Mansour has begun to be suspicious of Abu ***, of course, the current suspicion is not to suspect that Abu *** is colluding with his old rival Abdullah, they are still grasshoppers on a rope for the time being, and Abu *** has no reason to betray him.

What he cares about is that Abu *** is not absolutely loyal enough, not obedient enough, not obedient enough to him, and did not send someone to tell him in time after he already knew that Qiyad returned to Khorasan, and this is obviously a sign of arrogance.

Now there are signs of arrogance, and if it continues to develop step by step, it is possible to develop dissenting intentions, and having dissenting intentions is something that no tyrant can tolerate.

When he first heard that Ziyad had returned, Mansour suspected that Abu *** had made a decision without concealing it, but later through various indications, Ziyad was not sent back by Abu ***, and should have come back by himself, so Abu *** would not be unfaithful to himself.

But no matter what, after all, Ziyad is a generation of famous generals of the Apos Dynasty, since he has returned to Khorasan and met with Abu ***, then, Abu *** should inform Mansur as soon as possible, so that Mansur knows what Ziyad is returning to Khorasan for, he must understand these in order to be at ease, and Abu *** has not taken the initiative to tell him for so long, which makes him very uneasy, even if there is no important reason himself, but Mansour's heart is uncomfortable.

Mansur wanted to send someone to ask Ziyad about the reason for returning to Khorasan several times, but every time the order came to his mouth, he swallowed it, because he now needed the support of Abu *** and Ziyad very much, so he could not give these two people the feeling of being watched, let alone force these two to answer questions that he did not want to answer, and if Ziyad did not want to answer, the question could not be asked, and the interrogation would be even more unreasonable.

Therefore, after finally thinking about it, al-Mansur decided not to ask Ziyad about the reason for his return to Khorasan, he still had to let Abu *** say it himself.

Mansour is a big-picture man who understands that Ziyad's problems are minor no matter what, and the biggest problem now is how to deal with his old rival Abdullah.

Since the establishment of the Abbasid dynasty, Mansur and Abdullah, two comrades-in-arms and relatives who fought side by side before, have become strangers who guard against each other, and at most they can only maintain the most basic superficial politeness, and after Apos is seriously ill, this superficial politeness is difficult to maintain, and it seems that they are about to meet each other, but because Apos is still alive, many intermediate forces are still waiting, so none of them dare to make the first move, and the more than 100,000 soldiers and horses in their hands have reached a terrifying balance between them.

At this critical juncture, al-Mansour must not lose Abu *** and Ziyad, only if these two go all out to support him, he can have a greater chance of winning, so he chose not to ask Ziyad about it, in order to show his false mind.

"Master, Abdullah went to see the caliph just now, and stayed in the main hall for a long time, because their voices were so small that our people could only hear a rough idea, and they couldn't make out what they were talking about, but there was one person whose name was very clear, and it was Ziyad."

A servant dressed in black appeared in a hurry and said in front of Mansour's eyes.

"Ziyad?"

Mansur was shocked, Ziyad had just returned to Khorasan, and Abdullah knew so quickly, and he also told the caliph what he was trying to do, was it to sow discord? Suddenly, Mansour's mind was full of suspicions, and all kinds of doubts filled his mind.

"No, you must not let Abdullah provoke it, I will go to the caliph."

Mansur was furious in his heart, he wanted to see Apos immediately, in order to clear his suspicion, although he was not afraid of Apos now, but there was still a sense of fear in his heart, and he still had to wait until Apos said that he would pass on the throne to him.

The servants hurriedly prepared their carriages and horses, and accompanied and escorted Mansur to meet Apos.

After meeting Abdullah, Apos thought for a while and then lay down, he needed more rest to prolong his life as much as possible.

"Caliph, Lord Mansur asks to see you."

A slave said.

Apos sighed and motioned for the servants to help him up, he had been waiting for Mansur for a long time, he knew that after Abdullah left, Mansur would definitely come to him, and sure enough, Mansur did come.

"Let him in."

Apos waved his hand and told the servants beside him to step back, he wanted to make himself look as energetic as possible.

"Dear Caliph, you will be well."

Mansur was also very respectful, and did not show the slightest disrespect to Apos.

"It's a coincidence that your uncle Abdullah just left, and you came!"

Apos said half-jokingly, half-sarcastically.

Mansur replied unhurriedly: "Dear caliph, I have come here to tell you that Artik of Aden City has once again rejected our request, and he probably thinks that there is an Ottoman to respond, and we can't do anything about him!" General Ziyad was not sure of victory for a while, and had just returned to Khorasan today, where he was at the residence of Abu *** to discuss how to settle the affairs of the city of Aden. ”

Changed the topic lightly, and also cleared the suspicion that Ziyad's return to Khorasan was his own conspiracy, and it has to be said that Mansur is still very level.

Apos didn't really believe what Mansur said, but he wouldn't believe it at all, so to speak, both believing and some doubting, but it wasn't very important, he was dying, where did he care.

"Artik is not a concern, and Ottoman is not worth mentioning, and I believe you think so too, the most terrible enemy is within the walls."

Apos said lightly.

Mansour was silent, which could be considered acquiescence.

"Mansour, how important is family affection in your heart?"

Somehow, Apos suddenly asked a very silly question.

Mansour smiled faintly and said, "Family affection? Those are all feelings that can only be enjoyed by ordinary people, where can we enjoy it, and we dare not enjoy it. ”

This is very reasonable, it is difficult for the high-level to appreciate the feelings of ordinary people, because the high places are unbearable, they have to beware of being plotted everywhere, the pressure in their hearts is very huge, and they dare not trust anyone, even their own loved ones.

Therefore, the ruling class is very cold, and cannot have emotions that ordinary people can easily have, I have to say that it is a kind of sadness, but the rulers have too much material wealth, and only by losing emotions can they achieve balance, so that the whole world can be balanced, God is fair, and this is what he said.

Apos also understood, and al-Mansur had once again tactfully told him that he was determined to take the position of caliph and would not give up his rightful position because of family affection.

Moreover, many of his subordinates will not agree, many people follow Mansur's side in order to one day soar to prosper, and only if al-Mansur ascends to the position of caliph, they can realize their dreams, and if al-Mansur gives up the high position of caliph, these subordinates who follow him will be cold, so they choose to join Abdullah, so it is questionable whether he can live or not.

Because once Abdullah ascends to the throne, he will not forgive his nephew, as long as he is killed, Abdullah can sit firmly in the country with peace of mind.

"A few of you stay and wait, and the rest of you can step down!"

Apos asked the six maids to stay, and let the rest of the valets and guards retreat temporarily.

"Caliph, what advice do you have?"

Mansour asked.

Apos raised his voice and spoke: "I have something in my heart, and I must tell you, if you don't say it, you may not have a chance." ”

"What?"

"I know that Abdullah and you are both heroes of the empire, if it weren't for the efforts of the two of you, our empire would not have developed so fast, I used to think that my health was very good and I wouldn't get sick easily, so I suppressed you and supported Abdullah more, so that the two of you gradually showed an evenly matched situation, and you were each responsible for half of the affairs, which was also a good thing, but I didn't expect that my body would suddenly fail, and either of you would inherit the position of caliph, I thought about it for a long time, I can't make up my mind, and I don't dare to make a decision easily, you know. ”

Apos is a man who is dying and his words are good, and he actually said everything in his heart, and his tone was very sincere.

Mansour nodded, he understood his brother very well.

"Brother is worried that I will meet my uncle in war and cause the empire to split?"

Apos nodded and said: "Exactly, this is what I am most worried about, you each have the elite soldiers and horses of the empire, and there are many people behind you to support you, once there is an internal strife, the foundation we have worked so hard to build will be completely destroyed." ”

"That's right, but who can change that? Even the great caliph can't solve this problem, and my uncle and I can't solve it either, and unless my uncle is willing to give up, I will definitely not hurt him, as long as he is willing to give up fighting for the position of caliph. ”

Al-Mansur made it clear that whether or not Apos passed the position of caliph to him, he would decide, and he would not give up the throne.

Apos smiled reluctantly, he wouldn't believe what his brother said? He didn't believe that if Abdullah gave up fighting for the throne, Mansur would put away his murderous intentions, that was not Mansour's character, absolutely not.

"The big position is still handed over to you, my younger brother, is the most suitable, however, this matter must not be made public, I must find a way to weaken my uncle's strength, so that when you succeed to the throne, you can sit firmly in the big seat."

Apos said.

"Brother's choice is wise, I will definitely live up to your trust, rest assured! I know what to do. ”

Mansur nodded, looking at the six maids trembling beside him.

These maids knew very well in their hearts that their lives were not long left, and they listened to things that they should not have heard, and they were sure that they would be silenced, so they were naturally extremely frightened.

"Okay, I'm tired, my brother, you can go back and rest!"

Apos waved his hand and motioned for Mansur to step aside.

"Great caliph, rest early, too."

Mansour slowly walked out of the hall and watched as the guards and valets walked into the hall.

"Tea."

Apos looked at the location of the tea and motioned for the maid to serve it.

The three maids cautiously went over to pour the tea and brought it to Apos, who reached out to take it.

"Smack......

The teacup was obviously in Apos's hand, but Apos's hand shook, and the teacup fell to the ground, and Apos's palm was wet.

The six maids all knelt down at once, they were not stupid, they knew that this was Apos's intention, to find a slightly more reliable reason to kill them, but they did not have the slightest ability to resist, they looked extremely helpless.

When Mansur left the hall just now, the six of them were fully capable of strangling Apos to death, with Apos's current physical strength, the six maids had enough strength to strangle Apos to death, but they didn't dare to do so.

The long-term formation of servility makes them dare not resist their masters in the slightest, they have completely lost the sense of resistance, even if there is a dying old man in front of them, and will kill them, they do not dare to do it.

In addition to the servility that kept them from resisting, there was also a fluke mentality and fear of more brutal executions.

What if Apos had mercy and only made them dumb? Then they at least have hope of living, of course, this situation is too slim, Apos will not spend such a big deal, only to kill people, that is the safest.

On the other hand, they were afraid of a more cruel punishment, Apos would kill them, and there would not be much pain, and if they killed the king, then what awaited them was a very cruel death, and it would be painful.

Of course, they can also choose to commit suicide by hitting the wall after killing Apos, which can be said to be the best means of resistance.

But the time between Mansur's departure from the main hall and the escort entering the main hall was too short, how could these servile people make up their minds in such a short period of time?

"Drag them all out and kill them with a cane."

Apos said lightly, as if there was a guest in the house, and the master wanted to kill a chicken to entertain the guest, and he did not take the life of the maid as a human life at all.

Mansur walked very slowly, he did it on purpose, and when he turned around, he saw that six maids were being dragged out of the main hall and were being executed, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, in his eyes, these maids were also very worthless, and what made him happy was that Apos was already on his side, which was very important.

Although Apos is a cunning man, Apos is dying after all, and he believes that what Apos said is true, and Apos is truly supporting him.