On the ninth day of the seventh month, at noon, King Qi and Yuwen Shu sat together again.

Yuwen Shu was very unhappy and felt that the King of Qi's "eating appearance" was too ugly and did it too much. Although both of them knew that the other party's methods were cruel and they could do everything they could to achieve their goals, they still had to do things that were "superficial" and that they would be inferior. It was unwise. Could it be that King of Qi showed me your face and threatened me with the Grand Canal, and I would do what you wish? It was too naive.

Yuwen Shu suppressed his anger and continued to patiently persuade the King of Qi to rush to Xingyang to restore the smooth flow of the Grand Canal as soon as possible. After all, food and grass are too important, which is related to the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians of the Expeditionary Force, the security of the northern border defense, and the fate of the country. It is not to be played with.

The King of Qi was silent until Yuwen Shu said he was tired and closed his mouth, and he said leisurely, "I just received a report from Duke Shunzheng (Dong Chun) that he had captured Jindi Pass and was approaching Tongji Canal."

When Yuwen Shu heard this, he immediately burst into anger. How dare you tease me? Are you teasing me or humiliating the Holy Lord? Yuwen Shu's face gradually became gloomy, and his eyes showed resentment without any concealment. Since you want to tear your face, I will stay with you to the end. I represent the Holy Lord. I can make irrelevant things, or even compromise and make concessions, but I will not give in to any important matters.

When the King of Qi saw that Yuwen Shu was angered by him, he was secretly happy, but his face pretended to be panic and shook his hand repeatedly at Yuwen Shu, "Don't misunderstand me, it's not that I didn't say it on purpose, but that the inside story is far more complicated than you think."

Yuwen Shu narrowed his eyes slightly and sneered in contempt and said, "Okay, it's time to negotiate terms, I want to hear what you want to blackmail."

"What's the inside story?" Yuwen Shu asked.

"Although Duke Shunzheng captured Jindi Pass, the price paid was extremely heavy." King Qi made a specific explanation, "Now the Duke Shunzheng's military strength is less than a thousand people. He is unable to fight again, so he cannot take the Tengzhu at all, and cannot restore the smooth flow of Tongji Canal in the shortest time. At present, Duke Shunzheng has urgently written to King Xun (Yang Qing) and Duke Qiao (Zhou Fashang) to ask them to support quickly, but it is too late. Once the rebels launch a counterattack, not only will Tongji Canal not be captured, but even Jindi Pass will be lost again and will change hands again."

Yuwen Shu knew as soon as he heard this, the situation was deteriorating and the matter was in trouble. The request for help was false and the warning was true. Faced with the open threat of the King of Qi, King Yang Qing of Xun and Duke Qiao Zhou Fa Shang could never support Dong Chun. In this way, his "throat" was pinched by the King of Qi. If he did not agree to the King of Qi's conditions and did not give him real benefits, he might be "trapped" in Li Yang. It seems that yesterday's persuasion played the opposite role. His own false and deceitful deception completely angered the King of Qi. In despair, the King of Qi took the risk and tried his best to fight at any cost.

After pondering for a moment, Yuwen Shu smiled and said, "Shanshun Zheng Gong conquered the Jindi and made great contributions. Just wait for the navy to take down the Tianzhu and King Xun to enter Xingze again. The three armies join forces to stop the rebels' counterattack and completely control the Tongji Canal, so that the smooth flow of the Tongji Canal can be restored quickly."

The King of Qi shook his head and said worriedly, "If everything goes well, the navy quickly conquered Bianzhu, and King Xun can decisively go north to launch an attack to firmly restrain the rebels on Xingyang and Xingze, then they will surely be able to deliver good news."

Yuwen Shu frowned slightly and said in a pun, "If the king rushed to help quickly, all these worries would no longer exist."

The King of Qi looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and finally expressed his position righteously, "Without the Holy Lord's edict, I will never enter the capital, and my army will never set foot in the capital." The battlefield of Xingyang is within the capital, and the King of Qi's army will never set foot in the capital, that is, I will never enter the battlefield of Xingyang.

As soon as these words were spoken, Yu Wen Shu's expression suddenly became solemn, and a strong sense of uneasiness surged in his heart, and even a little inexplicably panic.

The King of Qi had a clear position and would never go to Beijing. In fact, he told Yuwen Shu and told the Holy Lord that at this critical moment, he would not compete for the inheritance of the imperial regime, would not deliberately worsen the situation, and would not let the storm go out of control.

This is the promise of the King of Qi, and this promise is urgently needed by Yuwen Shu. Although he repeatedly advised the King of Qi to rush to the battlefield in Xingyang and led his army to Beijing to quell the rebellion, this is purely a test. If the King of Qi is willing to enter the capital, it means that the King of Qi has not given up on the struggle for the imperial throne. This is a huge hidden danger and must be eliminated to avoid long nights and dreams. On the contrary, if the King of Qi refuses to enter the capital, it means that even if the King of Qi has not given up on the competition for the imperial throne, especially at this critical moment in the short term, the King of Qi will still

Taking the overall situation into consideration, he still puts the country's destiny and the interests of the sage master first. He has not lost the rationality of a normal person. This is a potential hidden danger. He can be temporarily put on it and find a suitable opportunity to solve it. However, after the outbreak of this storm, all the measures of King Qi showed that he would actively compete for the imperial rule. Therefore, after Yuwen Shu arrived in Liyang, he directly set up a "trap" to tempt the King of Qi, intending to kill the King of Qi. He never thought that King Qi would make a promise not to enter the capital.

Now the King of Qi made a promise not to enter the capital, which not only met the political needs of the Saint Lord and the Central Committee, but also made a reasonable explanation for his previous actions. In order to ensure the safety of the country and the safety of the Dongdu, the King of Qi actively suppressed the rebellion. He did not have the idea of ​​going to Beijing to seize the imperial rule, nor did he use the Grand Canal to threaten the Saint Lord and blackmail political interests. In other words, the truth is not important now. What is important is that King of Qi has created a glorious image for himself, and this image is beneficial to everyone and must be maintained as much as possible.

How to maintain the glorious image of King Qi? When the King of Qi quelled the rebellion and made contributions, he would reward him if he had made contributions. This was conducive to maintaining the authority of the Holy Lord and the Central Committee, and also to stabilizing the chaotic political situation after the storm. It can be said that he won multiple goals in one fell swoop. However, King Qi restored the smooth flow of the Grand Canal with his own efforts. He worked hard and made great contributions. The reward could not be light. If it was light, he would not achieve the expected political purpose. So, what was the reward that King Qi most hoped to receive? What was the reward he needed most? The inheritance rights of the imperial government? Entering the Eastern Palace? The crown prince? He went around and circled back?

Yuwen Shu was so panic that he was so nervous. The King of Qi was too clever, turning decay into magic, turning passive into initiative, taking retreat into advance, and instantly threw the "difficulty" away from the Holy Lord. This was completely beyond Yuwen Shu's expectations and caught Yuwen Shu off guard. This was definitely not the idea of ​​the King of Qi. The King of Qi's political skills were not so clever and the game methods were not so superb. There must be "experts" around the King of Qi and he received guidance from the "experts".

"It's good that the king is guarding Liyang." Yuwen Shu spoke slowly, "Hebei thieves are rampant. After the Grand Canal is restored to smooth operation, there is still a danger of interruption. Liyang Cang really needs heavy troops to garrison, and Yongji Canal does need to invest a large amount of troops to ensure its safety, but..."

The King of Qi raised his eyebrows slightly, looked at Yuwen Shu, waiting for his "but" to say later.

After hesitating for a moment, Yu Wenshu carefully tentatively, "However, Hebei's suppression of rebellion and suppression of thieves is responsible for the Hebei ambassador Cui Hongsheng. The king cannot interfere with the stewards." The implication is that you, King Qi, has a 20,000 army under your tent, which is a powerful military force. Putting it in any place is a huge threat to the Holy Lord and the Central Government, and a potential disaster to local governments and local forces. Now you can temporarily station in Liyang, but the storm is over, where will you go? You used to suppress thieves in Qilu because the white-haired thieves were a disaster. Now the white-haired thieves are running away and there is no trace. Do you have any reason to return to Qilu to suppress thieves?

The King of Qi smiled lonely and pondered for a long time, asking, "Duke Xu, will the failure of the Eastern Expedition for two consecutive years seriously affect the relationship between the north and the south?"

Yuwen Shu was shocked. The question of the King of Qi seemed abrupt, but he asked the key points. The current situation in China and Turkey is indeed internal and external troubles, and external troubles are far greater than internal troubles. Before Yuwen Shu left, the Holy Lord said that he hoped that Yuwen Shu could quell the rebellion as quickly as possible, while he himself would postpone his return to Beijing for a period of time and personally took charge of the northern border to deter the northern enemy, so as not to take the opportunity to invade the border, resulting in tension in the border situation and further deterioration of the relationship between the north and the south.

Yuwen Shu became increasingly uneasy. It is normal for the King of Qi to see that "external troubles" are the biggest crisis in China. But what is abnormal is that if the King of Qi used the Grand Canal to threaten the Holy Lord on the surface, but in fact, he used "external troubles" to engage in conspiracies, it would be serious. After all, the King of Qi has a special identity. If the King of Qi launches a mutiny, the harm will be far greater than Yang Xuangan's harm to the country. The rebellion of King Yang Liang of Han was a vivid example.

"Of course it will seriously affect the relationship between the north and the south." Yuwen Shu said bluntly, "The Northern Barbarians on the desert have risen again, their strength is very strong, and they are even more eyeing China and Earth. The deterioration of the relationship between the north and the south cannot be stopped by human forces. For this reason, the Holy Lord launched an Eastern Expedition to destroy Goguryeo to deter the northern barbarians. However, the matter went against others' wishes, and the result was counterproductive. Not only did it fail to delay the deterioration of the relationship between the north and the south, but it intensified the conflict between the two sides. If nothing unexpected happens, in the future, especially in recent years, before our country's strength has completely recovered, the situation in northern Xinjiang is very tense, and a war is very likely to break out on the front line of the Great Wall."

Yuwen Shu's words implicitly warns that external troubles are greater than internal troubles, and everyone should be united and united to the outside world, and no longer have internal conflicts. The interests of the country are supreme. If the country is harmed and the lives are miserable, how can personal interests be preserved?

"So serious?" King Qi looked surprised, "Is there a possibility of a war between the north and the south?"

Yuwen Shuzheng focused on the topic, "Even if a large-scale war will not break out, the northern enemy will inevitably frequently invade the border in the next few years, and the situation of garrison in the northern border is extremely serious."

"I want to go to the northern border to guard the northern border." The King of Qi suddenly stood up, passionately and passionately, "I want to fight against the northern border and take blood on the battlefield. Even if I wear a horse and a corpse, I will do whatever I want."

Yuwen Shu was dumbfounded and stared at King Qi with wide eyes, unbelievable.
Chapter completed!