Plan to cut off the nine states

Xu Chu was summoned again, and the person he wanted to see was not Shanyu, but He Rongpingshan who had returned from victory.

He Rong Pingshan changed into a gorgeous robe. Unlike those old-school grassland adults, he liked to be clean and tidy rather than greasy. But he was a He Rong man after all. The so-called gorgeousness was just some gold and silver embroidered on the inconspicuous parts of the robe. Only the belt is studded with pearls and jade, which is very conspicuous.

He was trying out several of his bows and explaining to his servants how to maintain them. When Xu Chu came in, he did not stop until he was done.

"Yeah." Xu Chu didn't want to say blessings. He Rongpingshan's smooth sailing meant blood flowed like a river.

What He Rongpingshan wanted was not a blessing, "Chanyu thinks you are relatively familiar with the Central Plains, so let me ask you for advice - were the Qinzhou rebels once your subordinates?"

"Some are."

"The female rebel leader was once your wife?"

"Was it? I didn't divorce my wife, and she didn't divorce her husband."

He Rongpingshan smiled, "Interesting, but you still miss the princess and want to marry her."

Xu Chu thought for a while, "No wonder I have a bad reputation. Some things about me are indeed difficult to explain."

He Rongpingshan laughed. Since he was restored to the throne, he has been in a good mood these days. "I don't care about these things. I want to ask you, what is so special about the rebels that I need to be careful about."

"Well...retreat when you need to, don't get entangled."

"Hey, you don't think I'm a rebel rival?"

"How many troops do you have?"

He Rongpingshan refused to answer.

Xu Chu continued: "You are the vanguard. Shanyu must have assigned a task. Just complete it. Don't be greedy for credit. The World Army has been encircled and suppressed many times. It has survived to this day and is gradually growing. It has its own merits."

"I called you here to ask for advice, not to listen to lessons. The world-born army only relies on a large number of people, but they are not real soldiers. They are difficult to gather and easy to disperse, so there is nothing to be afraid of."

"The Chanyu should have ordered you to seize Jinkou and hold it to facilitate the army's crossing of the river." Xu Chu continued to guess, "I still think it's better for you to obey the order and not always think about achieving great achievements."

He Rongpingshan sneered, "You take care of too much."

"I just 'talked' too much and couldn't control anything."

He Rongpingshan refused to argue and said instead: "No matter what, the princess is now Shanyu's wife. I will definitely get her back and send her to Shanyu for his disposal."

"You can't find a princess in Qinzhou."

"I don't have to do everything myself, naturally someone will do it for me." He Rongpingshan paused for a moment, "I have received the news that the princess did not escape too far and is hiding in the palace."

"The Tiancheng court still has a palace?"

"By Princess Huanyan's side."

"This is really surprising news." Xu Chu said with a smile.

He Rongpingshan carefully observed Xu Chu's expression, but didn't see anything, "Princess Huanyan thinks she is smart and dares to play tricks on Chanyu. She will surely suffer the consequences."

“It is unwise to form alliances with others and remain suspicious.”

"Ha, of course I won't just be suspicious. I will find evidence soon. I will solve this matter when I come back from Qinzhou. You can remind Princess Huanyan, I won't stop you."

"This is not enough. You have to lend me a messenger. Otherwise, I will not be able to contact Yuyang."

He Rongpingshan laughed twice and said, "Get out." He summoned Xu Chu just to deal with Shanyu, not because he was asking for advice, but the threat was real.

Xu Chu returned to the tent and accidentally woke up Princess Huanyan.

There is an unexpected guest in the tent.

The little emperor sat on the blanket, resting his cheek with his left hand, and fiddled with wool with his right hand, and had already pulled out a small pile.

Chang Yanzhi packed his things and occasionally glanced at his younger brother. He was relieved to see Xu Chu back.

"Rare visitor." Xu Chu said with a smile.

The little emperor raised his head and glanced at him, with a bored look on his face. "I've thought about it carefully. You do have some talent. I can chat with you, just to increase my knowledge."

"Let me guess, Shan Yu's wife sent you here?"

After all, the little emperor's younger brother was young. When he was told the central issue, his face turned red and he said eagerly: "No one sent me here, I, I have to come myself... Are your servants always here?"

"He is not a servant."

"I'll go out and take a look..." Chang Yan hurried out without caring about his identity.

Xu Chu sat across from the younger brother. After a long silence, he asked, "I don't even know your name."

"You don't have to know my name."

"Then I should call you 'Your Highness'?"

The little emperor raised his head and said, "Shouldn't it be?"

"But I don't even call you 'Your Majesty'. Calling you 'Your Highness' will make people suspect that you have ambitions to usurp the throne."

The little emperor's face changed again, his body twisted around, becoming more and more uncomfortable, and muttered: "Where do I get my ambition from? My name is... my name is only Geng, Nian Geng Zhi Geng."

"Zhang Shigeng?"

"It's Zhang Geng. There is no explanation. When the Empress Dowager gave it to me, I was not born yet, so I missed it." The little emperor looked away and used lies to cover up the fact that he was not favored.

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Zhang Geng is also a good name. What did the Central Palace send you to do?"

"I said, no one sent me..."

"How about this, you tell me the truth, I will help you complete the task, everyone will worry less, and we can just make friends."

"Hey, who wants to be friends with you?"

"Then let's call it wishful thinking." Xu Chu said with a smile, and couldn't help but wonder if he was going too far if he tricked a child.

Zhang Geng was even more credulous than his brother. He hesitated for a moment and said, "I'll tell the truth, and you tell the truth too."

Xu Chu nodded, "Fair."

"It was indeed the Queen Mother who asked me to come, not 'sent' me here. She asked me for help, that's all."

"I understand."

"The Queen Mother wants to know if you have any contact with people outside."

"No, I'm trapped in the camp and have no contact with outsiders."

"The truth?"

"Since I promised, I must be telling the truth."

"Okay. The Queen Mother also wants to know if you have any intention of staying here?"

"What intention can I have?"

"I don't know, that's why I asked you."

Xu Chu shook his head, "I'm not leaving just because I can't escape. I have If you know yourself well, even if you manage to escape the barracks, can you outrun He Rong's cavalry?"

"I think so, but the Queen Mother will ask... are you telling the truth?"

"The truth."

"Then I'm leaving."

"Wait, what are you going to tell the Queen Mother?"

"Tell the truth."

Xu Chu wanted to remind Zhang Geng that it would be disadvantageous to him to make the story too simple, but then he thought that he was just a child and there was no need to learn too many skills in dealing with people, so he said: "Very good."

Zhang Geng stood up and said, "Everyone says you are smart, but I don't see it."

"Rumors are often wrong."

"This sentence is smart." Zhang Geng walked out quickly, probably because he had completed the task and was in a better mood.

"There is one more thing." Xu Chu stopped Zhang Geng, "Please tell the Empress that you must not act on your own."

"What do you mean? The Empress is very powerful, and the Chanyu listens to everything she says."

"Forget it, this sentence is not smart enough, you'd better not say it."

Zhang Geng did not make any promises, but Xu Chu knew that no matter what he said, it would definitely reach the Empress' ears.

The next morning, He Rongpingshan led his troops to set off, and the main army also began to prepare to move out of the camp.

Soon after Xu Chu woke up, he was called to the big tent. The Chanyu was dictating a letter to Kou Daogu: "Tell the emperor that early autumn has arrived and winter is not far away. You can have a small gathering with the queen. After pacifying the Qinzhou rebels, he will have a winter to reunite with the queen. Within half a month, he must come back..."

According to the Chanyu's intention, Kou Daogu re-polished the pen and ink, in order to show the Chanyu's majesty and give the emperor some face. He wrote very quickly. As soon as the Chanyu finished speaking, he also raised his pen and asked the servant to present the letter to the Chanyu for review.

Shan Yu read it and nodded, saying, "Well written, especially this sentence, 'In autumn, when horses are fat and soldiers are galloping, rebels are rampant and the world is watching with awe. The emperor should focus on state affairs and not stay in the palace for too long.'"

Kou Dao Gu neither thanked the compliment nor modestly said he had no talent. He just hummed, showing 50% arrogance and 50% dullness.

Shanyu put down the letter and looked at Xu Chu, "You haven't said anything for a few days, you owe a lot."

"It's five days in total, and I haven't been summoned by Shanyu. I said something to He Rong Pingshan yesterday, which can be equivalent to one day, and I still owe four days."

"Pingshan said that he got nothing from you."

"Nothing now, when he encounters setbacks in the front and remembers my words again, he will get something."

"No wonder Pingshan doesn't like to listen to you."

"Good medicine tastes bitter, and it is common to hide illness and avoid treatment."

"Well, you still owe me four days of words, a total of four sentences, say them all at once."

"Shanyu may not like to hear it even more."

"It doesn't matter, if it is really good medicine, I can bear it It's suffering."

Xu Chu glanced at Kou Daogu, thought for a moment, and said, "It's a big mistake to attack Qinzhou."

The Chanyu also looked at Kou Daogu and smiled, "You guessed it right." Then he said to Xu Chu, "This is the first sentence, but I don't think it's useful. You don't have to explain, say the second sentence."

"Appointing He Rongpingshan as the vanguard is a mistake on top of a mistake."

The Chanyu yawned, "It's still useless."

"Recalling the emperor at this time is not a big mistake, but it's also a stupid move."

"Well." The Chanyu handed the letter to the attendant, sealed it in the envelope, "Send it out now, don't delay."

The Chanyu used practical actions to show that he felt Xu Chu's words were useless.

Xu Chu did not argue and continued, "There is one last sentence."

The Chanyu shook his head, "You still owe four sentences, because I don't think the first three sentences are useful."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Similarly, it is useless at first hearing, and you can only understand it after careful consideration."

"How long will it take to think carefully? Three to five days? Three to five years?"

"In short, it will be very fast."

The Chanyu said to Kou Daogu, "He is like a thorn, useless in itself, but it can keep me alert."

"Ordinary people think that the Chanyu is too weak, but in fact, the Chanyu is making the best use of everything."

The Chanyu smiled and nodded, this is what he likes to hear.

"The last sentence, at least let you say it."

Xu Chu bowed his hands and spit out four words: "Pingshan will be defeated." Then he turned around and walked away. Even if the Chanyu shouted behind him, he would not stop and look back.