After Shen Hexuan agreed, Yan Sikong left a letter for Ali, explaining that he left without saying goodbye because he was worried that he would keep him, and that he would reunite with She Jun and go to Liaoning together, asking him to take good care of Yingmei and the baby in her belly. He also left two names for their son and daughter in the letter, which the couple asked Yan Sikong to choose.

The original intention of arranging a home for Ali was to be able to keep Ali on a piece of land so that he would not have to wander with himself. Now that he has a wife and children, Ali certainly can't let go. He hopes that they will never see each other again, so that he will not bring misfortune to the people he cares about.

Yan Sikong's hands and feet were shackled and he was stuffed into a carriage. Just as he had come to Bazhou quietly, he left quietly as well.

Shen Hexuan's legs were indeed disabled as he said, and he had to use a cane everywhere. Yan Sikong felt guilty when he saw how he was unable to move, but the guilt was not as great as the regret - the regret for not being able to completely kill Shen Hexuan.

Originally, Bazhou was only about half a month's journey away from Taiyuan, but Feng Ye was now in power and had spies all over the country. To prevent any accidents on the road, they dared not dress up as soldiers, nor did they dare to stay in inns in the city. They tried not to take the official road if they could take a detour by taking a small road, and they hid during the day and traveled at night, walking very slowly.

Yan Sikong had been looking for an opportunity to escape, but Shen Hexuan was on high alert against him, and there was always someone watching him.

One day, they were resting in the mountains, and Shen Hexuan asked Yan Sikong to play chess with him.

Yan Sikong raised his hands and said, "Master Shen, you want me to play chess with you in handcuffs?"

"What's wrong with that? You only have to move your fingers." Shen Hexuan nodded his head again, "and here."

Yan Sikong put down his hands and sat opposite Shen Hexuan: "I haven't played chess for a long time."

"I haven't played chess for a long time." Shen Hexuan gently fiddled with the white pieces. "It's a great pleasure in life to meet an antagonist. If you always win, it's meaningless."

"I agree with you." Yan Sikong picked up a black piece with his two slender fingers and said, "I'll take the lead." Then he placed the black piece in a corner.

Shen Hexuan also picked up a white piece and placed it in the other corner of the diagonal position of the black piece.

"During the days you were recuperating, do you know what the world has become like?" Shen Hexuan asked.

Yan Sikong said calmly: "She Jun will send me intelligence every once in a while."

"Then you should also know that Feng Ye, the Regent..."

"The situation is turbulent now, and his actions are indeed criticized, but the problem is not entirely his. If it were not for the internal and external troubles, and the unrest on all sides, he would have so many counselors around him, and he would not be unable to govern the country well." He had no intention of defending Feng Ye, but it was the fact. Feng Ye was not a talent for an emperor, but he was definitely not a mediocre person. However, he had to guard against internal troubles and external enemies all the time, so how could he have the energy to govern the country?

"You know clearly what will happen if the feudal lords come to power. Now all the nobles are trying to enclose their own territories and become powerful. With the capital in such a state, the local governments will surely become too powerful to control. General Zhao has passed away, and Liaodong is in danger. Within a year, the world will be in chaos." Shen Hexuan made a sharp move.

Yan Sikong said in a deep voice: "I know."

Shen Hexuan said coldly: "You know, you sent him to the Forbidden City, you know, you also burned the food and straw of the King of Chu."

"In fact, whether I am there or not, Feng Ye will most likely win. If I am not there, he will not have the King of Chu as his enemy, and he may win earlier." Yan Sikong held the black piece, thinking about where to place it, "I once wanted to control the trend of the situation by myself, let the King of Chu become the emperor, and Feng Ye and I assist him. In the end, I found that I overestimated my own abilities and the situation is not under human control. Playing chess is just a chessboard, black and white pieces, I can make one move and plan ten steps ahead, but fate, there are many unexpected changes, even the next step is hard to predict."

"You have caused chaos in the world. Do you have any regrets?"

"The mistakes I made and the crimes I committed are too numerous to list, and even nine reincarnations would not be enough to make up for them. But, without me, would the world not be in chaos?" Yan Sikong smiled softly and dropped a child. "Without me, the eunuch party would continue to cause trouble for at least ten years. Without me, Feng Jianping would be wrongly killed. Without me, Chen Yu would not be willing to be an 'exiled' abandoned prince for his entire life."

Shen Hexuan looked at the chess board without saying a word.

"After experiencing so many wins and losses, right and wrong, joy and sorrow, I finally understood that people in the torrent of the times are like a bucket of water. Some can hold more, some can hold less, but even if you throw yourself into it recklessly, you can only create a splash of water at most." Yan Sikong looked at Shen Hexuan, "Of course, this doesn't mean that we should just go with the flow, because one bucket of water follows another, and water gathers to form an ocean. Some things have to be done by someone."

Shen Hexuan sneered, "Arrogant. You always think you are saving the world and the people, but you don't think about those innocent soldiers who died in vain. Why did they have to kill each other?"

"I am trying to save the nation." Yan Sikong looked at Shen Hexuan calmly, "After the great destruction, the great reconstruction will inevitably involve sacrifices."

"How do you know that sacrificing all this will save the situation?"

"How do you know you can't?"

Shen Hexuan gritted his teeth and said, "Open your eyes and look at this country full of holes."

Yan Sikong said indifferently, "You want to drag your sick body to crawl forward, and I want to remove my bones and heal my wounds before I can go into battle lightly. Lord Shen, right and wrong, maybe there will be no answer in this life, maybe today's answer will be repeated tomorrow, maybe after a hundred or thousand years, it will no longer be about right or wrong. You and I are both players in this game today, why bother to argue about who is right and who is wrong, and let future generations judge."

Shen Hexuan sighed heavily, "Now the only one who can save the country from danger is the King of Chu. Only if he ascends the throne can he win over the court officials and control the vassal kings. If we continue to let the Wolf King take over the government, the Dasheng Empire will be destroyed in an instant. You can't put the people in danger for your own selfish reasons."

"If it was the King of Chu who sat on the throne today, would Feng Ye give up? He would definitely fight against the King of Chu with all he had. The fate of Dasheng has come. If there is no chaos today, there will be chaos tomorrow. If there is no chaos tomorrow, there will be chaos another day. Can you cover up this disaster?"

Shen Hexuan looked at Yan Sikong gloomily: "If it is true as you said, the two kings are destined to compete for the Central Plains, is the current situation what you want?"

Yan Sikong paused: "No."

"Let them fight for the throne, waste their military power, provoke the princes to rise up, and the barbarians take advantage of the opportunity to invade. Is this what you want?"

"No." Yan Sikong said firmly.

"Although the current situation cannot be entirely attributed to you, you have contributed to it and played a 'great role'. You cannot deny that, right?"

Yan Sikong looked at Shen Hexuan steadily: "Master Shen, if you want to say something, just say it directly."

"You still have a chance to restore order and turn the tide, as you originally envisioned, and make the King of Chu the emperor."

Yan Sikong shook his head calmly: "I don't have the ability to make Feng Ye give up the supreme imperial power. In fact, you know in your heart that Feng's army has already moved into the Forbidden City. Even if you pay a huge price, you may not be able to defeat him. It is better to save some energy and sacrifice. If you can persuade the King of Chu to support the new emperor and help the current court to rule the four directions, many crises can be easily resolved."

"Feng Ye can't govern the country at all."

"Feng Ye cannot govern the country, but there are many capable people in the world. Now Feng Ye has promoted and appointed all the capable officials I recommended to him. However, he is resisting pressure from all sides and cannot govern the country properly."

"The Wolf King won't give in, the King of Chu won't retreat, and the Chinese people are killing each other. Isn't that opening the door to the Jin people?"

"That's why I'm going to Liaodong."

Shen Hexuan snorted coldly: "What can you do in Liaodong? You are a criminal who is condemned by thousands of people!"

"Liang Huiyong, the deputy general of Liaodong, is an old subordinate of my adoptive father. He is now in charge of the military power of Liaodong. I want to help him." Yan Sikong said expressionlessly, "Besides, only if I show up in Liaodong can Feng Ye send troops to rescue Liaodong."

Shen Hexuan narrowed his eyes: "Are you sure he will send troops to Liaodong for you?"

"He will never rashly mobilize a large army to fight against the King of Chu and the vassal kings, but if I were in Liaodong, at least Quewang would ask for help." Yan Sikong stared into Shen Hexuan's eyes, "If we don't count on Fengye to save Liaodong at this time, can we count on the King of Chu who is busy with his own affairs?"

Shen Hexuan stared at Yan Sikong for a while, then said, "Okay, I'll take you to Liaodong."

Yan Sikong was startled: "Why...why did you suddenly change your mind?"

"Because I received military intelligence today that Zhuoletai has led the Jin soldiers across the Huangshui River." Shen Hexuan said in a deep voice, "Liaodong is in imminent danger."

Yan Sikong stared with his eyes wide open: "It's just the beginning of winter..."

"nice."

"You were just trying to trick me." Yan Sikong narrowed his eyes. "Do you think that if Feng Ye sends troops to Liaodong, Chen Yi will be able to attack the Forbidden City?"

"No, I think the gate of my Dasheng North is unbreakable. This is more important than who will be the emperor right now."

Yan Sikong took a deep breath and his body began to tremble slightly.

Shen Hexuan said: "I handed you over to the King of Chu just to coerce Feng Ye, but he can't give up the throne for just one person. Liaodong needs you more at this time."

Yan Sikong glanced at Shen Hexuan and said, "Lord Shen is very righteous. I admire him."

"You don't seem to believe it."

"I believe that Lord Shen is interested in Liaodong, but I don't believe that you don't have the intention to lure the tiger away from the mountain."

Shen Hexuan curled his lips and smiled: "If we can save Liaodong and take back the capital, wouldn't it be killing two birds with one stone? Feng Ye may not save you, nor may he save Liaodong, but if he has the opportunity to save both you and Liaodong, I guess like you that he will send troops. In this case, sending you to Liaodong will be more useful than sending you to the King of Chu."

"Master Shen has a good plan." Yan Sikong gently placed a black piece, "But you are also in this game, so it is inevitable that you will be blinded by one thing. Don't be careless." He deliberately emphasized the word "careless".

Shen Hexuan looked down and saw that while they were talking, the black and white pieces were already all over the chessboard. Yan Sikong placed his last piece, trapping the white piece in the corner and blocking any way out.

Shen Hexuan glanced at Yan Sikong.

The two of them stared at the chessboard with their eyes downcast, calculating quickly. Finally, Yan Sikong smiled and said, "I won half a piece. Thank you for giving me that victory." He stood up.

"Yan Sikong." Shen Hexuan said, "You are now just a fish in a dried-up chariot, your life is hanging by a thread. If I find out that you have any illegal intentions..." He patted his lame leg, "I will not be lenient with you."

Yan Sikong said lightly: "Then I'll trouble you, Lord Shen, to be careful with me."