Plan to cut off the nine states

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Lou Chu suddenly felt a little sympathetic to the daughter of the King of Jibei. Zhang Shiqing was forced to marry him, a "boring person". Perhaps her feelings were somewhat similar to those of the Princess of Wu back then, but he was not a great general and had never thought of forcibly seizing someone. If he had a choice, he would happily refuse the marriage.

But the marriage was still approaching step by step. Unconsciously, Lou Chu became busy. The servants in the new house began to recognize that the Seventeenth Master was their real master, and all matters, big and small, were reported. The old servants were happy to be idle, and often sighed: "How many years have passed, I thought I would never have the chance to enjoy happiness in this life."

The number of visiting guests increased day by day. Most of them were just nodding acquaintances at first, but now they were as familiar as long-time friends. The gifts they sent were so expensive that people were terrified. I wonder if they can afford it in the future.

Zhou Lu came to celebrate and brought a group of classmates from Youxueguan. These people were more than nodding acquaintances. Lou Chu welcomed them at the gate and invited them to drink.

Everyone knew that Lou Chu and Ma Wei had a deep friendship. A classmate explained in advance: "We have been to the Ma Mansion. Lord Ma said that he had to entertain a relative from afar today and could not get away. He came alone to deliver gifts later."

Zhou Lu directed everyone's followers to carry gifts into the hall, as if he was Lou Chu's best friend. Hearing this, he turned his head and said: "They are not relatives. Ma Wei is sighing that he is inferior to us. He has always been proud and thought that he was born better than us. In the end, the person who married the princess was Mr. Lou. His own wife is said to be the daughter of a wealthy businessman. How can he not feel uncomfortable?"

In Zhou Lu's eyes, status and power mean everything, more important than money.

Lou Chu was about to make a few excuses for his friend, but found that everyone else nodded in agreement with Zhou Lu, so he shut up obediently, invited everyone into the hall, and ordered the servants to set up wine and banquet.

More than a dozen classmates were very tactful. They left one after another after drinking for a while, and wanted to drink again on the wedding day. Only Zhou Lu didn't leave. He got drunk early and kept talking about the past. According to his understanding, they didn't know each other until they fought. He led people to bully Lou Chu, which was the beginning of their friendship.

Everyone else left, and Lou Chu ordered them to leave: "Brother Zhou is drunk, go home and rest."

Zhou Lu shook his head and held the mouth of the cup, "No more, I really can't drink anymore."

"Brother Zhou, go home and rest."

"Give me a cup of tea, I can drink a few more pots with you later."

Lou Chu had to order someone to serve tea, and at the same time called Zhou Lu's two followers in to help the host out.

Zhou Lu was carried away from the table, but he was still unaware of it. He thought he was dizzy and looked around blankly, and shouted: "I was deceived, we were all deceived! Tian Jiang is an ungrateful guy. He heard that we helped him, but he was not grateful, and he pushed me out of the house and almost beat me..." Zhou Lu was taken away crying, and even his followers felt embarrassed and ran as fast as they could. Tian Jiang was not in Lou Chu's plan. He wanted to help him purely because he heard that he was very filial to his mother. Therefore, he did not care about his gratitude and did not even want to meet him. That evening, Ma Wei visited and brought gifts and Guo Shifeng. After the assassin was caught, Guo Shifeng ran away very fast without even saying hello. When he appeared again, he was still in high spirits, as if nothing had happened. "Brother Guo, long time no see." Lou Chu was surprised, and his face was also full of smiles. "Homeless and jobless people drift with the wind, wandering around the world. I heard that my brother Chu got married, so I had to come back no matter how far away he was."

Lou Chu invited the two into the study and treated them with tea.

As soon as the servant left, Guo Shifeng smiled and said, "Brother Chu, don't ask, I have my own explanation."

Lou Chu glanced at Ma Wei and said nothing.

"When the news of the failed assassination came, I felt that something was wrong. The emperor was obviously used to the third position, so why did he change the position that night? So I guess Huangfu Jie deceived me. Although I didn't understand the reason at the time, I had to leave as soon as possible, otherwise I would be the next person to be arrested."

"Didn't you think of telling us?" Ma Wei asked on behalf of Lou Chu.

Guo Shifeng bowed and smiled, "To be honest, Brother Ma and I knew each other in our early years, but we didn't have much contact. Although Brother Chu and I both studied at Youxueguan, it was a pity that we were not classmates. After the incident, the first person I suspected was Huangfu Jie, and I couldn't help but have doubts about Brother Chu and Brother Ma."

Lou Chu smiled and said, "I understand. If I were in Brother Guo's position at that time, I wouldn't trust anyone."

The three laughed at the same time and bowed to each other, which was considered to be reconciliation. They all knew in their hearts that although it was "the same as before", this friendship would be difficult to deepen.

"Don't ask about the past, but look forward to the future." Ma Wei reached out and held the wrists of Guo and Lou respectively, "The great things are not yet completed, and we still need to continue to work hard."

Lou Chu asked: "Brother Guo came with Prince Guangling?"

Guo Shifeng nodded, "Prince Guangling didn't want to come, and I also advised His Highness to wait and see for the time being. If there are major changes in the court, Jiangdong can still gain a foothold, but once the prince left, Prince Guangling changed his mind."

Guo Shifeng looked at Lou Chu and showed a strange smile, "'The flood is overwhelming, and the Tao no longer exists', Brother Chu has heard of this sentence, right?"

Lou Chu nodded calmly, "I asked Prince Duan to bring it to Prince Guangling."

"Sure enough, not only does Prince Guangling understand the meaning of this sentence, but Prince and His Majesty also understand it."

Lou Chu raised his eyebrows slightly.

Guo Shifeng said with a smile: "Brother Chu, don't worry, you have too little contact with people like the prince. When you first meet, everyone thinks that the prince is a handsome young man with extraordinary ambitions. After a long time of contact, you will know that he is just an ordinary young man with not much He will rely on and be loyal to anyone who treats him well."

Zhang Sheduan naturally thought that the emperor treated him best.

"I don't expect Crown Prince Duan to keep it secret. I just need to bring the message to King Guangling."

Guo Shifeng sighed softly, "This sentence is indeed important. Neither King Guangling nor I expected that Hong Daohui would abandon his wife and confess so quickly."

Guo Shifeng and Ma Wei were both people who "abandoned their wives and ignored them". Lou Chu suppressed the ridicule in his heart and smiled without saying a word.

"Brother Chu probably didn't expect that the emperor had already brought the prince to see Hong Daohui." Guo Shifeng said again.

Lou Chu really didn't expect it and shook his head slightly to admit this.

"In front of the Crown Prince, Hong Daohui only mentioned the names of Brother Ma and Brother Chu, and did not mention me or King Guangling."

Ma Wei had already heard what Guo Shifeng said, and his expression was indifferent, but Lou Chi was shocked, stood up immediately, and then sat down, "It turns out that Hong Daohui not only confessed, but also served His Majesty."

It is obvious that Hong Daohui recruited Lou Chu's name in order to connect the assassin with the general. He did not mention King Guangling in order to consolidate Zhang Shiduan's loyalty.

Guo Shifeng said: "The three of us have the same idea, but the prince insists that the assassin is the commander of the general. His Majesty recruits King Guangling back to the capital to deal with the Lou family."

"Where is King Guangling?" Lou Chu asked.

Guo Shifeng smiled bitterly, "King Guangling thought that Hong Daohui was still loyal to him, so he did not mention the name of his old master. He also thought that His Majesty was still kept in the dark, so he decided to return to Beijing and take advantage of the opportunity of eradicating the Lou family to gain power in the court and seize the throne. "

Lou Chu was silent for a while, "Your Majesty makes every family believe that their family is the most trusted."

"Only the three of us know what's going on." Ma Wei said, looking at the foundation of the building and then at Guo Shifeng, "It's a pity that people are so soft-spoken. Brother Guo can't persuade King Guangling, and brother Chu can't persuade the general."

"Shen Dan persuaded his father to stay in Bingzhou."

"Fifth Young Master Shen?" Ma Wei knew a lot of people, and he knew who it was as soon as he heard the name, and immediately became alert, "Brother Chu, did you confess to him?"

Lou Chu shook his head, "No, the Shen family and his son have their own ideas."

Ma Wei was relieved, "The emperor is unruly and the court is disloyal. This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Even if a man works hard, he can turn things around."

Guo Shifeng said: "I heard about Brother Chu's plan. This is God handing Hunjun into our hands. There will definitely be no mistakes."

"Assassins are hard to find." Lou Chu was still worried.

Guo Shifeng didn't speak, and Ma Wei said: "Brother Chu, don't worry, I have found ten people, but I haven't told them the truth yet. In a few days, we will be able to determine who is available and who is not."

Guo Shifeng said: "This is the most dangerous time. We must not leak any information. Since the emperor already knows the truth, he will not fail to guard against us."

Ma Wei sneered and said: "I checked carefully, and there is no one watching around. The emperor only sees people like the general and King Guangling, and he dismisses us, thinking that we are just three minions who are being used, and are of no importance. Let's clean up. It will be easy to deal with us after we pass above. This is the emperor's mistake and our opportunity."

Lou Chu agreed with Ma Wei's guess, "There is another important question: after the matter is completed, should we still elect the King of Guangling?"

In the original plan, after assassinating the emperor, King Guangling raised troops in Jiangdong and went to Beijing to seize the throne. Now King Guangling wants to take a dangerous move and returns to Beijing under orders. Without the foundation in Jiangdong, the value has plummeted.

The two people across from each other looked at each other, and Guo Shifeng said: "The so-called wise emperor chooses his ministers, and the ministers also choose the emperor. It's not because I am disloyal, but it is because King Guangling made a mistake in one step, and he will make mistakes in every step after that. He has no soldiers and no power in the capital. He wants everything. Relying on the emperor's support, once the emperor passes away and the King of Guangling becomes Wugenping, it will be extremely difficult to return to Jiangdong, and it will be impossible to seize the throne. "

Guo Shifeng's face became unhappy, and he said seriously: "The world is not owned by one person. As long as it is beneficial to the people, anyone can fulfill the position of supreme. There is a popular folk song, 'The flat ground rises thousands of feet, and the floating clouds pass under your feet.'" This is exactly what Lou's surname is. ”

Ma Wei also said: "The general has a hundred thousand troops and is stationed outside the city. The popularity of the people, the hearts of the soldiers, and the strength of the general are all attributed to the general. Once an incident occurs, the Eastern Capital can be decided that day, and the entire Luozhou can be pacified within a day." Then it connected with Qin and Huai in the west, and joined with Ji and Huai in the east. It spread to the four regions of Wu, Jing, Yi and Han. Within a few months, all the nine states returned to the Lou clan. "

Lou Chu had already guessed that the two of them would say these words and thought for a moment, "The general always boasts of his loyalty and filial piety, but he may not be willing to do anything treacherous."

Guo Shifeng said: "So it depends on how Brother Chu persuades him."

Ma Wei said: "The person the general is loyal to is only the late emperor. The late emperor has been dead for more than ten years. Today, the emperor is headstrong, jealous of ministers, and does his best to sow discord. The Lou family is in danger, but the general is still indifferent?"

“How can we convince the general that ‘the situation is imminent’?”

Guo Shifeng cupped his hands and said, "Guo left without saying goodbye before. He feels guilty. He is willing to follow his younger brother to see the general and reveal the conspiracy between the emperor and King Guangling so that the general can take precautions."

Lou Chu thinks this is the real gift.