Plan to cut off the nine states

The next morning, Xu Chu was not sent to the city for public display, but the Liang army still launched a siege, which lasted nearly two hours. Before noon, they sounded the horn to retreat and returned without success.

In the afternoon, the Liang army launched a second siege. This time, no soldiers were sent, but stones were thrown from a distance, which made several potholes on the city wall and may have crushed several houses in the city.

During the intervals of the attack, soldiers with loud voices took turns shouting outside the city, denouncing the various crimes of Yecheng, pointing out that the emperor was a false emperor and was not recognized by the world, and so on.

Xu Chu had no chance to watch the siege. He could not even leave his tent now. Yu Zhan was driven away, leaving him alone with nothing to do. He could only listen to the noise outside and make guesses.

Ma Wei was probably weak last night, so he talked to Xu Chu. After waking up, he returned to his original state and prepared to capture Yecheng and defend it.

The more anxious Xu Chu was, the calmer he had to be on the surface. Even when there was no one around, he had to pretend to be at ease. He knelt on the bed, like an old monk in meditation. In fact, his mind was wandering around, trying to grasp every bit of information he knew, and speculate and figure out Ma Wei's intentions.

At noon, someone brought food, with wine and meat, much more abundant than usual. Xu Chu asked: "Was it given by King Liang or Lord Fei?"

The soldier who brought the food rolled his eyes and turned away.

"Given by Lord Fei." Xu Chu guessed that if King Liang had spoken personally, the soldier would never dare to be so rude.

Xu Chu gave up "retreat" and drank and ate meat wantonly. A plate of meat was quickly eaten up, revealing a piece of paper at the bottom of the plate.

"First day", there were only three words on the paper.

Xu Chu shook his head and smiled bitterly, confirming that it was really given by Fei Bing. He picked up the paper and put it aside, ate first, and then tore it into pieces.

On the second day, the Liang army's offensive became more and more fierce. Xu Chu could also hear the deafening sound in the distance in his tent, which lasted intermittently from morning to evening.

Xu Chu gradually became anxious. The situation became more and more urgent, but he was powerless and did not even have a news channel. He sat in the dark tent, like a dog taken home by a butcher, shivering in the cage, not knowing whether he would be killed and sold for meat, or become a domestic dog with bones to eat.

Xu Chu was trying to find a third way, so he became more and more uneasy.

On the third day, a large number of Liang troops had already lined up under the city, and many stone throwing equipment had been loaded, but the King of Liang suddenly ordered to suspend the attack today.

Xu Chu got the news from the soldier who delivered the food. He was in a good mood today and took the initiative to talk a few words, "It seems that Yecheng is going to surrender. Haha, this is a great achievement. I heard that there are a lot of rich people in the city, and even the civilians have a lot of savings. Everyone can share something."

After the soldiers left, Xu Chu turned the meat on the plate directly. He didn't see the note. This was the last day Xu Chu promised to give an answer. Fei Bing should be more anxious, but he didn't urge him like the previous two days.

Xu Chu hoped that Fei Bing didn't do anything stupid.

At about the first watch of the night, someone finally came to summon Xu Chu and took him to see King Liang.

There were already several people in the central army tent. Ma Wei sat on a chair and didn't allow others to approach. He didn't look at anyone, like a statue of a god looking down on the world.

It was the eunuch Gao Shengze who took charge of the affairs on behalf of King Liang.

"Mr. Xu came at the right time." For Gao Shengze, the most worthwhile thing to do was probably to share the worries of King Liang, so he was always so happy, smiling, and very kind to everyone.

"All three envoys are here, no one is missing." Gao Shengze pulled Xu Chu to the designated position and lined up with Kou Daogu and Fei Bing.

Xu Chu glanced at Fei Bing beside him, who lowered his head and looked down, while Kou Daogu, who was separated by one person, still had that arrogant look.

Gao Shengze stepped back two steps and stood sideways so that King Liang in the distance could see the three envoys. After waiting for a while, seeing that King Liang had nothing to say, he smiled and said, "You three were ordered to persuade King Liang to withdraw his troops. Although you have no merit, you are also harmless. You have persisted until today, which is also a fulfillment of your mission. Well, King Liang used both kindness and force. While ordering the siege, he did not give up the negotiations with Yecheng. He always hoped that the rulers of Yecheng would wake up, put the Empress Dowager and the people in the city first, and open the gates and surrender as soon as possible."

Gao Shengze He stopped, looked at King Liang again, and then said seriously: "Now that the negotiations have finally made progress, the new envoy from Yecheng is here. He wants to confirm that the three are fine, and then take one back to the city."

A man walked out from the side. He was dressed as a civil servant. Xu Chu did not recognize him, but the man seemed to recognize him. He looked at him carefully, then looked at the other two, nodded and said: "All three envoys are here, what King Liang said is true."

"Of course, the king never speaks falsely. Who do you want to take back to the city?" Gao Shengze asked.

"Mr. Xu Chu." The civil servant said.

Gao Shengze couldn't make the decision himself. He looked at King Liang and shook his head. "Your Excellency, it's enough to see that Master Xu is still alive. You can't take him away."

"But..."

"No buts. If Yecheng wants to negotiate peace, it can't do whatever it wants, right?"

"Okay, Master Fei Bing."

After Gao Shengze got the signal, he bowed to Fei Bing and smiled, "Congratulations, Master Fei, for being able to return to the city safely to report."

"I was ordered to go on a mission, but I returned without success. I am ashamed to see your majesty. I am willing to stay and ask Mr. Kou to return to the city." Fei Bing actually refused.

The civil servant of Yecheng said, "I am also acting on orders. The person to be taken back is either Master Xu or Master Fei. The superiors didn't mention Mr. Kou."

Kou Daogu seemed not to hear these words.

"Let's negotiate peace. Why bring a waste like me back to the city?" Fei Bing showed a trace of anger.

Gao Shengze smiled and said: "You can't do whatever you want in Yecheng, let alone Mr. Fei."

Fei Zhen had no choice but to thank King Liang with his hands. When he turned to leave the tent, he glared at Xu Chu fiercely.

The civil servants of Yecheng led the people away, but Gao Shengze did not let the remaining two envoys leave immediately. Every time he did anything, he had to look at King Liang first. It is not known whether he had been reminded in advance or whether he relied solely on guessing. Accurately guess the intention of King Liang, and every word will hit the mark.

"Yecheng will send envoys again in the middle of the night. They are really eager to negotiate peace, but they are still taking chances and are unwilling to make more concessions. Although the two are envoys from Yecheng, they are also admired by King Liang. People, I hope you two know everything - stand on the side of King Liang and make suggestions for King Liang. Think about whether it is war or peace. If there is war, how many days will it take to capture the city? If there is peace, what requirements should be made? "

This was the first time that Xu Chu and Kou Daogu were going to give advice together. The two of them turned to look at each other, disgusted with each other, and immediately looked away without speaking.

Gao Shengze waited for a while, looked a little embarrassed, and said with a smile: "I'm sorry, you two. There are no outsiders here, especially Mr. Fei. What you said..."

There was a slight cough in the distance. Gao Shengze immediately shut up, turned to look at Prince Liang, and then hurriedly came to the audience to listen and nodded frequently.

Gao Shengze returned to the two of them and brought Prince Liang's latest intention, "Mr. Kou, please tell me first. Mr. Kou is a successful person, Prince Liang and you will feel like old friends at first sight."

Kou Daogu took two steps forward, leaving Xu Chu completely behind him, and then he said: "It is Kou's lifelong luck to meet the King of Liang. In troubled times, it is said that the king chooses his ministers, and the ministers also choose the king. Kou relies on Ye City, but never surrendered. It was not until he met King Liang that he had the intention to assist the Ming Lord. "

Gao Shengze nodded in approval for Prince Liang.

Kou Daogu continued: "In Kou's humble opinion, Yecheng cannot be trusted, especially Princess Huanyan. Her peace negotiation must be a tactic to slow down the war, and she has other plans. It is for the sake of King Liang's plan. It is better to do the opposite. Wait for the envoy from Yecheng to come back, bargain, agree to peace, and then take advantage of his unpreparedness and go straight into the city. Whether it is war or peace, it all depends on the King of Liang's wish. There is no need to guess what others think. "

Gao Shengze nodded and realized that he had not received any signal from King Liang. He stopped hastily, glanced at King Liang, and said to Kou Daogu: "Thank you, Mr. Kou. Does Mr. Kou have anything else to say?"

"The King of Liang asked about the peace negotiations in Yecheng. I will only talk about this matter and nothing else for the time being."

Gao Shengze nodded again, and then said to Xu Chu: "Master Xu, you can speak now."

Xu Chu stood still and let out a long sigh before speaking, "The first to benefit from the capture of Yecheng is the Sheng family of Huaizhou, followed by King Ning of Jiangdong and the Shen family of Bingzhou, and even the He Rong tribe outside the fortress. Only Liang Wang can get a big share of the pie, I don’t see what benefit he can get.”

Gao Shengze looked around and whispered to Kou Daogu: "If Mr. Kou has any objections, you can refute it."

Kou Daogu was waiting for this sentence, and without looking back, he said: "That's wrong. Ye City was captured by the King of Liang. What to do with it after it is captured, the King of Liang has the first opportunity to tell the truth. What Mr. Xu is worried about is nothing more than Huaizhou." After capturing Yecheng, Liang Wang could order the whole of Jizhou, leaving his own Liang army to guard Yecheng, and sending the Huaizhou army to Jizhou. In the north, one is to prevent chaos in Huaihe, and the other is to make it fight with the Bingzhou army. As for King Ning, he is far away in Jiangdong, so don't worry about him for the time being. After King Liang stabilizes Yecheng and responds to the east capital, we can make further plans. Being enterprising and arrogant among the others, what are the worries? If you don’t dare to get what you deserve, then the world will be even more unattainable. Forgive Kou for his unscrupulous words. It seems that King Liang is taking a risk even if he becomes king. He should learn from someone else and abdicate the throne and live in seclusion. "It's much safer to stay under someone else's roof."

After Gao Shengze received the signal from Prince Liang this time, he nodded repeatedly, "Where is Mr. Xu? Is there anything else you want to say?"

Xu Chu thought for a while and said, "Between adventurous progress and abdication and seclusion, there are many choices. There are short-term worries and long-term concerns, and the solutions are different."

Gao Shengze smiled and said: "Master Xu spoke in a bit general terms."

Xu Chu thought for a while and said, "I hope I can stay here and wait for the envoy from Yecheng to come again. I want to hear what kind of conditions Yecheng is willing to give before I can continue."

Gao Shengze returned to the audience, chatted quietly with Prince Liang, and came back soon, "Both of you can stay."

Gao Shengze found two stools and asked them to sit down. He remained standing and ran to the edge of the stage from time to time to see what King Liang needed.

Xu Chu and Kou Daogu sat across from each other, one with a smile on his face and the other with a sinking face.

After waiting for a long time, after the third watch, news came from outside that the envoy from Yecheng arrived as promised, two people in total.

"Yecheng did not negotiate peace sincerely, there must be a trick." Kou Daogu stood up and reminded.

Xu Chu also stood up without saying anything.

Two envoys entered the tent, one was the original civil servant, and the other was wearing a cloak. The samurai at the door were going to search him as usual, but the man ducked away, lifted his hat, and revealed his true face.

Princess Huanyan came in person.