At this time, Yuan Chong was sitting in the palace, his face full of silence.
His sworn brother, Yan Xiong, was still chattering to His Highness.
"My lord, you should know that the King of Yuzhou has given Shen Tuguan a generous gift. If I am not mistaken, Shen Tuguan has become disillusioned and wants to join the King of Yuzhou!"
"No matter what, the lord is the lord of Donglai. Even if you give a gift, it should be given to the lord first. This application for the crown of slaughter is clearly beyond the gift of a monarch and his ministers!"
Including Yan Tang, the other two or three adopted sons sat aside and frowned. People like them were all adopted and raised by the old King Yuan. No matter what their abilities are, they are still from Donglai.
My own family.
As the eldest brother of the adopted son, Yan Xiong gritted his teeth the more he spoke.
"Now Shentu Guan's military power must be taken back. Otherwise, my last 40,000 troops in Donglai will not be able to be saved. My lord, please don't forget that these people like me are my lord's true brothers."
Yuan Chong silently raised his head and looked at the dusk outside the palace. After returning to Donglai, he could see more clearly the general trend of the world that was gradually becoming clearer.
To the south, Dongling, who was once extremely powerful, was defeated by King Xu of Western Shu. He ceded territory to seek peace and retreated to Wuzhou. In the north, King Chang Xiaotang of Yuzhou also occupied half of the country and was subduing the Hebei rebels and preparing to devour the world.
However, his three Donglai states were caught between the two. No matter whether it was the south or the north, he had no way to fight. Under the general trend, the last resort was to choose one of them as a vassal.
If all vassals are rejected, they will most likely be destroyed.
Yuan Chong breathed a sigh of relief.
If he really had to choose one between the north and the south, he would be more inclined to Xi Shu. At least, compared to the unfathomable King of Yuzhou, King Xu of Xi Shu can be regarded as half an old friend, and he has never made enemies, and even helped a few people.
Second-rate.
But now...his general, Shentu Guan, has a vague connection with the King of Yuzhou. If not, why would he send these gifts?
"Your Majesty, General Shentu wishes to see you." Just as Yuan Chong was thinking, he suddenly heard the voice of his attendant.
In the palace hall, Yan Xiong, who was chattering endlessly, quickly stopped talking and sat down hurriedly after hearing this name.
"Let him come in." Yuan Chong sat upright. In a daze, he remembered his father's dying words again, asking him to trust Shen Tuguan and not fall into the enemy's plot.
Perhaps, this gift-giving thing... is just a way to sow discord?
"Shen Tu Guan pays homage to the lord." Shen Tu Guan, who had taken off his armor, stepped in steadily and kowtowed to Yuan Chong on the throne.
"General Shentu, no need to be polite."
Shen Tuguan nodded and stood up, without any hesitation in his tone, "My Lord, I must have heard about the gift given by the King of Yuzhou."
"Of course I've heard about it, General Shentu, you are so majestic, even the King of Yuzhou——"
"Shut up." Shen Tuguan turned his head and spoke in an unhurried voice. Yan Xiong, who spoke, suddenly became exhausted, stopped speaking and glared angrily.
"My lord, the gift-giving is a vicious plan by the King of Yuzhou to alienate you and me. There are still 40,000 troops in Donglai, and the recruitment of new troops is also in progress. It is the end of the year.
At that time, I was confident that I could recruit more than 60,000 Donglai troops."
"And these more than 60,000 people, guarding the border of Donglai and cooperating with Xishu, can at least hold back the army of the King of Yuzhou for several months."
"The King of Yuzhou must have thought of this, so he used a trick to drive a wedge between you and me. Generals of the fifth generation of the Shentu family, I would like to ask my lord to observe clearly. In addition, I have not accepted any of the heavy gifts sent by the King of Yuzhou, and they are all in Shouguang City."
Outside the city gate, a fire burned."
Shen Tu Guan's appearance, coupled with these explanations, finally made Yuan Chong's expression soften a lot.
"General Shentu, of course I believe you."
"My lord is more generous than the late king and will not make too many concessions." Shen Tu Guan also looked relaxed. What he was most afraid of was that Yuan Chong would fall into the enemy's plan by mistake. After all, in this case, Donglai's situation was too passive.
Yan Xiong, who was standing by, glanced at Shen Tu Guan dully, but did not dare to say anything due to Shen Tu Guan's prestige.
…
In the inner city of Changyang, the late autumn weather began to feel refreshingly cool.
Liu Ji walked out of the mansion and declined Chen Que's dissuasion.
"Doctor Chen, I'm just going out for a walk."
"Mr. Zhongde, please go back to your room to rest. If you get cold, your condition may get worse."
The old counselor smiled and shook his head, "There is no difference between how many days you die early and how many days you die later. The original Marquis Yuan probably understood this truth. If you can still move around, you might as well do more things."
Chen Que was silent for a while, but finally stopped trying to persuade him. He stood in the cool breeze of late autumn and sighed bitterly.
With the support of his attendants, Lao Zhongde staggered into the carriage. The carriage drove forward, not towards the palace. Instead, it went in the opposite direction, to a quiet alley in Changyang.
In a house at the end of the alley, there was a young man waiting in front of the yard, his face extremely calm. In his arms, there was a yellowed ancient military book.
When the carriage arrived, the young man politely walked down the stone steps and bowed to wait.
"Students often read books and meet the teacher."
After coughing twice, Lao Zhongde smiled happily and said, "Chang Shu, you forgot again. Your clan brother helped you change your name. You should be called Chang Sheng."
"When you are studying, you call it Chang Shu, and when you are marching and fighting, you call it Chang Sheng."
"Haha, not bad, very good."
After entering the house, Lao Zhongde coughed a few more times, and his face became increasingly pale.
Chang Sheng raised his head, his eyes showing sadness.
"Teacher, what did Divine Doctor Chen say?"
"Can't get into winter."
Just four words made Chang Sheng fall silent and close his eyes.
"Chang Shu, although I am the eldest gentleman invited by the Chang family, there are only two people in the entire Chang family that I look up to the most. One is the lord, and the other is you. As for Chang Jiu, it is really a strange thing.
Son."
Chang Sheng nodded.
"Chang Shu, how many years have you been studying?"
"Starting from the age of three and a half, excluding the six months of war, it will be a total of nineteen years."
"Have you read enough?"
"The sea of books is vast, and I am just like dust and sand."
"Then I won't read it anymore." Old Zhongde raised his head, "I searched all over the North, all the aristocratic families, even the hermits... and found something."
"Teacher, what's the matter?"
"Only you, Chang Shu, can support this huge half of the world."
Chang Sheng was not excited, he lowered his head and silently looked at the military book at his waist.
"After my death, you will immediately give up your studies and join the court, become Beiyu's first military advisor, assist your family brother, and unify the thirty states in the world."
Chang Sheng didn’t know how to answer.
"I, Liu Zhongde, am about to die, and I am also a master. Chang Shu, why don't you agree?"
"Teacher." Chang Sheng raised his face, with a hint of bitterness in his voice, "I know the etiquette of loyalty, filial piety, and etiquette. Teacher persuaded me even though he was about to die. How could I, Chang Shu, dare to disobey."
"Okay, okay, okay!" Lao Zhongde shouted three times in a row. He was probably too excited and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"teacher!"
Old Zhongde raised his head and expressed joy, "There is a successor, and the lord's hegemony can be expected. I, Liu Zhongde, can go with peace of mind."