Liangzhou, Longxi, the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion. For several days in a row, the governor of Liangzhou did nothing without the slightest sense of calmness, and he couldn't settle down in anything.

Since learning that his old father was going to appoint the fifth elder as the prince, Situ Fei, the governor of Liangzhou, began to suspect that Situ Lei's strategy of letting him exchange the interests of Liangzhou for the Western Regions countries to send troops to help him was discrediting himself and removing obstacles for the fifth elder Situ Che to ascend to the throne. After all, Situ Che is only the fifth child and the youngest son.

Situ Fei was even more worried that he would be responsible for betraying the interests of Liangzhou in the future, which would become the reason for the new owner to get rid of him. He is Situ Che's elder brother, but he is also one of the most uneasy people in Situ Che's upper position.

In Situ Fei's view, although Situ Lei is his father, he is also a prince in the world, and it is normal to cut off the rights and prestige of the rest of his sons in order to make his heir sit firmly in the seat. Therefore, the more Situ Fei thought about it, the more worried he became, and a few days ago, he sent someone to Yizhou quietly to inquire about the news. At the same time, he sent someone to secretly contact Luoyang's eldest brother Situ Hao to discuss the way to deal with it.

As for what Situ Lei originally ordered, under Situ Fei's military order, he also stopped his actions. As for the persuasion of some generals under his command, they think that this may be someone who can spread rumors. But Situ Fei didn't listen to it, in Situ Fei's opinion, whether it was a rumor or not, he couldn't have any negligence, otherwise, the consequences would be unpredictable. For Situ Fei, nothing is more important than his own life now.

"It's been more than ten days since I sent people, and I don't know if they have arrived in Yizhou and Luoyang, whether they have found out the news and seen my eldest brother......" In the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, Situ Fei has not been at peace for the past few days.

"Report ...... Qi Yu Dadu, King Yong's envoy arrived in front of the mansion. "The guards of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion hurriedly came to report.

"What?" Situ Fei was taken aback, "What did you say?" My father's commandment? Have they already arrived here? How can it be? Do you know that I didn't do what he wanted? Ready to punish me? Or is this going to do something to Pontus? No, the Pontus Governor stopped acting, it stands to reason that he shouldn't have passed on to Dao Yizhou so quickly. ”

Situ Fei muttered in pieces, and his face changed. Immediately, he asked the guard: "How many people came?" Can you be accompanied by a guard? ”

The guards didn't know what was going on with Situ Fei, and hurriedly replied: "Back to the Metropolitan Governor, more than fifty people have come, and the leader is Lord Lin Shucheng Lin under the command of King Yong!" Lord Lin asked the small one to tell the Metropolitan Governor, and King Yong had an order to send it to the Metropolitan Governor to immediately go to the front hall and accept the military order. ”

"Military orders? Damn, what the hell is going on? Situ Fei was unsure in his heart, and he didn't know what to do, "That's it, in this situation, the governor of Pontus has no choice, go and see what military orders will be passed on to this Lin Shucheng." ”

"Lord Lin, why are you here in person? I thought they were mistaken. Lord Lin is no longer in Chengdu Mansion to assist his father in his conquest of Murong Cheng, how can he become a herald to arrive in this Liangzhou land? Just like the hall, Situ Fei said with surprise.

Lin Shiwen looked at Situ Fei, frowned secretly in his heart, and said with a smile: "The lord has the upper hand now, and the overall situation has basically been decided." In Chengdu, there are all the adults in the list, one more me, one less me, what does it matter? As for the reason why I came here, I think the second son should also understand something. ”

"I understand? How can I understand the purpose of Lord Lin's visit this time? If I all knew what Lord Lin's envoy was, Lord Lin wouldn't have to make a trip himself. Please also ask Lord Lin to make it clear, what is the father's order this time? Situ Fei said unhurriedly with a surprised face.

Lin Shiwen shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Since the second son said so, then I will be blunt." Presumably, the second prince should also know that half a month ago, in Luoyang, Yongzhou, the land of Liangzhou, there was a sudden news that the lord was going to set up the fifth prince as the prince of the king. The second son should also know this news. As he spoke, Lin Shiwen looked at Situ Fei with a straight face.

Situ Fei's face changed slightly, and he said: "I do know this news, but for me, it is not for me to decide who my father will set up as the king's son." Therefore, I can only assume that I don't know. In the words, there was a hint of grievance.

Lin Shiwen sighed, and said to Situ Fei in a deep voice: "Second son, you are the son of the lord, if the lord wants to set up a prince, how can there be no branch with you?" How can there not be a perfect process? Also, if the lord wants to set up a prince, how can he not personally edict the Yongjun sphere of influence, but let the rumors rage first? It's hard to beat the second son and you didn't notice it, is there a problem in this? If the lord really intends to do this, whether it is the eldest prince or the second prince, they will gather together with the generals of the Yongjun civil and military forces and announce it in public. But the lord didn't do that, and the news was circulating everywhere. ”

"Second, now our army is under the personal leadership of the lord to conquer Murong Cheng, in this case, the lord guild suddenly set up a prince of the king, regardless of the attack plan?"

Hearing Lin Shiwen say this, Situ Fei's forehead was dripping with cold sweat. When he suddenly heard the news, he was anxious and didn't think too much about it, and of course, he didn't think too much. But now that I think about it, there are a lot of problems. Then, if he didn't act according to his father's plan, there must be a big problem.

"Let's put it this way, the lord is worried that the eldest son and the second prince will have some misunderstanding and other accidents. Therefore, I sent Lord Ling Xiaoling and I to Luoyang and here respectively to lead the military and political affairs of Yongzhou and Liangzhou. Among them, this place is especially important. Lin Shucheng said with a frown.

"By the way, please ask the second prince to tell me how the actions of the countries in the Western Regions of the Alliance are prepared?"

"This ...... This ......" Situ Fei suddenly felt a bitterness at the corner of his mouth, speechless.

When Lin Shucheng saw Situ Feiren like this, he suddenly felt a little bad, and said urgently: "No matter what the situation is, the second prince is straightforward." Now that the Zhao army has quelled the threat of the Turkic tribes, it will move its army west or south at any time. Among them, Liangzhou is the most threatened, followed by the western part of Yongzhou. ”

"And there are heavy troops in the west of Yongzhou, and they are connected to Yizhou, but they are not afraid of the Zhao army attacking. However, the land of Liangzhou is located in the northwest, and since the land of Liangzhou was captured by the Zhao army, it has lost its flank protection, and the contact with our Yongjun army has weakened a lot. Therefore, in Zhao's next move, Liangzhou is the most likely target for him. Therefore, we need to prepare for it in advance. ”

Seeing this, Situ Fei became more and more panicked, and hurriedly told Lin Shucheng about the cessation of his alliance with the countries of the Western Regions. Lin Shucheng heard that Situ Fei did not have an alliance with the countries of the Western Regions, and almost fainted to the ground.

"Second son, why is this so? Why? Lin Shucheng asked in a trembling voice. He couldn't figure out how the situation could have turned out to be like this.

Seeing that this was the case, Situ Feizhi told the whole story. I told the story of the situation and the situation of being admonished.

"Hey...... Second son, you are so confused! Even if the lord wants to make the fifth prince the prince, he will not attack his own son. Could it be that under the second son, there is no one who takes it out to be the first bird? Besides, whether it is a peace negotiation or something else, there is no need for the second son to come forward in person, how can the blame be placed on the second son? That's it...... It's too late to say that! Lin Shucheng said bitterly. Joining forces with the countries of the Western Regions to resist the Zhao army was originally a means for Situ Lei and others to make the countries of the Western Regions the vanguard of the fight against the Zhao army. I didn't expect it to be in the hands of the Governor of Liangzhou.

"By the way, there are two things that the second son needs to do now. The first is to immediately capture the official of Longxi Mansion who advised you at the beginning, we need to know how many people from the Zhao army are in this land of Liangzhou. Second, immediately convene all the upper-level officials of the military and government in Liangzhou, and we will immediately prepare to resist the Zhao army. ”

Situ Fei was surprised: "Could it be that this is all Zhao Jun's strategy?" ”

Lin Shucheng nodded and said: "That's right, now, there are two enemies against us, one is Murong Cheng in the southeast, and the other is Zhao Jun in the north. However, Murong Cheng was far away from Liangzhou, and such an act could not have any impact on the entire Qidi war. Besides, Murong Cheng also hopes that we will fight to the death with the Zhao army, and also hope that the Zhao army will fight to the death with the countries of the Western Regions, and will not help the Zhao army. ”

"The Zhao army has already surrendered the Turkic tribes, the biggest threat to the north, and the next targets for their attack can only be the west and south. And in the southern land, the princes are fighting, and Zhao Xun will definitely not participate in it. Then, this remote Liangzhou is its best target. Therefore, except for Zhao Jun, there is no second person to think about the troublemakers this time. ”

The more Lin Shucheng said, the more Situ Fei felt that the situation was not good, and immediately arranged manpower, on the one hand, to gather all the civil and military officials, and on the other hand, to send people to the Longxi Mansion to get people.

However, before the civil and military officials arrived, Situ Fei got the news that made him very difficult to accept, and the last time he admonished him, the strategy of the countries of the Western Regions of the Italian Alliance, in fact, was to pour dirty water on himself, and the Sima of Longxi Mansion had disappeared a few days ago.

Now, if Situ Fei didn't understand that he had been framed, he would be a stupid pig. However, at this moment, he can't be reconciled to the situation in front of him.

After a while, the civil and military officials of Liangzhou gathered together, although they didn't know what Situ Fei meant by summoning everyone to come, but they were a little surprised to see Lin Shucheng, who was supposed to be in Chengdu Mansion in Yizhou and follow King Yong, appear here now. Immediately, everyone understood that this might be related to the news that King Yong was going to appoint the fifth prince Situ Che as the prince.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this official is here to give orders on the orders of King Yong." Seeing the arrival of the officials in Liangzhou, Lin Shucheng said coldly, "There are two things in this order, one is that the news that King Yong is going to set up the fifth prince as the prince of the king is really a rumor, and it must not be true. Second, the alliance with the countries of the Western Regions is a major event for our Yongjun. But the second son neglected the matter because of rumors. Therefore, from today on, this official is the new governor of Liangzhou, handling the military and political affairs of Liangzhou, and preparing to meet the Zhao army. ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think you all know very well what the purpose of the countries of the Western Regions of the Alliance is. Now that the Zhao army is strong, it has stabilized the situation of the Turkic tribes, and it has even been resting for nearly two months, so what is the next purpose of the Zhao army? You all know very well that this Liangzhou is the weak place of our Yong army, so it is the greatest possibility for the Zhao army to attack this place. ”

"All, the governor of Pontus demanded, all military and political officials of all ministries should be prepared for the premise of facing the battle. The officials who were originally responsible for liaising with the countries of the Western Regions continued to operate. Remember, all of you, that if anything goes wrong, be prepared to quench the king's wrath with your own heads. ”

Subsequently, Lin Shucheng said to Situ Fei, who was a little stunned because of the previous news: "Second son, please forgive me, I have to do this as a last resort." Wait for the repulsion of the Zhao army, the position of the governor of Liangzhou is still yours. But now it's up to me to take charge. ”

"As it should be!" Situ Fei knew very well what he was capable of, and the rest of the other party was just that. But against Zhao Jun, he knew very well that he was not the opponent of the other party. Since this is the case, and the original plan has been delayed by himself, it is better to hand over this matter to Lin Shucheng to be responsible.

Here, Situ Fei also believes that Lin Shucheng will not stay in Liangzhou for a long time. After all, Lin Shucheng was Situ Lei's cronies, and his ability was extraordinary, and he would never go to this remote place to serve as the Grand Governor. The talent of the other party should appear in the central place.

"By the way, I also have to ask the second prince to tell me the situation in Liangzhou in detail, so as to avoid any omissions, which will lead to inevitable losses in our actions."

The reason why Lin Shucheng asked Situ Fei to explain the situation to himself was that he was worried that some of Situ Fei's arrangements would cause him to fail to figure out and have unpredictable consequences.

"Xu Ye? Waiting for Xu Ye in the cool air? After hearing that Situ Fei told him about the situation in Liangzhou, there was another problem that made Lin Shucheng feel big. The people of the Liangzhou army who can recruit and fight well are almost all excluded by Situ Fei. Those who stayed behind were all Situ Fei's cronies, but they were by no means capable of recruiting and fighting well. And this Pingliang Hou Xu Ye is the only one who can hold a high position in the Liangzhou Army. However, this high position is also a high position that has been placed by Situ Fei and is ready to be abandoned at any time.

Situ Fei smiled awkwardly and said, "This Xu Ye is indeed Pingliang Xu Ye." It's true that this person can fight well, but this person is too arrogant to cooperate with us. As a last resort, I stationed it in the western part of Liangzhou, and let it fight against the enemy troops of the Western Regions and the horse thieves in troubled places. In this way, it is also possible to play to its strengths. ”

Although he was very angry at Situ Fei's behavior of only caring about his own interests and ignoring the overall situation, it would be useless to say anything. So after inquiring about the situation in detail, he frowned and said, "So, this Xu Ye can't be unguarded!" ”

"Warn of him? Why? Although I was a little harsh on him, I didn't mean to kill him. The original intention was to reduce his prestige, and of course, to prevent him from continuing to control the old army. Could he have betrayed us for this? He doesn't have many soldiers and horses in his hands, how can he get things done? ”

"Having said that, this time we are going to have a decisive battle with Zhao Jun, and there must not be the slightest fork. Let's not talk about whether he has any complaints about the second son, and whether he will have other thoughts about this. However, according to the second son, this person treats the people well, and if he knows that we are cooperating with the countries of the Western Regions, he is afraid that it will bring us trouble. Lin Shucheng explained in a deep voice.

"So what? Kill him? Situ Fei said with a fierce look in his eyes.

Lin Shucheng hurriedly shook his head and said, "No, we can't kill a general just because of suspicion." This person can fight well, and he is indeed a good general, wouldn't it be better to keep it for his own use? Moreover, this person has a lot of influence in Liangzhou, and he can't be killed rashly. ”

"So how do you arrange him? Why don't you just ignore it? Besides, this action is a matter of the overall situation, and it is better to kill mistakes than to let go of any possible accidents. Situ Fei said fiercely. For Xu Ye, he definitely doesn't have any good feelings.

Lin Shucheng pondered and said, "Second son, why do you want to compete with Xu Ye? Xu Ye is your general, how can he fight you? If you are just the governor of Liangzhou, it is understandable to do so. However, you are the son of King Yong, and behind you stands the entire Yongjun force. He Xu Ye is strong, what can he do? How can it obscure your second son? Since there is such a person under the command of the second son, why not take it for his own use? If you get rid of Xu Ye, aren't you weakening yourself? It's just a pity, if the second son's first thought was to subdue Xu Ye and not to suppress him, then the second son would add a good general. Seeing that Situ Fei was bent on framing Xu Ye, Lin Shucheng could only slowly persuade Situ Fei.

Hearing Lin Shucheng say this, Situ Fei was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood that this matter was indeed a little frizzy by himself. Thinking about it now, he also has a trace of regret.

"Then follow Lord Lin's instructions, I don't know how Lord Lin arranges him?"

"Send someone to pass the order, that is, it is hard work to garrison the western region, and now, let it withdraw to the eastern part of Liangzhou to rest, and the rest of the three western prefectures will now send others to take turns to garrison." Lin Shucheng pondered for a moment and said lightly.

Suddenly, Situ Fei thought of something, and said, "By the way, it's not that there are reinforcements in Hanzhong, why didn't you come here with Lord Lin?" This reinforcement was sent to him earlier than Lord Lin left the Chengdu Mansion. ”

Lin Shucheng frowned and said: "There are not many troops drawn from Hanzhong this time, they have to be stationed in Chang'an, responsible for defending the connection between Liangzhou and Yongzhou and Yizhou." If Chang'an falls, then Yongzhou and Liangzhou will be completely cut off from other states and divided into two. Therefore, they are now stationed in the provinces around Chang'an to defend against the Zhao army. The soldiers of Hanzhong, in addition to supporting Chang'an, also have to defend the Tang Army of Jingzhou in the eastern and western regions, so they can't be lightly adjusted. ”