Xu Ji pushed open the door and looked out for a while, muttering, "There must be heavy snow in the north." ”

Tang Weitian, who was sitting and eating in the house, said: "Yes, Yizhou is good everywhere, but there is little snow, and winter is not like winter." ”

Seeing someone coming in from outside the courtyard, Xu Ji greeted him and said, "General Tie." ”

Tie Kite arrived alone, dressed in civilian clothes, stood in the courtyard and glanced at the house, waved his hand to signal Tang Weitian that he didn't have to get up, and then said: "There has been a message in the city, saying that Mr. Xu killed the King of Shu." ”

"There's no way to hide it."

"Mr. Xu shouldn't have leaked the truth to my brothers in advance." The iron kite was a little dissatisfied.

Xu Ji smiled and said, "Instead of waiting for the two generals to learn the truth from other people's mouths, it is better for me to confess it myself." ”

"You're making it hard for me."

Xu Ji still just smiled.

The iron kite walked away a few steps, motioned for Xu Ji to follow, avoided Tang Weitian's gaze, and whispered, "Please Mr. Xu escape." ”

"Run? Where to escape? ”

"Or go back to Jingzhou to find Song Zhuzhu, or go north to find the world army, in short, don't stay in Yizhou."

"Thank you General Tie for not killing, but I can't just leave."

"Hey, don't say you want to help our Tie family guard Yizhou."

Xu Ji arched his hand and said: "I help Yizhou, not the Tie family." ”

Tie Kite laughed twice, and suddenly said: "The princess has been pregnant for two months, and all the civil and military ministers think that she should be succeeded by her son-in-law, so she has to wait for seven or eight months. ”

"Makes perfect sense. What about this period of July and August? ”

Tie Kite was silent for a while, "The princess is in power in the name of the concubine, and the three ministers are auxiliary. ”

"Which three?"

"I, Changshi Feng Yechou, the inner servant car is wholeheartedly."

"Che Quanyi?"

"His loyalty to the King of Shu is not to be said at least, and he is deeply rooted among the guests of Luozhou, and he is needed to stabilize the situation in Jindu. The Feng family is also a guest, but they have moved to Yizhou for hundreds of years and have been in business for several generations, and they are deeply convinced by the natives. ”

"The Iron General is well chosen. What about General Tetsuji? ”

"He was bent on revenge, so I sent him to guard the Yibei Pass, far away from Jingzhou, and the Kuimen Pass was guarded by Li Shengguo."

"General Tie doesn't want to send troops to Jingzhou?"

"At least I don't want to do it now, the concubine is pregnant, people's hearts are unstable, and Yizhou's top priority is to protect itself, not revenge."

"What General Tie said is extremely true."

Iron Kite shook his head, "I know I'm not doing enough. ”

"Where is it?"

"The whole Yizhou, and even the whole world, will think that the Tie family has the heart to take benefits, and within these seven or eight months, I can't prove my innocence."

"But ask for a clear conscience, and you don't need to prove yourself."

"I also know that it is rare to stay in Yizhou for a long time, but the state has suffered a heavy setback, and it is unable to expand outward, and there is no one to choose from uniting with the heroes."

"What about King Ning?"

"Hey, Mr. Xu went to Jindu City this time in person to prevent Yizhou from throwing himself into King Ning, right?"

"I'd like to hear what General Iron really thinks."

"King Ning not only sent a messenger before, but also sent a general, who did not hide his desire to gain benefits, and with his character, he would inevitably be excessively recruited, and Yizhou would obey his orders, then the soldiers and food would be lost, and he would be unable to protect himself, and if Yizhou did not follow, his previous efforts would be wasted, providing an excuse for King Ning's levy."

"General Tie is right, but now is not the time to offend King Ning."

"I have already sent someone to see King Ning and tell him that Yizhou is willing to provide grain and grass, but the amount is up to us to decide according to the harvest and the amount of grain stored that year, and send a ship to Yiling to hand over to the Ning army."

"King Ning has no reason to refuse, at least not now."

"But this is not a long-term plan, after King Ning pacifies Jing and Wu, he will still turn around and attack."

"Not necessarily, if King Ning only wants to rule by rowing the river, he will definitely attack, if he has the heart to sweep the world, he will definitely go north to compete with He Rongren, King Liang, King Jin, etc."

The iron kite pondered for a long time, "Mr. Xu still thinks that Yizhou is also going north to compete?" ”

"There is no other way, sitting in Yizhou is just a few more years, if General Tie is looking for a long-term plan, he must go north."

"Although He Rongren was defeated in Xiangyang, their strength still exists, and the Han and Qin prefectures are all in their hands......"

"Going north is a battle, not taking advantage of the weakness, not taking advantage of the fire to rob, King Ning will win and shock the world, why can't General Tie?"

"The state is unstable, and it's winter...... Is Mr. Xu really not leaving? ”

"If General Tie doesn't open up the way to Hanzhou, I have no way out."

"Hey, let's stay a few more days then." The iron kite took his leave.

The next morning, Xu Ji and Tang Weitian were sent to live in another small courtyard in the city, and Song Wushou and Ma Jin were also sent, with a number of servants to serve day and night, but no one cared about him, and no one asked him for revenge.

Although Yizhou has encountered misfortune, the foundation has not been destroyed, and the New Year is lively and lively, and the lights are everywhere.

Tang Weitian couldn't bear the loneliness, and saw that Xu Ji was very safe, so he went to General Qianfeng, trained his troops a year ago, and prepared to crusade against several counties and counties that openly opposed the Tie family after the year.

"I didn't go to the battlefield for a few days, and my whole body was itchy." Tang Weitian scratched twice as he spoke, "Don't worry about Childe, General Tie has promised you your safety, and I have also announced that whoever moves Childe will wait for me to come back with the troops, and fight him to the death." ”

"Then I'm relieved, and you should be careful yourself." Xu Ji said with a smile.

Tang Weitian pursed his lips and whispered: "The people of Yizhou are actually not very good at fighting, especially the natives, they will disperse as soon as they fight, and wait for me to return victorious." ”

Just after the New Year, the Lantern Festival has not arrived, and Tang went out for the Tianshun army.

On the fifteenth night of the first month, Jindu City is more lively, unlike the Chinese New Year's Eve, people have taken to the streets to enjoy the lanterns, which can last until the early morning of the next day.

Xu Ji stood at the gate of the courtyard and watched for a while, and said to the two entourage: "Back then, the Eastern Capital enjoyed the lanterns, and it was nothing more than that. ”

Ma Jin doesn't like to talk, Song Wushou sighed with emotion: "Xiangyang used to be very lively, we enjoyed the lights in the first half of the night, drank in the second half of the night, and sang songs as beautiful as fairies, drinking endless wine and endless words...... Alas, it's all a thing of the past. ”

"I've got to get some rest early, you can go shopping."

Song Wushou was overjoyed and looked at Ma Jin, "I know a few interesting places, as long as you are willing to spend money......

"Rich." Majin replied.

The two went to the street together, Xu Ji closed the door, went back to the room and lay down, speculating about the iron kite's thoughts.

There was a sound of slamming the door outside, and the servant asked for his identity and immediately opened the door.

Xu Ji turned over and sat up, and just put on his shoes, the visitor had already broken into the bedroom.

"Xu Ji, ha, what a Mr. Xu."

"When did General Tie Er return to the city?" Xu Jidao asked the servants who followed up to light the fuel lamp.

The iron eagle obviously drank a lot of wine, his face was red, he walked a little shaky, his eyes were bloodshot, he sat on a stool, held the table with one hand, looked down and thought for a while, and suddenly looked up and said, "I still don't understand." ”

"Don't understand what?"

"Are you really just here for revenge?"

Xu Ji sat opposite, motioned for the servant to leave, and then said, "You want revenge?" ”

"If it weren't for my brother, I wouldn't have allowed ......," Iron Eagle gritted his teeth, "My brother is much less courageous than before." ”

"Those who do great things are first cowardly and then courageous."

"No matter how big or small, killing you makes me feel happier in my heart."

Xu Ji smiled.

"You do it first." The iron eagle commanded, raising his hand to bang on the table, "You do it, I will fight back." ”

"I can't beat you." Xu Ji said with a smile.

"Don't pretend to be cowardly, how dare you when you assassinate the King of Shu?"

Xu Ji put away his smile, "General Tie Er has been staying by the side of the King of Shu, as you can see, how long can the King of Shu hold after he arrives in Yiling and Xiangyang?" ”

Tie Yu stared at Xu Ji coldly, "Song Zhuzhu attacked Yiling and Jiangling successively a few days ago, this is your purpose, kill the King of Shu and vacate the place?" ”

"It's my purpose, but General Song's attack on the two cities is his own ability, and I didn't help."

"Don't be too happy, Song Zhuzhu has angered King Ning, and he will be retaliated, Yizhou took the opportunity to send troops to take revenge."

"Is this what the Iron General means?"

"I don't need his will, I can call the shots myself, I will change guards with Li Shengguo, he will go to the north, I will go to Kuimen, and I can lead the troops out of the gorge at any time."

Xu Ji sighed lightly.

"Are you scared? Brother left you a life, just because he didn't want to make enemies, wait for me to get rid of Song Zhuzhu and keep you...... No longer useful. ”

"I feel sorry for General Tie."

"Huh?"

"General Tie tried his best to protect the family of the King of Shu and the entire Yizhou, and even had to compromise with his old enemy, stay in the car and do not kill him wholeheartedly, and become an auxiliary minister, why is this?"

The iron eagle didn't answer, and he actually had a lot of complaints about his brother's compromise.

"Because he doesn't have a helper by his side, his brother wants to spoil him."

The iron owl's face turned even redder, and he got up, snorted a few times, and slowly sat down again, "I can live and die for my brother." ”

"The Iron General is also willing to live and die for you."

The Iron Eagle was silent.

Xu Ji continued: "Your Tie family is from Qinzhou, the foundation in Yizhou is not sinkable, and there are not enough soldiers and horses brought, all relying on the Tie General to support alone, if the brothers are born, it will not only cause a big disaster, but also cause the world to laugh." ”

The iron eagle said in a sullen voice: "If the king of Shu does not die......"

"If the king of Shu does not die, the Tie family will die, and Yizhou will not last long."

"The king of Shu promised me that he would pardon my brother and let the two brothers go to seize Hanzhou again and atone for their sins."

Xu Ji said: "Do you know King Ning's reply? He is only willing to give up Yiling, never let out Xiangyang and Hanzhou, once the king of Shu bows down, the king of Ning will soon recruit Yizhou soldiers to fight with him, especially you two brothers, do you say the king of Shu will refuse? ”

"Why does King Ning have to ask the two of us?"

"This is called turning the tiger out of the mountain, letting Che take power wholeheartedly, setting up the king of Shu, and finally sending the entire Yizhou to King Ning, you two brothers will be generals under the command of King Ning, meritorious service and not trusted, the slightest abnormality will be feared, this is the result you want?"

The Iron Eagle was silent again, he meant to provoke, but he was speechless.

"Drink less, think less, and help General Tie more."

"I've been helping."

"General Tie is in charge of Yizhou alone, and everyone else has honorific titles, why does General Tie Er still call him 'brother'?"

"He's ...... My brother. ”

"General Tie refused to be the king, and took charge of affairs as an auxiliary minister, just when you wanted to show fairness and selflessness, but you were commensurate with your family in public, what is your intention?"

"I ...... I...... In the future, it will be called the Great General. ”

"General Tie has the heart to conquer Hanzhou, but there is no one, why can't you help?"

Tie Fei was stunned, "Brother...... The general never said that he would conquer Hanzhou. ”

Xu Ji smiled and said: "Just after the New Year, General Tie sent troops to pacify the county, which is to prepare for the north out of Hanzhou. There is no shortage of soldiers and fierce generals in Yizhou, what is lacking is a trustworthy general. ”

"I can." The Iron Eagle stepped forward.

"You have to quit drinking first, and you have to be able to distinguish priorities, otherwise, General Tie would rather trust outsiders than believe you."