Plan to cut off the nine states

Guo Shifeng came to meet the King of Liang after a long journey. After only saying a few words, he walked out of the military tent and came to see Xu Chu without even drinking a cup of tea.

"Before I left, I had a hunch that I would meet Mr. Xu again during this trip, but I didn't expect to be here." Guo Shifeng cupped his hands and smiled, changing his name to "Mr. Xu" without hesitation.

Xu Chu stood up to greet each other, greeted each other, and introduced Yu Zhan.

Guo Shifeng only glanced at Zhan, nodded slightly, and ignored him again. Yu Zhan guessed that this middle-aged scholar who talked and laughed freely must be an important figure, so he stood aside in silence. After a while, he couldn't bear it anymore. After a few hums, he quietly walked out of the tent and went to take shelter elsewhere.

The two sat across from each other and Xu Chu said: "I want to apologize to Brother Guo first. When I sent Brother Guo to negotiate peace, I walked away from behind, putting Brother Guo into trouble..."

Guo Shifeng said with a smile: "Everyone has his or her own time. When Mr. Xu was in a high position, he was able to regard himself as incompetent and retreat bravely. In fact, he saved himself and others. Imagine if Mr. Xu had been reluctantly becoming the king and was defeated in the end. , How many followers will I suffer? As for me, my trip was not in vain. I met King Ning on the way and followed him to Jiangdong. I made a few plans and was lucky enough to gain the trust of King Ning. I am dedicated to assisting King Ning, and I have no other intentions. In the past, I was "up and down" with the world, but now I am advancing and retreating with King Ning. "

"Congratulations." Xu Chu said with a smile, believing or not believing Guo Shifeng's words.

"Where is Mr. Xu? I heard that you are now the envoy of Yecheng. Are you going up and down with the Zhang family?"

Xu Chu shook his head, "I have my own plans and I have not surrendered to anyone."

"I think so. The King of Liang is a little suspicious, thinking that Mr. Xu is deceived by his beauty and is willing to be a slave. I say that is absolutely not the case. If Mr. Xu pays homage, he must really think that this person has the qualifications to compete for the throne."

"Thank you for your kindness." Xu Chu said with cupped hands.

"So Mr. Xu thinks that King Liang has no qualifications to compete for the title?"

"What do you think, Brother Guo?"

"Haha, unlike Mr. Xu, I have already surrendered to the Ming Lord and cannot have second thoughts. I can't even assume it. It can only be said to be a pity. Although I met Prince Liang earlier, we were destined to have no fate. Fortunately, Prince Ning There is no hostility between the two kings, so I won’t be in a dilemma.”

Xu Chu nodded. In terms of "quarrels", the only person he was afraid of was Guo Shifeng.

Seeing that Xu Chu didn't seem to like this topic, Guo Shifeng asked: "Who else is the envoy from Yecheng who is traveling with Mr. Xu?"

"It's Lord Fei Zhenfei."

"He is a rare old minister with strong bones, but it is a pity that he has no use in troubled times."

"There is also a deputy envoy, Kou Daogu, a famous scholar in Jizhou."

Guo Shifeng let out a long sigh, "No wonder."

"What's wrong?"

"When I came, I saw several people queuing up outside the tent next to me, as if they were waiting to be summoned. I was still wondering, among Liang Wang's army, who else besides Mr. Xu could be so highly regarded, and it turned out to be Kou Daogu. It is said that he has lived in seclusion. After many years, I never expected that he would come out at this time. In this way, Yecheng does have some real abilities. "

Someone outside the tent shouted loudly: "The whole army sets out and breaks camp immediately!"

Guo Shifeng stood up and said, "Let's talk while walking? It's not easy to meet Master Xu. I have a lot to say."

"I am also about to listen to some good advice to clear my dirty ears."

The two men came out of their tents, mounted their horses, and guarded a secluded place to make way for the soldiers.

Guo Shifeng lamented: "It was really not easy for King Liang. Although he occupied the eastern capital, most of Luozhou had fallen into the hands of others. It was difficult for Liang's army to recruit troops, and they had nowhere to collect food and grass. They were surrounded by heroes, all with evil intentions. The reason why the heroes have not taken action is simply because they are afraid of each other, and they are a little timid because of the lessons learned from the Jizhou Army. "

"It's really difficult."

"I heard about the situation here in Jiangdong, and I have been urging King Ning and King Liang to form an alliance. I said that the heroes of the various states have their own family backgrounds, and those with shallow foundations are none other than King Ning and King Liang. If they can work together, it will be just right. Crossing the east and west, cutting the world, looking at the states, if they fight each other, they will die first and then die. "

"What Brother Guo said is absolutely true."

"Prince Ning is suspicious, especially to outsiders. He always thinks that I have selfish motives - I do have selfish motives, but if it is not beneficial to Prince Ning, I will never reveal this selfishness."

"Although Prince Ning is suspicious, he has a broad mind and is a person who can be persuaded."

Guo Shifeng smiled and said: "Master Xu is always very accurate in judging people. Yes, Prince Ning has been observing for a long time and finally agreed with my suggestion, so - that's it."

Guo Shifeng pointed at the soldiers who were leaving the camp one after another, as if he had transformed thousands of troops out of thin air.

Xu Chu no longer dared to say that he was "accurate in judging people," especially with Ning Baoguan. His mistake was huge, but with Guo Shifeng and Ma Wei, he never felt that he had made a mistake. "How will the three families distribute Jizhou?"

"I shouldn't say...it's useless now. We've reached this point. In fact, it's simple. King Liang gave up the Eastern Capital, moved to Yecheng, occupied Jizhou, the Sheng family took control of the Eastern Capital, and the entire Luozhou belonged to them. King Ning's The side contributes the least, so the requirements are also the lowest. I just ask the Sheng family to concentrate on managing Huai and Luo, and not to send troops across the river to interfere with King Ning's pacification of Wuzhou. "

"Why didn't Brother Guo persuade the Sheng family to attack Yecheng directly instead of lending troops to King Liang?"

"The Sheng family, how should I put it, are more concerned about their reputation. There is an empress dowager in Yecheng, and now there is an emperor. The Sheng family does not want to bear the crime of regicide, so - does Mr. Xu recognize the Sheng family?"

Xu Chu shook his head.

"A group of people who value reputation more than their lives. Even if everyone in the world knows what is going on, as long as they think they can hide it, no one will see it. So the Sheng family borrows troops, but they have to fight Liang Junqi No, they don’t want Yecheng, but the empty city of Dongdu.”

"It may also be because the Sheng family wants to leave a way out for themselves so that they can reconcile with Yecheng at any time."

"Haha, Mr. Xu has finally started. Let's go on a journey first and talk about it during the break."

Guo Shifeng called his followers and ordered them to go to the front to prepare. Then he and Xu Chu rode on the road, galloping past the marching soldiers. After more than ten miles, they reined up their horses in front of a pavilion.

Guo Shifeng's entourage had just prepared a small table of wine and food. The two of them sat in the pavilion, drinking and watching the soldiers passing by on the road.

"Liang Jun is not moving fast. If we sit a little longer, we can still catch up today."

"The slow march was also the Sheng family's idea, right?"

"We did think that the Sheng family might regret it midway, so we insisted that King Liang lead the army, while Sheng Xuan stayed behind to guard the two kings. Even if the Sheng family changed their mind, it would take three to five days to send the order to the front. As for the slow march, That was the idea of ​​King Liang and me. The walls of Ye city are thick and there are few soldiers. It would be best if we could open the door and surrender. So the Liang army gradually approached and the people of Ye city were scattered. "

"Yecheng was forced to have no choice but to borrow 100,000 troops from the He Rong tribe and will soon go south to protect Yecheng."

Guo Shifeng laughed and said: "Yecheng cannot borrow 100,000 cavalry."

"Um?"

"It's not surprising that Mr. Xu didn't know. The whole Yecheng must not know either." Guo Shifeng showed a mysterious smile and asked Xu Chu to continue drinking, and then said: "To be honest, I'm not from the south. Coming back from the north."

"Brother Guo has been to the He Rong Department?"

"It's not that far."

"Where is Prince Jin?"

Guo Shifeng smiled and nodded, "The King of Jin still remembers the friendship in the past. He is willing to persuade the He Rong Ministry not to send troops, or to postpone sending troops. He is 100% sure about this."

"What benefits can King Jin get?"

"After what happened before, the King of Jin temporarily curbed his ambitions. Now he only wants Qinzhou and the tens of thousands of Jizhou troops stranded in Qinzhou."

"If Yecheng is captured, the soldiers of Jizhou will become an army without a master, and they will have no choice but to surrender to the King of Jin."

"Haha, that's right. That's why the King of Jin cannot participate in the siege of Yecheng. The King of Liang has to bear all the 'responsibility' on his own."

"The King of Liang is weak, so it must be like this. As long as he captures Jizhou, he will have a foothold. The location of Jizhou is better than Luozhou, but with Herong to the north, Huaizhou to the south, and Bingzhou to the west, it is not a good place. "

"With all the chaos in the Nine Provinces, how can there be a good place? At least Jizhou has a prosperous people and rich resources, unlike Luozhou, which has been looted and plundered thousands of miles away. Those who want to conquer the world still have to occupy the eastern capital, and those who keep a low profile need to stay away temporarily. . The fact that King Liang was able to abandon the Eastern Capital shows his long-term vision."

Xu Chu drank in silence.

Guo Shifeng smiled and said: "I heard that Mr. Xu proposed a plan, hoping that the Liang King would bypass Yecheng and attack Yuyang in northern Hebei?"

"Yes, but King Liang doesn't want to hear my details."

"Master Xu is now the envoy of Yecheng. Of course the King of Liang doesn't want to listen too much. When Master Xu is willing to change his name to Liang, even if he speaks for a day and a night, the King of Liang should also listen attentively."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "If I don't have the heart to succeed, naturally I can't change my name to Liang."

"I'd like to hear what Mr. Xu thinks. To be honest, I don't think that attacking Yuyang from afar is a clever plan - it's not even a normal plan. superior."

"Actually, that sentence was just something I used to attract Prince Liang's attention."

"Haha, it's true. What does Mr. Xu really want to say?"

"What does Brother Guo think of the emperor of Jiangdong?"

"Although he is underage, he already has the appearance of a tyrant, but he does not have the wisdom of his father, so he dies in a worthy way."

"What does Brother Guo think of the emperor of Yecheng?"

"Zhang Shiyu? A dandy. Although he has no great evil, he has no ultimate good. A mediocre person may be the emperor of peace, but he cannot bring order to chaos."

"The tyrant behaves erratically and is difficult to predict, so he should be killed. A mediocre king has a simple mind and cannot become a great weapon. If he is kept, he can control the states, and if he is killed, everyone will be self-reliant. Since King Ning and King Liang want to hide their power and bide their time, they should keep this mediocre king. , why should we get rid of it?”

"Haha, what Mr. Xu said is reasonable, but it will not affect the battle of Yecheng. After the city is broken, King Liang will leave Yongjun alone and not kill him."

"Which one should do it first, easy and then difficult?"

"Well, it's better to do it first and then easy."

"It is easy to destroy the city of Ye, it is easy to retain a mediocre king, but it is difficult to stop the king of Jin. On the surface, Mr. Guo's plan is beneficial to the three families, but in fact, the biggest beneficiary is the king of Jin. The king of Jin conquers the land of Qinzhou in the west and the army of Jizhou in the north. With the support of He Rongbu, who can defeat him when he marches eastward and southward?"

Guo Shifeng still had a smile on his face, but fell silent for the first time.