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"No!" Zhuge Ke was shocked and blurted out: "Prince, how can you have such an idea? ”

"So what should I do? Do you have to issue an edict from my father to strip me of the crown prince? Sun Deng's tears couldn't help but slip from the corners of his eyes: "I know he can't bear it, although he thinks that I am not an ideal successor, but the relationship between father and son is still there, he will not do such a thing." Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoIf I don't die, won't he be in a dilemma? ”

"Wouldn't it be more difficult for him if you died?" Zhuge Ke half-straightened up, almost roaring: "The king has been fascinated by that woman, he can't listen to anyone's words now, he only believes in that woman, if you die like this, it is not the king's will, but the woman's will, and in turn, the king has been saddled with the name of forcing the prince to death." Prince, you can't do that! ”

Sun Deng raised his head, looked at the angry Zhuge Ke, and was in a dilemma: "That'...... What am I going to do? ”

Zhuge Ke gasped for a few breaths, gritted his teeth, clenched his fists with both hands, and pressed them on the desk, because he was too hard, the joints were exposed white, he thought for a while, and then he took a long breath, and said weakly: "If the prince really only has the will to die, then it is better to report his illness, resign as the prince, and recuperate in Yuzhang in the future, and no longer get involved in court politics, so that at least one life can be saved." He paused, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything, just glanced at Sun Deng with pity, both disappointed, regretful, and unwilling.

"I've already resigned, but my father hasn't agreed, I'm afraid I'll ......"

"This time, that time, this time I will definitely agree." Zhuge Ke waved his hand and interrupted Sun Deng's words, and he was so excited that he no longer had any interest in discussing with Sun Deng. Before coming, his father Zhuge Jin said that Sun Deng would definitely make compromises and not fight back, and when he came to Yuzhang, he would only run in vain. He has always refused to believe it, after all, now the general Bu Qi and his father Prime Minister Zhuge Jin still support Sun Deng, as long as Sun Deng does not give up, Sun Quan can't find his fault, Sun Deng's position as the crown prince just looks thrilling, but there is not much suspense. With Sun Quan's intelligence, it is impossible for him not to see the problem of doing this, and more importantly, Sun He is only thirteen years old now, even if Sun Quan has ideas, he will not be in a hurry to let Sun Deng abdicate and make Sun He the crown prince. Wait a few years, and it is unlikely that there will be a turnaround. But Sun Deng himself has no fighting spirit, so no matter how hard they try, it is useless.

Zhuge Ke regretted it a little, maybe he should have known the weakness of Sun Deng's surname a long time ago, and he shouldn't have pinned his hopes on him. Sun Deng was a good man, but he was not a qualified king, he lacked the necessary contingency and believed too much in the ethical tenets of Confucianism.

Sun Deng looked at Zhuge Ke, who seemed to have been stripped of the backbone of the main heart, sighed silently, got up and went to the study to write a letter of resignation to Prince Shu, and then handed it to Zhuge Ke: "Don't bother the two masters, this letter is sparse, or ask Yuan Xun to hand it over on your behalf." ”

Zhuge Ke did not refuse, since he could not continue to assist Sun Deng, then the second purpose of his coming here was to make a contribution from this matter and solve a trouble for Sun Quan, so as to get closer to Sun Quan. It's just that his original purpose was to hope that Sun Deng could persevere, but now he can only settle for the next best.

Zhuge Ke returned to Jianye with Sun Deng's Shangshu and handed it over to Sun Quan. Sun Quan looked at Sun Deng's handwriting that seemed to have been soaked in tears, and he was also a little gloomy, he sighed for a long time, put it away, but did not give any reply.

"Yuan Xun, the king of Yue is fighting for thousands of miles, and the troops are insufficient, and now Wei Shu is actively preparing, and even Luoyang is preparing to support, do you think my Wu State is also supporting some?"

Zhuge Ke was overjoyed in his heart, but his face was still impassive: "The minister thinks it's inappropriate." ”

Sun Quan looked puzzled, but there was a look of approval in his eyes.

"The king of Yue went out thousands of miles, and he relied on the water division, but judging from the experience of my Wu State and Wei Shu for many years, he only relied on the water division, and he was more than capable of self-preservation, and he was not enterprising enough. I heard that Sassanid is dominated by cavalry, and if you want to compete with such an opponent, the only way to effectively imitate Wei Huo's method of riding and riding back then, that is to say, the support of Wei is the top priority, and for Shu and my Wu State, even if there are another 20,000 or 30,000 people, it is not of much use. What's more, the king has already supported him with 30,000 horses, far more than Wei Shu, and there is no need to increase it. ”

Sun Quan nodded again and again, looking at Zhuge Ke with a smile.

Zhuge Ke licked his lips, and then said: "Besides, Wei Shu is gathering troops, but whether they want to support the Yue Kingdom or have other ideas, it is still difficult to decide, and we must guard against it." The king of Yue is far away, the country is empty, and my Wu country, as the country of the same sect of the Yue country, needs to assist him when he is attacked by the enemy. ”

Sun Quan's eyes flashed, he blinked, raised a hand and gently twisted his beard, and said with a smile: "Who else can attack Yue Guo?" ”

"Don't be on guard." Zhuge Ke didn't laugh, but said more cautiously: "King Yue is not in Funan, all major events are handed over to Yu Fu and others to preside, Wei Yue has always had a very good relationship, this time nearly 30,000 iron horsemen of Wei are going to pass through Funan, in case there is any accident inside, who can guarantee what kind of things will happen?" With me Wu Guo by my side, even if the Wei people have any ideas, they have to think twice. ”

Sun Quan's face froze, then he laughed again, nodded and said: "What Yuan Xun said is, what Yuan Xun said is that Feng Xian is far away, and I, as an uncle, have to help him watch his home." Alas, Feng Xian is still a young man, and he is too reckless. Not to mention his own expedition, he also let the prince go out to travel, and there was no news as soon as he went, in case something happened, how could it be good. ”

The corners of Zhuge Ke's mouth twitched, and he quickly regained his composure. Sun Feng, the prince of Yueguo, went out to travel as usual, and disappeared as soon as he left Temu City, and it is said that no one knows where he is now, and no one knows whether he is alive or dead. According to Zhuge Ke's understanding, the prince went out to travel, not only to guard against external dangers, but more importantly, to guard against internal dangers. Maybe he knew this, so Sun Feng's whereabouts are unknown, but there is no impermeable wall in the world, and no matter how hidden Sun Feng is, it is difficult to guarantee that no one knows his whereabouts and protects himself.

In general, Sun Quan's evaluation of Sun Shao's actions was very appropriate, but he knew the hidden meaning behind Sun Quan's words, so he could only remain silent. Seeing that he was silent, Sun Quan just nodded in agreement, smiled slightly, and didn't say anything more.

After Zhuge Ke said goodbye and left the palace, Sun Quan returned to the harem with Sun Deng's Shangshu, and Mrs. Wang got the news early and was already impatiently waiting. As soon as she saw Sun Deng's resignation from the crown prince, she just smiled, and then pouted unhappily. Sun Deng's resignation from the prince is true or not, as long as Sun Deng is alive, it is a threat to Sun He, Sun Deng has a very high prestige among the subjects of Wu State, and it has caused a lot of rumors that he has been demoted to Yuzhang porcelain burning over the years, and now Sun Quan is here, those courtiers still dare not jump out, but as soon as Sun Quan dies, Sun Deng raises his arms and exhales, it is likely that the ringers will gather, and the government and the opposition will immediately change color.

It's not time to celebrate. As soon as she thought of this, Mrs. Wang smiled again, hugged Sun Quan and walked back, asking as she walked, "Wang, what do you want to eat today?" ”

…… In the winter of the fifteenth year of the Republic, a dispute broke out between the Kushan and the Sasanians, which had just been quiet for a few months, and the Sassanid king Ardashir sent an envoy to the Kushan king Bo to seek justice under the pretext that several Sassanids had been killed in the territory of the Kushan. Since the Four-Nation Alliance, the pressure on the defense of the Eastern Front has been much less, so he has transferred most of his troops to the Western Front, and has also hoarded a large amount of grain, grass and ordnance, so when Ardashir is aggressive, although Guishan is not as good as before, he still fought several bloody battles with Ardashir, and did not let Ardashir take any big advantage. Ardashir thought it was a devastating battle, but it turned into a tug-of-war, and although the Sassanids had the upper hand, it became a dream to win easily.

Ardashir calmed down and made up his mind to crush the fighting spirit of the Kushans, who had been able to recover a lot of combat effectiveness after a period of rest, so in the face of the Romans, wouldn't he be even less sure of victory? He patiently maneuvered with the waves, gathering strength and preparing to inflict heavy damage on the Kushans.

Bo was not stupid either, he knew that he had an advantage in this fight, and in the long run, he would certainly not be Ardashir's opponent, so as soon as he received news of the Sassanid provocation, he sent the messenger Kobrador to Axum.

"Fighting?" Sun Shao was very surprised, and seemed to be very puzzled why things had turned out like this: "You guys...... Didn't you just sign an alliance and want to live in peace, why did you go to war again before half a year had arrived? ”

Corbrado gritted his teeth and said, "The Sassanid people are cruel wolves, how can he be willing not to swallow our Kushan even with bones and flesh?" The last time they killed Venerable Ma Ming, they failed to provoke our relationship with the king, and this time they asked the king of my family to hand over the murderer and compensate them a fortune under the pretext that the Sassanids had died in our Kushan country. My king was prepared, so he blocked their attack. However, if we want to defeat them, we will need the help of the king. ”

"Venerable Ma Ming died at the hands of the Sassanids?" Sun Shao stood up in horror, and after receiving an affirmative reply from Corbrador, he immediately turned into anger and scolded the Sassanids for being shameless. Corbrado hurriedly persuaded him, and said gratefully: "Thanks to the king's reasoning at that time, he took the initiative to give in, and did not let their tricks succeed, otherwise, we would have fought each other, and now the Sassanids have come out from behind, and our Kushan will be ruined." ”

"We are friends and deserve to support each other." Sun Shao waved his hand and said generously: "Since the Sassanid thief is not dead, then we can't be polite to him." With one hand behind his back and the other stroking his beard, he took two steps back and forth, and suddenly stood in front of Corbrador: "How long can you support it?" ”

Corbrado hesitated for a moment and stretched out a finger: "With our current national strength reserves, we can support it for a year at most, and after a year, the tax may not be able to supply it." ”

"Okay, let's find a way to make him tired of coping, won't he be able to run? We'll let him break his leg. ”

"What do you mean, my lord?"

"The Sassanids are good at cavalry, and they have enough advantages in the field, and although you Kushan are also good at cavalry, you are seriously under-armed, so I hope that you will not be rash and fight them in the field, but take advantage of your native battles, and use the strong cities to fight with him. In this way, the superiority of their cavalry will not be able to be brought into play, and they will have to confront you under the fortified city. ”

"However, it won't work for a long time." Corbrado said worriedly.

"It won't be long, three months at most, and the Romans will send troops to attack their backs, and at that time, will he still be able to besiege Kushan? As soon as he is gone, you will be relaxed, and you will have plenty of time to rest, and in the first half of the year, when they are exhausted from fighting with the Romans, you will attack him behind his back and let them run back and forth on the east-west border for thousands of miles, and in less than two years, they will be dragged to death. ”

Corbrado thought for a moment, "How is the king going to deal with them?" ”

Sun Shao smiled ashamedly: "You also know, I'm good at being a sailor, and I can't go ashore, so I may not be able to help too much on the frontal battlefield." He raised his hand and signaled the disappointed Coprador to calm down: "However, I will do a good job of your supply, and I can assure you that the entire Yue Kingdom and Tianzhu will become your base camp, and I will supply you with food and weapons at cost price, so that you can deal with the Sassanids without worries." ”

When Corbrado heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief. He secretly calculated that what Sun Shao said was also the truth, the Yue Kingdom was known for its powerful sailors and wealth, and it was indeed a little difficult for them to let them go ashore to fight the Sassanids, and if they could really go ashore, the Kushan people might still worry that they would not leave. Now he is willing to supply the Kushan people with food and weapons at cost price, which is beneficial and harmless to the Kushan people. And with the help of the Romans, no matter how powerful the Sassanids were, there was nothing he could do to deal with the two great powers of Kushan and Rome at the same time. If Sun Shao's plan is really implemented, at most two years, the Sassanids will be exhausted to death like wolves following camels.

While Corbrado was negotiating with Sun Shao, Quintus arrived at Axum with Alexander's secret decree. As Sun Shao expected, as soon as he heard that the Sassanids and Kushans were consumed, Alexander was overjoyed and very much hoped to take advantage of the emptiness of the Sassanid rear to retake Armenia and avenge the previous year's revenge. All he was worried about was that the economic situation in Rome had just eased, and if a big war was rashly launched, then the nobles of the Senate would definitely oppose it, although the Senate had now become an ornament, but Alexander's foundation was unstable, and he had not yet taken the Senate seriously like his ancestors, so he could only seek Sun Shao's support.

The arrival of Quintus was in the hands of Sun Shao, and with less money, he could tie Kushan and Rome together and fight the Sassanids, which was in line with his strategic intentions. As long as the war reaches a certain status, whether it is Rome, Kushan, or Sasanian, the national strength will be seriously weakened, and at that time, he will become an indispensable force to influence the situation, and the money he has earned now can be fully made up for when the time comes.

The three parties hit it off, and both Corbrado and Quintus left happily, and Coralado had to rush back to tell Bo Tune the news of the alliance between the three countries, on the one hand, to give him confidence, and on the other hand, to reassure him and not to attack in a hurry. Quintus, on the other hand, had to go back and tell Alexander that Sun Shao had lived up to his hopes, and that Sun Shao had not hesitated to lend a helping hand when he needed help the most.

After receiving the return of Quintus, Alexander was overjoyed, he immediately reorganized the army, and expanded the new army of Escanomi to 10,000 people, because the number of citizens willing to join the new army in Rome was insufficient, Alexander adopted the method that Rome is now more common, recruiting barbarian mercenaries, attracted by favorable conditions, the Germans, Gauls, and Goths flocked to it, and 10,000 elite soldiers were quickly formed. After more than three months of preparation, in February of the 16th year of the Republic, Alexander led an army of 40,000 to conquer Armenia.

The Sassanids obviously did not expect the Romans to attack so quickly, Shapur, who stayed in the city of Ctesi, did not have time to inform Ardashir, and rushed to the battle with the remaining 20,000 men, and the two sides fought a big battle, although Shapur was brave, but in front of the prepared Romans, he still did not take any advantage, and the two sides reached a stalemate.

Alexander breathed a long sigh of relief, for the first time he had won a victory with his army alone, and he had finally proved his ability. With Escanomi's new army in hand, Maximus, who had been a strong guard, was also much more obedient, and no longer refuted him face to face as before, but listened to him respectfully. What made him even happier was that the new army showed great power in the first battle, in the process of facing the Sassanids, the phalanx dominated by Roman nobles and citizens blocked the Sassanid attack, while the cavalry, mainly barbarians, successfully routed the Sassanid flank, forcing Shapur to retreat in advance to avoid being surrounded by the Romans.

It can be said that this was the first grand victory since the Romans and the Sassanids had won a dignified victory, and not only Alexander was happy, but the entire Roman legion was greatly demoralized.

Only Maximus felt very uncomfortable.

Maximus is not a Roman, he is a Thracian mixed barbarian, his father is a Goth, his mother is an Alan, that year Severus the Great from the eastern battlefield division, temporarily stayed in Thrace, for his young son Geta to celebrate the birth of his young son Geta, Maximus took the initiative to ask to participate in the wrestling competition, as a result he defeated sixteen strong Guards soldiers in one fell swoop, got the favor of Severus the Great, became a mounted guard, accompanied by Severus the Great, after the death of Severus the Great, he served Caracalla, Caracalla was killed, He also became the general of the Guards of Eragabalus. After Eragapas' death, Alexander succeeded to the throne, and he was favored by Momia for supporting Momia's mother and son, becoming the top general of the Guard, and for a time became Momia's male favorite. For a barbarian, his thirty years can be described as smooth sailing, steady progress, the wish he dared to have before has been realized, the wish he dared to have has also been realized, if someone told him a year ago that he will live his life forever, he will be very satisfied.

However, he was now very dissatisfied.

Not because of Momia - although Momia no longer recruited him into the palace to serve in the palace, but he didn't care about that, Momia was beautiful and beautiful, but for the strong Maximus, she was no better than a strong barbarian woman in bed - but because of the king of Yue. That day outside the post house in Axum, he was frightened by Tu Hu, the personal guard of the King of Yue, which was a shame that he had never suffered for his bravery, and he did not understand what he would have at that time, as if he had encountered an enemy that he could not defeat, and this feeling made him even more angry after recalling.

Because of his dissatisfaction with Tu Hu, he was angry with Sun Shao, and now Alexander further deprived him of his rights because of Sun Shao's help in forming a new army, and he hated Sun Shao even more. The victory of the new army was simply a slap in the face and an unbearable humiliation.

As soon as he returned to his tent, Maximus kicked over a table, panting heavily, and spun around in the tent like a sleepy beast, Alexander's smug demeanor and Escanomi's smug smile appeared in front of his eyes from time to time, making him more and more unable to control his emotions.

"Father." Maximus's son, Arulinus, walked in with a silver kettle, glanced at the messy tent, frowned, motioned to his soldiers to clean up, then sat down at the table, took two silver bowls, poured two glasses of wine, and handed one to the angry Maximus. Maximus took the wine in his hand and glanced at Arulinus: "Your mother asked you to come again?" ”

Maximus's wife, Paulina, was a very gentle woman, and she was the only one who could advise the angry Maximus.

"It's not." Arulinus smiled: "Mother is far away in Rome, how could she know that her father is so angry." In her mind, her father only had the possibility of meritorious service, so how could he be bullied like this. ”

"Humph!" Maximus gritted his teeth and said: "He has forgotten who helped him to this position, he has forgotten who is his benefactor, he thinks that he has grown up and can spread his wings and fly high, and he no longer needs my help." ”

"However, without his father's help, I am afraid that he would only fall from the blue sky." Arulinus smiled and took a sip of wine: "A person like this who doesn't know the height of the sky, without teaching a lesson, will not know who should be respected." ”

Maximus frowned, turned around and went outside the tent to give a few words, then walked back into the tent, sat down in his place, patted his thigh, pointed at Arulinus and shouted: "If you have any ideas, just say it, don't beat around the bush." ”

Arulinus lowered his head and took a sip of wine, and was silent for a moment, before he raised his head again and looked at Maximus, his eyes were blazing, and there seemed to be a fire burning in it, and Maximus couldn't help but be frightened.

"Father, instead of waiting for Alexander to remove his father's rights, it is better to set up another emperor while the power is still in his hands, or simply ......"

(To be continued)