At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 399

Xin Pi's words inevitably made Yuan Shao wary.

The Hebei faction has loved and hated Yuan Shao since he entered Jizhou.

I love Hebei because there are so many heroes, whether they are scribes like Ju Sue, Tian Feng, and Shen Pei, or military generals like Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Gao Lan, they all made great achievements in unifying Hebei for Yuan Shao and establishing his hegemony.

The Hebei faction has a lot of talented people, and Yuan Shao can use them very well.

However, everything has two sides.

It is precisely because the Hebei faction is rich in talents and has achieved great military exploits that Yuan Shao's Hebei faction becomes the dominant one.

As a monarch, Yuan Shao naturally did not want to see this happen.

Therefore, after Yuan Shao destroyed Gongsun Zan, he began to consciously support the Yingchuan faction, allowing them to gradually compete with the Hebei faction.

Not only that, Yuan Shao appointed his three sons and his nephew Gao Gan to supervise the territory of a state respectively, and he did not fail to reuse the clan, which was a factor to check and balance the Hebei faction.

However, if Jushou is not killed, Yuan Shao is also worried that no one will be able to control Jushou after his own death.

Yuan Shaogen was basically in Hebei, and the strength of the Hebei faction came from the bottom up. Even though Yuan Shao later deliberately supported the generals of the Yingchuan faction headed by Chun Yuqiong, the Hebei faction still had a very deep foundation.

This is why Yuan Shao had clearly deprived Ju Shou of his military power and imprisoned him at the beginning, but later released him and continued to command him.

"The King of Chu is fond of vain fame. He married famous people all over the world. His reputation moved Hebei. How could the King of Chu let him go so easily when he saw that he was going to see off his bride?"

Yuan Shao's eyes, which were already cloudy and dim, suddenly became a little brighter after hearing Xin Pi's words, and he hurriedly asked: "What's your clever plan? Tell me quickly!"

Just because the situation in Zhao State was extremely chaotic at that time, without the intervention of Ju Shou, who was quite prestigious in the army, not only would it be difficult to quickly quell the rebellions in various places, but there might even be turmoil in the army.

The Four Court Pillars of Hebei are gone, but Yuan Jun still has many middle and low-level officers from the Hebei faction.

Although Yan Liang and Wen Chou of the Hebei faction died in battle first, and later Zhang He and Gao Lan surrendered to the enemy, it stands to reason that the Hebei faction should have been unable to recover since then.

The most important thing is the poor performance of the Yingchuan faction during the war with Zhou Qi, whether it was the grain and grass guarded by Chun Yuqiong that was burned by Gan Ning, or the advice of Xin Pi and others that led to Zhang He and Gao Lan being forced to rebel. This reduced the prestige of the Yingchuan faction and greatly intensified the conflict between the two factions.

However, he still had some sense after all, and knew that with Jushou's reputation and prestige, he would never kill him easily.

Yuan Shao reactivated Jushou under this situation, but he was still wary.

Now after hearing Xin Pi's slander and thinking of his original intention of letting his three sons each oversee a state, Yuan Shao became more and more suspicious of Ju Shou.

Unfortunately, the battle with Zhou Qi broke the balance again.

Looking at Yuan Shao with a gloomy expression, Xin Pi knew his intentions and immediately asked: "Your Majesty, are you worried that killing Jushou for no reason will cause turmoil in Hebei?"

"At that time, Your Majesty will continue to follow the current and leave it in Chu State, so that Zhao's domestic troubles will be solved!"

Especially after Chunyu Qiong died in battle, the Yingchuan faction may not be able to control the army even with the support of Yuan Shao.

Xin Pi pondered for a moment, and then said: "I have a plan, which can not only prevent Ju Shou from continuing to take charge of the army, but also ensure that Hebei is not in chaos, and your Majesty will not be burdened with infamy."

Yuan Shao already felt that his time was running out, and he was eager to eliminate troubles for Yuan Shang before he died.

Xin Pi's eyes released an inexplicable light and said: "Your Majesty's young daughter and the third son of the King of Chu have reached the age of marriage. They can be married according to the old agreement. Since the princess is getting married, wouldn't it be wrong to send important officials like Ju Shu to the Chu Kingdom to see her bride off? Is that reasonable?”

Yuan Shao remained silent, obviously acquiescing.

This is not the case.

When Yuan Shao suddenly heard this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, but after pondering for a while, he said hesitantly: "Zong Zhao's marriage with Chu State will eventually lead to conflicts of interest. Ju Zhiyun Wen Yunwu has been in charge of troops in Hebei for many years, so for Zhao Guo knows the truth very well."

"If it is really used by Zhou Ziyi, wouldn't it be a serious problem for Zhao State?"

Xinpi smiled and said: "Your Majesty is overly worried."

"Although Jushu was left in the Chu State, he was still a minister of Zhao in name, and his wife, children, and parents were all in Hebei. If he took refuge in the Chu State and betrayed his master, he would be disloyal; he would be unfilial if he did not care about his parents' safety; The life and death of his wife and children are unjust."

"If he is really like this, his reputation will be ruined. Even Zhou Ziyi may not be able to tolerate him."

When Yuan Shao heard this, he immediately no longer hesitated, and after sending Xin Pi away, he called Ju Shou over.

"I don't have much time left, but Zhao is worried about domestic and foreign troubles, and I am very worried."

"In the past, the little princess made a marriage contract with Zhou Ziyi's three sons. Now that we are of marriageable age, I cannot break my promise. I intend to marry the princess to Chu State to deepen the relationship between Zhao and Chu. I wonder what Ju Qing thinks?"

Jushou pondered for a moment and then bowed immediately: "Your Majesty is far-sighted and this is a great plan!" After the Battle of Guangling, the offensive and defensive positions of the two powerful countries were easy to change. Considering the current situation of Zhao State, it is most correct to have a good relationship with Chu State. decision.

Although the marriage with the Chu State cannot guarantee that war will not break out between the two countries in the future, since Zhou Qi's two sons have married Yuan's daughters, at least the Chu State will not sit idly by when Cao Cao and Liu Bei invade the Zhao State. ignore.

To put it bluntly, with these two marriages, even if Zhou Qi really unifies the world in the future, he can at least guarantee the prosperity and wealth of the Yuan family.

Therefore, no matter from which aspect, the marriage with Chu State is beneficial and harmless to Zhao State.

A slight smile appeared on Yuan Shao's haggard face, and he said: "This marriage is of great importance, and it is necessary for important ministers from the court to send us off to show our sincerity. Therefore, I want to order Ju Qing to go to the Chu Kingdom to send off my relatives in person. I don't know what Ju Qing thinks. how?"

Jushou didn't think anything of it, and immediately said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will never disgrace the name of the State of Zhao when I go to see my bride off!"

In this way, after Yuan Shao submitted his credentials to Zhou Qi and confirmed the wedding date, he began to arrange the marriage. In the end, Jushu led a large send-off team and sent the little princess to Chu State in a mighty manner.

Xiangyang, Palace of the Prince of Chu.

After Zhou Qi read the content of the letter, the smile on his face gradually became brighter.

"Zhi Xin really gave me a big gift!"

This letter was written by Xin Pi, implicitly asking Zhou Qi to force Jushu to stay in Xiangyang. The purpose was not only to show favor to Zhou Qi, but also to kill people with a borrowed knife.

In fact, since Xinpi first went to Chu as an envoy and received warm hospitality from Zhou Qi, the two parties have always maintained contact, and Zhou Qi secretly gave Xinpi a lot of gold, silver and luxury goods.

At first, Xin Pi refused to accept Zhou Qi's blatant bribery, but he did not cut off contact with Zhou Qi. Instead, he planned to cut ties and hedge his bets.

It wasn't until Yuan Shao's defeat at Guangling that Xin Pi knew that the situation in Chu had been achieved. When Zhou Qi sent people to secretly deliver valuable gifts, Xin Pi accepted them all as ordered, which was considered a disguised acceptance of the certificate of surrender.

Because of Yuan Shao's character, if he knew that Xin Pi secretly accepted money from Zhou Qi, he would definitely not be able to tolerate him.

Although Xin Pi today seems to be still a minister of the Zhao Kingdom, he is actually half a minister of the Chu Kingdom.

Although Zhou Qi despises people like Xin Pi from the bottom of his heart, he is a moth and a pillar of mine. The other party is stirring up trouble under Yuan Shao. For Zhou Qi, there are only advantages and no disadvantages.

No, even Zhou Qi himself was surprised by Jushou's generous gift.

In today's Zhao State, except for Jushou, the others are all native chickens and tile-roofed dogs, and are not looked down upon by Zhou Qi.

Since Yuan Shao intends to use Zhou Qi's help to make Ju Shou leave the center of Zhao's power, it means that Zhao's strength has been exhausted.

Zhou Qi also loved Jushou from the bottom of his heart, a famous scholar from Hebei who was capable of both literary and military skills and was also loyal, and hoped to use him for his own purposes.

Half a month later, Jushou arrived in Xiangyang with his bride-seeking team and was warmly received by Zhou Qi and the civil and military officials of Chu State.

The scale of this marriage was even greater than that of Zhou Ji and Zhou Tong.

At the wedding, Zhou Qi once again reiterated the Chu-Zhao covenant and expressed his willingness to live in peace with Zhao.

When the grand wedding banquet came to an end, Jushou submitted his credentials on behalf of the State of Zhao, and then planned to return to Hebei.

Zhou Qi put down his credentials, looked at Jushou and said with a smile: "Sir, I have been famous for a long time. I only wish I was in the south of the Yangtze River and you are in Hebei. I am lucky enough to meet you now. I feel so relieved. How can I let go just like that?" Mr. leaving?"

"If you don't give up, sir, you can stay in the Chu Kingdom for a while, so that you can appreciate the scenery of the Chu Kingdom!"

Faced with Zhou Qi's kind invitation to stay, Jushou was unmoved and said: "Thanks to the great love of your Majesty, I can't thank you enough. However, the marriage has been completed, and the foreign ministers dare not delay. They need to return to Yecheng as soon as possible to report the details of the marriage to His Majesty. , please don’t blame me!”

How could Zhou Qi be willing to let Jushou leave at this time?

He directly stepped forward and took Ju Shou's arm, saying: "If it is just to report the details of the marriage, a brief memorial is enough. Why do you need to go back in person to report it after a long journey?"

"Sir, if you stay in Chu for a while, I will write a letter in person and send it to brother Benchu."

Zhang He, Gao Lan and many surrendered generals from Hebei also stepped forward to admonish him at this time.

At this time, Jushou had a vague feeling that something was not right, and wanted to leave as soon as possible. However, if Zhou Qi did not let him go, Jushou would never be able to return to Hebei.

Seeing that Ju Shou kept delaying, Zhou Qi immediately looked unhappy and said in a deep voice: "I sincerely invite you, but Ju Qing keeps delaying. What's the reason?"

Seeing that Zhou Qi had become displeased, Ju Shou was worried about affecting the alliance between the two countries, so he had no choice but to say: "In that case, the foreign minister should stay in Chu for a few more days."

Zhou Qi turned his anger into joy, took Jushou's hand and said, "Yuan Hao's term in Jiaozhou has expired and he will return to Xiangyang in the near future. When you two old friends meet again, you should also talk about the pain of missing each other!"

(End of this chapter)