Chapter 39 The Smoke rises again

"No!" Zhuge Ke was shocked and blurted out, "Prince, how can you have this idea?"

"What should I do? Do I have to take my father's throne to deprive me of the throne? Sun Deng's tears couldn't help sliding from the corners of his eyes: "I know he can't bear it. Although he thinks I'm not an ideal successor, the affection between father and son is still there. He won't do such a thing. If I don't die, won't he be in a dilemma?

"If you die, won't he be more difficult?" Zhuge Ke half straightened up and almost roared, "The king has been fascinated by that woman. He can't listen to anyone's words now. He only believes in that woman. If you die like this, it is not the meaning of the king, but the meaning of the woman. In turn, it makes the king carry the name of forcing the prince to death. Prince, you can't do this!"

Sun Deng looked up at the angry Zhuge Ke, and was in a dilemma: "So... what should I do?"

Zhuge Ke took a few breaths, gritted his teeth, clenched his fists with both hands, and pressed them on the table. Because he was too hard, his joints were white. After thinking for a long time, he took a long breath and said feebly, "If the prince really only has only death, it's better to go to the throne. Please resign from the position of prince. In the future, he will recover from his illness in Yuzhang and no longer get involved in the government, so that he can at least save his life. He paused and seemed to want to say something, but he didn't say anything in the end. He just looked at Sun Deng with pity. There was both disappointment, regret and some reluctance.

"I have resigned, but my father has never agreed. I'm afraid..."

"At this time, at that time, I will definitely agree this time." Zhuge Ke waved his hand and interrupted Sun Deng's words. He was so excited that he was no longer interested in discussing with Sun Deng. Before coming, his father Zhuge Jin said that Sun Deng would definitely make a perfect move and would not fight back. When he came to Yuzhang, he would only run for nothing. He has always refused to believe it. After all, General Bu Qian and his father Zhuge Jin still support Sun Deng. As long as Sun Deng does not give up, Sun Quan can't find his fault. Sun Deng's position as prince just looks thrilling, but in fact, there is not much suspense. With Sun Quan's intelligence, it is impossible for him not to see the problem of doing so. More importantly, Sun He is only 13 years old now. Even if Sun Quan has an idea, he will not be in a hurry to abdicate Sun Deng and make Sun He the crown prince. After a few years, it is impossible that there will be a turnaround. But Sun Deng himself has no fighting spirit, so it's useless for them to work hard.

Zhuge Ke regretted it a little. Maybe he should have known the weakness of Sun Deng's surname and should not have pinned his hope on him. Sun Deng is a good man, but he is not a qualified king. He lacks the necessary power change ability and believes too much in Confucian ethics.

Sun Deng looked at Zhuge Ke, who seemed to have been pulled out of his heart. He sighed silently. He got up and wrote a letter to the study to resign from the prince Shu, and then gave it to Zhuge Ke: "I don't bother the two masters. This letter is Shu, please ask Yuan Xun to hand it on your behalf."

Zhuge Ke did not refuse. Since he could not continue to assist Sun Deng, his second purpose here was to make contributions to this matter and solve a problem for Sun Quan, so as to get closer to his relationship with Sun Quan. It's just that his original purpose was to hope that Sun Deng could persevere, but now he can only retreat to the second place.

Zhuge Ke returned to Jianye with Sun Deng and handed it over to Sun Quan. Sun Quan looked at Sun Deng's handwriting, which seemed to have been shed tears, and was also a little gloomy. He sighed for a long time and put it away, but did not give any reply.

"Yuan Xun, the king of Yue is fighting for thousands of miles, and his troops are insufficient. Now Wei and Shu are actively preparing, and even Luoyang is preparing for support. Do you think I, the State of Wu, also support some?"

Zhuge Ke was overjoyed, but his face was still calm: "I don't think it's appropriate."

Sun Quan's face looked doubtful, but there was a look of approval in his eyes.

"The king of Yue's soldiers went thousands of miles away. He relied on the sailors, but from the experience of the State of Wu and the Wei and Shu for many years, he only relied on the sailors, and he had more than enough progress. I heard that Sashan is the hero with cavalry. If he wants to compete with such an opponent, he can only effectively imitate Huo's riding method in those years. That is to say, the support of the State of Wei is the top priority. For the State of Shu and the State of Wu, even if there are two or three more people, it is not very useful. What's more, the king has supported him with 30,000 horses, far more than Wei Shu, and there is no need to increase it.

Sun Quan nodded repeatedly and looked at Zhuge Ke with a smile.

Zhuge Ke licked his lips and then said, "Besides, Wei Shu is gathering troops, but whether they want to support Yue or have other ideas, it is still difficult to decide at present. We have to be on guard. The king of Yue is far away, and the country is empty. As the same clan of Yue, it is necessary for the State of Wu to assist him when he is attacked by the enemy.

Sun Quan's eyes flashed, blinked his eyes, raised one hand and gently twisted his beard, and said with a smile, "Is there anyone else who can attack Yue?"

"You can't be guarded." Zhuge Ke did not laugh, but said more cautiously, "King Yue is not in Funan, and major events are handed over to Yu Fan and others. Wei Yue has always been very close to each other. This time, nearly 30,000 iron riders in the State of Wei will pass through Funan. In case of any accident, who can guarantee what will happen? With the State of Wu on my side, even if the Wei people have any ideas, they should think twice.

Sun Quan's face stiffened, and then he smiled again and nodded and said, "What Yuan Xun said is that Yuan Xun said that Feng Xian went out. As an uncle, I have to help him look after the house. Alas, Fengxian is still a young man. It's too reckless. I didn't say anything about my own expedition, but also let the prince go out for a trip. As soon as I went there, there was no news. In case something happened, what would happen?

Zhuge Ke picked up the corners of his mouth and soon regained his composure. The descendants of the State of Yue went out to travel as usual. As soon as they left the special pastoral city, they lost their traces. It is said that no one knows where he is now, and no one knows whether he is alive or dead. According to Zhuge Ke's understanding, when the prince goes out to travel, he should not only guard against the danger outside, but also the danger inside. If he wants to get rid of the prince without revealing traces, it is the best time to take action when he travels. Maybe he knew this, so Sun Feng's whereabouts were unknown, but there was no impermeable wall in the world. No matter how hidden Sun Feng was, it was difficult to guarantee that no one would know his whereabouts and protect himself.

In general, Sun Quan's evaluation of Sun Shao's behavior was very appropriate, but he knew the hidden meaning behind Sun Quan's words, and he could only keep silent. Seeing that he didn't say anything, Sun Quan just nodded to show his echo, smiled and said nothing more.

After Zhuge Ke left the palace, Sun Quan returned to the harem with Sun Deng. Mrs. Wang got the news early and was already waiting impatiently. As soon as she saw Sun Deng resigning from the prince, she just smiled, and then pouted unhappily. It is true or false whether Sun Deng resigned from the crown prince. As long as Sun Deng is alive, it is a threat to Sun He. Sun Deng has a high prestige among the subjects of the State of Wu. Over the years, his being demoted to Yuzhang porcelain has caused a lot of rumors. Now that Sun Quan is here, those ministers dare not jump out, but when Sun Quan dies, Sun Deng will raise his arms, which is likely to Those who will ring will gather, and the government and the opposition will immediately change color.

It's not the time to celebrate. Thinking of this, Mrs. Wang smiled again and walked back with Sun Quan. As she walked, she asked, "Your Majesty, what do you want to eat today?"

... In the winter of the fifteenth year of the Republic, there was another dispute between Guishuang and Sassan, who had just calmed down for a few months. On the pretext that several Sassanids were killed in Guishuang, he sent messengers to ask Wang Bo for justice from Guishuang. The two sides did not say a word and immediately fought. The wave seemed to be ready for a long time. Since the Four Nations Alliance, the defense pressure on the Eastern Front has been much less. He transferred most of his troops to the Western Front and hoarded a large amount of grain and ordnance. Therefore, when Ardahir came fiercely, although Guishuang was not as good as before, he still fought with Ardahir several times. I didn't let Aldahir take a big advantage. Ardashier originally thought it was just a battle, but it turned into a tug-of-war. Although the Sassanians had the upper hand, it became a dream to win easily.

Ardahir calmed down and made up his mind to defeat the fighting spirit of the Guishuang people. After a period of rest, the late Guishuang could actually recover a lot of combat effectiveness. In the face of the Romans, wouldn't he be even more sure of winning? He patiently deal with the wave, accumulates strength, and is ready to hit the nobles.

The wave tone is not a fool. He knew that he could take the lead in playing like this. In the long run, he was definitely not the opponent of Aldahir. Therefore, as soon as he got the news of the Sassanian provocation, he sent the messenger Cobrador to Axum.

"Is there a fight?" Sun Shao was very surprised and seemed to be very unable to figure out why things became like this: "Didn't you... just sign the alliance and want to get along peacefully? Why did you go to war again before half a year?"

Cobrador gritted his teeth and said, "The Sassanid is a cruel wolf. How can he be willing not to swallow our precious frost with bones and flesh? The last time they killed Venerable Ma Ming and provoked our relationship with the king to fail. This time, they asked my king to hand over the murderer and compensate them for a fortune on the pretext that a Sassanid died in our Guishuang country. He thought that we didn't know what he was thinking, and he just wanted to take the opportunity to make trouble. My king was well prepared, so he blocked their attack. However, if we want to defeat them, we still need the help of the king.

"The Venerable Ma Ming died at the hands of the Sassanians?" Sun Shao stood up in horror. After receiving Cobrador's affirmative reply, he immediately looked angry and scolded the Sassanians for being shameless. Cobrador quickly advised him and said gratefully, "Thanks to the fact that the king was reasonable at that time and took the initiative to give in. He didn't let their tricks succeed. Otherwise, we would fight with each other. Now that the Sassanids come out from behind, we are about to subjugrate the country."

"We are friends and should support each other." Sun Shao waved his hand and said generously, "Since the Sassanids are immortal, we can't be polite to him." He put his back behind him with one hand and stroked his beard with the other. He took two steps back and forth, and suddenly stood in front of Cobrador: "How long can you support?"

Cobrador hesitated for a moment and stretched out a finger: "With our current national reserve, we can support it for a year at most. After a year, the tax may not be available."

"Well, let's find a way to make him tired of dealing with it. Can't he run? We'll let him break his leg."

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

"The Sassanids are good at cavalry. They have enough advantages in the field. Although you Guishuang are also good at cavalry, you are seriously short of troops. Therefore, I hope you will not be angry and fight with them in the field, but rely on the advantages of your local battle and use the strong city to fight with him. In this way, their cavalry's advantage can't be brought into full play, and they can only confront you under the strong city.

"But it won't work after a long time." Cobrador said worriedly.

"It won't last long. In three months at most, the Romans will send troops to attack behind them. At that time, can he still besiege Guishuang? As soon as he left, you will relax and have enough time to rest. In the first half of the year, when they are exhausted from fighting with the Romans, you will attack behind him and let them run back and forth on thousands of miles of east and west borders. In less than two years, they will be dragged to death.

Cobrador thought for a time, "How is the king going to deal with them?"

Sun Shao smiled with shame: "You also know, I'm good at sailors and can't go ashore, so I may not be able to help much on the frontal battlefield." He raised his hand and motioned the disappointed Cobrador to calm down: "However, I will do a good job in your supply. I can assure you that the whole of Yue and Tianzhu will become your base camp. I will supply you with food and weapons at cost prices, so that you can deal with the Sassanid people without worries."

Kebrado listened to it and was relieved. He secretly calculated that what Sun Shao said was also true. The State of Yue was a hero with powerful sailors and rich people. It was indeed a little difficult for them to go ashore to fight against the Sassanians, and if they could really go ashore, the noble frost people might worry that they would not leave. Now he is willing to supply food and weapons to the Frost people at cost, which is beneficial and harmless to the Frost people. With the help of the Romans, no matter how powerful the Sassanids were, there was nothing he could do to deal with the two great powers, Guishuang and Rome. If it can be carried out according to Sun Shao's plan, for two years at most, the Sassanids will be exhausted like a wolf following a camel.

Just as Kobrador was negotiating with Sun Shao, Quintus came to Axum with Alexander's secret decree. As Sun Shao expected, as soon as he heard that the Sassanids and the Guishuang people were consumed, Alexander was happy to see the hunt. He hoped to take advantage of the empty rear of the Sassanians to recapture Armenia and avenge the previous year. What he is worried about is that the economic situation in Rome has just eased. If he starts a war rashly, the nobles of the Senate will definitely oppose it. Although the Senate has now become a decoration, Alexander's foundation is unstable and has not taken the Senate as seriously as his ancestors, so he can only seek Sun Shao's support.

The arrival of Quintus is in Sun Shao's arms. If he earns less money, he can make Guishuang and Rome tied up with the Sassanians, which is in line with his strategic intention. As long as the war reaches a certain position, whether it is Rome, Guishuang, or Sassan, the national strength will be seriously weakened. At that time, he will become an indispensable force to control the situation. Now the less money will be made up by all-round.

The three parties hit it off immediately, and Cobrador and Quintus left happily. Colalado wanted to rush back to tell Bo Tuo the news of the alliance of the Three Kingdoms. On the one hand, he should be confident, and on the other hand, he should be relieved and not to attack in a hurry. Quintus wanted to go back and tell Alexander that Sun Shao had lived up to his hopes. When he needed help most, Sun Shao did not hesitate to lend a helping hand.

In return for Quintus, Alexander was overjoyed. He immediately prepared for war and expanded Escanomi's new army to 10,000 people. Because Rome's number of citizens who were willing to join the new army was insufficient, Alexander took the more common approach in Rome to recruit barbarian mercenaries under favorable conditions. The Germans, Gauls and Goths swarmed in one after another, and 10,000 elite soldiers were quickly formed. After more than three months of preparation, in February of the 16th year of the Republic, Alexander led 40,000 troops to conquer Armenia.

The Sassans obviously didn't expect the Romans to attack so soon. Shapur, who was left behind in the city of Taisi, had no time to inform Ardahir, and took the 20,000 left behind to fight in a hurry. The two sides fought a war. Although Shapur was brave, he still did not take any advantage in front of the prepared Romans. Both sides At an impasse.

Alexander breathed a long sigh of relief. The first time he led a soldier to win, he finally proved his ability. With Escanomi's new army in hand, Maximus, the former domineering guard, was also much more obedient. He no longer refuted him face to face as before, but listened to him respectfully. What made him more happy was that the new army showed a lot of power in the first battle. In the process of attacking the Sassanids, the phalanx, mainly Roman aristocratic citizens, blocked the Sasian attack, while the barbarian-based cavalry successfully defeated the Sassanid flanks, forcing Shapur to retreat in advance to avoid being surrounded by the Romans.

It can be said that this is the first time that the Romans have won a dignified victory since the battle against the Sassanids. Not only did Alexander feel happy, but the morale of the whole Roman legion was greatly boosted.

Only Maximus felt very uncomfortable.

Maximus is not a Roman. He is a Thracian mixed-race barbarian. His father is a Gothian and his mother is an Alan. That year, Seviru the Great temporarily stayed in Thrace from the Eastern battlefield to celebrate the birth of his youngest son Getta. Maximus took the initiative to ask to participate in a hornage competition. As a result, he defeated it in one fell swoop. Sixteen strong guards were favored by Seviru the Great and became a riding guard with Seviru the Great. After the death of Savru the Great, he served Caracalla, which was killed, and he became the guard general of Elagabalus. After the death of Elagabas, Alexander succeeded to the throne. He was favored by Momia for supporting Momia's mother and son. He became the highest general of the Guards and once became Momia's favorite. For a barbarian, these 30 years have been smooth and smooth. The wishes he dared to have come true, and the wishes he dare not dares to have come true. If someone told him a year ago, he would have been very satisfied.

However, he is very dissatisfied now.

It's not because of Momia - although Momia no longer invites him to the palace to sleep, he doesn't care about it. Although Momia is beautiful, she is not better than a strong barbarian woman for the strong Maximus - but because of the king of Yue. On that day, outside Aksum's post, he was abruptly scared by Tu Hu, the escort of the King of Yue. This was a shame that he had never suffered, who had always been arrogant. He did not understand what he would have a feeling of being out of breath at that time, as if he had met an enemy he could not defeat. This feeling made him return. After tasting it, I became more angry.

Because of his dissatisfaction with Tu Hu, he was angry with Sun Shao. Now Alexander further deprived him of his rights by forming a new army because of Sun Shao's help. He hates Sun Shao to the bone. The victory of the new army was simply a slap in the face, which made him feel unbearable shame.

As soon as he returned to his big tent, Maximus kicked over a table and gasped, like a sleepy beast in the big tent. Alexander's complacent look and Escanomi's proud smile appeared in front of him from time to time at the military meeting, making him more and more unable to control his emotions.

"Father." Arulinus, the son of Maximus, came in with a silver pot and looked at the messy tent. He frowned and motioned his soldiers to clean up. Then he sat down at the table, took two silver bowls, poured two glasses of wine, and handed a glass to the angry Maximus. Maximus took the wine in his hand and looked at Arulinus: "Is it your mother who asked you to come again?"

Maximus's wife, Paulina, is a very gentle woman, and only she can persuade the furious Maximus.

"No." Arulinus smiled and said, "My mother is far away in Rome. How could she know that her father was so angry? When she thought about it, her father only had the possibility of meritorious service. How could she be bullied like this?

"Humph!" Maximus gritted his teeth and said, "He has forgotten who helped him to this position. He has forgotten who is his benefactor. He thought he had grown up and could spread his wings and fly high. He didn't need my help anymore."

"However, without his father's help, I'm afraid he will only fall under the blue sky." Arulinus took a sip of wine with a smile: "A man like this who doesn't know the depth of heaven and earth, if he doesn't teach him a lesson, he won't know who should be respected."

Maximus frowned, turned to the outside of the account and ordered a few words. Then he walked back to the account, sat in his seat, patted his thigh, pointed to Arulinus and shouted, "If you have any ideas, just say it. Don't beat around the bush."

Arulinus lowered his head and took a sip of wine. After a moment of silence, he looked up again and looked at Maximus again. His eyes were bright. There seemed to be a fire burning inside, which made Maximus couldn't help but be shocked.

"Father, instead of waiting for Alexander to lift his father's rights, it is better to establish another emperor while the power is still in his hands, or simply..."

(to be continued)