Plan to cut off the nine states

The last time the two met, Xu Chu was still the founder of the building, and the old woman was still the empress dowager. The meeting was to see if he was worthy of the daughter of the King of Jibei.

After that, a lot happened.

Hearing the word "died", the Empress Dowager was obviously startled. She glanced at the people on the left and right and asked, "The emperor...has gone?"

Most people know nothing about this and dare not shake their heads to deny or nod their heads to admit it. They can only move their eyes and look around for those who know the truth.

Zhang Shiyu was even more surprised than the Empress Dowager. He took two steps forward, came to his grandmother's side, leaned down and whispered softly.

"Louder." The old woman said coldly.

Zhang Shiyu was a little embarrassed. He stood up and said in a normal voice: "His Majesty has indeed been killed. The news has just arrived. We are worried..."

"My husband and son are both dead, and now it's my grandson's turn. Do you think I can't bear it?"

"It's all my fault. I insisted on hiding the news temporarily." Zhang Shiyu knelt in front of his grandmother's knees.

Seeing that he admitted his mistake, the Queen Mother forgave him and sighed softly, "Who wants to hide the news? How can I not know? Get up. How did the emperor..."

"The theory currently available is that he died of illness, but rumors say that he is closely related to the Liang and Lan families. In order to fight for power, the two families did everything possible."

"It's become such a mess, they...sigh, the Lan family is so disappointing." The Queen Mother was particularly dissatisfied with her family, and she couldn't stop crying.

Now that the news has been made clear, people on both sides know what they should do. They either hold their breath to relieve their grief, or offer soft words of comfort to ease the pain. As a grandson, Zhang Shiyu has to show off even more. , took the silk handkerchief from the hand of the palace maid, wiped the tears of her grandmother, and whispered to her ear.

The Empress Dowager finally calmed down again. She looked up and saw the young man at the door. She suddenly remembered that there were other important things today. Then she felt doubtful and said to Zhang Shiyu: "I didn't know about the emperor's death. People around me saw it." He didn’t know anything about it, why did he tell him?”

"I haven't seen him for several days... I'm also surprised. I don't know who leaked the news. I will definitely find out about this matter."

Xu Chu had been waiting for a long time, and then he said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to check. No one has leaked the information. I guessed it."

"Guess?" The Queen Mother was more surprised than sad.

"There is one more 'calculation'. I have been watching the sky at night these past few nights. When I saw the purple star suddenly dimming, I knew that the emperor would be in trouble. When today came, I saw the prince wearing plain clothes and his face seemed to be sad, so I guessed Until the emperor died in Jiangdong."

Zhang Shiyu was indeed wearing plain clothes, but it had nothing to do with Emperor Jiangdong. He came here to confront Xu Chu and deny that his men had participated in the plan to assassinate the Prince of Xiangdong and his daughter. Of course, he couldn't dress too fancy. As for his face, Sadly, he is just more honest in front of his grandmother.

The Queen Mother glanced at her grandson, but she did notice something unusual. She sighed softly, "It's really hard for you to force a smile."

"It is my crime to make the old queen sad."

"It's enough to admit your mistake once." The Empress Dowager sighed again, looked at Xu Chu, and said after a while: "Looking up at the sky and observing the humanities, it seems that you are really capable. It's a pity that you are unwilling to be a loyal minister, and you have to be a loyal minister. Rebels, the more capable they are, the more evil they will do. For ordinary people, rebellion is only a capital crime. Lou Qi, your rebellion will never be redeemed by death. Due to the chaos in the world, I will spare you for a while, but you are ungrateful and do not know how to reflect on yourself. Instead, they went so far as to alienate the two kings. Why did our Zhang family offend you? Is it because of Princess Wu that she still lingers in Yecheng?"

Xu Chu was about to speak, but the Empress Dowager had no intention of listening to his excuse and waved her hand: "Take him down, I... I want to take a rest today."

Xu Chu was taken back to the same place, and finally someone brought food. After eating, he went to bed without thinking about anything.

The door of the room sounded, and someone seemed to come in. Xu Chu vaguely heard it, but he was too sleepy and refused to open his eyes.

When the visitor entered the inner room, the curtains swung. Xu Chu knew that he would not be able to sleep this time, so he struggled to exit the dreamland and turned over to sit up.

"Why are you so sleepy?" Zhang Shiqing asked.

"I was taken into the city overnight yesterday...why are you here?"

Zhang Shiqing shrugged, "The Queen Mother allows me to come and say goodbye to you."

"Goodbye?"

"Soon I will leave Yecheng and go beyond the Great Wall." Zhang Shiqing smiled, "When things came to a close, I realized that it was not that difficult. He Rongbu sent me some good horses to compete with all my brother's horses. They said "Beyond the Great Wall, there are more BMW horses for me to choose from."

"Congratulations." Xu Chu originally slept in his clothes, put on his shoes, and was still sitting by the bed.

"Congratulations to you too."

"I?"

"Well, the emperor passed away in Jiangdong, and the old queen mother was in great pain. She was not in the mood to argue with you for the moment."

"It is said that the Emperor was raised by the Empress Dowager."

"It's not just bringing him up, but actually supporting him. He has been lawless since he was a child...Forget it, what did he do? The old queen doted on him so much that she didn't hide it from each other when they fled, hoping that the other would stay in the Eastern Capital. In fact, it was my brother who asked me to come , I asked the old queen for permission, but she was not very happy."

"Your Majesty, do you want to know the truth?"

"Yes, the news of his death has just come. Not many people know about it. Even I was kept in the dark. After you pointed it out, it has now spread to everyone in the city."

"It was transmitted so fast, I just slept for a while."

"My brother was very nervous and thought someone was deliberately leaking the news, so he asked me to find out."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, do you want me to blame someone?"

"I don't care what he thinks, I just want to hear the truth."

"The truth is actually simple: Yecheng sent an army to Huaizhou, and some of the people they sent happened to be the guards of the valley. I saw them returning safely, so I guessed that the emperor had passed away."

"Isn't this too simple?"

Of course Xu Chu couldn't give up "Xiaoba", so he said: "Although the Ji and Huai states have formed an alliance, they do not yet fully trust each other. Even if Yecheng sends only one soldier south, it will arouse suspicion. So that army can To enter Huaizhou, you must have permission from the Sheng family. The two states must do a big thing together. After thinking about it, there are only three things that can make the two states join forces. One is Qinzhou, two is Dongdu, and three is Jiangdong. Going south must be the third one.”

The major event in Jiangdong is the life and death of the emperor.

Zhang Shiqing still felt that it was too simple, but he was satisfied, "That is to say, you can think of so much from this little thing - you just happened to be fooled."

"As long as you guess more and try more, you can always get it right once or twice." Xu Chu said with a smile.

"Okay, I'll tell my brother what you said to save his heart."

"The crown prince will soon ascend the throne. He should be happy."

"I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing."

Xu Chu smiled, making Zhang Shiqing confused, "What? Did I say the wrong thing?"

"No, it's very...interesting to hear you ask 'a good thing or a bad thing'."

"Interesting? What do you know about interesting?" Zhang Shiqing snorted and suddenly laughed, "One month ago, my brother will become the emperor. I will only regard it as a good thing and not think of bad things - well, it is very interesting, but You don’t have to be proud, it’s me who is growing up, not you who taught me well.”

"certainly."

The smile on Zhang Shiqing's face gradually disappeared, "You haven't answered me yet? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?"

"A beggar got a hundred taels of silver for free. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I want to say it's a good thing, but there must be a trap hidden in your words, so I won't answer and wait for your explanation."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "If a beggar uses these hundred taels of silver to do business and turn poor into rich, this is a good thing. If he squanders it all by buying wine, meat, gambling and having fun, this is normal. If he shows it off everywhere, , exposing wealth can lead to death, which is a bad thing.”

"Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, it all depends on how my brother and my father choose." Zhang Shiqing thought for a while and said with a smile: "I'm going to leave, why should I care about this? Everyone has his own life, and my own life You can't make the decision yourself, let alone others? I'm not Huanyan, so I can't help much in this kind of thing. Goodbye. You just escaped temporarily. When the old queen comes to her senses, she will blame the emperor's death. On your head."

Xu Chu lived in seclusion in Yecheng, and the emperor died in Jiangdong. However, for the Empress Dowager, if she wanted to find someone to vent her anger immediately, Xu Chu would be her first choice.

"It doesn't matter, I already have one stabbing charge, so I'm not afraid of one more."

"Occasionally, just occasionally, you seem to be a little interesting, but maybe I'm overthinking it." Zhang Shiqing turned to leave.

Xu Chu suddenly felt an impulse and said, "Are you really willing to... marry outside the Great Wall?"

Zhang Shiqing turned around, stared at Xu Chu for a while, and suddenly smiled, "Save yourself first."

Zhang Shiqing left, Xu Chu felt sad, but he was also glad that she didn't say anything more.

The only thing that can change the fate of him and Zhang Shiqing is the general trend. If the general trend does not come, any clever plan will only postpone the crisis and may cause even greater trouble.

The general trend is like a pair of steady parents. No matter how much their children want something, they will do their own thing unhurriedly, add clothes and food according to their financial resources and established plans, and never give surprises.

Days passed, and Xu Chu was never interrogated again, as if he had been forgotten by the Empress Dowager.

The house was large and well-furnished, but there were no books, pens, ink, paper or inkstones. Xu Chu was extremely bored and had to recite the books he had read. When there were no books to recite, he counted the days and guessed Princess Fangde and He Rongpingshan. What stage has the marriage progressed to.

Five full days passed, and Xu Chu was finally "thought" of him again.

Sun Yalu pushed the door open and entered the room, and said seriously: "Mr. Xu, please come with me."

Xu Chu was stretching his muscles, retracted his hands and feet, and said with a smile: "Is there news from Qinzhou?"

Sun Yalu's expression became more and more serious, "Young Master Xu, there is no need to ask any more questions."

"Okay, I won't ask about it. Princess Fangde..."

"The emperor passed away in Jiangdong, and the whole world mourned. All marriages are postponed, and He Rongbu is willing to wait."

"Marrying a princess is not as good as marrying a princess." Xu Chu felt an indescribable joy in his heart.

"This matter has nothing to do with Mr. Xu. You should think carefully about what you can do to make Yecheng let you live again."

Xu Chu became more and more convinced that the Battle of Xijing had ended.