Plan to cut off the nine states

After only staying for less than an hour, Zhang Shiqing regretted it himself before he could figure out how to make his family "regret".

She moved into Feng Juniang's bedroom, which was the best in the valley and had a complete range of facilities, but it was still cramped and cramped for her.

"There is only one room? Where is the living room? Where is the inner room? There is no wing room? The window is so small? The bed...is this really a bed?" Zhang Shiqing asked a series of questions.

The maid Fenfen has seen a bit of "the world", "Some people's houses... are just like this."

"It's not as big as a tent."

"Some tents...are smaller than this one." Binfen was unsure.

The last time Zhang Shiqing came here, he only entered Xu Chu's room. He didn't care about the size at that time. Looking back now, it was like a cave, but with fewer furnishings and it looked more spacious.

Zhang Shiqing sat on the chair, dazed for a while, and asked the maid doubtfully: "Why...why do I want to come here?"

"Because my uncle lives here..."

"Don't call him that."

"Because Mr. Xu lives here, the princess...the princess really has no place to go, so she comes here."

When Zhang Shiqing said "nowhere to go", tears filled his eyes again as he thought of his loneliness and helplessness.

Someone knocked on the door, and Colorful went to greet him.

The old servant stood outside, looking a little embarrassed, holding a tray with tea, snacks and other items in both hands. He smiled and said: "I just finished eating, drink some tea to digest. These snacks are all good things in the city, Feng Madam just sent it a few days ago."

Zhang Shiqing had indeed eaten a piece of barbecue and drank a glass of wine, but now he had no appetite and said loudly: "No, no, nothing, no one bothers me!"

FunFun closed immediately.

The old servant was stunned, turned around and walked away, sighing softly: "She is a poor princess. She will definitely not be happy when she ends up in such a place."

Zhang Shiqing was sad enough and fell asleep on the desk for a while. When she opened her eyes, it was already dark and the room was even smaller. She felt that there was no place to stay.

"No, he has to give me an idea. Everyone says he is smart, so he should let me see it." Zhang Shiqing decided to go to Xu Chu and ask him to help him "take back" his status in the family.

It was brighter outside than inside, but the grass and trees were shaking, and various strange sounds that were not found in the city came and went, which sounded a bit scary.

Binfen clung to her master and whispered, "Princess, I'll go back and get a candle."

"It's just a few steps." Zhang Shiqing was a little nervous, but he didn't want to appear timid.

Just around the corner was Xu Chu's room, which was unlit. In fact, there was no light on in any room in the entire valley. Everyone seemed to have gone to bed early, or left together.

The latter thought made Zhang Shiqing a little scared. He walked a few steps quickly and came to the door. He raised his hand and was about to knock when he heard a low voice from nearby: "We are here."

The sound came so suddenly that Zhang Shiqing was so frightened that he almost screamed. Colorful took the first step and let out a short "ah", grabbing one of the princess's arms tightly with both hands.

"Don't be afraid, it's us."

The master and servant finally saw where everyone in the valley was.

The speaker was Xu Chu. He and six other people were squatting in the shadow at the foot of the wall, like a row of stones.

Zhang Shiqing was shocked and angry, "What are you doing?"

"Come here." Xu Chu whispered.

"I won't go there."

"Be careful to alert the enemy."

"Is there a snake?" Zhang Shiqing and Binfen hurriedly walked to Xu Chu's side.

"It's not a snake, it's just these grasses you want to kill. Yes, don't scare the weeds."

"Huh?" Zhang Shiqing was confused.

Xu Chu motioned for the two of them to get closer and lower their bodies.

The tall weeds were swaying in the dark night, and it seemed that a giant beast with fangs and claws would jump out of it at any time. Zhang Shiqing was scared and leaned closely to Xu Chu. Colorful squatted behind her, holding his breath and trembling slightly.

"What?" Zhang Shiqing asked softly.

"These weeds will grow quietly at night when people are not prepared, so we ambush here to catch them off guard."

"Huh?" Zhang Shiqing was even more confused.

"Here you go." Xu Chu handed him a wooden stick.

"What's it for?"

"Light a fire later. To deal with these weeds, only fire attack is the most effective."

Zhang Shiqing took the stick and felt that one end was wrapped in a cloth strip. It seemed to be coated with grease and was a little slippery to the touch.

Colorful also got one from others.

These people prepared so seriously that the fighting spirit of the master and servant was also aroused, and they waited nervously.

"when……"

"Shh." Xu Chu motioned to Zhang Shiqing to silence him and stared more intently.

A loud roar suddenly sounded from a little distance, and Xu Chu stood up, "Attack!"

Everyone stood up. Someone quickly brought out a basin of charcoal fire, opened the lid, and fanned it a few times. The flames immediately burst out. Xu Chu was the first to reach out the torch, light the end, and then strode towards the grass.

Zhang Shiqing followed suit.

"Light the fire with the wind, not against the wind." Xu Chu reminded, already lighting a handful of grass.

"Won't the whole valley burn down?"

"Ha, you underestimate them too much. It is very difficult to light them. They will burn out after a short time."

Xu Chu was right. The lush weeds were full of moisture and could only burn for a while after being scorched.

Everyone jumped out, most of them holding two torches, lighting fires everywhere, in the grass, on the ground, and in the corners, shouting and shouting, as if to scare the weeds from growing over.

Zhang Shiqing started to find it interesting. He ran around and grabbed another torch from others. Every time he lit it, he screamed with excitement.

Xu Chu followed her and imparted rich "experience".

They had already dug several trenches to prevent the flames from spreading.

After all, the fire did not get bigger, but instead filled the valley with smoke.

Xu Chu announced that the fire was over, and all the torches were placed in a circle on the open space upwind. Everyone took out the tables, stools and food that had been prepared, and ate and drank.

"Is this a celebration party?" Zhang Shiqing asked, having to raise his voice because everyone was talking.

"No, this is to deceive the weeds, making them think it is still daytime and not dare to grow."

"Haha, what other tricks are there?" Zhang Shiqing found it even more interesting.

"After dawn, I still have to ride a horse and run a few laps..."

"Be sure to call me."

Compared to setting fires, everyone preferred the night banquet, which was unrestrained and the dishes were messy. Only with the princess around did they restrain themselves a little.

Zhang Shiqing had no intention of restraining herself. Although the food and wine were rough and there was no spacious hall, this night banquet still reminded her of life in the Eastern Capital.

In the middle of the night, the old servant urged everyone to rest, "Okay, okay, I'm not tired after being up late every day. Everyone, go and have a rest. The weeds won't grow here tonight. Whoever wants to vomit, go over there and bury it yourself." Come on, so-and-so and so-and-so, get up early tomorrow and it will be your turn to clean up the mess. Oh, what a waste, what a sin..."

Zhang Shiqing was already drunk and staggering around. He was in high spirits and refused to rest.

Xu Chu picked her up and carried her to the room. She struggled hard, but as soon as she touched the bed, she fell asleep in an instant.

When Zhang Shiqing woke up, it was already bright outside. Her whole body was sore and her head was dizzy. She couldn't remember where she was for a moment. Only after she realized that the bed, the room, and everything was small, did she remember that this was the valley of thought.

"Princess is awake." Binfen didn't dare to get drunk, so she got up early and brought some water, "If nothing else, the water in the valley is better than that in the city, clear, cool, and a little sweet."

Zhang Shiqing didn't have the strength to speak, so he reluctantly got up, washed and changed clothes, and finally sobered up a bit, "What did you do last night? I haven't been this drunk for a long time."

"We are fighting weeds, it's quite useful. The princess went out to take a look. The yard seems to have expanded a bit."

The sunshine outside was quite dazzling. Zhang Shiqing didn't feel that the yard had gotten bigger. He only saw a few chickens walking around. "Where have everyone gone? Are you still awake?"

"I woke up a long time ago and went to ride horses on the road."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"I called. The princess was sleeping soundly and did not wake up. Mr. Xu left two horses behind."

Zhang Shiqing returned to the house, changed into another dress, took the maid with him, and rode horseback to chase the others.

The road to be walked leads deep into the valley, passes Fan Guan's tomb, reaches the foot of the mountain, and is connected to the trail to the back mountain.

Strangely enough, this group of weeds only raged in the valley, leaving the trails up and down the mountain unaffected.

Zhang Shiqing's master and servants joined the crowd and rode horses back and forth, leaving only the weeds at the entrance of the valley unattended and allowed to grow wildly, acting as a natural fence.

At noon, everyone had a rest and had a meal. The old servant prepared a meal for the princess alone, but Zhang Shiqing didn't like it. He insisted on eating together like the others standing outside. He always felt that the food in the big pot seemed more fragrant.

With the princess around, they were more polite and did not dare to be shirtless as usual. Soon, they fell in love with the little princess, because she was not picky about gifts at all. Not only did they eat together, but she also remembered everyone's greetings. Name, I especially like to hear them tell about their experiences. The more bizarre they are, the more they like to listen.

The dozen or so people who stayed in the valley were mostly Wu people and the World Army. They were all experienced in many battles. They usually exaggerated when chatting with each other. But now that some people took it seriously, they wanted to add fuel to the fire. Each of them had killed more than a hundred enemies. credit, and they have all crawled out of the dead.

It was quieter in the afternoon and everyone was doing their own thing.

Xu Chu was reading and writing in the room. Zhang Shiqing walked around and came uninvited. When he saw that he was reading seriously, he didn't say hello. He sat next to him and looked at him. He was a little tired and leaned on the table and tilted his head to look at him. , and gradually his eyes became blurry.

Xu Chu put down the book and said with a smile: "Why don't you take a nap?"

"What else is fun?"

Xu Chu thought for a while, "I'm going to carry water and chop firewood later."

"Set fires, drink wine, ride horses, that kind of fun."

"No more. Now the two armies are in a stalemate. Setting fire once every three days is enough. We will reorganize the ditch tomorrow. It shouldn't be too fun."

Zhang Shiqing yawned and stood up, "I guess so, the valley is so big and the people are so big, how can it be fun?"

"Well, when you get bored living here, it's time for the palace to take you back."

"I won't go back. As long as that little barbarian girl is still here, I will never go back. I haven't forgotten the purpose of this trip: What's your idea?"

"The idea of ​​driving away the 'Little Barbarian Girl'?"

"Yes, you said yesterday that you would consider it."

"Well... there's no rush, we have to wait for the right time."

"What kind of timing?"

"If you can get military reports from Yecheng, I might be able to find opportunities from them."

"What does the military newspaper have to do with 'Little Barbarian Girl'?"

"The stakes are high. If the Jizhou Army suffers frequent setbacks, Yecheng must enlist the help of He Rong's cavalry. If everything goes smoothly ahead..."

"There is no need for He Rong's cavalry, which means there is no need for the 'Little Barbarian Girl'!" Zhang Shiqing understood, stood up and said with a smile: "This is easy, I will have someone deliver the military report tomorrow."