(Two points of explanation: 1. This article is an alternate history, for the convenience of writing, the characters are named but not worded, the title is relatively brief, and the official position is close to the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.) 2. The state is still recovering, only one chapter a day, I will adjust it as soon as possible, please understand. ）

One

The sound of rain outside the window, half-asleep and half-awake, Xu Baoxin returned to his homeland in a trance.

She liked the sound of raindrops since she was a child, and her father built an exquisite device for her outside the boudoir for this purpose, using a large number of bamboo tubes of different thicknesses, covered with patches of flowers and plants, whenever she was sullen and the weather was fine, the sound of rain would sound, sometimes urgent and sometimes slow, soothing her mind, and she couldn't tell whether it was the rain or the rain.

This device has a name, called "Rain Divine Power", and Xu Baoxin is more accustomed to calling it "Rain".

When General Lou Wen came to the door for the first time, he was quite interested in the "Rain Divine Power", carefully checked it before and after, and then laughed uncontrollably, and said to everyone: "Those who die in the country must have the act of losing the country, this is true." The country of Wu deserves to die, and life deserves to die in my hands. ”

The soldiers were ordered to dismantle the "rain god power" cleanly, the general took the knife to the building, lined up straight into the boudoir, stood at the door and looked at Xu Baoxin for a while, and sighed: "The people who have lost the country have the appearance of the country, you little princess, I am going to decide, no one wants to rob me, and the emperor can't do it!" ”

That year, Xu Baoxin, the princess of Wu Kingdom, had just turned sixteen years old, had already chosen a horse, had not yet married, had never suffered at all since she was a child, except for her father, she had never seen any other adult men, and she had never been rudely stared at.

That year, Lou Wen, the general of Chengguo, was forty-three years old, fought in the south and the north for more than 20 years, and went through more than 100 battles of all sizes, and never lost a defeat.

Xu Baoxin forgot whether there were other people around at that time, only remembered that she was grief-stricken, she wanted to commit suicide and kill the intruder, but she didn't do anything in the end, as if she was frozen, all she saw in her eyes was a belly wrapped in armor, huge, the whole room was filled, and the voice seemed to come from her stomach, this was almost all her impression of the general, even if she shared the bed for many years in the future, she didn't add much other content.

Xu Baoxin was sent to the car that day and went to Luoyang, the eastern capital of the Dacheng Dynasty, and since then he has been far away from his homeland, and he can only go back in his dreams.

"Princess ......" voice was soft and deferential, exactly the same as before, Xu Baoxin fell deeper in the dream, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he refused to get up.

"Princess." The voice was still soft, but it was a little more firm.

Xu Baoxin understood that this was not Jiangdong Wuguo, but Luoyang, and here, she was an adult, a prisoner of war, a concubine, and a mother, and she was not qualified to lie in bed.

It had been nearly eight years since she opened her eyes, and every time she woke up, her heart was still stuck in the deepest part of her dream, empty, but unable to contain the reality in front of her.

Two

General Lou Wen summoned all the wives and concubines in the mansion, which was a common thing for him, no matter what the origin of the women in the mansion was, they all belonged to the "spoils of war", which was worth showing off.

Lou Wen governed the family like governing the army, and arranged military positions for more than 370 wives and concubines, the wife was a general, the favorite concubine was a partial general, a general, and a general, and the rest were captains, team leaders, and team commanders.

Every time there is a meeting, everyone has a fixed position, and those who stand on the wrong side will be demoted, and even whipped, so although there are many concubines in the general's mansion, and there are flowers and flowers, they are not scattered, and they are quite lawful.

Lou Wen was proud of this, and once boasted: "If I spend some effort and a little training, although you are a woman, you will not lose to the same number of men." ”

Fortunately, the general has never really had this on his mind, he will not really let his own women meet with men outside, let alone really fight for his life.

Xu Baoxin is an exception, she was not entrusted with a "military position", she is still the "princess of Wu Kingdom" in the mansion, including the general, everyone calls her so.

Princess of Wu - The word "Wu Guo" is never omitted, so as not to be confused with the real Princess Dacheng, and the word "princess" is often deliberately emphasized, coupled with all kinds of strange looks, as if they are tacitly passing on secrets to each other.

Xu Baoxin has no secrets, she rarely even hides her hatred for her husband Lou Wen and Emperor Dacheng, but the general eats this very much, in his own words: "What Lao Tzu has done in his life is to destroy the country and rob women, and the princess of Wu hates me?" Let her hate it, a little woman, what can I do with hatred? Haha, Lao Tzu likes her tune. ”

That being said, except for Xu Baoxin, there is no second woman in the mansion who dares to show the slightest hatred in front of the general.

Many concubines were lined up in the courtyard, Xu Baoxin stood alone on the right hand side in front of the queue, this is her position, different, but meaningless, she is still a princess of a dead country, helpless, powerless.

Today's convening is a bit strange, first, the time is still early, it is not yet noon, usually at this time the general is either hangover and not awake, or go to the official office to do business, and second, the general's expression is too serious, standing under the porch, his belly is fatter than usual, and the shorter people can hardly see his head.

Mrs. also showed up, standing beside the general, this is a rare thing, Mrs. mother's family name is Lan, the family is illustrious, and the Lou family is a household, although she was awarded the title of "general", but rarely participates in such gatherings.

Mrs. Lan's expression was equally serious, and there was some sadness.

The general coughed lightly and said in a voice that had never been softer than ever, "Son of Heaven...... The Son of Heaven died, and Dacheng mourned with the whole country. ”

Everyone was amazed that the current emperor, who was just over fifty years old and had never heard of a serious illness, had suddenly abandoned his subjects.

Mrs. Lan let out a low sob, her own sister was the empress, and the death of the emperor was an extra pain of bereavement for her.

"Ahem......" Lou Wen showed a slight twist, as if he was reading an edict full of rare words, "soon...... I'm going to enter the palace...... Receive the edict of the first emperor, you ...... You have to change into mourning clothes, the more mourning the better, you have to cry, whoever has more tears will be rewarded. Also, if any of you were from Wu, Shu, Liang, and Jin in the past, you should cry miserably, and if you don't meet the requirements and cause trouble, don't say that I ......."

"Poof." Suddenly, someone laughed.

Even in ordinary times, it is an unforgivable sin to interrupt the general with laughter, let alone a day when the whole country mourns together? The concubines lowered their heads, not daring to look around, knowing in their hearts that only one person would be so daring.

Lou Wen glanced at Princess Wu Guo, intending to forgive her once, after all, he had forgiven her many times.

But his belly was too big, and neither this glance nor the message in his eyes could be transmitted.

Xu Baoxin also lowered her head, in order to hide her smile, but she couldn't help it, the laughter changed from "poof" to "hee", and before the general could stop it, the laughter had turned into an indulgent "haha".

Lou Wen closed his abdomen, his face was full of surprise, but he was still immersed in deep grief, and he didn't get angry.

Xu Baoxin was actually very scared, but she couldn't suppress her laughter, the empty place in her heart for a long time suddenly burst the embankment, it turned out that there was not nothing inside, and countless emotions rushed out, turning into more and more intense laughter.

"You...... Hold it back! General Lou Wen finally came to his senses and scolded sharply.

Xu Baoxin couldn't hold back, holding her lower abdomen with both hands, laughing endlessly, even if the knife fell at this time, her face would be smiling.

The general really drew his sword out of the sheath, he could allow Princess Wu to have some minor problems, but he couldn't accept such a public provocation.

Mrs. Lan stretched out her hand to stop her husband, "She's afraid she's crazy." ”

"Crazy people have to behave." The general withdrew the half-cut knife, walked down the steps with great effort, and strode to the princess of Wu Kingdom, the hand that originally held the handle of the knife grabbed the princess's thin wrist instead, "Today is not as usual, you are from Wu again, it is better to be honest, wait for me to come back from the palace...... Hey, it's hard to know if you're dead or alive. ”

Xu Baoxin didn't struggle, she had already given up the senseless resistance, but in her heart she never gave up hatred, and said loudly: "How did he die?" ”

"Huh?" Lou Wen didn't understand.

"Your emperor, how did he die?"

Lou Wen's face changed color, and his hands tightened, "You really don't want to live anymore?" ”

His wrist was in pain, Xu Baoxin didn't cry out in pain, but his voice was higher, "I was left by the emperor for a month, don't you want to know the details?" ”

Lou Wen roared angrily, and threw Princess Wu Guo out of a dozen steps with his hand.

Xu Baoxin's words broke the taboo, many years ago, when she was just sent to Luoyang, the eastern capital, she was sent to the palace before she got out of the car, and it was only after a month that she was transferred to the General's Mansion.

Lou Wen once spoke wildly, claiming that even the emperor could not compete with him for a woman, and it turned out that the emperor could still compete with him.

For a long time, Lou Wen never mentioned this matter, and Xu Baoxin obediently avoided this experience, until today, she suddenly didn't want to pretend to be confused anymore.

Lou Wen is old, but his strength has not decreased much, Xu Baoxin fell to the ground heavily, her whole body hurt, she still laughed, "Emperor Dacheng has not died well, and the crime will fall on the heads of the people of the Five Kingdoms again......."

Liang, Jin, Jing, Shu, Wu are the five countries, the day of the destruction of the country is more than 20 years, but only ten years in the near future, the noble family of the clan is all into Luoyang, and every time the wind blows early, the Dacheng court will take the people of the five countries.

Lou Wen strode forward, stepped on the chest of Princess Wu Guo, reached out and drew the knife again, "I'll kill you little slut first, so as not to cause trouble for my Lou family......"

When the general is angry, someone must persuade him, otherwise he will be even more angry afterwards and anger towards everyone present at the time.

Mrs. Lan had been following behind her husband, and reached out in time to stop her, persuading: "Why should you pay attention to the person who has lost the country? Hurry up and enter the palace, the general, and don't stay at home at this very time. ”

Lou Wen didn't want to really kill someone, let go of his hands and feet, snorted hatefully, and said to his wife: "Discipline these women fiercely for me, and I will enter the palace immediately." ”

"Remember the most important things." Mrs. Lan reminded.

"Remember, Queen, no, it's the Queen Mother now, and I will definitely take you into the palace before dark." Lou Wen said impatiently, he was about to leave, stopped suddenly, adjusted his mood, and confirmed that he could cry at any time, and then strode away.

Three

Mrs. Lan watched her husband leave, turned around, and faced the many concubines, "Change mourning clothes and cry." ”

The maidservants in the house had already prepared sackcloth, and hundreds of concubines were changing clothes in the courtyard, and no one dared to say a word.

Madame Lan walked up to Princess Wu and stared at her for a while.

Xu Baoxin was still lying on the ground, smiling earnestly face down.

Mrs. Lan sighed lightly, she didn't like this woman, because her husband was overly fond of the so-called princess of Wu, but she was not particularly disgusted, because no matter how much her husband pampered her, she was just a person who died in the country after all.

"It's the general's fault, you shouldn't let everyone call you 'Princess Wu', if you call you too much, you will take it seriously, and you can't tell your current status."

Xu Baoxin raised his head, with a smile on his face, "The emperor was killed by the people of Wu, right?" ”

Mrs. Lan frowned slightly, "Nothing to do all day, you people have been raised crazy." There was a cry behind her, and Mrs. Lan was not very satisfied, so she turned around and said, "Your Majesty raises all the people, and you must weep like losing your father." ”

The cry immediately boiled.

Mrs. Lan turned to Princess Wu Guo, and she still couldn't see the Qi Rong she should have on that face, "Your Majesty had a sudden illness a few days ago...... What am I saying to you for? Today is just a demonstration, and when it comes to the official funeral, you can choose whether to cry or die. ”

Xu Baoxin put away the last bit of smile and forcibly supported himself, "Let me see him on one side, just one side, I feel the kindness of my wife, I hate Emperor Dacheng, I hate the general, but I feel the kindness of my wife all my life." ”

Mrs. Lan understood and pondered for a moment, "Go back to your room." ”

Four

"He" was a little child, just six years old, who had been living with many brothers, calling Mrs. Lan "mother", occasionally meeting with the princess of Wu, but not knowing what to call it, usually standing there silently, watching her cry and listening to her nagging, with both sympathy and annoyance in his heart.

Today is an exception, Princess Wu Guo actually smiled on her face, "Ji'er, you have grown taller, how many words have you learned?" Do you write your own name? Did you eat well? Has anyone bullied you? ”

Six-year-old Lou Ji yes, hoping to end this meeting sooner.

Xu Baoxin said a lot of words, until the maid at the door urged, she had to end, holding the reluctant little face with both hands, and said in a low voice: "You are my son, you are not surnamed Lou, you should be surnamed Xu, I am the princess of Wu, you are the grandson of the emperor of Wu......"

Lou Ji broke free of his palm, and said loudly: "My surname is Lou, not Xu, I ......" Before he finished speaking, he turned around and ran, he didn't want to be the son of this strange woman, as far as he knew, "Princess Wu Guo" was just a nickname, it was a joke, one of his brothers did marry a real princess, he had seen it from afar, and the woman behind him was completely different.

"We are all Wu people, and we will always be!" Xu Baoxin shouted outside the door, the look of disappointment was overflowing, and soon, she cheered up again, "He will understand, even if he is confused, Chengguo will let him understand." ”

Xu Baoxin took away the maidservant, closed the door, sat alone at the head of the bed, and found that some things were more difficult to do than she thought, and after a quarter of an hour, she finally made up her mind that she would never shed a single tear at the funeral of Emperor Dacheng.

Five

The building was very annoyed, the man had short calves, but he ran fast, and he didn't go far to get rid of the servant girl who followed, and went all the way into the garden.

The General's Mansion covers a wide area, but it is not a place for free and loose, even if he is only six years old, the building also knows where he can go and where he can't go, for example, the big garden is impossible to go, if he is discovered, he will really be beaten, and the small garden at the other end can be entered casually, where the flowers and plants are overgrown, neglected, and it is a paradise for boys.

Lou Ji was annoyed and confused, always feeling as if he had done something wrong, but he didn't want to admit it explicitly.

Seven or eight children, the eldest in his teens and the youngest in five or six years old, suddenly burst out of the grass in front of them, all armed with wooden knives and guns, and their clothes were tangled in a mess, imitating the armor of a soldier.

"Stop!" The eldest child shouted.

Lou Ji paused, turned around and ran again, he would not stand obediently, these children were his brothers, at least in front of adults, they called each other brothers, but there was no friendship in private.

Lou Ji was always the one who ran away, and he was always the one who couldn't escape, and it didn't take long for him to fall to the ground.

The eldest child pointed a wooden knife at the nose of the building, "Dare to rebel against the thief, dare to trespass into the barracks, and the military law waits!" ”

No one knows what the "military law" is, anyway, it just holds it down.

Lou Ji stopped struggling, raised his face full of dirt, and said loudly: "I am not a traitor, I am ...... Messenger. ”

"Sending a message? What letter? The eldest child was intrigued and withdrew the wooden knife.

"The Emperor is dead."

The eldest child slapped the head of the building with a wooden knife, "Dare to tell such a lie, it is a capital crime." ”

"It's not a lie, I heard from the adults, the general has already entered the palace." The children in the house used to call their father "the great general", with reverence and pride.

The children got up one after another, their faces showing a little dazed, and the building also stood up, patting the dust off their clothes, guessing that they had escaped again.

"The Emperor...... Will you die too? A child asked.

"Don't say death, it's death." The eldest child corrected, scratching his head, and his face was happy, "When the general enters the palace, he must assist the new emperor, and he will soon be able to make me a real general." ”

The other children were also overjoyed, but none of them understood the true impact of the emperor's death.

"You all have to follow me as a captain, a captain, and a soldier...... You can't. The eldest child pointed a knife at the building, searched for the word, and after a moment added, "You are imprisoned." ”

"What is confinement?" One child asked.

"Confinement is ...... You can't be an official for the rest of your life. The eldest child gave a simple but accurate explanation, "We can all be officials when we grow up, but he can't." ”

Lou Ji has no special enthusiasm for being an official, but he can't accept the word "can't", and his face turned red, "I can be if I want to!" ”

The eldest child laughed, "You don't know what confinement is, do you?" Haha, you are the son of the princess of Wu State, and the court has set a rule not to let you people be officials, because the people of Wu are the worst, so the children of Wu people are also bad. ”

"I'm not ......" Lou Ji blushed again, but he wasn't sure whether he was born to "Princess Wu Guo", and he didn't want to dwell on this issue, so he changed his words: "You can't be a general." ”

The eldest child hit the head of the building with a knife again, "I am not the son of Wu Guoren, if you want to be a general, you can be a general." ”

Lou Ji took two steps back, "There is no shortage of generals in our Lou family, the general sent you to the best school, this is to make you a civil official." ”

This time, the eldest child's face turned red, and in the eyes of their Lou family's children, the civil official was somewhat cowardly, and the general was the best choice.

While the brothers were stunned, he ran away from the building, this time he chose a path between the grass and tried to hide his figure.

The argument ended, and the other children then chased after them, not caring about civilian officials and military generals, but simply enjoying the chase.

This day is the thirteenth summer of June 13 in the fourteenth year of Dacheng Chaoheng, the news of the emperor's death is rapidly spreading to all directions of the empire, the sun is blazing in the sky, and a group of children are chasing me in the small garden, I don't know how many flowers and plants to step on, how much sweat to shed.

It was getting late, so they hid their weapons and left the small garden in a line, behind the building, their bodies and faces dirtier than the others, and they had as much fun as their brothers.

Six

As soon as they returned to their lodgings, all the children were gathered together, changed into ugly and uncomfortable clothes, and before they had eaten dinner, they were sent to a room, and the adults asked them to kneel and weep bitterly.

At first, everyone thought that this was a punishment for them, but slowly they understood from the words of the adults that the emperor had really died.

A middle-aged woman took Lou Ji to the side alone, wiped the dust and tears from his face with a silk handkerchief, and said softly, "You should cry more, Xu Ji...... Passed away. ”

There was a cry in the hall, and Lou Zhu sobbed and looked at the woman blankly, not understanding her words at all.

"Xu Ji is the princess of Wu Kingdom, and she is also your biological mother, she is dead, and Madame thinks you should know the news." The woman gently stroked the top of the child's head, took off two straw sticks, and said, "Go and cry." ”

Lou Ji still had a stunned look on his face, returned to the brothers, knelt on the ground, couldn't cry, his tears were gone, and he tried to recall what Princess Wu looked like during the day and what she said, that is obviously a living person, how can you say that death is death? But the harder he tried, the more his memories were occupied by the chase scene in the small garden, and the princess of Wu Guo was covered behind and became ethereal.

From this day on, the six-year-old Lou Ji didn't cry or speak, whether it was reprimanded by adults or chased by his brothers, he couldn't let out a word or shed a tear.

The adults in the house suspect that the child has become mute, and the brothers call him "Nerd".

The general was very busy, and it wasn't until half a year later that he noticed the anomaly, "Why don't you speak?" Speak immediately. ”

Someone came over and whispered to explain the situation, Lou Wen sighed, and suddenly remembered the princess of Wu Guo, "Alas, your mother is also a weird temper, I didn't say anything, the court is going to deal with the people of Wu Guo, but with me, I won't find out her head, why are you so scared to commit suicide?" Confused, really confused. If there is a confused mother, there is a confused son, and it is a good thing that you become dumb, maybe you will cause a lot less trouble because of this. ”

Lou Ji didn't become dumb, and it was soon discovered that he was actually muttering to himself when he was alone, but no one could hear what he was saying.

Seven

Half a year passed, and the general gained the trust of the new emperor and his position was stable, so he retreated to the wine to enjoy himself, make friends, and have a feast almost every day.

There was only one guest on this day, and he had no official position in the court, but he was a distinguished guest invited by all the dignitaries and nobles, and even the general waited for many days before finally inviting him into the palace.

Liu Youzhong, the prime minister of the south, has countless people in his life, none of them are accurate, and his reputation has spread all over the world before he leaves his hometown.

The general is a very popular minister, and he doesn't care much about his luck, but he has recently felt quite weak and weak, and he began to care about the future of his children and grandchildren, so one counts as one, and all of them are summoned, and Liu Youzhong is invited to take a look.

The Lou family was full of children and grandchildren, and more than 100 people entered in batches, respectfully saluting their father and guests, and then standing aside to listen to their prophecies.

After three rounds of drinking, Liu Youzhong began to look at the children and grandchildren of the Lou family, or in a few words, or with a smile on his chin, without delaying drinking and eating in the middle, the comments were completed in less than an hour, and everyone was satisfied, especially the general himself, who smiled from ear to ear.

"My third child is really promising?"

"The outer softness is enough to make friends, the inner strength is enough to control the subordinates, the upper inheritance of the ancestral shadow, the lower brother, and the queen mother's nephew, the future is unlimited. There is only one case, don't make friends carelessly......"

The third child is the biological son of Mrs. Lan, who smiled at his father and only cared about the words "promising future".

The children who came in are getting younger and younger, and Liu Youzhong's comments are getting simpler and simpler, often just a "yes", don't say no, the building temperature is not too good, one hundred and ten children and grandchildren, as long as seven or eight are successful, the building of the Lou family will not fall.

Lou Ji and a few brothers entered the hall in the penultimate batch, waiting outside for too long, hungry and empty, seeing the table full of wine and food, they all swallowed saliva, and had to salute in a proper manner.

Liu Youzhong made a brief comment as usual, and suddenly his eyes returned to a child, "This is ......"

Lou Wen looked at the entourage beside him, there were too many sons, and he couldn't remember his name and ranking.

"Seventeen sons, named." Whisper with a whisper.

"Oh, it's the 'silent boy'." Liu You finally showed some interest.

"Hey, my son's reputation has spread outside?" Lou Wen said with a smile, he had almost forgotten about this son along with Princess Wu.

"I've heard a little. Please come forward and let me take a closer look. ”

Lou Ji walked up to Xiangshi and looked up at him.

Liu Youzhong smiled and nodded, looked at it for a long time, and said, "Open your mouth." ”

The two lips of the floor were closed tighter.

Lou Wen was a little annoyed, so many children and grandchildren, this kid was disobedient, and was about to open his mouth to reprimand, but Liu Youzhong changed his mind, "That's it, please retreat." ”

At the end of the look, the wine and food were removed and replaced with new ones, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves, and it was almost midnight before they really dispersed.

Lou Wen was drunk and smoky, but still insisted on sending Liu Xiangshi out of the house, and after several older sons were busy, he put his arm around Liu Youzhong's shoulders and said in a low voice: "Old Liu, you still haven't said anything, don't hide it from me, I can see it." ”

Liu Youzhong smiled, his thin body could not bear the general's fat body, and his legs and feet became more and more unstable because of this.

"I treat you as a friend, what do you take me for?" Lou Wen asked.

"The 'Silent Boy'......"

"What's wrong with him? Is there a problem? Lou Wen was stunned, but he didn't expect that Liu You's final concern was this son.

"There are a lot of rumors outside, saying that Wu Guoshishu still does not give up......"

"So what, he is my son, can he still follow outsiders to rebel? Besides, how old is he? "Lou Wen really doesn't know the age of this son.

Liu Youzhong shook his head, saying that he didn't mean that, thought for a long time, saw that his car had come to the door, and said to the general: "Although this son is young, he seems to have the ambition of Lingyun, and his face is not bad. ”

"What do you mean? He dared to talk nonsense, and I tore his mouth apart. ”

Liu Youzhong still shook his head, "If this son can keep his mouth shut up, he will be a good man who governs the world, and once he opens his mouth, I am afraid that he will become a hero in troubled times." The general doesn't need to worry too much, everyone has his own life, only heaven can decide, and mortals can't help it. ”

The general let go of the Xiangshi and said in a loud voice: "I have destroyed all the enemy countries in the world and killed countless wounds, but I have never seen people and things that cannot be forced. ”

Liu Youzhong laughed and arched his hand: "The general is an extraordinary person, not in physiognomy, this son was born in the general's mansion, and it must be fate." ”

Lou Wen liked to listen to such words, sent Xiangshi away with a smile, went back to the house to sleep, and woke up the next day, having completely forgotten Liu Youzhong's words.

Eight

But the rumors are still spreading, and many people regard it as a joke, and every time they say in front of the building: "Shut up the good man who rules the world, open his mouth to the hero of the troubled times, you open your mouth, let us see what the hero looks like?" ”

Seven-year-old Lou Ji is still the same as when he was six years old, except for eating, he never speaks, no matter how the other party laughs and provokes, he is silent, and even his face does not change, which makes the other party very boring.

The rumors gradually dissipated and were finally forgotten by most people, but Lou Ji had heard a lot, and it was deeply in his heart, and when he finally opened his mouth to recite the sage scriptures with everyone at the age of thirteen, he still remembered those two sentences from time to time.

Shut up and rule the world, open your mouth in troubled times, he opened his mouth, but the troubled times did not come immediately, and he had to wait for another five years.