Plan to cut off the nine states

It was after three o'clock when Princess Huanyan appeared again. She came alone and knocked on the door gently. After the door opened, she smiled and said, "I see the light is still on."

"Please come in." Xu Chu stepped aside.

Princess Huanyan entered the room and did not sit in the main seat. She turned around and said, "I am here to apologize to Master Xu."

"Apologize?"

"Please forgive my previous misbehavior. I came here to ask for advice. Master Xu told me everything he knew, which was exactly what I needed. He should not have accused me, let alone been angry."

"Fortunately, I was not particularly scared." Xu Chu smiled, but a little disappointed flashed through his heart. Since he escaped from Dongdu, he and Princess Huanyan rarely met, but whether they were enemies or under her protection, they always had a sense of mutual appreciation and could understand each other's thoughts.

This feeling was suddenly interrupted, and when it was connected again, it was no longer so natural.

Princess Huanyan also smiled, "Early tomorrow morning, the princess and Princess Fangde will set out at the same time and place, one to Huaizhou in the south, and the other to He Rong in the north. The news that Yecheng has borrowed 100,000 soldiers will soon spread, and some people will be frightened and come to Yecheng to beg for forgiveness."

"It's a...strategy."

"The military strength of Yuyang has also increased. Although it is not much, there are only 7,000 people, which is not enough to go out of the city to meet the enemy, but it is enough to defend the city. As long as Yuyang stands in northern Hebei, no matter how many cavalry He Rong sends, they will not dare to act rashly. . "

"No one wants to be caught in a situation where they are attacked from all sides."

"I will forgive the Sheng family for this betrayal and share Luozhou with them. After this crisis is over, Zhang will exchange children with the Sheng family, and within a year, I will choose a husband from the children of the Sheng family."

"Is Lou Xiaoqi still alive?"

"The general once intended to murder my father. Just based on this point, the engagement can be cancelled."

The Huaizhou Sheng family openly betrayed and funded King Liang to detain the two kings, but they were forgiven and got more benefits.

Xu Chu nodded, "In this way, the Zhang and Sheng families will become one."

"The court will re-establish the position of prime minister, and the position will be vacant. When the Sheng family comes to Yecheng to accept the position, the two families will be truly united."

"Judging from the words and deeds of the Sheng family, they still have no ambition to become emperors. They should be satisfied with the position of prime minister."

"After stabilizing the Sheng family, Yecheng will propose to He Rong's army to attack Bingzhou. If He Rong's army agrees, it's great. If not, just ask them to leave Jizhou."

"He Rong's cavalry is not easy to deal with."

"Jizhou's cavalry is not in vain, and I don't want to completely break up with He Rong's army. I will secretly send orders to all cities and towns to cut off the supply of food and grass, close the city and defend it, and force He Rong's army to retreat to the outside of the Great Wall. After I pacify the nine states, I will let He Rong's army surrender."

"Although He Rong's army is strong, it is not a top priority." Xu Chu agreed.

"I accept the Jiangshi Army as my ally. As long as they are willing to help me conquer Bingzhou, the court will allow the Jiangshi Army to set up an altar in Xijing to worship Buddha. The theory of the Jiangshi will be established as a national learning, and the people of the world will learn it together."

"The Jiangshi Army hopes to be recognized and to have enough food. This is the reason for their rebellion."

"All the food and grass in Bingzhou belong to the Jiangshi Army. Yecheng only needs the city and the people. If it is not enough, there are Hanzhou and Jingzhou. Similarly, when the young king of the Jiangshi Army will definitely move to Yecheng, or settle in Dongdu, the two sides will be considered true allies."

"Well, this request is reasonable."

"There is no news from Yizhou and the southern scattered states for the time being. I will send envoys to announce the news of the new emperor's accession to the throne and promise local officials generous rewards and promotions."

"They will all be happy."

"Can the Zhang family regain the world?" Princess Huanyan asked.

Xu Chu asked her to sit down, and sat opposite her. After thinking for a long time, he said, "Have you ever thought about assisting others, such as other heroes?"

Princess Huanyan's face had always been gentle. When she heard this, a trace of anger flashed in her eyes, which quickly disappeared and she smiled again, "Do you still think that these are all bad strategies and are not enough to seize the world?"

"Indeed, they are all bad strategies, but they have nothing to do with strategies. No matter how hard the princess tries, she is just doing her duty as a minister. However, when heroes compete for the throne, people all choose wise leaders and follow them, but no one has ever chosen a 'wise minister'. The leaders are anxious and worried, and have set up a grand strategy for the nine states, but they have never thought about whether the new emperor they established is a wise leader?"

"You yourself also suggested to establish a new emperor early."

"Save one person, save a city, save a state, save the world... Each has its own tricks, but it is difficult to take care of them all. The princess asked the day before yesterday about saving a state, so a new emperor needs to be established urgently; the princess today The talk of the day is to save the world, so the problem is not to "establish a new emperor", but to "find a wise ruler". "

Princess Huanyan was silent, her expression became more and more serious, and after a while she said: "I can't be a wise ruler myself?"

"Can the princess be emperor?"

"Hey, not necessarily." Huanyan sighed. She didn't come here to talk big, so she shook her head, "No. But many people only recognize me, not others."

"I know. Who among the heroes doesn't have a group of loyal subordinates? But if you want to fight for the world, what you rely on is not only loyalty, but more importantly, the support of the people. A true wise ruler, even if he can't make the enemy surrender, must make the onlookers lean towards his side. Name and reality are one and the same in this matter. The princess can't get the name of "wise ruler", so naturally she can't get the reality. "

Princess Huanyan looked at Xu Chu twice, "Is this why you chose to abdicate?"

Xu Chu nodded slowly, "I foresee that the longer I rule as king, the more loyalty I will receive, but the more hatred I will receive. In the long run, sooner or later I will retreat to a city or a state, waiting to be destroyed by the 'wise master', and then leave behind a group of loyal subordinates. They may find ways to avenge me, or they may live in seclusion. Of course, there will always be a group of people who will defect to the new dynasty. I will leave a name and occupy a few lines of text in the history books, but this is not what I want. I hope to pacify the world, even if I am a minister or a slave, I hope I can contribute to 'pacification', rather than becoming the target of 'pacification'."

Huan Yan was silent He thought for a while longer, then stood up and said, "What you said makes sense, it is useful to you, but not to me. Zhang has pacified the world. The world was in chaos for more than 200 places. It was the previous emperor who rose up, destroyed the five kingdoms, and unified the nine states. I don't believe that people in the world are so forgetful that they don't miss Tiancheng at all. The longer the chaos lasts, the more the people will think of the Tiancheng Dynasty. Even if there is a cruel emperor, it will not be a dead end for everyone. Tiancheng is my "wise master", and it doesn't matter who becomes the emperor."

Xu Chu was silent, and suddenly remembered that it was Princess Huanyan who once told him that there must be people who can be persuaded first, and then there are words to persuade. This sentence is absolutely correct.

"But I still want to thank you. Honest advice is unpleasant to the ear. Although your words are unpleasant to the ear, they are quite beneficial."

"Don't be polite. I have many more honest advices. If the princess wants to hear them, I will never hide them."

"Hey, let's stop here today. I have to clean my ears first."

Xu Chu stood up and said with a smile: "No need to see you off."

Princess Huanyan pushed the door open and turned around outside the door and said: "Whether it is 'saving a city' or 'saving a state', Fangde must marry outside the Great Wall. Unfortunately, I can't 'save one person' now. Mr. Xu only looks at the general situation and should understand that the situation cannot be violated."

"Understood."

Princess Huanyan nodded, walked away, and soon met up with the maid holding the lantern and walked away.

Xu Chu returned to the room and blew out the oil lamp, but did not go to bed. Instead, he sat on a chair. After a long time, he gently said: "I want to 'save one person'."

Sometimes, saving one person is more difficult than saving a city or a state.

This is especially true for Xu Chu. He was "invited" to the city. On the surface, he was a guest. There were no soldiers guarding the door, but he could not walk around freely. It was difficult to see people, let alone save people.

Fortunately, there were still people willing to work for him.

Shortly after dawn, Feng Ju Niang came. She did not knock on the door. She entered and closed the door. She said blankly: "The Barbarian King will leave Ye today. He will leave in less than an hour. The little princess and Tian Jiang will be taken away."

Xu Chu immediately stood up and said: "Can you see Tian Jiang again?"

"Yes, I spent a lot of money. As long as I don't take people away, the guards will let me come and go freely."

"What did Tian Jiang say to you when we met before?"

"He asked me to report safety to the outside world. There are seven people in total, and there is no... young master."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "Because it is not necessary. Well, please ask Madam Feng to see him again and ask him to go to Yuyang. things."

"What the young master means is..."

"You are now Princess Huanyan's person, so you should not know too much, both publicly and privately. I once taught Madam Feng how to write, so I am half a master, so please tell Madam Feng a message, that's all."

"Jincheng urgently needs 100,000 cavalrymen from He Rong's army, will it be... Forget it, I'd better not know. I'm leaving, do you have any instructions?"

"If possible, please ask a disciple of Fan Sect to come over for me."

"Anyone will do?"

"It must be a recognized disciple of Fan Sect, not like me."

Feng Ju Niang laughed and left in a hurry, no longer so worried.

It was almost noon, and the guests from He Rong's army should have left, and a disciple of Fan Sect came to visit Xu Chu.

An Zhongqian knew that he had no chance, but when Feng Ju Niang spoke, he still obeyed without error, even if it was a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, he had to go and try.

"You want to see me?" An Zhongqian stood at the door, refusing to go in or sit down. "I'm taking a risk coming here. If my fellow disciples know, I'll be ruined."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Just a few words. How is Senior Brother Yu Zhan?"

"Since we are not from the same school, don't call me Senior Brother. Junior Brother Yu was accused of defamation, but he was not imprisoned. He went home to reflect on himself and was not allowed to go out for three years. I went to visit him, and Junior Brother swore to me that everything he said was true."

Xu Chu nodded, "Where is Kou Daogu?"

"Mr. Kou is an aide in this mansion. Mr. Xu, have you never met him?"

"No chance to meet him."

"Although Mr. Kou has entered the government, his heart is not here. He still reads and discusses the Dao every day. I haven't seen Mr. Kou for a while, but Junior Brother Yan Weiyan often goes there." An Zhongqian's words were a little sour.

"Very good. Please tell Kou Daogu for me, Master An: I have discovered his plot. Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager is no longer the supreme ruler of Yecheng and cannot protect him. Within three days, I will make Yu Zhan reveal his name."