Yu Zimo's letter to the king of Shang has not yet been answered, and the people sent by Qingran to find people in the country came back first, they did not find Cui Peng, but they brought back another disturbing news - the troops of the participating countries have been mobilized very frequently, and there are signs of gathering on the border of the Shang country. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The Shang Kingdom is now in trouble throughout the country, and people's hearts are unstable. If the participating countries come to commit crimes at this time, it will make matters worse.

Qingran was shocked when he heard the news. When the king of Shang sent him to the border to inspect the autumn harvest, he saw the constant harassment of the border and the people of Shang by the Senguo, which was very hateful. At that time, he faintly felt that the participating countries coveted the Shang countries. They are so ambitious, they can usually send people to maliciously harass them for no reason, and it is only a matter of time before they send troops to the Shang State. It can be said that a war between the Shang and the participating countries is inevitable, but it is only a matter of time.

Nevertheless, Qingran certainly hoped that this war would come as late as possible. Because of the war, the people of both countries will not be at peace. Unexpectedly, in just over a year, the participating armies moved. Qingran knew that this little hope and prayer in his heart was about to be dashed. The Participating Countries couldn't bear it anymore, and their eyes should have turned red. The natural disaster in the Shang Kingdom was an excellent opportunity for them. What should we do, once the war starts, the people will suffer certainly, and with the current situation of the Shang country, will it be able to resist the premeditated and long-awaited participation of the country?

When the officials of Dongjun heard the news of the transfer of troops from the participating countries, they either trembled but had nothing to do, or they deceived themselves and others, and held on to the luck mentality, saying that the mobilization of troops to participate in the country was not necessarily aimed at the Shang State, and the Shang State was still very powerful.

Qingran doesn't understand military affairs, and he can feel the breath of mountain rain coming, and these officials still look like they can get by, and Qingran is a little annoyed. There has been no major war between the Seven Kingdoms for more than ten years, and even if there are small-scale wars, they are all near the border, and Dongjun is located in a remote area, and it has not really been affected by the war, and the people here are inevitably slack off and have nothing to do with themselves. There are even people who think that Qingran is unfounded.

Qing Ran saw that he couldn't discuss anything with the officials here, so let them each do their own thing. He returned to his residence and discussed with Yu Zimo.

After listening to what Qing Ran said, Yu Zimo's face was as calm as water, without a trace of shock. Yu Zimo said to Qingran that between the participating countries and the merchant countries, each has its own thoughts and knows each other. In these years, because each has taken precautions, it has been relatively fine. The old king died, the eldest prince who was supposed to inherit the throne died unexpectedly, and the third prince, who was known for his bravery, also died unexpectedly. Those who supported Xiao Bogong saw that the power of their hands was gone, and they were naturally ready to move. Fortunately, Xiao Bogong knew how to focus on the overall situation, stabilized them, and also stabilized the political situation of Shangguo, and did not give him the opportunity to participate in the country. The ninth prince succeeded to the throne, changed his previous cynical attitude of ignoring political affairs, and carefully managed state affairs, which can be regarded as blocking the tongues of those people,...... Another reason for the people who support Xiao Bogong to settle down should be that they think that the ninth prince has no children under his knees, so the ninth prince will be the king, and he will still pass the throne to Xiao Bogong when he turns around. Xiao Bogong's status has not changed...... It's just that I didn't expect your appearance to shake the gradually stable situation again.

“…… Plus the drought in the Shang country. Do you mean that the decision of the State of Shen to use troops against the State of Shang was caused by me?" After listening to Yu Zimo's words, Qing Ran came to the conclusion that the predicament of the State of Shang was caused by himself, and he was disgusted with his identity again.

Yu Zimo shook his head calmly, rejecting Qingran's thoughts. "You're still exalting yourself too much. She said unceremoniously, "At present, the army of the Shang State is still in the hands of the Shang King and Xiao Bogong, as long as the two of them do not turn their faces, the army of the Shang State will not be affected to resist foreign enemies." You are almost insignificant in the whole event. ”

Qingran understood that Yu Zimo said this because he didn't want to feel guilty and guilty. But her words are not false. At this time, they really have no strength to speak of, but they undoubtedly destroyed their original balanced pattern.

"Now that we've all gotten the news, I believe the Shang King should know about it too. Yu Zimo continued, "They will find a way." We don't have to worry about it. ”

"You mean, we can only wait here?" shouldn't they have done something?

"Waiting is what we have to do, but not waiting. Yu Zimo's clear gaze looked at Qingran softly.

Qing Ran felt firmness and conviction in her soft gaze, and when he met Yu Zimo's gaze, his heart gradually calmed down, as if injected with a trace of determined strength, a force that would be faced together no matter what happened.

"Now that the clouds have begun to gather, the storm of war could come at any moment. And all we have to do now is prepare for this coming storm. ”

"I've asked Lu to help and step up the training of the soldiers. Qingran said that war could come at any time.

"Lu Ye?" Yu Zimo's eyes moved slightly, "He still understands military affairs?"

"When I met him outside the town of Yangliu, he was leading the local soldiers to encircle and suppress the Ginseng who had come to steal food. He has a good set of troops. At least better than me, I'm a complete layman. ”

"Unexpectedly, he is still an all-rounder. Yu Zimo said.

"He's just a little casual in life. Qingran spoke for Lu Ye, and did not directly say Lu Ye's merciful preferences.

"Spontaneity isn't necessarily a bad thing. The corners of Yu Zimo's mouth curled slightly, as if he said meaningfully.

Lu is also Qingran's first friend. In his opinion, Lu Ye is now young and uninhibited, but he is still a good person.

"I'm afraid one is not enough. ”

"Dongjun is located in the middle of nowhere, and there are few soldiers, so there are not many people who know how to train soldiers. Changming, they also helped a lot. ”

"That's not going to work. Yu Zimo paced a few steps in the room, as if she remembered something, she walked to the bed, took out a book from the box next to the pillow, looked at it, and then handed it to Qing Ran.

Qingran saw that the cover of the book read "On Soldiers".

In addition to teaching generals how to train soldiers and how to face the enemy, this is a detailed account of each previous war, especially some special situations that may arise in war, and how to deal with them. Yu Zimo said.

Qing Ran took the book and said, "Do you still read this kind of book?" He saw in the books that Zi Mo usually reads, all of which record some strange things, and some books related to flowers, plants, stones and trees. I didn't expect her to read military books.

"It was sent by a friend, and I wasn't interested, so I put it aside. Yu Zimo said with a half-explanation, "You should have some use for it, you take it, study it carefully, and memorize it." ”

Qingran opened the book and saw the dense small characters on the scroll, as well as some strange graphics, and frowned. Since he was a child, he only knew some words with his mother, and he didn't read much. The content of the book was obviously a bit difficult for him. Time is of the essence, "I...... Give it a try. He gritted his teeth.

……

Three months later, the scorching sun was still scorching the land of the Shang Kingdom.

The whirlwind of locusts withdrew. Before the locust plague could take a breather, the land was covered in countless black insects. These black insects look like earthworms that have been blown dozens of times larger. They gathered together into the black waves, surging over the earth. And everywhere they crawled, they left behind a shiny and slimy liquid. When the liquid was dried by the scorching sun, it turned yellow and stuck to the cracked earth, emitting a foul smell.

Faced with such a terrifying scene, the people of the Shang Kingdom were afraid. It was the first time they had suffered such a natural disaster. They felt that this was the punishment of the gods for them. They must have done something wrong to provoke the gods so angry. They fell to their knees and offered sacrifices, asking the gods for forgiveness and an end to this terrible calamity.

In the face of this sudden and rare insect plague, Shangdu also fell into panic inside and outside. The king of Shang found the high priest. The high priest said that this was because the gods were angry with the Shang Kingdom, and that a large-scale sacrifice to the heavens was needed to appease the wrath of the gods. Therefore, the king of Shang decided to personally sacrifice to the heavens, praying for mercy from heaven and letting this disaster in the Shang kingdom pass as soon as possible.

The ceremony is set half a month later, on the auspicious day. This ritual was very important to the Shang Kingdom, and the selection requirements for those who participated in this ceremony were even stricter. All important ministers and princes are to attend. In addition, in addition to the high priest, when the king of Shang sacrificed to the heavens, he also had to have an accompanying person, who would this person be? Because sacrificing to the heavens is a communication with the gods, being able to worship the heavens with the king of Shang means that his identity is the same as that of the king of Shang, and he is recognized by the gods. Will the Shang king choose his son Xiao Qingran or his eldest brother's son Xiao Bogong? People have their own speculations in their hearts.

Xiao Bogong's ability and influence are beyond doubt. Originally, Xiao Qingran and Xiao Bogong could not be compared at all. He is just an empty prince with no talent, no virtue, and no strength. However, this natural disaster, only Xiao Qingran's Dongjun in Shang Country was not affected, which made people curious and concerned about him. Xiao Qingran's governance of Dongjun is impressive, which shows that he has a certain ability. Natural disasters do not enter the East County, perhaps this is the meaning of the gods. And there is also a princess of the Xin Kingdom by his side.

People's eyes wandered between Xiao Qingran and Xiao Bogong. What choice should Shang Wang make?

The day of the ritual was approaching, and Xiao Bogong had already received a handwritten letter from the king of Shang and returned to the palace from the station, preparing to participate in the ceremony. Other princes who were working outside also received the news that they would be in the palace, and rushed back to the palace one after another.

This sacrifice to the heavens is related to the fate of the entire Shang Kingdom. The people of the Shang Kingdom pinned their hopes on this ceremony. The people of Shangdu watched even more eagerly. Almost all the princes who were outside have returned, and looking at them, there is no Xiao Qingran.

The Shang Kingdom was attacked by locusts and black worms, and the entire country, except for the Dongjun under the jurisdiction of Qingran, was spared. This incident touched the people of Shang Kingdom a lot, and they all said that Qingran was the chosen person by heaven, so he was not punished. They expected Xiao Qingran to come back to worship the heavens and help them drive away the black worms.

There was also a voice in the palace asking Qingran to come back and worship the sky. This made Xiao Changyu and others very unhappy. Xiao Bogong behaved very indifferently, as if he didn't care at all.

Voices in favor of Xiao Qingran began to appear in the palace, which should be a good thing for the Shang king, who wanted his own son to succeed to the throne. Many people believe that the Shang King will take this opportunity to let Qing Ran come back, create momentum for him, cultivate power, and compete with Xiao Bogong. Unexpectedly, not only did King Shang not do this, he didn't even let Qingran come back. also publicly announced that he would let Xiao Bogong accompany him this time. This is tantamount to revealing to everyone that the identity of Xiao Bogong's successor.

When everyone was optimistic about Xiao Bogong, he let his son, who was not favored by him, compete with Xiao Bogong. Now, his son is doing better, and he has given Xiao Bogong the status of successor. Many people were confused by the Shang King's approach. What is this Shang King thinking?

And this puzzling news also spread to Dongjun.

Lu also heard the news and loudly complained for Qingran. Qingran didn't care about it at all. What he has to do now is to memorize the "Treatise on Soldiers" given to him by Yu Zimo.