Plan to cut off the nine states

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Jinyang suddenly became lively, and there was a constant stream of people from all over the place. Some rode in Chinese carriages, rampaged through the streets, and stopped at the gate of the government. They had to wait until someone came out to invite them before they got off the car. More people rode donkeys and walked on foot. Come, stay in the inn, and ask each other if anyone has acquaintances that they can recommend.

The people of Jinyang were happy at first. There were more people and more business, which was not a bad thing after all. Then they were puzzled. Apart from eating and drinking, these people did not do business at all. They only talked about accommodation and rent for half an hour every day. Nagging, annoying.

Slowly, the people in the city understood that this was not an ordinary bustle, but that the high-ranking officials were planning to do something big.

Most of the people knew it and kept it tacit, because they had long learned from the refugees in Qinzhou that the rebels in Qinzhou might cross the river and rush to the other side at any time. It is always good for the government to be prepared, even if this happens Preparation may end up leading in another direction.

After the news of the assassination of Emperor Wanwu came, Jinyang closed the city gates and strictly censored it. Only locals could enter and exit, and outsiders were not allowed to enter the city.

When Xu Chu arrived at Jinyang on a skinny horse, he encountered this situation. No matter how he explained, he could not enter the city, nor could he show official documents. The soldiers even refused to report to Master Shen on his behalf. The next sentence: "Everyone wants to see the Fifth Young Master, you go and line up first."

Xu Chu wondered, since the Shen family had different aspirations, why did they keep people out of the city gate? This is not like the usual "recruitment" before the army was launched.

A few days ago, he caught Lot'er who was moving troops. Ning Bao'er didn't give the two a chance to discuss. He ordered people to put Xu Chu on horseback, gave him a handful of copper coins and jewelry, and said: "Go back quickly."

A trace of despair flashed in Ma Wei's eyes. Xu Chu didn't have time to offer comfort, and the horse jumped out. Ma Wei shouted from behind, and he turned back. Ma Wei handed over an official document and said, "Maybe it will be useful."

The two said goodbye. The official document from Luoyang Yin was invalid in Mengjin, and it could still be recognized by the government after entering Hedong. Xu Chu found the road, asked for directions, and arrived in Jinyang five days later. He was tired and exhausted, and he was in a calm mood. At least he was still alive. There are ten days to call for reinforcements.

I didn’t expect that I would be turned away even before I entered the city.

Xu Chu had to find an inn to check in first. He still had some money left. If he cleared the situation, he should be able to find someone to inform the city.

In order to save money, he deliberately found a small inn, but he was rejected again. The innkeeper seemed to be an honest man. When he saw the guests coming in, he shook his head and said, "We don't accept guests here."

"Isn't this an inn?" Xu Chu thought that his shabby clothes had caused misunderstanding, so he reached into his arms to pay.

The shopkeeper still shook his head, "Are you from outside? Go to Xiaorongzhuang, they don't charge money there."

"No money?"

"Yes, free food and free accommodation. All the outsiders are there. You just arrived, right?"

The people of Jinyang have a special way of hospitality. Xu Chu inquired about the location of Xiaorong Village, said goodbye, and led the thin horse back to the city.

Xiaorongzhuang is not far from Jinyang City, but it has to turn from the official road to a small road. Xu Chu inquired all the way and rushed to this place where free food and accommodation were allowed before dark.

Xiaorong Village belongs to a local wealthy businessman. After the order was issued to prohibit outsiders from entering the city, he brought all the trapped people to the village, fed them with good wine and meat, and had a kind attitude, but did not mention a word about the reason.

Xu Chu met two fellow travelers on the road. They had just arrived and came from Jizhou. They saw that although Xu Chu's clothes were torn, he was leading a horse and his appearance was extraordinary. So they took the initiative to chat and exchanged names. situation.

"Shen Mushou refused to enter the capital. I thought he had great ambitions. He packed up his things and came to join us. He didn't even have to pay for the return journey. Who knew he couldn't even enter the city."

"Don't worry, this Xiaorongzhuang is supposed to be instructed by the Shen family to accept guests from all over the world. After the city is safe, the Shen family father and son will definitely come out of the city to welcome you and treat you and me as honored guests."

After listening for a while, Xu Chu asked, "Why did you two rush from Jizhou to Bingzhou?"

A scholar looked at him askance, "Do you want to say that we have no one in Jizhou?"

"I don't dare, I'm just curious."

"Jizhou has produced numerous talents since ancient times. The two of us can probably be ranked in the top ten. Unfortunately, although Jizhou has talents, there are no heroes. Huangfu and his son were first deceived into the Eastern Capital, and then trapped in Qinzhou. The whole state was leaderless, Liang Liang There are so many birds that we can only look for good trees.”

"Brother Xu came from Dongdu. It should be easier to see that the building is about to collapse there."

"Yes." Xu Chu said with a smile, "How did the two gentlemen know each other in Jizhou?"

The two of them gave in for a while, and one of them said: "A few months ago, I looked up at the sky and saw a comet sweeping across the throne of the emperor. I foresaw that the emperor of all things would never have a happy ending. From now on, the emperor's young ministers would be strong, which would lead to great chaos. I also saw that there was often a red light in the northern sky. , has been going on for several days, and has long heard that Shen Bingzhou is close to scholars and is good at caring for the people, so he follows the weather and rushes to join him. "

Another person said: "I am not good at celestial phenomena, but I am good at observing human affairs. The Emperor of All Things wants to go on an expedition to the He Rong tribe and recruit hundreds of thousands of people to transport food and build cities. Huangfu's name is Mu Shou, but he is also in charge of military affairs. A year ago I It can be seen that the imperial court made a mistake. It is a big taboo for border ministers to support troops. Victory will lead to arrogance, and defeat will lead to danger. Whether arrogant or dangerous, it is easy to have dissatisfaction. "

"Huangfu and his son are already trapped in Qinzhou." Xu Chu reminded.

The scholar laughed and said, "Soldiers, civilians, cities, and food are all sufficient, which is like a fire starter. With Huangfu Kai, it may be suppressed for one or two years. Without him, there will be chaos within a few months, even more chaotic than Qinzhou. I came to Bingzhou to seek refuge, but those tribesmen laughed at me for worrying about the future. Alas, if you see the small but not the big, the disaster is not far away."

The two asked Xu Chu again.

"The new emperor ascended the throne, but he did not think about correcting his mistakes, but became more militaristic. Therefore, I think the world will be in chaos."

The two scholars laughed and did not ask any more questions. Obviously, they felt that this person's vision was not worthy of themselves.

Talking all the way, they soon arrived at Xiaorongzhuang.

The village was already familiar with the routine. A steward led the farmhands to guard the gate. When they saw the guests, they first invited them to the thatched hall to serve tea, and said a few polite words, asking them who they were going to, who they knew, and whether they had any referrals.

The two scholars had been taught by the famous scholar Fan for a year. The steward immediately held the tea with both hands and was more polite.

"I have met Mr. Shen Wu several times in Dongdu, and I came here on invitation." Xu Chu replied. Shen Dan had indeed invited him.

The steward said "oh", but he didn't take it seriously. When the rooms were allocated later, all the scholars in Jizhou had to go to the rooms, but Xu Chu was sent to the thatched house on the other side. The steward apologized in a general way, saying that there were not enough rooms.

Xu Chu originally wanted to contact Shen Dan through the steward, but now he had to find another way. He was confused and didn't understand what tricks the Shen family was playing.

The thatched house was located on the edge of the manor. There were 20 to 30 rooms in two rows. It was cold and damp, and the quilt was thin. Xu Chu had been walking for several days and had no choice but to fall asleep.

When he woke up, it was already bright outside. Someone shouted "Dinner is ready". Xu Chu got up, rubbed his face, put on his clothes and shoes and went out of the house.

The sun was shining outside, and the autumn wind was refreshing. It was quite comfortable to blow on the body, and it made the thatched house behind him look like a kiln that had not been used for many years. There was a solitary thatched hall in front of them, with pillars but no walls on all sides. There was a long table in the middle, with benches on both sides. Two farmhands were guarding two wooden barrels, distributing rice and dishes to everyone.

People came out of the thatched house one after another, half of them dressed as scholars, the other half were businessmen or farmers, there was also a monk, and several people whose identities could not be seen.

No one could tell the origin of the person walking in front. He looked like an officer in plain clothes, or a bodyguard guarding the house. He muttered something in his mouth, walked into the thatched hall to take a look at the food, and said angrily: "What the hell? The Shen family uses this kind of pig food to entertain the heroes of the world?"

The farmhand served the rice and dishes while laughing: "This is the Zhou family, not the Shen family."

The man sat down, picked up the chopsticks and ate with big mouthfuls, but did not forget to refute, "Do you think I don't know? The Zhou family is the son-in-law of the Shen family. The two families wear the same pants and do the same thing."

The farmhand had been instructed long ago, so he did not argue and distributed food to the latecomers.

A bowl of coarse millet, a few pieces of boiled vegetable leaves, with some oil spots on them. If you are lucky, you can pick up a piece of meat, but if you look carefully, it may be a small insect.

Some people ate quietly, while others complained while eating. Xu Chu listened for a while and found that these people knew Shen Dan. He thought he would be treated well after coming, but in the end he was not as good as ordinary guests.

"Wait one more day, and I'll leave." A scholar stood up generously, having eaten all the food in his bowl, but still only half full. "The world is vast, and there are many heroes. Where can't we stay?"

Someone laughed and said, "Mr. Song, tell me where we can stay?"

The scholar surnamed Song said loudly, "We can go anywhere. There are still hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers in Dongdu. They can go to General Lou Wen and become his guests. Jizhou has no master, so I can use my eloquence to find a state master. Even in Qinzhou, heroes gather and heroes gather, but they lack a strategist..."

Everyone laughed and refuted. Mr. Song was outnumbered, so he sat down slowly and looked into the bucket, "Another bowl."

The farmhand did not participate in the argument, but only watched the food and laughed, "Just one bowl, no more."

"There is still more in the bucket."

"There are still a few people who haven't come yet."

"If you don't come, you don't want to eat. Are you waiting for someone to send it over?" Mr. Song was a guest after all, so he didn't insist on adding more rice.

After finishing his meal, Xu Chu got up and left the hall, feeling a little disappointed. He thought that all the heroes in the world would return to Bingzhou, but he didn't see any. Perhaps the real heroes were invited into the city?

Xu Chu always thought highly of himself, but at this moment he felt a little anxious.

He didn't want to go back to the thatched house, so he strolled around the farm and went to see the skinny horse first. Seeing that it ate the same grass as other horses, he felt a little comforted. He stroked its neck and whispered, "Horses are divided into good and bad, and people are divided into high and low. You are much luckier than me."

Someone next to him interrupted and said, "You can tell whether a horse is good or low after galloping, and you can tell whether a person is high or low after encountering something. Why bother about a meal?"

Xu Chu was startled when he heard this, and turned his head to see a man walking towards him with a sword. He was tall and slender, and his sword was also slender. He was dressed like a scholar and a Taoist priest.

"Your Excellency is right. May I ask your name?"

"My surname is Tan, Tan Wuwei. I dare not teach the son of a great general."

"Do you recognize me?" Xu Chu was surprised again.

"I don't recognize you, but I can guess that you must be the Seventeenth Master Lou wanted by the court."

"I have changed my mother's surname to Xu Chu."

"Master Xu." Tan Wuwei bowed, "Master, don't worry. Master Shen Wu is quite scheming. Within three days, he will definitely ask for something and give you a valuable gift."