Plan to cut off the nine states

The river flows from north to south, separating Qin and Bing. There are mountains on both sides of the river, and only a few places are convenient for passage. The southernmost port is called Puban. The first city that He Rong's army wants to conquer when entering Qinzhou is Puban.

He Rong led 10,000 cavalrymen and supervised tens of thousands of soldiers and craftsmen from Jizhou and Bingzhou to attack the city. He didn't like these Central Plains people. They were not only slow in action, but also afraid of death. They had to be threatened with stronger fear to make them rush to the enemy.

But the Central Plains people are good at attacking cities. Those seemingly honest and cowardly craftsmen made powerful equipment, which impressed He Rong people and made them feel fortunate that there were no cities on the grassland.

Long before He Rong Pingshan led his troops to set off, the armies of Ji and Bingzhou were on the road. He Rong's army caught up with them in just one day and surpassed them.

Soon, He Rong Pingshan received a slightly unexpected news that the defenders of Puban seemed to be fleeing and it would become an empty city.

He Rongpingshan's hesitation lasted only a short while, and he immediately made a decision to abandon the Central Plains people and lead the cavalry to seize the city.

He sent someone to deliver a letter to the Chanyu, and then rode non-stop and hurried, and finally saw Puban one afternoon.

The city was intact, and the bridge was damaged, but it still allowed horses to pass through. The defenders obviously fled in a hurry.

"The Central Plains people are so timid." He Rongpingshan said to his men, "We have to spend the winter in Xijing. It's not very good there. It is said that it has been looted long ago, but everyone is patient for a while, and we will go to Jiangnan to spend the summer next year."

According to the Chanyu's plan, the mission of the vanguard army came to an end. They only needed to defend the city, repair the bridge, and wait for the arrival of the army.

But He Rongpingshan didn't want to wait in vain. It was too easy to capture Jinkou. He felt that he had not made any contribution, so he immediately sent spies to Qinzhou to find the whereabouts of the enemy.

The news soon came that an army of less than 10,000 people was fleeing to Xijing, only a whole day's journey from Puban.

The leaders of the Herong tribe in the army had a dispute. Many people thought that they should not take the risk to chase the enemy, and at least wait for the order of the Chanyu.

He Rongpingshan rejected the opinions of the crowd, "We are Herong people. We have been galloping on the grassland since we were young. We are not like the people of the Central Plains. We have one battalion per step. We are stable, but once we retreat, it is difficult to gather again. Especially the Qinzhou rebels are just a group of villagers. We must take the initiative to deal with them and let them experience the ability of He Rong cavalry!"

He Rongpingshan left a small number of cavalry to guard the city, and led his troops out of the city with only three days of food and grass. He agreed to return within five or six days - he wanted to seize the return funds from the enemy.

Nearly 10,000 cavalry set off, and no news came back except for the first two days.

When the Chanyu army arrived in Puban, it was exactly the fifth day since He Rongpingshan set out, and there was still no news.

The Chanyu was anxious and angry. He had already written a letter, ordering He Rongpingshan to guard the Jinkou and not to advance rashly. However, when the letter was still on the way, his cousin had already left the city without permission to pursue the enemy.

After being ignored for several days, Xu Chu was summoned again, and it was a rare summons alone. There was no Kou Daogu or other adults standing by, only a few servants who did not understand the Central Plains language to serve him.

Shanyu has an advantage. Although he gets angry, he always has reasons and never blames others. When he saw Xu Chu, he smiled and said, "Well, you are right. Pingshan will lose."

"There is no clear news yet."

"No one has been sent back to deliver the message for three consecutive days. Pingshan must be annihilated. There will be no other reason. Alas, this is Pingshan's fault, and also my fault. I let him be the vanguard even though I knew he was impatient. The Jiangshi Army seems to be not an ordinary rebel army."

"An army has fought for many years and moved to many places. Even if it loses many battles, it should learn something."

"That's right. I underestimated the Jiangshi Army in the past."

"The previous armies were the same as Shanyu."

"Haha, at least I will correct it earlier than them." Shanyu suddenly sighed again, "I have high hopes for Pingshan. I didn't expect... But how can there be no deaths in war? My He Rong army has five kings, nine heroes, and twenty-four riders, and each of them can stand alone."

"Why didn't Chanyu use these people before?"

"Before I became Chanyu, He Rong's tribe was constantly fighting among themselves, and the old Chanyu could barely suppress it. Since I took over the throne, I think that although the kings shook hands and made peace on the surface, they still hated each other, and they were not afraid of me. So since entering the Great Wall, things like sieges, which He Rong's tribe is not good at, have to be handed over to my people."

Xu Chu was very surprised by Chanyu's frankness. "Chanyu hopes to gain prestige through war and convince the kings?"

"In addition, we can accumulate some experience, so that when we attack the city again, not everyone will be afraid. Long before entering the Great Wall, I knew that the biggest obstacle in front of He Rong's cavalry was not the Tiancheng court, not the heroes from all directions, but the city. One city after another, the Central Plains people hiding in it would consume the He Rong people."

"He Rong Pingshan's siege tactics caused huge casualties."

"The casualties were the Central Plains people, not us." Chanyu smiled.

"If this goes on, the people of the Central Plains will also refuse to serve."

"Well, this is a problem for the future, and we will solve it later." The Chanyu sighed again, "The death of Pingshan is a great loss for me."

"He may also be captured."

"Same, he made some small mistakes in the past, I can forgive him, but this time he made a big mistake, even if he comes back alive, I can't use him again."

"It seems that the Chanyu should use the Five Kings, Nine Heroes, and Twenty-Four Riders."

Shan Yu had this intention for a long time, but it has been difficult to decide, "The timing is not very good."

"There's no such thing as timing for some things."

"Hey." Shanyu looked at Xu Chu, "There are some things that you Central Plains people are better at, especially you."

"I'm ashamed of myself." Xu Chu said with a smile.

"Like reading people's hearts."

"Chanyu needs me to figure out whose thoughts?"

"The wise kings of the left and right, the victorious kings of the left and right, and the king of the capital of the left."

"Why is there no King Youdu?"

"I am the King of Youdu, and the new king is one of my younger brothers. He shares the same mind and heart with me, and is not among the 'five kings' who have different ambitions."

"Where are the Nine Heroes and the Twenty-Four Riders?"

"They belong to the kings. If you deal with the kings, you will naturally be able to deal with them."

"Hmm." Xu Chu thought for a while, "I have never seen the Five Kings, so I can't figure it out."

Shan Yu smiled and said: "You have seen that every time we discuss something, they are all around me and are closest to me."

"Oh, I have some impression."

People in He Rong did not distinguish between superiority and inferiority when discussing matters. All the adults present could squeeze in front of the Shanyu to speak, but there were indeed a few people who, even if they did not speak, kept their positions beside the Shanyu.

"It seems that the Five Kings are not all old people."

"Three of them are older, and the other two are about the same age as me, but they have the same concerns. They are dissatisfied that I can get the position of Shanyu."

"Because they feel they're more qualified?"

Shanyu smiled and did not answer.

"I still can't figure it out because I don't understand what you're saying."

"If you have to understand each other's language to figure it out, how do the people from the Central Plains and the people from He Rong fight? Do they fight with each other?"

"The more I know, the more accurate my guesses will be. Now I can only speak in general terms."

"Very good, I don't want you to be too precise, just make general remarks." Shanyu was still wary of outsiders.

Xu Chu thought for a while, "What did Kou Daogu say?"

"It's my business to judge good or bad, you can make your own 'generalities'."

"Okay, let me make a general statement: Chanyu doesn't need to figure out the thoughts and intentions of the five kings at all."

"This is a strange statement." Shan Yu said with a smile.

Just as Xu Chu was about to explain, someone came in from outside and spoke in He Rong language. Shan Yu stood up abruptly, then slowly sat down again, replied a few words, and then left.

Shanyu was silent for a long time, then said to Xu Chu: "Pingshan is back. The kings will come later, you can observe again."

Usually when the adults were discussing matters, Xu Chu stood far away, but today he made an exception and stood diagonally behind Shan Yu. Although it was still a corner, his position was much more important.

The adults arrived first and sat down respectively. Instead of shouting as usual, they talked quietly in twos and threes.

The five kings sat on the left and right of the Shan Yu, three old and two young. Their style was different from the others. They did not whisper to each other, but spoke directly to the Shan Yu, with a tone that seemed to indicate accusation.

Shanyu nodded and occasionally replied, seeming to accept all the blame.

After a while, He Rongpingshan came into the tent. His clothes were in tatters and only the jade belt around his waist still had some charm. As soon as he entered the tent, he knelt on the ground and said something excitedly.

The Chanyu did not speak, but allowed the elders to speak. Many people spoke one after another, especially the five kings, who spoke the most, and their accusations became more obvious.

He Rongpingshan kept kneeling on the ground, occasionally making a few excuses, and frequently raising his fingers to point to himself, as if he was taking all the responsibilities.

The Chanyu spoke, and only said a few words. Some people raised objections, but the Chanyu remained indifferent.

He Rongping kowtowed to Shanyu, took off his jade belt, held it with both hands, and placed it on the ground in front of him. He then pulled out the short blade, shouted something loudly, and stabbed it into his lower abdomen.

He did not die immediately, with a look of pain on his face, but he gritted his teeth and refused to cry out in pain, but could not stop the blood from gradually flowing out from the corners of his mouth.

There was silence in the big tent.

After waiting for a while, Shan Yu nodded, and several warriors stepped forward to help He Rong Pingshan stab the short blade deeper. Seeing that he was still breathing, a warrior glanced at Shan Yu, and after receiving the signal, he drew his sword and stabbed him. Enter the heart, confirm death, and carry the body out of the tent.

A jade belt and a pool of blood were left on the ground.

Shanyu said some more words, without any hint of sadness, as if he was motivating.

The adults dispersed, leaving only Xu Chu.

The servant presented the jade belt, and Chanyu took it in his hand, wiped it carefully, and finally put it into his arms, turned to Xu Chu and said, "Go on and say what you said." His tone was calm, as if nothing had happened.

Because he had had similar experiences, Xu Chu had more admiration than others.

"It doesn't matter what the kings think. If they have the opportunity to succeed Shanyu, they will always think about it. Even if they don't think about it themselves, someone will think about it for them."

"Hey, are you trying to start a fight?"

"There is no need. Instead of trying to figure out the Five Kings, it is better to figure out the Nine Heroes and the Twenty-Four Riders, and entrust them with important tasks and give them heavy rewards."

"Most people won't be loyal to me."

"This is the time when it is necessary to sow discord."

Shan Yu was stunned for a moment, then understood and said with a smile: "Sure enough, people from the Central Plains are better at this kind of thing. I will consider it, but I may not follow it. This is enough to save you a few days of advice. Go ahead."

Xu Chu said goodbye and walked not far away, then turned around and looked at Shan Yu.

Shan Yu took out the jade belt again, looked up and saw Xu Chu, and murmured: "I shouldn't take his wife away, Princess Tiancheng should accompany him."