Zhu Nao

Outside the old palace city of Luoyang, Tian Chou stood a little nervously.After all, he is a seasoned veteran, his expression is very calm, except for his fingers unconsciously grasping the hem of his clothes, no one can see his uneasiness.

Not long after, several people came out from Miyagi.The leader said very politely: "General Tian, ​​come in with me."

Tian Chou nodded, turned his head and whispered to the guards he brought: "You guys just wait here."

His guards looked at each other, they were all very worried about Tian Chou's safety, but felt helpless - they had already arrived here, if Zhu Nao really wanted to harm Tian Chou, it seemed that they could do nothing with their small number of people...

So Tian Chou walked in with those people alone.

This old palace city was used by the previous dynasty, and it has been severely damaged in these years of war.After Zhu Nao came to Henan, he requisitioned this place as a temporary palace to handle government affairs.He didn't have time to repair the palace, so the palace city was simply cleaned. Today, vines can still be seen everywhere on the bricks and tiles of the house walls, and many houses that were pulled down and burned are still abandoned there.

The former imperial city has become devastated.

Tian Chou walked on Miyagi Avenue, feeling a sense of sadness welling up in his heart, and couldn't help lowering his eyes and sighing.

Not long after, the guide stopped in front of a side hall and said to him: "General Tian, ​​please go in, Your Majesty is inside."

Tian Chou was slightly taken aback.This is not the main hall of the palace, but just an inconspicuous side hall.Why didn't Zhu Nao go to the main hall?

But he immediately realized that the once magnificent main hall was the most severely damaged place, and now only these side halls that no one cares about can still be used in the imperial city.Zhu Nao is not a person who enjoys luxury, and will not waste manpower and material resources on this kind of temporary accommodation.

Tian Chou took a deep breath, stepped over the threshold, and walked into the hall.

There were several guards standing in the hall, and sitting in the hall was a man with delicate features and gentle appearance.When he saw Tian Chou coming in, he stood up and smiled, "General Tian, ​​I've admired you for a long time."

Tian Chou was secretly taken aback, and hurriedly knelt down to salute, "Sinner Tian Chou, see Your Majesty."

Before he came here, he had fantasized about what kind of person Jun Nao was, but unexpectedly, Jun Nao was much younger than he imagined, and he was also much nicer.He originally thought that the person who could build such a foundation must be a ruthless person.Tao Bei's modesty is nothing more than his intentional restraint, but Zhu Nao's just words and smiles make people feel very cordial.

Zhu Nao personally stepped forward to help Tian Chou: "General Tian, ​​you don't have to be polite, just sit down and talk."

The chairs were already prepared in the hall, Zhu Nao returned to his original position and sat down, Tian Chou also sat down on the chairs.

Zhu Nao said: "It is my honor that General Tian is willing to submit to the Kingdom of Shu. I wonder if the general's family is okay?"

Tian Chou hurriedly said: "Thanks to Your Majesty, everything is fine."

Zhu Nao said, "That's good."

When Tian Chou decided to surrender, he put forward a condition to the Shu army, asking that the matter be kept quiet and give him a period of time to deal with chores.His family is still in Xuzhou, and most of his old ministries are also in Xuzhou.Once the matter of his surrender is made public, Tao Bei will definitely attack those people.Therefore, he preemptively put Tao Bei under house arrest of all the supervising troops in the Henan army, and then sent people to Xuzhou overnight to report that his subordinates exiled all Tao Bei's eyes, ears and forces in Xuzhou.It wasn't until he received a reply from Xuzhou that Tao Bei's forces had been cleared out of Xuzhou, and his family was well, that he publicly surrendered to Zhu Nao and let Tao Bei's supervisor go back to Yedu to report the letter.

Even Zhu Nao was surprised by Tian Chou's cooperation after he decided to surrender.People from all walks of life who had surrendered or joined the Shu Kingdom all put forward many conditions with him before joining, and the two sides negotiated for a long time before they barely reached an agreement.Even Xie Wuji spent a long time forming a tacit understanding with him before finally joining the Shu army.But Tian Chou did not mention too many conditions.

He didn't seem to have any concerns other than to express concern for the safety of his old ministry and family.He didn't ask whether Zhu Nao would retain his military power, what official position he would arrange for him, and whether he would pursue his past.He came to Luoyang so readily, put his guards outside the palace, and walked into the "Longtan and Tiger's Cave" alone.

Zhu Nao sized him up for a moment, then said kindly, "I don't know about General Tian's subordinates, what is the general's plan?"

The subordinates who said this did not refer to those miscellaneous troops who did their own thing, but Tian Chou's old department in Xuzhou.Tian Chou has been operating in Xuzhou for many years, and his influence is very great.As long as he gives an order, those tribes are very likely to occupy the government in Xuzhou and cede the territory for themselves.

Tian Chou naturally understood that Zhu Nao's question meant to test whether he was willing to let go of the military power.He calmly said: "Tian has heard that His Majesty is a wise monarch with a broad mind, who knows people well and uses them well. I believe His Majesty will treat my old ministry well. If they can make contributions to His Majesty in the future, it will be a blessing from their lifelong cultivation."

Not to mention Zhu Nao, all the guards standing in the hall were secretly surprised when they heard this.

Tian Chou still didn't fight for any power for himself, and even humbled to the extreme in these words.When he was under Tao Bei, he was one of the loyal ministers with power over the government and the public. After he surrendered to the Kingdom of Shu, he didn't fight or grab it at all?He didn't choose to surrender helplessly after being defeated and captured. He still holds a lot of bargaining chips in his hand!

Everyone didn't know that before Tian Chou chose to surrender, he had already thought clearly about the situation and the way forward.

In fact, besides the two choices of surrendering Zhu Nao and fighting to the death for Tao Bei, he had a third choice, which was to return to Xuzhou, cede the territory for himself, and dominate one side.But he didn't do it because he knew it was not a long-term solution.The general trend of the world, the expectation of all, is already in Zhu Nao's body, whether it is him, Tao Bei, or Chen Guo in the south of the Yangtze River, no one can stop Zhu Nao from unifying the country.That being the case, his resistance and struggle can only be exchanged for a few years, but not long-term stability.

Moreover, after so many years of ups and downs in the Central Plains, watching the rapid transition of power, he knows exactly what the monarch's taboos are.Of course, he can use the bargaining chip at hand to negotiate a condition for himself to assume power and become rich and prosperous.But then what?How long can it last?When the country is unified, it will be time for the cunning rabbit to die and the lackeys to cook.He is not a direct descendant who has followed Zhu Nao since the very beginning. If he is a half-way general, if he does not know how to be obedient and self-restraining, then he will be the first "running dog" to be cooked at that time!

Tian Chou's ability to become Tao Bei's general is not because he is good at fighting, but because he is good at judging the situation and knowing how to behave in the world.He is not easy to fight by nature, and he will be involved in factional struggles only because he is coerced by the interests of too many people, not his original intention.What he even should worry about now is not how much profit he is striving for, but self-protection.To protect himself, his descendants, and those loyal subordinates who have followed him for many years can have a good death.

After a while, Zhu Nao smiled with his eyes bent: "Thank you. I am very moved by General Tian's sincerity."

Now that we've talked about this, there's no need to go around the bush.Zhu Nao suppressed his smile again, and said solemnly: "Please rest assured, General, I will definitely treat the General's old department well. Now it is time to employ people, as long as they are willing to serve the Kingdom of Shu, I will have no prejudice against them. It's just that I don't Knowing them, I wonder if General Tian is willing to recommend talents for me?"

Tian Chou was slightly taken aback, and a look of joy finally appeared on his face, which had been calm since entering the palace.

He is sincere, and Junao is also sincere.Now Zhu Nao can say some empty words to coax him, but when the time comes to exclude dissidents and abandon his troops, there is nothing he can do.But Zhu Nao didn't do this. He asked Tian Chou to recommend talents, and he directly put the matter into practice.As long as Tian Chou sincerely recommends them, those talents will not be buried because they belong to the wrong faction!

Coming to Luoyang today, giving up the bargaining chips in his hands, and releasing his greatest sincerity, was a gamble made by Tian Chou.What he gambled on was whether Zhu Nao really loved talents as much as the rumors said, and whether he really had the heart of the world's hegemon.Now his confidence had doubled: he believed he had made the right bet.

The two talked for a long time, analyzing the current situation in Liang Guo, and discussing how to bring back Xuzhou's tribesmen. It was not until the big plan was negotiated that Zhu Nao sent Tian Chou to rest.

After Tian Chou left, Zhu Nao's government affairs were almost done for today, he also got up and walked out of the palace, looked up and found that the sun was slightly slanting, and it was not too late.

Zhu Nao thought for a while, then ordered: "Bring the horse, I'm going out of the palace."

Jing Zhe was surprised and said, "Where are you going, Master?"

Zhu Nao raised his eyebrows, and said slowly: "I'm going to Ruyang!"

……

The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, and the lights are dim.

Xie Wuji finished his military duties and returned to the barracks in a hurry.He was about to take a rest, when he heard some noises from outside the tent, he couldn't help being surprised, so he put on his outer robe and went out to check.

I saw figures swaying in the darkness, and a group of people walked towards the tent where he was.He frowned slightly, squinted his eyes to identify carefully, but the moonlight was faint, and he couldn't see clearly for a while.It wasn't until the pedestrian walked in front of him that he was shocked: "Zhu...Your Majesty?"

Zhu Nao stepped forward quickly and stood still in front of Xie Wuji.The guards holding torches behind him followed up, clearly reflecting his bright eyes and smiling face.

Zhu Nao didn't shy away from others, and directly took Xie Wuji's hand.

Xie Wuji was both surprised and delighted, his eyes lit up a bit: "Why are you here?"

Zhu Nao said, "Go in and talk."

The two walked into the tent, and the guards stopped following them.Xie Wuji touched the flint in the dark, and was about to light the candle, when suddenly his waist tightened, and Zhu Nao embraced him from behind.

Xie Wuji was slightly stunned, put down the flint, turned around and hugged Zhu Nao instead.

The two hugged each other in the dark.

Zhu Nao rested his chin on his shoulder, sniffed at his hair, said joyfully, "I met Tian Chou today, he is very talkative, I talked with him for an hour, and then we settled everything."

Xie Wuji was surprised and said: "Is he willing to give up his military power?"

Zhu Nao said, "Yes."

Giving up military power does not mean that Tian Chou will no longer be a general or fight on the battlefield.Instead, he is willing to hand over the control of his subordinates, and Zhu Nao will dispatch and reorganize them.Otherwise, if Tian Chou doesn't cooperate, those subordinates only know Tian Chou but don't know Shu Emperor, and it will be a very troublesome existence.

Xie Wuji didn't expect Tian Chou to be so forthright, after thinking about it carefully, he understood Tian Chou's consideration.He whispered: "General Tian is really a smart man..."

After saying this, suddenly, his emotions began to surge, and his breathing became short of breath.

Feeling his strangeness, Zhu Nao couldn't help but let him go a little: "What's the matter?"

Xie Wuji shook his head, his chest heaved violently at first, and after a while, it gradually calmed down.

As early as when they broke through the siege of King Qin's army together and broke into the capital, he had firmly believed that Zhu Nao would become the lord of the world in the future.But although the faith is stuck in the heart, it is far away and out of reach.In the past few years, Xie Wuji followed Zhu Nao to fight in the north and south, and won countless victories. Although he was happy, it was normal.

It wasn't until now that Tian Chou surrendered, that Xie Wuji suddenly discovered that even an enemy general like Tian Chou was planning for the unification of the world in the future!What he believes in will soon be more than just a belief, but will soon be realized!

His heart was sore and swollen, he didn't know what to say, so he could only hug Junao more and more tightly.

Zhu Nao's smiling voice sounded in his ears: "General Xie, I am very happy."

Xie Wuji happily didn't even want to say anything, and asked hoarsely: "Are you not going back to the palace tonight?"

"...It's dark and windy this month, you have the heart to drive me back?"

Xie Wuji smiled lowly, without any more nonsense, he led him to the army couch.

Silent all night.

……

……

After Tian Chou surrendered, the miscellaneous army had no leader, but the war did not end completely.

Zhu Nao had no intention of subduing these mobs, and because the military power was still in the hands of those miscellaneous officers, he could not easily disband the army, so he asked Xie Wuji to send an army to go around after receiving the news that Tian Chou was willing to surrender. The rear cut off the rear of these miscellaneous troops.Therefore, after Tian Chou led his troops to leave, these miscellaneous troops were trapped by the Shu army, unwilling to fight, and unable to leave, so they could only stay where they were.

In the next few days, Zhu Nao ordered Yang Lie to use secret operations to try his best to provoke conflicts among the various armies, and secretly assassinated various officers.Under the instigation of the Shu people, the contradictions among the miscellaneous soldiers became increasingly intensified, and chaos soon began.

After several days of melee, the miscellaneous army had serious internal friction, and their hearts were broken. Many officers were assassinated, and the remaining officers could no longer control the troops.

Zhu Nao finally made a move at this time, took over the mess, resettled those who should be resettled, dismissed those who should be dismissed, and easily ended the war in Henan.

After more than a month of rectification, the Shu army continued to advance eastward. After learning that Tian Chou had surrendered, wherever the Shu army went, Liang's soldiers and horses either fled or surrendered, and all collapsed without fighting.

So just one month later, the Shu army had already approached the city of Yedu.