Plan to cut off the nine states

Before going to bed every night, Godly King Gong Fan must check the "inventory" in the army. Only by confirming that the number of boxes and packages is accurate and that there are no signs of being opened can he go back to his room and sleep peacefully.

He often said to his soldiers: "It doesn't matter if you are hungry at ordinary times. Just tighten your belt and endure it. You are all poor people, how can you not bear this kind of suffering? I will definitely make you full during the war. Think about it, in the cold winter When the weather comes, the snow is falling, and other incarnation troops, even many officers and soldiers, are still looking for and grabbing food everywhere, but we can hide behind the city wall and be safe and sound. In fact, running the army is no different from living a life, and frugality is always the most important thing. conduct."

Although they usually have to endure hunger, when they think about not having to brave the severe cold to look for food after winter, many people would rather follow the Divine King. Gong Fan instead wants to persuade some people to retreat, saying euphemistically that his ability is so great, and he can't raise food. Can't afford too many people.

Gong Fan set an example and was equally harsh on himself. He ate the same food as the soldiers. He used the bedding as long as it was not torn into pieces. The cloth he grabbed was either used as a reward or packaged for collection.

Gong Fan rarely lit a lamp and lay down on the hard bed in the dark. He drove away his entourage and let them rest. He closed his eyes for a while and heard silence everywhere. He took out a piece of preserved fruit from the pillow and stuffed it whole In your mouth, chew slowly and never let out any crumbs.

"This is what I deserve." After swallowing the preserved fruit, Gong Fan whispered to himself, "Dugu San and the others drink wine and eat meat themselves, but let the soldiers eat chaffy vegetables. I don't do this kind of thing. I'm just adding. Physical strength, if I fall, who will take care of these young people? They don’t have the heart to live..."

Gong Fan took out another piece of preserved fruit and was about to stuff it into his mouth when he heard a loud knock on the door. He couldn't help but be frightened. He thought he was about to be caught and revealed himself. In a moment of panic, he stuffed the preserved fruit into the bed and sat up. shouted: "Who is knocking on the door at night?"

"Brother, we have something to talk about."

He was a veteran from his hometown and a man who strictly adhered to his duty. Gong Fan breathed a sigh of relief, but he was still unhappy in his heart, "Is there an enemy attack?"

"No."

"Then let's wait until tomorrow morning."

The person outside the door did not speak, but there were no footsteps leaving.

Gong Fan lay down again, always feeling that someone was peeking through the crack in the door. He didn't dare to sleep, and he didn't dare to eat the night food again, so he had to get up, put on his shoes and open the door.

As expected, the veteran did not leave, and there were more than a dozen soldiers following him.

Gong Fan was very surprised that so many people came to the door together, and he couldn't help but soften his tone, "What's the matter?"

No one else said anything, only the veteran said: "Brother, please think carefully about what Mr. Xu said."

"Which Mr. Xu?" Gong Fan was confused.

"That Mr. Xu Cuxu who came with the three heavenly kings."

Gong Fan became more and more confused, "Since when have you cared about these things? Xu Chu encouraged us to compete for the position of King of the World and the leader..."

"It's not that, it's something else." The veteran looked up at the sky.

There were a few dark clouds in the sky, covering up the stars and the moon. Gong Fan also took a look, finally remembered, and said with a smile: "Surrounded by black energy? Buried in the city? Do you really believe his nonsense?"

The veteran said seriously: "Brother, you should have some respect for ghosts and gods."

"Of course, I have always been in awe of ghosts and gods, as you all know, but there are no ghosts and gods this time. It was all tricked out by Xu Chu."

"Otherwise." The expressions of the soldiers became more and more serious, and the veteran said: "We asked the captives who surrendered, and this city is indeed strange. It was breached within two months of their stay. Some prisoners stayed longer, Seven guards were replaced in one year, and the shortest one didn't even last ten days..."

Gong Fan was furious, "If you ask weird questions, of course they will give you weird answers! I think you are mature and prudent, so I let you be my deputy. With your current stupidity, you should just be a pawn."

The veteran's face turned red, "Okay, I'll be a pawn. Anyway, the food and clothing expenses are the same as those of the deputy, and I have less responsibility."

"Next time when we attack the city, you will be the first to climb up." Gong Fan slammed the door and shouted through the door: "Go back to sleep. If anyone dares to linger, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

There were clatter of footsteps outside and the crowd dispersed.

Gong Fan went back to bed, unable to sleep or eat preserved fruits. He kept scolding the veteran for being ungrateful. Slowly, when he calmed down, he felt regret again. The veteran was loyal to him and suffered the same hardships as ordinary soldiers during the day. , but there are no snacks to replenish at night, and I am looking at rapid aging.

Gong Fan got up again, put on his shoes and clothes, sighed deeply, opened the door and called a few followers from next door, and took them to patrol the camp.

What he saw and heard while patrolling the camp shocked Gong Fan. It turned out that dozens of people, including veterans, were not the only ones who believed the "ghost lies". Rumors had already spread throughout the army. People gathered everywhere to whisper and look up at the sky, as if there was really a mass above their heads. Like black energy.

Gong Fan found the veteran and called him "Brother Qiu." He acted even more kindly than usual, letting everyone see that there was no bad blood between the two. Then he pulled the veteran aside and whispered: "What's going on? Everyone Believe it all?"

The veteran nodded and looked around, "Brother, please wake up quickly. This city is getting weirder and weirder."

"You don't even have enemies, so where's the weirdness?"

The veteran came closer and whispered: "The three kings lead thousands of troops, but they are a powerful enemy, and they are in the city."

Gong Fan smiled and said, "The soldiers Du Gousan and the others brought are only a few hundred people. How could they rob my city?"

"Isn't it possible? The three heavenly kings came with a request, but I didn't agree to any of them. They are all very face-conscious people. If they are angry..."

"Stop talking." Gong Fan was also a little moved. Although they were both leaders of the World Army, they didn't have much trust in each other. "What happened to the three kings?"

"I haven't slept all the time. I don't know what to talk about when we gather together, and our soldiers don't want to rest."

Gong Fan still didn't believe that the three kings would be disloyal, but after taking a look at the soldiers gathered in the distance, he knew that he had to do something to reassure the soldiers.

"Go and invite the three heavenly kings to come to my place for a gathering. If they come, nothing will happen. If they don't come, be careful and drive them out of the city early tomorrow morning."

"Yes, bro, this is a good idea."

The veteran was about to leave, Gong Fan said again: "Invite that Xu Chu together."

The veteran nodded repeatedly, thinking that Gong Fan was finally convinced.

Gong Fan returned to the official hall, ordered two torches to be lit, and prepared a pot of wine to entertain the guests.

Not long after, the veteran came back with a much more relaxed expression, "The three kings will be here soon."

Gong Fan also breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "I said it was just your imagination. Even if I reject them, my words are reasonable. They have to be convinced. If something happens in the future, they will have to come to me to beg me. How can they have different intentions? "

"Well, the person corresponding to that black energy is someone else, maybe an officer or a soldier from He Rong." The veteran said.

Gong Fan shook his head helplessly, feeling that it was too luxurious to entertain guests with a jug of wine, but he did not want to give it to a veteran, so he quietly pushed the jug under the stool with his foot.

As expected, the three heavenly kings arrived quickly, carrying wine and meat in their hands. As soon as they entered the hall, Du Gousan smiled and said: "We were going to invite Brother Gong to drink together, but we were afraid that you would go to bed early. I didn't expect that you are also a night owl."

The smell of wine hit his nose, Gong Fan felt saliva in his mouth, and said with a smile: "The three heavenly kings are too polite. In fact, I invited the three of them here for business reasons, not for drinking."

"Let's chat while drinking." Yan Pei Ying said, her face dark and red, obviously she had drunk a lot of wine.

Mu Tianzi took it upon himself to place a bench in the middle as a table, put wine and meat on it, and the four of them sat around, continuing to eat and drink. After Gong Fan took two sips of wine, he felt comfortable all over and had long forgotten that he had "business" to talk about. .

When Xu Chu came in, the four of them laughed happily, while a group of soldiers guarding the door swallowed dryly.

"Why is he here? I gave him a death order and he was not allowed to step out..." Du Gousan frowned.

Gong Fan said: "I invited him here, and Du Tian's royal power was sold to me just to save face."

"This is Brother Gong's territory, and of course it's your decision. But that's all the meat and wine. We can eat, and we can't take him with us."

"Of course." Gong Fan had no intention of inviting Xu Chu to the table, and said loudly: "Xu Chu, in front of everyone, can you tell me what the black energy is? Did you make it up?"

Xu Chu glanced at the dozens of soldiers guarding the door and said with a smile: "From what I can see, the black energy is getting thicker and getting lower and lower."

The soldiers' expressions changed and they no longer even cared about the smell of wine.

Gong Fan sneered and said to Du Gousan and others: "Can the three heavenly kings sell me another favor? Let me take care of this arrogant scholar. Don't worry, I won't kill him."

Du Gousan said drunkenly, "It doesn't matter if he kills him. We are not fighting for the position of the big boss anyway. We have to return him to the He Rong people. Brother Gong can kill him if he wants. The worst he can do is give his head back."

Gong Fan was an extremely cautious person and would never let anyone suspect that he had the intention of fighting for his reputation, so he smiled and said: "That's not necessary. Xu Chu said that Chi You's head was buried here, so he asked him to find it. When Find it, when will you rest? If you can’t find it before dawn, he is lying and making up stories.”

The three kings nodded at the same time, praising this idea as a good one.

Gong Fan said to the soldiers at the door: "You heard it, take Xu Chu to find Chi Youtou, you can take turns to rest, he can't stop for a moment, do you understand?"

The soldiers nodded and dragged Xu Chu out.

The four heavenly kings continued to eat and drink, and the meal ended after midnight. Xu Chu, who went out to look for the head, never came back.

Gong Fan was drunk. He picked up the remaining meat residue on the plate and put it into his mouth. He said with emotion: "You three are still rich. You bring so much wine and meat with you when you go out. Unlike me, who searched the whole camp and gathered together." No more meat and wine."

Du Gousan smiled and said: "Brother Gong is too humble. Who doesn't know that Brother Gong is a good at hoarding grain? Although there are not many people in your army, you have hoarded more grain than any other new army. Now you have won A city is more than enough to survive the winter. The three of us are miserable. The army's food and grass can only last for half a month. Let alone the winter, we can't even survive this autumn. "

Gong Fan was most afraid of hearing such words, so he hurriedly shook his head and said: "You are mistaken. There is no surplus food in our army. To be honest, those boxes and packages are actually full of bricks and tiles, used to comfort the soldiers' morale. Without food, a Not even a grain."

"Haha, Brother Gong is afraid that we will borrow food. Don't worry, we will go to Liangzhou to rob. If we don't borrow your food, we know that it is your lifeblood."

"There really is no food left." Gong Fan stood up unsteadily, Yan Peiying and Mu Tianzi supported him on the left and right.

Gong Fan suddenly remembered that there was a pot of wine under the stool, so he planned to sit down and take out the pot after the guests left.

But the people on both sides held him too tightly, and he couldn't sit down, so he raised his head, and just as he was about to speak, he saw Du Gousan staring at him fiercely, with a short blade in his hand.

"Ah?" Gong Fan still didn't understand.

"Brother Gong is right, food is the foundation. If you don't have food in your hand, you can't even feed your own soldiers. How can you fight for nothing? So I'm sorry..."

Du Gou San covered his mouth with one hand and stabbed into his heart with a blade with the other. Gong Fan died after a slight struggle. Yan Zhuoying and Mu Tianzi let go, and Gong Fan fell to the ground, overturning the stool, revealing the wine pot underneath.

Du Gou San picked it up and drank a sip, then threw it away, "The old man really has something to hide. What should we do next?"

Mu Tianzi said coldly: "Xu Chu saw the 'black air', he knew what to do."