Xiangyang to Luoyang, almost all the way to the north, the distance is not far, but the middle is a lot of obstacles, almost a city and a master, some small cities have been abandoned, the beasts sneak between the broken walls and ruins, the living people are far away, they would rather sleep outside the city, and they will not go into the city to spend the night.

Xu Ji was wanted by He Rongren, so he changed his name, and with the letters of the Xi and Chen families and the continuous bribery, he did not encounter much danger.

When I arrived at the eastern capital, it was late autumn, the wind carried the cold, the sky was overcast, as if it would snow at any time, from a distance, the city wall of the eastern capital was intact, and there were occasional pedestrians on the road, but how could it reveal an indescribable desolation.

After meeting the soldiers of the Liang army, Xu Ji reported his real name, and the news had already been uploaded, and he entered the city smoothly under the escort of a team of soldiers, rested in the post house, and was soon called into the palace.

The meeting place was still the main hall, and the old eunuch Gao Shengze came out to greet him, and said with a smile: "I heard that Xu Gongzi was coming, King Liang was very happy, and he kept asking early in the morning. ”

"I'm also anxious to see King Liang."

Gao Shengze didn't lead the way immediately, but said, "What a coincidence, Mr. Guo is also here." ”

"Guo Shifeng?"

"Well, he's been here for a while, to pass the word for King Ning."

"Oh."

Gao Shengze still refused to lead the way, "Every time Mr. Guo sees King Liang, he will give the courtesy of his courtiers, King Liang likes it, and we all say that he is sensible and understands the rules." ”

"Don't worry, I know the rules." Xu Ji said with a smile.

Gao Shengze turned around and led Xu Ji into the hall, "There are a lot of Liang treasures in the hall, Xu Gongzi should be careful, each one is the heart and liver treasure of King Liang." ”

There are too many clutter in the hall, and it has to be fireproof, so it looks even darker, Xu Ji walked a few steps to adapt to the light, and vaguely saw the old friend on the throne.

Gao Shengze stopped, coughed lightly, and motioned for Xu Ji to kneel down and kowtow.

Xu Ji arched his hand and smiled: "King Liang, don't come unharmed. ”

Gao Shengze coughed again, and Ma Wei on the throne said: "Don't cough anymore, he won't kneel." ”

Gao Shengze laughed awkwardly twice and stepped aside.

"Come closer." Ma Weidao.

Xu Ji came to the front of the stairs and bowed his hand again, "Isn't King Liang too cold?" ”

"I'm not cold, I'm afraid the throne is too hot."

"It's hot, and I'm here for it."

"Huh?" Ma Wei's face immediately showed a little vigilance.

Xu Ji took out two letters, held them in both hands, Gao Shengze immediately came over, and after receiving the letters, he stepped up two steps sideways and handed them to King Liang.

Ma Wei opened the letter, read it quickly, put the two letters by his side, and Gao Shengze immediately retreated.

"The letter is not addressed to me." Ma Wei said coldly.

"Jingzhou hopes to invite the two kings to sit in the town."

"The king of Xiangdong and the king of Jibei live well in the eastern capital, why do they want to go to Jingzhou? The Xi family abandoned Tiancheng and ignored the imperial court, Chen was sick and scattered as a small official, claiming to be a shepherd, and gathering heavy troops, all of whom were not loyal ministers, how could I send the two kings into the tiger's mouth? Xu Gongzi explained it to me clearly with your sharp teeth. ”

"I came to the Eastern Capital, in order to see King Liang, I casually sent a message for the Xi and Chen families, there is nothing to explain."

"Hey, Xu Gongzi feels that the timing is not right. Indeed, no matter what you say, I will not send the two kings to Jingzhou, not one. ”

"I see the exchange of soldiers inside and outside the Eastern Capital, it seems that they want to send troops?"

"Troops have been sent, the same as Xu Gongzi's original plan."

"Send troops to Huaizhou?"

"Well, attack Runan first, and wait for King Ning to send troops after taking it, and attack from both sides."

Xu Ji was a little surprised, and said with a smile: "This is King Ning's idea?" ”

"I said, this is your idea, Xu Gongzi doesn't remember?"

"I remember, but there are too many changes in between...... It is said that Mr. Guo is also in the city? ”

"He said that he wanted to reward the soldiers of the Liang army on behalf of King Ning, and he might come back tomorrow - in fact, he wanted to confirm that I really sent troops to Huaizhou, so as to give King Ning a quasi-letter. Guo Shifeng was rarely loyal to one person, and he chose to embrace him. ”

"That's why ......"

Ma Wei waved his hand to stop Xu Ji from continuing to speak, "It's hard to come back, stay a few more days, the General's Mansion is intact, and now it's all yours alone." ”

"Thanks, I think I'm going to have to stay a little longer."

"Hmm." Ma Wei showed the intention of expelling the guest, Gao Shengze immediately came over, and whispered: "Xu Gongzi, please." ”

Xu Ji had no choice but to retire and arch his hand: "The general trend of the world is changing, and today is not what it used to be......"

"Although the Eastern Capital is in decline, it is not a deserted place, and news from all over the world is gathered here, please rest assured that Gongzi Xu, the general trend is in my eyes."

Xu Ji had to leave, and when he arrived outside the hall, Gao Shengze smiled and said: "Friendship can't be forgotten, but the rules can't be changed at any time, Xu Gongzi is too stubborn." ”

"The courtesy of the courtiers is to say the words of the courtiers, and what I say is not in this. I'm sorry. ”

"Don't be sorry, Xu Gongzi can rest in peace, I will send someone to send Xu Gongzi to the General's Mansion."

Gao Shengze returned to the main hall, and Ma Wei asked, "What did he say outside?" ”

"It is said that it is to thank King Liang for preserving the General's Mansion." Gao Shengze was reluctant to convey Xu Ji's original words.

"Although Guo Shifeng has many conspiracies, there are traces to be found after all, Xu Ji's plan is often unpredictable, and when he comes to the Eastern Capital, there will be a big event."

"Liang Wang Qiangang is arbitrary, and everything has been arranged properly, Xu Ji and Guo Shifeng's generation, at the foot of the mountain, how can they look up at the height of the mountain?"

Ma Wei shook his head, saying that he was not in the mood to listen to flattery, and was silent for a long time, and said: "Send more people to guard the king of Xiangdong and the king of Jibei, it seems that there are really people who covet them." ”

"Yes." Gao Shengze responded to the order and did not retreat immediately, "What about Xu Ji?" ”

"Leave him alone, I'll see what he can do."

Xu Ji did not "toss", and honestly moved from the post house to the General's Mansion.

The general is indeed complete, but the old people are gone, and the things are almost emptied, only a few rooms are still inhabited, and at night, the cold wind howls outside, and there is no sound around, and it seems more and more empty.

Chang Yanzhi moved the bedding and spread it on a few stools, preferring to live in the same room as Xu Ji, turning over and not falling asleep, knowing that he shouldn't ask, he couldn't help but ask: "Here...... Haunted? ”

"Nope." Xu Ji was lying on the bed, also unable to sleep, "But after Mrs. Lan and the others die, it's hard to say." ”

Chang Yanzhi's heart tightened, Mrs. Lan was killed by the Wu people, and he was the Wu people, although he was not involved in this matter at the time, he was still a little scared, and muttered: "Mrs. Lan, I don't know you, my name is Chang Yanzhi, from Jiangdong, but I am not in the same group as General Meng Seng Lun Meng, there is a debtor and a master, you two are seeking revenge against each other underground, don't implicate the living......"

Xu Ji smiled: "Are you afraid of ghosts? ”

"Childe is not afraid?"

"If the ghost is really so terrible, the world should be occupied by the ghost clan, the king of Hades is called the emperor, the judge is the minister, and the living are slaves and maids, and now the heroes are rising, I haven't seen the ghost king come out to compete for the hero, so even if there are ghosts, they are weak ghosts and cowards."

"That's not the case, the ghost king didn't come out, but because the gods in the sky suppressed it, not because of his lack of strength."

"In the same way, I haven't seen gods come out to compete for power, so I'm not afraid of gods."

"When the gods are born, they will change their forms, and all the heroes in the world may be the reincarnation of immortals, even Gongzi, but you don't know it yourself."

"Haha, the things of ghosts and gods, if you believe it, you don't believe it, you don't believe it, and none of us can convince anyone."

"It's better to be in awe, if there are no ghosts and gods in the world, faith is harmless, and if there is, the difference between believing and not believing is great."

"Well, you have a point."

Xu Ji was actually moved by what he said, Chang Yan was both surprised and a little proud, the fear in his heart gradually disappeared, sleepiness came, and he slowly fell asleep.

Xu Ji still couldn't sleep, he suspected that Ma Wei's attitude towards the two kings was the same as Chang Yanzhi's attitude towards ghosts and gods, holding the idea of "in case it is useful", holding it in his hand and refusing to give up.

Early the next morning, two soldiers brought the prepared food, Xu Ji ate it, and walked around the house, many places are the first time to enter, but once there is no one, everywhere looks shabby and gloomy, and soon he is in a mood, and goes to the place where there are still memories, only to find that he can't even recognize the room where he lived when he was a child.

The general is intact, but everything has changed, as has the entire eastern capital.

The mansion was unguarded, and Xu Ji came to the back alley to go to his real home.

The door of the small house is open, and there are already people living in it, all of whom are neighbors, but none of them are old people from the Lou family.

An old woman came out with a basket, looked up and saw the stranger outside the door, and couldn't help but be stunned, "Who are you looking for?" ”

"I ...... You're not the owner here. ”

"Where did the original owner come from? Yes, it's all dead. My family, an old man and a young man, are soldiers, and King Liang gave me this house, you want to find the original owner, ask King Liang to go. The old woman did not go out either, but closed the gate of the courtyard and latched it.

Xu Ji returned to the mansion and saw Guo Shifeng chatting with Chang Yanzhi.

"When did Brother Guo return to the city?" Xu Ji said with a smile.

"Just now, after meeting King Liang, I immediately came to see Brother Ji." Everything has changed, Guo Shifeng remains the same, still amiable, still untrustworthy.

Chang Yanzhi went out to prepare tea, Guo Shifeng said: "Brother Ji came to invite the two kings to Jingzhou?" ”

"Well, King Liang is unwilling to let him go."

"I heard that the Jingzhou army and the Bingzhou army are facing each other in Xiangyang, and the two sides have fought several times, and each other has won and lost. The state army nominally belonged to the Yuyang court, and Jingzhou invited the two kings to come over, did they want to set up another court? ”

"I don't know, but the people of Jingzhou invited the two kings, at least to confront the Yuyang court and He Rongshan Yu."

"Brother Ji is running around, presumably to call on the heroes to fight against He Rong's army, right?"

"Exactly, Brother Guo understands my intentions."

"In this case, don't be so troublesome, King Ning has already led his troops into Jingzhou, and he will soon be able to give them a new court."

"I thought the Liang and Ning armies were going to attack Huaizhou."

"Haha, didn't you think of it? King Liang's attack on Huai was a suspicious soldier to contain the Sheng family, so that King Ning could free up his hands and attack Jingzhou with all his might. If there is no accident, King Ning has already arrived in Jiangling a year ago, and next spring and summer, he will be able to meet the Bingzhou Army and He Rongjun. ”

"King Ning wants to compete with He Rongren?" Xu Ji was very surprised.

"King Ning was the first to hand over the book of surrender and the first to send the picture book, and people thought that King Ning was weak, but in fact, King Ning had no intention of surrendering from beginning to end. Although Jiangdong is biased, sooner or later he will have to face He Rongren, rather than sit and wait, it is better to go on to figure it out. Since the younger brother has the heart to resist the rebellion, why not go and visit King Ning and help him? ”

Xu Ji was excited, but he felt that something was wrong.