Plan to cut off the nine states

Old General Sheng Xuan climbed the city wall and looked out. He couldn't help but tremble in his heart. He turned his head to look at the soldiers around him, said nothing, and left in a hurry, leaving the defenders hesitant.

When he saw Xu Chu again, Sheng Xuan was more polite. He asked someone to look for a seat and said with a smile: "What did King Liang say?"

Xu Chu looked at the generals standing on both sides and replied: "It's hard to say."

Sheng Xuan was a little hesitant. He was not familiar with Xu Chu and only heard of his name. For the sake of safety, he didn't want to be alone with him, so he said: "They are all children of our Sheng family. Mr. Xu has nothing to hide."

Xu Chu still hesitated to speak, and after a long time he said: "How long has it been since General Sheng saw King Liang?"

"Uh... Two days, right? King Liang is sick?"

Xu Chu smiled but didn't say anything.

Sheng Xuan suddenly seemed to understand something. He coughed twice and said to the generals on his left and right: "You retreat first and go to guard the city wall. If there is anything, come and report it immediately."

The generals took their leave. Before they walked out of the hall, they began to whisper about the hidden meaning of Xu Chu's question.

There were only two people left in the hall. Sheng Xuan felt a little nervous. Fortunately, he was wearing armor and had a sword on his waist, while the other party was just an unarmed scholar. "Mr. Xu, can you tell me?"

"It's still a bit difficult."

"What's the difficulty?"

"King Liang and I have been friends for many years. Before we find out his true thoughts, some things are hard to say."

Sheng Xuan confirmed his suspicion more and more. "King Liang is seriously ill?"

Xu Chu shook his head.

"King Liang... has left?"

Xu Chu was silent.

Sheng Xuan sneered, "Mr. Xu, there is no need to hide it. I am not surprised at all - but King Liang even abandoned his few soldiers and generals, which is a bit too much. Did Mr. Xu really not see King Liang over there?"

"Qiao Zhisu chatted with me and delayed time. I was impatient to wait, so he took me to see King Liang. But King Liang refused to show up, saying that he had a cold by chance, and all questions and answers had to go through Gao Shengze..."

Speaking of the old eunuch, Sheng Xuan sneered again.

"He can fool others, but not me. After a few words, I heard something wrong, so I insisted on meeting King Liang."

"Then the secret was revealed. Hey, King Liang galloped and must have almost reached Mengjin. What else is Gao Shengze afraid of?"

"He was afraid of being held responsible for leaking secrets."

Sheng Xuan no longer cared about "leaking secrets". After thinking for a while, he said, "When Mr. Xu first entered the city, he said that Huaizhou would be in danger. Can you tell me more about it?"

"I came to persuade General Sheng to surrender the city, Retreat, some words may not be believed by General Sheng. "

"In fact, even if Master Xu didn't say it, I could guess roughly. When we first captured Yecheng, King Liang didn't even allow Huaizhou soldiers to enter the city, and they were assigned to various counties. I had some doubts at that time, but Huaizhou asked me not to fall out with King Liang for the time being, and wait until he refused to hand over Dongdu. Now it seems that he has never thought about giving up Dongdu, but coveted Huaizhou. "

Sheng Xuan said everything indignantly, and Xu Chu only needed to nod slightly.

"The children of Huaizhou must return to Huaizhou as soon as possible." Sheng Xuan looked at Xu Chu, "Are the people of He Rong really willing to give me a way out?"

"That's what Shan Yu told me."

Although he had already thought of retreating, Sheng Xuan was still full of doubts, "The Sheng family handed all the elite troops of Huaizhou to me. If the loss is too heavy, how can I face the elders of Guangling?"

"What kind of guarantee does General Sheng need?"

"Unless Shan Yu is willing to be a hostage."

"I can ask for you after I go back, but General Sheng, don't hold too much hope." Xu Chu smiled.

"I just said it casually, um, let me think about it." The old general lowered his head and thought.

There was a loud noise outside, and Sheng Xuan immediately stood up, his face suddenly changed, and he reached out to hold the knife, "What's going on? It's still a little before noon."

Xu Chu didn't understand.

A moment later, a general ran in and said in panic: "The enemy is attacking the city and has already launched stone cannons..."

Sheng Xuan glared at Xu Chu, "So you are delaying the war!" After that, he hurried out and ordered the general to stay and guard the guests.

Xu Chu's first reaction was that the Chanyu broke the agreement and wanted to put him to death. He immediately felt that this was not the Chanyu's usual style of doing things. Then he guessed that Kou Daogu was interfering and then overturned it...

In an instant, Xu Chu had five or six thoughts in his mind, and finally figured out what was going on, and couldn't help but smile on his face.

The general guarding the door was more than 20 years old. He held the hilt of the knife and shouted: "Don't think that the evil plan will succeed. We will defend the city by ourselves. When General Sheng comes back, we will kill you as a sacrifice."

"It's a misunderstanding. General Sheng won't kill me. But you, would you rather guard Yecheng here or go back to your hometown in Huaizhou?"

"Of course I... I won't answer. I won't be fooled by you."

Xu Chu didn't say anything more. He knew that he didn't have a good reputation and couldn't gain the other party's trust all at once.

There was no more noise outside. Although the young general was confused, he was no longer so nervous. He suddenly asked, "Did King Liang run away?"

"What do you think?"

"Is there any need to guess? King Liang was so scared when he heard that He Rong's people were going to attack. He must have fled long ago. He should have arrived in Dongdu now. The reason we lent him troops was..."

When Sheng Xuan came back from outside, the young general immediately shut up.

Sheng Xuan waved his hand to dismiss the generals, walked directly to Xu Chu, and said with a smile: "It was a misfire, but it also proved the solidity of Yecheng, and only a small dent was made. Let's continue to talk about business. It's not far from noon. I will order someone to send Master Xu out. Please go back and tell the Chanyu: The Huaizhou Army can surrender the city as long as he opens a road and allows us to cross the river to the south. But empty words are not enough, and both sides need to exchange hostages, not many, each side will send ten people, our side will send Sheng family children, and the Chanyu side will send the kings. The Chanyu agreed, we Leave immediately, without any delay."

Xu Chu stood up, "It is better to defend your own city than to defend a foreign capital. General Sheng made a prompt decision to save the Huaizhou soldiers. When he returns, he will be grateful to the elders."

Sheng Xuan sighed, "I acted against orders, and I am satisfied without any complaints. Also, how to deal with the Liang soldiers in the city?"

"The Liang soldiers followed the Huaizhou army out of the city, and then one group went south and the other went east." Xu Chu paused, "It is hard to trust foreigners after all. I hope General Sheng will not give Shanyu a chance to take advantage of it."

"The King of Liang has already escaped, His soldiers and generals have also been deceived, I will not attack them. "Sheng Xuan once again carefully looked at Xu Chu, "Mr. Xu... will you serve He Rong from now on?"

"I don't serve anyone, at least not now." Xu Chu bowed and said goodbye. He had already walked to the door. Sheng Xuan caught up with him and asked, "What is He Rong's ambition? After taking Jizhou, will he go south again? I hope Mr. Xu will tell me, and the Sheng family will be grateful. "

"The Chanyu's ambition is to rule the world. As for where he wants to go after taking Jizhou, I can't predict it. I can only give General Sheng a reminder. "

"Please speak, Master Xu."

"Instead of defending against the enemy, it is better to strengthen oneself. When the Chanyu first entered the Central Plains, he did not dare to divide his troops. He must have observed the heroes and then found an opportunity to enter. If there is no gap in Huaizhou, there is naturally no worry. If there is a flaw, it is not just He Rong's family that needs to be guarded. "

Sheng Xuan bowed, "Thank you, Master Xu, if you have the opportunity to go to Guangling City in the future, please allow me to do my best to be a good host."

"I will bother you."

Xu Chu was let down from the city wall, and his mount had already run away, so he had to walk back to He Rong's camp.

He Rong Pingshan was guarding in front of the battle. When he saw Xu Chu coming, he did not ask anything. He ordered someone to send a horse and take him directly to see the Chanyu.

All the leaders of He Rong's army were present. Xu Chu relayed Sheng Xuan's request for hostage exchange. After listening to it, the Chanyu had no expression on his face. After thinking for a moment, he directly named ten people, including He Rong Pingshan, and said to Xu Chu: "These ten people are all my confidants. They can be hostages. Within one hour, the Huaizhou army must start to withdraw troops, and I will give up the west gate."

"I have fulfilled my duties. Please find someone else to arrange the follow-up."

"No, no, you have to keep an eye on this matter until the end. Has the King of Liang really escaped?"

"If the King of Liang was here, the Huaizhou army would not dare to make a decision so easily."

"Hey, disappointing."

Xu Chu ran back and forth between He Rong's camp and Yecheng, witnessing the exchange of hostages and the oaths in front of the battle. Less than an hour in the afternoon, the Huaizhou army began to retreat from the west gate, abandoning most of the baggage and only taking the necessary food and grass to ensure a rapid march.

Xu Chu returned to the big tent. There was nothing for him to do. He was arranged to stand in a corner, with the emperor next to him.

Zhang Shiyu had been worried the whole morning. Seeing Xu Chu come back on time, he was happy in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He even deliberately looked away. He already understood that it was because he had said a few more words to Xu Chu before that he aroused the Shanyu's distrust and almost lost the throne.

Shanyu and He Rong and other adults were talking endlessly, and people often came in and out.

Xu Chu whispered: "The Shanyu doesn't want to let the Huaizhou army go like this."

"Don't talk to me, I don't know you." Zhang Shiyu's lips moved slightly, still not looking at Xu Chu.

Xu Chu turned his eyes and looked at Kou Daogu, who was more than ten steps away.

Kou Daogu also stood outside the crowd, looked back at Xu Chu, and suddenly walked over. He approached and said coldly: "Early tomorrow morning, the Chanyu will send an order to pursue the Huaizhou army and annihilate it before it crosses the river."

"What's your idea?"

"With the Chanyu's ambition, how could he let an enemy army escape unscathed? This kind of thing does not require my advice."

Zhang Shiyu was very embarrassed when he heard it. He coughed and walked away a few steps to avoid suspicion.

"What about the hostages? Don't care about them?"

"Maybe there is a way to escape, or maybe just don't care. It's worth exchanging ten people for an enemy army."

"Hey."

"But the biggest contributor is Mr. Xu. Without Mr. Xu to lure the Huaizhou army out of the city, although He Rong's troops could capture Yecheng, they would inevitably suffer heavy casualties. When they reach the flat land outside the city, He Rong's cavalry can play to their strengths and attack the enemy's weaknesses. This battle will undoubtedly win. It's worth it for you to send the Huaizhou army to death in order to save the officials and people of Yecheng." Kou Daogu said sarcastically.

Xu Chu was silent for a while, "Mr. Kou should work with me to persuade the Chanyu to give up this plan."

"You've got the wrong person. We are not friends."

"Not now, but maybe in the future." Xu Chu smiled and said, "This is for Mr. Kou's sake. If He Rong's army is defeated tomorrow and Mr. Kou doesn't warn you in advance, the Chanyu will doubt your ability."

Kou Daogu's face darkened, and he vaguely felt that he was going to be fooled again.