(Thank you to the reader for the red reward of "Drunk and Unredeemable".) ）

Chen Yicai laughed, and his face immediately sank, "I never said that I wanted to be king, especially the king of Chu." The southern army went north to revive the imperial court, not to fight for my name alone. ”

Xu Ji arched his hand and said: "This is an expedient measure, the heroes of Jingzhou are all willing to be vassals to the king to ensure that their status will not be reduced." ”

"What about Song Zhuzhu?"

"He confessed that he was unworthy of the throne."

"Hey, everyone has a good calculation, this is not a humble king, this is to blame others."

"Is General Chen willing to accept 'blame'?"

"What are these words? Who wants to be blamed? ”

"Those who can bear morality on both shoulders, those who can help the needy with their hearts, and those who are loyal and filial to their sons are willing to be 'blamed'."

Chen Yicai laughed again, pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "Gongzi Xu saw the wrong person." ”

"I don't think there's anything wrong."

"This is the second time we've met, you've heard a few gossips from Lord Yin before, why do you think I'm the one who 'succeeds in helping you'?"

"I said three kinds of people, and General Chen himself chose 'to follow the absolute support'."

"Haha, Xu Gongzi said this cleverly, but it doesn't help, I won't make such a big decision just because of a sentence."

Xu Ji arched his hand again, "What I said just now is just a joke, the reason why I believe that General Chen must be the person who 'inherits the absolute support', without it, General Chen is in Hunan and Guangzhou, he could have stayed out of the matter, watched the rebellion in Kyushu, and could have sent an envoy to influence the situation, and he could have closed the customs and defended himself, no matter who is the lord of the Central Plains, General Chen will be rewarded and summoned with a high position." ”

"Well, the history books are full of such people."

"The court is in danger, the emperor is humiliated, Shen, Xi, Sheng and other families, known as the ministers of nature, are actually a local hero, only care about their own territory, only General Chen does the opposite, does not seek stability but danger, does not seek safety but danger, so I know that General Chen must be the person who 'inherits the absolute support'."

"Although the court is 'desperate', there is still a glimmer of life left, and it is because of this that I can't claim the title of king without authorization."

"Those who do great things are not informal, the emperor is now in the hands of Shan Yu, the two kings of Xiangdong and Jibei are all prisoners of the king of Liang in the eastern capital, and it is difficult to get out for a while, if the ministers are unwilling to come forward, they can only fight separately and be defeated by He Rongren one by one."

"I understand the reason, but my official position is too low, the shepherd of the two states is already self-appointed, and has not been recognized by the imperial court.

"When Duke Zhou assisted him as king, people all over the world thought that he had a heart of disobedience, how could Duke Zhou argue at that time? When the king is old, the Duke of Zhou returns to power, the world is enlightened, and he is respected as the head of the virtuous ministers, which has not changed for thousands of years. General Chen has great ambitions, so why bother with the current fame? ”

Chen Yicai shook his head with a smile, and gradually, the smile disappeared, but he was still shaking his head slowly, and said for a long time: "Duke Zhou is at least the real Zaifu, and I will call myself the king of Chu, and I will not get the true allegiance of the heroes of Jingzhou." ”

Of course, the heroes have their own selfish intentions: the Xi family must surrender to Shan Yu, Yang Qinya is bent on dominating the river, and the Song Dynasty has few bamboo soldiers and little food, and just wants to survive. But these three only look at the present, have no long-term plan, and abandon their names, which is very unwise. General Chen is the king, Jingzhou is known, the world knows, when the soldiers and people from all over the world come to Xiangyang again, who else will they defect to? ”

"Will someone else come to help defend Xiangyang?"

"General Chen has come thousands of miles away, and Kyushu is moved, and he will be an effective imitation."

"Xu Gongzi thinks well, I don't have hope."

Xu Ji got up and arched his hand: "I am willing to run for General Chen, and within a month, I will definitely bring back a support army, and if I violate the deadline, I will be willing to accept the death penalty." ”

Chen Yicai smiled: "It's not a capital crime, I know how difficult it is to find reinforcements, and I also know that Xu Gongzi will do his best - but I still have to think about it, these few things, please take them away first." ”

Xu Ji knew that he couldn't persuade anymore, put away the seal, beads, and letters, and was about to leave, when he picked up the jewel, Chen said with a smile: "It turns out that this bead fell into the hands of Yang Qinzai." ”

"Does General Chen recognize it?"

"This is a treasure, which was brought to Guangzhou by an overseas Hu merchant a few years ago, and the Hu merchant was killed by his servants shortly after he came ashore, and everything else was there, but this jewel was stolen. Later, the servant was arrested, but the whereabouts of the orb were unknown. I was an official in Guangzhou at the time, and I had personally seen Hu Shang display the orbs, so I knew the details. ”

"I see." Xu Ji nodded again and again, "Those who got this pearl in Guangzhou must want to take it north to find a big buyer, but when they crossed the river, they met Yang Qinzai and a group of water thieves." ”

"I think so." Chen Yi hesitated for a moment, "Young Master Xu will go and rest for a while." ”

Chen Aicai has his own confidant, summoned to discuss, Xu Ji sat in the tent and waited, very bored, opened the golden ball, took out the jewel inside, held it in the palm of his hand and carefully examined it, recalled the several sayings he heard, and said with a smile: "A small bead also has a dispute between name and reality." ”

It was late at night, and he wanted to wait for a result, but he fell asleep shortly after closing his eyes.

When he woke up, it was already dawn, and he was shocked that Chen had not invited him over, which was not a good sign.

Xu Ji waited for a while and decided to ask in person.

The soldier guarding outside the tent said politely, "Mr. Xu is awake." ”

"Well, I want to see General Chen, please let me know."

"General Chen said, wait for Mr. Xu to wake up, go to Yiling City to find him."

Xu Ji was taken aback again, "When did General Chen leave?" ”

"I set off last night, didn't Mr. Xu bring dozens of soldiers from the Yang Army, and also followed General Chen."

Xu Ji hurriedly asked for horses and galloped towards Yiling City alone.

As soon as the soldiers defending the city saw Xu Ji, they opened the city gate and welcomed them into the city, "Mr. Xu is back quickly, King Jiang is waiting for you." ”

Xu Ji was just in time for a grand banquet, with hundreds of participants, and tables and chairs were even placed on the street.

Chang Yanzhi was drinking with a group of people around the table, and when he saw Xu Ji, he got up and beckoned, and laughed loudly: "I admit defeat, but you can drink today's wine, right?" ”

Xu Ji smiled and nodded, and followed the leader into the hall.

There were few people in the hall, Yang Qinzai sat in the main seat, Chen Yicai sat opposite Xi Yan, and several other generals sat to accompany them.

Seeing Xu Ji, Yang Qinzai was the first to get up, "Mr. Xu is finally here, he is a real hero in this celebration banquet." ”

Chen Yicai and Xi Cheng also got up and greeted each other.

Xu Ji's position has been reserved, just opposite Yang Qinya, Xu Ji drank a few glasses of wine, and the audience chatted, but they didn't understand what was going on.

After three rounds of drinking, Yang Qinzai glanced at Chen and Xi, then nodded, and sat down to accompany the generals to get up and retire with interest.

"Shall I tell me?" Yang Qinzai said.

"King Jiang is a landlord, it's up to you to say." Chen Aicai and Xi Cheng both said, especially Xi Cheng, who has always been anxious, but at this time he was extremely humble and kind, and did not fight for a word.

Yang Qinya coughed, "There are some things that Mr. Xu may not know yet. ”

"I think there's a lot I don't know." Xu Ji said with a smile.

"That's the case, last night Chen Mushou sent someone over to say that everyone helped to guard Xiangyang, and only let Mr. Xu talk alone, which is hard and inconvenient, so it is better to talk in person. I thought this was a good thing, so I personally went out of the city to welcome Chen Mushou and General Xi Er. ”

Xi Cheng interjected: "My father is anxious, he left for Jiangling overnight last night, to transport troops and grain to Xiangyang, and leave me to discuss the details, saying that as long as it is conducive to guarding Xiangyang, everything is decided by Chen Mushou and King Yangjiang, and the Xi family is willing to work with dogs and horses." ”

Yang Qinzai said with a smile: "The Xi family is not a 'labor of dogs and horses', without the Xi family's army, our little people are not enough for He Rongren to stuff his teeth." In short, everyone went into the city to talk face-to-face, and originally sent someone to invite King Song Chu, but he was more anxious, and he had already set up camp and went to Xiangyang, but he sent someone to leave a message, saying that it was up to us to decide. ”

"Harmony without fighting, this is a good sign, Xiangyang will be preserved." Xu Jidao.

"Don't say that, there's one thing we've been arguing about for a long time." Yang Qinzai glanced at Chen Yicai, "It's who should be the king of Chu, the Xi family doesn't live or die, the king of Song Chu - it should be Song Zhuzhu, and he also said that he is not worthy, I and General Chen are humble to each other, and we have a dispute over this." ”

Xu Ji said with a smile: "The heroes of the Quartet have established themselves as kings, but Jingzhou is humble, so I know that the first person who can lead the world must be Jingzhou." ”

"Haha, maybe we Jingzhou people are self-aware. Let it go, and finally really give up an idea, just wait for Mr. Xu to discuss. ”

"You think too highly of me, but I am not from Jingzhou, and I have abdicated before, even if I have the courage to take on this heavy responsibility, I will not be trusted by the soldiers."

Yang Qinya said with a smile: "Mr. Xu wants to be the king of Chu, we really have no opinion, but we all know that Mr. Xu must have no such intentions, so we decided to find someone from outside to be the king of Chu." ”

"The heroes of Jingzhou are all here, who else is more suitable to be the king of Chu than you?"

"Yes, and he is already a king, a real king, any of the two of them come to receive the title of King of Chu, and the soldiers and people of Jingzhou are all convinced."

"Two?"

"King of Xiangdong or King of Jibei."

Xu Ji was surprised, this was not what he expected.

Chen Yicai said: "Guarding Xiangyang is guarding Jingzhou, guarding Jingzhou is guarding the world, in this case, who is more suitable to be the lord of Jingzhou than Zhang?" Even if the two kings refused to accept the title of King of Chu, their own position alone was enough to lead the soldiers of Xiangyang. ”

"But the two kings are now in the eastern capital, so it's not easy to come."

Yang Qinzai said: "So I want to trouble Mr. Xu, it is said that Mr. Xu and King Liang have an old relationship, but they are close friends, if you go in person, you will be able to invite a king to come over, not much, one is enough." ”

"It's hard." Xu Ji knew how important the two kings were to Ma Wei, and Ma Wei was afraid of He Rongren, so he didn't dare to participate in this matter.

Yang Qinya's face was slightly gloomy, "What Mr. Xu persuaded us to do is extremely difficult, so it will not be our turn to contribute, but we have to refuse, right?" ”

"It's my duty, but if I don't invite ......"

"We must be invited, without the king of the Zhang family, we will not go to Xiangyang." Yang Qinzai said resolutely.

"I'm afraid it's too late."

"We will first send troops to Xiangyang, if we can't block the state army, everyone should disperse, if we can block it, it's good, just wait for Mr. Xu's news in Xiangyang, before the successor He Rong's army comes, there is a king coming, we fight to the death, no, or should be dispersed, we will never fight alone with He Rongren."

Xu Ji suddenly couldn't guess the hearts of these families.