The state of Chu led Jing and Jiaozhou, and was the most powerful of the three countries south of the Great River, and its economic and military center of gravity was in Jingzhou.

When the Great Zhou Empire had not collapsed, the counties under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou were divided into three counties and four counties.

The upper three counties are located in a densely populated area, accessible by land and water, and are a rich place. The lower four counties are divided by mountains and rivers, and although the area is vast, the population is far less than that of the three counties.

However, the world was in turmoil, the princes were divided, the territory was divided, and the old order had already been torn apart.

The first to occupy Jingzhou was the prince Duan Hui, who was originally the general of Annan of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and saw that the world was in turmoil, and he had no intention of being the nominal Beijing official in the Shendu, and after bribing the Zhongchang servants, he got the opportunity to defend Jingzhou.

Then Yuan Cheng made a difficulty, Duan Hui led his troops to refuse to accept the way of heaven, and then unified the seven counties of Jingzhou and led Jingzhou pastor.

When Duan Hui was there, he rejected the lord of Wu in the east, forced Shu in the west, and the troops entered the Central Plains, competing with Chen Shi, intending to enter the divine capital, and coercing the Son of Heaven to order the princes.

It's a pity that Duan Hui and Chen Shi couldn't compete, and finally let Huan Wu gain a firm foothold.

After Duan Hui's death, his son Duan Xiao was incompetent, and the foundation was taken away by Cai Tong. Duan Xiao can only live in Nanyang, and the upper three counties are also divided into two masters.

At this time, in the state of Chu, Cai Tong divided the original Qingshui County into two counties, Qingshui and Wuning. Yingcheng, the capital of the Chu State, was in Wuning County.

The Yun clan was originally a big clan in Jingzhou, and its power in the upper three counties was deep-rooted, and Cai Tong divided the original Qingshui County into two counties, which also had the intention of containing the Yun clan.

It's just that with the defeat in the battle of Nanyang half a year ago, and the 50,000 Chu army was killed by Huan Wukeng, Cai Tong's solid rule was a little shaky.

In the Chuhou Mansion, cigarettes curled up.

Cai Tong was lying on the sickbed, his face a little pale. Cai Yun and Wen Qing were standing beside him, and Cai Yun was telling Cai Tong about the situation of dealing with the affairs of various parts of the Chu State these days.

In the past, Cai Tong had monopoly power, and even his son Cai Yun couldn't touch it. But as his body weakened, Cai Tong had a premonition that Cai Yun had to start controlling national politics.

"You're handling it well."

After Cai Yun finished reporting, Cai Yun on the sickbed spoke. The beard was dry and lackluster, Cai Tong's lips were a little chapped, and he opened his mouth to drink some water, Cai Yun immediately handed the cup when he saw the situation.

Cai Tong snorted, his lips regained some polish, and waved his hand.

"Go down! State affairs are heavy, it is not easy to deal with, and you have been busy for a few days, so let's go down and rest first! ”

"Yes!"

Seeing Cai Yun's figure disappear, Cai Tong showed worry on his face, looked at Wen Qing, and asked, "Did I do something wrong before?" ”

"What is the lord worried about?"

Wen Qing asked.

"The forces around Yun'er are thin, and if you want to master the Chu State surrounded by tigers, I don't know if you can do it?"

"Gongzi handles government affairs in an orderly manner, places sergeants, and comforts the people, which is quite benevolent."

Wen Qing's words were not to comfort Cai Tong, in fact, Cai Yun has been doing a good job these days.

Cai Tong laughed.

"Is it benevolent? Fan Qing was not like this back then, but how did he die in the end, his head was cut off by the bandits, and he was hung at the gate of the city. ”

Fan Qing's death, in a sense, was facilitated by Cai Tong behind the scenes. But now, when Cai Tong talks about this matter, the feeling in his heart is inexplicable.

"Lord ......"

Wen Qing didn't know how to comfort him for a while, but he felt that Cai Tong was not as good as before, and his heart was plainly sad.

"The Yun clan is eyeing each other, there is Huan Wu in the north, Yang Xian in the west, and the little tiger cubs of the Hou family in the east, my Chu country can be said to be suffering from internal and external troubles, and Yun'er ......."

Speaking of this, Cai Tong sighed helplessly and did not say any more.

Ximi, Yunfu.

Yun Qu, the patriarch of the Yun clan, held a Jing porcelain teacup in his hand, drank tea leisurely, and listened to the return of his subordinates.

"In this way, Cai'er still hasn't been able to enter Cai Tong's room and get the opportunity to serve medicine."

"Lord, it looks like Chu Hou is quite guarded!"

Only Yunqu's eldest son and a few staff members were present. A middle-aged man dressed as a scribe walked out and bowed his hand. As Yun Qu's staff member and his most important confidant, Mu Guhong is over forty years old and has two mustaches.

Yun Qu is in the prime of life, forty years has not yet arrived, his hair is black, and his body is full of elegance.

"Back then, my father helped Cai Tong take away Duan Xiao's foundation, and only then did he have today's Chu State. After this old thief became a marquis, he took precautions against us day by day, not only demoted my father to this Ximi City, but also successively removed the Wenchen generals related to my Yun clan one by one over the years. Now it seems that after Cai'er entered the Chuhou Mansion, Cai Tong's loving appearance was completely pretended. In fact, he guarded me as if I was a thief. ”

"Father, my aunt can't count on it, and there is no news of the assassin we sent so far, I'm afraid he missed."

Yun Qu's eldest son is named Yun Hu, who does not follow his father, he is very tall and mighty, and there is no elegance at all.

Yun Qu smiled and said the information he had obtained not long ago.

"I missed, and I was caught by Yang Xian's Tsing Yi."

"What?" Yunhu was a little surprised, "Could it be that Yang Xian has already set his sights on us?" ”

"That's something I don't understand. We have never provoked Yang Xian, but why are we being targeted by him? ”

"Don't worry, the lord doesn't have to worry, then Yang Xian is very cunning, even Huan Wu was also a defeated general under him. It is no secret that Yang Xian is eyeing the Chu State, and he may have paid attention to the Lord and the Yun clan for a long time. ”

Mu Guhong comforted, Yun Qu's face was much better, but he was still worried.

"At the beginning, we got the news that the navy of the Southwest County had obtained the glazed algae jade. Now that we have failed, Yang Xian should have been alert. I just don't know what Yang Xian's attitude is? ”

This was what worried Yun Qu the most, and he couldn't figure out Yang Xian's thoughts. If he told Cai Tong about it, it would be that the Chu army had just been defeated, and if Cai Tong did not hesitate to risk the internal turmoil in Chu and insisted on killing the Yun family, with his ruthless nature, it seemed that he could not do it.

And Yun Qu's sister Yun Cai has never had the opportunity to enter Cai Tong's room to serve medicine, and she can't grasp first-hand information.

"My lord, the situation is critical. No matter what Chu Hou's thoughts are now, the lord must not be on guard. ”

"What do you mean?"

"Secretly order the generals of the Yun clan to reorganize their armies for war. This Ximi City must be loose on the outside and tight on the inside. At present, the armies of Qingshui and Xiling counties are firmly controlled by Cai Tong, if Yang Xian really tells Cai Tong the news that we have sent assassins, we must prevent Chu Hou from suddenly attacking. ”

"That's all it can be."