Plan to cut off the nine states

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Ning Baoguan's arrival did scare the people of Dongdu. Many soldiers shouted loudly on the city wall and prepared to surrender. Soon, an official came and stood on the tower to negotiate with the rebels, hoping that King Ning would temporarily lead his troops to retreat and send envoys into the city. After the terms were agreed, Dongdu would open the city gates.

Ning Baoguan agreed and sent General Liu Busheng with ten people into the city, "Agree to all requests and let them open the city gates first."

Liu Busheng took the order and left, never to come out again. The official on the tower also disappeared, and the officers and soldiers who had just shouted to surrender were also nowhere to be found.

After shouting twice without a response, Ning Baoguan realized that he had been fooled, and he could not help but get angry, and immediately sent someone to summon King Wu in the rear.

"Who is the official who shouted?" Xu Chu asked.

"He said his surname is Fei..."

"Fei Bing?"

"Yes, we were talking about it. This official has a strange name. I don't know what he eats, but it's 'Fei Bing'... King Wu, please go over quickly. King Ning is waiting for you."

"Go back and tell King Ning that I'll be there soon."

The messenger rode back to see Ning Baoguan.

Xu Chu immediately sent out the first batch of soldiers and told them: "Don't seek a battle. When you get outside the city, find a spacious place that can look at the city gate, then mark the boundaries and build a military camp that can accommodate 100,000 people."

"100,000 people? We don't have so many tents, not even enough wooden fences."

"It doesn't matter. You just need to put up the landmarks."

"Oh, let the officers and soldiers of Dongdu think we are going to build a huge military camp." The general understood King Wu's intention and set off with hundreds of people, carrying fewer weapons and more flags, wooden poles and other things.

Xu Chu called Lu Kuan, who had just been rewarded, and said, "Bring your men to follow and set up the ladders..."

"Understood, pretend to attack the city, but don't really attack it." Lu Kuan smiled and liked such tasks.

Xu Chu nodded, and then summoned other generals, and they set off one after another, all bluffing, as if they were followed by a hundred thousand troops.

Xu Chu himself led more than 300 soldiers and walked at the back with the captives.

When Xu Chu gave the order, the captives were all nearby and heard it clearly. Zhou Lu said, "King Wu's plan is brilliant. With such a scare, Dongdu will definitely surrender immediately."

Cao Shenxi didn't want to speak at first, but after hearing Zhou Lu's words, he couldn't help but say, "If it were someone else, they might be scared and at a loss, but Fei Bing would never be. If he was a little more timid and more flexible, he wouldn't be just the Minister of Rites until now."

"Fei Bing alone can stop everyone in Dongdu? He doesn't want to surrender, but the Lan family is willing." Zhou Lu retorted.

Cao Shenxi despised this man very much and refused to look him in the eye. He said to Xu Chu: "You should have heard of the title of Minister Fei, right?"

"'Iron Waist' Fei Bing, who doesn't bow to others easily, is well known in Dongdu." Xu Chu heard many rumors about Fei Bing, all of which said how he fought with powerful people, sometimes won and sometimes lost, and his status also fluctuated. When he was at the highest, he was the Minister of Personnel, and when he was at the lowest, he was defeated as a commoner.

In the past two or three years, Fei Bing has been much quieter, and was recalled to the court by the Emperor of All Things, and gradually promoted to Minister of Rites.

Zhou Lu sneered: "General Cao thinks too highly of Fei Bing. I heard that he has become much more timid in recent years, and he also knows how to get along with people. He has a good relationship with the Liang family. When Liang Shengzhi got married, he went to give gifts."

Cao Shenxi still didn't look at Zhou Lu.

Outside the city of Dongdu, Ning Baoguan was already impatient. Seeing that the King of Wu had only sent a few hundred people to support him, he became even more annoyed. When he saw these people setting up landmarks everywhere, he immediately understood and sent his loud-voiced subordinates to shout to the city: "If you don't open the gate and surrender before the sun sets, the Jiangshi Army will kill you all after entering the city!"

The same words were shouted several times, and a head appeared on the city gate tower and replied loudly: "Don't worry, the righteous army, we are discussing and will open the gate soon..."

The people of Dongdu were panicked, and not everyone was willing to follow Fei Bing to resist the rebels.

Ning Baoguan retreated again and ordered his subordinates to demolish houses everywhere, making a gesture of leveling the land and fighting a big battle, and dumping all the demolished earth, wood, bricks and tiles into the frozen moat.

Dongdu has not been in war for many years, and the houses outside the city are dense. Some of them are quite solid. Hundreds of people demolished them very slowly. Ning Baoguan was also bluffing, making smoke and dust everywhere and making bursts of noise.

The Wu army that arrived later was quite cooperative, either raising flags or building ladders and platforms, step by step in an orderly manner, looking like the vanguard of the army.

A few more figures appeared on the city gate tower, without saying a word, and threw out a dozen things, which rolled on the ground. The rebel soldiers came forward to check, and soon brought one back and handed it to Ning Baoguan for inspection.

Ning Baoguan only took a look and was furious. It turned out to be Liu Busheng's head.

When two countries go to war, they don't kill envoys. Fei Bing obviously doesn't think that the rebels are qualified to enjoy such treatment. After tricking the envoy into the city, he not only beheaded him, but also threw him outside the city for demonstration. First, he angered the rebels, and second, he made the people in the city give up the idea of ​​surrendering.

Ning Baoguan understood the other party's intention, but he couldn't help being angry. Liu Busheng was his friend for many years. The two grew up together. After joining the Jiangshi Army, Liu Busheng always followed him. Even in the most difficult times, he didn't have the intention of rebelling.

Ning Baoguan sent Liu Busheng into the city, intending to let his friend make a great contribution, but ended up losing his life.

The loud-mouthed soldier came out again, and this time his words were no longer to persuade him to surrender, but a severe threat, "All men in Dongdu, regardless of age, will be beheaded, and all women, regardless of status, will be made prostitutes..."

Xu Chu deliberately walked slowly. When he arrived, he heard the threats under the city gate. He hurriedly rode to the front. He first saw the human head in Ning Baoguan's hand and immediately understood what was going on.

Before Xu Chu could speak, Ning Baoguan said fiercely: "If you care about your own head, don't talk too much."

Xu Chu jumped off his horse, first offered his hand to Liu Busheng's head, and then said, "Why don't Prince Ning add a few more people to scold the city gate together?"

Ning Baoguan was angry, handed the head to the guard, and pulled out his sword, "Don't think that because you call yourself King of Wu, no one will dare to kill you."

Xu Chu's face did not change, but he took a step forward, "Does Prince Ning want the name of revenge, or does he want revenge? If you want fame, please kill me now, so that everyone in the world knows that Prince Ning is affectionate and dedicated to being a confidant. If you want to take revenge from your friends..."

Ning Baoguan slashed it off with his sword, and the blade of the sword slashed diagonally against Xu Chu's hair.

Xu Chu couldn't help being surprised, but his face remained unchanged, and he cupped his hands and said: "With the size of the Eastern Capital and the number of people, there are always one or two people who are unwilling to give in. If you compare your feelings, King Ning will be happy if he gets such a subordinate." ?”

"Bah." Ning Baoguan spat, "Before dark, Dongdu must surrender. Otherwise..." He really had no choice. If Dongdu did not surrender, the rebel army would be in trouble.

Xu Chu nodded and went back to set up the camp. Ning Baoguan called back his loud voice and temporarily stopped threatening.

Cao Shenxi was brought to the high platform, facing the city gate tower, several miles away. If he was an acquaintance, he could be recognized from a distance.

The loud voice returned to the city gate again, raising his head and shouting: "The officers and soldiers outside have been wiped out. Come and see! The general will be escorted here soon!"

Some people in the city watched and quickly retreated.

Ning Baoguan was pacing back and forth. When he saw Xu Chu approaching, he said coldly: "This guy named Fei Zhen doesn't allow people in the city to watch what's going on outside."

"This further shows that the people of Dongdu have collapsed. There must be many people who want to surrender. Wait a little longer..."

"Are you going to wait for them to kill Fei Zhen and come out to surrender? These things like us will be discovered soon."

"Fei Zhen did us a favor by not allowing people to come to the city to watch."

"Hey, I won't wait any longer. It's just that I'm not weak enough, so I need a real siege."

Ning Baoguan called the generals loudly, "The Eastern Capital is right in front of you. There is no one guarding it. If you climb over this city wall, you can conquer the world. You will have gold, silver, treasures, good horses and beautiful women. Whoever can be the first to climb the city will win the battle." Take whatever you want for a day and a night."

Three generals immediately stood up to ask for a fight. Ning Baoguan was very happy and said: "The people in Dongdu are scared out of their wits. There are not even any soldiers in the city. It depends on which of you builds a taller and stronger ladder."

The third general gathered his soldiers, moved out the bluff ladder, used local materials, found ropes, wood, and iron tools from people's houses, extended the ladder, and carried it to the bottom of the city.

Crossing the moat was troublesome, but fortunately it was winter and the water had frozen. Ning Baoguan ordered people to dump a lot of wood and rocks before Ning Baoguan, so the three rebels were barely able to cross the river and tree stairs.

Finally, another person appeared on the city tower and said loudly: "Heroes, please don't attack the city yet. Wait for a while, at most half an hour, and we will open the city gate!"

The ladder of the rebels was crooked. If someone really climbed up, the ladder would break halfway up.

Ning Baoguan called back the rebels, and then sent out a loud voice. This time, he was giving both kindness and power, claiming that as long as the Dongdu people opened the city gate, they would be forgiven for their previous evil act of killing the envoy, and Fei Zhen was the only one responsible.

People began to appear frequently in the city, and their words became more and more humble. It seemed that Fei Zhen had lost power. The surrender faction put forward various conditions. Some agreed, while others gave restrictions. They carefully controlled the negotiations to prevent the other party from discovering him. Weakness and urgency.

Xu Chu returned to the rear, continued to direct the soldiers to build the camp, and sent a group of soldiers to leave quietly, and then came back with great fanfare. If the people on the city saw it, they would think that the rebels were coming in a steady stream.

Cao Shenxi had been brought down from the high platform. He vaguely heard the words of peace on the city, and he couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh, "There are still hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the Eastern Capital. They can defend the city even if they throw a stone. Why... Alas, the Manchu Dynasty Is there really only one Fei Zhen left in Wenwu?"

Zhou Lu advised: "General Cao finally understood. Even the emperor has fled. Who else in the city is willing to be loyal to the court?"

"I don't believe that Your Majesty will escape... Where can he escape to?" Cao Shenxi felt unsure. He had not seen the emperor for a long time.

Half an hour was about to pass, and the rebels in front were waiting impatiently, especially Lu Kuan, who had just got the most famous beauty among the rebels as his wife, and wanted to make another contribution and get a heavy reward, firstly to please his bride, and secondly. He told his first wife to shut up, so he stepped forward and said: "Prince Ning, please let me go to the city and let the people of Dongdu know that we are not alone."

Ning Baoguan agreed, "No need to force..."

"Don't force it." Lu Kuan called his trusted soldiers and strode to the bottom of the wall. Several long ladders had been set up there. Because he had never suffered a counterattack, Lu Kuan was not too worried about the threat from above. He looked up and ordered everyone to He quickly climbed up the escalator alone.

The rebels outside the city all put down what they were doing and watched Lu Kuan ascend the city from afar.

"Lao Lu is really dissatisfied. One Ju Niang is not enough, so he has to steal another one."

"If you want to rob, why don't you go too?"

"I won't go, that ladder..." Before the speaker finished speaking, the ladder broke and Lu Kuan, who was about to climb to the top of the city, fell straight down.

"Feng Juniang Kefu has conquered so far!" Everyone exclaimed.

Ning Baoguan pulled out his sword angrily and then retracted it. A soldier hurriedly ran from the rear and whispered: "The officers and soldiers have turned around and have reached the Changwei Pass..."

Ning Baoguan cursed and looked at Xu Chu in the distance, really wanting to grab him and chop him to death.

The rebels only captured one pass, so the officers and soldiers didn't need to attack it head-on. They just needed to go around and return to Dongdu at night.

Ning Baoguan had no choice but to say, "Please ask the King of Wu to come over."