Plan to cut off the nine states

Shen Danzhen only brought two people here, wearing casual clothes and no armor. They came forward with a smile and looked Xu Chu up and down. "The fourth brother is heroic and heroic. He deserves to be the queen of the generals - sorry, the queen of Wu Huang."

Xu Chu also smiled and said, "I just came from the camp and didn't have time to change clothes. Can the third brother still hold on?"

"Fortunately, the officers and soldiers are just testing, not fighting. They are still building equipment outside. I estimate that it will take at least three days to complete." Shen Dan turned around and waved to Liu Youzhong and Tan Wuwei, "The four of us brothers have not been together for a while. We got together, but unfortunately we don’t have any wine, so we can’t have a good drink.”

The side hall was not small and empty. It was probably seldom used. There were no tables or chairs. Xu Chu nodded slightly to his guards and motioned for them to stay far away. Then he held his hands to Shen Dan and others and said, "Three Brother, please forgive me for my poor hospitality."

Shen Dan smiled and said: "Fourth brother has a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, so how can he worry about these things? Besides, I'm not here just for drinking. I want to talk to my fourth brother about Prince Liang."

"Third brother, please tell me. I'm also wondering, what's wrong with King Liang? He insists on killing King Jingshi at this time? He can't replace him, and it also angers the Jingshi army. Nowadays, the people in the city are fierce, and many people want to fight for Jingshi. The king wanted to take revenge, but I managed to suppress it with great difficulty. I don’t know when something will happen again.”

"If the fourth brother hadn't taken charge of the situation, King Liang would have been in trouble long ago." Shen Dan shook his head helplessly.

Liu Youzhong stepped forward and said: "This matter is rather complicated. I happen to be involved in it, so why not let me speak."

Shen Dan nodded, with a look of helplessness on his face, and he seemed to disagree with King Liang's actions.

"The King of Liang has always felt that the Liang Army was weak and hoped to expand its strength. Therefore, he had many private contacts with the leaders of the World Army. Many people agreed to change the court, but they were afraid of Xue Liujia's power and did not dare to defect publicly. I don't know who gave King Liang the gift. It is said that Guo Shifeng was fanning the flames and advising King Liang to make friends with the dissatisfied leaders. "Liu Youzhong laughed, "There are quite a few such people. Xue Liujia is obviously not a fair person, letting his subordinates fight to the death. , but all the benefits after victory are reserved for one’s own people.”

Xu Chu said: "All the kings don't like the coming king, and they all want to kill him, but... the timing is not right."

Liu Youzhong sighed, "Things like timing are ever-changing and dazzling. Everyone sees it differently."

"What does it look like in the eyes of King Liang?"

"Most of the leaders who were dissatisfied with Xue Liujia went to the King of Liang after entering the city and persuaded him to make a decisive decision. They also said that all the soldiers of the World Army hated Xue Liujia. If the King of Liang could cut off his head with his own hands, he would definitely get hundreds of thousands of people. support.”

"The King of Liang did say 'replace'."

Liu Youdian ended, "I have to talk about Guo Shifeng again. He was the counselor beside King Liang. He didn't give any advice. Instead, he flattered the victim and praised the plan to kill Xue. He claimed that he had the means to spread rumors throughout the city and order the emperor to come to the world. All the troops came to join the king of Liang."

Liu Youzhong seemed to really dislike Guo Shifeng and kept saying bad things about him. Xu Chu did not answer and only nodded occasionally.

"I also have to bear some responsibility. The King of Liang came to me and I advised him to act with caution, but the King of Liang wanted to seize the World Army. He said that wealth can be found in danger and the opportunity must not be missed. He will not come back when he kills Xue Liujia. It was the wish of the kings, and now the time was right. When Xue Liujia came back to his senses and regained control of the World Army, the kings suffered from it. I heard that what he said was somewhat reasonable, so I didn't persuade him anymore. I just said that we should talk to him first. The kings discussed it. King Liang agreed at that time, but who would have thought that he would take action as soon as he said it."

"Is this the opportunity in King Liang's eyes?"

Liu Youdian ended, "In terms of getting rid of Xue Liujia, this is indeed the best time. He will abandon the World Army himself. In two or three days, when he understands, he will be able to get at least more than half of the soldiers back."

"That's true, but this is the worst time for defending the city."

Liu Youzhong smiled bitterly, "Who says it's not the case? King Liang overestimated the hatred of Xue Liujia by the descending army. Unexpectedly, he still had many supporters. Instead of respecting him as the new descending king, they clamored for revenge. Even the defense of the city was delayed."

Shen Dan interjected: "You don't know how happy I am to hear that the fourth brother has reorganized the World Army."

Liu Youzhong said: "But the King of Wu only re-allied with King Ning and King Shu, but did not come to the Jin army. He seemed suspicious..."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "My eldest brother is serious. I don't go to see the third brother. It's not because I am suspicious, but because I have no doubt that the third brother must be reliable and can persuade King Liang. I don't need to say anything."

Xu Chu was covered in iron armor, and more than a dozen guards were standing not far away, staring closely at him. However, he said that he had no doubts. Shen Dan seemed to have not heard this obvious lie, and laughed: " So that’s it. I asked why the fourth brother didn’t come. It turned out that I was overly worried. However, the fourth brother’s guess was correct. I had made King Liang realize his mistake. He did not dare to leave the camp, so he begged me to come to see the King of Wu. I hope King Wu will remember his old love and save him once."

"First put down the internal strife before we can unite to fight against the foreign enemies. Everything I have done so far is all for this. King Liang and I have known each other for many years. If he is in danger, of course I cannot sit idly by and do nothing. However, it is not an option for King Liang to hide all the time. , something has to be done.”

Shen Dan said: "The King of Liang asked me to carry the message, hoping to do something to restore the morale of the army, but he is confused and at a loss, so he needs the guidance of his fourth brother."

"Everyone is also the king, how can I be qualified to give advice?"

"Fourth brother does not need to be too humble. Among the kings, fourth brother is the most resourceful and is recognized by everyone. Therefore, in times of crisis, they all recommend you as the military leader."

Liu Youzhong also said: "Except the King of Wu, no one can save the King of Liang."

Xu Chu thought for a while and said to Tan Wuwei: "Second brother hasn't spoken yet, can you give me some advice?"

Tan Wuwei was stunned, obviously not expecting to be asked, "Ah... I'm thinking about how to repel the officers and soldiers. I don't understand the affairs between the kings, and I can't give you any guidance."

Xu Chu put aside the topic of King Liang and asked: "Repelling the officers and soldiers is the most important thing at the moment. I am just about to listen to my second brother's opinion."

Tan Wuwei glanced at Shen Dan, and after receiving his acquiescence, he said, "We have to adapt to changing circumstances. In my opinion, it is better for the rebels to fight independently."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "Everyone says that if you unite, you will win, and if you divide, you will lose. But second brother, do you think it's the opposite?"

Once Tan Wuwei opened his mouth, he didn't care about anything else. He only thought about how to win, and immediately replied: "If we are one family, we will win if we are together, and we will lose if we divide. The origins of the rebels are different, and the World Army has already split into countless groups. It's just like that. The earlier battle was all due to the good cooperation of the kings, but it was still not a "family". After Xue Liujia's death, the division in the city became more and more obvious. Instead of reluctantly uniting, it was better to fight independently. "

"We still have a three-point chance of winning if we barely squeeze it together. If we fight on our own, I'm afraid we won't even get a chance."

"My purpose of 'fighting individually' is not to create a loose sand, but to let each army be good at winning. Jizhou soldiers are skilled in bows and horses and can be called elites, but they have few people. This time when they come to attack Dongdu, they will not focus on one side, but This is to divide the troops to build a siege. It is said that if the kings can take turns to fight, one after another, day and night, the Jizhou soldiers will be exhausted within a few days, and the rebel army may have a greater chance of victory. "

Before Xu Chu could speak, Liu Youzhong smiled and said: "Although my second brother's plan is clever, it still needs to be obeyed by the descending army. This kind of attack will cause many casualties, not to mention the descending army, it is the kings." Our soldiers will become afraid after a few rounds and refuse to fight.”

"Huddled and guarding the city, the rebel army's fear will become stronger day by day. Since the army was raised, the rebel army has been arrogant and discouraged every time it wins. No matter how many victorious battles it has fought, it will still not dare to fight when seeing the officers and soldiers again. Without it, the officers and soldiers will be defeated. The rebels will rarely win a complete victory. If things go on like this, even if the rebels are lucky enough to capture half of the country, it will be difficult to hold on. Instead of waiting for the opportunity, it is better to fight hard now. "

Liu Youzhong smiled and said: "The timing in my second brother's eyes is somewhat similar to that of King Liang."

Tan Wuwei laughed dryly, "Except for the art of war, I know nothing about it. I'm often wrong about timing."

Xu Chu said: "Second brother's plan is right, but it needs to be considered in the long run. As for King Liang -" Xu Chu looked at Shen Dan, "If he believes in me, come to my camp and I will explain it to the generals who will come to this world for him." , maybe we can say peace.”

"Of course King Liang believes in my fourth brother. I will go back and persuade him, and he must go to see me tomorrow. Is the fourth brother's military camp still in Xicheng?"

"In the Fourth Prince's Mansion."

The four kings of the Tiancheng Zhang family had a high status, their palaces were connected, and they occupied a vast area, so they were conscripted into military camps by Xu Chu.

Shen Dan nodded and whispered, "Can I have a few words with my fourth brother alone?"

"certainly."

The two of them took a few steps away from the guards, while Liu Youzhong and Tan Wuwei walked to the other side.

"It's not me who talks too much. Since we are brothers, if I don't say something, it would be heartless." Shen Dan looked very solemn.

Xu Chu said: "Third brother, it doesn't matter what you say. No matter what you say, I miss you third brother."

"Beware of Ning Baoguan."

"I never underestimated him."

"That's not what I meant." Shen Dan lowered his voice, "Ning Baoguan has a group of Jiangdong soldiers under his command. Fourth brother should know about it, right?"

"Yeah." Xu Chu knew that it was he who suggested Ning Baoguan in desperation to gather the rebellious river workers in the name of returning home.

"I heard that Ning Baoguan instigated his Jiangdong soldiers to win over the fourth brother's Wu army generals. Many people were persuaded and willing to serve for him. They did not make it public for the time being and remained in the fourth brother's camp. The fourth brother used the Wu army to As the foundation, be careful to suffer the consequences.”

"Thank you, Third Brother, for reminding me. I will take care of it."

Shen Dan nodded and sighed softly, "When I first took action, I thought that if I raised my arms and shouted, the world would respond. Now it seems that I have to shout a few more times. Things in the world are impermanent, and neither the emperors of all things nor the kings who come to the world will end well. From now on, I don’t know how many people will fall from heights. I hope my fourth brother will take more care.”

Shen Dan's words were a little incoherent, but more sincere. Xu Chu almost wanted to reveal his feelings, but in the end he just nodded.

On the way back, Xu Chu went to find Song Xingcai and Guo Shifeng. Seeing that the Queen Mother was not in danger for the time being, he called Guo Shifeng to return to the camp with him.

Listening to King Wu narrating the meeting that just ended, Guo Shifeng chuckled and said: "I'm not surprised at all. King Jin's methods have always been like this. He first wins people's trust and then attacks in secret. King Wu listens to my words, don't divide your troops, and don't believe it." The King of Liang and the King of Jin must strike first and seize their soldiers to protect themselves. The officers and soldiers have no other choice, so they will naturally give the King of Wu better conditions."

"If we remove the King of Liang and the King of Jin, the King of Ning and the King of Shu will be wary."

The two of them had returned to the house. Guo Shifeng made sure that no one was eavesdropping and advised: "If you don't have a heart, you will naturally have no vigilance. Kings can't eliminate just one. This is where King Liang made his mistake before. Now King Wu has taken the lead. There’s a chance to catch them all in one fell swoop!”