Chapter 185
After the two of them made love, they lay cuddled together on the bed. Yu Ying took this opportunity to analyze the King of Pengcheng with him.
Yu Ying: "I don't have much impression of this person, but I know a little bit. He is a person who values friendship and loyalty, and he is only fighting for power out of helplessness."
As for this person's final outcome, Yu Ying didn't remember.
Fu Wei believed what Yu Ying said.
After a moment's thought, he said, "Those who value friendship and loyalty don't necessarily rebel for power. Born a slave, what they want is freedom and food and clothing."
Yu Ying pondered for a moment, then added, "If Longxi also wants to form an alliance with King Pengcheng, after you meet King Pengcheng, you can decide whether to win him over with power and wealth, or treat him with sincerity. If you choose power and wealth, I'm afraid it will take time."
After all, what they can afford, Longxi County can also afford.
Fu Wei gently stroked her shoulder, not putting pressure on her. "I'll remember what you said. When I meet King Pengcheng, I'll make a plan based on who he is."
Yu Ying snuggled into his arms, stroking his increasingly muscular waist and abdomen with her palms a few times.
He used his male beauty to make her temporarily forget that he was going to Pengcheng and that the couple would be separated again.
Fu Wei's body tensed up, and he couldn't help but smile. He asked in a hoarse voice, "How does it feel?"
Yu Ying smiled and said, "When I first met you, there was only a thin layer of muscle left here. If I had come here later, I'm afraid even this thin layer would have been gone. How could you have regained your eight-pack abs?"
Knowing what she liked, he tensed up and let her touch it.
As he touched her, his breathing became heavier, so he held her hand and did it again.
After she fell asleep, Fu Wei was not sleepy at all. He just stared blankly at the ceiling of the tent, thinking of a strategy.
They will set off in five days, so he needs to make preparations in advance.
If what Aying said is true, and King Pengcheng is not seeking power but only wants himself and his people to live and work in peace and contentment, he must also have a plan.
Furthermore, Huo Shanrong supports Prince Zhou. If one wants to overthrow him, one must first overthrow Prince Zhou.
But now Zhou Yi is still caught in the dilemma of competing for power with the eldest son. If this happens, it will be difficult for him to compete for the position of crown prince after the world is settled.
He had to plan first.
During this trip to Pengcheng, he must seek an alliance with the King of Pengcheng.
Afterwards, King Pengcheng was forced to support Zhou Yi.
Having made a plan in mind, he closed his eyes and fell asleep hugging Yu Ying.
The next morning, Fu Wei quietly got into bed and tucked in the quilt for his wife. Then he left the room to look for Zhou Yi.
After Fu Wei and Zhou Yi carefully analyzed the various aspects of King Pengcheng's personality, they lowered their voices and said, "King Pengcheng has held Pengcheng for a long time without attacking the Eastern Capital. If he isn't wary of us, then he might be waiting for several forces to seek him out to discuss an alliance."
Zhou Yi said, "What good would it do him to discuss an alliance? If we form an alliance, one side will be subservient. What is he trying to achieve?"
Fu Wei said: "We want a peaceful and prosperous world and the well-being of the people."
Seeing Zhou Yi frown in disbelief, Fu Wei continued, "Big Brother once said that when he was at the quarry, his greatest hope was to be free from poverty and become a good citizen, and then to have enough clothes to cover his body, enough food to eat, and enough food every year to live in peace and health."
"If this is King Pengcheng's intention, his purpose for forming an alliance is simple. He doesn't want to put Pengcheng Baixin in danger. If he attacks Dongdu, others will follow suit, resulting in countless casualties. But if it's just an alliance, he can capture Dongdu as quickly as possible and reduce the casualties of the war."
Zhou Yi originally didn't believe that King Pengcheng would think this way, but after hearing Fu Wei's words, he had to think about it.
If the people could not make ends meet, they would not think of rebelling. Who doesn't want to live and work in peace? But the oppression of multiple taxes makes them breathless. If they were not in desperate situations, how could they rebel without fear of death?
Then King Pengcheng might be one of them.
This was just a possibility, and although Zhou Yi didn't dare to gamble, he still couldn't help asking.
"The King of Pengcheng might be the kind of person you described. What do you think?"
Fu Weiyi bowed and said, "I beg you to write a letter in the king's name, asking you to re-establish the laws on taxes and slavery after you take control of the country."
Zhou Yi gasped when he heard Fu Wei's outrageous words: "Fu Wei, you are so brave! You dare to say such words!"
Fu Wei lowered his eyes and said, "Now the Duke has rebelled against the emperor. Your Excellency, don't you think this is treasonous?"
"How can this be compared to that?!"
"Why not? Of course, I'm not asking you to commit treason and rebel against the Duke of the County. I'm just following your lead."
Zhou Yi was speechless for a moment, frowning and saying, "Even if my father takes over the empire someday, he should appoint a crown prince over his legitimate wife. How can I possibly comply with that?"
"Since ancient times, it has not always been the case that the legitimate heir is appointed. The Zhou family also has ancestral precepts that succession to the throne is based solely on ability, not on the relationship between legitimate and illegitimate children. Furthermore, if the legitimate son is unkind, harms his siblings, and even threatens the lives of you and your eldest son, do you still think that if you don't fight for a position, the legitimate son won't target you?"
Zhou Yi was silent.
Won't.
A few years ago, my father was just a prince, but the eldest wife plotted against him and exiled him to a remote village with a criminal charge on his shoulders.
In the future, it will no longer be just Yuzhang, but the whole world.
For the sake of this world, what cruel means can't be used?
How could they not be wary of him for his repeated military achievements?
It would be fine if he was alone, but he has a wife, children and a daughter, so he dare not have any luck.
After much thought, Zhou Yi remembered that Fu Wei asked him to sign a letter in the name of the king, not just to promote the alliance between Yuzhang and Pengcheng.
He put his thoughts aside and squinted at Fu Wei, "You're quite calculating. If the King of Pengcheng really forms an alliance with Yuzhang because of this letter, he'll definitely support me as the heir in the future, or offer this condition to make father compromise, right?"
"Yes." Fu Wei raised his eyes without any excuses.
Then he continued, "Even if it's Muyun Village, I have already made plans to let them support you, sir."
Zhou Yi suddenly burst into laughter, but as he laughed, a bitter look appeared on his face.
Now, before he even entered the city of Dongdu, Fu Wei was pushing him towards that position step by step.
He looked at Fu Wei and said, "You've overstepped your bounds. Aren't you afraid that once I take that position, I'll be wary of you and kill you?"
Zhou Yi's eyes suddenly turned cold.
Fu Wei: "If you are truly afraid of me, then once you take that position, I will leave on my own and live as a free and easy life with my wife."
Zhou Yi frowned when he heard this: "Then why are you scheming so much now?"
"My purpose has not changed."
"Huh?" Zhou Yi couldn't remember why Fu Wei came to him for help.
Fu Wei said solemnly, "To protect myself, to protect my family, and to avenge my biological father, I have never changed."
"If I don't actively seek opportunities to protect myself, how could Huo Shanrong let me live?"
"When the Crown Prince of Zhou ascends the throne, and I, your Excellency, lose power, while Huo Shanrong gains it, how could he allow me, the son of his enemy who was once so lowly that I could now stand on equal footing with him, to survive in this world?"
"Just like Prince Zhou would not allow a master whose achievements surpass his own to survive in this world!"
Zhou Yi's face turned cold.
Fu Wei did not try to persuade him any further, as he had already said everything he needed to say.
The room was eerily quiet. After a long moment, Zhou Yi slowly spoke, "Please allow me a few days to think about this matter."
There are still four days before departure, so let him think about it first.
Fu Wei saw that Zhou Yi had already started thinking about his proposal, so he left the hall.
During the days that Zhou Yi was thinking, he needed to draw up the contract and draft the laws on taxes, penalties, slavery, etc.
Even if it is not used during the trip to Pengcheng, it is still a good preparation.
Yu Ying had seen Fu Wei staying in the house these past few days, reading the laws of the dynasty over and over again, and then revising them and creating new laws.
When Yu Ying saw this, she would also talk to Fu Wei about some modern laws.
Fu Wei was surprised when he heard her say that all laws were based on the people. After being surprised, he felt that it was very unreasonable for this era.
"The laws you speak of are too idealistic for this era. In this era, class divisions are clear. Even if one is willing to work for the benefit of the people, the scholars and powerful will stop at nothing to prevent it if it infringes upon their interests."
Yu Ying sighed and thought that life in this generation was indeed too difficult.
“Although we can’t emulate it, we can still learn a thing or two from it.”
After all, Yu Ying was not omnipotent. Many of the laws she knew were ones she had heard frequently, so she could only briefly tell him about some of the laws she knew.
After three days, with one day left before departure, Zhou Yi asked someone to call Fu Wei over.
When Fu Wei saw Zhou Yi again, he saw that Zhou Yi's eyes were dark and he looked a little listless. It was obvious that he was tormented by his words. He probably hadn't slept well in the past few days.
Zhou Yi sighed when he saw Fu Wei: "Are you sure about the contract? If so, what are the rules?"
Fu Wei: "This is just one of the strategies. If King Pengcheng is after power, I will destroy it immediately and won't let anyone else know."
"What if King Pengcheng uses this as a threat to get me to help him?"
Fu Wei: "If King Pengcheng is unreliable, I would not give him this document. Moreover..."
"And what?" Zhou Yi frowned, thinking to himself that Fu Wei always liked to keep people in suspense.
Fu Wei said, "We cannot let the King of Pengcheng hold any leverage over you. This cursive letter is only a means of swaying the situation towards Yuzhang. You don't need to sign it now. We can discuss this in detail after you meet with the King of Pengcheng later."
"If King Pengcheng is really the kind of person we think he is, he will agree to change the world." It's like he doesn't want wealth and glory, but he wants to support Zhou Yi at all costs for the sake of self-protection and his family.
Therefore, he chose to believe that King Pengcheng might be a similar person to him.
"Where are the rules?" Zhou Yi asked.
Fu Wei handed Zhou Yi the laws and tax regulations he had written over the past few days.
"Since the cursive writing won't be signed, I can only show my sincerity."
Zhou Yi heard this and thought to himself, what kind of rules are these?
I originally planned to just take a quick look at them, but as I looked at piece of rice paper after piece, I would look up at Ji Yan every once in a while.
At that moment, Zhou Yi's heart was burning.
What would it be like if he could create a peaceful and prosperous era?
*
When the messenger from Yuzhang entered Guiyang, Fu Zhen had already rested for half a month.
Fu Zhen is physically strong and has better recovery abilities than normal people. Therefore, even though he was seriously injured, except for being temporarily unable to use knives or guns, he was able to walk on the ground like a normal person.
After he knew he was going to Pengcheng, in order to avoid dragging Fu Wei down, he strictly followed his brother's wife's request to recuperate.
After five days, Fu Wei and Fu Zhen went to Pengcheng under the escort of 500 elite soldiers.
Fu Wei and Fu Zhen left, but Yu Ying remained in the county magistrate's office as a military doctor.
Because Guiyang was close to Cangwu, and Lingnan had already been settled, she wrote three letters and asked someone to take them to Cangwu, as well as some food.
Cangwu is peaceful, but the past year has been turbulent and there is still a shortage of food.
There was still plenty of food in Nankang, and most of the food she had stored had been taken away by Fu Wei to be used by Zhou Yi first, so she asked Zhou Yi to return a thousand kilograms of food first, and then divide it into three equal portions and send them to Cangwu.
One was given to Song Sanlang and his wife, one was sent to Lingshui Village, and the other was given to the Yu family of Yongxitang in Yu County.
Seeing how concerned she was, Zhou Yi couldn't help but say, "The army still needs to rest in Guiyang for 25 days. There's plenty of time. If Madam Yu wants to go back to Cangwu to see her relatives and friends, I can arrange for someone to escort her back and forth."
Yu Ying smiled and shook her head, saying, "Although Lingnan is now considered pacified, there have been battles. I'm afraid there will be dangers along the way. If I drag down the soldiers because of me, my conscience will be uneasy. It would be better to wait until there is true peace before returning."
If something went wrong on the way, the Yuzhang Army would not ignore her. It was not worth it for them to waste time and manpower to save her alone.
After all, compared to meeting in person, safety and food are more important.
She sent someone to deliver a letter, and there would definitely be a reply. It was enough to know that they were both safe, so there was no need to rush to meet.
Old friend, see you later.
Half a month after Fu Wei left, the Yuzhang army began to prepare to march north, and Yu Ying also joined the army.
The army moved slowly and it would take several months to reach the Eastern Capital.
A few days before they set off, Fu Wei, Fu Zhen and their group also arrived outside Pengcheng.
Someone sent a letter to King Pengcheng. Compared with the three months that Guiyang County took to negotiate peace, King Pengcheng quickly replied to the letter, set a time, and allowed ten people to enter the city.
It went so smoothly that even Fu Zhen couldn't help but feel wary: "I thought it would take several letters to get back to King Pengcheng, but now it's going so smoothly, it's hard not to suspect there's something fishy going on."
Fu Wei read the simple and clear letter again, but he didn't think so.
The content of the letter was very simple, just saying that the city gate would be opened at 1:15 pm three days later, and no one would be accepted after that time, and they could come or not.
The writer of the letter is a man who is not particular about details but is taciturn and is also too lazy to engage in intrigue.
"Although it seems to be going smoothly, it doesn't necessarily mean that only people from Yuzhang have come."
Fu Zhen and Captain Gu looked at Fu Wei at the same time. Captain Gu guessed, "Could it be that someone from Longxi has also arrived?"
Fu Wei lowered his eyes to glance at the letter in his hand and said thoughtfully, "If we were the only ones here, I'm afraid we might not be able to communicate with King Pengcheng so smoothly."
"It doesn't necessarily mean that there are only two groups of people from Longxi and Yuzhang."
If they let people into the city three days later, they might still be waiting for someone.
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