Plan to cut off the nine states

"This is not a foolproof strategy." Xu Chu was silent for a long time before replying.

Ma Wei had been staring at Xu Chu with great interest, like a cat guarding a mouse hole. When he heard this answer, a smile appeared on his face, "Now that things have happened, it is no longer enough to be crowned king. This is the most effective way for heroes to gain mutual trust. If Zhang can marry Shanyu, he can naturally marry me a daughter. What's more, I don't propose marriage casually, but because I am interested in the princess's true talent and learning. But if she has a great career, she will devote herself to the Zhang family and work harder for her husband and children, right?"

Ma Wei already had wives and concubines, and even gave birth to several children, but these were not obstacles to him or any king who wanted to marry another wife. Xu Chu did not mention it, but just bowed his head and pondered.

Ma Wei waited for a while and then said with a smile: "Why, do you think I am not worthy of the princess? She will not agree to this marriage?"

"If Prince Liang sincerely proposes marriage, she will agree. That's what I'm worried about."

"Haha. Xu Chu, if you like the princess, just tell me. Maybe I can give her to you. The King of Xiangdong will not only have this daughter. I will marry someone else."

Of course Xu Chu understood that he had to pay allegiance to Prince Liang in exchange for Princess Huanyan, but this was not what he wanted and it was not a top priority. "Prince Liang must not get carried away."

Ma Wei's face darkened, "Don't push yourself too far. You really think you can speak freely in front of me."

Xu Chu cupped his hands and said: "The important matter has not yet been decided. It is not appropriate for the King of Liang to have another setback."

"Precisely because major events have yet to be decided, we need to use marriage to consolidate the mutual trust between the Zhang and Ma families. What's wrong with that?"

"The King of Liang left his wife and children in the eastern capital to stabilize the morale of the army and lure the enemy. He suddenly married another man in Yuyang to show his ruthlessness..."

"You really have nothing to say, and you actually found such an excuse." Ma Wei stood up and sighed, "Pan Kai is loyal to me and will never be shaken by such a trivial matter. In short, I have made up my mind. But I don’t want to use the situation to pressure others, so I ask you to be my lobbyist to save both parties from embarrassment.”

"Princess Huanyan has no choice, as long as Prince Liang is sincere..."

"I don't just want to marry her, I also want her to treat the Daliang Ma family as her own home, at least on an equal footing with the Zhang family. She trusts you, and you can make her understand this."

"Prince Liang is taking a big risk."

"From the moment we planned the assassination, I have been taking risks. Now this time, it is a small one for me. I will not lie to you, and I cannot hide my thoughts from you. Everything I do It's all about reviving Daliang, and revenge is secondary. Although the Zhang family is cruel and unethical, at least they didn't kill the Ma family. I will retaliate, and be more generous, and can retain the title of 'Emperor Cheng' and the land of the three counties. "

Ma Wei chuckled softly, "The princess cares about her reputation very much. Can I satisfy her with my concession? As for her, she never has to worry. I am Prince Liang and she is the princess. I am Prince Liang and she is the queen. ”

"Prince Liang underestimates Princess Huanyan, she..."

Ma Wei was a little impatient, "Xu Chu, don't let personal affairs affect your judgment. As a counselor, this is a taboo. You can say nothing or wait and see, but don't try to influence my decision."

Xu Chu sighed softly, "I am willing to be your lobbyist."

Ma Wei smiled again, "I will help you find Princess Fang De. If she is unfortunately killed, you can choose another daughter from the King of Ji Bei's family. Through the Zhang family, we are relatives, but -" Ma Wei laughed Even happier, "You are going to be a generation shorter than me."

"Princess Huanyan will definitely ask about the attack on Qin, how should I answer?"

This is no joke. Ma Wei pondered deeply. After a moment, he waved to the guards at the door to let them all go out. When there was no one else around, he said, "I want to borrow your 'best strategy'."

"Assist in defending Xiangyang?"

"Going out of the fortress is too whimsical. Attacking Qin will only scatter the forces of the heroes. It is better to work together to defend Xiangyang and firmly hold back He Rong's army there."

"How many troops does King Liang plan to send?"

"Twenty thousand people."

"Too little."

"Send 20,000 people first, and then decide according to the situation. I will send capable generals to lead the troops. I will go to Bingzhou to assist General Bao and try to occupy as many cities as possible in Bingzhou. Jizhou will be left to the princess - if we get married successfully, I hope she won’t make another mistake this time and let Jizhou fall into the hands of others.”

Ma Wei pushed Xu Chu out, "Think about it carefully. If you want the princess to marry into the Ma family willingly, you must do it first."

Xu Chu returned to the tent and sat down in a daze.

Chang Yan saw that the young master was restless, so he didn't bother him. He packed everything up and then said, "Is the King of Liang embarrassing the young master again?"

"He's making things difficult for himself."

"Um?"

Xu Chu didn't want to explain, so he lay down on his side.

Liang Jun's camp was not far from Yuyang. Early the next morning, Ma Wei set out with 1,100 people and marched slowly. He sent scouts from afar to check the situation to ensure that the same force came out of Yuyang and no ambush was set up.

The people from Yuyang arrived at Shiliting first. Xu Chu ordered a thousand people to stay on standby and galloped over with only a hundred guards.

Shili Pavilion has its name for nothing, but the pavilion has long been completely destroyed. The Yuyang people built a big tent on the roadside. Liang Jun soldiers checked and confirmed that it was safe. Ma Weicai took Xu Chu and two guards to enter the tent. Gao Shengze and others stayed outside.

The tent was covered with thick blankets. Emperor Zhang Shiyu was sitting on his knees in the east chamber, with a low table in front of him. Princess Huanyan was sitting at the back. She was dressed in palace attire, just like an ordinary palace maid, except that she had two or three more jewelry on her head. pieces.

When King Liang came in, Zhang Shiyu moved slightly, then quickly sat down again without getting up to greet him, and Princess Huanyan did not move either.

Ma Wei sat directly behind the short table in the west compartment, Xu Chu stood beside him, and the guards stood at the door, facing each other.

Among the people, Zhang Shiyu was the most nervous, his face changing. He tried several times to meet King Liang's gaze, but in the end he was defeated as soon as he raised his eyes. He was even more embarrassed than in front of Shan Yu.

Ma Wei smiled and said: "Is King Jibei okay?"

"Ah? Okay...very good." Zhang Shiyu replied.

"I hope the King of Jibei will not think that Liang Jun is rude."

"No, no, father... King Jibei is very grateful to King Liang for taking care of him... He has also gained a few pounds."

"Tiancheng originally came from Daliang, and now Daliang comes from Tiancheng. We can be considered close friends. Everything before was all a misunderstanding. I came to Jizhou to regain the lost land from the He Rong people, not to deliberately embarrass the Tiancheng court."

"Understood." Zhang Shiyu became increasingly restless.

"Are the two of us discussing it directly?"

Zhang Shiyu nodded and immediately changed his mind, "The princess is here to talk. Not long after I came back, she...she knows more about Yuyang's situation."

Princess Huanyan moved forward slightly and said: "Prince Liang..."

But Ma Wei raised his hand and said, "Princess, please discuss with my counselor. I recognize every word of his words."

Xu Chu nodded but did not speak.

Ma Wei stood up and said to Zhang Shiyu: "Your Majesty, do you want to go out and take a breath? I guess they will have to discuss it for a while, it will be very boring."

Zhang Shiyu was startled and turned to look at Princess Huanyan. After receiving the signal, he reluctantly stood up and said, "It's good to take a breath."

Xu Cugong made his move, and Zhang Shiyu squeezed out a smile. The two met again, but they had nothing to say.

The guards also followed out, and Princess Huanyan moved behind the short table, "What does Prince Liang mean by this?"

Xu Chu also moved down and said, "Let's get down to business first."

"Are you really taking refuge in Prince Liang?"

"I am the guest of King Liang."

Huanyan laughed softly, "The King of Liang must repel the He Rong tribe. Staying in Jizhou is just lingering, and it will be of no benefit to him or Tiancheng."

"The King of Liang is willing to send troops to help defend Xiangyang, and he will lead the troops to manage Bingzhou himself."

"Xiangyang is in danger, and the King of Liang is unwilling to go there in person. He wants to confront the He Rong people, not drive them out of the wall."

"The King of Liang believes that the time is not yet ripe to expel the He Rong tribe. It will be beneficial to both Liang and Chengdu to stabilize the situation for the time being."

Princess Huanyan thought for a moment, "I heard that you are coming from Xiangyang?"

"yes."

"From your perspective, can Xiangyang be defended?"

"It's extremely difficult, but Kyushu is in decline. If we don't resist, we will fall into a dead end. Although Xiangyang is difficult to defend, at least there are people who are willing to stand up."

"Who are there in Xiangyang now?"

"Chen Bingcai, the pastor of Hunan and Guangzhou..."

"Self-proclaimed pastor." Princess Huanyan corrected her.

"Self-proclaimed, but he led his army northward in the name of King Qin and refused to claim the title of king. He insisted on asking King Zhang to come and sit in charge and observe his words and deeds. He is still loyal to Tiancheng."

"It's rare, so you sent my father there?"

Xu Chu smiled and said, "I thought that was a better place."

"I want to thank you for this. If my father is still in Liang Wang's army, I'm afraid something might happen."

"In addition to the southern troops led by Chen Bancai, there is also a river navy and several independent teams, all of which are currently in Xiangyang."

"How many troops?"

"unknown."

"Who's in charge?"

"The Xi family was attacked by King Ning and had no time to take care of Xiangyang, so Chen Bingcai should be in charge."

Princess Huanyan thought for a while, "If there is still time, it would be a good idea to help defend Xiangyang, but King Liang must capture the entire territory of Bingzhou before he can return to Jizhou."

"Jizhou was originally stationed by Liang Jun. Do you still care whether King Liang will come back?"

"I'm not afraid that King Liang will go back on his word, but I'm afraid that as soon as he withdraws from Bingzhou, the He Rong people will take advantage of the opportunity and move in, and Jizhou will fall into a situation where there is no danger to defend."

"The King of Liang would also be very happy if he could seize the entire territory of Bingzhou, but he is worried that Jizhou will become a future trouble."

"He doesn't believe in the court?"

"You can't blame him, can you?"

"What does he want?"

Xu Chu was silent for a while, "The King of Liang wants to imitate Shan Yu and marry Tiancheng to gain trust."

Princess Huanyan frowned slightly and understood immediately, staring at Xu Chu closely, "He wants to marry me?"

Xu Chu nodded.

"And send you as a lobbyist?"

Xu Chu nodded again.

"And you agree?"

"What matters is whether the princess agrees or not."

"I have already been engaged to someone else. Although I have not yet gone to court, and although Lou Ji did not come back after going to Jiangdong, and my life and death are unknown, at least I am not waiting to be married."

"This is not a problem for Prince Liang, and it must not be a problem for the court..."

"Do you think I should agree?" Princess Huanyan showed a hint of ridicule.

"Prince Liang... Although many things have happened and many changes have taken place, Prince Liang is still my friend - I hope you let him go."