Plan to cut off the nine states

(Thanks to readers "ryankim" and "78209" for their red tips.)

The Advent Army made great fanfare, and the soldiers came out of the camp one after another and went to different locations, as if they were going to surround the Jingzhou Legion.

The soldiers of the Advent Army thought so too. This time they were not afraid or suspicious, because the King of Wu had already arrived, and more troops would follow to support him. We had a huge numerical advantage, and there was no reason why we could not defeat the enemy. .

There was no response from the Jingzhou Army, no troops were sent out to fight, and it seemed that they did not abandon the camp immediately and flee. Xu Chu did not care and told the generals: "If the enemy troops leave the camp, report them immediately, otherwise, come back to see me in two hours." "

Xu Chu wanted to get some sleep. The "big battle" was about to happen. He wanted to get some sleep. When the news came out, the soldiers felt more at ease and said one after another: "King Wu has made all arrangements. No one from the Jingzhou army can escape. "

Xu Chu went to bed and woke up on his own within an hour. This sleep was not long, but it was a rare complete rest for him these days, and he felt quite comfortable.

He sat on the bed and rethought the decision he had made. For a moment, regret took over and he denounced his weakness and stupidity: Victory was in sight, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was right in front of him, so why retreat? How can I withdraw?

The regret only lasted for a moment. When he thought about how many lives this "opportunity" would cost, he felt another huge stone pile up in his heart.

The curtain was opened, and someone poked his head in to take a look. Seeing that King Wu had woken up, he stepped in and stood at the door, looking at him silently.

Xu Chu forced out a smile.

"Why?" Xue Jinyao had been holding this sentence in his heart and finally asked.

"No victory is worth the death of so many people."

"General Cao said that this is what fighting is like. Sometimes even only one person is left, which is considered a victory. Although it is more tragic, there is no war without paying the price."

"What about you? You think so too?"

Xue Jinyao was silent for a while, "I admit that General Cao is right, but I can't do it. If the front is a dead place, I can be the first to rush in, but I can't stay behind and send others to die, so I would rather give up." The title of the general who came to the world - if I could still be alive in the original plan."

In the original plan, Xue Jinyao especially should not survive.

"I'm not as good as you. I can't even take the lead into death."

Xue Jinyao frowned slightly, "You are the King of Wu, how can you compare with me? And you have already... looked like an emperor before."

"Killed a lot of people."

"More people were saved."

Xu Chu moved to the side and said, "Sit down."

Xue Jinyao hesitated for a moment, then walked over and sat down. She felt that the King of Wu next to her was like a stranger, rather than the husband who had slept with her. The King of Wu at this moment made her nervous and irritable, as if she was on the first two nights of a wedding. .

"You don't have to send the World Army to die, and you don't have to give up everything. If you fight normally, you can defeat the Jingzhou Army and defend the Eastern Capital. It won't affect your grand plan." Xue Jinyao advised, trying to hide his emotions.

Xu Chu shook his head, "On the battlefield, when fighting against the enemy, will you only use three points of your strength?"

"How can that be done? You only have to use three points of force to send yourself to death. It must be ten points, not even one point less..." Xue Jinyao understood, "Can't you speak more frankly?"

"I'm used to it." Xu Chu said with a smile, pressing his hands on the bed, and his right hand happened to hold half of the back of his wife's hand.

As if being pricked by a needle, Xue Jinyao immediately pulled out his hand, his cheeks slightly red, and slowly put his hand back on the bed, only one finger away from her husband's hand.

Xu Chu gently rubbed it a few times, then held the hand and said, "Your hand doesn't look like it has been holding a knife all year round."

"My mother said it's because I'm young. In a few years, I'll develop calluses, which will slowly become as hard as iron. When the time comes... don't you like calloused hands?"

"I don't know, it depends on whether your hard hand is used to hold the knife or to hit me."

Xue Jinyao laughed out loud and immediately said calmly: "Are you still thinking of being glib? Do you know what kind of situation you are about to face?"

"I thought of something, but it's not comprehensive enough. Please tell me."

Xue Jinyao sighed. He was still a little nervous, but he was no longer irritable. On the contrary, he felt that he and his husband had never been so close.

"General Cao told me that compared with the Jingzhou Army, we have many people, but compared with the officers and soldiers from all walks of life, we have few people, so we must defeat them one by one. If the Jingzhou Army cannot be completely defeated in this battle, Dongdu will be surrounded again. , If King Wu tries to retreat from the enemy, it will be even more difficult, and more people will die.”

"Well, I thought of this."

"Also, the King of Wu did not want to suffer too many casualties. Today he 'saved' tens of thousands of the Avatar Army. However, they did not expect that they would not be grateful in the future. Instead, they would blame the King of Wu for being trapped in Dongdu."

"I didn't expect this, but what you said makes sense. Difficulty both internally and externally. This is indeed the situation I will face."

"What do you do? Wait to be killed by your own soldiers?"

"Will you save me one day?"

Xue Jin shook his eyebrows and said, "Whoever dares to lay a finger on you, I will chop him into eight pieces."

Xu Chu smiled, turned to look at his wife, and said nothing.

"You don't believe it?" Xue Jinyao misunderstood her husband's expression, "Because I didn't avenge my parents? They died suddenly, but to be honest, they were not innocent. Although the person who killed them was led by Liang Wang, I was the one who actually took the initiative. The Advent Army that Dad pissed off..."

"I believe that you are the only person I trust now." Xu Chu held her hand tighter, so tight that her face turned slightly red.

"Just believe it..." Xue Jin lowered his gaze, vaguely guessing what her husband was thinking.

"It seems that the Jingzhou Army has never left the camp."

"Well, they don't dare."

"There's still some time until two hours."

"There was a period..."

"Do you want to..."

"In no mood."

"Really don't want to?"

"I really don't want to."

"Then how do you know what I'm thinking?"

Xue Jinyao's face turned even redder, and even she wondered, when did she become so shy? "It's daytime, you can hear it outside..."

"Are you scared?"

"I'm not afraid of anything!"

In the tent, Xue Jinyao, who couldn't be more excited, decided to prove his courage. Outside the tent, the guards heard strange noises and couldn't help but be confused.

"Are the generals coming to the world and the governor fighting?" Tang Weitian was the closest and heard the most, but the sound was intermittent and he couldn't hear clearly. "No, the governor is definitely no match for the general coming to the world. I have to go in and help." …”

A guard hurriedly grabbed Tang Weitian and said with a smile: "Don't go in, the general who comes to the world will kill you, and the ruler will not spare you."

"I'm helping..."

"No need. If the ruler really needs help, he will naturally call for help."

"But……"

"There is no but, if you are afraid of being embarrassed when you are in power, it will be even more embarrassing when you go in."

Tang Weitian deeply agreed, "You are right. General Jingshi is the wife of the governor. Of course he doesn't want others to see him being beaten by his own wife. This was the case with King Jingshi in the past."

The guard smiled and nodded, letting go of his hand, "Let's all go further away."

Tang Weitian no longer insisted on entering the tent, and looked around, still doubting in his heart, "The governor is being beaten, why are you laughing?"

The guards all stopped smiling and shook their heads.

Two hours are coming, and there is still no update from the scouts ahead. The Jingzhou Army seems to be frightened, and occasionally sends out a small group of soldiers and horses, runs around for a while, and then withdraws. In the last half hour, even the small group of soldiers and horses have disappeared.

Someone had to go in and remind King Wu. The guards jointly recommended Tang Weitian this time, "You must go. Who made you the trusted guard of the ruler?"

"I'll go, I'll go. No matter how ruthless General Jishi is, it's time to beat her enough by now. If she continues to be ruthless, I have to help. That's the Grand Governor."

Tang Weitian was chattering as he walked, and the guards behind him chuckled. He was scolded by the leader before he returned to seriousness.

Tang Weitian was worried that the Governor would be embarrassed, so he shouted at the door: "Captain, two hours are up, I'm coming in."

"Come in."

The Grand Governor's voice was the same as usual, and Tang Weitian felt a little relieved, thinking that the general who came to the world was not heavy-handed.

After entering the tent, Tang Weitian saw the Commander-in-Chief standing in the middle with a good look on his face. He didn't look like he had been beaten at all. Instead, General Jishi stood behind, with his back to the exit, as if she was the one being bullied. .

Tang Weitian looked confused.

"If you have anything to say, just say it." Xu Chu urged.

"Ah... two hours are up. The scout said that no one from the Jingzhou Army has come out. Our people have been almost arranged. When will the battle start?"

Xu Chu picked up a written military order from the table and said, "Give it to General Cao Shenxi personally. He knows what to do."

"Okay." Tang Weitian turned to leave, but he was concerned about the safety of the governor and stopped: "Husband and wife, if we don't fight, we are not husband and wife. My father and mother used to fight a lot, but they reconciled after the fight, as if nothing had happened. General Jiancheng , I don’t know why the Grand Governor offended you, please be gentler, the Grand Governor is no better than people like us, those with delicate skin and tender flesh cannot withstand..."

Xue Jin turned around and said angrily: "What, do you think I am a man-eating monster?"

"No, no, I don't mean that. I just want you to..."

"You still have military orders in your hand." Xu Chu reminded.

Tang Wei ran out and didn't forget to add: "I'll be back soon. I'll be outside. The Governor can call me at any time!"

Xue Jinyao complained softly: "I told you that people outside would hear it."

"So what?"

Xue Jinyao wanted to appear stern, but he couldn't do it. "I have to leave too. The soldiers are still waiting for me..."

"No, the Jingzhou army has fled and the camp is empty. General Cao will send someone to find out."

"How could the Jingzhou army have tens of thousands of people and escape without a trace?"

"Xi Yun is a cautious general and has arranged a retreat from the beginning. When I dispatched troops and generals before, I did not send anyone to block the retreat. The enemy and our battalions are twenty or thirty miles apart. It is actually very easy for the Jingzhou people to retreat quietly. "

Only then did Xue Jinyao understand why King Wu mobilized troops everywhere but did not send anyone directly to the Jingzhou military camp.

"Oh, you really...really want to give up?"

"I want to ask you a favor."

"Um?"

"Take the World Army back to Qinzhou?"

Returning to Qinzhou was the greatest hope of Xue Jinyao and many of the soldiers of the World Army. However, she was not happy when she heard, "Are you going to occupy Qinzhou?"

Xu Chu shook his head gently, "I can't just leave. I will solve the troubles I caused myself."

Xue Jinyao suddenly realized that this was not a reconciliation between husband and wife, but a farewell.