In March of the 58th year of the Great Zhao Dynasty, He Dapeng, the first assistant of the Yun State, was jointly sued by the ministers for framing loyal ministers, monopolizing the government, and perverting the law for bribes, and the emperor immediately ordered a strict investigation.

Ten days later, the evidence was conclusive, and the emperor ordered He Dapeng to be beheaded and removed from his post as chief assistant.

In the process of executing the beheading, He Dapeng's henchmen broke into the execution ground to save He Dapeng, but just as they were acting, 30 people led by Wang Ding arrived in time and arrested them all, and then Wang Ding killed He Dapeng with his own hands and avenged He Dapeng for framing his father.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Ding successfully competed for the position of first assistant with the help of Xiao Diyuan, and soon after taking the throne, he promoted two people recommended by Xiao Diyuan from Shu to serve as Beijing officials, and focused on establishing a good relationship with the loyal ministers of Yun State, so as to form a climate as soon as possible.

Since coming to Yunguo, Xiao Diyuan has changed his appearance, lived in the house arranged by Wang Ding, and quietly deployed everything.

That night, Wang Ding and the two people sent by Xiao Diyuan came to Xiao Diyuan's study to discuss with him.

Xiao Diyuan was dressed as a scholar and sat upright at the desk, reading a book while writing something on the paper, looking more elegant than when he was in Shuguo.

After the three of them came in, he said to the three of them: "The reply from the king of Zhao has arrived, and he said that he agrees to join us in the crusade against the Shu Kingdom, but at the moment there are a group of conservative ministers on the Yun side who must be firmly disagreeing, so the next task of the three of you is to try to persuade the king of the Yun Kingdom to agree to send troops to attack the Shu Kingdom." ”

The three of them nodded, and then came up with a plan.

After listening to everyone's plan, Xiao Diyuan said: "Interest is undoubtedly the main reason for them to consider whether it is worth acting, so you can tell him - as long as they work together to take Shuguo, they will divide Shuguo in half, half to Zhaoguo and half to Yunguo." ”

"That's a good idea, but," Wang Ding said after thinking for a moment, "It's just that when we do this, I'm afraid that Ye Guo and Yu Guo will have opinions, what if they want to punish us for not following the rule of 'seizing the city with a big competition'?"

Xiao Diyuan said calmly: "You only saw one part, not the whole." After that, he pointed to the map and said: "If you look at the distribution map of the entire five countries, Ye is exactly sandwiched between Zhao and Yun, and Yu is sandwiched between Yun and Shu, so as long as we take Shu at that time, then whether it is Ye or Yu, they will definitely not dare to send troops to attack us easily." ”

After hearing this, Wang Ding said sincerely: "It seems that His Royal Highness has already studied this issue thoroughly!"

Xiao Diyuan continued: "As for what you said about worrying about Ye and Yu opposing our crusade against Shuguo, we will still have a reason to explain it at that time - 1. The reason why Zhao Guo crusaded against Shu was because the monarch of Shu State had taken away the three princes with a plan, and after the truth was revealed, the monarch of Shu State not only did not feel half guilty and remorseful, but also immediately started to kill people and kill people. 2. Assuming that Yun Guo is willing to support Zhao Guo to fight against Shu Guo together, it can be interpreted as righteous anger, or it can be interpreted as wanting to get half of Shu Guo, no matter which explanation it is, it is also reasonable. ”

Wang Ding: "What if the Ye Kingdom and the Yan Kingdom say that they are actually willing to assist us in the crusade against the Shu Kingdom, but we don't consult with them?"

Diyuan Siu: "That's exactly what I want to achieve. ”

Wang Ding: "Let several countries have contradictions?"

Xiao Diyuan: "No, it is to make them realize that the era of 'seizing the city by strategy' has passed, and the current trend is to realize the unification of the five countries." When they realize this, they will desperately try to win over their neighbors to increase their strength to resist the invasion of other countries, and at that time, as long as Zhao and Yun merge into one country, it will not be something they can easily shake, and then we will subdue them one by one. ”

At that time, it will not be difficult for a large country to subdue two countries that are not too large.

After hearing this, Wang Ding and the other two admired Xiao Diyuan's scheming more and more.

"Third Highness, it seems that it may not be possible to realize the grand wish of unifying the five countries in three or four years, so have you ever thought about who will rule such a big country at that time?" Wang Ding asked.

Xiao Diyuan heard what he said and replied: "Naturally, it is the monarch of Zhao State. ”

Wang Ding arched his hand and said: "Admire, admire, then you will be a great hero at that time, Your Royal Highness." Then he asked, "Third Highness, how did you come up with the idea of unifying the five kingdoms?"

Xiao Diyuan: "As early as when I was in my early teens, one day I suddenly realized that it was a very cruel thing to attack the city by force or plunder the city by strategy, and the way to completely stop attacking the city by force and strategy was to realize the unification of the Central Plains.

If the Central Plains were to achieve great unification, the strategy of Dabi, which had lasted for decades, would have been dispensed with, and the people of the five kingdoms would have been able to intermarry with each other.

At the beginning of this idea, I just thought about it, and I didn't have a very strong motivation to implement it, because one identity is not suitable, and the other is really difficult to implement, and it is very likely that not only did not succeed, but lost my life.

But when I realized that my true identity might be the third prince of Zhaoguo, this thought suddenly became extremely strong, so I had this series of plans. ”

Wang Ding said with emotion: "It is not easy for Your Royal Highness to come this way, and what you are doing now is of great significance, I am honored to participate in it and strive for a better future together." ”

Xiao Diyuan: "Brother Wang has a good reputation, and I have needed your assistance in the past few years to make this plan go ahead as scheduled, I am very grateful to you!" After that, he smiled at the other two and said: "Whether things can still go smoothly as scheduled in the future depends on a few of you, so I want to toast you tonight." ”

The three of them hurriedly raised their glasses and drank them all, all full of confidence and anticipation for what they would face next.

After sending the three away, Xiao Diyuan drank a few cups of tea outside the window, and then wrote a letter to Jiang Yuetang.

Since Jiang Yuetang was walking the rivers and lakes and did not have a fixed address, he sent the letter to Jiang Chuanxiong and asked Jiang Chuanxiong to help pass it on.

In the letter, he gave a general account of his current situation, but did not disclose the name of the country where he was located, only said that he would go to see her when the time was right, and asked her not to worry about him.

After writing it, Xiao Diyuan handed the letter to Ding Cong and asked Ding Cong to send it immediately.

...........

Dear friends, a watch is coming. There are only 6 days left in February, and I calculated that it will not be finished before the end of the month, and it will probably not be finished until around the beginning of March.