Plan to cut off the nine states

Sun Yalu failed to rush back to Yecheng. On the way, he met a small number of Jizhou soldiers and an envoy who was going to the Jin army camp to deliver a message. He immediately understood the princess's intention, so he turned around and returned to the eastern capital.

No matter what, he had to ensure the safety of King Xiangdong and find a way to help the princess win this war.

Mengjin was the only way to go. After being inspected personally by the King of Liang, Sun Yalu was allowed to go straight to the east capital. He was surprised to find that the city gate was closed and the people who answered the questions on the city wall turned out to be women holding weapons.

Sun Yalu could not enter the city, nor could he find out the whereabouts of King Xiangdong. The defenders only said that King Wu had led his army to set off, and they did not even reveal which direction they were going.

Fortunately, the traces left by the army were obvious. Sun Yalu followed the muddy road trampled by the horses' hooves and chased him. Finally, he was intercepted by the sentry that afternoon and sent to King Wu's camp.

What he saw and heard along the way made Sun Yalu guess the respective plans of the princess and King Wu, and he sighed repeatedly in his heart.

The army camped behind the mountain and sent out a large number of scouts and sentries spread over dozens of miles to prevent the news from leaking.

Luozhou has been devastated by wars, the villages and towns are deserted, and there are not many people left, so it is relatively easy to control.

Sun Yalu quietly observed the expressions of the officers in the camp, and had to admit that the King of Wu was really quite capable. Not long after the Luozhou soldiers surrendered, he was attracted by him. Although everyone coming and going did not have high fighting spirit, there was no obvious panic, and everyone was doing their own thing. The job is not messy at all.

In the tent, King Wu was having a dispute with someone.

Once Tan Wuwei decided to participate in this battle, he had to follow his own ideas and said loudly: "What are the kings of Wu waiting for? The war will start tomorrow, and the timing couldn't be better. The king of Wu must not be soft-hearted in the face of battle and harm himself and others..."

Xu Chu shook his head, "This battle is of great importance. I have to wait for the news ahead to make sure nothing is missed. You also said that Xi Yun is unwilling to contribute to the Tiancheng court and fight for his own family, but he is an opponent that cannot be underestimated."

"That's why we need to take things by surprise and win quickly..." Tan Wuwei shut up when he saw an outsider coming in.

"Mr. Sun came back too soon." Xu Chu said with a smile.

"I didn't reach Yecheng. I met the princess's messenger on the way and was ordered to turn back."

"Oh? What did the princess say?"

Tan Wuwei coughed, indicating that his matter was more urgent. Xu Chu said: "Before dark, I will give General Tan a letter of approval."

"Okay, wait for another hour or two." Tan Wuwei resigned helplessly. After leaving the tent, he sighed and murmured: "It's really strange. When I didn't pledge my allegiance, everyone obeyed your words. But after I paid my respects, they didn't. If you are willing to listen to my advice, what do King Jin and King Wu think? "

In the tent, Sun Yalu stepped forward, cupped his hands and said: "The princess ordered me to inform the King of Wu: The general trend is that there is no shortcut. The King of Wu wants to pacify South Jing first, and then retreat the northern troops. This plan is wrong. Even if the Xi family in Jingzhou is defeated, the northern troops will We will not retreat because of this. Without it, the He Rong tribe has been coveting Dongdu for a long time. In the past, it was blocked by Ji and the two prefectures and was unable to achieve its wish. Now that the army is approaching the river border, just a stone's throw away from Dongdu, it is absolutely unwilling to do so without success. Return. If He Rong's troops do not retreat, the armies of Ji, Bing, Huai, and Wu will have no reason to retreat. The King of Wu will think twice that it is better to make peace late than to make peace early."

After hearing this, Xu Chu smiled and said, "Did the princess really say that?"

"Of course, the princess can always guess King Wu's movements."

"But this is not my move, it is a plan made by others." Xu Chu stared at Sun Yalu, his smile unabated, "And why did the princess give me a chance to make peace? If the Beibing army refuses to retreat no matter what, let me If we fight the Jingzhou Army, even if I win, the loss will not be small, but it will give the Northern Army an opportunity."

Sun Yalu's expression remained unchanged, "It's not that the princess doesn't understand these truths, but the King of Xiangdong is in the hands of King Wu, so she has to act carefully. Everything the princess does is to ensure the safety of King Xiangdong."

"The King of Xiangdong is safe and sound. He is in the army and serves as the military commander of Luozhou. Mr. Sun can go see him later."

"Military leader? Your Highness, he... agreed?"

"I myself failed to persuade him to change his mind, so I sent another person to succeed immediately."

Sun Yalu became more and more surprised, not believing that there was anyone in the army who was more eloquent than King Wu, "Guo Shifeng?"

"Mr. Guo has other important responsibilities and has been out a long time ago. It's this lobbyist." Xu Chu pointed at a guard.

Sun Yalu looked over and saw a skinny boy. The other guards were either carrying knives or guns. He was the only one with an ordinary stick on his waist. Sun Yalu had a slight impression. He remembered that this man was always with King Wu. It seemed that he had also stayed in the Jizhou military camp.

Tang Weitian raised his head and said, "I convinced King Xiangdong, and he agreed in just two words."

"What did your Excellency say?" Sun Yalu became more and more curious.

Tang Weitian patted the stick on his waist, "Half of the credit goes to it. I said to King Xiangdong: 'King Wu thinks highly of you, so don't push back. Have you seen this magic stick of mine? I specialize in beating disobedient people. How many blows can you take?'"

Tang Weitian was so proud that Sun Yalu was speechless. After a long time, he turned to King Wu: "King Wu actually used coercion against King Xiangdong! King Xiangdong went to King Wu for help. King Wu treats guests like this, isn't he afraid that the world's scholars will be disappointed?"

"The king of Xiangdong led his troops to besiege the city. When he came to the eastern capital in times of crisis, he did not defect but surrendered. He was no different from the generals of Luozhou."

Sun Yalu was speechless and shook his head, "It's good that nothing happens to King Xiangdong. I came back this time to deliver a message for the princess..."

"Where's the letter?"

"I have made the princess's intention very clear."

Xu Chu shook his head, "It's empty talk. Only the writing on the white paper can be counted. I recognize the princess's handwriting. Please show it to Mr. Sun."

Sun Yalu said: "There is no letter, whether King Wu believes it or not, in short, I have conveyed the princess's wishes. If King Wu still believes that he can scare away the He Rong tribe, I can't say anything. In short, as long as Xiangdong As long as the king is still there, the king of Wu can negotiate peace with Yecheng at any time, but the conditions will be different. "

"Okay. Since Mr. Sun is back, there is no need to leave. King Xiangdong is in a bad mood and needs your comfort."

Sun Yalu knew that he could not deceive the King of Wu, but he refused to give up. He took a step forward, cupped his hands and said, "I have some unfaithful advice. Will the King of Wu listen to it?"

"All ears."

Sun Yalu looked at the guards on both sides, and Xu Chu said: "Since it is a loyal word, there is no need to guard against others."

Sun Yalu said: "The battle between the princess and the King of Wu will probably hurt both sides, and the world will be more chaotic and people will be in ruins. It is difficult to say that it is not the fault of both of them."

"Sure enough, it's jarring." Xu Chu said with a smile, "I just don't understand. With all the heroes working together and using their own methods, why is it only the two of us who bear the 'sin'?"

"In order to defeat the King of Wu, the princess led He Rong's tribe southward. This is the first sin."

"This is not the first time she has introduced foreign captives. Mr. Sun forgot about the siege of Jinyang?"

"No, the princess only allowed the He Rong tribe to enter the fortress and plunder, but did not allow them to occupy Jinyang. Afterwards, she had a way to make the He Rong tribe leave obediently. This move was only to appease the He Rong tribe and at the same time scare the King of Jin. Wu Wang has to admit that this plan was very successful."

"Well, it was successful, but the Jizhou soldiers failed to capture the eastern capital, so this strategy seems redundant and useless."

"It's okay not to mention what happened in the past. But this time the He Rong Department is introduced, the princess must pay a greater price. The so-called inviting a wolf into the house is a serious crime."

"How do you know that the princess can't let the foreigners leave 'obediently' this time?" Xu Chu laughed. He actually knew very well that plundering the border towns and borrowing troops to go south were two different things. Once the He Rong tribe discovered that the Central Plains was empty, regardless of whether Princess Huanyan No matter how many clever tricks there are, I'm afraid there is no way to get them out of the border.

"Because the princess originally left an army in the north of Jizhou to occupy key points and be able to force He Rong's tribe to leave. But I heard that the princess has transferred all this army to the south..."

Xu Chu put down his hand and said, "This is the princess's fault and has nothing to do with me."

"The king of Wu is also guilty, even more so than the princess."

"What am I guilty of?"

"King Wu... If King Wu loses this battle, it will be a great blessing to the world. If he wins, it will be a great misfortune to the world."

Counselors often speak wild words to attract the other side's attention. Sun Yalu is well versed in this technique, but he forgets that he is facing the King of Wu, who has the same counselor background.

The guard was furious when he heard this, but Xu Chu's smile remained unchanged, "It is my honor to be able to bear the heavy responsibility of the world's happiness and misfortune. I don't think it is a sin."

Sun Yalu said seriously: "From what I see, after the King of Wu secures the eastern capital, he will definitely march west, east, and south. But he will not go to the north. He will wait until he gathers strength before leading his troops north, right?"

"How is it? So what if it's not?"

"Sure enough, the person that the King of Wu is afraid of is not the princess, not the King of Jin, but also the He Rong tribe. The King of Wu is a far-sighted man. He must have a plan after defeating the Jingzhou army, and one of the plans must be to please the He Rong tribe. , am I right?"

"Please continue to guess." Xu Chu was noncommittal. In order to focus on expanding the territory, any Kyushu army must first make peace with the He Rong tribe. This was a helpless matter. Sun Yalu guessed it right.

"Have you ever thought about it, King Wu? Jizhou and Bingzhou will definitely promise huge profits to the He Rong tribe. If the King of Wu pays too little, he will not be able to satisfy the He Rong tribe. If he pays more, the King of Wu will be guilty more than the princess."

Xu Chu laughed, "It's such a big circle."

Sun Yalu cupped his hands and said: "Although the circle is large, the meaning is correct. It was precisely because the princess and the King of Wu could not compete that they led the wolf into the house. If the Central Plains falls into the hands of foreigners, the two of them will be blamed."

"Mr. Sun, do you want to switch to my account?"

"I am a counselor in Yecheng, how could I change my position to others at will?" Sun Yalu retorted unequivocally.

"In this case, why didn't Mr. Sun persuade the princess to stop, instead of nagging me? If the princess is willing to retreat, I can lead the army north and 'send' He Rong's troops she has attracted out of the fortress."

"The King of Wu once let the King of Jin out of the city, presumably to guard against the He Rong tribe, so I believe that the King of Wu..."

"You just need to believe in one thing. I will definitely defend the Eastern Capital, and I will definitely expel the Northern Barbarians and pacify the world. Sooner or later, I can bear any sin."

"Okay!" Tang Weitian couldn't help but cheer. He liked such a great governor and didn't like King Wu who "complained" to him.

Sun Yalu sighed, "If I misunderstood, King Wu can act according to his plan. I will accompany King Xiangdong."

"Please."

Sun Yalu took two steps back, stopped and said: "The Eastern Capital is empty, and women are guarding the city. Isn't King Wu worried that someone will take advantage of it and rob it?"

"Mr. Sun still refuses to give up?" Xu Chu said with a smile.

Sun Yalu must seize every opportunity, thinking wildly in his mind, but his face remains calm, "I won't say anything more, I just ask: Does King Wu know where King Ning is going?"

Xu Chu didn't answer, and Sun Yalu resigned, worried that if he spoke too much, flaws would be revealed.