Chapter 158: Giving Up the Small
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Xu Ji had never been so deep into the palace, from the moment he entered the door, there were constantly people on the side of the road bowing to greet him, and even bowing down, at first he tried to return the salute, and soon just strode forward.
That feeling reappeared, as if a guest who had lived for many years had suddenly become a host, and although he had not yet adapted immediately, he was already ecstatic in his heart, and he especially wanted to show his power.
This is exactly how Xu Jili persuaded Ning to give up.
Dongdu was like a wounded prey, lying on the ground and gasping softly, no beast could hold back the hunger in its belly at this time, and not open its bloody mouth.
Xu Ji also has a beastly side, although he persuaded Ning Baoguan to be the head of the way, but at this time he felt a strong temptation, at least at this moment, the east capital belongs to him, even in the palace, he can do whatever he wants.
Outside the Queen Mother's bedroom, Xu Ji had resisted all the temptations and no longer thought nonsense.
After the report, Xu Ji came to the courtyard and talked to the Queen Mother through a curtain, he felt that this arrangement was very good, so he did not ask to enter the house.
Xu Ji stepped forward and arched his hand and said: "Under Xu Ji, meet the Queen Mother." ”
Even through the bead curtain, Xu Ji could feel the scrutinizing gaze, and after a long time, there was a person inside: "You are King Wu?" ”
"Emperor Wu is my maternal ancestor, I am my grandson and temporarily receive the title of ruling king, and when I find the real descendants of the Xu family, I will hand over the title and retire to the people."
"Oh, you are the son of the princess of Wu Kingdom."
"Exactly." Xu Ji was not as secretive about his mother as he used to be, and asked, "The Queen Mother has seen my mother?" ”
"No, but I've heard of her, she's a brave woman, a heroine, no wonder you dare to rebel."
Xu Ji took a step forward, "I came to see the Queen Mother because I have important matters to discuss, if the Queen Mother avoids it, it will not be beneficial to Yu Dong, and it will be even more disadvantageous to myself." ”
"Aren't you talking to me?"
"If the Queen Mother had your courage, she would not be trapped in the Eastern Capital."
Someone behind the curtain said softly: "Forget it, let me tell him, I can't escape this catastrophe after all." ”
The figure behind the curtain shook, and a different person was changed, his voice was extremely soft, as if he had not recovered from a long illness, he had no strength to speak, and he was not interested in pleasing anyone, so he asked: "Is King Wu here to kill me?" ”
"The righteous army will punish tyrants and eliminate traitors, and will not embarrass a woman."
"Is the tyrant that King Wu is talking about, my husband and son?"
"Exactly."
"You...... Was he in pain when he died? ”
"Huh?"
"Emperor Xian, he should have died under your sword, right?" The Queen Mother's voice became lower and lower, trembling slightly, as if she was asking a very indecent thing, for fear that the other party would be angry.
"The Emperor of All Things was first injured by the assassin, and then he was stabbed by me and the other two with daggers, so he shouldn't have suffered too much, compared to the Emperor of All Things, the people starved and sold their children and daughters, which is the real pain." Xu Ji involuntarily used "people", and suddenly understood the power of these two words in his heart, and used them to oppose anyone or anything, which is invincible.
The Queen Mother sighed lightly, "I have been in the palace for a long time, and I don't know the suffering of the people." King Wu is here, why is it here? ”
"The people of the Eastern Capital are still in the people, and they are suspicious of the righteous army, so I came to ask the Queen Mother to pass on the decree to calm the people's hearts and avoid riots."
"I ...... How can I do this? The Queen Mother's voice seemed flustered.
Xu Ji took out a fold from his arms and handed it over with both hands, "Don't worry about the Queen Mother, I have drawn up a decree, and the Queen Mother can seal it." ”
The palace maid who was guarding the side stepped forward to take the fold and sent it to the back of the curtain.
The voice that pretended to be the queen mother spoke again, "Lou Ji, you are also an old minister of Tiancheng, why did you betray the country and abandon the monarch and take refuge in the thief?" ”
"Don't say that......" the Queen Mother whispered.
Xu Ji said with a smile: "I am imprisoned, no official or position, only a citizen of Tiancheng, not an old minister of Tiancheng, in the eyes of the court, I am a character like a 'thief', how can I take refuge?" Where did you come from? ”
I don't know if she was refuted by Xu Ji or stopped by the Queen Mother, but the female voice didn't say anything more.
The Queen Mother said: "King Wu has written a good article, I have read it, and I will ......stamp it immediately."
The female official couldn't avoid it, and reminded in a low voice: "You can't just stamp it and make conditions to him." ”
"On what terms?" The Queen Mother asked in surprise.
"To ensure the safety and use of the Queen Mother, no one is allowed to enter the palace without permission, and there are ......"
"Alas, people can do whatever they want, can we still resist? What the whole East has not done, we can't do. You go and get the seal, and if King Wu wants to take the seal away, you can give it to him too. ”
Xu Ji had already heard that the Queen Mother was cowardly, and he was still a little surprised to see her so easy to speak, so he arched his hand and said: "The Eastern Capital is safe, the Queen Mother is naturally safe, there is no need to worry." ”
"Life is like a dream, I have had a leisurely dream for half a lifetime, and it doesn't hurt to have a nightmare. If the people of the Eastern Capital are safe, it is also the credit of King Wu, and it has nothing to do with me. ”
The palace maid came out and returned the fold, Xu Ji opened it and took a look, there was already the mark of the queen mother on it, which was a formal decree.
"You can also take it with you, it's convenient to use it." The Queen Mother said.
"Not necessarily." Xu Ji took two steps back and put away the fold, "I try not to disturb the Queen Mother." ”
Outside the dormitory, dozens of Wu soldiers probed their brains, and when they saw King Wu coming out, someone asked, "Has the ruling party seen the queen mother?" ”
"Hmm."
"What does it look like? Can we take a look? ”
"I didn't see it, and you shouldn't see it."
Wu Bing sneered, followed the ruling and walked out, and when he was about to reach the palace gate, someone couldn't help but say: "Let's capture the Eastern Capital, why are we still so polite to the Empress Dowager Tiancheng?" Think about how did the Tiancheng soldiers treat Emperor Wu at the beginning? ”
"That's right, Emperor Wu was exposed, the concubine was given to the soldiers, the princess...... Princess Wu was also taken from the palace by Lou Wen. ”
"Lou Wen also indulged the soldiers in the harem, how many years, and the Wu people are still deeply ashamed of this."
Wu Bing, the more you say it, the more angry you become.
Xu Ji had to stop and say to everyone: "Heaven is no way, and the third life will die, but do you want to follow suit?" ”
The crowd reluctantly shut up.
Out of the palace, Xu Ji and Cao Shenxi converged, and handed over the Empress Dowager's decree to him, "Whether the Eastern Capital is stable or not depends on General Cao." ”
Cao Shenxi took a few steps forward, knelt down and kowtowed to the palace gate, and then got up to take the fold, sighing: "Cao's reputation is ruined in my hands." ”
"Abandon the small family and protect the overall situation, the Cao family deserves a greater reputation."
Cao Shenxi shook his head lightly, "King Wu asked me to be in charge of the Eastern Capital, okay, I accept it, what the righteous army wants, you tell me, you want to speak as much as you want, give a deadline, and I will try my best to meet it." There is only one way, please be merciful to the kings, don't trouble the people, I will also find someone to guard the palace, and wait for me to arrange a proper place for the queen mother, and then give the palace to the rebels. ”
"It's all up to General Cao. Now I have something to do, and tomorrow I need a place that can accommodate a hundred people, and a feast of wine, and meat is sufficient. ”
Cao Shenxi sighed and nodded, "Alas, this is easy, there is a place in Honglu Temple, alas, there must be enough wine and meat, alas, in the future, I will be in charge of the officials outside the palace, you can go there to find me." Well, what am I doing? ”
Although he was unwilling, Cao Shenxi still took over the responsibility, and with the queen mother's decree, he summoned more officials who hid in his home.
Cao Shenxi elected three deputies to jointly govern the eastern capital, everything was in order, the palace and the household treasury were all sealed, and the items were called by King Wu.
Xu Ji left a hundred soldiers for Cao Shenxi, one was to escort and the other was to supervise, and he went to see Ning Baoguan by himself.
Ning Baoguan lives on the city tower, and he is not afraid of the cold, so he opens the window and looks out.
The night has come, and there is only a little fire outside the city, but Ning Baoguan is fascinated, and it took a long time to turn around and say to Xu Ji: "You still have a way, you have found a lot of things, and I can't pile them up here." ”
"This is only a small part, and if it is properly managed, the tribute should be endless."
"Well, I have to be able to live in order to enjoy this 'endless supply'. I heard that you entered the palace? ”
"Yes, I want a decree from the Queen Mother to appease the people of the Eastern Capital."
"You still let Cao Shen wash the key, and you are in charge of the key?"
"Yes, when the rebels first arrived, they did not win the trust of the people of the Eastern Capital, and they needed General Cao to come forward to appease them."
"Hey, the left one appeases, the right one appeases, it seems that the rebels are specially here to curry favor with the people of the Eastern Capital."
"Buying people's hearts is sometimes no different from pleasing people, but the final result is never the same, one is for one's own use, and the other is for others."
Ning Baoguan scolded a swear word, "It's really difficult to buy people's hearts." You don't have to worry about me first, look outside, early tomorrow morning, Xue Liu will take the King of Jin, the King of Liang, and the King of Shu into the city, I can't refuse, I can only let them in. ”
"King Ning did the right thing."
"And then? Give up the Eastern Capital, or kill them cleanly? ”
"I'm afraid the kings won't go into the city alone."
"With 3,000 people each, together, there are already more than us."
"That is, you can't kill it cleanly, but you won't let it out of the Eastern Capital."
Xu Ji didn't say anything, Ning Baoguan turned his head, and looked outside again, "Xue Liu and King Jin, I can only get rid of one first, King Jin has already harmed my heart, I should get rid of it first, but Xue Liu's subordinates are the most, if I give in one more step, I'm afraid there will be no way back......"
Ning Baoguan thought about this matter all day, and it was difficult to make a conclusion.
Xu Ji said: "The alliance of the five kings, King Ning is the commander, and the world knows it. King Ning was originally a subordinate of the incarnated king, and the king's name was obtained from him, and the world also knew it. ”
"Hey, you can always get to the point, since it's a rebellion, of course you have to get rid of the guy on top of your head first. That's Xue Liu, you will go out of the city later, go to see the King of Jin, and tell him, I can give him Qin, He, Hebei, and Han four states. If he agrees, everyone will kill Xue Liu together, he doesn't agree, everyone will have a scuffle to see who has the most life. ”
"And what about the two kings of Liang and Shu?"
"As before, the King of Liang has Huaizhou, the King of Shu has Yizhou, as for you, if I get the Eastern Capital, Wuzhou can give it to you, and there is still one Jingzhou left, which can be regarded as giving me a pension."
"If King Ning has this heart, the world can be determined."
"I have the heart, but unfortunately you won't believe it. Tell me the truth, has King Jin already promised Wuzhou to you? ”
"Yes."
"But he just made a secret promise and didn't make it public, right?"
"Of course."
"Very good, before you go out of the city, I will gather the generals and announce the removal of the title of King Wu Yue, and only call King Ning in the future, and let you be the King of Wu alone, how about it?"
"Ning Wang ......"
"That's right. If I cannot have your trust, I will not have the trust of the kings, much less the trust of the world. Xu Ji, if you help me get the world, I will share it with you, not to mention a mere Wuzhou? Koto is yours, and I will let everyone know about it. ”
Xu Ji admired Ning Baoguan, but at the same time, he became more and more jealous, only a few hours apart, King Ning had already understood the principle of giving up the small to the big, and he used it perfectly.