Plan to cut off the nine states

One of Ma Wei's favorite things to do was to stroll around the huge palace, with a group of old eunuchs around him, explaining the origins of various items to him. As long as it was related to the Liang Dynasty, he would stop to appreciate it, and then order people to carefully protect it.

"Daliang is not dead, it is just in decline for a while, and it will eventually revive." He often repeated this sentence, and did not allow anyone to comment on it, even if they agreed with him. After an ignorant eunuch was beheaded, no one dared to answer.

During the trip to Xijing to meet the Chanyu, Ma Wei did not receive special courtesy. He stood with a group of kings, generals, and leaders of unknown origin, kowtowed and knelt outside the tent, and was not summoned individually afterwards. The Chanyu said to him in public: "King Liang, guard the Eastern Capital for me. If there is any more damage, you will be held responsible."

Ma Wei blushed at the time, and he was submissive and did not dare to say a word.

After that, he always felt that people around him were laughing at him, so he asked to leave as soon as he got the chance and took people back to the Eastern Capital.

On the way back, he met Guo Shifeng.

Guo Shifeng came from Jiangdong, and the journey was long, so he arrived a few days later than others.

Ma Wei reminded Guo Shifeng: "It is better not to go than to go late. Shanyu is a very strict person. If King Ning does not come in person, he will be dissatisfied. Brother Guo went late, I am afraid there will be no good results."

Guo Shifeng had to go, "I have a heavy responsibility, so I have to bite the bullet and go. When I return to Jiangdong, I must go to Dongdu to pay homage to King Liang."

Ma Wei thought it was just empty talk, but he did not expect that Guo Shifeng would follow him from Xijing a few days after returning to Dongdu.

Ma Wei summoned his old friend in the hall. This is his favorite place. He moved the old things of the Liang Dynasty that he liked one by one. When he was free, he would visit it and wished he could live there forever.

Guo Shifeng walked through rows of screens, candlesticks, chairs, and many unnamed ornaments. At the eunuch's signal, he stopped, knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I, Guo Shifeng, pay my respects to King Liang."

Ma Wei sighed softly, "Brother Guo, you are an old friend. There is no need to perform such a great ceremony. Stand up and give me a seat."

Although there were various chairs in the hall, the eunuch brought an ordinary stool. After Guo Shifeng sat down, he had to look up to see King Liang on the throne.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Guo Shifeng smiled and said, "When I entered the city, I saw a lot of people on the street, with flags flying. The East Capital has recovered at least 70% to 80% of its vitality, all thanks to King Liang."

"It is true that the population has increased, and it has barely recovered 30% to 40%, how can it be 70% to 80%?"

"King Liang is too modest. During my journey, Luozhou was empty, and even the entire city was abandoned, but there were many pedestrians on the road. Every family brought their elderly and children, saying that in the world, only the East Capital can be taken refuge."

Knowing that this was flattery, Ma Wei still smiled, "The emperor treats the people like his own children. If the people come to seek refuge, I will certainly not refuse."

"Speaking of children, the two princes of King Liang should be very old, right?"

"The oldest is more than ten years old, and the other two are less than one year old."

"King Liang has another son, congratulations." Guo Shifeng stood up and congratulated.

"Is the Chanyu angry with Brother Guo and King Ning?" Ma Wei didn't want to chat anymore.

"At first he was a little angry and ordered people to put shackles on me. After I presented the map of Jiangdong counties, the Chanyu became happy, invited me to drink, and asked many questions about Jiangdong."

"Hey, King Ning is always one step ahead: the first to submit a letter of surrender and the earliest to present the map, why doesn't he go to Xijing himself? The Chanyu will be happier."

"King Ning has been unable to pacify the counties of Jiangdong for a long time, and he is really busy."

Ma Wei said coldly: "Brother Guo and I have been friends for many years. Why should Brother Guo lie in front of me?"

"I dare not, King Ning is really busy." Guo Shifeng smiled.

Ma Wei stood up and walked down the steps. Guo Shifeng hurriedly stood up to greet him.

"Brother Guo, do you recognize these treasures of Daliang?"

"I was born in a poor family, how could I have the opportunity to recognize these?"

"Come, let me tell you."

Ma Wei took Guo Shifeng to stroll around the hall, explaining the origins of the ornaments one by one. They were either used by the Emperor of Liang or displayed in the ancestral temple of the Liang Dynasty.

"Emperor Tiancheng has emptied out all the things in the Liang Palace." Guo Shifeng said in surprise.

"Zhang was originally a minister of the Liang Dynasty. After usurping the throne, he slaughtered various countries, but the most looted were the relics of the Liang Palace."

"God has destined that Dongdu will belong to King Liang, so this can be considered as returning the things to their original owners."

Ma Wei laughed, sat on an old chair, and gently stroked it, "This is the imperial chair of my grandfather Emperor Guanglie. He was big, so the chair should be wider."

"You are not an ordinary person." Guo Shifeng said. Although there were other chairs next to him, he could not sit down without permission.

Ma Wei raised his head, "My people are on the other side and can't hear our conversation. Brother Guo, are you willing to tell the truth?"

"Actually, I have been telling the truth, but I have kept some things to myself."

"Haha, I forgot, Brother Guo once told me that the best lie is actually the truth. Well, what did you hide?"

"King Ning is indeed busy with his work and is busy pacifying the counties, but these are all small matters. King Ning is about to attack Jingzhou."

Ma Wei raised his eyebrows, "Not long ago, King Ning was going to attack Huaizhou, so I sent General Pan to discuss it. How... did he change his mind so quickly?"

"There is no way. Times have changed and things have changed. Everyone has to change with it. It was actually Xu Chu's idea to attack the Sheng family in Huaizhou..."

"Hey, have you heard? The Chanyu is looking for him."

"It is said that he fled to Hanzhou and took refuge with a brother of his Lou family."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he changes his last name back."

Guo Shifeng smiled and nodded, "I won't be surprised. In short, it was Xu Chu's idea to attack Huaihe, to relieve the urgency of Jizhou, but it turned out to be useless. Jizhou was not captured by the Liang King and the Sheng family, but fell to the He Rong people. It is said that man's calculation is not as good as God's calculation, but Xu Chu relied on his own cleverness and could not defeat the general trend. "

"But I heard from General Pan that he did see King Ning intending to attack Huaihe in Jiangdong."

"King Ning did have this intention at that time, and Xu Chu guessed it right. But once Jizhou was lost, Huaizhou turned into a barrier to the east of the Yangtze River, and the Sheng family was prepared. They surrendered to Shanyu early and even sent two hostages. When we attack Huai, the weather, the right location, and the people are not on King Ning's side."

Ma Wei was immediately alert, "Brother Guo went to Xijing, not only to meet Shanyu, but also to ask for Shanyu's consent to let King Ning attack Jingzhou?"

"Haha, we can't go in vain."

Ma Wei was both envious and jealous. He went to Xijing and lost all face, but gained nothing. "Brother Guo will never run away in vain wherever he goes, and it must be the same when he comes to me."

"King Ning said that as long as he gets Shan Yu's approval, the agreement between Jiangdong and Prince Liang will remain unchanged."

"I don't remember ever having an agreement with Prince Ning to attack Jing."

"It's the agreement to attack Huaihe, with just a slight change." Guo Shifeng laughed, took half a step forward, and whispered: "In addition to Dongdu, how many counties and counties does the Liang King occupy? I'm afraid it won't reach Luozhou. Half of it?”

Ma Wei refused to answer this question and said directly: "I saw someone from the Xi family went to visit Shan Yu, and they were quite happy with Shan Yu. How did Brother Guo sow discord?"

"The King of Liang thinks highly of me. I don't have the ability to change Chanyu's mind. But from a general perspective, after the He Rong people pacified the north, their next target was either Han or Jing. When I left Xijing, it was said that Hanzhou suddenly closed the border. He seems to have no intention of surrendering. Shanyu is a stubborn man and will never tolerate such a humiliation. He must use a large army to conquer the Han territory. In this case, he will not be able to allocate many troops to attack Jingjing, and he will need a little help. "

"Then there is no need to rely on Prince Ning. If I were a Chanyu - if so - I would never want to see someone sitting in power in Jiangdong."

Guo Shifeng smiled and said: "In order to eliminate Shan Yu's suspicion, King Ning deliberately fought several defeats."

"Huh?" Ma Wei was puzzled.

"King Ning sent troops to attack Huaizhou to the north and raid Jingzhou to the west, but he was defeated in consecutive battles. When the Sheng and Xi families went to visit Shanyu, they reported King Ning's defeat as their own military achievements. Therefore, in Shanyu's eyes, Jiangdong was weak. It is not enough to capture Jingzhou, but it can contain the Xi family and prevent them from attacking Hanzhou from the west. "

Ma Wei became more and more jealous, "King Ning has only occupied Jiangdong for more than a year. How many troops can he raise?"

"King Liang doesn't believe it even if he says too much, but it's enough to defeat the Xi family."

"In that case, why come to me?"

"Because King Ning only has enough troops to defeat the Xi family, he is worried that if the army moves, the Sheng family will take advantage of it."

"Didn't you ask for an order from Shan Yu to prohibit the Sheng family from going south?"

"Haha, King Liang is joking. Chanyu wishes that the southeastern states are in chaos, so how can he prohibit the Sheng family from using force?"

"What does Prince Ning want me to do?"

"According to the original plan, send troops to force Huaizhou."

"Sign up in the east and attack in the west, so that the Sheng family can hold on to their strategy. How can Prince Ning take the opportunity to invade Jingzhou?"

"The plan of King Liang coincides with that of King Ning!"

"Hey, I know all about Brother Guo's tricks. You don't have to use them on me. Whoever's strategy is who's strategy is my strategy. I have no intention of fighting for it."

"I'm used to it." Guo Shifeng smiled.

"Let's not talk about whether I agree or not, but let's talk about what benefits Daliang can get? I used all the strength of the army, but it was just a decoy force, but it was King Ning who attacked the city and plundered the territory."

"Does King Liang think Shan Yu will let Dongdu go?"

Ma Wei snorted and didn't answer.

"Before the end of next year at the latest, the He Rong people must enter Luo and capture the eastern capital. Will King Liang surrender or defend to the death?"

"Why, Prince Ning dares to confront He Rongren?"

"The purpose of Shan Yu allowing King Ning to attack Jing was to see the two sides fighting. If King Ning wins a great victory, no matter how humble he appears, he will no longer be able to please Chan Yu. In today's world, anyone who attracts Chan Yu's hostility will Liang Wang is the biggest beneficiary.”

Ma Wei was speechless.

Guo Shifeng continued: "And King Ning's thoughts are only in the south of the Yangtze River. After capturing Jingzhou, he will go up the river, wipe out Yizhou, and use the danger of the river to deal with He Rong's cavalry. I can't guarantee what will happen ten years later. But for at least three to five years, King Ning will not be able to go north. If King Liang is willing, he can take the opportunity to grow stronger. "

"Brother Guo, there is no need to say any more. If we agree on a date, I will send troops to approach Huaizhou. As for the future affairs, you are a minister of King Ning, so there is no need for you to give me advice."

Guo Shifeng bowed deeply and said, "The King of Liang is both wise and brave. He really doesn't need any tricks from me."

"Where destiny lies, wisdom and bravery are all vassals. When will you return to Jiangdong?"

"I will send someone back to report to King Ning. If King Liang allows me, I will stay in Dongdu during this period and serve as an intermediary between the two kings."

Ma Wei did not object. He sat there and pondered for a moment, then said: "Where destiny lies, you and Prince Ning come from humble backgrounds and will not understand what destiny is. Maybe Xu Chu can understand."

Guo Shifeng just laughed. He really didn't understand and didn't feel the need to understand.