Zhou Yuanbin shouldered a heavy responsibility, to consolidate the friendship between the Shen family and He Rongbu for many years, he thought it would be an easy task, although there had been a "misunderstanding" between the two sides, He Rong's cavalry once intended to sneak attack Jinyang, but after Zhou Yuanbin arrived, the problem was quickly solved.

Zhou Yuanbin knew almost all of He Rongbu's lords, and some of them were very close relatives, and some of his childhood playmates were now in high positions and still regarded him as his own.

Needless to say, there are many daughters of the Shen and Zhou families who have married, and the Zhou family has more, and they are all willing to support the "mother's family".

Zhou Yuanbin was full of confidence, but several recent events made him suspicious.

"I originally thought that He Rongbu would take Yuyang directly, and then go down to Yecheng, capture the entire Jizhou in one fell swoop, and then march hand in hand with the Bingzhou army, but since entering the fortress, Shan Yu has been reluctant to launch an offensive for a long time, and it has been two days since he stopped here! Also, Shan Yu went to see the emperor, I thought that he would take the emperor hostage, after all, there were not many troops left in Yecheng, but Shan Yu only brought back a small child, and invited the emperor to come to meet tomorrow. ”

The more Zhou Yuanbin thought about it, the more wrong it became, and he always felt that behind Shan Yu's toughness, there seemed to be an intention to reconcile with Tiancheng.

If you want to know Shan Yu's true thoughts, of course, you have to ask his pillow person.

Zhou Yuanbin asked the seventh sister, and the answer he got was that there was no need to worry, just being a void and a snake, in the end, the Tiancheng royal family would be completely wiped out, and only an alliance with the Bingzhou family.

Zhou Yuanbin was a little relieved, after sleeping for a night, he felt uneasy again, this time he found the maid next to the seventh sister - the maid is also the maid of the Zhou family, her parents are still in Jinyang, and the correspondence and gift exchange have to rely on Zhou Yuanbin, so he is very grateful to him.

It was this maid who revealed the rumors, and she didn't hear it with her own ears, but heard other He Rong female slaves talk about it, and the eldest wife had told Shan Yu about the benefits of the Tiancheng Imperial Court.

"Why would she do this? She is obviously the Zhou family and the Shen family, and the alliance between He Rongbu and Bingzhou is only good for her, there is no harm, will there be such a person in the world? Elbows outward, don't help your mother's family, but secretly take refuge in unrelated people? I can't figure it out. ”

Xu Ji listened quietly, occasionally nodding his head, or humming.

Zhou Yuanbin was silent for a while and continued: "Then I remembered Xu Gongzi's words, how did Lao Shan die? I've thought about this before, and I've always thought that someone who covets Shan Yu's position is a ghost, and he has no clear evidence and doesn't want to divide the tribe, so he let this person go. After thinking about it carefully, I suddenly found that the two parties benefited the most from the death of Lao Shan Yu, one is the strong arm Shan Yu, needless to say, and the other is the Tiancheng Imperial Court of Yecheng, so as to easily get rid of the He Rong cavalry that went deep into Jizhou, which should have been a big crisis, but it turned invisible. ”

Xu Ji still nodded.

Zhou Yuanbin said: "I want to go down here, I've said so much, Xu Gongzi should also reveal a little, what do you know?" ”

Xu Ji smiled slightly, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you." ”

Zhou Yuanbin was displeased, "Does Gongzi Xu look down on me?" I still think I only continue your life for three days, this can't blame me, although Pingshan is very familiar with me, but he is more arrogant, except for Shan Yu, everyone has to give him three points, he can give me this face, it is already a great favor, not for those animals. ”

"Zhou Senjun misunderstood, I was worried about your safety, so I can't say something to you."

"What, you're afraid I'll be assassinated?" Zhou Yuanbin laughed, "The worst result is nothing more than just deciding to form an alliance with the Tiancheng Imperial Court, then he won't kill me, at most force me to accept the facts." ”

Xu Ji shook his head.

"Xu Gongzi won't be hinting at the seventh sister, right? She won't, if I die here, even if she didn't kill her, she won't be able to explain it to Jinyang's family, it will never be possible. ”

Seeing that Xu Ji still didn't speak, Zhou Yuanbin became more and more dissatisfied, "Master Xu, when you don't let you speak, you have to rush to speak, and when you are invited to speak, you cherish words like gold." There are so many people in the camp, I don't look for relatives or friends, I just look for you to discuss......"

"I'm worried about King Jin."

"Huh?" Zhou Yuanbin was stunned, "What's the matter with King Guan Jin?" ”

"I won't say much about it first, let's give Zhou two reminders to join the army."

"Please say, Xu Gongzi's reminder is worth a thousand gold."

"Hey, it's not that expensive. First, go and explain to Shan Yu's wife, why did you save me from He Rongpingshan, don't make her suspicious. ”

"I've already thought of this, so I prevaricated with a letter from King Jin. What about the second one? ”

"Second, arrange for me to meet with King Jin immediately, so that we can talk face-to-face and save a lot of trouble."

"Gongzi Xu made me confused, the King of Jin hasn't arrived yet, I am an immortal, and I can't arrange for you to meet immediately."

Xu Ji said with a smile: "Zhou joins the army and becomes an immortal." ”

Zhou Yuanbin looked dissatisfied, but after a while, the coldness on his face gradually eased, and turned into half-believing, "Young Master Xu...... What did you hear? ”

"Zhou is wasting time in the army, although you continue my life for three days, just decide who to ally with but will not drag on for three days, tomorrow the emperor will visit, there will be results. I won't reveal anything to you unless I see King Jin himself immediately. ”

Zhou Yuanbin became more and more confused, and after a while, he said: "You sit here for a while-I didn't say that King Jin is here, but I have to inquire, maybe ......"

Zhou Yuanbin left and came back soon, "Please come with Xu Gongzi to meet someone, he may be able to make Xu Gongzi speak." ”

"Okay." Xu Ji didn't ask much, got up and went out with Zhou Yuanbin.

The two walked out for two or three miles, and people often came to check, and when they saw Zhou Yuanbin, they were immediately released.

Zhou Yuanbin pointed to a tent not far away, "That's the residence of Youqinghou He Rongbashan, he wants to see you." ”

"Pull out the mountain, level the mountain...... Are they brothers, or do all the adults of He Rongbu have such names? ”

"Xu Gongzi cares about himself first." Zhou Yuanbin pushed lightly and watched Xu Ji walk over, but he didn't follow.

The tent was lit with lights, and a man was sitting on a blanket waiting for the guests.

After Xu Ji came in, he took a closer look and said with a smile: "Big brother has changed his name?" ”

It was not the right Qinghou of He Rong's department, but the genuine Shen family strategist Liu Youzhong.

Even when they were in the same Eastern Capital, the two didn't call each other brothers for a while, Xu Ji called out "big brother", and Liu Youzhong immediately changed his name to "fourth brother", not feeling awkward at all.

Liu Youzhong said with a smile: "The incident happened suddenly, and I had to use this method to meet the fourth brother." Fourth brother, please be seated. ”

Xu Ji refused to sit down.

Liu Youzhong said again: "King Jin is really not in the camp, he was delayed by some things in Bingzhou, and he is still on the way to come." ”

Xu Ji stepped forward and sat down opposite, "How long has the eldest brother been here?" ”

"When He Rongren entered the fortress, I just came to meet him, a few days earlier than the fourth brother."

"Big brother's reputation spreads all over the world, so he doesn't want Shan Yu to know?"

"Hehe, I did use a pseudonym, I wanted to secretly observe the movements of He Rongren, and I can't hide it, King Jin has long suspected that Xindan Yu may not be really allied with Bingzhou. By the way, how did the fourth brother see Zhou Yuanbin's flaws? He didn't figure it out, and neither did I. ”

Xu Ji smiled: "If I tell the truth, the eldest brother must not tell Zhou to join the army." ”

"Of course, this is a secret conversation between our brothers."

"Zhou is not that smart."

Liu Youzhong was slightly stunned, and then laughed, "It's my fault, I taught Zhou Yuanbin too many words, but I forgot that there are many things that he can't think of." ”

The two chatted for a while, Liu Youquan was not in a hurry, and Xu Ji was not in a hurry.

Speaking of the situation in the state, Liu Youzhong was quite proud, "The counties and counties of the state have all been loyal to the king of Jin, and they are united in their hearts." Most of the counties and counties of Qinzhou have also surrendered, and the Jizhou army is desperate and determined to join the Jin army, only the descending army is still a trouble, but they can't hold out in Xijing for long, and they will inevitably surrender before the autumn. and the state to accumulate troops and grain, and soon be able to go south to pacify the states. ”

Xu Ji listened to it with or without a match, and he didn't care to believe it or not.

In the end, Liu Youzhong said: "There are some things that can't be said to Zhou Yuanbin, is the fourth brother willing to reveal them to me?" ”

"If I see the eldest brother as I see the third brother himself, of course I will not hide it anymore."

Liu Youzhong is happy, "Brothers should be honest with each other, and I won't hide it from my fourth brother." ”

"But I'll just tell the truth, big brother don't ask me how I know. Lao Shan Yu's death was arranged by the county lord of Huanyan, and the person who did it was the current Shan Yu's wife. ”

"Shan Yu's wife is the Shen family, why do you want to help outsiders?"

"Because she is not the only one in the Shen family who married He Rongbu, King Jin secretly supports others to fight for Shan Yu's position, but Yecheng is willing to help He Rong strengthen his arm - the eldest brother should know the reason better than me." Xu Ji actually knew very little, but when he said it, he seemed to know everything.

Although Liu Youzhong is an old Jianghu, he was also deceived at this time, and said with a smile: "At that time, I really didn't expect He Rongqiang to win the position of Shan Yu, as early as a few years ago, it was Shen Mushou who was optimistic about He Ronghua, the king of Youxian, and even married his own daughter to him. When Lao Shan had just died of illness, He Ronghua was indeed the most likely to succeed to the throne, but he was met with as much opposition as support. It was also He Rong's carelessness that gave He Rong a chance to take advantage of it. ”

"He Ronghua is the one who was killed by He Rongqiang's arm alone?"

"Otherwise, he was careless, but Qiangjian is not a single horse, he bought the guards around He Ronghua in advance, and when he made a move, the guards not only did not stop him, but also stopped others, so Qiangjian had a chance to make a move, and also had a chance to appease He Ronghua's subordinates."

"I see, King Jin has never suspected the wife of a strong arm?"

"It's said that it's the Shen family, after all, her surname is Zhou, and the King of Jin doesn't know much about her, and he only sees He Rong's strong arm stand out, so he thinks that he succeeds to the throne by his own ability, so he concentrates on befriending him - if the fourth brother doesn't know, he will think so, right?"

"Well, even if there is no one to help, He Rongqiang can be called an unborn hero."

"Now that I think about it, if Mrs. helps, the true hero will also be buried. The strong arm is like this, and so is the king of Jin. If you and I are both people who help others, is the fourth brother willing to help King Jin with me? ”

Xu Ji shook his head lightly, "I just need to dissolve the marriage between Princess Fangde and He Rongbu, no matter who is good or bad for this matter." ”

For the first time since they met, Liu Youzhong's face showed doubts, "I, Liu Youzhong, can't see through it, and the fourth brother is the first." ”