[R18] Will drink wine – “About Wine” Chapter 164 [English]

Chapter 159 Nameless

There was something wrong with Yao Wenyu’s medicine, and the doctor in Pan’s house couldn’t explain the reason. This was inseparable from Pan Yuan, who took care of him.Princess Zhaoyue later went to check on the Longyou businessman who paid off Pan Yuan’s debt, but there was no trace of him.Not long after Yao Wenyu left, Pan Yuan fell off his horse and died. The clues about who ordered he to poison Yao Wenyu were also lost, but Pan Lin placed the blame on Xue Xiuzhuo, and the relationship between the two parties in Qudu continued to deteriorate.

Gao Zhongxiong noticed that the atmosphere in the room was getting heavier. When he thought about his friendship with Pan Yuan, he felt on pins and needles, worried that Yao Wenyu would blame him for this.He couldn’t bear the silence, so he said: “Although I know Pan Yuan, we are not in the same way, and we have to have social interactions with each other.” He was not good at flattery, so he started to stutter, “I really admire Yuanzhuo’s talent and learning… During the Xiande period, we were in the Poetry House for a while. Yuanzhuo’s extraordinary appearance made people forget about vulgarity…”

Yao Wenyu waited for Gao Zhongxiong to finish and said calmly: “The past in Nanke is not worth mentioning. It is fate that you and I can meet again in Cizhou alive. Now that I have found a good master, I wonder what your plans are for the future?”

Gao Zhongxiong glanced at Shen Zechuan and said, “I’ve been reduced to this, so I don’t have any plans.” He said with a wry smile, “What I did today is also a joke… I studied hard for so many years in Hanchuang, but in the end it was all in vain.”

Shen Zechuan had a folding fan in his sleeve and felt that it was cold in the room and it was time for someone to prepare a soup.He pulled back from his thoughts in an instant. Yuzhu turned his head slightly and said politely to Gao Zhongxiong: “The situation is unstable now, and heroes from all walks of life are vying to come out. Since Mr. Shenwei has arrived in Cizhou, why not stay in my house for the time being and make plans slowly.”

Gao Zhongxiong couldn’t help but be deeply moved when he heard Shen Zechuan calling him “Mr. Shenwei”. He suffered a lot on the way, and met many unkind men one after another. At this moment, he actually stood up and gave Shen Zechuan a deep bow, becoming even more clumsy with his tongue.Shen Zechuan comforted him briefly, and after another half an hour, Gao Zhongxiong withdrew.

Yao Wenyu saw the bamboo curtain hanging down. After Gao Zhongxiong walked out of the corridor, he said, “Does Tongzhi think this person is useless?”

Even if Shen Zechuan really thought this way, he couldn’t say it directly. He said, “You must have something special about him by recommending him like this.”

“Yes,” Yao Wenyu said, “Gao Zhongxiong, also known as Shenwei, is known as the ‘sharp pen’ in Taixue. When Xi Hongxuan stirred up the turmoil in Qudu and instigated the wave of Taixue, he chose Gao Zhongxiong precisely because of his pen. He was a student who entered the capital in the fourth year of Xiande. At that time, Zhongbo was defeated and the six states were devastated.”Sighing on the Tea Stone” written after drinking caused students to rush to copy it, and when it reached Cen Yu’s hands, Cen Yu cried at the candle and was filled with emotion.”

Shen Zechuan ate tea and said, “That’s it.”

The Taixue turmoil caused by Xi Hongxuan was actually instigated by Shen Zechuan.Gao Zhongxiong led the students to accuse Shen Zechuan of leaving the temple, but was forcibly suppressed by Pan Rugui and Ji Lei. As a result, the trend of the students suddenly changed and turned into a dispute with Pan Dang. Ji Lei and others were caught off guard before they had time to take action, so they lost their position to actively attack Shen Zechuan.

Shen Zechuan understood best what played a key role in that turmoil, including the later Taixue turmoil provoked again by Xue Xiuzhuo. They all captured the public’s aspirations and then took away the direction of the students. Indispensable among them were highly contagious words and articles.Yao Wenyu’s meaning is clear, Gao Zhongxiong’s pen has this ability, he can incite wild waves, and Shen Zechuan needs such a pen now.

“The Chazhou group and the Tongzhi have already made a name for themselves, but they are burdened by Shen Wei. It is not enough to lead the heroes in an open and honest manner.” Yao Wenyu paused for a moment, “Even if the whole story of the defeat is made public in the future, Shen Wei will still be blamed.”

If the name is not right, the words will not be right. This is a problem that Shen Zechuan cannot avoid.

Now Fanzhou’s King Yi drafted a document to attack Cizhou and repeatedly mentioned the defeat. It was a fact that Shen Wei was afraid and would not fight, and Zhou Gui couldn’t argue if he wanted to.First, Shen Zechuan is indeed the eighth son of Shen Wei’s concubine, and he is Shen Wei’s biological son. The so-called “unfavored” cannot quell the public anger at all. It is blood, not a remote concubine like Fei Sheng, who can convince the world with just one mouth.Secondly, the defeat was a tragedy caused by Hua Siqian and others in order to replenish the empty treasury. However, all the evidence was destroyed, Shen Wei set himself on fire, Hua Siqian died in prison, Wei Huaigu took poison, and colluded with the Biansha cavalry to resell the Zhou army’s defense map, leaving no trace.

This is the shadow that always hangs over Shen Zechuan, and it is also his biggest hidden danger.He is gaining momentum in Cizhou, why is there such a shortage of talents?Because the world’s talented people are unwilling to come, they would rather follow a reckless hero like Fanzhou Yi Wang than follow Shen Zechuan.

“Today Tongzhi executed Cizhou aides today because of the public trial. But with the growth of Cizhou and the submission of Chazhou, Tongzhi must first get rid of the title ‘Tongzhi’ if he wants to go further.” Yao WenSeeing Shen Zechuan’s face as usual and playing with the folding fan, Yu knew that Shen Zezai had already thought of it, so he continued, “Cizhou has long been out of the control of Qudu. Using the old name will easily confuse the priority. It is not appropriate to call it ‘Tongzhi’ again.”

Yao Wenyu nodded until the two of them understood each other tacitly.

Shen Zechuan can be called “Tongzhi” or “Zhenfu”, which are his professional titles in Jinyiwei, and they were invalidated when he left the capital.Now he is in Cizhou, and the capital of Cizhou is Zhou Gui. If there is no new title, it implies that he is still a guest, and Zhou Gui is the host.There was an incident in the Yamen today, but the offending staff could still sit in the cubicle. The reason was that they still regarded Zhou Gui as the leader of Cizhou and believed that he was not affiliated with Shen Zechuan. There was a boundary between the two parties.

Only Kong Ling realized the problem early and warned Zhou Gui before his last trip to Chazhou. He also warned Zhou Gui before his trip to Huaizhou this time. However, Zhou Gui really didn’t know the inside story and didn’t react for a long time.

Shen Zechuan cannot become king on his own, at least not now.Fanzhou Yiwang was established so early, and he was the prey standing in front of Qidong.Qi Zhuyin had already calmed down and blocked the gap in the border county, so he had enough energy to send troops to Zhongbo. The first ones to fight were these wild kings.

“Unknown people also have the benefits of being unknown,” Shen Zechuan leaned back a little, “At least Qi Zhuyin master is unknown and cannot bypass the other five states to attack Cizhou.”

There are neither bandits nor wild kings in Cizhou. The Eighth Battalion sent troops to hunt down Xiao Chiye, who led the imperial army. Shen Zechuan was at best a “fugitive”, and Cizhou was “harboring fugitives” at most.Zhou Gui did not blatantly raise the rebel flag, and he was still the “state capital” within the territory. He ignored Qudu’s orders and could use the long distance as an excuse. Based on this, Qi Zhuyin could not attack Cizhou – unless she used the excuse of suppressing bandits to move her troops to the west of Cizhou, and then use the excuse to enter Cizhou logically.However, with such a labor force, the military salary expenditure required will increase exponentially, and the army may not be able to afford it.The best way was to send troops from the Eighth Battalion, with Dancheng’s food support, to be close together, and to use the excuse of arresting and arresting Shen Zechuan to start a war with Cizhou. However, Han Jin was too eager and was not only dispersed by Xiao Chiye, but also beaten stupid by Xiao Chiye, causing the Eighth Battalion to retreat.

But this situation cannot last long.

Because the Eighth Battalion is bound to make a comeback, when the three parties in Qudu enter a stable period, the Ministry of War will re-elect the main general.In order to guard against this situation, Xiao Chiye and Shen Zechuan bought the Beiyuan Hunting Ground from Zhou Gui and used it as a camp for the Forbidden Army.In this way, the 20,000 forbidden troops are the shield to the west of Cizhou, specially used to resist the Eighth Battalion.But at the same time, as long as the imperial army returns to Cizhou, Qi Zhuyin can directly go north to attack Cizhou on the grounds of destroying the rebels.

Therefore, Shen Zechuan is not in a hurry to get rid of Fanzhou Yiwang. He wants to make Yiwang become the mountain between him and Qidong, but he cannot let Yiwang grow bigger.

“I once suggested that Tongzhi take Fanzhou quickly, but now is no longer a good time.” The tea in Yao Wenyu’s palm became cold, and he said, “If Tongzhi wants to raise the King of Wings, he must first cut off his hand extending to the north.”

“A few months ago,” Shen Zechuan’s eyes were clear, “Lei Jingzhe was sent back to Luoshan by Ce’an and became a target of public criticism. He could no longer command the bandits, which caused chaos in Luoshan and internal factions turned against each other. Now King Yi wants to form an alliance with Luoshan, and Lei Jingzhe, who is determined to make a comeback, will not miss this opportunity.”

Yao Wenyu’s eyes moved and she said, “Tongzhi means…”

Shen Zechuan quickly opened the folding fan, covered half of his face, looked at him with a smile, and said slowly: “I want to help him.”

The wind picked up outside the window and it looked like it was going to rain again.

* * *

Han Jin picked at the wall until his fingers became bald. He stayed in Cizhou Prison for almost three months, becoming so thin that he was almost inhuman shape and was insulted by others.At first he couldn’t bear it and would shed tears, but as time went by, he gradually became numb.

“Eat.” The jailer knocked on the cell door one by one with a wooden spoon and shouted, “Eat!”

They are good at this and can quickly scoop out soup and rice, filling the bowl without leaking a drop.When Han Jin heard the sound, he hurriedly approached the cell door and stretched out his hand to reach for the bowl.Unexpectedly, the jailer who passed behind kicked the rice bowl away, causing soup, rice and noodles to roll all over the floor.

Han Jin was so hungry that his stomach was sour. He knelt down, pinched the rice on the ground with his fingers, and stuffed it into his mouth desperately.It was mixed with sand and some pebbles, which made his teeth hurt.He pressed his forehead against the cell door and put his dirty hands into his mouth to pick out stones.

While he was working hard, he suddenly saw a pair of feet stopping outside the cell door.

Han Jin carefully raised his eyes and looked out like a dodge.

Gao Zhongxiong didn’t know that Han Jin would become like this. He wanted to come and see his old master.

Han Jin was Han Cheng’s younger brother, and he was considered a romantic young man in the capital.He succeeded Xi Gu’an as the governor of the Eighth Battalion. He was also involved in the Guangou case and respected Xiao Chiye at that time.

Gao Zhongxiong’s throat felt stiff, and he tried to speak several times, but was speechless.

Han Jin stared at Gao Zhongxiong blankly, suddenly rushed over, grabbed the railing, and asked with a cry: “Is my brother here? Is my brother here?”