Plan to cut off the nine states

Xu Chu relayed Princess Huanyan's request. Ma Wei nodded and said, "I knew that Princess Huanyan was reasonable and would not be coy and pretentious like ordinary women."

Ma Wei invited the emperor over and announced in public that he would marry a daughter of the Tiancheng clan and marry the Zhang family.

Soldiers from both sides cheered and celebrated, and Zhang Shiyu also shouted a few times. Taking advantage of King Liang's unpreparedness, he cast a surprised look at Xu Chu, apparently having guessed who the "daughter of the clan" was.

The ensuing peace talks became very simple. Ma Wei left behind a jade pendant - it is said that it was an old item from the Qianliang Dynasty and was buried in the Tiancheng Palace for many years until it was rediscovered by the King of Liang.

"This is an ancient relic that has been passed down for at least a thousand years. I hope it can continue to be passed down in the hands of the princess."

Princess Huanyan accepted the gift, nodded her thanks, and said flatly: "He left the city in a hurry and was rude to return the gift. Your Majesty may be carrying something with you."

Zhang Shiyu groped up and down, "Yes, they are ordinary accessories..."

Ma Wei smiled and said: "No need, the princess agrees to this marriage, which is the biggest gift."

Ma Wei left, leaving Qiao Zhisu and others to discuss the details.

Princess Huanyan and the emperor then left, leaving the follow-up matters to Sun Yalu.

Xu Chu also stayed, but did not participate in the negotiation. He stood outside for a while, then suddenly got on his horse and chased in the direction of Yuyang. The soldiers from both sides outside the tent were surprised, but seeing that he was alone, no one stopped him. Or chasing.

Two or three miles later, Xu Chu reined up his horse and stopped on a small hill. He looked at the retreating team from a distance, feeling confused and unable to tell what he was going to do.

I don't know who noticed the figure behind the team. A knight left the team and galloped over. He went to the foot of the mound and said, "Is there something wrong, Mr. Xu?"

"No, just...sending off."

The knight jumped off his horse and handed over the cloak that he had been holding on his arm. "Your Majesty said that the weather is cold and there is nothing to give, so I just want to bring an extra cloak with me. I hope Mr. Xu will accept it."

Xu Chu also dismounted and accepted this unexpected gift. The cloak was new, very thick, and decorated with a lot of soft fur. He felt warm just by holding it in his arms, as if he hadn't worn it much yet.

"Thank you."

"Master Xu, do you have anything else to say?"

"Please tell your Majesty...Xu has nothing to say, just these few words, and 'Thank you', nothing else."

The knight nodded, mounted his horse and left, chasing the slowly advancing team ahead.

Xu Chu put on his cloak and watched the team disappear. He turned around and was about to mount his horse. Suddenly he smelled a scent, as if it came from his body. He smiled, took off his cloak, folded it carefully, and after getting on the horse, he held the rein with one hand and the other hand. Holding the cloak in one hand.

Not far away, two people came towards them on horseback. As they got closer, Xu Chu recognized Qiao Zhisu and Chang Yan.

Seeing that the young master was fine, Chang Yan stopped. Qiao Zhisu caught up and took a deep breath, "At least I saw Mr. Xu walking back."

"Mr. Qiao thinks I'm going to run away?"

"Mr. Xu didn't even say hello... Forget it, just come back. I'm just being careless. Mr. Xu doesn't need to stay here. Go back to the military camp as soon as possible."

"good."

The three returned to Shiliting. The negotiation was suspended due to Qiao Zhisu's departure, and then started again.

Four soldiers escorted Xu Chu back to Liang Jun's camp. Chang Yan had already noticed the clothes in Xu Chu's arms, and asked in a low voice halfway: "Who gave it to them?"

"emperor."

"Why did the emperor give the young master a gift? Is that a cloak?"

"Maybe it's because I'm wearing thin clothes and wants me to talk less."

Chang Yan was taken aback for a moment, and said softly: "The emperor is kind-hearted. Master, please keep it away and don't let... that one see it."

"Which one?"

Chang Yan glanced at the four guards and then at Xu Chu, wondering why the young master asked so clearly.

Xu Chu smiled and said: "Instead of covering up, it is better to show it openly."

"Humph, I don't understand what the young master is thinking. Since he is staying in the Liang Army Camp, why do he have to chase the enemy alone, just to arouse suspicion?"

"I didn't think about it all at the moment."

"Others haven't thought it through, but I believe it, Master? I don't believe it, but others don't either."

Chang Yan chatted all the way, and Xu Chu knew that he was worried about his own safety, so he listened more and talked less during the second half of the journey.

Back in the camp, Xu Chu had just walked into the tent, and before he had time to rest, Gao Shengze came to summon him.

Xu Chu put on a new cloak and went to Liang Wang's tent.

Gao Shengze smiled and said: "New cloak? This is a good thing. The fox fur on it alone is worth a lot of money."

"Yeah." Xu Chu didn't say a word.

In the big tent, Ma Wei was sitting on a chair with a glass of wine in his hand. His expression was serious, without the joy of the engagement. When he saw Xu Chu's new cloak, his expression softened slightly. He put down the cup and said: "Emperor gift?"

"yes."

"The emperor is a good man. Why didn't he send you off in person instead of waiting for you to catch up?"

"The emperor was a little nervous in front of King Liang and forgot to take it out."

"And you have a good connection with the emperor, so you went after him specifically to ask for a gift?"

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Of course not. I caught up with the emperor and asked him if he had any news about Princess Fangde. The emperor knew nothing about it, but giving me this cloak was probably just a random act and was not something I had prepared for."

Ma Wei's expression softened a little, "I came here for this reason. I'm about to send someone to Jiangdong to deal with Lou Ji. Please consider it."

"Does King Liang want Lou Ji to die or live?"

Ma Wei was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "What are these words? I just want him to write a letter of abandonment of marriage, and I have no other intention."

"Then there is nothing to consider. King Liang wrote to Guo Shifeng and asked him for help. This matter is very certain."

Ma Wei gave a long hum, seemingly dissatisfied. He waved his hand and ordered the others to exit the tent, and then said, "You must ask everything clearly."

"I don't know how to offer my words without asking."

"If it were Guo Shifeng, he would figure it out. No, no, any counselor would figure it out, and then relieve the master's worries. If anything succeeds, the credit will be attributed to God, if anything fails, the fault will be attributed to himself."

Xu Chu said with a smile: "No wonder I never stay long wherever I go."

"Hey, you are the best at reading people's hearts, but you only use it to make plans, not to please."

"Does Prince Liang lack people to please?"

"Forget it, I know what you are going to say, and I don't want to argue with you. To be honest, I want Lou Ji to die, not to live. I am not from He Rong, and I can't be vague about my reputation. Lou Ji defected to Prince Ning. If he takes advantage of it in the future, The marriage abandonment letter made irresponsible remarks, and the princess and I were disgraced."

"This is a bit troublesome. Louji is protected by King Ning, and King Ning must have some complaints against King Liang..."

"That's why I came to you."

"Prince Liang wants me to persuade Prince Ning to kill Lou Ji?"

Ma Wei shook his head, "Once you go to Prince Ning's place, you will never come back. I want you to find another way. Kill someone with a borrowed knife, frame him, whatever."

"Who does King Liang think I am?"

"Smart man." Ma Wei's face darkened, "Lou Ji is your half-brother, but I know you don't care. The reason why you pushed back was just to delay the marriage - the person you chased before was not the emperor. But the princess, this cloak..."

"Sooner or later, King Liang will be able to find out clearly what happened at that time, so why should I hide it?"

"Just think of it as a gift from the emperor, but I know exactly who you have in mind, so you must come up with an idea for me so that I can be sure that you really support this marriage and will not secretly obstruct it."

Xu Chu said nothing and paced back and forth in the tent. Ma Wei did not rush him, picked up the cup again and drank slowly.

After seven or eight trips back and forth, Xu Chu said: "Let me go to Xiangyang with the army."

"We haven't talked about that yet," Ma Wei said sternly.

"No, no, I'm still talking about Lou Ji."

"What do you mean?"

"After much thought, it is impossible for King Ning to kill Lou Ji. It's not that King Ning values ​​Lou Ji much, but that he is absolutely unwilling to act on the orders of King Liang."

Ma Wei knew Ning Baoguan and had always been a little afraid of him. He nodded and said, "It is indeed difficult. Can Guo Shifeng help?"

"If all we need is a document of abandoning the engagement, Guo Shifeng may be able to help, and he won't let Prince Ning know about it at all. Killing is not an option."

"Lou Ji must die, I have decided."

"Then the only way is to make Prince Ning resentful of Lou Ji."

Ma Wei smiled and said: "This is your ability."

"So I will go with the army to Xiangyang, and then send someone to ask King Ning to send troops."

"Prince Ning wants to capture Jingzhou and defend Wuzhou, so how can he have any spare energy to help Xiangyang? Moreover, he will never engage in money-losing business. Even if he does have spare energy, he will not give it to outsiders."

"Of course, that's why I want to ask Lou Ji for 'help'. Prince Liang had better write a letter for me to take with me, saying that he will marry the daughter of the clan, and we will be relatives from now on. There is no need to mention anything else."

"And let Prince Ning discover this letter? Well, it's a clever plan. It may work, but there's no need to send you to Xiangyang."

"Only if I am in Xiangyang can Prince Ning get involved. If it is just anyone, it will appear that Prince Ning's ambition to defend Xiangyang is not strong, and Prince Ning and Guo Shifeng will be suspicious."

Ma Wei stared at Xu Chu, "You really want to leave me?"

Xu Chu smiled and said: "If I stay here, the King of Liang will suspect that I will obstruct the marriage. If I go to Xiangyang, the King of Liang will suspect that I will never return - it really puts me in a dilemma."

Ma Wei smiled apologetically, "Do you really want to defend Xiangyang?"

"Xiangyang is very important. I have been trying my best to send reinforcements. Everyone in Jingzhou knows it."

"I also know that you have mentioned it several times. I wonder why Shanyu offended you?"

"The Chanyu has not offended me, but Kyushu must not fall into the hands of foreigners."

"You stand down first and wait for me to think about it. There may be other ways to sow discord without having to ask you to take action personally. As for Xiangyang, I will definitely send 20,000 soldiers."

Xu Chu resigned and as soon as he returned to his tent, he untied his cloak, folded it and wrapped it up.

Chang Yan said in surprise: "Why does the young master want to 'cover up' again now?"

"Because we are going on a long trip soon, and we can also get some new robes. This one can be put away."

"Far away? It must not be Jiangdong." Chang Yan was willing to follow Xu Chu through life and death. The only thing he didn't want to do was to seek refuge in Ningbaoguan.

"Go back to Xiangyang."

"Xiangyang?" Chang Yan also started to pack his things, "I don't know what the situation is there, maybe it has been lost."

"If Xiangyang is lost, we will have no choice but to retreat to the Eastern Capital." Xu Chu sighed. Xiangyang is difficult to defend, but the situation is important. The Eastern Capital is easy to defend, but it is not a dangerous place and cannot stop He Rong's army.

The two of them had just packed their luggage when Gao Shengze came uninvited and said with a dissatisfied look on his face, "Mr. Xu will go to Xiangyang with the army early tomorrow morning. I will go with you."