Plan to cut off the nine states

Zhang Shiyu and the Queen fled outside the Great Wall. This matter has never been leaked. Only a few people knew about it. Princess Huanyan and the King of Jibei both sent their cronies to chase them. However, they were a step too late. By the time they chased them away, the Emperor had already communicated with He. Honorable people gather together.

The two envoys persuaded each other heartily, and the emperor was moved, but the queen was determined not to enter the fortress again. During the dispute between the two sides, the King of Jin arrived with his army and killed the emperor without saying a word, claiming that it was revenge for the strong-armed Shanyu. Zhang Geng was established as the new emperor of the Central Plains.

The King of Jin eliminated his rivals and did not anger the Chanyu's eldest wife. Instead, he gained trust. There were rumors outside the Great Wall that the eldest wife was going to marry the King of Jin and jointly support the establishment of a new Chanyu.

The King of Jin sent the envoys back to Yuyang and asked them to bring a message to Princess Huanyan, asking her to lead the ministers to meet the new emperor outside the Great Wall, and also sent back a human head. The envoys and everyone did not know what they meant. After seeing it, Princess Huanyan also No explanation was given.

After learning the news, the King of Jibei and his wife were devastated. Zhang Shiqing stayed behind to comfort his parents, but finally insisted on leaving despite opposition.

"They have lost their minds and want to avenge their brother. Huanyan refused to send troops. They actually... actually tried to take advantage of me again and wanted to marry me to Prince Ning in exchange for an army." Zhang Shiqing was grieved but also felt angry. "I said I'm already married. Whether they agree or not, they forced me to marry you in the first place. Now it's too late to regret it. So, I'm here."

Zhang Shiqing turned around and said, "This place is much smaller than I remembered."

"Because you've grown up."

"Don't make it sound like I was childish before." Zhang Shiqing stood there biting his lip and thinking for a while, then asked, "Are we going to live here forever?"

"As long as no one kicks us out."

"You don't travel anymore?"

"I have traveled to eight of the nine states in the world, and there is only one left, Wuzhou. It doesn't matter if I don't go there. I have done everything I should and can do, and I just want to stay in this valley, cutting grass and studying. "

"Is there another drastic change in the world situation?"

"There is nothing I can do, so I have to go with the flow and survive if I can. If not, I have to accept my fate."

Zhang Shiqing frowned slightly, "I don't like your dejection."

"I no longer care about the general situation, but I must do everything possible to save the lives of everyone in the valley."

Zhang Shiqing smiled and said: "That's true. Alas, I can't control things that you can't control, and I can't control them. Huanyan still refuses to give up, but... let her go. Did you just say that you wanted to stay in the valley to cut grass and study?"

"yes."

"Okay, let's start with mowing the grass. We defeated them once, and the advantage is on our side." Zhang Shiqing turned around and left the house, and soon came back, asking doubtfully: "That kid..."

"Mawei's son is entrusted to me to take care of."

"oh."

Zhang Shiqing brought four maids. They were all female soldiers in the Incarnation Army. They followed the princess from Qinzhou and never left. There were also three maids and seven palace servants, all of whom were over forty years old. They were originally The fleeing people were not very adaptable to the life in the palace, but they were chosen by the princess and followed.

The population in the valley suddenly increased greatly, with more than 20 men and women. Zhang Shiqing no longer thought about the death of his brother. Early the next morning, he led everyone to weed and repair houses. Everyone except Ma Shi, who was too young, had to participate, and even Xu Chu could not Stay out of the action, put on short clothes, and mow the grass with everyone else.

The last time weeding was just for fun, this time Zhang Shiqing treated it as a battle. He visited everywhere to check the grass situation, then attacked the main general first, then eliminated the remaining soldiers, burned to destroy the roots, dug trenches to block the enemy, and commanded with determination. Everyone in the valley admired him. They say she has the air of a general.

Suddenly, more than a month later, the valley was completely new. It was too late to plant grains, but a row of green vegetables had sprouted and was growing gratifyingly.

One afternoon in early autumn, someone from Yecheng came to visit again.

Feng Juniang sent a lot of food and grass, and was very surprised when she saw the scene in the valley, "They all say that the Siguo Valley has become deserted, how come it is more tidy than before?"

Zhang Shiqing smiled and said, "It's all my credit... No, no, it's everyone's credit, but I'll assign them to you. How do you feel about Sister Feng?"

Feng Juniang smiled and said: "Yes, I never thought that the little princess is also a good housewife."

Zhang Shiqing's face turned red, "I started talking nonsense as soon as I came here." After saying that, she left the house. She was very busy every day and had many things to do.

Feng Juniang looked at Xu Chu, "The little princess is not considerate of her husband, she has exhausted the young master like this."

Xu Chu was tanned quite a bit, and only three to four points of his bookishness remained. He smiled and said, "But I eat well and sleep soundly, so I don't feel too tired."

"I'm sure I'll be well fed and sleep soundly, right?"

Xu Chu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "As expected, you started talking nonsense as soon as you came here."

"The King of Jibei has never forgotten that he still wants to marry the little princess to a certain hero and borrow troops to avenge the emperor. Isn't the young master worried?"

"How can you be anxious about something like this? Besides..."

"Young master, there is no need to say anything. Leave this matter to me."

"What do you want?" Xu Chu asked warily.

However, Feng Juniang refused to answer, and instead said, "I came here under orders to let the young master know that King Ning led his army to the north, claiming to have 300,000 troops."

Xu Chu breathed out gently and murmured: "Finally."

Feng Juniang smiled and said: "The princess said that the young master intends to lure Prince Ning north. I still don't believe it. It turns out it is true."

"Even so, Princess Huanyan still wants to stick to Yecheng?"

"Not only Yecheng, the Jizhou army has advanced to Mengjin, and they are going to fight King Ning along the river. I came to visit this time to ask the young master for advice."

Xu Chu shook his head, "Princess Huanyan can think of all the strategies I can think of. To repel the Ning army, whether it is difficult or easy, it all depends on the use of people and the general situation."

"Even so, I still want to listen to Young Master's opinion."

Xu Chu was silent for a while, "Why don't you tell me Princess Huanyan's plan first? If I have other ideas, I will tell you."

"Young master, it's easy, okay. Well... it's actually simple. The princess has been prepared for a long time. First, she defied everyone's opinions and gave Jinyang to Bao Dun, and formed an alliance with him to resist King Ning."

"What Bao Dun cares about most is his hometown of Runan."

Feng Juniang said with a smile: "Luo Hanqi was a reckless man and did the imperial court a great favor. After he withdrew his troops from Yecheng, he was extremely angry. He put all the blame on Bao Dun and sent troops directly to Runan without asking King Ning for instructions. Massacre the city. When the news came, Bao Dun immediately declared his rebellion against Ning and was willing to submit to the imperial court. "

"Please continue."

"Ning's army was powerful. The princess said that Bao Dun was not enough, so she sent people to Huaizhou to persuade the Sheng family."

"Princess Huanyan has wanted to form an alliance with the Sheng family not once or twice. She even married the daughter of the Emperor of All Things, but without success."

"Indeed, the Sheng family is extremely unreliable, and it is the same this time, but the Sheng family is very afraid of being annexed by King Ning. They can at least send troops to harass Jiangdong so that King Ning cannot go north with all his strength."

Xu Chu thought for a while and said, "There is no better strategy than this."

"Young Master, what do you think there is a chance of winning?"

"Want to see."

"What are you looking at?"

"Let's see how Princess Huanyan handles the internal troubles in the court."

Feng Juniang sighed softly, "The young master and the princess are really in tune with each other. They think of the same thing, that is, internal troubles are a headache. The court lacks an emperor, and the King of Jibei is suitable. However, the ministers disagree, saying that there is no son to succeed the father. It makes sense, at least they must be of the same generation. But the one outside the wall cannot admit that the King of Jibei has no heirs, and the emperor does not have any sons left, but the only one left is the wrong generation. The princess had an elder brother who died young and left behind a son who is seven years old and of the same generation as Emperor Daxing. The ministers agreed and the King of Jibei had no objection, but the princess refused to nod. "

"Because of King Xiangdong."

"Well, the King of Xiangdong is still in the hands of King Ning. Although the princess cannot ruin the national affairs due to family affairs, she said that once a new emperor is established, King Xiangdong will be the emperor's grandfather, which will become a further constraint for the court, so she decided to postpone the selection of a new emperor. , still governing affairs in the name of Emperor Daxing.”

Xu Chu was silent.

Feng Juniang said: "Young master, do you think it's inappropriate?"

"Princess Huanyan is right, but... there is no better choice. What's going on outside the wall? It is said that King Jin sent a human head?"

"This matter... I can't say anything about it."

"Actually, it was sent by Shanyu's eldest wife, right?"

"It turns out that the young master has guessed it, so there is nothing to hide. King Jin is still smart. After arriving outside the Great Wall, he quickly found out the confidants of the princess who had been placed in He Rong's tribe, killed them with one knife, and sent their heads back. But it was only That's all. The King of Jin is busy quelling the chaos outside the wall. The princess said that unless there is another chaos in the Central Plains, he will most likely not enter the wall. "

"Princess Huanyan has made careful arrangements. Although the chance of winning is not 10%, it is still 60-70%. However, this battle will take a long time. Neither Bao Dun nor the Sheng family are trustworthy."

"Just take it one step at a time. Master, do you have anything to add?"

Xu Chu shook his head.

Feng Juniang was a little disappointed, "Young master really doesn't care about other people's business."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "I really don't have any better ideas."

Feng Juniang said goodbye and did not leave immediately. Instead, she found Zhang Shiqing and whispered to her for a long time.

That night, Zhang Shiqing sent someone to invite Xu Chu to his room - the two of them lived in the same room, and they could just go out and take a turn.

There were candles lit in the room. Zhang Shiqing put on new clothes and said, "Sister Feng said that we have to be a real couple to get rid of my father's thoughts..."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "Mrs. Tian's visit is not all nonsense."

Zhang Shiqing snorted softly and said, "Sister Feng said she didn't persuade you to come up with your idea. Now I believe you 70%."

"Only 70%?"

Zhang Shiqing smiled and nodded, "Only 70%."

Xu Chu blew out the candles and no longer cared about such trivial matters.

Autumn turned to winter, and then spring came again. As expected, the war reached a stalemate. The Ning army once attacked the gates of Yecheng and quickly retreated. Siguo Valley was not affected. Apart from that, there was very little news. All the heroes in the world Who rises and falls, who is strong and who is weak, no one in the valley knows.

One evening in early summer, Siguo Valley welcomed an unexpected guest, who wanted to see Ma Jin by name.

Ma Jin went out of the valley to meet the guests, and soon returned alone, delivering a letter to Xu Chu's room.

Xu Chuzheng taught Ma Shi how to read, took the letter, read it over, and returned it to Ma Jin, "Return the original letter."

"General Song is about to rise. Mr. Xu is really not tempted?"

"I have done too many conspiracies, harmed countless people, and have an ominous character. It would be best for General Song not to use me."

Ma Jin waited for a while, "I have to go back."

Xu Chu stood up and held his hands, "Brother Ma, take care."

Ma Jin glanced at Ma Shi, who was still trying to trace the words, and felt reluctant to give up, but he lowered his hands and turned away without saying a word.

Xu Chu sat down and continued to teach Ma Shi how to hold a pen, his heart still.

(This volume is over. The last volume will be released tomorrow. It won’t be long.)