Plan to cut off the nine states

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Ning Baoguan called in a dozen guards and lined them up in two lines, half with knives and half with guns, all in fighting postures.

Zhang Wenbi stood next to King Wu Yue. He was scared and felt a residual power in his heart. His whole body seemed to be more powerful than usual.

Xu Chu entered the hall and was not impressed by such a posture. He stepped forward and cupped his hands, "Greetings to the king."

He came back last night and didn't have time to say a few words. When he came back this morning, his treatment suddenly changed. He could see that this was all Zhang Wenbi's "contribution".

Ning Baoguan stared at Xu Chu for a while and said to Zhang Wenbi, "You tell me."

"I obey, Your Majesty." Zhang Wenbi saluted respectfully, stepped forward on both sides, and said to Xu Chu, "Do you know your guilt?"

"Convicted."

Zhang Wenbi prepared a series of questions, but was blocked by this unexpected answer. After hesitating for a long time, he said: "Just admit your guilt. Tell me... what are you guilty of?"

"I have three crimes. The first crime is to defect to the King of Wuyue thousands of miles away. The second crime is to send envoys to the army to negotiate peace for the king. The third crime is that I am too ambitious and want to fight for more benefits for the king."

Zhang Wenbi's face turned red and he said anxiously: "That's not what you are talking about. You have indeed committed three crimes. The first is claiming to be a military adviser without the permission of the king. The second is meeting the enemy commander privately and having secret conversations late at night. The third crime is harming the king's personal gain and taking advantage of him." The king’s banner is used to gain benefits for oneself!”

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang is joking."

"Who is kidding you? I have witnessed all three crimes with my own eyes. The carriages, horses and property you received from the court are outside. Do you dare to deny it?"

"What's there to deny? Those things are my fault, not my crime."

Zhang Wenbi turned to Ning Baoguan and said, "Your Majesty, he admitted..."

"You admit it." Ning Baoguan also likes to say dirty words occasionally.

Zhang Wenbi was so frightened that he took a few steps back and almost bumped into a guard holding a gun.

"Xu Chu, you call yourself a military advisor. I don't care. First, let me tell you what happened to the chariots and horses you brought back. I asked you to ask for something from me, but I didn't see you bring back a grain of rice or a blade of grass, but instead gave Get a lot of benefits for yourself.”

"Yes, this is what I call 'losing the king and enriching the private'!" Zhang Wenbi added.

"I am indeed 'fat', but I have not 'lost the king'. On the contrary, I have brought the king something better than food and grass." Xu Chu took out a treasure seal from his arms and offered it with both hands.

Zhang Wenbi took it, took a look at it, and passed it to Ning Baoguan, "It's just an empty seal."

"What's the use of this thing?" Ning Baoguan didn't take the seal and only glanced at it.

"The king once accepted an official position from the imperial court, but there was no official seal, just an empty name. With this seal, the king can engrave any official position he wants."

"Will the court recognize it?"

"An official with a seal is always better than an official without a seal. If the court doesn't recognize him, others will."

Ning Baoguan then took the empty seal, played with it over and over for a while, and sneered: "You keep the carriage and horse for yourself, and give me a stone?"

"There are twenty-nine more of the same stones. I will distribute them to the rebels in the south in the name of the king."

"It's even more outrageous. The king only gets one piece..." Zhang Wenbi was interrupted by Ning Baoguan before he could finish his words, "These stones can make the rebels listen to my orders?"

"Your Majesty received a royal title from the King who came to the world, and he will never be able to lose the name of the 'Army of the Coming World' for the rest of his life. In the same way, those who accept the seal of the King will be hard to change for life. As for whether to obey the King's orders or not, it is not up to me. In the King."

Ning Baoguan no longer listened to the orders of the King of the World, but he was confident that the other rebels would obey him. He laughed twice and said, "These stones are of some use."

Zhang Wenbi realized that the situation was wrong and immediately said: "Xu Chu had a secret conversation with the enemy commander Cao Shenxi for a long time, and he was rewarded with an official position by the imperial court at noon the next day. This is a betrayal."

"Even the king has an official position in the court. I wonder what Mr. Zhang means by betrayal?"

Zhang Wenbi's face turned red again and he stopped mentioning the official position. "What did Cao Shenxi say when he saw you? What's your purpose of keeping it secret?"

Xu Chu cupped his hands and said to Ning Baoguan: "Your Majesty, do you want me to say it now, or do you want me to say it when there is no one around?"

Zhang Wenbi said, "Your Majesty, don't be fooled. Xu Chuping's retreat will definitely be detrimental to Your Majesty. He once participated in the assassination and is very familiar with this kind of thing..."

Ning Baoguan laughed, "I'm afraid of the scholars' evil intentions, but I'm not afraid of the scholars' assassination. Everyone, stand down!"

The guards put away their weapons and walked out.

Zhang Wenbi was startled and took two steps closer to Ning Baoguan, "Your Majesty, think twice, Xu Chu..."

Ning Baoguan said to the guard who was walking away: "Two people, take Mr. Zhang out and slap him ten times to punish him for chewing his tongue."

"Your Majesty, I am thinking about you..." Zhang Wenbi was dragged down by the guards, and his screams were soon heard outside.

"No one is available, so I'll just fill it up for the time being." Ning Baoguan said.

"I am very loyal to the king."

"I don't lack loyalty, what I lack is soldiers, horses and food."

Xu Chu stepped forward and cupped his hands and said: "With all due respect, your Majesty's frequent claims of an urgent shortage of food and grass are just a deception."

"Hey, do you see what I'm missing?"

"A foothold, looking at all the heroes in the world, the most lacking thing is a foothold. The World Coming Army came from Qinzhou, but failed to gain a foothold in Qinzhou. The Shen family came from Jinyang and the situation was better, but their hometown was empty and could not withstand changes. , it will take at least half a year to be stable before it can be called a foothold. As for Liang Wang and others, they don't even have a city, they are drifting like duckweeds in the water, and they have no place to stand. "

"Since everyone is like this, I don't have to worry."

"But the imperial court has a foothold."

"Dongdu? In less than a month, Dongdu will no longer belong to the Zhang family."

"Dongdu does not belong to the Zhang family, but Jizhou does. Tens of thousands of cavalry are on high alert in Yecheng. If they can get help from He Rong's troops, they can sweep across Jiangbei and no one can defeat them."

Ning Baoguan pondered for a moment, "You are much better than ordinary scholars and can discuss important matters. That's right, I asked the court for horses and food just to gain trust, and then took advantage of the situation and seized Dongdu. Dongdu is the most famous city in the world. It is said that the city walls are so high that they can block floating clouds. Occupying it can be regarded as a foothold, right?"

"It is a foothold, and it is also a target of public criticism. No matter who gets Dongdu, it will attract more enemies. , Zhang secretly abandoned Dongdu and moved to Jizhou for this reason. I foolishly think that the king should still go to Jiangdong to seek a real foothold. "

"Everyone else wants to seize Dongdu, but I have to give way?"

"No, Dongdu is the capital after all. If we don't participate in the war at this time, we will lose our prestige and it will be difficult to find an excuse when we plan to attack the Central Plains. For the king's sake, it is better to unite the north and the south and attack Dongdu together. If we don't take it, we will give it to others. After we have a stable foothold in Jiangdong, we can take it in the chaos. This is a long-term plan."

"Is Jiangdong really that easy to occupy?" Ning Baoguan has always wanted to go to Jiangdong. There are many river workers from Jiangdong in his army, and he misses his hometown even more.

"This is why I asked the court for carriages, empty seals and official positions. With these things, I can make the Jiangdong righteous army bow down to the king. With them leading the way, the king will not worry about not being able to pacify Jiangdong."

"Hey, the people of Jiangdong are not easy to deal with. I sent people there. They should have come back long ago, but so far no one has been seen or received any letters."

"I have a little connection with Jiangdong, maybe it can be used."

"Yes, you are the son of the princess of Wu." Ning Baoguan stood up, holding his waist knife, and walked back and forth in front of the chair twice, "Do you know that the people of Jiangdong don't really miss the emperor of Wu?"

"I have heard a little bit about it." Xu Chu remembered clearly that the Jiangdong river workers showed a vague hostility after hearing about his identity.

"According to rumors, the Xu family of Wu State has produced three generations of tyrants, who are more cruel than the Emperor of All Things and have killed countless people. When the Tiancheng army came, the people and soldiers surrendered one after another. No one was willing to work for the Xu family."

Unless it involves the conquest of the Tiancheng Dynasty, the history of the Five Kingdoms is rarely told in the Youxue Hall. Xu Chu said: "The Xu family was unkind, so the country was destroyed, but the seven clans of Jiangdong who raised troops still regard the Xu family as the leader. I want to persuade not the people of Jiangdong, but the children of the seven clans who led the troops."

Ning Baoguan paced back and forth twice, then walked in front of Xu Chu, "Okay, you do have some evil intentions, but don't say more. If I find out you are lying to me..."

"As a great king, you should drive the heroes of the world. Why do you suddenly doubt your own vision?"

Ning Baoguan laughed, "Okay, you are a man, follow me, I will show you the family background of the Wuyue Army."

Once Ning Baoguan admired someone, he would always reward him immediately without any stinginess. He asked Xu Chu to go with him and patrol the whole city, then summoned all the generals, publicly appointed Xu Chu as a military advisor, and ordered all the generals to salute him.

The Wuyue Army has accumulated at least 3,000 cavalrymen, who train day and night in a corner of the city. The food and clothing supply is twice that of ordinary soldiers, and there are nearly 10,000 infantrymen, which can be called elite.

Such an army is far from being able to compete with the officers and soldiers, but it is enough to be the best among the heroes in the south.

Ning Baoguan found five Jiangnan righteous soldiers who were incorporated to lead Xu Chu, and sent another 30 cavalrymen as guards. Zhang Wenbi, with a bruised face, continued to serve as the deputy envoy, but was severely reprimanded. In the future, he would only be in charge of documents and was not allowed to ask about the affairs of the envoy, let alone talk too much.

Xu Chu set out early the next morning, just when news came that the Jinyang Army in the north had made peace with the Liang Army and approached the Eastern Capital together. They fought several small battles with the officers and soldiers, and there were different opinions on the outcome.

As for which son of the Shen family finally fell into the hands of the Jinyang Army, there was no clear statement.

Xu Chu left only one guide and sent other Jiangnan people to the camps of various righteous armies in advance to inform him of his arrival.

Jingzhou and Luozhou are connected by mountains and rivers, and the transportation is relatively convenient. There are more than a dozen righteous armies that have arrived, and none of them belong to anyone. Xu Chu took advantage of the opportunity and used the names of the Jiangshi Army, the King of Wuyue and the court in turn to persuade one army after another to let them go and join Ning Baoguan. Some righteous armies were willing to go with him.

"United we are strong, divided we are weak. No matter which side we finally join, more people are more valued than fewer." The farther away from the Wuyue army camp, the more Xu Chu dared to say this, attracting more people to follow him.

He promised the righteous army a goal: to unite with the Jiangdong righteous army, and then compete with the northern heroes to see who is stronger.

The righteous army was scattered, coming and going, but the number of people was increasing day by day. When he saw the ships of the Jiangdong army, Xu Chu was already the temporary leader of 6,000 to 7,000 people. With these people, he wanted to swallow up the army from his "homeland" - in this army, he currently only knew one person, Wang Dian.