Xu Mu sat silently on the throne, looking at a child in front of him, kneeling on the ground and crying bitterly.
The child's name is Ding Shao, and he is the nominal king of Bingzhou. Of course, this is just a stopgap measure. Firstly, it takes care of Chao Yi's face, and secondly, he can use the Ding family's connections to stabilize the situation in Bingzhou.
But now, Chao Yi sent Ding Shao to Chengdu, and also attached a letter. The letter said that Ding Shao was young and weak and was being taken advantage of to do something rebellious.
A three- or four-year-old child should be most interested in food and toys. As for rights, how could such an idea exist before the eggs have grown up?
"Wenlong, what do you think?"
Jia Zhou, who was standing by, almost didn't think about it, "Similar to the rebellion in Anzhou, Ding Shao's close servants were instigated. As for the instigator, my lord must have guessed it."
"Grain King." Xu Mu sighed.
"My lord, don't worry. There is also a good news about this incident. Wolf General Chao Yi has completely integrated into Xishu."
Listening, Xu Mu smiled.
"Chao Yi said that in the near future, the heads of the nineteen Bingzhou traitors on the list will be sent to Chengdu."
"Wenlong, how do you think this young prince should be dealt with?"
"Not suitable for killing."
"How to say?"
Jia Zhou compiled his words and spoke calmly, "My lord, you must understand that we, Xi Shu, are not a conservative regime, but one that aspires to the world. If you kill the young king of Bingzhou, you will lose your righteousness, just like Dong Wen did.
He was hated and dissatisfied by the people of Bingzhou. In the future, when the lord attacks the city and plunders the territory, there will be many people like the young prince of Bingzhou, who can serve as the banner to stabilize the political power."
"As I said before, there is no such thing as justice in this world, but when the Lord acts, he must take justice into consideration."
Xu Mu nodded. Without the reputation of righteousness, the reputation of killing traitors and rejecting Beidi, many capable people in the world would not come to Xishu.
"My dear nephew, come here."
Ding Shao was kneeling on the ground, still wiping his tears. Hearing Xu Mu's words, he stood up hurriedly in shock.
"You remember clearly what happened this time. If you were ten years older, you might have been beheaded."
After getting up, Xu Mu walked under the throne, lifted Ding Shao up, took off his robe, touched his buttocks, and slapped him down.
Suddenly, Ding Shao cried out in pain.
Xu Mu didn't stop, and slapped him a dozen times before he walked back to the throne in a depressed tone.
"Wenlong, there is an old saying in my hometown that steals a needle when you are young and steals gold when you are old. I hope this time, the young prince can remember this lesson."
Xu Mu didn't notice that the eldest son Xu Qiao, who happened to be walking outside the palace, was so frightened when he saw this scene that he crawled away with his naked buttocks in his arms.
…
"What's the matter?" Si Hu asked angrily while sitting in the pavilion, picking at the skin of his feet.
Next to him, the puppy Fu was holding a book in one hand and covering his nose with the other.
"Uncle Tiger, father does this, and does this again, bang bang." Xu Qiao gestured hurriedly.
"Driving piles in the palace?" Si Hu raised his head and was startled.
Little Dog Fu put down his book, his voice a little speechless, "It's a spanking. I heard that the young prince of Bingzhou made a mistake and was taught a lesson by his boss. The old king of Bingzhou died and did something wrong, and his boss taught him a lesson on his behalf. It was not wrong.
.”
Si Hu thought for a long time and finally understood, his voice filled with excitement.
"Gou Fu, you mean that a father can spank his son like this? With a slap on the butt?"
"This has been the case throughout the ages."
"Gou Fu, I also have a great son——"
Si Hu hurriedly got up and ran out quickly.
The little puppy Fu raised his head and cursed a few words before he suddenly paused. He saw, at the city gate, a red-feathered scout from Xishu, running towards the palace in a hurry.
…
In the palace, after sending Ding Shao out, Xu Mu just sat down and heard the news that the red feather scouts had entered the city.
He frowned.
"My lord, there are three red feathers. Hurry up and hurry up."
"Let him enter the palace."
Soon, the tired Western Shu scouts hurriedly entered the palace.
"Meet the lord and the military advisor. This is Liangzhou's secret message."
"Liangzhou? Didn't Chen Zhong go to quell the rebellion? Is there something wrong?"
Logically speaking, although the rebellion in Anzhou was fierce, it was not large in scale. With Chen Zhong's ability, there should be no problems.
"My lord, this is Wang Shenzhi's secret message."
"Wang Yong. It's been a hard journey. You go down and rest first."
Before leaving, Wang Yong was sent to Liangzhou to help Chen Zhong handle government affairs.
After opening the secret letter, Xu Mu read it carefully. After only a few more glances, his face suddenly became solemn.
"Lord, what's wrong?"
Handing the secret letter to Jia Zhou, Xu Mu's tone became serious.
"Although it is not a matter of counter-rebellion, it is still very serious. King Yudang asked Liangzhou for help, saying that many Qiang tribes began to reappear and gathered outside Yumen Pass. Since Chen Zhong led troops to suppress the rebellion, and the Wei
Feng also assigned ten thousand people to go to the Western Regions, and now Liangzhou's military strength is not much."
"There are only five or six thousand people at Lao Yu's place, so there is no way to stop them."
"Where is the garrison at Yumen Pass?"
After Xu Mu occupied Liangzhou, he reopened Yumen Pass and sent garrison troops.
"There are more than 8,000 people. Wenlong, these disasters are increasing one after another. Someone is making Xi Shu uneasy."
"My lord can send a message to Chao Yi, asking him to immediately take his troops to meet with King Yu Dang after he has eliminated the traitors. King Yu Dang has cooperated with Chao Yi for a long time, so naturally they have a lot of trust."
"There is no other candidate for this matter except Chao Yi."
Xu Mu only felt extremely unhappy. The enemy was hidden and we were clear. These old men who were hiding were really deadly.
"Lord, I thought hard last night and I have a plan in mind." Jia Zhou spoke seriously.
"Wenlong, please tell me."
"The enemy is in the dark and we are in the open, which is to hurt someone with a hidden arrow. But my lord, as long as you create a straw man to deceive, you can confuse the enemy's target."
"Previously, when I was discussing with my lord, I said that the food and grass in Shuzhou should be the top priority. My lord might as well fake a fire and burn down the granary."
"What Wen Long means is to transfer grain and grass and burn empty warehouses?"
"Exactly, when the time comes, my lord will send a few more letters to the King of Yuzhou, requesting to buy grain. Even Yuan Song and Zuo Shiren can also write the same letter and tell them about the disaster of food shortage. When the time comes, the King of Food will know that Xi
If Shu is short of food, it is very likely that they will take action on food and grass matters."
Jia Zhou paused and his tone became sharp.
"My lord, please don't forget that hundreds of percent of the world's food is in the hands of these people."
Xu Mu probably understood what Jia Zhou said. He used the lack of food as a flaw to lure the Food King into the game. Otherwise, he would have been dizzy all the time, and the enemy would be in the dark and I would be in the light. It would be too passive.