Plan to cut off the nine states

The King of Jin won a breath of respite, but paid a heavy price for it: he surrendered to Emperor Tiancheng and could only keep a few counties near Jinyang. The other places had to be "returned" to the imperial court and were on standby at any time. He could go to Qin with the imperial army in the future. The state calmed down the chaos.

Zhang Shiyu inexplicably received many "benefits" and enjoyed the supreme treatment of the Nine Five-Year Plan. He went to the Jin military camp and accepted the kneeling of many soldiers, including the King of Jin himself.

But he couldn't be happy and came to complain to Xu Chu: "I have become Shanyu's housekeeper. I am in charge of his property and can offer it to him at any time. I dare not touch a single thing. Alas, you didn't see me in the Jin army camp." The scene was so embarrassing. They knelt on the ground and shouted long live, but there was hatred in their eyes. Yes, I could see it. They hated me. They thought I was the one who introduced the He Rong people to the Central Plains, and thought I was the one who made King Jin desperate... "

Zhang Shiyu said in the smallest voice: "Shan Yu's move is really cruel. He got all the actual benefits, but I have to bear the bad reputation alone."

Xu Chu could only comfort him: "The reason why Shanyu chose to break with the Shen family and form an alliance with Tiancheng was because of this."

Zhang Shiyu sighed. Although he saw the situation clearly, he was helpless. He suddenly smiled again, "At least I am still the emperor, and the King of Jin has to kneel to me. I heard that he didn't even kneel in front of Shan Yu. He was congratulated Mr. Rongsu stopped me."

"Congratulations." Xu Chu smiled.

"No congratulations, I just comfort myself. Others' comfort sounds like sarcasm... maybe you are being sarcastic. In fact, your situation is not as good as mine. As long as I am honest, Shan Yujian will not kill me. He will be polite to me, but you are different. Regardless of whether he is honest or not, Shanyu will still kill you if he is unhappy. "

"Yeah, I know."

Xu Chu remained calm, but Zhang Shiyu was angry for a while, quickly thought about it, and continued in a low voice: "You have to help me. When I get out of trouble, I will naturally be able to rescue you, and my sister, If I become a real emperor, I will not marry her to a foreigner."

"What can I help you with?" Xu Chuxiao asked.

"I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. I'm going back to Yuyang. No, I'm going to Yuyang. Alas, I'm going to the imperial court anyway. How can I refuse Shan Yu's next invitation without offending him?"

"Didn't you say you were going to pretend to be sick?"

"If you think about it carefully, this trick will definitely not work. Please give me an idea."

"This... you have to ask Princess Huanyan."

Zhang Shiyu shook his head vigorously, "She can't do it. She wants to send me to Shan Yu so that she can take charge by herself."

"The Tiancheng court can barely survive because of Princess Huanyan. If you can't stand with her in the same boat, no one can help you."

Zhang Shiyu pondered for a long time, "Okay, I will trust her again. But there is something else that you can help with. Maybe only you can help."

"People in such a bad situation like me can actually be useful."

"I regard you as one of my own, that's why I said what I just said. Don't take it to heart."

Zhang Shiyu didn't mention the word "family" for a long time. When Xu Chu heard this, he felt strange and said with a smile: "It seems that you really want to ask for something."

"Of course." Zhang Shiyu moved closer to the blanket, hesitated to speak, and finally said: "Guess what I want to say?"

"I don't want to guess, and I can't guess."

Zhang Shiyu had no choice but to lower his voice as much as possible and said, "Do you remember that time when you persuaded the Huaizhou army to surrender the city of Ye?"

"There are many things, which one are you talking about?"

"The Chanyu said that if you fail to return to the camp on time, he will appoint another emperor."

"Oh, remember, but I came back in time to keep your throne."

"I saved it, but I was worried all morning - from then on, I understood how unstable my position was." A trace of panic flashed in Zhang Shiyu's eyes, which was then replaced by perseverance, but this perseverance was a little too much. .

"I will never do such a thing again, not to mention I have no chance to assassinate Shanyu." Xu Chu said with a smile.

"Hey, can I let you do something like this? Uh...you really can't do it?"

"cannot."

"I think so, but what I'm asking you for is another thing. You can't move Shanyu, but you can move another person. Without him, my position will be more stable, and Shanyu can't change it even if he wants to."

"Your brother?"

"He is not my brother. He is a nasty kid. He was born to a singer. He learned nothing else. He learned the art of flattery from his biological mother. He is now quite popular with the Shanyu and the eldest wife. He has learned it in just a few days. He said that he accepted the eldest wife as his godmother. I am the brother-in-law of Shan Yu, but he actually accepted the eldest wife of Shan Yu as his godmother. The generations were all confused. "

In the Zhang clan, there are many things about generational confusion. Xu Chu did not mention it and said: "He is very smart. I haven't even learned how to deal with He Rong..."

Zhang Shiyu corrected him sternly, "This is not cleverness, but flattery. In short, you have to help me get rid of him..."

"He is your biological brother."

"It's also a big threat."

Xu Chu shook his head, "I will not attack a child."

Zhang Shiyu stared at him for a while, and then said in a slightly gentle tone, "It's okay not to get rid of him, at least to prevent him from being favored by Shan Yu."

Xu Chu still looked embarrassed, Zhang Shiyu said: "I promise you, as long as you can get Shanyu to cancel the engagement, I will immediately issue an imperial edict to recognize your marriage to my sister. How about it?"

Xu Chu smiled helplessly: "Okay, I will try, but you don't have another brother?"

"No, it's just this one. My mother is watching closely. This one is also an accident. Since it was born, I had to raise it. I didn't expect to raise a rival." Zhang Shiyu secretly gritted his teeth, "Is it settled?"

"I just said I would try."

"With your ability, there is nothing you can't try." Zhang Shiyu flattered him and stood up to say goodbye. "I'm not kidding. I will definitely do what I promised. I hope you will work hard too."

Xu Chu smiled and nodded.

As he was about to say goodbye, Zhang Shiyu was reluctant to leave. He said goodbye to many adults and accepted countless gifts, all of which were for the queen.

On the morning of the departure day, Zhang Shiyu came to say goodbye to the Chanyu in person. Xu Chu was there and witnessed a funny scene.

Zhang Shiyu cried, and cried very sadly. It didn't seem like he was going home, but rather like he was being driven out of the house. He expressed his respect and reluctance to the Chanyu, then hugged his brother and cried bitterly, asking his brother to swear over and over again that he would be obedient and learn more skills beside the Chanyu...

If he hadn't talked with Zhang Shiyu the day before, Xu Chu would have been deceived and thought that the two brothers were as close as gold.

The little brother cried even more seriously, chasing his brother out of the tent and coming back after a long time.

The Chanyu was deeply moved and comforted him. He ordered his men to send his younger brother to his wife and said to the adults in the tent: "People in the Central Plains also value brotherhood, just like us Herong people."

The Chanyu rarely discussed military affairs, but recalled the scenes of playing with his brothers in his childhood.

The kings and adults of the Herong tribe were all related. Some of them were the Chanyu's childhood playmates. Other elders, their sons and nephews, had more or less contact with the Chanyu, either hunting together or fighting...

Xu Chu didn't understand, but he knew from the expressions of the Herong people that they were not talking about serious matters.

As if to cheer up the Chanyu, someone came in to report that Herong Pingshan had already captured Yingcheng and was rushing to meet the Chanyu.

According to the terms of the peace agreement, Yingcheng had been "returned" to the court, but the decree was on the way and could not be seen immediately. Herong Pingshan was obviously continuing to attack the city.

Shanyu regarded him as his own brother. He was very happy after hearing the news. He personally led people out of the camp to welcome him and returned after noon.

Shanyu held a grand banquet in the big tent, ate and drank to his heart's content, and restored He Rongpingshan's throne - not counting the time on the road, the siege took exactly five days. He restored the throne, but did not give any rewards.

Xu Chu was one of the guests, drinking silently in the noise.

Shanyu's wife and some noble ladies also attended the banquet. The little emperor sat beside her, eating and drinking with the twins, smiling happily, without the sadness of saying goodbye to his brother in the morning.

The little emperor drank fruit juice. After all, he was young and often had to go to the toilet after drinking too much. Once when he came back, Xu Chu waved at him.

The younger brother came over hesitantly and asked coldly, "You called me?"

Xu Chu smiled and nodded, "Before your brother left, he asked me to take care of you."

Although the younger brother was young, he had his own ideas and looked contemptuous, "You? You can't even take care of yourself, and you don't call him 'Your Majesty', why do you have to listen to his will?"

"This is not a will, just a request. Sit next to me." Xu Chu made room for him.

The big tent was full of people. The younger brother looked inside and found that his wife and twins had left. The empty space was occupied by He Rongpingshan and several young people, who were talking excitedly with the Chanyu.

"I'm leaving too." The younger brother said.

"Don't you want to know what the emperor and the Chanyu think of you?" Xu Chu felt a little guilty for using tricks on a child, but he never thought of helping Zhang Shiyu deal with the younger brother.

The kid was really touched by what he said, and he came over and sat down, "Pour me a bowl of wine, I'm tired of drinking fruit juice."

"No, you can't drink yet."

"A Herong person as old as me could have drunk a long time ago."

"You are not a Herong person."

The little prince glared at him, and Xu Chu said again: "You are not a Herong person, so you are special and receive courtesy from the Chanyu. On the contrary, you should stay outside the Great Wall, herd sheep with your peers, and drink occasionally."

"Even if I were outside the Great Wall, I would be born in a noble family and go to the Great Wall with my father and brothers to make achievements."

"Then you can't drink either, not here."

"Humph." The little prince wanted to get up and leave, but he was a little reluctant, so he turned his head and said: "I have heard about you. You are a weirdo who refuses to be king, but it is said that you are also a smart person. Tell me what you know."

"Tell me something first."

"What?"

"What are they talking about?" Xu Chu pointed at the Chanyu and others.

"Ha, you want to get words out of me? Forget it, can't you listen?"

"I don't understand He Rong's language."

"Learn, it's easy, I've learned a lot." The little brother was quite proud.

"I'm not as smart as you in this matter."

The little brother was more and more proud, "The Chanyu and the Queen praised me."

"I don't ask for secrets, I just want to know how He Rong Pingshan captured Yingcheng."

"It's okay to tell you this, they said a long time ago that the King of Zuo Shenwei ordered the people of Jizhou to attack day and night, and finally opened a gap, and He Rong's cavalry rushed in and captured the city."

"There were many casualties?"

"Of course, the Jizhou people didn't know how many casualties, but the King of Zuo Shenwei did say that he killed all the adult men in Yingcheng, and gave the women and children to his soldiers, and he didn't keep anyone. The Chanyu praised him and said he did a good job. In the future, if there are cities that refuse to surrender, they will all be dealt with in the same way-are you going to tell me?"

"The emperor and the Chanyu... both like you very much." Xu Chu smiled, but there was no joy in his heart.

After serving as an interpreter, he only got this sentence. The little prince felt that he was deceived, so he stood up and ran out of the tent, ignoring Xu Chu.