Plan to cut off the nine states

Xu Chu was sleeping soundly, but suddenly he had trouble breathing. He found that his nostrils were tightly covered by a hand. He struggled to get rid of it, gasped a few times, looked at Xue Jinyao lying opposite him, and asked in surprise: "You want to kill me?"

Xue Jinyao lay on his back, and said after a while: "You have another wife?"

"Yes, but..."

"No matter what the reason, you should not abandon her and marry someone else. Why didn't you make it clear earlier and refuse to marry me?"

"I made it very clear to the King of the World, and I and..."

"Get out."

Xu Chu got out of bed and put on his clothes and boots.

Xue Jinyao on the bed suddenly said again: "You men are all equally shameless."

Xu Chu thought about it and replied: "We are indeed shameless, but not all the same."

Even if the time was right, he would not use Xue Jinyao to kill the kings and then get rid of her to gain fame. Meng Senglun's plan sounded reasonable, but Xu Chu couldn't do it.

Xue Jinyao didn't know what her husband was thinking, but sneered.

It was already daybreak, Xu Chu felt energetic again, and he led his troops to patrol everywhere. He had to win over the army in the shortest possible time. This was the best time for him. He had just quelled a riot that everyone hated. Even the soldiers who participated in the riot thanked the King of Wu. They could finally give up revenge with a clear reason and regard the murder of the King of the World as a "ascension" that had been arranged long ago.

But there were still many small troubles in the city. There were too many people entering the city, and the number could not be counted. Roughly speaking, there were nearly 300,000 people, which was also the number of troops often announced by the World Army. Most of them were the elderly, the weak, women and children. The rest were not all soldiers. Many people followed a leader in name, but they did their own things when they had free time.

There has always been an unwritten rule in the World Army that whatever you robbed was yours. Since occupying the Eastern Capital, no one has organized looting and sharing the spoils, which made them very surprised and dissatisfied.

After the death of the King of the World, the kings were busy fighting for and appeasing the leaderless soldiers, which gave them an opportunity. At first, they broke into empty houses and robbed them individually, but soon they became groups of three or five. The looting targets were no longer limited to empty houses. When there were more people, they even broke into high gates and courtyards.

Xu Chu arrested some leaders who were too daring and prohibited looting. Finally, the stability of the East Capital was restored, and the temples began to distribute porridge again.

Shortly after noon, Xu Chu was discussing the establishment of a roster of the entire army with the generals, and someone came to deliver a letter, "King Ning went out of the city to fight the soldiers!"

Everyone was shocked, and Xu Chu had no time to ask in detail, and immediately led people to the North City.

While Xu Chu was busy winning over the soldiers and stabilizing the people in Dongdu, Ning Baoguan summoned his soldiers to check the weapons and horses. Finally, he said, "The soldiers are strong and the horses are powerful, the spears are sharp and the armor is thick. What are you waiting for hiding behind the city wall? The Jizhou Iron Cavalry is famous all over the world. I want to see how powerful it is."

Ning Baoguan said to fight and he fought. Among the kings, he liked cavalry the most. Wherever he went, he would search for horses first. He entered Dongdu first and took the initiative. He quickly gathered nearly 7,000 cavalry, which was comparable to the number of Jin army.

Ning Baoguan divided the cavalry into three armies. Luo Hanqi led the front team. The first group rushed out of the city gate and went straight to the camp of officers and soldiers. The squadron was led by Ning Baoguan himself. If the officers and soldiers went out of the camp to fight, he would lead the soldiers out. The task of the rear team was to respond. When King Ning retreated, they had to go out of the city to meet them.

This attack was very sudden. Xu Chu and others were surprised, and the officers and soldiers in Yecheng were even more surprised, but they were not afraid and sent cavalry to fight.

When Xu Chu and others arrived, Ning Baoguan had already led the squadron of cavalry out of the city, and the rear team lined up neatly on the street, waiting to leave the city.

Xu Chu climbed the city wall to watch, called a subordinate of King Ning, and asked about the general situation. He was confused and didn't understand why Ning Baoguan chose this time to fight with the officers and soldiers.

The battle outside the city was in full swing. Although the elite cavalry of Jizhou was good at fighting, they were scattered in order to besiege the city, and they couldn't gather together for a while. Ning Baoguan had the advantage in numbers and was able to draw a tie.

After a while, King Gan Zhao of Shu came from the west city, stood beside King Wu, watched for a while, and said in surprise: "King Ning... fought very methodically."

Xu Chu nodded, even more surprised than Gan Zhao. Not long ago, the tactics of the Ning army were only slightly better than the Jiangshi army, not as good as the Jin army. Although it is not so sophisticated now, the advance and retreat are well-founded. After fighting for a while, the general formation is still there, and the scattered soldiers are trying to keep up.

The army values ​​individual bravery, but it does not rely on it. The larger and tighter the formation, the more opportunities the enemy will have to take advantage of it. Ning Baoguan seems to have mastered this.

"Prince Ning must be instructed by an expert." Xu Chu muttered.

"In just a few days, an expert can teach a cavalry?"

"Look at the Ning army, the tactics are actually simple, there are more flags than before, but fewer than officers and soldiers, the colors are bright, and it is convenient for soldiers to follow - Prince Ning went out of the city to train on the battlefield, right?" Xu Chu finally understood.

Gan Zhao also understood, "Prince Ning can do such a thing."

"The officers and soldiers camp must send more people to support, Prince Ning must retreat, he is now in a state of order, and he is not a match for the Jizhou cavalry."

Not long after Xu Chu finished speaking, a horn sounded on the city.

Horn sound is usually used to organize troops, but for the Ning army, it is a signal to retreat.

Ning Baoguan led his troops to fight and retreat. The rear guard rushed out of the city. The officers and soldiers saw them from afar and thought there were more cavalry in the city. They did not dare to chase them, but stayed where they were and waited for reinforcements from the main camp.

Xu Chu and Gan Zhao looked in the direction of the horn sound. Xu Chu asked, "Is that the wife of King Ning?"

A group of people stood on the city wall more than a hundred steps away. The leader was Niu Tiannu, the wife of King Ning. It was she who supervised the subordinates to blow the horn to withdraw troops.

"It's not the Niu Tiannu." Gan Zhao replied.

"Mrs. Prince Ning...do you know the art of war?"

"I don't understand. She is the same as Mrs. Wang Shi. She used to be a village woman. She is good at using knives and can cut people. She knows nothing about the art of war. She should be someone close to her."

Behind Niu Tiannu stood seven or eight generals, pointing and seeming to be analyzing the battle outside the city.

Xu Chu didn't recognize those people. Since Niu Tiannu was there, he couldn't go over to ask, so he asked Gan Zhao, "When did Prince Ning find help?"

"Ning Baoguan has always respected knights. When he meets people with superb riding skills, he can forgive any sin and even give up his own horse. But I have never seen or heard of these people. "

"They seem to be officers and soldiers." Xu Chu felt that the behavior of those people did not look like the World Army.

The officers and men of the Ning Army returned to the city, and Gan Zhao cupped his hands and said, "King Ning is more taboo about others coming to his territory. I'll take my leave first. King Wu is different. As a military leader, he can go anywhere."

Gan Zhao left in a hurry. Xu Chu did not want to stay on the narrow city wall, so he went down to meet his guards and sent someone to report to Ning Baoguan.

Ning Baoguan came over on horseback, with sweat on his face. He cupped his hands on the horse and said, "The King of Wu is here."

"Why did Prince Ning go to war?"

"That's what fighting is like, always hiding, what kind of battle is it? Besides, King Wu said that the kings should take turns to fight, which will make the officers and soldiers tired. I saw that the kings were not moving, so I took the lead."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "King Ning is brave enough to conquer all the armies, and he is indeed well-deserved. I have a small gift to give you, and I hope King Ning will accept it."

Xu Chu had already asked people to get ready. A guard behind him held a golden-handled riding whip and presented it to Ning Baoguan.

Ning Baoguan was a little surprised and reached out to take the riding whip, "Thank you, King Wu. I don't have any gifts to give you."

"Prince Ning, this battle is the best gift." Xu Chu said goodbye.

Xu Chu could not suppress King Ning for the time being. He could not punish him for acting without permission like he did with the generals of the Wu army, let alone break up with him. He simply gave him gifts to show his goodwill and maintain the illusion of friendship between the two kings.

Looking at the retreating figure of King Wu, Ning hugged Guan, weighed the golden whip in his hand, and sneered, "It's a useless thing with only appearance, it's better to be turned into gold."

Xu Chu returned to the camp and saw the soldiers talking excitedly about King Ning's victory.

King Ning did not win a complete victory. In terms of casualties, his side had more casualties. However, when the armies were frightened, he dared to personally lead his troops out of the city to fight and returned safely. This was the impression he gave to others. A great victory.

Xu Chu patrolled the army for a long time and won over the morale of the army. It was better to hold the pass and fight rashly.

Xu Chu turned around and headed straight to Xicheng.

Gan Zhao here also came to his senses and was mobilizing his soldiers. When he heard that King Wu had arrived, he immediately came to pay a visit and handed everyone over to King Wu for his assignment.

Xu Chu first went to the city to take a look. The flags in the officers and soldiers' camp were still the same, and no change could be seen from a distance. However, looking north, there was indeed smoke and dust flying in the sky.

It was late winter, and smoke and dust could be raised in the officers and soldiers camp, indicating that there must be many soldiers and horses gathered.

Although Ning Baoguan did not win the battle, it was enough to shock the officers and soldiers and force them to mobilize to the north.

Xu Chu ordered the battle. He and Gan Zhao personally led the troops. Gan Zhao was in the front and he was in the back. Each led 1,500 infantry. After forming an formation, they shouted to the officers and soldiers camp to call for formation.

A row of crossbowmen appeared on the fence of the officers and soldiers' camp, but no one came out to fight.

This was exactly what Xu Chu had guessed. It was estimated that the time was about the same and the officers and soldiers might turn back from the north and order the withdrawal of troops back to the city.

Although it was a bluff, it could make the officers and soldiers show their timidity. The rebel officers and soldiers were very excited. The morale of the officers and soldiers was back to 70% or 80% when they defeated the officers and soldiers last time. Many generals took the initiative to request to fight, but Xu Chu wanted to suppress it.

Xu Chu returned to the camp and sent people to the four walls of the city to monitor the movements of the kings.

Xu Chu came to see Xue Jinyao.

She was choosing a steel knife, and there was a row of more than a dozen unsheathed sharp blades on the table in front of her.

Xue Jinyao ignored her husband and raised his knife to take a closer look.

Xu Chu said: "King Ning has collected several cavalry generals, and they seem to have been recommended to him by Mrs. Ning."

"I can recommend several killing methods to you, the most efficient ones." Xue Jinyao said coldly, putting down the knife in his hand, "Every time the World Army captures a prisoner, Niu Tiannu will select a few people to be slaves. The cavalry you mentioned The generals were probably selected from these servants.”

"What kind of person is Niu Tiannu?"

"Women, stupid women who refuse to take revenge even after being abandoned by their husbands."

Xu Chu felt that Niu Tiannu was not stupid at all, so he smiled and silently exited the room.

Xue Jinyao continued to select the steel knife, but became irritable for no reason, and finally had to throw the knife back on the table.

The competition among the kings has never stopped. Xu Chu must do better. He has several relatively good generals in his mind. He cannot delay any longer and must promote them as soon as possible.

A scout ran over panting, "King Wu... that, that King Liang and King Jin are fighting!"

This was even more puzzling than Ning Baoguan going to war without authorization. Xu Chu suddenly understood that this was probably one of the "several things" Ma Wei had to do to win the trust of the King of Wu.