Plan to cut off the nine states

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Before leaving Mengjin, Xu Chu specifically asked someone why the officers and soldiers were so frightened, but no one could tell him, and no one cared. Everyone was showing off how much they had robbed - this was more important than how many enemies they had killed.

The camp on the south bank was even larger and messier than the north bank, and there was no end in sight.

The Jinyang Army camped west of Mengjin, not far from the Jiangshi Army, and could be reached in two days. It was surrounded by mountains and rivers, and was adjacent to the main road. Although it was not as strong as a city, it was also a strategic location that could be attacked or defended. The military camp pointed to the northwest and guarded a temporary floating bridge.

The floating bridge was originally built by officers and soldiers, but it was captured by the Jinyang Army and became their way to cross the river.

The Jinyang Army was much more regular than the Jiangshi Army, and like the Jizhou Army, it was mostly cavalry, so the camp was larger, but not messy. There were wide enough roads between the tents, horizontal and vertical, so that they could ride in wartime. Few people were allowed to ride horses at ordinary times.

Xu Chu accompanied Guo Shifeng, Shen Cong, and Zhou Yuanbin to the military camp, with the sole purpose of showing goodwill to the Shen family.

Shen Cong and Guo Shifeng were summoned to the central army tent, while Xu Chu and Zhou Yuanbin were taken to a nearby tent to rest.

Zhou Yuanbin was a little nervous and fidgeted, "Is my father-in-law dissatisfied with me? No wonder, I lost Yingcheng and made a big mistake, what should I do? What should I do?"

Xu Chu couldn't help but said, "General Zhou, don't worry, you will be fine."

"Really? I listened to you and didn't seize Yingcheng by force, but I didn't see King Liang, so I couldn't please him, let alone talk about peace between the two armies, even Zhongce... Alas, you have made me suffer." Zhou Yuanbin was eager to shirk responsibility, and even Xu Chu was not spared, as if the plan to assassinate King Liang was well-made and was abandoned only because of Xu Chu's persuasion.

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Zhou Canjun was originally a businessman. He obviously has a rare commodity, but he is worried that there will be no buyer and no attention?"

Zhou Yuanbin heard a little clue, his eyes lit up, rushed to Xu Chu, grabbed one hand, and said earnestly: "Seventeenth Master, save me, I am in a hurry now, I am confused, and I can't see the things in front of me clearly. I must be awakened by Seventeenth Master."

"I can say it, but there is one thing. If you know what the "rare commodity" is, you will inevitably show off everywhere, which will devalue the rare commodity and even cause real disaster."

Zhou Yuanbin was stunned, "In the business world, it is important to say what you mean. How can you have a rare commodity and not show it off?"

Xu Chu shook his head and was about to explain when someone came in.

When he heard that Xu Chu had arrived, Shen Dan and Tan Wuwei came to visit him immediately.

"What is brother-in-law doing? My fourth brother doesn't like this." Shen Dan smiled, as enthusiastic and easy-going as usual.

Zhou Yuanbin quickly let go of Xu Chu's hand and said with a smile: "Fifth brother, you are joking. I am asking the Seventeenth Master for advice. Is my father-in-law very angry with me?"

Shen Dan's face turned cold, "Do you need to ask? Once Yingcheng is lost, our army will be cut off from Jinyang. If anything happens, there will be no way to retreat. Do you think you have committed a serious crime?"

Zhou Yuanbin glanced at Xu Chu and said with a sad face: "You can't blame me, that King Liang... No, no, it's all my fault. I want to kowtow to my father-in-law to apologize..."

Shen Dan laughed and said: "I'm just kidding you. Although my father is dissatisfied, it's not to the point of punishing him. Yingcheng is not big, and there are few soldiers left for you. It is expected that it will be captured by others. Besides, there is no dispute between you and King Liang, so the two armies can continue to join forces. It is a small achievement."

"Does my father-in-law really think so?" Zhou Yuanbin was overjoyed.

"That's what I think. Father is still angry. When you see him later, you have to apologize and try to get his forgiveness."

"Of course. I came here with the intention of apologizing."

"Then why are you still standing here? Go to stand guard in front of father's tent and let him see that you really want to apologize."

Zhou Yuanbin suddenly realized and slapped his forehead. "Fifth brother is right. I'll go right now. I'll kneel in front of the tent..." He ran out before he finished speaking.

While the two were talking, Tan Wuwei came to Xu Chu, walked back and forth, and kept his eyes on him, but did not speak.

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Brother, don't you recognize me?"

"Have you changed?"

"I got a little tanned."

Tan Wuwei shook his head, "My mind has changed. In Jinyang and Yingcheng, you were ambitious. I could tell when we first met, so I made friends with you. Now, you are ambitious and aspirational, as if you are ten years older."

"Brother, have you learned the art of judging people from elder brother?" Xu Chu smiled unchanged, but he admired Tan Wuwei's accurate vision in his heart.

Shen Dan stepped forward and said, "Brother, stay with me in the central army tent. Come over later and let the fourth brother take a good look."

Tan Wuwei still shook his head, "For example, when climbing a mountain, when you are ambitious, you look at the mountain like a sword or a beauty, and you must get it as soon as possible. The higher and more dangerous the mountain is, the happier you are. Once you lose your spirit, you look at the mountain like a stench, and it is difficult to move forward even half a step. You just want to go against the way. Alas, the fourth brother is no longer a person of my way. It's a pity and a pity."

Tan Wuwei actually walked out of the tent with a long sword, and even refused to listen to an explanation.

Xu Chu didn't want to explain.

Shen Dan said, "What happened to the fourth brother?"

"Nothing, just a little confused... Anyway, it's not important. You came at the right time. I heard rumors in Yingcheng that someone wanted to assassinate Shen Mushou."

Shen Dan raised his eyebrows slightly, "Hey, Dongdu hasn't been captured yet, and the same people are going to fight each other. The so-called coalition is just to deceive each other's trust and facilitate the assassination."

"Has the third brother been prepared?"

"We have been prepared since we crossed the river." Shen Dan sat down and stared at Xu Chu for a while, "Don't take the second brother's words to heart. He was the first to propose a side attack plan, expecting that the officers and soldiers would be there. He built a bridge upstream to cross the river, but after Mengjin's great victory, he was not appreciated and was dissatisfied because his first contribution was given to others."

"Why doesn't Shen Mu Shou reward those who have meritorious service?" Xu Chu was surprised, thinking that Tan Wuwei deserved a heavy reward.

"Haha, my father was prejudiced and my second brother was a little too anxious. On the first day after crossing the river, he asked his father for troops and wanted to attack Dongdu. After arriving at Mengjin, he urged his father to attack as soon as possible. My father didn't agree, so it was a loss. I don’t agree, otherwise, even if we can defeat the officers and soldiers, our army’s casualties will definitely be high.”

Xu Chu has always been curious about this incident, "Why did the officers and soldiers collapse? The World Army claimed that it was Maitreya Buddha. I think there must be other reasons?"

"I captured some prisoners. According to them, that night, news suddenly spread in the camp that Dongdu had fallen. The emperor and the empress dowager moved to Jizhou. Lan Xun put on civilian clothes and escaped at night without knowing his whereabouts."

"So simple?"

"Well, all the officers and soldiers believed it, so they left in a hurry."

"How is the actual situation in Dongdu?"

"The situation inside Dongdu City is unknown, but there are indeed several armies on the periphery. They are rebels who came from Jingzhou and other places. The rumors probably came from this. My father has sent people to contact the rebels, and they will get a reply soon. This time it is really true. The world is in chaos. It is said that the states south of the Yangtze River are more chaotic than those in the north. Tiancheng only has one city left in the east capital to defend."

Xu Chu had already seen the envoys rushing from various places in Yecheng, so he was not particularly surprised by the chaos, so he roughly told what he saw and heard in Yecheng, still keeping his promise and not leaking Zhang Shiyu's words.

Shen Dan guessed it himself and said with a smile: "Is the King of Jibei moving to Jizhou to become independent? Even the Zhang family feels that Dongdu is difficult to hold. The second brother is right. Jinyang's army should have been approaching Dongdu a long time ago. …Fourth brother has something to say?”

Xu Chu stared at him for a long time, which made Shen Dan feel strange.

"I will only ask once. Third brother can answer if he wants to. If he doesn't want to answer, I won't ask further questions."

"Although we are sworn sworn brothers, we are the only brothers who share the same love with each other. Why did the fourth brother suddenly see each other?"

"Does the third brother intend to suppress Tan Wuwei and wait until he takes power before re-employing him?"

Shen Dan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "I understand, the fourth brother has not been summoned by my father for a long time, and he feels that he is being left out, so he becomes suspicious and uses the second brother to wake me up."

Shen Dan cleverly turned the topic to Xu Chu himself. Xu Chu sighed in his heart, but he didn't ask further questions and said with a smile: "The third brother saw through it."

"Since my fourth brother has asked, I have to answer, let alone lie. To be honest, although my father has raised an army, he has been hesitant in his heart and has been reluctant to become king. The people he appoints are old people from Bingzhou, and he is quite suspicious of outsiders. Not only the second brother and the fourth brother, but also those who came from all over the world were given idle positions. I tried to persuade him many times, but my father just said to wait and observe more before making a decision. He also said that I was too young and could not calm down. gas."

Xu Chu is often said to be "too young". He understands this very well and said with a smile: "Then just wait a little longer."

"It is a good thing and a bad thing that all the heroes are coming together now. It is a good thing that all four sides are working together to defeat Tiancheng. After Tiancheng is destroyed, there will be many people who want to be the top, and the war will be difficult to end. This is a bad thing. Jinyang will soon need to fight from all sides. When the time comes, I can’t help my father not using outsiders, so my fourth brother can rest assured that the time is coming soon.”

Xu Chu cupped his hands and said, "It's just me who's overthinking. I still don't know something. Zhou Canjun is familiar with the Northerners. Why did you take him south?"

Shen Dan laughed and said: "Fourth brother really has to see everything clearly. This was also my father's idea. He thought that He Rongbu always feared the strong and bullied the weak. If he sent people to negotiate peace too early, he would be despised, so We need to wait until we have a solid footing before sending my brother-in-law to go north. My brother-in-law doesn’t know how important he will be in the future and is always worried about his unstable position. Although it’s ridiculous, he will do his best when he goes north in the future.”

Suppress first and then raise. If you want to use it, you must first trap it. This is the Shen family's imperial technique. It has the demeanor of an imperial family. Xu Chu couldn't help but think that this trick seemed to be used too early.

"Just talk, I'll go get some wine to wash away the dust of my fourth brother."

"Business matters, third brother, go and do your work first. Shen Mu Shouyuan and King Liang will join forces to surround the Eastern Capital. That's enough."

"At this time, other than joining forces, what other choice is there? First conquer Dongdu, and then discuss grudges. King Liang has courage and deserves respect. I know that my fourth brother and King Liang have a good relationship. Where to go from now on, I will not interfere. I will only I hope my fourth brother will think carefully."

In the past, Xu Chu would have chosen the Shen family without hesitation, but now he was not so sure. He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, I don't want to go there now."

Shen Dan sighed softly, "Maybe the second brother is right. The fourth brother... has really changed. What happened during the trip to Yecheng that made the fourth brother so depressed?"

"I'm thinking...I don't know what I'm thinking." Xu Chu told the truth.

"Zhang Shiyu tried his best to win over his fourth brother, right? Allow me to say more, the heroes are swarming, and you can choose whoever is the leader. Just don't come back to the Zhang family again. It is ominous for people who die in heaven."

"Why do I have to 'choose the Lord'? What if I 'choose the Lord' myself?"

Shen Dan was stunned, not expecting Xu Chu to say such a sentence.

Xu Chu was also stunned. He didn't expect that he would have such worries. Then he felt relieved and realized that he had indeed harbored alien intentions, and it had been for a long time.