Plan to cut off the nine states

He Rongjun suddenly turned to Bingzhou. The person who was most surprised was Emperor Zhang Shiyu. He couldn't find anyone else to discuss with him, so he had to ignore the suspicion and come to see Xu Chu again.

"Really? Shan Yu is going to lead his troops into Bingzhou early tomorrow morning?"

It was evening, and Xu Chu was having dinner with Chang Yan. He nodded and said, "That's indeed what Chanyu said. Have you eaten? Let's have some simple meals together."

Even with the delicacies piled in front of him, Zhang Shiyu was not in the mood to taste them, "Did you listen to what Shan Yu said with your own ears?"

Xu Chu nodded.

"That's definitely true." Zhang Shiyu was stunned for a while, "What does this mean? I also heard that Tiancheng's army will enter Bingzhou from Feihukou in the north - it may have become a fact."

"That's what I heard too." Xu Chu said with a smile.

Zhang Shiyu sat opposite Xu Chu, and Chang Yan made room for a while to continue eating.

"But what does this mean?" Zhang Shiyu asked again.

"It's obvious that Chanyu wants to occupy Bingzhou and get rid of King Jin."

Zhang Shiyu shook his head, "What does it mean to me? Why don't I know anything about it? It's okay if Shanyu keeps it from me, but the court...why didn't Huanyan tell me anything?"

"You don't know anything?"

"Yes, I was kept secret. I just heard the news, even later than you."

Xu Chu put down his bowl and chopsticks and looked at the emperor up and down.

Zhang Shiyu became more and more nervous and lowered his head to check, "What's wrong?"

Xu Chu smiled and said: "No. It's normal for you to be kept in the dark. You shouldn't ask me the reason. You should ask Zhou Yuanbin and Zhou Shenjun."

"Huh?" Zhang Shiyu thought for a while and finally understood, "Chanyu is surrounded by the eyes and ears of King Jin, so he wants me to know nothing so that he can deceive Zhou Yuanbin and others?"

"This is the best reason I can guess." Xu Chu picked up the bowl and chopsticks and continued eating.

Zhang Shiyu was in a daze for a while, and murmured: "I can pretend to know nothing, why do you have to hide it from me? I am the emperor, and by doing this, Shanyu regards Huanyan as the master of heaven... "

Xu Chu couldn't help but put down the bowl and chopsticks again, "If I were you, I would be more concerned about where Princess Huanyan gathered the army from - Feihukou is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and even if Bingzhou is deceived, it is not easy to capture it in one fell swoop. things.”

"That's right. The soldiers Huanyan brought to Yuyang were only a few thousand. Where did the army come from within a few days? Did the Chanyu lend it to her? Impossible. In that case, the so-called concealment of information would be meaningless."

Chang Yan couldn't help coughing, and then coughed several times, as if he was choked, and finally said: "Remember? Shanyu once sent part of his troops back to the outside of the Great Wall."

Zhang Shiyu let out a long sigh, "They are back again, but what to do outside the Great Wall? Shan Yuzhen just doesn't care about them?"

Xu Chu said: "This is a bet made by the Shanyu: King Jin's claim to go north beyond the Great Wall is a bluff. If he was really deceived and thought that the Shanyu would not go westward to Bingzhou, he would not go north at all, and would be more likely to pass on the message. The threat to Qinzhou in the west."

"What if King Jin insists on going north?"

"Then the Shanyu wants to avenge his fathers outside the Great Wall."

"The Shen family has many supporters, so they should be opposed to it, right?"

"Let's see how Shanyu responds. I can't speculate, and you shouldn't get involved."

"I won't wade into muddy waters, I just feel..."

Another person opened the curtain and came in. When they saw Zhang Shiyu, they were both stunned.

Zhou Yuanbin was very embarrassed, "Ah... I'll come back later."

Zhang Shiyu stood up in a hurry, "No need, you stay, I'll leave right away. I have nothing to do, so I just came over..." There wasn't even a pot of bad wine in the tent, "Come over and chat."

Zhang Shiyu left in a hurry, and Zhou Yuanbin immediately sat down in his seat and said eagerly: "The King of Jin is your sworn brother. Mr. Xu cannot ignore death."

"I can't protect myself now."

"But Mr. Xu saved the Huaizhou army."

"Don't say that. If it reaches Chanyu's ears, it will be even harder for me to protect myself."

"Master Xu, at least come up with an idea for me."

"You are related to Shan Yu, and I am an outsider. How can I come up with an idea?"

Zhou Yuanbin changed his position from sitting to kneeling and said anxiously: "Isn't it okay if I kneel down for you?"

Xu Chu immediately knelt down and said, "I don't dare to take it seriously."

Chang Yan put down his bowls and chopsticks and tried to find an excuse to leave, but in the end he just hummed, said nothing, stood up and left the tent.

Zhou Yuanbin sat down and said, "If Mr. Xu can find a way to prevent Shan Yu from marching westward to Bingzhou, King Jin... I promise on behalf of King Jin that I will give you half of Bingzhou."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "Zhou Canjun really understands my preferences."

"No matter what you want, it's fine. King Jin also has a sister who is not yet married, and she is beautiful in the sky..."

Zhou Yuanbin became more and more confused as he spoke. Xu Chu interrupted, "You must have persuaded Shan Yu. What did he say?"

"I went to see Shanyu with dozens of adults and told him that Tiancheng was not trustworthy and that He Rongbu had been friends with the Shen family for many years. But Shanyu said that the world is big and personal relationships are small, but he will not embarrass us. , will keep us in Yecheng, and the safety of Bingzhou has nothing to do with us..."

"What Shan Yu said is reasonable, and he is more tolerant to you." Xu Chu praised.

Zhou Yuanbin was a little angry, "Master Xu, is he planning to be loyal to Shan Yu sincerely? But he is not here..."

"If you start looking for loopholes in Shan Yu's body and words, you are destined to find nothing. Even if you find some clues, you will not be trusted."

"I know Mr. Xu knows a lot of truth, and I will definitely listen to your lectures in the future, but now I just want a way, a clever plan, to change Shanyu's mind."

"Where is Shanyu's eldest wife?"

"Oh, don't mention it." Zhou Yuanbin really didn't want to mention "Seventh Sister", especially since her surname was also Zhou, which made him feel guilty for King Jin.

Xu Chu thought for a while, "There is no persuasion on this matter now, we must wait a little longer."

"Wait a little longer..."

Xu Chu raised his hand to express that he still had something to say, but he did not speak immediately. Instead, he waited for a while and asked, "Do you believe King Jin?"

"certainly."

"Do you believe that he has the qualifications to be an emperor and can eventually conquer the world?"

"Uh..." Although Zhou Yuanbin was anxious, he still realized that there might be a trap hidden in this question, "The King of Jin has the qualifications to be an emperor, but whether he can win the world depends on luck. The most important luck comes from Shan Yu. here."

"Good answer." Xu Chu smiled, then straightened his expression, "If you believe that King Jin has the qualifications to be an emperor, you should believe that he will not be easily deceived, nor will he be easily defeated by He Rongbu."

"Then what?"

"Then you have to persuade the Shanyu again. If the second attempt fails, you will have to persuade him three times and four times until the Shanyu becomes angry."

Zhou Yuanbin said with a sad face, "It's useless. Even before the Shanyu gets angry, there are people who want to give up. In the end, I'm afraid I will be the only one left."

"The last few remaining people are your loyal allies with King Jin. Stay with them in Yecheng, do nothing, and wait for the news. If King Jin is vulnerable, I advise you to give up. Well, if King Jin can block the attack from the north and the south and bring the war to a stalemate, you still have a chance."

"Is there... no quick fix?" Zhou Yuanbin still had a glimmer of hope.

"There have been stories in the history books that wept bitterly to persuade the Lord to change his mind and dare to sacrifice his own body. Can Zhou Shenjun do it?"

"Yes..." Zhou Yuanbin looked confused.

"Even if it is possible, it may not be easy to use. The records in the book are often exaggerated and untrue."

"Then what does Master Xu want to do?"

"If Zhou Junjun only wants to be worthy of the King of Jin, don't worry about whether it is useful or not. It is just a remonstrance. If you want to do something practical, just listen to my advice. Wait until the King of Jin is worth saving. Chanyu himself I will think of you again. One is for fame, the other is for reality: Those who strive for fame will get immediate results, and King Jin will die on the battlefield, and others will say that you, Zhou Yuanbin, are a loyal minister; those who strive for reality will risk losing their reputation, King Jin. If you are completely defeated and you no longer have the opportunity to remonstrate with the Shanyu, everyone will think that you are retreating out of fear and refusing to be a savior in times of crisis.”

Zhou Yuanbin hesitated for a long time, "Then I'd better listen to Master Xu. If I try to persuade Shan Yu again, if it doesn't work, I'll just wait in Yecheng for a while."

Zhou Yuanbin stood up and said, "No matter what happens in the end, I want to thank Mr. Xu."

"You're welcome. If things work out, it's because of the friendship your Zhou family has accumulated over the years and it's not my fault."

"No, no, without Mr. Xu's guidance, I won't be able to use any friendship you have." Zhou Yuanbin said goodbye.

As soon as Zhou Yuanbin left, Chang Yan stepped in and whispered: "I can hear it. This Zhou Yuanbin has no good intentions."

"Did you hear that?"

"Well, I was standing at the door. I couldn't hear clearly, but I probably understood the meaning. Zhou Yuanbin kept repeating 'Mr. Xu's method'. Any success in the future will be all his own credit. Once something fails, he will blame it on Mr. Xu." Claiming to be mistaken by you.”

"You can clearly see that this is also one of the disadvantages of persuading people: success in persuasion may not necessarily lead to success, but failure in persuasion may lead to blame."

"Young Master must know better than me, but you still have to 'persuad' me."

"I see you haven't touched a knife for a long time. How many percent of your kung fu do you think you have left?"

"Huh? This... I can't explain clearly. It must be worse than before."

Xu Chu pointed to his mouth, "It's the same. If you don't practice it often, it will become clumsy. So you have to persuade people often, and success comes second."

Chang Yan laughed and said, "It turns out that the young master is practicing his mouth. Just don't get into trouble."

During the rest of the day, no one came to Xu Chu for help, and the Shanyu did not summon him, and he was busy mobilizing troops and generals.

Early the next morning, He Rong's army broke out of camp and marched directly to Bingzhou, setting up camps along the way to ensure the supply of food and grass. The Shanyu still left an order to recruit civilians from Jizhou and transport baggage and other supplies.

He Rongjun entered Bingzhou from the south and passed Mengjin on the way. He saw that the small town in the north was in ruins, and the bridge connecting the south bank was missing. However, within a few days, Liang Jun cut off this important road to prevent the enemy. The army also wanted to show that he had no intention of going north to participate in the chaos of Bingzhou.

Chanyu paused here, looking at the ruins and the south bank from the distance on horseback, and smiled at the people on the left and right: "The people of the Central Plains are so timid. God has given me a good opportunity to let my He Rong tribe take control of Kyushu. You should work hard and make progress. It will take up to three years. I and you will drink wine from all over the world, admire the beauties from all over the world, and gather together the treasures of the world!"

The cheers came one after another, and Xu Chu, who was following far behind, could hear them. He couldn't help but sigh softly and whispered to Chang Yan: "With the size of Jiuzhou, isn't there a true hero who rises up at this time? I really I don’t know how much longer I can wait.”