The ship marched against the current to Yizhou, looking at the bleak winter scenery on the shore, Guo Shifeng finally completely relieved, entered the cabin and said to Xu Ji: "Brother save my life." ”

Xu Ji smiled: "Brother Guo got rid of the suspicion himself, why thank me?" ”

"As soon as I thanked my brother, I came back in time and dared to go to the camp to observe the situation."

"That's because I wasn't there when Ma Lao was killed, and I received the least suspicion."

"Second Brother Xie made a decision immediately, and found a crucial piece of evidence - the person who escaped from the Xi family really helped a lot."

"In the end, it is up to Brother Guo's own mouth to convince the leaders."

"Alas, in terms of lip service, even if I am not stronger than my brother, I will not be much worse, but I must know what to say first - this is the credit of my brother."

Xu Ji is still modest, Guo Shifeng said: "I now understand why King Ning values the foundation brother, it is neither a trick nor a general strategy, but it is not chaotic in the face of danger, and when he is panicked, he can indeed turn the crisis into safety." ”

Xu Ji didn't humble himself this time, but smiled.

Guo Shifeng sighed for a long time, and said: "The five envoys left by the Xi family were all killed, and the thieves sent troops to rob the Xi family's grain and grass, this matter has become a foregone conclusion, but I still want to ask: Who does the younger brother think is the real murderer?" ”

"Xi family." Xu Ji replied.

"Of course it's the Xi family." Guo Shifeng smiled, waited for a while and said, "If it's not the Xi family, who will it be?" Although the five messengers confessed—the knife was held on the neck—they only admitted that they were the main messengers, but the perpetrators were not identified. ”

"What does Brother Guo think?"

Guo Shifeng thought for a while and said with a smile: "It's the Xi family, it's the Xi family." ”

Xu Ji nodded in agreement.

Guo Shifeng left most of the guards in the Song camp, and only brought four people with him, and asked them to prepare some wine and food and bring them into the cabin, and chat with Xu Ji while eating.

"Did General Song take Zhu, did General Song ever call the King of Chu?" Guo Shifeng asked.

"Yes."

"Why did you go? Do you want to learn from your brother? ”

"He didn't learn from me, but he felt that his strength was too weak and he didn't live up to his name, so he went to the number."

"Well, this General Song is a character."

"Just because of the number?"

"The day before yesterday in the big tent of Maying, I exposed the conspiracy of the Xi family to the leaders, and the situation was critical for a while, but it was all thanks to the assistance of General Song and Mrs. Ma, so that I could continue to talk without being interrupted. In the end, when everyone decided to take revenge and recommend the three leaders to jointly assist Ma Lao's grandson, General Song was obviously very loud, but he insisted on not accepting it and did not let Mrs. Ma participate, which impressed me deeply. ”

"General Song was originally a heroic man in Xiangyang, not a robber, and he married the daughter of the Ma family not long ago, and his qualifications are still shallow, so he is indeed not enough to convince the public."

"The truth is this truth, but there are very few people who can figure it out and insist on it, and they are the foundation brothers, who ...... back then Hehe. ”

Xu Ji said with a smile: "It was indeed me who was anxious back then, and finally reined in the precipice, and didn't go too far, but I can't get rid of the legacy so far." ”

"Brother Fundamentals has great determination, very comparable, this General Song is beyond my expectations."

"Let me boast that the title of King of Chu given up by General Song is much worse than that of King Wu back then."

"Haha, of course." Guo Shifeng drank a glass of wine and sighed: "It's a pity that the timing is not good, if General Song had started earlier, he might have become a hegemon and be able to compete with the heroes, but now it will be difficult, there are not many roads left for him, either to take refuge in King Ning, or to follow Chen Aicai, and fight for a title from the Tiancheng court, it is difficult to make great achievements." ”

"Unless the battle of Xiangyang City is fought and the Central Plains heroes are defeated, those who survive may still have a chance."

"With a base brother planning from it, how can the heroes be defeated?"

Xu Ji raised his glass and toasted, "Everyone has their own fate, as strategists, we can only see two or three steps more than ordinary people, and we may not all be right, we can only do our best and obey the destiny of heaven." ”

Guo Shifeng drank freely, Xu Ji raised his glass to accompany him, and drank very little.

Although Guo Shifeng drank alone, he gradually became interested, and said: "There are no outsiders here, the four guards outside are all my cronies, they will never eavesdrop on our conversation, and they will watch the boatman for me." Let's talk as much as we want, what do you think of King Ning? ”

"Brother Guo, this is a little too drunk."

"I'm sober."

"Since you are sober, how dare you talk about your own lord behind your back?"

"Strategists are different from generals, they must not only gain the trust of the lord, but also maintain a little alienation, so as not to be confused by the authorities, even generals, and there are times when generals are not subject to the king's orders, let alone you and me? Brother I don't dare to talk about it, so I'll come first. ”

"Listen up."

"Let's talk about the benefits first, King Ning is stoic, not afraid of hardships and dangers, and persuades others to take risks, but to King Ning, he should persuade him to take less risks. There is no smooth road in troubled times, this is a very simple truth, but few people can understand, every time you have to 'perfect strategy', it is really ridiculous, if there is a 'perfect strategy', is it still troubled times? King Ning doesn't have this problem, he dares to rob and give up, I thought he would be too greedy for women, but he left Empress Dowager Luan in Stone City and didn't take it with him in the army, which made me feel a lot more at ease. ”

"King Ning is indeed like this, let's go to Yizhou, and what we are going to see immediately is a 'foolproof strategy'."

"King Ning also has the advantage of being able to bend and stretch, bend and not give in, don't worry that he will give up halfway."

"Like me, I have harmed many people, including Brother Guo."

"Haha, don't think too much about it, but that's right, abdication will indeed harm many people, but it will also save many people, no matter what, if there is a choice, I would rather stay by King Ning's side in fear than follow it steadily...... Someone like that. ”

Xu Ji smiled and nodded, disapproving, "Is there any other benefit?" ”

"These two are enough, and the others are secondary."

"There is good and there is bad."

"It's too fierce, it is said that it can bend and stretch, but it can only be falsely bent, not really bent, in a rage, no one can persuade me, I only hope that King Ning can be strong, as long as he can stand firm, no one in the world is his opponent."

In Guo Shifeng's mouth, King Ning's "disadvantages" are also like "benefits", Xu Ji said: "I have similar views with Brother Guo. ”

"It's boring to be similar, and Brother Fundamentals must have other opinions."

"King Ning...... I don't like King Ning. ”

"Haha, Brother Ji really got to the point, there are not many people who like King Ning, there are really not many, but when I think of King Ning's promising future, I don't want to leave."

"King Ning is not the only one who is qualified to compete for the crown."

"Who else? King Liang? If you talk about friendship, ten Ning kings are not as good as one Liang king, if you talk about heroes, but it is the other way around, ten Liang kings are not as good as one Ning king. Staying by King Liang's side, I only need to remember the four words 'Emperor Liang', so that I can have no worries about food and clothing, live a down-to-earth life, and at least one of King Liang's henchmen. As long as King Liang is undefeated, I will never have to worry about my own safety, but can King Liang be undefeated? ”

"Where is King Liang defeated?"

"Famous but not substantial, ambitious but talented, he collected a lot of relics of the former Liang in the eastern capital, and took a lot of them with him when he went to Jizhou, right?"

Xu Ji nodded.

"King Liang does not bring a wife, does not bring important ministers, does not bring the people, but brings useless things, so he will be defeated."

Xu Ji sighed lightly, "It's a pity that King Liang is obsessed." ”

"It's impossible for him to wake up. Who else does the younger brother value? ”

"Shan Yu."

"Single...... I am not surprised if he wins the world, and I am not surprised if he is defeated or even killed. Without it, it is only to subdue the Central Plains with the tricks of He Rongren, and if the strength wins, it will be safe, and if the strength fails, it will collapse, and there is nothing to say. ”

"Chen Yicai."

Guo Shifeng thought for a while, "This person is indeed a little unfathomable, he is angry when he sees me, but he is not really angry, he is known as the King of Qin and admires the King of Xiangdong, but it is not from the heart - I know too little about him, I have to listen to my brother's thoughts." ”

"Chen Ill's sincerity has not been revealed, there is today's trend, once publicized, immeasurable, he has Hunan and Guangzhou as the backing, although it is a scattered state, but as far as I have heard, he is quite loyal to him, only on the foundation, only the Huaizhou Sheng family can be compared with it."

"The Sheng family and the king of Shu have no ambitions, if Chen Yicai is really ambitious, it should not be underestimated, but there are many soldiers but not strong, and he will be wide but not fierce, and he will cross the river at risk, far away from Hunan and Guangzhou, if he wants to achieve great things, he must survive the battle of Xiangyang."

"Chen is sick and Ning Wang is in the same boat."

Guo Shifeng said with a smile: "King Ning is vying for the world, the first step is to stabilize Jiangnan, and quarrel with Hunan and Guangbisheng, but I didn't expect that the two sides did not meet in Jiangnan, but met in Xiangyang." Perhaps you don't have to wait for the battle to end, and Chen is no longer a threat. It was a good thing for him, his ambition had not yet been revealed, and he could leave the name of a loyal servant. ”

"Brother Guo thinks that Chen Yicai is not King Ning's opponent?"

"Unless I see the wrong person, otherwise, Chen Yi will not be able to pass three moves in front of King Ning."

"I think I can last for a while."

"We'll see when we come back from Yizhou."

"There's one more person who hasn't talked about it."

Guo Shifeng drank all the wine in the cup, revealing obvious drunkenness, "Which one?" King Jin? Or Yuyang? ”

Xu Ji hesitated, "King Jin." ”

Guo Shifeng said with a smile: "Brother Brother still remembers Yuyang, but the number of natural qi is exhausted, and it is 'exhausted' in the hands of Brother Brother, there is no reason to bring the dead back to life, and it is just a woman." As for King Jin, I can talk about it. ”

Guo Shifeng poured himself full of wine, "The King of Jin had a chance, if he could persuade his father to be the king, consolidate the state internally, connect the heroes externally, and try to forge ahead after two or three years, the situation would not be what it is today, but the King of Jin was too anxious, eager to claim the king, eager to capture the eastern capital, eager to kill his father and seize power, and the result was internal and external difficulties." The opportunity of King Jin has passed, and whether the battle of Xiangyang is won or lost, it will not benefit him. ”

The king of Jin was already planning to return to the state, but Xu Ji didn't say anything to anyone, and he was still tight-lipped at this time.

"Speaking of which, the general trend is uncertain, and there may be new heroes rising."

"There are not many opportunities, and it is difficult for King Jin to come out again, let alone others? Brother Don't hesitate, follow King Ning as soon as possible, at least there is still the merit of the dragon, and when the general trend is decided, Brother Brother will be left behind, so he can only grab some scraps. ”

"I have a small appetite, and it's enough to have some leftovers." Xu Ji said with a smile.

Guo Shifeng's eyes were hazy, "Brother Brother's ambition is really unfathomable. ”

The two chatted in the evening, and the boat docked and stopped, before they withdrew the wine and food and lay down to rest.

Xu Ji drank less, and felt light, and was awakened by a sound of footsteps at night, and did not open his eyes, but just listened attentively.

Guo Shifeng walked outside the cabin and whispered to a person: "Take this letter and go back to see King Ning immediately, don't delay, be sure to ...... it yourself."

The rest of the words were not clear, Xu Ji smiled slightly, after this discussion, Guo Shifeng had already regarded Chen Yicai as a great enemy, and probably wrote a letter to remind King Ning for this.