(Happy New Year 2019, everyone!) ）

Tang Weitian got up late, stepped into the council hall, and quietly stood behind King Wu, standing straight, his eyes looking at the door, as if he had been guarding here for a long time.

There were not many generals left in the city, Xu Ji quickly finished dealing with the morning's affairs, turned his head and asked, "The old beggar is here again today?" ”

"Most of the governors have a good memory, and they still remember this. came, the answer was wrong, I drove him away, and I saw him walk out of this street with my own eyes, and I came back. ”

Xu Ji was a little disappointed, "It must be an ordinary beggar." He looked down at the paperwork and quickly looked up, "What did he answer?" ”

"The Metropolitan Governor said that the answer was 'Zhou Lu', and he said 'Zhou Gongzi of the Dongyang Hou family', just one word is the same, isn't it a liar?"

Xu Ji hurriedly said: "The son of Zhou of the Dongyang Hou family is Zhou Lu, and the old servant is not used to calling him by his name......"

"Huh? Is it really an acquaintance of the Grand Duke? ”

"Get him back...... Please come back. ”

"Yes, yes, I'll go now, I don't know ......if he has gone far or not" Tang Weitian ran out in a panic, muttering: "I should have made it clear earlier, how did I know that they were the same person......"

Xu Ji smiled and shook his head, his mind was not here, and soon turned to the situation in the world, he was more sure of subduing the new descending army, although increasing the number of descending troops at this time would bring great trouble, after all, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages, as for the Sheng family in the east, he could not pin his hopes on the thousands of people in Ning Baoguan, but he did not ask Guo Shifeng to bring the Sheng family over, as long as it could be delayed.

Although Ning Baoguan is heroic and good at raiding, he is never stupid enough to hit a stone with an egg, the disparity between the forces of the two sides is too great, and he is more likely to surrender and lead the way for the Sheng family.

Xu Ji weighed the situation, more and more confident, Yecheng will inevitably pay a heavy price to win over the heroes, after this siege, it is estimated that there will be no power to counterattack.

Xu Ji couldn't help but sneer, he was willing to want to negotiate peace with Yecheng, but now it seems that he is thinking too simply, Lord Huanyan is a fierce rival, and he will never admit defeat easily.

Tang Weitian ran in, "Lao Zhaohua brought it, but fortunately, I ran fast." ”

"What about people?" Xu Ji looked behind Tang Weitian and didn't see a figure.

"I'm running fast, come back and let me know, he's still behind." Tang Weitian let out a breath, suddenly turned around and ran out, it turned out that he really just made a notice, and he had to go back to lead the way for the old beggar.

Xu Ji didn't have time to stop him, so he could only watch Tang Weitian run out.

This time he had to wait a little longer, Xu Ji ordered the guards to bring some wine and meat, and just after it was arranged, Tang Weitian came back for the second time, followed by a person.

The man was dressed in tatters, and when he entered the door, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed, and he would be called "Childe" for a while, and "Master" for a while.

Tang Weitian said beside him: "This is King Wu, not a son, not a master, you either learn from me and be called the governor of the capital, or learn from the people of Wu and call the ruler, or like others, call the king of Wu." ”

Xu Ji couldn't see this person's appearance clearly, and said, "Are you really an old servant in my family?" Come over and let me take a look. ”

The old beggar only kowtowed, Tang Weitian dragged him up, pushed him a few steps forward, and said to King Wu: "Is it him?" If not, I'll throw it out immediately. ”

"Whether it's or not, let him eat something first." Xu Ji still didn't recognize it, the old beggar's face was already dirty, and at this time, a handful of snot and tears made him lose his original face.

The old beggar wanted to confess the Lord, but when he saw the food and felt hungry, he was conflicted for a while, but his belly still prevailed, and he grabbed the meat and ate it, and only after eating a few large pieces did he drink a glass of wine.

Tang Weitian swallowed his saliva and said with annoyance: "I knew that there was meat, so I wouldn't have drunk so much porridge." ”

Although the old beggar was hungry, his appetite was average, and he ate half a plate of meat, and he couldn't eat it anymore, so he hesitated for a moment and handed the plate to the passerby, "If the little brother can still eat it......"

"Yes." Tang Weitian took the plate, glanced at King Wu, and ate it in a hurry, a mouthful of meat and wine, as if he had not eaten any food for breakfast.

Xu Ji had already recognized it, it was really an old servant in his own family, "You come and sit." ”

The old servant wiped the oil on his clothes, lowered his hand and said, "In front of King Wu, where is there a place for me to sit?" To be summoned by King Wu and to be given wine and meat, I am already grateful, and I dare not ask for extravagance. ”

"Today is extraordinary, meet again after the catastrophe, you come and sit, it's okay." Xu Ji still couldn't remember the name of the old servant, and vaguely felt that he didn't seem to have revealed it.

The old servant sat reclining on his stool, uneasy.

"How did you end up here?" Xu Ji asked.

"Since Childe ...... Since King Wu left, I was kicked out of the house, and the mansion refused to take me in, and I had nowhere to go, so I had to go to the street to beg for food. The old servant began to weep again.

Someone happened to enter the hall, and Xu Ji ordered Tang Weitian to take the old servant down, wash and clean, change into new clothes, and see you later.

There is no news in the direction of Mengjin, and Xue Jinyao, who is heading south, has already seen the Jingzhou army, just as Tan Wuxuan expected, the Jingzhou army chose to camp in a dangerous place, with no intention of escaping, and no intention of attacking, obviously looking forward to it.

Xue Jinyao was also stationed in camp, observing the terrain, and initially scheduled to launch an attack early tomorrow morning, Xu Ji replied "I know", and did not explain much to the messenger.

After finishing the morning's affairs, Xu Ji went to the study to see the old servant.

The old servant regained his former appearance for six or seven minutes, but the frostbite and scars on his face would not disappear for a while.

The old servant refused to sit this time, stood at the door, and said with emotion: "King Wu still loves to read so much, look at this room full of books, there are more books than before." ”

"It's just a decoration, I haven't even seen it." Xu Ji suddenly felt that there was nothing to say, "You will stay with me in the future, at least you won't be frozen and hungry." ”

"Being able to serve King Wu is the greatest blessing in my life, when I live on the streets, every time I dream, I dream of the small courtyard in the back alley, and I am still sweeping the courtyard and delivering food to King Wu."

Xu Ji used to have a low status in the Lou family, and the old servant spoke more impulsively in front of him, and rarely groveled like now, Xu Ji was a little uncomfortable.

"Well, you don't have to do tiring work in the future, if you have time...... Just wipe down the table. Xu Ji was afraid that the old servant would be uncomfortable, so he arranged a job for him.

"If there is a speck of dust on the table, King Wu will pick me up...... Don't give me food. ”

"You go down first, and let Tang Weitian find you a place to live."

"Yes, yes, it's great to be able to meet the little master, and I don't know what virtues I have accumulated in my last life......" The old servant nodded and retreated.

"Wait a minute." Xu Ji stopped the old servant, thought for a while, and asked, "You have been living on the street?" ”

"At first, I lived in the house of a few old friends, and after a long time, people put on their faces, and I left in a fit of anger, thinking that I could find a job soon, but I thought I was old, alas, and now I know the miserable ...... of having no children and no daughters."

"How have the streets been since I entered the city?"

"Ordinary people? But happy, they all said good things about King Wu, saying that King Wu was a once-in-a-lifetime Ming monarch, and as soon as King Wu came, the eastern capital was finally saved......"

Xu Ji missed the old servant who spoke very aggressively and always "urged" himself to make friends with powerful people, and couldn't help but sigh lightly.

"What did I say wrong?" The old servant hurriedly shut up.

"No, I just ...... I hope to hear the truth, the truth, these days, everywhere I go, there are guards to follow, the longer I enter the city, the less I understand the changes in the eastern capital. ”

The old servant was stunned for a while, and gradually regained a trace of his previous feeling, although the person in front of him was King Wu, his appearance and expression did not seem to be much different from the previous seventeen princes - maybe there were, but the old servant couldn't say it, so he boldly said: "King Wu wants to listen to the truth?" ”

"Hmm."

"Then I'll ...... If King Wu doesn't like to listen, stop at any time, I'm different from the people outside, and I don't have any complaints about King Wu. ”

The old servant had not been summoned at the door of the barracks for many days, and he had a lot of resentment in his heart, but he was full of food and drink, and he was replaced by a new person, and suddenly the clouds and fog dispersed, and he only saw the good of King Wu in his eyes.

"You say, I'll stop when it's time to stop."

The old servant coughed twice to embolden himself, "Tell the truth, the people...... I am still quite satisfied, all the corrupt officials have run away, the rebels never harass the people, and King Wu asked the temple to give porridge. If you want to say that you are dissatisfied, there is a point, business cannot be done, and it is inconvenient to buy and sell, but it is not a big deal, the profiteers are in a hurry, and the people are not in a hurry. ”

"The temple has long run out of porridge, and I know in my heart whether the rebels are harassing the people. If you don't want to tell me the truth, then forget it, go down and rest, you must be tired. ”

The old servant returned to his parents like a lost fledgling, and when he saw that King Wu seemed to be displeased, he immediately said, "I'll tell you the truth, that ...... If this continues, the people of the city will not survive. ”

"So serious?"

The old servant hesitated to say what to say, and when he saw that King Wu was not angry, his heart was crossed, and he stepped forward and said: "King Wu's soldiers did not kill in the whole city, which is good, but almost all the food in the city was taken away by the rebels, and the people who had surplus grain in their homes held on for a few more days, and those who had too little surplus grain had no food for a long time, and they begged everywhere like me, but where to go?" In the winter, there was not even a single grass in the field. Chicken, duck, goose, dog...... Kill all the ones you can, and then you can only eat people, I heard that there are really corpses missing in Nancheng, and there are children who suddenly disappeared......"

"Stop."

The old servant immediately shut up, and said cautiously after a while: "It's all rumors, I haven't seen anything like cannibalism, although there is not much food in the city, everyone can still live by tightening their belts, just wait for the beginning of spring, there are only a few days left." ”

"Spring?"

"That's right, at least you can go out of the city to dig some wild vegetables, and the tribute grain from the south should also be delivered." The emperor ran away, and the old servant thought that everything would be business as usual.

"There is still a final battle in the Eastern Capital, and after this battle, there will be no shortage of food in the Eastern Capital."

"Uh-huh, the last battle. To say that these people are really stupid, they still refuse to admit defeat after losing to King Wu so often, so that they have no good life inside and outside the city. Alas, if everyone can figure it out, how good would it be to take refuge in King Wu as soon as possible? It won't be like Mrs. Lan......" The old servant shut up again.

"It's okay, what have you heard about Madam Lan?"

"It's nothing, it's just ...... It is...... Some people think that King Wu can even kill his own family, and he doesn't care too much about the life and death of the people in the city. But I don't think so, when I see those people chewing their tongues in the future, I will spit back in my face, King Wu is a nostalgic person, and even an old waste like me is willing to take it in, this is the proof. Mrs. Lan's death had nothing to do with King Wu, and the suicide of her killer was also proof. ”

Although the old servant lives on the streets, he is still more concerned about the affairs of the General's Mansion.

Xu Ji didn't think those words were "chewing his tongue", he couldn't speak, and looked back blankly, unable to remember how far he had deviated from his original intention.