Plan to cut off the nine states

Feng Juniang stayed with Princess Huanyan for many days and was not qualified to write on her behalf. However, she had read a lot of official documents and knew more about the situation in all directions than Xu Chu. She was just trapped in the text. After being awakened, Only then can one suddenly realize.

Seeing that the young master did not deny it, Feng Juniang knew that she had guessed correctly. She was very excited and sat down again. "The officers and soldiers have already surrounded Xijing, but they have not launched an attack for many reasons. One of them is to wait for the Bingzhou army to arrive. Bingzhou sent out ten Of the ten thousand troops, only 20,000 arrived at Xijing on time, and the remaining troops were said to be clearing the rear to ensure the safety of the food route."

"The troops from Jing, Huai, and Luo Prefectures have not all arrived, and Bing Prefecture is not the only one." Xu Chu reminded, encouraging Feng Juniang to continue thinking.

"Yes, it seems that only Jizhou is the most concerned about pacifying Qinzhou. The main force of the Xi family in Jingzhou is placed in Hanzhou. King Liang of Luozhou claimed that the place was unstable and did not send many soldiers at all. Huaizhou did send troops. , but every time a city is captured, troops must be left to guard it. Less than 30,000 people rushed to Xijing to participate in the siege——"

Feng Juniang recalled the many official documents she had read, "Anyway, Yecheng at least knows where the troops in these three states are. Bingzhou is different. Except for the 20,000 soldiers outside Xijing City, the whereabouts of the remaining soldiers of the Shen family's army are unknown. It is said that they are in After clearing the World Army from the rear, they may also quietly return to Jinyang, or even approach Jizhou! "

Feng Juniang took a breath, "That's why the young master said that to Mr. Sun, but I still don't understand. Although the Jizhou army had dispatched troops earlier, it can certainly prevent Bingzhou from sneak attacks, but what does it have to do with He Rong's tribe?"

"I haven't had the opportunity to meet the new dan of the He Rong tribe, but judging from what he has done, he is very ambitious. People like him will only ally with the strong. If Yecheng is attacked by a surprise attack and cannot protect itself, it must be Disliked by He Rongbu."

"Wait a minute, why does the new Chanyu show his ambition? The marriage with the King of Jibei was decided by the old Chanyu. He Rongqiang just acknowledged it. I don't see anything special about it."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "That's not the only thing. Each time He Rong's department elected a new chanyu, there would be a lot of open and covert fighting, which lasted for months or even years. He Rong's strong arm was recognized in a short period of time, which shows that he has already gained power. The marriage with Yecheng was probably his idea for Lao Shanyu."

"So the Crown Prince's wife will be his biological sister."

"Yeah." Xu Chu nodded.

Feng Juniang thought for a while, and many puzzlements were gradually figured out, "Everyone said that He Rongbu and the Shen family of Bingzhou had been married for generations, and they were as close as one family. Suddenly they got married to Yecheng. Actually, they didn't want to see it. The Shen family is the dominant one, so they want to support Jizhou. If I were the new Chanyu of the He Rong tribe and had great ambitions and didn't want to live in the bitter cold outside the Great Wall, but I was not ready for a while, then the most favorable situation would be chaos in the Central Plains and the heroes. The more intense the fight, the more important the He Rong Department becomes."

Feng Juniang frowned, still confused, but did not ask, but thought to herself, "He Rongbu hopes that Bing and Hebei will compete with each other, but if one party is too weak and cannot be supported, they will not intervene. Instead, they may Support the powerful side and get a share of the pie. For example, last year, He Rong's tribe attacked Bingzhou together with Jizhou. Once the Shen family's army returned to Bingzhou in time and showed a desperate fight, He Rong's tribe immediately retreated. "

"Right now, Jizhou is slightly stronger, but Bingzhou is not weak either. He Rong's tribe pleases both sides and does not support one side. The Shen family knows He Rong's concerns best, so they want to use a sneak attack to capture Jizhou in one fell swoop, leaving He Rong's tribe no choice. How much will it cost the Shen family to give up half of Jizhou?"

"Prince Jin is not a short-sighted person and will never give up territory easily. But how to satisfy He Rongbu, I can't guess now."

Feng Juniang stood up, still dubious in her heart, "If Bingzhou really sent troops to attack Yecheng, the young master would have known about it. If not, it was because the young master was thinking too much - no, it was not that the young master thought too much, but that the young master wanted to save the Xijing World Army. , deliberately driving a wedge between Yecheng and Jinyang."

"That's why Princess Huanyan asked you to ask for clarification." Xu Chu said with a smile.

"But I didn't ask clearly. To be honest, I think the young master wants to save the Golden Saint."

"Haha, you don't need to ask clearly. You just need to tell the truth what you and I discussed. Princess Huanyan will make her own decision."

Feng Juniang sighed, "Both of you are too smart, which may not be a good thing. Jizhou has already transferred some of its troops. If everything goes as expected, the princess will save Yecheng, the Shen family will be forced to retreat, and the two states will be separated. If there is a check and balance, then doesn’t the little princess really have to marry the barbarian king? "

"It seems so."

"If it doesn't work, the young master will use the method I told you - since the young master can consummate his marriage with the Golden Saint, there should be no more fearful women in this world."

Xu Chu smiled and shook his head, "Mrs. Feng, have you ever thought about why you can marry multiple wives without being criticized?"

"My reputation has been ruined a long time ago. Young master, you actually think that I am not blamed?"

"If someone remarries frequently, it will destroy more than just their reputation."

Feng Juniang admitted this and smiled slightly, "Because I have a good appearance, there are always people who want me, and I wish my husband would die early."

"That's the truth. If I can't prevent Princess Fangde's marriage through clever tricks, it will be like losing my 'good looks' but still looking for a new husband."

Feng Juniang finally understood that the young master was able to stay in Siguo Valley because, firstly, he had an old relationship with the rulers in Yecheng, and secondly, he was good at scheming and was highly valued. People like him did not have the qualifications to "rely on favor and be arrogant".

"Young master, please continue to think of a way. I am out of ideas."

Feng Juniang returned to Yecheng before dark and told Princess Huanyan the entire conversation without concealing a word.

Princess Huanyan listened silently, "According to the spies' report, the Bingzhou army has accumulated a large amount of food and grass outside Feihukou, but the purpose is unknown."

Feihukou is one of the important passages between Jizhou and Bingzhou. The Bingzhou army accumulated food and grass there, obviously with the intention of marching eastward to Jizhou.

"So, Young Master really guessed it right!"

"He is not guessing, but he knows Prince Jin well. He is right. It is always important to understand people's hearts."

"How should the princess respond? Guard Yecheng? Send troops to support Feihukou? Preemptively attack Bingzhou?"

Princess Huanyan shook her head gently, "If you don't do anything, just let Bingzhou know that Yecheng is prepared, and the King of Jin will give up the sneak attack and maintain the superficial friendship with Jizhou."

"He Rongbu is happiest to see this situation."

"Well, we must make He Rongbu happy. This is the top priority."

Feng Juniang lowered her head and said nothing. Princess Huanyan guessed what she was thinking, "Do you think I am too flattering to foreigners?"

"I am a shallow person, how can I dare to comment on the princess's foresight?"

"It doesn't hurt to discuss it occasionally. In short, now is definitely not the time to offend He Rongbu. Princess Fangde must marry He Rongpingshan. Both King Jibei and Prince Yu understand this truth. Mr. Xu must use clever tricks to prevent this marriage. , very good, I’m looking forward to his moves.”

Princess Huanyan showed a smile. Although she was surrounded by heroes and there were powerful enemies on all sides, she was still extremely interested in this little battle between herself and Xu Chu.

In front of Princess Huanyan, Feng Juniang was cautious. Seeing that she seemed to be in a good mood, she asked cautiously: "Does it have to be Princess Fangde? Don't we... have a princess?"

Princess Huanyan was indeed in a better mood and explained: "One is the princess who has lost power, and the other is the princess who has gained power. Of course He Rong will choose the latter. The new Shanyu is determined to see Prince Yu become emperor, and will When my sister gets married, I naturally ask the King of Jibei to treat her with courtesy. "

"I see." Feng Juniang sympathized with the little princess and could only sigh silently.

"Also, He Rongpingshan also insists on marrying Princess Fangde. He has quite a few complaints about Mr. Xu."

"He wants to take the young master away by force, but he is not allowed to... There is no way, he is a barbarian king, he can blame anyone he wants. Alas, it's just... It's just a pity for Princess Fangde, she is young and has a fierce temper, so marrying I'm afraid it's hard to end up well outside the Great Wall."

"Tiancheng is overthrown, and the royal family is in danger. All descendants of the Zhang family must do their part. No matter how young they are, they must mature as soon as possible."

"Yes, the princess is right. I just said that I am shallow. It is all a woman's opinion."

"Hey, we are all women." Princess Huanyan paused for a moment, "If Prince Yu can successfully bring Princess Fangde back tomorrow, everything will be fine. If something unexpected happens, you will have to go to Siguo Valley again."

"The young master is soft on the outside but strong on the inside. He said he had to find a way..."

"You are not meeting him, but Princess Fangde. She is willing to listen to you. You must not only persuade her to return to the city, but also persuade her to marry outside the wall and work hard to please her husband. Over there, her enemies are not My family is not He Rongpingshan, but several generations of noble ladies from Bingzhou."

"I...little princess...it's not me who shirks it. It's just that I have more than enough ambition but not enough power."

Princess Huanyan smiled and said: "You have helped Princess Fangde a lot, and you have so many experiences, you will definitely be able to convince her to change her mind."

Feng Juniang's face turned red. It turned out that Princess Huanyan already knew that she helped the little princess escape from the palace, "I will do my best. The person the little princess relies on is none other than Mr. Xu. If the young master doesn't have any clever tricks, the little princess will be easier to persuade." ”

"When he was assassinated, Xu Chu did not care about his own safety. When he was defending the eastern capital, Xu Chu had hundreds of thousands of rebels to help him. Now he is reluctant to give up on himself and has no external help -" Huanyan refused to die, "If he really can Come up with a plan that can make He Rongbu return home satisfied, and things may turn around."

"But the person who came to ask for marriage was He Rongpingshan..." Feng Juniang smiled bitterly. She couldn't think of any way.

"Perhaps he really has a way. I hope so. I have annoyed a lot of people by allowing him to stay in Thought Valley. I have to let everyone see a suitable reason."

Feng Juniang's heart trembled slightly. The young master was right. His value lies entirely in his "clever tricks". Without this, he would lose his most important protector - Feng Juniang vaguely understood that consummating the marriage itself would cause everyone to be confused. The princess was annoyed, her previous idea was still too simple.

"With so many people under Prince Yu's command, we will definitely win a big victory tomorrow and bring back the little princess smoothly." Feng Juniang had to think about herself first, and she even regretted her reckless move of sending the little princess out of the city.

"It's best this way." Princess Huanyan's expression became more and more serious as she repeated: "It's best this way. It would be very disappointing if the Zhang family's descendants have different intentions at this time."

Feng Juniang didn't understand what "different intentions" meant. Princess Huanyan had no intention of explaining, "Please invite Mr. Sun and Lou Ji to come over. There should be a solution to the matter in Jiangdong."