In Shouchun City, late at night, in a mansion, Kogu turned around and looked at the men wearing commoners behind him.
These ten or so people are all the confidants of Kogu. Their previous status was extremely humble. If they had not met Kogu, they might have died without knowing where they were. With Kogu's favor, there is no need to doubt the loyalty of these people. It was Kogu who asked them to die.
, they will not hesitate.
"Sir, everything has been investigated!"
A man came forward, holding a roll of bamboo slips in both hands, and handed it to Kogu.
This is a granary built secretly by the Chu State after the autumn harvest, and some nobles among them secretly seek personal gain.
Kogu looked at the records on the bamboo slips and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Ever since he received the bamboo slips sent by his nephew, Kogu secretly had been ordering people to contact privately the nobles and military generals whose names were written on the bamboo slips. These people all had one thing in common. They were fighting for the king of Chu.
, more or less secretly betrayed Xiong Fuchu and Jing Qi.
Almost everyone knew how ruthless Jing Qi's methods were. Even the Li Yuan clan and the Queen Mother of Chu dared to exterminate their clans. Those who had betrayed Xiong Fuchu and Jing Qi naturally knew what the consequences would be if the matter was exposed.
Coupled with the nephew's promise in the bamboo slips, it was not difficult to bribe those people privately.
And just in case, Kogu never showed up and never let those people know that he was contacting them behind the scenes.
Come to the wooden frame.
Kogu took out two more scrolls of bamboo slips from the wooden stand and came to the two subordinates.
"Leave Shouchun overnight, send him to Qufu, and hand him over to Bai Yan!"
Kogu looked at his subordinates and gave instructions softly.
"promise!"
The two retinues took the bamboo slips with both hands. After receiving the order, they turned around and led the others out of the study.
In the study room.
Kogu stood quietly under the candlelight, thinking.
"Destroy Chu!"
As the bamboo slips left, Kogu's expression didn't relax for long before revealing a hint of worry.
After learning about his nephew's intentions, Kogu was shocked. It is estimated that no one had thought that the purpose of his nephew leading the Qin army to attack Qufu was not to simply occupy the city, but to cut off the Chu State from Qi.
After crossing the country's border, he destroyed all the large granaries of Chu.
food!
This is the little nephew's method to destroy Chu.
Now Kogu knew that with the autumn harvest, his nephew would definitely start preparing to burn down as many granaries as possible. With the bamboo slips and his nephew's promise to the nobles, Kogu did not worry about whether the matter would be successful or not.
What Kogu is really worried about is that his nephew's behavior is tantamount to putting the Chu country into a desperate situation.
At that time, the Chu army that was trapped would use all its strength to attack Qufu and open up the border between Chu and Qi.
Ji Gu is now a close confidant of the Xiang family and Qu family. He often comes into contact with Jing Qi and Xiang Yan, and he clearly knows how angry his nephew's actions will be in the future from Xiang Yan and Jing Qi.
"Ying Zheng, don't be like King Zhao, who is ungrateful and unrighteous!"
Kogu thought about the fake tripod and said softly.
Kogu, who comes from Linzi of the State of Qi and was raised by his mother since he was a child, also walked out of the village and came to the State of Chu by chance. Therefore, Kogu knew that his nephew had already become a minister and a general.
, in Shui Village, and in those villages where one official who manages several townships is considered a big shot, the little nephew now has a status that no one even dares to think about.
The little nephew’s words that his mother once laughed at from the villagers are no longer a joke. Even if the little nephew succeeds and retires soon, he will not let this life go to waste.
At the moment, what Kogu is most worried about is that, as others have said, Ying Zheng is a ungrateful king.
The last person who was spoken of like this by the world was the king of the Qin State, King Qin Zhaoxiang. At that time, Bai Qi had made great military exploits for the Qin State. The land was vast and the territory was vast. After King Qin Zhaoxiang demoted Bai Qi to a commoner, he still wanted to kill him.
Death is in vain, not even life can be spared.
Even the people of Qin knew that Bai Qi's death was not his fault.
What worries Kogu most is that his nephew follows a ruthless and unjust king. Even if he does everything for Qin and sacrifices his life to destroy Chu, in the end, he will rarely end well. Just like what Fan Li wrote to Wen Zhong in ancient times:
The birds are gone, the good bow is hidden, the cunning rabbit is dead, and the running dogs are cooked.
Recalling his nephew's evaluation of Ying Zheng in the past, Kogu has never met Ying Zheng, but this time, if Ying Zheng is unkind and unjust and is punished for the fake tripod, Kogu himself will go there in person without having to do anything to Jing Qi and the others.
When I saw my nephew, I asked him to resign immediately and return home.
"Calculating, the news about the fake tripod should only come back in two or three days at most!"
Kogu frowned, turned his head, and looked at the small candle burning slightly swaying on the candle lamp.
Recalling that when Xiang Qi and others planned to fake the tripod, only the King of Chu, Xiang Yan, Jing Qi... and only a few people knew about it. Not even Xiang Liang, the children of the Xiang family, and the children of the Qu family knew about it.
Kogu didn't know whether to be happy or worried for his little nephew.
From this incident, we can see how much the most powerful and powerful people in Chu State value their nephew.
I think of my little nephew who lived in Shuicun when I was a child, and what my little nephew looked like at that time.
At that time, Ji Gu could not have imagined that the child who was wearing shabby clothes and following behind him to set bird eggs would one day become the king of Chu, Xiang Yan, the general of the Chu State, and even all the officials of the Chu State.
Such a fearful enemy general.
The next day.
In Shouchun City, Kogu, who was wearing the official uniform of the Chu State, had just walked out of the palace with his colleagues after going to court. When he was about to leave in a carriage, he saw a guard approaching.
"Your Majesty! General Xiang Liang has returned to his residence. He is drinking with Qu Chu and other gentlemen in his residence. I specially invite you to come to the banquet!"
This is not the first time that the retinue has come to invite Xu Gu. In the past few years, Xiang Liang has almost returned to Shouchun, and he will invite Xu Gu to come over to drink and have fun.
"good!"
Kogu nodded when he saw this.
After bidding farewell to his colleagues, Kogu took a carriage and drove all the way to Xiang Liang's mansion.
The Xiang family owned a large fiefdom in Chu State, and Xiang Yan was also a general of Chu State. Therefore, the Xiang family members not only held official positions, but also had wealth far beyond ordinary people's imagination.
When he arrived at Xiang Liang's mansion, Kogu walked into the mansion with ease and quickly arrived at the main hall. Before he entered, he could vaguely hear the sound of music coming from the main hall.
When Kogu followed the servant to the main hall, he saw a dozen beautiful female musicians with slim waists dancing Chu dances. The men behind the wooden tables on both sides of the main hall looked straight at each other.
He looked at it seductively, while drinking and laughing at a certain female musician.
Under the leadership of the servant, Kogu came to the wooden table that had been vacant for a long time. Before the wooden table was placed, it was in the first row on the right under the seat of Master Xiang Liang.
One can imagine how much Xiang Liang trusts Xiang Gu.
"Brother Gu! What's up, this is the new female singer we got during this period!"
Xiang Liang, who was kneeling in the master's seat above, looked at Kogu who was bowing his hands in greeting, turned slightly sideways, and teased Kogu from a long distance away, his eyes full of smiles.
In Chu State, the life of the gentry children was unimaginably extravagant.
For example, there are no less than ten wives and concubines in Xiang Liang's family, but Xiang Liang is still addicted to female music, and not only Xiang Liang, but also almost all the children of the gentry are like this.
Although many female musicians are slightly worse in appearance than their wives and concubines at home, they still have a special attraction and freshness to men. And for someone as capable as Xiang Liang, the female musicians will soon be replaced.
Or keep them in captivity and give them away...
Among Xianggu's concubines, there was an extremely beautiful woman, whom Xiang Liang specially gave as a gift to Xianggu. When many of the gentry's children saw the woman, they were all moved. There were many brothers who did not hesitate to ask Xiang Liang,
But they were all rejected by Xiang Liang one by one.
“Excellent!”
After listening to Xiang Liang's words, Ji Gu turned around to look at the appearance and posture of each of the female musicians, and finally nodded to Xiang Liang.
It's no wonder that Xiang Liang showed off as soon as he saw Ji Gu arrive. The beauty of these female musicians is all eye-catching.
Talking room.
Ji Gu also noticed that the man named Song Jin in the middle position across from him was looking at a female musician with infatuated eyes.
It's a pity that Xiang Yan didn't tell Xiang Liang about the fake tripod until he arranged for Song Jin to be here. Otherwise, if Kogu knew the origin of this man in advance, Song Jin would not have been allowed to live here.
In the main hall.
Xiang Liang naturally noticed the look in Xiang Gu's eyes and turned to look at Song Jin. The person who disliked Song Jin the most should be Xiang Liang.
Compared with his close friend Xiang Gu, Xianggu has been a frequent visitor to the mansion in the past few years, and Xianggu has always been here to be polite and polite. Most of the time, Xiang Liang pretended to be angry. Xianggu just couldn't do those tedious things.
etiquette.
The Song Jin Dynasty was better off. Within two days of living in the mansion, he flirted with his concubine in private. After learning that he no longer loved the concubine very much, he shamelessly asked him to give her to him as a gift.
This made Xiang Liang particularly angry. Although he did not care much about the concubine, it was not Song and Jin's turn to ask for it.
At that time, if he had not remembered his father's instructions, if he had not thought of the fake tripod, Xiang Liang would have wanted to cook Song and Jin directly.
Looking at Song Jin.
Thinking of his father's words about killing him later, Xiang Liang could only curse inwardly, and turned around to continue talking to Kou Gu.
Right in front of the wooden table in the main hall, in the middle of the main wooden table for guests of honor, several thin-waisted maids quietly came forward and knelt on the ground. On the other hand, they took daggers from a medium-sized bronze cauldron and started to
He cut off a piece of meat from the food, and poured out the sauce for dipping the meat from a small bronze cauldron on the side.
Fine wine and good meat were presented to the wooden table in front of Xiu Gu.
The dining style of the Chu people is slightly different from that of the vassal states in the Central Plains, as the Chu people like to offer sacrifices in the dark.
"grown ups!!!"
Suddenly, while everyone in the main hall was admiring the female singer, and their eyes kept wandering around the woman, while Xiang Liang, who was sitting in the chair, was talking to Ji Gu, a servant hurriedly took a bamboo slip and walked around the female singer.
Le, presented it to Xiang Liang.
Xiang Liang frowned slightly when he saw the servant's appearance. After all, Xiang Liang didn't like to be disturbed by affairs during banquets, so his servants usually didn't dare to disturb him unless there was no big deal.
With doubts, Xiang Liang picked up the bamboo slip, slowly opened it, and looked at the contents inside the bamboo slip.
The next moment, Xiang Liang's expression changed drastically and he stood up angrily.
This frightened Kogu and the other men who were admiring the female singer. Even the female musician was at a loss and stood there in fear.
However, Xiang Liang didn't seem to notice at all. He held the bamboo slips without saying a word.
"Get down!"
Seeing Xiang Liang's confused expression, Ji Gu seemed to realize that something had happened, so he turned his head and said to a maid, and asked the maid to take all the female musicians away.
"But what happened?"
Ji Gu looked at Xiang Liang at this time. After he finished speaking, he saw Xiang Liang turning his head to look at Song Jin with a livid face, frowning and asking.
When Xiang Liang heard what Kogu said, he didn't say anything, but handed the bamboo slips to Kogu.
After Kogu took the bamboo slip, his expression immediately became serious when he saw the content in it, which was sent from Xianyang of the State of Qin. Kogu did not expect that the news would come much faster than he expected.
However, when he saw the news inside, Kogu was froze in place.
Not a fake tripod???
Jigu was stunned. When he saw the news in the bamboo slips, he was completely stunned.
The big tripod sent from Pengcheng to Xianyang is not a fake tripod, but... the real Jiuzhou tripod!!!
Impossible, the plan against the little nephew was clearly in place, from finding the tripod to releasing the news, but the little nephew suddenly captured Pengcheng from Huang Ye, which frightened Xiang Yan, Jing Qi and others.
He jumped and was frightened, but also confirmed that nothing was wrong.
more importantly……
Ji Gu couldn't help but look at Song Jin in the distance. Even Song Jin, the only survivor, had been sent here, and he later confirmed that he saw his nephew salvage the Song Ding from Surabaya.
Why? Now you say that the big cauldron is the real Kyushu cauldron?
Kogu, who couldn't figure it out, quickly looked back at the bamboo slips, ignoring Song Jin who was already a little tipsy and looked at with confusion by Xiang Liang.
After a few breaths.
When Kogu saw the detailed record on the bamboo slips, his eyes widened, with a look of astonishment mixed with disbelief.
The Kyushu Cauldron was found under the roots of a giant tree that was forty years old!
And the reason is actually because...
Little nephew’s dream!
Kogu looked at the bamboo slips, becoming more and more confused and dumbfounded.
……………………
Shouchun Palace.
Ji Gu followed Xiang Liang and hurriedly got out of the carriage and walked towards the palace. However, before entering the palace, he heard the carriage coming quickly from behind, and then stopped suddenly when the coachman was about to drink.
The two of them turned around and saw Qu Luan, who was on the right side of the carriage, getting off the carriage.
"You Yin!"
"You Yin!"
Seeing Qu Luan, Xiang Gu and Xiang Liang stopped one after another, turned around and saluted You Yin Qu Luan.
Among the official positions in Chu State, Ling Yin was equivalent to the prime minister of other countries, while Zuo Yin and You Yin were Ling Yin's right-hand men. Although their rights were checked and balanced, their right to speak still had status, and they were still very high.
Otherwise, Qu Luan's son Qu Yi was murdered in Qin State, and Qin State would not pay so much attention to it.
"Master Xi, General Xiang Liang!"
When Qu Luan saw Xiang Gu and Xiang Liang, they were both familiar with each other, and they all returned the favor.
The three of them all knew why they came, so they didn't exchange too many greetings. After a simple greeting, they walked towards the palace together.
In the palace hall.
When Xiang Gu, Xiang Liang, and Qu Luan arrived at the palace, they saw many Chu ministers already waiting in the palace.
"Didn't you say that the cauldron sent by Bai Yan was fake?"
"Yes! Especially the orphan of the Song family, named Song Jin, personally stood up to testify against Bai Yan."
"What should we do now? Now let Qin Wang Yingzheng get the Nine Provinces Cauldron that has been passed down since ancient times!"
At a glance, many officials and ministers were whispering.
Ji Gu followed Xiang Liang all the way to Xiang Yan, who was old but still burly.
"Father!"
"Zhuguo!"
Xiang Liang and Ji Gu saluted Xiang Yan.
Xiang Yan, who was talking to Jing Qi at the moment, didn't look very good. Needless to say, Jing Qi had a gloomy face. It was obvious that after receiving the news, both of them knew what it meant.
"Is Song Jin at home?"
When Xiang Yan saw Xiang Liang arriving, she asked in a low voice.
"Father, don't worry, I haven't killed this person yet!"
When Xiang Liang heard about Song Jin, his eyes showed a hint of joy. When he came, he had ordered people to arrest Song Jin and the concubine. Now they are locked up in the mansion and under strict guard.
If Song Jin is useless in the future, Xiang Liang will use the anger still in his heart during this period to make Song Jin unable to survive or die.
"Father, did Bai Yan really find the Nine Provinces Cauldron because of a dream?"
Xiang Liang looked at his father, Xiang Yan, and asked doubtfully.
Even now, Xiang Liang couldn't accept it. It was clear that he had fallen into the trap and there were no mistakes in the whole process. Bai Yan actually not only saw through a dream that the tripod in Si River was a fake tripod, but also found the real Kyushu in pursuit of the dream.
tripod.
Xiao Gu, who was on the side, recalled the contents of the bamboo slips he had seen, and looked at Xiang Yan and Jing Qi with doubtful eyes.
"..."
When Xiang Yan heard Xiang Liang's words, he did not speak, but shook his head slightly. At this time, Xiang Yan could not believe that someone in the world could actually find the Nine Provinces Cauldron because of a dream.
But whether Xun Shuo asked people to verify it or the investigation results came from Xianyang, it indicates that this matter is true.
"We must let King Qi win over Bai Yan to return to Qi as soon as possible!"
Jing Qi's eyes were frightening. Although he didn't have a ferocious appearance, he was more frightening than those with ferocious faces.
But Jing Qi's words surprised Xiang Liang and even Xiang Yan. They also couldn't understand why Jing Qi had been particularly afraid of Bai Yan since his trip to Yanmen a long time ago. This fear
He is the best among all the people in Chu State.
Ji Gu was very curious as to what his little nephew had done to make the ruthless Jing Qi so afraid.
He even bluntly stated several times that Qin's strong generals and Chu's disasters were either caused by the war or spread.
Finally, after learning that his nephew was from Qi, Jing Qi was the one who was most eager and persistent to let Bai Yan return to Qi. Even after the old general Jing Xia was killed by his nephew in a trap, Jing Qi would rather
He suppressed the anger of his tribe and still did not support the King of Chu's order to mobilize the Chu army to attack Bai Yan.
"It's difficult. There is still no news from Qi State. General Jing Xia has been killed. All ministers and officials have already expressed their intention to send troops. I'm afraid the king will..."
Xiang Yan knew what Jing Qi was thinking. Why didn't he want to wait for Bai Yan to return to his family? However, the death of old general Jing Xia caused many people in the Jing family to incite officials and other nobles in order to take Bai Yan's life.
, as well as the head to worship the old general Jing Xia.
The Jiuding incident this time has made it impossible for Bai Yan to return to Qi, and I am afraid that the Jing family's anger cannot be suppressed!
Before Xiang Yan finished speaking, he saw a commotion among the officials. At a glance, he saw the King of Chu coming from the back hall carrying the cud.
Seeing this, Xiang Yan and Jing Qi stopped talking one after another, took Xiang Liang and Xi Gu to face the King of Chu, and raised their hands to salute.
"Greetings to the King!"
"Meet the King!!!"
In the main hall, other civil and military officials from the Chu Kingdom also saluted the King of Chu.
"I decided to send troops to attack Qin and recapture Qufu!"
The King of Chu walked toward the throne with his cud in his hands, and ignored Jing Qi's eyes. He raised his hand and said to the officials.
Next to the King of Chu, who was carrying Chu, followed a beautiful woman. The beauty was wearing Chu clothes. Her slim waist and beauty were almost rare in the world. She was the Queen of Chu from the Jing clan and was also a member of the Jing Qi clan.