Plan to cut off the nine states

From Xiangyang to Luoyang, it was almost all the way north. The distance was not far, but there were many obstacles in the middle. Almost every city had one owner. Some small cities had been abandoned. Wild beasts lurked among the broken walls and ruins. Strangers stayed away and would rather sleep outside the city than stay overnight in the city.

Xu Chu was wanted by He Rongren, so he changed his name. With the letters from the Xi and Chen families and constant bribes, he did not encounter too much danger.

When he arrived in Dongdu, it was late autumn. The wind was cold and the sky was overcast, as if it would snow at any time. From a distance, the walls of Dongdu were intact, and there were occasional pedestrians on the road, but there was an indescribable desolation.

After meeting the Liang army soldiers, Xu Chu reported his real name. The news had been uploaded long ago. He entered the city smoothly under the escort of a team of soldiers. After a short rest at the post house, he was soon summoned to the palace.

The meeting place was still the main hall. The old eunuch Gao Shengze came out to greet him and said with a smile: "When he heard that Master Xu was coming, the King of Liang was very happy and kept asking about it early in the morning."

"I am also anxious to see the King of Liang."

Gao Shengze did not lead the way immediately, but said: "What a coincidence, Mr. Guo is also here."

"Guo Shifeng?"

"Yes, he has been here for a while, delivering a message for King Ning."

"Oh."

Gao Shengze still refused to lead the way, "Every time Mr. Guo sees the King of Liang, he must be polite as a minister. The King of Liang likes it, and we all say that he is sensible and knows the rules."

"Don't worry, I know the rules." Xu Chu smiled.

Gao Shengze then turned around and led Xu Chu into the hall, "There are many treasures of Daliang in the hall. Master Xu should be careful. Each one is the King of Liang's sweetheart."

There were too many sundries in the hall, and it had to be fireproof, so it looked even darker. Xu Chu took a few steps to adapt to the light and vaguely saw his old friend on the throne.

Gao Shengze stopped, coughed lightly, and motioned Xu Chu to kneel down and kowtow.

Xu Chu bowed and smiled, "How are you, King Liang?"

Gao Shengze coughed again, and Ma Wei on the throne said, "Don't cough anymore, he won't kneel."

Gao Shengze laughed awkwardly twice and stepped aside.

"Come closer." Ma Wei said.

Xu Chu came to the steps and bowed again, "Is King Liang not cold?"

"I'm not cold, I'm just afraid that the throne is too hot."

"It's really hot, that's why I came here."

"Huh?" Ma Wei's face immediately showed some vigilance.

Xu Chu took out two letters and held them with both hands. Gao Shengze came over immediately, took the letters and stepped sideways up two steps and handed them to King Liang.

Ma Wei opened the letters, read them quickly, put the two letters beside him, and Gao Shengze immediately withdrew.

"The letters are not written to me." Ma Wei said coldly.

"Jingzhou hopes to invite the two kings to take charge."

"The King of Xiangdong and the King of Jibei live well in Dongdu, why do they want to go to Jingzhou? The Xi family abandoned the Tiancheng court, and Chen Bingcai scattered the state officials, called himself a governor, and gathered heavy troops. They are all not loyal ministers. How can I send the two kings into the tiger's mouth? Master Xu, use your eloquence to explain it to me clearly."

"I came to Dongdu to see King Liang, and I just delivered a message for the Xi and Chen families. There is nothing to explain."

"Hey, Master Xu thinks the timing is not right. That's right, no matter what you say, I will not send the two kings to Jingzhou, not one."

" I see soldiers coming and going inside and outside the East Capital, seems to be sending troops?"

"We have already sent troops, just like Master Xu's original plan."

"Sending troops to Huaizhou?"

"Yes, first attack Runan, and after taking it, wait for King Ning to send troops, and attack from both sides."

Xu Chu was a little surprised, and smiled: "Is this King Ning's idea?"

"I said, this is your idea, Master Xu, don't you remember?"

"I remember, but there are too many changes in the middle... It is said that Mr. Guo is also in the city?"

"He said that he would reward the Liang army soldiers on behalf of King Ning, and he might come back tomorrow - in fact, he wanted to confirm that I really sent troops to Huaizhou, so as to give King Ning a It's a good sign. Guo Shifeng rarely loyally serves one person, so he chose Ning Baoguan. "

"That's why..."

Ma Wei waved his hand to stop Xu Chu from talking any more, "You finally came back, stay a few more days, the General's Mansion is intact, and now it belongs to you."

"Thank you, I think I really need to stay a few more days."

"Yes." Ma Wei showed his intention to drive him away, Gao Shengze came over immediately and whispered: "Please, Mr. Xu."

Xu Chu had to leave, bowed and said: "The world is changing, it's not the same as it used to be..."

"Although the East Capital is in decline, it is not a remote place, and news from all directions is gathered here. So, please rest assured, Master Xu, I have the general situation in my eyes. "

Xu Chu had to leave. When he got outside the palace, Gao Shengze smiled and said, "Friendship cannot be forgotten, but rules must be changed at any time. Master Xu is too stubborn."

"To be a minister, you must speak the words of a minister. What I said is exactly not the case. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Master Xu, rest assured. I will send someone to send Master Xu to the General's Mansion."

Gao Shengze returned to the hall, and Ma Wei asked, "What did he say outside?"

"He said he was thanking King Liang for saving the General's Mansion." Gao Shengze was unwilling to convey Xu Chu's original words.

"Although Guo Shifeng has many schemes, there are always traces to be found. Xu Chu's plans are often unpredictable. His coming to the Eastern Capital must be a big deal."

"King Liang is so decisive that he has arranged everything properly. How can people like Xu Chu and Guo Shifeng look up at the height of the mountain when they are at the foot of the mountain?"

Ma Wei shook his head, indicating that he was not in the mood to listen to flattery. After a long silence, he said: "Send more people to guard the King of Xiangdong and the King of Jibei. It seems that someone really covets them."

"Yes." Gao Shengze responded without leaving immediately. "Where's Xu Chu?"

"Don't worry about him. I want to see what he can do."

Xu Chu didn't "make any trouble" and moved from the post house to the general's mansion.

The general's mansion was indeed intact, but the old people were gone and the things were almost emptied. Only a few rooms were still habitable. At night, the cold wind whistled outside the house, and there was no sound of people around, which made it seem even more empty.

Chang Yanzhi brought the bedding and spread it on a few stools. He would rather live in the same room with Xu Chu. He tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. Although he knew he shouldn't ask, he couldn't help asking: "Has this place...been haunted?"

"No." Xu Chu was lying on the bed, also unable to sleep, "But after Madam Lan and others died, it's hard to say."

Chang Yanzhi's heart tightened. Madam Lan was killed by the Wu people, and he was a Wu person. Although he didn't participate in the incident at the time, he was still a little scared. He murmured: "Madam Lan, I don't know you. My name is Chang Yanzhi, from Jiangdong, but I am not in the same group with General Meng Senglun. There is a reason for every grievance. You two can seek revenge on each other in the underworld, don't involve the living..."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "Are you afraid of ghosts?"

"Sir, are you not afraid?"

"If ghosts are really that scary, the world should be occupied by ghosts, the King of Hell will be the emperor, the judge will be the prime minister, and the living people will be killed. Being a slave, now that heroes have risen, I have not seen the ghost king come out to compete, so even if there are ghosts, they are weak ghosts and cowards. "

"That's not the case. The ghost king does not come out because of the suppression of the gods in the sky, not because of his lack of strength."

"Similarly, I have not seen the gods come out to compete, so I am not afraid of gods."

"When the gods come out, they will change their forms. The heroes in the world may be reincarnated gods, even the young master, but you don't know it yourself."

"Haha, ghosts and gods, if you believe in them, they exist, if you don't believe in them, they don't exist. No one of us can convince anyone."

"It's better to be respectful. If there are no ghosts and gods in the world, it's harmless to believe in them. If there are, the difference between believing and not believing is huge."

"Well, you make sense."

Xu Chu was actually persuaded by himself. Chang Yanzhi was surprised and a little proud. The fear in his heart gradually disappeared, and he felt sleepy and fell asleep slowly.

Xu Chu still couldn't sleep. He suspected that Ma Wei's attitude towards the two kings was the same as Chang Yanzhi's attitude towards ghosts and gods. He held the idea of ​​"just in case it's useful" tightly in his hand and refused to give up.

The next morning, two soldiers brought the prepared food. After Xu Chu ate, he wandered around the mansion. Many places were his first time to enter, but once there was no one, everything looked shabby and dark. Soon he lost interest and turned to the places where he still remembered. As a result, he found that he couldn't even recognize the room he lived in when he was a child.

The general was intact, but everything had changed, and the whole Dongdu was the same.

The mansion was unattended, and Xu Chu came to the back alley to go to his real home.

The door of the small house was open, and there were people living inside. The neighbors were like this, but none of them were old people from the Lou family.

An old woman came out with a basket, looked up and saw a stranger outside the door, she was stunned, "Who are you looking for?"

"I... You are not the original owner of this place."

"Where is the original owner? If there is, they are all dead. My family, one old and one young, are soldiers, and King Liang gave this house to my family. If you want to find the original owner, ask King Liang." The old woman did not go out, closed the door and bolted it.

Xu Chu returned to the mansion and saw Guo Shifeng chatting with Chang Yanzhi.

"When did Brother Guo return to the city?" Xu Chu smiled.

"Just now, after meeting King Liang, I came to see Brother Chu immediately." Everything has changed, but Guo Shifeng has not changed, he is still amiable and still untrustworthy.

Chang Yanzhi went out to prepare tea, and Guo Shifeng said, "Brother Chu is here to invite the two kings to Jingzhou?"

"Yes, but King Liang is unwilling to let them go."

"I heard that the Jingzhou army is confronting the Bingzhou army in Xiangyang. The two sides have fought several times and have won and lost. The Bingzhou army nominally belongs to the Yuyang court. Is Jingzhou inviting the two kings to set up another court?"

"I don't know, but the people of Jingzhou invited the two kings to at least fight against the Yuyang court and He Rong Shanyu."

"Brother Chu is running around, I guess it's to call on the heroes to fight against He Rong's army together?"

"That's right, Brother Guo understands my intention."

"In that case, there's no need to go through so much trouble. Prince Ning has already led his troops into Jingzhou and will soon be able to give them a new court."

"I thought the Liang and Ning armies were going to attack Huaizhou."

"Haha, didn't you expect that, brother Chu? Prince Liang's attack on Huai was a deception to contain the Sheng family so that Prince Ning could free up his hands and attack Jingzhou with all his strength. If nothing unexpected happens, Prince Ning will have arrived in Jiangling before the Spring and Summer of next year, and he will be able to meet the Bingzhou Army and He Rong's Army."

"Prince Ning wants to compete with He Rong's people?" Xu Chu was very surprised.

"Prince Ning was the first to submit a letter of surrender and send maps and books. People thought Prince Ning was weak, but in fact Prince Ning had no intention of surrendering from beginning to end. Although Jiangdong is remote, it will sooner or later have to face He Rong's people. Instead of waiting, it is better to take action. Since brother Chu has the heart to resist the barbarians, why not go to see Prince Ning and lend him a hand?"

Xu Chu's heart was pounding, but he felt something was wrong.