Shen Yinxu and Sun Wu each saluted Li Ran and said in unison:
"Meet sir!"
Sun Wu was the first to speak:
"These people were the vanguard of Wu's envoy. Because they arrived at Wangji earlier, Wu failed to catch up in time and almost had a conflict with the Chu envoy. I hope you will forgive me!"
Shen Yinxu also said the same thing. Li Ran looked around and realized that it was quite embarrassing for the two of them to meet, so he said:
"Since you are all here to be employed by the Zhou Dynasty, under the emperor's feet, you'd better put aside your entanglements for the time being and put stability first!"
"There are many princes, large and small, who have come to serve as officials for the Zhou Dynasty this time, and the affairs are many and complicated, so I hope you can control your subordinates carefully!"
Shen Yinxu said:
"No! In that case, please ask General Sun to go ahead. We can wait outside!"
Sun Wu coughed dryly and hesitated to speak. Li Ran grabbed Sun Wu's wrist.
"Changqing, you and I have not seen each other for many years, and we have many things to say. Come on, let's go first! Mr. Ye, you are neglectful!"
Shen Yinxu shook his head and said:
"Sir, your words are strong."
Shen Yinxu watched Sun Wu and Li Ran riding horses side by side with mixed emotions.
This was another member of the Chu State's envoy. Seeing Shen Yinxu like this, he also let out a long sigh.
Shen Yinxu came back to his senses.
"Oh? It's Dr. Shen!"
It turned out that this person was none other than Shen Baoxu, the great hero of Chu's restoration.
"Mr. Ye, the Wu people have already entered the city. Let's enter the city quickly!"
Shen Yinxu nodded and gave the order to enter the city.
King Zhen of Chu had experienced the disaster of destroying his country and did not dare to leave the country easily, but this time he expressed his intention to go north to the Central Plains.
He had no choice but to come, so he sent Shen Yinxu and Shen Baoxu.
As for King Wu Fu Chai, because he had first destroyed Chu and then fought with Yue, his morale was high, and he was quite ambitious to conquer the Central Plains. Therefore, he sent Sun Wu here with the intention of testing.
What's more, his current focus is still on the Yue Kingdom, so sending Sun Wu here is also an attempt to make a fool of himself.
Li Ran felt a little sad when he saw that Sun Wu's face had some traces of time after years of training.
When Sun Wu saw Li Ran's hair turning white, he choked with emotion and said:
"In these years...Wu Bu has never been by your side to serve me, and I am really ashamed of myself for not being able to help you solve your problems!"
Li Ran waved his hand and said:
"Chang Qing, what you said is out of touch! Now you have achieved great achievements of your own. I can't even be happy for you! Your achievements are really amazing!"
Sun Wu smiled bitterly:
"Before the event was accomplished, Wu was really in high spirits. Unfortunately, after it was accomplished, he felt an indescribable sense of loss. Moreover, after the death of the previous king, the new king..."
Sun Wu was about to speak but stopped, and Li Ran asked:
"Oh? How is King Wu's husband?"
Sun Wu sighed and shook his head:
"Wu is in the Kingdom of Wu now, so he shouldn't have said bad things about him, but... Wu feels that this person is very fond of merit. While he is greedy for pleasure, he also wants to achieve immortal achievements! He is exactly the same as the King of Chu Ling in the past! Zi!
Brother Xu also feels the same way, so he has rebelled against him several times. Wu is worried about Brother Zixu in the future..."
When Li Ran heard this, he couldn't help but remain silent for a long time. After all, although he had never met King Wu Fu Chai, he was very familiar with King Chu Ling.
"If that fails, you and Zixu will have to retreat bravely and protect yourself wisely!"
Sun Wu nodded repeatedly:
"Wu has had this intention for a long time, but due to the fact that the war between Wu and Yue is imminent, he has no choice but to take action. Wu has been leading the army for a long time, and he can't bear to sit back and watch his men die in vain... But please don't worry, sir. I have made up my mind to fight with Yue once
After the war is over, Wu will dispatch all his men and leave Wu. But as for Brother Zixu... eh..."
"Wu Yi once expressed his intention to retire to him, but he believed that the late king Helu was kind to him. When King Helu of Wu was dying, Wu Zixu also accepted his request. He could not bear to break his oath, even though he knew
King Wu Fu Chai is by no means a kind person, but he can’t bear to leave. Wu is worried that something terrible will happen to him...in the future!"
"Brother Wu and Zixu are close friends, so how could they see something like this happen? But Wu doesn't know what to do? There is really nothing he can do!"
Li Ran said:
"Success will not give way, and it will be difficult to get off the tiger. There will be obstacles in the future. Chang Qing, you can only do your best in this matter now... As for whether he can see through it, it only depends on his own destiny!"
Sun Wu nodded and said:
"Thank you sir for your teaching, I will keep it in my heart!"
At this time, Sun Wu couldn't help but glance at Fan Li beside him, and couldn't help but say:
"Hey, young uncle? You are much older too!"
Fan Li on the side smiled and said:
"Brother Changqing, what great things have you done in the Kingdom of Wu?! It's really admirable! It's fascinating!"
Sun Wu gave a rare smile.
"Haha, young uncle is joking! In terms of talent, young uncle is ten times better than me. I will definitely be able to do something great in the future!"
Fan Li glanced at Li Ran.
"Li doesn't have any lofty ambitions. I just want to follow my husband, and that's enough!"
After the two complimented each other, Li Ran ordered people to settle down Sun Wu's envoy. After saying goodbye to Sun Wu for a while, he went back to pick up the Chu envoy.
When Shen Yinxu and Shen Baoxu saw Li Ran, they also made a big gift and expressed their apologies for what happened at the city gate.
Li Ran said calmly:
"It was a near miss, and both sides showed restraint. I understand the Chu people's feelings because the Chu country is hated for its subjugation, but this time I came to Wangji for imperial appointment."
"You must not bring hatred to your own family because of the resentment in your heart!"
Shen Baoxu cupped his hands and said:
"Sir, what you said makes sense. I will definitely restrain my subordinates..."
In the middle of Shen Baoxu's words, Fan Li suddenly stepped forward and knelt on the ground:
"Brother, please come to me, my brother Fan Li!"
An eldest brother is like a father, so it is natural for Fan Li to give this great gift. Shen Baoxu helped Fan Li up, looked at her carefully for a while, and said with a smile:
"The third brother has grown up too! Okay, that's great! In the past, the third brother was the least worried person in our family, but I heard that you have helped a lot with Mr. Ziming."
"Yeah!"
Shen Wuyu had three sons. The second son, Shen Baoxu, is currently serving as a prime minister or a general in the Chu State. He is famous all over the world for his achievements in restoring Chu. Fan Li is the younger son and has done many great things with Li Ran.
Only the eldest son Shen Hai originally worked and studied in Nanyang. But after King Chu Ling lost power, he resolutely took the risk of being killed and collected the body of King Chu Ling. He stayed in hiding for several years.
It was not until the situation calmed down that Shen Hai returned the remains of King Chu Ling to the royal mausoleum.
And Shen Hai has now passed away, and Shen Baoxu has become Fan Li's eldest brother.
Just listen to Fan Li sighing:
"Li also heard about my brother's rescue of Chu. I didn't help my brother by his side, which is really wrong. I hope my brother won't be surprised!"
Shen Baoxu shook his head and said:
"Back then, when the Chu Kingdom was in dire straits, my father loved you the most. He didn't want you to get too involved in the Chu Kingdom, so he asked you to change your family name back to Fan and follow Mr. Ziming."
"Facts have proved that what my brother and I did was indeed a narrow escape. But fortunately, the third brother is also up to date and has gained a lot of experience in these years by Mr. Ziming's side."
"If my late father is alive in heaven, I will be very happy!"