"The King of Western Shu is indeed the successor of Lord Yuan." Chang Sheng's voice remained unchanged, "I know better that when Pingde was in Changyang, it was only under the care of Lord Yuan that Pingde was warm and fed. .”
"Indeed, without the young Marquis, I, Liu Chen, would be a dead dog in the coffin." Liu Chen raised his hand and helped Chang Sheng pour a bowl of tea.
The tea was full and overflowed.
Chang Sheng sighed, "Pingde, you are not going to see off the guests. Or, you have already made plans to take over the mantle of the young marquis."
"Not really." Liu Chen smiled bitterly and pointed outside the yard.
"Did you know that there are at least three neighboring families in this mud alley who have all joined the army and become soldiers of Beiyu just for a ration of food? If I enter Xishu, could it be that I want to teach others how to get food? Knife, kill these neighbors of mine again?"
"Chang Shu, why do we study?"
"Mingzhi."
Liu Chen lowered his head, "That's it, you can't have clear ambitions without being indifferent."
At this time, if it were anyone else, he would have gotten up angrily and left the hospital. But Chang Sheng didn't, he still looked humble.
"Pingde, give me five years, five years at most."
"Five years or something."
"The Central Plains will be unified." Chang Sheng said loudly. He raised his hand, imitating Liu Chen's example, and pointed outside the yard.
"Five years from now, the people in this mud alley will no longer have to join the army or become river bandits just for a piece of food. The Central Plains will be unified and we will usher in a prosperous dynasty. By then, villages and towns will be built on this river bank. , there will be new tiled houses, new streets, and new life.”
Liu Chen was silent for a moment.
"Pingde, you have read a lot more books about sages than I do. In this world, you would rather be a fisherman than fight for peace in the world. If the sages knew something, you would probably knock it out in your dreams. your head."
Chang Sheng picked up the tea bowl and drank it all again.
"What did you say about the man in clothes? Let me ask you, in order to compete for supremacy and end the troubled times, did I, Beiyu, make any mistakes? The abscess has grown, so I can cut the knot with a sharp knife."
"There is nothing wrong in Beiyu." Liu Chen sighed, "Similarly, there is nothing wrong in Western Shu, but the people of the world are even more innocent."
"Pingde, this is probably what Lord Yuan is thinking about."
"Indeed..." Liu Chen's eyes suddenly turned red.
Chang Sheng raised his head, "I have always known that Pingde is a person who values righteousness. But you should understand that if these troubled times are unfair, your neighbors, acquaintances in the second lane, and the fourth lane will all be killed one by one. , continue to join the army and fight for peace in the world."
"Five years is not only what I give you, Changsheng, but also gives me my own time."
"Why?"
"I have a plan. After five years, I, Beiyu... will no longer have the possibility to shake the foundation of Xishu. Pingde, you go out of the mountain, let alone the big ones, just for this neighbor, hundreds of mud grass on the river bank Let’s fight for the house.”
Liu Chen exhaled and raised his head again.
"If so, I need a promise from Chang Shu."
"What promise?"
"On that day, I will not kill King Xu Mu of Shu."
"Why?"
"He is the successor of Lord Yuan, and so am I."
Chang Sheng was silent for a while, "I would like to ask one more question, if this is the case, why didn't you go when you clearly had the opportunity to enter Shu and become an aide to the King of Western Shu?"
"He failed to stabilize the dynasty and failed the Marquis' trust."
Chang Sheng smiled calmly.
"Indeed, many people in the world have said that the King of Western Shu is a complicated person."
After just saying that, Chang Sheng stood up and grabbed Liu Chen's hand.
"Pingde, I will take you out of the house. There should be a place for Liu Pingde in this world. From tomorrow on, I will ask the lord to give you the military advisor's ribbon and seal him as the Prime Minister of Lizhou."
"Chang Shu, if I go with you, I will just enter the tent—"
Chang Sheng turned his head and looked serious.
"I can ignore other people, but if it's you Liu Pingde, I'm willing to guarantee victory. You Liu Pingde, you have the ability to move the world wisely!"
"Just like me back then, I went out and walked out of the bookstore. If Beiyu wins, you and I will live together in a thatched cottage and study for the rest of our lives."
Liu Chen's eyes suddenly lit up, and he bowed and bowed to Chang Sheng in front of him.
…
"Brother Mu, we're here!" Si Hu's high-octave voice suddenly rang out as he quickly wrapped the uneaten half of the roast chicken in oil paper.
Xu Mu stopped his horse and raised his head, looking down from a high position. Surrounded by many guards, he could see the outline of the harbor in the distance.
For safety reasons, Lu Xiong sent at least five sentries to patrol the area nearby. Fortunately, so far, nothing bad has happened.
Further ahead, there is a forest road that blocks horses. Xu Mu simply dismounted and continued walking forward under the guidance of a secret sentry captain.
"Chen Lu, is there anything going on here at the harbor recently?"
Chen Lu is the name of the secret captain.
Listening to Xu Mu's question, the captain turned around hastily.
"Don't worry, my lord, there is nothing bad. General Lu Xiong will personally lead patrols every other day as long as he is free. Last month, a group of refugees came, fearing that there were spies. Lu Xiong General Xiong took us, disguised as pirates, and used bows and arrows to scare them away."
Listening, Xu Mu smiled. Lu Xiong is really becoming more and more experienced in his work, and he is worthy of his original promotion. It's a pity that Lu Xiong's younger brother Lu Dang died in the Spring War.
"Where are the ships we built?"
"Master Wei, the people working in shifts day and night are still rushing to build it. Previously, Master Wei also forged a lot of ship bones and let us try it. It is really tough."
The captain paused and suddenly remembered something.
"Lord, I still remember something."
"What?"
"Last month, when the sea patrol ship came back, it told General Lu that it seemed to have seen a group of ships coming from the sea. Afraid of being discovered, they hurriedly avoided it."
"Ship fleet? How many ships are there?"
"Not many, about a dozen ships. General Lu thought they were warships from the Five States in the South China Sea, and he carefully asked about them, but they were not. As a last resort, General Lu could only use trees to cover them, and the port was closed for more than half a month."
"Know."
An inexplicable uneasiness lingered in Xu Mu's mind. In the South China Sea, Fei Lian also said that there seemed to be a third force stirring up the situation.
Looking at it now, it is clearly a real deal.
Following the captain, Xu Mu did not ask any more questions. He needed to see Lu Xiong before he could understand the specific matters.
The harbor in front of us carries too many hopes for Xi Shu. The surprise attack on Beiyu by sea ships, and the ore iron mountains offshore... It is even said that one day the Central Plains will be pacified, and it is possible that this ship port will be used as a springboard to make Xishu become the maritime overlord.
"Brother Mu, Lao Lu came running over by himself!"
Xu Mu retracted his thoughts and only looked up to find that not only Lu Xiong but also his craftsman Wei Chun had hurried over. Their faces were filled with the joy of meeting again after a long absence.
"Lord——"
…
