Plan to cut off the nine states

(Please subscribe and ask for a monthly pass.)

Meng Senglun, Song Xingcai, and Wang Dian came in one after another, lined up, bowed their hands, and remained silent.

Xu Chu stood up to greet him and said with a smile, "That thing again?"

Since the five kings of the Avatar Army sent envoys, the generals of the Wu Army have frequently urged Xu Chu to advance, hoping that Xu Chu would become king.

Song Xingcai said: "The Grand Governor will lead his troops to join the King of the World tomorrow. By then our army will not have a king, so won't we be a dwarf?"

Wang Dian said: "All the heroes have risen together. The Wu Kingdom has not fallen behind others. It should have a king. Even the five kings of the World Army are willing to see the governor become the king."

Xu Chu smiled slightly. Ning Baoguan did persuade him in the letter to become king quickly, but it was just a test. Ning Baoguan had already regarded Jiangdong as his own and would never share it with others.

Meng Senglun said: "The Governor has extraordinary intelligence and outstanding achievements, and is recognized by the Manchu Army. Who can be called the King of Wu other than the Governor?"

"I am the person who changed my surname, not the direct grandson of Emperor Wu. Moreover, I have promised that I will find Queen Wu and make her the king. I still hear my words, how can I break my promise?"

If in Runan City, Xu Chu pretended to refuse a few times before the officers and soldiers arrived, and he would soon accept the king's title. After fighting with the officers and soldiers, he was not so anxious.

All the rebels, including the Five Kings and the Wu Army, faced a serious problem, which was never solved but became more and more obvious. This made Xu Chu very uneasy. Moreover, the Wu Army had a fatal flaw - it lacked generals and relied entirely on Xu Chu. Chu's strategy could barely support him. Bao Dun was a malleable man, but he was injured and stayed in Runan City and did not follow.

The three people didn't care about this. They had already discussed it before coming. Meng Senglun said: "The Xu family was brutally massacred back then, and there were only a few survivors. They don't know where they are hiding. It is not easy to find Queen Wu, and the seven tribes have never given up. After trying hard for so many years, we haven't found any clues. The governor is the son of the princess, and he has personally avenged Emperor Wu. Since he has changed his surname, he can inherit the throne. If God has other arrangements, let us find the real Queen Wu, and the governor can do it himself. Decide whether to meditate.”

Xu Chu still shook his head. He once desperately longed for a king's title, but when things came to pass, he felt that the time was not right.

Wang Dian said: "It's better to have the governor call him 'Fake King of Wu'. The king's title is used to control all directions, and the word 'Fake' means that the throne is vacant."

Song Xingcao immediately said: "No, the 'fake king' will make people laugh."

Wang Dian said: "How about the 'King of Wu'? Take power for the King of Wu and then return it to him."

Everyone knew in their hearts that it was impossible for the ruling king to return the king's title, not to mention that the "King of Wu" had not even found Ying'er.

Xu Chu pondered, and the three of them tried to persuade him. When it came to generosity, Meng Senglun swore to the sky that if the governor did not become king, he and his generals would not participate in the war.

"What do the other generals think?" Xu Chu asked.

The three of them were overjoyed when they saw that the Governor had lost his temper. Song Xingcai said, "All the generals are willing to accept the Governor as their king."

"I'm going to ask people to come in." Meng Senglun turned around and went out, and immediately brought in a dozen generals, three or five from each of the Qi clan, Xiao surname, Jingzhou, and Runan Bao clan. They said in unison: "I'll bow to the ruling king." ”

Everyone knelt down and worshiped. Xu Chu hurriedly stepped aside and said: "Thank you for your support, you have elected me as the governor, and you also want to treat me as the king. It is difficult to persuade with such kindness. The current situation is difficult, and the Wu army has been founded. No one who is not a king can be comforted. Only the king can comfort me. One thing, if you all agree, I will accept the title of king. If you don’t agree, it’s better to maintain the status quo.”

The generals all agreed without asking what the conditions were.

"The four words 'King Wu's Governor' are very good. To the outside world, you call me king. Internally, please call me 'Governor' or 'Grand Governor'. Do not call me 'Minister'."

The generals looked at each other and Meng Senglun said: "Let's do this for the time being. At least let outsiders know that the Wu army has a king and is not without a master."

The matter was thus settled, and the generals announced to the whole army, changed the flags, and engraved new seals, and then sent messengers to inform the rebel kings.

The Wu army was divided into two parts. The infantry remained in the military stronghold outside Shaoyang Gate to reinforce the siege and prepare for a strong hold. Xu Chu led all the cavalry and a small number of infantry to join the Jishi Army.

The Wu army was founded not long ago, and the cavalry was even more crude. Most of the horses were left by officers and soldiers. Most of the Wu army officers and soldiers could only ride. Xu Chu took them on an expedition, firstly to train troops in battle, and secondly to show off their military power and compete with several other rebel armies. In comparison, the Wu army is the weakest and must bluff in order to improve its status.

Xu Chu frequently visited the camp and arranged all major and minor matters in advance as much as possible. He did not eat the first meal of the day until the afternoon.

Tang Weitian came in from the outside, "Young master... the governor... the ruler... that king... well, it's really troublesome."

"Call as you please." Xu Chu said with a smile.

"Grand Governor, I like the word 'big'. Well, that Zhang Wenbi wants to meet you."

Zhang Wenbi was originally an aide of Ning Baoguan. He accompanied Xu Chu on the southern route of the rebel army. He was more of a monitor than an assistant.

Xu Chu didn't take him too seriously, "Let him come in."

Zhang Wenbi was weak. After these days of hard work, he became thinner and tilted more seriously to one side, as if his waist was seriously injured. As soon as he came in, he took a few steps forward, knelt down and kowtowed, "Xiaosheng Zhang Wenbi, Meet the king."

"I don't dare to be the 'king'."

"Kowtow to see the ruler." Zhang Wenbi kowtowed again. Unlike Tang Weitian, he knew in his heart what to call him, and calling him "king" was purely for testing.

"Since Mr. Zhang is an old friend, there is no need to be polite and stand up to speak."

Zhang Wenbi stood up slowly, took two steps forward, cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations on taking office."

"How happy is it that Tiancheng is not destroyed? Mr. Zhang just says what he has to say."

Zhang Wenbi turned his head and glanced at Tang Weitian at the door. Seeing that Xu Chu had no intention of whispering, he had to take another step forward and whispered: "It doesn't matter how you are called internally. Since Zhizheng has become king externally, there is no need to worry about outsiders... idea?”

"The world is in chaos and there are kings everywhere. What can outsiders think?" Xu Chu pretended to be confused.

Zhang Wenbi smiled dryly and said: "The governor forgot, there is a 'King of Wu' outside."

"Impossible. Not many descendants of Queen Wu survived, and their whereabouts are unknown. Where is the King of Wu?"

"King Wu Yue." Zhang Wenbi did not hold back.

"Oh - what can the King of Wuyue think? In his letter, he advised me to become king quickly." Xu Chu kept the letter by his side, took it out and handed it over.

There was only one line in the letter. Zhang Wenbi read it, handed it back with both hands, and said with a smile: "The King of Wu Yue really wanted to be in power and become king, but I thought that the King of Wu Yue had a deeper meaning behind his words, so he only wrote six words."

"Really? The hidden meaning is the hardest to guess. I have to ask him after we meet him."

"I'm afraid it will be too late to ask after we meet, and I am not talented enough. I am willing to go to the government to ask King Wu Yue his intentions face to face, and inform him when he comes back to avoid misunderstandings between the two parties."

Xu Chu frowned, "What you said makes sense. I was only thinking about Wu Jun's affairs and almost forgot about the outside influence. Well, I was originally ordered by the King of Wu and Yue to appease the South Road rebels. Fortunately, I did not disgrace my mission. I should indeed report it. Let’s do this. You bring fifty pairs of armor, ten boxes of money, and a hundred pieces of cloth, and treat them as gifts from Wu Jun... If this is not enough, I will send someone to take you back. "

Zhang Wenbi was overjoyed, cupped his hands and said, "Seeing this generous gift, King Wu Yue must have no doubts about governing."

"Mr. Zhang accompanied you all the way. I have experienced the hard work. I have the same generous gift for Mr. Zhang, but the armor is not included. Mr. Zhang must not like these things either."

Zhang Wenbi was stunned. The same generous gift was twenty boxes of silver and two hundred pieces of cloth. His ancestors had never seen such a lot of property for several generations. As for the armor, he was really not interested.

"This... gift is too generous. I... I am being rewarded for no merit, and I feel... uneasy."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "It is a great achievement to send King Ning as an envoy and speak kind words on his behalf."

Zhang Wenbi had always had a bad impression of Xu Chu. At this time, his gratitude overwhelmed everything. He knelt down and said excitedly: "Don't worry, Governor Xu. Even if I risk my life, I will make the two kings feel like brothers!"

Xu Chu sent Zhang Wenbi out of his account, called Wang Dian, and ordered him to prepare two gifts. When he heard the amount, Wang Dian was surprised, but he didn't ask any more questions and obeyed his orders.

Song Xingcai broke in and said, "Zhi Zhi, why do you give your things to unrelated people? Ning Baoguan is a reckless person from Guanxi. He has never received the support of the people of Jiangdong. How dare he compete with Zhi Yi for the position of King of Wu?" Zhang Wenbi is even more shameless, and giving him a penny is a waste."

There are many river workers from Jiangdong in the Ningbaoguan army, but the "scholars and people" in the mouth of the seven ethnic groups never include real civilians.

Xu Chu smiled and said, "General Song thinks these properties are all 'his own'?"

Song Xingcai said: "It was the ruling party who made a clever plan. We Wu soldiers fought to the death to seize it. Of course it is 'our own stuff'."

"What we robbed is ours, what if someone else robs it again?"

Song Xingcai was stunned, "Who dares to rob Wu Jun?"

"The world is fierce. If we dare to rob officers and soldiers, others will naturally dare to rob us."

"Then... let's fight." Song Xingcao had always wanted to fight a tough battle since the night attack was successful.

"Of course we have to fight, and there are still many battles to fight. If others come to rob us, we will also rob others."

"That's right." Song Xingcao smiled, this was the ruling king in his mind.

"So, 'things' belong to the world. They are sent out today and taken back tomorrow. They are constantly flowing around. Why should we care about whose hands they are in at the moment?"

Song Xingcai was stunned for a while, then cupped his hands and said, "I understand, I am stupid and misunderstood the purpose of governing."

Tang Weitian had been standing guard at the door, and there were no outsiders. He asked, "Does the Governor want to fight Ning Baoguan?"

"How could you have such an idea?"

"If you have to take back something you gave away, doesn't that mean fighting?"

"Whether there will be a fight or not depends on what King Wu Yue thinks. If there is a fight, who do you think will win?"

Tang Weitian didn't even think about it, "Ning Baoguan will win. He is the person I admire most in the World Army, but he only wants strong soldiers and looks down on people like me."

Tang Weitian was very strong, but he looked thin.

Xu Chu laughed, "You are honest, but you are right. The Wu army is no match for Ning Baoguan. More than that, all the rebel armies combined are no match for the officers and soldiers."

"Hey, the rebels have won consecutive battles, and we have just won a few battles. How can we say we are no match for the officers and soldiers?"

Xu Chu sighed. This was the most serious problem facing the rebels. Wu Jun also failed to solve it. "According to what you have seen and heard, has any rebel army actually fought a tough battle face-to-face with officers and soldiers?"

"Why not..." Tang Weitian's first impression was that there were many tough battles. After thinking about it carefully, he found that none of them met the requirement of "face to face". From the time they defeated the general in Qinzhou, the rebels were not officers and soldiers on the battlefield. Opponents often have to wait for the officers and soldiers to collapse before they can "pick" a victory.

"After all, I have won so many times, I can win again." Tang Weitian could only think this way.

"The soldiers have no way to retreat. As the saying goes, the army of the underdog will win. And there is a great general leading them..." Xu Chu pondered for a moment, still without a plan, "The righteous army must unite. No matter how many gifts are given, everything will be worth it. We have to wait until we conquer Dongdu before we can talk about it."

Xu Chu hoped that Ning Baoguan would have the same idea. Otherwise, before going to war with the soldiers, the two families would have to separate themselves.