Huan Chu was taken aback, and only then did E Chongyu personally ask his soldiers to guard it, and he couldn't let this person come in, and it seemed that he had been eavesdropping on the conversation of the four for a long time.

Ji Chang's eyes suddenly slid through the light, and he glanced thoughtfully at E Chongyu, the convener of this discussion, and slowly narrowed his eyes again, then got up and saluted the visitor with the third marquis: "I have seen King Yue Chitose." ”

It turned out that this person was the eldest brother of the Son of Heaven, Wei Ziqi, after the Son of Heaven ascended the throne, the eldest brother Wei Ziqi was crowned King Yue, and the second brother Wei Ziyan was named King Chen. In fact, this title has another meaning, in the Spring and Autumn Period, although the king of Yue Goujian was defeated by Wu Wangfucha, but he was deeply minded, good at forbearance, and was released back after being captured, and finally the salted fish turned over and destroyed the powerful Wu State, Zhang Zixing opened Weizi as the king of Yue, which is to remind himself that there is a brother behind him who "lies on the salary and tastes the guts", and he can't relax his vigilance at any time.

Wei Ziqi hurriedly returned the salute, and then the two men behind him saluted the four marquis, Jiang Huan Chu recognized that the two were the two sons of Zhongda Fan Tinghe, both of whom had positions, and they were secretly surprised, and began to think in their hearts.

After everyone sat down, Wei Ziqi said: "Four virtuous uncles, please forgive the lonely king for his uninvited sin, the lonely king just passed by the pool, and heard that the four virtuous uncles are here, so I will come for a while." ”

All of you here are scheming people, and you know that what he said is just an excuse, and there must be a follow-up. Sure enough, I heard Wei Ziqi say: "There are no outsiders here, and the Lone King might as well speak up." The Lonely King is not alarmist, the Son of Heaven's innovation this time, the determination is not trivial, if there is disobedience, it will end up in a bleak end. ”

Jiang Huanchu heard the words "no outsiders", his heart moved, but he still couldn't figure out the true meaning of Wei Ziqi, and deliberately said: "On the shore of the land, it is not the king's minister, although we are divided into towns and four directions, we are always the ministers of the Son of Heaven, and the Son of Heaven is determined to reform and innovate." We are courtiers. And disobedience?"

Weizi shook his hands and smiled slightly: "Jiang Xianbo's words are wrong, how can the meaning of the Son of Heaven be a new deal?"

Chonghou Hu showed a wary gaze: "His Royal Highness King Yue, please speak directly if you have something to say." ”

Wei Ziqi replied: "Among the four virtuous uncles, Jiang Xianbo is the father of the queen, Ji Xianbo has a relative of the clan, and Chongxian Uncle is deeply used by the Son of Heaven. There are some words that are inconvenient for the lonely king to say. But now the situation is urgent, not only endangering the 600-year-old foundation of our great business, but also involving the lives of the four, so the lone king specially risked death to discuss the plan with the four virtuous uncles. ”

Ji Chang opened his mouth and said: "Your Highness, although the new policy has a great impact on the princes, the intention of the Son of Heaven is to liberate the bitter slaves and expand agriculture, such as the Dongqi Special Zone. The barren land in the past is now rich, so how can we say that our lives are at stake?"

At the mention of the wealth of Eastern Qi, Jiang Huanchu's face was inevitably a little gloomy. Dongqi was originally a country of Yi people, living in poverty, after self-system reform, the development of fishing and salt industry, only a few years of time surpassed his business for many years in Donglu, now Donglu continues to secretly move to Dongqi, even if it is strictly prohibited. Not only did the Eastern Qi not repatriate these migrants, but instead used the name of the new system of "special zones". He took great care of him, causing turmoil in the hearts of the nearby vassal states. Seeing that the development of Dongqi was getting faster and faster, and the constraints on Donglu were getting stronger and stronger, Jiang Huanchu was worried all day long. It's hard to sleep.

Wei Ziqi sighed: "You can still remember the ranks. In the past, when the ancestors were on the throne, they were always hesitant to be crowned the crown prince. One day, I don't know why. Suddenly, the third king's younger brother Shouwang was crowned the crown prince, and then there were four virtuous uncles entering the court to celebrate, the ancestor died of illness, and the new son of heaven ascended the throne. ”

The death of the first emperor and the accession of the Son of Heaven to the throne are the personal experiences of the four princes, so the four of them nodded, and Wei Ziqi said: "That day, I heard that the Taishi rebelled against the class teacher, the first monarch feasted the ministers in the Xianqing Palace, and after the Shou King showed the courage of the nine oxen, the first king had secretly summoned my three brothers to the Zhaoxuan Palace to discuss the matter. Then, the words between King Shou and the first monarch made the first king change his mind, and when he went to court on the second day, he immediately announced that King Shou was crowned the crown prince. Originally, the lonely king never understood, at that time, the ministers who supported the lonely king in the court were still in the majority, and the late longevity king angered the first king, why the first king suddenly changed his holy will and decided to establish the longevity king as the crown prince, and then after many inquiries and understanding, he knew the reason - all because of what the late longevity king said to the first king!"

E Chongyu asked cooperatively: "Is there such a thing, may I ask Your Highness, do you know what the Son of Heaven said to the ancestor that day?"

Wei Ziqi replied: "The first king asked my three brothers that day, what do they think of the situation in the world, King Gu and King Chen both replied that the world is peaceful, only Dongyi and Inurong are troubled, and they can rely on four virtuous uncles as their arms, and they can lead eight hundred princes in four ways, and Yongzhen Quartet, so that they can enjoy peace from now on." ”

When Jiang Huan and Chu heard this, they nodded in unison, only to hear Wei Ziqi's words turn around: "And King Shou's words surprised King Lone, King Shou said, the greatest worry of the Great Shang is not outside, and the biggest internal worry is the eight hundred princes who are divided into various places, especially the four virtuous uncles! If you let it go, let it sit big, and wait for the country to be sent into the hands of others! This is what King Gu and King Chen heard in the past, if there is vain, discipline King Gu for life and life, and will not die well!"

The four princes were all shocked, even Chonghou Hu was no exception, Wei Ziqi was very satisfied with the reaction of the four, and continued to break the fierce news: "This is only what the Lone King said when he was present, do you know what the Son of Heaven said to the first king after the Lone King and King Chen left?"

This time, even Jiang Huan Chu couldn't help but ask: "Please make it clear to Your Highness." ”

Wei Zi Kai sighed, "That discussion was very secretive, and I tried my best to find only half a claw. The gist of it is to first develop national strength, and then carry out reforms by force, gradually weakening the power of the princes, and finally eliminating the system of local princes, and turning it into a 'centralized power' rule centered on the Son of Heaven!"

The faces of the four princes changed abruptly when they heard this, Wei Ziqi's words should not be fabricated out of thin air, since the Son of Heaven ascended the throne, he can be described as eloquent, and he has established three and driven the Eastern Expedition, showing his might, and the national strength of the Great Shang is also advancing by leaps and bounds, and all sides are subdued for a while. And today, when the peace is settled, this new policy reform is suddenly implemented, which makes people panic, but I am afraid that as Wei Ziqi said, after the development of national strength, the power of the princes will be weakened by reform, and the system of the princes will be finally eliminated, so that the big merchants will be completely changed.

So the next step of the new policy, isn't it to "eliminate" the princes? This is exactly what the four princes are most worried about, once the Son of Heaven really makes up his mind, then he will definitely take the lead in taking the four people to open the knife, with the current military strength of the Great Shang. If you want to conquer a certain road of princes alone.

I'm afraid that no one can beat it. The more they thought about it, the more frightened they became, and they looked at each other for a long time, but they all had gloomy faces and did not speak.

In fact, Wei Ziqi's words are still quite useful

In Zhang Zixing's reform plan, even if he had the intention of weakening the power of the princes, he sent troops to fight like this. Conquer the princes by killing. Instead, under the deterrence of military earthquakes, the economy was used as a weapon to gradually change the phenomenon of excessive local power, change the princely system into a county system, and realize the centralization of power.

Wei Ziqi's half-truths and half-truths grasped the psychological weaknesses of the four princes, and they were extremely consistent with the current situation, so the four of them couldn't help believing it.

After a long time, Jiang Huan Chu opened his mouth to break the silence: "His Royal Highness King Yue, what is your intention in saying this to us?"

Weizi Qi showed a look of emotion: "Although the Son of Heaven is eloquent. However, this reform is extremely inappropriate, especially shaking the foundation of the Qing Shi, ignoring the law of the ancestors, if the Quartet will ambush the princes in the future, the world will be in chaos, the people will be miserable, and the 600-year foundation of our great business will be in jeopardy. The lone king and the son of heaven should not have confided this secret to all the virtuous uncles, but as a clan relative, how could the lone king sit back and watch the foundation of my great business collapse? The lone king dared to come. It is precisely to discuss the plan with the four virtuous uncles. ”

This sentence clearly shows Wei Ziqi's wolf ambition. If it weren't for what he said earlier, even if Sihou had this ambition, he wouldn't dare to show it. Now the words have come to this point. The four marquis all understood the urgency of the situation, so they did not show a particularly surprised expression.

Ji Chang, who had been silent, suddenly spoke: "Thanks to His Highness's trust." told me about this, what I heard today, Ji Chang swore to keep it a secret. But Ji Chang has been favored by the big businessman for generations, and he doesn't dare to have half of his heart to be disobedient to the Son of Heaven, so he will leave. ”

As soon as Ji Chang spoke, Jiang Huan Chu and Chonghou Hu also expressed their gratitude to Wei Ziqi for the reminder, but they didn't want to get involved in a certain struggle - even if the Son of Heaven had such a plan, everyone had their own plans and ways to deal with it, Wei Ziqi's intention to come to the post house at this time was nothing more than to take this opportunity to drag the four princes into the water together and do that big rebellious thing, the three of them were all scheming people, how could they easily agree.

Wei Ziqi and E Chongyu glanced at each other, as if they had expected that the three marquis would be like this, and sneered at the moment: "The three virtuous uncles should think that they can be alone in this way, the lonely king is jealous of the Son of Heaven, and your every move is under the strict supervision of the Son of Heaven, if the Son of Heaven knows about our meeting today, he will be even more suspicious, and I am afraid that you will still have a big trouble at that time." ”

Jiang Huan Chu Huo Ran turned his head, looked at Wei Ziqi coldly, and said, "Is His Royal Highness King Yue threatening us?"

"Jiang Xian Boxiu wants to misunderstand, the lonely king does not mean this. Wei Ziqi shook his head and clapped his hands, only to see a woman in colorful clothes suddenly appear out of thin air, carrying two men in Xuanyi in her hands, both of whom were unconscious.

"These two people are shadows and spies watching you, and they have been hiding in the post house with the art of stealth, fortunately, this Luo Fairy has great powers and subdued the two, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable. ”

The woman in the colorful clothes did not salute either, pointed in the direction, and said, "There are five people lurking fifty steps away here, do you want to take them down?"

"No need!" Chonghou Hu hurriedly said: "That's my personal guard, who is hiding in the shadows to be on guard. ”

This time, no one doubted the woman's ability, the woman in colorful clothes nodded, smiled at Weizi, grabbed the two of them lightly, twisted her body, and then disappeared.

Wei Ziqi took advantage of the situation and said: "What you see is believing, the lonely king is not a lie, the Son of Heaven is afraid of the four, it is not the day, the four are ......"

Chonghou Hu interjected: "His Royal Highness the King of Yue, it is difficult for us to be strong, we have been ordered by the Son of Heaven to come from afar, and we have not brought soldiers and horses, even if we have the heart to help, we can't do anything." ”

Wei Ziqi smiled: "Actually, the Lone King is not asking you to take any risks, but I just want to get a promise from the four. If the Lone King is lucky enough to succeed and risk the world's disapproval to reverse the crisis of the Great Business, and ask the four to support the Lone King's move, if the Lone King fails, the four virtuous men can stand by and watch, and it is none of their business, how about it?"

Although "turning the big business crisis around" is vague, the four marquis all understand the meaning. To put it bluntly, Wei Ziqi just wants to usurp the throne, if he succeeds, he wants the four marquis to support him as the emperor, if the Son of Heaven really dies, and there are four princes to support him, even if an old minister like Wen Zhong opposes it, he is powerless, and if he fails, it has nothing to do with the four marquis.

This condition sounds very tempting on the surface, but an old fox like Ji Chang knows that once he agrees, it will be equivalent to getting on Wei Ziqi's thief ship, and if the matter is revealed, God knows if Wei Ziqi will drag them to death together?

Wei Ziqi said again: "If the lonely king really succeeds, he will restore the system of his ancestors, rely on the four as his arms, and share the peace of the four generations forever." If you don't do that, be a fan!"

The ancients have always attached great importance to oaths, and Wei Ziqi made two oaths in a row today, one to see his sincerity, and the other to see his urgency. In fact, Wei Ziqi has been low-key all these years, and he has endured very hard, but since Zhang Zixing was the Son of Heaven, he has been virtuous in the world, and he has been subdued by all sides, far better than the first emperor Emperor Yi, in desperation, Wei Ziqi's ambition has also weakened day by day, but he has not completely died, and now he has finally waited for this opportunity, naturally his heart has rekindled, and he can't hold it.

E Chongyu and Wei Ziqi had already colluded, and immediately took the lead in saluting: "Thanks to the trust of His Royal Highness King Yue, Nanbohou E Chongyu is willing to listen to His Royal Highness." ”

Chonghou Hu saw that E Chongyu was the first to show his loyalty, and he also stepped forward and saluted: "Even so, I, Chonghou Hu, can't refuse His Highness's kindness, I don't know what His Highness's good plan is?"

Wei Ziqi showed a mysterious look and said: "Thank you two virtuous uncles for their righteousness! ”

As he spoke, he set his eyes on the two princes who had not yet shown their attitude, Jiang Huan Chu frowned and said: "I, the Jiang family, live in Donglu, am loyal to the great merchants, and have never disobeyed.

If Your Highness succeeds, the princes of my East Road should support it, and if it doesn't work, Your Highness will not blame me for standing by and watching. ”

Wei Ziqi knew that this was also a statement, and said sincerely: "Jiang Xianbo rest assured, if the lonely king succeeds, he will return Wenhuan Xiandi to Donglu and inherit the title." What's more, the lone king is also the orthodox clan of the Great Shang, even if it succeeds, Jiang Xianbo is not disloyal to the Great Shang. ”

When Jiang Huan Chu heard this promise, he nodded immediately and remained silent. Seeing that the three of them had expressed their attitudes, it was not good to be alone, and he also smiled and agreed with Weizi Qi's head.

Seeing that the four princes had expressed their support, Weizi was overjoyed and made countless promises before leaving happily.