor, but he rarely said these two words to his face.

Huanyan was never in a hurry to express her position. She hummed and looked at Sun Yalu - the staff she relied on most and could be called a strategist.

Sun Yalu took a step forward, "Ning Baoguan is murderous, but he is profound and restrained, and with the help of Guo Shifeng, as long as Jiangdong's name is still useful, he will not take action easily."

Lou Ji hurriedly said: "I have come up with a way to make Ning Baoguan wash away Jiangdong with blood. The person who stopped Ning Baoguan from killing people must be Guo Shifeng. As far as I know, Guo Shifeng did not defect in person, but was caught halfway. This man repeatedly He is impermanent and loyal to many masters. Ning Baoguan cannot fully trust him. I am going to Jiangdong to drive a wedge between these two people. Once Ning Baoguan doubts Guo Shifeng, he will naturally doubt Guo Shifeng's plan..."

Princess Huanyan looked at Sun Yalu again, "What do you think, Mr. Sun?"

"What Lou Xiaoqi said makes some sense. The only thing is that I am familiar with Guo Shifeng and I know his abilities well. I am afraid it will not be easy to separate him from Ning Baoguan."

Seeing that his idea had not been rejected, Lou Ji was overjoyed and said with a smile: "It's hard to say but easy to say."

"Oh, what's Lou Xiaoqi's clever plan?"

Lou Ji hoped to offer his advice to Princess Huanyan alone, but he was not qualified yet, so he had to reply: "It all depends on Xu Chu. Guo Shifeng and Xu Chu were old friends. When he was captured, he was sent to Huaizhou as an envoy on Xu Chu's order. . I just want a letter from Xu Chu. If this letter 'happens' to be discovered by Ning Baoguan..."

Sun Yalu said with a smile: "Guo Shifeng once wrote a letter to blame Xu Chu. Lou Xiaoqi was trying to repay him with his own treatment."

Lou Ji laughed dryly, and he felt that this was entirely his idea, "With the arrogance of the Lou and Lan families, and the murderousness of Ning Baoguan, without Guo Shifeng in the middle to mediate, the situation will inevitably be the same as fire and water, and Yecheng will be helpless. If you use your troops, you can sit back and enjoy the results."

Princess Huanyan thought for a while, "Where is Queen Mother Luan? If the rumors are true, she is quite influential in Ningbaoguan."

"It's not a big problem. As far as I know, although Empress Dowager Luan and the emperor are mother and son, they have no close relationship. When the emperor fled, he did not take his mother with him, so Empress Dowager Luan would not try her best to protect her son."

"It's hard to say. Although the son is unfilial, the mother protects the son. This kind of thing happens all the time."

Lou Ji had not thought about this matter and was thinking hard about a solution. Sun Yalu next to him said: "In my opinion, Queen Mother Luan is not a problem, but may be a help. With the pride of Lou and Lan, they will never tolerate the Queen Mother for a long time." Lying on someone else's bed, with a little inducement, can be used to anger Ning Baoguan."

Lou Ji immediately said: "Yes, that's exactly the truth. I'm very familiar with Lan Yong and Liang Pingzhi, so it's easy to trick them."

Princess Huanyan pondered for a long time, "The strategy is good, but...it is very dangerous for those who try to use it. It is like going into the tiger's den alone."

"It is my wish to serve Yecheng, and I will have no regrets even if I die. What's more, the Queen Mother is the murderer of our Lou family. Ning Baoguan is still imprisoning many brothers, nephews and nephews of our Lou family. How can I sit back and watch? "

Princess Huanyan finally showed a smile on her face, "Then Lao Lou Xiaoqi will make a hard trip."

"It is my duty to do so, but I have two things that I need to ask the princess to decide."

"Please tell me."

"The first is Xu Chu's letters..."

"I'll handle it." Sun Yalu took over, "I can find someone to forge a letter, and there will be no flaws in the handwriting and words."

"There must be nothing wrong with the person Mr. Sun is looking for." Lou Ji smiled, and then said to Princess Huanyan: "This second thing... I want to boldly ask about personal matters."

"What private matter?"

"It's a private matter between me and the princess." Lou Ji lowered his head.

Princess Huanyan didn't reply for a long time, and Lou Ji felt a little scared, but he had to ask clearly and couldn't just work for others in a daze.

"When Lou Xiaoqi comes back safely, we can get married within a month."

Louji was overjoyed. King Xiangdong, who was taking a nap on the throne, suddenly woke up and asked, "Getting married? Who is getting married to whom?"

Princess Huanyan nodded lightly to her father. King Xiangdong didn't ask any more questions, closed his eyes and wandered outside.

Lou Ji had no more doubts and resigned, planning to leave early tomorrow morning.

Sun Yalu left with him, arranged relevant matters, and soon came back alone, "Everything is ready, Lou Xiaoqi should do his best for this trip."

"Yes." Princess Huanyan had no doubts about this.

"What should I do in Huaizhou? Do you want me to go there in person? The Sheng family has been coveting Jiangdong for a long time, and it is easy to persuade them, but they have to seize the opportunity. If it is too early, Ning Baoguan will not take action. It must be after Lou Xiaoqi succeeds, Huaizhou Only then can the state army cross the river southward."

"It can only be Mr. Sun." Princess Huanyan was not so polite to those she trusted.

Sun Yalu handed over his hand and said, "Lou Xiaoqi knows how to leave. I will leave the day after tomorrow."

"Mr. Sun, please act accordingly."

"Yes." Sun Yalu resigned again.

There was no one else in the hall. King Xiangdong opened his eyes and yawned, "Is everything going well?"

"It's going well. The arrow has left the string. What it can hit depends on fate."

"Haha, when did my daughter believe in destiny?"

"I have experienced so many things that I have to believe it." Princess Huanyan smiled.

The King of Xiangdong sighed softly, "Yes, I can't help but believe it. Lou Ji has left and never returned. My daughter...does she have any plans?"

"The imperial court has not yet flourished, so why should we take care of our family? Father, there is no need to say more."

Once the Huaizhou army went south, Ning Baoguan would definitely turn his anger on Louji. King Xiangdong felt a little regretful, but Princess Huanyan was indifferent.

Feng Juniang, who was guarding outside, hurried in and said, "The little princess is here. She wants to see the princess no matter what. No one can stop her..."

"Let her come in." Princess Huanyan smiled, "She is so anxious to see me, she must have something important to do."

Feng Ju Niang stepped back, and King Xiangdong stood up, "Fang De is still young, so don't make it too difficult for your daughter."

"Father, don't worry."

"I'm going. The Queen Mother has been in a bad mood recently. I'm going to comfort her."

Princess Huanyan stood up to see her off.

Not long after King Xiangdong left, Zhang Shiqing rushed in like a gust of wind. He first saluted Princess Huanyan and said hello, and then said to Feng Juniang: "I will talk to Huanyan alone. You can go out first."

Feng Juniang glanced at Princess Huanyan and exited the meeting hall.

Princess Huanyan sighed first, moved her body, and made room on the soft couch, "Come and sit down. The prince went to invite you in person. You didn't come back, I didn't invite you, but you came here. Do you want to complain, or do you want to What?"

Zhang Shiqing was used to being casual in front of Princess Huanyan. He came up and sat down and said with a smile: "I am neither complaining nor asking for something. You have guessed wrong. I am here today to recommend myself as an aide to you."

"I can't afford to treat you." Princess Huanyan held one of Zhang Shiqing's hands and looked at it carefully. "To be honest, do you blame me in your heart?"

"What are you complaining about?"

"Blame me for forcing you to marry outside the Great Wall."

"There was a point in the past, but someone told me that this is the so-called situation. No matter who is in your position, it will be the same. If you want to blame it, blame me for being the daughter of the King of Jibei and bearing such a title. , and the world is in chaos, it is destined to be unstable. "

"You should spend more time with 'this person'." Princess Huanyan smiled, knowing who that "someone" was.

"He is as old-fashioned as the teacher. He is a stubborn stone. If we continue to get along with him, I will go crazy."

"Then go honestly to the outside of the Great Wall. There are horses and grasslands there for you to gallop on."

"If you don't go, those people don't know how to play polo."

Princess Huanyan frowned slightly, "You made a good statement just now, why don't you want to go?"

"Since it's 'forced by the situation', I don't blame anyone, as long as the 'situation' is changed, right?"

Princess Huanyan was stunned for a moment, "'This person' has said a lot to you."

"Don't care who said it, just listen to see if it makes sense."

"Okay, I'm all ears."

"First of all, He Rong's tribe is by no means a reliable ally. The new Chanyu obviously has ambitions for the Central Plains. He formed an alliance with Yecheng for only two purposes. One is to balance the merging of states, and the other is to wait for the opportunity to send troops south. Accept He Rong's tribe's offer To help is to feed a tiger into trouble.”

"Whether raising tigers is a source of trouble or seeking skin from tigers, Yecheng cannot avoid this tiger."

"If you can't avoid it, get rid of it. At least scare it."

Princess Huanyan laughed, "Is this your own idea?"

"Don't care whose idea it is, just listen to me first."

"Yeah, but hurry up."

"I know you are busy, and a few words can go a long way." Zhang Shiqing coughed twice, "He Rong's Ministry has always bullied the weak and feared the strong. If we in Yecheng can seize Bingzhou, they will be much more honest and willing to do the hard work of dogs and horses. Don't dare to Sit on an equal footing.”

Knowing that there was Xu Chu behind Zhang Shiqing, Princess Huanyan had the patience to listen, "Bingzhou is an ally of Yecheng, how can we seize it?"

"Hey, all the states look good but are different from each other. If we don't occupy Bingzhou, Bingzhou will come to attack Yecheng sooner or later."

"Okay, do you have a way to capture Bingzhou in one fell swoop?"

"Of course our troops in Yecheng alone are not enough, we also need one or two powerful reinforcements. He Rong's tribe is definitely not good, they would rather see the two states standing side by side; Huaizhou Sheng's family is not good either, they are eyeing Wuzhou and Luozhou , are not interested in cross-state wars, as evidenced by this western expedition to Qinzhou; King Liang of Luozhou is too weak, and King Xi of Jingzhou and King Ning of Jiangdong are too far away. "

"You've exhausted all the states, where are the reinforcements?"

"There is also Qinzhou. Qinzhou and Bingzhou are connected by mountains and rivers. If they attack from both sides with Jizhou, they will definitely be able to defeat Jinyang."

"The rebels in the two states have not been eliminated, and the officers and soldiers have no time to take care of themselves. How can they attack Jizhou from a flank?"

Zhang Shiqing smiled and said: "There are times when Huanyan cannot clearly see the situation. The officers and soldiers of Qinzhou have too much time to take care of themselves. There are quite a few rebels. Although they are trapped in Xijing, they have not been defeated. If they can be brought over, wouldn't they be a powerful force?" aid?"

Princess Huanyan was stunned, and after a while she said: "Xu Chu is using you to save another wife in Xijing, and you don't care at all?"

"I care, but 'the situation forces me to forgive him for the time being. Xu Chu's 'other wife' is a good thing for Yecheng."