Knowing that Yang Qinzai had turned his face, Xi Yun was furious at first and gave the order to send troops to attack the city, but it didn't take long for him to calm down, withdraw his order, and send an envoy to explain the misunderstanding.

The second son, Xi Cheng, didn't come to his senses for a long time, and ran to the tent to ask his father: "Yang Maoyu openly betrayed, why did my father show weakness?" The small city of Yiling was originally the city of the Xi family, and we couldn't free up our hands for a while, so it fell into the hands of the water thieves......"

"It's all your fault." Xi Yun said.

"Father, I didn't do anything." Xi Cheng was confused, "Just leading the troops on the road, he was rejected outside the city, and he didn't even see Yang touching the fish, he shot arrows in the city." ”

"If you think he's a water thief, how can he treat you with courtesy?"

"But he is a water thief, and my father offered a reward for his head a few years ago, and I am not a fool, I have always been very polite in front of him, and I have never talked nonsense. On the contrary, when he met his father in Gangneung, he put on a posture as if he were such an important person. Xi Yan became more and more indignant, gritting his teeth and waving his arms as he spoke.

Xi Yun shook his head helplessly, "It's all my fault." ”

"Father is not wrong, it is all Yang Maoyu's fault, he detained Xi Yuansu and Xu Ji, and refused to borrow the road to let me cross the river, so bold and reckless, he must have found a new backer." Xi Cheng didn't know the reason for the matter at this time, it was in Xu Ji's words.

Xi Yun's face changed slightly, "If Yang Qinzai finds a new backer, are you very happy?" ”

"Father said all the strange things today, Yang Moyu is looking for a new backer, what do I have to be happy about? It's just not afraid of him. ”

Xi Yun shook his head, "There must be something strange in this matter, Yang Qinya went to Jiangling City to negotiate peace, and he will never easily regret it." Alas, I was confused for a while, and Xu Ji said that he was a little impatient, and sent you to Xiangyang overnight - no wonder Yang Qinya was suspicious, I should have sent an envoy to ask for directions first, or even go there myself......"

"Father!" Xi Cheng was so angry that his face turned red, "Although the status of our Xi family is not as good as before, it has not fallen to the point of bowing to the water thief!" ”

Xi Yun still shook his head, Xi Fu and Xi Cheng's two sons are good, if the world is peaceful, they can be the pillars of the Xi family, catch up with the chaos in all directions, but the two of them can't be the guardians of the Xi family.

Xi Yun patiently explained: "This is not a problem of falling, when Tiancheng is still there, there is a so-called status, Tiancheng is dead, everyone is self-reliant, 'status' is just a false name, if you hold it tightly, you will perish." ”

Xi Cheng was still unconvinced, and reluctantly said: "Father is still looking forward to Yang touching the fish to change his mind?" ”

"I said, there must be something strange in this, don't ask about this matter, stay in the camp honestly."

Xi Cheng left angrily, and didn't even say goodbye to his father.

Xi Yun continued to send people to Yiling City, but he was never able to enter the city.

Shortly after noon, news came from the front that although the city gate had still not been opened, Xi Yuansu and Xu Ji had been released and were on their way back.

Xi Yun was overjoyed and personally went out of the camp to greet him.

Xi Yuansu ran back on horseback first, and as soon as he saw his uncle, he immediately jumped off the horse and ran a few steps, "Xu Ji...... Xu ......"

"Speak slowly, what's going on with Yang Qinya?"

"It's not Yang Qinzai, it's Xu Ji......" Xi Yuan was more and more anxious, the more he couldn't speak, he looked back, and saw that Xu Ji was not far from here, so he took a deep breath and said: "Xu Ji was in front of Yang Qinzai, saying that our Xi family had the intention of killing people and seizing the city, just in time for the second brother to arrive with troops, Yang Qinzai actually believed his nonsense, so he ......"

"Needless to say, I see." Xi Yun breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's all Xu Ji's ......" What surprised Xi Yuansu was that his uncle actually showed a polite smile on his face, passed by him, and strode towards the "messenger".

Xu Ji dismounted and arched his hand: "The big thing is about to be completed, and I have come to report it." ”

"Mr. Xu has worked hard, have you met King Song Chu?"

Xu Ji nodded.

Xi Yuansu became more and more frightened, and ran over and whispered: "Heng Guogong didn't understand what I meant......

"I understand very well, but I think Mr. Xu must have an explanation."

Xu Ji smiled at Xi Yuanyi: "I'm sorry to let General Yuanyi suffer some grievances, but I have a reason to do this." Xu Ji took out a seal and a bead from his arms, one on each hand.

Xi Yuansu was shocked again, "This is the night pearl of the Xi family!" ”

Xi Yun stepped forward, picked up the golden ball, looked inside for a while, and put it back in Xu Ji's hand, "This night pearl was originally a tribute to Tiancheng from overseas, and Emperor Zhang Xi gave me this pearl before his death, and the Xi family regarded it as a treasure, a year ago...... It fell into the hands of King Jiang, and it is said that he carried it with him and never showed it. ”

"It's this pearl." There are already three theories about the origin of this orb, and Xu Ji has no intention of arguing for any of them.

"What is this?" Xi Yun asked again

"Song takes the seal of the king of Chu, he is willing to hand over the king's name and give it to a virtuous person."

Xi Yuan opened his mouth and stammered, Xi Yun smiled and nodded, "Xu Gongzi lives up to expectations." ”

"Please accept the two tokens from Duke Xi, and I will go to the camp of the Southern Army, and I must let General Chen come to visit and proclaim himself a minister."

"Wait a minute." Xi Yun picked up the treasure seal and glanced at it, but still put it back in Xu Ji's hand, "They want to serve me as the king of Chu?" ”

"Song and Yang both said that Jingzhou is strong, only the Xi family and the Southern Army, whoever is the king of Chu can do it, let me choose, I think the Southern Army is outside, General Chen has not returned to his hometown for a long time, Jingzhou can be called the king, and he must be the Duke of Hengguo."

"I didn't say I wanted to be king."

Xu Ji said with a smile: "This is my improvisation, Song Zhuzhu and Yang Qinya are willing to be ministers, and they are also willing to send troops to help Xiangyang, but they all think that it will be better to be a minister to the king." ”

Xi Yun laughed, "I understand the kindness of Mr. Xu and the two, but I am a minister of nature, the court is still there, Your Majesty is hunting in the north, how can I claim to be the king without authorization?" This must not be done. ”

Xi Cheng didn't stay in the camp "honestly", I heard that Xi Yuan was suspicious of returning safely, and ran out to check the situation, just when he heard about being called the king, he couldn't help but step forward and said: "The boy of the Shen family can be called the king of Jin, why can't his father?" ”

"Because I'm not from the Shen family." Xi Yun glared at his son, motioned for him to step back, and then smiled at Xu Ji: "Mr. Xu, let's give these two treasures to General Chen." ”

"Our night pearl ......" Xi Cheng also recognized the golden ball.

Xi Cheng shouted: "Let you stay in the camp, what are you doing when you come out?" ”

"I ...... This is the ...... at the barracks entrance."

"An order is an order, and taking a step is a disobedience. Someone is coming, and Xi Cheng will be beaten back. ”

The guards received the order, so naturally they didn't dare to really do it, Xi Yuansu walked to Xi Yan's side, and whispered: "I'll go into the camp with my second brother and tell you the ins and outs." ”

Xi Cheng snorted twice, turned around and walked back to the camp.

Xi Yun said: "I have made up my mind, please Mr. Xu don't have to say more." ”

Xu Ji showed a hint of surprise, "If the Duke of Hengguo refuses to be the king, these two treasures can only be ......"

"Give it to General Chen, he is also an official of the imperial court, if you want to be the king, the Xi family will not object, and will be at his disposal." Xi Yun stepped forward, "General Chen will definitely go to help defend Xiangyang?" ”

"Of course, but he means to follow the ...... of Hengguo"

"Xiangyang is the land of Jingzhou, and the Xi family has the responsibility to defend the land, so naturally they will not shirk it, but I have carefully thought about Mr. Xu's triple plan, although it is beneficial to my Xi family, it is quite disloyal to the courtiers. Since you want to defend Xiangyang and keep the whole territory of Jingzhou safe, then do your best, not half-heartedly, especially not surrender to other races. ”

Xu Ji's face was even more surprised, "Hengguo Gong...... I really don't know what to say. ”

"I believe that Mr. Xu doesn't want to see the Xi family surrender to Shan Yu, right?"

"Of course, I thought that this approach would be the most beneficial to the Xi family."

"Alas, it is beneficial to the Xi family, but it is not beneficial to Kyushu, if Kyushu falls, the Xi family will not be able to survive alone. So I thought about it, it was better to take a risk, if I could block He Rongren in Xiangyang, not only to save Jingzhou and the Xi family, but also to save Kyushu and the world. ”

Xu Ji was holding the treasure in his hand, and he couldn't give it up, so he had to nod his head deeply, "Hengguo Gong has the world in his heart and does not fight for the king, which is admirable and makes me ashamed." ”

"It's not that I don't want to be the king, but I think it's more important to keep Jingzhou than the king, General Chen's subordinates are all southern soldiers, so he should be called the king to calm the hearts of the people."

"In that case—" Xu Ji put away the two treasures, "I'll go to General Chen and make things happen as soon as possible." ”

"There is Mr. Lao Xu, you can talk about it, as long as it is conducive to guarding Xiangyang, our Xi family is duty-bound and willing to accept any conditions."

"With Heng Guogong's words, there is a ninety percent chance of winning this matter, but it's just ......"

"Xu Ji needs to get a token from me as well?" Xi Yun said with a smile.

"If you could, it would be the best."

Xi Yun thought for a while, "The Xi family did save a few treasures, but they were not enough to show my intentions, so let me write a letter." ”

"Very good."

Xi Yun invited Xu Ji into the camp, and in front of him, he wrote a letter with humble words, and urged Chen to be called the king.

The children of the Xi family were all there, Xi Cheng and Xi Yuansu saw the content of the letter a few times, looked at each other in surprise, and did not dare to stop it, only feeling that Heng Guogong's actions were becoming more and more strange.

Xu Ji set off with a letter to rush to the camp of the Southern Army before dark.

As soon as he walked out of the tent, Xi Cheng said, "Father, we are really confused." ”

Xi Yun sat on the chair, looking slightly tired, and muttered: "There is only one way left for the Xi family, if you can go through, live together, if you can't go, you will die together." ”

Heng Guogong had never been so desperate and stern, and even Xi Cheng didn't dare to say much, and he hid his doubts in his heart.

In the camp of the Southern Army dozens of miles away, Chen Ying didn't expect Xu Ji to come back and really fulfill all his promises.

"All three of them pushed me as the king of Chu?"

Xu Ji pointed to the seals, beads and letters on the table, "The token is here, General Chen will build an altar and become king, and they will all come." ”

"I am the shepherd of the two states, the minister of the court, how can I claim to be the king like a thief? And—" Chen picked up Xi Yun's letter and read it again, "his official rank is much higher than mine, why don't you refuse to be king?" ”

"There must be a reason."

"Hey, when I don't understand? Xi Yun wants me to lead troops to defend Xiangyang and block He Rongren from going south, if I succeed, the Xi family will reap the benefits of the landlord, if I fail, the Xi family will immediately launch a blow from behind, so as to curry favor with Shan Yu...... No, no, no, Xi Yun didn't prepare for it at all, he just wanted to surrender Shan Yu, and make a big contribution before surrendering. ”

Chen Yicai looked at Xu Ji, "Xi Yun's plan can't hide from you, but you still bring me here with a token, what is your purpose?" ”

"I will plan the plan, I will persuade General Chen to be the king."