Yesterday in the study, Jia Xu asked Cai Ji, "Do you know where the key to success is", and the final answer was Wu Shuo. Because Cai Ji was confident that he could use the feudal princes to induce Sun Ce, Cao Ang, and even Liu Bei to compromise with each other, so as to realize the pattern of the four feudal emperors as the co-masters. But she can't guarantee that Wu Shuo, as an imperial party, will be able to accept the mention of "dividing the princes and vassalizing the Han". You must know that although Liu Xie is only a puppet emperor now, in theory, he still has a chance to turn over and prosper. And once Liu Xie divides the princes, it is equivalent to giving up the inheritance passed down by his ancestors to people with foreign surnames.

It is true that whether it is due to historical records or Liu Xie's own appearance in this time and space, it makes people feel that the Han Tianzi of Xu Du does not look like he can rejuvenate the Han Dynasty. But it does not mean that the imperial party around Liu Xie will be willing to give up the great cause of rejuvenation, and instead assist this nominal Han Tianzi to follow the example of the Zhou family in a corner of peace. If Wu Shuo stubbornly refuses to cooperate with Cai Ji because of this, or if Yang Fengyin deliberately delays time and causes Cai Ji to miss the opportunity, then it will be troublesome.

Fortunately, the previous incident dealt a great blow to the power of the imperial party, and the die-hard faction led by Dong Cheng had been slaughtered by Cao Cao. Cai Ji believes that those bloody pasts should allow Wu Shuo to see the reality clearly, so that he can make a more pragmatic choice for the Son of Heaven. On the other hand, it inevitably stimulated Wu Shuo's self-esteem as a Hanchen, and Cai Ji did not introduce Sun Quan to Wu Shuo at first, but retreated to meet with Dr. Wu alone.

However, after the two of them sat down and exchanged pleasantries, Wu Shuo first placed a small and delicate sandalwood box in front of Cai Ji, "Before leaving, Your Majesty asked the old man to bring this thing to Qi Hou." ”

Cai Ji reached out and took the box and opened it to take a look. I saw a mellow jade lying quietly in the box, which was the jade pendant she gave to Liu Xie in the Yuntai Hall in the past. In an instant, the past rushed into Cai Ji's heart like a tide. At that time, Liu Xie was full of enthusiasm and hope for the future of Dahan and himself. And Cai Ji himself once thought that his intervention could change Liu Xie's fate. However, the expression of the Han family in the next few years was deeply disappointed by her. Liu Xie did not accept her advice and endured humiliation in front of Cao Cao. did not resist the agitation of Dong Cheng and others, and in the end, it was as hasty as the original historical account and failed. As later generations said, character determines fate, perhaps Liu Xie's character lacks a tenacity, which makes him destined to become the master of Zhongxing.

However, while reminiscing about the past through the jade pendant, Cai Ji did not forget the purpose of meeting Wu Shuo. At this moment, Dan saw that she held the wooden box containing the jade pendant in her hand high above her head as if she had received a holy decree, and bowed respectfully and said, "Minister Cai Ji is at the disposal of the Son of Heaven. ”

Seeing that Cai Ji was still so respectful to the Son of Heaven today, Wu Shuo suddenly choked up with a sour nose and said, "Qi Hou is really a great Han Zhongliang!" Tadaya! ”

Wu Shuo's tearful appearance made Cai Ji feel embarrassed for a while. With a weak heart, she hurriedly put away the box and asked. "Ji should not praise this. But I don't know what the Son of Heaven has? ”

Facing Cai Ji's inquiry, Wu Shuo quickly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and then sighed, "Don't hide it from Qi Hou." The old man's visit was entrusted by Cao Zixiu to ask Qi Hou for help to rescue his father. Cao Zixiu was afraid that the Marquis of Qi would shirk it, so he ordered the old man to enter the palace and ask the Son of Heaven for advice. The Son of Heaven gave this jade, and said that the Marquis of Qi would definitely save it when he saw it. ”

Seeing this thing, he will definitely save the driver - Cai Ji carefully recalled Liu Xie's words and fell into deep thought. The situation that Wu Shuo said was not much different from Cai Ji's previous judgment. Wu Shuoming's identity on the face is Cao Ying's envoy. Secretly, it was the messenger who passed on the decree for Liu Xie. Of course, Cao Ang should have expected that the Liu Association would take the opportunity to ask Cai Ji for help. But he obviously acquiesced in Liu Xie and Wu Shuo's small actions. In other words, Cao Ang seems to have made plans to sell the Son of Heaven. For Cai Ji, this is certainly good news. But compared with Cao Ang, Liu Xie's reaction is somewhat intriguing.

Originally, according to Cai Ji's judgment, Liu Xie would most likely seize the opportunity of Cao Cao's trapped Jingzhou, send a blood edict to count the crimes of Cao's father and son, and then order her to enter the king of Jingqin. Who would have thought that this time Liu Xie would only let Wu Shuo bring a jade pendant to beg her to fulfill the promise she made that year. It is undeniable that Liu Xie's hand is indeed more touching than a blood edict sprinkled with blood. For other unprepared princes, most of them have been coerced into acting according to Wu Shuo's ideas at this moment. However, for Cai Ji, Liu Xie's move gave her room to play. So I saw Cai Ji frowning slightly, pretending to be embarrassed, "The matter of saving the driver is a matter of importance, does the doctor have a charter?" ”

Cai Ji really asked Wu Shuo when he said this. Regarding the current complicated situation, Wu Shuo actually has no bottom in his heart. So he had to think about it and responded, "Cao Zixiu wants to exchange the Son of Heaven for his father." However, Liu Xuande and Sun Bofu both have the ambition to welcome the Son of Heaven, and they have their own plans. Do not give in to each other. Therefore, it is necessary for Qi Hou to mediate the dispute between the three families. ”

The situation that Wu Shuo said was not much different from the information Cai Ji had. To put it bluntly, Liu Bei and Sun Ce both wanted to coerce Cao Cao to coerce the Son of Heaven to order the princes. But at present, it was Liu Bei who seized the opportunity to trap Cao Cao in Dangyang. So Sun Ce, who was unwilling, took action to drag his hind legs to prevent Liu Bei from getting the Son of Heaven. Similarly, if Liu Bei and Sun Ce change their positions, I believe that Uncle Liu Huang will not give up. After all, there is Prime Minister Cao Cheng's gold and jade in front. But all the princes who have a little strength and a little ambition will covet the Han Emperor. However, there is only one Son of Heaven, and there is only one who can coerce the Son of Heaven to order the princes. As the saying goes, at this time and at that time, when the strength of each family is almost the same, the one who dominates the Son of Heaven will definitely become the target of the public. In fact, Mo said that "coercing the Son of Heaven", even if it is Cai Ji's current plan of "dividing the seal", her family will not be allowed to eat alone. Therefore, in Cai Ji's plan, the division of princes does not refer to her alone, but involves the three families of Cao, Sun, and Liu, who are vying for the Son of Heaven.

At this moment, Wu Shuo had already proposed to ask her Cai Ji to mediate the dispute between the three families, and Cai Ji naturally led her plan out of the situation, "If this is the case, Ji has a plan, but I don't know whether to talk about it or not?" ”

Wu Shuo heard what Cai Ji said, and knew that the other party was going to put forward conditions. However, Wu Shuo is not a pedantic person, in his opinion, Cai Jiken's condition means that the woman in front of him must have a good way to save the Son of Heaven. Thinking of this, Wu Shuo immediately flicked his long sleeves and said humbly, "Qi Hou, please advise." ”

Cai Ji also adjusted his feelings. Raising his head and looking at Wu Shuo, he said in a low voice, "The Son of Heaven has been an adult for a long time, in order to avoid the suspicion of Wang Mang. Cao Gong should be in power. And the land of Xu Du is not the choice of the royal capital. Therefore, Ji thought that it could be effective for the Zhou system, Bu Du Dingding, return the government to the Son of Heaven, divide the princes, and use the feudal Ping Han. As for the choice of moving the capital. Chang'an and Luoyang have been barren for a long time after military disasters. However, Xiangyang is the place where the ancestors of the world prospered. Without the flames of war, it is really a place where the Son of Heaven is alive and resting. ”

Cai Ji's words Wu Shuo nodded again and again when he first listened, feeling that the woman in front of him was to the point. It must be known that the contradiction between Liu Xie and Cao Cao is, in the final analysis, still a pro-government. One refuses to give up power. Thinking of the expressions of the other princes over the years, it is obvious that Cao Cao is not the only one who needs to avoid suspicion. And Xu Du is indeed far less than Chang'an, Luoyang and even Yecheng have the appearance of a royal capital. Once Cao Ang reached an agreement with Cai Ji and others, moving the capital would be even more ironclad. However, the more he heard it, the more Wu Shuo felt that something was wrong. Especially when Cai Ji said "divide the princes and screen the Han with the domain", Wu Shuo's face turned white. So much so that he didn't listen to Cai Ji's mention of moving the capital to Xiangyang later.

To tell the truth, the Zhou system, which has been inherited for 800 years, has always had an indescribable attraction to Chinese scholars. Otherwise, Wang Mang would not have implemented his new policy in the name of the retro Zhou system. However, Liu Xie was not the king of Zhou Wu after all. Today's Han Dynasty has long since declined. Wu Shuo believed that once Liu Xie followed the example of the Zhou system, he let go of Cai Ji and other princes to establish a feudal state. What awaits the Han family is not the world of prosperity, but the strife of the nations.

Conflict among the nations? And what is the difference between this world and the Warring States? - Wu Shuo smiled self-deprecatingly in his heart at the thought that popped up in his mind. At this time, he already knew that there were only two paths in front of the Han family. One is to continue to live under the wing of the ministers, until the ministers persecute the Son of Heaven like Wang Mang, so that the Han family will completely disappear. The other is to follow the example of King Zhou Ping to move the capital to avoid disasters and sit back and watch the strife of the nations. Although this is also a dead end in the long run, as long as it is handled properly, the Han family can at least be passed down for several generations like the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

At this moment, Wu Shuo deeply felt that the four hundred years of the Han family were like a thousand catties of gold pressing on him. At the same time, his mind also came up with the appearance of Liu Xie's dry sitting in the Yongning Palace that day, and the eyes that were black and shining because of survival when Liu Xie handed over the jade pendant to him.

Cai Ji sat opposite and quietly watched Wu Shuo's expression change from excitement to shock, then from shock to self-deprecation, and finally fell into deep thought. Cai Ji didn't interject a word during the whole process. Didn't give a look. Because she clearly knows the relevant stakes, Wu Shuo actually understands everything. The question is whether the old man in front of him is willing to take responsibility and whether he can make up his mind.

After a long while, the expression on Wu Shuo's face finally calmed down. I heard him calmly ask, "Since the Marquis of Qi has the intention to follow the example of Duke Zheng Wu to protect the Son of Heaven and move the capital, I don't know if the princes from all walks of life will respond?" ”

Gong Zheng Wu was the second monarch of Zheng in the Spring and Autumn Period, and after the killing of King You of Zhou, he and the allied forces of Qin, Jin, and Wei repelled the dog Rong, and was awarded the title of Qingshi, and was rewarded with a large area of land for escorting the king of Zhou Ping to move the capital to Luoyi. It is true that Zheng Wugong's son, Zheng Zhuanggong, later weakened the position of the Zhou royal family by virtue of his dual status as a scholar of the Zhou Dynasty and a prince and monarch. But the evaluation of Zheng Wugong by later generations is still extremely positive.

Therefore, when he heard Wu Shuo compare himself to Zheng Wugong, the boulder hanging from Cai Ji's chest finally fell to the ground. You must know that Cao Cao in history praised and worshipped in the seventeenth year of Jian'an, did not enter the court, went to the palace with his sword, and his arrogance approached Dong Zhuo in the past. Soon after, some ministers persuaded Cao Cao to ascend to the throne of Wei under Cao Cao's instructions. The move was soon met with unanimous opposition from Han loyalists. In particular, Cao Cao's mastermind Xun Yu even pointed to Sang scolding Huai for counting down those ministers who persuaded him to advance, and directly led Cao Cao to completely turn his face with him, and the two men who had supported each other also parted ways. Considering that Cao Cao only ascended to the throne of Wei Gongshang and caused such an uproar, Cai Ji had always worried that his proposal to "divide the princes and use the feudal Han" would anger Wu Shuo and other loyal Han people.

Fortunately, judging from Wu Shuo's reaction at this moment, as long as he does not usurp the imperial power and does not take the Han Dynasty, the establishment of a feudal state alone is still within the bottom line that the Han family can bear. After all, in addition to entering the Duke of Wei, Cao Cao in history also added a "plus nine tins". Don't look at Jiajiu Xi as just a ceremonial treatment, but in a deep sense, this move represents an unspoken rule since Wang Mang, that is, Jia Jiu Xi is a signal of usurpation. Because Wang Mang manipulated Liu Yingchan to give way to him soon after adding Jiuxi. Of course, if the person who adds nine tins is not in the court and is not a minister, then it is another matter. Just as Cao Wei later added nine tins to Sun Quan, it was considered a symbol of Sun Quan's submission to Cao Wei rather than a usurpation. In short, in comparison, following the example of the Zhou feudal state, the state can at least retain the name of the Han family. The lesser of two disadvantages is balanced, and the answer is self-evident.

Seeing that Wu Shuo had already made up his mind, Cai Ji struck while the iron was hot and encouraged him, "Doctor, don't worry." Lone and Wu Hou have a secret agreement. ”

Wu Shuo didn't expect Cai Ji to move so fast, and couldn't help blurting out, "Is this true?" ”

"If the doctor doesn't believe it, you can ask Wu Hou's brother." Cai Ji said, smiled and clapped his hands outside the door.

Sun Quan, who had been waiting outside the house for a long time, heard the signal sent by Cai Ji, and immediately came to his seat, took off his shoes and sat down, and respectfully bowed to Wu Shuo, "Filial piety Sun Quan pays a visit to Dr. Wu." ”

Wu Shuo glanced up and down at the young man in front of him who spoke with a southern accent. But seeing that the other party was open-mouthed, his eyes were bright, and his appearance was strange and different from ordinary people, and then he thought of all kinds of rumors about the Sun brothers in the world, Wu Shuo suddenly swept away the doubts in his heart. So he followed the twist and said with a smile, "I have heard that the son of Sun Poyu is a heroic talent, and when I saw it today, it really deserved its reputation." ”

Sun Quan's father, Sun Jian, once served as a general and became famous all over the world, and was respected by the world as "Sun Polu". At this moment, I heard the scholars and doctors in the Central Plains praise his Sun brothers as heroes, and Sun Quan was quite proud. However, in front of Cai Ji, Sun Quan didn't dare to have a frivolous appearance after all, so he hurriedly bowed his hands and said humbly, "The doctor praises you, how dare Quan Yijie compare with his brother." ”

Sun Quan first claimed to be filial piety, and then he was humble again and again, and all kinds of expressions like this gave Wu Shuo an extremely good impression. made him not only identify with Sun Quan's identity, but also believe Cai Ji's statement that he had a secret agreement with Sun Ce. And the addition of the Sun family has strengthened Wu Shuo's confidence. Therefore, Wu Shuo couldn't wait to ask Cai Jitan, "Since the Marquis of Qi and the Marquis of Wu have joined forces, I don't know when to welcome the Son of Heaven to move the capital?" ”

There is no trace of the eight characters, how can you join forces-Sun Quan secretly slandered the so-called "Qi and Wu teaming up" in his heart, and secretly glanced at Cai Ji who was sitting on the side. But seeing that Cai Ji's face was not red and his heart was not beating, he happily replied, "It is a matter of the safety of the Son of Heaven, and the timing of moving the capital can only be decided after the doctor comes forward to mediate with the son." (To be continued......)