Around four o'clock in the Shen period, Jiang Rong sent someone to urge, Ji Tong and others had been in the mansion for a long time, Bailiyan did not dare to continue to delay, and urged the three girls to close the shop, and first returned to the Hou Mansion.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Jiang Jie was waiting in the door:

"Master Hou, Hou Antaihou's father and son and Hou Ye's nephew have been waiting for a long time, and Mrs. asked her subordinates to tell Hou Ye that Hou Taihou is here for the eldest grandson country and the expeditionary army."

"Well, apart from these two things, Antaihou has nothing else to do. Go to the stove room, set up a table for a banquet, according to the regulations of six dishes, two soups, two snacks and one fruit. ”

"No!"

After instructing Jiang Jie, Bai Liyan hurried to the atrium.

Presumably Jiang Rong didn't know much about the inside of Yongxing City, and An Taihou tried for a long time and found that there was really no valuable news, and the four of them talked more about business at this time. Jiang Rong is not a good type, and she quickly got involved with Guangxin.

Due to the geographical location of Guangxin is really superior, and the Lingling is almost kept on a meridian line, the shortest distance in a straight line, the goods from the West Sea, one through the Guanling ferry into the inland river, and part of the land from Guangxin, other non-Lingling, Yongxing required materials, are diverted to Dongyuan County.

Therefore, Guangxin can get a lot of tariff benefits from the port every year, and don't pay a penny of taxes, all of them go into the pockets of the Guangxin government, otherwise with Guangxin's financial resources, it can't support 60,000 or 70,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry.

got the maid to report the news, Jiang Rong changed her words and stopped mentioning Guangxin, and instead said:

"Master Hou has just returned to the house, the three of you will wait for a while, and the concubine will go to meet him."

Hearing the news that Baili Yan returned to the house, Ji Tong was in good spirits:

"Since the Marquis of Yongxing has returned to the house, I will go with my wife."

After speaking, Ji Tong and the three of them stood up and followed Jiang Rong out of the house, and when they came to the verandah, they saw Bailiyan striding towards them. Ji Tong took three steps and made two steps, and first made a salute:

"Hehe, I haven't seen you for a few days, Yongxing Hou turned his hands into clouds and covered his hands for rain, which makes Ben Hou ashamed."

"Antai Hou said seriously, Ben Hou turned his hands into clouds and covered his hands for rain, where can he be compared with Liang Tianzi's mouth, as long as Liang Tianzi's mouth is crooked, I don't know if Xianguo will end up like Sun Guo one day."

An Taihou was extremely embarrassed, and forced a little smile to answer:

"The Marquis of Yongxing has said that the Son of Heaven also has a time when he is confused by the ministers, this time the Changsun Kingdom has sinister intentions, and the Son of Heaven is also in the evil of the Changsun Kingdom, and he has no knowledge in advance, and he also hopes that Yongxing Hou Haihan."

"Hehe... It's easy to say, it's easy to say. When the words fell, Bailiyan and Jiang Rong said, "Rong'er, I asked the stove room to prepare a banquet, and you can arrange it." ”

"Understand, don't drink too much wine, be careful of hurting yourself."

"Got it, don't worry."

After instructing Jiang Rong, Bailiyan led Ji Tong and the three of them to the backyard, instead of the inner hall of the atrium where Jiang Rong entertained the three just now.

Generally speaking, the first courtyard in the front yard is used to entertain foreign affairs and ordinary guests, the second courtyard and the atrium are used to entertain guests who have a close relationship, and the backyard is the living area of the family and the private place of the inner house, and the general family rarely entertains guests here, especially the house is not a large household, only the front yard and the back yard, even if it is a three-entry yard, if the backyard is not too big, the privacy is stronger, and it is not used as a space open to the outside world.

If the host entertains foreign guests in the backyard, it also means that the relationship with the guests is extremely respectful and valued.

The regulations of the Yongxing Marquis Mansion are no smaller than those of the Prince's Mansion, and the backyard is spacious, and the reception place is upgraded from the atrium to the backyard, which invisibly conveys a clear friendly political signal to Ji Tong.

Invited the three of them to the pavilion in the lotus pond, Baili Yan asked people to arrange the table, and first served two plates of pastries as appetizers. After the four of them sat down, Bai Liyan first said:

"Antaihou, you and I open the skylight and say something. His eldest grandson and the Jin State did such a despised act to the people of the world, under the guise of the alliance, without the permission of our king, forcibly in our Xian alliance, and the army came to attack my Yongxing, in an attempt to force our king to cede Yongxing City, this matter is reasonable and reasonable, law and etiquette, which one makes sense, if the Son of Heaven does not give my king an explanation, I am afraid that the princes of the world will not be able to say it, Antaihou thinks. ”

"Yes, what the Marquis of Yongxing said is extremely true, this matter is indeed despicable and unjust, dishonest in the world, dishonest in the Son of Heaven, it is a great rebellion to deceive the king, this Hou will explain the reason for this matter to the Son of Heaven, and ask the eldest grandson and the two kings of the Jin Kingdom to correct the situation. But I also ask the Xian army to postpone the evacuation of Liang to ensure the peace at the feet of my Son of Heaven. ”

"It's easy to say, my king is also a vassal of the Son of Heaven, and if the Son of Heaven is in trouble, my king will definitely not sit idly by. However, what is Antaihou going to do about this alliance, he can't let the eldest grandson and the Jin Kingdom stay on the land of my Xianguo to eat, drink and Lazar, and from time to time do evil. ”

"The eldest grandson and the unrighteous actions of the Jin Kingdom are unpopular, and the Son of Heaven will definitely be judged, please rest assured that King Xian."

"That's good, my king also believes that Liang Tianzi will deal with it impartially and return justice to my Xianguo."

To be sure, Liang had neither the military nor the political strength to intervene and intervene in the princes' struggle for hegemony, and at best it was a fig leaf for each country to hide its ambitions, and when it was used, it occasionally needed to be used to suit the situation.

Liang Tianzi naturally knew it, so he had been plotting with the Chengdao faction for a long time, using his position as the political suzerain, to use the art of weighing the princes.

The eldest grandson and the Jin State will not be afraid of the majesty of Liang Tianzi, but the political inertia and marginal effect brought by the political legacy are still an important political leading force that plagues the political situation in the Central Plains, which reminds Bailiyan of the allusion of Chu Zi winning the championship during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Chu Zi asked Zhou Ding about the importance of Zhou Ding, and King Zhou's envoy Wang Sun Manman said: "Although Zhou De is declining, the mandate of heaven has not changed." The weight of the tripod is not to be asked. ”

Compared with the current situation, none of the princes of the Central Plains is strong enough to comprehensively confront the two major powers at the same time, and once they are dragged into a protracted war, they will be attacked by other princes.

If you want to unify the Central Plains, you must not have the three potentials of time, place, and people at the same time, and it is not enough to unify such a huge territory without one of them.

After solving the two matters of the alliance and the expeditionary force, the conversation gradually got better, and at the same time, Xihuan entered the Jin army camp alone in a car, and the king of Jin was still annoyed by the deflated food in the morning:

"Your Royal Highness, Your Highness Xihuan has arrived." Fan Tao said carefully.

"What is she here to do!"

"The minister guesses that King Xian must take this opportunity to depose Her Royal Highness the Princess, and Her Royal Highness is here to ask the King for help."

"If he dares to depose Xihuan, the widow will level the Xianguo."

"Having said that, the current situation is extremely passive, and the king should first stabilize the situation in Chenling, so as not to affect His Highness Xihuan, so that he can only figure it out in the future."

"Then Fan Xiang, you say, what should the widow do."

"The king, His Royal Highness Xihuan must have come here to persuade the king to withdraw his troops in exchange for a stable position, if the king does not withdraw his troops, King Xian will depose His Royal Highness Xihuan. If the king retreats, the king of Xian insists on going his own way, and the king can cut it down again, and then the name is justified, so that each one takes a step back. ”

After a moment of silence, King Jin's anger was far from subsiding, and in a blink of an eye, he thought that Xihuan's chess piece would be eaten by King Xian at any time, and he had to compromise:

"Go, bring Xihuan to see the widow."

"No!"

Xihuan was driving outside the Chinese army at this time to talk to Ji Qing and Ji Chang, complaining bitterly about how King Xian and Bai Liyan humiliated her, and then Fan Tao hurriedly came to the front of the car and gave a slight salute:

"Fan Tao has seen His Royal Highness Xihuan."

"Where is my brother!" Xihuan asked urgently.

"The king ordered the ministers to lead His Highness to meet in the tent, Your Highness, please."

Fan Tao led Xihuan to the king's tent, and at this time, the king of Jin restrained his anger and forced out a little pleasantness:

"Sister Wang, it's the widow who has humiliated you."

Xihuan didn't buy Ji Jun's account, so he asked sternly:

"It's all your good plan, do you know, King Xian almost abolished me today, do you know!"

"The widow didn't expect Bailiyan to learn the secret in advance, so it fell short. Who would have thought that a few months ago, he laid out a net of heaven and earth, and also promised Yongxing City to the Ligong faction, and attacked the Changsun Water Army. ”

"If you want to be faced, this palace will be shameless. If I hadn't given up this face, King Xian wouldn't have driven me out of the Prince's Mansion at this moment! ”

"He dares! If he expels you from the position of crown princess, the widow will level the Xianguo and take the Lingling! ”

"Now Bailiyan is in full swing, can you beat it?"

"The widow Jin country is rich in land and resources, and I am afraid that he will not succeed in a small Xian country."

"You just have a hard mouth to save face, Yongxing City produces 1.3 million catties of iron a year, and you can smash us to death, what do you use to fight with others. He Bailiyan had already printed the news on the street, and everyone in the world knew that you were trying to Yongxing, but you still had a hard mouth, did you have to make the chickens and dogs restless and lose face, have you ever considered for my sister, have I been easy for so many years! ”

As he spoke, Xihuan's tears flowed down his eyes, and Ji Jun knew that he was at a loss, and comforted him:

"Okay, can't the outnumbered people withdraw their troops!"

"And what about after the withdrawal."

"For the time being, retreat to the Cloud Festival and continue to ally with the eldest grandson."

At this time, Fan Tao said:

"My lord, I'm afraid that the matter of the alliance will be uncertain. Thinking that Ji Tong is a grass on the wall, seeing that the situation is not good, he will definitely compromise with King Xian. If the Son of Heaven suddenly turns his face after a month or two, this alliance may become a laughing stock. At that time, the eldest grandson asked our army to send troops again, and the king was helpless. ”

"Then according to Fan Cheng's words, what should the widow do?"

"The minister thinks that the eldest grandson promised our king to annex Yongxing in exchange for the king's northern army marching west to attack the black turban rebellion entrenched in the south of Changsun, so as to free up his hand, and Liang promised the Xian National Alliance, and it was the eldest grandson who promised to send troops to Liang and occupy the three counties of Sun State.

At present, the king is unprofitable, and it is impossible to send troops, so it is cheaper for Xianguo, but he makes a wedding dress for the eldest grandson, and the gains outweigh the losses.

However, at present, the alliance between our country and the eldest grandson is still very important, if we do not send troops to the west, the eldest grandson country will definitely anger our king, so the minister thinks that the alliance still needs to be sent out, and the soldiers must also be sent out, but not from the Xian country, otherwise it is tantamount to the Xian country as a shield to help it annex the land of the Sun country. ”

"The Northern Army is in the Xian Kingdom, and the widows are not profitable, why should they use the blood of the soldiers of my Jin Kingdom to make profits for the Changsun Kingdom!"

"King, sending troops is sending troops, and how to fight after sending troops is in me and not in the eldest grandson. After sending troops, you only need to guard the rear for the eldest grandson, so that the eldest grandson can also free up troops and horses to go south quickly, and seize more land before the Xian country enters the Sun country. ”

"Then my Jin Kingdom dispatched hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and used countless money and food, where is the benefit of the widows?"

"King, the rise of the Xian Kingdom has seen the signs, the interests of my Jin Kingdom are in the Xian Kingdom and not in the other, as long as the expansion of the Xian State is restrained, it will be strangled, and Jiang Yu will ascend the throne in the future, and the prince will be established as the crown prince, and then except for Baili Yan, everything in the Xian Kingdom is owned by my Jin Kingdom, which is a long-term plan.

At that time, the annexation of the Xian State, my Jin State will have the capital to dominate the world, and it is not impossible to sweep the Central Plains in the United States, which is where the greatest interests of my Jin Kingdom lie, and we must not lose the big king because of the small. ”

"What Fan Xiang said is reasonable." Xihuan agreed, and continued to say: "Baili Yan built Yongxing City, it will not be owned by Jiang Yu's father and son in the future, no matter how arrogant he is, as long as Tuo'er ascends the throne and becomes king, he can still do anything about it!" Now as long as Brother Wang keeps Tuo'er, he will get the Xianguo, so much benefit, how can Brother Wang turn a blind eye. ”

"But the widow is not willing to wait for another few decades, and the widow can't wait."

"The king, if you don't accumulate steps, you can't go to the world, you can't accumulate small streams and can't become the sea, my Jin Kingdom can have today, it is the national strength accumulated by the three generations of kings with the assistance of the uncle and the prime minister, if the king has no ambition to rock and persevere, it is not easy to swallow up the Xian country, please also ask the king to see it."

"Then according to the meaning of Fan Xiangguo, in the lifetime of the widow, you cannot swallow up the Xianguo."

"Exactly. At that time, the uncle and the prime minister once said that the Xian country is located in the Central Plains canal land, and those who occupy this place are the east Ping Jin country and the south curb the Zhiguo, the north is the eldest grandson, and the west can take the Liang country.

The decline of the Zhi State, in the final analysis, was the Zhi State that invaded the hinterland of the Xian, Sun, and Changsun Kingdoms, which caused the Liang State to worry and the princes to fear. Uncle Cheng has been advocating His Royal Highness Xihuan for a long time, which is a long-term plan, not 30 or 40 years of operation, and it can only be effective after two generations of kings, so it can be slowed down and not rushed.

Nineteen years have passed since the battle of Jiangdong, Jiangdong, Dongyuan, and Suidang three counties have been very effective, and there are another twenty years, Jiang Yu is getting old, and Gongzi Tuo ascends the throne. ”

Hearing Fan Tao's words, King Jin was silent for a long time. The annexation of Yongxing was first a temporary whim of Ji Jun, and then Fan Tao designed it, and now the sheep has not been eaten, but it has caused a commotion, and Ji Jun can't help but regret it.

"Alas...... That's it, just according to Fan Xiang's words, from tomorrow, withdraw the troops to the Cloud Festival, and discuss the matter of sending troops with the lord of the eldest grandson. ”

"King Shengming."

There are no saints in the world, just as there is no perfect man in the world, Gong Shu Kuo is a powerful minister, and his decades at the helm depend on three short-lived and obedient monarchs, as well as a favorable and relaxed political environment.

Uncle Kuo appointed Fan Tao to recommend him, what he valued was his steady and loyal, without losing the quality of the prime minister's talent, and the Jin State could struggle for another 40 years by his auxiliary government, and after 40 years, he went west to the Central Plains, and the Jin State hegemony could be achieved.

However, the current situation is turbulent and full of heroes, Fan Tao has no means to cover the world, and he has encountered such a greedy and arrogant monarch as Ji Jun, and the prospect that Uncle Kuo expected no longer exists.

The times are moving forward under the trend of history, clinging to the defects is tantamount to carving a boat to seek a sword, but if it changes, it will work, and if it does not change, it will not work, Fan Tao is more like a student who sticks to dogma, and the things handed down by the ancestors are always good, but I don't know that this generation has changed......