Sun Yalu came to visit and brought a special invitation - only to invite, but did not want the other party to accept.

"On the seventeenth of this month, the prince is going to get married and marry the noble daughter of He Rongbu."

"That's it...... Day after tomorrow? ”

Sun Yalu nodded and handed over an invitation.

Xu Ji was a little surprised, "Does King Jibei really want me to go?" ”

Sun Yalu shook his head, "I am the staff of the King of Xiangdong." ”

Xu Ji laughed, if the king of Jibei really wanted his son-in-law to attend the wedding, he would send his own henchmen to invite him, instead of relying on the mouths of others.

"Please tell the two highnesses, saying that I am in poor health and cannot attend the wedding, and I hope that Haihan will prepare another small gift, so as to show my heart, I wish the son of the world an early birth of a noble son."

Sun Yalu smiled and nodded, "There have been a lot of happy events recently, and Xu Gongzi also learned that the old Shan of the He Rong Department died of illness, and the sons competed for the position, and they all won over Yecheng, and the situation was reversed. ”

"Congratulations."

"Ma Wei, who occupies the eastern capital, previously returned to Jiangdong, and recently finally saw the situation clearly, and sent someone to deliver a letter the day before yesterday, changing his words to Yecheng to claim his ministership."

"Congratulations."

"The thief entered Hanzhou, and the rumor has always said that Hanzhou is completely gone, it turned out to be a misinformation, there are still more than a dozen big cities in Hanzhou, and the messenger sneaked and rushed to Yecheng yesterday to ask for help from the two highnesses - he asked Yecheng instead of Jiangdong for help."

"Congratulations."

"The state army advanced into Qinzhou, the Jingzhou army was transferred to Hanzhou, and after the marriage of the prince, the Jizhou army will march side by side with the Huaizhou army, and now the Hanzhou army thinks that it should be internal, and the chaos is just around the corner."

"Congratulations."

"Even Xu Gongzi's family also has happy events."

"Oh?"

"The Chinese army general Lou Qiang settled in Huaizhou and will go to Qinzhou with the army to quell the chaos. Many of the descendants of the Lou family fell into the hands of traitors in the eastern capital, and several escaped halfway and also came to Yecheng, including Lou Jilou Xiaoqi. ”

"This is the happy event of the Lou family, it is...... The happy event of the county lord. Anyway, congratulations. ”

"Xu Gongzi still doesn't admit it?"

"I'm used to being surnamed Xu."

Xu Ji didn't ask much, but he knew that if he just conveyed an insincere invitation, he didn't need Sun Yalu to come forward in person.

"I heard that Xu Gongzi left the table?"

Xu Ji nodded, "I'm about to go out to stretch my muscles, can Mr. Sun have the heart to relax and travel to the valley together?" ”

"I often have the intention to worship Mr. Fan."

Last time he worshipped, Sun Yalu came with the prince, there were many people, and he didn't have the opportunity to salute alone, this time, only Xu Ji was his companion, he bowed a few times in front of the grave, pulled out the nearby weeds, and looked at the stone tablet erected by the disciples of Fanmen, "Xu Gongzi doesn't plan to let people carry it away?" ”

"I don't make the last wish of Mr. Fan, but since the monument has been erected, I don't have to carry it away."

Sun Yalu smiled: "This is indeed like what Mr. Fan can say." Kou Daogu was defeated the day before yesterday, and the disciples of Fan Sect still refused to admit that Xu Gongzi was orthodox of Fan Sect? ”

"I haven't seen anyone come back yet." Xu Ji didn't care about this matter.

Sun Yalu nodded, and finally got down to business, "The happy events I said just now, Xu Gongzi has nothing to say?" ”

"Congratulations."

"No, no, except congratulations."

Xu Ji thought for a while, "Mr. Sun wants me to say something that 'I don't like'?" ”

"Haha, I have always admired Xu Gongzi's insight and strategy, this time I came to visit, one is to send an invitation, and the other is to hear Xu Gongzi's views on the general trend."

"Hmm...... I really have a couple of questions. ”

"Excuse me."

"The sons of He Rongbu are vying for the throne, and they all want to win over Yecheng. For Yecheng, this is a good thing, it is time to take the opportunity to divide and conquer, why is he in a hurry to marry a noble daughter for the prince? ”

"Although the sons are vying for the position, the situation is already generally clear, and the noble daughter's brother He Rongqiang has won the support of all the departments, and it is difficult to divide and rule."

"I see."

"That's it?"

"If the situation of He Rongbu is as Mr. Sun said, then Yecheng seems to have no choice, and I have nothing to say."

"Xu Gongzi left the table, presumably he was already clear-minded, why do you need to hide it?"

"Even if I am transparent, I can't speculate out of thin air."

"What else does Xu Gongzi want to know, just ask me, I should know everything."

"Hmm...... How did Lao Shan die? ”

"Sick and dead, old and frail, sick all the year round, the people around him have long been prepared."

"Even so, it was a coincidence that he died, just in time to recruit back the cavalry who entered the fortress, and Yecheng didn't need to use any more tricks."

"Haha, I understand what Xu Gongzi means, but as far as I know, it's really a coincidence."

With a sentence of "as far as I know", Sun Yalu saved himself a lot of trouble.

Xu Ji smiled, "What's even more 'coincidental' is that Lao Shan is old and frail, and he has not designated a son to succeed to the throne for a long time, which has caused disputes after his death." ”

"Barbarians outside the Saiwai are not subject to ritualization, and they have always been like this, thinking that the sons competing for the throne can allow the strongest to gain the position."

"In this way, I really have nothing to say, Yecheng has the strong reinforcement of the He Rong Department, and with a little restraint, he will be able to run rampant in the world."

"To be able to get Xu Gongzi's words, I feel a lot more at ease."

"Unless—"

"And unless?"

"The world is unpredictable, there are always unless."

"I want to hear about it."

"Unless the King of Jin is also wooing the He Rong Department."

"Haha, Gongzi Xu is too worried, the King of Jin is self-aware, and he has already led the whole army to surrender to Yecheng, and the many years of friendship between the Shen family and He Rongbu are all used by Yecheng."

"In that case, congratulations."

Sun Yalu waited for a while and asked, "Does Xu Gongzi have anything else to say?" ”

Xu Ji exhaled softly, "Yecheng is separated from Qin and Han Prefectures by thousands of mountains and rivers, even if the rebellion is quelled, the land is not wide, and the people are not numerous, and it seems inappropriate to go west at this time." ”

Sun Yalu was just about to speak, but Xu Ji didn't give him a chance, and continued to say in a hurry, "Yecheng is in turmoil, and Jing and the two states are profitable, this matter is quite suspicious. King Liang must have been afraid that Yecheng would attack the eastern capital again in the name of quelling the rebellion, so he was willing to be a vassal. Since Yecheng accepted the submission of King Liang, in my opinion, the target of this western expedition is not the eastern capital. ”

"Pacifying the rebellion of Qin and Han is the last wish of the emperor of all things, and the two highnesses must complete it, the eastern capital is the old home of Tiancheng, and sooner or later it must be recaptured, but Xu Gongzi thinks that neither of them is the goal of the Western Expedition - the idea is peculiar, worthy of the name of Xu Gongzi."

"Quelling the chaos and subduing the Eastern Capital are all 'sooner or later' matters, but they are not a top priority."

"In Gongzi Xu's opinion, what is Yecheng's top priority?"

"Koto Stone Town."

"Haha." Sun Yalu laughed, Emperor Tiancheng was exiled in Stone City, held hostage by the Liang and Lan families, as long as the little emperor reigned for one day, there was no way for Yecheng to justifiably promote the new monarch, "What else does Gongzi Xu think of?" ”

"The armies are marching westward, Stone Town is in distress, and there will be no reinforcements. That's all I can think of, and I can't guess who will attack Stone Town. ”

Sun Yalu put away his smile, "Yecheng will definitely not send troops south, there is a Huaizhou in between, and Yecheng has no intention of killing the king, even if Jiangdong is in turmoil, it is a coincidence." ”

"It's so 'coincidental' like Lao Shan Yu's death?"

"The world is unpredictable." Sun Yalu replied with a sentence that Xu Ji had said, "Having said that, it is inevitable that Xu Gongzi will have such speculations, but I am afraid that others will have similar thoughts and ruin my reputation in Yecheng." ”

"Yecheng should immediately assign the shepherds of Qin and Han states to accompany the army to the west."

"Wouldn't appointing a shepherd at this time cause dissatisfaction among the Shen and Xi families? The reason why these two families agreed to the westward expedition was that one regarded Qinzhou as its own backyard, and the other was a must-have thing when Hanzhou, and would never agree to be appointed by Yecheng as a shepherd, and Jincheng really had no way to govern the two states across thousands of mountains and rivers. As soon as this appointment was announced, the state councils thought that Yecheng was eager to pacify the world—Yecheng did have this ambition, but did not want to make it public too soon. ”

Xu Ji said with a smile: "The heroes will only be suspicious because they are too satisfied, and Ye Cheng wants to eliminate his suspicions, but he can only do the opposite, which makes him dissatisfied." ”

Sun Yalu was slightly stunned, and then arched his hand and said: "I understand, thank you for your advice, the county lord will also be grateful." ”

"The county lord is smart and easy to act, and Mr. Sun, as a staff member, should be lacking."

Sun Yalu arched his hand, "Xu Gongzi's words made me suddenly." ”

Sun Yalu came here to test whether Xu Ji still had the heart to be the king, but he really got some very useful reminders, admired in his heart, hurriedly said goodbye, and wanted to return to Yecheng to make a statement to the county lord of Huanyan, and chisel out a few small "gaps" in the perfect plan.

Xu Ji used "knowing everything" to gain the trust of the other party, but he knew that this was an expedient measure.

In the room, Feng Juniang was writing again, more serious than before.

Xu Ji didn't bother him, and asked the old servant to pass on Wang Pei.

Wang Pei came sweating, he had just wrestled with Chang Yan, and he still didn't know the winner.

"Xu Gongzi called me?"

Xu Ji sat on the seat, mumbled but did not speak.

Wang Pei had to wait, secretly glancing at Feng Juniang, and like everyone else, wondering what the relationship between the two was.

After Feng Juniang wrote the whole page, she smiled and said, "I found that only here can I write wholeheartedly—do you want me to leave?" ”

Xu Ji shook his head and said to Wang Pei: "The guest who just came is named Sun Yalu, and he is the most favored and trusted staff member of the King of Xiangdong. ”

"Ah, I saw this person when I was a guard for Xu Gongzi in the Eastern Capital." Wang Pei didn't understand why Xu Ji wanted to say this to himself, "King Xiangdong seems to have been taken away by him, right?" ”

"Exactly."

"Well, then he must be very favored."

"Military affairs, the king of Xiangdong will discuss with him."

"Oh." Wang Pei was slightly uneasy.

Xu Ji became silent again, and Feng Juniang began to describe a new page, originally a little curious, but slowly focused on moving the pen, and no longer cared about what the other two said.

Wang Pei became more and more uneasy, waited for a while, and asked in a low voice: "This Mr. Sun...... What to do? ”

"Invited me to participate in the wedding of the prince of Jibei, and also revealed some of the situation in the Quartet to me."

"Really?" Wang Pei's eyes dodged.

"The Golden Saintess was indeed defeated in Qinzhou, not as tragic as the rumors, nor as easy as General Dai said, there were some casualties, and some people were captured."

Wang Pei's eyes swept away, Feng Juniang is a woman, there is nothing to be afraid of, Xu Ji is equivalent to being alone, unarmed...... He thought so, but his body was uncontrollable and trembling slightly.

Xu Ji got up and came to Wang Pei barefoot, a few feet away, completely unguarded, "If you want to stay, stay, there will be a place for you in the valley." ”

Wang Pei threw himself on his knees.