Plan to cut off the nine states

The King of Jibei fearfully took over the seal. When someone nearby shouted "Kneel down," he almost knelt down too. It was not until someone reminded him that he managed to stand firm.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to kneel."

The title "Your Majesty" was both familiar and unfamiliar. King Jibei's face turned pale and his body couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Ma Wei, who was watching the ceremony from a distance, remembered his predicament in Shan Yu's camp. He had no sympathy for the King of Jibei, but instead grew contempt for him, "Why did the Zhang family lose the world? It was not because of assassination, not because of years of famine, not because of all things." The emperor frequently raised troops and mobilized people, but it was because no one in the Zhang family could inherit the destiny."

Xu Chu smiled. He had just come back, just in time to catch up with this hasty enthronement.

"Tomorrow we will send troops, Pan Kai will guard the eastern capital, Bao Dun will attack Bingzhou, and I will conquer Jizhou myself." Ma Wei paused for a moment, "The King of Jibei will follow me north, and the King of Eastern Hunan will be sent to Xiangyang. Everything is as you said at the time."

Xu Chu cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations to King Liang, your chances of winning have increased by three points."

"What's the total score?"

"Six points."

Ma Wei laughed, and everyone who was kneeling to the "Emperor" turned their heads to look. King Jibei on the earth altar was also shocked. Ma Wei stopped speaking, and when everyone looked away, he whispered to Xu Chu: "Go Talk somewhere else.”

There was no one in the military tent, not even Gao Shengze came with him. Ma Wei put away the majesty of King Liang, poured two glasses of wine, and handed one to Xu Chu, "Your drinking capacity seems to have dropped a lot."

"I was injured once, and I didn't dare to drink too much after that." Xu Chu took the glass, took a sip, and nodded, indicating that he could drink.

"Injured by whom?" Ma Wei showed a bit of majesty.

"I was not careful." Xu Chu said with a smile.

Ma Wei walked around casually holding a wine glass, while Xu Chu stood where he was, following him with his eyes.

"You still think I only have a six-point chance of winning?"

"This is my truth."

"Six points is only a little more than five points - some advisers will use such rhetoric to shirk responsibility in advance."

"It is not up to the counselor to decide who is responsible, so why shirk it?"

"What's the difference? After all the personnel work, the chance of winning is still less than 90%? Or is it still He Rongren?"

"It's that January period."

Ma Wei smiled and said: "So that's it. Don't worry, I asked someone to do the math. Even if there is light snow within a month, it is still possible to pass. Besides, one month is only a rough estimate. If everything goes well, half a month will be enough."

Someone outside said: "The enthronement ceremony of Emperor Tiancheng has ended. Does Prince Liang want to see the emperor?"

Although the King of Jibei was just a puppet, Ma Wei still didn't want to see him and said to Xu Chu: "You have to go, you know him better."

"say something?"

"It's up to you, let him feel at ease, don't think wildly, let alone try to escape."

When Xu Chu was about to leave, Ma Wei said again: "Are you sure there won't be any accidents in Huaizhou?"

"The Sheng family firmly believes that King Liang and King Ning conspired to attack Huaihe. There should be no heavy troops in the north. They are 70% sure."

Ma Wei smiled and shook his head, "It's either 60% or 70%. Someone else wouldn't be happy with a statement like yours."

"I can be more casual with Prince Liang."

"Go." Ma Wei waved his hand and watched Xu Chu leave. The smile on his face gradually disappeared. Xu Chu came back as promised, behaved docilely and answered all questions. However, there were still some shortcomings. Ma Wei could not appreciate the friendship he had had for many years. I can't feel the friendship between the king and his ministers.

After King Jibei entered the tent and sat down, he was still trembling. When he heard the noise, he immediately shouted: "I am not the emperor, I... am you!"

The King of Jibei has been under house arrest and knows almost nothing about things outside the tent.

"It's me." Xu Chu moved a stool and sat opposite King Jibei.

Xu Chu did not address him as "Your Majesty" and did not salute. Instead, the King of Jibei felt a little relieved and asked: "When... did you arrive?"

"It's been a few days. I went to Huaizhou and just came back."

"Where did it come from?"

"It's quite a long way, from Yecheng to Yuyang, then through Bingzhou, staying in Qinzhou for a long time, heading south to Han and Yi, along the river to Jing, and north to Dongdu."

The King of Jibei opened his mouth to listen, "I have been in Dongdu. I have been out of the city for a few days...Is the emperor okay?"

"Which emperor?"

"Master Xu, don't make fun of me. To me, there is only one emperor."

"Emperor Shi Yu was brought to Qinzhou by Shan Yu. After capturing Xijing, he was allowed to return to Yuyang, saying that he would meet again in the next spring, but it is difficult to say that Shan Yu might call him there in advance."

The King of Jibei let out a sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on his face, "Chanyu treats the emperor well. He really regards the emperor as one of his own."

Xu Chu was stunned and said with a smile: "Well, Shan Yu often urged the emperor to give birth to a prince with the queen as soon as possible."

"The emperor and the empress are still young, but they are old enough to be parents. Alas, when Princess Huanyan advocated a marriage with Shan Yu, I was not very willing. Looking at it now, although Princess Huanyan is a female, But I have more foresight. Where is my daughter, Princess Fangde?"

"As far as I know, the princess is now in Yuyang. The empress dowager originally stayed in Yecheng and may have been taken to Yuyang. Princess Fangde - she is now Princess Fangde and was betrothed to Shanyu's cousin He Rong Ping Shan.”

"Kissing is a good thing. I've seen Pingshan, and he's a pretty good one..."

"Pingshan was executed by the Shanyu."

The King of Jibei was shocked, "My daughter has been implicated? She just got married, so she won't be involved in Shan Yu's family affairs, right?"

"Princess Fangde is not married. She fled on the way. It is said that she went to the border area between Qin and Liang. There is no news about her."

The King of Jibei was stunned for a while, and said angrily: "Shi Qing is really worrying. When I and the princess came to the country, I shouldn't have left her in Dongdu. I thought that with the care of the Empress Dowager, she would be able to learn well, but the result is that she is more and more arrogant and rude, and she doesn't care about the safety of her family. Alas, the emperor didn't always make trouble like her when he stayed in Dongdu."

Xu Chu listened quietly. The King of Jibei complained for a while, and suddenly remembered that Xu Chu should be his son-in-law. He said embarrassedly: "Mr. Xu's marriage with Shi Qing..."

"It has not been cancelled."

"Huh?"

"Princess Fangde is still my wife. At least I didn't write a divorce letter, and hers doesn't count."

The King of Jibei was very embarrassed and didn't dare to say anything more. He smiled for a while and said: "It's good that it hasn't been cancelled. In this way, you and I are still sons-in-law. son-in-law?"

"It depends on whether the King of Jibei recognizes that daughter and me as his son-in-law."

"Of course he does." The King of Jibei said immediately, only caring about the present, no matter what the Shanyu in the distance thinks, "That... Mr. Xu, tell me the truth, King Liang... what is King Liang's intention?"

"King Liang wants to send you back to Yecheng to be the emperor, and then summon Emperor Shiyu to pay homage."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

The King of Jibei's eyes were wet, and he almost cried out, "Wasn't King Liang going to kill me immediately?"

"If he makes you the emperor, how could he kill you?"

"I thought...I thought he wanted to kill the emperor as a sacrifice, so he temporarily took me as a filler."

Xu Chu stood up, "King Liang has no such plan, King Jibei, calm down, and talk about it when you get to Yecheng."

"What will happen when you get to Yecheng?" After the crisis was over, King Jibei began to worry about the future.

"I will do my best to ensure the safety of the King of the North."

"Son-in-law, I'm counting on you."

Xu Chu returned to the central army tent and saw that the King of Liang was discussing matters with several generals, so he stood aside, waited for a while, and waved to Gao Shengze.

Ma Wei also saw it and nodded, and Gao Shengze quietly walked up to Xu Chu.

"I want to see the King of Xiangdong."

"Hmm?" Gao Shengze looked unhappy.

Xu Chu did not explain, but just looked at the old eunuch.

Gao Shengze had to turn back and lean over to whisper to the King of Liang. He came back soon and whispered, "Follow me."

There were more guards in front of the King of Xiangdong's tent. Gao Shengze found an officer and whispered to Xu Chu to go in.

The King of Xiangdong was drinking alone. There was no food on the table, but he still drank one cup after another. When Xu Chu came in, he was trying to pour out the last drop of wine in the pot, "Bring more wine... Why is it you?"

"The King of Xiangdong is free."

"When people are free, their hearts are naturally free. Please sit down."

Xu Chu sat on the bed opposite.

"Are you the guest of King Liang, or a minister?"

"Guest."

"Well, can you get me some wine? King Liang's men are rather stingy."

Xu Chu got up and walked out of the tent. He found Gao Shengze still there, so he smiled and said, "It just so happens that General Manager Gao is still here. I need a pot of hot wine here, and the dishes can be as casual as you want. Three or four dishes will be enough."

Without waiting for Gao Shengze to speak, Xu Chu returned to the tent.

King Xiangdong smiled and said, "Is it useful?"

"Have hope, even if it is extravagant." Xu Chu sat down again, "I just came from King Jibei."

"Did he proclaim himself emperor?"

"He denies it himself."

"Hey, he still has some self-knowledge. He proclaimed himself emperor here. The most embarrassing thing is His Majesty and my daughter." Speaking of his daughter, King Xiangdong immediately looked depressed, "Huanyan can't support herself alone. Among the Zhang family, I can't find anyone to help her. Even I..."

A soldier came in, put down a pot of wine, two plates of pickles and bacon, said nothing, and turned away.

"Well, you are really the guest of King Liang." King Xiangdong poured the wine and took a big sip. "It's not a good wine, but it's better than the horse urine before."

Also trapped, King Xiangdong was more free and easy. He asked about his family and didn't mention the court. He only talked about food and weather. Instead, Xu Chu brought up business, "King Liang wants to send King Xiangdong to Xiangyang."

"Is Xiangyang also under King Liang?"

"No." Xu Chu roughly described the situation in Xiangyang. "The coalition forces were not doing well in the first battle. King Xiangdong was needed to take charge so as to summon more reinforcements."

"Hey, who still takes Zhang seriously now? King Jibei and I were trapped in the Eastern Capital. Even our own children didn't come to rescue us. How could we summon reinforcements? Chen Bingcai, I..."

Xu Chu winked, and King Xiangdong immediately realized that there were ears on the other side of the wall, and changed his words: "I have met a few times, but not I don't know him well, and it's extremely difficult to ask him to send more soldiers to Xiangyang. As for Xi Yun, he doesn't care about my life or death. "

"The soldiers guarding Xiangyang are not only the Chen and Xi families, but also many heroes in Jingzhou. They are the ones who urged the King of Xiangdong to go there."

"Hey, here I am a puppet of one person, and there I am a puppet of many people. What's the difference?"

"If you can reconcile the heroes and defend Xiangyang together, it will be a great achievement."

"Haha, Master Xu thinks too simply. As you said, the Bingzhou army is behind He Rong's army. How can Xiangyang be defended? I'm just going there to die. Master Xu, there is no need to say more. I will die if I die. I have no choice. I accept my fate, but you want me to die happily, so forget it."

Xu Chu stood up and said goodbye. He bowed deeply before leaving. The King of Xiangdong nodded, indicating that he understood what he meant.