Plan to cut off the nine states

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The King of Xiangdong was anxious. He once went to capture the general with Huangfu Kai, and was appointed as the supervisor of the imperial army. Although he was not the commander-in-chief, his status was very high. In the central army tent, he could sit side by side with the two generals. But he knew that he did not have the emperor's trust.

As a result, the emperor was assassinated on the night before the imperial commander's personal expedition.

The situation of King Xiangdong did not improve, but instead became more and more anxious. Unfortunately, he was outside the city when the incident happened and had no chance to participate in the palace's decision-making. What's even more unfortunate is that the Queen Mother was promoted to the Queen Mother, and she was likely to be alone. Taking charge of power was the last thing he wanted to see.

An imperial decree came from the palace, the prince ascended the throne, and all the soldiers outside the city were ordered to stay where they were. No one was allowed to move without permission, especially not to enter the city.

Although the name "King of Eastern Hunan" was not mentioned, he felt that this imperial edict was written for him.

When Lou Chu and Qiao Zhisu arrived, King Xiangdong was restless in the tent. After receiving the notice, he immediately invited him to enter the tent.

The King of Xiangdong had met Lou Chu, but had never spoken to him before, so he couldn't tell which one he was. He was quite familiar with Qiao Zhisu. When they met, they shook hands and laughed, saying: "There is no false etiquette in the army. Come and sit down. Is this the general’s son? He is indeed a general.”

Qiao Zhisu insisted on saluting, and then introduced: "This is the seventeenth son of the general."

"Oh, Young Master Seventeen, very good, very good."

The King of Xiangdong obviously had no impression of Lou Chu. Qiao Zhisu added: "A few days ago, the Seventeenth Young Master just married the daughter of the King of Jibei."

"Oh——" King Xiangdong finally knew who this was, and his enthusiasm immediately dropped by four to five points.

After Qiao Zhisu and other guards withdrew, he said seriously: "The marriage of King Jibei's daughter is the emperor's strategy to appease the general. It is not sincere. Neither the general nor the Seventeenth Young Master took this marriage seriously."

Lou Chu also said: "On the day of the wedding, the King of Jibei claimed that the princess had escaped because he was hoping something would happen to the Lou family and wanted to leave a way out for his daughter."

The King of Xiangdong immediately understood what was going on, and his attitude was serious and enthusiastic. He said with a smile: "The King of Jibei is really a petty person. A married woman is a married woman. With the words of a matchmaker and the etiquette of marriage, you have to accept it. How can it be false?" What’s the point of getting married? I have admired the general for a long time and sincerely want to marry him. Is the young knight back? We can get married tomorrow.”

The King of Eastern Hunan forgot the rank of his future son-in-law, but only remembered that he was a knight-errant.

Although the twenty-third son of the Lou family was young, he already had an official position.

Qiao Zhisu followed suit and said: "Master Xiaoqi was left in Qinzhou together with other brothers."

"Well, the general is selfless and leaves his children and grandchildren in danger. How many people in the entire court can do this?"

The two of them chatted, while Lou Chu sat aside and could hardly get a word in.

After drinking the tea, Qiao Zhisu introduced the situation of the battle in Qinzhou and the general's tribute, and then gradually stopped talking.

King Xiangdong knew that there must be a reason for these two people to come, so he put down his tea cup and said, "Your Majesty was unfortunately killed, and the whole country mourned. The imperial court suddenly lost its backbone. The general came back just in time, so why was he stopped outside the city by the imperial court?"

Lou Chu stood up and said: "In the palace..."

"Sit down and say, we are a family, no need to be formal." King Xiangdong said politely, realizing that this seventeenth son was the representative of the general.

"I was with His Majesty when the incident occurred. I also went into the palace to protect the coffin. I just came out of the palace this morning."

"Really?" King Xiangdong immediately became interested, and his demeanor was different. He was polite and showed a little more respect.

Lou Chu recounted what he could, and finally said: "The eldest princess is now in charge of the palace, assisted by my brother, the general of the Chinese army, the king of Jibei and Shao Huangmen, and the empress dowager is just a cover."

King Xiangdong felt a little relieved and said with a smile: "It's hard for the Seventeenth Young Master to stay up all day and all night and come here to see this king. Since the general of the Chinese army is participating in politics in the palace, I think the general will have nothing to worry about."

Lou Chu said: "It's not worry-free, but there are big worries."

"How do you say this?"

"Jiaci, my brother, and my sister-in-law are all in the palace, but they can't let the general enter the city. It shows that the situation in the palace is out of balance and the Lou family is unstable."

"The eldest princess and King Jibei don't have any ill intentions towards your Lou family, right?"

"One thing is unfortunate. The prince entered the city this morning and succeeded to the throne in front of the coffin. Liang Shengzhi beside the new emperor is the grandson of Taifu Liang..."

"No need to say it, I understand." King Xiangdong knew the grudges between the Lou and Liang families very well, "What is the general's plan?"

Lou Chu stood up, took out his father's private seal, and presented it to King Xiangdong with both hands.

King Xiangdong took it in his hand and remained silent for a long time.

Qiao Zhisu smiled and said: "Your Highness, please forgive me, I... suffered a bump on the road and have a bad stomach..."

"Go ahead, the guards outside will show you the way."

Qiao Zhisu resigned, and King Xiangdong raised his head and asked, "What does this mean, General?"

"Tiancheng was built by the late emperor and left to his descendants. The general is loyal to the Zhang family and is willing to serve the virtuous as the leader."

King Xiangdong shook his head, "The prince has just ascended the throne, how can he say such unfaithful and unfilial words?"

"The prince was frightened in Qinzhou. His body was weak and he was seriously ill. He reluctantly returned to Beijing for fear of not being able to survive."

King Xiangdong stood up and sat down slowly, "Your Majesty, there are other princes."

"The world is about to be in chaos, and all your Majesty's sons are weak. Who can take on the big responsibility? If a young son is selected in the palace, there will be worries about his mother seizing power. If a mature man is selected -" Lou Chu stared into the eyes of King Xiangdong, "it must be King of Jibei."

"The King of Jibei is your Majesty's brother, so it is natural to choose him."

"If the King of Jibei succeeds, the Empress Dowager will become the Empress Dowager again, and she will not be able to give up her power even if she wants to. The King of Jibei is kind and filial, and has always obeyed the Queen Mother's words. How will Your Highness behave when he comes?"

The King of Xiangdong pondered for a moment, "The situation in the city is unclear, and this matter needs to be discussed in the long term."

"The situation must be unclear before there is an opportunity to take advantage of it. Once the situation becomes clear, who will King Xiangdong work with?"

King Xiangdong thought for a while, then suddenly smiled and said: "The general has so many sons, why did he send you here?"

"All brothers are in Qinzhou, third brother..."

"Seventeenth Young Master, there is no need to explain. You are born to the Princess of Wu. His Majesty summoned you to the palace. King Jibei married his daughter to you. This has already explained everything." King Xiangdong put the seal on the table and said, "Sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"When the general returns to Beijing, how many troops will he lead?"

"Five hundred powerful soldiers."

"Not enough." King Xiangdong frowned.

The number of five hundred is an exaggeration. He continued: "There are still 80,000 people in the Western Expedition Army in Tongguan. The general kept his children and grandchildren in the army in order to respond to his call in the future. Now messengers have been sent out, which lasted for as many as five days. In as little as three days, the army will reach the eastern capital."

“What about the rebellious river workers?”

"First settle the court, then level the rivers and lakes."

King Xiangdong thought again.

Lou Chi told a bunch of lies and stopped them in time to avoid arousing suspicion.

The general felt that the army of the Western Expedition was difficult to control, but in the eyes of outsiders, this problem did not exist. King Xiangdong said: "These three to five days are the most important. Even if the army of the Western Expedition arrives, I am afraid it will be unable to save the day."

"Everyone in the palace is busy fighting for power, and there will be chaos for two or three days. Even if someone wins early, there is still a forbidden army outside the city, which can determine the outcome."

"Here? The Forbidden Army?" King Xiangdong shook his head and smiled, "Although the Forbidden Army has tens of thousands of people, they only obey the emperor's orders. Even the two generals have no right to command. They are useless and useless."

"What if the emperor refuses to leave the city?"

The prince is young and frightened. Even if he recovers, he will probably not want to enter the military camp again.

"On that day, an important minister will be sent out to take charge of the army."

"This person must be from the clan."

King Xiangdong nodded.

"As the uncle of the Crown Prince, His Highness is called the Supervisor of the Army. Can he be given the position of being in charge of the Army?"

The King of Xiangdong shook his head helplessly, "If the emperor sends someone, it must be the King of Jibei. But - does the general have a way to make the generals of the Imperial Army obey orders?"

"The emperor's edict is in the hands of the general."

"What edict?"

"Before his death, His Majesty wrote a handwritten edict and passed it on to the Crown Prince. I got it and took it out of the city."

"The prince has succeeded to the throne, so the imperial edict is optional."

"No, there is an imperial edict, which is just and correct, but there is no imperial edict, which is expedient. Moreover, the imperial edict designates His Highness and the general as ministers who care about life."

The imperial edict was written by Shao Junqian, so of course he would not appoint a minister to take care of his life. Lou Chu was making nonsense again.

"The imperial edict may be of some use." King Xiangdong murmured.

"The general is on the alert and ready for action. I hope His Highness will make a decisive decision immediately."

"And King Yidu, he is the elder brother and I am the younger brother..."

"Although the world belongs to the Zhang family, a virtuous man lives in it. King Yidu has no reputation and lives in a palace in the city just to get drunk. Who among the ministers is willing to return?"

"Minister, how do the ministers of the DPRK feel?"

The King of Xiangdong was thoughtful, but Lou Chu could only continue to lie, "His Majesty was assassinated in a strange way, and Liang Shengzhi's return with the prince was also strange. Not too early, not too late, only half a night away. There were rumors in both the government and the public about whether there was something wrong with the Liang family. The heart of a minister.”

The King of Xiangdong hummed, "You and Mr. Qiao will stay here tonight, and we will discuss it tomorrow morning."

King Xiangdong also had close associates around him, so they had to discuss it. Lou Chu wanted to make a decision immediately, but he couldn't push it too hastily, so he had to say: "I hope Your Highness will think about it carefully. The general is sincere and all the members of the Lou family are used by Your Highness. "

King Xiangdong smiled and said: "The general has a good son. My son Huanyan also praised you in front of me. It's a pity..."

The King of Xiangdong didn't say it was a pity. He asked people to come in and take the Seventeenth Young Master to rest.

Qiao Zhisu was soon brought over, and the two ate together. Lou Chu was obviously very hungry, and after a few mouthfuls he couldn't eat anymore. Qiao Zhisu had a good appetite and ate his portion cleanly.

"Seventeenth Young Master, don't worry, King Xiangdong has been convinced."

"Why? I think King Xiangdong seems to be hesitant."

Qiao Zhisu smiled and said: "Please allow me to say a few words. The Seventeenth Young Master has too little experience. Words come from the mouths of lobbyists. The success or failure of things depends on the backers behind the lobbyists. The general is famous all over the world. He is especially respected by the King of Eastern Hunan, and he will definitely accept it if the young master comes to persuade him personally."

"But we won't have a final decision until tomorrow morning. I'm worried that someone from the palace will be sent out to take charge of the imperial army tonight."

"Well, the late emperor has done this kind of thing. When he heard that there was chaos outside the city, he came out overnight to appease and prevent a catastrophe. Maybe the Emperor of All Things can do the same, but today - no."

A day after the emperor's death, his name suddenly no longer had to be so taboo.

"All things, all things." Lou Chi also muttered twice, "No, I have to go to the city. Only by knowing the enemy and ourselves can we survive a hundred battles. Neither the King of Xiangdong nor the general can make up his mind unless we understand the situation in the palace."