Plan to cut off the nine states

Ma Wei knew that his troops were weak and did not dare to attack the Jin army directly. Instead, he sent someone to invite the King of Jin, saying that he had important matters to discuss and planned to ambush the opponent.

But he ignored one thing. The soldiers of the World Army belonged to different kings, and they still kept in touch with each other. Some of them had very close personal relationships and talked about everything.

As soon as something happened on Ma Wei's side, the news reached Shen Dan's ears. He still went to the appointment, wearing a long robe with armor hidden inside. He planned to use his plan to capture Prince Liang alive at the gate of the military camp, who came to greet him.

The scene at that time was very chaotic, and there were different opinions on who made the first move. In short, the plans of the two kings failed. The guards of both sides fought together. King Jin had few people, so he led the guards to retreat, returned to the camp, and immediately ordered his troops to set off. Attack Liangying.

When Xu Chu arrived with his troops, the fighting between the two sides was in full swing. They blocked the streets and prevented others from entering the battlefield.

Xu Chu could command his soldiers to rush in, but that would only make the situation more chaotic. He wanted to go in alone to quell the war, but was surrounded by his soldiers.

Song Xingcai grabbed the reins and advised: "Don't be involved in danger when in power. The two kings are fighting with unclear intentions. Even if one of them is wary of the power, the power will be trapped."

Xu Chu had no choice but to send messengers to see the King of Liang and the King of Jin respectively to convey his wishes, hoping that they would cease the war and explain the misunderstanding.

Ma Wei asked the messenger to reply: "I am fighting for the King of Wu. If the King of Wu still misses the old friendship, please join the battle quickly and say less."

Shen Dan was very polite and brought a message: "If you make friends accidentally, you will suffer the consequences and make the world laugh. Please wait a moment, King Wu, until I go to apologize in person afterwards."

Liang Jun is obviously at a disadvantage.

There was no room for analyzing the pros and cons, so Xu Chu had to make a decisive decision. After getting the reply, he ordered his soldiers to force the Jin army, and continuously transferred more soldiers from the west city.

It wasn't until the two armies clashed that Xu Chu found out the reason: King Jin's victory would not do him any good. This time, he must help Ma Wei instead of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight.

While exerting pressure, Xu Chu kept sending messengers to both sides, sometimes threatening, sometimes tempting, to persuade them to stop their troops, and even asked the soldiers of both armies to obey his orders in the name of the Golden Saint and the World Stick.

Nearly half an hour later, the Jin army finally could not bear the pressure from both sides and took the lead in retreating. Liang Jun saw that it was good and retreated to his own camp.

This was a complete split. Liang and Jin were once as close as one family, but now they have become enemies. They have drawn a clear line and do not allow the other party to cross even a single step.

Xu Chu also ordered the troops to retreat and asked the two kings to come to see him and explain clearly.

Ma Wei came. He was very grateful to the King of Wu for his help and felt sorry for him. "Why did the King of Wu retreat? If we attack from both sides, the Jin army will be defeated."

"If the Jin army is completely defeated, they will definitely open the door and surrender their officers and soldiers. By then the situation will be out of control."

Ma Wei wanted to say more, Liu Youzhong came, ignored the King of Liang, and directly handed over to the King of Wu: "The King of Jin is reorganizing the military camp to prevent someone from taking advantage of the chaos and making trouble, so he sent me to explain the situation. "

Ma Wei sneered and said: "What can be explained? Shen Dan decided to surrender to Yecheng. This is what he said personally, and he wanted to recruit me to join him. Mr. Liu was present at the time, so he has to admit it, right?"

Liu You's expression remained unchanged, "The King of Wu still has a plan to fake surrender. The King of Jin's idea coincides with the King of Wu."

"King Wu's plan to fake surrender has been announced to all the kings, but King Jin's 'fake surrender' has been hidden in his heart. His ambition is clearly exposed."

"Even so, it was the King of Wu who asked the crime, and the King of Liang Yue Zu took over, but he didn't have the ability." Liu Youzhong shook his head with a smile.

The two exchanged insults and refused to give in to each other. Xu Chu listened for a while and interrupted: "That's enough. The King of Liang is my good friend for many years, and the King of Jin is my sworn brother. I don't distinguish between each other in my eyes."

"I'm here, but Shen Dan is not here." Ma Wei couldn't help but point out this.

Liu You refused to give in, "The King of Liang knew that he was no match for the King of Jin, so he came to ask for help, but he did not surrender sincerely. The King of Jin did not come, but he guarded the city gate impregnably and did not surrender his officers and soldiers, so that the King of Wu would not worry."

Xu Chu felt that he had enough to worry about and shouted: "Do you two still think that I am the military leader?"

Ma Wei and Liu You finally stopped talking.

"There is no need to talk about right and wrong in the face of a powerful enemy. The Liang and Jin armies each take a step back and leave the southeast corner for me to send troops to defend. If there is any dispute in the future, I will call on all the kings to attack whoever strikes first."

Liu Youzhong cupped his hands and said: "The Jin army believes in King Wu's justice and is willing to retreat a hundred steps."

Ma Wei had no choice but to say: "Liang Jun also retreats a hundred steps. King Wu is careful, Shen Dan controls the two city gates and can let officers and soldiers enter the city at any time."

Liu Youzhong chuckled, "King Wu, be careful. King Liang betrayed King Jin today, and he will attack King Wu in the back tomorrow."

Xu Chu separated the two men and ordered them to go back and retreat. Before nightfall, he would send people to the city and draw a line in the city, which he would also send troops to patrol. The soldiers of the two armies were also not allowed to cross.

When Xu Chu had a little free time, he had to send someone to appease King Ning and King Shu, telling them that the southeast had been pacified and there was no need to worry about a misunderstanding.

In the meantime, he invited Cao Shenxi from the palace and invited him to have dinner with him.

Cao Shenxi came very reluctantly, but since he came, he had to speak directly: "King Wu, please let me go. All the treasuries in the eastern capital are empty, and I can't find anything anymore. I don't know what happened to the rebels." I don’t know how much food you have in stock. The food I handed over is enough to feed 100,000 people for a month. Dongdu is not a granary and cannot feed too many people.”

"But it can support many people." Xu Chu said with a smile.

Cao Shenxi was slightly startled, "Hey, the King of Wu has also begun to have this idea. When raising the flag, it is all for the people. When the situation is urgent, the people must be attacked first. Well, even if you loot the east, you can persist. "Longer."

"Has General Cao done anything for the people?" Xu Chu made a gesture to sit down.

Cao Shenxi sat across from him and replied honestly: "No."

"What General Cao has done these days is all for the people."

Cao Shenxi shook his head and sighed: "I did it for my own safety. I used the official treasury of the Eastern Capital to please the rebels. Now that the official treasury is empty, I still have to hand the people over to the hands of the bandits. There is no way."

Cao Shenxi couldn't hold it back for a while and called the rebels "bandits".

Xu Chu was not angry either, "'The Eastern Capital supports many people.' This sentence is not mine. It is what the soldiers will say to me in the future. But I haven't figured out how to answer it yet, so I asked General Cao for advice, and Cao The general’s answer just now…”

"Those were words made out of anger, and they don't count." Cao Shenxi immediately changed his mind, "Although looting Dongdu will allow the rebels to get food, it will lose the support of the people. There are many rebels on the mountain. Once they grab the food and grass, they will definitely keep it in their own hands. If there is no need to rely on the King of Wu anymore, the King of Wu will lose the morale of the army and the morale of the people and the army. The King of Wu will be worried."

"General Cao's words are quite like a counselor's." Xu Chu praised.

"I'm not a counselor, I'm just telling the truth. When King Wu comes to me for advice, I will naturally say whatever comes to my mind."

"Please drink."

Xu Chu drank first, and Cao Shenxi took a sip and put down the cup. "For King Wu's plan, we must break out of the encirclement as soon as possible and go to other places to search for food. As far as I know, droughts and floods have been frequent in the four directions in recent years, most of the food harvests have failed, and the people have little leftover food." There are many, but only the official warehouse is still full. The official warehouse in Yizhou is the most abundant. King Yidu's violent conquests caused anger and resentment, but he did leave a lot of savings."

"General Cao held me so far away."

"King Wu has been in Dongdu for a long time. You should have heard about these things. If King Wu thinks that occupying Dongdu means he is the master of the world, I have nothing to say." Cao Shenxi still wanted to say, paused briefly, and continued: "Emperor of All Things" After his death, the new emperor fled in panic, and everything happened in the Eastern Capital."

Xu Chu nodded and toasted another glass of wine, "If you want to go to Yizhou, don't give up on Dongdu."

"The Eastern Capital is a place of four battles. Those who want to dominate will have to fight for it. If the King of Wu leaves a small number of people, it will be useless, and if there are many people left, it will not be enough to capture Yizhou. Things cannot have both ends, and the King of Wu needs to have Trade-offs.”

"Well, don't worry now. We'll make a choice after I defeat the Yecheng officers and soldiers."

Cao Shenxi sighed and continued drinking.

After a few more drinks, Xu Chu said, "General Cao, I have one more thing to ask."

"King Wu, please speak."

"There were so many famous generals in the Qianliang Dynasty. Why did Emperor Cheng Zhang Xi get the support of all the generals?"

Cao Shenxi did not expect that the King of Wu would ask about such a long-standing matter. He thought for a while and then said: "The late emperor treated the virtuous corporal and was a close friend of the generals, so he received support."

"Can you tell me more details?"

Cao Shenxi thought for a while, "Wu Wang wants to be more specific. I really can't say anything. The late emperor's grace is like a gift from heaven, which makes people fall in love at first sight. We believed that he would be the emperor a long time ago."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "Why can't the former Liang Emperor see such an obvious thing?"

"The Emperor of Qian Liang was not unwary. He tried to harm the late Emperor several times but failed. On the contrary, it made the late Emperor more popular. This kind of thing really has to be decided by heaven and cannot be fought over by mortals."

Xu Chu couldn't ask anything, so he had to change his direction, "General Cao once had a misunderstanding with the general and almost fought with each other. How did Emperor Zhang Xi resolve it?"

Cao Shenxi understood, "The two kings of Liang and Jin are fighting, but the king of Wu can't settle it?"

"We've barely settled down, but we can't eliminate the estrangement."

Cao Shenxi gave a rare smile, "First of all, the general and I did not 'nearly' meet each other with swords, but actually fought. If we say 'nearly', it means that I 'nearly' died in the hands of the general." Second, the estrangement between me and the general has never been eliminated. We have not believed in each other for many years. If this were not the case..."

Cao Shenxi sighed, if it weren't for this, the officers and soldiers of Dongdu would not have been defeated by the rebels inexplicably.

"But at least the two of you are peaceful on the surface and there is no more fighting."

"Because I have always been patient... What King Wu wants to hear is not this, but he wants to know how the late emperor made me tolerate?"

Xu Chu nodded.

Things are often like this. It is easy to watch others do it, and it is also easy to think about it yourself. Only when you are doing it do you realize the difficulties and long for the guidance of others.

Cao Shenxi thought for a long time and drank three glasses of wine without realizing it. As soon as the glass in his hand was empty, Xu Chu poured the wine immediately, without rushing or rushing, and patiently waited for the old general to figure it out.

Cao Shenxi raised his head and said, "King Wu just asked me why the late emperor received the support of all the generals?"

"right."

"I think King Wu asked the wrong question."

"Um?"

"Wang Wang, why don't you ask me why the generals didn't want to be the emperor in the end, but were willing to be ministers?"

Xu Chu's eyes lit up, he cupped his hands and said, "Please give me some advice, General Cao."

"Because all the generals have tried it more or less. To be honest, even I had ambitions in my early years, but sooner or later - I was earlier, the general later - all the generals realized that they were not There are too many obstacles in front of me, and they are solved one after another, endlessly, until everyone is tired and only one person is left, the problem is solved. "

"The only person left is Emperor Zhang Xi."

"Yes, so I said 'given by heaven'. The late emperor may not have persisted the longest, but he was just right. Just when the generals were tired of it, he was ambitious. So the King of Wu asked the late emperor how to resolve the dispute between me and the general. In fact, the late emperor did almost nothing. He rushed to the military camp and scolded us. It was the general and I who didn't want to fight anymore, so we reconciled. Unfortunately for the King of Wu, it was at a time when many heroes rose up. The King of Jin and the King of Liang were ambitious. Even if the gods and Buddhas came forward personally, they couldn't resolve it. The only way for the King of Wu to be the 'last one' is to persist longer."