In October of the 30th year of the king, Handan announced the bad news that the emperor had passed away and the prince died. It concealed the death of the emperor's grandson Li Xin and established the emperor's grandson Li Xin as the throne.

At the same time, under the order of Empress Dong, the court secretly summoned Li Liang, the Marquis of Juancheng, to Handan.

In fact, as early as September, the Juancheng Hou family had already learned about the situation in Handan, and they couldn't help but feel a little secretly happy.

After all, when the emperor, prince, emperor, grandson, grandson, grandson, grandson, grandson, and grandson, Li Liang, the Marquis of Juancheng, was naturally the best candidate to inherit the throne with his daughter Princess Xiangrui and General Zhou Hu.

However, since Grand Master Chen had not returned to Handan at that time, officials in the court, even Dong Hou, dared not talk about the matter of "establishing a king" in the absence of this old minister, so it was naturally difficult to summon Li Liang, the Marquis of Juancheng in advance.

Under such circumstances, the Juancheng Hou family was not able to show their impatient appearance. They obeyed the duties of "Entering Marquis" and stayed honestly in Juancheng. Even at that time, there were many smart people in the court who saw the signs and showed their respect to the Juancheng Hou family in advance.

In early October, just a few days after Zhao Yu left Handan, Juancheng Hou Li Liang brought his sons Li Feng and Li Qin to Handan.

After entering the city, the father and son first went to the palace to mourn the Emperor of Jin, and then they were sent by Empress Dong to invite him to the harem and privately dictate the throne.

In short, Dong Hou hoped that Li Liang, the Marquis of Juancheng, would cooperate with the court and first establish the deceased emperor Li Xin. After the situation stabilized for a while, he would change Li Liang, the Marquis of Juancheng, to become the king under the pretext of "the young king died of illness and premature death".

Li Liang, the Marquis of Juancheng, seemed honest, but in fact he was active, so he naturally would not raise any objections. He even brought Li Feng and Li Qin's second son to show his affection to Dong Hou and respect the latter as his mother. Therefore, Dong Hou was quite satisfied with the Marquis of Juancheng.

After leaving the palace, Li Qin smiled and said to his father and brother: "In the future, the father and the marquis will be the emperor, the elder brother will be the crown prince, and I will be the prince. Brother Zhou's contribution is indispensable. If the father and the marquis... no, if the father and the emperor do not give a heavy reward, the auspiciousness will probably be a mess."

"Shh." Li Feng immediately stopped his younger brother, but anyone could see the smile on his face.

Even his father, Li Liang, Hou of Yecheng, had a little smile in his eyes.

Thinking about it, the once unattainable throne is now within reach, and now the Juancheng Hou is at his fingertips, how can the father and son not be happy? It’s just that due to the national mourning period, I dare not show it.

In fact, the father and son had already discussed it privately. When they received the throne in the future, they would grant their son-in-law, General Zhou Hu as Marquis of Wu'an, and reward him with another piece of land as a vassal. After all, if their family did not have the relationship with Zhou Hu, even if the emperor of Jin, Crown Prince Li Xu and Grandson Li Xin died this time, it would not be his turn to be the Marquis of Juancheng.

Don’t forget that Li Liang, the Marquis of Juancheng, is the youngest among the princes. Even if he excludes the prince Li Xu and the third prince Li Qian, there are three brothers in front of him, the second prince, the fourth prince and the fifth prince. Why is it his turn to inherit the throne?

The court and Empress Dong are not concerned about the face of Zhou Hu, Grand Tutor Chen and Chen Jun Wuhu?

Based on this point, Li Liang, the Marquis of Juancheng, had actually already thought of rewarding Grand Master Chen and the other five tigers of the Chen family. After all, even if he became the emperor, he would rely on these good ministers and generals of the "Chen Family".

It was precisely because they clearly realized this that the father and son solemnly visited Grand Master Chen that day, hoping to get closer to Grand Master Chen.

At this time, the Juancheng Hou Li Liang, in the news released by the court, was about to be the auxiliary minister who assisted the "New Lord Li Xin", similar to the role of the "Regent". However, within the court, the "Assisting the New Lord to handle the government" was actually to make the Yecheng Hou Li Liang gradually adapt to the responsibilities of the king. The real auxiliary minister was still the Taishi Chen, who was about to become the elders of the three dynasties.

Of course, with the personalities of Grand Master Chen, Zou Zan, Xue Ao and others, they naturally would not change due to the change of the status of the Marquis of Juancheng. When the father and son of Yecheng came to visit, Grand Master Chen and Zou Zan still treated the three of them as before.

During this period, Li Feng couldn't help but ask Grand Master Chen about Zhou Hu's expectant brother-in-law: "Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti-Ti

When he heard the name Zhou Hu, Grandmaster Chen and Zou Zan felt very complicated.

After a while, Zou Zan explained with a smile: "I heard that Xiang Xuan from Runan has been restless recently, so Ju Zheng went back to Yingchuan first."

After hearing this, the three Hou and his son of Yecheng did not arouse any doubts. After all, they only focused on Handan during this period, so how could they have the energy to take care of Runan's movements?

After the three Marquis and sons of Yecheng, left, Zou Zan said to Grand Master Chen: "Today, I heard what the Marquis of Juancheng said, I realized that this high prince was hidden and that he would inherit the throne, which may not be a bad thing."

Master Chen stroked his beard and nodded slightly, but then he frowned again.

In fact, the current problem is not who inherits the throne, but the adopted son who left Handan a few days ago.

The hidden truth of the story even Master Chen doesn’t know if he should disclose it to the Hou of Juancheng.

After pondering for a while, Grand Master Chen asked Zou Zan: "Have you sent back the news from Yingchuan?"

"Not yet." Zou Zan shook his head.

The news that the father and son mentioned refers to the news sent back by the spies. A few days ago, after Zhao Yu took people away from Handan, Grand Master Chen instructed Zou Zan to send his confidant to Yingchuan to monitor Zhao Yu's actions. After all, even Grand Master Chen is not sure whether the adopted son he accepted that year would become the biggest threat to Jin State.

About November, while Grandmaster Chen and Juancheng Hou Li Liang and others were co-chasing the national funeral, Zou Zan received the news that his confidant had sent him back from Yingchuan.

He said to Taishi Chen: "Father, the person sent by the child recently sent news. According to him, the news that Juzheng was seriously injured in Xuchang is currently circulating. It is said that after Juzheng returned to Xuchang, he recovered from his injuries at home, closed the door to thank the guests, and did not see outsiders."

Master Chen was silent for a moment and sighed: "He has gone to Jiangdong after all."

Not to mention that Grand Master Chen saw through Zhao Yu's trick of "repaying injuries" at a glance, Zou Zan was also aware of it. He even clearly stated that Zhao Yu deliberately claimed to "repaying injuries": it was just that he did not want the identity of "Zhou Hu" to involve the Jiangdong rebels.

Who is this for?

Isn’t it for their reputation as ‘Chen’!

Zou Zan, who understood this, naturally recognized this brother more and more. Unfortunately, even he did not dare to mention more about that brother in front of Grand Master Chen.

After the funeral, the body of the Emperor of Jin and Prince Li Xu moved to the imperial tomb. The court officially announced to the public that the late emperor Li Xin was actually appointed as the new king. The year name was changed to the first year, and Li Liang, the Marquis of Juancheng, and the Grand Master Chen, jointly assisted the country.

At the same time, the Handan court made a statement to denounce the Yang family of Liangzhou, announced the serious crimes of the third prince Li Qian, the Lianghou Crown Prince Yang Xiong and others who committed rebellion and usurp the throne, summoned the troops of Hebei counties and announced in advance that the attack will be imposed next year.

The news soon spread all over the country and across the world, shocking countless people.

Only then did the people of the world know what kind of great changes had happened in Handan this year? Not only was the capital of Handan defeated by the army of the rebels, but even the Emperor of Jin and Prince Li Feng were unfortunately killed.

Soon, the news also reached Pengjun and Chen Xu, deputy commander of Jiangdong Yishi.

When Chen Xu's beloved Xiang Geng told Chen Xu about this good news with a look of surprise, Chen Xu initially showed surprise, but immediately, the surprise was replaced by bitterness.

Seeing this, Xiang Geng asked in confusion: "This is good news, why is Qu Shuai full of sadness?"

He couldn't understand. After all, as far as he knew, Handan had no time to take care of his Jiangdong Yishishi. Like Taishi Chen, Zou Zan, and Xue Ao, the good generals who made him respect and fear in Jiangdong Yishishishi, are now preparing for the next year to send troops to conquer Liangzhou.

Liangzhou is the jurisdiction of Lianghou Yang Qiu. Liangzhou Yang family has been in charge of Liangzhou for more than a hundred years, and its forces are mixed. Even some foreign Qiang tribes surrendered to the Yang family. Even if Chen Taishi, Zou Zan, Xue Ao and others led their troops to the expedition, Xiang Geng did not think that he could decide the winner in the short term.

Both sides have to fight for at least a year or two, right?

Isn’t this beneficial to his Jiangdong Yishi?

Seeing Xiang Geng showing confusion on his face, Chen Xu sighed and explained: "Everything has pros and cons, and this matter is no exception... Since Zhao Shuai unfortunately died, as I expected, Du Mi, Gan Qi, Wang Si, Sun Yong and others had their own thoughts, and even the three counties of Jiangdong were no exception. If Jin State sent Chen Taishi to lead the army to attack, which was shocked by his reputation, our righteous army would still be able to barely unite and unite to the outside world; but now Handan has clearly stated that it would first conquer Liangzhou next year, which would be detrimental to the unity of our righteous army..."

After a pause, he said with a wry smile: "Look at Wang Su, he is in Kaiyang. He has two or three thousand Hebei troops under his command, but he deliberately does not move his troops. He seems to have never thought of taking the opportunity to retake Donghai County. It is obvious that we are going to let go of our guard and fight with our families so that he can reap profits in the future."

At the end, he couldn't help but sigh again, and secretly sighed in his heart that the Five Tigers of Chen's Party were indeed not famous. Even if they were the "most immature" and the most unfamous queen general Wang Su, his vision was not comparable to ordinary people.

You know, Chen Xu did not take any action during this period. He knew very well that when he lost the commander of Qu Zhao Bohu, his Jiangdong Yishi must have a strong foreign enemy to stop the internal division. Therefore, after Chen Taishi, Zou Zan, Xue Ao and others led their troops to retreat to Handan, he targeted Wang Su, the latter who stayed in Kaiyang, and wanted the latter to play the role of "strong enemy".

However, Wang Su was not fooled at all. He hurried in Kaiyang and did not take a step forward, and had no intention of regaining Tancheng or even Donghai County.

What's more, even if Chen Xu deliberately sent troops to provoke and wanted to lure Wang Su to attack his Jiangdong Yishi, Wang Su was not fooled. He acted as a submissive attitude and allowed him, Chen Xu's army to appear in Kaiyang at will.

Chen Xu had no choice but to watch his Jiangdong Yishi gradually intensify and intensify without external enemies.

Earlier, after the death of Qu coach Zhao Bohu in Kaiyang, Du Mi, Wang Si and Gan Qi began to secretly compete for the position of Qu coach.

Behind Du Mi and Wang Si, the two generals were supported by the gentry from the three counties of Jiangdong, and they suffered little losses in the previous battle with the Jin army. Although Gan Qi was brave, he lost a large number of soldiers at Xue Ao's hands and even almost died in battle, so he was at a disadvantage in the fight for power.

However, Gan Qi, who failed in the fight for power, then returned to Danyang County. With his reputation as a hero of "Zhenze", he quickly gained support from the people of Danyang.

This is amazing. You should know that the bravest and good at fighting among the Jiangdong Yishi Division was the Danyang soldiers. After receiving the support of the Danyang people, Gan Qi immediately stood on the same level as Du Mi and Wang Si.

At present, his Jiangdong Yishi has gradually split into the "Peng County Chen Xu's tribe", "Xia Pi Wang Si tribe", "Guangling Sun Yong tribe", "Jiujiang, Pei County Du Mi tribe", and "Danyang Ganqi tribe" and "Yuzhang, Lujiang Cheng Zhou tribe".

Among them, the "Gan Qi tribe" has the strongest military strength, followed by the "Du Mi tribe" and the "Wang Si tribe", followed by the "Sun Yong tribe", and then the "Cheng Zhou tribe".

As for Chen Xu, both military and financial resources are not as good as the top three. At best, they are comparable to the "Sun Yong tribe" and "Cheng Zhou tribe".

After all, it was because Chen Xu missed the "Zhenze Battle". Although Zhao Bohu was notorious about his old love and appointed him as deputy commander, the generals of Jiangdong Yishi were not convinced by him, especially Gan Qi, Du Mi, Sun Yong, who participated in the Battle of Zhenze, and Cheng Yi, who died in Kaiyang.

Zhao Bohu could still suppress everyone when he was alive. Now that Zhao Qushuai is gone, Chen Xu alone can't order the other generals, and only Cheng Zhou, who once had a good relationship, may help him.

But the problem is that Cheng Zhou could not help Chen Xu much. After all, Cheng Zhou was a general in the rear. After the Jiangdong Yishi and Xiang Xuan's Changsha Yishi formed an alliance, Cheng Zhou was responsible for transporting materials from the three counties of Jiangdong to Xiang Xuan.

To put it bluntly, Cheng Zhou is a general responsible for transporting military supplies. Although he has a large number of soldiers and civilians, most of these people cannot truly serve as combat power.

What's even more terrible is that the materials transported by Cheng Zhou were from the three counties of Jiangdong, Danyang, Wu County and Kuaiji. Putting aside the Danyang County that already supported Gan Qi, the two generals of Wang Si and Du Mi were born in the three counties of Jiangdong.

Under such circumstances, how could the three counties in Jiangdong abandon Gan Qi, Wang Si and Du Mi to support Cheng Zhou?

The only one who would support Cheng Zhou and Chen Xu was the Zhou family, that is, the Zhou family that married the Zhao family in Luyang, that is, Zhao Bohu's grandfather Zhou Jie, and his two uncles Zhou Yun and Zhou Fu brothers.

It is undeniable that with Zhao Bohu's relationship, the Zhou family gradually recovered and accumulated some wealth after fleeing to Jiangdong. Even Zhou Yun and Zhou Fu brothers helped Cheng Zhou jointly take charge of the aid to Xiang Xuan. However, compared with the gentry in the three counties of Jiangdong, the Zhou family was still weaker.

Based on these points, Chen Xu wrote a letter a while ago, hoping to get Xiang Xuan's help.

As the weakest force behind the various divisions of the Jiangdong Yishi Division, Chen Xu could only place his hopes on Xiang Xuan's assistance. If Xiang Xuan from Changsha, Jiangxia, Runan and the western part of Pei County could help him with all his strength, he would have the confidence to talk to Du Mi, Gan Qi, Wang Si, Sun Yong and others about the position of Qu Shuai.

However, what disappointed him was that Xiang Xuan had not responded to him for a long time.

Just when Chen Xu was worried, a soldier suddenly came in and told him: "Supervisor Chen, Changsha Yishi sent an envoy."

Chen Xu was stunned when he heard this and hurriedly said, "Hurry up and be in love!"

Soon, the soldier led a young man to the house where Chen Xu and Xiang Geng were. It was not someone else, but Xiang Xuan's nephew, Xiang Ji.

Seeing Xiang Ji, Chen Xu restrained the joy in his heart and asked anxiously: "Nephew, are you here to deliver the letter on behalf of your uncle Xiang Shuai?"

"Yes." Xiang Ji hugged his fists, took out Xiang Xuan's handwritten letter from his arms and handed it to Chen Xu.

Chen Xu couldn't wait to take the letter and read it carefully. Then, the smile on his face gradually became stiff.

After thinking for a while, Chen Xu smiled and said to Xiang Ji: "The nephew is coming in the wind and snow. It's hard to go and rest for a while. Chen will hold a banquet to greet the nephew."

Xiang Ji did not know the content of the letter written by Xiang Xuan himself, and saw that Chen Xu's expression was different. Although he had some speculations, he didn't say much. He clasped his fists and bowed to Chen Xu, and then left with one of Chen Xu's guards.

Seeing this, Xiang Geng, who had an abnormal expression on Chen Xu, frowned and asked, "What? Could it be that Xiang Xuan refused?"

Chen Xu shook his head and said with a little melancholy: "No, he agreed. He promised to help me stop the division of the charity master, but he asked me to give up the position of Qu Shuai..."

Xiang Geng was stunned when he heard this, and then said indignantly: "What a Xiang Xuan! Could it be that even he is coveting Zhao Qushuai's position?"

Chen Xu shook his head thoughtfully and explained: "He said, he thinks there is one person more suitable to inherit Zhao Shuai's position?"

"He Xiang Xuan?" Xiang Geng sneered.
To be continued...