Plan to cut off the nine states

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Lou Shuo, the seventh son of the Lou family, was sitting in the tent, nervously shaking his right leg. Once he noticed it, he stretched out his hand to hold it down, but soon, the leg would beat involuntarily again, getting more serious each time.

Lou Shuo simply put his hand on his leg, gritted his teeth, and tried his best to fight it.

Xu Chu entered the tent and stood at the door for a while. Only then did Lou Shuo realize that there was someone around him. He immediately stood up and looked at his seventeenth brother in surprise. He was speechless for a long time.

"Xu Chu, what gust of wind brought Mr. Lou Qi here?"

Lou Shuo was finally able to speak, "Brother Seventeen...has he really changed his surname?"

"Well, so we are just old friends, not brothers. Please sit down."

Lou Shuo sat down slowly. He was so surprised that his legs stopped shaking. He stared at Xu Chu and said: "Seventeen... Mr. Xu has changed a lot. It has only been a few months..."

Xu Chu had no intention of reminiscing about the past, so he interrupted: "Why are Mr. Lou Qi here? Did the general send you here?"

Lou Shuo shook his head, "Mrs. Lan... sent me here."

"Yeah." Xu Chu guessed that Lou Shuo had to come, and Mrs. Lan definitely didn't give him much choice.

Lou Shuo let out a long sigh, "There is no need for things to get to this point..."

"It's better than this." Xu Chu interrupted Lou Shuo again, "If you have anything to say, say it directly. I will give you the answer now. As for how to describe it to Mrs. Lan after returning to Dongdu, you can do whatever you want."

Lou Shuo was in a daze for a while. The Seventeenth Brother in his memory was a taciturn and good at sneaking around. He was always careful when speaking, revealing three points and hiding the other. However, the Xu Chu in front of him had to "speak directly if you have anything to say." ".

"That... Mrs. Lan said that as long as you are willing to come back, you will be exempted from the crime of assassination and your imprisonment will be removed. When the army in the building attacks the king, you will be the general of the army."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Do you know who I am now?"

"It is said that he is the ruling king and chief governor of Wu State." Lou Shuo frowned slightly and said seriously: "You don't take this identity seriously, do you?"

"Why not? This is the Wu Army camp, you can see it with your own eyes."

Lou Shuo chuckled and said, "If you want to speak directly, I will say it. The court has already heard that although there are many rebel kings, there are only two strong ones: one is some incarnation king from Qinzhou , there were many thieves under his command, but they were large and unruly, chaotic and disorderly, and they were defeated in one attack; the other was the self-proclaimed King of Jin of the Shen family in Bingzhou. He was thousands of miles away, and before a victory was achieved, he began to fight against each other between father and son, which must have a beginning but no end. The rest of the kings - don't be angry, it's you who let me speak frankly - they are all vulnerable."

"In this case, why has the imperial court been reluctant to send troops to fight, but instead defended itself?"

"The imperial court wants to catch all the rebels, so it will not send troops until all the rebels have arrived."

Xu Chu laughed and kept laughing. Lou Shuo was a little angry, "Am I wrong?"

"Although there are many kings, all the rebel armies are one family. How can there be distinction between strong and weak? As for the imperial court's delay in attacking, is it because no one can command the entire army?"

Lou Shuo was silent, and Xu Chu continued: "I heard that the imperial court has re-appointed the general, but it is impossible for the Lan and Liang families to let go of their military power. They must be restrained from the side, preventing the general from using his full power. In the Lou family for so many years, the relationship between You must have heard of the general's fighting style. If he makes the decision, he will definitely line up outside the wall. The infantry will advance layer by layer, the cavalry will flank the enemy, and the other group of troops will cut off the enemy's rear. He will never take a defensive position. "

Lou Shuo laughed dryly, "Mr. Xu has never been in the army, but he is quite familiar with his father's fighting style."

"Although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, I have heard it with my ears. Unfortunately, the general is just a banner launched by the Lan and Liang families to stabilize the morale of the army. His fighting style is not used. The rebels launched a strong attack and the long siege can be broken in one day. The Eastern Capital We can last for ten days at most. You come to persuade me to go back, but I want to persuade you to stay. If the Lou family loses its power, the building will collapse. If we don't make plans in advance, it will inevitably become an egg that overthrows the nest. "

Lou Shuo sighed again, "Mrs. Lan has high expectations for you. I thought... the general also regretted his original decision. He often said that there was no one around him, so he had to choose from many descendants. Only Seventeen was available."

Xu Chu said expressionlessly, "General, please protect yourself first."

Seeing that his persuasion failed, Lou Shuo simply gave up and started talking about other things instead, saying with a smile: "Come to think of it, you did great harm to Uncle Guan. He was defeated in Runan and was imprisoned as soon as he returned to the Eastern Capital."

"When two armies clash, there will be a victory and a defeat."

"Haha, Xi Yuanyu escaped with his life and put all the blame for the defeat on Uncle Guan."

Xu Chu stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Master Lou Qi, are you going back to Dongdu now, or are you staying here for one night?"

Lou Shuo also stood up, "I can't stand it anymore. Go back early. Mrs. Lan is still waiting for my reply. Mr. Xu - it's so unpleasant to call him - you really don't want to go back?"

"My home is in Jiangdong. If I want to go back, I have to go there."

Lou Shuo sighed several times, "In that case... on the battlefield, if you see the general's flag, you can go for help and maybe you can save your life."

"In Dongdu, if Mr. Lou Qi sees the Wu army flag, please do not disturb him, because I can't protect anyone."

"Haha, you really don't care about brotherhood at all. I think back then, among the many brothers, you and I were the closest... Since you have changed your surname, of course you don't care about the Lou family. You said that the rebels will win, I said The court is undefeated, no matter what, there is always someone in the Lou family who is right."

"No matter who wins or loses, it will be of no benefit to the Lou family. I won't give it away."

"It is common for a wealthy family to have its ups and downs. The Lou family may not be able to turn around." Lou Shuo raised his hand and left the tent.

Xu Chu stayed for a while and returned to his tent.

Tang Weitian had already made the bed and asked, "Who is coming?"

"Lou Shuo, the seventh son of the Lou family, used to be one of my brothers."

"Do you two have a good relationship?"

"not good."

"No matter how bad he is, he is still a member of his family. I once had an older brother who always got into fights, but he gave me everything he had to eat."

"I have sixteen brothers above me and twenty or thirty brothers below me."

Tang Weitian opened his eyes wide, "So many? The governor doesn't even know the exact number?"

"The general has many wives and concubines, and children are born at any time, and even he himself cannot count them."

Tang Weitian's eyes could open wider, "My pigs are not so fertile. Wow, I really envy your Lou family. No, the chief governor has changed his surname. From now on, it will be the Xu family. The chief governor is still young and can give birth to a hundred sons." ”

Although the words didn't sound good, they meant well. Xu Chu laughed.

Early the next morning, Xu Chu summoned the generals and announced that he would join forces with Liang Jun.

Wu's army is weak and all the generals are not opposed to the alliance, but the generals of the seven tribes are very concerned about their status after joining forces.

"Everything remains unchanged, the flag, title...all remain unchanged. The officers and soldiers of the Wu army only listen to my orders. If others give orders, you can just ignore them."

Only then did Meng Nilun and others feel completely relieved.

Wu's army numbered just over 4,000, most of them cavalry. Their families remained behind, so they were not burdensome and could break out of camp in less than an hour.

Xu Chu led a few people to set off early and went to the King of Shu's camp. On the surface, he wanted to report the movements of the Wu army to avoid misunderstandings. In fact, he wanted to discuss the alliance of the five kings with Gan Zhao.

Gan Zhao welcomed Xu Chu into the tent, exchanged a few words, and said, "King Ning is easier to talk to than I expected. When he mentioned the alliance of the five kings, he immediately agreed. He also said that he did not ask for military power, and he would accept whoever he chooses to be the master. "

Xu Chu was also surprised, "Did King Ning really say that?"

"Prince Ning is a deep and unpredictable person, but he is thoughtful and aware of current affairs. He is not blindly tyrannical."

Ning Baoguan was recruited several times and was indeed able to stretch and bend freely.

"Great, I will lead my troops to meet with the King of Liang today. I want to set an example. The King of Jin should also go. The three kings will camp together and wait for you two."

"Prince Ning and I will meet up tomorrow to discuss the big plan."

"That's very good." Xu Chu said goodbye without mentioning Lou Shuo's visit. He met up with the Wu army outside and continued on his way.

In the Liang Army camp, there was another scene. Ma Wei personally greeted him more than ten miles away and stood by the roadside. He called himself "Little King Ma Wei" and called Xu Chu "King Wu". He showed full respect and made Wu Jun The soldiers, especially the children of the Seven Clans, were very happy, and the last trace of doubt in their hearts was gone.

Entering the tent, Xu Chu talked about Lou Shuo.

Ma Wei was very surprised, "What does he mean? Mrs. Lan... Lou Shuo went to your place to inquire about the movements of the rebels, right?"

Xu Chu nodded, "That must be the case. I will let him think that the main force of the rebel army is the World Army and the Jin Army."

"Will the officers and soldiers attack the World Army because of this?"

"If it were a general in charge of the army, he would definitely do it. The general often said that it is better to capture a commander than to kill a thousand soldiers. If the commander is lost and the army is in chaos, the result will be twice the result with half the effort. When he destroyed Wu, he also bypassed many small cities and went straight to Stone City to force Wu The emperor committed suicide, and then divided his troops to pacify the place."

Ma Wei nodded, "More than just destroying Wu? The generals used this strategy to destroy Jin and Jing. They showed off their troops at the border, attracted the enemy's main force, and then broke into their capital. The key is that the imperial court was really in charge of the troops. If it’s still Cao Shenxi, he’ll just play it safe.”

"I wasn't sure yet, but Lou Shuo's trip has convinced me."

"What should I do with Prince Jin? He is also someone the court is afraid of."

"We'll wait until Prince Jin comes. We can't make a decision for him."

In the evening, the Jin army arrived, with a larger scale and a more tidy appearance. The soldiers of the Liang and Wu armies lined the streets and watched, all feeling ashamed.

The Liang army's camp was vast, which saved them a lot of trouble. When the Jin army entered the camp, Shen Dan brought people to see the king of Liang and the king of Wu.

Liu Youzhong, Tan Wuwei, and Guo Shifeng followed. Guo Shifeng now runs on both sides of Liang and Jin, becoming one of the most important links between the two kings.

The general on Ma Wei's side was Pan Kai, and the generals Xu Chu called were Meng Nilun and Wang Dian. They all gathered together in a tent, exchanged greetings for a long time, and drank a few glasses of wine, so that the generals could get to know each other and facilitate future contact.

After three rounds of drinking, the generals resigned in a sensible manner, leaving only the three kings.

Liu Youzhong had a special status and remained as a staff officer.

Xu Chu told Lou Shuo's visit and his speculation again. Shen Dan immediately understood and said with emotion: "There is nothing to say. Since we are a joint venture, we are one family, regardless of each other. On the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Jin army went to attack alone. Encircle, lead the officers and soldiers out of the wall, and lead the army to the world."

Ma Wei said: "We will then attack and attack the officers and soldiers. If we win this battle, the Eastern Capital will be frightened and the city will be broken in a few days."

Xu Chu said: "Joining forces is not enough. The rebel army needs a general to command the entire army to avoid fighting independently."

Shen Dan pointed to Liu Youzhong, "I recommend Mr. Liu."

"It couldn't be better!" Ma Wei said immediately, "Mr. Liu is famous all over the world, and everyone in the Advent Army respects Mr. Liu like a god. It is most suitable for him to serve as a general."

"That's very good." Xu Chu also said, feeling uneasy for the first time in his heart.

He thought that the general would be Tan Wuwei, followed by Ning Baoguan, and in any case not Liu Youzhong.