Plan to cut off the nine states

The coronation ceremony was hasty and deserted. The eunuch Gao Shengze presided over the ceremony. More than 20 guards stood on both sides, and more than ten eunuchs successively presented crowns, court robes and other items.

There were only five spectators, three military generals, two scholars, one of whom was Xu Chu.

Ma Wei had a dignified face, and he performed every step very seriously, as if he had practiced it many times.

The last step was for all the ministers to kneel down and shout "Long live the emperor". Xu Chu followed suit and knelt down and shouted, but there were too few people to form a "mountain of shouts".

The whole ceremony took less than half an hour. The most excited person was not Ma Wei, but Gao Shengze, who knelt on the ground and called "Your Majesty" and said many words of praise.

Ma Wei happily accepted it, then entered the back hall and quickly sent someone to call Xu Chu in.

"Your Majesty." Xu Chu praised. At this moment, he was willing to meet all of Ma Wei's wishes.

Ma Wei had changed into casual clothes and placed the crown and other items on a human-shaped hanger. He stood opposite to admire them, turned his head and smiled at Xu Chu: "Each piece is made according to the Daliang legacy. I personally supervised it. Look at these beads. Half of them are really from the Liang crown."

"No one else can make it."

"Of course, no one else is as familiar with the Daliang system as I am. I know you are laughing in your heart, but I am still happy. This is my dream and everything I have."

"Everyone has their own aspirations. I won't laugh at Brother Ma's claiming to the throne."

Ma Wei didn't notice that he had become "Brother Ma" again, and laughed "Of course, if we talk about the unbelievable, the biggest joke is that you didn't become the King of Wu."

Xu Chu nodded in agreement, "Some people did laugh at me in person."

"I want to laugh at you in person." Ma Wei's face was filled with an unusual smile, "You are known for your wisdom, but you made a mistake in the biggest matter. Do you know how many people were willing to serve you as the emperor when you defended Dongdu? You abandoned them all and left a mess. What was the result? You didn't get any good results. The heroes of Dongdu were killed one after another, and only Ning Baoguan, who you hated the most, became stronger and stronger."

Xu Chu just nodded.

The smile on Ma Wei's face gradually disappeared. "I gave Ning Baoguan the name. He is not a real hero, but a ruthless robber. Remember? Not long after we first met, he killed a group of people just to prevent the news from leaking out."

"Remember."

"We should have seen what kind of person he was at that time...but you still let him go in Dongdu."

"That was my fault." Xu Chu admitted, paused and said, "It may be the biggest mistake of my life, so you should know that I am not worthy of being a king or an emperor."

"Don't emperors make mistakes? You make up for your own mistakes. You actually lack courage." Ma Wei said proudly, chuckled, "After all, you are only the grandson of Emperor Wu, inheriting the blood of the Lou family. Like the general, you lack the most important confidence."

"That's right." Xu Chu still didn't refute.

Ma Wei stared at Xu Chu, and the more he looked, the more annoyed he became, "Do you think I'm dead? You don't even want to tell the truth."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Brother Ma, do you want to hear the truth?"

"Watch your words." Ma Wei reminded, and this time he didn't ignore the address.

"Your Majesty wants to hear the truth?" Xu Chu changed his words.

Ma Wei thought for a while, "You go, leave now."

"Who will your Majesty leave Yecheng to?"

"This is the truth I don't want to hear. Step down, this is me... This is my will." Ma Wei raised his head and said.

Xu Chu bowed and left.

Outside the palace, Gao Shengze was wiping tears. When he saw Xu Chu, he immediately wiped his tears away, "Mr. Xu is so lucky to see such a great ceremony."

Xu Chu smiled slightly, did not respond, and walked away.

Gao Shengze did not restrain himself, raised his voice, as if he was shouting to thousands of people, "Great ceremony! Unprecedented in a hundred generations! Emperor Liang will rise again! The world will be unified..."

Xu Chu returned to his residence, feeling indescribable pain, but he was powerless.

He did not plan to leave Yecheng immediately, but planned to wait for another day. Perhaps after experiencing this absurd enthronement, Ma Wei would be able to sober up a little.

Just after nightfall, Gao Shengze came in person to invite, "Emperor Liang" wanted to summon Xu Chu again.

Ma Wei changed his attitude and stopped being sarcastic. He rarely called all his children to his side, pointed to his eldest son who was less than ten years old and smiled: "This is my prince of Daliang."

"Your Highness." Xu Chu bowed.

The "prince" did not seem to understand that his identity had changed. He stood stiffly beside his father, a little at a loss.

"He is still young and has not seen much of the world." Ma Wei explained on his behalf, "He needs a wise teacher to teach him. Brother Chu is the most suitable, but you will definitely not be willing. Are you willing to recommend one?"

The name "Brother Chu" was intimate and unfamiliar. Xu Chu replied: "Fei Bing is worthy of being the emperor's teacher."

"Well, the recommendation is good. Fei Bing's uprightness is just right for the prince's gentleness. If I lead the army to go to war and leave the prince to guard the capital, Fei Bing is also trustworthy. But I am alone after all, do you have any generals to choose from?"

Ma Wei was not awake, as if he was in an absurd dream. As the situation deepened, Xu Chu began to feel uneasy, but he still said in accordance with his heart: "Among the people I have seen, Bingzhou Tan Wuwei is the most capable, Yizhou Tie brothers can be his deputy, and Qinzhou Tang Weitian is the bravest in the world."

Ma Wei nodded repeatedly, "I have heard of these people. Except for Tan Wuwei, the others are rare generals, but brother Chu has always had a good eye. Tan Wuwei must have something outstanding. Why didn't the King of Jin use him?"

"The King of Jin knows Tan Wuwei's talent, but he has not been able to open up the situation and has no place to use General Tan."

"Ha, he can't even handle things on his own, let alone appoint others? It is said that the King of Jin fled to the border?"

"This is true."

"He will never come back. People like the King of Jin can only take off with the wind. Once they fall, they can no longer flap their wings."

Xu Chu glanced at the youngest child and saw that he was hugging one of his sister's legs, looking tired, so he said: "Let the children rest."

"The descendants of the Ma family, regardless of gender, must learn the art of ** kingship from an early age. You and I will discuss the general situation of the world. Such a good opportunity, they can't miss it."

The two older children immediately straightened up and pulled their younger brother and sister's hands. The "Prince" said: "We want to stay."

Ma Wei nodded with relief, and then said to Xu Chu said, "It's not enough to have military generals, we also need civil officials to assist. In addition to Fei Bing, do you have any recommendations?"

"Tiancheng still has many old officials, and there are quite a few people who can be used, but I don't know much about them."

"Can you recommend new people?"

"Fan Bi's disciples are good."

"Brother Chu values ​​the friendship of fellow students."

"Recruit the virtuous regardless of relatives."

"Haha, give me a few names."

"Yan Wei, Yu Zhan, An Zhongqian."

Ma Wei nodded, "With both civil and military, Daliang can pacify the world. Brother Chu, where do you think we should start?"

"First seize Jizhou."

"Jizhou has long surrendered to Daliang."

"Go south to Huaizhou."

"Why not go west to Bingzhou?"

"Bing and Qin are in chaos. It is easy to gain them, but very difficult to defend them. Liang If the army is divided into several parts to defend, it will be weak everywhere, and it will be useless to defend a few cities. "

"Well, that makes sense. But won't there be these problems when we go south to Huaizhou?"

"Although the Sheng family in Huaizhou has suffered a series of defeats in recent years, the state has not been affected by war and the people are prosperous. The Sheng family does not trust outsiders, and they are strong on the outside but weak on the inside. We can defeat them in one fell swoop, get all their people and wealth, and the military strength will not only not decrease, but will increase greatly."

"I see, this plan is very good, what about the future?"

"Wait for the opportunity to act. If King Ning is strong, we might as well form an alliance with him and rule by dividing the river. If King Ning accepts, the Liang army can concentrate on pacifying the north, but in any case, we must first win the support of Yizhou in preparation for the future decisive battle between the north and the south. If King Ning does not accept, we can defend instead of attack, first gain a foothold in Huaizhou, and consume Ning Army's strength, and at the same time send people to the four directions to recruit heroes from all over the world. "

"How can we make all the heroes in the world submit to me?"

"'All the heroes in the world submit to me' is the idea of ​​King Ning. Brother Ma should do the opposite, allow the heroes in the world to be independent, enfeoff them as princes, and help them 'not submit' to King Ning. With the increase of one side and the decrease of the other, the Liang Army can eventually defeat the Ning Army. "

"If Daliang defeats the Ning Army, the heroes in the world will naturally submit. There is no need to rush at this time."

"That's what I mean."

"Good, very good. When the time comes, it must be Brother Chu who goes on a diplomatic mission to all directions."

Just as Xu Chu was about to answer, Lin hurried in from outside, without any greeting, and said directly: "Are you so cruel?"

"How can the queen be rude?" Ma Wei said coldly.

"Haha, Queen, I am the Queen now?" Lin was always gentle, but now she showed some cruelty, "How can I, a daughter of an ordinary family, be worthy of being the Queen of Daliang?"

"A mother is honored by her son. You are the biological mother of the prince, so you are worthy of being the Queen." Ma Wei looked at the "Prince" beside him with a smile on his face, and the "Prince" straightened his body even more.

Lin laughed angrily, "Crazy, I thought you still had some sanity... Give my children back to me, and you can go crazy alone."

"How can I hand over the children of the Ma family to you?" Ma Wei became stern.

"Come here." Lin said softly.

Only the youngest son was attached to his mother and walked over, while the others did not move. The "Prince" stepped forward to stop his younger brother and picked him up, "Listen to your father."

Lin was very disappointed, "Father will burn you to death together..."

The children all looked at their father.

Ma Wei's expression remained unchanged. "I am a descendant of the Liang emperor. I am blessed by my ancestors and admired by the people. I am invulnerable to fire and water, and I am immune to all kinds of attacks. Don't be afraid. Stay with me."

Xu Chu was shocked and turned around. It was pitch black outside the hall and he couldn't see anything. He ran to the door and saw Gao Shengze directing a group of eunuchs to pour oil on the firewood. There was no such firewood when he entered the hall.

Gao Shengze hurried over to stop Xu Chu, "Mr. Xu is your Majesty's best friend, he must accompany your Majesty, I will go in later, I will never live in vain."

Xu Chu did not have time to deal with the old eunuch, turned back to Ma Wei, "You don't have to do this."

Ma Wei cast his eyes on the clothes rack not far away, and said calmly: "I am the emperor, you are a commoner, it can be said that each of us has a good place."

Lin cried: "At least let the children go, so that the Ma family can have a successor..."

"The descendants of the Daliang emperor must not be reduced to the people and bullied by others." Ma Wei looked at his children and asked: "Are you afraid?"

The children did not understand the imminent danger, and said in unison: "No."

Lin burst into tears.

Xu Chu was furious.