Plan to cut off the nine states

The rebels in the city were ready for the decisive battle. They started cooking since midnight. Each team sent people to plant flags at the meeting points assigned to them. It was not easy for so many people to leave the city through the two east gates. Simple things.

Xue Jinyao can be said to be the first person to figure out the number of rebels. The total number reported by all the generals and leaders is 230,000 to zero. This is obviously an exaggerated number. The previous battle suffered heavy casualties, and the rebels could not There may still be so many troops left.

Xue Jinyao understood what was going on. Everyone generally reported more soldiers in order to compete for a higher status. There were also many generals who really couldn't figure out the exact number of their subordinates. It was common for a soldier to defect to multiple leaders. In this way, Not only can they get more food to feed their families, but they can also get more protection.

Xue Jinyao directly cut off 40-50% of the total number, and estimated that the number of rebels was between 120,000 and 130,000. Such a force still far exceeded the officers and soldiers outside the city.

After midnight, each team arrived at the assembly point one after another, stretching along several streets and unable to see the end even during the day.

Xue Jinyao specially sent a team of dozens of people to check the strength of each team. She used a quick check method to calculate the approximate number based on the length of the team. The final result was within the range of her estimate, which was nearly 130,000.

Ningbaoguan's team is located at the northeast gate. Soon after dawn, they will be the first to leave the city. Behind them are Wu soldiers and Shu soldiers, who are both followers and supervisors.

No matter what the rumors said, Ning Baoguan did not show any sign of being forced. As usual, he joked and cursed with the soldiers to boost their fighting spirit.

"This ruined city is really depressing. I have to rush out to take a breather no matter what today. No matter where they are, the officers and soldiers are all the same. They bully the weak and fear the strong. We have already fought a tough battle, and the officers and soldiers must be afraid. Today we are going to fight them. I am at the forefront of everything. If anyone cannot keep up or falls back, don’t call yourself a soldier of the Ning Army in the future. You are just a woman and become a maid or concubine for a real man. "

The soldiers laughed, humiliated each other, and wanted to take each other as concubines, which also encouraged each other.

Ning Baoguan is familiar with this routine. As for today's goal, he is not only to defeat the officers and soldiers, but also to march eastward and head straight to Wuzhou. He has only revealed it to a very few people. These people are either his cronies or Jiangdong river workers. Listen to King Ning's advice.

Xue Jinyao was at the forefront of the queue at the southeast gate. She had her own plan and would not wait too long. As soon as Ning Jun left the city, she led a group of soldiers out of the city. She first killed more than 800 spies in front of the formation, and then immediately joined the battle. .

For her, war is just like that. The more she thinks about it, the less she does. In the past, she had parents who, although they were deeply loved, could not participate in the war. They often looked anxious. Now that she finally had the opportunity, she would not do it. Those useless observations, it seems, are still the same. The situation on both sides will not change much, but the morale of one's own side will become lower and lower.

She just wants to move forward and refuses to fall behind.

She has always had regrets about the last battle. She felt that if King Wu had given her some more support instead of fighting for Nancheng, she might have been able to completely defeat the officers and soldiers that day, and there would be no need for today's battle.

She is a silent person, she does not inspire the soldiers, and she does not like to joke. She just puts on her armor, holds a long sword in her hand, and a single sword at her waist. She holds her head high and looks towards the city gate motionlessly, as if she is ready to leap on her horse at any time. , flew directly over the city wall.

The people behind her were also silent, their hearts gradually becoming one with the general, filled with the desire to fight.

In the last battle, the mages actively participated in the battle and suffered heavy casualties. This time they were not allowed to hold troops. Instead, they stood on both sides of the team, chanted scriptures and prayed for the soldiers.

The scouts sent outside the city came back at any time to report the news. The officers and soldiers had noticed that there would be a big battle today and were ready. However, they could not figure out which direction the rebel army was the main force, so they deployed troops on all sides. It seemed that the number of people outside the east city was most.

Everything he should think about had been thought about yesterday. Xue Jinyao now just longed for dawn and rushed out to have a good fight.

King Mawei of Liang and King Ganzhao of Shu led a small number of people to guard the city. One was responsible for the east and south, and the other was responsible for the west and north. At this time, both of them were standing on the east city wall, looking at the officer and soldier camps in the distance, and listening to the reports sent by the scouts at any time.

"The officers and soldiers have more lights than usual." Gan Zhao said. He and Ma Wei were neither familiar nor unfamiliar. No matter how they evaluated each other in private, they were still very harmonious on the surface.

"This just shows that the officers and soldiers are guilty and want to use this trick to intimidate the rebels." Ma Wei did not have to lead the troops himself today, so he was very calm. "The officers and soldiers will be defeated today. According to my guess, this battle will be over before noon."

"Once Jizhou is defeated, no army in the world will dare to compete with the King of Wu."

"Of course. Although there are forces in all directions, most of them are defeated by King Wu. The Shen family in Bingzhou was released by King Wu. Who can and who dares to fight?"

The two of them really had nothing to talk about, so they praised King Wu one by one, as if he was standing behind and listening to their conversation.

The sky was about to get dark, so Ning locked his horse in his arms and cursed King Wu silently in his heart to strengthen his fighting spirit. As for how to retaliate in the future, he knew well and was not in a hurry.

A cavalryman galloped along the street and headed straight for King Ning. He was stopped by the guards. He panted and said, "King Wu has an urgent order."

"Come here." Ning Baoguan said loudly, thinking that King Wu was up to another trick.

The cavalryman came closer and held a letter in his hands.

Ning Baoguan did not answer, and said to the scholar Zhang Wenbi beside him: "Read it to me."

Zhang Wenbi's face was pale. He was willing to work as a scribe for King Ning, but he really didn't want to go out of the city to join the war. But there was no way. He was one of the few people who knew that King Ning was going to Jiangdong, so he had to follow him, wearing a few pieces of clothing on his body. No matter how much armor and clothing he had, he couldn't bear it.

Someone held up a torch to illuminate it. Zhang Wenbi scratched the seal with trembling hands, opened the letter, and took just one glance. He felt a stone settled in his heart. He didn't dare to confirm, so he read it again. Then he suppressed the joy in his heart and said to King Ning: "The King of Wu said The attack is suspended and the entire army is on standby. No one is allowed to leave the city. "

Ning Baoguan was stunned for a moment, and finally couldn't hold it back anymore, so he vomited out what was in his heart: "This little pretty boy with no skills is playing tricks again and ruining the morale of the whole army..." Noticing that King Wu's messenger was still there, Ning Baoguan Looking at Zhang Wenbi, "Who are you looking at? I'm talking about you, a pretty boy."

"Huh? I...I..."

"What are you doing? Look at you like this. We are going to win the war, not to die. What are you afraid of?"

"Yes, yes." Zhang Wenbi did not dare to refute a single word.

On the other side, Xue Jinyao was even angrier, "Is this an order from King Wu? I don't believe it, why doesn't he come by himself?"

The messenger said awkwardly: "I was just ordered to deliver the letter, I don't know very well..."

Xue Jinyao turned his horse's head, threw the long spear to his men, and went straight to the camp, leaving a long street of soldiers at a loss.

The news spread quickly. Although King Wu's order was to postpone the attack, the kings and many generals understood that morale was like water. Once it was released, it would be difficult to gather again. There was no way to fight today, so we had to make preparations.

Xu Chu was sitting in the meeting hall of the camp, with guards standing on both sides, and there was silence.

The order had been issued, but Xu Chu was still weighing the pros and cons. He felt right for a while and wrong for a while, but he couldn't show any signs on his face, let alone ask anyone's opinion.

This was not a normal conversation, nor was it a pre-war discussion. This was a time when a final decision was needed, and he could only make his own decision.

There was the sound of footsteps outside. Xue Jin walked into the hall with his helmet on his head and asked directly: "Why don't you fight?"

"The officers and soldiers have a trap."

"So what? There are few officers and soldiers, and if there are traps, I can crush them to pieces."

"The question is here, are there really few officers and soldiers?"

"Huh? Those are the officers and soldiers. There were a lot of casualties in the last battle, so there aren't many left."

"I suspect that Yecheng has invited reinforcements and sent people out of the city to check. General Jishi will wait a moment."

"What are you waiting for? We promised to fight, but suddenly stopped fighting. The morale of the entire army has plummeted. By the time you investigate and find out, the opportunity will be gone."

"Please believe me, General Incarnation."

"I..." Xue Jinyao looked at the guards on both sides and softened his tone slightly, "In this case, there is no need to wait any longer. Disband the team and let everyone go back to the camp to rest."

"We can't disband, we still have to wait."

"What are you waiting for?"

"Come and sit down. You'll be waiting soon."

Xue Jinyao had no choice but to hold his knife and walk to King Wu. He saw two chairs on both sides of him, "Where should I sit?"

Xu Chu patted the chair on his right.

Xue Jinyao sat down and looked at the door with King Wu. He still didn't understand, "Everyone in the city is yours. You can just summon whoever you want to see. Why wait?"

“What is waited for is not the same as what is summoned.”

Not long after, the King of Shu rushed over panting. He first offered his hand to the King of Wu. Seeing that there was no one to stop him, he stepped forward and said, "I will discuss with the King of Liang. He will stay in the army while I come to see the King of Wu."

"Very good." Xu Chu understood the meaning of Gan Zhao's words. King Liang stayed in the army to monitor King Ning, and he came to explain the situation, "Sit down."

Xu Chu didn't make any gesture. Gan Zhao looked at it and sat on the second chair to the left of King Wu.

Xue Jinyao roughly understood King Wu's intention, but he didn't agree with it in his heart. He leaned into King Wu's ear and said, "If you want to kill Ning Baoguan, just do it. Why do you need to do these tricks?"

Xu Chu's answer was still the same two words: "We have to wait."

Nearly half an hour later, Ning Baoguan finally arrived. After entering the hall, he looked on both sides first, and then held his hands slightly, "Has King Wu made up his mind? Should we fight today or not?"

"No hurry, Prince Ning, please come and sit down."

Ning Baoguan strode over and sat directly on the left hand side, between the King of Wu and the King of Shu. He took a deep breath and said nothing.

Ma Wei then came over, bowed his hands in worship, and sat on the second seat on the right without saying anything.

After waiting for a while, Xu Chu said: "Today's attack is cancelled."

Although he had known that this would be the result, Xue Jinyao still asked on behalf of everyone: "Why? Is it because King Wu suspected that there were reinforcements in Yecheng?"

Hearing the word "reinforcements", the other three kings all looked surprised, and Gan Zhao asked: "Where did the reinforcements come from?" Ning Baoguan sneered, "The king of Wu thinks too much, it must be the officers and soldiers who are trying to spread suspicion. The King of Wu did not dare to send troops out of the city."

"Don't worry, everyone, accurate news will arrive soon."

Ma Wei asked: "Why does King Wu suspect that there are reinforcements in Yecheng?"

Xu Chu did not answer. He was only 60% sure at first, but after meeting the kings, he was 20% more convinced.