Plan to cut off the nine states

Since entering the Great Wall, He Rong's army encountered a strong obstacle for the first time. A small town ahead refused to surrender and threw the envoys who came to surrender from the city wall. Anyone who approached would be shot with a crossbow without saying a word.

The Chanyu did not intend to waste time here. He left a part of He Rong's cavalry and a large number of newly recruited soldiers and civilians from Jizhou, and entrusted He Rong Pingshan with full authority. "Capture this city within three days and go to Jinyang to join me. You will be exempted from being a servant and there will be a heavy reward. Capture the city within five days, and you will be exempted from being a servant, and there will be no reward. Capture the city within seven days, without any merit or fault, and you will still be a servant. If it exceeds seven days, I wonder how you can have the face to see me?"

He Rong Pingshan was both ashamed and excited. He knew that the Chanyu did not like superficial efforts, so he just nodded solemnly and said "Yes, sir", without any other words. He secretly swore in his heart that he would capture this city in the shortest time, at any cost.

The army camped outside the city for one night to strengthen its momentum. The Chanyu went out to patrol the camp at night and suddenly remembered the two advisers, so he sent someone to call them.

"Although this city is small, it is located in a strategic location. We must take it as soon as possible to avoid my worries. Do you two have a good plan to establish this city?"

Kou Daogu spoke first, "This city relies on the support of the King of Jin. The Chanyu personally led the army to the north to attack Jinyang, which is a good plan. Once the soldiers in the city know that there is no hope of rescue, they will naturally surrender."

The Chanyu smiled and said, "Attack the city and seize the stronghold. Mr. Kou is not good at it. Xu Chu, do you have anything else to say today?"

Xu Chu took two steps forward and looked at the small city, "Say a few words, count it tomorrow."

"Hey, I have to think it's useful."

"This city is called Yingcheng, and its location is indeed important. The King of Jin used this city as the base for going south. The city walls have been renovated, and there are a lot of food and grass stored. "

The Chanyu nodded, "Well, no wonder you are unwilling to surrender. I ordered Pingshan to capture the city in three days, what do you think?"

"It's too much to ask."

"Haha, I know what you want to say, it's nothing more than that we Herong people are not good at attacking cities, and it's difficult to make achievements by attacking the enemy's strengths with our own weaknesses. But I have to face the challenge. Since we have entered the pass, we will inevitably encounter sieges frequently in the future, and it will only be more difficult. I have high hopes for Pingshan, and I have kept all the craftsmen in Jizhou, just to let him learn how to attack cities, so that he can be of great use in the future. "

He Rong Pingshan was not nearby, but some followers around the Chanyu would naturally pass these words to the King of Zuo Shenwei to win a reward.

Sometimes, a few casual compliments behind the back are more effective than trust in person.

Xu Chu secretly praised him and smiled, "It is of course a good thing and an important thing to learn how to attack a city, but you don't have to do it deliberately. I have lived in this city for several days and I know a few people. I am willing to persuade the Chanyu to surrender. It doesn't take three days, half a day is enough."

Kou Daogu wanted to speak, but he immediately held back.

The Chanyu turned his head and looked at Xu Chu, "You want to persuade him to surrender again?"

"It just so happens that there are old friends in the city."

The Chanyu thought for a while, "No need, it is difficult to show military power by persuading him to surrender all the way. He Rong's cavalry should also stretch their muscles, and the people of Jizhou should do something for their emperor."

"Defeat a strong enemy to show military power. Yingcheng is small and unknown, which is difficult to live up to Chanyu's expectations. Jizhou's soldiers and civilians now only recognize Chanyu..."

The Chanyu smiled and said, "Enough, there is some truth in what you said, and it can be counted tomorrow, but I have made up my mind and will not change it. Let's just leave it like that."

Xu Chu had to shut up.

Back in the tent, Xu Chu couldn't help but sigh.

Chang Yanzhi asked, "What happened to you, sir?"

"It's not me, it's Yingcheng."

"How is Yingcheng?"

"The Chanyu ordered He Rong to capture the city within three days. Pingshan is eager to make achievements, so he will do whatever it takes. In this battle, both sides will suffer heavy losses."

"No one can control such things. In a war, there will be casualties, and they are inevitable. Although you are kind-hearted, you are a king after all. It seems that you don't need to care too much about a small city, right?"

Xu Chu smiled, "You are right, I should think further. Is there any news from other places in the past two days?"

Chang Yanzhi shook his head, "He Rong people only care about their own affairs and don't talk about other things."

"Well, whether we talk about it or not, things are always happening. It is not possible that everything in the Kyushu area is quiet. Take a rest."

The next morning, while He Rong was preparing to attack the city, the Chanyu led the army to break camp and set off. When Xu Chu got on his horse and left, there was a constant roar in the distance, as if he was going to crush Yingcheng to the ground.

The King of Jin did not completely trust the Chanyu, and had already laid out many defense lines along the way. After another day, He Rong's army encountered extremely stubborn resistance. After half a day of hard fighting, although they won, the march became slow.

The Chanyu showed more respect to the King of Jin. That night, he summoned all the adults to re-arrange the offensive in more detail and specific.

Xu Chu and Kou Daogu were guarding the periphery. They could not understand what they were saying and were quite bored.

Zhang Shiyu came a little later and stood beside Xu Chu consciously. After a moment of silence, he whispered: "Good news."

"Oh?" Xu Chu knew that the so-called good news would only be related to Zhang Shiyu himself.

"Huanyan sent someone to deliver a letter, saying that she was thinking of a way... to let me go back, and said that I wouldn't have to wait too long." Zhang Shiyu smiled, and he wanted to share this good news with others.

"Congratulations."

"Finally..." This was the big tent where the Chanyu held meetings. Zhang Shiyu did not dare to complain and changed his words to say, "Finally I can see my family."

"Has the King of Jibei reunited with the court?"

Zhang Shiyu was stunned. "Ah... My father is still in the hands of King Liang. He has been kept in the Eastern Capital. King Liang dare not do anything to him."

"The Queen must have contributed a lot." Xu Chu laughed softly.

The queen is Shanyu's biological sister. If she wants to get her husband back, Shanyu has to consider it.

Zhang Shiyu coughed, unwilling to admit it, but unable to deny it. After a while, he said: "Brothers and sisters have a deep love. Shan Yu still likes this sister very much."

Zhang Shiyu didn't mention his sister, and Xu Chu didn't ask. After a while, he said, "Princess Huanyan has already attacked Jinyang?"

"How could she personally lead the troops? She stayed in Yuyang, and sent others to join He Rong's cavalry to attack Bingzhou from Feihukou. Now they are not far from Jinyang, and they are waiting for Chanyu to go north to form an encirclement. To be honest, Shan Yu's move is indeed powerful. King Jin will definitely die this time. The number of heroes will be reduced by one, which is a good thing for Tiancheng."

Zhang Shiyu nodded frequently, as if he was involved in the whole process.

"Any news from elsewhere?"

"Other places?"

"Qinzhou, Hanzhou, and Jiangnan states."

"There is some news. Huanyan didn't mention it in his letter. Ask Shan Yu."

Shan Yu was concerned about world affairs and received a large amount of information every day, but he could not tell outsiders. Xu Chu could not understand it even if he was standing nearby.

"I'm not that familiar with Shan Yu." Xu Chu said with a smile.

After the discussion was over, Shanyu called the people from the Central Plains over and said to the emperor first: "My sister misses you."

Zhang Shiyu suppressed the excitement in his heart and replied: "I miss the queen too, but the national affairs are more important than the family affairs, and the world is not at peace, so I have to let the queen wait for a while. I heard that the queen is very safe in Yuyang, Shanyu can rest assured."

Shan Yu smiled and said: "I am very relieved that the emperor can have this intention. Originally, I wanted to work with the emperor to rule the world. After the nine provinces returned to their old masters, I would bring the queen back."

Zhang Shiyu was shocked and did not dare to show it on his face. He could only say: "It is also my wish to fight with Shanyu in all directions."

"But my sister is right. It's faster to pacify the world than it is to pacify the world. I don't know how many years and months it will take. You and your wife can't be separated forever. Let's do this. After I capture Jinyang and pacify Bingzhou, , return the emperor to Yuyang, and you and your wife will be reunited. When I reorganize the army and send troops again, the emperor will come and join me. "

Although he could not leave immediately, Zhang Shiyu felt satisfied and said hurriedly: "The Shanyu is my brother, and everything will be arranged by the Shanyu."

"Haha, the family is easy to talk to. The emperor should rest early and not be too tired. After reuniting with my sister, I will work harder to give birth to a prince nephew as soon as possible."

Zhang Shiyu's face turned red, "I will work hard."

After the emperor left, Shan Yu said to the two advisers: "The emperor is a good man. I had some doubts about whether I should fully assist Tiancheng. During the time I spent with the emperor, if I don't think so, he can only be the emperor of the Central Plains."

Although this was a compliment, it sounded more like disparagement and contempt.

Xu Chu didn't say anything, but Kou Daogu said: "Oranges are oranges when they are born in Huainan, and they are oranges when they are born in north Huaibei. The emperor is a 'good man' if he stays with Shanyu, but it is not necessarily the case if he leaves Shanyu."

"Mr. Kou is from the Central Plains, but he doesn't speak well of his own emperor - what do you mean orange? What do you mean Zhi?"

"I am from the Central Plains, but Kyushu no longer has a common master. Everyone chooses a king to serve. I choose a Chanyu, not an emperor. As for orange and zhi, it is a common saying in the Central Plains. Orange is native to Huainan and has a sweet taste. Once it is transplanted to Huaibei, the water and soil will change, and the taste of orange will become bitter, so it is also called Zhizi. Once it is moved to another place, the good or bad may change."

Shanyu laughed, "Chinese people always think too much, but it makes sense. I have written it down, but what I said will not change. Let's see what the emperor does. If he keeps being a tangerine, I will be very happy. If he turns into a tangerine, I have a way to deal with it."

Shanyu looked at Xu Chu, "Are you also familiar with King Jin?"

"We were sworn brothers. King Jin ranked third and I ranked fourth."

"Do you recognize all the heroes of the Central Plains?"

"We have had some contact with each other, but we don't have much contact with the Sheng family in Huaizhou. We only met the old general Sheng Xuan."

Shanyu nodded, "Based on this, you will be very useful. God sent you here for a purpose, but would you rather be a tangerine or a tangerine?"

Xu Chu smiled and said: "I make leaves that bloom when they should bloom, wither when they should wither, and fall when they should fall."

Chanyu laughed, and then said seriously: "You don't have to say anything else today, but I still want to ask, and it's up to you whether you want to answer or not."

Xu Chu nodded.

"Based on your understanding of Prince Jin, will his resistance become more and more determined?"

"The King of Jin is also a man who cares about the world. Advances, retreats, and wars must be based on the situation of the world, not just the state and place."

"Well, that makes sense. Let me ask you again, do you recognize Prince Ning of Wuzhou?"

"Very familiar."

"Just in time, he sent someone to deliver a letter of surrender, willing to serve me as master, and also sent some gifts. Can you tell me whether he is sincere or fake? Should I accept or reject?"