Under Su Qin's questioning, Zhaoyang briefly told Su Qin what happened at the summer dinner a month ago. Of course, he deliberately emphasized his own innocence, and he was forced to punish Zhang Yi. At the end, he also sighed: "I didn't expect Master Zhang Yi to become famous, but he couldn't control himself after drinking, and did such a foolish thing." ”

After Zhaoyang finished talking about the events of that night, he secretly felt that he was indeed kind enough, and he said that he had forgiven Zhang Yi's behavior, which was purely drunk and disorderly, and he didn't think he had always been like this.

However, when Su Qin heard this, his face suddenly sank, with his understanding of Zhang Yi, his husband and wife Qin Se and Ming, poor but modest, Su Qin would never believe that Zhang Yi would make indecent acts against women and steal property.

He thought in his heart that there must be something hidden in it, but at this moment, Zhang Yi was not close and could not directly confront Zhaoyang, so he could only listen to Zhaoyang's words.

Su Qin controlled his unhappiness, and said unhurriedly: "If Lord Zhao has news of my junior brother's whereabouts, please tell me by all means, I came here and wanted to see him as soon as possible." ”

Zhaoyang saw that Su Qin did not criticize Zhang Yi's junior brother's behavior at all, and looked noncommittal, and he also had to find Zhang Yi by himself, guessing that Su Qin did not fully believe his story, he was also very unhappy, and said in his heart: "You can think as much as you like, anyway, you are now in the territory of my Chu State, and it is difficult for a strong dragon to suppress the head snake, what can you do to me." ”

Zhaoyang didn't care if Su Qin had any other questions, with a little unhappiness, stood up and said goodbye and went out. Su Qin did not keep it. The two of them were still playing Ha Lu Ha just now, and they seemed very close to each other, but now because of Zhang Yi's matter, they have a part, and they each have a mustard in their hearts.

Su Qin encountered a big problem after entering Chu at this moment, he had already guessed that his junior brother had suffered unfair treatment in Chu State, and even suppressed and even framed him, but if he was bent on avenging his junior brother, he would inevitably go toe-to-toe with the magnates of Chu State, wouldn't that push Chu State out of the Alliance?

Which way to go, whether to put brotherhood first, or to focus on the great cause of cooperation, this is a difficult problem that cannot be both, and one of the two must be chosen.

Su Qin's heart couldn't help but become worried, he sat in the room, thinking about his thoughts motionlessly. After a while, Meng Ting came to him, saw that he was frowning, and asked him what he was thinking, Su Qin smiled bitterly, shook his head, and replied: "Some incomprehensible problems, when I figure it out, I will tell you about it, why should you worry about it." ”

Meng Ting pursed her lips at him and said, "You don't want to tell me, I don't bother to ask, I'll come over and help you clean up the house." ”

Su Qin looked at Meng Ting, feeling that she was getting more and more intimate, but he didn't want her to work too hard, so he said: "My room is used as a hall, and it would be good to have those accompanying handymen to clean it up, He Laoting'er will do it." ”

Meng Ting replied: "Those miscellaneous servants are careless, and they don't understand your habits, so I'll come." As she spoke, she started to do it, Su Qin saw that Meng Ting was doing it herself, and it was not good for her to stand idly by, so the two of them cleaned up together, at this time, Su Qin and Meng Ting's hearts were full of sweetness and happiness.

In the evening, Su Qin took Meng Ting, led Ning Jun, Yan Sui and Zhou Shao, as well as officials of the four countries who were above the rank of middle doctor, a group of more than 20 people, in a carriage, to the palace of Chu to attend the banquet.

Zhaoyang arrived at the palace one step ahead of them, and he greeted them in front of the south gate of the palace together with the Zhongshu Ling in the palace. The high-spirited honor guard in the palace lined up in a solemn and magnificent formation, extending from the outside of the palace to the main hall inside the palace.

Su Qin walked through the South Palace Gate in two rows of honor guards, and entered the highest main hall in the palace.

The state of Chu greeted the four envoys led by Su Qin with almost the highest courtesy, and its scale was only second only to the heavenly sacrifice ceremony held every spring, which was not ungrand.

From the courtesy of the Chu State, Su Qin had already seen that the King of Chu had made up his mind to join the Hezong Alliance, which was the outcome he had been looking forward to for a long time, and he thought it would take some twists and turns, but he didn't expect it to go so smoothly, far exceeding his expectations. However, the fly in the ointment is that what happened to Zhang Yi's junior brother in the Chu State, he thinks that it can't be as simple as Zhaoyang said.

Xiong Shang, the king of Chu, sat on the Jinluan platform in the main hall, waiting for Su Qin to enter the meeting, Su Qin saw that he had been sitting, no matter how Su Qin saluted, he never had the intention of standing up, and thought: "Chu is a big country in the south, and it is inevitable that it will be a little arrogant, which is also reasonable." ”

Su Qin also secretly prepared his own countermeasures, it seems that there may be a confrontation at tonight's banquet.

The king of Chu arranged a seat equivalent to the position of Yin of the state of Chu for Su Qin, and sat on the right and left sides of the king of Chu with Zhaoyang.

When Su Qin entered the banquet, the king of Chu then ordered a banquet, and after a while, the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace arranged the banquet, and the king of Chu raised his glass and said: "I am fortunate that the Chu country has ushered in Mr. Su Qin, who is a celebrity today, and the widow proposed to have a drink together to express welcome." ”

Su Qin and the ministers in the palace all raised the wine in their cups and drank it with the King of Chu. Su Qin noticed that the king of Chu did not address his position, but referred to him as "sir", as if he was unwilling to recognize the official position of the princes of the Central Plains.

Su Qin thought: "Probably in the minds of the people of Chu State, only the Qin State who has beaten them to the point in recent years is worthy of care." Tonight's banquet, the reason to scare the king of Chu will not work. Su Qin had a score in his heart.

After Ling Yin Zhaoyang followed the King of Chu, he also continued to propose to have a toast. After that, Su Qin toasted to the king of Chu as a guest, expressing his praise and blessings to the king of Chu and the state of Chu.

The king of Chu saw that Su Qin was neither humble nor arrogant, and his etiquette was very thoughtful, plus Su Qin was now not an ordinary person, he was the face of the four countries. It was only at this time that the king of Chu had some good feelings and respect for him.

After the King of Chu, Zhaoyang and Su Qin completed the etiquette, the King of Chu ordered his ministers to drink at their own leisure, and there was a relaxed atmosphere on the main hall.

The king of Chu no longer sat upright, drank wine casually, and began to chat with the people around him. He asked Su Qin: "Mr. Su is now in the phase of the four countries, and he must have a unique view of the general trend of the world, can you tell the widow your opinion?" ”

Su Qin guessed the thoughts of the king of Chu, and first praised the state of Chu and the king of Chu, saying "The country of Chu is the power of the world", and said "The king is the virtuous king of the world", and so on, praising the king of Chu so much that he shook his head and shook his head.

However, as soon as Su Qin changed his words, he said that the biggest threat facing the Chu State was the Qin State to the west. He said: "Qin and Chu are not mutually exclusive, Qin is strong, Chu is weak, and Chu is strong, Qin is weak. ”

"I think about the king, it is better to join the alliance of the alliance, so as to isolate the Qin State, if the king does not join the alliance, then the Qin State will inevitably raise two armies, one army out of the military pass, and the other army will go down to Qianzhong, then the foundation of the Chu State will be shaken, and I am afraid that even Yingdu will not be able to keep it."

Xiong Shang, the king of Chu, was originally very calm, but after listening to Su Qin's slightly exaggerated words, his face suddenly turned pale, and the wine he was holding in his hand was put back in its original place. He thought to himself, "Isn't that what I am worried about?" Qin Guo picked up soft persimmons and pinched them, deceived me Chu State to be isolated and helpless, and singled out Chu State to attack. ”

The king of Chu thought of the possible consequences, his body that was still relaxed at will just now, suddenly straightened up, and the king of Chu said to Su Qin angrily: "The country of the widow is unfortunately approaching the state of Qin, and the state of Qin has long had the heart to annex Bashu and Hanzhong, so it should not be trusted, but Han and Wei are afraid of the state of Qin, and they are unwilling to help sincerely, so the widow is often worried and sad, and it is difficult to sleep and eat." ”

Su Qin interjected at the right time: "Then the king should consider joining the alliance of the alliance of the six routes, if we unite the princes of the six eastern routes, are we still afraid that it will not succeed in the Qin State?" ”

The king of Chu nodded, sighed and said: "The widow is in trouble with Qin and does not win, and the internal conspiracy with the ministers is not enough to rely on, now Prime Minister Su Cheng is under one day, collecting the princes, and surviving the country, the widow deeply admires, and the Chu State is willing to raise the power of the country to participate in the great cause of cooperation." ”

Su Qin noticed that the King of Chu had sincerely decided to join the joint column at this moment, and he even called Su Qin "Mr. Su" and changed his honorific title to "Prime Minister Su", and his tone was very firm.

Su Qin raised the wine glass on several cases and said to the king of Chu: "The king has far-reaching considerations, and his decision is extremely wise, and I, Su Qin, admire it, and my ministers use this glass of wine to express their welcome to the Chu State to join the alliance." ”

When the king of Chu heard Su Qin's words, he also happily raised the wine glasses on several cases and drank with Su Qin to celebrate. At this time, Yin Zhaoyang, the commander of the state of Chu, was sitting on the left side of the king of Chu, and he originally wanted to raise a glass together to help the fun.

However, the King of Chu was deeply moved by Su Qin's lobbying and was immersed in the dialogue with Su Qin, and he didn't even think of inviting Zhaoyang to drink together.

Zhaoyang was quite unhappy in his heart, he saw that the king of Chu had established extreme trust in Su Qin in an instant, he couldn't help but be envious and jealous, but there was nothing to do,

At this moment, he could only choose to shut up smartly, if the words were inserted at this time, interrupting the excitement of the king of Chu, it would be tantamount to digging his own grave. The King of Chu was in a particularly high mood that night, so he drank a few more glasses of wine, and it could be seen that his joy was from the heart.

How can Zhaoyang and others understand the thoughts of the King of Chu, and the crown prince Mihuai can't figure it out. Xiong Shang, the king of Chu, joined the alliance simply because he was worried about external troubles, and he also thoroughly saw the arrogance and ignorance of the magnates of the Chu State, so he sought to protect his national security for a period of time by joining the alliance.

In order to be able to implement the matter of joining the alliance, the king of Chu said to Su Qin through the wine: "The widow looks forward to the sage, just as the thirsty man looks forward to water. If Prime Minister Su doesn't give up, how about the widow appointing you as the registered Ling Yin of the Chu State? ”