Plan to cut off the nine states

Gan Zhao was ordered to see the King of Wu. He looked out of the city and shook his head, saying, "Is King Ning crazy? He only brought 6,000 men. Attacking the officers and soldiers is tantamount to committing suicide. Did he inform the King of Wu in advance?"

Xu Chu shook his head. He called Gan Zhao for only one purpose, which was to expose his conspiracy to surrender to the officers and soldiers and kill him in public.

Gan Zhao was completely unaware and did not even look at Guo Shifeng beside the King of Wu, as if they had never known each other.

Xue Jinyao quickly climbed the city wall and shouted, "Can we go out of the city to join the battle?"

"Wait a little longer." Xu Chu had to be cautious, "Send more scouts."

Xue Jinyao still wanted to argue, glanced at the King of Wu, and finally said nothing and turned away.

Gan Zhao bowed and said, "Why don't I lead the troops out of the city to see? If the officers and soldiers are in chaos, I will take advantage of the situation to attack. If the officers and soldiers set a trap, they will only surround me in part."

"You stay, and leave all the soldiers to General Jiangshi."

"Yes." Gan Zhao glanced at Guo Shifeng, and then looked around, knowing that he had no way to escape.

A scout ran down from the city and shouted, "It is said that the general was assassinated and the officers and soldiers are in chaos!"

"Assassinated? Who assassinated him?" Xu Chu was shocked.

"I don't know who it was, maybe the subordinates of King Ning." The scout ran away and went to get information.

The north gate opened, and hundreds of riders galloped out. They were the "scouts" sent by Xue Jinyao.

"If it is true, the opportunity cannot be missed." Guo Shifeng whispered.

"If it is false, there is no way back." When Xu Chu was a counselor, he would be more radical than Guo Shifeng in such a situation, but now he is the King of Wu and has to take full responsibility for the victory, so he has to be careful.

"It is difficult to achieve great success without taking risks." Guo Shifeng continued to persuade, and paused for a moment, "The general intends to seek peace, so it seems unnecessary to plot again. It is very likely that the Jizhou general will avenge Wang Tiemei..."

Xu Chu could not wait any longer, and said to a guard: "Send the general to the world."

Xue Jinyao ran up a few steps, "You finally made a decision."

"Order the soldiers of Nancheng to attack, and you follow."

"The North Camp is in chaos, why attack Nancheng?"

"The South Camp is mostly Jizhou soldiers. If the officers and soldiers are really in turmoil, that must be the source of the chaos. If the officers and soldiers use tricks and the South Camp holds on, you withdraw your troops immediately."

"Okay." Xue Jinyao led people to the South City. No matter what King Wu said, she would lead the troops out of the city herself and leave King Liang to guard the gate.

Scouts frequently brought back news that the officers and soldiers seemed to be in chaos, but the news of the general's death could not be confirmed.

Gan Zhao suddenly knelt at King Wu's feet and kowtowed respectfully, with his forehead almost touching King Wu's toes.

Xu Chu took a step back, "What does the King of Shu mean?"

"I beg the King of Wu to give me a hundred soldiers, so that I can fight with the officers and soldiers and die without regrets."

Xu Chu did not support Gan Zhao, but looked at him in silence.

Gan Zhao kowtowed again, "The kings died or scattered, and the fewer people left, the more suspicious they will be."

Xu Chu sneered and turned to look at Guo Shifeng, wanting to hear his opinion.

Guo Shifeng whispered, "The King of Shu has made great contributions, so it is better to let him be a minister, stay with the King of Wu, and lead the civil officials."

Xu Chu was stunned, and then realized that the betrayer would not only destroy his own reputation, but his master would also be considered to be a person who did not know people well. Giving high positions and taking away their military power is a common tactic used by the Tiancheng court.

"All industries are waiting to be developed. Is the King of Shu willing to take the position of civil servant?"

Gan Zhao knew that he had just escaped death, and kowtowed three times, "I will obey your orders. I am afraid that I am a minor official and do not know the rules, which will ruin the King of Wu's great cause."

Xu Chu helped Gan Zhao up, "Everything has a beginning. The King of Shu is a person I trust. I don't have to worry about you taking charge of the civil servants."

Gan Zhao sweated profusely and smiled awkwardly, "I will never let the King of Wu down."

Xu Chu said to a guard leader, "Send the King of Shu back to the camp to rest, and don't let him be disturbed."

The leader understood the King of Wu's intention, nodded deeply, led Gan Zhao down the city, isolated him from the Shu generals, and placed him under house arrest.

Guo Shifeng then said to the King of Wu: "Although the King of Shu has no great ambitions, he is deeply rooted in the Jiangshi Army. He cannot be killed immediately, nor can he stay for a long time. After this battle, the King of Wu will be feared by the world. With this, he can recruit tens of thousands of soldiers in two or three months..."

"I understand." Xu Chu did not let Guo Shifeng continue.

When the sources of the righteous army are diverse, the Jiangshi Army is no longer the only main force, and Gan Zhao will be useless.

Guo Shifeng smiled and nodded. This is one of the reasons why he is willing to follow the King of Wu. The two of them often think of the same thing and understand it at once.

Another scout brought news. Xu Chu was sure that the officers and soldiers were really in chaos, so he left the city and personally led the soldiers of the North City to participate in the battle.

Facts have proved that the righteous army is still too little trained. They can still unite when they are at a disadvantage. Once they are defeated, they immediately become too excited and chase after them, forgetting to ask for instructions.

The military orders were not smooth at night, so Xu Chu could only ensure that his Wu soldiers would not disperse, and ordered them to capture prisoners and interrogate the whereabouts of Wang Dian and others.

The place where the Wu soldiers were held was located behind the camp. From a distance, everyone saw the blazing fire and was shocked. Without the King of Wu urging them, they all sped up.

The fire was raging, mixed with heart-wrenching screams.

Xu Chu hurriedly ordered to put out the fire.

There was no water around, and the snow had melted more than half. The so-called firefighting was just a show. No one could get close at all, and they could only wait for the fire to weaken on its own.

It was not until an hour later that the fire gradually weakened and the screams disappeared.

A soldier found the King of Wu, "I saw the body of the general, not far away."

The general's body was easy to identify. Although his head had been cut off by a sharp blade, his plump body was still there. There was no other person besides him.

Xu Chu jumped off his horse and did not approach the body. He took a look at it from a distance and felt sick.

"Where are the other members of the Lou family?" Xu Chu asked.

"I heard that he was taken away by King Ning." A soldier guarding the body replied.

"Where is Prince Ning?"

"It came quickly, left quickly, and disappeared without a trace. Hey, King Ning is the only one with this ability, but it was King Wu who had the uncanny plan to attack in the east and attack in the west. He arranged this sneak attack and assassination to catch the officers and soldiers off guard."

The chaos among the officers and soldiers occurred so suddenly that the rebel officers and soldiers did not know the reason, so they attributed all the credit to the King of Wu.

Of course Xu Chu would not refuse. He should have said something, but he felt something was stuck in his throat. He had to hold back to not spit it out and had no energy to speak.

Guo Shifeng saw that King Wu looked wrong and asked for him: "Where is the assassin? Was he killed by the officers and soldiers?"

"I don't know, we also want to meet this hero... By the way, we caught one person, claiming to be from the Lou family, talking nonsense, we can't ask anything."

"Bring you to see me." Xu Chu turned and walked away, just in time to meet the eyes of a group of Wu soldiers behind him.

That was the resentment and sorrow he had seen in Meng Nilun's eyes. He was slightly startled, and he understood that these people hated the general so much that they could not hide their anger even in the face of the remains. If it weren't for the sight of Wu In front of the king, he had already gone up and chopped him off.

Guo Shifeng said to the soldiers of the Avatar Army: "Bury the bones on the spot and dispose of them tomorrow."

Guo Shifeng led King Wu to take a few steps away and whispered: "These people are all wolves. It is best to treat them as subordinates, but King Wu has to throw them some meat from time to time."

"Isn't it enough for General Meng to kill Mrs. Lan?"

Guo Shifeng shook his head slightly, "All the captured Wu soldiers were burned to death, and their bones were not yet cold. Killing just one Mrs. Lan is not enough."

The people of Wu were already resentful towards the general, and seeing their relatives and friends being burned to charcoal with their own eyes made them even more angry. They thought it was the general's order.

Even Xu Chu thought so. He turned around and looked at the soldiers who were digging a hole, "Since the general sent Lou Ji to negotiate peace, why..."

"That's what the general is like. He follows his instincts and doesn't make sense. However, he died because of this. I guess he must have been too careless and allowed the people of Jizhou to take advantage of him."

Xu Chu saw a group of soldiers holding torches and escorting a man from afar. He vaguely recognized it as Lou Shuo, the seventh son of the Lou family, and said to Guo Shifeng, "I will interrogate him, but you stay and look after him."

Guo Shifeng accepted the order with his hands. There were some things that King Wu should not witness with his own eyes.

Xu Chu ordered the Wu soldiers to stay where they were. He took only Tang Weitian and several other guards for more than a hundred steps and stopped under a big tree. With the wind at his back, the general's body could not be seen.

Occasionally, killing cries can still be heard from all around, but the war is almost over, and the only thing left is to catch up. The extremely excited rebel soldiers will probably have to wait until dawn before they can all return to the Eastern Capital.

Tang Weitian looked away and sighed softly. He also wanted to join the pursuit, but could not leave King Wu. He murmured: "It's not easy to encounter such a smooth battle..."

Lou Shuo was escorted in front of the King of Wu. He was shaking non-stop, his face was as pale as paper, his eyes were distracted, and he didn't even recognize the person in front of him.

"Where did you catch him?" Xu Chu asked.

"Over there, he was running around like a madman and he just ran into us."

"Very good, keep him. I recognize this person."

The soldiers retired, and Xu Chu ordered the guards to guard the perimeter, leaving Tang Weitian alone.

"Lou Shuo." Xu Chu called three times in a row. Lou Shuo was startled and finally recognized the person in front of him, "You... you..."

"It's me. Tell me, who killed the general? Who ordered the people of Wu to be burned to death?"

Recognizing the Seventeenth Brother, Lou Shuo trembled even more seriously, his legs went weak, and he sat down on the ground, crying: "Seventeenth Brother... No, no, King Wu, please spare your life, King Wu, please spare your life, remember the way I treated you You are not weak, please spare my life."

Xu Chu never felt that anyone in the Lou family treated him badly, which was one of the reasons why he could be so cruel.

"I don't want to kill you, but you have to tell the truth."

"truth?"

"Who killed the general? Who ordered the Wu prisoners to be burned?" Xu Chu repeated.

"General..." Lou Shuo burst into tears. For the general, he did not have a father-son feeling, but a sense of dependence that he had developed since childhood. It took him a long time to stop crying, "The general was killed by the Queen Mother. ”

Xu Chu was stunned, "Are you sure?"

"I saw it with my own eyes. It was right there. The general went to see the Queen Mother. We waited outside, and then...then I went in to check, and saw...saw..." Lou Shuo felt as if he had seen a ghost and did not dare to continue. .

"Where is the Queen Mother?" Xu Chu still couldn't believe it.

"I don't know. I ran out of the tent and a group of soldiers came to kill me. I kept running and kept running. Somehow... I ended up here." Lou Shuo lost a large part of his memory.

"Did the general give the order to burn the Wu prisoners?"

"Ah? Burning prisoners? Is there such a thing? I haven't heard of it..."

"The general never gave an order?"

"The general only ordered to send troops to Yecheng tomorrow morning, and also sent people to appease the Jizhou soldiers... It was all Sun Jian. He killed the Ji generals indiscriminately, angered the soldiers, and caused this disaster."

Guo Shifeng hurried over, took a look at Lou Shuo, and said to King Wu: "There are still survivors in Wu."

"How much? Take me to see it quickly."

There were less than ten survivors, all of whom were seriously injured. Wang Dian was one of them. He was lying on the ground, burned beyond recognition. Only his eyes were wide open, staring at the King of Wu, and he said in a strange voice: "Ning Baoguan set fire, the King of Wu will avenge us..."

Xu Chu's heart sank, and anger and regret surged like a tide.